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Discord first arose at IFSB [International Flying Saucer Bureau]
headquarters at a meeting held early in March 1953. We voted to hold
what we would term a "World Contact Day", on which we would urge all
IFSB members to attempt to send out a telepathic message to visitors
from space. If there was anything to the claims of people expounding
telepathic methods, and if we did have visitors from space, perhaps
such a message might get across, particularly with so many minds
concentrating on the same message.
Two IFSB officials thought the idea was ridiculous and voted against
it. They thought people would feel we had all lost our minds and
that our organization would be ridiculed as a result. Other
officials and I felt differently. The two opposing members turned in
their resignations the following evening and withdrew all financial
support. But this did not dishearten the remaining members of the
executive staff. Two other sources, learning of the matter, offered
financial support immediately.
So we decided to go ahead with "Contact Day", or "C-Day", and
quickly multigraphed instructions to send around the world by
airmail so that all members would get the material in plenty of time
before March 15, the day of the experiment. We received letters from
many who thought the entire thing crazy and said they would have
nothing to do with it.
We do not know who took part and who did not, but I am certain that
a great many of our members did so. The special bulletin was as
follows:
ALL OFFICERS, REPRESENTATIVES AND MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL
FLYING SAUCER
BUREAU SPECIAL BULLETIN: March 15, 1953 is C-Day (Contact Day)
"On March 15, 1953, all officers, representatives and members are
asked to participate in an experiment, something that has not yet
been attempted by any other group such as ours. We will attempt to
send a message to the occupants of the saucers (if they exist) by
the use of mental telepathy. Each member will memorize the message
on this form, and on the time designated will close his eyes in a
quiet secluded spot, lie down if possible, and repeat this message
in his mind (do not repeat vocally). If the saucer people are able
to pick up mental telepathy they certainly will be able to pick up a
message that will be sent by hundreds of IFSB members. We may never
know if this message has reached anyone, but if a sudden flurry of
saucer sightings occurs in 1953 or soon after our message, or even a
saucer landing, we will know that we may have been indirectly
responsible for it.
"Members must remember that, in order for mental telepathy to work,
you must have nothing on your mind at the time you send the message.
You must only think of the person or persons to whom you are sending
the message, and repeat it over in your mind. You must not have
troubles or worries of any kind in the back of your mind, as this
will tend to distract. This experiment is not compulsory to anyone
in IFSB; we merely ask you to volunteer your services in trying to
make it a success. Everyone participating must do so at the time
designated, and not too soon before or after the time shown. We are
sending this bulletin far enough in advance so that you may be sure
to have your clocks set correctly that day and that the message has
been memorized.
THE MESSAGE
(To Be Memorized)
Calling occupants of interplanetary craft! Calling occupants of
interplanetary craft that have been observing our planet Earth. We
of IFSB wish to make contact with you. We are your friends, and
would like you to make an appearance here on Earth. Your presence
before us will be welcomed with the utmost friendship. We will do
all in our power to promote mutual understanding between your people
and the people of Earth. Please come in peace and help us in our
Earthly problems. Give us some sign that you have received our
message. Be responsible for creating a miracle here on our planet to
wake up the ignorant ones to reality. Let us hear from you. We are
your friends. (End of Message.)
The date, the places, and the times for this message to be sent:
THE DATE: March 15, 1953
PLACES TIMES
States in the USA using Eastern Std Time 6 pm
States in the USA using Central Std Time 5 pm
States in the USA using Mountain Std Time 4 pm
States in the USA using Pacific Std Time 3 pm
Great Britain 11 pm
France 11 pm
Australia March 16, 9 am
New Zealand March 16, 11am
Canada Same as United States
On March 15, 1953, in my den at Bridgeport at exactly 6.00 pm, I
proceeded to take part in the experiment as planned. I put out the
lights in my room and then quietly lay down on my bed. After
studying the saucers for eleven years, I felt that I would try
anything that might help solve the mystery. Saucer investigation had
become the biggest part of my life, and I had worked diligently to
reach a solution. As soon as I was comfortably situated on the bed,
I closed my eyes and began to repeat the message over and over-three
times, to be exact.
It was after the third attempt that I felt a terrible, cold chill
hit my whole body. Then my head began to ache as if several
headaches had saved up their anguish and heaped it upon me at one
time. A strange odor reached my nostrils- like that of burning
sulfur or badly decomposed eggs. Then I partly lost consciousness as
the room around me began to fade away.
Then small blue lights seemed to swim through my brain, and they
seemed to blink like the flashing light of an ambulance. I seemed to
be floating on a cloud in the middle of space, with a strange
feeling of weightlessness controlling my entire anatomy. A throbbing
pain developed in my temples and they felt as if they might burst.
The parts of my forehead directly over my eyes seemed to be puffed
up. I felt cold, very cold, as if I were lying naked on a floating
piece of ice in the Antarctic Ocean.
I opened my eyes, and to my amazement I seemed to be floating above
my bed but looking down upon it where I imagined I could see my own
body lying there! It was as if my soul had left my body and I was
hovering above it about three feet in mid-air. Suddenly I could hear
a voice, which permeated me but in some way did not seem to be an
audible sound. The voice seemed to come from the room in front of
me, which remained pitch dark.
"We have been watching you and your activities. Please be advised to
discontinue delving into the mysteries of the universe. We will make
an appearance if you disobey."
I replied in words, though my lips did not move. "Why aren't you
friendly to us, as we do not mean to do any harm to you?"
"We have a special assignment," came the reply, "and must not be
disturbed by your people."
As I tried to remonstrate, I was interrupted by another statement.
"We are among you and know your every move, so please be advised we
are here on your Earth."
With this, the voice faded away, but I could sense that something
was watching me. My body seemed to drop suddenly and I once again
regained my senses and realized I was on my bed. The room was filled
with yellow mist. Not far from my bed was a shadow, resembling that
of a man, but as I made a move to rise from the bed it disappeared.
The yellow mist was gradually fading and my room was becoming
normal.
I rubbed my eyes in bewilderment. I couldn't believe that what I had
just experienced had been real. I must have dozed off, and with the
telepathic experiment on my mind must have had a terrifying dream as
a result. Looking at the clock, I noticed it was five minutes past
six, which certainly would have allowed time for me to have slept
and dreamed.
As I sat up on the edge of my bed I grew sick at my stomach; I felt
as if I had eaten something rotten. Had I really experienced
something unearthly? I could hardly force myself to rise from the
bed. My head still throbbed and the spots over my eyes retained the
same puffed feeling.
After a while I got up from the bed and walked about the room. I
heard a humming and noticed that my radio was on. I turned it off,
as I realized I had not turned it on when I came into the room. The
same thing had happened on previous occasions. I was beginning
seriously to feel I might be losing my mind. Again I wondered if I
should tell anyone about it.
I sat down and made a diary of everything I could remember of the
experience, sealed it in an envelope and locked it in the desk. I
felt that if anything of a serious nature did happen to me, somebody
would find the envelope and would know what had happened that day.
After I convinced myself that I had fully recovered from the
experience, I was left puzzled by a smell of sulphur, which lingered
in my room for two days afterward. This smell had accompanied the
other experiences and had been the most physical part of them. This
time I opened my windows and used room sprays to get rid of the
odor, but this did not completely dispel it. When I went to bed I
still could smell it in the bedclothes. This convinced me even more
strongly that I was witnessing some very real events and that I
would no longer be wise to assume they had been my imagination or
dreams.
