wall.
The NSA woman approaches the image.
The others at the table carefully assess Jeremy.
WOMAN
Let's get right down to business. The
large crater in the foreground is
Aristarchus.
The crater magnifies in short bursts until a small section of it is boxed off and digitally enhanced to fill the screen.
Machinery is clearly visible.
WOMAN (CONT’D)
What do you see, Mr. Ash?
JEREMY
Looks like a NASA mining operation.
WOMAN
Not NASA. Microcore. They refer to it as
SITE M-X. Although they tell us that it's
a mining operation, we believe the site
is much more than that. It appears
they're building a permanent base of
operations.
JEREMY
My name is Jeremy Ash but I think you've
got me mixed up with someone else.
Hayes flips open a file.
The woman returns to her seat.
HAYES
Are you the Jeremy Ash who logged nearly
eight hours in an Apollo simulator
located at the Kennedy Space Center?
JEREMY
Yeah. So what?
HAYES
The Jeremy Ash who was present when one
Alec Strickland disappeared without a
trace, then returned more than three
years later in possession of a device
capable of interstellar travel?
JEREMY
Alec is my brother's best friend. I don't
keep track of where he goes or what he
does.
HAYES
Speaking of your brother, I have an
article here that he published just last
week. It places you at the scene when Mr.
Strickland utilized the device to launch
himself toward the star 58 Eridani.
That's where the signal of 2018
originated.
JEREMY
It was a joke.
HAYES
Satellites tracked an object heading for
Eridani, at or near light speed, on the
exact date specified in your brother's
article.
JEREMY
What does any of this have to do with me?
HAYES
(reading from another file)
The Jeremy Ash who submitted a query to
Microcore's Propulsive Research and
Design Division, which contained an
equation that alludes to neutrino
