with the invaders than about strange groups of men moving "That was when I was approached by a party wanting to in the dark." go inside this pyramid. They spoke strangely, but they paid "Where did the Germans get their drawings from?" well, which was all that counted. I bribed the guards and Nabinger asked. we entered, using the caliph's entranceway late at night, "I do not know. They used me to get inside only. From which was also strange. there they took charge." "We moved through the descending corridor until we Nabinger asked the question closest to his heart. "Did linked up with the original ascending tunnel leading to the they know how to read what they had?" Grand Gallery. But they did not want to go up, nor did "I do not know," Kaji repeated, "but they had someone they want to go to what we now call the middle chamber, with them who could understand it in some manner, that but was then called the lower chamber. They had paper was for certain. There were twelve of them. We went to the with them with drawings on it." Kaji pointed at the walls. dip, where the tunnel turns and heads up toward the "I did not get to look at it for very long, but the writing was Grand Gallery, and halted. They searched and then began very much like that on these walls. The symbols that cannot digging. I became frightened and upset then. I would be be read." His eyes turned to the notepad in Nabinger's lap. blamed, because the guards knew me and knew that I was "Perhaps you are starting to understand those symbols?" leading this party in. They were destroying my livelihood "Who were these men?" Nabinger asked, flipping the with their picks and shovels. notepad shut. "The German in charge"--Kaji paused and his eyes lost "They were Germans," Kaji replied. their focus--"he was an evil man. I could see it all about "Germans? How could they have gotten into Cairo? The him and especially in his eyes. When I complained he British still held the city." looked at me, and I knew I was dead if I opened my mouth "Ah, that was the easy part," Kaji replied. "Throughout again. So I stayed silent. the war Cairo was one of the major centers for espionage, "They worked quickly, digging. They knew exactly what and all sorts of people came and went freely." they were doing because inside of an hour they broke Kaji's voice became excited as he remembered. "Cairo through. Another passageway! Even through my fear I was was the place to be in World War II. All the whores worked excited. Nothing like this had happened in my lifetime or for one side or the other or many times both. Every bar many lifetimes before me. This passageway led downward, had its spies, most also working for both sides. There were toward the ground beneath the pyramid. No one had ever British spying on Germans who were spying on Americans thought of that before. No one had ever considered if there 52 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 53 was a passage into the ground. They had always searched "No." Kaji sighed and all the energy seemed to drain out for ways to go up. of his body. "I don't know what it was that they found. "They went into it and I followed. I did not understand There was a box inside the stone. A box of black metal. what they were saying but it was easy to see they were Metal such as I had never seen before nor have seen excited also. We came down the tunnel"--Kaji pointed be- since." He gestured with his hands, indicating a rectangle hind him--"as you and I did earlier today. There were about four feet high by two in breadth and width. "It was three blockages set up in the passageway. I could see the this size." original writings on the walls and knew we were entering Nabinger shook his head. "This is all a story, Kaji. I parts that had not been seen by a living man in over four think you have taken my money for a story that is a lie." thousand years. They tore through the blocking walls as Kaji's voice was calm. "It is not a lie." quickly as possible, leaving the rubble behind. "I've seen the pictures Martin took. All the walls were "The tunnel ended in stone, but the Germans didn't let intact. The seals on the sarcophagus were intact and the that stop them as they had not let the three other walls original ones. How do you explain that if these Germans stop them. They used their picks and broke through. And did what you said? How did the walls get put back up? The then we were in here. And the sarcophagus was there just seals put back on? Magic? The pharaoh's ghost?" Nab- like you see it in the pictures of Martin's expedition, with inger was disgusted. the lid on and the seals intact. In the air I could feel the "I am not sure," Kaji admitted. "I do know, though, that presence of-- the Americans and the British sealed off the Great Pyra- Kaji paused and Nabinger blinked. The old man's voice mid for eight months in 1945, while the war was ending. No had drawn him in, the effect magnified by being in the very one could go in. Maybe they put everything back. It would room he was talking about. have been difficult but possible. When I went down with Kaji looked at the center of the floor where the sarcoph- Martin all the walls were back up as you say. It made me agus had once been. "The Germans were not archaeolo- wonder, but I knew I had seen them broken through ear- gists. That was certain. The way they broke through the lier." walls showed that. And the fact that they broke the seals "Why didn't you tell Martin?" Nabinger asked. and lifted the lid. In 1951 Martin took six months before "I was just a laborer then. And he would not have be- his men opened the lid, carefully detailing every step of the lieved me, as you do not believe me now." operation. The Germans were into it in less than five min- "Why are you telling me?" utes after entering. They were interested in nothing but the Kaji pointed at Nabinger's notebook. "Because you are sarcophagus. Not the writings on the walls here, not the interested in the special writings that no one can read. The seals. Nothing but the stone box." Germans had those writings. That is how they found the "Was it empty?" Nabinger asked. chamber." "No." "This makes no sense," Nabinger exclaimed. "If the Nabinger waited, then could wait no longer. "Did they Germans came in here and ransacked the chamber, then find the pharaoh's body?" why would the Americans and British cover it up?" 54 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 55 Kaji remained silent. were different. One was the man who read the symbols and "Ah!" Nabinger threw his hands up in disgust. "There pointed the way. Two of the killers guarded him always. As were no Germans in here in the first place. How many if he was not there of his own free will. times have you sold this story, Kaji? How many others have "The second man: Von Seeckt--which is why I stole only you stolen from? I tell you, I will not allow you to get away from him--he was different also. He was not one of the with it." killers but he wanted to be there. He was very excited when "I have not lied. I was here." He reached inside his robe they found the black box. That was when I was able to take and pulled out a dagger. the knife. They gave him the box and he put it in a Nabinger started, thinking for a second he had pushed backpack. He carried it with him when they left. It looked the old man too far, but Kaji held it by the blade, offering heavy, but he was a strong man." the handle. Nabinger carefully took it. "That is all they wanted?" Nabinger asked. "Just that "I stole that off one of the Germans. They all wore black box?" them." "Yes. As soon as they had it we went back out. They had Nabinger felt a chill as he looked at the handle. A minia- a truck waiting and drove away to the north. I ran and hid. ture, very realistic ivory skull was at the end, and swastikas I knew the guards would look for me when they found the were carved into the bone handle along with the lightning broken walls and the empty chamber. But they never came bolts that indicated the infamous SS. He wondered what for me. I never heard a word, which was strange also." animal the bone had come from, then decided that was Nabinger held on to the dagger. "How do I know you information he was better without. The gleaming steel was didn't get this on the black market? It does not prove your intricately detailed. Nabinger squinted--there was some- story." thing written there. There was a word on the one side: Kaji shrugged. "I know it is true. I do not care if you believe it is true. I am at peace with Allah. I have told the THULE truth." He pointed at the MRI. "I was reminded to tell you this story because when the Germans opened the sarcopha- and on the other side a name: gus and pulled out the box, the man I stole the dagger from had one of those"--Kaji paused as he searched for the Von Seeckt word--"a small machine that made noise when he pointed it at the big black box. It chattered like a locust." Nabinger had heard of Thule. A place of legend, written "A Geiger counter?" Nabinger asked. about by Ptolemy and other ancient geographers as the "Yes. That is what I have heard it called." northernmost inhabitable land, north of Britain. He had no "The black box was radioactive?" Nabinger said, more idea what that had to do with the Nazis or the pyramids. to himself than Kaji. Nabinger looked at the Egyptian, who "Who was Von Seeckt?" Nabinger asked. returned his gaze levelly. Although there was no logical "He was the strange one in the group," Kaji said. "Ten reason to believe the old man, for some reason Nabinger of the twelve were killers. I could tell by their eyes. Two did. What had been sealed in the sarcophagus? What had 56 ROBERT DOHERTY the ancient Egyptians possessed that was radioactive? There was no doubting that the MRI was picking up some form of residual radiation. Nabinger sorted the story out in his mind. There was only one clue to pursue: the name on the dagger. Von