Deep in the Allegheny Mountains, an abandoned open-pit coal mine had been filled in.
It was once a scar on the face of Pennsylvania, where black coal ash covered everything and acidic mine water flowed through the ravines.
But now, the area had been repaved with thousands of tons of concrete, and massive steel-frame structures were rising from the ground.
Dozens of tower cranes rotated under the gray sky, their mechanical grinding echoing throughout the valley.
This was Site One of the Pennsylvania Computing Power Special Zone.
A massive, temporary white tent stood in the center of the leveled, barren mining area.
The tent was surrounded by broadcast vans bearing the logos of various stations. Reporters from CNN, Fox News, and the Associated Press set up their cameras and long lenses in the mud.
Satellite dishes pointed toward the sky, and cables snaked haphazardly across the ground.
Outside the police cordon stood over a thousand witnesses.
