The Colony (2009–…): Season 1, Episode 6 - Loss and Communication - full transcript
We are on the edge of a global catastrophic disaster.
Human conflict.
Nuclear bombs.
Natural disasters.
Chemical and biological warfare.
Without warning, the world as we know it
can come to an end.
Narrator: 31 days ago, a group of volunteers
entered a 10-week experiment
to see if they
can survive and rebuild
after a simulated viral outbreak
leaves Los Angeles and the rest of the planet devastated.
Their new home,
a cordoned-off, 80.000-square-foot warehouse
near downtown Los Angeles.
They started
with no electricity...
No water...
...and no communication with the outside world.
They're not broadcasting.
They're just transmitting.
As part of the experiment
an outside gang
of looters and thugs
challenge the colonists’ resources and security.
So far, the volunteers have turned the warehouse
into their home,
and after defending their food and water supplies...
How dare you?!
Narrator: ...they’ve come together as a family.
Now they focus on communication...
This is gonna be pretty caveman.
Narrator: ...and lose one of their own.
Vladimir: We left a man behind.
Do you know what that means?!
Over a month of surviving in the warehouse,
has taken a toll on the volunteers.
Oh, god.
John C.: I think everybody is finding this hard.
I'm feeling physically
very tired
And emotionally very tired.
Allison: we have chosen a place to call home
that, if you really look at it
it's pretty filthy
and we have a kitchen
In the middle of a warehouse where we cook our food.
This is the water we use and reuse over and over.
It's not the healthiest place
to live.
It's not the healthiest way of living.
As a nurse, I've been keeping an eye on everybody.
And everyone's starting to kind of break down a little bit
Narrator:
The colonists have suffered
minor injuries and infections.
In the environment
of a filthy warehouse
even a scratch
must be monitored carefully.
George: in this situation
we need to be worried
about preventative health-care.
Things that before were inconsequential
now potentially can result in death.
After a disaster,
survivors need a sanitary place to treat injuries and heal.
If they can't find one,
they may be susceptible to life-threatening illnesses.
Narrator: Trauma nurse Allison and Dr. George
Start building a clinic.
George: and we need to have a proper medical clinic.
Granted, we've been fortunate
that there's only been mild injuries.
We're working
with powerful electricity,
flammable stuff, heavy machinery,
and we re drinking river water.
So invariably someone's gonna get significantly injured.
Someone's gonna get sick.
And we haven't had a proper area to treat them.
We've just been working out of a first-aid kit
picked a room up here which is out of the way.
It has good ventilation.
We're really cleaning it.
We swept it we mopped it.
You know, we can have an area that's somewhat quarantined
rather than being
in our sleeping area
where we can all get infected and wiped out
at the snap of a finger.
Narrator: With the finishing touches in place,
the colony clinic
Is open for business.
Come on up.
[laughs] Take my vital signs.
Yeah.
Wait till you get in.
Oh, look how clean.
Wow how nice.
What do you think of our clinic?
I like it. I like it.
George: so if we have
a medical-record book here,
So we're gonna examine everybody in the crew
for, you know, acute issues as
well as just health maintenance.
So, we'll put your weight in here,
and, you know, at some point
we ll do just a standard exam and whatnot.
So, right there you're at 152.
I'm usually around 158.
Narrator: After weeks of rationed food
and long work days,
some of the colonists are losing
a substantial amount of weight
George: The body needs energy.
it needs fuel.
If your energy requirements
are more than what you ve been putting in for fuel,
then you re gonna be in a catabolic state.
you'll be incredibly languid.
You won't be able to reason well.
Your blood pressure goes low.
Your heart rate goes up.
That can eventually become dangerous.
Narrator: With health a concern, Dr. George calls a meeting.
One thing we do need is medical supplies.
We've been incredibly lucky that in these six weeks
no one's gotten seriously injured.
That's not gonna last forever.
I think its imperative that we take a trip
to get adequate medical supplies,
stock up on antibiotics, stock up on your medication.
Narrator: As part of the experiment,
an abandoned hospital
with limited supplies
is being made accessible to the colonists.
Also, in a hospital, there's lots of other supplies.
There's food. There's bedding.
There's towels.
There's cleaning supplies.
There's electronic supplies.
Do you want to take a party there?
-Yeah
I'd like to do it today.
Narrator: To help carry the looted supplies,
Machinist John C.
and handyman Mike use parts
from the solar-panel dollies scavenged last week.
John C.: what we're trying to do is
build some carts real quick.
This time want to make sure
we can grab everything and bring it back.
Michael: We've got one kind of together,
and one needs to go together,
and we re scrambling right now to get it done.
Allison: We've got a few flashlights,
'Cause I m sure there's no electricity.
We wont be able to see.
It'll be dark on the inside.
Crowbars in case we need to break open into any doors.
And then we'll all be carrying a weapon.
Narrator: With the makeshift carts ready to roll,
the team goes over their plan.
George: so, ideally, once we secure
the area, we re gonna scramble.
Allison and I are gonna be primarily responsible
For all the medical supplies.
We need to make this as quick as possible.
Protection is key. This can certainly be a hairy situation.
There's always someone on the team
That is a forward lookout.
Narrator: With 30 years of combat experience
in Croatia and Southeast Asia
Vladimir knows how to run a search party.
We do no separate until we clear the rooms.
I used to go on reconnaissance missions,
And I don't leave anyone behind.
We don't go in floors by ourselves,
Even if we're in pairs-- floor-by-floor.
We got all the tools. We got water.
We have a means of transporting
Whatever we forage back to the place.
We're ready to go.
-Great.
Narrator: Allison, George,
John C., Vlad, and Mike are making the excursion.
Good luck, you guys.
-Vladimir: okay
Stick to the plan! We ll see
You guys for lunch, right?
It's locked.
George: let's go around back.
Allison: let's go around back.
It's all clear right here.
There's all kinds of stuff here.
Here we go. Here we go.
We have tons of [bleep] here.
This is a pharmacy.
-Oh, man.
Blood-pressure cuff.
Michael: alright let's move. Let's roll.
John C.: are we clear on this level?
It's all clear.
Who's walking point?
Allison: George.
I don t know. George
has gone a little bit too far.
Michael: Let's check this out.
You guys, I think we're good
Baby wipes. Look at that.
George, George.
-George, we're separate.
I'm right here.
Michael: we got a bed in here. Electronics...
Computers.
I want to check out that boil room.
Maintenance tools, who knows what?
Gasoline, generator parts.
We're good.
Let's go to the next room.
Okay.
Big boiler room and not much else.
I don't...
George: There's gasoline, Mike.
I knew it.
Five gallons
Five gallons
Is five gallons.
Why don't you run it up
and come back down?
I'll be down here,
rummaging around all right?
All right. Be careful, man.
I'm not too confident about
leaving you down here alone.
Alright?
I got my ax.
I'll holler if I need you.
Scream.
Make haste.
Betadine sticks.
Oh.
Ooh, Cannulas.
Michael:
What do you guys got there?
Is it that important?
I've got computers downstairs.
I got a couple of beds.
I got five gallons of gas.
George is down there still looking around.
You just left him by himself?
I'm going back for George.
We cannot leave anyone alone.
Us three finish this hallway
and then meet them down there.
Yeah, let's get the heck out of here.
-Okay.
George?
George, where are you?
