,the ,flying ,saucers are ,real by ,donald ,e4 ,keyhoe ,new ,york ,fawcett ,publications1 #aiej scanned at sacred-texts4com1 ,march #bjjb ,this book is in the public domain because it was not renewed in a timely fashion at the ,,us ,copyright ,office1 as required by law at the time4 ,contents ,,chapter ,i4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,to ,helen1 with love ,donald ,e4 ,keyhoe1 who relates here his investigation of the flying saucers1 writes with twenty-five years of experience in observing aeronautical developments4 ,he is a graduate of the ,u4,s4 ,naval ,academy at ,annapolis4 ,he flew in active service with the ,marine ,corps1 managed the tour of the historic plane in which ,bennett and ,byrd made their ,north ,pole flight1 was aide to ,charles ,lindbergh after the famous ,paris flight1 and was chief of information for the ,aeronautics ,branch1 ,department of ,commerce4 ,author's ,note ,,on ,,april #bg1 #aidi1 the ,u4,s4 ,air ,force stated3 8,the mere existence of some yet unidentified flying objects necessitates a constant vigilance on the part of ,project #8,saucer' personnel1 and on the part of the civilian population4 8,answers have been--and will be--drawn from such factors as guided missile research activity1 balloons1 astronomical phenomena4 4 4 4 ,but there are still question marks4 8,possibilities that the saucers are foreign aircraft have also been considered4 4 4 4 ,but observations based on nuclear power plant research in this country label as #8highly improbable' the existence on ,earth of engines small enough to have ,powered the saucers4 8,intelligent life on ,mars 4 4 4 is not impossible but is completely unproven4 ,the possibility of intelligent life on the ,planet ,venus is not considered completely unreasonable by astronomers4 8,the saucers are not jokes4 ,neither are they cause for alarm40#a #a ,project 8,saucer0 ,preliminary ,study of ,flying ,saucers4 ,on ,december #bg1 #aidi1 the ,air ,force denied the existence of flying saucers4#b #b #b4 ,air ,force ,press ,release #fbi-di4' ,on ,december #cj1 #aidi1 the ,air ,force revealed part of a secret ,project 8,saucer0 report to members of the press at ,washington4 ,the official report stated3 8,it will never be possible to say with certainty that any individual did not see a space ship1 an enemy missile1 or some other object40 ,discussing the motives of possible visitors from space1 the report also stated3 8,such a civilization might observe that on ,earth we now have atomic bombs and are fast developing rockets4 ,in view of the past history of mankind1 they should be alarmed4 ,we should therefore expect at this time above all to behold such visitations40 7,in its ,april #bb report1 ,project 8,saucer0 stated that space travel outside the solar system is almost a certainty47 ,on ,february #bb1 #aiej1 the ,air ,force again denied the existence of flying saucers4 ,on this same date1 two saucers reported above ,key ,west ,naval ,air ,station were tracked by radar2 they were described as maneuvering at high speed fifty miles above the earth4 ,the ,air ,force refused to comment4 ,on ,march #i1 #aiej1 a large metallic disk was pursued by ,f-#ea and jet fighters and observed by scores of ,air ,force officers at ,wright ,field1 ,ohio4 ,on ,march #ah1 an ,air ,force spokesman again denied that saucers exist and specifically stated that they were not ,american guided missiles or space-exploration devices4 ,i have carefully examined all ,air ,force saucer reports made in the last three years4 ,for the past year1 ,i have taken part in a special investigation of the flying-saucer riddle4 ,i believe that the ,air ,force statements1 contradictory as they appear1 are part of an intricate program to prepare ,america--and the world--for the secret of the disks4 ,,chapter ,i ,it was a strange assignment4 ,i picked up the telegram from my desk and read it a third time4 ,,new ,,york1 ,n4 ,y41 ,,may #i1 #aidi ,,have ,,been ,,investigating ,,flying ,,saucer ,,mystery4 ,,first ,,tip ,,hinted ,,gigantic ,,hoax ,,to ,,cover ,,up ,,official ,,secret4 ,,believe ,,it ,,may ,,have ,,been ,,planted ,,to ,,hide ,,real ,,answer4 ,,looks ,,like ,,terrific ,,story4 ,,can ,,you ,,take ,,over ,,washington ,,end8 ,,ken ,w4 ,,purdy1 ,,editor1 ,,true ,,magazine ,i glanced out at the ,potomac1 recalling the first saucer story4 ,as a pilot1 ,i'd been skeptical of flying disks4 ,then reports had begun to pour in from ,air ,force and airline pilots4 ,apparently alarmed1 the ,air ,force had ordered fighters to pursue the fast-flying saucers4 ,in one mysterious chase1 a pilot had been killed1 and his death was unexplained4 ,that had been seventeen months ago4 ,since then1 the whole flying-saucer riddle had been hidden behind a curtain of ,air ,force secrecy4 ,and now1 an assignment from ,true magazine on flying saucers4 ,twenty-four hours later1 ,i was in ,ken ,purdy's office4 8,i've had men on this for two months10 he told me4 8,i might as well warn you1 it's a tough story to crack40 8,you think it's a ,russian missile80 ,i asked him4 8,or an ,air ,force secret80 8,we've had several answers4 ,none of them stacks up4 ,but ,i'm positive one was deliberately planted when they found we were checking40 ,he told me the whole story of the work that had been done by the staff of ,true and of the reports sent in by competent writers4 ,the deeper he delved into the mystery1 the tougher the assignment got4 ,the more ,i learned about flying saucers1 the less ,i knew4 8,there's one angle ,i want rechecked10 ,purdy said4 8,you've heard of the ,mantell case80 ,i nodded4 8,o4,k4 ,try to get the details of ,mantell's radio report to ,godman ,tower4 ,before he was killed1 he described the thing he was chasing--we know that much4 ,project #8,saucer' gave out a hint1 but they've never released the transcript4 ,here's another lead4 ,see if you can find anything about a secret picture1 taken at ,harmon ,field1 ,newfoundland--it was around ,july #aidg4 ,i'll send you other ideas as ,i get them40 ,before ,i left1 ,purdy wished me hick and told me that he would work in closest harmony with me4 8,but watch out for fake tips10 he said4 8,you'll probably run into some people at the ,pentagon who'll talk to you #8off the record4' ,that handcuffs a writer4 ,look out they don't lead you into a blind alley4 ,even the ,air ,force statements and the ,project #8,saucer' report contradict each other40 ,for six months1 ,i worked with other investigators to solve the mystery of the disks4 ,we checked a hundred sighting reports1 frequently crossing the trail of ,project 8,saucer0 teams and ,f4,b4,i4 agents4 ,old records gave fantastic leads4 ,so did ,air ,force plans for exploring space4 ,rocket experts1 astronomers1 ,air ,force officials and pilot gave us clues pointing to a startling solution4 ,many intelligent persons--including scientists--believe that the saucers contain spies from another planet4 ,when this first phase was ended1 we were faced with a hard decision4 ,we had uncovered important facts1 ,we knew the saucers were real4 ,if it was handled carefully1 we believed the story would be in line with a secret ,air ,force policy4 ,it was finally decided to publish certain alternate conclusions4 ,the ,air ,force was informed of ,true's intentions2 no attempt was made to block publication4 ,in the ,january #aiej issue of ,true1 ,i reported that we had reached the following conclusions3 #a ,the earth has been observed periodically by visitors from another planet4 #b4 ,this observation has increased markedly in the past two years4 8,the only other possible explanation10 ,i wrote1 8is that1 the saucers are extremely high-speed1 long-range devices developed here on earth4 ,such an advance 7which the ,air ,force has denied7 would require an almost incredible leap in technical progress even for ,american scientists and designers40 ,nation-wide press and radio comment followed the appearance of the article4 ,this publicity was obviously greater than the ,air ,force had expected4 ,within twenty-four hours the ,pentagon was deluged with telegrams1 letters1 and long-distance calls4 ,apparently fearing a panic1 the ,air ,force hastily stated that flying-saucer reports--even those made by its own pilots and high-ranking officers--were mistakes or were caused by hysteria4#c #c ,air ,force press release #fbi-di1 ,december #bg1 #aidi4 ,but three days later1 when it was plain that many ,americans calmly accepted ,true's disclosures1 the ,air ,force released a secret project 8,saucer0 file containing this significant statement3 8,it will never be possible to say with certainty that any individual did not see a space ship1 an enemy missile or other object40 ,in this same document there appears a confidential analysis of ,air intelligence reports4#d ,it is this summary that contains the official suggestion ,of4 space visitors' motives4 ,after stating that such a civilization would obviously be far ahead of our own1 the report adds3 #d ,air ,force ,project 8,saucer0 ,december #cj1 #aidi4 8,since the acts of mankind most easily observed from a distance are ,a-bomb explosions1 we should expect some relation to obtain between the time of the ,a-bomb explosions1 the time at which the space ships are seen1 and the time required for such ships to arrive from and return to home base40 7,in a previous report1 which alternately warned and reassured the public1 the ,air ,force stated that space travel outside the solar system is almost a certainty4#e7 #e ,air ,force report ,m-#bf-di1 ,preliminary ,studies on ,flying saucers1 ,april #bg1 #aidi4 ,since #aidi there has been a steady increase in saucer sightings4 ,most of them have been authentic reports1 which ,air ,force denials cannot disprove4 ,in ,january1 mystery disks were reported over ,kentucky1 ,indiana1 ,texas1 ,pennsylvania1 and several other states4 ,on the ,seattle ,anchorage route1 an air freighter was paced for five minutes by a night-flying saucer4 ,when the pilots tried to close in1 the strange craft zoomed at terrific speed4 ,later1 the airline head reported that ,intelligence officers had quizzed the pilots for hours4 8,from their questions10 he said1 8,i could tell they had a good idea of what the saucers are4 ,one officer admitted they did1 but he wouldn't say any more40 ,another peculiar incident occurred at ,tucson1 ,arizona1 on ,february #a4 ,just at dusk1 a weird1 fiery object raced westward over the city1 astonishing hundreds in the streets below4 ,the ,tucson ,daily ,citizen ran the story next day with a double-banner headline3 ,,flying ,,saucer ,,over ,,tucson8 ,b-#bi ,,fails ,,to ,,catch ,,object ,flying saucer8 ,secret experimental plane8 ,or perhaps a scout craft from ,mars8 ,certainly the strange aircraft that blazed a smoke trail over ,tucson at dusk last night defies logical explanation4 ,it was as mystifying to experienced pilots as to groundlings who have trouble in identifying conventional planes4 ,cannonballing through the sky1 some #cj1jjj feet aloft1 was a fiery object shooting westward so fast it was impossible to gain any clear impression of its shape or size4 4 4 4 ,at what must have been top speed the object spewed out light colored smoke1 but almost directly over ,tucson it appeared to hover for a few seconds4 ,the smoke puffed out an angry black and then be came lighter as the strange missile appeared to gain speed0 ,the radio operator in the ,davis-,monthan air force base control tower contacted ,first ,lt4 ,roy ,l4 ,jones1 taking off for a cross-country flight in a ,b-#bi1 and asked him to investigate4 ,jones revved up his swift aerial tanker and still the unknown aircraft steadily pulled away toward ,california4 ,dr4 ,edwin ,f4 ,carpenter1 head of the ,university of ,arizona department of astronomy1 said he was certain that the object was not a meteor or other natural phenomenon4 4 4 4 ,switchboards ,swamped ,switchboards at the ,pima county sheriff's office and ,tucson police station were jammed with inquiries4 ,hundreds saw the object4 ,tom ,bailey1 #adaa ,e4 #ajth ,street1 thought it was a large airplane on fire4 ,a later check showed no planes missing4 ,he said it wavered from left to right as it passed over the mountains4 ,bailey also noticed that the craft appeared to slow perceptibly over ,tucson4 ,he said the smoke apparently came out in a thin1 almost invisible stream1 gaining substance within a few seconds4 ,this incident had an odd sequel the following day4 ,its significance was not lost on the ,daily ,citizen4 ,it ran another front-page story1 headlined3 ,,what ,,do ,,you ,,mean ,,only ,,vapor ,,trail8 ,as though to prove itself blameless for tilting hundreds of ,tucson heads skyward1 the ,u4,s4 ,air ,force yesterday afternoon spent hours etching vapor trails through the skies over the city4 ,the demonstration proved conclusively to the satisfaction of most that the strange path of dark smoke blazed across the evening sky at dusk ,wednesday was no vapor trail and did not emanate from any conventional airplane4 ,the ,wednesday night spectacle was entirely dissimilar4 ,then1 heavy smoke boiled and swirled in a broad1 dark ribbon fanning out at least a mile in width and stretching across the sky in a straight line4 ,since there was no proof as to what caused the strange predark manifestation1 and because even expert witnesses were unable to explain the appearance1 the matter remains a subject for interesting speculation4 ,there is strong evidence that this story was deliberately kept off the press wires4 ,the ,associated ,press and other wire services in ,washington had no report4 ,requests for details by ,frank ,edwards1 ,mutual newscaster1 and other radio commentators ran into a blank wall4 ,at the ,pentagon ,i was told that the ,air ,force had no knowledge of the sighting or the vapor-trail maneuvers4 ,on ,february #bb two similar glowing objects were seen above ,boca ,chica ,naval ,air ,station at ,key ,west4 ,a plane sent tip to investigate was hopelessly outdistanced2 it was obvious the things were at a great height4 ,back at the station1 radarmen tracked the objects as they hovered for a moment above ,key ,west4 ,they were found to be at least fifty miles above the earth4 ,after a few seconds1 they accelerated at high speed and streaked out of sight4 ,on the following day ,commander ,augusto ,orrego1 a ,chilean naval officer1 reported that saucers had flown above his antarctic base4 8,during the bright antarctic night10 be said1 8we saw flying saucers1 one above the other1 turning at tremendous speeds4 ,we have photographs to prove what we saw40 ,early in ,march1 ,ken ,purdy phoned the latest development in the investigation4 ,he had just received a tip predicting a flurry of saucer publicity during ,march4 ,it had come from an important source in ,washington4 8,you know what it probably means10 he said4 8,the same thing we talked about last month4 ,but why were we tipped off in advance80 8,it's one more piece in the pattern10 ,i said4 8,if the tip's on the level1 then they're stepping up the program40 ,within three days1 reports began to pour in--from ,peru1 ,cuba1 ,mexico1 ,turkey1 and other parts of the world4 ,then on ,march #i a gleaming metallic disk was sighted over ,dayton1 ,ohio4 ,observers at ,vandalia ,airport phoned ,wright-,patterson ,field4 ,scores of ,air ,force pilots and groundmen watched the disk1 as fighters raced up in pursuit4 ,the mysterious object streaked vertically skyward1 hovered for a while miles above the earth1 and then disappeared4 ,a secret report was rushed to the ,civil ,aeronautics ,authority in ,washington1 then turned over to ,air ,force ,intelligence4 ,soon after this ,dr4 ,craig ,hunter1 director of a medical supply firm1 reported a huge elliptical saucer flying at a low altitude in ,pennsylvania4 ,he described it as metallic1 with a slotted outer rim and a rotating ring just inside4 ,on top of this sighting1 thousands of people at ,farmington1 ,new ,mexico1 watched a large formation of disks pass high above the city4 ,throughout all these reports1 the ,air ,force refused to admit the existence of flying saucers4 ,on ,march #ah it flatly denied they were ,air ,force secret missiles or space-exploration devices4 ,three days later1 a ,chicago and ,southern airliner crew saw a fast-flying disk near ,stuttgart1 ,arkansas4 ,the circular craft1 blinking a strange blue-white light1 pulled up in an arc at terrific speed4 ,the two pilots said they glimpsed lighted ports on the lower side as the saucer zoomed above them4 ,the lights had a soft fluorescence1 unlike anything they had seen4 ,there was one peculiar angle in the ,arkansas incident4 ,there was no apparent attempt to muzzle the two pilots1 as in earlier airline cases4 ,instead1 a ,united ,press interview was quickly arranged1 for nation-wide publication4 ,in this wire story ,captain ,jack ,adams and ,first ,officer ,g4 ,w4 ,anderson made two statements3 8,we firmly believe that the flying saucer we saw over ,arkansas was a secret experimental type aircraft--not a visitor from outer space4 4 4 4 8,we know the ,air ,force has denied there is anything to this flying-saucer business1 but we're both experienced pilots and we're not easily fooled40 ,the day after this story appeared1 ,i was discussing it with an airline official in ,washington4 8,that's an odd thing10 he said4 8,the ,air ,force could have persuaded those pilots--or the line president--to hush the thing up4 ,it looks as if they wanted that story broadcast40 8,you mean the whole thing was planted80 8,i won't say that1 though it could have been4 ,probably they did see something4 ,but they might have been told what to say about it40 8,any idea why80 ,he looked at me sharply4 8,you and ,purdy probably know the answer4 ,at a guess1 ,i'd say it might have been planned to offset that ,navy commander's report--the one on the ,white ,sands sightings40 ,the ,white ,sands case had puzzled many skeptics1 because the ,pentagon had cleared the published report4 ,the author1 ,commander ,r4 ,b4 ,mc,laughlin1 was a regular ,navy officer4 ,as a ,navy rocket expert1 he had been stationed at the ,white ,sands ,rocket ,proving ,ground in ,new ,mexico4 ,in his published article he described three disk sightings at ,white ,sands4 ,one of the disks1 a huge elliptical craft1 was tracked by scientists with precision instruments at five miles per second4 ,that's #ah1jjj miles per hour4 ,it was found to be flying fifty-six miles above the earth4 ,two other disks1 smaller types1 were watched from five observation posts on hills at the proving ground4 ,circling at incredible speed1 the two disks paced an ,army high-altitude rocket that had just been launched1 then speeded up and swiftly outclimbed the projectile4 ,commander ,mc,laughlin's report1 giving dates and factual details1 was cleared by the ,department of ,defense4 ,so was a later nation-wide broadcast4 ,then the ,air ,force made its routine denial4 ,why was ,mc,laughlin1 a regular ,navy officer subject to security screening1 permitted to give out this story8 ,was it an incredible slip-up8 ,or was it part of some carefully thought-out plan8 ,i believe it was part of an elaborate program to prepare the ,american people for a dramatic disclosure4 ,for almost a year ,i have watched the behind-the-scenes maneuvers of those who guide this program4 ,in the following chapters ,i have tried to show the strange developments in our search for the answer2 the carefully misleading tips1 the blind alleys we entered1 the unexpected assistance1 the confidential leads1 and the stunning contradictions4 ,it has been a complicated jigsaw puzzle4 ,only by seeing all parts of this intricate picture can you begin to glimpse the reasons for this stubbornly hidden secret4 ,the official explanation may be imminent4 ,when it is finally revealed1 ,i believe the elaborate preparation--even the wide deceit involved--will be fully justified in the minds of the ,american people4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,it has been over two years since the puzzling death of ,captain ,thomas ,mantell4 ,mantell died mysteriously in the skies south of ,fort ,knox4 ,but before his radio went silent1 he sent a strange message to ,godman ,air ,force ,base4 ,the men who heard it will never forget it4 ,it was ,january #g1 #aidh4 ,crowded into the ,godman ,field ,tower1 a group of ,air ,force officers stared up at the afternoon sky4 ,for just an instant1 something gleamed through the broken clouds south of the base4 ,high above the field1 three ,p-#ea fighters climbed with swift urgency4 ,heading south1 they quickly vanished4 ,the clock in the tower read #b3de4 ,colonel ,guy ,hix1 the ,c4,o41 slowly put down his binoculars4 ,if the thing was still there1 the clouds now hid it4 ,all they could do was wait4 ,the first alarm had come from ,fort ,knox1 when ,army ,m4,p4's had relayed a state police warning4 ,a huge gleaming object had been seen in the sky1 moving toward ,godman ,field4 ,hundreds of startled people had seen it at ,madisonville1 ninety miles away4 ,thirty minutes later1 it had zoomed up over the base4 ,colonel ,hix glanced around at the rest of the men in the tower4 ,they all had a dazed look4 ,every man there had seen the thing1 as it barreled south of the field4 ,even through the thin clouds1 its intermittent red glow had hinted at some mysterious source of power4 ,something outside their understanding4 ,it was ,woods1 the exec1 who had estimated its size4 ,hix shook his head4 ,that was unbelievable4 ,but something had hung over ,godman ,field for almost an hour4 ,the ,c4,o4 turned quickly as the loud-speaker1 tuned to the ,p-#ea's1 suddenly came to life4 8,captain ,mantell to ,godman 4 4 4 ,tower ,mantell to ,godman ,tower 4 4 40 ,the flight leader's voice had a strained tone4 8,i've sighted the thing60 he said4 8,it looks metallic--and it's tremendous in size60 ,the ,c4,o4 and ,woods stared at each other4 ,no one spoke4 8,the thing's starting to climb10 ,mantell said swiftly4 8,it's at twelve o'clock high1 making half my speed4 ,i'll try to close in40 ,in five minutes1 ,mantell reported again4 ,the strange metallic object had speeded up1 was now making #cfj or more4 ,at #c3jh1 ,mantell's wingman called in4 ,both he and the other pilot had seen the weird object4 ,but ,mantell had outclimbed them and was lost in the clouds4 ,seven minutes dragged by4 ,the men in the tower sweated out the silence4 ,then1 at #c3ae1 ,mantell made a hasty contact4 8,it's still above me1 making my speed or better4 ,i'm going up to twenty thousand feet4 ,if ,i'm no closer1 ,i'll abandon chase40 ,it was his last report4 ,minutes later1 his fighter disintegrated with terrific force4 ,the falling wreckage was scattered for thousands of feet4 ,when ,mantell failed to answer the tower1 one of his pilots began a search4 ,climbing to #cc1jjj feet1 he flew a hundred miles to the south4 ,but the thing that lured ,mantell to his death had vanished from the sky4 ,ten days after ,mantell was killed1 ,i learned of a curious sequel to the ,godman affair4 ,an ,a4,p4 account in the ,new ,york ,times had caught my attention4 ,the story1 released at ,fort ,knox1 admitted ,mantell had died while chasing a flying saucer4 ,colonel ,hix was quoted as having watched the object1 which was still unidentified4 ,but there was no mention of ,mantell's radio messages--no hint of the thing's tremendous size4 ,though ,i knew the lid was probably on1 ,i went to the ,pentagon4 ,when the scare had first broken1 in the summer of '#dg1 ,i had talked with ,captain ,tom ,brown1 who was handling saucer inquiries4 ,but by now ,brown had been shifted1 and no one in the ,press ,branch would admit knowing the details of the ,mantell saucer chase4 8,we just don't know the answer10 a security officer told me4 8,there's a rumor10 ,i said1 8it's a secret ,air ,force missile that sometimes goes out of control40 8,good ,god1 man60 he exploded4 8,if it was1 do you think we'd be ordering pilots to chase the damned things80 8,no--and ,i didn't say ,i believed it40 ,i waited until he cooled down4 8,this order you mentioned--is it for all ,air ,force pilots1 or special fighter units80 8,i didn't say it was a special order10 he answered quickly4 8,all pilots have routine instructions to report unusual items40 8,they had fighters alerted on the ,coast1 when the scare first broke10 ,i reminded him4 8,are those orders still in force80 ,he shook his head4 8,no1 not that ,i know of40 ,after a moment he added1 8,all ,i can tell you is that the ,air ,force is still investigating4 ,we honestly don't know the answer40 ,as ,i went out the ,mall entrance1 ,i ran into ,jack ,daly1 one of ,washington's veteran newsmen4 ,before the war1 ,jack and ,i had done magazine pieces together1 usually on ,axis espionage and communist activity4 ,i told him ,i was trying to find the answer to ,mantell's death4 8,you heard anything80 ,i asked him4 8,only what was in the ,a4,p4 story10 said ,jack4 8,but an ,i4,n4,s4 man told me they had a saucer story from ,columbus1 ,ohio--and it might have been the same one they saw at ,fort ,knox40 8,i missed that4 ,what was it80 8,they sighted the thing at the ,air ,force field outside of ,columbus4 ,it was around sundown1 about two hours after that pilot was killed in ,kentucky40 8,anybody chase it80 ,i asked4 8,no4 ,they didn't have time to take off1 ,i guess4 ,this ,i4,n4,s4 guy said it was going like hell4 ,fast as a jet1 anyway40 8,did he say what it looked like80 8,the ,air ,force boys said it was as big as a ,c-#dg10 said ,jack4 8,maybe bigger4 ,it had a reddish-orange exhaust streaming out behind4 ,they could see it for miles40 8,if you hear any more1 let me know10 ,i said4 ,jack promised he would4 8,what do you think they are80 he asked me4 8,it's got me stumped4 ,russia wouldn't be testing missiles over here4 ,anyway1 ,i can't believe they've got anything like that4 ,and ,i can't see the ,air ,force letting pilots get killed to hide something we've got40 ,one week later1 ,i heard that a top-secret unit had been set up at ,wright ,field to investigate all saucer reports4 ,when ,i called the ,pentagon1 they admitted this much1 and that was all4 ,in the next few months1 other flying-disk stories hit the front pages4 ,two ,eastern ,airline pilots reported a double-decked mystery ship sighted near ,montgomery1 ,alabama4 ,i learned of two other sightings1 one over the ,pacific ,ocean and one in ,california4 ,the second one1 seen through field glasses1 was described as rocket-shaped1 as large as a ,b-#bi4 ,there were also rumors of disks being tracked by radar1 but it was almost a year before ,i confirmed these reports4 ,when ,purdy wired me1 early in ,may of '#di1 ,i had half forgotten the disks4 ,it had been months since any important sightings had been reported4 ,but his message quickly revived my curiosity4 ,if he thought the subject was hot1 ,i knew he must have reasons4 ,when ,i walked into his office at #fg ,west #ddth1 ,purdy stubbed out his cigarette and shook hands4 ,he looked at me through his glasses for a moment4 ,then he said abruptly3 8,you know anything about the disks80 8,if you mean what they are--no40 ,he motioned for me to sit down4 ,then he swiveled his chair around1 his shoulders hunched forward1 and frowned out the window4 8,have you seen the ,post this week80 ,i told him no4 8,there's something damned queer going on4 ,for fifteen months1 ,project #8,saucer' is buttoned up tight4 ,top secret4 ,then suddenly1 ,forrestal gets the ,saturday ,evening ,post to run two articles1 brushing the whole thing off4 ,the first piece hits the stands--and then what happens80 ,purdy swung around1 jabbed his finger at a document on4 his desk4 8,that same day1 the ,air ,force rushes out this ,project #8,saucer' report4 ,it admits they haven't identified the disks in any important cases4 ,they say it's still serious enough--wait a minute--8he thumbed through the stapled papers--0 #8to require constant vigilance by ,project 8,saucer0 personnel and the civilian population4'0 8,you'd think the ,post would make a public kick10 ,i said4 8,i don't mean it's an out-and-out denial10 said ,purdy4 8,it doesn't mention the ,post--just contradicts it4 ,in fact1 the report contradicts itself4 ,it looks as if they're trying to warn people and yet they're scared to say too much40 ,i looked at the title on the report3 8,a ,digest of ,preliminary ,studies by the ,air ,materiel ,command1 ,wright ,field1 ,dayton1 ,ohio1 on #8,flying ,saucers4'0 8,have the papers caught it yet80 ,i asked ,purdy4 8,you mean its contradicting the ,post80 ,he shook his head4 8,no1 the ,pentagon press release didn't get much space4 ,how many editors would wade through a six-thousand-word government report8 ,even if they did1 they'd have to compare it1 item for item1 with the ,post piece40 8,who wrote the ,post story80 ,purdy lit a cigarette and frowned out again at the skyscrapers4 8,sidney ,shallett--and he's careful4 ,he had ,forrestal's backing4 ,the ,air ,force flew him around1 arranged interviews1 supposedly gave him inside stuff4 ,he spent two months on it4 ,they ,o4,k4'd his script1 which practically says the saucers are bunk4 ,then they reneged on it40 8,maybe some top brass suddenly decided it was the wrong policy to brush it off10 ,i suggested4 8,why the quick change80 demanded ,purdy4 8,let's say they sold the ,post on covering up the truth1 in the interests of security4 ,it's possible1 though ,i don't believe it4 ,or they could simply have fed them a fake story4 ,either way1 why did they rush this contradiction the minute the ,post hit the stands80 8,something serious happened10 ,i said1 8after the ,post went to press40 8,yes1 but what80 ,purdy said impatiently4 8,that's what we've got to find out40 8,does ,shallett's first piece mention ,mantell's death80 8,explains it perfectly4 ,you know what ,mantell was chasing8 ,the planet ,venus60 8,that's the ,post's answer80 ,i said1 incredulously4 8,it's what the ,air ,force contract astronomer told ,shallett4 ,i've checked with two astronomers here4 ,they say that even when ,venus is at full magnitude you can barely see it in the daytime even when you're looking for it4 ,it was only half magnitude that day1 so it was practically invisible40 8,how'd the ,air ,force expect anybody to believe that answer80 ,i said4 ,purdy shrugged4 8,they deny it was ,venus in this report4 ,but that's what they told ,shallett--that all those ,air ,force officers1 the pilots1 the ,kentucky state police1 and several hundred people at ,madisonville mistook ,venus for a metallic disk several hundred feet in diameter40 8,it's a wonder ,shallett believed it40 8,i don't think he did4 ,he says if it wasn't ,venus1 it must have been a balloon40 8,what's the ,air ,force answer80 ,i asked ,purdy4 8,look in the report4 ,they say whatever ,mantell chased--they call it a #8mysterious object'--is still unidentified40 ,i glanced through the case report1 on page five4 ,it quoted ,mantell's radio report that the thing was metallic and tremendous in size4 ,linked with the death of ,mantell was the ,lockbourne1 ,ohio1 report1 which tied in with what ,jack ,daly had told me1 over a year before4 ,i read the report3 8,on the same day1 about two hours later1 a sky phenomenon was observed by several watchers over ,lockbourne ,air ,force ,base1 ,columbus1 ,ohio4 ,it was described as #8round or oval1 larger than a ,c-#dg1 and traveling in level flight faster than #ejj miles per hour4' ,the object was followed from the ,lockbourne observation tower for more than #bj minutes4 ,observers said it glowed from white to amber1 leaving an amber exhaust trail five times its own length4 ,it made motions like an elevator and at one time appeared to touch the ground4 ,no sound was heard4 ,finally1 the object faded and lowered toward the horizon40 ,purdy buzzed for his secretary1 and she brought me a copy of the first ,post article4 8,you can get a copy of this ,air ,force report in ,washington10 ,purdy told me4 8,this is the only one ,i have4 ,but you'll find the same answer for most of the important cases--the sightings at ,muroc ,air ,base1 the airline pilots' reports1 the disks ,kenneth ,arnold saw--they're all unidentified40 8,i remember the ,arnold case4 ,that was the first sighting40 8,you've got contacts in ,washington10 ,purdy went on4 8,start at the ,pentagon first4 ,they know we're working on it4 ,sam ,boal1 the first man on this job1 was down there for a day or two40 8,what did he find out80 8,symington told him the saucers were bunk4 ,secretary ,johnson admitted they had some pictures--we'd heard about a secret photograph taken at ,harmon ,field1 ,newfoundland4 ,the tip said this saucer scared hell out of some pilots and ,air ,force men up there4 8,a major took ,boal to some ,air ,force colonel and ,boal asked to see the pictures4 ,the colonel said they didn't have any4 ,he turned red when the major said ,symington had told ,boal about the pictures40 8,did ,boal get to see them80 ,i said4 8,no10 grunted ,purdy1 8and ,i'll bet twenty bucks you won't1 either4 ,but try1 anyway4 ,and check on a rumor that they've tracked some disks with radar4 ,one case was supposed to be at an ,air ,force base in ,japan40 ,as ,i was leaving1 ,purdy gave me a summary of sighting reports4 8,some of these were published1 some we dug up ourselves10 he said4 8,we got some confidential stuff from airline pilots4 ,it's pretty obvious the ,air ,force has tried to keep them quiet40 8,all right10 ,i said4 8,i'll get started4 ,maybe things aren't sewed up so tightly1 now this report is out40 8,we've found out some things about ,project #8,saucer1' said ,purdy4 8,whether it's a cover-up or a real investigation1 there's a lot of hush-hush business to it4 ,they've got astronomers and astrophysicists working for them1 also rocket expects1 technical analysts1 and ,air ,force ,special ,intelligence4 ,we've been told they can call on any government agency for help--and ,i know they're using the ,f4,b4,i40 ,it was building up bigger than ,i had thought4 8,if national security is involved10 ,i told ,purdy1 8they can shut us up in a hurry40 8,if they tell me so1 ,o4,k410 said ,purdy4 ,he added grimly1 8,but ,i think they're making a bad mistake4 ,they probably think they're doing what's right4 ,but the truth might come out the wrong way40 8,it is possible10 ,i thought1 8that the saucers belong to ,russia40 8,if it turns out to be a ,soviet missile1 count me out10 ,i said4 8,we'd have the ,pentagon and the ,f4,b4,i4 on our necks40 8,all right1 if that's the answer40 ,he chuckled4 8,but you may be in for a jolt40 ,,chapter ,,iii ,just the idea of gigantic flying disks was incredible enough4 ,it was almost as hard to believe that such missiles could have been developed without something leaking out4 ,yet we had produced the ,a-bomb in comparative secrecy1 and ,i knew we were working on long-range guided missiles4 ,there was already a plan for a three-thousand-mile test range4 ,our supersonic planes had hit around two thousand miles an hour4 ,our two-stage rockets had gone over two hundred miles high1 according to reports4 ,if an atomic engine had been secretly developed1 it could explain the speed and range of the saucers4 ,but ,i kept coming back to ,mantell's death and the ,air ,force orders for pilots to chase the saucers4 ,if the disks were ,american missiles1 that didn't jibe4 ,when ,i reached the lobby1 ,i found it was ten after four4 ,i caught a taxi and made the ,congressional ,limited with just one minute to spare4 ,in the club car1 ,i settled down to look at ,purdy's summary4 ,skipping through the pages1 ,i saw several familiar cases4 ,here and there1 ,purdy had scrawled brief comments or suggestions4 ,beside the ,eastern ,airline report of a double-decked saucer1 he had written3 8,check rumor same type seen over ,holland about this date4 ,also1 similar ,philippine ,islands report--date unknown40 ,i went back to the beginning4 ,the first case listed was that of ,kenneth ,arnold1 a ,boise businessman1 who had set off the saucer scare4 ,arnold was flying his private plane from ,chehalis to ,yakima1 ,washington1 when he saw a bright flash on his wing4 ,looking toward ,mount ,rainier1 he saw nine gleaming disks outlined against the snow1 each one about the size of a ,c-#ed4 8,they flew close to the mountaintops1 in a diagonal chainlike line10 he said later4 8,it was as if they were linked together40 ,the disks appeared to be twenty to twenty-five miles away1 he said1 and moving at fantastic speed4 ,arnold's estimate was twelve hundred miles an hour4 8,i watched them about three minutes10 he said4 8,they were swerving in and out around the high mountain peaks4 ,they were flat1 like a pie pan1 and so shiny they reflected the sun like a mirror4 ,i never saw anything so fast40 ,the date was ,june #bd1 #aidg4 ,on this same day there was another saucer report4 which received very little notice4 ,a ,portland prospector named ,fred ,johnson1 who was working up in the ,cascade ,mountains1 spotted five or six disks banking in the sun4 ,he watched them through his telescope several seconds4 then he suddenly noticed that the compass hand on his special watch was weaving wildly from side to side4 ,johnson insisted he had not heard of the ,arnold report1 which was not broadcast until early evening4 ,kenneth ,arnold's story was generally received with amusement4 ,most ,americans were unaware that the ,pentagon had been receiving disk reports as early as ,january4 ,the news and radio comments on ,arnold's report brought several other incidents to light1 which observers had kept to themselves for fear of ridicule4 ,at ,oklahoma ,city1 a private pilot told ,air ,force investigators he had seen a huge round object in the sky during the latter part of ,may4 ,it was flying three times faster than a jet1 he said1 and without any sound4 ,citizens of ,weiser1 ,idaho1 described two strange fast-moving objects they had seen on ,june #ab4 ,the saucers were heading southeast1 now and then dropping to a lower altitude1 then swiftly climbing again4 ,several mysterious objects were reported flying at great speed near ,spokane1 just three days before ,arnold's experience4 ,and four days after his encounter1 an ,air ,force pilot flying near ,lake ,meade1 ,nevada1 was startled to see half a dozen saucers flash by his plane4 ,even at this early point in the scare1 official reports were contradicting each other4 just after ,arnold's story broke1 the ,air ,force admitted it was checking on the mystery disks4 ,on ,july #d the ,air ,force stated that no further investigation was needed2 it was all hallucination4 ,that same day1 ,wright ,field told the ,associated ,press that the ,air ,materiel ,command was trying to find the answer4 ,the ,fourth of ,july was a red-letter day in the flying-saucer mystery4 ,at ,portland1 ,oregon1 hundreds of citizens1 including former ,air ,force pilots1 police1 harbor pilots1 and deputy sheriffs1 saw dozens of gleaming disks flying at high speed4 ,the things2 appeared to be at least forty thousand feet in the air--perhaps much higher4 ,that same day1 disks were sighted at ,seattle1 ,vancouver1 and other northwest cities4 ,the rapidly growing reports were met with mixed ridicule and alarm4 ,one of the skeptical group was ,captain ,e4 ,j4 ,smith1 of ,united ,airlines4 8,i'll believe them when ,i see them10 he told airline employees1 before taking off from ,boise the afternoon of the ,fourth4 ,just about sunset1 his airliner was flying over ,emmett1 ,idaho1 when ,captain ,smith and his copilot1 ,ralph ,stevens1 saw five queer objects in the sky ahead4 ,smith rang for the stewardess1 ,marty ,morrow1 and the three of them watched the saucers for several minutes4 ,then four more of the disks came into sight4 ,though it was impossible to tell their size1 because their altitude was unknown1 the crew was sure they were bigger than the plane they were in4 ,after about ten minutes the disks disappeared4 ,the ,air ,force quickly denied having anything resembling the6 objects ,captain ,smith described4 8,we have no experimental craft of that nature in ,idaho--or anywhere else10 an official said in ,washington4 8,we're completely mystified40 ,the ,navy said it had made an investigation1 and had no answers4 ,there had been rumors that the disks were 8souped-up0 versions of the ,navy's 8,flying ,flapjack10 a twin-engined circular craft known technically as the ,,xf-#e-,u-#a4 ,but the ,navy insisted that only one model had been built1 and that it was now out of service4 ,in ,chicago1 two astronomers spiked guesses that the disks might be meteors4 ,dr4 ,girard ,kieuper1 director of the ,university of ,chicago observatory1 said flatly that they couldn't be meteors4 8,they're probably man-made10 he told the ,a4,p4 ,dr4 ,oliver ,lee1 director of ,northwestern's observatory1 agreed with ,kieuper4 8,the ,army1 ,navy1 and ,air ,force are working secretly on all sorts of things10 he said4 8,remember the ,a-bomb secrecy--and the radar signals to the moon40 ,as ,i went through ,purdy's summary1 ,i recalled my own reaction after the ,united ,airlines report4 ,after seeing the ,pentagon comment1 ,i had called up ,captain ,tom ,brown1 at ,air ,force ,public ,relations4 8,are you really taking this seriously80 ,i asked him4 8,well1 we can't just ignore it10 he said4 8,there are too many reliable pilots telling the