lake_bed.mp4

[Archivists note: Brief transcript describing lake_bed.mp4. Author unknown.]

The footage is shot on an R4x Sylvo smartphone, vertical orientation, 1080p at 60fps, no audio. The phone is resting on the ground, propped upright by something out of view. It records a desert lake bed, desiccation cracks in the dried mud, harsh sun, clear blue skies. The only flora visible is a dead cluster of White Ash Meadows Ivesia about thirty feet away from camera. This endangered plant places us somewhere in southern Nevada or northern Arizona.

In the ground a line has been drawn. Judging by the coloration and scattering patterns of the dirt, it was likely put there 5-10 minutes before filming. The line begins at the bottom of the frame, and stretches off in a gradual arc until it slips out of view near the top right corner of the frame.

We hold on this image for 1m 37s, at which point the first event occurs. A dust devil, 10-15 feet in height, swirls up in the distant background, moving from camera left to right, then back again. Some claim a humanoid shape is visible in the swirling dust, but our analysis found no such thing. It is likely a rumor spread by those who have not actually seen the footage, or people simply seeing what they want to see. The dust devil dissipates after 33s.

2m 12s clock by until the next event occurs: A four-toed jerboa (aka kangaroo mouse, notably foreign to North America) hops into frame, camera right. It lingers at the edge of frame, approximately 3 feet away from the phone. It has cold blue eyes, a genetic mutation exceptionally rare for the species–this and the aforementioned foreignness probably means it is an illegal exotic pet. It takes three leftward hops, then pauses, big ears angled forward. After 5s it continues to hop forward until it stops roughly 3 inches before the line. It holds there, sniffing the air for 7s, then hops over the line. It barely takes two hops, then instantaneously drops flat to the ground. It lays there, completely inert, not even breathing. By all accounts a sudden death. No sign of injury or any other external factors. No more events of note occur for the remainder of the footage's 10m 38s runtime.

[Archivists: Document ends here.]