George?
George!
George?
George?
Guys, did George come back?
Mike, you don't know where George is?
Montella: People often go
missing during a catastrophe.
Over 700 people went missing after Hurricane Katrina.
In some cases, it took months for families to become reunited.
Narrator: To simulate the loss of a loved one
During a disaster,
Dr. George is removed from the experiment.
Michael: he was downstairs.
He's not downstairs anymore.
He went too far. I cant find him.
Allison: Okay, we all need to stop what we're doing and go.
Yep, let's go down to the other end
and find curious George.
Narrator: None of the colonists have been informed
of George's whereabouts or if he will return.
Vladimir: Where did you last see him, Mike?
Right down here.
George?!
George!
Michael:
Trust me, he went way down.
He went way down here.
Come on down.
Allison: George?!
Dead end. Dead end.
Hes not down here.
Let's go back up.
We're running upstairs and there's no George.
George?
Kind of went into like a shock and a panic,
and just wanted to run throughout that whole hospital,
searching for George
And screaming George's name.
George?
Michael: We're running through the rooms.
We don't find anything.
Nothing. It dead-ends out.
George?
George!
We searched and searched for hours and hours and hours.
No sign of George.
We've been through here before.
George?!
George?!
Narrator: After several futile hours of looking for George,
The colonists leave the hospital.
He's not here. He has disappeared.
A person will experience grief
Over the unexpected parting of a loved one, a child,
Or anyone for whom they've established a strong attachment
Narrator: The volunteers have survived marauders,
gun-toting traders, and an internal attack.
Now they've lost one of their own.
George!
Damn it, Mike, can you imagine what [bleep]
I told him to stay in the basement!
I didn't tell him to take a walk!
I didn't tell him to go exploring!
What do we do?!
We could sit here all day!
We could sit here all day and search!
We searched the place twice!
Vladimir: This is majorly [bleep] up.
It's majorly [bleep] up.
John C.: I hate to say it.
I actually agree with
Mike to a certain point.
I mean, we've searched.
I mean, it's screwed up.
John C.: Everybody's pissed off.
They didn't want to leave him.
But I had to make the call. It just killed me.
I'm sorry. We got to go.
I know. I'm sorry.
[breathing heavily]
We gotta go , man.
The rage is reminding me
of all those horrible things that I have seen in the past.
I've lost friends left and right
I've lost them to bullets.
I've lost them to shrapnel.
I've lost them to bombs.
But I never left them behind.
John C.: Not good.
-No?
Go Allison.
No, not good at all.
Where's George?
Where's George?
George is gone.
George
-Who?
I don't see George.
John C.! Come here.
Okay, is everyone --
Wait a second.
Is everyone here right now?
2,4,6,8,9
Okay, from the very beginning,
Who was with George?
Who was supposed to be
with George?with George?
What happened?
We went down to the boiler room to look for stuff.
I found gasoline, and he'says go on up, take the gasoline up.
I said, don t go anywhere. Just stay here in the boiler room.
I'm gonna run the gas back up, and we'll keep looking.
Don't go any further.
We've been looking ever since we've been gone.
I mean, we just got in there.
We just started grabbing stuff.
Allison: We dropped everything.
And spent the last however long we were there looking for him.
We were in every hall.
Every part of that basement,
Every part of that hospital.
Yeah, I mean, there was no other choice.
Came down to the point where we had to bail out.
Leilani: I definitely feel guilt for not being there.
And him going missing
Is just as much my fault than the four that went,
because I should have been there.
And I wouldn't have left George
behind, either. I;m sorry.
Don't you look at me and say that!
Don't you look at me and say that!
I wouldn't leave anyone behind.
Neither would I! Okay?!
You would have left him behind if you were in our situation.
You would've had to.
John C.: I had to make the call. We had to leave.
There was three other people plus myself.
I had to go, so if you’re gonna be pissed at anybody,
Be pissed at me.
Vladimir: I know
what we did today was wrong.
We left one of ours behind.
This goes against my grain.
This goes against everything that i've learned.
This goes against everything
That I have ever done in my life.
Vladimir: have you guys ever been in combat?
Have you ever guys been shot at in combat?
I've done all of that.
I've never left a man
behind till today!
I've never left a man
Behind till today!
We left a man behind.
Do you know what that means?!
[glass breaks]
[glass breaks]
So we've got to go back.
I'm fresh. I'm ready to go.
Joe is freah. He's ready to go.
Vladimir: Nobody's going without me.
Nobody's going without me.
Vlad. I - I know, okay?
I'll get the door.
Michael: as Vlad says,
We don't leave a man behind, so we went back looking.
Leilani: I needed to see everything.
We still have to look.
self defense ease instructor
we still have to look.
We still have to make sure there wasn't a door
ease instructor
we still have to make sure there wasn ta door
or a little small crevice or something
that would have given us some sort of clue.
Joey: George?!
We did our best.
We searched everywhere.
We checked absolutely every possible corner that we could.
George? George?!
We didn't see anything.
George!
Doesn't look good.
It's not in here.
That's it.
Allison: a kidnapping
or an uncertain disappearance
or someone gone missing
really brings up all kinds of emotions,
from an internal panic to kind of a sadness
to like an eternal hope that we find him.
We all were in different positions, you know? like...
we can't take blame.
Dr. Snetter:
The first stage of grief
is generally a combination of shock and denial,
where survivors rationalize their feelings
by denying the reality of the loss that they've experienced.
He obviously wasn't there.
So, I mean he would have said --
In his mind, he would have told you 'Get out.'
Leilani: You have to disregard that guilt feeling
of leaving a man behind.
His body wasn't there.
No remnants of him was there.
He wasn't left behind.
He was gone.
Beep
Guys?! Whoa.
Hey, guys, come here!
Man: this is not a test
this is a national emergency.
Michael: well, for the'second time, the grid came on.
This time we got
the same message on the TV,
the standard
Emergency-Broadcast repeater.
Narrator: As part of the experiment,
the warehouse power is turned on,
and the colonists' TV blares an emergency transmission.
Stay tuned to this channel for further instructions.
Montella:
After a major catastrophe,
Communications systems often break down.
When they come back online,
Survivors get their first glimpse of a return to normalcy.
Narrator:
But the power quickly vanishes,
Leaving the colonists
to ponder their next step.
If we really want to get out of here,
We need to know
as much information as we can.
Where are we going?
Who else is out there?
What's the'state of the country or the world?
With George gone, it's even more important
that we can get the word out
Narrator: So far, the colonists have tried to stay isolated.
Now they want to see who's out there.
What I think we would do
is we would send out a message
saying we were looking for George.
If he's injured somewhere and he's in another colony
or, you know, a government installation,
If anyone is listening who has any knowledge,
But it's just a thing to try.
Now we've got to reach out
to get him to us.
Narrator: With renewed hope of outside contact,
the volunteers focus all their attention on communications.
What do you guys think about trying to build,
Like, a transmitter and receiver?
We can build an old, like, turn-of-the-last-century
kind of spark-gap transmitter.
With 28 years of experience as a computer engineer,
John C. is a natural fit to lead off with the first build.
Our big theme right now
is to try to reach out and see
If there’s other people with information,
Find out what they know.
So let me start quickly with my idea on the transmitter.
This is gonna be pretty caveman,
but I think what we can do is go back about 100 years
to when people were using just spark-gap transmitters.
