the motor's deafening whine, and Carter shouts a warning through the door. Maya transforms into a mountain gorilla and forces the hatch open. She jerks the motor's power cable right out of the wall, narrowly averting a nuclear explosion. As the Moon moves closer to the space phenomenon, the instruments begin detecting electrical activity resembling the lambda waves produced in the human brain. Helena recognises it to be the lambda variant, a rare wave-pattern discovered during research into ESP and human parapsychology. Koenig authorises experiments to determine if the lambda variant could be investing the Alphans with paranormal powers. After the first round of tests, Helena presents her findings to Koenig. The lambda variant has created above-average psi powers in over ninety percent of the Alpha population. Three subjects have demonstrated extraordinary paranormal abilities: Carl Renton, Pete Garforth and Carolyn Powell. Throughout the briefing, Koenig struggles with exhaustion. He rejects Helena's offer of a sedative, revealing the insomnia is intentional—he is afraid to sleep. During astronaut training, Koenig accompanied a mission to the Venus space station. On arrival, the crew found the station's personnel had contracted a deadly, possibly extraterrestrial, disease. These men were abandoned, lest Earth be exposed to a lethal pandemic. Two of their own crew had already boarded the station—Koenig's best friend, Sam, and Sam's fiancée, Tessa. They, too, were left to perish. Now, their ghosts invade his dreams, blaming him for their deaths. He cites the irony that whether he decides to sleep or not, the consequences of either choice will drive him mad. Sanders has been avoiding Carolyn for days. When they meet, he states his feeling for her have changed—then announces their relationship is over. After he leaves, a seething Carolyn vows she will never let him go. Later, Sanders walks the corridors—failing at first to notice the lights fading in his wake. Suddenly hit by a blast of wind, he is forced into a cul-de-sac. While a smirking Carolyn watches from the shadows, Sanders' body is pulped by the unseen force. Not long after, the senior executives inspect the scene. Though an energy surge was detected within the phenomenon at the time of Sanders' death, Verdeschi is convinced the killer is Carolyn. Helena insists any of the three 'sensitives' could be responsible; one final test should pinpoint the culprit. Maya has improvised a force-field to block the lambda variant; anyone shielded within who