The Signal 2014

Three students from MIT, Jonah, Nic, and Haley, embark on a road trip to take Haley to California, which causes tension in her relationship with Nic. As they travel, Haley feels that Nic is pulling away, but Nic insists that he’s just trying to protect her from the impact of his muscular dystrophy. During their hotel stay, both Nic and Jonah receive a series of unsettling emails from a hacker known as NOMAD, who once came close to having them expelled for a hacking incident at MIT. The duo tracks NOMAD to an abandoned Nevada house and decides to confront him. However, after a fruitless search, they are thrown into chaos when they hear Haley’s scream, prompting them to rush outside, only to witness her being drawn into the sky before vanishing in a blinding light.

When Nic regains consciousness, he finds himself in a sterile underground research facility where he is interrogated by Dr. Wallace Damon. This unsettling encounter reveals that what they faced near the house was an EBE (extraterrestrial biological entity), a claim that Nic struggles to accept at first. The situation becomes more surreal when Dr. Damon shows him video footage capturing an EBE lurking behind a tree, and Nic learns that his legs, once weak but operative, are now entirely numb. Desperate for information about Haley, who lies in a coma, Nic is frustrated by the responses from Dr. Damon. In the dead of night, a security alarm startles the facility, leading to Jonah’s sudden disappearance. The scientists discover scorch marks on the walls, and when Nic inquires about Jonah, he learns a harrowing truth: Jonah was “never recovered” from the house.

Determined to rescue Haley, Nic attempts a bold escape but is thwarted, only to make a shocking discovery that his legs have been replaced with advanced alien prosthetics. With his newfound abilities, he manages to break free, and together with Haley, they find themselves in a desolate desert. Driving an 18-wheeler truck, they seek a way around a vast canyon surrounding the facility. At a visitor center, they encounter Jonah, disguised as a member of the facility’s staff, revealing he too has suffered limb losses due to alien technology. As they confront military personnel at a checkpoint, Jonah tries to hack into their systems but is tragically shot while enabling Nic and Haley to escape.

In a heart-wrenching farewell, Nic and Jonah share a final embrace as Jonah uses his alien-enhanced limbs to fend off the soldiers, providing Nic and Haley a fleeting chance at freedom. As they near a singular bridge leading outside, they are confronted by Dr. Damon and his armed forces, leading to a tense standoff. Haley is whisked away by helicopter, and Damon reveals that he is, in fact, NOMAD, telling Nic that he is “the perfect integration of human will and alien technology.”

Overcome with emotion and fueled by his bionic legs, Nic harnesses their power and sprints towards Haley’s helicopter, only to crash into an invisible barrier, breaking through in the process. He then finds himself in what he initially believes is another facility, only to realize he is inside an alien space habitat numbered 2.3.5.41. As Nic gazes out the window, he discovers that he is on the brink of docking at the aliens’ home world, witnessing the true nature of his predicament as Damon removes his helmet to reveal his robotic form.