tions. But Turcotte had been been verbally ordered by the listed on his orders. To his surprise they had taken a cab
DET-A commander to stop in Washington on his way from downtown and checked into a hotel. Actually they hadn't
Europe to Nevada. He'd been met at the airport by a pair checked in, they'd walked right past the desk and taken an
of Secret Service agents and escorted to a private room in elevator directly up to the room, which had a numerical
the terminal. With the agents standing guard outside the keypad instead of a traditional lock. Prague punched in the
door he'd been briefed by a woman who'd identified her- code.
self as the presidential science adviser to something called Prague had shrugged at Turcotte's concern about report-
Majic-12, Dr. Lisa Duncan. She'd told him that his real job ing in to Nellis, as they entered the lavishly furnished suite.
was to infiltrate Delta Operations, which provided security "Don't sweat it. We'll get you in tomorrow. And you're
for Majic-12, and observe what was going on. He was given not going to Nellis. You'll find out, meat."
a phone number to call and relay what he saw. "What's with this room?" Turcotte asked, noting the
To all of Turcotte's questions Duncan had been evasive. meat comment. It was a term used for new replacements to
She couldn't tell him what he was supposed to be looking combat units that had suffered high casualties. Certainly
for. Since she was on the Majic-12 council, that made him not the situation he was in now, at least he hoped not.
suspicious. She had not even told him why he was being There was only one other way to decipher the phrase, as a
selected. Turcotte wondered if it had anything to do with slam. Turcotte didn't know why Prague would do that ex-
what had just happened in Germany. Beyond that wonder- cept to test his tolerance levels, which was an accepted
ing, the naturally suspicious part of his mind, which years practice in elite units. Except it usually involved profes-
24 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51
25
sional tests of physical or mental capabilities, not insults. hangars, towers, and antennas all laid out alongside the
Of course, Turcotte knew there might be another reason extremely long runway.
for Prague's attitude: maybe he knew about the meeting in "Looks like you might have come on a good night,"
Washington and it had been a test. Or, that Duncan was for Franklin commented, sitting down with his back against a
real and Prague knew Turcotte was a plant. All this think- boulder. They'd arrived at the top of White Sides Moun-
ing about plots within plots gave Turcotte a headache. tain ten minutes earlier and settled in on the edge of the
Prague threw himself down on the sofa. "We have all mountaintop, overlooking the lake bed.
these rooms on a permanent basis for R and R when we "Might just be for the C-130's," Simmons commented.
come into town. We get taken care of real well, as long as The transport planes were parked near a particularly
we don't screw up. And no drinking. Even on R and R. We large hangar and there was some activity going on around
always have to be ready." them. He focused the glasses. "They're not unloading," he
"For what?" Turcotte asked, dropping his large kit bag said. "They're loading something onto the planes. Looks
and walking over to the window to look out at the neon like a couple of helicopters."
display of Las Vegas. "Helicopters?" Franklin repeated. "Let me see." He
"For whatever, meat," Prague returned easily. "We fly took the binoculars and looked for a few minutes. "I've
out of McCarren on Janet tomorrow morning." seen one of those type of choppers before. Painted all
"Janet?" Turcotte asked. black. The big one is a UH-60 Blackhawk. The two little
"A 737. Goes out every morning to the Area with the ones I don't know. They fly UH-60's around here for secu-
contract workers and us." rity. I had one buzz my truck one day down on the mailbox
"What exactly is my job and-- ' Turcotte paused as a road."
loud chirping filled the air and Prague pulled a beeper off
his belt. He turned off the noise and checked the small "Where do you think they're taking them?" Simmons
LED screen. asked, taking the binoculars back.
"Looks like you're about to find out," Prague said, "I don't know."
standing. "Grab your gear. We're going back to the airport "Something's going on," Simmons said.
now. Recall."
MCCARREN FIELD, LAS VEGAS
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE RESERVATION T-142 HOURS, 45 MINUTES
T-143 HOURS The 737 had no markings on it other than a broad red band
"I wonder what their electric bill is?" Simmons muttered, painted down the outside. It was parked behind a Cyclone
staring out across the dry lake bed at the brilliantly lit com- fence with green stripping run through the chain links to
plex nestled up against the base of the Groom Mountain discourage observers. Turcotte carried his kit bag right on
Range. He put his binoculars to his eyes and took in the board after Prague joked that they could carry any damn
26 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 27
thing they wanted onto this flight--there was no baggage Well, actually it's on Air Force land, but it's run by an
check. organization called the National Reconnaissance Organi-
Instead of a stewardess a hard-faced man in a three- zation or NRO, which is responsible for all overhead im-
piece suit was waiting inside the plane door, checking off agery."
personnel as they came in. "Who's this?" he demanded, Turcotte knew that the NRO was an extensive operation,
looking at Turcotte. overseeing all satellite and spy-plane operations with a
"Fresh meat," Prague replied. "I picked him up this eve- budget in the billions. He'd been on several missions where
ning." he'd received support from the NRO.
"Let me see your ID," the man demanded. "What exactly do we do?" Turcotte asked, pressing his
Turcotte pulled out his military ID card and the man hands against the seat back in front of him and pushing,
scanned the picture. "Wait here." He stepped back into relieving the tension in his shoulders.
what had been the forward galley and flipped open a small "Security," Prague answered. "Air Force handles the
portable phone. He spoke into it for a minute, then flipped outer perimeter but we do the inside stuff, since we all
it shut. He came out. "Your orders check out. You're have the clearances. Actually," he amended, "Delta Ops
cleared." consists of two units. One is called Landscape and the
Although his face showed no change of expression, other Nightscape. Landscape is responsible for on-the-
Turcotte slowly relaxed his right hand and rubbed the fin- ground security of the facilities at Area 51 and for keeping
gers lightly over the scar tissue that was knotted over the tabs on the people there. Nightscape, which you are now
palm of that hand. part of . . ." Prague paused. "Well, you'll find out soon
The man held up a small device. "Blow." enough, meat."
Turcotte glanced at Prague, who took the device and Turcotte had been in enough covert units to know when
blew into it. The man checked the readout, quickly to stop asking questions, so he shut up and listened to the
switched out the tube, and handed it to Turcotte, who did engines rumble as they made their way north toward his
the same. After looking at the readout the man gestured new assignment.
with the phone toward the back of the plane.
Prague slapped Turcotte on the back and led him down
the aisle. Turcotte glanced at the other men gathered on
board. They all had the same look: hard, professional, and WHITE SIDES MOUNTAIN
competent. It was the demeanor that all the men Turcotte T--142 HOURS, 26 MINUTES
had served with over the years in Special Operations had. Simmons reached into his backpack and pulled out a
As Prague settled down next to him and the door to the plastic case and unsnapped it.
plane shut, Turcotte decided to try to find out what was "What's that?" Franklin asked.
going on, especially since it now seemed they were on alert. "They're night vision goggles," Simmons replied.
"Where are we headed?" he asked. "Really?" Franklin said. "I've seen pictures of them. The
"Area 51," Prague replied. "It's an Air Force facility. camo dudes here use them. They drive around wearing
28 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 29
them, with all their lights out. They can scare the shit out goggles. "You've never played with the sensors before,
of you when they roll up on you in the dark like that when right?"
you think you're all alone on the road." Franklin reluctantly nodded. "Usually we get stopped
Simmons turned the on-switch and the inside of the lens down below by the outer security guys. The sheriff comes,
glowed bright green. He began scanning, keeping the gog- confiscates our film. Then most of the time he lets us climb
gles away from the bright lights of the facility itself, which up."
would overload the computer enhancer built into them. He "Most of the time?" Simmons asked.
checked out the long landing strip. It was over fifteen thou- "Yeah. Sometimes, maybe three or four times, he told us
sand feet long and reputed to be the longest in the world, to go home."
yet its very existence was denied by the government. Then "I thought you said this was public land," Simmons said.
he looked over the rest of the lake bed, trying to see if "It is."
there was anything else of interest. "So why did you leave those times?"
