copter. "I'm Dr. Duncan." She held out an ID card. "Presi- elevator. Quinn relaxed slightly as the doors shut behind
dential adviser to Majic-12." the general and he relayed the orders.
The senior Nightscape man paused, confused at this sud-
den apparition and wrinkle in the chain of command. The The bouncer suddenly darted away to the west, leaving the
three groups were all gathered in a thirty-foot circle just in tableau outside the hangar frozen in a standoff between
front of the doors to Hangar One. the weapons of the Nightscape men and the tentative
"I want General Gullick and I want him here now!" shield of Duncan's position.
Duncan demanded. A large figure walked out of the hangar, casting a long
"We have to secure these prisoners first," the guard said. shadow from the backdrop of red light. General Gullick
"I'm Kelly Reynolds," Kelly said, stepping forward, mak- walked up and looked about. "Very nice. Very nice." He
ing sure her hands were away from her sides. "You know stared at Duncan. "I'm sure you have an explanation for
Dr. Von Seeckt, and the other man is Professor Nabinger this circus you've orchestrated?"
of the Brooklyn Museum. We called you earlier." I'm sure you have an answer for attempting to shoot
Duncan nodded. "I know you called me earlier. That's down my helicopter," she returned.
346 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 347
"I am authorized by law to use deadly force to safeguard Turcotte saw Gullick raise the muzzle of the submachine
this facility," Gullick said. "You are the one who violated gun in his direction. "Do it and I fire the charges!"
law by coming into restricted airspace and failing to re- Turcotte called out, holding up the remote detonator for
spond when challenged." Hangar Two.
"What about Dulce, General?" Duncan retorted. "What Gullick froze. "What did you do?"
about General Hemstadt--formerly of the Werhmacht? "I did a little resequencing. I don't think it will quite
What about Paperclip? Where is Captain Turcotte?" work the way you'd like," Turcotte said, keeping an eye on
Kelly saw the change come over Gullick and she reached his people as they moved in his direction and climbed the
out to stop Duncan's harangue. slope of the disk.
"You can't do that!" Gullick cried out.
As he finished typing, Turcotte saw a bright light coming "I won't if you let us get out of here," Turcotte promised.
out of the east through the camouflage netting. The same "Back off," General Gullick ordered, waving to his secu-
bright light he had seen his first night out here. The rity men.
bouncer came to a halt forty feet away and landed. A man Turcotte stepped aside, allowing the others to climb in
came out of the hatch on top, weapon in hand. the hatch. When all were on board, he slipped down inside,
shutting the hatch behind him. "Take off!" he yelled at the
Duncan and Gullick both stopped their arguing and turned pilot.
as a new voice called out. "You both don't understand!"
Nabinger yelled. He looked about wildly, holding up the On the ground Gullick whirled. "I want Aurora ready for
rongorongo tablet. "None of you do." He pointed at the flight now!" He didn't trust this alien technology anymore.
hangar. "You don't understand what you have in there and "Yes, sir!"
where it came from. You don't understand any of it."
Gullick snatched a submachine gun from one of the "Where do you want to go?" Captain Scheuler asked from
Nightscape guards. "No, I don't understand, but you never the depression in the center of the disk. He'd put up no
will either." He pointed the muzzle at Duncan. argument at the engineer site when Turcotte had dropped
"You've gone too far," Duncan said. through the hatch, weapon in hand, and ordered him to fly
"You signed your own death warrant, lady. You said too back to Hangar One. The others were sitting gingerly on
much and you know too much." His finger had already the floor of the bouncer, gathered around the center. Von
closed over the trigger when he was blinded by the searing Seeckt had his eyes closed, trying to keep from being dis-
oriented by the view out.
glow of a bright searchlight. Without a noise Bouncer Four
settled down behind Duncan's group. Turcotte still held a submachine gun pointed in the gen-
"Get over here!" Turcotte yelled from the hatch on top eral direction of the pilot. "Turn right," he ordered the
pilot.
of the saucer.
"Let's go," Kelly said, grabbing Duncan by the shoulders "What are you doing?" Kelly asked.
and pushing her toward the bouncer. The others followe Turcotte was looking out the clear skin of the bouncer as
348 ROBERT DOHERTY
they went around the mountain that hid the hangar com- 32
plexes. He flipped open the cover on the firing button on
the remote, then pressed the trigger.
"You told Gullick you wouldn't do that!" Lisa Duncan
said.
"I lied."
Hangar Two was deserted, which was fortunate. The outer
wall caved in, not in the orderly manner that had been
planned, but in a cascade of rock and rubble crashing down
onto the mothership, burying it under tons of debris. AIRSPACE, NEVADA
In the Cube, Major Quinn felt the rumble of the explosions "What now?" Kelly asked. The others were gathered
and watched the first rocks begin falling in Hangar Two on around, now standing on the floor of the bouncer, trying to
the remote video screens before the cameras were con- get used to the eerie view straight through the skin of the
sumed by the man-made earthquake. "Oh, fuck," he mut- craft. It was a bit tight with everyone inside. They were
tered. currently heading south out of Area 51 at two hundred
miles an hour and slowly gaining altitude.
Gullick knew what had happened even as the last of the "I don't know." Turcotte turned to the others. "I got you
aftershocks of the explosions settled away. He staggered, out of there and the Mothership won't be flying for several
then sank to his knees. He pressed his hands to the side of weeks at least. So I did my part. Where to?"
his head as pain reverbrated back and forth from one side "Nellis," Duncan said. "I can--"
to the other, searing through his brain. A moan escaped his
lips. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry." "Las Vegas has got a good media hook-in," Kelly said,
"Sir, Aurora is ready for flight," a young officer said with excited. "We fly this damn thing right downtown! Land in
much trepidation. the fountain at Caesars Palace. That'll wake them up."
Maybe it could be salvaged, Gullick thought, seizing "This isn't a media circus," Duncan said. "I'm in--"
upon that single idea. He slowly got to his feet. The manta "No!" Nabinger held out the wooden tablet that he'd
ray of the high-speed plane was silhouetted against the been hauling with him throughout the entire adventure at
runway lights. Yes, there was still a way to salvage things Area 51. "You're all wrong. We have to go to the place
where the answers are."
"And that is?" Turcotte asked.
Nabinger pointed with his free hand at the tablet in the
other. "Easter Island."
"Easter Island?" Duncan asked.
350 ROBERT DOHERTY
AREA 51 351
"Easter Island," Nabinger repeated. "From what I've de- could track it. Eventually it would land. He ordered tank-
coded on this, the answers are there." ers along their projected flight path for inflight refueling.
"No way," Kelly said. "We have to go public."
"Agreed," Duncan said. "As soon as we land, I can con- Kelly knelt down next to the pilot. "Do you have a map of
tact the President and we can stop this insanity." She the world?"
tapped Scheuler on the shoulder. "Land us at Las Vegas." Scheuler nodded. He swung in the laptop control and
The pilot laughed with a manic edge as his hands worked brought up a world overlay on the screen.
at the controls. "Lady, you can shoot me if you want, but I "Show me where Easter Island is," Kelly said.
don't think we're going to land in Las Vegas." Scheuler tapped a few keys. "Easter Island is in the Pa-
Turcotte still had his submachine gun ready for use. cific. Off the coast of Chile. I'd say about five thousand
"Why not?" miles from where we are right now."
The pilot held up his hands. "Because I'm no longer "And on what azimuth from us?" Kelly asked.
flying this thing." Scheuler checked, then looked up. "Eighty-four de-
"Who is?" Turcotte asked. grees."
"It's flying itself," Scheuler said. "It appears we're going to Easter Island whether we
"Where are we going, then?" Turcotte demanded. want to or not," Kelly announced. "How long until we get
"Just east of south right now on a heading of eighty-four there?"
Scheuler did some calculations. "We're not maxed out
degrees," the pilot said. "More than that I can't tell you but we're going fast enough. I estimate we'll be there in
until we get there." about an hour and a half."
"Does the radio work?" Duncan asked. "I can call and "Well, now that we have time," Kelly said, "and we know
get us help." where we're going, let's find out as much as we can. Talk to
Scheuler tried it. "No, ma'am." me, Professor. What does the tablet say is on Easter Is-
land?"
"Give me a direction, Quinn," Gullick growled into the Nabinger was sitting cross-legged on the floor, the rongo-
radio as Aurora powered up. rongo tablet in his lap. "I've only managed to decipher part
Quinn's voice came back through the headset. "South, of this, but what I have . . ." He looked at a small notepad
sir." in his lap.
"You heard him," Gullick said to the pilot as he settled "Wait one," Turcotte said. "Let's not go through this
into the RSO's seat. "Due south." guessing game again. Just tell us what you think it says
The plane hurtled forward and lifted. Out of the small rather than the literal translation."
window Gullick could just make out the silhouette of the Nabinger obviously wasn't happy about that unscientific
mountain that hid the mothership. He felt the pain inten- approach, but he nodded. "All right. First, the tablet makes
sify in his head. "Stay busy," he whispered to himself. He reference to powerful beings from the sky. People with hair
knew they couldn't catch the bouncer, but at least they of fire--red hair, I assume. They--the red-haired people--
352 ROBERT DOHERTY 353
AREA 51
came and lived for a while at the place of eyes-looking-at- "They may have," Von Seeckt said, "but I believe I
heaven. That's how they describe it. From there they ruled would have heard if they had discovered anything."
after the month of the dark sky. "What do you know about Easter Island?" Kelly asked.
