" Yes, Miss Ealand?" " If there's nothing else, I'll go home." "No, that's all right, I'm about to leave myself." "Good night." " Straker." " 'Possible sighting, Commander.'" "'Have trace on positive track." "'Course 028-146 green." "'Speed zero SOL 8." "'Range, 32 million miles, closing." "Red alert.'" "'Red alert.'" "Control to Interceptors." "Have UFOs on positive track." "Moonbase to SHADO Control." "Confirm UFO sightings." "Going for intercept." "'Maintaining speed and course." "'Apogee 027.324." "'Range 20 million miles.'" "Positive track green 040-273." "Yes, we have that." "Roger." "We confirm orbital reference." "Speed correction?" "SOL 0.7..." "'I have green on 1, 2 e 3." "'Speed SOL 0.78." "'Range 17 million miles.'" " Anything?" " No, nothing yet, sir." "'Missile three, destruct negative." "'UFO beyond Interceptor range, heading for earth.'" "Pretty effective blanket detonation by the Interceptors." "But not good enough." "The one that got through must be damaged." "Sky 1 should get it." " Where's the trajectory termination?" " Just coming through, sir." "North Atlantic, grid reference G6." "Commander Straker, there's an aircraft entering the target area." "'Confirm tracking 013." "'Area red 412." "'Have positive trace." "Waiting for confirmation.'" "Well, if it's not a military jet, what the blazes is it?" "Not a commercial airliner:" "too high and way off the air lanes." " XV-104 to Control." " 'This is Control.'" "Levelled out at 250,000." "Airspeed 2200, pressure normal, cabin temperature 72." "We'll start the test schedule when we get to area G6." "'G6." "Roger.'" "Is that VAC?" "Have you an aircraft overflying the Atlantic?" " Shall I call it off?" " Hold on." "Sir..." " It's a jet on a test flight." " Commercial?" "Ventura Aircraft Corporation, on the line." "I hear you have a jet over the North Atlantic." " Grid referencer..." " G6." "G6." "Right." "Tell your pilot to alter course." "Anywhere!" "Just get him out of that area." "Look, I don't care how much it cost, get him out or you won't have an aircraft to test." "We're 150 miles from the test area." "ETA 4 minutes." "Right." "It's coming over, sir." "Captain Carlin." "What's your position, Captain?" "'We can go for immediate intercept after Sky 1 lifts off.'" "Right." "Right." "Stand by for liftoff." "Sky 1 airborne, sir." "Going for intercept." "Course steady at 014." "Airspeed 2185 knots." " Jim..." " We're just about coming up to..." " What is it?" " We'll soon find out." "We're closing, fast." "It's unbelievable!" "Stand by with reconnaissance camera." "Try to get some close shots." "Have viewphone radar track." "Closing in for attack." "'Control to XV-104.'" " What is it, Control?" " 'Alter course to 024.'" "Listen, Bill, we're onto something up here." "I'll explain later." "'Paul, this is a direct instruction." "Alter course!" "'" "Sorry, Control." "Out." "Get onto someone in authority." " Dig the chairman out of bed." " What do I tell him?" "Tell him the aircraft's violating a war game area, anything." " Just get it out!" " Yes, sir." "Range 125 miles, closing." " You'll have to call it off." " Sky 1 attacks." "That aircraft takes its chances." "Programme set." "Missile launch 25 seconds." "Paul." "There's another aircraft." "Just keep taking those shots." "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0." "Positive." "UFO destroyed." " And the jet?" " It was close." "It must've been hit." "My eyes." "My eyes, what's happened to my eyes?" " My eyes..." " Mr Foster, it's all right." "It's all right." "Come along, it's all right." "There, there." "Right." "Thank you, nurse." "Temporary blindness, Mr Foster." "In a few days you'll be able to see as well as ever." "My name's Frazer." "Dr Frazer." " Where am I?" " Grendel Hospital." "You ejected, just in time." "Hungry?" " I guess so." " Good." "I'll have some food sent in." "What time is it?" "Nearly 2 a.m." " How long have I been here?" " 6 days." "I'll see about that food." "What happened to Jim?" "He didn't make it." "I'm sorry." "Paul, how are you?" " Fine." " Doctors say you're in great shape." " Well, they should know." " Sit down, Paul." " Cigar?" " Oh, thanks." "Paul, you're a pilot." "A test pilot." "One of the best." "You've been through a traumatic experience." "Still, that's all in the past." "Consider the future." " Your future." " My future?" "What I thought was that you should take a rest." " On full pay, of course." " Oh, of course." "I suggest that we... talk again, in say, a couple of months." " One question." " Go ahead." "Where the cinefilm from the reconnaissance camera?" " Now, look, Paul." " Where's that film?" " Paul..." " You've got my report." "You read it?" "You wrote that report three days after recovering from a six-day coma." "Six days, six weeks, what's the difference?" "What I wrote is true!" "That's the way it happened!" "Explosion?" "Strange lights?" "Unidentified flying object?" "Look, just process that film!" "Both the plane and the film are with a military investigation unit." "I want a hearing." "They will tear that story of yours to