| episode 5 – Federal Response |
As dawn breaks, Jake, Eric, Mimi, Stanley, and a deputy are gathered in Mary’s bar. They have been up all night playing cards. During some light conversation, Mimi notes the stillness of the town and how it unsettles her. Jake sympathizes, confessing that it was one reason for his leaving — but the deputy chimes in, offering to reveal the actual reason Jake left. Jake stops him. Confident in her ability to read people, Mimi offers her own speculation of why Jake left — that he ran from the pressure of being a popular and athletic youth. The guys laugh knowingly and tell her she’s way off the mark, hinting that he was a notorious screw-up.
Mary steps aside with Eric to speak privately about the status of their plan. With their hands lingering in a subtle caress, Eric assures her that he’ll talk to April that evening about ending their marriage. Mimi and Jake observe their visible chemistry from afar.
Suddenly the electricity comes back on and telephones all over town start ringing. They deliver a recorded message from Assistant Secretary Walsh of the Department of Homeland Security telling everyone to remain calm and that help is on the way. The Emergency Alert System is put into place as televisions display a message ordering citizens to stand by for further instructions.
At an internet café, Skylar tries unsuccessfully to check her email for any messages from her parents. Allison assists her and discovers that the government has blocked all IP addresses on the internet.
Jake, weary from lack of sleep, checks in with his father and Eric. They decide to attempt telephone contact with the National Guard base in Great Bend as soon as the lines free up. With the situation pretty much stable for the time being, Jake decides to head home.
Allison’s increasing resentment toward her father brings out her rebellious side when, after she has showered, he tells her to clean the bathtub and fill it with water. She walks out on him as he sternly explains that they need to prepare for another power outage. Darcy, who was listening the entire time, thinks that he is being too hard on Allison and reminds him that she is his daughter and not an employee. With a sense of mysterious urgency in his voice, he replies, "I don’t know how long I’ll be here. So whatever I’ve got to teach her, it needs to happen now."
Jake arrives at his parents’ house where he and his mother talk about what Jake will do next, suspecting that he will just leave again. The lights start flickering, and Jake recognizes it as a power spike. Meanwhile Heather and Emily watch their students playing in the fountain outside the town library. They comment on how normal everything is when another power spike blows up a transformer on the library’s roof, setting it ablaze and severing several power lines, one of which falls and severely shocks Emily. As firefighters arrive, they are forced to divide their resources between the library and a fire at the trailer park. April and an EMS team also arrive, and she begins to work on Emily.
Hawkins sets up a portable satellite transceiver in his backyard, to which he connects his laptop. With the "EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM PLEASE STAND BY" message showing on his screen, he types a string of invisible characters to access a login prompt. He takes out his America Express charge card, turns it upside down, and apparently reads it as he types an ID into the prompt. This bypasses the IP block and accesses a web page