A small spark flickered in the eyepiece and Simmons Franklin looked very uncomfortable. "The sheriff told us
twisted his head, trying to catch what had caused it. He he couldn't be responsible for our safety if we continued
looked down and to the right and was rewarded by another on. It was like a code between him and me, man. I knew
that was when I was supposed to go back to the mailbox
brief spark. A pair of four-wheel all-terrain vehicles were
and watch."
making their way along a switchback about four miles
"And what happened those nights?" Simmons asked.
away. The spark was the reflection of moonlight off the Franklin didn't answer.
darkened headlights. Each of the drivers had goggles "Those are the nights you spotted strange lights doing
strapped over the front of his helmet. unexplainable maneuvers in the air on the other side of the
Simmons tapped Franklin and handed him the goggles. mountaintop. This mountaintop," Simmons said with a bit
"There. You see those two guys on the ATVs?" of heat in his voice.
Franklin looked and nodded. "Yeah, I see 'em." "Yeah."
"Are they the 'camo dudes' you were telling me about?" "So this is the first time you've ever been up here and
"I've never seen them on ATVs before," Franklin said, they didn't know you were up here. This might be a night
"but, yeah, those are camo dudes. And, actually, I've never you were supposed to go back to the mailbox."
seen them on the inside of the mountain before. They al- "Yeah."
ways came up on us on the other side." He handed the That explained why Franklin was carrying the only cam-
goggles back. "They can't get up here on those things any- era, Simmons realized. Franklin was using him as a cover in
way. The closest they can get is maybe a mile away." case they were caught, probably hoping that Simmons's
"Have you ever pulled the road sensors before?" Sim- status would help him with the authorities. Simmons took a
mons asked suddenly. deep breath as he considered the possibilities. It was dan-
Franklin didn't answer and Simmons took one more look gerous, but there was a chance here for a big story. "I guess
at the two ATVs coming toward them, then turned off the we'll just have to see what happens, then."
30 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 31
They both turned their heads as they again heard the "It's zeroed in on the laser out to one hundred meters,
whine of jet engines in the distance. flat trajectory," Prague informed him. "Out from there you
"That's Janet," Franklin said as the 737 descended over- raise about an inch per fifty meters." Prague looked at him.
head to a landing on the airstrip. He sounded concerned. "I assume you have your own personal sidearm?"
"It's early. It usually doesn't come until five forty-five in Turcotte nodded. "Browning High Power."
the morning." "You can carry that, but only use it as a last resort. We
Simmons looked through the goggles. The two ATVs like to stay silenced." Prague also handed him a headset
had turned around and were now heading away. He with boom mike. "Voice activated, it's preset to my com-
thought that even more strange than the 737 coming early. mand frequency. Always have it on and powered," he or-
dered. "If I can't talk to you, you'd better be fucking dead,
because you don't want to see or hear me again."
Turcotte nodded and slipped it over his head, sliding the
GROOM LAKE AIRSTRIP, AREA 51 main battery pack on a cord around his neck.
T-142 HOURS, 13 MINUTES Prague slapped him on the shoulder, much harder than
The 737 came to a halt a quarter mile away from the two necessary. "Get changed and let's roll."
C-130's. Turcotte followed Prague off and into a small Turcotte zipped up the coveralls and tugged on the com-
building next to a hangar. Up against the base of a large bat vest, filling the empty pockets with extra magazines for
mountain there was a cluster of buildings, several hangars, the Calico. He also appropriated a few flash-bang gre-
and what appeared to be a couple of barracks buildings, nades, two high-explosive minigrenades, two CS grenades,
along with a control tower for the runway. and placed them in pockets. He took his Browning out of
"Stow your kit bag there, meat," Prague ordered. his kit bag and slid it into the thigh holster rigged below the
The other men were opening wall lockers and pulling vest. For good measure he added a few more items from
out black jumpsuits and putting them on. Prague led his kit bag: a leather sheath holding three perfectly bal-
Turcotte over to a supply room and began tossing him anced and highly honed throwing knives handmade for him
pieces of equipment, a similar jumpsuit leading the way, by a knifesmith back in Maine went inside the jumpsuit,
followed by a combat vest, black balaclava, black aviator strapped over his right shoulder; a coiled steel wire garotte
gloves, and a set of AN-PVS-9 night vision goggles--the fitted inside one of the suit's pockets; and a slim, double-
hottest technology in the field. edged commando knife with sheath slid down the outside
Prague unlocked a large bin and pulled out a sophisti- of the top of his right boot.
cated-looking weapon. Turcotte nodded in appreciation. Feeling fully dressed for whatever might occur, Turcotte
The NRO was supplying these guys with top-of-the-line joined the other men by the doors to the hangar. There
gear. Turcotte took the weapon and checked it out. The were twenty-two men and Prague was apparently in charge.
gun was a 9mm Calico, with telescoping butt stock, built- He spotted Turcotte.
in silencer, hundred-round cylindrical magazine, and "You stay with me tonight, meat. Do what I tell you to
mounted laser sight. do. Don't do nothing you aren't told to. You're going to see
32 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 33
some strange things. Don't worry about anything. We got it turboprop engines reverbrated through the interior with a
all under control." teeth-rattling drone. Several chest-height, small round
If we have it all under control, Turcotte wondered, why do portholes were the only windows to the outside world.
we need the guns? But he kept his mouth shut and looked Turcotte noted several other pallets of gear strapped down
out at what the other men were watching. A UH-60 along the center of the cargo bay. There were other groups
Blackhawk helicopter, blades folded, had already been of men already on board, some dressed in gray jumpsuits,
placed inside the first C-130. Two AH-6 attack helicop- others in traditional army green.
ters--"little birds," as the pilots referred to them--were "The ones in gray are the eggheads!" Prague yelled in
also being loaded onto the second one. The AH-6 was a his ear. "We baby-sit them while they do their stuff. The
small, four-man helicopter with a minigun mounted on the green ones are the pilots for the choppers."
right skid. The only unit that Turcotte knew of that flew the The ramp of the C-130 slowly lifted and closed and the
AH-6 was Task Force 160, the army's classified helicopter interior lights glowed red, allowing the people inside to
unit. maintain their natural night vision. Turcotte glanced out
"Alpha team, move out!" Prague ordered. one of the small portholes at the airfield. He noted that the
Four men with parachutes casually slung over their V-22 was out of sight. He wondered where the four men
shoulders walked onto the tarmac toward a waiting V-22 were jumping. Out of the corner of his eye something large
Osprey that had been sitting in the dark, unnoticed until and round was moving about thirty feet above the flight
now in the lee of the large hangar. Another surprise. strip, between them and the mountain. Turcotte blinked.
Turcotte had heard that the government contract for the "What the--"
Osprey had been canceled, but this one looked very opera- "Keep your attention inboard," Prague ordered, grab-
tional as each of its massive propellers began turning. They bing his shoulder. "Your gear good to go?"
were on the end of the wings, which were rotated up--a Turcotte looked at his leader, then closed his eyes. The
position that allowed the plane to take off like a helicopter,
then fly like a plane as the wings rotated forward. The image of what he had just seen was still clear in his mem-
Osprey was moving even before the back ramp finished ory, but his mind was already beginning to question itself.
closing, lifting into the sky. "Yes, sir."