shreds." "You will never fly again for me." "Or for anybody else." "Do you understand that?" "Hi, Alec." "Well, what do you think?" "You should have warned me." "Isn't this what any well turned-out film executive would wear?" "Have to maintain our cover." "I gotta start showing my face up top." "Talking of cover, I've had General Henderson on the line." " What does he want?" " Foster wants a hearing." "Foster?" "The test pilot." "And he's no pushover." "He knows what he saw and he's sticking to it." " Wasn't the copilot killed?" " Yeah." " What he says is not corroborated." " Right." "Well, I hope you find the surroundings to your liking." " It's a new twist." " Do sit down." "Comfort, privacy..." "Complete security." "What more could you ask for?" "The answer to a couple of questions." "Try me." "Where's the cinefilm from the XV-104?" "As I was about to say, the camera in question was undamaged." "Then did I or didn't I see an unidentified flying object?" " You're not sure?" " Don't play games." "You know, I believe you saw something." "Well, at least that's a start." "Ah, coffee." "Look, Jackson, let's stop fencing around." "That film shows close-ups of an object, right?" "I'm an experienced test pilot." "That thing was extraterrestrial." "Run the film, Tsi." "I don't understand." "There's the other aircraft." "What have you done?" "What are you trying to pull?" "You've erased it, fixed it!" "Why?" "Why should I do that?" "I ought to knock that smile right back down your..." "Yes..." "Things are not always what they seem to be, Mr Foster." "OK." " You saw that?" " More games?" " Did you see it stop?" " Stop?" "Look." "I throw it up, and it falls back into my hand." "But for a split second just at the top of the trajectory, it stops." "Did you see it?" " But it did stop!" " If you say so." "No, Foster, it didn't." "It's moving forward at 500 knots." "Like everything else in this plane." "Yet again, this whole aircraft moves with the rotation of the earth." "Confusing, but fact." "Facts can be confusing in an aircraft at night, at 250,000 feet." "Now, tell me all about it." "What did you see from that cockpit?" "An extraterrestrial spacecraft." " A light source!" " Yes." " A trick of light." " No!" " A panel reflection." " No!" "Refracted from your visor and the windscreen." "No!" "There are 100 other explanations." "Only one." "And you know it." "Well, I have a report to write." "If you could give me a few facts." "Your name, Paul Foster." "Address, I have it." " You've been a pilot for..." " 8 years." "8 years." " And a test pilot for 2?" " Right." "Now, I can see here you reported a sighting" " three years ago?" " Yes." "And another two and a half years before that." "That's right." "Then we shouldn't be meeting again for another couple of years." "I don't normally enter rooms this way." " The janitor let me in." " Good old janitor." "Drink?" "Why did you murder my brother?" " You've read the report, Alec?" " Couldn't put it down." " Conclusions?" " We can be cautiously satisfied." "Yes, I agree." "Three UFOs." "Two knocked out by our Interceptors, one destroyed in the atmosphere by Sky 1." "There are still areas that need work." "Interceptor launches." "Too slow." "Yes." "I want astronauts spaceborne within two minutes of a red alert." "Go to Moonbase, Alec." "Drill them, cajole them, but get those times down." "Nice assignment." "Where's my stick?" "No, Alec, that would be my way." "I'm sending you because you're the right man for the job." "OK." "Anything more on Foster?" "Yes." "He's tough." "And persistent." "What happens if he starts getting close?" "One man blow the cover of a multi-billion dollar setup?" "What do you think?" "Then they told me you'd worked out a story to cover wrecking a very expensive aircraft and killing my brother." "Well, you've heard both sides." "What do you believe?" "I don't know." "You know, as long ago as 1968, the authorities issued a report denying the existence of UFOs." " Why?" " I don't understand." "Why deny it?" "Why bother?" "I'll give you a reason." "Let's say the authorities had proof, indisputable proof that UFOs had come to earth." "What would be the result if it leaked out?" "Mass hysteria." "Terror." "A breakdown of authority." "So, they issue a report." "An official denial, to discredit anyone who claims to have seen one." "Five years ago I saw one." "Two years later, another." "They exist, you've got to believe me." "Up there with your brother, I saw something." "I believe you." "Thanks." "Your brother had a camera." "Did they find it?" "I don't know." "There are some personal effects but I can't have them yet." " Something to do with security." " Who told you that?" " A man called Kofax." " Kofax?" " Do me a favour, meet me tomorrow." " What are you going to do?" "Follow my nose." "Don't worry." "Everybody else thinks I'm a nut, I've got nothing to lose." " Where are you going?" " See you tomorrow." "Kofax, you've got a mind like a steel trap." "Straker." "Right." "Right." "Thank you." "Trouble?" "Paul Foster broke into Kofax's office." "They don't miss a