Stanford mused over Frederick’s claim. ‘It’s possible.’
‘How?’
‘You mentioned your colleague Professor Osborne questioning you about flying saucers, and that Churchill may have mentioned it to another member of the Royal Society.’
‘Yes Norman Hinshelwood, but he pales in comparison with this Dr Vincent Rothschild and Androv Alexis I encountered this morning. I don’t understand how these men could know we have a meeting today.’
‘That is rather disturbing.’ Chambers mentioned. ‘Have we vetted committee members thoroughly?’
Stanford nodded. ‘Yes all committee members are trusted at the highest levels.’
‘Then could there be a mole at the Royal Society?’ Chambers suggested.
Frederick thought for a moment. ‘Scientists come and go; many do cross the East German border. People discuss all matters of science at the society. It’s possible that someone might have overheard Norman Hinshelwood and Osborne discussing the flying saucer phenomenon, and carried on that conversation with someone else and so forth.’
‘Chinese whispers.’ Chambers stated.
‘Nevertheless the possibility that foreign agents may have infiltrated the Royal Society is disturbing. Most of our best scientists are members, including nuclear scientists. We have our first atomic tests soon in Western Australia we cannot allow the Soviets to get their hands on any research material. I’ll have MI6 look over the Royal Society. If foreign agents have crawled into any cracks we will deal with it.’ Stanford offered.
‘What about the so called American journalists who interviewed Jones?’ Frederick asked.
‘Probably CIA but I can’t be sure.’ Stanford replied. ‘With all these flying saucer reports, they probably want to know if the Soviets are testing anything over Western Europe.’
Frederick shook his head. ‘We may as well publish details of our meetings in The Times, since every intelligence agency know we exist. Not to mention what will happen if this gets back to the Royal Society. Norman Hinshelwood will want my head on a silver platter if he finds out I’ve been running around looking into little green men. The sooner this investigation is over the better.’
‘Nothing is airtight.’ Stanford remarked. ‘There will always be leaks; the only thing we can do is control the amount of information leaking out.’
So who’s for lunch?’ Chambers said changing the mood.
Chapter 8
Gathering of Angels
Highclare House – Surrey – 4:34pm
Professor Frederick looked at the nine other men sat around the large oak table. The room was filled with a pungent smell of cigar, pipe and cigarette smoke which lingered in the air.
‘I would like to thank you all for attending this meeting today. Although I can understand your apprehension given the memo you have in front of you.’
All of the men looked down at the short memo that Frederick had prepared.
Unidentified Flying Objects
For a number of years reports have been circulating concerning Unidentified Flying Objects or as they are more commonly known by the press, flying saucers. Both the public in the United Kingdom and throughout the British Empire and highly trained military personnel have reported seeing strange objects in our skies.
Unidentified flying objects were reported after the war in the summer of 1946. There were a large number of sightings over several European countries including Sweden, Finland, Norway, East Germany and France. These UFOs came in all shapes and sizes, but the cigar shaped UFO and the disc shaped UFO were the most common description given.
The USA has also had its share of UFO sightings in recent years. In June of 1947 a civilian pilot reported seeing nine UFOs flying at incredible speeds in Washington State over Mount Rainer. As recently as June of this year UFO reports have continued to flood in to various defence agencies all over the globe.
To ascertain as to whether or not these flying saucers or UFOs represent a threat to the security of the United Kingdom a committee of highly trained scientific and military personnel has been established. Its function to investigate these flying saucer observations and reach a logical conclusion as to what they could be. Listed below are possible explanations for such Unidentified flying objects.
Known astronomical or meteorological phenomena.
Mistaken identification of conventional aircraft, balloons, birds, etc.
Optical illusions and psychological delusions.
Deliberate hoaxes.
The following individuals have been picked to chair this committee.
Professor Ralph Frederick, Cambridge University.
Sir Malcolm Chambers, the War office.
Sir Morris Stanford, Head of British Intelligence.
Air Marshall Sir Ian Morgan, Director of Intelligence Air Ministry.
First Sea Lord Admiral Anthony Berkshire, the Royal Navy.
Sir Harold Bates, former scientific advisor to Lord Chamberlin.
Dr Alan Good, Cambridge University.
Professor Richard Wilks, Astronomer Royal, the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
Dr Arthur Lloyd, Oxford University, Physician to His Royal Highness George VI.
Professor Norman Canning, Bletchley Park.
Frederick drew a breath. ‘So gentlemen, opinions please.’
‘It’s absolute nonsense!’ Admiral Berkshire scoffed. ‘All this talk about flying saucers and men from Mars, sounds like something that H.G Wells fellow would write.’
‘Flying saucers are certainly a popular subject with the press.’ Air Marshal Ian Morgan replied. ‘Our RAF boys were reporting objects in the skies over Germany during the war.’
‘Yes foo fighters, but that doesn’t mean they’re from Mars, we still don’t know the full story regarding German research projects.’ Berkshire added.
‘You may be right Anthony.’ Frederick replied. ‘But we still have all these eye witness accounts that cannot be easily explained away.’ He turned to Sir Morris Stanford. ‘The Prime Minister thinks it could be the Russians or American’s testing some kind of new aircraft.’