Seeckt. Who was--or probably more appropriately--who had he been? "What are you doing?" Kaji asked, as Nabinger tucked the dagger into his waistband. "I am keeping this," Nabinger said. "I paid for your story and this is the only proof." NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE "I did not agree to that," Kaji said. T-134 HOURS, 45 MINUTES "Do you wish me to tell your men of your deal? Of the money I just gave you?" Nabinger asked. "They would "This is Johnny. I'm out of town for a bit. Back on the want their share." tenth. Talk to you then. Leave a message at the beep. Bye." Kaji eyes narrowed. Then he stood and shrugged. "You Kelly slowly put the receiver down, not bothering to may keep it. It is an evil thing. I should have gotten rid of it leave a message. It was after nine in the morning on the long ago." tenth. "Oh, Johnny, you've done it now," she whispered to herself. There was no doubt in her mind that Johnny Simmons was in trouble. He had a strange sense of humor, but he wouldn't have sent her that tape and letter as a joke. She knew he was dead serious when he went on an assignment. After the little he had related to her about what had hap- pened in El Salvador, she could well understand his seri- ousness. He had listed nine in the morning three times in his letter. He would not have forgotten or blown it off. At the absolute minimum he would have changed his message by remote as he had said he would. She turned on her computer and accessed her on-line service. To find out where Johnny was, she would have to follow him, and information was the way to start. There were two avenues of investigation to pursue, and she knew they were the same two areas that Johnny would have looked into before he went on assignment. The first 58 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 59 would be to get background information about Area 51 F-15 Crashes, Pilot Killed and Nellis Air Force Base. The second would be to get more specific and look into the UFO phenomenon as it Officials at Davis-Montham Air Force Base confirmed related to Area 51. last night that an F-15 fighter jet from the 355th Tacti- Kelly had more than a glancing background in the field cal Training Wing crashed during training yesterday on of UFOs, which was why, in addition to their friendship, the Luke Air Force Base reservation. Johnny had sent her the package in the first place. Her The pilot, whose identity is being withheld pending trouble eight years ago with the Air Force at Nellis Air notification of next of kin, was killed in the crash. Force Base had had to do with that subject and had for all The aircraft went down in rough terrain and recov- practical purposes destroyed a promising career in the doc- ery operations are under way. umentary filmmaking field. What had appeared at the time (No further information was available at press to Kelly as an excellent opportunity had turned into a di- saster. time.) Kelly took the package Johnny had sent her and went through it one more time, this go-around making notes of Kelly checked, but there was nothing on the crash in the key words on a legal pad. When she was done, she looked following day's paper, which was unusual. Kelly flipped at what she had: open her atlas. Luke Air Force Base was in Arizona, hun- dreds of miles from the Nellis Air Force Base Range. She Las Vegas Postmark hit the delete key. This had nothing to do with what she The Captain was looking for. 23 Oct. transmissions, Nellis AFB Then she paused. Or did it? How often did F-15's crash? Red Flag Not exactly every day of the year. Was it just coincidence? F-15 Kelly did not believe much in coincidence. She felt her gut "Mailbox" tighten further. What had Johnny stumbled upon? If this Dreamland F-15 was the F-15 on the tape, the Air Force had gone Groom Lake through a lot of trouble to point the finger in a different direction from Nellis and Area 51. And not only was the Kelly accessed her on-line data base and set up a plane reported as having crashed, the pilot was dead. He Boolean keyword search. She started with the date in ques- had been very much alive on that tape. tion, combining it with Nellis Air Force Base, and drew a Next, Kelly tried mailbox in conjunction with UFOs. This blank. Then she switched to both the twenty-third and produced three hits, all of which identified the mailbox as twenty-fourth of October and accessed any news about an actual mailbox along a dirt road outside of the Groom F-15's. This time she got a hit. She drew up the article, Lake complex where UFO enthusiasts gathered to watch from the Tucson Citizen, dated the twenty-fourth of Octo- for strange craft over the mountains. Obviously the man ber: who had sent Johnny the tape--the Captain--was one of 60 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 61 those people. At least she now knew where she could find knew that Johnny must have done the same search, in fact, that link in the puzzle if she needed it. a much more in-depth one. And after completing that Trying Dreamland and Groom Lake brought her a wealth search he had felt it was worth going out there and taking of stories about the site there. They were both cross-refer- the chance that the tape he had been sent was a fake or, enced to Area 51, which was another one of the many given that Johnny knew about her own Nellis experience, a names for a place whose purpose was unknown and whose setup. existence was officially denied. Shifting through several of the articles, two names kept There were many theories, and Kelly was familiar with popping up: Mike Franklin, a self-styled Area 51 expert most of them. There were some who claimed the govern- living in the town of Rachel, just outside the Nellis Air ment had contact with aliens at the site, and they were Force Base range complex; and Steve Jarvis, a scientist who trading for information and technology. The more radical claimed to have worked in the Groom Lake/Area 51 com- theorists stated that, on their side of the barter, the hu- plex and actually seen alien craft that the government was mans were allowing the aliens to conduct mutilations on test-flying. Johnny would have seen the same names. cattle and other livestock and also--from the truly radical Kelly picked up the phone and got Franklin's number fringe--to abduct humans for various nefarious experi- from information. She dialed and waited as it cycled ments. There were some who even claimed that the aliens through five rings. Just as she was about to hang up, some- were interbreeding with the humans. Kelly shook her head. body came on the line. The voice on the other end was a These were the sorts of stories that made headlines on the woman's and she sounded upset. "Yes?" tabloid rags at the checkout counter, not something that "I'd like to speak to Mike Franklin. This is Kelly Reyn- legitimate journalists pursued. olds." Another theory was that Area 51 was the place where "Mike's not here," the woman said. the government was testing its own supersecret aircraft and "Do you know when he'll be back?" that the F-117 Stealth fighter had been test-flown out "He's not here," the woman repeated. there. The latest "secret" plane that was supposedly being "I'm doing an article on UFOs for a major magazine," tested was called Aurora and guesstimates had the plane-- Kelly said, used to occasionally getting the cold shoulder, no one quite knew what it looked like--flying anywhere "and I'd like to talk to--" from Mach 4 to Mach 20 and being capable of going high "I said he's not here-." the woman snapped. Just as enough to place satellites into orbit. quickly the voice on the other end started sobbing. "Mike's The official government line was that the Groom Lake/ dead. He was killed in a car wreck last night." Area 51 complex didn't exist, which was a most interesting Kelly's hand tightened on the phone. "Where did the position considering the fact that the Air Force had been wreck occur?" gobbling the terrain around the area for the past five years "On Route 375, about fifteen miles outside of town." as quickly as it could. "Was he alone?" Obviously, something was going on at Area 51, Kelly de- "What?" i cided from all the information in front of her. And she "Was he alone in the car?" 62 ROBERT DOHERTY 63 AREA 5 1 "Yes. The state police say he must have run off the road, Jarvis cut in. "My fee for a print interview is five hun- maybe trying to avoid hitting a deer. They acted like he dred dollars. That gets you one hour." must have been drunk. But Mike never drank that much. "Mr. Jarvis, I'm just trying to find--" He didn't like it. And someone went through all his stuff "Five hundred dollars, one hour. Cash or a money order. here at the house. When I got here this morning I could No checks. No free questions." tell, even though they tried to put it all back in place. I'm Kelly paused and gathered in her emotions. "Can I see scared they're going to come back here." you this evening?" "Who are they?" Kelly asked. "The elephant bar at the Zanzibar. Be there at seven on The woman gave a high-pitched laugh. "Them. You the dot." "How will I recognize you?" Kelly asked. know." "I'll recognize you," Jarvis replied. "Wear red. Some- "No, I don't," Kelly said. "Who are you talking about?" thing sexy. Order a slow, comfortable screw from the bar- "Forget it," the woman said. "Mike shouldn't have been tender." doing whatever he was doing. I told him." Kelly clenched her teeth. "Listen, I'm a professional and "What's your name?" Kelly asked. I'm coming out to Las Vegas to do a legitimate job. I don't "I'm not talking to no one. I'm getting out of here. I need-- don't know what Mike was doing and I don't want to know "Obviously," Jarvis cut in again, "you don't need to in- no more." The phone went dead and Kelly slowly lowered terview me, then. It was nice talking to you, Miss Reyn- the receiver. olds." "Oh, Johnny, Johnny," she said softly. "You hit the nail Kelly