Majestic

by Whitley Strieber

  Eyes were distinguished by extensive surgical intervention. They were almond-shaped and by far the most prominent facial feature . The eyeballs were not matured and appeared to have been sutured with artificial lenses of an unknown type. Because of their extremely unusual condition, dissection of these eyes was not attempted.

  2. Dissection

  An incision was made from the thorax to the scrotum. The skin was first extended from the fascia and the fascia was observed to be consistent with the appearance of an immature human male. The fascia were then dissected and the internal organs were observed. The position of the heart was observed to be vertical, as would be consistent with a very early fetus, prior to the fourth month. The organ was prominent and was weighed to be 1/70 th of the mass of the body. When the organ was dissected it was found that there was direct communication between the two auricles through the foramen ovale. The Eustachian valve was observed to be large. A ductus arteriosus was observed to communicate between the pulmonary artery and the descending aorta. This ductus opened into the descending aorta just below the origin of the left subclavian artery.

  Alterations in the structure of the circulatory system suggested that this body had been surgically corrected to detach it from placental dependence in an artificial manner. The stomach was opened and found to be free of any food substances. The cardiac orifice was apparently atrophied, although the deterioration of the corpus made this difficult to determine. It is possible that this individual did not eat.

  The liver was prominent and it was clear that the blood of the umbilical vein would traverse it before entering the inferior cava. The umbilical vein itself had been severed of its placental crown and returned to the circulatory system by a means that was beyond the scope of this dissection to establish. The lungs were not developed. There were lateral pouches on either side of the central diverticulum, open through into the pharynx.

  The larynx was somewhat cartilaginous and the trachea was developed.

  It is probable that this individual did not breathe any more than he ate .

  The means of sustaining life is unknown, if he was ever alive in any practical sense .

  The cranium was dissected and it was found that the skull was formed of exceptionally thin and pliant cartilaginous material, appearing to be bone precursor that had been affected in some manner, making it more than usually thin and delicate. The brain itself was extensively and surprisingly formed.

  There was an unknown cortex superimposed on the forebrain and extending as far back as the fissure of Rolando.

  Because of this extraordinary formation it was decided not to pursue dissection of the brain at this time. The organ was extracted and placed in fluid preservation pending further study.

  Overall, this corpus presented the appearance of a human embryo of three or four months duration that had been the subject of considerable alteration and modification, some of it obviously surgical. Other modifications , such as that of the brain, were harder to understand. In addition to the alterations, there was the matter of the size of the body and the relatively mature condition of the epidermis and nails. It would appear that this fetus was separated from its mother and brought to a semifunctional state by artificial means.

  3. Conclusion

  This is a human male fetus that has been subjected to forced maturation without normal gestation. Its degree of functionality while living—if it ever was alive—is unknown.

  TOP SECRET—MAJIC

  SUBJECT: AUTOPSY REPORT # 2

  DATE: 7/14/47

  COPY ONE OF THREE

  INITIAL FINDINGS UPON EXAMINATION

  AND AUTOPSY OF THE BODY OF AN

  APPARENT ALIEN CREATURE

  1. External Appearance

  This body was observed to be in a state of profound deterioration. It had not been preserved but was delivered in a container of rubberized canvas, to which some of the tissue had adhered. The cadaver was 36 inches long with a weight of 8 pounds. The external appearance of this cadaver was not of a human type.

  The skin appeared smooth and a dark bluish-gray in color. There was no clothing on the body. There were no genitals and no way of determining sex, if any. The nose consisted of two slits, the mouth was a small opening that did not appear to be supported by an articulated jaw, and there were holes in the position of ears. The cranium was round and large in proportion to the body and the eyes were almond-shaped. The eyes were closed and could not be opened without damaging structures, due to condition of decaying tissue.

  Arms and wrists were very thin. The hands displayed a three-digit arrangement without thumb. The arms extended to approximately three inches above the knee. The three fingers extended directly from the wrist, with no palm.

  2 . Dissection

  The body was opened from crotch to chin. A green liquid emerged from the incision. The skin was not backed by fascia, and the bone structure appeared to be a cartilaginous substance of light green-blue color. Internal organs were observed but their function

  was unclear. The thoracic and peritoneal cavities communicated and there appeared to be no respiratory system and no stomach. The esophagus was vestigial and dissipated before reaching another organ. There appeared to be two multichambered hearts and it was surmised that body fluid could be pumped rapidly. There was an extensive circulatory system that involved three different types of vein. Some material was extracted from one of these systems and suggested possible waste, leading to the notion that waste may have been exuded through the skin.

  The fluid removed from the body was analyzed under the microscope and found to be a vegetable substance, chlorophyll-based. It is possible that photosynthesis was the means of obtaining energy.

  The cranium was dissected and it was observed that a ridge of cartilage separated the brain into two completely isolated components . The brain was severely deteriorated, but appeared to be extensively fissured and divided into numerous lobes. Because of the deterioration the degree of bilateralism of the two halves could not be determined with any accuracy. This cadaver exuded an unusually foul odor.