I felt I should bring some IFSB officers into my room and have them
witness the odor, but thought better of it. I did not want to
divulge my experiences to anybody, for fear that it might be
repeated and I would be thought of as a crackpot or insane. If
publicity should get in the newspapers, I would become the
laughing-stock of Bridgeport, and, worse, I might lose my job. My
best friends would advise me to see a psychiatrist and I might even
end up in a mental hospital.
I knew that people throughout history have witnessed strange events
but were unable to convince others they were telling the truth. Many
people are not convinced of these matters until they, themselves,
experience them-then they look for believers, only to be met by
charges of "fake" and "fraud".
It is a lonely position you occupy when you have looked into the
fantastic, and there is nobody to believe you have actually done so.
Picture yourself, say, alone on a beach at night, when suddenly out
of the sky a flying saucer appears and lands a few feet from you.
Strange figures get out and walk toward you. They greet you and then
get back into the ship and sail away. You go home and tell others
what you have witnessed, but with no proof, other than your
reputation for truthfulness, to offer. They laugh and tell you that
you should lay off the stuff for a while, that you are seeing much
more than the average person-they see only snakes! How could you
convince them; how could you win when they are all against you? I
felt up against the very same thing after the happenings in my room.
I did not know what to do or where to turn.
After some time went by and nothing further happened to me, I
decided that I should write up the whole thing in Space Review, so I
made a notation in the April number that I would make a startling
revelation in the July issue. I consulted two of the officers at the
meeting and took them into my confidence about everything that had
happened. But they were of the opinion that I had invented the story
in order to gain more publicity for IFSB, and insisted they didn't
want their names dragged into it. They said they felt that the
policy of the IFSB was to tell the truth and nothing but; if I went
ahead with my plans they would drop out of the organization, and
such an action would make me appear as mentally unbalanced.
From that time onward I had trouble trying to convince them of
anything or to get them to do anything for me. One of them further
threatened that if I publicized my "nonsensical plot" and he became
connected with it, he would have me arrested. So after considering
the attitude of these two people I decided against publishing
anything about it at that time. When the July issue came out without
the scheduled announcement, many members wrote me, asking why it had
not appeared and what it was all about.
Secretly I sat down and wrote up the experiences of C-Day, with the
intention of mailing it to some official in Washington, DC, possibly
the Pentagon, to see if they would help me in my dilemma or if they,
too, would share the reactions of our own officers. I locked the
report away safely because I wanted to think about it for a few days
before mailing it. When I did get up enough courage to mail it, I
went to get it and could not find it. The inside of the box where I
had locked it contained the now familiar odor of sulfur. I searched
the box thoroughly, but the report had vanished.
Had one of the members with whom I argued been able to get into the
box and remove the document? I used this as a mental argument
because I did not want to believe that its disappearance was a part
of the phenomena the paper was written about.
Soon afterward I would have the biggest shock in the chain of
frightening events. I will never forget it as long as I live, and to
me it is the greatest yet the most fantastic thing ever to happen to
anybody on Earth.
It happened the day I returned from a two-week vacation. My room had
been locked all the time I had been away, for my stepfather knew how
fastidious I was about my room and seldom went into it when I was
not around. On that hot July evening I carried my suitcases up to my
den and unlocked the door. As I swung it open, an inordinate smell
of staleness met my nostrils-intermingled with the sulfur odor. I
opened all the windows. Everything seemed to be in place, just as I
had left it, but again the radio was on. This time the set was so
hot that it is a wonder it had not started a fire while I was away.
I knew I hadn't left it on before leaving on vacation. As usual, the
dial was set to a portion of the band where no station came in. I
shut it off and told my stepfather about it when I went downstairs.
He assured me nobody could have been in my room and that I had
simply forgotten it when I left.
I ate a cold snack and decided to go to bed since it was late and I
was very tired. I went back to my room, closed the door and latched
it. I had a washroom in my den and set about cleaning up before
sleeping. After I had brushed my teeth and gone back into the room,
I sensed that something was just not right. Then the prickly feeling
came at the back of my neck, and my eyes began to water.
Blue lights appeared from nowhere and swirled about the room. I grew
dizzy as the areas above my eyes throbbed and again felt puffy. I
stumbled to the bed and threw myself upon it. As I did so, I felt my
body grow icy cold. I could feel I had quickly come under the
complete power of someone or something.
The room seemed to grow dark, yet I could still see. I noted three
shadowy figures in the room. They floated about a foot off the
floor. My temples throbbed and my body grew light. I had the feeling
of being washed clean. The three figures became clearer. All of them
were dressed in black clothes. They looked like clergymen, but wore
hats similar to Homburg style. The faces were not clearly
discernible, for the hats partly hid and shaded them. Feelings of
fear left me, as if some peculiar remedy had made my entire body
immune to fright.
The eyes of all three figures suddenly lit up like flashlight bulbs,
and all these were focused upon me. They seemed to burn into my very
soul as the pains above my eyes became almost unbearable. It was
then I sensed that they were conveying a message to me by telepathy.
Their message went something like this:
"You have dedicated yourself to the solution of the strange problem
of unidentified objects in your atmosphere. Your interest is deep
and sincere and you have devoted many hours to it. We also know that
such interest and determination might lead to something that could
bring you harm. We feel that you are a very good contact for us on
your planet of Earth. You are an average person, and we know that
what we tell you and show you will not be believed by anyone you
might tell.
"You are not a person of great renown on your planet; therefore we
have nothing to fear at present. We have a purpose for being here,
and we will be here for some time yet. We must not be disturbed in
our ultimate goal. As you see us here, we are not in our natural
form. We have found it necessary to take on the look of your people
while we are here. This is mainly used as a means of returning here
without being detected by anyone. We have made numerous contacts
with Earth by means of craft from our own base and at present we
have craft hidden at a remote spot on your planet. We have found it
necessary to go to great extremes at times to frighten off your
Earth people, and it has resulted in their deaths. We have also
found it necessary to carry off Earth people to use their bodies to
disguise our own.
"We wish to keep in touch with you and tell you many things because
one day you will write about this, and we are certain that nobody
will believe you, but you will be much wiser than anyone else on
your planet. You will know what is out there in space, and you will
know what the future holds for your mankind. You will see all three
of us again, but we shall not reveal our names as they would mean
nothing to you. Refer to us as Numbers 1, 2 and 3. We will answer
according to number. We will leave with you a small piece of metal
similar to your coins. It is to be kept in a secret place of your
own. We wish to have you come with us at a time to be announced to
you soon."
I was to keep the piece of metal and when I wished to make contact
with them I should hold it tightly in my palm and close my eyes, at
the same time repeating "Kazik", and turn on my radio. I should
contact them in two days, at this same time. As they gave me this
information, one of them went to my radio, turned it on and switched
the dial. I asked him mentally why he was doing it, and he replied
only that it was a method of getting back to their base.
They disappeared, and once again I could feel my body resting on the
bed. I was covered by perspiration, though during the experience I
had felt so cold. In my hand was the piece of metal: finally I had
physical evidence that I was not insane. This cheered me in spite of
the shocking circumstances I had just encountered.
The metal was most peculiar. It seemed to shine almost like a light.
In weight it was very light, yet very hard. I tried to make a mark
on it with a file, without success. With the metal I could make
somebody believe me. I put it in my locked box for the night.
Already it was 2.00 am, and lying down I went off to sleep, waiting
for morning when I could reveal the news to everybody.