waited. He didn't hang up; she didn't either. Elec- on the head, I think, but it looks like the nail was harder tronic Mexican standoff. than you thought." Finally Jarvis spoke. "Do you have the money? Five hun- Kelly stood and looked at the dry-erase board where she dred? Cash?" kept all her appointments and job assignments for the next "Yes." several weeks. There was nothing that couldn't be put off "All right. Just ask the bartender for me. He'll point you for a while with a few phone calls. in the right direction. I'll be there at seven." After making her work calls she dialed a travel agency As Kelly hung up the phone, a flicker of doubt crossed and booked a flight out of Nashville into Las Vegas, de- her mind. Was she overreacting to the situation? parting at noon. Then she called information and got the She reached down and pulled the Nellis file out of her number for a Steve Jarvis in Las Vegas. A male voice an- desk and stared at it for a few minutes while she thought. swered. "Hello?" Once before she'd been down this path. But this time was "Is this Steve Jarvis?" different. She wasn't just after a story. There was Johnny, "Who's calling?" out there somewhere, hopefully still alive. "This is Kelly Reynolds. I'm a freelance writer doing an But that didn't mean she had to walk in blind. She article for-- looked up the article on Jarvis again and checked some- 64 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 65 thing. Then she picked up the phone and made another In many ways the stone had been the key that opened up call. study of ancient Egypt, because when Champollion finally broke the code to the traditional Egyptian hieroglyphics and deciphered it, a wealth of information was unleashed. Despite his having studied the history of archaeology in CAIRO, EGYPT college and graduate school, the information Nabinger was T-134 HOURS, 4O MINUTES now reading was new to him. What Nabinger had never Peter Nabinger was also trying to answer questions, but he been told was that in 1842 the King of Prussia had led an didn't understand the information that was appearing on expedition to Egypt that had done further work on deci- the computer screen in front of him. He was in the re- phering ancient Egyptian texts and markings. A German search section of the University of Cairo, using their data- Egyptologist named Richard Lepsius had accompanied the base to check on Kaji's story. He was glad he had access to king and remained there for three years, producing draw- such a sophisticated system as the university's computer, ings and measurements of all three pyramids. because much of what he was looking for had been re- Over the years that followed, the Germans had invested ported only in academic and scientific journals or out-of- quite a bit of time and energy in the study of the pyramids, print books, and the computer held hundreds of thousands hieroglyphics, and high runes. Obviously--if Kaji's story of such abstracts. The system also had the advantage of was true--that effort had borne some fruit. holding practically every bit of information about Egypt In the decade just prior to World War I various German and Cairo that had ever been recorded. groups had used myths and archaeology to weave a strange There was no record of Germans in the Great Pyramid and convoluted web of doctrine to support their racial and during World War II; not that he had expected to find any. anti-Semitic philosophies. The swastika, a symbol that had But, sorting through bits and pieces of local newspaper been used by several ancient peoples, was resurrected. List, articles from 1945, it did appear that access to the Great an early influence on Hitler, used his own false deciphering Pyramid had been restricted for several months during that of high runes to justify his beliefs. year and that some strange Allied military activity had cen- Nabinger stopped scrolling the computer for a second tered around the building, as Kaji had said. and stroked his beard. Although the deciphering of the Cross-referencing the word Tliuie with the Nazis brought Rossetta stone had greatly increased understanding of hi- a surprising result. Nabinger had been familiar with the eroglyphics, it had been of no help in the deciphering of word Thule in the traditional sense from ancient mythol- the high runes. Nabinger's own feeling was that the high ogy: a northern, inhabited region. The Nazis, however, had runes were older than hieroglyphics. perverted that concept--and many other myths and leg- Nabinger remembered Kaji's comments about the Ger- ends--for their own purposes and they had used the sci- mans using some sort of map with markings on it to find ence of archaeology to try to support their claims. their way. What had the Germans uncovered? Had they Even nonarchaeologists knew about the Rosetta stone, discovered a way to decipher high rune text that still re- found in 1799 when Napoleon's army had invaded Egypt. mained unknown to the rest of the world? Were they using 67 AREA 51 66 ROBERT DOHERTY once been the center of a great civilization, but was subse- some ancient document or perhaps something drawn by quently destroyed by a great flood. This concept was based Lepsius in the nineteenth century? Or had they simply on an earlier theory postulated by the Theosophical Soci- used a map, copied from someplace, and still been unable ety. Nabinger said a brief prayer for the computer that to read the high runes? gave him the ability to cross-reference so quickly as he Nabinger had heard about the German fascination with requested information on this latest piece of information. the myth of the Holy Grail and the search for the lance The Theosophical Society was founded in 1875 in New supposedly used on Jesus after his crucifixion, but his in- York City by a woman named Madame Helena Blavatsky. structors in school had laughed away the Nazis as amateurs Her theory had the inhabitants of Atlantis--or Thule, as in the scientific field of archaeology, more interested in the Nazis had named it--representing the Fourth Race, propaganda than science. But perhaps, Nabinger won- the only true line of man, which of course, the Nazis found dered, there had been other searches with better results? very convenient to use in their Aryan-race theory. Accord- Nabinger thought of his own hypothesis connecting the ing to the abstract the inhabitants of Thule looked very high runes in South and Central America with those in the much like the figures carved into stone on Easter Island. pyramid. He knew he would be laughed at also if he tried Nabinger ran a hand through his beard. How the hell had to publish his results. she made that connection? Nabinger read on. At the end of World War I many of Nabinger started to feel like he was getting off base, but the occult groups that had been born in Germany prior to he read further. The fall of the true line of man--the the war grew in strength, feeding off the deep and bitter Atlanteans or Thulians--had come about because they had dissatisfaction of the people with the defeat and peace im- mated with lesser beings. Voila, the master race needed posed on their country. The name Thule was appropriated purity, which also worked quite well into the master-race as a cover for these groups. theory of the Nazis. Nabinger straightened. In 1933 a book had been pub- So the Nazis had been interested in Atlantis? What did lished in Germany called Bevor Hitler Kam (Before Hitler that have to do with Egypt? He sat back in the chair and Came). It was apparently about the connection between closed his eyes. Unsettling thoughts floated through his Hitler's National Socialist movement and the Thule move- brain as he reviewed what he knew and what he had just ment. The interesting thing was that after publication, the learned. Why had the Nazis destroyed the book and what author disappeared under mysterious circumstances and all had happened to Sebottendorff? There didn't appear to be copies of the book that could be found in Germany were any direct connection here with Kaji's story other than the collected and destroyed by the Nazis. The author of the word Thule inscribed on the dagger, but Nabinger was used book was named Baron Rudolf von Sebottendorff. to having to dig intellectually as well as in the dirt. Perhaps Checking, Nabinger was surprised to see that the com- there was more here than was readily apparent. puter had an abstract on the book. Sebottendorff had Nabinger opened his eyes and went back to the abstract taken the ancient myth of Atlantis and the myth of Thule on the book. Apparently the book had been destroyed and and reinvented them with his own sick motivations. information about it suppressed because Hitler wanted According to Sebottendorff, Thule was reported to have 68 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 5 1 69 people to think all his ideas had begun with him and were formation that he always carried with him when he went not borrowed from other sources. overseas to work. In the back were several pages of docu- Nabinger decided to press on for a bit along the present ment protectors, each sized to hold twelve business cards. avenue of research. A search on Atlantis brought a large He found the card of Helen Slater, the woman from Bimini number of references--over three thousand. Obviously the who had spoken at the conference. He removed it and put Germans had not been alone in their interest. Nabinger it in his breast pocket. searched the titles until he found one that seemed to give Nabinger hit the F-3 key to print out the article and an overview of the history of the fabled continent. moved on to another article. This one described a nine- Atlantis was often regarded as a myth mentioned in orig- teenth century American congressman, Ignatius Donnelly, inal source only by Plato. Most historians thought Plato who had published a book called Atlantis: The Antediluvian had made the tale