same story--flat1 round objects able to outmaneuver ordinary planes1 and faster than anything we have4 ,too many stories tally40 ,i told him ,i'd heard that the ,civil ,air ,patrol in ,wisconsin and other states was starting a sky search4 8,we've got a jet at ,muroc1 and six fighters standing by at ,portland right now10 ,brown said4 8,armed80 8,i've no report on that4 ,but ,i know some of them carry photographic equipment40 ,two days later an airline pilot from the ,coast told me that some fighters had been armed and the pilots ordered to bring down the disks if humanly possible4 ,that same day1 ,wright ,field admitted it was checking stories of disk-shaped missiles seen recently in the ,pacific northwest and in ,texas4 ,following this was an ,a4,p4 story1 dated ,july #g1 quoting an unnamed ,air ,force official in ,washington3 8,the flying saucers may be one of three things3 8#a4 ,solar reflection on low-hanging clouds4 ,a ,washington scientist1 asked for comment1 said this was hardly possible4 8#b4 ,small meteors which break up1 their crystals catching the rays of the sun4 ,but it would seem that they would have been spotted falling and fragments would have been found4 8#c4 ,icing conditions could have formed large hailstones1 and they might have flattened out and glided a bit1 giving the impression of horizontal movement even though falling vertically40 ,by this time everyone was getting into the act4 8,the disks are caused by the transmutation of atomic energy10 said an anonymous scientist1 supposed to be on the staff of ,california ,tech4 ,the college quickly denied it4 ,dr4 ,vannevar ,bush1 world-famous scientist1 and ,dr4 ,merle ,tuve1 inventor of the proximity fuse1 both declared they would know of any secret ,american missiles--and didn't4 ,at ,syracuse1 ,new ,york1 ,dr4 ,harry ,steckel1 ,veterans ,administration psychiatrist1 scoffed at the suggestion of mass hysteria4 8,too many sane people are seeing the things4 ,the government is probably conducting some revolutionary experiments40 ,on ,july #h more disks were reported4 ,out at ,muroc ,air ,force ,base1 where top-secret planes and devices are tested1 six fast-moving silvery-white saucers were seen by pilots and ground officers4 ,that afternoon the ,air ,force revealed it was working on a case involving a ,navy rocket expert named ,c4 ,t4 ,zohm4 ,while on a secret ,navy mission to ,new ,mexico1 in connection with rocket tests1 ,zohm had seen a bright silvery disk flying above the desert4 ,he was crossing the desert with three other scientists when he saw the strange object flashing northward at an altitude of about ten thousand feet4 8,i'm sure it was not a meteor10 said ,zohm4 8,it could have been a guided missile1 but ,i never heard of anything like it40 ,by this time1 saucer reports had come in from almost forty states4 ,alarm was increasing1 and there were demands that radar be used to track the disks4 ,the ,air ,force replied that there was not enough radar equipment to blanket the nation1 but that its pilots were on the lookout for the saucers4 ,one report mentioned a curious report from ,twin ,falls1 ,idaho4 ,the disk sighted there was said to have flown so low that the treetops whirled as if in a violent storm4 ,someone had phoned ,purdy about a disk tracked by weather-balloon observers at ,richmond1 ,virginia4 ,there was another note on a sighting at ,hickam ,field1 ,honolulu1 and two reports of unidentified objects seen near ,anchorage1 ,alaska4 ,a typed list of world-wide sightings had been made up by the staff at ,true4 ,it contained many cases that were new to me1 reports from ,paraguay1 ,belgium1 ,turkey1 ,holland1 ,germany1 and the ,scandinavian countries4 ,at the bottom of this memo ,purdy had written3 8,keep checking on rumor that the ,soviet has a ,project ,saucer1 too4 ,could be planted40 ,from the mass of reports1 ,john ,du,barry1 the aviation editor of ,true1 had methodically worked out an average picture of the disks3 8,the general report is that they are round or oval 7this could be an elliptical object seen end-on71 metallic looking1 very bright--either shining white or silvery colored4 ,they can move at extremely high speed1 hover1 accelerate rapidly1 and outmaneuver ordinary aircraft4 8,the lights are usually seen singly--very few formations reported4 ,they seem to have the same speed1 acceleration1 and ability to maneuver4 ,in several cases1 they have been able to evade ,air ,force planes in night encounters40 ,going over the cases1 ,i realized that ,purdy and his staff had dug up at least fifty reports that had not appeared in the papers4 7,a few of these proved incorrect1 but a check with the ,air ,force case reports released on ,december #cj1 #aidi1 showed that ,true's files contained all the important items47 ,these cases included sightings at eleven ,air ,force bases and fourteen ,american airports1 reports from ships at sea1 and a score of encounters by airline and private pilots4 ,witnesses included ,army1 ,navy1 ,marine ,corps1 and ,air ,force officers2 state and city police2 ,f4,b4,i4 agents2 weather observers1 shipmasters1 astronomers1 and thousands of good solid ,american citizens4 ,i learned later that many witnesses had been investigated by the ,f4,b4,i4 to weed out crackpot reports4 ,i ended up badly puzzled4 ,the evidence was more impressive than ,i had suspected4 ,it was plain that many reports had been entirely suppressed1 or at least kept out of the papers4 ,there was something ominous about it4 ,no matter what the answer1 it was serious enough to be kept carefully hidden4 ,if it were a ,soviet missile1 ,i thought1 ,god help us4 ,they'd scooped up a lot of ,nazi scientists and war secrets4 ,and the ,germans had been far ahead of us on guided missiles4 ,but why would they give us a two-year warning1 testing the things openly over ,america8 ,it didn't make sense4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,i went to the ,pentagon the next morning4 ,i didn't expect to learn much1 but ,i wanted to make sure we weren't tangling with security4 ,i'd worked with ,al ,scholin and ,orville ,splitt1 in the magazine section of ,public ,relations1 and ,i thought they'd tell me as much as anyone4 ,when ,i walked in1 ,i sprang it on them cold4 8,what's the chance of seeing your ,project #8,saucer' files80 ,al ,scholin took it more or less dead-pan4 ,splitt looked at me a moment and then grinned4 8,don't tell me you believe the things are real80 8,maybe10 ,i said4 8,how about clearing me with ,project #8,saucer'80 ,al shook his head4 8,it's still classified secret40 8#8,look1 ,don10 said ,splitt1 8why do you want to fool with that saucer business8 ,there's nothing to it40 8#8,that's a big change from what the ,air ,force was saying2 in #aidg10 ,i told him4 ,he shrugged that off4 8,the ,air ,force has spent two years checking into it4 ,everybody from ,symington down will tell you the saucers are bunk40 8,that's not what ,project #8,saucer' says in that ,april report40 8,that report was made up a long time ago10 said ,splitt4 8,they just got around to releasing it40 8,then they've got all the answers now80 8,they know there's nothing to it10 ,splitt repeated4 8,in that case10 ,i said1 8,project #8,saucer' shouldn't object to my seeing their files and pictures40 8,what pictures80 8,that one taken at ,harmon ,field1 ,newfoundland1 for a starter40 8,oh1 that thing10 said ,splitt4 8,it wasn't anything--just a shadow on a cloud4 ,somebody's been kidding you40 8,if it's just a cloud shadow1 why can't ,i see it80 ,splitt was getting a little nettled4 8,look1 you know how long it takes to declassify stuff4 ,they just haven't got around to it4 ,take my word for it1 the flying saucers are bunk4 ,i went around with ,sid ,shallett on some of his interviews4 ,what he's got in the ,post is the absolute gospel40 8,it's funny about that ,april twenty-seventh report10 ,i said1 8the way it contradicts the ,post40 8,i tell you that was an old report--0 8,i wouldn't say that10 ,al ,scholin put in4 8,the ,air ,force doesn't claim it has all the answers4 ,but they've proved a lot of the reports were hoaxes or mistakes40 8,just the same10 ,i said1 8the ,air ,force is on record1 as of ,april twenty-seventh1 that it's serious enough for everybody to be vigilant4 ,and they admit most of the things1 in the important cases1 are still unidentified4 ,including the saucer ,mantell was chasing40 8,that business at ,godman ,field was some kind of hallucination10 insisted ,splitt4 8,i suppose all those pilots and ,godman ,field officers were hypnotized8 ,not to mention several thousand people at ,madisonville and ,fort ,knox80 8,take it easy1 you guys10 said ,al ,scholin4 8,you've both got a right to your opinions40 8,oh1 sure10 said ,splitt4 ,he looked at me1 with his grin back4 8,i don't care if you think they're men from ,mars40 8,let's not go off the deep end10 ,i said4 8,tell me this3 ,did ,shallett get to see any secret files at ,wright ,field80 8,absolutely not40 8,then he had to take the ,air ,force word for everything80 8,not entirely4 ,we set up some interviews for him40 8,one more thing--and don't get mad4 ,if it's all bunk1 why haven't they closed ,project #8,saucer'80 8,how do ,i know8 ,probably no one wants to take the responsibility40 8,then somebody high up must not think it's bunk10 ,i said4 ,splitt laughed4 8,have it your own way40 ,before ,i left1 ,i told them ,i was working with ,true4 8,i want to be on record10 ,i said1 8as having told you this4 ,if there's any security involved--if you tell me it's something you're working on--naturally ,i'll lay off40 ,al ,scholin said emphatically1 8,it's not an ,air ,force device1 if that's what you mean40 8,some people think it's ,russian40 8,if it is1 ,i don't know it10 said ,al1 8and neither does the ,air ,force40 ,after ,i left the magazine section1 ,i tried several officers ,i knew4 ,two of them agreed with ,splitt4 ,the third didn't4 8,i've been told it's all bunk10 he said1 8but you get the feeling they've trying to convince themselves4 ,they act like people near a haunted house4 ,they'll swear it isn't haunted--but they won't go near it40 ,later1 ,i asked a security major for a copy of the ,project 8,saucer0 report4 8,we're out of copies right now10 he said4 8,i'll send you one next week40 ,i asked him bluntly what he thought the saucers were4 8,i doubt if anybody has the full answer10 he said seriously4 8,there's been some hysteria--also a few mistakes4 ,but many reports have been made by reliable pilots1 including our own4 ,you can't laugh those off40 ,as ,i drove home1 ,i thought over what ,i'd heard4 ,all ,i had learned was that the ,air ,force seemed divided4 ,but that could be a smoke screen4 ,in less than twenty-four hours1 ,i received my first suspicious tip4 ,it was about ten ,a4,m4 when my phone rang4 8,mr4 ,keyhoe8 ,this is ,john ,steele10 said the voice at the other end4 7,because of the peculiar role he played1 then and later1 ,i have not used his real name47 8,i'm a former ,air ,force ,intelligence officer4 ,i was in the ,european theater during the war40 ,i waited4 ,he hesitated a moment4 8,i heard you're working on the flying-saucer problem10 he said quickly4 8,i may have some information that would interest you40 8,mind telling me who told you ,i was on it80 ,i asked4 8,no one1 directly4 ,i just happened to hear it mentioned at the ,press ,club4 ,frankly1 ,i've been curious about the flying saucers ever since '#de40 ,that startled me1 but ,i didn't tell him so4 8,do you have any idea what they are80 ,mr4 ,steele said4 8,no1 ,i've just begun checking4 ,but ,i'd be glad to hear what you've got40 8,i may be way off10 said ,steele4 8,but ,i've always wondered about the #8foo fighters' our pilots saw over ,europe near the end of the war40 ,i thought for a second4 8,wasn't that some kind of antiaircraft missile fired from the ground80 8,no4 ,intelligence never did get any real answer1 so far as ,i know4 ,they were some kind of circular gadgets1 and they actually chased our planes a number of times4 ,we thought they were something the ,nazis had invented--and ,i still think so40 8,then who's launching them now80 8,well1 it's obviously either ,russia or us4 ,if it is the ,soviet--well1 that's what's worried me4 ,i don't think it should be treated like a joke1 the way some people in the ,pentagon take it40 ,i stared at the phone1 trying to figure him out4 8,i'd like to talk it over with you10 ,i said4 8,maybe you've got something40 8,i've given you about all ,i know10 ,steele answered4 8,there was an ,intelligence report you might try to see--the ,eighth ,air ,force files should have it40 8,wait a minute10 ,i said4 8,give me your number1 in case ,i find anything40 ,he gave it to me without apparent hesitation4 ,i thanked him and hung up1 still wondering4 ,if it was an attempt at a plant1 it was certainly crude4 ,the mention of his former ,air ,force connection would be enough to arouse suspicion1 unless he counted on his apparent frankness to offset it4 ,and what about the ,press ,club angle8 ,that would indicate ,steele was a newspaperman4 ,could this be merely an attempt to pump me and get a lead on ,true's investigation8 ,but that would be just as crude as the other idea4 ,of course1 he might be sincere4 ,but regardless of his motives1 it looked bad4 ,arid who had told him about me8 ,i thought about that for a minute4 ,then ,i picked up the phone and dialed ,jack ,daly's number4 8,jack1 do you know anyone named ,john ,steele80 ,i asked him4 8,i think he's a newspaperman40 8,nobody ,i know10 said ,jack4 8,why1 what's up80 ,i explained1 and added1 8,i thought maybe you knew him1 and he'd heard about it from you40 8,hell1 no10 said ,jack4 8,you ought to know ,i wouldn't leak any tip like that40 8,it wouldn't be a tip--,i don't know anything about this deal yet4 ,by the way1 when you were on the ,star did you handle anything on #8foo fighters'80 8,no1 that was after ,i left there4 ,bill ,shippen would have covered that1 anyway40 ,i told him ,i would look it up in the ,star's morgue4 ,jack said he would meet me there at three o'clock2 in the meantime he would see what he could find out about ,steele4 ,jack was a little late1 and ,i went over the ,star's file on the foo fighters4 ,most of the facts were covered in a story dated ,july #f1 #aidg1 which had been inspired by the outbreak of the saucer scare4 ,i copied it for later use3 ,during the latter part of ,world ,war ,two1 fighter pilots in ,england were convinced that ,hitler had a new secret weapon4 ,yanks dubbed these devices 8foo fighters0 or 8,kraut fireballs40 ,one of the ,air ,force ,intelligence men now assigned to check on the saucer scare was an officer who investigated statements of military airmen that circular foo fighters were seen over ,europe and also on the bombing route to ,japan4 ,it was reported that ,intelligence officers have never obtained satisfactory explanation of reports of flying silver balls and disks over ,nazi-occupied ,europe in the winter of #aidd-de4 ,later1 crews of ,b-#bi',s on bombing runs to ,japan reported seeing somewhat similar objects4 ,in ,europe1 some foo fighters danced just off the ,allied fighters' wingtips and played tag with them in power dives4 ,others appeared in precise formations and on one occasion a whole bomber crew saw about #ae following at a distance1 their strange glow flashing on and off4 ,one foo fighter chased ,lieutenant ,meiers of ,chicago some #bj miles down the ,rhine ,valley1 at #cjj m4p4h41 an ,a4,p4 war correspondent reported4 ,intelligence officers believed at that time that the balls might be radar-controlled objects sent up to foul ignition systems or baffle ,allied radar networks4 ,there is no explanation of their appearance here1 unless the objects could have been imported for secret tests in this country4 ,i read the last paragraph twice4 ,this looked like a strong lead to the answer1 in spite of the ,air ,force denials4 ,there was another1 less pleasant possibility4 ,the ,russians could have seized the device and developed it secretly1 using ,nazi scientists to help them4 ,perhaps the ,nazis had been close to an atomic engine1 even if they did fail to produce the bomb4 ,jack ,daly came in while ,i was reading the story again4 8,i got the dope on ,steele10 he said4 8,he does pieces for a small syndicate1 and ,i found out he was in the ,air ,force4 ,i think he was a captain4 ,people who know him say he's ,o4,k4--a straight shooter40 8,that still wouldn't keep him from giving me a fake tip1 if somebody told him it was the right thing to do40 8,maybe not10 said ,jack1 8but why would they want to plant this foo-fighter idea80 ,i showed him the clipping4 ,he read it over and shook his head4 8,that's a lot different from disks three hundred feet in diameter40 8,if we got the principle--or ,russia did-building big ones might not be too hard40 8,i still can't swallow it10 said ,jack4 8,these things have been seen all over the world4 ,how could they control them that far away--and be sure they wouldn't crash1 where somebody could get a look and dope out the secret80 ,we argued it back and forth without getting anywhere4 8,i'd give a lot to know ,steele's angle10 ,i said4 8,if you hear anything more on him1 give me a buzz40 ,jack nodded4 8,i'll see what ,i can do4 ,but ,i can't dig too hard1 or he'll hear about it40 ,on the way out1 ,i found a phone booth and called ,splitt4 8,foo fighters80 he said4 8,sure1 ,i remember those stories4 ,you think those are your flying saucers80 ,i could hear him snicker4 8,just checking angles10 ,i said4 8,didn't the ,eighth ,air ,force investigate the foo fighters80 8,yes1 and they found nothing to back up the pilots' yarns4 just war nerves1 apparently40 8,how about a look at the ,intelligence report80 ,i asked4 8,wait a minute40 ,splitt was gone for twice that time1 then he carne back4 8,sorry1 it's classified40 8,if all this stuff is bunk1 why keep the lid on it80 ,i demanded4 ,i was getting sore again4 8,look1 ,don10 said ,splitt1 8,i don't make the rules40 8,sure1 ,i know--sorry10 ,i said4 ,i had a notion to ask him if he knew ,john ,steele1 but hung up instead4 ,there was no use in banging my head against the ,air ,force wall4 ,the next day ,i decided to analyze the ,mantell case from beginning to end4 ,it looked like the key to one angle3 the question of an ,air ,force secret missile4 ,unless there was some slip-up1 so that ,mantell and his pilots had been ordered to chase the disk by mistake1 then it would be cold murder4 ,i couldn't believe any ,air ,force officer would give such an order1 no matter how tremendous the secret to be hidden4 ,but ,i was going to find out1 if possible4 ,,chapter ,v ,for more than two weeks1 ,i checked on the ,godman ,field tragedy4 ,one fact stood out at the start3 ,the death of ,mantell had had a profound effect on many in the ,air ,force4 ,a dozen times ,i was told3 8,i thought the saucers were a joke-until ,mantell was killed chasing that thing at ,fort ,knox40 ,many ranking officers who had laughed at the saucer scare stopped scoffing4 ,one of these was ,general ,sory ,smith1 now ,deputy ,director of ,air ,force ,public ,relations4 ,later in my investigation1 ,general ,smith told me3 8,it was the ,mantell case that got me4 ,i knew ,tommy ,mantell4 very well--also ,colonel ,hix1 the ,c4,o4 at ,godman4 ,i knew they were both intelligent men--not the kind to be imagining things40 ,for fifteen months1 the ,air ,force kept a tight-lipped silence4 ,meantime1 rumors began to spread4 ,one report said that ,mantell had been shot1 his body riddled with bullets2 his ,p-#ea1 also riddled1 had simply disintegrated4 ,another rumor reported ,mantell as having been killed by some mysterious force2 this same force had also destroyed his fighter4 ,the ,air ,force1 the rumors said1 had covered up the truth by telling ,mantell's family he had blacked out from lack of oxygen4 ,checking the last angle1 ,i found that this was the explanation given to ,mantell's mother1 just after his death1 she was told by ,standiford ,field officers that he had flown too high in chasing the strange object4 ,shallet1 in the ,saturday ,evening ,post articles1 described ,project 8,saucer's0 reconstruction of the case4 ,mantell was said to have climbed up to #be1jjj feet1 despite his firm decision to end the chase at #bj1jjj1 since he carried no oxygen4 ,around #be1jjj feet1 ,shallett quoted the ,air ,force investigators1 ,mantell must have lost consciousness4 ,after this1 his pilotless plane climbed on up to some #cj1jjj feet1 then dived4 ,between #bj1jjj and #aj1jjj feet1 ,shallett suggested1 the ,p-#ea began to disintegrate1 obviously from excessive speed4 ,the gleaming object that hypnotized ,mantell into this fatal climb was1 ,shallett said1 either the planet ,venus or a ,navy cosmic-ray research balloon4 ,the ,air ,force ,project 8,saucer0 report of ,april #bg1 #aidi1 released just after the first ,post article1 makes these statements3 8,five minutes after ,mantell disappeared from his formation1 the two remaining planes returned to ,godman4 ,a few minutes later1 one resumed the search1 covering territory #ajj miles to the south as high as #cc1jjj feet1 but found nothing4 8,subsequent investigation revealed that ,mantell had probably blacked out at #bj1jjj feet from lack of oxygen and had died of suffocation before the crash4 8,the mysterious object which the flyer chased to his death was first identified as the ,planet ,venus4 ,however1 further probing showed the elevation and azimuth readings of ,venus and the object at specified time intervals did not coincide4 8,it is still considered #8,unidentified4' ,the ,venus explanation1 even though now denied1 puzzled me4 ,it was plain that the ,air ,force had seriously considered offering it as the answer then abandoned it4 ,apparently someone had got his signals mixed and let ,shallett use the discarded answer4 ,and for some unknown reason1 the ,air ,force had found it imperative to deny the ,venus story at once4 ,in these first weeks of checking1 ,i had run onto the ,venus explanation in other cases4 ,several ,air ,force officers repeated it so quickly that it had the sound of a stock alibi4 ,but in the daytime cases this was almost ridiculous4 ,i knew of a few instances in ,world ,war ,,ii when bomber crews and antiaircraft gunners had loosed a few bursts at ,venus4 ,but this was mostly at night1 when the planet was at peak brilliance4 ,and more than one gunner later admitted firing to relieve long hours of boredom4 ,since enemy planes did not carry lights1 there was no authentic case1 to my knowledge1 where plane or ground gunners actually believed ,venus was an enemy aircraft4 ,checking the astronomer's report1 ,i read over the concluding statement3 8,it simply could not have been ,venus4 ,they must have been desperate even to suggest it in the first place40 ,months later1 in the secret ,project 8,saucer0 report released ,december #cj1 #aidi1 ,i found official confirmation of this astronomer's opinions4 ,since it has a peculiar bearing on the ,mantell case1 ,i am quoting it now3 ,when ,venus is at its greatest brilliance1 it is possible to see it during daytime when one knows exactly where to look4 ,but on ,january #g1 #aidh1 ,venus was less than half as bright as its peak brilliance4 ,however1 under exceptionally good atmospheric conditions1 and with the eye shielded from direct rays of the sun1 ,venus might be seen as an exceedingly tiny bright point of light4 4 4 4 ,however1 the chances of looking at just the right spot are very few4 ,it has been unofficially reported that the object was a ,navy cosmic-ray research balloon4 ,if this can be established1 it ,is to be preferred as an explanation4 ,however1 if one accepts the assumption that reports from various other localities refer to the same object1 any such device must have been a good many miles high--#be to #ej--;in order to have been seen clearly1 almost simultaneously1 from places #age miles apart4 ,if all reports were of a single object1 in the knowledge of this investigator no man-made object could have been large enough and far enough away for the approximate simultaneous sightings4 ,it is most unlikely1 however1 that so many separated persons should at that time have chanced on ,venus in the daylight sky4 ,it seems therefore much more probable that more than one object was involved4 ,the sighting might have included two or more balloons 7or aircraft7 or they might have included ,venus and balloons4 ,for reasons given above1 the latter explanation seems more likely4 ,two things stand out in his report3 #a4 ,the obvious determination to fit some explanation1 no matter how farfetched1 to the ,mantell sighting4 #b4 ,the impossibility that ,venus--a tiny point of light1 seen only with difficulty--was the tremendous metallic object described by ,mantell and seen by ,godman ,field officers4 ,with ,venus eliminated1 ,i went to work on the balloon theory4 ,since ,i had been a balloon pilot before learning to fly planes1 this was fairly familiar ground4 ,shallett's alternate theory that ,mantell had chased a ,navy research balloon was widely repeated by readers unfamiliar with balloon operation4 ,few thought to check the speeds1 heights1 and distances involved4 ,cosmic-ray research balloons are not powered2 they are set free to drift with the wind4 ,this particular ,navy type is released at a base near ,minneapolis4 ,the gas bag is filled with only a small per cent of its helium capacity before the take-off4 ,in a routine flight1 the balloon ascends rapidly to a very high altitude-as high as #ajj1jjj feet4 ,by this time the gas bag has swelled to full size1 about l#jj feet high and #gj feet in diameter4 ,at a set time1 a device releases the case of instruments under the balloon4 ,the instruments descend by parachute1 and the balloon1 rising quickly1 explodes from the sudden expansion4 ,occasionally a balloon starts leaking1 and it then remains relatively low4 ,at first glance1 this might seem the answer to the ,kentucky sightings4 ,if the balloon were low enough1 it would loom up as a large circular object1 as seen from directly below4 ,some witnesses might estimate its diameter as #bej feet or more1 instead of its actual #gj feet4 ,but this failure to recognize a balloon would require incredibly poor vision on the part of trained observers--state police1 ,army ,m4,p4's1 the ,godman ,field officers1 ,mantell and his pilots4 ,captain ,mantell was a wartime pilot1 with over three thousand hours in the air4 ,he was trained to identify a distant enemy plane in a split second4 ,his vision was perfect1 and so was that of his pilots4 ,in broad daylight they could not fail to recognize a balloon during their thirty-minute chase4 ,colonel ,hix and the other ,godman officers watched the object with high-powered glasses for long periods4 ,it is incredible that they would not identify it as a balloon4 ,before its appearance over ,godman ,field1 the leaking balloon would have drifted1 at a low altitude1 over several hundred miles4 7,a leak large enough to bring it down from high altitude would have caused it to land and be found47 ,drifting at a low altitude1 it would have been seen by several hundred thousand people1 at the very least4 ,many would have reported it as a balloon4 ,but even if this angle is ignored it still could not possibly have been a balloon at low altitude4 ,the fast flight from ,madisonville1 the abrupt stop and hour-long hovering at ,godman ,field1 the quick bursts of speed ,mantell reported make it impossible4 ,to fly the go miles from ,madisonville to ,fort ,knox in #cj minutes1 a balloon would require a wind of #ahj m4p4h4 ,after traveling at this hurricane speed1 it would then have had to come to a dead stop above ,godman ,field4 ,as the ,p-#ea's approached1 it would have had to speed tip again to #ahj1 then to more than #cfj to keep ahead of ,mantell4 ,the three fighter pilots chased the mysterious object for half an hour4 7,i have several times chased balloons with a plane1 overtaking them in seconds47 ,in a straight chase1 ,mantell would have been closing in at #cfj2 the tail wind acting on his fighter would nullify the balloon's forward drift4 ,but even if you accept these improbable factors1 there is one final fact that nullifies the balloon explanation4 ,the strange object had disappeared when ,mantell's wingman searched the sky1 just after the leader's death4 ,if it had been a balloon held stationary for an hour at a high altitude1 and glowing brightly enough to be seen through clouds1 it would have remained visible in the same general position4 ,seen from #cc1jjj feet1 it would have been even brighter1 because of the clearer air4 ,but the mysterious object had completely vanished in those few minutes4 ,a search covering a hundred miles failed to reveal a trace4 ,whether at a high or low altitude1 a balloon could not have escaped the pilot's eyes4 ,it would also have continued to be seen at ,godman ,field and other points1 through occasional breaks in the clouds4 ,i pointed out these facts to one ,air ,force officer at the ,pentagon4 ,next day he phoned me3 8,i figured it out4 ,the timing device went off and the balloon exploded4 ,that's why the pilot didn't see it40 8,it's an odd coincidence10 ,i said1 8that it exploded in those five minutes after ,mantell's last report40 8,even so1 it's obviously the answer10 he said4 ,checking on this angle1 ,i found3 #a4 ,no one in the ,kentucky area had reported a descending parachute4 #b4 ,no cosmic-ray research instrument case or parachute was found in the area4 #c4 ,no instruments were returned to the ,navy from this region4 ,and all balloons and instruments released at that time were fully accounted for4 ,even if it had been a balloon1 it would not explain the later ,january #gth reports--the simultaneous sightings mentioned by ,professor ,hynek in the ,project 8,saucer0 report4 ,this includes the thing seen at ,lockbourne ,air ,force ,base two hours after ,mantell's death4 ,obviously1 the saucer seen flying at #ejj m4p4h4 over ,lockbourne ,field could not have been a balloon4 ,even if there had been several balloons in this area 7and there were not1 by official record71 they could not have covered the courses reported4 ,in some cases1 they would have been flying against the wind1 at terrific speed4 ,then what was the mysterious object8 ,and what killed ,mantell8 ,both the ,air ,force and the ,post articles speculate that ,mantell carelessly let himself black out4 ,since some explanation had to be given1 this might seem a good answer4 ,but ,mantell was known for coolheaded judgment4 ,as a wartime pilot1 he was familiar with signs of anoxia 7oxygen starvation74 ,that he knew his tolerance for altitude is proved by his firmly declared intention to abandon the chase at #bj1jjj feet1 since he had no oxygen equipment4 ,mantell had his altimeter to warn him4 ,from experience1 he would recognize the first vague blurring1 narrowing of vision1 and other signs of anoxia4 ,despite this1 the 8blackout0 explanation was accepted as plausible by many ,americans4 ,while investigating the ,mantell case1 ,i talked with several pilots and aeronautical engineers4 ,several questioned that a ,p-#ea starting a dive from #bj1jjj feet would have disintegrated so thoroughly4 8,from thirty thousand feet1 yes10 said one engineer4 8,if the idea was to explain it away1 ,i'd pick a high altitude to start from4 ,but a pilotless plane doesn't necessarily dive1 as you know4 8,it might slip off and spin1 or spiral down1 and a few have even landed themselves4 ,also1 if the plane started down from twenty thousand1 the pilot wouldn't be too far blacked out4 ,the odds are he'd come to when he got into thicker air--admitting he did blur out1 which is only an ,air ,force guess4 ,i don't see why they're so positive ,mantell died before he hit the ground--unless they know something we don't40 ,one of the pilot group put it more bluntly4 8,it looks like a cover-up to me4 ,i think ,mantell did just what he said he would--close in on the thing4 ,i think he either collided with it1 or more likely they knocked him out of the air4 ,they'd think he was trying to bring them down1 barging in like that40 ,even if you accept the blackout answer1 it still does not explain what ,mantell was chasing4 it is possible that1 excited by the huge1 mysterious object1 he recklessly climbed beyond the danger level1 though such an act was completely at odds with his character4 ,but the identity of the thing remains--officially--a mystery4 ,if it was some weird experimental craft or a guided missile1 then whose was it8 ,air ,force officers had repeatedly told me they had no such device4 ,general ,carl ,touhy ,spaatz1 former ,air ,force chief1 had publicly insisted that no such weapon had been developed in his regime4 ,secretary ,symington and ,general ,hoyt ,vandenberg1 present ,air ,force chief1 had been equally emphatic4 ,of course1 official denials could be expected if it were a top-level secret4 ,but if it were a secret device1 would it be tested so publicly that thousands would see it8 ,if it were an ,air ,force device1 then ,i could see only one answer for the ,godman ,field incident3 ,the thing was such a closely guarded secret that even ,colonel ,hix hadn't known4 ,that would mean that most or all ,air ,force ,base ,c4,o4's were also in ignorance of the secret device4 ,could it be a ,navy experiment1 kept secret from the ,air ,force8 ,i did a little checking4 ,admiral ,calvin ,bolster1 chief of aeronautics research experimental craft1 was an ,annapolis classmate of mine4 ,so was ,captain ,delmer ,s4 ,fahrney1 head of the ,navy guided-missile program4 ,fahrney was at ,point ,mugu1 missile-testing base in ,california1 and ,i wasn't able to see him4 ,but ,i knew him as a careful1 conscientious officer2 ,i can't believe he would let such a device1 piloted or not1 hover over an ,air ,force base with no warning to its ,c4,o4 ,i saw ,admiral ,bolster4 ,his denial seemed genuine2 unless he'd got to be a dead-pan poker player since our earlier days1 ,i was sure he was telling the truth4 ,the only other alternate was ,russia4 ,it was incredible that they would develop such a device and then expose it to the gaze of ,u4,s4 ,air ,force officers4 ,it could be photographed1 its speed and maneuverability checked2 it might crash1 or antiaircraft fire might bring it down1 ,the secret might be lost in one such test flight4 ,there was one other explanation3 ,the thing was not intended to be seen2 it had got out of control4 ,in this event2 the long hovering period at ,godman ,field was caused by the need for repairs inside the flying saucer1 or repairs to remote-control apparatus4 ,if it were ,air ,force or ,navy1 that would explain official concern2 even if completely free of negligence1 the service responsible would be blamed for ,mantell's death4 ,if it were ,russian1 the ,air ,force would of course try to conceal the fact for fear of public hysteria4 ,but if the device was ,american1 it meant that ,project 8,saucer0 was a cover-up unit4 ,while pretending to investigate1 it would actually hush up reports1 make false explanations1 and safeguard the secret in every possible way4 ,also1 the reported order for ,air ,force pilots to pursue the disks would have to be a fake4 ,instead1 there would be a secret order telling them to avoid strange objects in the sky4 ,by the time ,i finished my check-up1 ,i was sure of one thing3 ,this particular saucer had been real4 ,i was almost positive of one other point-that the thing had been over #cj miles high during part of its flight4 ,i found that after ,mantell's death it was reported simultaneously from ,madisonville1 ,elizabethtown1 and ,lexington--over a distance of #age miles4 7,professor ,hynek's analysis later confirmed this47 ,how low it had been while hovering over ,godman1 and during ,mantell's chase1 there was no way to determine4 ,but all the evidence pointed to a swift ascent after ,mantell's last report4 ,had ,mantell told ,godman ,tower more than the ,air ,force admitted8 ,i went back to the ,pentagon and asked for a full transcript of the flight leader's radio messages4 ,i got a quick turn-down4 ,the reports1 ,i was told1 were still classified as secret4 ,requests for pictures of the ,p-#ea wreckage1 and for a report on the condition of ,mantell's body1 also drew a blank4 ,i had heard that some photographs were taken of the ,godman ,field saucer from outside the tower4 ,but the ,air ,force denied knowledge of any such pictures4 ,puzzling over the riddle1 ,i remembered ,john ,steele1 the former ,intelligence captain4 ,if by any chance he was a plant1 it would be interesting to suggest the various answers and watch his reaction4 ,when ,i phoned him to suggest luncheon1 ,steele accepted at once4 ,we met at the ,occidental1 on ,pennsylvania ,avenue4 ,steele was younger than ,i had expected--not over twenty-five4 ,he was a tall man1 with a crew haircut and the build of a football player4 ,looking at him the first time1 ,i expected a certain breeziness4 instead1 he was almost solemn4 8,i owe you an apology10 he said in a careful voice after we'd ordered4 8,you probably know ,i'm a syndicate writer80 ,i wondered if he'd found out ,jack ,daly was checking on him4 8,when you mentioned the ,press ,club10 ,i said1 8,i gathered you were in the business40 8,i'm afraid you thought ,i was fishing for a lead40 ,steele looked at me earnestly4 8,i'm not working on the story--,i'm tied up on other stuff40 8,forget it10 ,i told him4 ,he seemed anxious to reassure me4 8,i'd been worried for some time about the saucers4 ,i called you that night on an impulse40 8,glad you did10 ,i said4 8,i need every tip ,i can get40 8,did it help you any80 8,yes1 though it still doesn't fit together4 ,but ,i can tell you this3 ,the saucers are real1 or at least one of them40 8,which one80 8,the thing ,captain ,mantell was chasing near ,fort ,knox1 before he died40 8,oh1 that one40 ,steele looked down at the roll he was buttering4 8,i thought that case was fully explained4 ,wasn't he chasing a balloon80 8,the ,air ,force says it's still unidentified40 ,i told him what ,i had learned4 8,apparently you're right--it's either an ,american or a ,soviet missile40 8,after what you've told me10 said ,steele1 8,i can't believe it's ours4 ,it must be ,russian40 8,they'd be pretty stupid to test it over here40 8,you said it was probably out of control40 8,that particular one1 maybe4 ,but there have been several hundred seen over here4 ,if they found their controls were haywire1 they wouldn't keep testing the things until they'd corrected that40 ,the waiter came with the soup1 and ,steele was silent until he left4 8,i still can't believe it's our weapon10 he said slowly4 8,they wouldn't have ,air ,force pilots alerted to chase the things4 ,and ,i happen to how they do40 8,there's something queer about this missile angle10 ,i said4 8,that saucer was seen at the same time by people a hundred and seventy-five miles apart4 ,to be that high in the sky1 and still look more than two hundred and fifty feet in diameter1 it must have been enormous40 ,steele didn't answer for a moment4 8,obviously1 that was an illusion10 he finally answered4 8,i'd discount those estimates40 8,even ,mantell's8 ,and the ,godman ,field officers'80 8,not knowing the thing's height1 how could they judge accurately80 8,to be seen at points that far apart1 it had to be over thirty miles high10 ,i told him4 8,it would have to be huge to show up at all40 ,he shook his head4 8,i can't believe those reports are right4 ,it must have been sighted at different times40 ,i let it drop4 8,what are you working on now80 ,steele asked1 after a minute or two4 ,i said ,i hadn't decided4 ,actually1 ,i planned a trip to the coast1 to interview pilots who had sighted flying disks4 8,what would you do if you found it wasn't a ,soviet missile80 said ,steele4 ,he sounded almost too casual4 8,if security was involved1 ,i'd keep still4 ,but the ,air ,force and the ,navy swear they haven't any such things40 ,steele looked at me thoughtfully4 8,you know1 ,true might force something into the open that would be better left secret40 ,he smiled ironically4 8,i realize that sounds peculiar1 since ,i suggested the ,russian angle4 ,but if it isn't ,russian--though ,i still think it is--then we have nothing to worry about40 ,i was almost sure now that he was a plant4 ,during the rest of the luncheon1 ,i tried to draw him out1 but ,steele was through talking4 ,when we parted1 he gave me a sober warning4 8,you and ,true should consider your moral responsibility1 no matter what you find4 ,even if it's not actual security1 there may be reasons to keep still40 ,after he left me1 ,i tried to figure it out4 ,if the ,air ,force was back of this1 they must not think much of my intelligence4 ,or else they had been in such a hurry to get a line on ,true's investigation that they had no choice but to use ,steele4 ,of course1 it was still possible he was doing this on his own4 ,either way1 his purpose was obvious4 ,he hoped to have us swallow the ,soviet-missile answer4 ,if we did1 then we would have to keep still1 even though we found absolute proof4 ,obviously1 it would be dangerous to print that story4 ,thinking back1 ,i recalled ,steele's apparent attempt to dismiss the ,mantell case4 ,i was convinced