"Long after the month of the dark sky, the people with "It is the most isolated island on the face of the planet,"
hair of fire went up in the great ship of the sky and left, Nabinger said, remembering what was in Slater's notes. "It
never to return. But their . . ." Nabinger paused. "I am is the place that is farthest from any other landfall. It
not quite sure what the next word is. It could mean 'par- wasn't discovered by Europeans until 1722, on Easter Sun-
ent,' but it doesn't seem to fit in context. Perhaps 'guard- day that's how it got its name. The islanders themselves
ian' or 'protector'--remained and ruled. call their island Rapa Nui."
"Even after the people with fire hair were gone, "That remote location also helps explain why these
though," Nabinger continued, "the little suns carried the aliens might have wanted to use it as a base camp," Von
word of the, hmm, let's use the word guardian." Seeckt added. "Remember the part of the tablet from
" 'Little suns'?" Von Seeckt asked. Hangar Two about not interfering with the local inhabit-
Turcotte remembered the foo fighter up in Nebraska and ants?"
reminded the others. "So these things most definitely are "What is the island like?" Turcotte asked, more focused
connected to the bouncers and the mothership?" on the immediate future as always.
"I'm certain of it," Nabinger said. "There is more here, For that Nabinger did have to consult the notes he'd
but it has to do with the worship of the guardian. I have carried in his backpack through all their adventures. "The
only the one tablet. If I had the others I might know island is shaped like a triangle with a volcano at each cor-
more." ner. Land mass is about sixty-two square miles. It doesn't
"How many are there?" Kelly asked. really have any beaches, one reason early visitors had a
"There used to be thousands on the island," Nabinger hard time getting ashore. It is very rocky. Almost no trees
answered, "but most were eventually used up as firewood were left on the island when it was discovered. There are
or destroyed by missionaries who thought they were part of some now that have been planted.
old pagan rites. There are just twenty-one in existence "And, of course," Nabinger said, "there are the statues,
now--or at least there were only twenty-one suspected to carved out of solid rock in a quarry on the slopes of one of
be in existence. I don't believe that counted this one, since the volcanoes. The largest is over thirty-two feet tall and
it was hidden in Dulce." weighs over ninety tons. There are over a thousand of them
"How did it get to Dulce?" Kelly asked. scattered all about the island."
"Majic-12 has studied the high runes for years," Von "I've seen pictures of those things," Kelly said. "How did
Seeckt said. "They never had as much luck as our good those ancient people move such large and heavy objects?"
professor here has in translating them, but they have con- "Good question," Nabinger said. "There are several the-
tinued to collect whatever they can." ories, none of which quite work."
"So maybe people for MJ-12 already have checked out "Ah," Von Seeckt said, "but perhaps our red-haired
Easter Island?" Kelly ventured. ancients might have had something to do with that. Or
354 ROBERT DOHERTY
maybe left something lying around that the natives used to
move the statues. Perhaps an antigravity sled or mag- 33
netic--
"Is there any evidence of this guardian?" Turcotte cut in.
"Anything like the bouncers or the mothership or even
what was found in the pyramid?"
Nabinger shook his head. "No, but not as much is known
about the island as people would like to think. We don't
know why the statues were built, never mind how they got
to their locations around the coast. There is much that is
hidden about the history of the island. Archaeologists are AIRSPACE, PACIFIC OCEAN
still making new finds as they explore. The island is vol-
canic and honeycombed with caves." "It's going to get worse before it gets better," Turcotte said.
That caught Turcotte's interest. "So maybe there is "What now?" Kelly asked.
something there?" "Our satellite link shows we've got company up ahead
"Perhaps this guardian still exists," Kelly suggested. too. Looks like a bunch of interceptors waiting for us to hit
"I hope something's down there," Turcotte noted, look- their kill zone."
ing over Scheuler's shoulder at the tactical display. "Be- "So what's the get-better part?" Kelly asked.
cause we've got someone hot on our tail. I don't believe "Well, it always gets better after it gets worse," Turcotte
General Gullick has given up yet." said. "Either that or you're dead."
"Great philosophy," she muttered.
A covey of F-16's from the Abraham Lincoln waited over
the Pacific, circling on the flight path the target was pro-
jected to follow. That is, until small glowing orbs suddenly
appeared and all craft lost engine power.
General Gullick closed his eyes, hearing the panicked re-
ports from the pilots as their engines flamed out. He took
the headset off and looked at the pilot. "Where are we
headed?"
"I've projected out the flight path of Bouncer Four," the
pilot reported. He nodded his head at the screen. A line
went straight from their present location over a thousand
miles west of Colombia, due south.
356 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 357
"Antarctica?" Gullick asked. "There's nothing out pie put a tremendous, almost unbelievable, amount of re-
here." sources into the creation and moving of those statues. It
"Uh, actually, sir, I checked. There is an island along this had to severely strain the economy of the island, and the
route. Easter Island." theory is that eventually the common people revolted."
"Easter Island?" General Gullick repeated. "What the "So Raraku is the place to look?" Turcotte cut in.
fuck is on Easter Island?" He didn't wait for an answer. He "Maybe." Nabinger shrugged. "But on the rim of the
immediately got on the radio with the admiral in charge of other significant volcano, Rano Kao, over a thousand feet
the Abraham Lincoln task force. That resulted in a five- high, is where the ancient people built the village of
minute argument, as the admiral's priorities were some- Orongo--their sacred village. The lake inside the crater is
what different from Gullick's. He wanted to recover the almost a mile in diameter. Offshore of Kao lies a small
downed aircrews. A compromise was reached and the ma- island called Moto Nui, where birds--terns--nest. In an-
jority of the task force turned to the south and steamed at cient times the cult of the Birdman occurred every year in
flank speed for Easter Island, while several destroyers September, when young men would go from the volcano
stayed behind to pick up the crews. rim, climb down the cliffs to the sea, swim to Moto Nui,
recover a tern egg, and the first man back was birdman for
Turcotte watched the dots of the waiting aircraft disappear the year."
off the screen. He felt the anxiety level in his gut kick up a Turcotte rubbed his forehead. "Okay, okay. They have
notch higher despite this apparently positive development. birdmen. They have volcanoes. They got big statues. They
"Talk to me, Professor. Tell me more about Easter Island." got strange writings on wood tablets. But what the hell are
"There are two major volcanoes on the island," Nab- we looking for? Has anything strange been found there
inger said. "Rano Raraku in the southeast and Rano Kao. that might suggest this guardian?"
Both have lakes inside the crater. On the slopes of Raraku "No."
are the quarries where the stone statues were cut and fash- "Then what are we-- ' Turcotte paused as the pilot
ioned out of solid rock. Quite a few statues have been called out.
found there in various stages of creation. The inhabitants "We've got company!"
shaped each statue lying on its back, then cut down on the They looked out as six foo fighters bracketed their craft.
spine until it was free. Then they hauled it to its site, where "I don't like this," Scheuler muttered. The foo fighters
it was raised onto a platform. were making no threatening movements, hanging in posi-
"It is interesting to note," he continued, "that the main tion as they flew south.
road leading away from Raraku is lined with statues and
there are some who think this was a processional route." "How far out are we?" Turcotte asked.
"To worship the fire-heads?" Kelly asked. "ETA at Easter Island in two minutes."
"Maybe. There are some who think the statues were sim- The foo fighters were slowing and closing in around their
ply abandoned there when the people rose up against the craft, forming a box on all sides.
priests who oversaw the making of the statues. Those peo- I don't think we're going to have any choice about
358 ROBERT DOHERTY 359
AREA 51
where to look on the island," Kelly said. "I think the guard- a lot of things that aren't going to be secret come daybreak
ian has decided all of that for us." if I don't get on top of all of this, and I can't do it up here.
"We're going down," Captain Scheuler announced un- Land."
necessarily, since all inside Bouncer Four could see the "Yes, sir."
island below growing closer. The bouncer was being slowed
by whatever force had taken over the controls. "Let's see what we have," Turcotte said, heading for the
"We're heading for Rano Kao's crater," Nabinger said, ladder leading to the top hatch. He climbed up and unfas-
pointing at the moonlit surface of the lake in the center of tened the seal, flipping the hatch open. He climbed out
the large volcano. onto the upper deck of the bouncer and looked about as
"This thing waterproof?" Turcotte asked Scheuler. the others gathered around him.