Turcotte felt a surge of adrenaline. The smell of JP-4 "All right. Like I said, just stick with me for this first one.
fuel, the exhaust from the aircraft engines, the sounds, the And don't let nothing you see surprise you."
weaponry, all touched his senses and brought back memo- The plane shuddered as it began to slowly move.
ries--some good, most bad, but all exciting. Turcotte took the Calico submachine gun and placed it in
"Let's go!" Prague ordered, and Turcotte followed the his lap. He swiftly fieldstripped it down to its component
other men on board the lead C-130. The interior could parts, balancing them on his thighs. He lifted up the firing
easily fit four cars end to end. Along each side of the plane pin and checked to make sure the tip wasn't filed down. He
facing inward was a row of red canvas jump seats. The skin put the gun back together, carefully checking each part to
of the aircraft wasn't insulated and the roar of the four make sure it was functional. When he was done, he slid the
34 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 35
bolt back and put a round in the chamber, making sure the when they got there, he'd find out when they told him. It
select lever was on safe. was a hell of a way to run an operation. Either Prague was
incompetent or he was deliberately keeping Turcotte in the
"What do you think is going on?" Simmons asked ner- dark. Turcotte knew it wasn't the former.
vously, wishing he had his camera. The first C-130 was
moving ponderously toward the end of the runway. The
other smaller plane had taken off like a helicopter and VICINITY NEBRASKA/SOUTH DAKOTA BORDER
disappeared to the north. T-141 HOURS, 15 MINUTES
"Holy shit!" Franklin exclaimed. "Do you see that!"
Simmons twisted and froze at the sight that greeted him. The V-22 Osprey circled the south shore of Lewis and
Franklin was up and running, stumbling over the rocks, Clark Lake at ten thousand feet. In the rear the team
heading back the way they had come. Simmons reached for leader listened on the headset of the satellite radio as he
the small Instamatic camera he had secreted inside his was fed the latest from the Cube.
shirt when the night sky was brilliantly lit for a few seconds "Phoenix Advance, this is Nightscape Six. Thermals read
and then Simmons saw and felt no more. clear of humans in MSS. Proceed. Out."
The team leader took off the headset and turned to the
Turcotte held on to the web seating along the inside skin of three members of his team. "Let's go." He gave a thumbs-
the aircraft as the nose lifted, and then they were airborne. up to the crew chief.
He caught a glimpse of a bright light somewhere out in the The back ramp slowly opened to the chill night sky.
mountains through the far portal. He glanced over at When it was completely open, the crew chief gestured. The
Prague, and the man was staring at him, his eyes black and team leader walked to the edge and stepped off, followed
flat. closely by the other men. He got stable, aims and legs
Turcotte calmly met the gaze. He knew the type. Prague akimbo, then quickly pulled his ripcord. The square chute
was a hard man among men who prided themselves on blossomed above his head and he checked his canopy to
being tough. Turcotte imagined Prague's stare intimidated make sure it was functioning properly. Then he slid the
less-experienced men, but Turcotte knew something that night vision goggles down over his crash helmet and
Prague knew: he knew the power of death. He knew the switched them on.
feeling of having that power in the crook of the finger, Glancing above, beyond his chute, he could see the other
exercising it with a three-pound pull, and how easy it was. three members of his team hanging up above him, in per-
It didn't matter how tough you pretended to be at that fect formation. Satisfied, the team leader looked down and
point. oriented himself. The target area was easy to see. There
Turcotte closed his eyes and tried to relax. It didn't take was a long section of shoreline with no lights. As he de-
a genius to figure out that he wasn't going to get anything scended, he checked the terrain through the glow of the
up front here. Wherever they were going, he'd find out goggles and started picking up more details. The aban-
when they got there. And whatever he was supposed to do doned ski lift was the most prominent feature he was look-
36 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 37
ing for, and once he spotted it, he pulled on his toggles, scended. A glance out the window showed water, then
aiming for the high terminus of the lift. There was a small shoreline. The wheels of the 130 touched earth and the
open field there, where years ago beginning skiers had plane began rolling. It stopped in an amazingly short dis-
stumbled off as the chairs deposited them. tance for such a large aircraft and the back ramp opened,
Pulling in on both toggles less than twenty feet above the as the plane turned around, facing back down the runway.
ground, the team leader slowed his descent to the point "Let's go!" Prague yelled. "Off-load everything."
that when his boots touched down it was no more of a jar Turcotte lent a hand as they rolled the helicopter off and
than if he had stepped off a curb. The chute crumpled into the shelter of the nearby trees. He was impressed with
behind him as he unfastened his submachine gun. The the ability of the pilots. The runway was little more than a
other men landed, all within twenty feet. They secured flat expanse of rough grass between dangerously close lines
their chutes, then took position underneath the top pylon of trees on either side.
of the ski lift, on the highest bit of ground within ten miles. As soon as they had the helicopter and equipment out,
From there they could oversee the jumbled two miles of the plane was heading back down the strip, the ramp not
terrain lying between them and the lake. even fully closed as the plane lifted off into the night sky.
The area was called Devil's Nest and it was rumored that Less than a minute later the second plane was landing and
Jesse James had used it as a hideout over a century ago. the process was repeated. In a few minutes they had all
The rolling plain of Nebraska abruptly dropped off into three helicopters and personnel on the ground.
sharp hills and ridgelines, starting right where the men As the sound of the second plane faded into the dis-
were and running up to the edge of the man-made lake-- tance, Prague was all business. "I want camo nets up and
the result of the damming of the Missouri River ten miles everything under cover, ASAP. Let's move, people!"
downstream. A developer had tried to turn it into a resort
area a decade ago--hence the ski lift--but the idea had
failed miserably. The men weren't interested in the rusting
machinery, though. Their concern lay in the center of the
area, running along the top of a ridgeline pointed directly
at the lake.
The team leader took the handset his commo man of-
fered him. "Nightscape Six Two, this is Phoenix Advance.
Landing strip is clear. Area is clear. Over."
"This is Six Two. Roger. Phoenix main due in five mikes.
Out."
In the air Turcotte watched Prague speak into the satellite
radio, the words lost in the loud roar of the engines. He
could feel the change in air pressure as the C-130 de-
AREA 51 39
Nile were the only one still standing, and even in ancient
3 times they were considered the greatest of the seven. The
Colossus at Rhodes--which most archaeologists doubted
had even existed as reported--the hanging gardens of Bab-
ylon, the Tower of Babel, the Tower of Pharos at Alexan-
dria, and other reported marvels of early engineering had
all disappeared over the centuries. All but the pyramids,
built between 2685 and 2180 B.C. They were weathered by
the sand long before the Roman Empire even rose, were
still there when it fell, centuries later, and were standing
CAIRO, EGYPT strong as the second millennium after Christ's birth ap-
T-137 HOURS proached.
Their original face of hand-smoothed limestone had
"I don't know what's wrong with this thing," the graduate long ago been plundered--except for the very top of the
student said, twisting knobs and adjusting controls on the middle pyramid--but their bulk was so great that they had
machinery in front of him. The sound of his shrill voice escaped most of the ravages of the wars that had swirled
echoed off the stone walls and slowly died out, leaving still- around them. From the Hyksos invasions from the north in
ness in the air. the sixteenth century B.C. to Napoleon, to the British
"Why are you so sure there's something wrong with the Eighth Army in World War II, the pyramids had survived
machine?" Professor Nabinger asked in a quieter voice. them all.
"What else could be causing these negative readings?" There were over eighty pyramids still standing in Egypt,
The student let go of the controls of the magnetic and Nabinger had seen most of them and explored their
resonance imager that they had carried down here, with mysteries, but he was always drawn back to the famous trio
great effort, into the bowels of the Great Pyramid. at Giza. As one came up on them and viewed the three, the
The effort had taken two forms: in the past twenty-four middle pyramid of Khafre appeared to be the largest, but
hours the actual physical effort of carrying the machine only because it was built on higher ground. The Pharaoh
through the narrow tunnels of the Great Pyramid of Giza Khufu, more popularly known as Cheops, was responsible
down to the bottom chamber and, for a year prior, complex for the building of the greatest pyramid, farthest to the
diplomatic effort to be granted permission to bring the northeast. Over four hundred feet tall and covering eighty
modern equipment into the greatest of Egypt's ancient acres, it was by far the largest stone building in the world.
monuments and turn it on. The smallest of the three was that of Menkaure, measuring
Nabinger knew enough about the politics of archaeology over two hundred feet in altitude. The sides of all three
to appreciate the opportunity he was being given to use were aligned with the four cardinal directions and they
this equipment here. Of the original seven wonders of the went from northeast to southwest, from largest to smallest.
ancient world the three pyramids on the West Bank of the The Great Sphinx lay at the foot of the middle pyramid--
4O ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 41
far enough to the east to also be out in front of the Great There were those who postulated that, to the Egyptians,
Pyramid, off the Sphinx's left shoulder. the finished pyramid was not so important as the process of
building; that the purpose of their construction was a de-
sire by ancient pharaohs to employ and draw together their
Great Pyramid people during the annual three months the Nile flooded
North and agricultural work came to a standstill. Idle hands led to
idle minds that could possibly think thoughts the pharaohs
Great Sphinx would not have approved of. So, this theory went, the pha-
Pyramid of Khafre
raohs placed ten-ton blocks of stones in those idle hands.