  3. Conclusion

  This is not a cadaver of a kind previously observed by or known to this pathologist. It appears to be a form of creature utilizing elements of both the animal and the vegetable.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  An hour after Hillenkoetter got the autopsy reports Will received an urgent telex: return to Washington soonest. He flew by light plane to Denver and connected with the United Main-liner, scheduled to land at Washington National Airport at eleven P.M.

  He'd had only fitful sleep for three consecutive nights, and had been operating under numerous incredible pressures, ranging from the efforts of the Air Force to take over the project to the repeated personal assaults from the visitors.

  The least thing could unsettle him, and he found himself wanting to weep over the simplest problem, like whether or not it would be impolite to remove his shoes on the plane.

  He kept trying to tell himself that the episodes he'd had might have been dreams, and yet he knew that they weren't. They were physical experiences—horrible and impossible, but entirely real.

  Every time he dozed off the image of the little man with the bobbing head would reappear and he would wake up pouring sweat. It would take him fifteen minutes just to control the nausea, and sometimes he could not.

  He was running entirely on coffee and cigarettes. He sat smoking and staring out the window, trying to think of someone in whom he could confide.

  A psychiatrist was obviously out. He had all the symptoms of what was then called dementia praecox and would be so diagnosed. When they landed at Washington National it was past eleven, closer to twelve.

  A fog was rising from the Potomac. But for the lights and bustle associated with Will's flight the airport was empty. He was met by a young CIG man with a sign, "W. Stone."

  This cheerful kid took his bag and conducted him to a black Chrysler. He assumed that he was on his way home to a bath, clean
pajamas and blessed sleep.

  They were turning onto Pennsylvania Avenue when he realized that their destination was the White House.

  For a moment he was furious, but on reflection he realized that this was inevitable.

  The fact that he was being driven this hard is a testament to the level of concern felt by the President.

  Nobody had ever even questioned the basic assumption that this was an invasion by aliens with military ambitions.

  Will was led into the Cabinet Room by a White House guard in full uniform and looking at midnight like he'd just been boiled clean and pressed to a razor crease.

  The room was jammed with people, hazy with smoke and blazing with lights. Huge color pictures of the disk and the aliens were on every wall. The President was sitting at the far end of the table with a pot of coffee in front of him. Hilly and Forrestal were beside him. Van sat along one side of the table with the other Joint Chiefs. Eisenhower was there, looking extremely grim. There were a number of civilians present whom Will did not know.

  When he appeared all conversation ceased, every head turned to face him. The silence was absolute.

  He barely managed to keep on his feet, such was his fatigue.

  "Mr. Stone," the President said, "I'm glad your plane was nearly on time."

  Was he expected to make a presentation?

  "May I see the agenda," he asked.

  "There is no agenda, young man," one of the strangers said in a thick Middle European accent. "There is only you." Will fantasized stepping through a window and racing across the lawn, escaping into the night streets.

  Vandenberg tossed a photo of the most startling of the visitors down the table. "We are given to understand that this is a deformed human child," Van said quietly. "Could you explain that a little further?"

  "Well, that's what the pathologist found." "But look at it," Eisenhower said. "Does it look human to you?"

  "I don't think I'm ready to say. All I can do is point to the fact that it has perfectly ordinary fingers and hands, and that the pathologist is a good one. His finding was that it was a surgically altered baby that had stopped maturing at about five months gestation. The fingers were even manicured."

  "Young man," said one of the older gentlemen there, "I am Dr. Kenneth Rhodes of the Ringer Clinic."

  Hilly spoke up. "Dr. Rhodes is one of the leading embryologists in the country."

  "To take an embryo of that maturity and somehow cause it to grow larger without maturing further—that's a complete impossibility. As the cells grow they also mature. This is—well, this is in the nature of things."

  "I don't think that creature is in the nature of anything, Doctor. We saw all sorts of signs of surgical intervention. God only knows what else was done—drugs, electricity. Could be anything. If that creature lived it was human. We found it in the company of two obvious aliens. According to Dr. Edwards none of these creatures could have lived long, if they ever lived at all. But nevertheless, they are what we found."

  The President suddenly slapped his hand down on the cabinet table. "I want to know what the hell's going on here and what I'm supposed to do about it. If that thing is human, where did it come from? Whose baby was it?"

  "Mr. President—"

  "Not you, young man. I've got five of the leading scientists in the world here. Gentlemen, tell us where that baby came from."

  "And what about the 'hivelike' living quarters," Forrestal asked. "Does that mean communist?"

  Despite the President's admonition, Will spoke up. "I don't know what it means. Who said the living quarters were a hive?"

  "We got a telex from Darby while you were en route," Hilly said. "They've begun making a blueprint of the interior of the disk."

  "Hivelike," Will repeated.

  "Are they communists?"

  "I don't have any idea, General Eisenhower!"

  Forrestal's eyes were almost popping out of his head. "Aliens in advance of us and they're communists. We must hide this at all costs."

  "I can see Pravda now," the President said. "We have seen the future and it is communist."