When I awakened I thought the experience of the preceding night had
been a dream. Then I thought of the metal. I jumped from bed and
went to the box. I couldn't find it! I threw all the contents out on
the floor, but the metal was not there. Then I wondered, as I had
previously, if it had been a dream. I had been very tired; I had
gorged myself with a midnight snack and it had given me a nightmare.
I felt disappointed as I thought I would be looked upon as a person
of importance if I could only produce the piece of metal to back up
my story. Then I thought that the three in black probably had read
my thoughts and taken the metal until they again made contact with
me. Perhaps they did not wish me to tell, or to have the metal fall
into the hands of the government. This piece of metal could reveal
the truth that we were under surveillance by people from space.
I felt sick all day and couldn't eat. I told my stepfather I wasn't
feeling well, and that it was probably due to the heat wave we were
having. I felt uneasy at work and little things upset me. I was
cranky and snapped at people for no reason.
Two days after I'd either had the contact or experienced a dream, I
waited in my room to see what would really happen. For the sake of
curiosity I went to the box where I had put the metal. When I opened
the box it was there, glowing slightly in the same spot I had placed
it two nights before! I reached in and got it, and, as I did, so the
thought of showing it to somebody came back into my mind. As I
thought of this, the metal began to glow with a deep red color and
got so hot I had to drop it. When it hit the floor it resumed its
former appearance. I could see that I was not to use it for any
personal glory or gain, so I picked it up again and decided to try
to contact the three strange personages who had recently been my
uninvited guests.
I held the metal in the palm of my hand, switched on my radio and
repeated the word "Kazik" several times. For a few seconds nothing
happened. Then again I got the sensation of extreme cold enveloping
my body. My temples throbbed like the breast of a bird when you hold
it in your hand, and excruciating pain abounded just above my eyes.
Again an overwhelming power was taking over my entire person. I
immediately went to my bed to lie down: I felt so giddy I was afraid
I would fall.
I had hardly touched the bed when once again I could sense leaving
my body, and looking back could see myself lying on the bed as I
drifted away from it. Everything went dark and I felt myself
floating, as if on a cloud. How much time this floating consumed I
do not know, but it seemed like days. My only feeling then was the
pain above my eyes. Why I should have this annoying discomfort I did
not know, but it must have had something to do with the
transformation taking place. I sensed that the living part of my
body was being transported to some other place-where, I didn't know.
I squeezed the shiny piece of metal tightly in my palm, as if it
were my only contact with reality and life. Very well it might have
been.
A sudden jolt ended my floating and all movement ceased. The
darkness cleared away and I was suddenly surrounded by a brilliant
glow, as if the beam of a large searchlight had suddenly hit me in
the eyes. As my eyes grew accustomed to the brilliance, I began to
make out my surroundings.
I was in a huge, circular room with a glass dome. The walls gave me
the impression of stainless steel, but they seemed to give off
light, accounting for their unusual glitter. I was seated in a chair
made of the same metal, while directly before me I noted a sort of
dais where a large tubular object about eight feet in diameter was
mounted in the wall. Other similar chairs surrounded me, reminding
me of a theatre or lecture room. I looked for a door, but the walls
appeared smooth and unbroken all the way around. The ceiling was
made of glass or some transparent substance, for I could see what
resembled a night sky with twinkling stars above. My first
impression was that of being inside a flying saucer, which had
landed in some secluded place. The chair was of simple design,
modernistic with straight lines. It was made entirely of the shiny
metal. It tilted backward slightly so that I had a full view of the
area in front of me where the dais was located.
Once again I was thrown into complete darkness. I tried to rise from
the chair but found that although I could move my arms and my head I
could not raise my body to a standing position. A bluish light began
to make itself present on the dais directly behind the tubular
object; then, out of nowhere, a wall panel slid open and someone
stepped onto the dais. The panel closed, the person walked to the
edge of the dais and spoke to me (his lips did not move).
"Welcome to our domain. We now meet under different conditions. You
are where no other Earth creature has ever set foot. In this domain
you will witness things that will be most astounding to you, things
that you did not know of on your planet, things that will make you
disbelieve what your very eyes are witnessing."
As he conveyed this message, he seemed to be using words I could
speak myself, somewhat as if I were talking to myself-this is the
very best way I can describe it. I could understand everything well.
I assume this and other communications were carried out by means of
telepathy. Whether it was augmented mechanically or electronically,
I do not know. He continued to deliver the message.
"Behind me you will see a large circular object, and if you will
focus your eyes upon it I will endeavor to tell you something about
ourselves and why we are here."
He made a motion with his hand and the large circle immediately came
to life, in some ways similar to a television screen.
"The first pictures you will see will show you the part of the
universe from which we come. We are far from the reaches of your
Earthly telescopes."
With this, he motioned again and a spectacular view appeared. It
seemed that the tube had come to life and that I was actually there.
It had a fluorescent appearance, yet was in full color. I could see
a group of glowing objects on a dark background that appeared to be
blue, yet at times seemed to be a velvety black. I can best describe
the picture by comparing it to a "3-D" movie, but this will not do
it justice. Added to the stereo effect was a peculiar identity I
associated with it-almost as if I were a part of the picture itself!
He then continued.
"The view you now have on the tube is our home. It is many, many
light years from your small system of planets. We are much older
than your system, for we were created long before the Earth or any
of the planets revolving about your central body. All of these
systems of planets and their central bodies have been formed from a
central source so powerful that you could not even approach it by
light years, for if you did you would be immediately destroyed. It
is a vast, glowing body so immense one cannot calculate its density.
It is the creator of all of us, and more families of planets are
constantly being formed and thrown off into orbits. Such systems are
not always perfect, and some disintegrate after a few years.
"We do not all revolve at the same rate of speed, and eventually
some of us overtake others after billions of your years on Earth. We
have overtaken your system many times before, but, of the years that
have passed between, you could never begin to conceive. Your planet
was not always inhabited, although others in your system have been
before yours; but the years have made changes, and many
civilizations have died on other bodies in your family of planets,
while others are to be yet created.
"Most of the smaller bodies revolving about your planets were at one
time parts of the planets themselves, but were thrown clear when the
bodies took their ultimate shape and cooled down. The nearest planet
to Earth at one time nurtured a great civilization, which was
destroyed by marauders from another system of planets in an orbit
beyond ours. They will once again make their appearance in the
future when they reach this same spot in their trip about the
central body. Almost every system of planets that has an orbit about
the central body contains some sort of intelligent inhabitants, but
not all the same in body structure, being adapted to the various
conditions that exist on their particular worlds. Because many of
these are far advanced in their ways of life, your planet Earth will
constantly be under surveillance by these systems as they overtake
you and pass you by. Your planet is yet an infant as far as progress
is concerned, and you have far to go to accomplish what many others
in your neighboring systems have already achieved.
"Your planet has been disproportionately cursed in some matters,
which so many do not suffer and which slows your progress. For
instance, our planet has but one race and one people. Because of
your many races and national groups, there may always be conflict,
which may result in the complete destruction of your world.
"We have been within reach of your system for a number of years, but
will soon pass beyond the point of no return. So we have found it
necessary to accomplish our task speedily.
"We have been taking a valuable chemical from your seas. This
substance is vital to our existence, so whenever we come within
reach of a planet that contains such seawater we go there and take
the material without harming anyone who lives there. We process the
seawater to remove this substance. A sticky residue that remains
floats back to your planet in the form of long strings. In the past
we have been careless and have allowed some of this to fall upon
land areas; but we are now more cautious and make certain that it
returns to the sea from which it comes. As the sea water is broken
down and the vital product extracted, it is shipped immediately to
our own planet by a spacecraft capable of speed you could hardly
imagine possible."