Narrator: A spark-gap transmitter
is a rudimentary communications system similar to a telegraph.
When somebody pushes the key down for, like, morse code,
it'll send high voltage to here.
It'll charge up this capacitor.
When the capacitor gets high enough voltage,
It'll break down across the spark-gap
With a big, noisy "KRG!"
Narrator: To get the transmitter up and running,
John will need to build four main components.
First, he'll create a capacitor,
a device that stores electrical energy.
Second, he'll build a spark-gap,
a mechanism that will activate the stored energy.
Third, he'll assemble a transformer
to turn the electrical energy into radio waves.
And finally, he'll wire up an antenna
to broadcast the radio waves
over the A.M. band,
so anybody who's listening would hear it.
They'd recognize it as code.
The spark-gap transmitter
is the most primitive means of radio communication.
It was the primary means of communication
between ships in the 1900s.
Narrator: If the transmitter works,
the colonists will also need a receiver
to hear messages
from anyone who responds
Rocket Scientist Morgan
is in charge of the design.
The receivers actually pretty simple.
We're gonna have the antenna here.
Its gonna come down to an induction coil
insulated wire around some kind of plastic bottling
and then here
We ll put the headphones.
We should be able to hear this transmitter
Running on the receiver, and we'll tell them,
You know, come back to us at this time.
And we should be able to tune the receiverand hear.
Narrator: In his workshop, John C. demonstrates
how the capacitor for his transmitter will work.
Well, we re gonna store energy
in this sandwich
Of aluminum foil and glass.
Narrator: The capacitor will store the electrical energy
that will eventually get broadcast out as radio waves.
I need about 400 square inches of sandwich.
So that's about a 20-by-20 piece.
So I'll end up making a sandwich
that looks like that about 20-by-20.
Narrator: If John C. Can get the transmitter working,
the colonists will need to let outsiders know
that they re broadcasting.
In the yard, Allison and Mike
work on a massive visual solution to the problem.
Michael: Now we're gonna
figure out a big "S.O.S." here.
And then here it's gonna say,
"X-mitt in A.M."
Well, this is our outline.
And then we're gonna paint with black paint.
The letters "S.O.S."
Will communicate that the colonists need help.
And if any rescuers doubt the'sincerity of their plea,
the phrase 'Transmit in A.M.'
will tell them how to contact the colonists.
If there's anyone out there that's listening
would have an A.M. receiver on,
They’d hear us,
Anyone from a municipality to military to air force.
. M**’* “
Anyone from a municipality to military to air force.
Anyone from a municipality to military to air force.
I mean, we'd get out.
Narrator: In the shop, John C. Now works
on the second stage of his transmitter, the spark gap
John C.: The way this works
is we re gonna start out with 110 volts from our inverter
Ultimately from the solar panels.
It's going to go through this switch,
which were gonna use as a Morse-code key.
When I click this switch down,
it converts 110 volts to about 12,000 volts.
It'll jump about this far across air.
Narrator: When the spark gap is engaged,
it will activate the stored energy in the capacitor.
John C.: So whenever you hit this key,
You'll see a spark jump across here.
And the electrical energy will get sent
Capacitor and the electrical energy will get sent
to the next stage of the project,
The still-to-be-built
Transformer.
The colonists are throwing themselves into their work.
but some can't let go of George.
It seems kind of stupid to be hopeful.
I like to, unfortunately, think of the worst,
and that way if the best happens,
you're just pleasantly surprised instead of crushed.
As the reality of grief beings to set in,
survivors often retreat to a period of introspection
That frequently leads to depression.
I don't want to go through this without George.
[Sniffling]
Narrator: The loss of Dr. George has motivated the colonists
to ramp up their communication efforts.
and strengthen Contractor Joey's conviction
That they need an exit strategy.
Joey: Let's get that truck going
so we can get out of here.
That's what we should be working on.
Narrator: The volunteers realize that the colony's location
doesn't make sense for long-term survival.
With their resources dwindling,
they've decided to turn a broken-down flatbed truck
into an escape vehicle.
So far, they've gotten the engine running...
It runs!
Narrator:
...and the bed stripped.
Now Joey's going to work on the truck's deck
and install a tank for water storage.
Joey: This is my first battle truck.
But, you know, you lean on the basics
of what I've always done, which is the framing
the same as making counter-tops for a kitchen.
Basically, the floor has been laid.
We also have hatch doors, smuggle doors that come out
so we can access this one right here.
And I'm thinking instead of having benches right here
so we can access this,
When the walls go up, we can have flip-down benches.
Narrator: As Joey continues his work on the truck,
Vladimir has a communication idea
That s a lot louder than static on an A.M. radio.
Vladimir: We're making fireworks
so George can see the sky and know this is for him.
Right now what I have is string
Narrator: Using leftover charcoal from the gasifier,
Vladimir coats the makeshift fuse.
With the fuse a success,
the next step is to gather the materials they'll need
to make the fireworks.
Yep. We could take this one here.
Okay.
This is going to be our launcher.
Okay.
To hold the fireworks,
they cut a length of A.B.S. pipe into six 12-inch launchers.
Perfect.
While Vladimir and Allison cut down the pipe,
across the warehouse
Morgan continues to work on her receiver project.
First, she wraps copper coil
Around an old peanut-butter jar.
Then she extends an antenna wire
and secures it to the roof of the colony.
Morgan: I just finished putting an antenna up on the roof,
and now we'll be able to hopefully hear something.
Narrator: Morgan attaches her receiver
to an old telephone headset
to listen for any form of radio communication.
By moving an alligator clip across the wires,
she can pick up different A.M. frequencies.
The more winds in the coil where she touches,
the lower the frequency on the A.M. band.
The receiver works, but no one is broadcasting.
Morgan: It might take a while to hear a response, you know?
It could be a week, could be four.
I keep listening just in case.
Narrator: Meanwhile Vlad searches the warehouse
for the most important ingredient to the fireworks
Gunpowder.
Look at this.
Shot gun shells.
That's gonna give us extra gunpowder.
You gonna unload those?
Yeah.
...so I could get the shot out.
See, this is number 5.
Okay?
-Cool.
But, yes...
I don't wanna blow off the roof.
While Vladimir and Allison fill the cardboard tubes
with gunpowder and other combustible ingredients
found in the warehouse,
Morgan continues
With her receiver project.
Morgan: right now, I 'm trying to hook up the TV
to make the sound audible without a headset.
By using something with a board already in there,
I'm able to kind of steal its circuits
to use it to amplify the sound.
Narrator: By connecting the receiver
To a TV powered by the colony s solar panels,
Morgan will hear any incoming radio transmissions
throughout the warehouse.
But right now, we're just gonna use it
to try and find help or George
or someone who can help us find George.
Okay.
Narrator: In the shop Vlad, Joey, and Allison
transport the finished fireworks to the roof.
Allison: How am I going to
get on the roof with this?
Just..uhh...walk over there.
Hand 'em up to me, and I'll pull them up.
Here.
Okay, I got this one.
Okay.
Perfect.
You alright?
-Alright.
The other way.
-Towards me?
Right. Like this.
Okay.
...and another one right in the middle
Narrator: Next, Vlad rigs a detonation system
so he can safely set off the fireworks from the yard.
