- Alan ponders the meaning of life, and of why he's found himself in the middle of desert.
- He goes back to Charlie Fallon's bizarre suicide, witnessed by everyone yet somehow unpreventable. Alan recalls the police saying that they couldn't do better because of budget cuts.
- Alan and Brad continue to try to figure out the wi-fi issue, but the desert heat is so intense that Alan can't bear to go walking around to check infrastructure.
- He learns from Brad that their contact is called Karim, and he should be somewhere in the "Black Box" (a.k.a. the Welcome Center).
- Alan will attempt to find him once he recovers from his bout of near-heatstroke.