right sleeve. He delt with the forearm first, wrapping a bandage from his THE CUBE combat vest over the sliced skin and stopping the bleeding. Gullick had complete telemetry feedback from Aurora and Carefully probing with his fingers, he reached in through he could listen in on the pilot and reconnaissance systems the jacket and gasped when he touched torn skin. Turcotte officer (RSO) talking to each other. carefully unzipped his Gore-Tex jacket and jumpsuit. An "All systems on. We'll be in range of target in seventy- eight-inch-long gash was just over the outside of his ribs. five seconds," the RSO announced. As best he could, he bandaged the wound. Gullick keyed his mike. "Aurora, this is Cube Six. I want Turcotte looked up into the sky. He could see the small a good shot of this target. Get it on the first pass. You glowing object, about a thousand feet overhead. It was la- probably won't have an opportunity for a second. Over." zily moving about, as if to view the results of its actions. He "Roger that, Cube Six," the RSO said. "Fifty seconds." watched for a few moments, but there did not appear to be "Descending through ten thousand," the pilot an- any immediate threat. Although from the way that thing nounced. "Slowing through two point five. The look will be had been moving, Turcotte didn't think he would have right," he told the RSO, giving a direction to orient all the much time to react if there were. sophisticated reconnaissance systems on board the aircraft. Turcotte scanned the horizon. The others would be here 120 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 121 "Pod deploying," the RSO said as the speed gauge con- radar it will be gone in a blink and there's nothing they can tinued to go down. Gullick knew that now that the plane do about it anyway. Damn right it's to pursue." was under two thousand miles an hour the surveillance pod The length of Mexico was traversed in less than twelve could be extended. Doing it at higher speeds would have minutes, Aurora now less than a thousand miles behind the destroyed the necessary aerodynamics of the plane and bogey and closing rapidly. caused the plane to break and burn. Even now, according "Intercept in eight minutes," Quinn announced. to the telemetry, the skin temperature of the aircraft was eight hundred degrees Fahrenheit. "Twenty seconds. All green." VICINITY BLOOMFIELD, NEBRASKA "Leveling at five thousand. Steady at Mach two." "All systems on." Turcotte heard the choppers long before they arrived. The Blackhawk landed on the opposite side of the crash and Gullick looked up to the large screen at the front of the discharged a squad of men with fire extinguishers. Turcotte room. The red triangle representing Aurora closed on and knew that by daylight there would be nothing in the field passed the small dot indicating the bogey. Then the bogey other than some charred cornstalks. The other AH-6 darted away. landed right next to his location. Gullick keyed the mike, "This is Cube Six. The bogey is "Where's Major Prague?" the man who ran off the heli- running! Vector one nine zero degrees. Pursue!" copter asked. Aurora was fast, but maneuverable it wasn't. Gullick Turcotte pointed at the crash site. "Killed on impact." watched as the red triangle began a long turn that would The man knelt down next to the pilot. "What's his encompass most of Nebraska and part of Iowa before it status?" was through. The small dot was heading southwest, cur- "Broken arm. I think he has a concussion. I haven't rently over Kansas. taken his helmet off, to keep the pressure on in case his "What's the bogey's speed?" General Gullick asked. skull is fractured." "Computer estimates it's moving at Mach three point The man signaled for the pilot to be place on board the six," Major Quinn replied. Blackhawk. He pointed to Turcotte. "You come with me. As the bogey crossed the panhandle of Oklahoma, Au- They want you back at the Cube." rora completed its turn over southern Nebraska. "She'll catch up," Gullick said. The two dots continued, Aurora steadily closing the gap. THE CUBE "Bogey's over Mexican airspace," Quinn reported. He hesitated, but duty required that he speak. "Are you au- "Sir, Aurora already has a photo of the bogey," Quinn said. thorizing Aurora to continue pursuit?" "What do you want it to do when it catches up?" "Shit," Gullick said. "The Mexicans won't even know it's The Aurora was purely a reconnaissance plane. Mount- there. Too high and too fast. And even if they get a blip on ing any sort of weapon system, even missiles, would have 122 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 123 destroyed its aerodynamic form and reduced its speed "Eighty miles," the pilot announced. drastically. "Sixty." "I want to find out where this bogey comes from," Gul- "I've got it!" the RSO yelled. lick said. "Then I can send other people to take care of the In the small television screen Gullick could see a small problem." dot. As if on cue the dot suddenly jerked to the right, a Both indicators were now over the eastern beginning of splash of water shot up, and it was gone. the Pacific Ocean. Gullick leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, his The RSO's voice hissed in Gullick's ear. "Cube Six, this forehead