The team worked through the night, trying to understand the nature of the signal. They checked for instrumental errors, data processing artifacts, and even potential interference from human technology. But nothing seemed to explain the signal.

| PREAMBLE (8 bits) | SENSOR_ID (4 bits) | DATA (16 bits) | CRC (8 bits) | 0x7E | 0x1..0xA | MSB first | CCITT-8

The team gathered around Maria's workstation, peering at the data on her screen. The signal was a tiny blip, almost imperceptible, but it was definitely there. The team leader, Dr. John Taylor, asked, "Can you isolate the signal, Maria?"