He then paused in this discourse, and with a motion of his hand
changed the picture on the tube. I saw a landmark familiar to every
American: the Pentagon in Washington, DC, and the surrounding area.
"You wish to know why I am showing you this view," he continued. "It
is only to inform you that we have some of our people stationed in
your so-called Pentagon while we are visiting your planet. We have
them stationed in numerous places about your planet, to keep us
informed of all that is taking place."
The next scene showed a vital spot in the United States, but
unidentified as to locale. It was one of our atomic stockpiles.
Then, continued changes of scene exhibited similar storage places in
the United States and other countries including the Soviet Union. I
asked him why he was showing this to me, and he startled me with his
blunt answer. I sensed he wished to appear friendly, but his reply
led me to doubt.
"With the push of a small button in our space laboratory we can
detonate every bomb you have in your stockpiles all over the globe,
causing almost total destruction to your planet."
The first thing that came to my mind was the question, "Why would
you want to do something so horrible?".
His reply was also blunt and to the point. "Only if we were
discovered and your people tried to stop us with whatever means they
had at their disposal. But having looked over your planet thoroughly
we have nothing to fear in this respect, for nothing you have on
Earth could harm us. Our weapons for self-defense against marauders
in space are far superior to anything you have."
Then he switched to a horrifying picture that made me shudder. It
depicted a hideous monster; more horrifying than any I have ever
seen depicted in the work of science fiction or fantasy artists. The
monster was alive. As I reacted in repugnance to this scene, I did
not see the speaker leave the dais, and started again when I noted
his absence.
He then seemed to be speaking from the screen itself, and from the
mind of the monster itself. It was as if he had instantly changed
himself from the form of a man to a creature, which appeared to be
similar to that pictured by the West Virginia witnesses who
described the Flatwoods monster!
"You view me here on the screen in my normal appearance. I note you
find me horrible to look upon, yet the people on our planet do not
find me horrible. We looked upon your people as odd when we first
saw them evolve. We watched your people develop from small sea
creatures into what you are today, but if your planet continues to
exist without self-destruction, your people will change in
appearance over the billions of years ahead. For your atmosphere
will change. It will become thinner. Your supply of oxygen will
diminish, and you will find it necessary to exist on whatever type
of air mixture you may have at that time. This and other
environmental changes will lead to necessary adaptations in body
structure. Continued experimentation with radioactive material will
undoubtedly have effects upon future generations. This could even
lead to loss of reproductive capabilities, which could
eventually leave your planet devoid of human life. These things are
ahead of you and you must face them and solve these problems if you
can. To us, your progress is of academic interest but little more.
"On our planet we have three sexes: female similar in function to
yours; male also similar to yours; and the third is neither male nor
female. These latter individuals are the exalted ones who become our
rulers. They are few, and when they are born there is great
celebration. Our females bear eggs, which are stored away. We
control our population, and these eggs are permitted to be hatched
only when the great blackness covers our planet and takes many
lives."
The great blackness and many other things would be explained at a
later date; but evidently he felt I had witnessed enough at this
time, for the screen glowed bluish again and went black.
Once again he stood on the dais in human form. He then went to the
sliding wall panel and, as it opened, disappeared behind it. The
room suddenly went into complete darkness, and I felt myself losing
consciousness. Then again I had the feeling of being on a cloud and
drifting off into space. As I held tightly to the piece of metal,
the icy coldness enveloped my body. My temples throbbed and the pain
above my eyes returned with frightening, sharp jabs as if needles
were being thrust through my skin.
Then all movement seemed to stop and my head cleared. I opened my
eyes and found myself lying upon my bed in my own room on Broad
Street. I sat up and looked about. Glancing at the clock, I noted
only half an hour had elapsed. It didn't seem possible that so much
could have taken place in such a short time, but it had-and I really
didn't know how far I had traveled.
Of the entire experience, my mind dwelled more greatly on the
monster I had seen on the screen-and yet it wasn't really a monster,
as we would think of the term. We had created pictures of monsters
here on Earth, and the many representations we made of such
creatures had led us to think of them as hideous, terrifying,
supernatural and unearthly. The last is more likely to be correct,
but not in the fashion of our thinking. They could be terrible to
look upon only because we have made them appear so to everybody; but
actually they could possess intelligence far superior to ours. Such
had been the case with the person in the room with the glass dome.
I opened my hand and looked at the piece of metal resting in my
palm. How was I to tell anyone? I would be open to so much ridicule
that life could become almost unbearable. I had actually been
transported to another place-perhaps the inside of a spacecraft, as
I had surmised previously. It had been accomplished in the span of
half an hour, yet I had learned so much in that length of time had
been exposed to matters no other person had ever seen or heard
before, even in their wildest imaginings.
Many might ask why I, instead of some noted scientist or astronomer,
had been the person chosen for such an adventure. The only reason I
could summon was that which my visitors had given me-that I was an
average person, interested in science and flying saucers, who had
devoted much valuable time to the subjects. If I related my
experiences it wouldn't mean anything, simply because people
wouldn't believe me. Had I been a well-known scholar or statesman, I
might possibly be believed. If people did believe, they might become
horrified and go into mass panic. This the visitors did not want,
for they had a job to do and wanted to go about it without being
disturbed. They had not come here to cause trouble; they felt we had
enough
of our own.
I found myself with an overwhelming desire to relate my fantastic
experiences to somebody who would listen to me without questioning
my sanity. So I put the metal away in my strongbox and telephoned my
closest friend, who was a member of the executive committee.
I asked him to come over right away to discuss something which had
happened to me and which I could not talk about over the phone. He
didn't seem to be impressed and wouldn't answer yes or no about
coming over. He talked hesitantly as if he were building up to some
point, and then blurted out, "Say, Al, stop having those pipe dreams
so you can get publicity for the IFSB! Do you think people are going
to believe such nonsense? Give up the idea of making contact with
creatures from another world. If they were going to contact
somebody, it wouldn't be you. There are more intelligent people
around they would want to meet!"
He hung up as I held on to the phone with a sinking feeling. My best
friend had refused to listen to me. How would others react? What a
predicament to be in-with nobody to confide in. What had I got
myself into?
Suddenly I became conscious of and more afraid of another threat, a
mundane terror that eclipsed the more unearthly fears I had gone
through and survived. What might happen if my story did get out to
the wrong people? I was reaching a kind of numb familiarity with the
people from another world, and as I chuckled somewhat ironically to
myself I realized that my final downfall might more likely come from
a visit by a different kind of men-dressed in uniforms of white,
freshly laundered at their home base, the booby-hatch!
I didn't know when I might be contacted again, but I hoped it would
be soon! Now for the first time I found that what the aliens had
shown me had given me an insatiable curiosity to learn more. It was
as if the film had broken during an engrossing movie and I was
sitting in the darkness hoping it would resume soon. This curiosity
had grown into an incredible longing to see and hear more from them.
I had to make a decision about my further relationships with the
IFSB. I decided that my best way of handling the committee would be
to tell them only part of the truth. I could tell them I had a visit
from certain individuals, whom I could not name, which had warned me
against further investigation of UFOs. If I told them they had shown
credentials, had revealed much to me as to the secret behind the
saucers, and that the saucer mystery was approaching a solution, the
committee might tend to be satisfied and even attach an Earthly
explanation, in their own minds, to my actions.