furrowed in pain. is Aurora. Request you lay on some fuel for us on the "Cube Six, this is Aurora. Bogey is down. I say again. return flight. We will be past the point of no return in Bogey is down. Transmitting grid location." fifteen minutes. Over." "This is Cube Six. Roger. We're scrambling some tankers for you. Keep on its tail. Out." Gullick pointed at Quinn, who was also monitoring the radio. "I'll take care of it, sir," Quinn said. The Mexican coastline was now long gone. Gullick knew that the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Central and South America--other than Canal traffic--was a very desolate place. They were still heading almost due south. "We're close," the pilot announced. "It's about two hun- dred miles ahead of us. I'm throttling back to ease up on it." Gullick watched the telemetry. It reminded him of being ground support when he was a test pilot. Reading the same gauges that the pilot overhead did, but not having hands on the controls. As the plane passed through Mach 2.5 the RSO extended the surveillance pod and activated his low- level light television (LLLTV) camera. Gullick immediately had the image relayed through a satellite onto the screen in front of him. The LLLTV was no ordinary television. The camera enhanced both the light and image, giving it the ability to display an image at night, while at the same time carrying a magnification of over one hundred. The RSO began scanning ahead, using the information fed to him from the satellites above to pinpoint the bogey. 125 A R E A 5 1 11 but it was very hard for him to think clearly. "What's the status at the crash site? ' Quinn was ready, the earplug in his right ear giving him a live feed from the man in charge on the ground in Ne- braska. "Fire is out. Recovery team is en route and will be on site in twenty minutes. Those present on the scene from Nightscape are cleaning up the pieces and providing secu- rity. Still no response from locals. I think we'll make it clear." Gullick nodded. If they got the remains of the helicopter THE CUBE, AREA 51 out of there before daylight without being spotted, the T-114 HOURS Nightscape mission would be a success. The bogey was a whole different question. One he hoped he could answer General Gullick poured himself a cup of coffee, then took shortly. his chair at the head of the conference table. He took a "What about the survivors of the helicopter crash? They pair of painkiller pills out of his pocket and swallowed here yet?" General Gullick asked. them, washing them down with a swig of scalding coffee. Quinn checked his computer. 'The pilot is in the clinic Slowly the reports started coming back. in Vegas being worked on. Major Prague was killed in the "Aurora is returning," Major Quinn reported. "ETA in crash. The third man, a Captain Mike Turcotte, was slightly twenty-two minutes. We have the exact location where the bogey went down into the ocean." injured but is here, sir." Gullick looked at the inner circle of Majic-12, who were "Send him in." in the room. Each man knew his area of responsibility, and as the orders were issued, each took the appropriate ac- A quarter mile up a bedraggled and hurting Turcotte had tion. "Admiral Coakley, the bogey is in your area of opera- been waiting for a half hour now. His Gore-Tex jacket was tions now. I want whatever you have floating closest to the partly melted and he was black from soot and dirt. The spot on top of it ASAP! I want you to be ready to go down bandage he had hurriedly put on his arm in Nebraska was and recover that thing. soaked with blood, but he thought the bleeding was "Mr. Davis, I want the information from Aurora stopped. He wasn't ready to peel the bandage off to check downloaded to Major Quinn and I want to know what that until he was someplace where he could get proper medical thing is." care. "Already working on the digital relay," Davis replied. The helicopter had swung by the airstrip outside, drop- "I'll have the hard copy from the pod as soon as it touches ping him off before continuing on with the pilot to Las down." Vegas, where the program maintained its medical clinic Gullick was mentally ticking off all that had happened, close by the hospital facilities at Nellis Air Force Base. 126 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 127 Turcotte had been met by two security men who had hus- knew that the reaction of those in charge when they found tled him inside the hangar. out he had let the two civilians go might be more than a The interior doors were shut, but there was a bouncer in letter of reprimand in his official files. These people were the portion next to the elevator doors. Turcotte studied the playing hardball, and by killing Prague he had entered their craft, recognizing it as the sister of the one that had flown playing field. He just hoped he could get out of here and by earlier in Nebraska. For all he knew it could be the that then Duncan would cover his butt. same one. It didn't take a genius to put together the cattle The elevator doors slid open, and the guard inside ges- mutilations, the false landing signature lasered into the tured for him to come in. Turcotte walked in and the floor cornfield, and these craft to recognize that there was a