Okay, so we go right here,
and hopefully
right here, and we're gonna
go right here.
It is working!
Coming up on "The Colony,"
shouting out to George...
That would be a bad sign.
...devastates
The colony s power supply.
Michael: Oh, that did not just happen!
Allison: Since George's disappearance,
I've already been through many emotions,
like shock and being scared to being sad.
Some people are taking it a lot harder than others.
Michael: George's disappearance really weighs heavy on my mind.
I should have just dragged him up with me,
No ifs, ands, or buts.
but he insisted on staying,
so I feel responsible for his disappearance.
John C.: Right now, I 'm just, you know, hoping and praying
That we re gonna get George back and trusting that we will.
Narrator: As the colonists get back to work on their projects,
Mike and Allison head outside to check on the S.O.S. sign.
So, Mike and I just finished the sign, the S.O.S. sign.
We're asking Amy now to help us get the sign
to the highest point of the rooftop
Amy: Watch your head.
You okay? Are you up?
Yeah, I'm up.
I'm gonna throw it, and it’s gonna go behind you.
Okay.
There it is.
With George being gone,
we put up a huge sign, a big S.O.S. banner,
not only for him to see but also to explain
to any other survivors that we were transmitting.
Get that corner over a little more.
This side?
Yeah.
There you go.
There you go.
Wow. Great job.
I'll just tie it up.
You got that?
-Yeah.
Sure? okay.
Come on, man.
Wow
Holy crap.
Voila!
If anyone gets to see that sign,
They ll know that we're here, and they can come help us.
And maybe it's just another sign
that George can see to lead him home.
So we're hoping
That the sign does good deeds.
Narrator: Contractor Joey, has finished
the deck of the escape vehicle.
Now it's time to install the water-storage tank.
Joey: The water that will go into this
will be purified from our purification system
Go for it. Pull it up.
This has a capacity of 75 gallons.
We're gonna do the best we can.
Obviously a lot of our water goes towards other things,
like cleaning our utensils or showering.
That’s not gonna be the case on this trip.
This is gonna be solely for drinking purposes.
Narrator: With the deck and water storage in place,
the colonists are one step closer
to driving out of their bleak urban setting.
Great job, Joey. You're really making progress.
Yep.
In the back of the warehouse,
John C. Enlists machinist John V.
to help fabricate the next step of his transmitter,
the transformer.
A spool-like housing threaded with copper wire
that should transform electricity into radio waves.
It's gonna be like a funky plant stand.
John C. Will drill holes in circles of wood
to fit PVC pipe tubes where the wire coil will be wrapped.
Alright ,beautiful.
- Bent to order. So...
My first bar tap transmitter.
There ya go.
Morgan winds the copper wire through the PVC pipes.
This outer coil that
Morgan and I are now winding,
works with the capacitor to set
the frequency of the transmitter.
And you know what we can do?
Morgan, we could use your receiver
to see if it's working.
-To see if it's working, yeah.
It's time for John C. to install
the final component of the transmitter, the antenna.
...Yeah, exactly.
And after a meal of beansand rice...
Just get one wire from there to here.
John C. and Morgan
put the finishing touches on the build
and are ready for a test run.
Okay, we're gonna turn this thing on...
...and if all works well,
Mmm hmm.
Nothing will happen
-There won't be a fire.
John C.: Electricity can be incredibly useful.
It can also be incredibly dangerous.
The higher the voltage, the greater the danger.
What we want to look for is any arcing between the glass.
But we don t want to see any white-hot sparks, okay?
So that would be a bad sign.
The only spark we really want to see is right here.
So I want you to stand back a little bit.
Okay, you guys ready?
Here goes nothing.
Okay, one, two, three.
[electricity crackling]
What?
Michael: oh, no
Aw, that did not just happen!
Oh my God.
Michael: We might have toasted this.
When you hit your spark gap, it causes a short.
Morgan: that's the only time it was on.
Oh my God.
-Okay.
Almost starting a fire.
[sighs]
We're gonna have to wait till morning till we can fix this.
Michael: I don't even wanna
talk about it more. I'm exhausted.
Narrator: When day breaks, John C. and Michael discover
that the fan in the inverter has been fried
making it susceptible to overheating.
So, find some fans, Man.
I'll find some fans.
John C. removes the fan
from an old computer in the warehouse.
And Mike installs it on the inverter.
So I'll pull the fans up so the air flows,
and we're gonna stick
a fan on the back of it here.
Exactly, but that's the most likely scenario.
[ beeping]
Aw, how about that.
John C. and Joey reconnect the inverter to the battery bank,
Which restores the colony's power supply.
But John decides not to risk any more trauma to the inverter,
which means he needs to find
an alternative source of electricity for his transmitter.
John C.: Right now, I'm gonna spend a little time
seeing if I can actually put it on battery power
because that would solve the mains problem,
but it also allows us to take it with us.
Narrator: John's plan is to create
an isolated high-voltage power-supply
using a single car battery and harvested electronics.
I'm taking a lot of electronic components out of stuff I found.
Usually use precision instruments.
Not here in the colony.
Want to get that nice and hot
Ah. Just what we were looking for.
Narrator: If it works, he'll be able
to transform simple battery power
into the high voltage needed to create a spark-gap
[electricity crackling]
Use these simple components
to create 12,000 volts of alternating current
Narrator: The system works.
John C.: That's 1,000 times
we've upped the voltage from here to here.
[chuckles]
Whoa.
Narrator: Now it s time to test the transmitter.
Michael: So, what's up?
Alright, Mike, this is the acid test, so move back.
I might just hit an S.O.S. just to see.
[electricity crackling]
We're live. Mike, we're live.
We're transmitting. Hey you guys, we re transmitting.
Back up.
-Are you doing Morse Code?
Whoa! Look at thing!
What are you saying, John?
"Colony in search
of government institution.
Subject to attacks and kidnappings.
Need food, water, protection, medicine, and info."
Narrator: If Morgans receiver
picks up the transmission,
the spark-gap transmitter will be a success.
Morgan: Well, John is transmitting the spark,
which should be going out through the airwaves,
The airwaves
That I m picking up.
Alright, John, hit it!
[Buzzing]
That it?
That's John.
Are you serious?
Hey John, we can hear it.
It works!
I knew that people had built spark-gap transmitters.
I'd never had the opportunity to build one.
It made the success that much sweeter.
So we're on the Air.
-We're on the Air.
Exactly.
-Allison: This is huge
X-mitting on A.M.
-Alright.
Michael: That transmitter will
transmit for miles and miles and miles.
Next best thing to having a cellphone.
Narrator: The colonists gather to launch the fireworks.
Vladimir: Hey, watch the wire here.
Okay, guys.
Come on, lets see them.
Let's see them.
Allison: you guys, this is huge.
-This is amazing.
This might find George tonight.
Michael: Good thoughts. Hoping George is watching.
Vladimir: Okay, Guys. This is for George.
10...
9, 8, 7...
6, 5, 4...
3, 2, 1.
There we go!
Lighting the fuse.
-Oh no...
Morgan: Did it light the fuse?
Hang on.
-Leilani: Okay.
Hang on.
Okay.
-Okay.
Alright, guys.
Well, it was a good try.
George: I feel like it was
Beautiful to be a part of something,
That we were trying to create something good.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
I really, really care a great deal
and love everyone
that was thrown into it with me.