  A deep silence followed. Finally Van filled it. "We need to decide on a response. I think that we must prove to these people that we are sovereign in our own territory, land, sea and air."

  "I agree," Truman said.

  Eisenhower gave Will a challenging look. "How? Do you have any thoughts?"

  "We have to face the fact that they're far ahead of us."

  "How far?"

  "Terribly far."

  "Examples?"

  "The condition of the fetus is an example. To us it is a human fetus—or was one. But somehow it was almost certainly functioning. The thing lived, breathed, thought. We do not know how that could be."

  "I'll tell you what I think," the President said. "I think this damn infant was stolen from some family and monkeyed with by those—what are they, anyway? What was that stuff about vegetable material in the autopsy report?"

  "The truly alien ones were more vegetable than animal. That was the key finding."

  "Little green men," Eisenhower said. "Literally."

  "More bluish-gray, actually."

  "I think this is a kidnapped child," said the President. "That's my concern. And that's the reason for the order I have issued to the Army Air Force. Van?"

  "The Air Force has orders to seek, engage and destroy the enemy. We will fire on these disks, gentlemen, and we will bring them down."

  "Citizens are having their babies kidnapped," the President added.

  Absolute silence filled the room. The President alone remained animated, looking from face to face with a strange half smile on his face. He must have looked like that at the moment he told his cabinet he was going to drop the bomb.

  The decision was absolutely characteristic of Western civilization, the American government and Harry Truman himself. It was in its essence highly conservative. But ours is at core a very conservative civilization.

  This is why it has survived so long, and why it has absorbed so many changes without altering its essential form.

  Will also held his tongue. Unquestionably, it was a moment when he should have spoken out. I want to blame him for not doing so, but I cannot. He was at his very lowest ebb, he had just endured too much. Above all, I blame the visitors for his silence. Had they not put him under almost impossible pressure he might have had the psychic energy to intervene.

  But that was probably their purpose: to test him, Truman, all of them, to the absolute limit and see then what they brought forth of themselves, peace or war.

  Eisenhower was the first to speak. "I'd think a lot of questions would be answerable before you did that," he said. "A thing like that could have unpredictable importance."

  In later years Eisenhower would become almost completely impossible to understand, but his locutions in the late forties required no more than a moment's extra thought.

  "Unpredictable consequences," Truman snapped. "Do we have any ideas on that?"

  "It's too early for us to make a cultural evaluation," Dr. Rhodes said.

  "I want ideas!"

  Van responded. "Mr. President, we have a five-hundred-mile-an-hour airplane on the drawing boards."

  Hearing this, the President seemed to become suddenly exhausted. "Look, this thing first appeared over Roswell. In other words, over Roswell Army Air Field where our atomic bombers are located."

  Van offered more disturbing information. "From May twenty-seventh to June thirteenth the 509th demonstrated its capability to deliver nuclear warheads to targets at intercontinental distance during maneuvers out of Wendover Field. This weapons system works, and that is the first time we demonstrated it.

  Two weeks later the aliens started nosing around and getting in our hair."

  The President continued. "Then we had soldiers go missing. And that estimate you wrote, Mr. Stone, and the missing persons reports for '44 to '46 suggest that people in the civilian population may be affected. And now this�
�this—I don't know what to call it—"

  "An artificially deformed baby," one of the scientists offered.

  "—living in a communistic hive," Forrestal said.

  "Look, I've got a feeling we're going to have a war with these people and I don't know a goddamn thing! Not a goddamn thing!" Truman was actually ranting. Will saw his weakness and he was horrified.

  "There are certain things that we do know." The scientist with the Middle European accent looked around the table. "First, they do not wish to annihilate us or they would already have done so—"

  "Unless they're bringing up the big guns right now!"

  "Well—"

  "Well, nothing, Dr. Rosensweig! I'm telling you there could be an invasion coming. And as far as this communist business is concerned, maybe that's why we were singled out and they weren't—they don't need to be invaded because they're already communist."

  Dr. Rosensweig spoke gently, trying to calm Truman down. "What 'they,' sir?"

  "The Russians, man! They aren't getting treated to this or they'd be screaming in my face right this damn minute, you can bet your britches! Maybe they're being ignored because they're already communists."

  "We know so little."

  "Hell, they live in a hive! A hive! My blood runs cold."

  "Yes, Mr. President, but the fact remains that they have not yet harmed us. Another thing we know is that their craft are vulnerable to thunderstorms. Meaning high-intensity electrical discharges applied in a random manner. Lightning."

  "So what? How does that help me regain control of my airspace?"

  "There is the beginning of a weapon in that idea, if we must have a weapon."

  The President slammed his open hand on the table. "I need weapons now! Give me aircraft cannons with atomic bullets! Give me something that will damn well work right this minute!"

  Eisenhower spoke again. "Within the joint mission capabilities, Mr. President, there are capacities that we have that we can apply in this case workably."

  "And get this man a translator!"

  "He means that we have joint mission capabilities that can be useful now," one of the other brass hats said quickly. Eisenhower flushed purple, obviously furious at Truman's jibe.