Pena and his group became aware of the "silence" when they found that it
was impossible to communicate with one another via walkie-talkies: radio waves are not transmitted at the accustomed speed and frequency. Portable radios would emit but the lightest whisper when turned on at full volume. To this day, television signals cannot be received in Ceballos or in the neighboring ranches. Some magnetic force, with the power to dampen radio waves, seems to exist in the region.