And I m gonna miss them
and do everything I can to get back there.
Human conflict.
Nuclear bombs.
Natural disasters.
Chemical and biological warfare.
Without warning, the world as we know it
can come to an end.
Narrator: 31 days ago, a group of volunteers
entered a 10-week experiment
to see if they
can survive and rebuild
after a simulated viral outbreak
leaves Los Angeles and the rest of the planet devastated.
Their new home,
a cordoned-off, 80.000-square-foot warehouse
near downtown Los Angeles.
They started
with no electricity...
No water...
...and no communication with the outside world.
They're not broadcasting.
They're just transmitting.
As part of the experiment
an outside gang
of looters and thugs
challenge the colonists’ resources and security.
So far, the volunteers have turned the warehouse
into their home,
and after defending their food and water supplies...
How dare you?!
Narrator: ...they’ve come together as a family.
Now they focus on communication...
This is gonna be pretty caveman.
Narrator: ...and lose one of their own.
Vladimir: We left a man behind.
Do you know what that means?!
Over a month of surviving in the warehouse,
has taken a toll on the volunteers.
Oh, god.
John C.: I think everybody is finding this hard.
I'm feeling physically
very tired
And emotionally very tired.
Allison: we have chosen a place to call home
that, if you really look at it
it's pretty filthy
and we have a kitchen
In the middle of a warehouse where we cook our food.
This is the water we use and reuse over and over.
It's not the healthiest place
to live.
It's not the healthiest way of living.
As a nurse, I've been keeping an eye on everybody.
And everyone's starting to kind of break down a little bit
Narrator:
The colonists have suffered
minor injuries and infections.
In the environment
of a filthy warehouse
even a scratch
must be monitored carefully.
George: in this situation
we need to be worried
about preventative health-care.
Things that before were inconsequential
now potentially can result in death.
After a disaster,
survivors need a sanitary place to treat injuries and heal.
If they can't find one,
they may be susceptible to life-threatening illnesses.
Narrator: Trauma nurse Allison and Dr. George
Start building a clinic.
George: and we need to have a proper medical clinic.
Granted, we've been fortunate
that there's only been mild injuries.
We're working
with powerful electricity,
flammable stuff, heavy machinery,
and we re drinking river water.
So invariably someone's gonna get significantly injured.
Someone's gonna get sick.
And we haven't had a proper area to treat them.
We've just been working out of a first-aid kit
picked a room up here which is out of the way.
It has good ventilation.
We're really cleaning it.
We swept it we mopped it.
You know, we can have an area that's somewhat quarantined
rather than being
in our sleeping area
where we can all get infected and wiped out
at the snap of a finger.
Narrator: With the finishing touches in place,
the colony clinic
Is open for business.
Come on up.
[laughs] Take my vital signs.
Yeah.
Wait till you get in.
Oh, look how clean.
Wow how nice.
What do you think of our clinic?
I like it. I like it.
George: so if we have
a medical-record book here,
So we're gonna examine everybody in the crew
for, you know, acute issues as
well as just health maintenance.
So, we'll put your weight in here,
and, you know, at some point
we ll do just a standard exam and whatnot.
So, right there you're at 152.
I'm usually around 158.
Narrator: After weeks of rationed food
and long work days,
some of the colonists are losing
a substantial amount of weight
George: The body needs energy.
it needs fuel.
If your energy requirements
are more than what you ve been putting in for fuel,
then you re gonna be in a catabolic state.
you'll be incredibly languid.
You won't be able to reason well.
Your blood pressure goes low.
Your heart rate goes up.
That can eventually become dangerous.
Narrator: With health a concern, Dr. George calls a meeting.
One thing we do need is medical supplies.
We've been incredibly lucky that in these six weeks
no one's gotten seriously injured.
That's not gonna last forever.
I think its imperative that we take a trip
to get adequate medical supplies,
stock up on antibiotics, stock up on your medication.
Narrator: As part of the experiment,
an abandoned hospital
with limited supplies
is being made accessible to the colonists.
Also, in a hospital, there's lots of other supplies.
There's food. There's bedding.
There's towels.
There's cleaning supplies.
There's electronic supplies.
Do you want to take a party there?
-Yeah
I'd like to do it today.
Narrator: To help carry the looted supplies,
Machinist John C.
and handyman Mike use parts
from the solar-panel dollies scavenged last week.
John C.: what we're trying to do is
build some carts real quick.
This time want to make sure
we can grab everything and bring it back.
Michael: We've got one kind of together,
and one needs to go together,
and we re scrambling right now to get it done.
Allison: We've got a few flashlights,
'Cause I m sure there's no electricity.
We wont be able to see.
It'll be dark on the inside.
Crowbars in case we need to break open into any doors.
And then we'll all be carrying a weapon.
Narrator: With the makeshift carts ready to roll,
the team goes over their plan.
George: so, ideally, once we secure
the area, we re gonna scramble.
Allison and I are gonna be primarily responsible
For all the medical supplies.
We need to make this as quick as possible.
Protection is key. This can certainly be a hairy situation.
There's always someone on the team
That is a forward lookout.
Narrator: With 30 years of combat experience
in Croatia and Southeast Asia
Vladimir knows how to run a search party.
We do no separate until we clear the rooms.
I used to go on reconnaissance missions,
And I don't leave anyone behind.
We don't go in floors by ourselves,
Even if we're in pairs-- floor-by-floor.
We got all the tools. We got water.
We have a means of transporting
Whatever we forage back to the place.
We're ready to go.
-Great.
Narrator: Allison, George,
John C., Vlad, and Mike are making the excursion.
Good luck, you guys.
-Vladimir: okay
Stick to the plan! We ll see
You guys for lunch, right?
It's locked.
George: let's go around back.
Allison: let's go around back.
It's all clear right here.
There's all kinds of stuff here.
Here we go. Here we go.
We have tons of [bleep] here.
This is a pharmacy.
-Oh, man.
Blood-pressure cuff.
Michael: alright let's move. Let's roll.
John C.: are we clear on this level?
It's all clear.
Who's walking point?
Allison: George.
I don t know. George
has gone a little bit too far.
Michael: Let's check this out.
You guys, I think we're good
Baby wipes. Look at that.
George, George.
-George, we're separate.
I'm right here.
Michael: we got a bed in here. Electronics...
Computers.
I want to check out that boil room.
Maintenance tools, who knows what?
Gasoline, generator parts.
We're good.
Let's go to the next room.
Okay.
Big boiler room and not much else.
I don't...
George: There's gasoline, Mike.
I knew it.
Five gallons
Five gallons
Is five gallons.
Why don't you run it up
and come back down?
I'll be down here,
rummaging around all right?
All right. Be careful, man.
I'm not too confident about
leaving you down here alone.
Alright?
I got my ax.
I'll holler if I need you.
Scream.
Make haste.
Betadine sticks.
Oh.
Ooh, Cannulas.
Michael:
What do you guys got there?
Is it that important?
I've got computers downstairs.
I got a couple of beds.
I got five gallons of gas.
George is down there still looking around.
You just left him by himself?
I'm going back for George.
We cannot leave anyone alone.
Us three finish this hallway
and then meet them down there.
Yeah, let's get the heck out of here.
-Okay.
George?
George, where are you?
George?
George!
George?
George?
Guys, did George come back?
