scene description: [The voice of Mirali Lamoré is heard over an overhead view of a room set up for a face-to-face interview. We see two people facing each other, each sitting in cushioned chairs. ]
Mirali Lamoré (ML):
In this interview, I sat down with Mika Phillips on July 17, 2017, to review her recollections of the Estimate four months earlier on March 22nd.
[The image captures Mirali Lamoré, wearing a plaid suit in the colors of brown, green and yellow, sitting across from a woman with skin so dark it reflects blue hues in the studio lighting, shining upon her short, curly hair. She wears a long dress with a square neckline and short sleeves, displaying a brightly colored light blue and yellow pattern of intertwining leaves.]
(ML):
Thank you for taking the time to sit down with me, Mika.
Mika Phillips (MP): [nodding her head]
Well, I'm here; what would you like to know?
ML:
You and I have never spoken before, is this correct? Would you be so kind as to explain your position and why you were present when Alexandra gave the Estimate?
MP:
The Liaisons weren't on your radar until recently, so yes, this is our first time speaking. While my title remains the same, as NAHE Liaison Head, my responsibilities have changed since the Liaison conference. My former assistant, Blair Rondele, while she still reports to me, has taken over those responsibilities within the LCS, our Liaison Community Services organization. My primary oversight responsibilities are for NAHE's Liaison Community Outreach, commonly called LCO. Before she moved down, Alex asked me to arrange a meeting with a representative group of liaisons, which I attended. It's why I was present at the event you're interviewing me about.
ML:
What does the LCO organization do exactly?
MP:
We are an arm of the Liaisons, working across habitats to identify individuals best suited to address specific issues and bring them together for the benefit of all. Depending on the Initiative, we seek those with knowledge and skills in the areas being covered. We then facilitate the process of coming toward consensus.
ML:
Thank you for your explanation, Mika.
ML:
I'd like to begin by asking what you remember about the day you first met Alexandra Hanlon.
MP:
I met her a few days after she accepted the Director of Habitat Liaisons position while she and her partner were down here on the tour. She wanted to understand the organization and our structure.
ML:
What were your impressions of her?
MP:
She was more interested in what I had to say than talking about herself. I found her focused on the job ahead.
ML:
Have you ever wondered why you weren't offered the position?
MP:
Oh, heck no! Managing the Liaisons in one habitat with just the storefronts has been challenging enough. Dealing with all twenty habitats and figuring out how to tackle the last mandate? I'm happy to leave that to someone else.
ML:
The last mandate?
MP:
For the liaisons to act as a conduit between the people of the habitats.
ML:
What does that mean?
MP:
Well, as Alex explains, that's what her meetings have been for. She's met with and listened to groups of liaisons in every habitat. She listened as we discussed issues we hadn't been able to help resolve and come up with ideas of what might help. She listened, and out of those meetings, the other Liaison Heads and I worked with her to create the LCO Initiatives.
ML:
Would you please explain the LCO Initiatives to our audience?
MP:
The Initiatives were the focus of the conference. The liaisons in the LCO coordinate and find those with the necessary expertise, skills, or even interest in specific subjects across habitats, then assemble them into working groups to tackle the initiatives.
Committees, our official name for the working groups, have different focuses; some are as basic as harmonizing our understanding of the Charter to a common foundational culture based on those values. Others are naturally shorter term, such as integrating those newly recruited into the habitat more easily and thoroughly than we have previously.
ML:
Thank you for that detailed explanation. I'd like to move on to the day of the Estimate. I understand you met Alexandra in the morning before your meeting. Am I correct?
MP:
I did; I met with her and Richard Forester, who heads LPR, for breakfast that morning.
ML:
What did the three of you discuss?
MP:
We mostly spoke of how we would work together.
ML:
Can you tell me more about the liaison meeting itself? Was there anything odd about it or Alexandra?
MP:
Other than Gerold showing up without an invitation? No, there wasn't anything odd other than we had never had a meeting quite like that. I mean, Alex introduced herself, and then the floodgates opened.
ML:
What do you mean?
MP:
She asked everyone to speak openly and honestly about their experiences as residents and liaisons, what they felt the organization was doing right, and where they thought we could do better.