Another theory favored by the more optimistic tradition-
Pyramid of Menkaure alists was that the final resting place of the pharaohs in the
pyramids had not been discovered yet. It was perhaps hid-
den deep in the bedrock underneath the massive stone
The pyramids drew tourists and archeologists and scien- structures.
tists and evoked awe among all. For the tourist the size and There were many theories, but none had yet been
age were enough. For the scientist the exact engineering proven. It was a search to discover and prove the purpose
defied the technology of the time in which they were built. of the pyramids that drew Peter Nabinger to them every
For the archaeologist not only was the architecture amaz- year for six months. The leading Egyptian expert at the
ing, but there was the unsettling question of the purpose of Brooklyn Museum, he had been coming here for twelve
the buildings. That was the question Nabinger had strug- years.
gled with for years, not content with the answers offered up Nabinger's area of expertise was hieroglyphics: a form of
by his colleagues. writing using figures or objects to represent words or
They were commonly assumed to have been tombs for sounds. His philosophy was that the best way to understand
the pharaohs. But the problem with that theory was that the past was to read what people of the time had to say
the sarcophagus discovered inside of each of the pyramids about their own existence, rather than what someone dig-
had been found empty. For years that had been blamed on ging up ruins thousands of years later had to say.
the plundering of grave robbers, until sarcophagi with the One thing Nabinger found most fascinating about the
lids still on and the seals on those lids still intact were pyramids was that if they had not been there now, in the
found, and they were empty also. present, for everyone to see, it was doubtful anyone would
The next best theory, and one that logically followed the believe they had ever existed, because of the almost total
previous one, was that perhaps the pyramids were ceno- lack of reference to them in ancient Egyptian writings. It
taphs, funeral memorials, and the bodies had secretly been was almost as if Egyptian historians of years gone past had
buried elsewhere to prevent the graves from being plun- assumed everyone would know about the pyramids and
dered. therefore there was no need to talk about them. Or, Nab-
A more recent theory took a totally different approach. inger sometimes suspected, maybe even the people of the
42 ROBERT DOHERTY
AREA 51 43
time of the pyramids' building weren't quite clued in them- Schliemann might have been convinced that Troy actu-
selves as to the reason they were being built. Or maybe, ally existed and thus spent his life searching for it, but
Nabinger also wondered, maybe it had been forbidden to Nabinger had no such convictions. Nabinger's work on the
write about them? pyramids was one of detailing what was there and search-
This year he was trying something different, in addition ing for its explanation, an area that was perhaps one of the
to his main project of recording all the writing and draw- most heavily studied in the field of archaeology. He had
ings on the interior walls of the Great Pyramid. He was hopes that perhaps he might find something with the MRI,
using the magnetic resonance imager, the MRIr to probe something that others had missed, but he didn't have a clue
deep underneath the structures where the eye could not go as to what. Hopefully, it might be a new chamber with not
and physical excavation was prohibited. The waves emitted only whatever was in it, but also new, unseen writings.
by the imager could safely invade the depths and tell him if Welcher was looking at the readouts. "If I didn't know
there were more buried wonders. At least that was the better, I'd say we're getting interference from some sort of
theory. The practice, as his graduate assistant Mike residual radiation."
Welcher was pointing out to him, was not living up to the Nabinger had been afraid of this. "Radiation?" He
anticipation. glanced across the chamber at the group of Egyptian labor-
"It's like"--Welcher paused and scratched his head-- ers who had helped haul the MRI down here. The head
"it's like we're being blocked by some other emission man, Kaji, was watching them carefully, his wrinkled face
source. It's not particularly powerful, but it is there." not betraying a thought. The last thing Nabinger needed
"For example?" Nabinger asked, leaning back against was the laborers walking out on them because of the threat
the cool stone walls of the chamber. Despite all the time of radiation.
he'd spent inside the pyramid over the years, there was still "Yeah," Welcher said. "To prepare for this I worked with
a feeling of oppression in here, as if one could sense the the MRI in the hospital and we saw readings like this once
immense weight of stone pressing down overhead. in a while. They came up when the reading was affected by
Nabinger was a tall, heavyset man, sporting a thick black X-rays. In fact, the technician told me they finally had to
beard and wire-rimmed glasses. He wore faded khaki, the write up a schedule for the machines so they wouldn't be
uniform of the desert explorer. At thirty-six he was consid- on at the same time, even though they were on different
ered young in the field of archaeology and he had no major floors of the hospital and both heavily shielded."
finds to stake his reputation upon. Part of his problem, he It was information not widely known, but Nabinger had
would readily acknowledge to his friends back in Brooklyn, read reports from earlier expeditions that had used cosmic
was that he had no pet theory that he desired to pursue. ray bombardment to search for hidden chambers and pas-
He only had his pet method, searching for new writings sages in the Great Pyramid and their reports had been
and trying to decipher the volumes of hieroglyphics that similar: there was some sort of residual radiation inside the
still remained untranslated. He was willing to accept what- pyramid that blocked such attempts. The information had
ever they yielded, but so far his efforts had not turned up not been widely disseminated because there was no expla-
much. nation for it, and scientists didn't write journal articles
44 ROBERT DOHERTY
AREA 51 45
about things they couldn't explain. Nabinger often won- tion--enough had been found to cause some interest.
dered how many unexplained phenomena went unreported What Nabinger had stumbled across were pictures of simi-
because those who discovered them didn't want to risk ridi- lar high runes from a site in South America. After a year of
cule since there was no rational explanation for their find- very hard work over the few samples available--combining
ings. them with those from Egypt--he believed he had manage
Nabinger had hoped to have better luck with the MRI to decode a couple of dozen words and symbols. He
because it worked on a different band-width from the cos- needed more samples, though, in order to feel comfortable
mic-ray emitters. The exact nature of the radiation had that the little he had achieved was valid. For all he knew,
never been detailed, so he had not been able to determine his translation could be totally false and he had been work-
if the MRI would be blocked also. ing with gibberish.
"Have you tried the entire spectrum on the machine?" Kaji snapped some commands in Arabic and the labor-
he asked. They'd been down here for four hours already, ers rose to their feet and disappeared back up the corridor.