Stanford thought for a brief moment. ‘It’s possible we have operatives in Moscow monitoring the Soviet nuclear weapons program. We’ve managed to recruit a few people from inside the Kremlin, but the intelligence we’re getting off them is sketchy at best. Talk of research labs in Siberia, as well as massive factories manned by slave labour, POW’s and political enemies of Stalin. We’ve yet to hear anything about experimental aircraft. The Soviets have a ring of steel around any information regarding research and development of any kind. They’re still gloating over MacLean and Burgess at the moment, but we’ll keep digging, something is bound to come up.’
Frederick nodded. ‘What about the Americans?’
‘Our lads in Washington have drawn a blank over rumours that the Yanks have one of these flying saucers. If they do have one, then they’re not sharing. The Americans seem to be preoccupied with hunting down foreign agents on their soil. However we have been able to gather intelligence on a research project being set up at the moment.’ He reached into his inside pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper that he slid across the table towards Frederick. ‘Something known as Project Blue Book, apparently it’s an air force operation, headed by a Professor J Allen Hynek. The Yanks have had two earlier projects, Project Sign and Project Grudge. Blue Book is their third investigation into the flying saucer phenomena. We also have reports that the Americans have a storage and research facility out where they’re testing their atomic bombs. Somewhere in the middle of the Nevada Desert.’
Frederick nodded. ‘Makes sense deter any curious sightseers.’
‘What about the Germans?’ Dr Alan Good asked. ‘I agree with Anthony, they were pretty advanced in their development of aircraft during the war. Could it have been something they built and is now being tested by the Russians or the Americans?’
‘It’s probably the best explanation.’ Sir Malcolm Chambers answered
. ‘Both the Russians and Americans raided top secret German laboratories during the war and dismantled many aircraft in development before shipping them back to their homelands for study. We had some luck in obtaining a few bits and bobs ourselves. The Americans managed to get hold of most of the scientists who developed the V2 rocket. They’re now happily assisting the Yanks in new rocket research and development. But again the Yanks aren’t sharing much. We don’t know how many scientists were rounded up.’
‘So these flying saucer sightings could be rockets.’ Frederick speculated.
Chambers nodded. ‘It’s possible yes.’
‘How far advanced are we with our rocket research?’ Ian Morgan asked.
Professor Norman Canning spoke. ‘We are coming along with research at Boscombe Down, we’ve managed to fire off a couple of test rockets. But I’m afraid we’re still behind what the Americans are achieving. We’re looking at moving our rocket research project to our nuclear research site out in Australia.’
‘What are the practical applications for these new rockets?’ Chambers asked.
‘The sky’s the limit, they could be used to carry a warhead of significant proportions eliminating the need for conventional aircraft to drop bombs. You have to hand it to the Germans they were way ahead of us during the war. The Americans are also developing an aircraft program called the X series, which spawned from the prototype they built which broke the sound barrier in forty seven. Our aeronautical experts believe that the Yanks will have aircraft which will be able to fly to the edge of space by 1960, perhaps even higher. We are gathering more intelligence on this but like I said they’re not sharing anything.’
Frederick nodded taking in what Canning was telling him, he glanced around the room. ‘Well gentlemen it seems that we have our work cut out for us. Has anyone else any theories on what these flying saucers could be?’
Professor Richard Wilks started to speak. ‘I don’t mean to throw a spanner in the works here gentlemen.’ Everyone looked at him. ‘But there’s one possibility we haven’t discussed yet. What if these unidentified flying objects are not man made?’
Frederick fixed his stare on Wilks. ‘Not man made?’
Wilks nodded. ‘Most of you have made up your minds that it’s either the Russians or Yanks testing new aircraft. But none of you are willing to propose the idea that these so called flying saucers could be from elsewhere.’
Admiral Berkshire could barely stop himself from laughing. ‘Surely you’re not suggesting these flying saucers are actually from Mars.’
‘I have read some of these reports that we have been receiving from our pilots. I have to admit some of them do make you think. The Germans did indeed develop advanced aircraft during the war, but some of these witness reports go beyond what the Nazis were capable of.’
‘Why don’t you share your thoughts with us Richard.’ Frederick invited.
‘There are a few astronomers including myself who believe that the planets in our solar system are not a unique phenomenon in our universe.’
‘Explain.’ Morris Stanford said.
‘It’s possible that there are stars like our own sun which may have planets similar to the ones in our solar system. Planets capable of supporting life.’
‘Do you realise what you are saying?’ Berkshire snorted.
‘Yes I do, and I’m more than willing to stick to my theories.’ Wilks shifted in his chair. ‘As technology and science progress in unison we discover more about our universe. With every new telescope built we are able to look further out into space which reveals more of itself. Now I doubt whether it will happen in my lifetime but perhaps by the end of the twentieth century we may have telescopes powerful enough to detect other planets orbiting distant stars. Once upon a time we believed that the Earth was the centre of the universe, and that everything revolved around us. As time went by we discovered new things about the universe around us. We have come a long way in understanding the cosmos. We know that we are not the centre of the universe, but inhabit a tiny spec in our Milky Way galaxy. Thanks to developing technology we also know there are other galaxies out there.’