seemed to fall out from under him as they hurtled down. cover-up operation of major proportion being operated The doors opened again, and Turcotte stepped out into the here. Turcotte just didn't understand how the pieces fit to- control room of the Cube. He looked about but the guards gether. The mission he had just been on in Nebraska hustled him through the room to a corridor in the back. He seemed very high risk and he could see no clear-cut pur- entered a conference room where the lights were turned pose to it. Unless it was to draw attention away from this down low. There were several people sitting in shadows site, but that didn't quite click. near the end of the table. Turcotte walked up to the rank- One thing was for certain, Turcotte knew. He certainly ing general. had something to report on now. It would be someone Turcotte made no attempt to salute; his arm wouldn't else's job to put the pieces together. He was glad to have allow it. "Captain Turcotte reporting, sir." He noted the gotten out with his ass in one piece. He looked down at his nameplate on the man's chest--Gullick. right hand. The fingers were shaking. Killing Prague, al- Gullick saluted smartly. "What happened?" though not the first time he had killed, weighed heavily on That voice--the same one that had been giving the or- him. He turned his hand over and stared at the scar tissue ders to Prague over the radio--Turcotte remembered now there for a little while. With great effort Turcotte brought his mind back to his where he had heard it before: the board of inquiry that had present situation. He wasn't in the clear yet. He was confi- investigated what had happened in Germany. That voice dent that Prague's burned body would raise no questions. had been one of six that had questioned him via He knew that the other helicopter aircrews would return speakerphone in the secure holding area in Berlin. later this morning or maybe even the following morning Turcotte took a deep breath and cleared his mind of every- once they had finished sterilizing the crash site in Ne- thing but the story he now had to tell. There would be time braska. And as soon as they were debriefed, the detection later to deal with the other issues. of the two civilians by the other AH-6 crew would surface. Turcotte proceeded to describe the events of the previ- Then there would be questions asked that he couldn't ade- ous night, leaving out the important facts about inter- quately answer. The clock on his career was already tick- cepting the truck with the two civilians and killing Prague, ing, but looking at the alien craft told Turcotte that there of course. Gullick was most interested in the attack by the were larger issues than his pension involved here. He also small sphere, but there was nothing Turcotte could really 128 ROBERT DOHERTY 129 AREA 51 say about that as he had not been looking out the front "The composition of its skin was resistant to all attempts when it had hit the helicopter. to-- Gullick listened to his account, then pointed back at the "Unknown, then." Gullick slapped his hand on the ta- elevator doors. "They'll take you in to the clinic in the bletop, glaring at the picture as if he could penetrate it with morning. You're dismissed." his eyes. "What the hell do we know about it?" So much for thank you, Turcotte thought as he left the "Uh . . ." Quinn paused and took a deep breath. "Well, room. Gullick had been the most outspoken in his praise of sir, we've got it in our records." Turcotte's actions in Germany, praise that had confused "What?" and sickened Turcotte. But obviously, the events of the pre- In response Quinn split the screen, the photo taken by vious evening were not in the same league. Turcotte had no Aurora of the bogey sliding to the left and an identical doubt that if he had killed the two civilians and presented object appearing on the right in grainy black and white. their bodies like trophies, he would have received a hearty "Talk to me, Quinn," Gullick growled. "Talk to me." slap on the back. "The photo on the right was"--Quinn paused again and The elevator doors closed off the control room to cleared his throat with a nervous cough--"the photo on Turcotte, and he began his return trip to the surface. He the right was taken by a gun camera in a P-47 Thunderbolt should be able to get clear now. on February twenty-third, 1945, over the Rhine River in Germany." General Gullick waited until the elevator doors had closed There was a nervous rustle from the other men in the behind the Army captain. Then he returned his attention inner circle of Majic-12 who were at the table. to Major Quinn. "That was no help. I want all the other "A foo fighter," Gullick said. personnel completely debriefed when they return from the "Yes, sir." "What's a foo fighter?" Kennedy asked. MSS. Have you analyzed the data from Aurora?" Gullick remained silent, digesting the revelation. Quinn "Yes, sir. We've got several good shots of the bogey." looked at the information he had dredged up on his com- "Put one on the screen," General Gullick ordered. puter screen and continued for the others in the room who A small glowing ball appeared on Gullick's computer didn't know their aviation history. "The object on the right