"I hope so," was the optimistic reply. "I'd say go that way." He pointed toward a tunnel on the
"Everyone hold on to something," Turcotte called out as land end.
they descended below the edge of the crater's rim. They "After you," Kelly said, with a sweep of her hand.
splashed into the lake without much of a jar and then were Turcotte led the way with Nabinger at his side, the others
enclosed in total darkness. For half a minute there was following, with Kelly bringing up the rear. The tunnel was
silence, and it was impossible to tell which way they were lit by lines of light that seemed to be part of the ceiling.
moving. A point of light appeared ahead and slightly above The floor sloped up at first, raising faint hopes that it might
them, growing closer. go up to the surface, but then it leveled out and turned to
The light grew brighter, filtered through water, then sud-
the right.
denly they broke out into air again, into a large cavern. The
bouncer lifted up above the surface of the water, which They entered a cave, somewhat larger than the Cube.
filled one half of the floor, and settled down on dry rock on Three walls were rock, but the far wall was metal. On it was
the other half. a series of complex control panels with many levers and
"We're shut down," Scheuler announced as the skin of buttons. What caught everyone's attention, though, was the
the disk grew opaque. He tried the controls. "It won't large golden pyramid, twenty feet high, that sat in the cen-
power up." ter of the cave. Turcotte paused. It was similar to the one at
Dulce, but larger. There was no glow above it, and Turcotte
Four thousand feet above Easter Island, General Gullick didn't pick up any of the negative feelings he'd experienced
watched helplessly as the bouncer disappeared into the wa- in Dulce.
ters of the crater. He reluctantly followed the others as they walked in si-
"Can you set us down on the airfield on the island?" he lence up to the base of the pyramid, staring at its smooth
asked the pilot. surface in awe. Faintly etched in the metal were high runes.
"Sir, that's a public airstrip. If we land there, the secret "What do you think?" Turcotte asked of no one in par-
about this aircraft will be out." icular. "I'm sure this thing controls whatever took over the
Gullick's laugh had a edge of mania to it. "Major, there's bouncer and is keeping us from getting out of here."
36O ROBERT DOHERTY
AREA 51 361
"Why are you in such a rush to get out of here?" Kelly The fact that the island was Chilean and they were vio-
asked. "This is the whole reason we came." lating international law didn't overly bother General Gul-
"I was trained to always have a way out ready," Turcotte lick either. He ignored the agitated requests from the
said, staring at the pyramid suspiciously. admiral in charge of the Lincoln task force and the relays
"Well, cool your spurs," Kelly replied. from Washington as people in charge woke up to the fact
"My spurs are cool," Turcotte replied. "I have the feel- that something unusual was going on.
ing the only thing waiting for us outside of this cave is "I want an airstrike prepared," Gullick ordered. "Target
going to be a lot of big guns." is the Rano Kao volcano. Everything you have. The target
"This must be the guardian," Kelly said. is under the water in the crater."
They all held their place as Nabinger ran his hands over The admiral would have ignored Gullick except for one
the high runes. "Amazing. This is the greatest find in very important thing: the general had the proper code
archeological history." words to authorize such a mission. On the deck of the
"This isn't history, Professor," Turcotte said as he Abraham Lincoln smart bombs were rolled out and crew-
walked forward into the room. "This is here and now, and men began attaching them to the wings of aircraft.
we need to figure this thing out."
"Can you read it?" Kelly asked. Two hours after beginning, Nabinger had a dazed look on
"I can read some of them, yes." his face as the tendril unwrapped itself and flowed back
"Get to work, then," Turcotte said. into the golden globe.
Five minutes after Nabinger began, they were all startled "What have you learned?" Kelly asked as they all gath-
when a golden glow appeared above the apex of the pyra- ered around.
mid. Turcotte was pleased to note that he didn't get the Nabinger shook his head, his eyes slowly focusing back
sick feeling that the other pyramid had produced. He was to his surroundings. "Unbelievable! It's unbelievable! It
disturbed, though, when a gaseous golden tendril from the spoke to me in a way I couldn't explain to you. So much
globe reached out and wrapped itself around Nabinger's information. So much that we never understood. It all fits
head. now. All the ruins and discoveries, all the runes, all the
"Take it easy," Kelly said as Turcotte started forward. myths. I don't know where to start."
"This thing, whatever it is, is in charge. Let Nabinger find "At the beginning," Von Seeckt suggested. "How did all
out what it wants." this get here? Where did the mothership come from?"
Nabinger closed his eyes briefly, then began. "There was
The first helicopter from the Abraham Lincoln came in at an alien colony--more an outpost than a colony as far as I
one hour and twenty minutes after Gullick had landed at can gather--on Earth. The aliens called themselves the
the Easter Island international airport. Given that there Airlia.
were only four flights into the airport every week--and "As best I can determine, the Airlia arrived here about
today was one of the off days--they had no trouble taking ten housand years ago. They settled on an island." The
over the airfield. professor held up a hand as Turcotte started to ask a ques-
362 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51
363
tion. "Not this island. An island in the other ocean. In the would be a race through space. There was an additional
Atlantic. An island that in human legend has been called factor too. One that the Airlia commander apparently con-
sidered very important. He was the one who programmed
Atlantis.
"From there they explored the planet. There was a spe- the guardian, so most of what I learned is from his perspec-
cies native to this planet very much like them." Nabinger tive. His name was Aspasia.
"Aspasia knew that even if they got away, the trace of
smiled. "Us.
"They tried to avoid contact with humans. I'm not totally their engine would be examined by the enemy and back-
sure why they were here. I would have to have more con- tracked, and Earth would then be discovered by the others.
tact. I get the impression it might simply have been a scien- He pretty much considered that equivalent to sentencing
tific expedition, but there is also no doubt that there was a the planet to destruction. He felt that factor by itself ruled
out leaving. The regulations he worked under also said that
military aspect to it."
"They were taking over the Earth?" Turcotte asked. he could not endanger this planet and the life on it.
"No. We weren't exactly an interstellar threat ten thou- "But there were others among the Airlia who weren't so
sand years ago. The Airlia were at war with some other noble or so entranced by the regulations. They wanted to
species, or perhaps their own species. I can't quite figure go back and not be stuck on this primitive planet for the
that out from what it told me, but I think it is the former. rest of their lives. The Airlia fought among themselves.
The word it used for the enemy was different. And if the Aspasia's side won, but he knew that as long as they had
enemy had been some of their own I think I would be able the capability to return, it would always be a threat. He
to tell because . . ." Nabinger paused. "I'm getting ahead also knew that even their enclave on the island, Atlantis,
would eventually violate their noninterference regulation.
of myself here.
"The Airlia were here for several millennia, rotating per- "So he moved the mothership and hid it. He scattered
sonnel in and out for tours of duty. Then something hap- his people. Some--the rebels--had already dispersed to
pened--not here on Earth, but in their interstellar battle." other parts of the planet. Aspasia hid the seven bouncers
down in Antarctica and"--Nabinger pointed over his
Nabinger ran his hand through his beard.
"The war was not going well and some disaster hap- shoulder--"he moved their central computer, the guard-
ian, here to Easter Island. It was uninhabited then. He
pened and the Airlia here were cut off. It seems that the
took the last two bouncers back to rest with the mother-
enemy could find the Airlia by detecting their interstellar
ship." Nabinger took a deep breath. "That is, he did that
drives." He looked at Von Seeckt. "Now we know the se-
after he did one last thing. He destroyed their outpost on
cret of the mothership. The commander of the colony had
Atlantis so that if the enemy did come through this solar
to make a decision: pack up and try to make a run for it
system, they would not discover that the fire-heads had
back to safety in their home system or stay. Naturally, the ever been here. He completely wiped out that trace of their
majority of the Airlia wanted to go back. Even if they existence here on Earth and hid the rest."
stayed and weren't spotted, there was always the chance Nabinger looked at the screen. "Aspasia left the guard-
the enemy would find them anyway. ian on with the foo fighters under its control in case the
"Of course, if they left, they would be spotted and then it
364 ROBERT DOHERTY
AREA 51 365
way of the war changed and his own people came back to puter was in control of him. It wanted the mothership.
this sector of space. Obviously, they never did." That was the thing the rebels wanted more than anything
The professor turned from the computer. "Others else: the only way to get home."
among the Airlia, those who did not agree with Aspasia, Von Seeckt turned to Duncan. "I told you we must not
must have tried to leave their own message to their people, try to fly the mothership. General Gullick and his people
knowing the guardian had been left on. might have brought the wrath of this enemy down upon
"Now I know the why and how of the pyramids. They our planet!"
were space beacons, built by rebels using the limited tech- "I don't think Gullick really knew what he was doing,"
nology they found and the human labor they could exploit Turcotte said, rubbing the right side of his head.
to try to reach out to their own people if they ever came "The threat the Airlia faced was thousands of years
close enough. ago," Duncan noted. "Certainly--
"And the bomb the rebels took. Aspasia knew about "Certainly, nothing!" Von Seeckt cut her off. He pointed
that, but he couldn't go in and take it away, not without at the screen behind him. "This thing still works. The foo
letting the humans know of his power and existence or fighters this computer controls still fly. The bouncers still
without having the rebels set it off. fly. What makes you think the enemy's equipment isn't still
"You see, the rebels, there weren't many of them. There functioning out there somewhere, waiting to pick up a sig-
were never more than a few thousand of the Airlia on the nal and go in and destroy Earth? The Airlia turned the
planet at any one time. And they went other places and mothership off because they were obviously losing their
worked their way in among the humans. Jorgenson's diffu- war!"
sionist theory is correct. There are many connections be- Lisa Duncan nodded. "This is beyond us. We have to
tween all those ancient civilizations, and there is a reason bring the President here."
they all started at roughly the same time, but it wasn't be- The golden glow suddenly went white, then a three-di-
cause man crossed the ocean. It was because Atlantis was mensional picture appeared. It showed the early-morning
destroyed and the Airlia spread out across the planet." sky and a phalanx of small dots moving across.