now4 ,the ,godman ,field affair must hold an important clue that ,i had overlooked4 ,it might even be the key to the whole flying saucer riddle4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,shortly after my talk with ,steele1 ,i flew to the ,coast4 ,for three weeks ,i investigated sightings that had been reported by airline and private pilots and other competent witnesses4 ,at first1 the airline pilots were reluctant to talk4 ,most of them remembered the ridicule that had followed published accounts by other airline men4 ,one pilot told me he had been ordered to keep still about his experience--whether by the company or the ,air ,force1 he would not say4 ,but most of them finally agreed to talk1 if ,i kept their names out of print4 ,one airline captain--,i'll call him ,blake--had encountered a saucer at night4 ,he and his copilot had sighted the object1 gleaming1 in the moonlight1 half a mile to their left4 8,we were at about twelve thousand feet10 he said1 when we saw this thing pacing us4 ,it didn't have any running lights1 but we could see the moonlight reflecting from something like bright metal4 ,there was a glow along the side1 like some kind of light1 or exhaust40 8,could you make out the shape80 ,i asked4 ,blake grinned crookedly4 8,you think we didn't try8 ,i cut in toward it4 ,it turned in the same direction4 ,i pulled up about three hundred feet1 and it did the same4 ,finally1 ,i opened my throttles and cut in fast1 intending to pull tip if we got too close4 ,i needn't have worried4 ,the thing let out a burst of reddish flame and streaked up out of sight4 ,it was gone in a few seconds40 8,then it must have been piloted10 ,i said4 8,if not1 it had some kind of radar-responder unit to make it veer off when anything got near it4 ,it matched every move ,i made1 until the last one40 ,i asked him what he thought the saucer was4 ,blake hesitated1 then he gave me a slow grin4 8,well1 my copilot thinks it was a space ship4 ,he says no pilot here on earth could take that many ,g's1 when the thing zoomed40 ,i'd heard some 8men from ,mars0 opinions about the saucers1 but this was an experienced pilot4 8,you don't believe that80 ,i said4 8,no10 ,blake said4 8,i figure it was some new type of guided missile4 ,if it took as many ,g's as ,chuck1 my copilot1 thinks1 then it must have been on a beam and remote-controlled40 ,later1 ,i found two other pilots who had the same idea as ,chuck4 ,one captain was afraid the flying saucers were ,russian2 his copilot thought they were ,air ,force or ,navy4 ,i met one airline official who was indignant about testing such missiles near the airways4 8,even if they do have some device to make them veer off10 he said1 8,i think it's a risk4 ,there'll be hell to pay if one ever hits an airliner40 8,they've been flying around for two years10 a line pilot pointed out4 8,nobody's had a close call yet4 ,i don't think there's much danger40 ,when ,i left the ,coast1 ,i flew to ,new ,york4 ,ken ,purdy called in ,john ,du,barry1 ,true's aviation editor1 to hear the details4 ,purdy called him 8,john the ,skeptic40 ,after ,i told them what ,i had learned ,purdy nodded4 8,what do you think the saucers are80 asked ,du,barry4 8,they must be guided missiles10 ,i said1 8but it leaves some queer gaps in the picture40 ,i had made up a list of possible answers1 and ,i read it to them3 8,one1 the saucers don't exist4 ,they're caused by mistakes1 hysteria1 and so on4 ,two1 they're ,russian guided missiles4 ,three1 they're ,american guided missiles4 ,four1 the whole thing is a hoax1 a psychological-warfare trick40 8,you mean a trick of ours80 said ,purdy4 8,sure1 to make the ,soviets think we could reach them with a guided missile4 ,but ,i don't think that's the answer--,i just listed it as a possibility40 ,du,barry considered this thoughtfully4 8,in the first place1 you'd have to bring thousands of people into the scheme1 so the disks would be reported often enough to get publicity4 ,you'd have to have some kind of device1 maybe something launched from highflying bombers1 to give the rumors substance4 ,they'd certainly do a better job than this1 to put it over4 ,and it wouldn't explain the world-wide sightings4 ,also1 ,captain ,mantell wouldn't kill himself just to carry out an official hoax40 8,john's right10 said ,purdy4 8,anyway1 it's too ponderous4 ,it would leak like a sieve1 and the dumbest ,soviet agent would see through it40 ,he looked back at my list4 8,cross off ,number ,one1 ,there's too much competent testimony1 beside the obvious fact that something's being covered up40 8,that leaves ,russian or ,american missiles10 ,i said1 8as ,steele first suggested4 ,but there are some points that just won't fit the missile theory40 8,you've left out one answer10 said ,purdy4 8,what's that80 8,interplanetary40 8,you're kidding60 ,i said4 8,i didn't say ,i believed it10 said ,purdy4 8,i just say it's possible40 ,du,barry was watching me4 8,i know how you feel4 ,that's how it hit me when ,ken first said it10 8,i've heard it before10 ,i said4 8,but ,i never took it seriously40 8,maybe this will interest you10 ,purdy said4 ,he gave me a note from ,sam ,boal3 8,just talked with ,d-------10 the note ran4 7,d------- is a prominent aeronautical engineer1 the designer of a world-famous plane47 8,he believes the disks may be interplanetary and that the ,air ,force knows it--or at least suspects it4 ,i'm enclosing sketches showing how he thinks the disks operate40 8,he's not the first one who told us that10 said ,purdy4 8,we've heard the same thing from other engineers4 ,over a dozen airline pilots think they're coining from out in space4 ,and there's a rocket expert at ,wright ,field who's warned ,project #8,saucer' that the things are interplanetary4 ,that's why ,i'm not writing it off40 8,have you read the ,project #8,saucer' ideas on space travel80 ,du,barry asked me4 ,i told him my copy hadn't reached me4 ,he read me some marked paragraphs in his copy of the preliminary report3 8#8,there has been speculation that the aerial phenomena might actually be some form of penetration from another planet 4 4 4 the existence of intelligent life on ,mars is not impossible but is completely unproven 4 4 4 the possibility of intelligent life on the ,planet ,venus is not considered completely unreasonable by astronomers 4 4 4 ,scientists concede that living organisms might develop in chemical environments which are strange to us 4 4 4 in the next fifty years we will almost certainly start exploring space 4 4 4 the chance of space travelers existing at planets attached to neighboring stars is very much greater than the chance of space-traveling ,martians4 ,the one can be viewed as almost a certainty 4 4 4'0 ,du,barry handed me the report4 8,here--,i practically know it by heart4 ,take it with you4 ,you can send it back later40 8,i know the space-travel idea sounds silly at first10 said ,purdy1 8but it's the only answer that explains all the sightings-especially those in the last century40 ,he asked ,du,barry to give me their file of historic reports4 ,while ,john was getting it1 ,purdy went on3 8,be careful about this man ,steele4 ,after what he said about #8moral responsibility' ,i'm sure he's planted40 ,i thought back to ,steele's warning4 ,i told ,purdy3 8,if he had the space thing in mind1 maybe he's right4 ,it could set off a panic that would make that ,orson ,welles thing look like a picnic40 8,certainly it could10 ,purdy said4 8,we'd have to handle it carefully-if it turned out to be the truth4 ,but ,i think the ,air ,force is making a mistake1 if that's what they're hiding4 ,it could break the wrong way and be serious40 ,john ,du,barry came back with the file of old reports4 8,it might interest you to know10 he said1 8that the ,air ,force checked all these old sightings too40 ,the idea was still a difficult one for me to believe4 8,those space-travel suggestions might be a trick10 ,i said4 8,the ,air ,force may be hinting at that to hide the guided-missile secret40 8,yes1 but later on they deny the space thing10 said ,purdy4 8,it looks as if they're trying to put people on guard and then play it down1 so they won't get scared40 ,as ,i put the historic reports file in my brief case1 ,purdy handed me a letter from an investigator named ,hilton1 who had been working in the ,southwest4 ,i skimmed over his letter4 ,hilton had heard of some unusual night sightings in ,new ,mexico4 ,the story had been hushed up1 but he had learned some details from a pilot at ,albuquerque4 ,one of these mysterious 8flying lights0 had been seen at ,las ,vegas1 on ,december #h1 #aidh--;just one month before ,mantell was killed in ,kentucky4 ,it was too dark to make out the shape behind the light1 but all witnesses had agreed on its performance4 ,the thing had climbed at tremendous speed1 its upward motion shown by a bright green light4 ,though the green glow was much brighter than a plane's running light1 all plane schedules were carefully checked4 8,i think they were trying to pin it on a jet fighter10 the ,albuquerque pilot told ,hilton4 8,but there weren't any jets near there4 ,anyway1 the thing climbed too fast4 ,it must have been making close to nine hundred miles an hour40 ,the ,air ,force had also checked balloon release times--apparently just for the record1 since no balloon could even approach the saucer's terrific ascent4 ,again1 they drew a blank4 8,from the way this was hushed up10 ,hilton commented1 8they seem to be worried about this group of sightings4 ,i've heard two reports that the ,f4,b4,i4 is tied into the deal somehow1 but that's as far as ,i can get40 8,see if you can get any lead on that10 ,purdy told me4 8,that ,f4,b4,i4 business puzzles me4 ,where would they come in80 ,i said ,i would try to find out4 ,but it was almost four months before we learned the answer3 ,the ,f4,b4,i4 men had been witnesses4 7,this was later admitted in an obscure cross-reference in the final ,project 8,saucer0 report4 ,but all official answers to the strange green-light sightings had been carefully omitted4 ,the cases concerned were #bbc1 #bbd1 #bbe1 #bbf1 #bbg1 #bcj1 and #bca1 which will be discussed later47 8,when you go back to ,washington10 said ,purdy1 8see what reaction you get to the interplanetary idea40 ,i had a pretty good idea what the reaction would be1 but ,i nodded4 8,o4,k4 ,i'll go flag a space ship and be on my way40 8,o4,k4--gag it up10 said ,purdy4 8,but don't sell it short1 ,if by any chance it's true1 it'll be the biggest story since the birth of ,christ40 ,,chapter ,,vii ,it was dark when the airliner limousine reached ,la ,guardia ,field4 ,i had intended taking an earlier plane1 but ,du,barry persuaded me to stay over for dinner4 ,we dropped into the ,algonquin1 next door to ,true's office building4 ,halfway through dinner1 ,i asked ,john what he thought of the space-travel answer4 8,oh1 it's possible10 he said cautiously4 8,the time and space angles make it hard to take1 but if we're planning to explore space within fifty years1 there's no reason some other planet people couldn't do it4 ,of course1 if they've been observing us for over a century1 as those old sightings seem to indicate1 they must be far ahead of us1 at least in technical progress40 ,later on1 he said thoughtfully1 8,even though it's possible1 ,i hate to think it's the answer4 just imagine the impact on the world4 ,we'd have to reorient our whole lives--and things are complicated enough already40 ,standing at the gate1 waiting for my plane to be called1 ,i thought over that angle4 ,assuming that space travel was the solution--which ,i still couldn't believe-what would be the effect on the world8 ,it was a hard thing to picture4 ,so much depended on the visitors from space4 ,what would their purpose be8 ,would they be peaceful or hostile8 ,why had they been observing the earth so intensively in the past few years8 ,i could think of a hundred questions4 ,what would the space people be like8 ,would they be similar to men and women on earth1 or some fearsome ,buck ,rogerish creatures who would terrify the average ,american--including myself8 ,it was obvious they would be far superior to us in many ways4 ,but their civilization might be entirely different4 ,evolution might have developed their minds1 and possibly their bodies1 along lines we couldn't even grasp4 ,perhaps we couldn't even communicate with them4 ,what would be the net effect of making contact with beings from a distant planet8 ,would earthlings be terrified1 or1 if it seemed a peaceful exploration1 would we bc intrigued by the thought of a great adventure8 ,it would depend entirely on the space visitors' motives1 and how the world was prepared for such a revelation4 ,the more ,i thought about it1 the more fantastic thc thing seemed4 ,and yet it hadn't been too long since airplane flight was considered an idiot's dream4 ,this scene here at ,la ,guardia would have seemed pure fantasy in #aijj--thc huge ,constellations and ,,dc-#f's2 the double-decked ,stratocruisers1 sweeping in from all over the country2 the big ships at ,pan-,american1 taking off for points all over the globe4 ,we'd come a long way in the forty-six years since the ,wright brothers' first flight4 ,but space travel6 ,the gateman checked my ticket1 and ,i went out to the ,washington plane4 ,it was a luxury ship1 a fifty-two-passenger1 four-engined ,,dc-#f1 scheduled to be in the capital one hour after take-off4 ,by morning this plane1 the ,aztec1 would be in ,mexico ,city4 ,the couple going up the gangway ahead of me were in their late sixties4 ,fifty years ago1 what would they have said if someone had predicted this flight8 ,the answer to that was easy2 at that time1 high-school songbooks featured a well-known piece entitled 8,darius ,green and ,his ,flying ,machine40 ,darius1 it seems1 was a simple-minded lad who actually thought he could fly4 ,fifty years4 ,that was the time the ,air ,force had estimated it would take us to start exploring space4 ,would ,americans come to accept space travel as matter-of-factly as the people now boarding this plane8 ,the youngsters would1 probably2 the older ones1 as a rule1 would be a little more cautious4 ,in the oval lounge at the rear of the plane1 ,i took out the file of old sighting reports4 ,glancing through it1 ,i1 saw excerpts from nineteenth-century astronomical and scientific journals and extracts from official gazettes4 ,most of the early sightings had been in ,great ,britain and on the ,continent1 with a few reports scattered around the world4 ,the ,american reports did not begin until the latter part of the century4 ,the ,,dc-#f rolled out and took off4 ,for a few minutes ,i watched the lights of ,manhattan and ,greater ,new ,york twinkling below4 ,the ,empire ,state ,building tower was still above us1 as the plane banked over the ,east ,river4 ,we climbed quickly1 and the familiar outline of ,manhattan took shape like a map pin-pointed with millions of lights4 ,any large city seen from the air at night has a certain magic1 ,new ,york most of all4 ,looking down1 ,i thought3 ,what would a spaceman think1 seeing this brilliantly lighted city1 the towering skyscrapers8 ,would other planets have such cities1 or would it be something new and puzzling to a visitor from space8 ,turning back to the old reports1 ,i skipped through until ,i found the ,american sightings4 ,one of the first was an incident at ,bonham1 ,texas1 in the summer of #ahgc4 ,it was broad daylight when a strange1 fast-moving object appeared in the sky1 southwest of the town4 ,for a moment1 the people of ,bonham stared at the thing1 not believing their eves4 ,the only flying device then known was the drifting balloon4 ,but this thing was tremendous1 and speeding so fast its outlines were almost a blur4 ,terrified farmers dived under their wagons4 ,townspeople fled indoors4 ,only a few hardy souls remained in the streets4 ,the mysterious object circled ,bonham twice1 then raced off to the cast and vanished4 ,descriptions of the strange machine varied from round or oval to cigar-shaped4 7,the details of the ,bonham sighting were later confirmed for me by ,frank ,edwards1 ,mutual network newscaster1 who investigated this case47 ,twenty-four hours after the ,bonham incident1 a device of the same description appeared at ,fort ,scott1 ,kansas4 ,panic-stricken soldiers fled the parade ground as the thing flashed overhead4 ,in a few seconds it disappeared1 circling toward the north4 ,until now1 ,i had supposed that the term 8saucer0 was original with ,kenneth ,arnold4 ,actually1 the first to compare a flying object with a saucer was ,john ,martin1 a farmer who lived near ,denison1 ,texas4 ,the ,denison ,daily ,news of ,january #be1 #ahgh1 gives the following account3 ,from ,mr4 ,john ,martin1 a farmer who lives some six miles south of this city1 we learn the following strange story3 ,tuesday morning while out hunting1 his attention was directed to a dark object high up in the southern sky4 ,the peculiar shape and velocity with which the object seemed to approach riveted his attention and he strained his eves to discover its character4 ,when first noticed1 it appeared to be about the size of an orange1 which continued to grow in size4 ,after gazing at it for some time ,mr4 ,martin became blind from long looking and left off viewing it for a time in order to rest his eyes4 ,on resuming his view1 the object was almost overhead and had increased considerably in size1 and appeared to be going through space at wonderful speed4 ,when directly over him it was about the size of a large saucer and was evidently at great height4 ,mr4 ,martin thought it resembled1 as well as he could judge1 a balloon4 ,it went as rapidly as it had come and was soon lost to sight in the heavenly skies4 ,mr4 ,martin is a gentleman of undoubted veracity and this strange occurrence1 if it was not a balloon1 deserves the attention of our scientists4 ,in the file1 ,i saw a memo ,du,barry had written3 8,i would take the very early reports with caution4 ,for instance1 the one on ,august #i1 #agfb1 which describes an odd1 spindle-shaped body traveling at high speed toward the sun4 ,i recall that ,charles ,fort accepted this1 along with other early sightings1 as evidence of space ships4 ,but this particular thing might have been a meteor--meteors as such were almost unknown then4 ,the later reports are more convincing1 and it is also easier to check the sources1 especially those from #ahgj on40 ,from #agfb to #ahgj1 the reports were meager4 ,some described mysterious lights in the sky2 a few mentioned round objects seen in daylight4 ,even though they were not so fully documented as later ones1 one point struck me4 ,in those days1 there was no telegraph1 telephone1 or radio to spread news rapidly and start a flood of rumors4 ,a sighting in ,scotland could not be the cause of a similar one two days later in the south of ,france4 ,beginning in #hgj1 there was a series of reports that went on to the turn of the century4 ,in the ,london ,times1 ,september #bf1 #ahgj1 there was a description of a queer object that was seen crossing the moon4 ,it was reported as elliptical1 with some kind of tail1 and it took almost thirty seconds to complete its passage of the moon4 ,then in #ahga1 a large1 round body was sighted above ,marseilles1 ,france4 ,this was on ,august #a4 ,it moved slowly across the sky1 apparently at great height1 and was visible about fifteen minutes4 ,on ,march #bb1 #ahhj1 several brilliantly luminous objects were reported seen at ,kattenau1 ,germany4 ,sighted just before sunrise1 they were described as rising from the horizon and moving from east to west4 ,the account was published in the ,british ,nature ,magazine1 ,volume #bb1 page #fd4 ,the next report in the file mentioned briefly a strange round object seen in the skies over ,bermuda4 ,the source for this account was the ,bermuda ,royal ,gazette4 ,this was in #ahhe4 ,that same year1 an astronomer and other witnesses reported a gigantic aerial object at ,adrianople1 ,turkey4 ,on ,november #a1 the weird apparition was seen moving across the sky4 ,observers described it as round and four to five times the size of the moon4 ,this estimate is similar to the ,denison1 ,texas1 comparison with an orange4 ,the object would actually be huge to be seen at any great height4 ,but unless the true height were known1 any estimate of size would be guesswork4 ,on ,march #ai1 #ahhg1 two strange objects fell into the sea near a ,dutch barkentine4 ,as described by the skipper1 ,captain ,c4 ,d4 ,sweet1 one of the objects was dark1 the other brightly luminous4 ,the glowing object fell with a loud roaring sound2 the shipmaster was positive it was not a meteor4 ,in ,new ,zealand1 a year later1 an oval-shaped disk was reported speeding high overhead4 ,this was on ,may #d1 #ahhh4 ,about two years after this1 several large aerial bodies were sighted hovering over the ,dutch ,east ,indies4 ,most accounts described them as roughly triangular1 about one hundred feet on the base and two hundred feet on the sides4 ,but some observers thought they might be longer and narrower1 with a rounded base2 this would make them agree with more recent stories of cone-shaped objects with rounded tops seen in ,american skies4 ,on ,august #bf1 #ahid1 a ,british admiral reported sighting a large disk with a projection like a tail4 ,and a year after this1 both ,england and ,scotland buzzed with stories of triangular-shaped objects like those seen in the ,dutch ,east ,indies4 ,although many officials scoffed at the stories1 more than one astronomer stuck to his belief that the mysterious things might be coming from outer space4 ,since planes and dirigibles were then unknown1 there was no one on earth who could have been responsible for them4 ,in #ahig1 sightings in the ,united ,states began to be more frequent4 ,one of the strangest reports describes an incident that began on ,april #i4 ,flying at a great height1 a huge cigar-shaped device was seen in the ,midwest4 ,short wings projected from the sides of the object1 according to reports of astronomers who watched it through telescopes4 ,for almost a week1 the aerial visitor was sighted around the ,midwest1 as far south as ,st4 ,louis and as far west as ,colorado4 ,several times1 red1 green1 and white lights were seen to flash in the sky2 some witnesses thought the crew of this strange craft might be trying to signal the earth4 ,on ,april #af1 the thing1 whatever it was1 disappeared from the ,midwest4 ,but on ,april #ai1 the same object--or else a similar one--appeared over ,west ,virginia4 ,early that morning the town of ,sisterville was awakened by blasts of the sawmill whistle4 ,those who went outside their homes saw a strange sight4 ,from a torpedo-shaped object overhead1 dazzling searchlights were pointing downward1 sweeping the countryside4 ,the thing appeared to be about two hundred feet long1 some thirty feet in diameter1 with stubby wings and red and green lights along the sides4 ,for almost ten minutes the aerial visitor circled the town1 then it swung eastward and vanished4 ,the next report was published in the ,u4,s4 ,weather ,bureau's monthly ,weather ,review4 ,on page #aae in the ,march #aijd issue1 there is an account of an odd sighting at sea4 ,on ,february #bd1 #aijd1 a mysterious light had been seen above the ,atlantic by crew members of the ,u4,s4,s4 ,supply4 ,it was moving swiftly1 and evidently at high altitude4 ,the report was attested by ,lieutenant ,frank ,h4 ,schofield1 ,u4,s4,n4 ,on ,july #b1 #aijg1 a mysterious explosion occurred1 in the heavens near ,burlington1 ,vermont4 ,some witnesses described a strange1 torpedo-shaped device circling above4 ,shortly after it was seen1 a round1 luminous object flashed down from the sky1 then exploded1 7,weather ,review1 #aijg1 page #caj47 ,another cigar-shaped craft was reported at a low altitude over ,bridgewater1 ,massachusetts1 in #aije4 ,like the one at ,sisterville1 it carried searchlights1 which swept back and forth across the countryside4 ,after a few moments1 the visitor rose in a steep climb1 and the searchlights blinked out4 ,there was no report for #aiji in ,america1 though an odd aerial object was sighted near the ,galapagos ,islands4 ,but in #aiaj1 one ,january morning1 a large silvery cigar-shaped device startled ,chattanooga4 ,after about five minutes1 the thing sped away1 appearing over ,huntsville1 ,alabama1 shortly afterward4 ,it made a second appearance over ,chattanooga the next day1 then headed east and was never seen again4 ,in ,popular ,astronomy1 ,january #bg1 #ajab1 a ,dr4 ,f4 ,b4 ,harris described an intensely black object that he saw crossing the moon4 ,as nearly as he could tell1 it was gigantic in size--though again there was no way to be sure of its distance from him or the moon4 ,with careful understatement1 ,dr4 ,harris said1 8,i think a very interesting and curious phenomenon happened that night40 ,a strange shadow was noted on the clouds at ,fort ,worth1 ,texas1 on ,april #h1 #ai1 #c4 ,it appeared to be caused by some large body hovering motionless above the clouds4 ,as the cloud layer moved1 the shadow remained in the same position4 ,then it changed size1 diminishing1 and quickly disappeared1 as if it had risen vertically4 ,a report on this was given in the ,weather ,bureau ,review of that year1 ,number #d-eii4 ,by #aiai1 dirigibles were of course well known to most of the world4 ,when a dirigible-shaped object appeared over ,huntington1 ,west ,virginia1 in ,july of that year1 there was no great alarm4 ,it was believed to be an ,american blimp1 though the darkness--it was eleven at night--prevented observers from being sure4 ,but a later check-up proved it was not an ,american ship1 nor was it from any country possessing such craft4 ,for some time after this1 there were few authentic reports4 ,then in #aicd1 ,nicholas ,roerich1 head of the ,american-,roerich expedition into ,tibet1 had a remarkable experience that bears on the saucer riddle4 ,on pages #cfa and #cfb of his book ,altai ,himalaya1 ,roerich describes the incident4 ,the expedition party was in the wilds of ,tibet one morning when a porter noticed the peculiar actions of a buzzard overhead4 ,he called ,roerich's attention to it2 then they all saw something high in the sky1 moving at great speed from north to south4 ,watching it through binoculars1 ,roerich saw it was oval-shaped1 obviously of huge size1 and reflecting the sun's rays like brightly polished metal4 ,while he trailed it with his glasses1 the object suddenly changed direction1 from south to southwest4 ,it was gone in a few moments4 ,this was the last sighting listed before ,world ,war ,,ii4 ,when ,i had finished1 ,i stared out the plane window1 curiously disturbed4 ,like most people1 ,i had grown up believing the earth was the center of everything--life1 intelligence1 and religion4 ,now1 for the first time in my life1 that belief was shaken4 ,it was a curious thing4 ,i could accept the idea that we would eventually explore space1 land on the moon1 and go on to distant planets4 ,i had read of the plans1 and ,i knew our engineers and scientists would somehow find a way4 ,it did not disturb my belief in our superiority4 ,but faced with this evidence of a superior race in the universe1 my mind rebelled4 ,for years1 ,i had been accustomed to thinking in comic-strip terms of any possible spacemen--,buck ,rogers stuff1 with weird-looking space ships and green-faced ,martians4 ,but now1 if these sightings were true1 the shoe was on the other foot4 ,we would be faced with a race of beings at least two hundred years ahead of our civilization--perhaps thousands4 ,in their eyes1 we might look like primitives4 ,my conjectures before the take-off had just been idle thinking2 ,i had not really believed this could be the answer4 ,but now the question came back sharply4 ,how would we react to a sudden appearance of space ships1 bringing that higher race to the earth8 ,if we were fully prepared1 educated to this tremendous adventure1 it might come off without trouble4 ,unprepared1 we would be thrown into panic4 ,the lights of ,philadelphia showed up ahead1 and a thought struck me4 ,what would ,philadelphians of #aggf have thought to see this ,,dc-#f flying across their city at three hundred miles an hour8 ,what would the sentries at ,valley ,forge have done1 a year later1 if this lighted airliner had streaked over their heads8 ,madness4 ,stampede4 ,those were the plain answers4 ,but there was a difference now4 ,we had had modern miracles1 radio1 television1 supersonic planes1 and the promise of still more miracles4 ,we could be educated1 or at least partly prepared1 to accept space visitors4 ,in fifty years we had learned to fly4 ,in fifty years more1 we would be exploring space4 ,why should we believe such creative intelligence was limited to the earth8 ,it would be incredible if the earth1 out of all the millions of planets1 proved the only inhabited spot in the whole universe4 ,but1 instinctively1 ,i still fought against believing that the flying saucers were space ships4 ,eventually1 we would make contact with races on other planets2 they undoubtedly would someday visit the earth4 ,but if it could be put off 4 4 4 a problem for later generations to handle 4 4 4 ,if the disks proved ,american guided missiles1 it would be an easier answer4 ,looking through the ,project 8,saucer0 report ,du,barry had loaned me1 ,i read the space-travel items1 hoping to find some hint that this was a smoke screen4 ,on page #ah1 in a discussion on ,mars1 ,i found this comment3 8,reports of strange objects seen in the skies have been handed down through the generations4 ,however1 scientists believe that if ,martians were now visiting the earth without establishing contact1 it could be assumed that they have just recently succeeded in space travel1 and that their civilization would be practically abreast of ours4 ,this because they find it hard to believe that any technically established race would come here1 flaunt its ability in mysterious ways over the years1 but each time simply go way without ever establishing contact40 ,there could be several answers to that4 ,the ,martians might not be able to live in our atmosphere1 except in their sealed space ships4 ,they1 or some other planet race1 could have observed us periodically to check on our slow progress4 ,until we began to approach their level of civilization1 or in some way caused them concern1 they would probably see no reason for trying to make contact4 ,but somehow ,i found a vague comfort in the argument1 full of holes though it was4 ,searching further1 ,i found other space-travel comments4 ,on one page1 the ,air ,force admitted it was almost a certainty that space travelers would be operating from planets outside the solar system4 ,but on the following page1 ,i discovered this sentence3 8,thus1 although visits from outer space are believed to be possible1 they are thought to be highly improbable40 ,what was the answer8 ,was this just a wandering discussion of possibilities1 badly put together1 or was it a hint of the truth8 it could be the first step in preparing ,america for a revelation4 ,it could also be a carefully thought-out trick4 ,this whole report might be designed to conceal a secret weapon4 ,if the ,air ,force or the ,navy did have a secret missile1 what better way to distract attention8 ,the old sighting reports could have been seized on as a buildup for space travel hints4 ,then suddenly it hit me4 ,even if it were a smoke screen1 what of those old reports8 ,they still remained to be answered4 ,there was only one possible explanation1 unless you discarded the sightings as lies4 ,that meant discrediting many reliable witnesses--naval officers1 merchant shipmasters1 explorers1 astronomers1 ministers1 and responsible public officials4 ,besides all these1 there had been thousands of other witnesses1 where large groups had seen the objects4 ,the answer seemed inevitable1 but ,i held it off4 ,i didn't want to believe it1 with all the changes it might bring1 the unpredictable effect upon our civilization4 ,if ,i kept on checking ,i might find evidence that would bring a different explanation for the present saucers4 ,du,barry had put another group of reports in the envelope2 this series covered the ,world ,war ,,ii phase and on up to the outbreak of the saucer scare in the ,united ,states4 ,some of it1 about the foo fighters1 ,i already knew4 ,this was tied in with the mystery rockets reported over ,sweden4 ,the first ,swedish sightings had occurred during the early part of the war4 ,most of the so-called 8ghost rockets0 were seen at night1 moving at tremendous speed4 ,since they came from the direction of ,germany1 most ,swedes believed that guided rockets were the answer4 ,during the summer of #aidf1 after the ,russians had taken over ,peenemunde1 the ,nazi missile test base1 ghost rockets again were reported flying over ,sweden4 ,some were said to double back and fly into ,soviet areas4 ,practically all were seen at night1 and therefore none had been described as a flying disk4 ,instead1 they were said to be colored lights1 red1 green1 blue1 and orange1 often blurred from their high speed4 ,but there was a puzzling complication4 ,mystery lights1 and sometimes flying disks1 were simultaneously reported over ,greece1 ,portugal1 ,turkey1 ,spain1 and even ,french ,morocco4 ,either there were two answers1 or some nation had developed missiles with an incredibly long range4 ,by ,january #aidg1 ghost-rocket sightings in ,europe had diminished to less than one a month4 ,oddly enough1 the first disk report admitted by ,project 8,saucer0 was in this same month4 ,the first '#dg case detailed by ,project 8,saucer0 occurred at ,richmond1 ,virginia4 ,it was about the middle of ,april4 ,a ,richmond weather observer had released a balloon and was tracking it with a theodolite when a strange object crossed his field of vision4 ,he swung the theodolite and managed to track the thing1 despite its high speed4 7,the actual speed and altitude--the latter determined by a comparison of the balloon's height at various times--have never been released4 ,nor has the ,air ,force released this observer's report on the object's size1 which ,project 8,saucer0 admitted was more accurate than most witnesses' estimates47 ,about the seventeenth of ,may #aidg1 a huge oval-shaped saucer ten times longer than its diameter was sighted by ,byron ,savage1 an ,oklahoma ,city pilot4 ,two days later1 another fast-flying saucer was reported at ,manitou ,springs1 ,colorado4 ,in the short time it was observed1 it was seen to change direction twice1 maneuvering at an unbelievable speed4 ,then on ,june #bd came ,kenneth ,arnold's famous report1 which set off the saucer scare4 ,the rest of the story ,i now knew almost by heart4 ,when the ,,dc-#f landed at ,washington1 ,i had made one decision4 ,since it was impossible to check up on most of the old sightings1 ,i would concentrate on certain recent reports--cases in which the objects had been described as space ships4 ,as ,i waited for a taxi1 ,i looked up at the sky4 ,it was a clear summer night1 without a single cloud4 ,beyond the low hill to the west ,i could see the stars4 ,i can still remember thinking1 ,if it's true1 then the stars will never again seem the same4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,next morning1 in the broad light of day1 the idea of space visitors somehow had lost its menace4 ,if the disks were space ships1 at least they had shown no sign of hostility1 so far as ,i knew4 ,of course1 there was ,mantell2 but if he had been downed by some weapon on the disk1 it could have been self-defense4 ,in most cases1 the saucers retreated at the first sign of pursuit4 ,my mind was still reluctant to accept the space-travel answer1 in spite of the old reports4 ,but ,i kept thinking of the famous aircraft designer who thought the disks were space craft2 the airline pilots ,purdy had mentioned2 ,blake's copilot1 ,chuck4 4 4 4 ,now that ,i recalled it1 ,blake had been more embarrassed than seemed called for when he told about ,chuck4 ,perhaps he had been the one who believed the saucers were space ships1 instead of his absent copilot4 ,after breakfast1 ,i went over the list of sightings since ,june #aidg4 ,there were several saucers that actually had been described as projectile-like ships4 ,the most famous of all was the ,eastern ,airlines case4 ,it was #h3cj ,p4,m41 ,july #bc1 #aidh1 when an ,eastern ,airlines ,,dc-#c took off from ,houston1 ,texas1 on a flight to ,atlanta and ,boston4 ,the airliner captain was ,clarence ,s4 ,chiles4 ,during the war1 he had been in the ,air ,transport ,command1 with the rank of lieutenant colonel4 ,he had #h1ejj flying hours4 ,his first officer was ,john ,b4 ,whitted1 a wartime pilot on ,b-#bi's4 ,both men were known in ,eastern as careful1 conservative pilots4 ,it was a bright1 moonlit night1 with scattered clouds overhead4 ,the ,,dc-#c was twenty miles west of ,montgomery1 at #b3de ,a4,m41 when a brilliant projectile-like craft came hurtling along the airway4 ,chiles saw it first and took it to be a jet plane4 ,but the next instant both pilots saw that this was no jet fighter4 8,it was heading southwest10 ,chiles said later1 8exactly opposite to our course4 ,whatever it was1 it flashed down toward us at terrific speed4 ,we veered to the left4 ,it veered sharply1 too1 and passed us about seven hundred feet to the right4 ,i saw then that it had no wings40 ,the mystery ship passed on ,whitted's side1 and he had a fairly close look4 8,the thing was about one hundred feet long1 cigar-shaped1 and wingless10 he described it4 8,it was about twice the diameter of a ,b-twenty-nine1 with no protruding fins40 ,captain ,chiles said the cabin appeared like a pilot compartment1 except for its eerie brilliance4 ,both he and ,whitted agreed it was as bright as a magnesium flare4 ,they saw no occupants1 but at their speed this was not4 surprising4 8,an intense dark-blue glow came from the side of the ship10 ,chiles reported4 7,it was later suggested by engineers that the strange glare could have come from a power plant of unusual type47 8,it ran the entire length of the fuselage--like a blue fluorescent light4 ,the exhaust was a red-orange flame1 with a lighter color predominant around the outer edges40 ,both pilots said the flame extended thirty to fifty feet behind the ship4 ,as it passed1 ,chiles noted a snout like a radar pole4 ,both he and ,whitted glimpsed two rows of windows4 8,just as it went by10 said ,chiles1 8the pilot pulled up as if he had seen the ,,dc-three and wanted to avoid its4 ,there was a tremendous burst of flame from the rear4 ,it zoomed into the clouds1 its jet wash rocking our ,,dc-three40 ,chiles's estimate of the mystery ship's speed was between five hundred and seven hundred miles an hour4 ,as the object vanished1 ,chiles went back into the cabin to check with the passengers4 ,most had been asleep or were drowsing4 ,but one man confirmed that they were in their right senses4 ,this passenger1 ,clarence ,mc,kelvie of ,columbus1 ,ohio1 told them 7and a ,project 8,saucer0 team later7 that he had seen a brilliant streak of light flash past his window4 ,it had gone too swiftly for him to catch any details4 ,the ,a4,p4 interviewed ,mr4 ,mc,kelvie soon after he landed1 and ran the following story3 8,kennett ,square1 ,pa41 ,july #bd 7,,ap7 4 ,clarence ,l4 ,mc,kelvie1 assistant managing editor of the ,american ,education ,press1 said he was the only passenger on the ,,eal ,houston-,boston plane who was not asleep when the phantom craft was sighted4 8#8,i saw no shape or form1' ,mr4 ,mc,kelvie said4 #8,i was on the right side of the plane1 and suddenly ,i saw this strange eerie streak out of my window4 ,it was very intense1 not like lightning or anything ,i had ever seen4' 8,the ,columbus man said he was too startled and the object moved too quickly for him to adjust his eyes to it40 ,in ,washington1 ,air ,force officials insisted they could shed no light on the mystery4 ,out in ,santa ,monica1 ,general ,george ,c4 ,kenney1 then chief of the ,strategic ,air ,command1 declared the ,air ,force had nothing remotely like the ship described4 8,i wish we did10 ,general ,kenney told reporters4 8,i'd sure like to see that40 ,the publicized story of this 8space ship0 set off another scare--also the usual cracks about screwball pilots4 ,but ,chiles and ,whitted were not screwballs2 they were highly respected pilots4 ,the passenger's confirmation added weight4 ,but even if all three had been considered deluded1 the ,air ,force investigators could not get around the reports from ,robbins ,air ,force ,base4 ,just about one hour before the ,,dc-#c incident1 a strange flaming object came racing southward through the night skies over ,robbins ,field1 at ,macon1 ,georgia4 ,observers at the air base were astounded to see what appeared to be a huge1 wingless craft streak overhead1 trailing a varicolored exhaust4 7,the witnesses' description tallied with those of ,chiles and ,whitted47 ,the mystery ship vanished swiftly2 all observers agreed that it disappeared from the line of sight just like a normal aircraft4 ,while ,i was working on this case1 a contact in ,washington gave me an interesting tip4 8,within forty-eight hours after that ,eastern sighting1 ,air ,force engineers rushed out blueprint