Between 2017 and 2024, pre-catastrophe, the habitats doubled their population. Following Alexandra's estimation timeline, the Foundation Board decided to ramp up recruitment to save as many as possible within the parameters of their available resources. This meant abandoning the slow and steady process in place since the habitats were first populated and utilizing more dynamic methods.

The Liaisons established a program for residents to recommend individuals they knew on the surface who had the skills, knowledge and character necessary to support our growing population now and into a nebulous future. Among the requirements was a personal recommendation of the family's character and ability to live under the Charter. Once suggested, an online search was conducted to weed out those who did not meet the criteria for what had been commonly known as PSTs, the psych stability tests. Publicly available information was run through analytical tools, identifying and confirming potential recruits. By this time, almost everyone had a fingerprint on the internet, some public, some bundled and sold by various companies, allowing other companies or even wealthy individuals to target those who participated online. To test the analytical abilities, a call went out throughout the habitats for those who had come down in the last decade to allow their publicly available information to be tested to calibrate the recommendations. By late 2018, the tools returned accurate PST recommendations, especially if participants had been publicly chatty on social media. Analytical tools are only as good as the data fed to them, so some who might have been excluded did slip through the process, obviously. It began a few years into the COVID pandemic when less data became available as some social media streams disappeared and individuals moved their lives away from public view. (1) Understanding some might come down who were ill-suited to the habitat's culture, the Foundation Board, changed their offer from a lifetime choice to multi-year surface contracts with generous payment and benefit clauses. Those being considered for these contracts were invited to attend an orientation, serving as a tour of possibility and allowing for observation by those trained to notice the subtle aspects of certain personality types. It was a bold decision since it risked exposing the habitats and the Foundation prematurely, but the Board chose to gamble. While none of the recruitment contracts expired until over a year past Alexandra's estimation, the LCO Initiatives focused on the Charter found the habitats had to allow anyone under an expired contract to return to the surface if they so chose, once it was known to be safe. By then, one of two situations would have happened: Alexandra would have been proven wrong, or the Foundation would have already announced its existence to the world on the surface. By mid-2019, each habitat's quarantine village was built within the topmost section and took up two short floors. Those quarantining were brought in through special buses, which emulated vibrations in response to the video displayed on the screens emulating windows. The central platform brought these buses to a floor used by the quarantine village. Once emptied of passengers and luggage, the buses were returned to the surface and were prepared for the next trip. Once a person or family was ensconced in a quarantine home, they were offered information, acquainting them with the new lives they were entering. Residents in quarantine were offered classes on the fundamentals of habitat society and guided on how to navigate the technological and communal differences they would encounter. They were educated on participating in Community Tasks and understanding the workings of the creative capitalist society and the habitats at the time of their arrival. This comprehensive approach helped ensure they would be well-prepared to integrate with our communities by their quarantine's end.