Disclosing the Secret

by Vincent Amato

  Greer’s jaw dropped. He was stupefied as he listened to Dr. Reilly continue.

  “If we did what you wanted, disclose the ET presence, then in the same breath we will also have to admit that we cannot control whatever they, or whoever they are, from entering our airspace whenever they wanted. Mix in the implications to right wing religious organizations, don’t you think that would be a recipe for widespread public panic? Not everyone handles things the same way; the outcome would be unpredictable.”

  Charles’s question was met with a long moment of heavy silence. The medical doctor’s eyes fell to the glasses and cutlery set out on the table between them. His gaze seemed to focus past the table as he contemplated the question.

  “Fifty years ago I would have agreed with you.” Greer’s voice cracked slightly and he took a moment to regroup. “But we are no longer living in a post-war closed-minded era, and today’s realities are very different to what they were back in the Cold War when the government’s truth embargo policies were forged. The current generation are the first to have unprecedented access to any information instantaneously via the web. It’s now common knowledge that we’ve found ice on the moon, water courses on Mars, and a liquid environment on Jupiter’s moon Europa that may support bacterial life. And how many planets have we now found outside our solar system? Seven hundred? Eight hundred?”

  Steven’s eyes rose with a newly found determination. “I agree that the process of coming to grips with a post-disclosure reality of an extraterrestrial presence will force the world to evolve its moral, spiritual and psychological capacities the likes of which have never been experienced. The vast and profound implications inherent in the fact that we are not alone will be of unparalleled significance in the history of the human species. The world’s religious leaders will need to come to terms with the theological and philosophical implications of a universe in which humans are no longer the only intelligent, sentient children of God. In this respect, concepts of God, creation, life and religious meaning will need to evolve in the direction of accommodating the existence of intelligent life throughout the universe. I’m sure there will be the unfortunate reactions from various fundamental religious groups. But such fundamental reactivity should eventually give way to a more reasoned and mature response as the world’s religions adopt an understanding of intelligent life that is universal under an infinite creator whose glory is not confined to the boundaries of earth.”

  Steven spoke more confidently now. “And yes, governments around the world will immediately be affected in more ways than one. Those covert, previously unacknowledged ‘black’ projects can finally be moved into the public domain and be governed under conventional oversight and control. I can honestly say that we have photographic evidence, government documents, and more than 100 top secret military and intelligence witnesses which, if they could be permitted to be presented to the United Nations, would definitely trigger the disclosure snowball rolling.”

  The medical doctor’s face now grew serious. “The first problem we have is that the US Government doesn’t allow a process that would have any of this come out in an official way. The second problem is that every time we get within an inch of irrefutable proof, something imperial and undeniable, it either mysteriously disappears or the person who possesses it disappears!”

  Reilly looked skeptical. “Are you in a position to show me a sample of your so-called documented evidence?”

  Greer retrieved an envelope from his pants pocket. “These were found in 1977 by a lawyer.”

  Reilly watched him unfold its contents before sliding it across the table. It appeared to be a photocopy containing a collection of hand-drawn symbols.

  When he studied the photocopy more closely, the scientist’s eyes went wide in recognition. “Where the hell did you get this?”

  CHAPTER 26

  1978

  Library of Congress

  Washington, D.C.

  The Library of Congress loomed before the lawyer. The 33-year-old was preparing a seminar on the potential theological religious implications of potential contact with extraterrestrial civilizations. If there was compelling information hidden within the library’s little known archives on the extraterrestrial presence, he was there to find it.

  It was the scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory working on a program known as the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) that originally requested the lawyer personally deliver the seminar. The request was made via Jane Austen, the Director of the Science and Technology Division of the Library of Congress’ Congressional Research Service.

  Just prior to meeting the lawyer, Jane’s Science and Technology Division had been commissioned by the United States Congress, at the personal request of President Carter, to take on a project that involved research on UFOs and extraterrestrial intelligence to evaluate two separate issues. One was the potential existence of extraterrestrial intelligence, the other was the evaluation of collected data on the UFO phenomena. The purpose of the project was to gather all available information in order to make a determination about what information, if any, was going to be made available to Congress. And more importantly, how much should to be released to the public.

  Having been made aware that the lawyer was General Counsel to the United States Jesuit Headquarters at their national office in Washington DC, Jane asked the lawyer whether or not he could obtain access to the section of the Vatican Library in Rome that held the church’s historical information on extraterrestrial intelligence and the UFO phenomenon.

  The lawyer was pleased to assist Jane gather data for her division’s project, as he had a personal interest in NASA’s Space Program and the implications of potential contact with extraterrestrial civilizations.

  Soon after he made contact with the Jesuit who was the head of the Vatican Library, he explained that he had an official request from the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress, on behalf of the Congress of the United States, and the President himself, that he be granted access to the particular portion of the Vatican that held their information on the sensitive subject matter.

