The truth is, it never occurred to me that there were additional resources to call upon in the first place. The mining ships had gone adrift long ago, and the ever-orbiting lunar station was simply a relic... a reminder of times past, not something that could actually be our salvation. But surprises abound, even in the Outer Stretches. It turns out that the blinking distress signal wasn't just a one-way transmission. No, it was an uplink as well, and that meant one thing: contact.

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Today's 90 Seconds on The Verge was written by Bryan Bishop. All production magic is credited to John Lagomarsino.