plans and elevations of the #8space ship1' based on what the two pilots told them40 ,whether or not this was true1 ,i found that the ,air ,force engineers did compute the probable speed and lift of the mystery craft4 ,the ship was found to be within the bounds of aerodynamic laws for operations in our atmosphere4 ,here is the ,air ,force statement3 8,application of the ,prandtl theory of lift indicated that a fuselage of the dimensions reported by ,chiles and ,whitted could support a load comparable to the weight of an aircraft of this size1 at flying speeds in the sub-sonic range40 7,this supports ,chiles's estimate of #ejj-gjj m4p4h47 ,four days after the space-ship story was published1 a ,navy spokesman was quoted as hinting it might have been a high-atmosphere rocket gone astray from the proving grounds in ,new ,mexico4 ,the brief report appeared on the editorial page of the ,washington ,star on ,july #bh1 #aidg4 ,it ran as follows3 8,the ,navy says that naval technicians have been testing a #c1jjj-mile-per-hour rocket in ,new ,mexico4 ,if one went astray1 it could travel across our continent in a short time40 ,at first glance ,i thought this might be the real answer to the ,chiles-,whitted case4 ,but after a few minutes ,i saw it was almost impossible4 ,first1 rockets at ,white ,sands are launched and controlled with utmost care4 ,there have been no reported cases of such a long-distance runaway4 ,second1 if such a rocket had gone astray1 it would certainly have caused wild confusion at ,white ,sands until they found where it landed4 ,hundreds of people would have known about it2 the story would be certain to leak out4 ,third1 such a rocket would have had to travel from ,white ,sands to ,macon1 ,georgia1 then circle around south of this city for over forty minutes4 7,if it had kept on at the speed observed at ,robbins ,field1 it would have passed ,montgomery long before the ,,dc-#c reached the area47 ,in addition1 the rocket would have had to veer sharply away from the airliner1 as both pilots testified1 and then zoom into the clouds4 ,no high-atmosphere test rocket has automatic controls such as this would require4 ,and if it had gone astray from ,white ,sands1 the station's remote control would no longer be guiding it4 ,the ,eastern ,airlines 8space ship10 then1 was not just a fugitive rocket4 ,but it could be a new type of aircraft1 something revolutionary1 developed in absolute secrecy4 ,other airline pilots had reported flying disks racing along the airways1 though none that ,i knew of had described projectile-like objects4 ,chiles and ,whitted insisted the mystery ship was not a disk1 and the report from ,robbins ,field agreed on this point4 ,man-made devices or not1 it seemed fairly certain there was more than one type of saucer4 ,the more ,i studied the evidence1 the harder it was to believe that this was an earth-made ship4 ,such a wingless rocket ship would require tremendous jet power to keep it in the air4 ,even our latest jet bombers could not begin to approach its performance4 ,going back over the ,project 8,saucer0 preliminary report1 ,i found strong evidence that the ,air ,force was worried4 ,in their investigation1 ,project teams had screened #bbe military and civilian flight schedules4 ,after nine months1 they reported that the mysterious object was no conventional aircraft4 ,on ,april #bg1 #aidi1 the ,air ,force admitted that ,project 8,saucer0 had failed to find the answer4 ,the 8space ship0 was officially listed as unidentified4 8,but ,wright ,field is still working on it10 an ,air ,force officer told me4 8,both ,chiles and ,whitted are responsible pilots1 and ,mc,kelvie has a reputation for making careful statements4 ,even without the ,robbins ,field confirmation1 no one could doubt that they saw something40 ,the ,chiles-,whitted 8space ship0 was not the first of this type to be reported4 ,another wingless aircraft was sighted in ,august #aidg1 by two pilots for an ,alabama flying service4 ,it was at ,bethel1 ,alabama1 just after sunset1 when a huge black wingless craft swept across their course4 ,silhouetted against the evening sky1 it loomed larger than a ,c-#ed4 ,the pilots saw no wings1 motors1 or jet exhausts4 ,swinging in behind the mystery ship1 they attempted to follow4 ,but at their speed of #agj m4p4h4 they were quickly outdistanced4 ,careful checking showed there were no other planes nearby that could have been mistaken for this strange craft4 ,on ,new ,year's ,day1 #aidh1 a similar rocket-shaped object was sighted at ,jackson1 ,mississippi4 ,it was first seen by a former ,air ,force pilot and his passenger1 and later by witnesses on the ground4 ,before the pilot could begin to close in1 the odd wingless ship pulled away4 ,speeding up from #bjj to #ejj m4p4h41 it swiftly disappeared4 ,besides these two cases1 already on record1 ,i had the tips ,purdy had given me4 ,one wingless ship was supposed to have been seen three or four days before the ,chiles-,whitted sighting2 like the thing they reported1 the unidentified craft was a double-decked 8space ship0 but moving at even higher speed4 ,at first ,i ran into a stone wall trying to check this story4 ,then ,i found a lead conforming that this was a foreign report4 ,it finally proved to be from ,the ,hague4 ,the tip had been right4 ,this double-decked1 wingless ship had been sighted on ,july #bj1 #aidh--;four days before the ,eastern case4 ,witnesses had reported it at a high altitude1 moving at fantastic speed4 ,while working on this report1 ,i verified another tip4 ,we had heard a rumor of a space-ship sighting at ,clark ,field1 in the ,philippine ,islands4 ,although ,i didn't learn the date1 ,i found that there was such a record4 7,in the final ,project 8,saucer0 report1 the attempt to explain away this sighting was painfully evident4 ,analyzing this case1 ,number #bjf1 the ,air ,force said3 8,if the facts are correct1 there is no astronomical explanation4 ,a few points favor the daytime meteor hypothesis--snow-white color1 speed faster than a jet1 the roar1 similarity to sky-writing and the time of day4 ,but the tactics1 if really performed1 oppose it strenuously3 the maneuvers in and out of cloud banks1 turns of #ahj degrees or more1 ,possibly these were illusions1 caused by seeing the object intermittently through clouds4 ,the impression of a fuselage with windows could even more easily have been a sign of imagination40 7,with this conjecture1 ,project 8,saucer0 listed the sighting as officially answered4 ,the ,hague space-ship case was unexplained47 ,in following up the ,jackson and ,bethel reports1 ,i talked with two officials in the ,civil ,aeronautics ,administration4 ,one of these was ,charley ,planck1 who handled public relations4 ,i found that the pilots concerned had good records2 ,c4,a4,a4 men who knew them discounted the hoax theory4 8,charley1 there's a rumor that airline pilots have been ordered not to talk10 ,i told ,planck4 8,you know anything about it80 8,you mean ordered by the ,air ,force or the companies80 he said4 8,the ,air ,force and the ,c4,a4,a40 8,if the ,c4,a4,a4's in on it1 it's a top-level deal10 said ,charley4 8,i think it's more likely the companies--with or without a nudge from the ,air ,force40 ,while we were talking1 an official from another agency came in4 ,because the lead he gave me was off the record1 ,i'll call him ,steve ,barrett4 ,i knew ,steve fairly well4 ,we were both pilots with service training2 our paths had crossed during the war1 and ,i saw him now and then at airports around ,washington4 ,when the saucer scare first broke1 ,steve had been disgusted4 8,damn fools trying to get publicity10 he snorted4 8,the way ,americans fall for a gag6 ,even the ,air ,force has got the jitters40 ,so ,i was a little surprised to find he now thought the disks were real4 8,what sold you80 ,i asked4 8,the radar reports10 said ,steve4 8,i know of half a dozen cases where they've tracked the things4 ,one was in ,japan4 ,the thing was climbing so fast no one believed the radarmen at first4 ,then they got some more reports4 ,one was up in ,canada4 ,there was a case in ,new ,mexico1 and ,i think a ,navy destroyer tracked a saucer up in the ,north ,atlantic40 8,what did they find out80 said ,charley ,planck4 ,steve shrugged4 8,i don't know all the answers4 ,whatever they are1 the things can go like hell40 ,i had a hunch he was holding back4 ,i waited until he had finished with ,charley1 and then went1 down the hall with him4 8,you think the saucers are guided missiles80 ,i said4 8,if ,i thought so1 ,i wouldn't be talking10 he said flatly1 8,that's not a dig at you4 ,but ,i was cleared last year for some secret electronics work1 and it might be used in some way with guided missiles40 8,i didn't know that1 ,steve40 8,it's ,o4,k410 he said4 8,i don't mind talking1 because can't believe the saucers are guided missiles4 ,maybe few of the things sighted out in the ,southwest have beer our test rockets1 but that doesn't explain the radar reports in ,canada and ,japan40 8,i'd already heard about a radar case in ,labrador10 ,i told ,steve4 ,he looked at me quickly4 8,where'd you pick that up20 8,true passed it on to me10 ,i said4 8,they've had some trouble tracking the things1 they maneuver so fast10 said ,steve4 8,it sounds crazy1 but ,i've been told they hit more than ten thousand miles an hour40 8,you believe it480 8,well1 it's not impossible4 ,those saucers were tracked about fifty miles up1 where there's not much resistance40 ,the elevator door opened4 ,steve waited until we were outside of the ,commerce ,building4 8,there's one other thing that gets me10 he said4 8,unless the radar boys are way off1 some of those saucers are enormous4 ,i just can't see a guided missile five hundred feet in diameter40 ,he stopped for a moment4 8,i suppose this will sound screwy to you--0 8,you think they're interplanetary10 ,i said4 ,steve was quickly on the defensive4 8,i haven't bought it yet1 but it's not as crazy as it sounds40 ,without mentioning names1 ,i told him about the aircraft designer and the airline pilots4 8,they're in good company10 said ,steve4 8,you know the ,air ,institute80 8,sure--the ,air ,force school down at ,montgomery40 8,six months ago1 ,i was talking with an officer who'd been instructing there40 ,steve looked at me1 deadly serious4 8,he told me they are now teaching that the saucers are probably space ships40 ,,chapter ,,ix ,three days after my meeting with ,steve ,barrett1 ,i was on a ,mainliner #cjj1 starting1 a new phase of the saucer investigation4 ,by the time ,i returned1 ,i hoped to know the truth about ,project 8,saucer40 ,as the ship droned westward1 fourteen thousand feet above the ,alleghenies1 ,i thought of what ,steve had told me4 ,i believed1 that he had told me about the radar tracking4 ,and ,i was fairly sure he believed the ,air ,institute story4 ,but ,i wasn't so certain the story itself was true4 ,it would hardly be a gag2 ,steve wasn't easily taken in4 ,it was more likely that one ,institute officer1 or perhaps several1 believed the saucers were space craft and aired their personal opinions4 ,the ,institute wasn't likely to give an official answer to something that ,project 8,saucer0 still declared unsolved4 ,if it were possible to get an inside look at ,project 8,saucer0 operations1 ,i could soon tell whether it was an actual investigation or a deliberate cover-up for something else4 ,whichever it was1 the wall of official4 secrecy still hid it4 ,as a formality1 ,i had called the ,pentagon again and asked to talk with some of the ,project officers4 ,as ,i expected1 ,i was turned down4 ,the only alternative was to dig out the story by talking with pilots and others who had been4 quizzed by ,project teams4 ,i had several leads1 and ,true had arranged some interviews for me4 ,my first stop was ,chicago1 where ,i met an airline official and two commercial pilots4 ,i saw the pilots first4 ,since they both talked in confidence1 ,i will not use their right names4 ,one1 a ,midwesterner ,i already knew1 ,i'll call ,pete ,farrell2 the other1 a wartime instructor1 ,art ,green4 ,pete was about thirty-one1 stocky1 blue-eyed1 with a pleasant1 intelligent face4 ,art ,green was a little older1 a lean1 sunburned1 restless man with an emphatic voice4 ,pete had served with the ,air ,force during the war2 he was now part owner of a flying school1 also a pilot in the ,air ,national ,guard4 ,green was working for an air charter service ,we met at the ,palmer ,house4 ,art ,green didn't need much prompting to talk about ,project 8,saucer40 ,after reporting a disk1 seen during a ,west ,coast ,right1 he had been thoroughly grilled by a ,project 8,saucer0 team4 8,they practically took me apart10 he said irritably4 8,they've got a lot of trick questions4 ,some of 'em are figured out to trip up anybody faking a story4 ,the way they worked on me1 you'd think ,i committed a murder4 8,then they tried to sell me on the idea ,i'd seen a balloon1 or maybe a plane1 with the sun shining on it when it banked4 ,i told them to go to the devil--,i knew what ,i saw4 ,after seventeen years1 ,i've got enough sense to tell a ship or a balloon when ,i see it40 8,did they believe you80 ,i asked him4 8,if they did1 they didn't let on4 ,two of 'em acted as if they thought ,i was nuts4 ,the other guy-,i think he was ,air ,force ,intelligence--acted decent4 ,he said not to get steamed up about the ,aero-,medical boys2 it was their job to screen out the crackpots4 8,and on top of that1 ,i found out later the ,f4,b4,i4 had checked up on me to find out if ,i was a liar or a screwball4 ,they went around to my boss1 people in my neighborhood--even the pilots in my outfit4 ,my outfit's still razzing me4 ,i wouldn't report another saucer if one flew through my cockpit40 ,pete ,farrell hadn't encountered any ,project 8,saucer0 teams personally1 but he had some interesting angles4 ,some of the information had come from commercial and private pilots in the ,midwest1 part of it through ,national ,guard contacts4 8,i can tell you one thing10 ,pete said4 8,guard pilots got the same order as the ,air ,force4 ,if we saw anything peculiar flying around1 we were to do our damnedest to identify it40 8,what about trying to bring one down8 ,i've heard that was in one order40 ,pete hesitated for a second4 8,look1 ,i told you that much because it's been in the papers4 ,but ,i'm still in the ,guard4 ,i can't tell you the order itself4 ,it was confidential40 8,well1 ,i'm not in the ,guard10 said ,art ,green4 ,he lit a cigarette1 blew out the match4 8,why don't you look into the ,gorman case8 ,get thc dope on that court-martial angle40 ,i'd heard of the ,gorman case1 but the court-martial thing was new to me4 ,gorman1 ,i recalled1 was a fighter pilot in the ,north ,dakota ,air ,national ,guard4 ,he had a mystifying encounter with a strange1 fast-moving 8light0 over ,fargo ,airport in the fall of #aidh4 8,that case is on my list10 ,i told ,green4 8,but ,i don't remember anything about a court-martial40 8,it wasn't in the papers4 ,but all the pilots up that way know about it4 ,in his report1 ,gorman said something about trying to ram the thing4 ,the idea got around that ,air ,force orders had said to try this4 ,anyway1 it got into the papers and ,gorman almost got court-martialed4 ,if his family hadn't had some influence in the state1 the ,air ,force probably would have pushed it40 8,are you sure about this80 ,i said4 8,you know how those things build up40 8,ask ,gorman10 he said4 8,or ask some of the pilots at ,fargo40 ,before ,i left them1 ,green double-checked my report on his sighting1 which ,hilton had forwarded4 ,as in the majority of cases1 he had seen just one disk4 ,it had hovered at a very high altitude1 gleaming in the sun1 then had suddenly accelerated and raced off to the north4 8,i couldn't tell its size or speed10 said ,green4 8,but if it was as high as ,i think1 it must have been pretty big40 ,pete told me later that ,green believed the disk had been at least twenty miles high1 because it was well above clouds at thirty thousand feet4 8,it's kind of hard to believe10 said ,pete4 8,the thing would have to be a lot bigger than a ,b-twenty-nine1 and the speed over two thousand miles an hour40 8,you know what they said about the ,mantell saucer10 ,i reminded him4 8,some of the ,godman ,field people said it was at least three hundred feet in diameter40 8,i've heard it was twice that10 said ,pete4 8,you know any ,kentucky ,national ,guard pilots80 ,i asked4 8,one or two10 said ,pete4 8,but they couldn't tell me anything4 ,it was hushed up too fast40 ,that evening ,i talked with the airline official1 whom ,i knew well enough to call by his first name4 ,i put it to him bluntly4 8,dick1 if you're under orders not to talk1 just tell me4 ,fm trying to find out whether ,project #8,saucer' has muzzled airline pilots40 8,you mean the ones who've sighted things8 ,perhaps1 in a few cases4 ,but most of the pilots know what happened to ,captain ,emil ,smith1 on ,united1 and those ,eastern pilots4 ,they keep still so they won't be laughed at4 ,also the airlines don't like their pilots to talk for publication40 8,i've heard of several cases10 ,i said1 8where ,air ,force ,intelligence is supposed to have warned pilots to keep mum4 ,two of the reports come pretty straight40 ,he made a gesture4 8,that could be4 ,i'm not denying that airline pilots--and that includes ours--see these things all the time4 ,they've been sighted on the ,seattle-,alaska route1 and between ,anchorage and ,japan4 ,i know of several saucers that pilots have seen between ,honolulu and the mainland4 ,check with ,pan-,american--you'll find their pilots have seen them1 too40 8,what happens to those reports80 8,they go to ,operations10 said ,dick4 8,of course1 if something really important happens1 the pilot may radio the tower before he lands4 ,then the ,c4,a4,a4 gets word to the ,air ,force1 and they rush some ,intelligence officers to quiz the pilots4 if it's not too hot1 they'd come from ,wright ,field--regular ,project #8,saucer' teams4 ,otherwise1 they'd send the nearest ,intelligence officers to take over temporarily40 ,i asked him if he had ever been in on one of thee sessions4 ,dick said he hadn't4 8,but a couple of pilots talked to me later4 ,they said these ,air ,force men seemed quite upset about it2 they pounced on everything these boys said about the thing's appearance--how it maneuvered and so on40 8,what do your pilots think the saucers are80 ,dick gave me a slightly ironic grin4 8,why ask me8 ,captain ,blake says you've been getting it firsthand40 8,i wasn't pulling a fast one10 ,i protested4 8,we're not going to quote actual names or sources1 unless people4 ,o4,k4 it40 8,sure1 ,i know that10 said ,dick4 8,but you've got thc answer already4 ,some pilots say interplanetary1 some say guided missiles4 ,a few--a very few--still think it's all nonsense1 because they haven't seen any40 8,what do you think80 8,i don't know the answer10 said ,dick1 8but ,i'm positive of one thing4 ,either the ,air ,force is sitting on a big secret1 or they're badly scared because they don't know the answer40 ,during the next week or so1 ,i covered several northwest and mountain states4 ,although ,i was chiefly trying to find out about ,project 8,saucer10 ,i ran onto two sightings that were not on my list4 ,one of these had occurred in ,california1 at ,fairfield ,suisan ,air ,force ,base4 ,a ,seattle man who had been stationed there gave me the details4 ,it was on the night of ,december #aiah1 with unusually high winds sweeping across the airfield4 ,at times the gusts reached almost seventy miles an hour4 ,suddenly a weird ball of light flashed into view1 at a height of a thousand feet4 ,as the men on the base watched it1 astonished1 the mysterious light abruptly shot skyward4 ,in an incredibly short time1 it reached an altitude of twenty thousand feet and vanished4 8,was there any shape outlined behind the light80 ,i asked the ,seattle man4 8,nobody saw any10 he replied4 8,it looked just like ,i said--a ball of light1 going like a streak40 8,did it leave any smoke behind it80 8,you mean like an engine1 or a jet80 ,he shook his head4 8,not a thing4 ,and it didn't make a sound--even when it shot up like that40 8,did you hear any guesses about it1 or reports later on80 8,some major who didn't see it said it must have been a balloon4 ,anybody with brains could see that was screwy4 ,no balloon ever went up that fast--and besides1 the thing was going against the wind40 ,the second incident occurred at ,salmon ,dam1 ,idaho1 on ,august #ac1 #aidg4 ,when ,i heard the date1 it sounded familiar4 ,i checked my sightings file and saw it was the same day as the strange affair at ,twin ,falls1 ,idaho4 ,in the ,twin ,falls case1 the disk was sighted by observers in a canyon4 ,there was one interesting difference from the usual description4 ,this disk was sky-blue1 or else its gleaming surface somehow reflected the sky because of the angle of vision4 ,although it was not close to the treetops1 the observers were amazed to see the trees whip violently when the disk raced overhead1 as though the air was boiling from the object's swift passage4 ,at ,salmon ,dam1 that same day1 two miners heard an odd roaring sound and stared into the sky4 ,several miles away1 two brightly gleaming disks were circling at high speed4 8,it was like two round mirrors whirling around the sky10 one of the men was later quoted as saying4 8,they couldn't have been any ordinary planes2 not round like that4 ,and they were going too fast40 ,during this part of my trip1 ,i also was told that one saucer had fallen into a mountain lake4 ,this came to me secondhand4 ,the lone witness was said to have rushed over to his car to get his camera as the disk approached4 ,when it plunged toward the lake1 he was so startled that he failed to snap the picture until the moment it struck4 ,this story sounded so flimsy that ,i didn't bother to list it4 ,months later1 a ,washington newsman confirmed at least part of the lake story4 ,when he first related it1 ,i thought he had fallen for a gag4 8,i heard that yarn10 ,i said4 8,don't tell me you believe it80 8,i come from ,idaho10 he told me4 8,and ,i happen to know the fellow who took the picture4 ,maybe it wasn't a disk1 but something fell into that lake40 8,did you see the picture80 8,yes1 at the ,pentagon40 ,at my surprised look1 he added1 8,that was long before they clamped down4 ,i was talking to an ,air ,force officer about this lake thing1 and he showed me the picture40 8,what did it look like80 8,you couldn't tell much about it-just a big splash and a blur where something went under4 ,maybe a magnifying glass would bring it out1 but ,i didn't get a chance to try it40 ,it was early in #aiej when he told me this4 ,i asked at the ,pentagon if this picture was in the ,wright ,field files1 and if so whether ,i could see it4 ,my inquiries drew blank looks4 ,no one remembered such a photograph4 ,and even if it were in the ,project 8,saucer0 files1 ,i couldn't see it4 ,this was more than two months after ,project 8,saucer0 had been officially closed and its secrets presumably all revealed4 ,the rest of my interviews during this #aidi trip helped to round out my picture of ,project 8,saucer0 operations4 ,some witnesses seemed afraid to talk2 a few flatly refused4 ,i found no proof of official pressure1 but ,i frequently had the feeling that strong hints had been dropped4 ,though one or two witnesses showed resentment at investigators' methods1 most of them seemed more annoyed at the loss of time involved4 ,one man had been checked first by the police1 then by the sheriff's office2 an ,air ,force team had spent hours questioning him1 returning the next day1 and finally the ,f4,b4,i4 had made a character check4 ,what he told me about the ,air ,force interrogation confirmed one of ,art ,green's statements4 8,one ,intelligence captain tried to tell me ,i'd seen a weather balloon4 ,i called up the airport and had them check on release schedules4 ,they said next day it didn't fit any schedules around this area4 ,anyway1 the wind wasn't right1 because the thing ,i saw was cutting into the wind at a forty-five-degree angle40 ,other witnesses told me that investigators had suggested birds1 meteors1 reflections on clouds1 shooting stars1 and starshells as probable explanations of what they had seen4 ,i learned of one pilot who had been startled by seeing a group of disks racing past his plane4 ,air ,force investigators later suggested that he had flown through a flock of birds1 or perhaps a cluster of balloons4 ,on the flight back to ,washington1 ,i reread all the information the ,air ,force had released on ,project 8,saucer40 ,suddenly a familiar phrase caught my eye4 ,i read over the paragraph again3 8,preliminary study of the more than #bdj domestic and thirty foreign incidents by ,astro-,physicist ,hynek indicates that an over-all total of about #cj can probably be explained away as astronomical phenomena40 ,explained away4 ,i went through the report line by line4 ,on page #ag ,i found this3 8,available preliminary reports now indicate that a great number of sightings can be explained away as ordinary occurrences which have been misrepresented as a result of human errors40 ,on page #bb ,i ran onto another use of the phrase3 8,the obvious explanation for most of the spherical-shaped objects reported1 as already mentioned1 is that they are meteorological or similar type balloons4 ,this1 however1 does not explain reports that they travel at high speed or maneuver rapidly4 ,but #8,saucer' men point out that the movement could be explained away as an optical illusion or actual acceleration of the balloon caused by a gas leak and later exaggerated by observers4 4 4 4 ,there are scores of possible explanations for the scores of different type sightings reported40 ,explained away 4 4 4 ,it might not mean anything4 ,it could be just an unfortunate choice of words4 ,but suppose that the real mission of ,project 8,saucer0 was to cover up something4 ,or that its purpose was to investigate something serious1 at the same time covering it up1 step by step4 ,the ,project 8,saucer0 teams1 then1 would check on reports and simultaneously try to divert attention from the truth1 suggesting various answers to explain the sightings4 ,back at ,wright ,field1 analysts and ,intelligence officers would go over the general picture and try to work up plausible explanations1 which1 if necessary1 could even be published4 8,explaining away0 would be one of the main purposes of ,project personnel4 ,these words would probably be used in discussions of ways and means2 they would undoubtedly would be used in secret official papers4 ,and since this published preliminary report had been made up from censored secret files1 the use of those familiar words might have been overlooked1 since1 read casually1 they would appear harmless4 ,if the report had been thrown together hastily1 the use of these telltale words could be easily understood1 and so could the report's strange contradictions4 ,as an experiment1 ,i fixed the idea firmly in mind that ,project 8,saucer0 was a cover-up unit4 ,then ,i went back once more and read the items quoted above4 ,the effect was almost startling4 ,it was as though ,i were reading confidential suggestions for diverting attention and explaining away the sightings2 suggestions made by ,project members and probably circulated for comment4 8,now1 wait a minute10 ,i said to myself4 8,you may be dreaming up this whole thing40 ,trying to get back to a neutral viewpoint1 ,i skimmed through the other details of ,project operations1 as described in the report4 ,the order creating ,project 8,saucer0 was signed on ,december #cj1 #aidg4 7,the actual code name was not 8,saucer10 but since for some reason the ,air ,force still has not published the name1 ,i have followed their usage of 8,saucer0 in its place47 ,on ,january #bb1 #aidh1 two weeks after ,captain ,mantell's death1 the project officially began operations4 7,preliminary investigation at ,godman ,field had been done by local ,intelligence officers47 ,project 8,saucer0 was set up under the ,air ,materiel ,command at ,wright ,field4 ,contracts were made with an astrophysicist 7,professor ,joseph ,hynek71 also a prominent scientist 7still unidentified71 and a group of evaluation experts 7,rand ,corporation74 ,arrangements were made for services by the ,air ,weather ,service1 ,andrews ,field2 the ,u4 ,s4 ,weather ,bureau2 the ,electronics ,laboratory1 ,cambridge ,field ,station2 the ,a4,m4,c4 ,aero-,medical ,laboratory2 the ,army and ,navy ,departments2 the ,f4,b4,i42 the ,department of ,commerce1 ,civil ,aeronautics ,administration2 and various other government and private agencies4 ,in addition1 the services of rocket experts1 guided-missile authorities1 space-travel planners1 and others 7in the defense services or assigned to them7 were made available as desired4 ,under the heading 8,how ,incidents ,are ,investigated10 the ,project 8,saucer0 report says3 ,but the hoaxes and crank letters in reality play a small part in ,project 8,saucer40 ,actually1 it is a serious1 scientific business of constant investigation1 analysis and evaluation which thus far has yielded evidence pointing to the conclusion that much of the saucer scare is no scare at all1 but can be attributed to astronomical phenomena1 to conventional aerial objects1 to hallucinations and to mass psychology4 ,but the mere existence of some yet unidentified flying objects necessitates a constant vigilance on the part of ,project 8,saucer0 personnel and the civilian population4 ,investigation is greatly stepped up when observers report incidents as soon as possible to the nearest military installation or to ,headquarters1 ,a4,m4,c41 direct4 ,a standard questionnaire is filled out under the guidance of interrogators4 ,in each case1 time1 location1 size and shape of object1 approximate altitude1 speed1 maneuvers1 color1 length of time in sight1 sound1 etc41 are carefully noted4 ,this information is sent in its entirety1 together with any fragments1 soil photographs1 drawings1 etc41 to ,headquarters1 ,a4,m4,c4 ,here1 highly trained evaluation teams take over4 ,the information is broken down and filed on summary sheets1 plotted on maps and graphs and integrated with the rest of the material1 giving an easily comprehended over-all picture4 ,duplicate copies on each incident arc sent to other investigating agencies1 including technical labs within the ,air ,materiel ,command4 ,these are studied in relation to many factors such as guided missile research activity1 weather1 and many others1 atmospheric sounding balloon launchings1 commercial and military aircraft flights1 flights of migratory birds and a myriad of other considerations which might furnish explanations4 ,generally1 the flying objects are divided into four groups3 ,flying disks1 torpedo or cigar-shaped bodies with no wings or fins visible in flight1 spherical or balloon-shaped objects and balls of light4 ,the first three groups are capable of flight by aerodynamic or aerostatic means and can be propelled and controlled by methods known to aeronautical engineers4 ,as for the lights1 their actions--unless they were suspended from a higher object or were the product of hallucination--remain unexplained4 ,eventually1 reports are sent back to ,project 8,saucer0 headquarters1 often marking incidents closed4 ,the project1 however1 is a young one-much of its investigation is still under way4 ,currently1 a psychological analysis is being made by ,a4,m4,c4's ,aero-,medical laboratory to determine what percentage of incidents are probably based on errors of the human mind and senses4 ,available preliminary reports now indicate that a great number can be explained away as ordinary occurrences which have been misrepresented as a result of these human errors4 ,near the end of the last page1 a paragraph summed tip the report4 8,the #8,saucers' are not a joke4 ,neither are they cause for alarm to the population4 ,many of the incidents already have answers4 ,meteors4 ,balloons4 ,falling stars4 ,birds in flight4 ,testing devices1 etc4 ,some of them still end in question marks40 ,from what ,i had learned on this trip1 ,i strongly doubted the answer suggested4 ,all but the 8testing devices40 ,what did they mean by that8 ,it could be a hint at guided missiles2 they had already mentioned guided-missile research activity in another spot4 ,but if that was what lay behind this elaborate project1 they would hardly be hinting at it4 ,if the answer was space travel1 then such hints made sense1 ,they would be part of the cover-up plan4 ,everyone--including the ,soviet ,union--knew we were working on guided missiles4 ,it would do no harm to use this as one of the 8myriad explanations0 for the flying saucers4 ,i was still trying to figure it out when my plane let down for the landing at ,washington4 ,i had hoped by this time to know the truth about ,project 8,saucer40 ,instead1 it was a deeper mystery than ever4 ,true1 ,i had found out how they operated--outside of ,wright ,field4 ,some of the incidents had been enlightening4 ,by now1 ,i was certain that ,project 8,saucer0 was trying hard to explain away the sightings and hide the real answer4 ,,chapter ,x ,when ,i reached home1 ,i found a brief letter from ,ken ,purdy4 ,dear ,don3 ,the ,mantell and ,eastern cases both look good4 ,i don't see how they can brush them off4 ,it looks more like the interplanetary answer to me1 but we won't decide on treatment until we're sure4 ,i had suggested two or three angles1 if this proved the real answer4 ,who would be the best authority to check our disk operation theory and give us more details on directional control8 ,i'd like to have it checked by two more engineers4 ,,ken ,next day1 ,i dug out my copy of ,boal's interview with ,d------1 the famous aircraft designer4 8,certainly the flying saucers are possible10 the designer had told ,boal4 8,give me enough money and ,i'll build you one4 ,it might have to be a model because the fuel would be a problem4 ,if the saucers that have been seen came from other worlds1 which isn't at all ,buck ,rogerish1 they may be powered with atomic energy or by the energy that produces cosmic rays--which is many times more powerful--or by some other fuel or natural force that our research hasn't yet discovered4 ,but the circular airfoil is quite feasible4 8,it wouldn't have the stability of the conventional airplane1 but it would have enormous maneuverability--it could rise vertically1 hover1 descend vertically1 and fly at extremely high speed1 with the proper power4 ,don't take my word for it4 ,check with other engineers40 ,before looking up a private engineer ,i had in mind1 ,i went to the ,national ,advisory ,committee for ,aeronautics4 ,the ,n4,a4,c4,a4 is ,america's most authoritative source of aerodynamic knowledge4 ,i knew they had already tried out disk-shaped airfoils1 and ,i asked about this first4 ,i found that two official ,n4,a4,c4,a4 reports1 ,technical ,note #eci and ,report #dca1 discuss tests on circular and elliptical ,clark ,y airfoils4 ,both reports state that these designs were found practical4 ,later1 ,i talked with one of the top engineers in the ,n4,a4,c4,a4 ,without showing him ,d------'s sketch1 ,i asked how a disk might operate4 8,it could be built with variable-direction jet or rocket nozzles10 be said4 8,the nozzles would be placed around the rim1 and by changing their direction the disk could be made to rise and descend vertically4 ,it could hover1 fly straight ahead1 and make sharp turns4 8,its direction and velocity would be governed by the number of nozzles operating1 the power applied1 and the angle at which they were tilted4 ,they could be pointed toward the ground1 rearward1 in a lateral direction1 or in various combinations4 8,a disk flying level1 straight ahead1 could be turned swiftly to right or left by shifting the angles of the nozzles or cutting off power from part of the group4 ,this method of control would operate in the earth's atmosphere and also1 using rocket power1 in free space1 where conventional controls would be useless40 ,the method he had described was not the one which ,d------ had outlined4 8,what about a rotating disk80 ,i asked the ,n4,a4,c4,a4 man4 8,suppose you had one with a stationary center1 and a large circular section rotating around it8 ,the rotating part would have a camber built into it1 or it would have slotted vanes40 ,he gave me a curious look1 8,where'd you get that idea about the camber80 ,i told him it had come to me from ,true4 8,it could be done10 he said4 8,the slotted-vanes method has already been tried4 ,there's an engineer in ,glendale1 ,california1 who's built a model4 ,his name's ,e4 ,w4 ,kay40 ,he gave me a few details on how a cambered or slotted-vane rotating disk might operate1 then interrupted himself to ask me what ,i thought the saucers were4 8,they're either interplanetary or some secret development10 ,i said4 #8,what do you think80 8,the ,n4,a4,c4,a4 has no proof they even exist10 he answered4 ,when ,i left the building a few minutes later1 ,i was still weighing that statement4 ,if the ,air ,force or the ,navy had a secret disk device1 the ,n4,a4,c4,a4 would almost certainly know about it4 ,the chances were that any disk-shaped missile or new type of circular aircraft would first have been tested in the ,n4,a4,c4,a4 wind tunnels at ,langley ,field4 ,if the saucers were interplanetary1 the ,n4,a4,c4,a4--at least top officials--would probably have been in on any discussion of the disks' performance4 ,either way1 the ,n4,a4,c4,a4's official attitude could be expected to match the ,pentagon's4 ,after lunch1 ,i took a taxi to the office of the private engineer4 ,like ,d------1 he has asked that he not be quoted by name4 ,the name ,i am using1 ,paul ,redell1 will serve that purpose4 ,redell is a well-known aeronautical engineer4 ,he has worked with major aircraft companies and served as a special consultant to government agencies and the industries4 ,he is also a competent pilot4 ,although ,i had known him several years1 he refused at first to talk about the saucers4 ,then ,i realized he thought ,i meant to quote him4 ,i showed him some of the material ,i had roughed out1 in which names were omitted or changed as requested4 8,all right10 ,redell said finally4 8,what do you want to know80 8,anything you can tell us4 ,but first1 your ideas on these sketches40 ,i showed him ,d------'s drawings and then gave him the high points of the investigation4 ,when ,i mentioned the mystery-light incident at ,fairfield ,suisan ,air ,force ,base1 ,redell sat up quickly4 8,the ,gorman case again60 8,we heard about some other #8light' cases10 ,i said4 8,one was at ,las ,vegas40 8,i know about that one4 ,that is1 it you mean the green light--wait a minute60 ,redell frowned into space for a few seconds1 8,you say that ,fairfield ,suisan sighting was on ,december third8 ,then the ,las ,vegas sighting was only a few days later4 ,it was the first week of the month1 ,i'm positive40 8,those light reports have got me stumped10 ,i said4 8,a light just can't fly around by itself4 ,and those two-foot disks--0 8,you haven't worked on the ,gorman case80 asked ,redell4 ,i told him ,i hadn't thought it was coming up on my schedule4 8,leave these sketches here10 he said4 8,look into that ,gorman sighting4 ,then check on our plans for space exploration4 ,i'll give you some sources4 ,when you get through1 come on back and we'll talk it over40 ,the ,gorman 8saucer dogfight0 had been described in newspapers2 the pilot had reported chasing a swiftly maneuvering white light1 which had finally escaped him4 ,judging from the ,project 8,saucer0 preliminary report1 this case had baffled all the ,air ,force investigators4 ,when ,i met ,george ,gorman1 ,i found him to be intelligent1 coolheaded1 and very firmly convinced of every detail in his story4 ,i had learned something about his background4 ,he had had college training4 ,during the war1 he had been an ,air ,force instructor1 training ,french student pilots4 ,in ,fargo1 his home1 he had a good reputation1 not only for veracity but as a businessman4 ,only twenty-six1 he was part owner of a construction company1 and also the ,fargo representative for a hardware-store chain4 ,even knowing all this1 ,i found it hard at first to believe some of the dogfight details4 ,but the ground observers confirmed them4 ,it was about nine o'clock in the evening1 ,october #a1 #aidh4 ,gorman1 now an ,air ,national ,guard lieutenant1 had been on a practice flight in an ,f-#ea fighter4 ,the other pilots on this practice patrol had already landed4 ,gorman had just been cleared by the ,c4,a4,a4 operator in the ,fargo ,airport tower when he saw a fast-moving light below his circling fighter4 ,from his altitude1 #d1ejj feet1 it appeared to be the tail light of a swiftly flying plane4 ,as nearly as he could tell1 it was #a1jjj feet high1 moving at about #bej m4p4h4 ,gorman called the tower to recheck his clearance4 ,he was told the only other plane in the area was a ,piper ,cub4 ,gorman ,could see the ,cub plainly outlined below him4 ,there was a night football game going on1 and the field was brightly lighted4 ,but the ,cub was nowhere near the strange light4 ,as the mystery light raced above the football field4 ,gorman noticed an odd phenomenon4 ,instead of seeing the silhouette of a plane1 he saw no shape at all around the light4 ,by contrast1 he could see the ,cub's outline clearly4 ,meantime1 the airport traffic controller1 ,l4 ,d4 ,jensen1 had also spotted the queer light4 ,concerned with the danger of collision--he said later that he1 too1 thought it a plane's tail light--he trained his binoculars on it4 ,like ,gorman1 he was unable to distinguish a shape near the light4 ,neither could another ,c4,a4,a4 man who was with him in the tower1 a ,fargo resident named ,manuel ,e4 ,johnson4 ,up in the ,f-#ea1 ,gorman dived on the light1 which was steadily blinking on and off4 8,as ,i closed in10 he told ,project 8,saucer0 men later1 8it suddenly became steady and pulled up into a sharp left turn4 ,it was a clear white and completely roundabout six to eight inches in diameter4 8,i thought it was making a pass at the tower4 ,i dived after it and brought my manifold pressure up to sixty1 but ,i couldn't catch the thing40 ,gorman reported his speed at full power as #cej to #djj miles per hour4 ,during the maneuvers that followed1 both the ,c4,a4,a4 men watched from the tower4 ,jensen was using powerful night glasses1 but still no shape was visible near the mysterious light4 ,the fantastic dogfight continued for twenty minutes4 ,gorman described it in detail4 8,when ,i attempted to turn with the light1 ,i blacked out temporarily1 owing to excessive speed4 ,i am in fairly good physical condition1 and ,i don't believe there are many1 if any1 pilots who could withstand the turn and speed effected by the light and remain conscious40 ,during these sharp maneuvers1 the light climbed quickly1 then made another left bank4 8,i put my fifty-one into a sharp turn and tried to cut it off10 said ,gorman4 8,by then we were at about seven thousand feet1 ,suddenly it made a sharp right turn and we headed straight at each other4 ,just when we were about to collide ,i guess ,i lost my nerve4 ,i went into a dive and the light passed over my canopy at about five hundred feet4 ,then it made a left circle about one thousand feet above and ,i gave chase again40 ,when collision seemed imminent a second time1 the object shot straight into the air4 ,gorman climbed after it at full throttle4 ,just about this time1 two4 other witnesses1 a private pilot and his passenger1 saw the fast-moving light4 ,the pilot was ,dr4 ,a4 ,d4 ,cannon1 an oculist2 his passenger was ,einar ,nelson4 ,dr4 ,cannon later told investigators the light was moving at high speed4 ,he thought it might be a ,canadian jet fighter from over the border4 7,a careful check with ,canadian air officials ruled out this answer47 ,after landing at the airport1 ,dr4 ,cannon and ,mr4 ,nelson again watched the light1 saw it change direction and disappear4 ,meanwhile1 ,gorman was making desperate efforts to catch the thing4 ,he was now determined to ram it1 since there seemed nothing solid behind it to cause a dangerous crash4 ,if his fighter was disabled1 or if it caught fire1 he could bail out4 ,but despite the ,f-#ea's fast climb1 the light still outdistanced him4 ,at #ad1jjj feet1 ,gorman's plane went into a power stall1 ,he made one last try1 climbing up to #ag1jjj feet4 ,a few moments later1 the light turned in a north-northwest direction and quickly disappeared4 ,throughout the dogfight1 ,gorman noticed no deviation on his instruments1 according to the ,project 8,saucer0 report4 ,gorman did not confirm or deny this when ,i talked with him4 ,but he did agree with the rest of the ,project statement4 ,he did not notice any sound1 odor1 or exhaust trail4 ,gorman's remarks about ramming the light reminded me of what ,art ,green had said4 ,when ,i asked ,gorman about the court-martial rumor1 he gave me a searching glance4 8,where did you hear that80 8,several places10 ,i told him4 8,at ,chicago1 in ,salt ,lake ,city--in fact1 we've been hearing it all over40 8,well1 there's nothing to it10 ,gorman declared4 ,he changed the subject4 ,some time afterward1 a ,fargo pilot told me there had been trouble over the ramming story4 8,but it wasn't ,gorman's fault4 ,somebody else released that report to the ,a4 ,p4 ,the news story didn't actually say there was an ,air ,force order to ram it1 but the idea got around1 and we heard that ,washington squawked4 ,gorman had a pretty rough time of it for a while4 ,some of the newspapers razzed his story4 ,and the ,project #8,saucer' teams really worked on him4 ,i guess they were trying to scare him into saying he was mistaken1 and it was a balloon40 ,when ,i asked ,gorman about this1 he denied he'd had rough treatment by the ,project teams4 8,sure1 they asked about a thousand questions1 and ,i could tell they thought it might be a hoax at first4 ,but that was before they quizzed the others who saw it40 8,anybody suggest it was a balloon80 ,i said casually4 8,at first1 they were sure that's what it was10 answered ,gorman4 8,you see1 there was a weather balloon released here4 ,you know the kind1 it has a lighted candle on it4 ,the ,project teams said ,i'd chased after that candle and just imagined the light's maneuvers--confused it with my own movement1 because of the dark40 ,gorman grinned4 8,they had it just about wrapped up--until they talked to ,george ,sanderson4 ,he's the weather observer4 ,he was tracking the balloon with a theodolite1 and he showed them his records4 ,the time and altitudes didn't fit1 and the wind direction was wrong4 ,the balloon was drifting in the opposite direction4 ,both the tower men backed him up4 ,so that killed the weather-balloon idea40 ,the next step by ,project 8,saucer0 investigators had been to look for some unidentified aircraft4 ,this failed1 too4 ,obviously1 it was only routine2 the outline of a conventional plane would certainly have been seen by ,gorman and the men in the tower4 ,an astronomical check by ,professor ,hynek ruled out stars1 fireballs1 and comets--a vain hope1 to begin with4 ,the only other conventional answer1 as the ,project report later stated1 was hallucination4 ,in view of all the testimony1 hallucination had to he ruled out4 ,finally1 the investigators admitted they had no solution4 ,the first ,project 8,saucer0 report1 on ,april #bg1 #aidi1 left the ,gorman 8mystery light0 unidentified4 ,in the ,saturday ,evening ,post of ,may #g1 #aidi1 ,sidney ,shallett analyzed the ,gorman case1 in the second of his articles on flying saucers4 ,shallet suggested this solution3 that ,gorman had chased one of the ,navy's giant cosmic-ray research balloons4 ,each of these huge balloons is lighted1 so that night-flying planes will not collide with the gas bag or the instrument case suspended below4 ,shallett concluded that ,gorman was suffering from a combination of vertigo and confusion with the light on the balloon4 ,as already mentioned1 these huge ,navy balloons are filled with only a small amount of helium before their release at ,minneapolis4 ,they then rise swiftly to very high altitudes1 unless a leak develops4 ,in ,shallett's words1 8,these balloons travel high and fast4 4 4 40 ,fargo is about two hundred miles from ,minneapolis4 ,normally1 a cosmic-ray research balloon would have reached a very high altitude by the time it had drifted this far4 ,the only possible answer to its low-altitude sighting would be a serious leak4 ,if a leaking balloon had come down to one thousand feet at ,fargo1 it would either have remained at that height or kept on descending4 ,the mystery light was observed at this altitude moving at high speed4 ,if a ,cub's outline was visible against the lighted football field1 the massive shape of even a partly deflated balloon would have stood out like an elephant4 ,even before release1 the partially inflated gas bags are almost a hundred feet tall4 ,the crowd at the football game would certainly have seen such a monstrous shape above the glare of the floodlights1 for the plastic balloons gleam brightly in any light rays4 ,the two ,c4,a4,a4 men1 watching with binoculars1 could not possibly have missed it4 ,for the cosmic-balloon answer to be correct1 this leaking gas bag would have had to rise swiftly to seventeen thousand feet--after a loss of helium had forced it down to one thousand4 ,as a balloon pilot1 ,i know this is impossible4 ,the ,project 8,saucer0 report said unequivocally3 8,the object could outturn and outspeed the ,f-#ea1 and was able to attain a much steeper climb and to maintain a constant rate of climb far in excess of the ,air ,force fighter40 ,a leaking balloon8 ,more and more1 ,i became convinced that ,secretary ,forrestal had persuaded some editors that it was their patriotic duty to conceal the answer1 whatever it was4 ,that thought had begun to worry me1 because of my part in this investigation4 ,perhaps ,john ,steele had been right1 and we shouldn't be trying to dig out the answer4 ,but ,i had already told ,purdy1 and he had agreed1 that if national security was involved1 we would drop the thing completely4 ,by the time ,i had proved the balloon answer wrong1 ,i was badly puzzled4 ,the idea of a disembodied light was the hardest thing to swallow that ,i'd come across so far4 ,and yet there were the other light reports--the strange sighting at ,fairfield ,suisan ,field1 the weird green lights at ,las ,vegas and ,albuquerque4 ,and there was the encounter that ,lieutenant ,h4 ,g4 ,combs had had one night above ,andrews ,field1 near ,washington1 ,d4 ,c4 ,this incident had occurred on ,november #ah1 #aidh1 six weeks after ,gorman's experience4 ,combs1 flying with another lieutenant named ,jackson1 was about to land his ,t-#f1 at #i3de ,p4,m41 when a strange object loomed up near him4 ,it looked like a grayish globe1 and it gave off an odd1 fuzzy light4 ,combs chased the weird object for over ten minutes1 during which it appeared to evade every move he made4 ,once1 its speed was nearly six hundred miles an hour1 as closely as he could estimate4 ,in a final attempt to identify it1 ,combs zoomed the ,t-#f up at a steep angle and flashed his landing lights on it4 ,before he could get a good look1 the globe light whirled off to the east and vanished4 ,since ,combs's story had been in the newspapers1 ,project 8,saucer0 evidently had felt in wise to give some explanation4 ,when ,i read it1 in the preliminary report1 ,i was amazed4 ,here was the concluding sentence3 8,the mystery was cleared up when the object was identified positively as a cluster of cosmic-ray research balloons40 ,even one of the giant balloons would have been hard to take as the explanation4 ,combs was almost sure to have collided with it in his head-on passes4 ,but an entire cluster6 ,i tried to picture the ,t-#f zooming and twisting through the night sky1 with several huge balloons in its path4 ,it would be a miracle if ,combs got through without hitting one of them1 even if each balloon was lighted4 ,but he had seen only one light2 so had ,lieutenant ,jackson4 ,that would mean all the rest of the balloons were unlighted--an unbelievable coincidence4 ,it was not until months afterward that ,i found ,project 8,saucer0 had withdrawn this 8solution40 ,in its final report1 this case1 ,number #bjg1 was listed in the 8,unidentified0 group4 ,how the balloon-cluster explanation ever got into the first report is still a mystery4 ,when ,i talked with ,gorman1 ,i told him ,i was baffled by the idea of a light maneuvering through the skies with no airfoil to support it4 8,i know10 he said4 8,it got me1 too1 at first40 8,you mean you know the answer80 ,i demanded4 8,it's just my personal opinion10 said ,gorman4 8,but ,i'd rather not have it printed4 ,you see1 ,i got some ideas from all the questions those ,project teams asked me4 ,if my hunch turns out to be right1 ,i might be talking about an official secret40 ,i tried to pry some hint out of him1 but ,gorman just smiled and shook his head4 8,i can tell you this much10 he said1 8because it's been mentioned in print4 ,there was thought behind every move the light made4 ,it wasn't any radar-responder gadget making it veer away from my ship40 8,how do you know that80 8,because it reacted differently at different times4 ,if it had been a mechanical control1 it would have turned or climbed the same way each time ,i got near it4 ,instead1 it was as if some intelligent mind was directing every turn like a game of chess1 and always one move ahead of me4 ,maybe you can figure out the rest40 ,that was all ,i could get out of him4 ,it bothered me1 because ,combs's report indicated the same thing4 ,i had a strong temptation to skip the space-plans research and tell ,redell what ,gorman had told me4 ,but ,redell had an orderly mind1 and he didn't like to be pushed4 ,reluctantly1 ,i gave up the idea4 ,i had a feeling ,redell knew the answer to the mystery lights1 and it wasn't easy to put off the solution4 ,the letter that came from ,art ,green1 while ,i was working on the space plans1 didn't make it easier3 ,dear ,keyhoe3 ,just heard about your ,seattle visit4 ,that ,fairfield ,suisan thing is on the level2 several ,air ,force pilots have told me about it4 ,when you get to ,fargo1 ask ,gorman what they found when they checked his ship with a ,geiger counter4 ,if he says it was negative1 then he must be under orders4 ,i happen to know better4 ,yours1 ,,art ,,green ,,chapter ,,xi ,my first step1 in checking on our space plans1 was to look up official announcements4 ,i found that on ,december #bi1 #aidh1 ,defense ,secretary ,james ,forrestal had released this official statement3 8,the ,earth ,satellite ,vehicle ,program1 which is being carried out independently by each military service1 has been assigned to the ,committee on ,guided ,missiles for co-ordination4 8,to provide an integrated program1 the ,committee has recommended that current efforts be limited to studies and component design4 ,well-defined areas of such research have been allocated to each of the three military departments40 ,appropriation bills had already provided funds for space exploration plans4 ,the ,air ,force research was indicated by ,general ,curtis ,e4 ,le,may1 who was then ,deputy ,chief of ,air ,staff for ,research and ,development4 ,in outlining plans for an ,air ,engineering ,design ,center at ,wright ,field1 ,general ,le,may included these space-exploration requisites3 8,flight and survival equipment for ultra-atmospheric operations1 including space vehicles1 space bases1 and devices for use therein40 ,the idea of exploring space is1 of course1 nothing new4 ,for many years1 writers of imaginative fiction have described trips to the moon and distant planets4 ,more recently1 comic books and strips have gone in heavily for space-travel adventures4 ,as a natural result of this1 the first serious rocket experiments in this country were labeled screwball stunts1 about on a par with efforts to break through the sonic barrier4 ,the latter had been 8proved0 impossible by aeronautical engineers2 as for rocket flight1 it was too silly for serious consideration4 ,pendray1 ,goddard1 and other rocket pioneers took some vicious ridicule before ,america woke up to the possibilities4 ,meantime1 ,german scientists had gone far ahead4 ,their buzz bomb1 a low-altitude semi-guided missile1 was just the beginning4 ,even the devastating ,v-#b1 which soared high into the stratosphere before falling on ,england1 was just a step in their tremendous space program4 ,if the ,nazis could have hung on a year or two more1 the war might have had a grimly different ending4 ,when the ,allies seized ,nazi secrets1 some of the ,german plans were revealed4 ,among them was one for a huge earth satellite4 ,from this base1 which would circle the earth some five hundred miles away1 enormous mirrors would focus the sun's rays on any desired spot4 ,the result3 swift1 fiery destruction of any city or base refusing to surrender4 ,first publication of this scheme brought the usual jeers4 ,many people1 including some reputable scientists1 believed it had been just a propaganda plan that even ,goebbels had discarded as hopeless4 ,then the ,pentagon announced the ,u4,s4 ,earth ,satellite ,vehicle ,program1 along with plans for a moon rocket1 ,the artificial satellite is to be a large rocket-propelled projectile4 ,in its upward flight1 it will have to reach a speed of #bc1jjj miles an hour1 to escape the earth's pull of gravity4 ,at a height of about #ejj miles1 special controls will turn the projectile and cause it to circle the earth4 ,these controls will be either automatic or operated from the ground1 by radar4 ,theoretically1 once such a vehicle is beyond gravity's magnetism1 it can coast along in the sky forever4 ,its rocket power will be shut off2 the only need for such power would be if the satellite veered off course4 ,a momentary burst from the jets would be sufficient to bring it back to its orbit4 ,circling the earth in about two hours1 this first satellite is expected to be used as a testing station4 ,instruments will record and transmit vital information to the earth--the effect of cosmic rays1 solar radiation1 fuel required for course corrections1 and many other items4 ,a second space base farther out will probably be the next step4 ,it may be manned1 or it may be under remote control like the first4 ,perhaps the first satellite vehicle will be followed by a compartmented operating base1 a sort of aerial aircraft carrier1 with other rocket ships operating to and fro on the earth shuttle4 ,the moon rocket is expected to add to our information about space1 so that finally we will emerge with an interplanetary space craft4 ,the first attempts may fail4 ,the first satellite may fall back and have to be guided to an ocean landing4 ,or its controls might not bring it into the planned orbit4 ,in this case1 it could coast on out into space and be lost4 ,but sooner or later1 effective controls will be found4 ,then the manned space ships will follow4 ,once in free space1 there will be no gravitational pull to offset4 ,the space ship and everything in it will be weightless4 ,shielding is expected to prevent danger from cosmic rays and solar radiation4 ,the danger from meteorites has been partly discounted in one scientific study4 78,probability that a meteorite will hit or penetrate a body situated in the vicinity of the earth10 by ,g4 ,grimminger1 ,journal of ,applied ,physics1 ,vol4 #ai1 ,no4 #aj1 pp4 #idg-ief1 ,october #aidh7 ,in this study1 it is stated that a meteorite is unlikely to penetrate the thick shell our space vehicles will undoubtedly have4 ,however1 this applies only to the earth's atmosphere4 ,longer studies1 using remote-controlled vehicles in space1 may take years before it will be safe to launch a manned space ship4 ,radar or other devices may have to be developed to detect approaching meteorites at a distance and automatically change a space ship's course4 ,the change required would be infinitesimal1 using power for only a fraction of a second4 ,but before we are ready for interplanetary travel1 we will have to harness atomic power or some other force not now available1 such as cosmic rays4 ,navigation at such tremendous speeds is another great problem1 on which special groups are now at work4 ,a ,navy scientific project recently found that strange radio signals are constantly being sent out from a 8hot spot0 in the ,milky ,way2 other nebulae or 8hot0 stars may be similarly identified by some peculiarity in their radio emanations4 ,if so1 these could be used as check points in long-range space travel4 ,escape from the earth's gravity is possible even now1 according to ,francis ,h4 ,clauser1 an authority on space travel plans4 ,but the cost would be prohibitive1 with our present rocket motors1 and practical operations must wait for higher velocity rocket power1 atomic or otherwise4 78,flight beyond the ,earth's ,atmosphere1 8,s4,a4,e4 ,quarterly ,transactions1 ,vol4 #b1 ,no1 #d1 ,october #aidh47 ,already1 a two-stage rocket has gone more than #bej miles above the earth4 ,this is the ,v-#b-,wac ,corporal combination4 ,the ,v-#b rocket is used to power the first part of the flight1 dropping off when its fuel is exhausted4 ,the ,wac ,corporal then proceeds on its own fuel1 reaching a fantastic speed in the thin air higher up4 ,hundreds of technical problems must be licked before the first satellite vehicle can be launched successfully4 ,records on our ,v-#b rockets indicate some of the obstacles4 ,on the take-off1 their present swift acceleration would undoubtedly kill anyone inside4 ,when re-entering the earth's atmosphere the nose of a ,v-#b gets red-hot4 ,both the acceleration and deceleration must be controlled before the first volunteers will be allowed to hazard their lives in manned rockets4 ,willi ,ley1 noted authority on space-travel problems1 believes that pilots may have to accept temporary blackout as a necessity on the take-off4 7,two of his books1 ,rockets and ,space ,travel and ,outer ,space1 give fascinating and well-thought-out pictures of what we may expect in years to come47 ,some authorities believe that our space travel will be confined to our own solar system for a long time1 perhaps forever4 ,the trip to the moon1 though now a tremendous project1 would be relatively simple compared with a journey outside our system4 ,escape from the moon1 for the return trip1 would be easier than leaving the earth2 because of its smaller mass1 to escape the moon's gravitational pull would take a speed of about #e1jjj miles an hour1 against #bc1jjj for the earth4 ,navigation would be much simpler4 ,our globe would loom up in the heavens1 much larger and brighter than the moon appears to us4 ,radar beams would also be a guide4 ,the greatest obstacle to reaching far-distant planet is the time required4 ,in the ,project 8,saucer0 study of space travel1 ,wolf #cei was named as the nearest star likely to have possibly inhabited areas4 ,wolf #cei is eight light-years from the earth4 ,the limiting speed in space1 according to ,einstein's law1 would be just under the speed of light--#ahf1jjj miles per second4 ,at this speed1 ,einstein states1 matter is converted into energy4 ,it is a ridiculous assumption1 but even if atomic power1 or some force such as cosmic rays1 made an approach to that speed possible1 it would still take eight years to reach ,wolf #cei4 ,the round trip would take sixteen4 ,there have been a few scientists who dispute ,einstein's law1 though no one has disproved it4 ,if the speed of light is not an absolute limit for space ships1 then travel to remote parts of the universe may someday be possible4 ,otherwise1 a trip outside our solar system could be a lifetime expedition4 ,most space travel would probably be limited to the planets of our sun--the moon1 ,mars1 ,venus1 ,jupiter1 and the others4 ,although it may be many years before the first manned space ship leaves the earth1 we are already at work on the problems the crews would face4 ,i learned some of the details from a ,navy flight surgeon with whom ,i had talked about take-off problems4 8,they're a lot further than that0 he told me4 8,down at ,randolph ,field1 the ,aero-,medical research lab has run into some mighty queer things4 ,ever hear of #8dead distance'80 8,no1 that's a new one40 8,well1 it sounds crazy1 but they've figured out that a space ship would be going faster than anyone could think40 8,but you think instantaneously10 ,i objected4 8,oh1 no4 ,it takes a fraction of a second1 even for the fastest thinker4 ,let's say the ship was making a hundred miles a second--and that's slow compared with what they expect eventually4 ,everything would happen faster than your nerve impulses could register it4 ,your comprehension would always be lagging a split second behind the space ship's operation40 8,i don't see why that's so serious10 ,i said4 8,suppose radar or some other device warned you a meteorite was coming toward you head-on4 ,or maybe some instrument indicated an error in navigation4 ,by the time your mind registered the thought1 the situation would have changed40 8,then all the controls would have to be automatic10 ,i said4 ,i told him that ,i had heard about plans for avoiding meteorites4 8,electronic controls would be faster than thought40 8,that's probably the answer10 he agreed4 8,of course1 at a hundred miles a second it might not be too serious4 ,but if they ever get up to speeds like a thousand miles a second1 that mental lag could make an enormous difference1 whether it was a meteorite heading toward you or a matter of navigation40 ,one of the problems he mentioned was the lack of gravity4 ,i had already learned about this4 ,once away from the earth's pull1 objects in the space ship would have no weight4 ,the slightest push could send crewmen floating around the sealed compartment4 8,suppose you spilled a cup of coffee10 said the flight surgeon4 8,what would happen80 ,i said ,i hadn't thought it out4 8,the ,randolph ,field lab can tell you10 he said4 8,the coffee would stay right there in the air4 ,so would the cup1 if you let go of it4 ,but there's a more serious angle--your breath40 8,you'd have artificial air10 ,i began4 8,yes1 they've already worked that out4 ,but what about the breath you exhale8 ,it contains carbon dioxide1 and if you let it stay right there in front of your face you'd be sucking it back into your lungs4 ,after a while1 it would asphyxiate you4 ,so the air has to be kept in motion1 and besides that the ventilating system has to remove the carbon dioxide40 8,what about eating80 ,i asked4 8,swallowing is partly gravity1 isn't it80 ,he nodded4 8,same as drinking1 though the throat muscles help force the food down4 ,i don't know the answer to that4 ,in fact1 everything about the human body presents a problem4 ,take the blood circulation4 ,the amount of energy required to pump blood through the veins would be almost negligible4 ,what would that do to your heart80 8,i couldn't even guess10 ,i said4 8,well1 that's all the ,aero-,medical lab can do--guess at it4 ,they've been trying to work out some way of duplicating the effect of zero gravity1 but there's just no answer4 ,if you could build a machine to neutralize gravity1 you could get all the answers1 except to the #8dead distance' question4 8,for instance1 there's the matter of whether the human body would even function without gravity4 ,all down through the stages of evolution1 man's organs have been used to that downward pull4 ,take away gravity1 and your whole body might stop working4 ,some of the ,aero-,medical men ,i've talked with don't believe that1 but they admit that long trips outside of gravity might have odd effects4 8,then there's the question of orientation4 ,here on earth1 orienting yourself depends on the feeling you get from the pull of gravity1 plus your vision4 just being blindfolded is enough to disorient some people4 ,taking away the pull of gravity might be a lot worse4 ,and of course out in space your only reference points would be distant stars and planets4 ,we've been used to locating stars from points on the earth1 where we know their position4 ,but how about locating them from out in space1 with a ship moving at great speed8 ,inside the space ship1 it would be something like being in a submarine4 ,probably only the pilot compartment would have glass ports1 and those would be covered except in landing--maybe even then4 ,outside vision might be by television1 so you couldn't break a glass port and let out your pressure4 8,but to go back to the submarine idea4 ,it would be like a sub1 with this big difference3 ,in the submarine you can generally tell which way is down1 except maybe in a crash dive when you may lose your equilibrium for a moment4 ,but in the space ship1 you could be standing with your feet on one spot1 and another crewman might be--relative to you--standing upside down4 ,you might be floating horizontally1 the other man vertically4 ,the more you think about it1 the crazier it gets4 ,but they've got to solve all those problems before we can tackle space40 ,to make sure ,i had the details right1 ,i checked on the ,air ,force research4 ,i found that the ,randolph ,field laboratory is working on all these problems1 and many more4 ,although plans arc not far enough advanced to make it certain1 probably animals will be sent up in research rockets to determine the effect of no gravity before any human beings make such flights4 ,the results could be televised back to the earth4 ,all through my check-up on space exploration plans1 one thing struck me3 ,i met no resistance4 ,there was no official reticence about the program2 on the contrary1 nothing about it seemed secret4 ,even though it was peacetime1 this was a little curious1 because of the potential war value of an earth satellite vehicle4 ,even if the ,nazi scheme for destruction proved just a dream1 an orbiting space base could be used for other purposes4 ,in its two-hour swing around the earth1 practically all of the globe could be observed-directly1 by powerful telescopes1 or indirectly1 by a combination of radar and television4 ,long-range missiles could be guided to targets1 after being launched from some point on the earth4 ,as the missiles climbed high into the stratosphere1 the satellite's radar could pick them up and keep them on course by remote control4 ,there were other possibilities for both attack and defense4 ,ordinarily1 projects with wartime value are kept under wraps1 or at least not widely publicized4 ,of course1 the explanation might be very simple3 ,the completion of the satellite vehicle was so remote that there seemed no need for secrecy4 ,but in that case1 why had the program been announced at all8 ,if the purpose had been propaganda1 it looked like a weak gesture4 ,the ,soviets would not be greatly worried by a dream weapon forty or fifty years off4 ,besides that1 the ,pentagon1 as a rule1 doesn't go for such propaganda4 ,there was only one conventional answer that made any sense4 ,if we had heard that the ,soviets were about to announce such a program1 as a propaganda trick1 it would be smart to beat them to it4 ,but ,i had no proof of1 any such ,russian intention4 ,the date on ,secretary ,forrestal's co-ordination announcement was ,december #cj1 #aidh4 ,one day later1 the order creating ,project 8,saucer0 had been signed4 ,that didn't prove anything2 winding up the year1 ,forrestal could have signed a hundred orders4 ,i was getting too suspicious4 ,at any rate1 ,i had now analyzed the ,gorman case and checked on our space plans4 ,tomorrow ,i would see ,redell and find out what he knew4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,when ,i called ,redell's office ,i found he had flown to ,dallas and would not be back for two days4 ,by the time he returned1 ,i had written a draft of the ,gorman case1 with my answer to the balloon explanation4 ,when ,i saw him1 the next morning1 ,i asked him to look it over4 ,redell lighted his pipe and then read the draft1 nodding to himself now and then4 8,i think that's correct analysis10 he said when he finished4 8,that was a very curious case4 ,you know1 ,project #8,saucer' even had psychiatrists out there4 ,if ,gorman had been the only witness1 ,i think they'd have called it a hallucination4 ,as it was1 they took a crack at him and the ,c4,a4,a4 men in their preliminary report40 ,though ,i recalled that there had been a comment1 ,i didn't remember the wording4 ,redell looked it up and read it aloud3 8#8,from a psychological aspect1 the ,gorman incident raised the question1 8,is it possible for an object without appreciable shape or known aeronautical configuration to appear to travel at variable speeds and maneuver intelligently80'0 8,hallucination might sound like a logical answer10 ,i said1 8until you check all the testimony4 ,but there are just too many witnesses who confirm ,gorman's report4 ,also1 he seems like a pretty level-headed chap40 ,redell filled his pipe again4 8,but you still can't quite accept it80 8,i'm positive they saw the light--but what the devil was it8 ,how could it fly without some kind of airfoil80 8,maybe it didn't4 ,you remember ,gorman described an odd fuzziness around the edge of the light8 ,it's in this ,air ,force report4 ,that could have been a reflection from the airfoil40 8,yes1 but ,gorman would have seen any solid--0 ,i stopped1 as ,redell made a negative gesture4 8,it could be solid and still not show up10 he said4 8,you mean it was transparent8 ,sure1 that would do it60 8,let's say the airfoil was a rotating plastic disk1 absolutely transparent4 ,the blurred1 fuzzy look could have been caused by the whirling disk4 ,neither ,gorman nor the ,c4,a4,a4 men in the tower could possibly see the disk itself40 8,paul1 ,i think you've hit it10 ,i said4 8,i can see thc rest of it--the thing was under remote control1 radio or radar4 ,and from the way it flew rings around ,gorman1 whoever controlled it must have been able to see the ,f-#ea1 either with a television #8eye' or by radar10 8,or by some means we don't understand10 said ,redell4 ,he went on carefully1 8,in all these saucer cases1 keep this in mind3 ,we may be dealing with some totally unknown principle--something completely beyond our comprehension40 ,for a moment1 ,i thought he was hunting at some radical discovery by ,soviet--captured ,nazi scientists4 ,then ,i realized what he meant4 8,you think they're interplanetary10 ,i murmured4 8,why not80 ,redell looked surprised4 8,isn't that your idea8 ,i got that impression40 8,yes1 but ,i didn't think you believed it4 ,when you said to check on our space plans1 ,i thought you had some secret missile in mind40 8,no1 ,i had another reason4 ,i wanted you to see all the problems involved in space travel4 ,if you accept the interplanetary answer1 you have to accept this1 too--whoever is looking us over has licked all those problems years ago4 ,technically1 they'd be hundreds of years ahead of us--maybe thousands4 ,it has a lot to do with what they'd be up to here40 ,when ,i mentioned the old sighting reports1 ,i found that ,redell already knew about them4 ,he was convinced that the earth had been under observation a long time1 probably even before the first recorded sightings4 8,i know some of those reports aren't authentic10 he admitted4 8,but if you accept even one report of a flying disk or rocket-shaped object before the twentieth century1 then you have to accept the basic idea4 ,in the last forty years1 you might blame the reports on planes and dirigibles4 ,but there was no propelled aircraft until #aijc4 ,either all those early sightings were wrong1 or some kind of fast aerial machine has been flying periodically over the earth for at least two centuries4 ,i told him ,i was pretty well convinced1 but that ,true faced a problem4 ,there was some conflicting evidence1 and part of it seemed linked with guided missiles4 ,i felt sure we could prove the space-travel answer1 but we had to stay clear of discussing any weapons that were still a secret4 8,i can't believe that guided missiles are the answer to the ,godman ,field saucer and the ,chiles-,whitted case1 or this business at ,fargo4 ,but we're got to be absolutely sure before we print anything40 8,well1 let's analyze it10 said ,redell4 8,let's see if all the saucers could be explained as something launched from the earth40 ,he reached for a pad and a pencil4 8,first1 let's take your rotating disk4 ,that would be a lot simpler to build than the stationary disk with variable jet nozzles4 ,with a disk rotated at high speed you get a tremendous lift1 whether it's slotted or cambered1 as long as there's enough air to work on40 8,the helicopter principle10 ,i said4 ,redell nodded4 8,the most practical propulsion would be with two or more jets out on the rim1 to spin your rotating section4 ,but to get up enough speed for the jets to be efficient1 you'd have to whirl the disk mechanically before the take-off4 ,here's one way4 ,you could have a square hole in the center2 then the disk launching device would have a square shaft1 rotated by an engine or a motor4 ,as the speed built up1 the cambered disk would ride up the shaft and free itself1 rising vertically1 with the jets taking over the job of whirling the cambered section4 8,the lift would be terrific1 far more than any normal aircraft4 ,i don't believe any human being could take the ,g's involved in a maximum power climb2 they'd have to use remote control4 ,when it got to the desired altitude1 your disk could be flown in any direction by tilting it that way4 ,the forward component from that tremendous lift would result in a very high speed4 ,the disk could also hover1 and descend vertically40 8,what about maneuvering80 ,i asked1 thinking of ,gorman's experience4 8,it could turn faster than any pilot could stand10 said ,redell4 8,of course1 a pilot's cockpit could be built into a large disk2 but there'd have to be some way of holding down the speed1 to avoid too many ,g's in tight maneuvers40 8,most of the disks don't make any noise10 ,i said4 8,at least1 that's the general report4 ,you'd hear ordinary jets for miles40 8,right1 and here's another angle4 ,ram jets take a lot of fuel4 ,even with some highly efficient new jet1 ,i can't see the long ranges reported4 ,some of these saucers have been seen all over the world4 ,no matter which hemisphere they were launched from1 they'd need an eight-thousand-mile range1 at least1 to explain all of the sightings4 ,the only apparent answer would be some new kind of power1 probably atomic4 ,we certainly didn't have atomic engines for aircraft in #aidg1 when the first disks were seen here4 ,and we don't have them now1 though we're working on it4 ,even if we had such an engine1 it wouldn't be tiny enough to power the small disks40 8,anyway10 ,i said1 8we'd hardly be flying them all over everywhere4 ,the cost would be enormous1 and there'd always be a danger of somebody getting the secret if a disk landed40 8,plus the risk of injuring people by radiation4 just imagine an atomic-powered disk dropping into a city4 ,the whole idea's ridiculous40 8,that seems to rule out the guided-missile answer10 ,i began4 ,but ,redell shook his head4 8,disk-shaped missiles are quite feasible4 ,i'm talking about range1 speed1 and performance4 ,imagine for a moment that we have disk-type missiles using the latest jet or rocket propulsion--either piloted or remote-controlled4 ,the question is1 could such disks fit specific sightings like the one at ,godman ,field and the case at ,fargo80 ,redell paused as if some new thought had struck him4 8,wait a minute1 here's an even better test4 ,i happen to know about this case personally4 ,marvin ,miles--he's an aviation writer in ,los ,angeles--was down at ,white ,sands ,proving ,ground some time ago4 ,he talked with a ,navy rocket expert who was in charge of naval guided-missile projects4 ,this ,navy man--he's a commander in the regular service--told ,miles they'd seen four saucers down in that area40 8,you're sure he wasn't kidding ,miles80 ,i said4 ,then ,i remembered ,purdy's tip about a ,white ,sands case4 8,i told you ,i checked on this myself10 ,redell said1 a little annoyed4 8,after ,miles told me about it1 ,i asked an engineer who'd been down there if it was true4 ,he gave me the same story1 figures and all4 ,the first saucer was tracked by ,white ,sands observers with a theodolite4 ,then they worked out its performance with ballistics formulas40 ,redell looked at me grimly4 8,the thing was about fifty miles up4 ,and it was making over fifteen thousand miles an hour60 ,one of the witnesses1 said ,redell1 was a well-known scientist from the ,general ,mills aeronautical research laboratory in ,minneapolis1 which was working with the ,navy4 7,a few days later1 ,i verified this fact and the basic details of ,redell's account4 ,but it was not until early in ,january #aiej that ,i finally identified the officer as ,commander ,robert ,b4 ,mc,laughlin and got his dramatic story47 8,here are two more items ,miles told me10 ,redell went on4 8,this ,navy expert said the saucer actually looked elliptical1 or egg-shaped4 ,and while it was being tracked it suddenly made a steep climb--so steep no human being could have lived through it40 8,one thing is certain10 ,i said4 8,that fifty-mile altitude knocks out the rotating disk4 ,up in that thin air it wouldn't have any lift40 8,right10 said ,redell4 8,and the variable jet type would require an enormous amount of fuel4 ,regardless1 those ,g's mean it couldn't have had any pilot born on this earth40 ,according to ,marvin ,miles1 this ,white ,sands saucer had been over a hundred feet long4 7,later1 ,commander ,mc,laughlin stated that it was #aje feet47 ,if this were an ,american device1 then it meant that we had already licked many of the problems on which the ,earth ,satellite ,vehicle designers were supposed to be just starting4 ,their statements1 then1 would have to be false--part of an elaborate cover-up4 8,if we had such an advanced design10 said ,redell1 8and ,i just don't believe it possible--would we gamble on a remote-control system8 ,no such system is perfect4 ,suppose it went wrong4 ,at that speed1 over fifteen thousand miles an hour1 your precious missile or strato ship could be halfway around the globe in about forty-five minutes4 ,that is1 if the fuel held out4 ,before you could regain control1 you might lose it in the sea4 ,or it might come down behind the ,iron ,curtain4 ,even