"I saw a pyramid just like the guardian but smaller, down "What's that?" Duncan asked.
on the lowest level in Dulce," Turcotte said. "You might not get the chance to talk to the President,"
"Yes, that was the computer the rebels hid," Nabinger Turcotte said. "Those are F-16's coming this way."
said. "Not as powerful as the guardian but still far more
advanced than anything we could comprehend. Gullick and
his people must have just recovered that this year when the
find was made at Jamiltepec in Mexico."
"And Gullick turned it on," Turcotte said, all the pieces
falling into place.
"Yes," Nabinger said. "And it didn't work the way Gul-
lick thought. He was no longer in control--the rebel com-
AREA 51 367
In the guardian cavern everyone relaxed as they watched
3 4 the warplanes turn away, followed by the foo fighters.
"Seems like this guardian can take care of itself,"
Turcotte said.
"Is there any way we can get hold of Washington?"
Duncan asked. "I need to get this madman Gullick re-
lieved."
"Can you ask the guardian to let us use the SATCOM
radio in the bouncer?" Turcotte asked Nabinger.
"I'll try," Nabinger replied.
RAPA Nui (EASTER ISLAND)
Gullick had one last card up his sleeve. He knew there was
Gullick sat in the-back of the large Navy helicopter parked an Aegis-class cruiser in the Lincoln battle group. He
on the runway and listened in on the command frequency grabbed the microphone and called the admiral.
as the strike force moved in. There was enough ordnance
on those planes to reduce the volcano to rubble. After The three-dimensional glow suddenly shifted perspective
that--Gullick shook his head, trying to get rid of a pound- and showed four trails of flame coming off a warship.
ing headache and think clearly. They would have to dig "What the hell are those?" Kelly asked, freezing Turcotte
down to the mothership again. And then, then-- and Duncan in their tracks.
"Are you all right, sir?" The navy lieutenant was wor- Turcotte spun around. "Tomahawk cruise missiles."
ried. He didn't know what was going on, but one thing for "He's going nuclear?" Duncan was shocked.
sure, the shit was hitting the fan. "No, those probably aren't nuclear, but they carry a hell
"I'm fine," Gullick snapped. of a wallop," Turcotte said.
"We've got bogeys!" the radar man called out. "Coming "Do you think the foo fighters can stop them?
up out of the volcano." "No time. The foo fighters are chasing away the jets,"
Turcotte said. "They're out of position."
The flight leader saw the foo fighters rising up to greet his They watched, mesmerized, as the four missiles hit su-
planes. He'd been in the wardroom when the flight that personic speed and crossed the shoreline of Easter Island,
had been dispatched to set the trap had gone down, their less than three miles away.
engines shut down by these very same craft. "We've got maybe four seconds," Turcotte said.
"Eagle Flight, this is Eagle Six. Abort! Abort!" The image blanked out, then returned, showing the is-
The F-16's banked hard and kicked in afterburners, the land unchanged.
foo fighters in hot pursuit. "What happened?" Kelly asked.
368 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 369
On the Lincoln the admiral was asking the same question
of his staff on the battle bridge. He ignored General Gul- On Easter Island, Gullick was still yelling into the radio in
lick's screamed demands as he talked to the officers work- the back of the helicopter when the navy lieutenant took
ing there. off his headset and looked at the general. "Sir, I'm under
"Near as I can tell, sir, there's some sort of force field orders to take you into custody."
around the volcano. The Tomahawks were destroyed when Gullick's face twitched and he ripped off his own head-
they hit it." set. "What? Who the hell do you think you are?"
The admiral rubbed his forehead. He didn't have a clue "I have orders to take you into custody," the lieutenant
what was going on. He'd already lost six multimillion-dollar repeated. He laid a hand on Gullick's arm and Gullick
fighters, and now four Tomahawks.
"I demand you launch another strike!" Gullick was yell- ripped it away.
ing on one frequency. "Don't you dare! I had served my country for over thirty
"Sir, I've got communication with someone claiming years. This can not happen. We must succeed. We must fly
they are inside that volcano," one of the men said. the ship."
"Give me that frequency," the admiral said, ignoring The lieutenant had almost lost friends on the previous
Gullick. He picked up a mike. "This is Admiral Spring- night's F-16 mission and he had his orders. He drew his
field." pistol. "Sir, we can do this the easy way or we can do this
"Admiral, this is Lisa Duncan, the President's science the hard way."
adviser. You'd better listen up and listen good. Who autho- Gullick drew his pistol. The lieutenant froze, stunned
rized you to attack this place?" that his bluff had been called.
"General Gullick, ma'am."
"General Gullick is insane."
"He had the proper authorization codes and--
"Admiral, I want you to get me a direct line to the Presi- AIRSPACE, DULCE, NEW MEXICO
dent. I'll give you my authorization codes to get that call
through, and we'll get this all sorted out. Clear?" From its perch watching the mothership hangar the foo
The admiral gave a relieved sigh. "Clear, ma'am." fighter came out of the north at over five thousand miles an
hour. It stopped abruptly and hovered, three miles over the
The golden tendril unwrapped itself from around Nab- mountain housing the Dulce facility. A tightly focused
inger's head and returned to the orb. The orb pulsed and beam of golden light came out of it, aimed straight down.
seemed to grow larger. It passed through the mountain as if it didn't exist.
"What's happening?" Kelly asked. On the bottommost level the small pyramid was touched by
"I don't know," Nabinger replied. "As much as I'm get- the beam and instantly imploded. The layers of the facil-
ting information from the guardian, it's getting information ity pancaked on top of each other and the entire facility
from me." was destroyed in less than two seconds.
370 ROBERT DOHERTY
RAPA Nui (EASTER ISLAND)
Gullick turned to the north and his mouth opened wide. A 35
high-pitched scream came out. He fell to the floor of the
helicopter, dropping the pistol and pressing both hands
against the side of his head. Dark red blood flowed out his
ears and nose.
The lieutenant stepped back, shocked by what he was
watching. Gullick reached a hand up, the fingers twisted in
pain, in a gesture of supplication. Then he collapsed in a
fetal position and was still.
The lieutenant stepped forward and rolled the body RAPA Nui (EASTER ISLAND)
over. Lifeless eyes stared up at the morning sun.
The view from the rim of Rano Kao was spectacular.
Waves roared into the rocks a thousand feet below and the
sea stretched out to the horizon, the setting sun creating
hundreds of sparkles in the wave crests. The only thing
marring the view was the silhouette of an aircraft carrier six
miles off the coast.
A jet roared past, carrying another load of politicians.
The Abraham Lincoln task force was spread out around the
island and the local airfield was packed with incoming air-
craft. Turcotte squatted and picked up a rock, tossing it up
and down in his hand. Kelly was standing nearby.
Von Seeckt and Nabinger were still down in the cavern,
studying the guardian computer. Nabinger had found the
control that opened a shaft to the rim of the crater shortly
after briefing them about the history. Then the others had
begun to arrive, Duncan taking them down to see what had
been found.
Nabinger had communicated with the guardian again.
There was so much information. Medical theory; physics;
the universe; even the instructions on how to fly the
mothership. It was all there.
'So what now?" Turcotte asked.
"We're sitting on the biggest story of the century," Kelly
372 ROBERT DOHERTY
said. "Hell, it's the biggest story of the last two thousand
years." EPILOGUE
She and Turcotte had seen Gullick's body. He told her
his theory that Gullick had been controlled by the pyramid
uncovered in Mexico. That Gullick had turned it on and
powered it up, but then it had taken over. It all fit together
now, and Kelly would very shortly have to leave to do her
job and tell the rest of the world the story.
"I miss Johnny," she said. "This is his story more than
mine."
"His death wasn't in vain," Turcotte said. RAPA Nui (EASTER ISLAND)
"He helped bring to light the greatest story in history,"
Kelly agreed. It felt the power come in like a shot of adrenaline. For the
Turcotte threw the rock out toward the ocean and first time in over five thousand years it was able to bring all
watched it disappear. "I think about that alien commander systems on line. Immediately it put into effect the last pro-
so many years ago. Aspasia. The decision he had to make." gram it had been loaded with in case of full power-up.
"And?" Kelly asked. It reached out and linked with sensors pointed outward
"And it took a lot of guts." Turcotte stood. "And he from the planet. Then it began transmitting, back in the
made the right decision. It was what was meant to be." direction it had come from over ten millennia ago, calling
out: "Come. Come and get us."
"I didn't know you had this philosophical side to you,"
Kelly said. And there were other machines out there and they were
listening.
"This all had to happen. I grant you that. But"-
Turcotte looked out to sea--"but I don't know if we're
making the right decision to continue down there with the
guardian. I don't know if this is meant for us, this knowl-
edge, this technology ahead of our time. I talked to Von
Seeckt. He said they're already giving the guardian more
power, putting it totally on line."
"You sound . . ." Kelly hesitated.