Mike, you don't know where George is?
Montella: People often go
missing during a catastrophe.
Over 700 people went missing after Hurricane Katrina.
In some cases, it took months for families to become reunited.
Narrator: To simulate the loss of a loved one
During a disaster,
Dr. George is removed from the experiment.
Michael: he was downstairs.
He's not downstairs anymore.
He went too far. I cant find him.
Allison: Okay, we all need to stop what we're doing and go.
Yep, let's go down to the other end
and find curious George.
Narrator: None of the colonists have been informed
of George's whereabouts or if he will return.
Vladimir: Where did you last see him, Mike?
Right down here.
George?!
George!
Michael:
Trust me, he went way down.
He went way down here.
Come on down.
Allison: George?!
Dead end. Dead end.
Hes not down here.
Let's go back up.
We're running upstairs and there's no George.
George?
Kind of went into like a shock and a panic,
and just wanted to run throughout that whole hospital,
searching for George
And screaming George's name.
George?
Michael: We're running through the rooms.
We don't find anything.
Nothing. It dead-ends out.
George?
George!
We searched and searched for hours and hours and hours.
No sign of George.
We've been through here before.
George?!
George?!
Narrator: After several futile hours of looking for George,
The colonists leave the hospital.
He's not here. He has disappeared.
A person will experience grief
Over the unexpected parting of a loved one, a child,
Or anyone for whom they've established a strong attachment
Narrator: The volunteers have survived marauders,
gun-toting traders, and an internal attack.
Now they've lost one of their own.
George!
Damn it, Mike, can you imagine what [bleep]
I told him to stay in the basement!
I didn't tell him to take a walk!
I didn't tell him to go exploring!
What do we do?!
We could sit here all day!
We could sit here all day and search!
We searched the place twice!
Vladimir: This is majorly [bleep] up.
It's majorly [bleep] up.
John C.: I hate to say it.
I actually agree with
Mike to a certain point.
I mean, we've searched.
I mean, it's screwed up.
John C.: Everybody's pissed off.
They didn't want to leave him.
But I had to make the call. It just killed me.
I'm sorry. We got to go.
I know. I'm sorry.
[breathing heavily]
We gotta go , man.
The rage is reminding me
of all those horrible things that I have seen in the past.
I've lost friends left and right
I've lost them to bullets.
I've lost them to shrapnel.
I've lost them to bombs.
But I never left them behind.
John C.: Not good.
-No?
Go Allison.
No, not good at all.
Where's George?
Where's George?
George is gone.
George
-Who?
I don't see George.
John C.! Come here.
Okay, is everyone --
Wait a second.
Is everyone here right now?
2,4,6,8,9
Okay, from the very beginning,
Who was with George?
Who was supposed to be
with George?with George?
What happened?
We went down to the boiler room to look for stuff.
I found gasoline, and he'says go on up, take the gasoline up.
I said, don t go anywhere. Just stay here in the boiler room.
I'm gonna run the gas back up, and we'll keep looking.
Don't go any further.
We've been looking ever since we've been gone.
I mean, we just got in there.
We just started grabbing stuff.
Allison: We dropped everything.
And spent the last however long we were there looking for him.
We were in every hall.
Every part of that basement,
Every part of that hospital.
Yeah, I mean, there was no other choice.
Came down to the point where we had to bail out.
Leilani: I definitely feel guilt for not being there.
And him going missing
Is just as much my fault than the four that went,
because I should have been there.
And I wouldn't have left George
behind, either. I;m sorry.
Don't you look at me and say that!
Don't you look at me and say that!
I wouldn't leave anyone behind.
Neither would I! Okay?!
You would have left him behind if you were in our situation.
You would've had to.
John C.: I had to make the call. We had to leave.
There was three other people plus myself.
I had to go, so if you’re gonna be pissed at anybody,
Be pissed at me.
Vladimir: I know
what we did today was wrong.
We left one of ours behind.
This goes against my grain.
This goes against everything that i've learned.
This goes against everything
That I have ever done in my life.
Vladimir: have you guys ever been in combat?
Have you ever guys been shot at in combat?
I've done all of that.
I've never left a man
behind till today!
I've never left a man
Behind till today!
We left a man behind.
Do you know what that means?!
[glass breaks]
[glass breaks]
So we've got to go back.
I'm fresh. I'm ready to go.
Joe is freah. He's ready to go.
Vladimir: Nobody's going without me.
Nobody's going without me.
Vlad. I - I know, okay?
I'll get the door.
Michael: as Vlad says,
We don't leave a man behind, so we went back looking.
Leilani: I needed to see everything.
We still have to look.
self defense ease instructor
we still have to look.
We still have to make sure there wasn't a door
ease instructor
we still have to make sure there wasn ta door
or a little small crevice or something
that would have given us some sort of clue.
Joey: George?!
We did our best.
We searched everywhere.
We checked absolutely every possible corner that we could.
George? George?!
We didn't see anything.
George!
Doesn't look good.
It's not in here.
That's it.
Allison: a kidnapping
or an uncertain disappearance
or someone gone missing
really brings up all kinds of emotions,
from an internal panic to kind of a sadness
to like an eternal hope that we find him.
We all were in different positions, you know? like...
we can't take blame.
Dr. Snetter:
The first stage of grief
is generally a combination of shock and denial,
where survivors rationalize their feelings
by denying the reality of the loss that they've experienced.
He obviously wasn't there.
So, I mean he would have said --
In his mind, he would have told you 'Get out.'
Leilani: You have to disregard that guilt feeling
of leaving a man behind.
His body wasn't there.
No remnants of him was there.
He wasn't left behind.
He was gone.
Beep
Guys?! Whoa.
Hey, guys, come here!
Man: this is not a test
this is a national emergency.
Michael: well, for the'second time, the grid came on.
This time we got
the same message on the TV,
the standard
Emergency-Broadcast repeater.
Narrator: As part of the experiment,
the warehouse power is turned on,
and the colonists' TV blares an emergency transmission.
Stay tuned to this channel for further instructions.
Montella:
After a major catastrophe,
Communications systems often break down.
When they come back online,
Survivors get their first glimpse of a return to normalcy.
Narrator:
But the power quickly vanishes,
Leaving the colonists
to ponder their next step.
If we really want to get out of here,
We need to know
as much information as we can.
Where are we going?
Who else is out there?
What's the'state of the country or the world?
With George gone, it's even more important
that we can get the word out
Narrator: So far, the colonists have tried to stay isolated.
Now they want to see who's out there.
What I think we would do
is we would send out a message
saying we were looking for George.
If he's injured somewhere and he's in another colony
or, you know, a government installation,
If anyone is listening who has any knowledge,
But it's just a thing to try.
Now we've got to reach out
to get him to us.
Narrator: With renewed hope of outside contact,
the volunteers focus all their attention on communications.
What do you guys think about trying to build,
Like, a transmitter and receiver?
We can build an old, like, turn-of-the-last-century
kind of spark-gap transmitter.
With 28 years of experience as a computer engineer,
John C. is a natural fit to lead off with the first build.
Our big theme right now
is to try to reach out and see
If there’s other people with information,
Find out what they know.
So let me start quickly with my idea on the transmitter.
This is gonna be pretty caveman,
but I think what we can do is go back about 100 years
to when people were using just spark-gap transmitters.