I would simply tell them it would not be possible to publish
anything, because such was not the proper method, nor was it the
proper time for such an action. All information was being withheld
by orders from what I would simply term "a higher source".
I decided the best possible thing to do would be to discontinue
publishing Space Review in its present form, for I already knew the
secret of the UFOs and no one would believe the story anyhow if it
were published. Why go on conducting an investigation of something
no longer a mystery?
Money for memberships was pouring into IFSB headquarters. I felt
that accepting memberships under the present circumstances was not
fair, for these were joining under the charter of the IFSB which
stated we would one day find a solution to the mystery and inform
all members about it. So this was the main part of the business
conducted at the next meeting. As I had hoped, the committee agreed
to everything I proposed after I had told them the altered version
of the visitations. I asked them to reveal nothing I had said until
Space Review came out in October. They pledged their silence, but I
was to learn within a few days that the pledge was not kept.
We informed state and foreign representatives not to accept any
further memberships because changes were in the making. They were to
wait for the October [1953] issue of Space Review, which would give
more details. Our biggest job would be a clerical one that of going
through membership records and determining the amount of money to be
refunded after the next issue came out. We must determine if the
treasurer had enough money in the bank to make all of the refunds.
We wanted to be financially square with all subscriber-members since
they had remitted the money in good faith. Thus, the wheels began to
turn to stop all further investigations and to close the IFSB
[International Flying Saucer Bureau].
In August 1953 I was to have the pleasure of again visiting the
people from another world-an experience that would be even more
revealing than the last one. I had no way of knowing exactly if and
when I might receive another visit, but just for experimentation I
often removed the metal from the strongbox, turned on the radio and
repeated the word. Nothing happened, however, so I gathered it just
wasn't time for a visitation.
On a hot evening in August I was in my room busily editing copy for
the October issue of Space Review when I thought I heard a board
squeak in the attic just outside my door. I got up and went to the
door to see if my stepfather might be walking about in the attic,
looking for something. No light came from under the door, so I
figured I had imagined the noise-until once again the odor of sulfur
reached my nostrils. The odor was faint until I sat; as I did so, it
became stronger. Kneeling to the floor I discovered it was even
stronger there, so I supposed it had the characteristic of creeping
along the floor, then rising until it reached the nostrils. Because
it had always accompanied a visit from these strange beings, I could
expect them shortly. I puzzled myself with the question of
the odor. I had never asked about it, but would make a point to do
so the first opportunity I had.
I didn't know whether I should open the door and look out into the
attic or wait and see if someone was already in the room with me. As
the odor grew stronger, however, I finally opened the latch. As I
did so, my heart almost stopped beating! When I opened the door,
there stood the same figure that had sat next to me in the theatre,
followed me on the street and had paid me a visit in my room. He
motioned for me to go back into the room as his eyes focused upon
mine with that same luminescence. I thought he was alone, but found
I was mistaken when I saw two others directly behind him. All three
came into the room and closed the door.
A chill came over me as these three figures occupied the very room
in which I had experienced the almost unbelievable transport of my
body from one spot to another. What could they want by actually
appearing in this manner and taking a chance of being seen by some
other person? I backed away from them toward my bed. One came
forward while the others stood in the background, looking about the
room. This was my first opportunity to see them at such close range.
Their clothing was made of a black material, which reminded me of
cloth used in the attire of clergymen. It was well pressed and
appeared almost new. All the other apparel such as ties, shirts,
stockings and shoes was also black. They wore hats, of Homburg
style, also black. Their faces were unpleasant to look at. Their
eyes shone like tiny flashlight bulbs and the teeth were pearly
white, set in a very dark complexion. I could not see their hands;
they were covered by black gloves. A bluish radiance enveloped their
entire bodies, and I wondered if this was giving off the sulfuric
odor.
Again I was frightened. I waited for some move on their part, for I
didn't know if I was to be treated kindly or with aggression. The
figure closest to me soon settled the matter as he spoke to me in
the usual manner, without moving his lips.
"We have come to take you to a most important meeting, and such is
the distance that all of us must accompany you. You are to see our
base of operations here on your planet. Please take your small metal
disk with you."
I went to the strongbox where I kept the piece of metal, took it out
and held it tightly in the palm of my hand. Then, turning to the
figures, I waited further developments. They approached me and
formed a circle about me, and for the first time these people from
another world actually touched me. They placed their hands on my
shoulders, and as they did so I felt as if I had been touched by a
piece of dry ice. My whole body suddenly went numb as if I had
received a giant dose of Novocain.
That was the last I remembered until I opened my eyes and found
myself in a large cavern of some sort. The immense size astounded
me, for I had never seen or heard of a cavern such as this one. I
was not even certain I was still on Earth. After the fantastic
events of the past months, I would not have been surprised had I
found myself on the Moon!
My three companions were still beside me as I noticed we stood on a
platform made of a bright shiny metal, reminding me of stainless
steel, and a bright beam of light shone on us from an object in
front of us but not far away. I wondered why so much light also came
from above, and looking up discovered the reason. The entire ceiling
was made of ice, and light from the surface was shining through it,
illuminating the cavern. It appeared as if some superhuman being had
carved this enormous cavern as a human would form a hollow spot in
the snow with a hot iron. A tremendous amount of heat surely had
been used to create such a hideout.
I had a remarkable feeling that I was still on Earth, but at a
remote spot where man would likely never set foot for many years. My
escorts noticed my keen interest in my surroundings and pointed to a
metal path directly ahead of me, indicating I should take it. I
walked on, and as I did the beam of light followed us. The path
continued straight for some distance, then made a sharp turn to the
right; and there, nestled in a larger portion of the cavern, loomed
a huge cigar-shaped object resembling one of our rockets, though as
big or bigger than one of our ocean liners. I couldn't see the other
end of it from my vantage point, but noted it was constructed of
similar shiny metal and contained porthole-type openings in its
side.
The path led directly to a panel in the side of the enormous object.
As I reached the panel, the beam of light which had accompanied us
focused on a small bubble on the panel. At once it slid back, making
a shrill, piercing noise. I entered, followed by the three escorts.
As we did so, the panel closed behind us with the same noise. I
could not hope to imagine what would happen to me, why I had been
brought here and whom I was to meet.
We were in a long corridor with panels at various points along the
walls. Above all the panels were small, glowing bubbles, some of the
same color, others varying in hue. My escorts halted at one panel
and one of them removed a small cylindrical object, similar to a
flashlight, from his clothing, and shone it on a small hole in the
panel. The door slid open at once. They beckoned me to step inside,
and I found myself in a room resembling a laboratory in a chemical
plant.
The lab was equipped with complicated machinery, all of which seemed
to be made from the same shiny metal. At many locations in the long
lines of tubes and coils, globular glass containers interrupted the
flow of a traveling liquid which was clear like water. It was
evidently heated by some means, for it was bubbling away into vapor.
My impression was that of witnessing some distilling operation of
gargantuan scale. At one end of the lab stood a huge instrument
complex of gauges, lights and meters. Someone sat at the panel,
working levers and pushing buttons. As we approached, my three
escorts stopped and the panel operator turned to them and spoke,
still without lip movement. Although I had been able to understand
all which had been said previously, I could not grasp their
communication. I knew, however, they were conversing.
The operator retained his natural, monster-like appearance, as I had
seen on the screen in the room with the glass dome. He was no taller
than my escorts, but quite ugly. His outline was bulky and almost
oblong. But his eyes conveyed that same glow, and when he looked at
me I could feel them burning into my very soul. I then sensed he was
speaking to me.
