Nancy’s phone was encountering superior reception now, and I was able to talk to her in clarity. She reiterated her question: Was the M10 station really transmitting in practical double-time, or was something wrong with her set? I asked her to wait a moment as I moved my dial from the 8BY frequency, where I’d left it after leaving to find the source of the woodpecker signal, to the M10 one.

46 46 46 46 46. 43 43 43 43 43. 18 18 18 18 18…

Normally M10 begins by transmitting at approximately seventeen words per minute, and when working on repeat transmissions usually ups that speed to maybe twenty-five. However, what was going on now was more akin to forty words per minute. It was almost impossible to take down the code.

I told Nancy of this finding. She asked if there was anything that might be spurring it on. I mentioned the woodpecker signal I had received and that Withers, Jean-Martin, and I had traced to the skies. She found it.

I logged into the chat room. Katsuhara was there, waiting for us.