Receiving permission to speak openly seemed to do the trick. I don't think anyone cared about the original question or even if the Liaisons had jurisdiction. Every one of the liaisons at our meeting spoke up about something. People began discussing the possibility of teaching community ethical values based on the Charter, which led to questions about whether every habitat interpreted the Charter in the same way we did, given cultural differences. It just became this free-wheeling brainstorming session. It was a lot of fun; everyone was invigorated by it.
Everyone participated except for Gerold. He'd been pretty quiet for most of the meeting. He answered questions put to him but never spoke otherwise, which is very unlike him.
ML:
And what about Alexandra?
MP:
Did she strike me as odd in any way? Not really. The only difference I noticed was that when I met her previously, she asked very specific questions. It was a sharp contrast to this meeting, where most of her questions were very open-ended.
ML:
What happened when your meeting ended?
MP:
Toward the end of the meeting, Richard and Effie walked into the room from the far door. Alex's back was to them; she was asking some questions. Most were to clarify something someone had said, but one of the questions had no relevance to anything discussed earlier. She asked if we had any plans for responding to a pandemic on the surface, especially regarding resident safety and recruitment.
Once the meeting ended, most people left pretty quickly. Alex and I noticed Richard and Effie, and we walked over. Gerold had been heading toward the other door, but he turned around and joined us instead.
When we walked up, I saw Effie was recording, so I kicked the room cameras back on. I wasn't sure why, but I figured that if she was recording, the room cameras should be on as well.
ML:
I'd like to play the beginning of the video for you.
[The image of Mika Phillips and Mirali Lamoré stills and then fades into a screen filled with four equal-sized images arranged in a square. The top left reveals a middle-aged woman of average height, neither stocky nor thin, with her brown hair pulled behind her head. She wears a purple tunic and pant set, matched in their design. A chyron on the screen identifies her as Alexandra Hanlon (she/her).
The image to the right of the first shows an overhead view of the room, a group of three people standing in front of Alexandra as one more walks toward them. Beyond the four is a circle of eight chairs; except for the five people, the room is empty.
The images on the bottom expose the four individuals in front of Alexandra. The left image displays a slim, tall, dark-skinned woman along with a chyron identification of Mika Phillips, she/her, standing next to a taller, lighter-skinned man with broad shoulders and textured, dark brown hair, worn in thin braids that cascade down his neck. He is identified as Richard Forester, he/him.
The final image on the right shows Alexandra standing across from the last two people. On one side, an older woman is holding a mobile interface. Her dark hair is arranged in a high bun at the crown of her head, tapering into a tail clasped tightly at regular intervals with silver rings. She is identified as Effie Tabir, she/her. Walking to stand next to her is a stocky, pale-skinned man of roughly the same age, whose bald head is surrounded by short gray hair. He is identified as Gerold Philby, he/him.]
Effie Tabir:
Alexandra, I'm curious. Why did you ask about a pandemic plan?
Alexandra Hanlon:
In our meeting earlier, Tessa mentioned how the habitats are about halfway to the optimal starting population to survive a generational lockdown. I began wondering how a pandemic would affect recruitment and relocation, especially if the world situation continues to escalate.
[Alexandra pauses, and the room is silent]
Alexandra Hanlon:
Actually, there's something more to it than my simply wondering.
[The top left image zooms in on Alexandra's face as she appears to look directly at the viewer.]
Effie, when I met you and Gerold the first time, you mentioned that one of the reasons I qualified for this job was my empathy, my ability to accurately assess the people around me, and my excellent instincts. While I'm not empathetic in the sense of actually feeling the same emotions as another person, I am highly empathic, which means I'm aware of the feelings of those around me. I also possess a strong intuitive sense.
They're separate abilities, but sometimes they work together in a way I can't really put into words. When it happens, I end up with realizations for which I have no other explanation. In this case, I'm not sure whether "feelings" or "experiences" is the better term, so forgive me if I use both interchangeably.
I experienced something that caused me to ask about the pandemic. What I felt seemed to reflect something terrible happening everywhere. It was different from the feelings I tend to associate with wars, and the only other highly improbable events coming to mind were an alien invasion or a pandemic. I focused on what we could control and wondered how to keep everyone down here safe and continue to meet population goals if something like a pandemic becomes part of our reality.
scene description: [Gerold Philby's reaction is captured in one of the bottom images. Initially startled, he quickly assumes a look of contempt. The other three stand silently and respectfully.]