of Atlantis up to stress a point and that World, which had been a best-seller in its own time. Don- it was only a literary tool. For those who did think it repre- nelly's hypothesis was based on similarities between pre- sented an actual place, the fingers pointed to various loca- Columbian civilizations in America and Egypt. Nabinger tions. Some believe it to be the island of Thera in the felt like he was reading the beginning of his own unpub- Mediterranean, which was destroyed by a volcanic erup- lished paper on the high runes. Both cultures had had tion. The crater of the volcano Santorini had been investi- pyramids, embalming, a 365-day calendar, and a mythology gated by leading oceanographers, searching for clues. about an ancient flood. Donnelly's theories had been torn Others placed it in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The apart by scientists of his own day, which didn't surprise Azores were mentioned--the Lake of the Seven Cities on Nabinger. The same connection had been made by people the island of Sao Miguel was a body of water in a volcanic in this century and received the same chilly reception, crater. The main city of Atlantis was supposed to lie be- which was the major reason Nabinger's paper was still un- neath that lake, or so the supporters of that site claimed. published. Nabinger scanned down, skipping most of the middle of Done with that article, he decided to get back to what the article, looking to see what the latest theories were. had led him here: the cross-reference with the Nazis and Recent discoveries of large stones closely fitted together Atlantis. The Nazis had launched expeditions during World off the islands of Bimini in the Bahamas had caused quite a War II to the cold wastelands on both ends of the earth, in bit of excitement several years previously and the enigma search of both Atlantis/Thule and relics such as the Holy of their creation and location had never really been ade- Grail. And also to Central America, where there were quately explained. That struck a bell with Nabinger. A pyramids, not quite as large or of the exact same design as speaker at an archeological conference he had attended those in Egypt, but with high runes also. the previous year had been from Bimini and had spoken of Nabinger stroked his beard. What had the Nazis found the site. And, if he remembered rightly, there were high that had led them back to the Great Pyramid and to a runes there, too, that couldn't be deciphered. chamber that had been undisturbed for over four thousand Nabinger put his briefcase on the table next to the com- years? Had they broken the code on the runes and found puter and dug through. He had a binder in there with in- out important information? Was there something written Lff*'8 7O ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 71 in these other locations about the pyramids? If Kaji's story Curses against interlopers in the monuments of ancient was true, at' the very least they had found information that Egypt were not unknown. Did this curse relate to what Von had told them of the lower chamber. Seeckt had taken out of the pyramid? And why had the Nabinger cleared the screen and went back to the word Allies hidden all record of the invasion of the pyramid and search. He slowly typed in the name Kaji had given him: the discovery of the lower chamber? It had to be something much more important than some simple archeological find. There was a way to find out. The end of the article stated Von Seeckt. that Von Seeckt was still alive and living in Las Vegas. Nabinger turned off the computer and stood. Budget be One hit. Nabinger accessed the article. It was a fifty-year damned, there was a mystery here, and he was the only one anniversary article about the atomic bomb being dropped who was on its trail. He left the university library and on Hiroshima. It detailed the development of the atomic walked into the nearest travel agency to book a return bomb during World War II. Nabinger scanned down. Von flight to the States that evening, with one stop en route to Seeckt's name was listed as one of the physicists who had see Slater in Bimini. worked on development and testing of the bomb. Once he knew when he would be arriving, he rang But Von Seeckt had been with Germans, according to through the long-distance operator to information in Ne- Kaji. How had he ended up in America in the middle of vada. There was a Werner Von Seeckt listed and Nabinger the war? And why had the Germans brought a nuclear copied down the number. After he'd dialed it, he found physicist into the Great Pyramid? And, most importantly, himself talking to voice mail. As the beep sounded, Nab- what had Von Seeckt discovered and carried out of the inger quickly composed his message: lower chamber in 1942? "Professor Von Seeckt, my name is Peter Nabinger. I work with the Egyptology Department at the Brooklyn Nabinger's fingers halted over the keyboard as some- Museum. I would like to talk to you about the Great Pyra- thing he had written earlier in the day came back to him. mid, which I believe we have a mutual interest in. I just He reached into his backpack and pulled out his deciphered some of the writing in the lower chamber, sketchpad. He'd been working on the panels in the lower which I believe you visited once upon a time and it says: chamber that stood at the head of where the sarcophagus Power, sun. Forbidden. Home place, chariot, never again. had once been. The partially deciphered rune text was Death to all living things. Perhaps you could help shed some there in pencil: light on my translation. Leave me a message how I can get hold of you at my voice-mail box," and Nabinger left his POWER SUN number. FORBIDDEN HOME PLACE (???) CHARIOT (???) NEVER AGAIN (???) DEATH TO ALL LIVING THINGS AREA 51 73 immediately flanked by two men wearing black wind- breakers and khaki slacks, their eyes hidden behind wrap- around sunglasses. They hustled him into a waiting car and headed to the airstrip at Nellis Air Force Base, where a small black heli- copter waited to whisk him back to the northwest. As the helicopter lifted off, Von Seeckt leaned back in the thinly padded seat and contemplated the terrain flitting by under- neath. The American desert had been his home for over fifty years now, but his heart still longed for the tree-cov- LAS VEGAS, NEVADA ered slopes of the Bavarian Alps, where he had grown up. T-133 HOURS He had always hoped he would see his homeland before he died, but now, today, he knew he wouldn't. They would "About a year, give or take six months, without treatment. never let him go, even after so many years had passed. With treatment you can add perhaps another half a year." He unfolded the piece of paper on which he had written The old man didn't blink at Dr. Cruise's pronounce- the message he had taken off his answering service while ment. He nodded and rose to his feet, a black cane with a waiting in Cruise's office. Power, sun. Forbidden. Home wide silver handle grasped in his withered left hand. "Thank you, Doctor." place, chariot, never again. Death to all living things. He re- "We can start the treatments tomorrow morning, Profes- membered the Great Pyramid. sor Von Seeckt," Dr. Cruise hastily added, as if to cushion Von Seeckt leaned back in the seat. It was all coming his earlier words. around again, like a large circle. His life was back where it "That is fine." had been over fifty years ago. The question he had to ask "Would you like something--" Cruise paused as the old himself was whether he had learned anything and whether man held up his hand. he was willing to act differently this time. "I will be fine. This is not a surprise. I was informed this would most likely be the case when I was hospitalized ear- lier this year. I just wanted to confirm it, and I also believe THE DEVIL'S NEST, NEBRASKA I was owed the respect of your telling me yourself. My T--132 HOURS security will take me home." "I'll see you at the meeting later this morning," Cruise Underneath the camouflage netting that Turcotte had said, stiffening at the implied rebuke in Von Seeckt's helped rig during darkness, the mechanics made the three words. helicopters ready for flight, folding the rotors out and lock- "Good day, Doctor." With that Werner Von Seeckt ing them in place. The pilots walked around, making their made his way out into the hallway of the hospital and was preflight checks. 74 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 75 On the perimeter of the primitive airstrip Turcotte was was good news. The old man had long ago outlived his lying on his stomach in the middle of a four-hour guard usefulness. shift, looking down the one asphalt road that led up to the Gullick shifted his attention to the youngest person in airstrip. The road was in bad shape. Plants and weeds had the room, who was sitting to his immediate right. She was a sprouted up through cracks, and it seemed obvious this small, dark-haired woman with a thin face, dressed severely place had been abandoned for quite a while. That didn't in a sharply cut gray suit. This was Dr. Lisa Duncan's first mean, of course, that someone in a four-wheel-drive vehi- meeting, and while inbriefing her on the project was one of cle couldn't come wandering up and stumble over their the two priorities on the meeting schedule, it was not the mission support site. Thus Turcotte's orders to apprehend primary one in Gullick's mind. In fact, he resented having anyone coming up the road. to take time out at such a critical juncture in the project to The question that still had not been answered--albeit get a new person up to speed. Turcotte had not asked it out loud--was what mission this There was also the fact that Dr. Duncan was the first site was set up to support. Prague had given orders through woman ever allowed in this room. But, since Duncan was the night, but they had been immediate ones, directed filling