if it were ,i smashed to bits1 it would tip off the ,soviets4 ,they might claim it was a guided-missile attack4 ,almost anything could hap pen40 8,it could have a time bomb in it10 ,i suggested4 8if it got off course or out of control1 it would blow itself up40 ,redell emphatically shook his head4 8,i've heard that idea before1 but it won't hold up4 ,what if your ship's controls went haywire and the thing blew up over a crowded city8 ,imagine the panic1 even if no actual damage was done4 ,no1 sir--nobody in his right mind is going to let a huge ship like that go barging around unpiloted4 ,it would be criminal negligence4 8,if the ,white ,sands calculations were correct1 then this particular saucer was no earth-made device4 ,perhaps in coming years1 we could produce such a ship1 with atomic power to drive it4 ,but not now40 ,redell went over several other cases4 8,take the ,godman ,field saucer4 ,at one time1 it was seen at places one hundred and seventy-five miles apart1 as you know4 ,even to have been seen at all from both places1 it would4 have to have been huge--much larger than two hundred and fifty feet in diameter4 ,the human eye wouldn't resolve an object that size1 at such a distance and height40 ,it was an odd thing2 ,i had1 gone over the ,mantell case a dozen times4 ,i knew the object was huge4 ,but ,i had never tried to figure out the object's exact size4 8,how big do you think it was80 ,i asked quickly4 ,this could be the key ,i had tried to find4 8,i haven't worked it out10 said ,redell4 8,but ,i can give you a rough idea4 ,the human eye can't resolve any object that subtends less than three minutes of arc4 ,for instance1 a plane with a hundred-foot wing span would only be a speck twenty miles away1 if you saw it at all40 8,but this thing was seen clearly eighty-seven miles away--or even more1 if it wasn't midway between the two cities4 ,why1 it would have to be a thousand feet in diameter40 8,even larger40 ,redell was silent a moment4 8,what was the word ,mantell used--#8tremendous'80 ,i tried to visualize the thing1 but my mind balked4 ,one thing was certain now4 ,it was utterly impossible that any nation on earth could have built such an enormous airborne machine4 just to think of the force required to hold it in the sky was enough to stagger any engineer4 ,we were years away--perhaps centuries--from any such possibility4 ,as if he had read my thoughts1 ,redell said soberly1 8,there's no other possible answer4 ,it was a huge space ship--perhaps the largest ever to come into our atmosphere40 ,it was clear now why such desperate efforts had been made to explain away the object ,mantell had chased4 8,what about that ,eastern ,airlines sighting80 ,i asked4 8,well1 first10 said ,redell1 8it wasn't any remote-control guided missile4 ,i'll say it again2 it would be sheer insanity4 ,suppose that thing had crashed in ,macon4 ,at that speed it could have plowed its way for blocks1 right through the buildings4 ,it could have killed hundreds of people1 burned the heart out of the city4 8,if it was a missile1 or some hush-hush experimental job1 then it was piloted4 ,but they don't test a job like that on any commercial airways4 ,and they don't fool around at five thousand feet where people will see the thing streaking by and call the newspapers4 8,to power a hundred-foot wingless ship1 especially at those speeds1 would take enormous force4 ,not as much as a ,v-two rocket1 but tremendous power4 ,the fuel load would be terrific4 ,certainly1 the pilot wouldn't be circling around ,georgia and ,alabama for an hour1 buzzing airliners4 ,i'll stake everything that we couldn't duplicate that space ship's performance for less than fifty million dollars4 ,it would take something brand-new in jets40 ,redell paused4 ,he looked at me grimly4 8,and the way ,i'd have to soup it up1 it would be a damned dangerous ship to fly4 ,no pilot would deliberately fly it that low4 ,he'd stay up where he'd have a chance to bail out40 ,i told him what ,i had heard about the blueprints the ,air ,force was said to have rushed4 8,of course they were worried10 said ,redell4 8,and probably they still are4 ,but ,i don't think they need be2 so far1 there's been nothing menacing about these space ships40 ,when ,i got him back to the ,gorman case1 ,redell drew a sketch on his pad1 showing me his idea of the disk light4 ,he estimated the transparent rim as not more than five feet in diameter4 8,possibly smaller10 he said4 8,you recall that ,gorman said the light was between six and eight inches in diameter4 ,he also said it seemed to have depth--that was in the ,air ,force report40 8,you think all the mechanism was hidden by the light80 8,only possible answer10 said ,redell4 8,but just try to imagine crowding a motor1 or jet controls for rim jets1 along with remote controls and a television device1 in that small space4 ,plus your fuel supply4 ,i don't know any engineer who would even attempt it4 ,to carry that much gear1 it would take a fair-sized plane4 ,you could make a disk large enough1 but the mechanism and fuel section would be two or three feet across1 at least4 ,so ,gorman's light must have been powered and controlled by some unique means4 ,the same principle applies to all the other light reports ,i've heard4 ,no shape behind them1 high speed1 and intelligent maneuvers4 ,that thing was guided from some interplanetary ship1 hovering at a high altitude10 ,redell declared4 8,but ,i haven't any idea what source of power it used40 ,until then1 ,i had forgotten about ,art ,green's letter4 ,i told ,redell what ,art had said about the ,geiger counter4 8,i knew they went over ,gorman's fighter with a ,geiger counter10 ,redell commented4 8,but they said the reaction was negative4 ,if ,green is right1 it's interesting4 ,it would mean they have built incredibly small atomic engines4 ,but with a race so many years ahead of us1 it shouldn't be surprising4 ,of course1 they may also be using some other kind of power our scientists say is impossible40 ,i was about to ask him what he meant when his secretary came in4 8,mr4 ,carson is waiting10 she told ,redell4 8,he had a four-o'clock appointment40 ,as ,i started to leave1 ,redell looked at his calendar4 8,i hate to break this up2 it's a fascinating business ,what about coming in ,friday8 ,i'd like to see the rest of those case reports40 8,fine10 ,i said4 8,i've got a few more questions1 too40 ,going out1 ,i made a mental note of the ,friday date4 ,then the figure clicked2 it was just three months since ,i'd started on this assignment4 ,three months ago4 ,at that time ,i'd only been half sure that the saucers were real4 ,if anyone had said ,i'd soon believe they were space ships1 ,i'd have told him he was crazy4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,before my date with ,redell1 ,i went over all the material ,i had1 hoping to find some clue to the space visitors' planet4 ,it was possible1 of course1 that there was more than one planet involved4 ,project 8,saucer0 had discussed the possibilities in it6 report of ,april #bg1 #aidi4 ,i read over this section again3 ,since flying saucers first hit the headlines almost two years ago1 there has been wide speculation that the aerial phenomena might actually be some form of penetration from another planet4 ,actually1 astronomers are largely in agreement that only one member of the solar system beside ,earth is capable of supporting life4 ,that is ,mars4 ,even ,mars1 however1 appears to be relatively desolate and inhospitable1 so that a ,martian race would be more occupied with survival than we are on ,earth4 ,on ,mars1 there exists an excessively slow loss of atmosphere1 oxygen and water1 against which intelligent beings1 if they do exist there1 may have protected themselves by scientific control of physical conditions4 ,this might have been done1 scientists speculate1 by the construction of homes and cities underground where the atmospheric pressure would be greater and thus temperature extremes reduced4 ,the other possibilities exist1 of course1 that evolution may have developed a being who can withstand the rigors of the ,martian climate1 or that the race--if it ever did exist--has perished4 ,in other words1 the existence of intelligent life on ,mars1 where the rare atmosphere is nearly devoid of oxygen and water and where the nights are much colder than our ,arctic winters1 is not impossible but is completely unproven4 ,the possibility of intelligent life also existing on the planet ,venus is not considered completely unreasonable by astronomers4 ,the atmosphere of ,venus apparently consists mostly of carbon dioxide with deep clouds of formaldehyde droplets1 and there seems to be little or no water4 ,yet1 scientists concede that living organisms might develop in chemical environments which are strange to us4 ,venus1 however1 has two handicaps4 ,her mass and gravity are nearly as large as the ,earth 7,mars is smaller7 and her cloudy atmosphere would discourage astronomy1 hence space travel4 ,the last argument1 ,i thought1 did not have too much weight4 ,we were planning to escape the earth's gravity2 ,martians could do the same1 with their planet4 ,as for the cloudy atmosphere1 they could have developed some system of radio or radar investigation of the universe4 ,the ,navy research units1 ,i knew1 were probing the far-off ,crab nebula in the ,milky ,way with special radio devices4 ,this same method1 or something far superior1 could have been developed on ,venus1 or other planets surrounded by constant clouds4 ,after the discussion of solar-system planets1 the ,project 8,saucer0 report went on to other star systems3 ,outside the solar system other stars--#bb in number--have satellite planets4 ,our sun has nine4 ,one of these1 the ,earth1 is ideal for existence of intelligent life4 ,on two others there is a possibility of life4 ,therefore1 astronomers believe reasonable the thesis that there could be at least one ideally habitable planet for each of the #bb other eligible stars4 ,after publication of our findings in ,true1 several astronomers said that many planets may be inhabited4 ,one of these was ,dr4 ,carl ,f4 von ,weizacker1 noted ,university of ,chicago physicist4 ,on ,january #aj1 #aiej1 ,dr4 von ,weizacker stated3 8,billions upon billions of stars found in the heavens may each have their own planets revolving about them4 ,it is possible that these planets would have plant and animal life on them similar to the earth's40 ,after narrowing the eligible stars down to twenty-two the ,project 8,saucer0 report goes on3 ,the theory is also employed that man represents the average in advancement and development4 ,therefore1 one-half the other habitable planets would be behind man in development1 and the other half ahead4 ,it is also assumed that any visiting race could be expected to be far in advance of man4 ,thus1 the chance of space travelers existing at planets attached to neighboring stars is very much greater than the chance of space-traveling ,martians4 ,the one can be viewed as almost a certainty 7if you accept the thesis that the number of inhabited planets is equal to those that are suitable for life and that intelligent life is not peculiar to the ,earth7 40 ,the most likely star was ,wolf #cei--;eight light-years away4 ,i thought for a minute about traveling that vast distance4 ,it was almost appalling1 considered in terms of man's life span4 ,of course1 dwellers on other planets might live much longer4 ,if the speed of light was not an absolute limit1 almost any space journey would then be possible4 ,since there would be no resistance in outer space1 it would be simply a matter of using rocket power in the first stages to accelerate to the maximum speed desired4 ,in the latter phase1 the rocket's drive would have to be reversed1 to decelerate for the landing4 ,the night before my appointment with ,redell1 ,i was checking a case report when the phone rang4 ,it was ,john ,steele4 8,are you still working on the saucers80 he asked4 8,if you are1 ,i have a suggestion--something that might be a real lead40 8,i could use a lead right now10 ,i told him4 8,i can't give you the source1 but it's one ,i consider reliable10 said ,steele4 8,this man says the disks are ,british developments40 ,this was a new one4 ,i hadn't considered the ,british4 ,steele talked for over half an hour1 expanding the idea4 ,the saucers1 his informant said1 were rotating disks with cambered surfaces--originally a ,nazi device4 ,near the end of the war1 the ,british had seized all the models1 along with the ,german technicians and scientists who had worked on the project4 ,the first ,british types had been developed secretly in ,england1 according to this account4 ,but the first tests showed a dangerous lack of control2 the disks streaked up to high altitudes1 hurtling without direction4 ,some had been seen over the ,atlantic1 some in ,turkey1 ,spain1 and other parts of ,europe4 ,the ,british then had shifted operations to ,australia1 where a guided-missile test range had been set up4 7,this part1 ,i knew1 could be true2 there was such a range47 ,after improving their remote-control system1 which used both radio and radar1 they had built disks up to a hundred feet in diameter4 ,these were launched out over the ,pacific1 the first ones straight eastward over open sea4 ,british destroyers were stationed at #ajj-mile and later #ejj-mile intervals1 to track the missiles by radar and correct their courses4 ,at a set time1 when their fuel was almost exhausted1 the disks came down vertically and landed in the ocean4 ,since part of the device was sealed1 the disks would float2 then a special launching ship would hoist them abroad1 refuel them1 and launch them back toward a remote base in ,australia1 where they were landed by remote control4 ,since then1 ,steele said1 the disks' range and speed had been greatly increased4 ,the first tests of the new disks was in the spring of #aidg1 his informant had told him4 ,the ,british had rushed the project1 because of ,soviet ,russia's menacing attitude4 ,their only defense in ,england1 the ,british knew1 would be some powerful guided missile that could destroy ,soviet bases after the first attack4 ,in order to check the range and speeds accurately1 it was necessary to have observers in the ,western ,hemisphere--the disks were now traversing the ,pacific4 ,the ideal test range1 the ,british decided1 was one extending over ,canada1 where the disks could be tracked and even landed4 ,if the account was right1 said ,steele1 a base had been set up in the desolate ,hudson ,bay country4 ,special radar-tracking stations had also been established1 to guide the missiles toward ,australia and vessels at sea4 ,these stations also helped to bring in missiles from ,australia4 ,some of the disk missiles were supposed to have been launched from a ,british island in the ,south ,pacific2 others came all the way from ,australia4 ,still others were believed to have been launched by a mother ship stationed between the ,galapagos ,islands and ,pitcairn4 ,it was these new disks that had been seen in the ,united ,states1 ,alaska1 ,canada1 and ,latin ,america1 ,steele's informant had told him4 ,at first1 the sightings were due to imperfect controls2 the disks sometimes failed to keep their altitude1 partly because of conflicting radio and radar beams from the countries below4 ,responding to some of these mixed signals1 ,steele said1 the disks had been known to reverse course1 hover or descend over radar and radio stations1 or circle around at high speeds until their own control system picked them up again4 ,for this reason1 the ,british had arranged a simple detonator system1 operated either by remote control or automatically under certain conditions4 ,in this way1 no disk would crash over land1 with the danger of hitting a populated area4 ,if it descended below a certain altitude1 the disk would automatically speed up its rotation1 then explode at a high altitude4 ,when radar trackers saw that a disk was off course and could not be realigned1 the nearest station then sent a special signal to activate the detonator system4 ,this was always done1 ,steele had been told1 when a disk headed toward ,siberia2 there had previously been a few cases when ,australian-launched disks had got away from controllers and appeared over ,europe4 ,i listened to ,steele's account with mixed astonishment and suspicion4 ,it sounded like a pipe dream2 but if it was1 it had been carefully thought out1 especially the details that followed4 ,at first1 ,steele said1 ,american defense officials had been completely baffled by the disk reports4 ,then the ,british1 learning about the sightings1 had hastily explained to top-level ,american officials4 ,an agreement had been worked out4 ,we were to have the benefit of their research and testing and working models1 in return for helping to conceal the secret4 ,we were also to aid in tracking and controlling the missiles when they passed over this country4 8,and ,i gather we paid in other ways10 ,steele said4 8,my source says this played a big part in increasing our aid to ,britain1 including certain atomic secrets40 ,that could make sense4 ,sharing such a secret would be worth all the money and supplies we had poured into ,england4 ,if ,america and ,great ,britain both had a superior long-range missile1 it would be the biggest factor ,i knew for holding off war4 ,but the long ranges involved in ,steele's explanation made the thing incredible4 8,how are they powered8 ,what fuel do they use80 ,i asked him4 8,that's the one thing ,i couldn't get10 said ,steele4 8,this man told me it was the most carefully guarded secret of all4 ,they've tapped a new source of power40 8,if he means atomic engines10 ,i said1 8,i don't believe it4 ,i don't think anyone is that far along40 8,no1 no10 ,steele said earnestly1 8he said it wasn't that4 ,and the rest of the story hangs together40 ,privately1 ,i thought of two or three holes1 but ,i let that go4 8,if it's ,british10 ,i said1 8do you think we should even hint at it80 8,i don't see any harm10 ,steele answered4 8,the ,russians undoubtedly know the truth4 ,they have agents everywhere4 ,it might do a lot of good for ,american-,british relations4 ,anyway1 it would offset any fear that the saucers are ,soviet weapons40 8,then you're not worried about that angle any more80 ,steele laughed4 8,no1 but it had me going for a while4 ,it was a big relief to find out the disks are ,british40 8,what's the disks' ceiling80 ,i asked1 abruptly4 8,oh--sixty thousand feet1 at least10 said ,steele4 ,after a moment he added quickly1 8,that's just a guess--they probably operate much higher4 ,i didn't think to ask40 ,before ,i hung up1 he asked me what ,i thought1 of the ,british explanation4 8,it's certainly more plausible than the ,soviet idea10 ,i said4 ,i thanked him for calling me1 and put down the phone4 ,i was tempted to point out the flaws in his story4 ,but ,i didn't4 ,if he was sincere1 it would be poor thanks for what he had told me4 ,if he was trying to plant a fake explanation1 it wouldn't hurt to let him think ,i'd swallowed it4 ,when ,i saw ,redell1 ,i told him about ,steele4 8,it does look like an attempt to steer you away from the interplanetary answer10 ,redell agreed1 8though he may be passing on a tip he believes40 8,you think there could be any truth in the ,british story80 8,would the ,british risk a hundred-foot disk crashing in some ,american city80 said ,redell4 8,no remote control is perfect1 and neither is a detonator system4 ,by some freak accident1 a disk might come down in a place like ,chicago1 and then blow up4 ,i just can't see the ,british--any more than ourselves--letting huge unpiloted missiles go barging around the world1 flying along airways and over cities4 ,certainly1 they could have automatic devices to make them veer away from airliners--but what if a circuit failed80 8,i go along with that10 ,i said4 8,i don't say the ,british don't have some long-range missiles10 ,redell broke in4 8,every big nation has a guided-missile project4 ,but no guided missile on earth can explain the ,mantell case and the others we've discussed40 ,i showed him the material ,i had on the ,nazi disk experiments4 ,redell skimmed through it and nodded4 8,i can tell you a little more10 he said4 8,some top ,nazi scientists were convinced we were being observed by space visitors4 ,they'd searched all the old reports4 ,some sighting over ,germany set them off about #aidj4 ,that's what ,i was told4 ,i think that's where they first got the idea of trying out oval and circular airfoils4 8,up to then1 nobody was interested4 ,the rotation idea uses the same principle as the helicopter1 but nobody had even followed that through4 ,the ,nazis went to work on the disks4 ,they also began to rush space-exploration plans--the orbiting satellite idea4 ,i think they realized these space ships were using some great source of power we hadn't discovered on earth4 ,i believe that's what they were after--that power secret4 ,if they'd succeeded1 they'd have owned the world4 ,as it was1 that space project caused them to leap ahead of everybody with rockets40 ,when ,i asked ,redell how he thought the space ships were powered1 he shrugged4 8,probably cosmic rays hold the answer4 ,their power would be even greater than atomic power4 ,there's another source ,i've heard mentioned1 but most people scoff at it4 ,that's the use of electromagnetic fields in space4 ,the earth has its magnetic field1 of course1 and so does the sun4 ,probably all planets do4 8,there's a man named ,fernand ,roussel who wrote a book called ,the ,unifying ,principle of ,physical ,phenomena1 about #aidc4 ,he goes into the electromagnetic-field theory4 ,if he's right1 then there must be some way to tap this force and go from one planet to another without using any fuel4 ,you'd use your first planet's magnetic field to start you off and then coast through space until you got into the field of the next planet4 ,at least1 that's how ,i understand it4 ,but you'd be safer sticking to atomic power4 ,that's been proved40 ,most of our conversations had been keyed to the technical side of the flying-saucer problem4 ,but before ,i left this time1 ,i asked ,redell how the thought of space visitors affected him4 8,oh1 at first ,i had a queer feeling about it10 he answered4 8,but once you accept it1 it's like anything else4 ,you get used to the idea40 8,one thing bothers me10 ,i said4 8,when ,i try to picture them1 ,i keep remembering the crazy-looking things in some of the comics4 ,what do you suppose they're really like80 8,i've thought about it for months40 ,redell slowly shook his head4 8,i haven't the slightest idea40 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,that evening1 after my talk with ,redell1 the question kept coming back in my mind4 ,what were they like8 ,and what were they doing here8 ,from the long record of sightings1 it was possible to get an answer to the second question4 ,observation of the earth followed a general pattern4 ,according to the reports1 ,europe1 the most populated area1 had been more closely observed than the rest of the globe until about #ahgj4 ,by this time1 the ,united ,states1 beginning to rival ,europe in industrial progress1 had evidently become of interest to the space-ship crews4 ,from then on1 ,europe and the ,western ,hemisphere1 chiefly ,north ,america1 shared the observers' attention4 ,the few sightings reported at other points around the world indicate an occasional check-up on the earth in general4 ,apparently ,world ,war ,i had not greatly concerned the space observers4 ,one reason might be that our aerial operations were still at a relatively low altitude4 ,but ,world ,war ,,ii had drawn more attention1 and this had obviously increased from #aidg up to the present time4 ,our atomic-bomb explosions and the ,v-#b high-altitude experiments might be only coincidence1 but ,i could think of no other development that might seriously concern dwellers on other planets4 ,it was a strange thing to think of some far-off race keeping track of the earth's progress4 ,if ,redell was right1 it might even have started in prehistoric time2 a brief survey1 perhaps once a century or even further spaced1 then gradually more frequent observation as cities appeared on the earth4 ,somewhere on a distant planet there would be records of that long survey4 ,i wondered how our development would appear to that far-advanced race4 ,they would have seen the slow sailing ships1 the first steamships1 the lines of steel tracks that carried our first trains4 ,watching for our first aircraft1 they would see the drifting balloons that seemed an aerial miracle when the ,montgolfiers first succeeded4 ,more than a century later1 they would have noted the slow1 clumsy airplanes of the early #aijj's4 ,from our gradual progress to the big planes and bombers of today1 they could probably chart our next steps toward the stratosphere--and then space4 ,during the last two centuries1 they would have watched a dozen wars1 each one fiercer than the last1 spreading over the globe4 ,adding up all the things they had seen1 they could draw an accurate picture of man1 the earth creature1 and the increasingly fierce struggle between the earth races4 ,the long survey held no sign of menace4 ,if there had been a guiding purpose of attack and destruction1 it could have been carried out years ago4 ,it was almost certain that any planet race able to traverse space would have the means for attack4 ,more than once1 during this investigation1 ,i had been asked3 8,if the saucers are interplanetary1 why haven't they landed here8 ,why haven't their crews tried to make contact with us80 ,there was always the possibility that the planet race or races could not survive on earth1 or that their communications did not include the methods that we used4 ,but ,i found that hard to believe4 ,such a superior race would certainly be able to master our radio operations1 or anything else that we had developed1 in a fairly short time4 ,and it should be equally simple to devise some means of survival on earth1 just as we were already planning special suits and helmets for existence on the moon4 ,during a talk with a former ,intelligence officer1 ,i got a key to the probable explanation4 8,why don't you just reverse it--list what we intend to do when we start exploring space8 ,that'll give you the approximate picture of what visitors to the earth would be doing40 ,naturally1 all the details of space plans have not been worked out1 but the general plan is clear4 ,after the first successful earth satellites1 we will either attempt a space base farther out or else launch a moon rocket4 ,probably many round trips to the moon will be made before going farther in space4 ,which planet will be explored first1 after the moon8 ,according to ,air ,force reports1 it is almost a certainty that planets outside the solar system are inhabited4 ,but because of the vast distances involved1 expeditions to our neighboring planets may be tried before the more formidable journeys4 ,more than one prominent astronomer believes that life1 entirely different from our own1 may exist on some solar planets4 ,besides ,mars1 ,jupiter1 and ,venus1 there are five more that1 like the earth1 revolve around the sun4 ,one of the prominent authorities is ,dr4 ,h4 ,spencer ,jones1 ,astronomer ,royal4 ,in his book ,life on ,other ,worlds1 ,dr4 ,jones points out that everything about us is the result of changing processes1 begun millenniums ago and still going on4 ,we cannot define life solely in our own terms2 it can exist in unfamiliar forms4 8,it is conceivable10 ,dr4 ,jones states in his book1 8that we could have beings1 the cells of whose bodies contained silicon instead of the carbon which is an essential constituent of our cells and of all other living cells on the earth4 ,and that because of this essential difference between the constitution of those cells and the cells of which animal and plant life on the earth are built up1 they might be able to exist at temperatures so high that no terrestrial types of life could survive40 ,according to ,dr4 ,jones1 then1 life could be possible on worlds hotter and drier than ours2 it could also exist on a very much colder one1 such as ,mars4 ,even if a survey of the sun's planets proved fruitless1 it would decide the question of their being populated4 ,also1 it would provide valuable experience for the much longer journeys into space4 ,no one expects such a survey until we have a space vehicle able to make the round trip4 ,one-way trips would tell us nothing1 even if volunteers offered to make such suicidal journeys4 ,the most probable step will be to launch a space vehicle equipped with supplies for a long time1 perhaps a year or two1 within the solar system4 ,since ,mars has been frequently mentioned as a source of the flying saucers1 let's assume it would be the first solar-system planet to be explored from the earth4 ,as the space ship neared ,mars1 it could be turned to circle the planet in an orbit1 just like our planned earth satellite vehicle4 ,once in this orbit1 it could circle indefinitely without using fuel except to correct its course4 ,from this space base1 unmanned remote-control 8observer0 units with television 8eyes0 or other transmitters would be sent down to survey the planet at close range4 ,if it then seemed fairly safe1 a manned unit could be released to make a more thorough check-up4 ,such preliminary caution would be imperative4 ,our explorers would have no idea of what awaited them4 ,the planet might be uninhabited4 ,it might be peopled by a fiercely barbarous race unaware of civilization as we know it4 ,or it might have a civilization far in advance of ours4 ,the explorers would first try to get a general idea of the whole planet4 ,then they would attempt to examine the most densely populated areas1 types of armature1 any aircraft likely to attack them4 ,combing the radio spectrum1 they would pick up and record sounds and signals in order to decipher the language4 ,as on earth1 they might hear a hodgepodge of tongues4 ,the next step would be to select the most technically advanced nation1 listen in1 and try to learn its language1 or record it for deciphering afterward on earth4 ,our astronomers already have analyzed ,mars's atmosphere1 but the explorers would have to confirm their reports1 to find out whether the atmosphere at the surface would support their lungs if they landed4 ,the easiest way would be to send down manned or unmanned units with special apparatus to scoop in atmosphere samples4 ,later analysis would tell whether earthlings would need oxygen-helmet suits such as we plan to use on the moon4 ,but before risking flight at such low altitudes1 the explorers would first learn everything possible about the planet's aircraft1 if any4 ,they would try to determine their top ceiling1 maximum speed1 maneuverability1 and if possible their weapons4 ,mitch of this could be done by sending down remote-control 8observer0 disks1 or whatever type we decide to use4 ,a manned unit might make a survey at night1 or in daytime with clouds nearby to shield it4 ,by hovering over the planet's aircraft bases1 the explorers could get most of the picture1 and also decide whether the bases were suitable for their own use later4 ,it might even be necessary to lure some ,martian aircraft into pursuit of our units1 to find out their performance4 ,but our explorers would above all avoid any sign of hostility2 they would hastily4 withdraw to show they had no warlike intentions4 ,if the appearance of our observer units and manned craft caused too violent reactions on the planet1 the explorers would withdraw to their orbiting space vehicle and either wait for a lull or else start the long trip back home4 ,another interplanetary craft from the earth might take its place later to resume periodic surveys4 ,in this way1 a vast amount of information could be collected without once making contact with the strange race4 ,if they seemed belligerent or uncivilized1 we would probably end our survey and check on the next possibly inhabited planet4 ,if we found they were highly civilized1 we would undoubtedly attempt later contact4 ,but it might take a long time1 decades of observation and analysis1 before we were ready for that final step4 ,we might find a civilization not quite so advanced as ours4 ,it might not yet have developed radio and television4 ,we would then have no way of getting a detailed picture1 learning the languages1 or communicating with4 the ,martians4 ,analysis of their atmosphere might show a great hazard to earthlings1 one making it impossible to land or requiring years of research to overcome4 ,there might be other obstacles beyond our present understanding4 ,this same procedure would apply to the rest of the solar-system planets and to more distant systems4 ,since ,wolf #cei is the nearest star outside our system that is likely to have inhabited planets1 one of these planets would probably be listed as the first to explore in far-distant space4 ,it would be a tremendous undertaking1 unless the speed of light can be exceeded in space4 ,since ,wolf #cei is eight light-years from the earth1 even if a space ship traveled at the theoretical maximum--just under #ahf1jj miles a second--it would take over sixteen years for the round trip4 ,detailed observation of the planet would add to this period4 ,if we assume half that speed--which would still be an incredible attainment with our present knowledge--our space explorers would have to dedicate at least thirty-two years to the hazardous1 lonely round trip4 ,however1 there has never been a lack of volunteers for grand undertakings in the history of man4 ,it is quite possible that in our survey of the solar-system planets we would find some inhabited1 but not advanced enough to be of interest to us4 ,periodically1 we might make return visits to note their progress4 ,meantime1 our astronomers would watch these planets1 probably developing new1 higher powered telescopes for the purpose1 to detect any signs of unusual activity4 ,any tremendous explosion on a planet would immediately concern us4 ,such an explosion1 on ,mars1 was reported by astronomers on ,january #af1 #aiej4 ,the cause and general effects are still being debated4 ,sadao ,saeki1 the ,japanese astronomer who first reported it at ,osaka1 believes it was of volcanic nature4 ,the explosion created a cloud over an area about seven hundred miles in diameter and forty miles high4 ,it was dull gray with a yellowish tinge and a different color from the atmospheric phenomena customarily seen near ,mars4 ,saeki believes the blast might have destroyed any form of life existing on the planet1 but even though the telescopic camera recorded a violent explosion1 other authorities do not believe the planet was wrecked4 ,the canals first discovered on ,mars by ,giovanni ,schiaparelli1 about #ahgg1 are still apparent on photographs4 ,mars is now being carefully watched by astronomers4 ,if there are more of the strange explosions1 the planet will be scanned constantly for some clue to their nature4 ,if a mysterious explosion on ,mars1 or any other planet1 were found of atomic origin1 it would cause serious concern on earth4 ,suppose for a moment that it happened many years from now1 when we will have succeeded in space explorations4 ,at this time1 let us assume our explorers have found that ,mars is experimenting with high-altitude rockets2 some of them have been seen1 rising at tremendous speed1 in the upper atmosphere of ,mars4 ,then comes this violent explosion4 ,a scientific analysis of the cloud by astrophysicists here on earth proves it was of atomic origin4 ,the first reaction would undoubtedly be an immediate resurvey of ,mars4 ,as quickly as possible1 we would establish an orbiting space base--out of range of ,martian rockets--and try to find how far they had advanced with atomic bombs4 ,samples of the ,martian atmosphere would be collected and analyzed for telltale radiation4 ,observer units would be flown over the planet1 with instruments to locate atom-bomb plants and possibly uranium deposits4 ,the rocket-launching bases would also come under close observation4 ,we would try to learn how close the scientists were to escaping the pull of gravity4 ,since ,mars's gravity is much less than the earth's1 the ,martians would not have so far to progress before succeeding in space travel4 ,the detailed survey by our space-base observers would probably show that there was no immediate danger to the earth4 ,it might take one hundred years--perhaps five hundred--before the ,martians could be a problem4 ,eventually1 the time would come when ,mars would send out space-ship explorers4 ,they would undoubtedly discover that the earth was populated with a technically advanced civilization4 ,any warlike ideas they had in mind could be quickly ended by a show of our superior space craft and our own atomic weapons--probably far superior to any on ,mars4 ,it might even be possible that by then we would have finally outlawed war2 if so1 a promise to share the peaceful benefits of our technical knowledge might be enough to bring ,martian leaders into line4 ,regardless of our final decision1 we would certainly keep a lose watch on ,mars--or any other planet that seemed a possible threat4 ,now1 if our space-exploration program is just reversed1 it will give a reasonable picture of how visitors from space might go about investigating the earth4 ,such an investigation would tie in with the general pattern of authentic flying-saucer reports3 #a4 ,world-wide sightings at long intervals up to the middle of the nineteenth century4 #b4 ,concentration on ,europe1 as the most advanced section of the globe1 until late in the nineteenth century4 #c4 ,frequent surveys of ,america in the latter part of the nineteenth century1 as we began to develop industrially1 with cities springing up across the land4 #d4 ,periodic surveys of both ,america and ,europe during the gradual development of aircraft1 from the early #aijj's up to ,world ,war ,,ii4 #e4 ,an increase of observation during ,world ,war ,,ii1 after ,german ,v-#b's were launched up into the stratosphere4 #f4 ,a steadily increasing survey after our atomic-bomb explosions in ,new ,mexico1 ,japan1 ,bikini1 and ,eniwetok4 #g4 ,a second spurt of observations following atom-bomb explosions in ,soviet ,russia4 #h4 ,continuing observations of the earth at regular intervals1 with most attention concentrated on the ,united ,states1 the present leader in atomic weapons4 7,saucers have been reported seen over the ,soviet ,union1 but the number is unknown4 ,there is some evidence that ,russia has an investigative unit similar to ,project 8,saucer407 ,there are other points of similarity to the program of ,american space exploration that ,i have outlined4 ,most of the extremely large saucers have been at high altitudes1 some of them many miles above the earth4 ,at that height1 a space ship would be in no danger from our planes and antiaircraft guns and rockets4 ,the smaller disks and the mystery lights have been seen at low altitudes4 ,occasionally a larger saucer has been seen to approach the earth briefly1 as at ,lockbourne ,air ,force ,base1 at ,bethel1 ,alabama1 at ,macon and ,montgomery1 and other places4 ,it has been suggested that this was for the purpose of securing atmospheric samples4 ,it could also be to afford personal observation by the crews4 ,the numerous small disks seen in the first part of the scare1 in #aidg1 fit the pattern for preliminary and close observation by remote-controlled observer units4 ,as the scare increased1 the daytime sightings decreased for a while1 and mystery lights began to be seen more often4 ,this apparent desire to avoid unfavorable attention could have been caused by our pilots' repeated attempts to chase the strange flying objects4 ,authentic reports have described sightings2 over the following ,air ,force bases3 ,chanute1 ,newark1 ,andrews1 ,hickam1 ,robbins1 ,godman1 ,clark1 ,fairfield ,suisan1 ,davis-,monthan1 ,harmon1 ,wright-,patterson1 ,holloman1 ,clinton ,county ,air ,force ,base1 and air bases in ,alaska1 ,germany1 and the ,azores4 ,saucers have also been sighted over naval air stations at ,dallas1 ,alameda1 and ,key ,west1 and from the station at ,seattle4 ,they have been reported maneuvering over the ,white ,sands ,proving ,ground1 over areas containing atomic developments1 above the ,muroc ,air ,base testing area1 and over the super-secret research base near ,albuquerque4 ,several times saucers have paced both military and civil aircraft2 their actions strongly indicate deliberate encounters to learn our planes' speed and performance4 ,it seems obvious that both the planes and the bases were being observed1 and in some cases photographed by remote-control units or manned space ships4 ,although ,i thought it improbable that the location of our uranium deposits would be of interest to space men1 a ,washington official told me it would be relatively simple to detect the ore areas with airborne instruments4 8,the ,geological ,survey has already developed special ,geiger counters for planes10 he told me4 8,they had a little trouble from cosmic-ray noise4 ,they finally had to cover the ,geigers with lead shields4 ,whenever an important