screen. was called a 'foo fighter.' There were numerous sightings of "Scale?" Gullick asked. these objects made by aircrews during World War II. Be- Around the edges of the screen rulers appeared. "It's cause they were initially suspected to be Japanese and Ger- three feet in diameter, sir," Quinn said. man secret weapons, all information concerning them was "Propulsion system?" classified. "Unknown." "The foo fighter reports started in late 1944. They were "Flight dynamics?" described as metallic spheres or balls of light, about three "Unknown." feet in diameter. Since the bomber aircrews that reported "Spectral analysis?" them were usually veterans and gun cameras on board es- AREA 51 131 130 ROBERT DOHERTY cort fighters occasionally recorded them also, giving factual fighters. The mission was almost scrapped when the spheres appeared, but the commander on the ground at support to those accounts, the reports were taken seri- ously." the departure airfield at Tinian decided to continue it. Quinn was in his element. Before being assigned to the There was no hostile action by the foo fighters and the situation was repeated several days later during the mission project he had worked in Project Blue Book, the Air Force's classified study group on UFOs--reports of un- to Nagasaki." Kennedy leaned forward. "Von Seeckt was on the air- identified craft other than the ones kept at Area 51. Blue Book has also been a smokescreen for the Area 51 project field there at Tinian back when they launched the Enola Gay and a purveyor of disinformation to mislead serious re- carrying that bomb, wasn't he?" searchers. The foo fighters were in the Blue Book files and "Yes, sir. Von Seeckt was there," Quinn replied. "And we still don't know anything about these foo fight- most aviators had heard of them. "The lid could not be kept on such a widespread occur- ers, do we?" Gullick asked. rence, and reports of foo fighters did leak out to the gen- "No, sir." eral press, and they are even mentioned in some modern "Russian?" Kennedy asked. Quinn stared at him. "Excuse me, sir?" books about UFOs. What didn't leak out, though, is that "They couldn't have been Russian, could they? The sons we lost twelve aircraft to the foo fighters. Every time one of of bitches did beat us with Sputnik. Maybe they made these our fighters or bombers would try to get close to one or fire on them--they were bogies, after all--the foo fighters things." "Uh, no, sir, I don't believe there was any indication they would turn and ram the attacker, leaving our aircraft the were Russian," Quinn replied. "Once the war was over, worse for the encounter. Just like what happened to Night- scape Six. Because of these encounters, classified standing reports about the foo fighters ended for a while." orders were issued by Army Air Corps high command to "For a while?" Kennedy repeated. "In 1986 a bogey was picked up in the atmosphere by leave the foo fighters alone. Apparently that worked, be- space surveillance and tracked," Quinn said. "The object cause there were no further reports of attacks. "After the war, when intelligence went through Japanese did not fit any known aircraft parameters." Quinn pressed a key and a new picture appeared on the and German records, it was discovered that they, too, had screen. It looked as if a child had gone crazy with a bright run into foo fighters and experienced the same results. We green pen. A line zigzagged across the screen and looped know they weren't behind them from what we found. In back on itself several times. "This is the flight path of a fact, the records showed they thought the spheres were our bogey they picked up back in eighty-six flying at altitudes secret weapons. ranging from four to one hundred and eighty thousand "Of particular interest is an incident that is still classified feet." Quinn hit another button. "This is the flight pattern Q, level five." Quinn hesitated, but Gullick gestured for of our bogey tonight superimposed on the one from eighty- him to go on and tell the others. "On August sixth, 1945, six." The two were very similar. "There's something else, when the Enola Gay flew the first atomic mission toward sir." Hiroshima, it was accompanied the entire way by three foo 132 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 133 "And that is?" Gullick asked. As the men filed out, Kennedy stopped by General Gul- "There was another series of unexplained sightings right lick and sat down next to him. "Maybe we should check after this one. The Navy along with the DIA were running with Hemstadt at Dulce about these foo fighters," he said. an operation called Project Aquarius. It was, um, well, "There might be some information about them in the Ma- what they were doing-- chine." "Spit it out, man!" Gullick ordered. Gullick looked up from the tabletop and stared into "They were experimenting using psychics to try to locate Kennedy's eyes. "Do you want to go to Dulce to hook up submarines." to the Machine?" "Oh, Christ," Gullick muttered. "And?" he wearily Kennedy swallowed. "I thought we could just call him asked. and ask. It's possible that the Machine might be control- "The psychics were doing reasonably well. About a sixty- ling-- percent success rate on getting the approximate