Gerold Philby:
[speaking in a scornful tone]
So you're telling us you can see into the future?
[The video pauses, then dissolves back to the interview between Mirali Lamoré and Mika Phillips]
ML:
I'm probably going to ask you this every time, but could you describe what you were thinking when this happened?
MP:
[laughs nervously]
What was I thinking at that point? I began to wonder if she was the right person for this position. I mean, that stuff sounds pretty crazy, right? Who just says, '"I can predict the future" and expects to be taken seriously? I was pretty skeptical.
ML:
Let's continue watching.
[The video begins again, with the bottom right view showing Alexandra turning her attention to Gerold; she remains calm and collected as she answers.]
Alexandra Hanlon:
I'm not a seer or a prognosticator, and I can't tell you exactly what will happen in the future.
[She pauses, and the room is still.]
But maybe I can give us a general idea of when, even if we don't know the actual what.
scene description: [The overhead view shows Alexandra Hanlon taking a few steps back as the bottom images adjust to keep everyone in range.]
action happening: Alexandra faces the group, standing easily, with her arms loose and hands open at her sides, her palms facing the people standing opposite her. She closes her eyes and stands silently, her chest rising and falling as she takes deep breaths. Her eyes open, and her face relaxes; her mouth is slightly parted. Everyone stands still, eyes focused on her, waiting.]
Alexandra Hanlon:
2017
[She pauses, and everyone waits.]
2018
[She counts slowly, pausing significantly between each year. Gerold Philby seems about to speak but is silenced by a look from Effie Tabir. ]
2019
[Her mouth closes as her lips tighten and her fingers move toward her palms. The room is silent except for the sound of Alexandra's breath.]
2020
[Her hands tighten into fists, her breathing is audible, and her face tightens as the muscles in her neck begin to jump. Richard Forester seems to stiffen slightly but otherwise makes no move.]
2021
[Her legs and arms begin to tremble and shake; her fists are now tightly clenched, and her elbows bend as her arms rise toward her shoulders. Her breathing is labored and heavy. The images show the others in the room shifting slightly, moving in discomfort.]
2022
[Alexandra doubles over, and her entire body trembles visibly. Mika Phillips tenses; Effie looks concerned.]
2023
[She struggles to rise, her nails digging into the palms of her hands.]
2024
action happening: Alexandra continues to rise and almost manages to stand completely upright. Suddenly screaming in anguish, she begins vomiting as she collapses onto the floor. Richard rushes to her, pulling her onto a clean section before allowing her to rest on the floor. He positions her so that she lies on her side, with her leg straight under her and the other leg bent, allowing her hips to be rotated and her knee to support the rest. He makes sure her lower arm is set straight from her shoulder and curves her other arm over it, with her hand close to her cheek and her head tilted back.]
scene description: [The overhead image captures Mika and Gerold leaving the room before returning to the interview between Mirali Lamoré and Mika Phillips.]
MP:
Everything seemed fine until she reached 2020; that's when I started feeling waves of tension coming from her. By the time she mentioned 2024, the waves were intense. And in the instance before she fainted, it all disappeared; in fact, I couldn't feel anything from her. It felt like being in a room with someone who had died, even though I knew she was alive.
Once she began to fall, Richard grabbed her before she hit the floor. Gerold and I ran out of the room, and he said something about water, so I found a supply closet and grabbed some towels. By the time I returned to the room, Alex was just starting to come out of her faint. Richard had moved her away from the worst of the vomit on the floor, but she had globs of it all over her. I was pretty sure her clothes were ruined.
ML:
Did you have any idea what it meant at the time?
MP:
I couldn't begin to think about it. All I knew was what I felt coming from Alex that day was more than I'd ever felt from her before or after. She's not exactly expressive, if you know what I mean.
[Mirali laughs]
ML:
Let's keep watching.
[The image dissolves and is replaced by the video, with Alexandra still on the floor. The overhead image captures Mika and Gerold returning with towels and water as Alexandra begins to regain consciousness.]