Turcotte looked at her. "Scared?"
She nodded.
"I am."
dential adviser to Majic-12." the general and he relayed the orders.
The senior Nightscape man paused, confused at this sud-
den apparition and wrinkle in the chain of command. The The bouncer suddenly darted away to the west, leaving the
three groups were all gathered in a thirty-foot circle just in tableau outside the hangar frozen in a standoff between
front of the doors to Hangar One. the weapons of the Nightscape men and the tentative
"I want General Gullick and I want him here now!" shield of Duncan's position.
Duncan demanded. A large figure walked out of the hangar, casting a long
"We have to secure these prisoners first," the guard said. shadow from the backdrop of red light. General Gullick
"I'm Kelly Reynolds," Kelly said, stepping forward, mak- walked up and looked about. "Very nice. Very nice." He
ing sure her hands were away from her sides. "You know stared at Duncan. "I'm sure you have an explanation for
Dr. Von Seeckt, and the other man is Professor Nabinger this circus you've orchestrated?"
of the Brooklyn Museum. We called you earlier." I'm sure you have an answer for attempting to shoot
Duncan nodded. "I know you called me earlier. That's down my helicopter," she returned.
346 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 347
"I am authorized by law to use deadly force to safeguard Turcotte saw Gullick raise the muzzle of the submachine
this facility," Gullick said. "You are the one who violated gun in his direction. "Do it and I fire the charges!"
law by coming into restricted airspace and failing to re- Turcotte called out, holding up the remote detonator for
spond when challenged." Hangar Two.
"What about Dulce, General?" Duncan retorted. "What Gullick froze. "What did you do?"
about General Hemstadt--formerly of the Werhmacht? "I did a little resequencing. I don't think it will quite
What about Paperclip? Where is Captain Turcotte?" work the way you'd like," Turcotte said, keeping an eye on
Kelly saw the change come over Gullick and she reached his people as they moved in his direction and climbed the
out to stop Duncan's harangue. slope of the disk.
"You can't do that!" Gullick cried out.
As he finished typing, Turcotte saw a bright light coming "I won't if you let us get out of here," Turcotte promised.
out of the east through the camouflage netting. The same "Back off," General Gullick ordered, waving to his secu-
bright light he had seen his first night out here. The rity men.
bouncer came to a halt forty feet away and landed. A man Turcotte stepped aside, allowing the others to climb in
came out of the hatch on top, weapon in hand. the hatch. When all were on board, he slipped down inside,
shutting the hatch behind him. "Take off!" he yelled at the
Duncan and Gullick both stopped their arguing and turned pilot.
as a new voice called out. "You both don't understand!"
Nabinger yelled. He looked about wildly, holding up the On the ground Gullick whirled. "I want Aurora ready for
rongorongo tablet. "None of you do." He pointed at the flight now!" He didn't trust this alien technology anymore.
hangar. "You don't understand what you have in there and "Yes, sir!"
where it came from. You don't understand any of it."
Gullick snatched a submachine gun from one of the "Where do you want to go?" Captain Scheuler asked from
Nightscape guards. "No, I don't understand, but you never the depression in the center of the disk. He'd put up no
will either." He pointed the muzzle at Duncan. argument at the engineer site when Turcotte had dropped
"You've gone too far," Duncan said. through the hatch, weapon in hand, and ordered him to fly
"You signed your own death warrant, lady. You said too back to Hangar One. The others were sitting gingerly on
much and you know too much." His finger had already the floor of the bouncer, gathered around the center. Von
closed over the trigger when he was blinded by the searing Seeckt had his eyes closed, trying to keep from being dis-
oriented by the view out.
glow of a bright searchlight. Without a noise Bouncer Four
settled down behind Duncan's group. Turcotte still held a submachine gun pointed in the gen-
"Get over here!" Turcotte yelled from the hatch on top eral direction of the pilot. "Turn right," he ordered the
pilot.
of the saucer.
"Let's go," Kelly said, grabbing Duncan by the shoulders "What are you doing?" Kelly asked.
and pushing her toward the bouncer. The others followe Turcotte was looking out the clear skin of the bouncer as
348 ROBERT DOHERTY
they went around the mountain that hid the hangar com- 32
plexes. He flipped open the cover on the firing button on
the remote, then pressed the trigger.
"You told Gullick you wouldn't do that!" Lisa Duncan
said.
"I lied."
Hangar Two was deserted, which was fortunate. The outer
wall caved in, not in the orderly manner that had been
planned, but in a cascade of rock and rubble crashing down
onto the mothership, burying it under tons of debris. AIRSPACE, NEVADA
In the Cube, Major Quinn felt the rumble of the explosions "What now?" Kelly asked. The others were gathered
and watched the first rocks begin falling in Hangar Two on around, now standing on the floor of the bouncer, trying to
the remote video screens before the cameras were con- get used to the eerie view straight through the skin of the
sumed by the man-made earthquake. "Oh, fuck," he mut- craft. It was a bit tight with everyone inside. They were
tered. currently heading south out of Area 51 at two hundred
miles an hour and slowly gaining altitude.
Gullick knew what had happened even as the last of the "I don't know." Turcotte turned to the others. "I got you
aftershocks of the explosions settled away. He staggered, out of there and the Mothership won't be flying for several
then sank to his knees. He pressed his hands to the side of weeks at least. So I did my part. Where to?"
his head as pain reverbrated back and forth from one side "Nellis," Duncan said. "I can--"
to the other, searing through his brain. A moan escaped his
lips. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry." "Las Vegas has got a good media hook-in," Kelly said,
"Sir, Aurora is ready for flight," a young officer said with excited. "We fly this damn thing right downtown! Land in
much trepidation. the fountain at Caesars Palace. That'll wake them up."
Maybe it could be salvaged, Gullick thought, seizing "This isn't a media circus," Duncan said. "I'm in--"
upon that single idea. He slowly got to his feet. The manta "No!" Nabinger held out the wooden tablet that he'd
ray of the high-speed plane was silhouetted against the been hauling with him throughout the entire adventure at
runway lights. Yes, there was still a way to salvage things Area 51. "You're all wrong. We have to go to the place
where the answers are."
"And that is?" Turcotte asked.
Nabinger pointed with his free hand at the tablet in the
other. "Easter Island."
"Easter Island?" Duncan asked.
350 ROBERT DOHERTY
AREA 51 351
"Easter Island," Nabinger repeated. "From what I've de- could track it. Eventually it would land. He ordered tank-
coded on this, the answers are there." ers along their projected flight path for inflight refueling.
"No way," Kelly said. "We have to go public."
"Agreed," Duncan said. "As soon as we land, I can con- Kelly knelt down next to the pilot. "Do you have a map of
tact the President and we can stop this insanity." She the world?"
tapped Scheuler on the shoulder. "Land us at Las Vegas." Scheuler nodded. He swung in the laptop control and
The pilot laughed with a manic edge as his hands worked brought up a world overlay on the screen.
at the controls. "Lady, you can shoot me if you want, but I "Show me where Easter Island is," Kelly said.
don't think we're going to land in Las Vegas." Scheuler tapped a few keys. "Easter Island is in the Pa-
Turcotte still had his submachine gun ready for use. cific. Off the coast of Chile. I'd say about five thousand
"Why not?" miles from where we are right now."
The pilot held up his hands. "Because I'm no longer "And on what azimuth from us?" Kelly asked.
flying this thing." Scheuler checked, then looked up. "Eighty-four de-
"Who is?" Turcotte asked. grees."
"It's flying itself," Scheuler said. "It appears we're going to Easter Island whether we
"Where are we going, then?" Turcotte demanded. want to or not," Kelly announced. "How long until we get
"Just east of south right now on a heading of eighty-four there?"
Scheuler did some calculations. "We're not maxed out
degrees," the pilot said. "More than that I can't tell you but we're going fast enough. I estimate we'll be there in
until we get there." about an hour and a half."
"Does the radio work?" Duncan asked. "I can call and "Well, now that we have time," Kelly said, "and we know
get us help." where we're going, let's find out as much as we can. Talk to
Scheuler tried it. "No, ma'am." me, Professor. What does the tablet say is on Easter Is-
land?"
"Give me a direction, Quinn," Gullick growled into the Nabinger was sitting cross-legged on the floor, the rongo-
radio as Aurora powered up. rongo tablet in his lap. "I've only managed to decipher part
Quinn's voice came back through the headset. "South, of this, but what I have . . ." He looked at a small notepad
sir." in his lap.
"You heard him," Gullick said to the pilot as he settled "Wait one," Turcotte said. "Let's not go through this
into the RSO's seat. "Due south." guessing game again. Just tell us what you think it says
The plane hurtled forward and lifted. Out of the small rather than the literal translation."
window Gullick could just make out the silhouette of the Nabinger obviously wasn't happy about that unscientific
mountain that hid the mothership. He felt the pain inten- approach, but he nodded. "All right. First, the tablet makes
sify in his head. "Stay busy," he whispered to himself. He reference to powerful beings from the sky. People with hair
knew they couldn't catch the bouncer, but at least they of fire--red hair, I assume. They--the red-haired people--
352 ROBERT DOHERTY 353
AREA 51
came and lived for a while at the place of eyes-looking-at- "They may have," Von Seeckt said, "but I believe I
heaven. That's how they describe it. From there they ruled would have heard if they had discovered anything."
after the month of the dark sky. "What do you know about Easter Island?" Kelly asked.