the chair reserved for the presidential adviser, it paid to the security of this location, not shedding any light on at least to give the appearance of respect. The fingers of what they would be doing once the sun went down this Gullick's left hand lightly traced over his smooth skull, ca- evening. ressing the skin as if soothing the brain underneath. There was so much to do and so little time! Why had the previous adviser been reassigned? Duncan's predecessor had been an old physics professor who had been so enraptured by THE CUBE, AREA 51 what they were doing upstairs in the hangar that he had T-13O HOURS, 3O MINUTES been no trouble. The conference room was to the left of the control center A week ago Kennedy, the CIA representative, had been as one got off the elevator. It was soundproofed and swept the first to notify Gullick of Duncan's assignment and this daily for bugs. The Cube had never had a security compro- visit. Gullick had ordered the CIA man to look into mise and General Gullick was going to insure that the rec- Duncan's background. She was a threat; Gullick was con- ord remained intact. vinced of that. The timing of her sudden assignment and A large, rectangular mahogany table filled the middle of this first visit couldn't be coincidental. the room with twelve deep leather chairs lining the edges. "Good afternoon, gentlemen--and lady," Gullick added with a nod across the table. "Welcome to this meeting of Gullick sat at the head of the table and waited silently as Majic-12." Built into the arm rest of his chair was a series the other chairs were filled. He watched as Von Seeckt of buttons and Gullick hit one of them, lighting up the wall limped in and took the chair at the other end of the table. behind him with a large-scale computer image. The same Gullick had already been briefed by Dr. Cruise on the con- image was displayed on the horizontal console set into the firmation of Von Seeckt's terminal condition. To Gullick it tabletop just in front of Gullick for his eyes only: 76 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 77 INBRIEF PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER Reconaissance Organization. The NRO is the agency through which our funding is directed. CURRENT STATUS OF BOUNCERS "Dr. Ferrel, professor of physics, New York Institute of Technology. Our chief scientific counsel and in charge of CURRENT STATUS OF THE MOTHERSHIP our reverse engineeering work. "Dr. Slayden, project psychologist, Majic-12. PROJECTED TEST OF THE MOTHERSHIP "Dr. Underbill, aeronautics, Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Our expert at flight. "This is today's schedule." Gullick looked around the "Dr. Cruise, MD." table. "First, since we have a new member, introductions Gullick wasted no further time on the people. "I would are in order. I will begin from my left and go around the like to welcome Dr. Duncan to our group for the first table clockwise. time." He looked down the table at her. "I know you have "Mr. Kennedy, deputy director of operations, the Cen been given the classified inbriefing papers on the history of tral Intelligence Agency. Our liaison to the intelligence the Majic-12 project, so I won't bore you with that informa- community." Kennedy was the youngest man in the room. tion, but I would like to run through some of the highlights He wore an expensive three-piece suit. If they weren't a of our operation as it currently stands. quarter mile underground he'd probably have been wear- "First, everything and anything to do with the project is ing sunglasses, Gullick thought. He didn't like Kennedy classified Top Secret, Q Clearance, Level 5. That is the because of his age and his aggressive attitude, but he most highest classification level possible. Majic-12, which is the certainly needed him. Kennedy had thick blond hair and a official designation for the people around this table, has dark tan that looked out of place with the other men at the been in existence for fifty-four years. Not once in all those conference table. years have we had a security breach. "Major General Brown, deputy chief of staff, Air Force. "Our primary mission is twofold. First is to master flying The Air Force has overall administration and logistics re- the bouncer disks and reverse-engineer their propulsion sponsibility for the project and for external security. system." He flicked a button and an image of nine silvery "Major General Mosley, deputy chief of staff, Army. disks appeared, lined up in a massive hangar. It was hard to The Army supplies personnel for security support. tell details from the photo, but five of the disks appeared to "Rear Admiral Coakley, assistant director, Naval intelli- be identical to one another, while the other four all dif- gence. The Navy is responsible for counterintelligence. fered slightly. "Dr. Von Seeckt, chief scientific counsel, Majic-12. Dr. "We have been flying bouncers for thirty-three years and Von Seeckt is the only man in this room who has been with keep double flight crews current on their operation. But we the project from the beginning. have not had as much success discerning their method of "Dr. Duncan, our latest member, presidential adviser to propulsion." He glanced down the table and arched an Majic-12 on science and technology. eyebrow. "Mr. Davis, special projects coordinator, National "I'm current on that research," Duncan said. 78 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 79 Gullick nodded. "We are continuing flights of the bounc- "And we still don't understand the bouncers' propulsion ers to keep the flight crews current and also to continue systems!" Von Seeckt threw in. tests on the propulsion system and their flight characteris- "But we're flying the bouncers and using them," Doctor tics. We have several prototypes of the bouncer engine, but Ferrell, the physicist, said. "And we are getting closer every have not yet succeeded in engineering one that functions day to figuring them out." adequately," he said, understating the massive problems "It is dangerous to play with tools we don't understand!" they had encountered over the years and eager to get past Von Seeckt cried out. the failures of the past and on to the future. "Is this test dangerous?" Duncan asked, calm in contrast "Our second purpose--the mothership--is a different to Von Seeckt's wavering and excited voice. story altogether." An elongated black cigar shape ap- Gullick looked across the table at her. Just before this peared on the screen, again nestled inside a hangar with meeting he had studied the classified file Kennedy had rock walls. It was impossible to tell the scale of the ship amassed on her. He knew more about her than she proba- from the photo, but even in the two-dimensional projection bly remembered about herself. Thirty-seven, twice di- it gave the impression of being massive. vorced, a son in private high school back in Washington, a doctorate in medical biology from Stanford, a successful "For all these years the mothership has defied our best career in business, and now, due to her friendship with the scientific minds, but we finally believe we have gained First Lady, a political appointee to perhaps the most sensi- enough knowledge of the control system to activate the tive post in the administration. Of course, Gullick knew, propulsion system. That is currently our number-one prior- the President didn't fully comprehend the importance of ity in the project. It will-- Majic-12. And that was one of the Catch-22's of the secrecy "It will be a disaster if we activate the mothership," Von surrounding the project. Because they couldn't really tell Seeckt cut in, looking at Duncan. "We have no clue how it anyone what was going on, they were often neglected in the operates. Oh, these fools will tell you we understand the big scheme. But there were ways around that and the mem- control system, but that has nothing to do with the me- bers of Majic-12 had long ago perfected those ways. chanics and the physics of the engine itself. It is like invit- "Ma'am," Gullick said, reverting to the military form of ing a man into the cockpit of an advanced nuclear bomber addressing a woman, "everything is dangerous, but test- and believing that the man can operate the bomber be- flying is probably the most dangerous occupation in the cause he can drive his car and the yoke of the bomber is world. I flew experimental aircraft early in my career. Over very much like the steering wheel of the car. It is mad- the course of a year at Edwards Air Force Base, eight of ness." the twelve men in my squadron were killed working out the Gullick's left eyebrow twitched but his voice was calm. bugs in a new airframe. And here we are dealing with alien "Thank you, Dr. Von Seeckt, but we have been over all technology. We didn't design these craft. But we do have that ground already. We will never understand the mother- an advantage," Gullick added. "We are dealing with tech- ship if we do not attempt to investigate it. That is the nology that works. The largest danger I faced as a test pilot method we have used on the bouncers and--" was getting the technology up to speed so it would work. 80 ROBERT DOHERTY 81 AREA 51 Here we know these craft fly. It is a matter of figuring out "There's quite a bit that I don't understand," Lisa how they fly." Duncan said as soon as the room was clear. Gullick turned his chair slightly and pointed at the "There's quite a bit we don't understand," General Gul- mothership sitting in its cradle of steel beams. "We are lick amended. "The technology we are working with here is currently slightly over one hundred and thirty hours from overwhelming at times." the first test flight. But before we attempt that, we simply "I'm not talking about the technology," Duncan said. are going to start it up and see what happens. That is the "I'm talking about the administration of this program." reason this meeting is scheduled for