"Welcome to our base of operations here on your planet of Earth. You
have traveled many miles to reach this spot, but the time has been
only seconds, whereas you would require many days to reach this same
area by your conventional means of transportation.
"You are at a spot on your planet known as Antarctica. We have
chosen this area because it is uninhabited and there is no one here
to disturb us in our task. We have made this base by tunneling into
your ice-covered surface and burying ourselves, with only a small
opening through which our smaller craft may enter and depart. The
intense cold here does not disturb us, for we are not affected by
your range of temperature. Our bodies acclimate themselves readily
to such ranges. The surface of our home planet is barren and the
cold even more intense than here in your southern polar region.
"All our cities are constructed underground. We have crater-like
openings on the surface, through which we are able to elevate
spacecraft stations for take-offs and landings. When these stations
are not in use they descend into the craters, and the landing fields
serve as a cover for the openings, with only communications towers
visible.
"I have been instructed to show you just what we are doing with your
sea water which we are taking from the surface of your planet. First
we will show you how this water reaches us, so we must go to an
adjoining room. Your escorts will take you on this tour and then
will return you to this room, where I will explain the breakdown of
the water."
With that he dismissed us. My escorts led me to another wall panel
and, again using the 'flashlight', caused it to slide open. We
stepped through into a long, narrow tunnel that looked like a New
York subway, though on a much smaller scale. We approached a small
mobile unit containing seats. It was supported by a single rail and
evidently was used for transportation throughout the large
enclosure, which I believed to be a spacecraft. At their motion I
climbed into one of the seats, and they also seated themselves. No
sooner were we seated than the unit sped down the track with a
humming noise. A light shone from its front and illuminated the
passageway. I noted many lights along the route we were speedily
traversing, and gathered these were stations along this monorail
set-up.
We came to a sudden halt and stepped onto a platform facing another
panel. The escort with his door-opening device again flashed it, and
we entered a large circular room that was buzzing with activity. The
wall was covered by instrument boards before which seated operators
manipulated levers and buttons. Lights flashed here and there.
Fenced off by metal railing was a large circular opening in the
floor. We walked to the railing, and I estimated the opening to be
about sixty feet across, if not more. Looking down I saw an
elevator-like device ascending. It reached the floor level, and
without halting moved toward the ceiling. As it rose, a panel in the
ceiling opened. A large cylinder, evidently working from below,
supported the platform, which halted when it had protruded through
the ceiling.
A large screen then lighted on a nearly instrument board, and a
bright dot appeared. The dot moved from one side of the screen to a
point near the center, reminding me of a radar screen. The dot then
glowed red and died out. From above came a vibration, as if
something had struck the roof lightly. The platform then descended,
and I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw what it supported as
it reached floor level.
Here was my first view of a real flying saucer, and I was only a few
feet from it! What a beautiful machine to look at: completely round,
with a section of portholes, and a single metal rod protruding from
the top of the craft. It was constructed of the same shiny metal. I
couldn't detect any door or panel from which occupants could emerge,
but later would be enlightened on that point.
The saucer descended through the opening in the floor until it was
out of sight. My three escorts then took me to a round pillar, about
nine feet in diameter, in one section of the room. He opened a
panel, which closed after we stepped inside the pillar. I noted we
were in an elevator, as one of the men pressed a wall button and the
floor began to descend.
When we stopped, the panel again opened and we stepped out into a
long tunnel of such size I could hardly believe I was still inside
the large craft. The saucer which had just descended on the large
elevator was now just in front of us. A long tube had emerged from
under the craft and was discharging what appeared to be water into a
funnel-like device that sucked the liquid inward with great
rapidity. As the eyes of one of my escorts glowed into mine, he
conveyed the message that this was sea water from the surface of the
Earth.
After the saucer had discharged its load, it moved along a track to
a siding similar to a railroad yard, for many such tracks traversed
this tunnel, and I had rubbed my eyes when I caught sight of so many
saucers, all sitting on sidings with platforms for the occupants to
use when entering and departing. In Earth terminology, I suppose
this would be called an enormous saucer garage. The smell of sulfur
lingered all about, and I wondered if this odor had anything to do
with the fuel being employed.
We retraced our route and again I found myself in the laboratory
from which we had begun our tour. The 'monster' I had previously met
in the lab confronted us, and for the first time since they brought
me to this strange place, all three escorts departed. The 'monster'
took me to the instrument panel and pointed to a small gauge
containing figures of odd appearance. From beneath the gauge a pipe
extended to the walls and into the system of coils and tubes.
This, I was told, was the point where the seawater entered the lab
from large tanks below. It was sent through the tubes and coils
where it was processed to obtain the product they needed. I learned
not one single thing about how the process worked or the nature of
the final product they extracted. I hoped I might see the finished
product, and was delighted when I learned I would now have such an
opportunity.
He took me to an adjoining room where a huge machine occupied its
center. It contained many meters, gauges, buttons, dials and the
like. The machine emitted a strange noise as three operators,
similar in appearance to my guide, adjusted knobs and operated
switches. From the far end of this machine, a small conveyer in a
glass tube carried tiny blocks of compressed material, which
reminded me of bouillon cubes, through the wall. I was allowed
little time in this room, and no offer was made to show me anything
further about the processing. I assume that great secrecy surrounded
the final disposition of the processed material, and sensed this was
a forbidden area of discussion.
Once again I was taken back to the lab, where my three original
escorts waited for me. From their actions I gathered my tour was not
over. Again we took a ride on the monorail system, this time
stopping at a different station but again stepping into an elevator.
We emerged into a brilliantly lighted, semicircular room containing
a row of chairs. The floor intrigued me for it reminded me of tile,
but each block was made of the shiny metal, with a hammered design-a
masterpiece of workmanship like nothing I had ever seen.
A large panel faced the row of chairs, and over it a large bubble
glowed a deep red as we seated ourselves directly before it. One
escort arose, went to a panel of buttons at one side of the panel
and pressed one of them. With a hum, the panel slid open. He
motioned to us and we arose and followed him through the door, down
a long hallway to yet another panel. We stopped for a few seconds,
whereupon a red light glowed above the panel, and the same escort
again pressed a button and the panel opened.
I found myself in another semicircular room, though larger than the
first. The walls were covered with glass screens of milky-white
appearance similar to television picture tubes. The screens were
divided by metal frameworks. In the center of the room stood a
circular dais on which I noted a slanted instrument panel,
containing many buttons and knobs, mounted on a metal pedestal. In
front of the panel was a seat for an operator not yet present. We
walked to the center of the room, stepped up onto the dais, and sat
in a half-circle of seats before the panel.
Immediately the room began to grow dark, and from a sliding panel
facing us on the opposite wall stepped a figure glimmering in a blue
haze. He was dressed in a uniform of golden color. His silvery white
hair contrasted with the skin of light brown color. He appeared as
if he might have a very heavy suntan. As he drew closer, my
attention focused on his face of handsome features. It was almost
Earthlike, contrasted to the ugliness I had observed in the others.
He was of muscular build and about nine feet tall. I gathered this
was the "exalted one" about which I had been informed, and that this
bisexual entity was in charge of the base and probably the entire
planetary operation.
The three men rose as he approached, and I did likewise. They bowed
as he stepped upon the dais. Each of my escorts then took a piece of
metal, like mine, which I then discovered they were holding tightly
in their hands, and in turn walked to the exalted one and pressed it
to his forehead. I presumed I should do the same, and followed suit.