amount of radiation is present in the ground1 the plane crew gets a signal1 and they spot the place on their map4 ,it's a quick way of locating valuable deposits40 ,when ,i told him what ,i had in mind1 he suggested an angle ,i had not considered4 8,mind you10 he said1 8,i'm not completely sold on the interplanetary answer4 ,but assuming it's correct that we're being observed1 ,i can think of a stronger reason than fear of some distant attack4 ,some atomic scientists say that a super-atomic bomb1 or several set off at once1 could knock the earth out of its orbit4 ,it sounds fantastic1 but so is the ,a-bomb4 ,it's just possible that some solar-planet race discovered the dangers long ago4 ,they would have good reason to worry if they found we were on that same track4 ,there may be some other atomic weapon we don't suspect1 even worse than the ,a-bomb1 one that could destroy the earth and seriously affect other planets40 ,at the time1 ,i thought this was just idle speculation4 ,but since then1 several atomic scientists have confirmed this official's suggestion4 ,one of these was ,dr4 ,paul ,elliott1 a nuclear physicist who worked on the ,a-bomb during the war4 ,according to ,dr4 ,elliott1 if several hydrogen bombs were exploded simultaneously at a high altitude1 it could speed up the earth's rotation or change its orbit4 ,he based his statement on the rate of energy the earth receives from the sun1 a rate equal to some four pounds of hydrogen exploded every second4 ,still other atomic scientists have said that ,h-bomb explosions might even knock a large chunk out of the earth1 with unpredictable results4 ,a dramatic picture of what might happen if the earth were forced far out of its orbit is indicated in the much-discussed book ,worlds in ,collision1 by ,dr4 ,immanuel ,velikovsky1 recently published by ,macmillan4 ,after many years of research1 ,dr4 ,velikovsky presents strong evidence that the planet ,venus1 when still a comet resulting from eruption from a larger planet1 moved erratically about the sky and violently disturbed both the earth and ,mars4 ,when the comet approached the earth1 our planet was forced out of its orbit1 according to ,worlds in ,collision4 ,for a time1 the world was on the brink of destruction4 ,quoting many authentic ancient records1 including the ,quich manuscript of the ,mayas1 the ,ipuwer papyrus of the ,egyptians1 and the ,visiddhi-,magga of the ,buddhists1 ,dr4 ,velikovsky describes the cataclysm that took place4 8,the face of the earth changed10 he writes in his book4 ,the details1 reinforced by the ,zend-,avesta of the ,persians1 tell of tremendous hurricanes1 of a major upheaval in the earth's surface1 of oceans rushing over many parts of the land1 while rivers were driven from their beds4 ,some of the events in this period are mentioned in the ,bible4 ,professor ,horace ,m4 ,kallen1 former dean of the ,new ,school of ,social ,research1 strongly endorses ,dr4 ,velikovsky's statements3 8,it is my belief that ,velikovsky has supported his theses with substantial evidence and made an effective and persuasive argument40 ,many other authorities endorse this work1 which is documented with impressive references4 ,but even if this particular account is not accepted1 all astronomers agree that the effect of a comet passing near the earth would be appalling4 ,worlds in ,collision states that ,mars1 like the earth1 was pulled out of its orbit by the comet's erratic passage4 ,it may be that this near disaster to the earth and ,mars is known on other solar planets1 or remembered on ,mars itself1 if the planet is inhabited4 ,the possibility of super-bomb explosions on the earth understandably disturb any dwellers on other solar-system planets4 ,this may be what was back of the ,project 8,saucer0 statement on the probable motives of any visitors from space4 ,i mentioned this ,air ,force statement in an earlier chapter1 but it may be of interest to repeat it at this time4 ,the comment appeared in a confidential analysis of ,intelligence reports1 in the formerly secret ,project 8,saucer0 document1 8,report on ,unidentified ,aerial and ,celestial ,objects40 ,it reads as follows3 8,such a civilization might observe that on earth we now have atomic bombs and are fast developing rockets4 ,in view of the past history of mankind1 they should be alarmed4 ,we should therefore expect at this time above all to behold such visitations4 8,since the acts of mankind most easily observed from a distance are ,a-bomb explosions1 we should expect some relation to obtain between the time of the ,a-bomb explosions1 the time at which the space ships are seen1 and the time required for such ships to arrive from and return to home base40 ,,chapter ,,xv ,it was early in ,october #aidi when ,i finished the reversal of our space-exploration plans4 ,i spent the next two days running down a sighting report from a town in ,pennsylvania4 ,like three or four other tips that had seemed important at first1 it turned out to be a dud4 ,when ,i got back home1 ,i found ,ken ,purdy had been trying to reach me4 ,i phoned him at ,true1 and he asked me to fly up to ,new ,york the next day4 8,i've just heard there's another magazine working on the saucer story10 he told me4 8,who is it80 ,i said4 8,i don't know yet4 ,it may be just a rumor1 but we can't take a chance4 ,we've got to get this in the ,january book40 ,that night ,i gathered up all the material4 ,it looked hopeless to condense it into one article1 and ,i knew that ,purdy had even more investigators' reports waiting for me in ,new ,york4 ,flying up the next morning1 ,i suddenly thought of a talk ,i'd had with an air transport official4 ,it was in ,washington2 ,i had just told him about the investigation4 8,if they are spacemen10 he said1 8they'd probably have a hard time figuring out this country by listening to our broadcasts4 ,imagine tuning in soap operas1 #8,the ,lone ,ranger1' and a couple of crime yarns1 along with newscasts about strikes and murders and the cold war4 ,they might pick up some of those kid programs about rocket ships4 ,a few days of listening to that stuff--well1 it would give them one hell of a picture40 ,except for some hoax reports1 this was the first funny suggestion ,i'd had about the spacemen4 ,but now1 thinking seriously about it1 ,i realized he had an important point4 ,it was possible that men from another planet might have to reorient even their way of thinking to understand the earth's ways4 ,it would not be automatic1 despite their superior technical progress4 ,evolution might have produced basic differences in their understanding of life4 ,humor1 for instance1 might be totally lacking in their make-up4 ,what would they be like8 ,i'd tried to imagine how they might look1 without getting anywhere4 ,dr4 ,h4 ,spencer ,jones hadn't helped much with his ,life on ,other ,worlds4 ,i couldn't begin to visualize beings with totally different cells1 perhaps able to take terrific heat or bitter cold as merely normal weather4 ,there were all kinds of possibilities4 ,if they lived on ,mars1 for instance1 perhaps they couldn't take the heavier gravity of the earth4 ,they might be easily subject to our diseases1 especially if they had destroyed disease germs on their planet--a natural step for an advanced race4 ,it was possible1 ,i knew1 that the spacemen might look grotesque to us4 ,but ,i clung to a ,stubborn feeling that they would resemble man4 ,that came1 of course1 from an inborn feeling of man's superiority over all living things4 ,it carried over into a feeling that any thinking1 intelligent being1 whether on ,mars or ,wolf #cei's planets1 should have evolved in the same form4 ,i gave up trying to imagine how the spacemen might look4 ,there was simply nothing to go on4 ,but there were strong indications of how they thought and reacted4 ,certain qualities were plainly evident4 ,intelligence4 ,no one could dispute that4 ,it took a high order of mentality to construct and operate a space ship4 ,courage4 ,it would take brave men to face the hazards of space4 ,curiosity4 ,without this quality1 they would never have thought to explore far-distant planets4 ,there were other qualities that seemed almost equally certain4 ,these spacemen apparently lacked belligerence2 there had been no sign of hostility through all the years4 ,they were seemingly painstaking and extremely methodical4 ,it was still not much of a picture4 ,but somehow1 it was encouraging4 ,glancing down from the plane's window1 ,i thought3 ,how does this look to them8 ,our farms1 our cities1 the railroads there below2 the highways1 with the speeding cars and trucks2 the winding river1 and far off to the right1 the broad stretch of the ,atlantic4 ,what would they think of ,america8 ,manhattan came into sight1 as the pilot let down for the landing4 ,an odd thought popped into my mind4 ,how would a spaceman react if he saw a ,broadway show8 ,not long before1 ,i had seen ,south ,pacific4 ,i could still hear ,ezio ,pinza's magnificent voice as he sang 8,some ,enchanted ,evening40 ,was music a part of spacemen's lives1 or would it be something new and strange1 perhaps completely distasteful8 ,they might live and think on a coldly intelligent level1 without a touch of what we know as emotion4 ,to them1 our lives might seem meaningless and dull4 ,we ourselves might appear grotesque in form4 ,but in their progress1 there must have been struggle1 trial and error1 some feeling of triumph at success4 ,surely these would be emotional forces1 bound to reflect in the planet races4 ,perhaps1 in spite of some differences1 we would find a common bond--the bond of thinking1 intelligent creatures trying to better themselves4 ,the airliner landed and taxied in to unload4 ,as ,i went down the gangway ,i suddenly realized something4 ,my last vague fear was gone4 ,it had not been a personal fear of the visitors from space4 ,it had been a selfish fear of the impact on my life4 ,i realized that now4 ,it might be a long time before they would try to make contact4 ,but ,i had a conviction that when it came1 it would be a peaceful mission1 not an ultimatum4 ,it could even be the means of ending wars on earth4 ,but ,i had been conditioned to this thing4 ,i had had six months of preparation1 six months to go from complete skepticism to slow1 final acceptance4 ,what if it had been thrown at me in black headlines8 ,even a peaceful contact by beings from another planet would profoundly affect the world4 ,the story in ,true might play an important part in that final effect4 ,carefully done1 it could help prepare ,americans for the official disclosure4 ,but if it weren't done right1 we might be opening a ,pandora's box4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,that morning1 at ,true1 we made the final decisions on how to handle the story4 ,using the evidence of the ,mantell case1 the ,chiles-,whitted report1 ,gorman's mystery-light encounter1 and other authentic cases1 along with the records of early sightings1 we would state our main conclusion3 that the flying saucers were interplanetary4 ,in going over the mass of reports1 ,purdy and ,i both realized that a few sightings did not fit the space-observer pattern4 ,most of these reports came from the southwest states1 where guided-missile experiments were going on4 ,purdy agreed with ,paul ,redell that any long-range tests would be made over the sea or unpopulated areas1 with every attempt at secrecy4 8,they might make short-range tests down there in ,new ,mexico and ,arizona-maybe over ,texas10 he said4 8,but they'd never risk killing people by shooting the things all over the country40 8,they've already set up a three-thousand-mile range for the longer runs10 ,i added4 8,it runs from ,florida into the ,south ,atlantic4 ,and the ,navy missiles at ,point ,mugu are launched out over the ,pacific4 ,any guided missiles coming down over settled areas would certainly be an accident4 ,besides all that1 no missile on earth can explain these major cases40 ,purdy was emphatic about speculating on our guided-missile research4 8,suppose you analyzed these minor cases that look like missile tests4 ,you might accidentally give away something important1 like their range and speeds4 ,look what the ,russians did with the ,a-bomb hints ,washington let out40 ,it was finally decided that we would briefly mention the guided missiles1 along with the fact that the armed services had flatly denied any link with the saucers4 8,after all1 interplanetary travel is the main story10 said ,purdy4 8,and the ,mantell case alone proves we've been observed from space ships1 even without the old records40 ,the question of the story's impact worried both of us4 public acceptance of intelligent life on other planets would affect almost every phase of our existence-business1 defense planning1 philosophy1 even religion4 ,of course1 the immediate effect was more important4 ,personally1 ,i thought that most ,americans could take even an official announcement without too much trouble4 ,but ,i could be wrong4 8,the only yardstick--and that's not much good--is that #8little men' story10 said ,purdy4 8,a lot of people have got excited about it1 but they seem more interested than scared40 ,the story of the 8little men from ,venus0 had been circulating for some time4 ,in the usual version1 two flying saucers had come down near our southwest border4 ,in the space craft were several oddly dressed men1 three feet high4 ,all of them were dead2 the cause was usually given as inability to stand our atmosphere4 ,the ,air ,force was said to have hushed up the story1 so that the public could be educated gradually to the truth4 ,though it had all the earmarks of a well-thought-out hoax1 many newspapers had repeated the story4 ,it had even been broadcast as fact on several radio newscasts4 ,but there had been no signs of public alarm4 8,it looks as if people have come a long way since that ,orson ,welles scare10 ,i said to ,purdy4 8,but there isn't any menace in this story10 he objected4 8,the crews were reported dead1 so everybody got the idea that spacemen couldn't live if they landed4 ,what if a space ship should suddenly come down over a big city--say ,new ,york--low enough for millions of people to see it80 8it might cause a stampede10 ,i said1 ,purdy snorted4 8it would be a miracle if it didn't1 unless people had been fully prepared4 if we do a straight fact piece1 just giving the evidence1 it will start the ball rolling4 ,people at least will be thinking about it40 ,before ,i left for ,washington1 ,i told ,purdy of my last visit to the ,pentagon4 ,i had informed ,air ,force press relations officials of ,true's intention to publish the space-travel answer4 ,there had been no attempt to dissuade me4 ,and ,i had been told once again that there was no security involved2 that ,project 8,saucer0 had found nothing threatening the safety of ,america4 ,at this time ,i had also asked if ,project 8,saucer0 files were now available4 ,the ,wright ,field unit1 ,i was told1 still was a classified project1 both its files and its photographs secret4 ,this had been the first week in ,october4 ,when ,i asked if there was any other information on published cases1 the answer again was negative4 ,the ,april #bgth report1 according to ,press ,branch officials1 was still an accurate statement of ,air ,force opinions and policies4 ,so far as they knew1 no other explanations had be n found for the unidentified saucers4 #8,i in absolutely convinced now10 ,i told ,purdy1 8that here's an official policy to let the thing leak out4 ,it explains why ,forrestal announced our ,earth ,satellite ,vehicle program1 years before we could even start to build it4 ,it also would explain those ,project #8,saucer' hints in the ,april report40 8,i think we're being used as a trial balloon10 ,purdy said thoughtfully4 8,we've let them know what we're doing4 ,if they'd wanted to stop us1 the ,air ,force could easily have done it4 ,all they'd have to do would be call us in1 give us the dope off the record1 and tell us it was a patriotic duty to keep still4 ,just the way they did about uranium and atomic experiments during the war40 ,he still did not have the name of the other magazine supposed to be working on the saucers4 ,but it seemed a reliable tip 7it later proved to be true71 and from then on we worked under high pressure4 ,in writing the article1 ,i used only the most authentic recent sightings2 all of the cases were in the ,air ,force reports4 ,when it came to the ,mantell case1 ,i stuck to published estimates of the strange object's size2 a mysterious ship #bej to #cjj feet in diameter was startling enough4 ,at first1 ,i chose ,mars to illustrate our space explorations4 ,but ,mars had been associated with the ,orson ,welles stampede4 ,most discussions of the planet had a menacing note1 perhaps because of its warlike name4 ,in the end1 ,i switched to a planet of ,wolf #cei4 ,the thought of those eight light-years would have a comforting effect on any nervous readers4 ,the chance of any mass visitation would seem remote1 if not impossible4 ,but it would still put across the space-travel story4 ,as finally revised1 the article1 written under my byline1 stated the following points as the conclusions reached by ,true3 #a4 ,for the past #age years1 the earth has been under systematic close-range examination by living1 intelligent observers from another planet4 #b4 ,the intensity of this observation1 and the frequency of the visits to the earth's atmosphere1 have increased markedly during the past two years4 #c4 ,the vehicles used for this observation and for interplanetary transport by the explorers have been classed as follows3 ,type ,i1 a small1 nonpilot-carrying disk-shaped craft equipped with some form of television or impulse transmitter2 ,type ,,ii1 a very large1 metallic1 disk-shaped aircraft operating on the helicopter principle2 ,type ,,iii1 a dirigible-shaped1 wingless aircraft that1 in the ,earth's atmosphere1 operates in conformance with the ,prandtl theory of lift4 #d4 ,the discernible patterns of observation and exploration shown by the so-called flying disks varies in no important particular from well-developed ,american plans for the exploration of space1 expected to come to fruition within the next fifty years4 ,there is reason to believe1 however1 that some other race of thinking beings is a matter of two and a quarter centuries ahead of us4 ,following these points1 ,i added a brief comment on the possibility of guided missiles1 adding that the ,air ,force had convincingly denied this as an explanation of any sightings4 ,as ,purdy had suggested1 ,i carefully omitted ten minor cases that ,i thought might be linked with guided-missile research4 ,if disclosing the facts about space travel helped to divert attention from any secret tests1 so much the better4 8,true accepts the official denial of any secret device10 ,i stated1 8because the weight of the evidence1 especially the world-wide sightings1 does not support such a belief40 ,most readers1 of course1 would know that some guided-missile experiments were going on1 and that ,true was fully aware of it4 ,but our main purpose would be achieved4 ,the fact that the earth had been observed by beings from another planet would be fully presented4 ,some readers1 of course1 would reject even the fact that the saucers existed4 ,others would cling to the idea that they were of earthly origin4 ,but the mass of evidence would make most readers think4 ,at the very least1 it would plant one strong suggestion3 that we1 men and women of the earth1 are not the only intelligent species in the universe4 ,when the article was finished1 it was tried out on ,true's staff1 then on a picked group that had not known about the investigation4 ,one editor summed up the average opinion3 8,it will cause a lot of discussion1 but the way it's written1 it shouldn't start any panic40 ,the ,january issue1 in which the story ran1 was due on the stands shortly after ,christmas4 ,with my family1 ,i had gone to ,ottumwa1 ,iowa1 to spend the holidays with my mother and sister4 ,while ,i was there1 the story broke unexpectedly on radio networks4 ,frank ,edwards1 ,mutual network newscaster1 led off the radio comment4 ,he was followed by ,walter ,winchell1 ,lowell ,thomas1 ,morgan ,beatty1 and most of the other radio commentators4 ,the wire services quickly picked it up2 some papers ran front-page stories4 ,the publicity was far more than ,i had expected4 ,i phoned a reporter in ,washington whose beat includes the ,pentagon4 8,the ,air ,force is running around in circles10 he told me4 8,they knew your story was due1 but nobody thought it would raise such a fuss4 ,i think they're scared of hysteria4 ,they're getting a barrage of wires and telephone calls40 ,that night1 as ,i was packing to rush back east1 he called with the latest news4 8,they're going to deny the whole thing10 he said4 8,but' ,i heard one ,press ,branch guy say it might not be enough --they're trying to figure some way to knock it down fast40 ,next day1 while changing trains at ,chicago1 ,i saw the ,air ,force statement4 ,the press release was dated ,december #bg1 #aidi4 ,without mentioning ,true1 the ,air ,force flatly denied having any evidence that flying saucers exist4 ,after examining #cge reports1 the release said1 ,project 8,saucer0 had found that they were caused by3 #a4 ,misinterpretation of various conventional objects4 #b4 ,a mild form of mass hysteria or 8war nerves40 #c4 ,individuals who fabricate such reports to perpetrate a hoax or to seek publicity4 ,evaluation of the reports of unidentified flying objects1 said the ,air ,force1 demonstrates that they constitute no direct threat to the national security of the ,united ,states4 ,then came the clincher3 ,project 8,saucer10 said the ,air ,force1 had been discontinued1 now that all the reports had been explained4 ,it was plain that the release had been hastily prepared4 ,it completely contradicted the detailed ,project 8,saucer0 report1 issued eight months before1 that had called for constant vigilance1 after admitting that most important cases were unsolved4 ,anyone familiar with the situation would see the discrepancy at once4 ,from ,washington ,i flew to ,new ,york1 where ,i found ,true in a turmoil4 ,long-distance calls were pouring in4 ,letters on flying saucers had swamped the mail room4 ,reporters were hounding ,purdy for more information4 ,a hurried analysis of the first hundred letters showed a trend that later mail confirmed4 ,less than #e per cent of the readers ridiculed the article4 ,between #ae and #bj per cent said they were not convinced2 a few of these admitted they could not refute the evidence4 ,about half the readers accepted the possibility2 most of these said they saw no reason why other planets should not be inhabited4 ,the remainder1 between #be and #cj per cent1 said they were completely convinced4 ,even the disbelievers asked for more information4 ,the intelligence level of the average letter was gratifyingly high4 ,comments came from scientists1 engineers1 airline and private pilots1 college professors1 officers of the armed services1 and a wide variety of others--including far more women than ,true's readership usually includes4 ,several confidential tips had come in when ,i arrived4 ,most of them were from usually reputable sources4 ,we were given evidence that ,project 8,saucer0 was still in operation2 since its true code name was not 8,saucer10 it could be continued without violating the ,air ,force press release4 ,this same information was received from a dozen sources within the next two weeks4 ,we were also told that there had been #gbb cases1 instead of #cge4 ,meantime1 a number of astronomers had come out with statements1 pro and con4 ,one of these was ,dr4 ,dean ,b4 ,mc,laughlin1 of the ,university of ,michigan4 8,no one knows what the saucers are as yet10 ,dr4 ,mc,laughlin said4 8,they could be anything1 and ,i'm willing to be convinced once the evidence is presented40 ,dr4 ,bart ,j4 ,bok of ,harvard was on the fence3 8,after all10 he said1 8all sort of things float around in space4 ,but ,i'm not convinced the saucers are anything apart from the earth40 ,another ,harvard astronomer1 ,dr4 ,armin ,j4 ,deutsch1 took an oblique poke at ,true and me4 8,i don't think anyone--and that includes astronomers--knows enough about them to reach any conclusions40 ,after this came the comment of ,dr4 ,carl ,f4 von ,weizacker--that billions of stars may have planets1 and many could be inhabited4 ,within a few days we had a huge stack of clippings1 some supporting ,true1 some deriding us4 ,in the midst of all this1 ,i read scientists' comments on ,einstein's new unified-field theory1 which had been printed about the time ,true appeared on the stands4 ,a discussion by ,lincoln ,barnett1 author of ,the ,universe and ,dr4 ,einstein1 explained the basic premise--that gravitation and electromagnetic force are inseparable4 ,as ,i read it1 ,i thought of what ,redell had said4 ,if gravitation were a manifestation of electromagnetic force1 was it possible that an advanced race had found a way--as unique as splitting the atom--to offset gravity and utilize that force8 ,it was during these first tense days that we ran down the ,white ,sands story4 ,this also ended another puzzle--the identity of the magazine that we had feared might scoop us4 ,the race had been closer than we knew4 ,the editors of a national magazine had learned of ,commander ,mc,laughlin and the sightings at ,white ,sands4 ,two of the staff had carefully investigated the details4 ,convinced that the report was accurate1 they had planned to run the story in an early issue4 ,since ,true had appeared first with the space-travel story1 the editors agreed to release the ,mc,laughlin report for use in our ,march issue4 ,the basic facts were in close agreement with what ,redell had told me4 ,the ellipsoid-shaped saucer had been tracked at a height of #ef miles1 its speed #e miles per second4 ,this was #ah1jjj miles per hour1 even faster than ,redell had said4 ,the strange craft1 #aje feet in length1 had climbed as swiftly as ,marvin ,miles had described it--an increase in altitude of about #be miles in #aj seconds4 ,commander ,mc,laughlin stated in his article that he was convinced the object was a space ship from another planet1 operated by animate1 intelligent beings4 ,he also described two small circular objects1 about twenty inches in diameter1 that streaked up beside a ,navy high-altitude missile4 ,after maneuvering around it for a moment1 both disks accelerated1 passed the fast-moving ,navy missile1 and disappeared4 ,it is ,commander ,mc,laughlin's opinion that the saucers come from ,mars4 ,pointing out that ,mars was in a good position to see our surface on ,july #af1 #aide1 he believes that the flash of the first ,a-bomb1 at ,alamogordo ,base1 a point not far from ,white ,sands1 was caught by powerful telescopes4 ,during the first week of ,january1 ,i appeared on 8,we1 the ,people10 with ,lieutenant ,george ,gorman4 ,when ,i saw ,gorman1 before rehearsals1 he seemed oddly constrained4 ,i had a feeling that he had been warned about talking freely4 ,during rehearsals1 he changed his lines in the script4 ,when the writers argued over a point1 ,gorman told them3 8,i can say only what was in my published report--nothing else40 ,the day before the broadcast1 a program official told me they had been told to include the ,air ,force denial in the script4 ,that afternoon ,i learned that the ,air ,force planned to monitor the broadcast4 ,meantime1 an ,a4,p4 story carried a new ,air ,force announcement4 ,formerly secret ,project 8,saucer0 files would be opened to newsmen at the ,pentagon1 giving the answers to all the saucer reports4 ,just after my return to ,washington1 ,i saw an ,i4,n4,s4 story that was widely printed4 ,it was an interview with ,major ,jerry ,boggs1 a ,project 8,saucer0 ,intelligence officer who served as liaison man between ,wright ,field and the ,pentagon4 ,major ,boggs had been asked for specific answers to the ,mantell1 ,chiles-,whitted1 and ,gorman cases4 ,the answers he gave amazed me4 ,i picked up the phone and called the ,air ,force ,press ,branch4 ,after some delay1 ,i was told that ,major ,boggs was being briefed for assignment to ,germany4 ,an interview would be almost impossible4 8,he wasn't too busy to talk with ,i4,n4,s410 ,i said4 8,all ,i want is thirty minutes40 ,later1 ,jack ,shea1 a civilian press official ,i had known for some time1 arranged for the meeting4 ,i was also to talk with ,general ,sory ,smith1 ,deputy ,director for ,air ,information4 ,major ,jesse ,stay1 a ,press ,branch officer1 took me to ,general ,smith's office for the interview4 ,both ,jesse and ,jack ,shea1 pleasant1 obliging chaps who had helped me in the past1 tried earnestly to convince me the saucers didn't exist4 ,jesse was still trying when ,major ,boggs came in4 ,boggs looked to be in his twenties1 younger than ,i had expected4 ,he was trim1 well built1 with a quietly alert face4 ,two rows of ribbons testified to his wartime service4 ,when ,jesse ,stay introduced me1 ,boggs gave me a curiously searching look4 ,it could have been merely his usual way of appraising people he met4 ,but all through our talk1 ,i had a strong feeling that he was on his guard4 ,i had written out some questions1 but first ,i mentioned the ,i4,n4,s4 story4 8,were you quoted correctly on the ,mantell case80 ,i asked4 8,yes1 ,i was40 ,major ,boggs looked me squarely in the eye4 8,captain ,mantell was chasing the planet ,venus40 ,it was so incredible that ,i shook my head4 8,major1 ,venus2 was practically invisible that day4 ,we've checked with astronomers4 ,is that the official ,air ,force answer80 8,yes1 it is10 ,boggs said4 ,his eyes never left my face4 ,i glanced across at ,general ,sory ,smith1 then back at the intelligence major4 8,that's a flat contradiction of ,project #8,saucer's' report4 ,last ,april1 after they had checked for fifteen months1 they said positively it was not ,venus4 ,it was still unidentified40 ,boggs said1 in a slow1 unruffled voice1 8,they rechecked after that report40 8,why did they recheck1 after fifteen months80 ,i asked him4 8#8,they must have gone over those figures long before that1 for errors40 ,if my question annoyed him1 ,boggs gave no sign4 ,there's no other possible answer10 he said4 8,mantell was chasing ,venus40 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,for a moment after ,boggs's last answer1 ,i had an impulse to end the interview4 ,i had a feeling ,i was facing a sphinx--a quiet1 courteous sphinx in an ,air ,force uniform4 ,i was sure now why ,major ,jerry ,boggs had been chosen for his job1 the all-important connecting link with the project at ,wright ,field4 ,no one would ever catch this man off guard1 no matter what secret was given him to conceal4 ,and it was more than the result of ,air ,force ,intelligence training4 ,his manner1 his voice carried conviction4 ,he would have convinced anyone who had not carefully analyzed the ,godman ,field tragedy4 ,i made one more attempt4 8,do the ,godman ,field witnesses--,colonel ,hix and the rest--believe the ,venus answer80 8,i haven't asked them10 said ,boggs1 8so ,i couldn't say40 8,what about the ,chiles-,whitted case80 ,i asked4 8,you were quoted as saying they saw a meteor--a bolide that exploded in a shower of sparks40 8,that's right10 said ,boggs4 8,and ,gorman was chasing a lighted balloon80 ,again the ,intelligence major nodded4 ,i pointed1 out that all three of the cases mentioned had been listed as unidentified in the ,april report4 8,they'd had those cases for months10 ,i said4 8,what new facts did they learn80 ,boggs said calmly1 8,they just made a final analysis1 and those were the answers40 ,we looked at each other a moment4 ,major ,boggs patiently waited4 ,i began to realize how a lawyer must feel with an imperturbable witness4 ,and ,boggs's unfailing courtesy began to make me embarrassed4 8,major10 ,i said1 8,i hope you'll realize this is not a personal matter4 ,as an ,intelligence officer1 if you're told to give certain answers--0 ,he smiled for the first time4 8,that's all right--but ,i'm not hiding a thing4 ,there's just no such thing as a flying saucer1 so far as we've found out40 8,we've been told10 ,i said1 8that ,project #8,saucer' isn't closed--that you just changed its code name40 8,that's not so10 ,boggs said emphatically4 8,the contracts are ended1 and all personnel transferred to other duty40 8,then the announcement wasn't caused by ,true's article80 ,both ,general ,smith and ,major ,jesse ,stay shook their heads quickly4 ,boggs leaned forward1 eyeing me earnestly4 8,as a matter of fact1 we'd finished the investigation months ago--around the end of ,august1 or early in ,september4 ,we just hadn't got around to announcing it40 8,last ,october10 ,i said1 8,i was told the investigation was still going on4 ,they said there were no new answers to the cases just mentioned40 8,the ,press ,branch hadn't been informed yet10 ,boggs explained simply4 8,it seems very strange to me10 ,i said4 8,in ,april1 the ,air ,force called for vigilance by the civilian population4 ,it said the project was young1 much of its work still under way40 ,jesse ,stay interrupted before ,boggs could reply4 8,don1 the ,press ,branch will have to take the blame for that4 ,the report wasn't carefully checked4 ,there were several loose statements in it40 ,this was an incredible statement4 ,i was sure ,jesse knew it4 8,but the case reports you quoted came from ,wright ,field4 ,as of ,april twenty-seventh1 #aidi1 all the major cases were officially unsolved4 ,then in ,august or early ,september1 the whole thing's cleaned up1 from what ,major ,boggs says4 ,that's pretty hard to believe40 ,no one answered that one4 ,major ,boggs was waiting politely for the next question4 ,i picked up my list4 ,the rest of the interview was in straight question-and-answer style3 ,q4 ,do you know about the ,white ,sands sightings in ,april #aidh8 ,the ones ,commander ,r4 ,b4 ,mc,laughlin has written up8 ,a4 ,yes1 we checked the reports4 ,we just don't believe them4 ,q4 ,one of the witnesses was ,charles ,b4 ,moore1 the director of the ,navy cosmic-ray project at ,minneapolis1 ,he's considered a very reputable engineer4 ,did you know he confirms the first report--the one about the saucer #ef miles up1 at a speed of eighteen thousand miles per hour4 ,a4 ,yes1 ,i knew about him4 ,we think he was mistaken1 like the others4 ,q4 ,mr4 ,moore says it was absolutely sure it was not hallucination4 ,he says it should be carefully investigated4 ,a4 ,we did investigate4 ,we just don't believe they saw anything4 ,q4 ,could ,i see the complete file on that case8 ,also on ,mantell1 ,gorman1 and the ,eastern ,airlines cases8 ,a4 ,that's out of my province4 ,q4 ,if ,project 8,saucer0 is ended1 then all the files should be opened4 ,a4 ,well1 the summaries have been cleared1 and you can see them4 ,q4 ,no1 ,i mean the actual files4 ,is there any reason ,i shouldn't see them8 ,a4 ,there'd be a lot of material to search through4 ,each case has a separate book1 and some of them are pretty bulky4 ,q4 ,there were #gbb cases in all1 weren't there8 ,a4 ,no1 nowhere near that4 ,q4 ,then #cge is the total figure--,i mean the number of cases ,project 8,saucer0 listed8 ,a4 ,there were a few more--something over four hundred4 ,i don't know the exact figure4 ,q4 ,i've been told that ,project 8,saucer0 had the ,air ,force put out a special order for pilots to chase flying saucers4 ,is that right8 ,a4 ,yes1 that's right4 ,q4 ,did that include ,national ,guard pilots8 ,a4 ,yes1 it did4 ,when the project first started checking on saucers we were naturally anxious to get hold of one of the things4 ,we told the pilots to do practically anything in reason1 even if they had to grab one by the tail4 ,q4 ,were any of those planes armed8 ,a4 ,only if they happened to have guns for some other mission1 like gunnery practice4 ,q4 ,we've heard of one case where fighters chased a saucer to a high altitude4 ,one of them emptied his guns at it4 ,a4 ,you must mean that ,new ,jersey affair4 ,the plane was armed for another reason4 ,q4 ,no1 ,i meant a case reported out at ,luke ,field4 ,three fighters took off1 if the story sent us is correct4 ,apparently it made quite a commotion4 ,that was back in #aide4 ,a4 ,it might have happened4 ,i don't know4 ,q4 ,what was this ,new ,jersey case8 ,a4 ,i'd rather not discuss any more cases without having the books here4 ,q4 ,has ,project 8,saucer0 released its secret pictures8 ,a4 ,what pictures8 ,there weren't any that amounted to anything4 ,maybe half a dozen4 ,they didn't show anything1 just spots on film or weather balloons at a distance4 ,q4 ,in the ,kenneth ,arnold case1 didn't some forest rangers verify his report8 ,a4 ,well1 there were some people who claimed they saw the same disks4 ,but we found out later they'd heard about it on the radio4 ,q4 ,didn't they draw some sketches that matched ,arnold's8 ,a4 ,i never heard about it4 ,q4 ,i'd like to go back to the ,mantell case a second4 ,if ,venus was so bright--remember ,mantell thought it was a huge metallic object--why didn't the pilot who made the search later on-- ,a4 ,well1 it was ,venus1 that's positive4 ,but ,i can't remember all the details without the case books4 ,q4 ,one more question1 ,major4 ,have any reports been received at ,wright ,field since ,project 8,saucer0 closed8 ,there was a case after that date1 an airliner crew-- ,at this point1 ,major ,jesse ,stay broke in4 8,it's all up to the local commanders now4 ,if they want to receive reports of anything unusual1 all right4 ,and if they want to investigate them1 that's up to each commander4 ,but no ,project #8,saucer' teams will check on reports4 ,that's all ended40 ,there at the last1 it had been a little4 like a courtroom scene1 and ,i was glad the interview was over4 ,major ,boggs was unruffled as ever4 ,i apologized for the barrage of questions1 and thanked him for being so decent about it4 8,it was interesting1 getting your viewpoint10 he said4 ,he smiled1 still the courteous sphinx1 and went on out4 ,after ,bogs had left1 ,i talked with ,general ,smith alone4 ,i told him ,i was not convinced1 8,i'd like to see the complete files on these cases ,i mentioned10 ,i explained4 8,also1 ,i'd like to talk with the last commanding officer or senior ,intelligence officer attached to ,project #8,saucer4'0 8,i'm not sure about the senior officer10 ,general ,smith answered4 8,he may have been detached already4 ,but ,i don't see any reason why you can't see those files4 ,i'll phone ,wright ,field and call you40 ,i was about to leave1 but he motioned for me to sit down4 8,i can understand how you feel about the ,mantell report10 ,general ,smith said earnestly4 8,i knew ,tommy ,mantell very well4 ,and ,colonel ,hix is a classmate of mine4 ,i knew neither one was the kind to have hallucinations4 ,that case got me1 at first40 8,you believe ,venus is the true answer80 ,i asked him4 ,he seemed surprised4 8,it must be1 if ,wright ,field says so40 ,when ,i went back to the ,press ,branch1 ,i asked ,jack ,shea for the case-report summaries that ,boggs had mentioned1 ,he got them for me--two collections of loose-leaf mimeographed sheets enclosed in black binders4 ,so these were the 8secret files06 ,across the hall1 in the press room1 ,i opened one book at random4 ,the first thing ,i saw was this3 8,a meteorologist should compute the approximate energy required to evaporate as much cloud as shown in the incident #bf photographs40 ,photographs4 ,major ,boggs had said there were no important pictures4 ,i tucked the binders under my arm and went out to my car4 ,perhaps these books hinted at more than ,boggs had realized4 ,but that didn't seem likely4 ,as liaison man1 he should know all the answers4 ,i was almost positive that he did4 ,but ,i was equally sure they weren't the answers he had given me4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,that night ,i went through the ,project 8,saucer0 summary of cases4 ,it was a strange experience4 ,the first report ,i checked was the ,mantell case4 ,nothing that ,boggs had said had changed my firm opinion4 ,i knew the answer was not ,venus1 and ,i was certain ,boggs knew it1 too4 ,the ,godman ,field incident was listed as ,case #cc4 ,the report also touches on the ,lockbourne ,air ,base sighting4 ,as already described1 the same mysterious object1 or a similar one1 was seen moving at five hundred miles an hour over ,lockbourne ,field4 ,it was also sighted at other points in ,ohio4 ,the very first sentence in ,case #cc showed a determined attempt to explain away the object that ,mantell chased3 8,detailed attention should be given to any possible astronomical body or phenomenon which might serve to identify the object or objects40 7,some of the final ,project report on ,mantell has been given in an earlier chapter4 ,i am repeating a few paragraphs below1 to help in weighing ,major ,boggs's answer47 ,these are official statements of the ,project astronomer3 8,on ,january #g1 #aidh1 ,venus was less than half its full brilliance4 ,however1 under exceptionally good atmospheric conditions1 and with the eye shielded from the direct rays of the sun1 ,venus might be seen as an exceedingly tiny bright point of light4 ,it is possible to see it in daytime when one