Nabinger allowing Welcher to handle the machine, which Nabinger cursed and put his notebook down. "Listen here,
was his specialty. Nabinger had spent the time painstak- Kaji, I've paid--"
ingly photographing the walls of the chamber, the bottom "It is all right, Professor," Kaji said, holding up a hand
of the three in the Great Pyramid. Although extensively roughened by a lifetime of manual labor. He spoke almost
documented, some of the hieroglyphics on the wall had perfect English with a slight British accent--a surprise to
never been deciphered. Nabinger, who was often exasperated by the Egyptian tac-
The notebook in his lap was covered with his scribblings, tic of retreating behind a pretended ignorance of English
and he had been centered totally on his work, excited by to avoid work. "I have given them a break outside. They
the possibility that there might be some linguistic connec- will be back in an hour." He looked at the MRI machine
tion between some of the panels of hieroglyphics here and and smiled, a gold tooth gleaming in the front of his
newly found panels in Mexico. Nabinger did not concern mouth. "We are not having much luck, yes?"
himself with how such a connection could be, he just "No, we're not," Nabinger said, used to the strange syn-
wanted to decipher what he had. And so far, a very strange tax.
message was being revealed to him, word by laborious "Professor Hammond did not have much luck with his
DET-A commander to stop in Washington on his way from downtown and checked into a hotel. Actually they hadn't
Europe to Nevada. He'd been met at the airport by a pair checked in, they'd walked right past the desk and taken an
of Secret Service agents and escorted to a private room in elevator directly up to the room, which had a numerical
the terminal. With the agents standing guard outside the keypad instead of a traditional lock. Prague punched in the
door he'd been briefed by a woman who'd identified her- code.
self as the presidential science adviser to something called Prague had shrugged at Turcotte's concern about report-
Majic-12, Dr. Lisa Duncan. She'd told him that his real job ing in to Nellis, as they entered the lavishly furnished suite.
was to infiltrate Delta Operations, which provided security "Don't sweat it. We'll get you in tomorrow. And you're
for Majic-12, and observe what was going on. He was given not going to Nellis. You'll find out, meat."
a phone number to call and relay what he saw. "What's with this room?" Turcotte asked, noting the
To all of Turcotte's questions Duncan had been evasive. meat comment. It was a term used for new replacements to
She couldn't tell him what he was supposed to be looking combat units that had suffered high casualties. Certainly
for. Since she was on the Majic-12 council, that made him not the situation he was in now, at least he hoped not.
suspicious. She had not even told him why he was being There was only one other way to decipher the phrase, as a
selected. Turcotte wondered if it had anything to do with slam. Turcotte didn't know why Prague would do that ex-
what had just happened in Germany. Beyond that wonder- cept to test his tolerance levels, which was an accepted
ing, the naturally suspicious part of his mind, which years practice in elite units. Except it usually involved profes-
24 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51
25
sional tests of physical or mental capabilities, not insults. hangars, towers, and antennas all laid out alongside the
Of course, Turcotte knew there might be another reason extremely long runway.
for Prague's attitude: maybe he knew about the meeting in "Looks like you might have come on a good night,"
Washington and it had been a test. Or, that Duncan was for Franklin commented, sitting down with his back against a
real and Prague knew Turcotte was a plant. All this think- boulder. They'd arrived at the top of White Sides Moun-
ing about plots within plots gave Turcotte a headache. tain ten minutes earlier and settled in on the edge of the
Prague threw himself down on the sofa. "We have all mountaintop, overlooking the lake bed.
these rooms on a permanent basis for R and R when we "Might just be for the C-130's," Simmons commented.
come into town. We get taken care of real well, as long as The transport planes were parked near a particularly
we don't screw up. And no drinking. Even on R and R. We large hangar and there was some activity going on around
always have to be ready." them. He focused the glasses. "They're not unloading," he
"For what?" Turcotte asked, dropping his large kit bag said. "They're loading something onto the planes. Looks
and walking over to the window to look out at the neon like a couple of helicopters."
display of Las Vegas. "Helicopters?" Franklin repeated. "Let me see." He
"For whatever, meat," Prague returned easily. "We fly took the binoculars and looked for a few minutes. "I've
out of McCarren on Janet tomorrow morning." seen one of those type of choppers before. Painted all
"Janet?" Turcotte asked. black. The big one is a UH-60 Blackhawk. The two little
"A 737. Goes out every morning to the Area with the ones I don't know. They fly UH-60's around here for secu-
contract workers and us." rity. I had one buzz my truck one day down on the mailbox
"What exactly is my job and-- ' Turcotte paused as a road."
loud chirping filled the air and Prague pulled a beeper off
his belt. He turned off the noise and checked the small "Where do you think they're taking them?" Simmons
LED screen. asked, taking the binoculars back.
"Looks like you're about to find out," Prague said, "I don't know."
standing. "Grab your gear. We're going back to the airport "Something's going on," Simmons said.
now. Recall."
MCCARREN FIELD, LAS VEGAS
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE RESERVATION T-142 HOURS, 45 MINUTES
T-143 HOURS The 737 had no markings on it other than a broad red band
"I wonder what their electric bill is?" Simmons muttered, painted down the outside. It was parked behind a Cyclone
staring out across the dry lake bed at the brilliantly lit com- fence with green stripping run through the chain links to
plex nestled up against the base of the Groom Mountain discourage observers. Turcotte carried his kit bag right on
Range. He put his binoculars to his eyes and took in the board after Prague joked that they could carry any damn
26 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 27
thing they wanted onto this flight--there was no baggage Well, actually it's on Air Force land, but it's run by an
check. organization called the National Reconnaissance Organi-
Instead of a stewardess a hard-faced man in a three- zation or NRO, which is responsible for all overhead im-
piece suit was waiting inside the plane door, checking off agery."
personnel as they came in. "Who's this?" he demanded, Turcotte knew that the NRO was an extensive operation,
looking at Turcotte. overseeing all satellite and spy-plane operations with a
"Fresh meat," Prague replied. "I picked him up this eve- budget in the billions. He'd been on several missions where
ning." he'd received support from the NRO.
"Let me see your ID," the man demanded. "What exactly do we do?" Turcotte asked, pressing his
Turcotte pulled out his military ID card and the man hands against the seat back in front of him and pushing,
scanned the picture. "Wait here." He stepped back into relieving the tension in his shoulders.
what had been the forward galley and flipped open a small "Security," Prague answered. "Air Force handles the
portable phone. He spoke into it for a minute, then flipped outer perimeter but we do the inside stuff, since we all
it shut. He came out. "Your orders check out. You're have the clearances. Actually," he amended, "Delta Ops
cleared." consists of two units. One is called Landscape and the
Although his face showed no change of expression, other Nightscape. Landscape is responsible for on-the-
Turcotte slowly relaxed his right hand and rubbed the fin- ground security of the facilities at Area 51 and for keeping
gers lightly over the scar tissue that was knotted over the tabs on the people there. Nightscape, which you are now
palm of that hand. part of . . ." Prague paused. "Well, you'll find out soon
The man held up a small device. "Blow." enough, meat."
Turcotte glanced at Prague, who took the device and Turcotte had been in enough covert units to know when
blew into it. The man checked the readout, quickly to stop asking questions, so he shut up and listened to the
switched out the tube, and handed it to Turcotte, who did engines rumble as they made their way north toward his
the same. After looking at the readout the man gestured new assignment.
with the phone toward the back of the plane.
Prague slapped Turcotte on the back and led him down
the aisle. Turcotte glanced at the other men gathered on
board. They all had the same look: hard, professional, and WHITE SIDES MOUNTAIN
competent. It was the demeanor that all the men Turcotte T--142 HOURS, 26 MINUTES
had served with over the years in Special Operations had. Simmons reached into his backpack and pulled out a
As Prague settled down next to him and the door to the plastic case and unsnapped it.
plane shut, Turcotte decided to try to find out what was "What's that?" Franklin asked.
going on, especially since it now seemed they were on alert. "They're night vision goggles," Simmons replied.
"Where are we headed?" he asked. "Really?" Franklin said. "I've seen pictures of them. The
"Area 51," Prague replied. "It's an Air Force facility. camo dudes here use them. They drive around wearing
28 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 29
them, with all their lights out. They can scare the shit out goggles. "You've never played with the sensors before,
of you when they roll up on you in the dark like that when right?"
you think you're all alone on the road." Franklin reluctantly nodded. "Usually we get stopped
Simmons turned the on-switch and the inside of the lens down below by the outer security guys. The sheriff comes,
glowed bright green. He began scanning, keeping the gog- confiscates our film. Then most of the time he lets us climb
gles away from the bright lights of the facility itself, which up."
would overload the computer enhancer built into them. He "Most of the time?" Simmons asked.
checked out the long landing strip. It was over fifteen thou- "Yeah. Sometimes, maybe three or four times, he told us
sand feet long and reputed to be the longest in the world, to go home."
yet its very existence was denied by the government. Then "I thought you said this was public land," Simmons said.
he looked over the rest of the lake bed, trying to see if "It is."
there was anything else of interest. "So why did you leave those times?"