Richard Forester:
[in evident relief]
She's coming around.
scene description: [Alexandra begins to sit up with Richard's help. She takes the offered glass of water from Gerold and sips it slowly. She hands the empty glass back to Gerold and accepts a towel from Mika after looking down at her vomit-riddled clothing. She carefully wipes her face and hands with the towel, then, still holding it, looks up at the four standing over her, all with looks of concern on their faces.]
Effie Tabir:
Alexandra, are you all right?
Mika Phillips:
How could she be all right? If Richard hadn't gotten there in time, she would have cracked her head on the floor! Alex, can you stand? I'm going to call Medical.
scene description: [Alexandra, with Richard's assistance, slowly rises and then stands on her own.]
Alexandra Hanlon:
I'm fine, Mika, just a bit shaky, and all I really want is to go home and shower. I don't need to go to Medical, and if anything develops later, Kevin is a member of our floor's medical triage; he'll take care of me.
[The top left image zooms in until only Alexandra's flushed and serious face shows, hiding her bedraggled figure.]
But before anything else, I need to share what I felt. From what I can tell, 2020 and 2021 reflected the same experiences I had earlier when I asked how a pandemic might affect us. While the experience could begin in late 2019, I'm certain it will be there in early 2020.
[Alexandra's head and shoulders shudder as she sighs]
As I was counting, I felt a push urging me to go further, so I continued. As I spoke of 2022, those earlier experiences persisted but were muted by an overlay of feelings I associate with war. Everything continued throughout 2023 and into the last year, 2024, and the feelings corresponding to war kept escalating.
[She trembles again and takes a moment to breathe.]
I can't describe what happened to me in that moment other than I experienced the worst pain in my entire life. I felt as if I was being turned inside out and then torn into shreds. It's like nothing I've ever gone through, and I hope never to feel anything like it ever again.
[Alexandra pauses and visibly shudders.]
I'm not saying anything will happen. As I said earlier, I can't predict the future; no one can. I can only tell you what I experienced and my interpretations, vague as they are. Having said that, if I were inclined to bet on timing and outcomes, which I am not, I'd put money on the possibility of something happening sometime around the last quarter of 2024.
[Her face stills and then fades back to the interview between Mika Phillips and Mirali Lamoré.]
ML:
What happened after that?
MP:
Once she regained consciousness, I wanted her to go to Medical for a checkup, but she kept insisting she was fine and just needed a shower. Gerold and I ended up escorting her home. Gerold is usually fussy and hates any sort of messiness, but he was as gentle and thoughtful as he could be on the way.
ML:
What did you think of her interpretation?
MP:
I mean, it sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? Here's someone down here only a few days, and they're spouting off like Nostradamus? But thinking about what had been discussed during the meeting earlier, I wondered if we shouldn't start preparing in case something did happen. Plan for the worst, right? It works better than denying reality, and it's pretty obvious the trajectory of crazy on the surface just keeps escalating.
ML:
Did you discuss what happened with anyone?
MP:
Over the next few days, I discussed it with three people: Richard Forester, who was also present; my mentor, Evelyn Schneider, who had been the Liaison Head before me; and my current assistant, Blair Rondele, who had also attended the earlier meeting.
ML:
Would you be willing to share any details of those conversations?
MP:
My conversation with Evelyn is privileged, and my conversation with Blair was about possible requirements for the Liaisons, given what had happened at the meeting earlier along with what I had witnessed.
I'll share what I discussed with Richard. I told him I believed she would be someone I could work with based on how she conducted herself during the earlier meeting. I also told him that even if the actual prediction, estimate or whatever you wanted to call it, never actually happened, I thought it was a good idea to have a pandemic plan, even if we never used it, and if her prediction came true, wouldn't it be smart to have everything ready? Richard told me his gut told him she was honest, and his impression of her didn't align with her being an attention seeker.
ML:
My final question pertains to Alexandra's keynote speech. Why do you think she brought the Estimate up?
MP:
Why wouldn't she? It wasn't a secret within the Liaisons or with anyone else attending the conference. Oh, you mean because journalists were in the room? Believe it or not, Alexandra isn't particularly fond of keeping everything a secret, so if she chose to mention something in the keynote, she meant to share it.
ML:
It wasn't in the speech prompter.
MP:
I'll repeat, if Alexandra Hanlon says something, it's because she chooses to make it known.
scene description: [Video Ends]