― Cormac McCarthy
I was waiting in my front room for Maine Blair to arrive. I had no idea what 'proof 'he was going to show me to confirm the reality of an alien presence, but honestly, I had never seen anything that would cause me to seriously consider it.
But I recall one summer evening when I saw something on my own that totally astounded me.
I was staring at stars when a black triangular shape crossed my field of vision. It was silent save for the sound of air rushing over it and it flew from west to east and was only visible a few scant seconds.
There were faint luminescent panels on the bottom and the rest of the craft was blacked out with no other lights or distinguishable markings.
It certainly wasn't a flying disc and not at all what I might have expected, but it was real and I didn't for one moment doubt my senses.
Strange thing was, I didn't over-react. I mean lights in the sky hardly something that alters one's life. Nevertheless, it niggled at me over time and I finally caved and searched for information on the Internet and found a woodcut from the middle ages that depicted exactly what I saw.
The woodcut illustrated peasants in a field in Germany stopping work to gaze in wonder at a black triangle passing overhead. Apparently, people had been seeing such things for centuries―but although I accepted thsi, it still didn't make me believe in little green men.
So, I wonder what kind of evidence Maine Blair could show me that would even make a dent in my skepticism?
It was just past noon when the Colonel arrived seeming even more massive and formidable than the impression he made in my memory.
"Good of you to meet with me, Son," he rumbled, his deep voice resonating while my hand was squished in his vice-grip handshake.
"I made coffee, Colonel, take a seat and make yourself comfortable." I pointed to the sofa chair facing the couch where I had been sitting.
Blair nodded. and sat down. "Now, I don't expect you to have anything but a skeptic's mind, Cole and feel free to question anything I tell you."
"Fair enough, Colonel. I tend to be skeptical by nature but I'll reserve judgment and give you a fair hearing."
I sat back and listened while Blair proceeded to calmly explain his experiences.
"Back in 1947 there were two crashes of alien craft and two recovery operations. The debris was stored at Wright Patterson in Dayton and I had opportunity to analyze the recovered materials."
I interrupted, "So, there were no intact craft, just wreckage?"
"I didn't say that. I came onto the project in the late 1970's and at that time I only had access to some fragmentary materials. The interesting thing about these fragments is that they contained alien alloys, metals and compounds we can identify through metallurgical analysis but which don't occur on earth naturally and cannot be the result of meteorite impacts."
"So what made you definitively conclude these materials were alien?"
He smiled, "Because they came from a craft manufactured off earth and they possessed astounding characteristics. They couldn't be bent or burnt, they were incredibly strong and resilient―if you crushed them, they would spring back into their former shape and they could levitate. They had anti-matter properties."
"That's a lot for me to take in just based on your word."
"I know that, so here, test it yourself."
He handed me an alloy that reminded me of thin tin foil but when he passed a weak magnet over it, it levitated and remained suspended in the air.
I duly impressed.
Blair ignored my awe-struck gaze and continued his tale while the piece of material remained floating in the centre of the room.
"The material responds to magnetism and is either drawn or repelled. It's virtually indestructible but it's corruptible when subjected to a massive electrical charge."
"How can I confirm these properties ?"
"Take it and have it analyzed. Keep in mind, this alloy was recovered in 1947 and today we still can't manufacture it."
I was still staring at the material floating in mid air. "This is impressive but what other technologies have you discovered?" I asked him.
"Believe it or not there's a metal bar that's a kind of antenna that generates electricity out of thin air. It can power an entire apartment building. You can see why the energy sector would want to suppress this and it's only one small example. When I say we can have free energy, I'm not exaggerating."
"What about the craft―are they operational?"
"We've been able to back engineer almost all the technology except their external structure. We don't know how they're constructed. They're moulded as one seamless unit with no welds, bolts or rivets. But we can use their antigravitic propulsion systems to power our own craft."
I whistled softly, "that's absolutely astounding!"
He lowered his voice and stared directly at me. "Fact is, Cole, I'm in danger. I need someone I can trust."
"I figured as much," I replied.
"I'm going to leave you a sealed file on the condition you don't open it unless something happens to me. I can't take the chance of being killed and having these secrets die with me."
"But why me, Colonel?"
"Because I trust you, Cole. Oh sure, I have friends in the military, but not one of them would be able to resist surrendering this file in exchange for vast sums of money."
"You're telling me there is no one other than me you trust?" I asked incredulously.
"Unfortunately, it's true, Son―I trusted Paul Hellyer, your former Defence Minister, but now he's dead. I knew he couldn't be bribed or silenced and he thoroughly believed everything I confided in him. He also had access to some of these sources and knew first hand it was true."
I sighed, "Well, Colonel, if Paul Hellyer trusted you, that's enough for me."
The colonel took a sip of coffee and stared off into space as if picturing something in his mind.
"You know, Cole, there are different races of alien beings. Personally, I've found the nordic aliens to be the most reliable―they're humanoid extraterrestrials from the Pleiades who resemble Scandinavians. They're taller on average than us and are very compassionate and supportive."
"You maintain contact with these beings?"
"I do and in some respects they're more trustworthy than most humans."
There wasn't much to say after that. Blair knew he couldn't give me his experience--I'd have to find out for myself. He left the sealed file and warned me again to trust no one. He didn't have to convince me because that's exactly how I felt.
After he was gone, I sat a long time before the fire just staring into the flames. What he divulged both frightened and fascinated me. I thought I was able to handle it but my body told a different story.
I couldn't get warm even though I had two blankets wrapped around me. Eventually though I managed to fall into a deep sleep and didn't awaken until the following morning.
But there had been no enticing dreams of Elise to comfort me. I awoke to a grey cold room and had to relight the fire, make coffee and try to figure out how to proceed from here.
It wasn't going to be easy.