If the agents are particularly resourceful (or lucky) they may be able to figure out that the signals correspond to times when Deming is facing and being faced by Io (the moon of Jupiter). The eccentric times are due the rotations of the Earth, Jupiter, Io, and by the orbital relationships of Jupiter and Earth.
The agents will then wish to know when the next transmission window will occur, it will be the next evening starting at 4:17pm local time and ending at 5:51pm local time.
If the agents investigate the latest observations of Io they can see Hubble photos of the volcanic moon Io shows the surprising emergence of a 320-kilometer (200-mile) diameter, large yellowish-white feature near the center of the moon's disk (photo on the right). Scientists suggest the spot may be a new class of transient feature on the moon. For comparison, the photo on the left was taken in March 1994 before the spot emerged, and shows that Io's surface had undergone only subtle changes since it was last seen by the Voyager 2 probe in 1979. The new spot in the July 1995 Hubble image replaces a smaller whitish spot seen at about the same location in the March 1994 image. "The new spot surrounds the volcano Ra Patera, which was photographed by Voyager, and is probably composed of material, probably frozen gas, ejected from Ra Patera by a large volcanic explosion or fresh lava flows."
The spot is actually a solar/electricity collector film surrounding the Ian relay station.
Io acts as an electrical generator as it moves through Jupiter's magnetic field, developing 400,000 volts across its diameter and generating an electric current of 3 million amperes that flows along the magnetic field to the planet's ionosphere.
Whats really going on: A pair of IAN spies have set up shop using the Bacchus Plateau Winery as a cover for thier operations. Hidden inside the vineyards water tower is a powerful radio transmitter which is used to send encrypted bursts of information to the relay station on Io. The wooden posts located throughout the vineyard conceal antennae designed to recieve incoming trasnmissions.
An old locked grain silo is used to store the IAN's communications gear and computer systems (which use advanced modern computers for hacking).
The IAN are only part of a global infiltration group who are preparing things for an invasion. Their plan is to use the year 2000 bug scare as a cover to cause massive damage to defense systems, nuclear power plants and other vulnerable locations. Thier fleet will be scheduled to arrive late in 2000 or early 2001 (it's a long trip) and will offer to help earths nations recover and repair the damage done to the ecology in exchange for earth becoming a protectorate of the IAN Empire.
The IAN spies have managed to hack into government computers and access the launch codes for 12 nuclear missiles in the USA and another 14 in Russia, planning to use the warheads if the computer meltdowns do not inflict enough damage. Their goal is not to destroy life on Earth, just to cripple it enough to make a takeover easier.
If the agents appear to be getting close to discovering the IANs they will start a fire at the fairgrounds as a distraction while they transmit data to their comrades and then wipe their files.
Ian spies stats:
| STR = 26 | INT = 11 | THR = 20 | HPT = 250 |
| CON = 32 | WIS = 13 | DOD = 20 | SNS = 00 |
| DEX = 22 | LCK = 11 | ACC = 15 | MRE = 08 |
| AGL = 24 | CRZ = 11 | STB = 45 | PIE = 00 |
NOTE: Unless killed the IAN will regenerate 1 points of WBD each minute and can regrow lost organs and limbs.
Images:
Source Material: William Travis