  Much to the lawyer’s surprise, the official response from the Vatican Library was a simple “No”, that the Jesuit National Headquarters would be refused access to that area of the Vatican Library. So he regretfully had to report that back to Jane Austen, advising that he would not be able to assist her research.

  It would be some time before Jane Austen would again call on the lawyer for his help.

  Not until after the United States Congress had cut funding for the SETI program, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, did she ask the lawyer, in his capacity as the General Counsel for the Jesuit Headquarters Office of Social Ministry that dealt with public policy, if he would be willing to join a group of former astronauts to lobby congressmen to ask if they would reconsider reinstating the funding for SETI. The lawyer was again more than happy to assist.

  Shortly after the funding was fully reinstated to the SETI project, the Director of the Science and Technology Division of the Library of Congress’ Congressional Research Service once again sought assistance from the lawyer.

  Jane called from the Library of Congress. “The scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in the SETI program, would like you to give them a seminar over at JPL, to talk about the potential theological implications of contact with extraterrestrial civilizations.”

  “I’d be delighted to,” the lawyer confirmed, pausing a moment. “Look, if I am to put something together for them, I’d like to be able to get access to the data that you might have uncovered in the course of your investigation for the Science and Technology Committee in Congress.”

  “What would you like to see?” Jane quizzed.

  The lawyer instantly knew what he wanted. “The classified sections of Project Blue Book.”

  “Ohh… I don’t know whether the Air Force, or the Department of Defense, woul
d agree to release those to the Library of Congress.” She then sounded hopeful. “But I’ll try.”

  *

  The Library of Congress, on Independence Avenue, had not yet been opened to the public when the lawyer arrived early in the morning. Jane had given him instructions on a specific time and day he would be allowed access – Saturday, 7:00 am sharp.

  The lawyer approached the Executive Protective Service guard blocking the building’s front entrance.

  Puzzled, the guard measured the approaching stranger. With short dark curly hair atop of a tall frame, the stranger carried a suitcase with a notepad nestled under his arm. However, the offices were currently closed. Nobody was supposed to be in the building.

  The guard stepped toward the curly-haired stranger. “Are you lost?”

  “I believe I have an appointment.” Juggling his suitcase and notebook under one arm, the lawyer offered his identification.

  After calling in the visitor, the suspicious guard was surprised at his radioed response.

  The guard reluctantly unlocked the front entrance. “Yeah, they’re expecting you. This way.”

  Without another word spoken, the lawyer followed the guard through the hall to the stairs that led to the basement. There the guard gave the lawyer a set of directions to find the room where he was expected.

  When he found the basement room, the lawyer was met by two security guards standing ominously either side of a heavy door. A third sat at a desk to the right of the door being guarded.

  The lawyer never would have imagined that he’d be allowed to see what secrets were being kept hidden beyond the heavy door and could feel the weight of the guards’ military presence bearing down on him. It was the seated guard who addressed the newcomer: “Can I see your ID?”

  Feeling an unsettling mix of nervousness and excitement, the lawyer again offered his identification. Plucking the ID out of the other’s hand, the guard checked it against a series of documents neatly set out on the desk before him.

  Then handing back the ID, the guard’s tone was robotic. “Okay, you are supposed to be here. You may go through.”

  He turned toward the heavy door, but hadn’t made it past his first step before being barked at.

  “I said YOU may pass! Leave your briefcase here.”

  Apologizing, the startled lawyer laid his case on the table, leaving it behind as the other two guards opened the heavy door. He felt a shiver of excitement as he was permitted through.

  The lawyer stood dumbfounded. He felt the door close behind him as he was left alone in the room. It wasn’t until his heart settled that he realized he was still holding his yellow notepad under his arm. In all the tense excitement, he had forgotten he was carrying it. Resting the notepad on a nearby table, he surveyed the room for a good place to begin his search.

  Dominating the room before him was a reel-to-reel film projector seated on a table facing the blank wall ahead. Next to it was an overhead filmstrip viewing machine pointed at the same blank wall. The walls to his sides were lined with tables laden with documents, filing cabinets and stacked khaki green boxes that were not much bigger than shoe boxes.

  The projector is as good as place as any, he thought.

  Choosing a box to open next to the projector, he sorted through the reels. Without any definitively descriptive labels he chose one at random and loaded the film projector.

  He killed the lights and fired up the projector. It groaned to a ticking start, as if reluctant to reveal its reel’s hidden images on the wall. There was no sound. The lawyer watched as scene after scene of out-of-focus vehicles danced in strange patterns off in the distance.

  After having watched a third reel, he had still not encountered any outstanding revelations let alone anything of real interest.

  I’m not getting anywhere with this.

  Sensing that his time was limited, the lawyer moved on to the stacked khaki green boxes, choosing one at random. Inside he found small metal canisters, almost like smaller versions of the film canisters, filled with filmstrips. They didn’t have any classification markings or labels of any kind.

