A wooden cabin built between two trees. A man approaches, armed with a double-barrelled rifle; he has left his snowmobile a hundred metres off.

Advancing cautiously between the trees, he observes a fine column of smoke wafting from the chimney. The place is inhabited, the snow around the house well-trodden.

The man, who has a frozen beard, takes a small box from his pocket and presses the red button, sending a satellite signal for reinforcements. He leans with his back against the cabin, straining his ears until he can just make out a regular creaking sound. He can’t tell whether these are footsteps, or the flames in the fireplace. He crouches down to pass under the window without being seen, then glances furtively around. He spots somebody inside by the fire, a pencil in his hand and a notebook on his lap.

The man stands in front of the door and loads his rifle. In one movement he throws himself against the door, forcing it open with his shoulder. He enters, spins round, then aims his weapon at a girl lying under some blankets.

“Don’t move!” he shouts.

He seems nervous.

“Where’s he gone? I saw someone else.”

The girl stares at him.

“You’ve found me,” she answers. “Take me. I’m alone.”

The man peers into the gloom, as if there’s something he doesn’t understand.

A shadow suddenly rises up behind him and rolls through his legs, grabbing hold of his rifle after causing him to stumble.

In a matter of seconds, the man is disarmed by a sixteen-year-old boy who points the rifle at him. The notebook lies on the floor.

“You’re not having her,” says the boy. “She’s starting to get better.”

The man stares at the girl. He bites his lip, unable to take his eyes off her face.

“You’re the…”

Tears wet his frosted eyelids.

“You’re … Celeste?”

She looks at him. She’s never seen this man before in her life.

“I don’t know you,” she says.

“That’s right,” the man confirms. “Nobody knows who I am. I’m just a trapper from the North. Why would anyone know my name? But you…? The entire planet knows about you, Celeste.”

The silence in the cabin has become electric.

The boy lowers his weapon to listen to the trapper.

“Everybody knows your story. You’ve changed the world…”

If the girl seems surprised, her companion has suddenly turned very pale.

“Bryce…” he whispers. “Bryce must have succeeded after all. The photos—”

“The photos are everywhere,” the trapper interrupts. “Something extraordinary has happened. Everything has changed. People no longer go about their lives the way they did before. And … what about you, Celeste… Have you … recovered?”

As Celeste stands up, the blankets fall to the floor and she wraps her coat more tightly around her.

“Yes, I’m doing better. But what about our planet?”

A broad smile lights up the trapper’s face. The smile of a doctor greeting parents when their child is finally out of danger. The smile of a notifying officer informing the next of kin that a soldier has survived, against the odds. The dazzling smile that accompanies the happy announcement of life’s big news.

“What about our planet?” Celeste asks again, her eyes shiny.

The man smiles, takes a long, deep breath and begins to speak.