today: so you can see "Is there a problem?" Gullick asked, his voice chilling for yourself in a few hours that there is no danger. To use the room. Dr. Von Seeckt's analogy--but in the proper perspective-- Duncan was blunt. "Why the secrecy? Why are we hid- we are simply going to put our man in the pilot's seat and ing all this?" have him turn the engines on and then off. The craft won't Gullick relaxed slightly. "Numerous reasons." go anywhere. And our man is not a child. We have the best "Please enumerate them," Duncan said. minds in the country assembled here working on this proj- Gullick lit a cigar, ignoring the NO SMOKING signs that ect." adorned the walls of the Cube conference room. Govern- Von Seeckt snorted. "We had the best minds back in ment bureaucracy found itself into even the most secret of eighty-nine when--" locations. "This program began during World War II, and "That's enough, Doctor," Gullick snapped. "The deci- that was the reason it was initially classified. Then there sion has been made. This is an information briefing, not a was the Cold War and the requirement to keep this tech- decision briefing. At thirteen hundred hours local time to- nology--what we did understand of it--out of the hands of day the mothership's engines will be turned on for ten sec- the Russians. One study by our staff even found a high onds and then immediately turned off. The decision has possibility that if the Russians ever discovered that we had been made," he repeated. "Now, shall we move on with the this technology it would upset the balance of power and briefing?" It was not a question designed to be answered they might launch a preemptive nuclear strike. I would say with anything but assent. that's a damn good reason to keep this secret." For the next thirty minutes the meeting went as sched- Duncan pulled a cigarette out of her purse. She pointed uled with no further interruptions. Gullick formally at the ashtray for Gullick's cigar. "Do you mind?" She brought it to a close. "Dr. Duncan, if you would like, you didn't wait for an answer as she lit up. "The Cold War has might want to take a tour of the hangar and our other been over for over half a decade, General. Keep counting facilities and be present when we conduct the test on the the reasons." mothership." A muscle twitched on the right side of Gullick's jaw. "I would like that very much," she replied, "but first I'd "The Cold War may be over, but there are still nuclear like a moment alone with you." missiles pointed at this country by foreign countries. We "If you would excuse us, gentlemen," Gullick said. "Des- are dealing with technology here that might totally change ignated personnel, please wait outside," he added. the course of civilization. That is sufficient--' AREA 51 83 82 ROBERT DOHERTY money has been poured into this project and the return has "Could it be," Duncan cut in, "that all this is classified been minimal." simply because it's always been classified?" "If we fly the mothership," Gullick said, "it will all be "I understand what you're saying." Gullick attempted a worth it." disarming smile that didn't work. He ran a finger over the Duncan stubbed out her cigarette and stood. "I hope so. file folder that held Kennedy's report on Duncan and re- Good day, sir." She turned on her high heels and walked strained an impulse to throw it at her. "It would be easy to out the door. see the secrecy surrounding Majic-12 as simply a leftover As soon as she was gone, the Majic-12 men in uniform from the Cold War, but there are deeper implications and the representatives from the CIA and NRO came back here." in. All attempt at being cordial slipped from Gullick's de- "Such as?" Duncan didn't wait for an answer. "Could meanor. "Duncan's fishing. She knows there something part of those deeper implications be that this project had more going on." been founded illegally? That the importation of people "We need to have Slayden give her the data on the im- such as Von Seeckt to work in it--in direct violation of law plications of revealing the project," Kennedy said. and a presidential order in force at the time--and other "I told her about Slayden's briefing and she's got his activities since then would open up personnel involved in written report already," Gullick said. "No, she's looking for this program to criminal prosecution?" something more." The glowing red numbers set into the desktop next to "Do you think she has something on Dulce?" Kennedy the computer screen read T-130H/16M. That was all that con- asked. cerned Gullick. He'd talked to a few of the others about "No. If there was any suspicion about that, we'd know how to handle Duncan and now it was time to start with about it. We're wired into every intelligence apparatus this what they had come up with. country has. It has to be something else." "Whatever happened fifty years ago is not our concern," "Operation Paperclip?" Kennedy asked. he said. "We are worried about the impact publicizing this Gullick nodded. "She made a point of mentioning that program will have on the general population. Von Seeckt and others were recruited illegally. She knows "Dr. Slayden, the program psychologist," Gullick said, too much. If they pull on that thread too hard, this whole "is on our staff for this very reason. As a matter of fact, we thing might unravel." will have a briefing from Dr. Slayden at eight A.M. on the Kennedy pointed at the folder. "We can go hard with her twelfth. He'll be able to explain things better then, but if we need to." suffice it to say that the social and economic implications "She's the President's representative," General Brown of revealing what we have here at Area 51 to the public are warned. staggering. So staggering that every president since World "We just need time," Gullick said. "I think Slayden's War II has agreed that the utmost secrecy should surround psychobabble will keep her occupied. If not"--Gullick this project." shrugged--"then we go hard." He looked down at the "Well, this president," Duncan said, "may think differ- computer screen and changed the subject. "What's the ently. The times are changing. An immense amount of 84 ROBERT DOHERTY 85 AREA 51 status of Nightscape 96-7?" Gullick asked the director of THE DEVIL'S NEST, NEBRASKA Naval intelligence. T-13O HOURS "Everything looks good," Admiral Coakley answered. "What's that?" Turcotte asked. "The MSS is secure and all elements are in place." The man in the gray flight suit looked up. "Laser firing "What about the infiltration by that reporter and the system," he said shortly, snapping shut the metal case on other person last night?" Gullick asked. the sophisticated machinery that had drawn Turcotte 's at- "We've cleaned it all up and there's an added benefit to tention. that situation," Coakley said. "That other fellow's name Turcotte had never seen a laser that was packed suitcase was Franklin. A UFO freak. He's been a pain in the ass for size, but the technician did not seem amenable to discuss- a long time working out of his house in Rachel. We no ing the technology. Another question to add to all the oth- longer have to worry about him. He's dead and we have an ers. adequate cover story in place." "Get some sleep. You'll need the rest," Prague said, ap- "How did they get inside the outer perimeter?" Gullick pearing suddenly at his shoulder. "We'll be ready to move demanded, not appeased at all. after dark and you won't get any sleep for a while." Prague "Franklin unscrewed the antennas from the sensors on smiled. "Sleep good, meat, " he added in German. either side of the road," Coakley replied. "We got that off Turcotte stared at him for a second, then walked over to a cassette recorder we found on the reporter." where the other off-shift security men were dozing in the "I want that system replaced. It's outdated. Go with laser shade offered by several trees. He grabbed a Gore-Tex bivy sensors on all the roads." sack and slid into it, zipping it up around his chin. He "Yes, sir." thought about everything he had seen so far for about five "And the reporter?" minutes, wondering what Prague had been told about him. "He's been transferred to Dulce. He was a freelancer. He finally decided he didn't have a clue what was going on We're working on a back story for his disappearance." or what Prague knew, and switched his brain off. "It won't happen again," Gullick said, his tone of voice As he fell asleep, his mind shifted to other scenes. indicating it was not a question. Prague's final words in German echoed through his brain "Yes, sir." and Turcotte fell into an uneasy slumber with the echo of "What about Von Seeckt?" Kennedy asked. "If he gunfire and German voices screaming in fear and pain. makes any more trouble, Duncan might start asking more questions." Gullick rubbed the side of his temple. "He's become a THE HANGAR, AREA 51 liability. We'll just have to move up his medical timetable. T-129 HOURS, 4O MINUTES We'll take care of the good doctor and insure he won't cause any more problems. He outlived his usefulness to Lisa Duncan had read the figures and studied the classified this program a long time ago. I'll talk to Dr. Cruise." photos, but they had not prepared her for the sheer size of 86 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 87 this operation. Flying into Area 51 on board one of their in the political winds. Majic-12 was another one, albeit black helicopters, she had been impressed with the long much more secretive. The issue, though, was why were runway and the aboveground base facilities, but that im- Gullick and the others in such a rush to fly the mothership? pression had been dwarfed by what was hidden out of That issue and other disturbing rumors about Majic-12 op- sight. erations that had sifted their way back to Washington was Taking the elevator up from the Cube, she and her scien- the reason Duncan was here. She already had some dirt on tific escorts entered