Narrator: A spark-gap transmitter
is a rudimentary communications system similar to a telegraph.
When somebody pushes the key down for, like, morse code,
it'll send high voltage to here.
It'll charge up this capacitor.
When the capacitor gets high enough voltage,
It'll break down across the spark-gap
With a big, noisy "KRG!"
Narrator: To get the transmitter up and running,
John will need to build four main components.
First, he'll create a capacitor,
a device that stores electrical energy.
Second, he'll build a spark-gap,
a mechanism that will activate the stored energy.
Third, he'll assemble a transformer
to turn the electrical energy into radio waves.
And finally, he'll wire up an antenna
to broadcast the radio waves
over the A.M. band,
so anybody who's listening would hear it.
They'd recognize it as code.
The spark-gap transmitter
is the most primitive means of radio communication.
It was the primary means of communication
between ships in the 1900s.
Narrator: If the transmitter works,
the colonists will also need a receiver
to hear messages
from anyone who responds
Rocket Scientist Morgan
is in charge of the design.
The receivers actually pretty simple.
We're gonna have the antenna here.
Its gonna come down to an induction coil
insulated wire around some kind of plastic bottling
and then here
We ll put the headphones.
We should be able to hear this transmitter
Running on the receiver, and we'll tell them,
You know, come back to us at this time.
And we should be able to tune the receiverand hear.
Narrator: In his workshop, John C. demonstrates
how the capacitor for his transmitter will work.
Well, we re gonna store energy
in this sandwich
Of aluminum foil and glass.
Narrator: The capacitor will store the electrical energy
that will eventually get broadcast out as radio waves.
I need about 400 square inches of sandwich.
So that's about a 20-by-20 piece.
So I'll end up making a sandwich
that looks like that about 20-by-20.
Narrator: If John C. Can get the transmitter working,
the colonists will need to let outsiders know
that they re broadcasting.
In the yard, Allison and Mike
work on a massive visual solution to the problem.
Michael: Now we're gonna
figure out a big "S.O.S." here.
And then here it's gonna say,
"X-mitt in A.M."
Well, this is our outline.
And then we're gonna paint with black paint.
The letters "S.O.S."
Will communicate that the colonists need help.
And if any rescuers doubt the'sincerity of their plea,
the phrase 'Transmit in A.M.'
will tell them how to contact the colonists.
If there's anyone out there that's listening
would have an A.M. receiver on,
They’d hear us,
Anyone from a municipality to military to air force.
. M**’* “
Anyone from a municipality to military to air force.
Anyone from a municipality to military to air force.
I mean, we'd get out.
Narrator: In the shop, John C. Now works
on the second stage of his transmitter, the spark gap
John C.: The way this works
is we re gonna start out with 110 volts from our inverter
Ultimately from the solar panels.
It's going to go through this switch,
which were gonna use as a Morse-code key.
When I click this switch down,
it converts 110 volts to about 12,000 volts.
It'll jump about this far across air.
Narrator: When the spark gap is engaged,
it will activate the stored energy in the capacitor.
John C.: So whenever you hit this key,
You'll see a spark jump across here.
And the electrical energy will get sent
Capacitor and the electrical energy will get sent
to the next stage of the project,
The still-to-be-built
Transformer.
The colonists are throwing themselves into their work.
but some can't let go of George.
It seems kind of stupid to be hopeful.
I like to, unfortunately, think of the worst,
and that way if the best happens,
you're just pleasantly surprised instead of crushed.
As the reality of grief beings to set in,
survivors often retreat to a period of introspection
That frequently leads to depression.
I don't want to go through this without George.
[Sniffling]
Narrator: The loss of Dr. George has motivated the colonists
to ramp up their communication efforts.
and strengthen Contractor Joey's conviction
That they need an exit strategy.
Joey: Let's get that truck going
so we can get out of here.
That's what we should be working on.
Narrator: The volunteers realize that the colony's location
doesn't make sense for long-term survival.
With their resources dwindling,
they've decided to turn a broken-down flatbed truck
into an escape vehicle.
So far, they've gotten the engine running...
It runs!
Narrator:
...and the bed stripped.
Now Joey's going to work on the truck's deck
and install a tank for water storage.
Joey: This is my first battle truck.
But, you know, you lean on the basics
of what I've always done, which is the framing
the same as making counter-tops for a kitchen.
Basically, the floor has been laid.
We also have hatch doors, smuggle doors that come out
so we can access this one right here.
And I'm thinking instead of having benches right here
so we can access this,
When the walls go up, we can have flip-down benches.
Narrator: As Joey continues his work on the truck,
Vladimir has a communication idea
That s a lot louder than static on an A.M. radio.
Vladimir: We're making fireworks
so George can see the sky and know this is for him.
Right now what I have is string
Narrator: Using leftover charcoal from the gasifier,
Vladimir coats the makeshift fuse.
With the fuse a success,
the next step is to gather the materials they'll need
to make the fireworks.
Yep. We could take this one here.
Okay.
This is going to be our launcher.
Okay.
To hold the fireworks,
they cut a length of A.B.S. pipe into six 12-inch launchers.
Perfect.
While Vladimir and Allison cut down the pipe,
across the warehouse
Morgan continues to work on her receiver project.
First, she wraps copper coil
Around an old peanut-butter jar.
Then she extends an antenna wire
and secures it to the roof of the colony.
Morgan: I just finished putting an antenna up on the roof,
and now we'll be able to hopefully hear something.
Narrator: Morgan attaches her receiver
to an old telephone headset
to listen for any form of radio communication.
By moving an alligator clip across the wires,
she can pick up different A.M. frequencies.
The more winds in the coil where she touches,
the lower the frequency on the A.M. band.
The receiver works, but no one is broadcasting.
Morgan: It might take a while to hear a response, you know?
It could be a week, could be four.
I keep listening just in case.
Narrator: Meanwhile Vlad searches the warehouse
for the most important ingredient to the fireworks
Gunpowder.
Look at this.
Shot gun shells.
That's gonna give us extra gunpowder.
You gonna unload those?
Yeah.
...so I could get the shot out.
See, this is number 5.
Okay?
-Cool.
But, yes...
I don't wanna blow off the roof.
While Vladimir and Allison fill the cardboard tubes
with gunpowder and other combustible ingredients
found in the warehouse,
Morgan continues
With her receiver project.
Morgan: right now, I 'm trying to hook up the TV
to make the sound audible without a headset.
By using something with a board already in there,
I'm able to kind of steal its circuits
to use it to amplify the sound.
Narrator: By connecting the receiver
To a TV powered by the colony s solar panels,
Morgan will hear any incoming radio transmissions
throughout the warehouse.
But right now, we're just gonna use it
to try and find help or George
or someone who can help us find George.
Okay.
Narrator: In the shop Vlad, Joey, and Allison
transport the finished fireworks to the roof.
Allison: How am I going to
get on the roof with this?
Just..uhh...walk over there.
Hand 'em up to me, and I'll pull them up.
Here.
Okay, I got this one.
Okay.
Perfect.
You alright?
-Alright.
The other way.
-Towards me?
Right. Like this.
Okay.
...and another one right in the middle
Narrator: Next, Vlad rigs a detonation system
so he can safely set off the fireworks from the yard.
Okay, so we go right here,
and hopefully
right here, and we're gonna
go right here.
It is working!
