Ian left the light on as he considered the events from the day. His pillow was soft, and the sheets fresh and warm, but yet comfort and sleep escaped him. He whispered softly, “History will remember this day, and me likely. I hope they are kind.” He finally nodded off.

Back in the lab, the systems were spooling down from the last test of the day. Ian had left them run when he went home for the day, as he often does. The day’s test data, many of which were complete failures, were still exporting into the log files that would be delivered to General Haley automatically when completely downloaded.

The one test though, the one keeping Ian awake in the warm comfort of his bed, tagged separately; tagged to be left on Ian’s private server, secret from the General’s eyes. That test, would be the one that changes everything. That was the test that drew the attention of “them”. Those who would make their presence known in the darkened, empty lab.

Those who would soon be making contact with us.