longitude "You think too much," Gullick cut him off, ending the and latitude of submerged submarines simply by sitting in a conversation. room in the Pentagon and using mental imaging of a pho- tograph of each specific submarine. "There was an unexpected thing that occurred every once in a while, though. One of the psychics would pick up the image of something else at the same coordinates as the submarines. Something hovering above the location of the sub." "And, let me guess," Gullick said. "We don't know what that something was, correct?" "Space surveillance picked up . . ." Quinn hit his key- board and let the flight-path schematic speak for itself: an- other radical flight pattern. "Did anyone ever explain any of these sightings?" Gul- lick asked. "No, sir." "So we have a real UFO on our hands now, don't we?" Gullick said. "Uh, yes, sir." "Well, that's just fucking fine!" Gullick snapped. "That's all I need right now." He glared at Admiral Coakley. "I want that thing recovered and I want to know what the hell it is!" 11 12 VICINITY DULCE, NEW MEXICO LAS VEGAS, NEVADA T - 113 HOURS, 3O MINUTES T - 112 HOURS, 3O MINUTES Johnny Simmons awoke to darkness. At least he thought Las Vegas slowed down slightly at five-thirty in the morn- he was awake. He could see nothing, hear nothing. When ing. The neon still glowed, and there were people on the he tried to move, panic set in. His limbs didn't respond. He streets, most heading to their rooms for a few hours of had a horrible feeling of being awake but asleep, unable to sleep before starting over again on the games of chance. connect the conscious mind with the nervous system to Kelly Reynolds was doing the opposite, starting her day produce action. He felt detached from his body and reality. after catching three hours of sleep in her motel room. The A mind floating in a black void. first thing she had done when the alarm went off was call Then came the pain. Without sight or sound it exploded Johnny's apartment on the slim chance that he might be into his brain, becoming all his mind, all of his world. It was there or have changed the message. coming from every nerve ending in jagged, climbing spikes, She looked up as a red-eye flight roared in toward the far beyond anything he had thought possible. horizon. Walk to the sounds of the planes, she thought to Johnny screamed, and the worst of it all was that he herself, paraphrasing Napoleon. She'd rent a car at the couldn't hear his own voice. airport. Right now she needed the fresh air and the time to think. This is what dad would have done, go for the strongest link. The thought brought a sad smile to her face. Her father and his stories. The best time of his life had been over before he was twenty. What a horrible way to spend the rest of one's life, Kelly thought. World War II. The last good war. Her dad had served in the OSS, the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA. He'd jumped into Italy during the last year of the 136 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 137 war and worked with the partisans. Running the hills with a ing shift of workers. He was glad that he was going to be band of renegades licensed to kill Germans and take what able to get out of here. First thing he would do in Las they needed by force. Then he'd worked in Europe as the Vegas after getting his arm sewn up was call Duncan on the war closed out, helping with the war crimes trials. Much of number he had memorized. He wanted to get everything what he saw there had soured him on mankind. off his chest. Then hopefully he could leave all this behind. Peace had never been the same. He'd turned to the slow He noticed an old man come on board, accompanied by death of the bottle and lived with his memories and his two younger men whose demeanor suggested they were nightmares. Kelly's mom had retreated into her own brain bodyguards for the first man. Despite the fact that they and shut out the outside world. And because of them Kelly were the only other passengers on board, the old man took had grown up fast. She wondered if her dad had still been the front row of seats on the other side of the plane from alive, if his liver had lasted a little longer, how the affair at Turcotte. The bodyguards, apparently satisfied there were Nellis would have turned out. She might have been able to no immediate threats, sat down a few rows back as the go to him for help. At the very least, she would have con- plane's door was shut by the same hard-faced man who had sidered what he would have done instead of blazing her greeted Turcotte with the breathalyzer a little less than own path to destruction. He certainly would not have forty hours ago. That man disappeared into the cockpit. bought into Prague's line so naively. He would have told "They are fools," the old man muttered in German, his her to approach the bait very slowly and to watch out for gnarled hands wrapped around a cane with a silver handle. the hook. Turcotte ignored him, looking out the window at the The only legacy she had from her dad was his stories. base of Groom Mountain. Even this close--less than two But she was his legacy and that was more than she could hundred meters away--it was almost impossible to tell that say for