n 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.