"Long after the month of the dark sky, the people with "It is the most isolated island on the face of the planet,"
hair of fire went up in the great ship of the sky and left, Nabinger said, remembering what was in Slater's notes. "It
never to return. But their . . ." Nabinger paused. "I am is the place that is farthest from any other landfall. It
not quite sure what the next word is. It could mean 'par- wasn't discovered by Europeans until 1722, on Easter Sun-
ent,' but it doesn't seem to fit in context. Perhaps 'guard- day that's how it got its name. The islanders themselves
ian' or 'protector'--remained and ruled. call their island Rapa Nui."
"Even after the people with fire hair were gone, "That remote location also helps explain why these
though," Nabinger continued, "the little suns carried the aliens might have wanted to use it as a base camp," Von
word of the, hmm, let's use the word guardian." Seeckt added. "Remember the part of the tablet from
" 'Little suns'?" Von Seeckt asked. Hangar Two about not interfering with the local inhabit-
Turcotte remembered the foo fighter up in Nebraska and ants?"
reminded the others. "So these things most definitely are "What is the island like?" Turcotte asked, more focused
connected to the bouncers and the mothership?" on the immediate future as always.
"I'm certain of it," Nabinger said. "There is more here, For that Nabinger did have to consult the notes he'd
but it has to do with the worship of the guardian. I have carried in his backpack through all their adventures. "The
only the one tablet. If I had the others I might know island is shaped like a triangle with a volcano at each cor-
more." ner. Land mass is about sixty-two square miles. It doesn't
"How many are there?" Kelly asked. really have any beaches, one reason early visitors had a
"There used to be thousands on the island," Nabinger hard time getting ashore. It is very rocky. Almost no trees
answered, "but most were eventually used up as firewood were left on the island when it was discovered. There are
or destroyed by missionaries who thought they were part of some now that have been planted.
old pagan rites. There are just twenty-one in existence "And, of course," Nabinger said, "there are the statues,
now--or at least there were only twenty-one suspected to carved out of solid rock in a quarry on the slopes of one of
be in existence. I don't believe that counted this one, since the volcanoes. The largest is over thirty-two feet tall and
it was hidden in Dulce." weighs over ninety tons. There are over a thousand of them
"How did it get to Dulce?" Kelly asked. scattered all about the island."
"Majic-12 has studied the high runes for years," Von "I've seen pictures of those things," Kelly said. "How did
Seeckt said. "They never had as much luck as our good those ancient people move such large and heavy objects?"
professor here has in translating them, but they have con- "Good question," Nabinger said. "There are several the-
tinued to collect whatever they can." ories, none of which quite work."
"So maybe people for MJ-12 already have checked out "Ah," Von Seeckt said, "but perhaps our red-haired
Easter Island?" Kelly ventured. ancients might have had something to do with that. Or
354 ROBERT DOHERTY
maybe left something lying around that the natives used to
move the statues. Perhaps an antigravity sled or mag- 33
netic--
"Is there any evidence of this guardian?" Turcotte cut in.
"Anything like the bouncers or the mothership or even
what was found in the pyramid?"
Nabinger shook his head. "No, but not as much is known
about the island as people would like to think. We don't
know why the statues were built, never mind how they got
to their locations around the coast. There is much that is
hidden about the history of the island. Archaeologists are AIRSPACE, PACIFIC OCEAN
still making new finds as they explore. The island is vol-
canic and honeycombed with caves." "It's going to get worse before it gets better," Turcotte said.
That caught Turcotte's interest. "So maybe there is "What now?" Kelly asked.
something there?" "Our satellite link shows we've got company up ahead
"Perhaps this guardian still exists," Kelly suggested. too. Looks like a bunch of interceptors waiting for us to hit
"I hope something's down there," Turcotte noted, look- their kill zone."
ing over Scheuler's shoulder at the tactical display. "Be- "So what's the get-better part?" Kelly asked.
cause we've got someone hot on our tail. I don't believe "Well, it always gets better after it gets worse," Turcotte
General Gullick has given up yet." said. "Either that or you're dead."
"Great philosophy," she muttered.
A covey of F-16's from the Abraham Lincoln waited over
the Pacific, circling on the flight path the target was pro-
jected to follow. That is, until small glowing orbs suddenly
appeared and all craft lost engine power.
General Gullick closed his eyes, hearing the panicked re-
ports from the pilots as their engines flamed out. He took
the headset off and looked at the pilot. "Where are we
headed?"
"I've projected out the flight path of Bouncer Four," the
pilot reported. He nodded his head at the screen. A line
went straight from their present location over a thousand
miles west of Colombia, due south.
356 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 357
"Antarctica?" Gullick asked. "There's nothing out pie put a tremendous, almost unbelievable, amount of re-
here." sources into the creation and moving of those statues. It
"Uh, actually, sir, I checked. There is an island along this had to severely strain the economy of the island, and the
route. Easter Island." theory is that eventually the common people revolted."
"Easter Island?" General Gullick repeated. "What the "So Raraku is the place to look?" Turcotte cut in.
fuck is on Easter Island?" He didn't wait for an answer. He "Maybe." Nabinger shrugged. "But on the rim of the
immediately got on the radio with the admiral in charge of other significant volcano, Rano Kao, over a thousand feet
the Abraham Lincoln task force. That resulted in a five- high, is where the ancient people built the village of
minute argument, as the admiral's priorities were some- Orongo--their sacred village. The lake inside the crater is
what different from Gullick's. He wanted to recover the almost a mile in diameter. Offshore of Kao lies a small
downed aircrews. A compromise was reached and the ma- island called Moto Nui, where birds--terns--nest. In an-
jority of the task force turned to the south and steamed at cient times the cult of the Birdman occurred every year in
flank speed for Easter Island, while several destroyers September, when young men would go from the volcano
stayed behind to pick up the crews. rim, climb down the cliffs to the sea, swim to Moto Nui,
recover a tern egg, and the first man back was birdman for
Turcotte watched the dots of the waiting aircraft disappear the year."
off the screen. He felt the anxiety level in his gut kick up a Turcotte rubbed his forehead. "Okay, okay. They have
notch higher despite this apparently positive development. birdmen. They have volcanoes. They got big statues. They
"Talk to me, Professor. Tell me more about Easter Island." got strange writings on wood tablets. But what the hell are
"There are two major volcanoes on the island," Nab- we looking for? Has anything strange been found there
inger said. "Rano Raraku in the southeast and Rano Kao. that might suggest this guardian?"
Both have lakes inside the crater. On the slopes of Raraku "No."
are the quarries where the stone statues were cut and fash- "Then what are we-- ' Turcotte paused as the pilot
ioned out of solid rock. Quite a few statues have been called out.
found there in various stages of creation. The inhabitants "We've got company!"
shaped each statue lying on its back, then cut down on the They looked out as six foo fighters bracketed their craft.
spine until it was free. Then they hauled it to its site, where "I don't like this," Scheuler muttered. The foo fighters
it was raised onto a platform. were making no threatening movements, hanging in posi-
"It is interesting to note," he continued, "that the main tion as they flew south.
road leading away from Raraku is lined with statues and
there are some who think this was a processional route." "How far out are we?" Turcotte asked.
"To worship the fire-heads?" Kelly asked. "ETA at Easter Island in two minutes."
"Maybe. There are some who think the statues were sim- The foo fighters were slowing and closing in around their
ply abandoned there when the people rose up against the craft, forming a box on all sides.
priests who oversaw the making of the statues. Those peo- I don't think we're going to have any choice about
358 ROBERT DOHERTY 359
AREA 51
where to look on the island," Kelly said. "I think the guard- a lot of things that aren't going to be secret come daybreak
ian has decided all of that for us." if I don't get on top of all of this, and I can't do it up here.
"We're going down," Captain Scheuler announced un- Land."
necessarily, since all inside Bouncer Four could see the "Yes, sir."
island below growing closer. The bouncer was being slowed
by whatever force had taken over the controls. "Let's see what we have," Turcotte said, heading for the
"We're heading for Rano Kao's crater," Nabinger said, ladder leading to the top hatch. He climbed up and unfas-
pointing at the moonlit surface of the lake in the center of tened the seal, flipping the hatch open. He climbed out
the large volcano. onto the upper deck of the bouncer and looked about as
"This thing waterproof?" Turcotte asked Scheuler. the others gathered around him.