herself at forty-two. No children and not much of a there was a hangar built into the side of the mountain. career to counterweight that. As she walked to the airport, Kelly felt an overwhelming depression. The only thing that Turcotte wondered how much money had been poured into kept her going was Johnny. He needed her. this facility. Several billion dollars at least. Of course, with She stopped in an all-night market and bought two packs the U.S. government having a covert black budget some- of cigarettes and a lighter. where between thirty-four and fifty billion dollars a year, he knew that was just a drop in the bucket. "They will all die, just like they did last time," the old man said in perfect German, shaking his head. AREA 51 Turcotte looked over his shoulder. One of the body- Turcotte strapped himself into the plane seat and tried to guards was asleep. The other was engrossed in a paper- get comfortable. He'd spent the last two hours, since leav- back. ing the underground control room, alone, waiting in a "Who will die?" Turcotte asked in the same language. small room off of the hangar, until they rolled out the stairs The old man started and then looked at Turcotte. "Are to load the 737 to fly into Las Vegas and pick up the morn- you one of Gullick's men?" 138 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 139 Turcotte lifted his right hand, exposing the blood-soaked that we can bridge centuries of normal development by fabric. "/ was." simply flying the mothership. They think we can have the "And now who are you?" stars right away without having to make the technological At first Turcotte thought he had translated poorly, but breakthroughs to do it." Von Seeckt sighed. "Or, perhaps then he realized he had it right, and he understood. It was more importantly, without the societal development." a question he had struggled with all through the dark hours Turcotte had seen enough the past couple of days to of the morning. "/ don't know, but I am done here." accept what Von Seeckt was saying at face value. "What's The old man switched to English. "That is good. This is so bad about just flying the thing? Why are you saying it's a not a place to be. Not with what they plan, but I am not threat to the planet?" sure any distance will be enough." "We don't know how it works!" Von Seeckt said, stamp- "Who are you?" ing the head of his cane down on the carpet. "The engine is The old man inclined his head. "Werner Von Seeckt. incomprehensible. They are not even sure which of the And you?" many machines inside is the engine. "Mike Turcotte." "Or there may be two engines! Two modes of propul- "I have worked here since 1943." sions. One for use inside of a solar system or inside a "This is my second day," Turcotte said. planet's atmosphere and the other once the ship is outside Von Seeckt found that amusing. "It did not take you significant effect of gravity from planets and stars. We sim- long to get in trouble," he said. "You are going to the ply don't know, and what if we turn the wrong one on? hospital with me?" "Does the interstellar drive create its own wormhole and Turcotte nodded. "What were you talking about earlier? the ship is pulled through? Maybe. So, maybe we make a About everyone dying?" wormhole on earth--not good! Or does it ride the gravita- The engine noise increased as the plane taxied toward tional waves? But in riding, does it disturb them? Imagine the end of the runway. "Those fools," Von Seeckt said, what that could do. And what will it do if we lose control? gesturing out the window. "They are playing with forces "And who is to say the engine will still work properly? It they don't understand." is a flaw of inductive logic to say that just because the "The flying saucers?" Turcotte asked. bouncers still work that the mothership will work. In fact, "Yes, the saucers. We call them bouncers," Von Seeckt what if it is broken and turning it on makes it self-de- said. "But even more, there is another ship. You have not struct?" seen the large one, have you?" Von Seeckt leaned over and spoke in a lower voice. "In "No. I've only seen the ones here in this hangar." 1989 we were working on one of the engines from the "There is a bigger one. Much bigger. They are trying to bouncers. We had removed it from the craft and placed it figure out how to fly it. They believe if they can get it to in a cradle. The men working on it were testing tolerances work they can take it into orbit and then back. Then there and operating parameters. will no longer be any need for the space shuttles, but more "They found out about tolerances! They turned it on and importantly they believe that it is an interstellar transport, it ripped out of the cradle holding it. They had not repli- 14 A R E A 5 1 0 ROBERT DOHERTY 141 cated the control system adequately and lost the ability to knowledge I brought with me. His chain-reaction experi- turn it off. It tore through the retaining wall, killing five ment gave them the raw material. I gave them the technol- men. When it finally came to a stop it was buried sixty-five ogy." feet into solid rock. It took over two weeks to drill into the "You did?" Turcotte asked. The plane was gaining alti- rock and remove it. It wasn't damaged at all.