Coming up on "The Colony,"
shouting out to George...
That would be a bad sign.
...devastates
The colony s power supply.
Michael: Oh, that did not just happen!
Allison: Since George's disappearance,
I've already been through many emotions,
like shock and being scared to being sad.
Some people are taking it a lot harder than others.
Michael: George's disappearance really weighs heavy on my mind.
I should have just dragged him up with me,
No ifs, ands, or buts.
but he insisted on staying,
so I feel responsible for his disappearance.
John C.: Right now, I 'm just, you know, hoping and praying
That we re gonna get George back and trusting that we will.
Narrator: As the colonists get back to work on their projects,
Mike and Allison head outside to check on the S.O.S. sign.
So, Mike and I just finished the sign, the S.O.S. sign.
We're asking Amy now to help us get the sign
to the highest point of the rooftop
Amy: Watch your head.
You okay? Are you up?
Yeah, I'm up.
I'm gonna throw it, and it’s gonna go behind you.
Okay.
There it is.
With George being gone,
we put up a huge sign, a big S.O.S. banner,
not only for him to see but also to explain
to any other survivors that we were transmitting.
Get that corner over a little more.
This side?
Yeah.
There you go.
There you go.
Wow. Great job.
I'll just tie it up.
You got that?
-Yeah.
Sure? okay.
Come on, man.
Wow
Holy crap.
Voila!
If anyone gets to see that sign,
They ll know that we're here, and they can come help us.
And maybe it's just another sign
that George can see to lead him home.
So we're hoping
That the sign does good deeds.
Narrator: Contractor Joey, has finished
the deck of the escape vehicle.
Now it's time to install the water-storage tank.
Joey: The water that will go into this
will be purified from our purification system
Go for it. Pull it up.
This has a capacity of 75 gallons.
We're gonna do the best we can.
Obviously a lot of our water goes towards other things,
like cleaning our utensils or showering.
That’s not gonna be the case on this trip.
This is gonna be solely for drinking purposes.
Narrator: With the deck and water storage in place,
the colonists are one step closer
to driving out of their bleak urban setting.
Great job, Joey. You're really making progress.
Yep.
In the back of the warehouse,
John C. Enlists machinist John V.
to help fabricate the next step of his transmitter,
the transformer.
A spool-like housing threaded with copper wire
that should transform electricity into radio waves.
It's gonna be like a funky plant stand.
John C. Will drill holes in circles of wood
to fit PVC pipe tubes where the wire coil will be wrapped.
Alright ,beautiful.
- Bent to order. So...
My first bar tap transmitter.
There ya go.
Morgan winds the copper wire through the PVC pipes.
This outer coil that
Morgan and I are now winding,
works with the capacitor to set
the frequency of the transmitter.
And you know what we can do?
Morgan, we could use your receiver
to see if it's working.
-To see if it's working, yeah.
It's time for John C. to install
the final component of the transmitter, the antenna.
...Yeah, exactly.
And after a meal of beansand rice...
Just get one wire from there to here.
John C. and Morgan
put the finishing touches on the build
and are ready for a test run.
Okay, we're gonna turn this thing on...
...and if all works well,
Mmm hmm.
Nothing will happen
-There won't be a fire.
John C.: Electricity can be incredibly useful.
It can also be incredibly dangerous.
The higher the voltage, the greater the danger.
What we want to look for is any arcing between the glass.
But we don t want to see any white-hot sparks, okay?
So that would be a bad sign.
The only spark we really want to see is right here.
So I want you to stand back a little bit.
Okay, you guys ready?
Here goes nothing.
Okay, one, two, three.
[electricity crackling]
What?
Michael: oh, no
Aw, that did not just happen!
Oh my God.
Michael: We might have toasted this.
When you hit your spark gap, it causes a short.
Morgan: that's the only time it was on.
Oh my God.
-Okay.
Almost starting a fire.
[sighs]
We're gonna have to wait till morning till we can fix this.
Michael: I don't even wanna
talk about it more. I'm exhausted.
Narrator: When day breaks, John C. and Michael discover
that the fan in the inverter has been fried
making it susceptible to overheating.
So, find some fans, Man.
I'll find some fans.
John C. removes the fan
from an old computer in the warehouse.
And Mike installs it on the inverter.
So I'll pull the fans up so the air flows,
and we're gonna stick
a fan on the back of it here.
Exactly, but that's the most likely scenario.
[ beeping]
Aw, how about that.
John C. and Joey reconnect the inverter to the battery bank,
Which restores the colony's power supply.
But John decides not to risk any more trauma to the inverter,
which means he needs to find
an alternative source of electricity for his transmitter.
John C.: Right now, I'm gonna spend a little time
seeing if I can actually put it on battery power
because that would solve the mains problem,
but it also allows us to take it with us.
Narrator: John's plan is to create
an isolated high-voltage power-supply
using a single car battery and harvested electronics.
I'm taking a lot of electronic components out of stuff I found.
Usually use precision instruments.
Not here in the colony.
Want to get that nice and hot
Ah. Just what we were looking for.
Narrator: If it works, he'll be able
to transform simple battery power
into the high voltage needed to create a spark-gap
[electricity crackling]
Use these simple components
to create 12,000 volts of alternating current
Narrator: The system works.
John C.: That's 1,000 times
we've upped the voltage from here to here.
[chuckles]
Whoa.
Narrator: Now it s time to test the transmitter.
Michael: So, what's up?
Alright, Mike, this is the acid test, so move back.
I might just hit an S.O.S. just to see.
[electricity crackling]
We're live. Mike, we're live.
We're transmitting. Hey you guys, we re transmitting.
Back up.
-Are you doing Morse Code?
Whoa! Look at thing!
What are you saying, John?
"Colony in search
of government institution.
Subject to attacks and kidnappings.
Need food, water, protection, medicine, and info."
Narrator: If Morgans receiver
picks up the transmission,
the spark-gap transmitter will be a success.
Morgan: Well, John is transmitting the spark,
which should be going out through the airwaves,
The airwaves
That I m picking up.
Alright, John, hit it!
[Buzzing]
That it?
That's John.
Are you serious?
Hey John, we can hear it.
It works!
I knew that people had built spark-gap transmitters.
I'd never had the opportunity to build one.
It made the success that much sweeter.
So we're on the Air.
-We're on the Air.
Exactly.
-Allison: This is huge
X-mitting on A.M.
-Alright.
Michael: That transmitter will
transmit for miles and miles and miles.
Next best thing to having a cellphone.
Narrator: The colonists gather to launch the fireworks.
Vladimir: Hey, watch the wire here.
Okay, guys.
Come on, lets see them.
Let's see them.
Allison: you guys, this is huge.
-This is amazing.
This might find George tonight.
Michael: Good thoughts. Hoping George is watching.
Vladimir: Okay, Guys. This is for George.
10...
9, 8, 7...
6, 5, 4...
3, 2, 1.
There we go!
Lighting the fuse.
-Oh no...
Morgan: Did it light the fuse?
Hang on.
-Leilani: Okay.
Hang on.
Okay.
-Okay.
Alright, guys.
Well, it was a good try.
George: I feel like it was
Beautiful to be a part of something,
That we were trying to create something good.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
I really, really care a great deal
and love everyone
that was thrown into it with me.
And I m gonna miss them
and do everything I can to get back there.