When I touched his forehead with the metal I felt a tingling shock
go through my arm and into the temples of my head. The exalted one
sat at the operator's position in front of the instrument panel and
we also seated ourselves.
He turned and looked directly into my eyes, and I noticed that his
eyes also glowed. Like those of the others, his eyes seemed to
penetrate deep within me. Then he spoke to me without lip movement.
"I bid you a cordial welcome to our base of operations on your
planet, and it is with deepest esteem that I permit you to be our
honored guest because you have given so much of your time to
establishing friendly relationships with visitors from space. We
knew of your activities long before you tried vainly to contact us
with your experiment. Prior to our personal contact with you, we had
you watched. We were merely testing your sincerity.
"Having proven to us that you were a trustworthy person who had much
willpower, you, above anyone else, were chosen to visit with us and
learn of our purpose here on your planet. You have already learned
many things about us. You have listened courteously without
troubling us with many questions, but I am certain you have many you
would like to ask us, so we are now prepared to permit you to ask
any questions you desire; but we must be free to decline to answer
any we feel is out of order. May we now hear your questions?"
Here indeed was the moment I had awaited; an invitation to satisfy
my curiosity upon so many points and to hear the answers direct from
the 'head man' of the saucer people on Earth. Giving the matter
quick but considerable thought, I decided I must ask questions of
importance for I didn't know how much time would be allotted for the
interrogation.
My first question came out without great hesitation.
"How long have you been on our planet?"
He answered unhesitantly, "Since the year 1945 in your length of
time."
I continued. "What is your main purpose in coming to our planet?"
"To obtain water from your vast bodies of sea."
"For what purpose are you using this sea water?"
"We cannot answer that, but we have shown you what we do with it
once we obtain it."
"Do you intend to stay on our planet long?"
"Perhaps a period of fifteen of your planet years."
"Do you make trips back and forth to your planet while you are here
on Earth?"
He did not answer, "Yes", but replied, "We have been changing our
crews every two years."
"I was told that you return some of the waste material from the sea
water to the sea from which it came, but watching your process I did
not see how this was done."
"The waste is returned in the small craft that bring in the fresh
supply. It is actually strewn while the craft is in flight."
"Do you intend to cause any harm to our people while you are here?"
"We have found it necessary to frighten many, but we also have had
to resort to graver action in some cases which involved deaths among
your fellow Earthmen. We have carried off many of your people to our
own planet for means of experimentation and also to place some of
them on exhibit for our own people to see. We have specimens of
peoples from many planets, but some of them do not live. These we
preserve. Such has been the case of your Earth people; they have not
survived."
Do you intend to take me to your planet at any time?"
"We would not take you to our planet unless you became an obstacle
in our path; then we might find such action necessary."
"Have I been an obstacle to you so far?"
"You have not done anything to harm us, but you have delved deep
into the minds of our people by your determined initiative."
"Why have you chosen me above some of our most brilliant men on our
Earth?"
"Any person of high intellect or position in your society would not
be satisfied with what we had shown or explained to him at this
point. He would be inclined to keep the secret only until he was out
of sight and then would have everyone out searching for us."
"May I ask you some questions that have been puzzling me for many
years, to which there is, of course, no true answer here on Earth as
yet? Our scientists only surmise and guess as to these things and do
not know for sure."
"You may ask any questions you like, but, I repeat, I will not
answer if I feel I should not do so. Let us have some of these
questions."
"The big question I wish to ask first of all: How far does space
extend? This is our biggest mystery."
"You have chosen a very important question, and I feel you are
clever for doing so. Space or the great void has no end as far as we
have been able to explore. As we explained previously, there is a
large main body from which all the planets and their suns are formed
by means of being cast off into this vast void we call space. This
main body seems to grow in size and never diminishes, despite the
fact that it discards new bodies constantly. It is so hot a mass you
could not go near it, even in terms of billions of your light years.
All the bodies cast off are hot, burning balls of fire, and as they
reach the cooler parts of space they explode and form smaller bodies
that circle them. These smaller bodies become planets as they cool
off, but the cooling-off period consumes many, many years. We have
sent out spacecraft to explore the regions beyond the circling
bodies where there is an area that is deep black and in which you
are unable to see anything. This vast black area is waiting for
bodies to fill it. We have lost many of our exploring craft that
went too far into the deep black and never returned. I think it
would be clearer if we showed a picture to you on one of our
screens. If you will look upon this frame of light you will receive
a better idea of what we have tried to explain."
The dais revolved until we faced a lighted screen. On it appeared a
three-dimensional sky map, showing the large central body glowing a
fiery red, twirling about and sending off balls of fire which seemed
to take paths around it. Many small solar systems revolved around
the central body-so many that it was impossible to determine some of
them from others. Each body was a small speck of dust, and I
suspected that many of them were thousands of times larger than
Earth.
Circling the edge of the screen was a deep, inky black from which
not a speck of light shone. This was the outer void, which had no
end, the region from which their people had not returned. This
magnificent view vanished and I resumed my questions.
"Since you have explored so much of space and the bodies that are
now about us, I would like to know if there is life on any of our
other planets in our own solar system."
"It was mentioned to you previously that at one time people existed
on the planet you call the Red Planet, or Mars. They were destroyed
by people from a passing planet similar to ours. They were exploited
and ravaged by these visitors. The other planet nearest you, called
Venus, is covered in shroud because it is going through a
prehistoric stage similar to the one your planet experienced so many
years ago. Life is just developing there. Whether it will be like
that of your Earth we do not know, but it has similar
characteristics to life in your early evolution."
"Are there any signs on Mars that life did exist there?"
"Yes, there are ruined cities which were masterpieces of
architecture, and the remains of a vast system of waterways that
were used mainly for travel. When destroyed, the people there did
not employ air travel; neither had they developed a technology to
equal your present state of progress."
"Many of these things you have told me are similar to what some of
our astronomers and scientists have surmised. Are they correct in
most of their assumptions?"
"You have many wise men and women on your planet, and they could go
to great lengths with their intelligence if they would make use of
it in a peaceful way, without trying to destroy each other with
horrible weapons."
"Are there any other inhabited planets in our system?"
"You are the sole planet with human life in your solar system."
"Could a person from Earth survive on any of the other planets in
our solar system?"
"No, not without special equipment."
"Do you think we will ever reach our Moon or Mars or Venus?"
"Yes, you will reach your Moon, but it holds great disappointments
for members of your races."
"Is the Moon rich in minerals that we might use here on Earth?"
"Yes, it is very rich, and I might add that, unknown to many of your
people, there is moisture in many of the craters of the Moon."
"What caused these craters?"
"Most of them were caused by a cooling-down process when the Moon
was thrown from the Earth itself; but some of them were caused by
large meteors which hit the face of the Moon when another solar
system was thrown from the central body at about the same time your
system was born."
"Do you believe in God?"
"That is a creation of your people on Earth. You have strange races
and colors in your people, and many languages are spoken, but it
seems that all your peoples have had the desire to worship something
during their evolution. They, growing like small children, wanted to
have an anthropomorphised idea to cling to. Their belief was so
great that in some cases miracles seem to have been created. These
were written down for others to read, but these stories were told
over and over until they are now considered to be true."
"What about Jesus Christ here on Earth?"
"A great believer in the God, with miraculous attributes of great
exaggeration. He could not save himself from death, and even his own
race did not believe in him, yet they worshipped the same God."
"Do you not have a god on your own planet, and do you worship
anything?"
