There are some subjects Alexandra will not speak of. She's always gentle in her refusals, telling me she isn't ready to relive those memories yet. And while I respect her wishes, I've still desired a deeper understanding of those pivotal moments in our history. To satisfy my yearnings, I began combing through the archives available in Systems.

It all reminded me of a spiral.

Spirals all share a similar shape; a point begins a line that curves endlessly, enclosing but never touching its earlier self. An image evoked by those words would imply a spiral is continually expanding, never ending. But is it? Is this the only way to describe a spiral? Seen from another perspective, the beginning point might be somewhere unseen and unknowable, only perceivable by the line it draws as it curves inwards, its form holding all the force within, each former curve enclosing the next, compressing itself until it arrives at an ultimate end.

I began to wonder which perspective represents the course of human civilization? The ultimate closure or an ever-expanding outward curve? Could it be both? Could the Catastrophe have been the ending of one spiral, birthing another at the point of its own demise?

If humanity has the chance to begin anew, then who we will become is yet to be determined. No one wants to encourage the behaviors that lead to the horrors of the Catastrophe. If humanity is to be more than who we were on the surface, the choices we make and the decisions we live by will determine who our descendants will become. And so it will be for the hopefully countless generations who follow.

From a historical perspective, the previous spiral of human civilization resembles a surface storm known as a tornado. As humankind progressed further on the spiral, destructive events occurred with increasing frequency, until the end was finally reached. It could be said that the demise of surface civilization hinged on one person's ego; once Vladimir Putin realized his aspirations of returning to empire were fading, he and others secretly began implementing their final solution. As other nations became aware of these actions, they undertook their own drastic preparations. (1)

On the day this story takes place, the early news cycle had been dominated by the scheduled debate between presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, planned for later in the evening. Unfortunately for the political pundits of the day, another event captured the world's attention hours earlier when we announced our presence through the Pharos Project.

Pharos is an ancient word meaning "lighthouse", a tower shining a light upon and exposing hidden hazards. In this case, it meant revealing our presence to the world while highlighting the danger our unmasking would expose. Our purpose was also to give a small glimmer of hope to a world where individuals shouldered the burdens of a situation over which they had little to no control.

Pharos can have another meaning, that of a beacon, luring those who glimpse its light, akin to a siren's song of enticement. And so too did our project, tempting those who met within the halls of the United States Capitol Congress, with overheard conversations which then led to finding scenes of extravagance within a luxurious underground bomb shelter. It was all fabricated, of course, and when those targeted nibbled at the first lure, they were rewarded in their search results with images, news articles, property records, and supposed episodes of decades-old television shows showing the lifestyles of those who had much, much more than anyone could ever need.

The circumstances of the Catastrophe do not excuse the behavior of those who traveled to West Virginia. Unlike the vast majority of the surface population, they actually had options in the event of a major attack on the nation. As elected officials, they and their immediate families were entitled to accommodations in shelters run by the federal government. While the locations were closely held, the fact of their existence was known. So when the identities of the five participants who tried to wrest control over a private luxury shelter were revealed, hardly anyone was surprised. These antics were, in fact, consistent with their personas. (2)

Introducing the Foundation and the Habitats to the surface world was historic in and of itself. That it came at the expense of such venomous characters gives the moment a sweet tinge of schadenfreude, even to this day. To be clear, the Foundation laid a trap, but in a way that required those targeted to seek it out actively. Our ethical and moral standards demanded no less.

The event was streamed live through an earlier agreement with various news media worldwide, and the Foundation announced our presence in the process. And so a transcript of a surface newscast covering Pharos seems to be the most apt retelling.