A small spark flickered in the eyepiece and Simmons Franklin looked very uncomfortable. "The sheriff told us
twisted his head, trying to catch what had caused it. He he couldn't be responsible for our safety if we continued
looked down and to the right and was rewarded by another on. It was like a code between him and me, man. I knew
that was when I was supposed to go back to the mailbox
brief spark. A pair of four-wheel all-terrain vehicles were
and watch."
making their way along a switchback about four miles
"And what happened those nights?" Simmons asked.
away. The spark was the reflection of moonlight off the Franklin didn't answer.
darkened headlights. Each of the drivers had goggles "Those are the nights you spotted strange lights doing
strapped over the front of his helmet. unexplainable maneuvers in the air on the other side of the
Simmons tapped Franklin and handed him the goggles. mountaintop. This mountaintop," Simmons said with a bit
"There. You see those two guys on the ATVs?" of heat in his voice.
Franklin looked and nodded. "Yeah, I see 'em." "Yeah."
"Are they the 'camo dudes' you were telling me about?" "So this is the first time you've ever been up here and
"I've never seen them on ATVs before," Franklin said, they didn't know you were up here. This might be a night
"but, yeah, those are camo dudes. And, actually, I've never you were supposed to go back to the mailbox."
seen them on the inside of the mountain before. They al- "Yeah."
ways came up on us on the other side." He handed the That explained why Franklin was carrying the only cam-
goggles back. "They can't get up here on those things any- era, Simmons realized. Franklin was using him as a cover in
way. The closest they can get is maybe a mile away." case they were caught, probably hoping that Simmons's
"Have you ever pulled the road sensors before?" Sim- status would help him with the authorities. Simmons took a
mons asked suddenly. deep breath as he considered the possibilities. It was dan-
Franklin didn't answer and Simmons took one more look gerous, but there was a chance here for a big story. "I guess
at the two ATVs coming toward them, then turned off the we'll just have to see what happens, then."
30 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 31
They both turned their heads as they again heard the "It's zeroed in on the laser out to one hundred meters,
whine of jet engines in the distance. flat trajectory," Prague informed him. "Out from there you
"That's Janet," Franklin said as the 737 descended over- raise about an inch per fifty meters." Prague looked at him.
head to a landing on the airstrip. He sounded concerned. "I assume you have your own personal sidearm?"
"It's early. It usually doesn't come until five forty-five in Turcotte nodded. "Browning High Power."
the morning." "You can carry that, but only use it as a last resort. We
Simmons looked through the goggles. The two ATVs like to stay silenced." Prague also handed him a headset
had turned around and were now heading away. He with boom mike. "Voice activated, it's preset to my com-
thought that even more strange than the 737 coming early. mand frequency. Always have it on and powered," he or-
dered. "If I can't talk to you, you'd better be fucking dead,
because you don't want to see or hear me again."
Turcotte nodded and slipped it over his head, sliding the
GROOM LAKE AIRSTRIP, AREA 51 main battery pack on a cord around his neck.
T-142 HOURS, 13 MINUTES Prague slapped him on the shoulder, much harder than
The 737 came to a halt a quarter mile away from the two necessary. "Get changed and let's roll."
C-130's. Turcotte followed Prague off and into a small Turcotte zipped up the coveralls and tugged on the com-
building next to a hangar. Up against the base of a large bat vest, filling the empty pockets with extra magazines for
mountain there was a cluster of buildings, several hangars, the Calico. He also appropriated a few flash-bang gre-
and what appeared to be a couple of barracks buildings, nades, two high-explosive minigrenades, two CS grenades,
along with a control tower for the runway. and placed them in pockets. He took his Browning out of
"Stow your kit bag there, meat," Prague ordered. his kit bag and slid it into the thigh holster rigged below the
The other men were opening wall lockers and pulling vest. For good measure he added a few more items from
out black jumpsuits and putting them on. Prague led his kit bag: a leather sheath holding three perfectly bal-
Turcotte over to a supply room and began tossing him anced and highly honed throwing knives handmade for him
pieces of equipment, a similar jumpsuit leading the way, by a knifesmith back in Maine went inside the jumpsuit,
followed by a combat vest, black balaclava, black aviator strapped over his right shoulder; a coiled steel wire garotte
gloves, and a set of AN-PVS-9 night vision goggles--the fitted inside one of the suit's pockets; and a slim, double-
hottest technology in the field. edged commando knife with sheath slid down the outside
Prague unlocked a large bin and pulled out a sophisti- of the top of his right boot.
cated-looking weapon. Turcotte nodded in appreciation. Feeling fully dressed for whatever might occur, Turcotte
The NRO was supplying these guys with top-of-the-line joined the other men by the doors to the hangar. There
gear. Turcotte took the weapon and checked it out. The were twenty-two men and Prague was apparently in charge.
gun was a 9mm Calico, with telescoping butt stock, built- He spotted Turcotte.
in silencer, hundred-round cylindrical magazine, and "You stay with me tonight, meat. Do what I tell you to
mounted laser sight. do. Don't do nothing you aren't told to. You're going to see
32 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 33
some strange things. Don't worry about anything. We got it turboprop engines reverbrated through the interior with a
all under control." teeth-rattling drone. Several chest-height, small round
If we have it all under control, Turcotte wondered, why do portholes were the only windows to the outside world.
we need the guns? But he kept his mouth shut and looked Turcotte noted several other pallets of gear strapped down
out at what the other men were watching. A UH-60 along the center of the cargo bay. There were other groups
Blackhawk helicopter, blades folded, had already been of men already on board, some dressed in gray jumpsuits,
placed inside the first C-130. Two AH-6 attack helicop- others in traditional army green.
ters--"little birds," as the pilots referred to them--were "The ones in gray are the eggheads!" Prague yelled in
also being loaded onto the second one. The AH-6 was a his ear. "We baby-sit them while they do their stuff. The
small, four-man helicopter with a minigun mounted on the green ones are the pilots for the choppers."
right skid. The only unit that Turcotte knew of that flew the The ramp of the C-130 slowly lifted and closed and the
AH-6 was Task Force 160, the army's classified helicopter interior lights glowed red, allowing the people inside to
unit. maintain their natural night vision. Turcotte glanced out
"Alpha team, move out!" Prague ordered. one of the small portholes at the airfield. He noted that the
Four men with parachutes casually slung over their V-22 was out of sight. He wondered where the four men
shoulders walked onto the tarmac toward a waiting V-22 were jumping. Out of the corner of his eye something large
Osprey that had been sitting in the dark, unnoticed until and round was moving about thirty feet above the flight
now in the lee of the large hangar. Another surprise. strip, between them and the mountain. Turcotte blinked.
Turcotte had heard that the government contract for the "What the--"
Osprey had been canceled, but this one looked very opera- "Keep your attention inboard," Prague ordered, grab-
tional as each of its massive propellers began turning. They bing his shoulder. "Your gear good to go?"
were on the end of the wings, which were rotated up--a Turcotte looked at his leader, then closed his eyes. The
position that allowed the plane to take off like a helicopter,
then fly like a plane as the wings rotated forward. The image of what he had just seen was still clear in his mem-
Osprey was moving even before the back ramp finished ory, but his mind was already beginning to question itself.
closing, lifting into the sky. "Yes, sir."
