2025.02.19 — Morning
The next morning, another problem arose.
Three U.S. soldiers arrived at the team’s lodging with a document.
Ronald met them.
The soldier at the front showed Ronald his identification and handed him the document.
It was a formal order issued by the Indonesian authorities—effectively a stop-work and withdrawal order.
Ronald looked down at the document. He checked the issuing authority and the date, then read the section identifying the affected area.
It stated that an area including the team’s lodging and TB-2/3 had been newly designated for a safety assessment.
Until the safety assessment of the designated area is complete, the following measures apply:
1. Suspension of field investigations and excavation work within the area.
2. Restricted access to the designated area.
3. All research personnel currently working in the designated area must withdraw from it by the designated deadline of 2025/02/20.
The notice was brief. It did not say what had been confirmed or what kind of danger was anticipated.
Ronald checked the section specifying the affected area again.
“So this isn’t limited to the excavation site?”
“No. The order applies to the entire designated area.”
“And that includes these premises too?”
“All locations within the designated area are subject to the order.”
Whatever Ronald asked, they gave him nothing beyond what was written in the order.
“How long will the suspension last?”
Ronald asked.
“That hasn’t been determined. Permission to resume will not be granted until the area has been confirmed safe.”
“So we can’t stay here and wait?”
“That is not permitted. You must withdraw from the designated area by tomorrow.”