"We do not worship anything, but we all know that the great central
body created all of us and cast us off into space to form a life or
to remain a barren piece of matter floating about."
"What about Jesus Christ ascending into heaven, since they could not
find his body?"
"We have studied all these things of your planet and have often
thought how primitive your people appear to be. They are easily
convinced of anything. They can be led by anyone who can turn their
loves or hatreds in directions so desired by leaders. Yours are a
vulnerable people: as long as somebody leads them, they feel safe.
On our planet, every person is independent and his own leader. Some
may be superior in intellect, but they are merely respected and do
not become leaders. In the case of your religious leader, Jesus
Christ, the wisest man of all was not the religious leader himself,
but the person who devised the idea to hide away or destroy his body
so that for centuries afterward people would benefit from the
celebration of the birth and death of this prophet. It is best to
leave many things unsaid in the area of your religions, for it is a
topic which causes great upheaval on your planet."
"Is there a life after death?"
"On our planet there is no life once the body is destroyed, but we
are fortunate in having a life-span five times your own. Some live
even longer, but they are the gifted ones. We have no disease on our
planet, but the thing which causes many to die is the great
blackness that covers our planet when we pass a certain cluster of
celestial bodies on our trip around the great central body. This has
been our reason for living underground and sealing all surface
openings against penetration of a strong gas which troubles us at
such times."
"How do you account for the apparitions and ghosts that people claim
to see?"
"It will surprise you to learn that beneath the surface of your
planet, far down in cavernous cities, live creatures that are able
to make themselves invisible when they come to the surface. They
roam the surface of your planet quite frequently and like to cause
fright to cover their stealing of certain things which they take
back with them."
"What would you say is the cause of the dreaded disease of cancer we
have on
Earth?"
"The advent of your gasoline-propelled vehicles is a main factor."
"Will there ever be a cure?"
"Yes, your learned men will develop a cure."
"Could you show me some scenes of life on your planet?"
"I had hoped you would express curiosity about this, but I first
wanted you to feel free to ask about your own."
At this point the lights dimmed and the dais revolved, as screens
about the walls lighted with scenes of life on the planet of these
strange visitors. The exalted one pressed buttons and pulled levers
on the instrument panel as he explained the scenes, or "frames" as
he termed them.
"In the first frame you will see a view of the surface of our
planet, in one particular area. If you watch closely, you will see
how the elevated landing fields come up from below with the massive
towers and elevator shafts. Many of our cities are not connected by
underground passageways, and therefore major travel is carried out
on the surface by the small craft."
As he explained each frame, he kept his eyes focused upon me. My
head continued to throb and my eyes burned, though I was so
fascinated by the experience I almost forgot the discomfort. Soon a
second frame appeared. This showed an underground city. It was
magnificent, lighted like daylight by some unknown source. Buildings
were connected by transparent tubular roadways, supported only by
the buildings they connected. Small vehicles moved in both
directions in the center portions of these tubes and people walked
on both sides.
The next frame depicted a building resembling a vault or tomb. An
inside view showed walls containing drawers or trays. In opened
trays appeared objects, which looked like ostrich eggs. These, I was
told, were the future generations of the planet, hatched by
controlled system whenever the blackness approached and caused many
deaths. I learned, too, they were also hatched to replace any
persons dying of accident.
Another frame exhibited a large underground firing range where
several people practiced the use of a peculiar firearm. It was a
silver, tube like device with several buttons on the handle. As the
men pressed the buttons, large fireballs shot out the end and burned
through huge sheets of metal placed some distance away. I was told
this was one of their weapons. But of the firing, this impressed me
most: after the fireball pierced the thick metal, it would make a
loop and slowly return through the air until it once again entered
the 'gun' from which it had been fired! The ball returned in a kind
of slow motion. This evidently recharged the tubes, for, once the
ball had returned, it was fired again.
I asked further questions.
"Is this your most powerful weapon?"
"No, it is not. We have a weapon that is even too horrible to show
to you."
"Could you tell me a little of its nature?"
"It is a ray with a long range which burns up everything in its
path."
"Have you ever used this weapon in a warlike manner?"
"Only to ward off invaders that try to do us harm."
"What is the food on your planet? Do you have plants and animals?"
"We live mainly on a fungus kind of growth similar to your
mushrooms. We grow many varieties, of different food values. We also
consume many types of shell-covered water creatures. Large plants
which grow near our bodies of water bear delicious fruit. From this
we make many of our food products."
"If you have water on your planet, why is it necessary for you to
take water from our seas?"
"The water of our planet contains no impurities. We have no water
similar to your sea water which is so rich in many things."
"Would it be possible for me to write about my experiences so that
others on Earth can learn of your existence?"
"We do not want you to tell anything to anybody about what has
happened to you. You must keep all of this a complete secret. To
date you have done well, though your reasons for secrecy have been
motivated by factors other than fear of consequences from us. As
long as you possess the small piece of metal, you will be under our
power."
"Why does my head hurt so severely when I am in the presence of you
or those who have visited me at home?"
"We are able to penetrate your skull and gain complete control of
your body."
"Is there any possible way by which you can convince me that this is
not just a dream? Can you, let us say, perform some kind of maneuver
or make an appearance near my home which not only will make me
realize that you actually exist, but will also demonstrate your
reality to others who are skeptical about the existence of the
flying saucers?"
"We can create an event that will prove this to you, but we do not
wish you to tell others of its actual genesis. In a few days we will
send one of our small craft into your area, where it will eject a
fireball, which will penetrate something of little value. We will
not harm anyone, although it could cause a great deal of excitement
in your community."
"Will this occur near my home?"
"It will be near enough for you to hear about it and see the
results."
Suddenly the exalted one rose, and I knew that the interview had
ended. He bade me farewell, and then each of the three escorts
approached him and pressed their metal discs to his forehead. They
said I should do likewise. The exalted one then left the room in the
same manner as he had entered.
The three men guided me back to the monorail car and we retraced our
route back to the small metal ramp where we had first entered the
spaceship. Although I am certain the temperature must have been
extremely low, I did not feel any change of temperature. I did find
myself clutching the piece of metal more tightly, and as I released
the pressure lightly I immediately felt cold. The metal may have
been a factor in keeping me immune to the low temperature-I never
did think to ask questions about this.
As I descended a flight of metal steps onto the floor of the cavern,
my three escorts suddenly halted me and again formed a circle around
me. They held the pieces of metal to my head and I again lost
consciousness.
When I regained my senses I was standing alone in the center of my
den. The headache remained and my eyes burned and felt swollen. I
sat down on the bed and rubbed my eyes and head. Again I wondered if
I were going out of my mind. Had I suffered some kind of fit? Had I
dreamed this and the other realistic experiences? I began to think
it might be logical and wise to see a doctor.
Suddenly I realized I no longer held the piece of metal, and my
fears grew. Acting on impulse, I ran to the strongbox and opened it.
There, at the bottom of the box, shining as before, lay the metal
disc! I picked it up, and as I did so the pain over my eyes grew
intense. As I replaced it in the box, the pain went away. I locked
the box again and went to my bed to lie down. As I did so I looked
at the clock and noted it was 4.00 am. I had been gone about six
hours! Only a few hours remained before I must go to work, so I lay
down and fell almost instantly asleep.
© by Albert K. Bender 1963
Extracted from his classic book:
Flying Saucers and the Three Men
First published in 1963 by
Neville Spearman Limited, London, UK
And more recently by Illuminet Press, USA as a limited edition
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