In the operations room, Rutra performed identification for unlocking the lock, received a confirmation reply via satellite, called the Zero duty officer just in case, received confirmation, and opened the case. The device with the program was interfaced to the supercomputer system. Rutra sat down in the operator's seat, entered the unlock code, which consisted of forty lines of five digits, and surprised the people present by memorizing it and not hiding the action; they did not know about his "advanced" brain or the fact that the password was new each time. There were moments when Ruthra forgot that the unusual skills for people were the ones that were now commonplace to him.

The program began to integrate with the system, and operators began assigning "duties" to computers on the network.

– You can go rest, it's not a quick job," Charles Rutre said.

– Okay," Ruthra answered again in the American manner. – Only on the condition that you include the IP address of my device in the network and ensure uninterrupted wireless communication between the terminal and my case.

– Give me your information.

After a while, Ruthra, with the help of the hardware in the case, was fully able to observe what was being done with the program.

– Come on, I'll show you around," Charles suggested.

They went out, went upstairs, the receptionist invited them to a gazebo outside.

– What are your plans, where will you stay? We have prepared a hotel complex for you.

– Thank you, much appreciated. Perhaps we'll take a walk around your village today and think things over a bit about the second purpose of our visit.

– Can I ask you which one?

– We're interested in the possibility of sending a signal from an unidentified clandestine source, the location of which can be concealed. A high-powered signal, sustained and controlled by a system integrated into something like your center. That is, something with the ability to operate, calculate and decipher complex, multi-stage codes.

– Why do you want to know why, may I ask?

Ruthra gestured to the accompanying officers to leave. He decided to disguise his answer. He moved closer to Charles and whispered:

– This will seem implausible and fantastic to you, but as a colleague to a colleague, I will say this: we have received an unidentified signal from an unknown source. Earth origin is not confirmed.

– Are you kidding me?

– If only.

– So it's a sensation.

– Yeah? What if we're wrong? We need to check everything. The thing is, the signal penetrated the codes of the military satellites, unlocked them and tried to change the program.

– You know, this is not the first time this has happened, which surprised me.

– Was there something like that?

– If you don't know, I'll tell you, all of America is raving about aliens, and the fact that this signal penetrated the satellite control system in the first place confirms it.

Rutra thought, "I'm already convinced that all of America is delusional."

– I have been involved in many closed projects in my line of work, I have been to different sites, and everywhere there was a spirit of the unidentified.

– Can you elaborate on that?

– Prior to Los Alamos, I worked at Oak Ridge Laboratory, K-25 and Y-12 facilities.

Rutra didn't give any sign of his knowledge of the subject. He needed to be mistaken for an obsessed scientist, an image Rutra maintained.

– What's in there?

– What is Oak Ridge National Laboratory – you know. It's a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy. It is the largest science and energy laboratory in the Department's system. The lab has several powerful supercomputers, including Jaguar and its updated version, Titan, as well as several neutron research facilities. The K-25 facility was located in the southwestern part of Oak Ridge. The K-25 plant, when completed, was the largest building in the world. During the project, the main goal of which was to build an atomic bomb, workers labored in secret, not even realizing what would result from their work. An acquaintance of my mom's, Gladys Owens, didn't know what she was doing until she saw herself in a photo 50 years later at a public exhibition. The X-10 graphite reactor was the world's second man-made nuclear reactor and the first designed and built for continuous operation. It was used to build the first nuclear reactors in Iran, mind you, and Pakistan.

– You said, "pay attention." What was that about? – Ruthra asked.

– Someone needs it to be so, but officially it is declared otherwise.

– Well, well. So what's next?

– The Y-12 National Security Center is a U.S. Department of Energy center in suburban Oak Ridge, near the National Laboratory. The center manufactures components for nuclear weapons and stores the bulk of the U.S. stockpile of enriched uranium. Construction of the center began in February 1943, as part of the Manhattan Project. At Y-12, among other things, fuel was created for the bombs used in 1945 against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

– Quite interesting, just what is the news, let me put it this way.

– The fact that in such centers, in addition to official, declared activities, albeit classified, there are other activities, classified even from those who have access to them.

– Like what?

– For example, I was involved in the SSP program; it is a nuclear arsenal management program in the United States. Nuclear weapons have not been produced in the United States since 1992, and the reliability and safety of nuclear weapons is ensured through simulations of nuclear explosions on supercomputers. Nuclear weapons storage and maintenance is handled by the U.S. Department of Energy, and more specifically by its three main national laboratories: Livermore National Laboratory, our Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories. So, among other things....