a large room carved out of the rock of the program, as she'd indicated to Gullick; but that was Groom Mountain. This was the hangar, over three quarters past dirt, as he'd indicated in return. Most of the men in- of a mile long and a quarter mile wide. Three of the walls, volved in Paperclip were long dead. She had to find out the floor, and roof--one hundred feet above their heads-- what was presently happening. To do that she had to pay were rock. The last side was a series of camouflaged sliding attention, so when her guide spoke up, she put away her doors that opened up onto the north end of the runway. worries. The true size of the hangar could only be seen on the "This is the hangar we built in 1951," Professor Un- rare occasions, like now, when all the dividers between the derbill, the aeronautics expert, explained. "We've added to various bays were unfolded and a person could look it over the years." He pointed at the nine silvery craft straight through from one end to the other. Duncan won- parked in their cradles. "You have all the information on dered if they had done that to impress her. If they had, it how and where we found the bouncers. Currently, six are was working. operational." She was still bothered by her confrontation with General "What about the other three?" she asked. Gullick. She'd been briefed for the job by the President's "Those are the ones we're working on. Taking apart the national security adviser, but even he had seemed uncer- engines to see if we can reverse-engineer them. Trying to tain about what was going on with Majic-12. It actually understand the control and flight system along with other wasn't that surprising to Duncan. In her work with medical technology." companies she'd often had to deal with government bu- She nodded and followed as they walked along the back reaucracy and found it to be a formidable maze of self- of the hangar. There were workers on each of the craft, propagating, self-serving structures to negotiate. As Gul- doing things whose purpose was unclear. She had indeed lick had made very clear: Majic-12 had been around for studied the history of these craft, which seemed simply to fifty-four years. The unspoken parallel was that the Presi- have been abandoned in various places some time in the dent whom Duncan was working for had been around for past. From the conditions of the locations they were found only three. She knew that meant that the members of in, the best guess had been about ten thousand years ago. Majic-12 implicitly believed they had a greater legitimacy The craft themselves seemed not to have aged at all. than the elected officials who were supposed to oversee the There had been very few answers about the origin or project. purpose or original owners of the craft in the briefing pa- The CIA, NSA, the Pentagon--all were bureaucracies pers. Something that didn't seem to concern the people out that had weathered numerous administrations and changes here very much. That bothered Duncan, because she liked 88 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 89 thinking in analogies and she wondered how she would feel be the site of the first atomic tests early in World War II, if she had left her car parked somewhere and came back when the surveyors found that the readings on some of later to find that it had been appropriated and someone their instruments were being affected by a large metallic was taking the engine apart. Even though the bouncers had object. They pinpointed the location, dug, and found what been abandoned long ago, centuries might be just a day or we now call the mothership in Hangar Two. Whoever left two in the relative time scale of the original owners. the ship here had the technology to blast out a place big "Why does everyone out here call them 'bouncers'?" she enough to leave it and then cover it over." asked. "In the briefing papers they were called 'magnetic- Duncan let out an involuntary gasp as the train exited drive atmospheric craft' or 'MDAC' or simply 'disks'. the tunnel and entered a large cavern, a mile and a half Underbill laughed. "We use the 'MDAC for scientific long. The ceiling was over a half mile above her head and people who need a fancy title. We all call them 'disks' or made of perfectly smooth stone. It was dotted with bright 'bouncers.' The reason for the latter, well, wait till you see stadium lights. What caught her attention, though, was the one in flight. They can change directions on a dime. Most cylindrical black object that took up most of the space. The people who watch them think we call them 'bouncers' be- mothership was just over a mile long and a quarter mile in cause they do seem to suddenly bounce off an invisible wall beam at the center. What made the scale so strange was when they change direction--that's how quick they can do that the skin of the ship was totally smooth, made up of a it. But if you talk to the original test pilots who flew them, black, shiny metal that had defied analysis for decades. they called them 'bouncers' because of the way they got "It took us forty-five years before we were able to break thrown around on the inside during those abrupt maneu- down the composition of the skin," Ferrel, the physicist vers. It took us quite a while to come up with the technol- said, as they exited the tram. "We still can't replicate it, but ogy and flight parameters so that the pilots wouldn't be we finally knew enough about it to at least be able to cut injured when they had the aircraft at speed." through it." Underbill pointed at a metal door along the back wall. "This way, please." Duncan could now see scaffolding near the front--if it The door slid open as they approached, and inside was was the front and not the rear--of the mothership. The an eight-passenger train on an electric monorail. Duncan ship itself rested on a complex platform of struts made of stepped into the car along with Underbill, Von Seeckt, the same black material as the skin. The rock sides of the Slayden, Ferrel, and Cruise. The car immediately started cavern were also smooth, and the floor totally flat. up and they were whisked into a brightly lit tunnel. They walked alongside the struts, dwarfed by the sheer Underbill continued to play tour guide. "It's a little over mass of the ship above them. Underhill pointed at the cen- four miles to Hangar Two, where we found the mothership. ter as they passed it. "We call it the mothership not just In fact, that's the reason this base is here. Most people because of its size, but also because there's space in the think we picked this site because of the isolation, but that center hold to contain all the bouncers and about a dozen was simply an added benefit. more. There are cradles in there that are the exact dimen- "This part of Nevada was originally being looked over to sions to hold every bouncer. We believe this is the way the 90 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 91 bouncers got here to Earth, as they are not capable of small doorway in a concrete wall. A metal hatch closed leaving the atmosphere on their own power." behind them and they were inside a blast bunker. "We have "But we still can't even open the external cargo bay two men on board in the control room. They are simply doors." Von Seeckt spoke for the first time. "And you want going to turn on the engine, leave it on for ten seconds, to start the engine," he added accusingly, glaring at Un- and turn it off. They are not going to engage the drive. It's derbill. sort of like starting a car engine but leaving the transmis- "Now, Werner, we've been through all that before," Un- sion in neutral." derhill said. "We hope," Von Seeckt muttered. "It took us forty-five years to simply get in," Von Seeckt "FIVE MINUTES." said. "I was here for all forty-five of those years. Now in the "You are witnessing history," Underbill said to Duncan. space of a few months, you want to try and fly this!" "We have every possible monitoring device set up here," "What are you so worried about?" Duncan asked. She'd Ferrel added. "This should give us what we need to under- read the file on Von Seeckt and personally, given the man's stand the engine." background, she did not much care for him. His constant Duncan glanced over at Von Seeckt, who was sitting in complaining did little to ameliorate that impression. one of the folding chairs along the back wall of the bunker. "If I knew what I was worried about, I'd be even more He seemed uninterested in what was going on. worried," Von Seeckt answered. "We don't understand at "ONE MINUTE." all how this ship works." He stopped to catch his breath The countdown now started by the second, reminding and the other members of the party paused also, over three Duncan of the space shots she had watched as a youngster. quarters of the way to the nose. "TEN. Von Seeckt continued. "I believe part of the propulsion "NINE. system of this craft works using gravity. In this case it "EIGHT. would be the gravity of our planet. Who knows what it "SEVEN. would do if it got turned on? Do you want to be responsi- "SIX. ble for affecting our gravity?" "FIVE. "That's my area of expertise," Ferrel said, "and I can "FOUR. assure you there are no problems." "THREE. "I feel so much better," Von Seeckt snapped back. "TWO. A voice on a sound system echoed through the cavern: "ONE. "TEN MINUTES UNTIL INITIATION. ALL PERSON- "INITIATION." NEL ARE TO BE INSIDE PROTECTION. TEN MIN- Duncan felt a wave of nausea sweep through her. She UTES." staggered, then leaned over, feeling the contents of her "Gentlemen, enough," Underbill ordered. They were at breakfast in Las Vegas come up. She fell to her knees and the base of the scaffolding. "We can see the inside later, vomited on the concrete floor. Then, just as quickly, it was but for now, let's go over here." He led the way toward a over. 92 ROBERT DOHERTY "ALL CLEAR. ALL CLEAR. PERSONNEL MAY 6 LEAVE PROTECTION." Duncan