"I hope so," was the optimistic reply. "I'd say go that way." He pointed toward a tunnel on the
"Everyone hold on to something," Turcotte called out as land end.
they descended below the edge of the crater's rim. They "After you," Kelly said, with a sweep of her hand.
splashed into the lake without much of a jar and then were Turcotte led the way with Nabinger at his side, the others
enclosed in total darkness. For half a minute there was following, with Kelly bringing up the rear. The tunnel was
silence, and it was impossible to tell which way they were lit by lines of light that seemed to be part of the ceiling.
moving. A point of light appeared ahead and slightly above The floor sloped up at first, raising faint hopes that it might
them, growing closer. go up to the surface, but then it leveled out and turned to
The light grew brighter, filtered through water, then sud-
the right.
denly they broke out into air again, into a large cavern. The
bouncer lifted up above the surface of the water, which They entered a cave, somewhat larger than the Cube.
filled one half of the floor, and settled down on dry rock on Three walls were rock, but the far wall was metal. On it was
the other half. a series of complex control panels with many levers and
"We're shut down," Scheuler announced as the skin of buttons. What caught everyone's attention, though, was the
the disk grew opaque. He tried the controls. "It won't large golden pyramid, twenty feet high, that sat in the cen-
power up." ter of the cave. Turcotte paused. It was similar to the one at
Dulce, but larger. There was no glow above it, and Turcotte
Four thousand feet above Easter Island, General Gullick didn't pick up any of the negative feelings he'd experienced
watched helplessly as the bouncer disappeared into the wa- in Dulce.
ters of the crater. He reluctantly followed the others as they walked in si-
"Can you set us down on the airfield on the island?" he lence up to the base of the pyramid, staring at its smooth
asked the pilot. surface in awe. Faintly etched in the metal were high runes.
"Sir, that's a public airstrip. If we land there, the secret "What do you think?" Turcotte asked of no one in par-
about this aircraft will be out." icular. "I'm sure this thing controls whatever took over the
Gullick's laugh had a edge of mania to it. "Major, there's bouncer and is keeping us from getting out of here."
36O ROBERT DOHERTY
AREA 51 361
"Why are you in such a rush to get out of here?" Kelly The fact that the island was Chilean and they were vio-
asked. "This is the whole reason we came." lating international law didn't overly bother General Gul-
"I was trained to always have a way out ready," Turcotte lick either. He ignored the agitated requests from the
said, staring at the pyramid suspiciously. admiral in charge of the Lincoln task force and the relays
"Well, cool your spurs," Kelly replied. from Washington as people in charge woke up to the fact
"My spurs are cool," Turcotte replied. "I have the feel- that something unusual was going on.
ing the only thing waiting for us outside of this cave is "I want an airstrike prepared," Gullick ordered. "Target
going to be a lot of big guns." is the Rano Kao volcano. Everything you have. The target
"This must be the guardian," Kelly said. is under the water in the crater."
They all held their place as Nabinger ran his hands over The admiral would have ignored Gullick except for one
the high runes. "Amazing. This is the greatest find in very important thing: the general had the proper code
archeological history." words to authorize such a mission. On the deck of the
"This isn't history, Professor," Turcotte said as he Abraham Lincoln smart bombs were rolled out and crew-
walked forward into the room. "This is here and now, and men began attaching them to the wings of aircraft.
we need to figure this thing out."
"Can you read it?" Kelly asked. Two hours after beginning, Nabinger had a dazed look on
"I can read some of them, yes." his face as the tendril unwrapped itself and flowed back
"Get to work, then," Turcotte said. into the golden globe.
Five minutes after Nabinger began, they were all startled "What have you learned?" Kelly asked as they all gath-
when a golden glow appeared above the apex of the pyra- ered around.
mid. Turcotte was pleased to note that he didn't get the Nabinger shook his head, his eyes slowly focusing back
sick feeling that the other pyramid had produced. He was to his surroundings. "Unbelievable! It's unbelievable! It
disturbed, though, when a gaseous golden tendril from the spoke to me in a way I couldn't explain to you. So much
globe reached out and wrapped itself around Nabinger's information. So much that we never understood. It all fits
head. now. All the ruins and discoveries, all the runes, all the
"Take it easy," Kelly said as Turcotte started forward. myths. I don't know where to start."
"This thing, whatever it is, is in charge. Let Nabinger find "At the beginning," Von Seeckt suggested. "How did all
out what it wants." this get here? Where did the mothership come from?"
Nabinger closed his eyes briefly, then began. "There was
The first helicopter from the Abraham Lincoln came in at an alien colony--more an outpost than a colony as far as I
one hour and twenty minutes after Gullick had landed at can gather--on Earth. The aliens called themselves the
the Easter Island international airport. Given that there Airlia.
were only four flights into the airport every week--and "As best I can determine, the Airlia arrived here about
today was one of the off days--they had no trouble taking ten housand years ago. They settled on an island." The
over the airfield. professor held up a hand as Turcotte started to ask a ques-
362 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51
363
tion. "Not this island. An island in the other ocean. In the would be a race through space. There was an additional
Atlantic. An island that in human legend has been called factor too. One that the Airlia commander apparently con-
sidered very important. He was the one who programmed
Atlantis.
"From there they explored the planet. There was a spe- the guardian, so most of what I learned is from his perspec-
cies native to this planet very much like them." Nabinger tive. His name was Aspasia.
"Aspasia knew that even if they got away, the trace of
smiled. "Us.
"They tried to avoid contact with humans. I'm not totally their engine would be examined by the enemy and back-
sure why they were here. I would have to have more con- tracked, and Earth would then be discovered by the others.
tact. I get the impression it might simply have been a scien- He pretty much considered that equivalent to sentencing
tific expedition, but there is also no doubt that there was a the planet to destruction. He felt that factor by itself ruled
out leaving. The regulations he worked under also said that
military aspect to it."
"They were taking over the Earth?" Turcotte asked. he could not endanger this planet and the life on it.
"No. We weren't exactly an interstellar threat ten thou- "But there were others among the Airlia who weren't so
sand years ago. The Airlia were at war with some other noble or so entranced by the regulations. They wanted to
species, or perhaps their own species. I can't quite figure go back and not be stuck on this primitive planet for the
that out from what it told me, but I think it is the former. rest of their lives. The Airlia fought among themselves.
The word it used for the enemy was different. And if the Aspasia's side won, but he knew that as long as they had
enemy had been some of their own I think I would be able the capability to return, it would always be a threat. He
to tell because . . ." Nabinger paused. "I'm getting ahead also knew that even their enclave on the island, Atlantis,
would eventually violate their noninterference regulation.
of myself here.
"The Airlia were here for several millennia, rotating per- "So he moved the mothership and hid it. He scattered
sonnel in and out for tours of duty. Then something hap- his people. Some--the rebels--had already dispersed to
pened--not here on Earth, but in their interstellar battle." other parts of the planet. Aspasia hid the seven bouncers
down in Antarctica and"--Nabinger pointed over his
Nabinger ran his hand through his beard.
"The war was not going well and some disaster hap- shoulder--"he moved their central computer, the guard-
ian, here to Easter Island. It was uninhabited then. He
pened and the Airlia here were cut off. It seems that the
took the last two bouncers back to rest with the mother-
enemy could find the Airlia by detecting their interstellar
ship." Nabinger took a deep breath. "That is, he did that
drives." He looked at Von Seeckt. "Now we know the se-
after he did one last thing. He destroyed their outpost on
cret of the mothership. The commander of the colony had
Atlantis so that if the enemy did come through this solar
to make a decision: pack up and try to make a run for it
system, they would not discover that the fire-heads had
back to safety in their home system or stay. Naturally, the ever been here. He completely wiped out that trace of their
majority of the Airlia wanted to go back. Even if they existence here on Earth and hid the rest."
stayed and weren't spotted, there was always the chance Nabinger looked at the screen. "Aspasia left the guard-
the enemy would find them anyway. ian on with the foo fighters under its control in case the
"Of course, if they left, they would be spotted and then it
364 ROBERT DOHERTY
AREA 51 365
way of the war changed and his own people came back to puter was in control of him. It wanted the mothership.
this sector of space. Obviously, they never did." That was the thing the rebels wanted more than anything
The professor turned from the computer. "Others else: the only way to get home."
among the Airlia, those who did not agree with Aspasia, Von Seeckt turned to Duncan. "I told you we must not
must have tried to leave their own message to their people, try to fly the mothership. General Gullick and his people
knowing the guardian had been left on. might have brought the wrath of this enemy down upon
"Now I know the why and how of the pyramids. They our planet!"
were space beacons, built by rebels using the limited tech- "I don't think Gullick really knew what he was doing,"
nology they found and the human labor they could exploit Turcotte said, rubbing the right side of his head.
to try to reach out to their own people if they ever came "The threat the Airlia faced was thousands of years
close enough. ago," Duncan noted. "Certainly--
"And the bomb the rebels took. Aspasia knew about "Certainly, nothing!" Von Seeckt cut her off. He pointed
that, but he couldn't go in and take it away, not without at the screen behind him. "This thing still works. The foo
letting the humans know of his power and existence or fighters this computer controls still fly. The bouncers still
without having the rebels set it off. fly. What makes you think the enemy's equipment isn't still
"You see, the rebels, there weren't many of them. There functioning out there somewhere, waiting to pick up a sig-
were never more than a few thousand of the Airlia on the nal and go in and destroy Earth? The Airlia turned the
planet at any one time. And they went other places and mothership off because they were obviously losing their
worked their way in among the humans. Jorgenson's diffu- war!"
sionist theory is correct. There are many connections be- Lisa Duncan nodded. "This is beyond us. We have to
tween all those ancient civilizations, and there is a reason bring the President here."
they all started at roughly the same time, but it wasn't be- The golden glow suddenly went white, then a three-di-
cause man crossed the ocean. It was because Atlantis was mensional picture appeared. It showed the early-morning
destroyed and the Airlia spread out across the planet." sky and a phalanx of small dots moving across.