Turcotte felt a surge of adrenaline. The smell of JP-4 "All right. Like I said, just stick with me for this first one.
fuel, the exhaust from the aircraft engines, the sounds, the And don't let nothing you see surprise you."
weaponry, all touched his senses and brought back memo- The plane shuddered as it began to slowly move.
ries--some good, most bad, but all exciting. Turcotte took the Calico submachine gun and placed it in
"Let's go!" Prague ordered, and Turcotte followed the his lap. He swiftly fieldstripped it down to its component
other men on board the lead C-130. The interior could parts, balancing them on his thighs. He lifted up the firing
easily fit four cars end to end. Along each side of the plane pin and checked to make sure the tip wasn't filed down. He
facing inward was a row of red canvas jump seats. The skin put the gun back together, carefully checking each part to
of the aircraft wasn't insulated and the roar of the four make sure it was functional. When he was done, he slid the
34 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 35
bolt back and put a round in the chamber, making sure the when they got there, he'd find out when they told him. It
select lever was on safe. was a hell of a way to run an operation. Either Prague was
incompetent or he was deliberately keeping Turcotte in the
"What do you think is going on?" Simmons asked ner- dark. Turcotte knew it wasn't the former.
vously, wishing he had his camera. The first C-130 was
moving ponderously toward the end of the runway. The
other smaller plane had taken off like a helicopter and VICINITY NEBRASKA/SOUTH DAKOTA BORDER
disappeared to the north. T-141 HOURS, 15 MINUTES
"Holy shit!" Franklin exclaimed. "Do you see that!"
Simmons twisted and froze at the sight that greeted him. The V-22 Osprey circled the south shore of Lewis and
Franklin was up and running, stumbling over the rocks, Clark Lake at ten thousand feet. In the rear the team
heading back the way they had come. Simmons reached for leader listened on the headset of the satellite radio as he
the small Instamatic camera he had secreted inside his was fed the latest from the Cube.
shirt when the night sky was brilliantly lit for a few seconds "Phoenix Advance, this is Nightscape Six. Thermals read
and then Simmons saw and felt no more. clear of humans in MSS. Proceed. Out."
The team leader took off the headset and turned to the
Turcotte held on to the web seating along the inside skin of three members of his team. "Let's go." He gave a thumbs-
the aircraft as the nose lifted, and then they were airborne. up to the crew chief.
He caught a glimpse of a bright light somewhere out in the The back ramp slowly opened to the chill night sky.
mountains through the far portal. He glanced over at When it was completely open, the crew chief gestured. The
Prague, and the man was staring at him, his eyes black and team leader walked to the edge and stepped off, followed
flat. closely by the other men. He got stable, aims and legs
Turcotte calmly met the gaze. He knew the type. Prague akimbo, then quickly pulled his ripcord. The square chute
was a hard man among men who prided themselves on blossomed above his head and he checked his canopy to
being tough. Turcotte imagined Prague's stare intimidated make sure it was functioning properly. Then he slid the
less-experienced men, but Turcotte knew something that night vision goggles down over his crash helmet and
Prague knew: he knew the power of death. He knew the switched them on.
feeling of having that power in the crook of the finger, Glancing above, beyond his chute, he could see the other
exercising it with a three-pound pull, and how easy it was. three members of his team hanging up above him, in per-
It didn't matter how tough you pretended to be at that fect formation. Satisfied, the team leader looked down and
point. oriented himself. The target area was easy to see. There
Turcotte closed his eyes and tried to relax. It didn't take was a long section of shoreline with no lights. As he de-
a genius to figure out that he wasn't going to get anything scended, he checked the terrain through the glow of the
up front here. Wherever they were going, he'd find out goggles and started picking up more details. The aban-
when they got there. And whatever he was supposed to do doned ski lift was the most prominent feature he was look-
36 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 37
ing for, and once he spotted it, he pulled on his toggles, scended. A glance out the window showed water, then
aiming for the high terminus of the lift. There was a small shoreline. The wheels of the 130 touched earth and the
open field there, where years ago beginning skiers had plane began rolling. It stopped in an amazingly short dis-
stumbled off as the chairs deposited them. tance for such a large aircraft and the back ramp opened,
Pulling in on both toggles less than twenty feet above the as the plane turned around, facing back down the runway.
ground, the team leader slowed his descent to the point "Let's go!" Prague yelled. "Off-load everything."
that when his boots touched down it was no more of a jar Turcotte lent a hand as they rolled the helicopter off and
than if he had stepped off a curb. The chute crumpled into the shelter of the nearby trees. He was impressed with
behind him as he unfastened his submachine gun. The the ability of the pilots. The runway was little more than a
other men landed, all within twenty feet. They secured flat expanse of rough grass between dangerously close lines
their chutes, then took position underneath the top pylon of trees on either side.
of the ski lift, on the highest bit of ground within ten miles. As soon as they had the helicopter and equipment out,
From there they could oversee the jumbled two miles of the plane was heading back down the strip, the ramp not
terrain lying between them and the lake. even fully closed as the plane lifted off into the night sky.
The area was called Devil's Nest and it was rumored that Less than a minute later the second plane was landing and
Jesse James had used it as a hideout over a century ago. the process was repeated. In a few minutes they had all
The rolling plain of Nebraska abruptly dropped off into three helicopters and personnel on the ground.
sharp hills and ridgelines, starting right where the men As the sound of the second plane faded into the dis-
were and running up to the edge of the man-made lake-- tance, Prague was all business. "I want camo nets up and
the result of the damming of the Missouri River ten miles everything under cover, ASAP. Let's move, people!"
downstream. A developer had tried to turn it into a resort
area a decade ago--hence the ski lift--but the idea had
failed miserably. The men weren't interested in the rusting
machinery, though. Their concern lay in the center of the
area, running along the top of a ridgeline pointed directly
at the lake.
The team leader took the handset his commo man of-
fered him. "Nightscape Six Two, this is Phoenix Advance.
Landing strip is clear. Area is clear. Over."
"This is Six Two. Roger. Phoenix main due in five mikes.
Out."
In the air Turcotte watched Prague speak into the satellite
radio, the words lost in the loud roar of the engines. He
could feel the change in air pressure as the C-130 de-
AREA 51 39
Nile were the only one still standing, and even in ancient
3 times they were considered the greatest of the seven. The
Colossus at Rhodes--which most archaeologists doubted
had even existed as reported--the hanging gardens of Bab-
ylon, the Tower of Babel, the Tower of Pharos at Alexan-
dria, and other reported marvels of early engineering had
all disappeared over the centuries. All but the pyramids,
built between 2685 and 2180 B.C. They were weathered by
the sand long before the Roman Empire even rose, were
still there when it fell, centuries later, and were standing
CAIRO, EGYPT strong as the second millennium after Christ's birth ap-
T-137 HOURS proached.
Their original face of hand-smoothed limestone had
"I don't know what's wrong with this thing," the graduate long ago been plundered--except for the very top of the
student said, twisting knobs and adjusting controls on the middle pyramid--but their bulk was so great that they had
machinery in front of him. The sound of his shrill voice escaped most of the ravages of the wars that had swirled
echoed off the stone walls and slowly died out, leaving still- around them. From the Hyksos invasions from the north in
ness in the air. the sixteenth century B.C. to Napoleon, to the British
"Why are you so sure there's something wrong with the Eighth Army in World War II, the pyramids had survived
machine?" Professor Nabinger asked in a quieter voice. them all.
"What else could be causing these negative readings?" There were over eighty pyramids still standing in Egypt,
The student let go of the controls of the magnetic and Nabinger had seen most of them and explored their
resonance imager that they had carried down here, with mysteries, but he was always drawn back to the famous trio
great effort, into the bowels of the Great Pyramid. at Giza. As one came up on them and viewed the three, the
The effort had taken two forms: in the past twenty-four middle pyramid of Khafre appeared to be the largest, but
hours the actual physical effort of carrying the machine only because it was built on higher ground. The Pharaoh
through the narrow tunnels of the Great Pyramid of Giza Khufu, more popularly known as Cheops, was responsible
down to the bottom chamber and, for a year prior, complex for the building of the greatest pyramid, farthest to the
diplomatic effort to be granted permission to bring the northeast. Over four hundred feet tall and covering eighty
modern equipment into the greatest of Egypt's ancient acres, it was by far the largest stone building in the world.
monuments and turn it on. The smallest of the three was that of Menkaure, measuring
Nabinger knew enough about the politics of archaeology over two hundred feet in altitude. The sides of all three
to appreciate the opportunity he was being given to use were aligned with the four cardinal directions and they
this equipment here. Of the original seven wonders of the went from northeast to southwest, from largest to smallest.
ancient world the three pyramids on the West Bank of the The Great Sphinx lay at the foot of the middle pyramid--
4O ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 41
far enough to the east to also be out in front of the Great There were those who postulated that, to the Egyptians,
Pyramid, off the Sphinx's left shoulder. the finished pyramid was not so important as the process of
building; that the purpose of their construction was a de-
sire by ancient pharaohs to employ and draw together their
Great Pyramid people during the annual three months the Nile flooded
North and agricultural work came to a standstill. Idle hands led to
idle minds that could possibly think thoughts the pharaohs
Great Sphinx would not have approved of. So, this theory went, the pha-
Pyramid of Khafre
raohs placed ten-ton blocks of stones in those idle hands.