‘Rubbish, pure fantasy.’ Berkshire continued to taunt.
Wilks glared at him. ‘You’ve made it obviously clear Anthony that you are unwilling to believe in anything that might challenge your faith.’
Berkshire nodded.
Wilks looked around the table at all the others. ‘With the exception of Professor Frederick and me most of you are over sixty. Half a century ago we were just beginning to explore the possibility of powered flight. Fifty years later we have jet propelled aircraft, rockets more than capable of penetrating the boundaries of space. We’ve developed communication arrays that can transmit across the planet. Mankind has invented new technology such as television and terrible weaponry capable of killing tens of thousands in an instant. Now you tell me Anthony, if we would have had the same conversation fifty two years ago would you have been as quick to dismiss such ideas?’
Berkshire took a deep breath and stared across the room.
‘I’m sorry if the thought of men from Mars makes you feel uncomfortable. But we cannot rule out the possibility that these flying saucers might come from somewhere other than Russia or America.’
Frederick leaned forward clasping his hands in front of him. ‘Ok, for arguments sake just suppose that these flying saucers originate from somewhere outside our own solar system. What means of propulsion would they use to get here?’
Wilks shook his head. ‘This is an area of science we cannot even begin to imagine. The distances between galaxies are incalculable. They are so vast that even light takes years from their star to reach us. Perhaps one day we might be able to harness the power of our atomic bombs to create a propulsion system capable of great speeds. But at our current level of advancement we are decades from developing such technology, perhaps well into the next century.’
‘Speaking of advancement.’ Dr Alan Good said. ‘If what you say is true, how far advanced would another civilisation be compared to our own? Fifty years, one hundred years maybe?’
‘Perhaps.’ Wilks answered shakily. ‘Perhaps more.’
‘How much more?’ Good continued.
‘Maybe a hundred to a thousand years.’
‘A hundred to one thousand years!’ Dr Good gasped.
‘This is all speculation of course.’ Wilks explained.
‘You say that these flying saucers could originate from elsewhere in our galaxy.’ Dr Arthur Lloyd stated.
Wilks nodded.
‘The Nearest star is Proxima Centauri about 4.2 light years away. Even if these flying saucers could travel at the speed of light they would take over four years to get here. Even a more intelligent species would see that as a problem.’
‘Yes, I have thought about that.’ Wilks paused.
‘And.’ Lloyd pressed.
‘It’s entirely possible that these flying saucers could exceed the speed of light.’
‘You realise what you’re saying would be classed as bordering on madness. A flying saucer, ship or whatever capable of faster than light travel.’
Wilks composed himself. ‘For the past few years I have been in contact with one Hermann Weyl, a German Mathematician and American theoretical physicist John Archibald. Both have speculated the possibility of being able to fold space itself to create a tunnel or short cut in order to travel vast distances in a very short space of time. Both Nathan Rosen and Albert Einstein have also theorised the possibility of creating what’s known as a wormhole.’
Admiral Berkshire jumped to his feet. ‘This is ludicrous! Why are we entertaining such preposterous blasphemy?’
‘Please Anthony sit down.’ Frederick said calmly. ‘The very reason this group has been set up is to explore all possibilities no matter how far fetched they may seem. Richard has even said what he proposes is all speculation.’
Berkshire sat back down.
‘I just have one more question for
you Professor Wilks.’ Dr Lloyd said. ‘You say that these flying saucers are capable of faster than light travel. You do realise that goes against everything Professor Albert Einstein has contributed to modern day physics despite what you have just claimed.’
‘Yes, however ten years ago our scientists were sceptical that man could travel faster than sound. But five years ago Chuck Yeager proved us wrong. It’s as I stated, things that may seem impossible to us now, may be possible further on down the road.’
‘Ok.’ Frederick said wringing his hands. ‘Suppose at least some of what you say is true. What do these flying saucers want?’
Wilks took a deep breath. ‘The only conclusion I have reached so far is to study us.’
‘Study us?’ Malcolm Chambers questioned. ‘Find out our weaknesses, are we talking about a possible invasion?’
Wilks shook his head. ‘If they are far more advanced than us then they could have invaded whenever they want. My guess is that they are here on some sort of scientific venture, studying us in the same way we study animals and other elements.’
‘So we could be the subject of scientific research.’ Sir Harold Bates asked.
Wilks nodded. ‘It’s possible.’ He looked across at Admiral Berkshire and noted the expression on his face. ‘Look I know what I have said here today is difficult to take in. For all we know it could be the Russians or Americans, but we cannot rule out the theory that it could be something else, something we haven’t yet encountered.’
Frederick nodded glancing around the room. ‘Ok, I think we need to leave it there, there’s a lot to digest.’ He turned to Wilks. ‘I want you to prepare a full report for the Prime Minister.’
‘Huh, I’d love to see the old man’s face when he reads it?’ Berkshire sneered looking over at Wilks.
Codename Angel (The Angel Chronicles Book 1) Page 4