stood, feeling the taste of acid in the back of her mouth. The men all looked pale and shaken also, but none of them had thrown up. "What happened?" Duncan asked. "Nothing happened," Ferrel replied. "Goddammit," Duncan snapped. "I felt it. Something happened." "The engine was turned on and then off," Ferrel said. "As far as what the effect we felt was, we'll have to analyze The data was being read before it was fully cognizant. The our data." He pointed at a television screen. "You can see signal came from the northeast. The power reading was not from the replay that nothing happened." And indeed, on accurate enough to give distance to the disturbance. A the screen, the mothership sat completely still as the digital quick time check showed that it had not been long since readout in the lower right hand corner went through the the last time it had been awakened. countdown. This time, though, it knew what had caused the distur- Duncan wiped a hand across her mouth and looked back bance. The data from the sensors matched information in at Von Seeckt, who was still in his seat. She felt embar- its memory. The nature of the signal was clear and it knew rassed to have thrown up, but Ferrel's response to her brief the source. illness seemed a bit nonchalant. For the first time she won- Action had to be taken. Valuable energy would have to dered if the old man might not be as crazy as he sounded. be expended. As quickly as the decision had been made, execution was begun. The order was given. The next time In the conference room Gullick and the inner circle of this occurred, it would be ready and have forces in place. Majic-12 had watched the test on video, although there had been nothing to really see. The mothership had simply sat there, but the data links indicated that the power had in- deed been turned on and the ship seemed to function properly. Gullick smiled, momentarily erasing all the stress lines on his face and scalp. "Gentlemen, the countdown contin- ues as planned." AREA 51 95 "What do you want to know?" Jarvis asked as he fin- 7 ished off the drink he had in front of him in one gulp. "Area 51," Kelly said. Jarvis laughed again. "And? There's a whole lot going on out there. Anything in specific?" "Why don't you just start and I'll get specific as you go along," Kelly replied. Jarvis nodded. "Okay. The usual, then. First, of course, you want to know how I know anything about Area 51, right?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I worked there from May 1991 to March 1992. I was a contract employee hired LAS VEGAS, NEVADA by the NRO, the National Reconnaissance Office. I T-121 HOURS worked on propulsion systems, trying to reverse-engi- "Steve Jarvis?" neer . . ." He paused. "Well, let me back up slightly. You The bartender grimaced and pointed toward a booth at know what they have out at Groom Lake, right?" the rear. As Kelly walked toward it, she studied the man "Why don't you tell me?" sitting there. She hated to admit it, but he didn't look like "Nine alien spacecraft," Jarvis said. "They're in a hangar cut into the side of the mountain. The government can fly the flake she had expected. Jarvis had straight black hair some of them, but they don't know how the engines work. and wore wire-rim glasses. He was well dressed in a sport Thus they can't replicate them. That's why I was called in." coat and tie. Not at all what she had expected from both "Where'd the government get these craft?" Kelly asked. the subject matter and the discussion on the phone. He was Jarvis shrugged. "Got me. I don't know. Some say we eyeing her as she approached and she could see his disap- traded for them, kind of like an interstellar used-car lot, pointment. He must have had hopes for someone taller but I don't believe that. Maybe we just found them. Maybe and with more curves, she assumed. they crashed, but the ones I saw seemed intact and showed He stood. "You have the money?" no sign of having crashed." So much for second impressions, Kelly thought. She "Why'd they bring you in?" pulled out an envelope and handed it to him. Johnny really "To figure out the engines. I did my dissertation at MIT owed her now, she thought. Jarvis looked in the envelope, on the possibility of magnetic propulsion. We already use thumbed through the bills, and then sat back down, signal- magnets on things such as high-speed trains, and the mili- ing for the waitress. "Would you like a drink?" tary has been working on a magnetic gun for a long time. "My tab or yours?" Kelly responded. But all those systems generate a magnetic field of their Jarvis laughed. "Yours, of course." own, which requires a lot of energy. My theory was that "11 have a Coke," she told the waitress while Jarvis or- since the planet already has a magnetic field, if there was dered his "usual." some way we could manipulate and control that field with 96 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 97 an engine we would have an unlimited source of energy for "Every workday. It's an unmarked 737 with a red stripe an atmospheric craft." down the side." "So the government just hired you out of the blue and "Get back to Area 51," Kelly said, flipping a page. took you to a top-secret installation?" "What was it like?" "No, they didn't hire me out of the blue. I had worked "Like I said, tight security. Everything out of sight. The for the government before down at White Sands. A joint saucers were inside a big hangar. They had three of them contract with JPL working on the possibility of using a partially disassembled. Those are the ones I got to work long, sloping magnetic track on a mountainside to launch on. satellites into orbit." "They were about thirty feet in diameter. Silver metal "Not many mountainsides at White Sands," Kelly said. for skin. Flat bottom. About ten feet in from the edges on Jarvis smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Are you top the saucer becomes hemispherical to a flat semicircle trying to test my credibility?" top, about five to eight feet around." Jarvis finished his drink and ordered another before con- "I paid you five hundred dollars," Kelly said. "I get to tinuing. "The bitch of working on the engines was that ask the questions." there really weren't any. That really threw the military guys "Okay, you're right," Jarvis agreed. "There aren't any for a loop. You know how a jet fighter is designed: basically mountainsides at White Sands. We were simply working on a large engine with a small place for the pilot to sit. Well, the theory on a small scale. Best we ever got up to was a the disks were mostly empty on the inside. There were one-to-thirty model. You can do that using a sand dune." these sort of man-sized depressions in the center. I guess "So they brought you up to Area 51," Kelly prompted, where the crew sat. making a notation in a small notebook. "Anyway. Getting back to the engines that weren't. I "Yeah. It was weird. I reported to McCarren Field here told you my theory: magnetic propulsion working off a field in Vegas and they put us on this 737 and flew us out there. of energy that is already there. Most conventional engines I had a Q clearance already from my previous work, so that take up a lot of space because they have to produce energy. was okay. But, boy, they had the tightest security I've ever The disk engines simply had to redirect energy. There were seen. You couldn't fart without someone looking over your coils around the edge of the disk, built into the edge and shoulder. Those security people were scary, walking the floor." Jarvis smiled. "That also explains why they are around in these black windbreakers, wearing shades and saucer or disk shaped. The coils are circular and need to be carrying submachine guns." in order to be able to redirect the energy in any direction." "Did you stay out there at Area 51?" Kelly found herself falling under Jarvis's spell. His words "No. They shuttled us back and forth every day on the made sense, which was her second surprise of the day. She 737. The only people who live out there are the military had to remind herself what she had learned on her last people, as far as I could tell. All the scientific people and phone call earlier today before heading to the airport. the worker bees--they were on that plane." "The setup of the coils was relatively simple. The prob- "That plane flies every day?" lem was that we couldn't replicate; hell, we couldn't even AREA 51 99 98 ROBERT DOHERTY more valid. But they have blackballed me. I can't get a describe the metal that made up the coils. It actually wasn't research job anywhere, so I make my living as best I can." a metal. It was more of a . . ." Jarvis paused. "Suffice it to "I thought it might simply be because you never gradu- say it was different and the best minds we had there ated from MIT," Kelly said. couldn't figure it out." Jarvis carefully put his drink down. "Our hour is almost "Why did they terminate your contract?" Kelly asked. up." "Like I just said, we couldn't figure it out so there was no Kelly looked at her watch. "Not even close. You did need to keep us around. I assume they brought other peo- work at White Sands, but the records show it was on the ple in." basic construction of a new research facility, not in the "What do you know about a man named Mike Frank- facility itself. In fact, there is no record of you receiving a lin?" degree any higher than a BS from the State University of "The nut who lives up in Rachel?" New York at Albany in 1978." "He's dead," Kelly said, watching Jarvis carefully. "If you have any more questions you'd better ask them "Took them long enough" was his only reply as he took before your time is up," Jarvis said. another drink. "Did you talk to a man named Johnny Simmons?" "Took who long enough?" Kelly asked. "I don't recognize the name." "The government." Jarvis leaned forward. "From what I Kelly described Johnny, but Jarvis maintained ignorance. heard Fra