Another theory favored by the more optimistic tradition-
Pyramid of Menkaure alists was that the final resting place of the pharaohs in the
pyramids had not been discovered yet. It was perhaps hid-
den deep in the bedrock underneath the massive stone
The pyramids drew tourists and archeologists and scien- structures.
tists and evoked awe among all. For the tourist the size and There were many theories, but none had yet been
age were enough. For the scientist the exact engineering proven. It was a search to discover and prove the purpose
defied the technology of the time in which they were built. of the pyramids that drew Peter Nabinger to them every
For the archaeologist not only was the architecture amaz- year for six months. The leading Egyptian expert at the
ing, but there was the unsettling question of the purpose of Brooklyn Museum, he had been coming here for twelve
the buildings. That was the question Nabinger had strug- years.
gled with for years, not content with the answers offered up Nabinger's area of expertise was hieroglyphics: a form of
by his colleagues. writing using figures or objects to represent words or
They were commonly assumed to have been tombs for sounds. His philosophy was that the best way to understand
the pharaohs. But the problem with that theory was that the past was to read what people of the time had to say
the sarcophagus discovered inside of each of the pyramids about their own existence, rather than what someone dig-
had been found empty. For years that had been blamed on ging up ruins thousands of years later had to say.
the plundering of grave robbers, until sarcophagi with the One thing Nabinger found most fascinating about the
lids still on and the seals on those lids still intact were pyramids was that if they had not been there now, in the
found, and they were empty also. present, for everyone to see, it was doubtful anyone would
The next best theory, and one that logically followed the believe they had ever existed, because of the almost total
previous one, was that perhaps the pyramids were ceno- lack of reference to them in ancient Egyptian writings. It
taphs, funeral memorials, and the bodies had secretly been was almost as if Egyptian historians of years gone past had
buried elsewhere to prevent the graves from being plun- assumed everyone would know about the pyramids and
dered. therefore there was no need to talk about them. Or, Nab-
A more recent theory took a totally different approach. inger sometimes suspected, maybe even the people of the
42 ROBERT DOHERTY
AREA 51 43
time of the pyramids' building weren't quite clued in them- Schliemann might have been convinced that Troy actu-
selves as to the reason they were being built. Or maybe, ally existed and thus spent his life searching for it, but
Nabinger also wondered, maybe it had been forbidden to Nabinger had no such convictions. Nabinger's work on the
write about them? pyramids was one of detailing what was there and search-
This year he was trying something different, in addition ing for its explanation, an area that was perhaps one of the
to his main project of recording all the writing and draw- most heavily studied in the field of archaeology. He had
ings on the interior walls of the Great Pyramid. He was hopes that perhaps he might find something with the MRI,
using the magnetic resonance imager, the MRIr to probe something that others had missed, but he didn't have a clue
deep underneath the structures where the eye could not go as to what. Hopefully, it might be a new chamber with not
and physical excavation was prohibited. The waves emitted only whatever was in it, but also new, unseen writings.
by the imager could safely invade the depths and tell him if Welcher was looking at the readouts. "If I didn't know
there were more buried wonders. At least that was the better, I'd say we're getting interference from some sort of
theory. The practice, as his graduate assistant Mike residual radiation."
Welcher was pointing out to him, was not living up to the Nabinger had been afraid of this. "Radiation?" He
anticipation. glanced across the chamber at the group of Egyptian labor-
"It's like"--Welcher paused and scratched his head-- ers who had helped haul the MRI down here. The head
"it's like we're being blocked by some other emission man, Kaji, was watching them carefully, his wrinkled face
source. It's not particularly powerful, but it is there." not betraying a thought. The last thing Nabinger needed
"For example?" Nabinger asked, leaning back against was the laborers walking out on them because of the threat
the cool stone walls of the chamber. Despite all the time of radiation.
he'd spent inside the pyramid over the years, there was still "Yeah," Welcher said. "To prepare for this I worked with
a feeling of oppression in here, as if one could sense the the MRI in the hospital and we saw readings like this once
immense weight of stone pressing down overhead. in a while. They came up when the reading was affected by
Nabinger was a tall, heavyset man, sporting a thick black X-rays. In fact, the technician told me they finally had to
beard and wire-rimmed glasses. He wore faded khaki, the write up a schedule for the machines so they wouldn't be
uniform of the desert explorer. At thirty-six he was consid- on at the same time, even though they were on different
ered young in the field of archaeology and he had no major floors of the hospital and both heavily shielded."
finds to stake his reputation upon. Part of his problem, he It was information not widely known, but Nabinger had
would readily acknowledge to his friends back in Brooklyn, read reports from earlier expeditions that had used cosmic
was that he had no pet theory that he desired to pursue. ray bombardment to search for hidden chambers and pas-
He only had his pet method, searching for new writings sages in the Great Pyramid and their reports had been
and trying to decipher the volumes of hieroglyphics that similar: there was some sort of residual radiation inside the
still remained untranslated. He was willing to accept what- pyramid that blocked such attempts. The information had
ever they yielded, but so far his efforts had not turned up not been widely disseminated because there was no expla-
much. nation for it, and scientists didn't write journal articles
44 ROBERT DOHERTY
AREA 51 45
about things they couldn't explain. Nabinger often won- tion--enough had been found to cause some interest.
dered how many unexplained phenomena went unreported What Nabinger had stumbled across were pictures of simi-
because those who discovered them didn't want to risk ridi- lar high runes from a site in South America. After a year of
cule since there was no rational explanation for their find- very hard work over the few samples available--combining
ings. them with those from Egypt--he believed he had manage
Nabinger had hoped to have better luck with the MRI to decode a couple of dozen words and symbols. He
because it worked on a different band-width from the cos- needed more samples, though, in order to feel comfortable
mic-ray emitters. The exact nature of the radiation had that the little he had achieved was valid. For all he knew,
never been detailed, so he had not been able to determine his translation could be totally false and he had been work-
if the MRI would be blocked also. ing with gibberish.
"Have you tried the entire spectrum on the machine?" Kaji snapped some commands in Arabic and the labor-
he asked. They'd been down here for four hours already, ers rose to their feet and disappeared back up the corridor.
Nabinger allowing Welcher to handle the machine, which Nabinger cursed and put his notebook down. "Listen here,
was his specialty. Nabinger had spent the time painstak- Kaji, I've paid--"
ingly photographing the walls of the chamber, the bottom "It is all right, Professor," Kaji said, holding up a hand
of the three in the Great Pyramid. Although extensively roughened by a lifetime of manual labor. He spoke almost
documented, some of the hieroglyphics on the wall had perfect English with a slight British accent--a surprise to
never been deciphered. Nabinger, who was often exasperated by the Egyptian tac-
The notebook in his lap was covered with his scribblings, tic of retreating behind a pretended ignorance of English
and he had been centered totally on his work, excited by to avoid work. "I have given them a break outside. They
the possibility that there might be some linguistic connec- will be back in an hour." He looked at the MRI machine
tion between some of the panels of hieroglyphics here and and smiled, a gold tooth gleaming in the front of his
newly found panels in Mexico. Nabinger did not concern mouth. "We are not having much luck, yes?"
himself with how such a connection could be, he just "No, we're not," Nabinger said, used to the strange syn-
wanted to decipher what he had. And so far, a very strange tax.
message was being revealed to him, word by laborious "Professor Hammond did not have much luck with his