On the outskirts of the southwestern Texas town, the five ride by a large gathering of village children who are being entertained by toying with scorpions placed in the middle of a caged colony of red fire ants - in reaction shots, the cruel children watch and giggle as the struggling scorpions are tortured and consumed by the swarming ants.Once they arrived at the Russian border, Sophia""s mother continued to grouse about the physical discomforts of the cold environment: "It is cold.In the first light of the prehistoric dawn on the second day, a tall, black, rectangular monolithic slab (THE FIRST MONOLITH), with an eerie humming sound - symbolic of the religious/spiritual unknown - materializes in the midst of their den.Marcus onRegula I, and ordered her to give up all her materials related to Project Genesis months earlier than planned for use on Ceti Alpha VI (mind-controlled Chekov claimed it was Admiral Kirk""s order); when Kirk was notified with a garbled message, he changed course towardRegula Ito investigate Marcus"" complaint; theEnterprisewas ambushed and fired upon (with the deaths and injuries of some young cadets), and Khan was revealed to be in command (with right-hand man Joachim (Judson Scott)), demanding the Genesis Project materials.