"I saw a pyramid just like the guardian but smaller, down "What's that?" Duncan asked.
on the lowest level in Dulce," Turcotte said. "You might not get the chance to talk to the President,"
"Yes, that was the computer the rebels hid," Nabinger Turcotte said. "Those are F-16's coming this way."
said. "Not as powerful as the guardian but still far more
advanced than anything we could comprehend. Gullick and
his people must have just recovered that this year when the
find was made at Jamiltepec in Mexico."
"And Gullick turned it on," Turcotte said, all the pieces
falling into place.
"Yes," Nabinger said. "And it didn't work the way Gul-
lick thought. He was no longer in control--the rebel com-
AREA 51 367
In the guardian cavern everyone relaxed as they watched
3 4 the warplanes turn away, followed by the foo fighters.
"Seems like this guardian can take care of itself,"
Turcotte said.
"Is there any way we can get hold of Washington?"
Duncan asked. "I need to get this madman Gullick re-
lieved."
"Can you ask the guardian to let us use the SATCOM
radio in the bouncer?" Turcotte asked Nabinger.
"I'll try," Nabinger replied.
RAPA Nui (EASTER ISLAND)
Gullick had one last card up his sleeve. He knew there was
Gullick sat in the-back of the large Navy helicopter parked an Aegis-class cruiser in the Lincoln battle group. He
on the runway and listened in on the command frequency grabbed the microphone and called the admiral.
as the strike force moved in. There was enough ordnance
on those planes to reduce the volcano to rubble. After The three-dimensional glow suddenly shifted perspective
that--Gullick shook his head, trying to get rid of a pound- and showed four trails of flame coming off a warship.
ing headache and think clearly. They would have to dig "What the hell are those?" Kelly asked, freezing Turcotte
down to the mothership again. And then, then-- and Duncan in their tracks.
"Are you all right, sir?" The navy lieutenant was wor- Turcotte spun around. "Tomahawk cruise missiles."
ried. He didn't know what was going on, but one thing for "He's going nuclear?" Duncan was shocked.
sure, the shit was hitting the fan. "No, those probably aren't nuclear, but they carry a hell
"I'm fine," Gullick snapped. of a wallop," Turcotte said.
"We've got bogeys!" the radar man called out. "Coming "Do you think the foo fighters can stop them?
up out of the volcano." "No time. The foo fighters are chasing away the jets,"
Turcotte said. "They're out of position."
The flight leader saw the foo fighters rising up to greet his They watched, mesmerized, as the four missiles hit su-
planes. He'd been in the wardroom when the flight that personic speed and crossed the shoreline of Easter Island,
had been dispatched to set the trap had gone down, their less than three miles away.
engines shut down by these very same craft. "We've got maybe four seconds," Turcotte said.
"Eagle Flight, this is Eagle Six. Abort! Abort!" The image blanked out, then returned, showing the is-
The F-16's banked hard and kicked in afterburners, the land unchanged.
foo fighters in hot pursuit. "What happened?" Kelly asked.
368 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 369
On the Lincoln the admiral was asking the same question
of his staff on the battle bridge. He ignored General Gul- On Easter Island, Gullick was still yelling into the radio in
lick's screamed demands as he talked to the officers work- the back of the helicopter when the navy lieutenant took
ing there. off his headset and looked at the general. "Sir, I'm under
"Near as I can tell, sir, there's some sort of force field orders to take you into custody."
around the volcano. The Tomahawks were destroyed when Gullick's face twitched and he ripped off his own head-
they hit it." set. "What? Who the hell do you think you are?"
The admiral rubbed his forehead. He didn't have a clue "I have orders to take you into custody," the lieutenant
what was going on. He'd already lost six multimillion-dollar repeated. He laid a hand on Gullick's arm and Gullick
fighters, and now four Tomahawks.
"I demand you launch another strike!" Gullick was yell- ripped it away.
ing on one frequency. "Don't you dare! I had served my country for over thirty
"Sir, I've got communication with someone claiming years. This can not happen. We must succeed. We must fly
they are inside that volcano," one of the men said. the ship."
"Give me that frequency," the admiral said, ignoring The lieutenant had almost lost friends on the previous
Gullick. He picked up a mike. "This is Admiral Spring- night's F-16 mission and he had his orders. He drew his
field." pistol. "Sir, we can do this the easy way or we can do this
"Admiral, this is Lisa Duncan, the President's science the hard way."
adviser. You'd better listen up and listen good. Who autho- Gullick drew his pistol. The lieutenant froze, stunned
rized you to attack this place?" that his bluff had been called.
"General Gullick, ma'am."
"General Gullick is insane."
"He had the proper authorization codes and--
"Admiral, I want you to get me a direct line to the Presi- AIRSPACE, DULCE, NEW MEXICO
dent. I'll give you my authorization codes to get that call
through, and we'll get this all sorted out. Clear?" From its perch watching the mothership hangar the foo
The admiral gave a relieved sigh. "Clear, ma'am." fighter came out of the north at over five thousand miles an
hour. It stopped abruptly and hovered, three miles over the
The golden tendril unwrapped itself from around Nab- mountain housing the Dulce facility. A tightly focused
inger's head and returned to the orb. The orb pulsed and beam of golden light came out of it, aimed straight down.
seemed to grow larger. It passed through the mountain as if it didn't exist.
"What's happening?" Kelly asked. On the bottommost level the small pyramid was touched by
"I don't know," Nabinger replied. "As much as I'm get- the beam and instantly imploded. The layers of the facil-
ting information from the guardian, it's getting information ity pancaked on top of each other and the entire facility
from me." was destroyed in less than two seconds.
370 ROBERT DOHERTY
RAPA Nui (EASTER ISLAND)
Gullick turned to the north and his mouth opened wide. A 35
high-pitched scream came out. He fell to the floor of the
helicopter, dropping the pistol and pressing both hands
against the side of his head. Dark red blood flowed out his
ears and nose.
The lieutenant stepped back, shocked by what he was
watching. Gullick reached a hand up, the fingers twisted in
pain, in a gesture of supplication. Then he collapsed in a
fetal position and was still.
The lieutenant stepped forward and rolled the body RAPA Nui (EASTER ISLAND)
over. Lifeless eyes stared up at the morning sun.
The view from the rim of Rano Kao was spectacular.
Waves roared into the rocks a thousand feet below and the
sea stretched out to the horizon, the setting sun creating
hundreds of sparkles in the wave crests. The only thing
marring the view was the silhouette of an aircraft carrier six
miles off the coast.
A jet roared past, carrying another load of politicians.
The Abraham Lincoln task force was spread out around the
island and the local airfield was packed with incoming air-
craft. Turcotte squatted and picked up a rock, tossing it up
and down in his hand. Kelly was standing nearby.
Von Seeckt and Nabinger were still down in the cavern,
studying the guardian computer. Nabinger had found the
control that opened a shaft to the rim of the crater shortly
after briefing them about the history. Then the others had
begun to arrive, Duncan taking them down to see what had
been found.
Nabinger had communicated with the guardian again.
There was so much information. Medical theory; physics;
the universe; even the instructions on how to fly the
mothership. It was all there.
'So what now?" Turcotte asked.
"We're sitting on the biggest story of the century," Kelly
372 ROBERT DOHERTY
said. "Hell, it's the biggest story of the last two thousand
years." EPILOGUE
She and Turcotte had seen Gullick's body. He told her
his theory that Gullick had been controlled by the pyramid
uncovered in Mexico. That Gullick had turned it on and
powered it up, but then it had taken over. It all fit together
now, and Kelly would very shortly have to leave to do her
job and tell the rest of the world the story.
"I miss Johnny," she said. "This is his story more than
mine."
"His death wasn't in vain," Turcotte said. RAPA Nui (EASTER ISLAND)
"He helped bring to light the greatest story in history,"
Kelly agreed. It felt the power come in like a shot of adrenaline. For the
Turcotte threw the rock out toward the ocean and first time in over five thousand years it was able to bring all
watched it disappear. "I think about that alien commander systems on line. Immediately it put into effect the last pro-
so many years ago. Aspasia. The decision he had to make." gram it had been loaded with in case of full power-up.
"And?" Kelly asked. It reached out and linked with sensors pointed outward
"And it took a lot of guts." Turcotte stood. "And he from the planet. Then it began transmitting, back in the
made the right decision. It was what was meant to be." direction it had come from over ten millennia ago, calling
out: "Come. Come and get us."
"I didn't know you had this philosophical side to you,"
Kelly said. And there were other machines out there and they were
listening.
"This all had to happen. I grant you that. But"-
Turcotte looked out to sea--"but I don't know if we're
making the right decision to continue down there with the
guardian. I don't know if this is meant for us, this knowl-
edge, this technology ahead of our time. I talked to Von
Seeckt. He said they're already giving the guardian more
power, putting it totally on line."
"You sound . . ." Kelly hesitated.
Turcotte looked at her. "Scared?"
She nodded.
"I am."