Found [Ongoing Serial]

12. Anomaly Report September 22, 2023

TITLE: Cell phones are ringing in Nickelson (V 1.5)
Date: September 22, 2023

PROJECT: THULE 11
CLEARANCE: B6

CURRENT SITUATION: Cell phones are ringing in Nickelson.

PROBLEM STATEMENT: What course of action should be taken, if any?

BACKGROUND
- Cell phones appeared in Nickelson last week.
- All cell phones were not on as of September 21, 2023
- Typical brands were present, including iPhone, Samsung, Pixel and Sony.
- No phone is manufactured later than June 13, 2018
- Cell phones were found in all normal locations one would expect cell phones to be when not in possession of a person, including plugged into computers, charging stations and cables, in cars in cup holders in desk drawers, etc.
- All cell phones were off and could not be powered on prior to last week. Efforts to power in phones both inside and outside Nickelson city limits were as unsuccessful as similar attempts with computers.
- Manufacturers do not have records of these cell phones leaving their factories.
- Phone data can not be accessed either in hard drives or on micro SD cards.
- Micro SD cards from Nickelson phones are unusable on any external devices.
- Cell phone signals from outside Nickelson area continue to function normally within town limits.
- All cell phones turned themselves on at 1201 September 22, 2023.
- All cell phones had 100% battery.
- If cell phones were plugged into a charging device, they stayed at 100% battery.
- Other cell phones ran down to 0% if they were not plugged into a charging device.
- All phones rang three times at 1202  September 22, 2023.
- All phones are using the same carrier - Leich. This carrier does not exist in the United States. There was a Leich Electric Company that manufactured telephone equipment in the United States, but it was acquired and grouped by a larger communications company and no longer exists as a distinct named entity.
- A phone taken outside of the city limits of Nickelson will immediately turn off and can not be charged or turned on again. Returning it to the town will result in phone turning on again.
- All phones began to receive text messages on September 22, 2023 - 600. 
- The first message received was time stamped as September 22, 2023 - 600, and all phones received the same text: "Where are you? :) :(".  No sender ID or phone number was provided. This message remained visible on each phone for three hours and could be read regardless of whether the phone had a screen lock or not.
- As far as we know, no other phone calls have been received by the telephones in Nickelson.
- September 22, 2023 - 900, phones began to receive text messages. These text messages seem random,  normal, and pedestrian in nature, such as confirmation of evening plans, meet-up locations, grocery lists, etc. 
- Time stamps for these messages all predate June 13, 2018.
- Efforts are underway to collect and collate names and phone numbers of sent and received messages. So far, each number is a Nickelson number; or they are for a number in an external area code that does not exist, such as (212)-XXX-XXXX (number redacted - Moore Protocol).
- Personal files are being updated for named Nickelson residents in text messages and cross reference from other record material found in the town.
- Phones have not rung again.

ACTION OPTIONS
I am presenting three options in light of this event and will recommend one.

OPTION 1 - Do nothing.
- Relative risk is LOW with this option. We leave the phones where they are and touch them as little as possible.
- We continue to read incoming text messages to the best of our ability and add information to our records.

OPTION 2 - Turn off all phones.
- Relative risk is MEDIUM with this option as it requires interaction with all telephones in town, which means more personal interaction and an increase of another Barnes incident.

OPTION 3 - Interact with phones.
- Relative risk is MEDIUM to HIGH with this option as it requires interaction with all telephones in town, which means more personal interaction and an increase of another Barnes incident.  And we do not know how the town will react to direct interaction with it - up until this point, most interaction has been passive.

RECOMMENDED - OPTION 3
Though risk is higher with option 3, I believe this will provide us with some answers to why these events are unfolding. This town is not a chemical or radiation leak that can be sectioned off from the world. It is not the site of an atrocity. It is something unprecedented in our history. We need to make every effort to understand it, even if it is perilous. Even if trying to understand is what it seems to want from us.

My recommendation is to bring all unlocked phones to the Greg Street Community Center and plug them in. Staff should be stationed in the community center with the phones. If phones ring, they should be answered.

We should continue this for three months. If no calls are placed or no new information is gathered that suggests it would be detrimental, we should begin calling and texting numbers.

PREPARED: September 22, 2023 - 1300
UPDATED: September 22, 2023 - 1330
PREPARED BY: Major Kyle Briggs
REVIEWED BY: Colonel Reginald Barker