  He picked up the box and moved back to the central table, this time loading the film strip viewer. The viewer also projected an image onto the blank wall; however, it was not mechanized. In order to view progressive film frames, a small crank had to be manually turned.

  Turing the viewer’s crank, the lawyer was astonished to find a collage of photographs and short film stills of increasing clarity. It wasn’t until he had explored the contents of a fourth box that he found himself staring open-mouthed in amazement at the image.

  It was unmistakable.

  A disk-shaped craft had appeared to have ploughed through a field and was projecting out of the ground at an angle. There was snow all around.

  He was holding his breath now, turning the crank in machine gun burst successions. He watched with a combination of shock and wonder as the camera panned around to reveal that another craft had crash landed in a desert, wedging itself into an embankment after having torn a trench through the earth that stretched out across the field to the horizon.

  The next succession of frames showed military personnel inspecting the crash. With measuring tapes, cameras and notepads, it appeared every aspect of the crash scene was being forensically recorded. The clarity of the images was pristine; the lawyer was astounded that he could read the name badges on the jackets being worn by the personnel attending the site. There could be no mistake – they were US Air Force.

  He shuffled the crank; the next frames were close-up images of the craft. As the camera panned across the seamless metallic silver form, something caught his eye. He froze the image, working the lens in an effort to zoom in closer.

  There were small symbols embedded across the external skin of the craft. What he saw reminded him of Egyptian hieroglyphics, but were more refined with angular geometric shapes.

  Now skipping the frames ahead, he was hopeful that there was a closer shot. He felt a rising exhilaration when he saw it. The lawyer stared in a trance. Frozen on the wall was a crystal clear close-up of the alien symbols. Shimmering and exquisite, the angular geometry appeared to be moulded into the otherwise flawless metallic surface. He felt as if the alien language called out to awaken a dormant genetic memory from deep within; that there was some obscure familiarity about the symbols that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

  His thoughts were jarred by the muffled rustling of the guards on the other side of the door. Feeling a rising nervousness, he stared at the door a short moment to be sure he wasn’t going to be disturbed. He grabbed the yellow pad, convincing himself he still had a little more time. He anxiously worked the film strip viewer lens until it had shrunken the close-up image of the symbols to the exact same size of his notepad.

  Stepping to the shrunken close-up, he flipped open the notepad and raised it to the wall. After some minor adjustments, the image was now being projected onto the notebook’s gray cardboard backing. Heart pounding, he meticulously traced the symbols in detail on the notebook’s cardboard backing.

  After what felt like forever, he stood back and studied his work. He was now holding an exact copy of the extraterrestrial symbols traced on the inside face of the cardboard.

  Again hearing muffled echoes from the other side of the door, he turned and shot a glance at the door handle.

  There was no movement.

  I need to get out of here, I don’t want to push it, the lawyer thought.

  With an intensifying urgency, he returned the film strip to its canister, turned off the projection equipment and returned all the boxes. Within minutes he was back at the seated guard’s desk outside the secure room asking for his briefcase back.

  “What’s that that you’ve got there?” The seated guard pointed to the yellow pad under the lawyer’s arm.

  The lawyer did his best to keep his tone calm and controlled. “The notepad I had with me.”

  The guard sneered, reaching out
his hand. “Let me see that.”

  A new wave of anxiety surged through the lawyer as he complied. The guard flipped through the yellow pages, occasionally raising his eyes to the visitor.

  When he handed it back, the lawyer felt he could once again breathe. The guard never looked at the inside cardboard backing.

  Three minutes later the lawyer was exiting through the main entry doors, making his way back outside. Striding briskly, he headed toward Independence Avenue and away from the library.

  CHAPTER 27

  Sitting opposite Dr. Charles Reilly in the cafe in Las Vegas, Dr. Steven Greer had just finishing giving a concise but comprehensive version of how he came to be in possession of the exotic symbols reproduced on the paper that lay between them on the table.

  Reilly studied the familiar symbols as Greer continued: “The name of the attorney who procured the images of those alien symbols is not important. But what is important is that he is one of over 50 expert witnesses ready to step forward to testify before congress on the full extent of their knowledge and experience working with, or having been witness to, non-terrestrial technologies and extraterrestrial vehicles, or ETVs now that we don’t call them UFOs anymore. I guess that’s because they are no longer unidentified.”

  Slowly, Dr. Reilly turned backed to the medical practitioner. “Then what do you need me for?”

  Dr. Greer collected his thoughts before he said, “I understand, and deeply respect, that National Security oath you were required to sign which prevents you from publishing papers in scientific journals on your findings during your classified research. And the Disclosure Project has been wildly successful in spreading awareness of the extraterrestial presence. When I started on this journey only 30 percent of American citizens believed that there could be civilizations elsewhere in the universe. Today that percentage is up to 80. But I’m sitting here before you to ask… Is there some way you can support the Disclosure Project’s next endeavor?”