knows exactly where to look4 ,of course1 the chances of looking at the right spot are very few4 8,it has been unofficially reported that the object was a ,navy cosmic ray balloon4 ,if this can be established it is to be preferred as an explanation4 ,however1 if reports from other localities refer to the same object1 any such device must have been a good many miles high--#be to #ej--;in order to have been seen clearly1 almost simultaneously1 from places #age miles apart40 ,this absolutely ruled out the balloon possibility1 as the investigator fully realized4 ,that he must have considered the space-ship answer at this point is strongly indicated in the following sentence3 8,if all reports were of a single object1 in the knowledge of this investigator no man-made object could have been large enough and far enough away for the approximate simultaneous sightings40 ,the next paragraph of this ,project 8,saucer0 report practically nullified ,major ,boggs's statement that ,venus was the sole explanation3 8,it is most unlikely1 however1 that so many separate persons should at that time have chanced on ,venus in the daylight sky4 ,it seems therefore much more probable that more than one object was involved4 ,the sighting might have included two or more balloons 7or aircraft7 or they might have included ,venus 7in the fatal chase7 and balloons4 4 4 4 ,such a hypothesis1 however1 does still necessitate the inclusion of at least two other objects than ,venus1 and it certainly is coincidental that so many people would have chosen this one day to be confused 7to the extent of reporting the matter7 by normal airborne objects4 4 4 40 ,farther on in the summaries1 ,i found a report that has an extremely significant bearing on the ,mantell case4 ,this was ,case #age1 in which the same consultant attempts to explain a strange daylight sighting at ,santa ,fe1 ,new ,mexico4 ,one of the ,santa ,fe observers described the mysterious aerial object as round and extremely bright1 8like a dime in the sky40 ,here is what the ,project 8,saucer0 investigator had to say3 8,the magnitude of ,venus was -#c4h 7approximately the same as on ,january #g1 #aidh74 it could have been visible in the daylight sky4 ,it would have appeared1 however1 more like a pinpoint of brilliant light than #8like a dime in the sky4' ,it seems unlikely that it would be noticed at all4 4 4 4 ,considering discrepancies in the two reports1 ,i suggest the moon in a gibbous phase2 in daytime this is unusual and most people are not used to it1 so that they fail to identify it4 ,while this hypothesis has little to correspond to either report1 it is worth mentioning4 8,it seems far more probable that some type of balloon was the object in this case40 ,both the ,godman ,field and the ,santa ,fe cases were almost identical1 so far as the visibility of ,venus was concerned4 ,in the ,santa ,fe case1 which had very little publicity1 ,project 8,saucer0 dropped the ,venus explanation as a practically impossible answer4 ,but in ,case #cc1 it had tried desperately to make ,venus loom up as a huge gleaming object during ,mantell's fatal chase4 ,there was only one explanation3 ,project 8,saucer0 must have known the truth from the start-that ,mantell had pursued a tremendous space ship4 ,that fact alone1 if it had exploded in the headlines at that time1 might have caused dangerous panic4 ,to make it worse1 ,captain ,mantell had been killed4 ,even if he had actually died from blacking out while trying to follow the swiftly ascending space ship1 few would have believed it4 ,the story would spread like wildfire3 ,spacemen kill an ,american ,air ,force ,pilot6 ,this explained the tight lid that had been clamped down at once on the ,mantell case4 ,it was more than a year before that policy had been changed2 then the first official discussions of possible space visitors had begun to appear4 ,true's plans to announce the interplanetary answer would have fitted a program of preparing the people4 ,but the ,air ,force had not expected such nation-wide reaction from ,true's article2 that much ,i knew4 ,evidently1 they had not suspected such a detailed analysis of the ,godman ,field case1 in particular4 ,i could see now why ,boggs1 ,jesse ,stay1 and the others had tried so hard to convince me that we had made a mistake4 ,it was quite possible that we had revived that first ,air ,force fear of dangerous publicity4 ,but ,mantell had been dead for two years4 ,news stories would not have the same impact now1 even if they did report that spacemen had downed the pilot4 ,and ,i doubted that there would be headlines4 ,unless the ,air ,force supplied some convincing details1 the manner of his death would still be speculation4 ,apparently ,i had been right2 this case was the key to the riddle4 ,it had been the first major sighting in #aidh4 ,project 8,saucer0 had been started immediately afterward4 ,in searching for a plausible answer1 which could be published if needed1 officials had probably set the pattern for handling all other reports1 8,explaining away0 would be a logical program1 until the public could be prepared for an official announcement4 ,as ,i went through other case reports1 ,i found increasing evidence to back up this belief4 ,case #a1 the ,muroc ,air ,base sightings1 had plainly baffled ,project men seeking a plausible answer4 ,because of the ,air ,force witnesses1 they could not ignore the reports4 ,highly trained ,air ,force test pilots and ground officers had seen two fast-moving silver-colored disks circling over the base4 ,flying at speeds of from three to four hundred miles an hour1 the disks whirled in amazingly tight maneuvers4 ,since they were only eight thousand feet above the field1 these turns could be clearly seen4 8,it is tempting to explain the object as ordinary aircraft observed under unusual light conditions10 the case report reads4 8,but the evidence of tight circles1 if maintained1 is strongly contradictory40 ,although ,case #a was technically in the 8unexplained0 group1 ,wright ,field had made a final effort to explain away the reports4 ,said the ,air ,materiel ,command3 8,the sightings were the result of misinterpretation of real stimuli1 probably research balloons40 ,in all the world's history1 there is no record of a three-hundred-mile-an-hour wind4 ,to cover the distance involved1 the drifting balloons would have had to move at this speed1 or faster4 ,if a three-hundred-mile wind had been blowing at eight thousand feet1 nothing on earth could have stood it1 ,muroc ,air ,base would have been blown off the map4 ,what did the ,muroc test pilots really see that day8 ,while searching for the ,chiles-,whitted report1 ran across the ,fairfield ,suisan mystery-light case1 which ,i had learned about in ,seattle4 ,this was ,case #bae4 ,the ,project 8,saucer0 comment reads3 8,if the observations were exactly as stated by the witnesses1 the ball of light could not be a fireball4 4 4 4 ,a fireball would not have come into view at #a1jjj feet and risen to #bj1jjj4 ,if correct1 there is no astronomical explanation4 ,under unusual conditions1 a fireball might appear to rise somewhat as a result of perspective4 ,the absence of trail and sound definitely does not favor the meteor hypothesis1 but 4 4 4 does not rule it out finally4 ,it does not seem likely any meteor or auroral phenomenon could be as bright as this40 ,then came one of the most revealing lines in all the case reports3 8,in the almost hopeless absence of any other natural explanation1 one must consider the possibility of the object's having been a meteor1 even though the description does not fit very well40 ,one air-base officer1 ,i recalled1 had insisted that the object had been a lighted balloon4 ,checking the secret report from the ,air ,weather ,service1 ,i found this3 8,case #b #ae4 ,very high winds1 #fj-gj miles per hour from southwest1 all levels4 ,definitely prohibits any balloon from southerly motion40 ,this case is officially listed as answered4 ,in ,case #ai1 where a cigar-shaped object was seen at ,dayton1 ,ohio1 the ,project investigator made a valiant attempt to fit an answer3 8,possibly a close pair of fireballs1 but it seems unlikely4 ,if one were to stretch the description to its very limits and make allowances for untrained observers1 he could say that the cigar-like shape might have been illusion caused by rapid motion1 and that the bright sunlight might have made both the objects and the trails nearly invisible4 8,this investigator does not prefer that interpolation1 and it should he resorted to only if all other possible explanations fail40 ,this case1 too1 is officially listed as answered4 ,case #bd1 which occurred ,june #ab1 #aidg1 twelve days before the ,arnold sighting1 shows the same determined attempt to find an explanation1 no matter how farfetched4 ,in this case1 two fast-moving objects were seen at ,weiser1 ,idaho1 ,twice they approached the earth1 then swiftly circled upward4 ,the ,project investigator tried hard to prove that these might have been parts of a double fireball4 ,but at the end1 he said1 8,in spite of all this1 this investigator would prefer a terrestrial explanation for the incident40 ,it was plain that this report had not been planned originally for release to the public4 ,no ,project investigator would have been so frank4 ,with each new report1 ,i was more and more convinced that these had been confidential discussions of various possible answers1 circulated between ,project 8,saucer0 officials4 ,why they had been released now was still a puzzle1 though ,i began to see a glimmer of the answer4 ,the ,chiles-,whitted sighting was listed as ,case #add4 ,as ,i started on the report1 ,i wondered if ,major ,boggs's 8bolide0 answer would have any more foundation than these other 8astronomical0 cases4 ,the report began with these words3 8,there is no astronomical explanation1 if we accept the report at face value4 ,but the sheer improbability of the facts as stated1 particularly in the absence of any known aircraft in the vicinity1 makes it necessary to see whether any other explanation1 even though farfetched1 can be considered40 ,after this candid admission of his intentions1 the ,project consultant earnestly attempts to fit the two pilots' space ship description to a slow-moving meteor4 8,it will have to be left to the psychologists10 he goes on1 8to tell us whether the immediate trail of a bright meteor could produce the subjective impression of a ship with lighted windows4 ,considering only the ,chiles-,whitted sighting1 the hypothesis seems very improbable40 ,as ,i mentioned in an earlier chapter1 observers at ,robbins ,air ,force ,base1 ,macon1 ,georgia1 saw the same mysterious object streak overhead1 trailing varicolored flames4 ,this was about one hour before ,chiles and ,whitted saw the onrushing space ship4 ,to bolster up the meteor theory1 the ,project consultant suggests a one-hour error in time4 ,the explanation3 ,the airliner would be on daylight-saving time4 8,if there is no time difference10 he proceeds1 8the4 object must have been an extraordinary meteor4 4 4 4 in which case it would have covered the distance from ,macon to ,montgomery in a minute or two40 ,having checked the time angle before1 ,i knew this was incorrect4 ,both reports were given in eastern standard time4 ,and in a later part of the ,project report1 the consultant admits this fact4 ,but he has an alternate answer3 8,if the difference in time is real1 the object was some form of known aircraft1 regardless of its bizarre nature40 ,the 8bizarre nature0 is not specified4 ,nor does the ,project 8,saucer0 report try to fit the ,robbins ,field description to any earth-made aircraft4 ,the air-base observers were struck by the object's huge size1 its projectile-like shape1 and the weird flames trailing behind4 ,except for the double-deck windows1 the air-base men's description tallied with the pilots'4 ,with the ship at five thousand feet or higher1 its windows would not have been visible from the ground4 ,all the observers agreed on the object's very high speed4 ,neither of the ,project 8,saucer0 alternate answers will fit the facts4 #a4 ,the one-hour interval has been proved correct4 ,therefore1 as the ,project consultant admits1 it could not be a meteor4 #b4 ,the ,robbins ,field witnesses have flatly denied it was a conventional plane4 ,the ,air ,force screened #bbe airplane schedules1 and proved there was no such plane in the area4 ,no ordinary aircraft would have caused the brilliant streak that startled the ,,dc-#c passenger and both of the pilots4 ,major ,boggs's bolide answer had gone the way of his ,venus explanation4 ,i wondered if the ,gorman light-balloon solution would fade out the same way4 ,but the ,project report on ,gorman 7,case #agb7 merely hinted at the balloon answer4 ,in the ,appendix1 there was a brief comment3 8,note that standard #cj inch and #fe inch weather balloons have vertical speeds of #fjj and #aajj feet per minute1 respectively40 ,in all the reports ,i have mentioned1 and on through both the case books1 one thing was immediately obvious4 ,all the testimony1 all the actual evidence was missing4 ,these were only the declared conclusions of ,project 8,saucer40 ,whether they matched the actual conclusions in ,wright ,field secret files there was no way of knowing4 ,but even in these sketch reports1 ,i found some odd hints1 clues to what ,project officials might really be thinking4 ,after an analysis of two ,indianapolis cases1 one investigator reports3 8,barring hallucination1 these two incidents and #ag1 #ge and #hd seem the most tangible from the standpoint of description1 of all those reported1 and the most difficult to explain away as sheer nonsense40 ,case #ag1 ,i found1 was that of ,kenneth ,arnold4 ,but in spite of the above admission that this case cannot be explained away1 it is officially listed as answered4 ,case #ge struck a familiar note4 ,this was the strange occurrence at ,twin ,falls1 ,idaho1 on which ,true had had a tip months before4 ,a disk moving through a canyon at tremendous speed had whipped the treetops as if by a violent hurricane4 ,the report was brief1 but one sentence stood out with a startling effect3 8,twin ,falls1 ,idaho1 ,august #ac1 #ahdg10 the report began4 8,there is clearly nothing astronomical in this incident4 4 4 4 ,two points stand out1 the sky-blue color1 and the fact that the trees #8spun around on top as if they were in a vacuum4'0 ,then came the sentence that made me sit up in my chair4 8,apparently it must be classed with the other bona fide disk sightings40 ,the other bona fide sightings6 ,was this a slip8 ,or had the ,air ,force deliberately left this report in the file8 ,if they had1 what was back of it--what was back of releasing all of these telltale case summaries8 ,i skimmed through the rest as quickly as possible looking for other clues4 ,here are a few of the things that4 caught my eye3 ,case #aj4 ,united ,airlines report 4 4 4 despite conjectures1 no logical explanation seems possible4 4 4 4 ,case #abb4 ,holloman ,air ,force ,base1 ,april #f1 #aidh4 ,this was the ,commander ,mc,laughlin ,white ,sands report4 ,no logical explanation4 4 4 4 ,case #abd4 ,north ,atlantic1 ,april #ah1 #aidh 4 4 4 radar sighting 4 4 4 no astronomical explanation4 4 4 4 ,case #abg4 ,yugoslav-,greek frontier1 ,may #g1 #aidh 4 4 4 information too limited4 4 4 4 ,case #afh4 ,arnheim1 ,the ,hague1 ,july #bj1 #aidh 4 4 4 object seen four times 4 4 4 had two decks and no wings 4 4 4 very high speed comparable to a ,v-#b4 4 4 4 ,case #ahc4 ,japan1 ,october #ae1 #aidh4 ,radar experts should determine acceleration rates4 4 4 4 ,case #ahh4 ,goose ,bay1 ,labrador1 ,october #bi1 #aidh4 ,not astronomical 4 4 4 picked up by radar 4 4 4 radar experts should evaluate the sightings 4 4 4 4 ,case #ahi4 ,goose ,bay1 ,labrador1 ,october #ca1 #aidh 4 4 4 not astronomical 4 4 4 observed on radarscope4 4 4 4 ,case #aif4 ,radarscope observation 4 4 4 object traveling directly into the wind4 4 4 4 ,case #aih4 ,radar blimp moving at high speed and continuously changing direction4 4 4 4 ,case #bbb4 ,furstenfeldbruck1 ,germany1 ,november #bc1 #aidh 4 4 4 object plotted by radar ,,df at #bg1jjj feet 4 4 4 short time later circling at #dj1jjj feet 4 4 4 speed estimated #bjj-ejj m4p4h4 4 4 4 ,case #bbc 4 4 4 seventeen individuals saw and reported object 4 4 4 green flare 4 4 4 all commercial and government airfield questioned 4 4 4 no success4 4 4 4 ,case #bbd4 ,las ,vegas1 ,new ,mexico1 ,december #h1 #aidh 4 4 4 description exactly as in #bbc 4 4 4 flare reported traveling very high speed 4 4 4 very accurate observation made by two ,f4,b4,i4 agents4 4 4 4 ,case #bca 4 4 4 another glowing green flare just as described above4 4 4 4 ,case #bcc 4 4 4 definitely no balloon 4 4 4 made turns 4 4 4 accelerated from #bjj to #ejj miles per hour 4 4 4 4 ,going back over this group of cases1 ,i made an incredible discovery3 ,all but three of these unsolved cases were officially listed as answered4 ,the three were the ,united ,airlines case1 the ,white ,sands sightings1 and the double-decked space-ship report from ,the ,hague4 ,going back to the first report1 ,i checked all the summaries4 ,nine times out of ten1 the explanations were pure conjecture4 ,sometimes no answer was even attempted4 ,although #cge cases were mentioned1 the summaries ended with ,case #bdd4 ,several cases were omitted4 ,i found clues to some of these in the secret ,air ,weather ,service report1 including the mysterious 8green light0 sightings at ,las ,vegas and ,albuquerque4 ,of the remaining #bbh cases1 ,project 8,saucer0 lists all but #cd as explained4 ,these unsolved cases are brought up again for a final attempt at explaining them away4 ,in the appendix1 the ,air ,materiel ,command carefully states3 8,it is not the intent to discredit the character of observers1 but each case has undesirable elements and these can't be disregarded40 ,after this perfunctory gesture1 the ,a4,m4,c4 proceeds to discredit completely the testimony of highly trained ,air ,force test pilots and officers at ,muroc4 7,the #cjj-djj m4p4h4 research balloon explanation47 ,the ,a4,m4,c4 then brushes off the report of ,captain ,emil ,smith and the crew of a ,united ,airline plane4 ,on ,july #d1 #aidg1 nine huge flying disks were counted by ,captain ,smith and his crew4 ,the strange objects were in sight for about twelve minutes2 the crew watched them for the entire period and described them in detail later4 ,despite ,project 8,saucer's0 admission that it had no answer1 the ,a4,m4,c4 contrived one4 ,ignoring the evidence of veteran airline pilots1 it said3 8,since the sighting occurred at sunset1 when illusory effect are most likely1 the objects could have been ordinary aircraft1 balloons1 birds1 or pure illusion40 ,in only three cases did the ,a4,m4,c4 admit it had no answer4 ,even here1 it was implied that the witnesses were either confused or incompetent4 ,in its press release of ,december #bg1 #aidi1 the ,air ,force had mentioned #cge cases4 ,it implied that all of these were answered4 ,the truth was just the reverse1 as was proved by these case books4 ,almost two hundred cases still were shown to be unsolved-although the real answers might be hidden in ,wright ,field files4 ,these two black books puzzled me4 ,why had the ,air ,force lifted its secrecy on these case summaries8 ,why had ,major ,boggs given me those answers1 when these books would flatly refute them8 ,i thought ,i new the reason now but there was only one way to make sure4 ,the actual ,wright ,field files should tell the answer4 ,when ,i phoned ,general ,sory ,smith1 his voice sounded a little peculiar4 8,i called ,wright ,field10 he said4 8,but they said you wouldn't find anything of value out there40 8,you mean they refused to let me see their files80 8,no1 ,i didn't say that4 ,but they're short of personnel4 ,they don't want to take people off other jobs to look up the records40 8,i won't need any help10 ,i said4 8,major ,boggs said each case had a separate book4 ,if they'd just show me the shelves1 ,i could do the job in two days40 ,there was a long silence4 8,i'll ask them again10 the ,general said finally4 8,call me sometime next week40 ,i said ,i would1 and hung up4 ,the message from ,wright ,field hadn't surprised me4 ,but ,smith's changed manner did4 ,he had sounded oddly disturbed4 ,while ,i was waiting for ,wright ,field's answer1 ,ken ,purdy phoned4 ,he told me that staff men from ,time and ,life magazines were seriously checking on the 8little men0 story4 ,both ,purdy and ,i were sure this was a colossal hoax1 but there was just a faint chance that someone had been on the fringe of a real happening and had made up the rest of the story4 ,they key man in the story seemed to be one ,george ,koehler1 of ,denver1 ,colorado4 ,the morning after ,purdy called1 ,i took a plane to ,denver4 ,during the flight ,i went over the 8little men0 story again4 ,it had been printed in over a hundred papers4 ,according to the usual version1 ,george ,koehler had accidentally learned of two crashed saucers at a radar station on our southwest border4 ,the ships were made of some strange metal4 ,the cabin was stationary1 placed within a large rotating ring4 ,here is the story as it was told in the ,kansas ,city ,star3 ,in flight1 the ring revolved at a high rate of speed1 while the cabin remained stationary like the center of a gyroscope4 ,each of the two ships seen by ,koehler were occupied by a crew of two4 ,in the badly damaged ship1 these bodies were charred so badly that little could be learned from them4 ,the occupants of the other ship1 while dead when they were found1 were not burned or disfigured1 and1 when ,koehler saw them1 were in a perfect state of preservation4 ,medical reports1 according to ,koehler1 showed that these men were almost identical with earth-dwelling humans1 except for a few minor differences4 ,they were of a uniform height of three feet1 were uniformly blond1 beardless1 and their teeth were completely free of fillings or cavities4 ,they did not wear undergarments1 but had their bodies taped4 ,the ships seemed to be magnetically controlled and powered4 ,in addition to a piece of metal1 ,koehler had a clock or automatic calendar taken from one of the crafts4 ,koehler said that the best assumption as to the source of the ships was the planet ,venus4 ,when ,i arrived at ,denver1 ,i went to the radio station where ,koehler worked4 ,i told him that if he had proof that we could print1 we would buy the story4 ,as the first substantial proof1 ,i asked to see the piece of strange metal he was supposed to have4 ,koehler said it had been sent to another city to be analyzed4 ,i asked to see pictures of the crashed saucers4 ,these1 too1 proved to be somewhere else4 ,so did the queer 8space clock0 that ,koehler was said to have4 ,by this time ,i was sure it was all a gag4 ,i had the feeling that ,koehler1 back of his manner of seeming indignation at my demands1 was hugely enjoying himself4 ,i cut the interview short and called ,ken ,purdy in ,new ,york4 8,well1 thank ,god that's laid to rest10 he said when ,i told him4 ,but even though the 8little men0 story had turned out-as expected--a dud1 ,koehler had done me a good turn4 ,an old friend1 ,william ,e4 ,barrett1 well-known fiction writer1 now lived in ,denver4 ,thanks to ,koehler's gag1 ,i had a pleasant visit with ,bill and his family4 ,on the trip back1 ,i bought a paper at the ,chicago airport4 ,on an inside page ,i ran across ,koehler's name4 ,according to the ,a4,p41 he had just admitted the whole thing was a big joke4 ,but in spite of this1 the 8little men0 story goes on and on4 ,apparently not even ,koehler can stop it now4 ,,chapter ,,xix ,for two weeks after my return to ,washington1 ,general ,sory ,smith held off a final answer about my trip to ,wright ,field4 ,meantime1 ,ken ,purdy had called him backing my request to see the ,project files4 ,it was obvious to me that ,wright ,field was determined not to open the files4 ,but the ,general was trying to avoid making it official4 8,why can't you accept my word there's nothing to the saucers80 he asked me one day4 8,you're impeaching my personal veracity40 ,but finally he saw there was no other way out4 ,he told me ,i had been officially refused permission to see the ,wright ,field files4 ,some time later1 ,ken ,purdy phoned ,general ,smith4 8,general1 if the ,air ,force wants to talk to us off the record1 we'll play ball4 ,true will either handle it from then on whatever way you think best or we'll keep still40 ,whether this offer was relayed higher up1 ,i don't know4 ,but nothing came of it4 ,meantime1 saucer reports had begun to come in from all over the country4 ,some even came from abroad4 ,some of these #aiej sightings have already been mentioned in early chapters4 ,besides the strange affair at ,tucson on ,february #a1 there were several other cases in ,february4 ,three of these were in ,south ,america4 ,one saucer was reported near the naval air station at ,alameda1 ,california4 ,some were sighted in ,texas1 ,new ,mexico1 and other parts of the ,southwest4 ,in ,march1 the wave of sightings reached such a height that the ,air ,force again denied the saucers' existence4 ,this followed a report that a flying disk had crashed near ,mexico ,city and that the wreckage had been viewed by ,u4 ,s4 ,air ,force officials4 ,scores of ,orangeburg1 ,south ,carolina1 residents watched a disk that hovered over that city on ,march #aj4 ,it was described as silver-bright1 turning slowly in the air before it disappeared4 ,the day before this1 residents of ,van ,nuys1 ,california1 saw a bright disk moving swiftly four hundred feet in the air4 ,seen through a telescope1 it appeared to be fifty feet in diameter4 ,disks were reported at numerous places in ,mexico1 including ,guadalajara1 ,jurez1 ,mazatln1 and ,durango4 ,on the twelfth of ,march1 the crew and passengers of an ,american ,airlines ship saw a large gleaming disk high above ,monterrey airport in ,mexico4 ,captain ,w4 ,r4 ,hunt1 the senior airline pilot1 watched the disk through a theodolite at the airport4 ,this disk and most of the others seen in ,mexico were similar in description to the one sighted at ,dayton1 ,ohio1 on ,march #h4 ,this was the large metallic saucer that hovered high over ,vandalia ,airport1 until ,air ,force and ,national ,guard fighters raced up after it4 ,the disk rose vertically into the sky at incredible speed1 hovered a while longer1 and then vanished4 ,within twenty-four hours this mystery disk had been 8identified0 as the planet ,venus4 7,it was broad daylight47 ,newspapers quoted 8trained astronomical officials in ,dayton0 as the source for this explanation4 ,meanwhile the ,mexican government newspaper1 ,el ,nacional1 quoted 8a famous and reputable astronomer0 as saying the numerous disks reported over ,mexico 8carry visitors from ,mars40 ,one of the strangest reports came from the naval air station at ,dallas1 ,texas4 ,it was about #aa3cj ,a4,m4 on ,march #af when ,,cpo ,charles ,lewis saw a disk streak up at a ,b-#cf bomber4 ,the disk appeared about twenty to twenty-five feet in diameter1 ,lewis reported4 ,racing at incredible speed1 it shot up under the bomber1 hung there for a second1 then broke away at a #de-;degree angle4 ,following this1 it shot straight up into the air and disappeared4 ,captain ,m4 ,a4 ,nation1 ,c4 ,o4 of the station1 said it was 8,i the second report in ten days4 ,on ,march #g1 said ,captain ,nation1 a tower control operator named ,c4 ,e4 ,edmundson saw a similar disk flying so fast it was almost a blur4 8,he estimated its speed at three thousand to four thousand miles per hour10 ,captain ,nation stated4 8,of course1 he had no instruments to compute the speed1 so that's a pure estimate40 ,it was some time before this when ,i heard the first crazy rumor about the guided-missile display4 ,this story1 which had new details every time ,i heard it described the ,air ,force as refusing to let the ,navy announce a new type of missile4 ,according to the rumors1 the ,air ,force was trying to prove its own missile far superior1 to keep the ,navy from invading its long-range bombing domain4 ,then the ,army joined the pitched battle with still a third guided missile1 according to the rumors4 ,and the flying disks8 ,army1 ,navy1 and ,air ,force missiles1 launched in droves all over the country to prove whose was the best8 ,a public missile race1 with the joint ,chiefs of ,staff to decide the winner6 ,it seems fantastic that this theory would be believed by any intelligent person4 ,in effect1 it accuses the armed services of deliberate1 criminal negligence1 of endangering millions in the cities below4 ,i am convinced that some of these rumors led to at least one of the published guesses about our missile program4 ,one widely publicized story stated that the flying saucers seen hurtling through our skies are actually two types of secret weapons4 ,one1 according to radio and newspaper accounts1 is a disk that whizzes through space1 halts suspended in the air1 soars to thirty thousand feet1 drops to one thousand feet1 and then usually disintegrates in the air4 ,these saucers1 it was said1 ranged from #bj inches to #bej feet in diameter4 ,they were supposed to be pilotless--and harmless4 ,the second type was said to be a jet version of the ,navy's circular airfoil 8,flying ,flapjack40 ,it was credited with fantastic speed4 ,the 8true disks10 however1 were mainly ,air ,force devices1 according to the report4 8,some are guided1 others are not10 said the radio commentator who released this story4 8,they can stay stationary1 dash off to right or left1 and move like lightning4 ,but they are utterly harmless40 ,in these 8harmless0 disks there was supposed to be an explosive charge that destroyed them in mid-air at a predetermined time4 ,within a few days after this story was broadcast1 the ,united ,states ,news and ,world ,report declared that the saucers are real1 and identified them as jet models of ,navy 8,flying ,flapjacks40 ,this magazine1 which is not an official publication despite its name1 mentioned the variable-direction jet principle that ,i had previously described in the ,true article4 ,these two flying-saucer 8explanations0 brought denials from the ,white ,house1 the ,navy1 and the ,air ,force4 ,the ,air ,force flatly declared that3 #a4 ,none of the armed forces is conducting secret experiments with disk-shaped flying objects that could be a basis for the reported phenomena4 #b4 ,there is no evidence that the latter stem from the activities of any foreign nation4 ,before this1 ,president ,truman stated he knew nothing of any such objects being developed by the ,united ,states or any other nation4 ,the ,navy denial came immediately after the first broadcast story4 ,it ran3 8,the ,navy is not engaged in research or in flying any jet-powered1 circular-shaped aircraft40 ,the ,navy added that one model of a pancake-shaped aircraft1 called the ,zimmerman ,skimmer1 was built but was never flown4 ,however1 a small1 three-thousand-pound scale model did fly and was under radio control during flight4 ,this last device is now being rumored as the ,navy's unpiloted 8missile10 said to have been launched over the country like the so-called 8harmless0 disks4 ,even though all these accounts have been officially denied1 many ,americans may still believe they are true4 ,i have no desire to criticize the authors of these stories2 ,i believe that in following up certain guided-missile leads they were misled into accepting the conclusions they gave4 ,but these stories1 particularly the accounts of huge unpiloted disks1 may have planted certain fears in the public mind-fears that are completely unwarranted4 ,for this reason1 ,i have personally checked at ,washington in regard to the dangers of unpiloted missiles4 ,here aye the facts ,i learned3 #a4 ,neither the ,army1 ,navy1 nor ,air ,force has at any time staged any guided-missile competition as rumored4 #b4 ,no unpiloted missiles or remote-controlled experimental craft have been tested over ,american cities or heavily populated areas4 #c4 ,no unpiloted missile carrying dangerous explosives1 whether for destruction of the device or other purposes1 has been deliberately launched or tested over heavily populated areas4 ,in regard to the so-called jet-propelled 8,flying ,flapjack10 ,i have been assured by ,admiral ,calvin ,bolster1 of the ,navy ,bureau of ,aeronautics1 that this type of plane has never been produced4 ,i concede that he might make this statement to conceal a secret development1 but there is one fact of which every ,american can be certain3 ,neither this type1 nor the radio-controlled smaller model1 has been or will be flown or launched over areas where people would be endangered4 ,the three armed services are working on guided missiles4 ,they are not risking ,american lives by launching such missiles at random across the ,united ,states1 ,although most of our guided-missile projects are secret1 it is possible to give certain facts about guided-missile developments in general4 ,the first successful long-range missiles were produced by the ,germans4 ,these were the buzz-bomb and4 the ,v-#b rocket4 ,but research in various other types was carried on during the war4 ,some of this was with oval and round types of airfoils4 ,as already stated by ,paul ,redell1 there is strong evidence that the disk-shaped foil resulted from ,german observations of either space ships or remote-control disk-shaped 8observer units40 ,all the ,nazi space-exploration plans followed this discovery that we were being observed by a race from another planet4 ,after the end of ,world ,war ,,ii1 the international guided-missile race began1 with the ,british1 ,russians1 and ourselves as the chief contenders4 ,numerous types have been developed-winged bombs1 small radar-guided projectiles launched from planes1 and ground-to-plane plane-to-ground1 and plane-to-plane missiles1 equipped with target homing devices4 ,in certain recent types1 the range can be stated as several hundred miles4 ,so far as ,i have learned1 after weeks of rechecking this point1 not a single long-range missile has been identified as ,russian4 ,since this country is working closely with ,great ,britain on global defense problems1 it is no violation of security to say that we have probably exchanged certain guided-missile information4 ,in regard to the ,british long-range missile picture outlined to me by ,john ,steele1 ,i can state two major facts3 #a4 ,the ,british have categorically denied testing such long-range missiles over ,american territory1 where they might endanger ,american citizens4 ,there is convincing evidence that they are telling the truth4 #b4 ,there is no ,british missile now built1 or planned1 that could explain the objects seen by ,captain ,mantell1 ,chiles and ,whitted1 and witnesses in most of the major sightings4 ,the preceding statement applies equally to ,american-built missiles4 ,there is no experimental craft or guided missile even remotely considered in this country that would begin to approach the dimensions and performance of the space ships seen in these cases4 ,there is concrete evidence that the ,united ,states is as well advanced as any other nation in guided-missile development4 ,certain recent advances should place us in the lead1 unless confidential reports on ,soviet progress are completely wrong4 ,if ,american scientists and engineers can learn the source of the space ships' power and adapt it to our use1 it may well be the means for ending the threat of war4 ,the ,soviet scientists are well aware of this2 their research into cosmic rays and other natural forces has been redoubled since the flying-saucer reports of #aidg4 ,the secret of the space ships' power is more important than even the hydrogen bomb4 ,it may someday be the key to the fate of the world4 ,,chapter ,,xx ,after one year's investigation of the flying saucers and ,air ,force operations1 ,i have come to the following conclusions3 #a4 ,the ,air ,force was puzzled1 and badly worried when the disks first were sighted in #aidg4 #b4 ,the ,air ,force began to suspect the truth soon after ,mantell's death--perhaps even before4 #c4 ,project 8,saucer0 was set up to investigate and at the same time conceal from the public the truth about the saucers4 #d4 ,during the spring of #aidi this policy1 which had been strictly maintained by ,forrestal1 underwent an abrupt change4 ,on top-level orders1 it was decided to let the facts gradually leak out1 in order to prepare the ,american people4 #e4 ,this was the reason for the ,april #bg1 #aidi1 report1 with its suggestions about space visitors4 #f4 ,while ,i was preparing the article for the ,january #aiej issue of ,true1 it had been considered in line with the general education program4 ,but the unexpected public reaction was mistaken by the ,air ,force for hysteria1 resulting in their hasty denial that the saucers existed4 #g4 ,because the ,air ,force feared any closer analysis of the ,mantell case1 ,major ,boggs was instructed to publicize the ,venus explanation4 ,although it had been denied1 the ,air ,force knew that most people had forgotten this or had never known it4 #h4 ,major ,boggs1 having stated this answer publicly 7along with the other ,chiles-,whitted and ,gorman answers71 was forced to stick to it1 though he knew it was wrong and that the case summaries would prove it4 #i4 ,the case summaries were released to a small number of ,washington newsmen1 to continue planting the space-travel thought2 this decision being made after ,true's reception proved to the ,air ,force that the public was better prepared than had been thought4 ,in regard to the flying saucers themselves1 ,i believe that in the majority of cases1 space ships are the answer3 #a4 ,the earth has been under periodic observation from another planet1 or other planets1 for at least two centuries4 #b4 ,this observation suddenly increased in #aidg1 following1 the series of ,a-bomb explosions begun in #aide4 #c4 ,the observation1 now intermittent1 is part of a long-range survey and will continue indefinitely4 ,no immediate attempt to contact the earth seems evident4 ,there may be some unknown block to making contact1 but it is more probable that the spacemen's plans are not complete4 ,i believe that the ,air ,force is still investigating the saucer sightings1 either through the ,air ,materiel ,command or some other headquarters4 ,it is possible that some ,air ,force officials still fear a panic when the truth is officially revealed4 ,in that case1 we may continue for a long time to see routine denials alternating with new suggestions of interplanetary travel4 ,the education problem is complicated by two imperative needs4 ,we must try to learn as much as we can about the space ships' source of power1 and at the same time try to prevent clues to this information from reaching an enemy on earth1 ,if censorship is suddenly imposed on all flying-saucer reports1 this will be the chief reason4 ,this would also help solve a minor problem where partial censorship now exists4 ,a few test missiles launched from a southwest base have been seen by citizens at a distance from the proving grounds4 ,in some cases1 their reports have got into local papers1 though the wire services did not carry them4 ,these missile tests are peculiarly different from the general run of flying-saucer reports4 ,contrasted with the ,chiles-,whitted1 ,mantell1 and other space-ship sightings1 they stand out with a certain pattern1 easy to recognize4 ,news or radio reports of these tests might accidentally give an enemy clues to the type1 speed1 and range of this particular missile1 once he learned the pattern4 ,periodic censorship1 or even a complete blackout of sighting reports1 may be enforced during the next year or so4 ,for the purposes mentioned1 such action would be justified4 ,but whenever such censorship is lifted1 the complete truth about space visitors should be told at the same time3 the full details of all the major cases1 the size of the ,godman ,field space ship1 any attempted landings or other efforts at contact by interplanetary visitors1 and all other details that now are official secrets4 ,i also believe that a certain group of disk sightings in this country is linked with our guided missiles4 ,official announcements1 of course1 may be delayed a long time4 ,with this exception1 ,i believe that ,americans should be told the truth1 now4 ,when the announcement of our guided missiles is made1 some ,americans not familiar with the facts may accept it as a full answer4 ,if officials are not yet ready to reveal the space-travel facts1 the ,mantell evidence and other key cases may be deliberately glossed over4 ,but even if all the evidence--the world-wide sightings1 the old records1 the ,chiles-,whitted and other cases--should be completely ignored1 ,americans cannot escape eventual contact with dwellers on other planets4 ,even though space visitors never attempt contact with us1 sooner or later earthlings will be traveling to distant planets--planets that scientists have said are almost surely inhabited4 ,the ,american people have proved their ability to take incredible things4 ,we have survived the stunning impact of the ,atomic ,age4 ,we should be able to take the ,interplanetary ,age1 when it comes1 without hysteria4