trick." "There's nothing." "No, but it proves somebody was interested enough to doctor this film as well." "Paul, might it be better to forget all this?" "No!" "I can't just drop it." "Don't you understand?" "I'll go and get those back-issue papers you wanted." "Paul!" "Are you all right?" "Yeah, I feel great!" "Who did this?" "Well, it certainly wasn't the janitor." "I'll get you a drink." " Of course!" " What is it, Paul?" "Straker." "Ed Straker!" "Paul Foster?" "No, I don't think I want to speak to him now." "Tell him to meet me in the studio." "In an hour." "Right." "Find Alec Freeman for me, will you?" "Ask him to come here." "Yes, sir." " You wanted to see me?" " Yes." "I'm seeing Paul Foster in an hour." " How much does he know?" " That's what I aim to find out." "You look after things down here." "You plan to use that?" " Good afternoon." " My name's Foster." "Ah, yes." "To see Mr Straker." "Mr Straker told me to tell you to meet him at Rupert Square." "Rupert Square?" "Hold it right there." "You must be Foster." "I'm Straker." "Ed Straker." "Hey, Louis?" "Where are you?" "I'll be right with you, sir." "Is... that thing real?" "Excuse me." "We'll get something built here." "I'd really like to see something along the top there." "Yeah, I think it's gonna be fine, Louis." "You can go ahead." "Thanks." "We'll start building right away." " Check with me in the morning." " Right." "Yeah, it's gonna work out just fine." "That's Louis, my construction manager." "Great guy." "Well, what's on your mind, Mr Foster?" " Unidentified flying objects." " Good subject." "You got a script?" "No." "I really mean it." "I saw one." "Now, why don't you tell me all about it, then?" " Yes?" " Where's Commander Straker?" " He's still with Foster, sir." " Thanks." "That really is a very good story, Mr Foster." "But I'm in the film business." "I suggest you tell that story to the police, the Army, the Marines." "Now, excuse me, I have a very heavy schedule." "Quite a switch:" "Air Force colonel to film executive." " You must have your wires crossed." " Have I?" "Mr Foster, let's step into my office." " Some office." " It's too big." "Sparsely furnished, very hard to heat." "But we won't be disturbed." "Oh, it's soundproof, too." "Look." "Ten years ago, you were a colonel in the Air Force." "A degree in astrophysics." "Two years lunar research at MIT." "A career officer." "What happened?" "The car crash made me want to change my career." " Why did it crash?" " A blowout." " On a Rolls Royce at 50 mph?" " They don't make the tyres." "Why was the area cordoned off?" "You've read the report." "A cabinet minister was killed." "Security." " I don't buy it, Straker." " I'm not trying to sell anything." "Look, sir." "I've been through a lot these last few weeks." "First there was Kofax." "I found a letter to you in his safe." "Oh, that was innocent enough, but someone got at him." "Then Jackson from the Military Investigation team." "What happened to the film, Straker?" "The film that showed the proof?" "The film that cost my copilot his life?" "!" "And those two boys who came to my apartment and bust it up!" "I suppose they were sent to frighten me off." "Where's your evidence, Foster?" "Just show me one thing." "You're saying Foster's right and everyone else is wrong." "What I'm saying is that I'm right." "Oh, you're wrong, Foster." "You're so wrong." "Look, I don't give up." "I keep slinging the mud until some of it sticks!" "You haven't heard the last of this, Mr. Film Executive Straker!" "Things are not always what they seem, Mr Foster." "An acoustic gun." "It's very clever." "Place charges in the set wall, for example, load it with blanks and when you fire it the sound detonates the charges." "Very realistic." "You look surprised." "I think we've got a few more surprises for you." "Let's go." "Open up." "It's all right, Miss Ealand." " So, you're a test pilot." " That's right." " Trained to expect the unexpected." " I guess so." "Then brace yourself." "Straker." "'Voice identification positive." "Commander Straker.'" "Where are we?" "The underground headquarters of SHADO." "SHADO?" "OK, Alec." "Wheel them in." "So what happens now?" "You were on a test flight over the North Atlantic, Foster." "Due to a kind of dogged stupidity, you found yourself in the middle of a UFO incident." "This is Colonel Freeman." "Dr Frazer you already know." "Hello, Foster." "How are the eyes?" "We induced a temporary blindness, just to keep you on ice a few days." "Now, your boss, Kofax, knows nothing of all this." "But he played along." "He has his military contract to think of." "Operatives Doug Jackson and Tsi Chan." "Jackson's a psychiatrist and interrogator." "His report told me quite a lot about you." "Yes." "Determined, good logical thought pattern." "A little headstrong." "Louis Graham, electronics man." "And he happens to be a pretty good construction manager as well." "So you had the whole thing wrapped up from the start." "Why the setup?" "Why SHADO?" "Why the secrecy?" "You summed it up pretty well yourself." "'I'll give you a reason." "Let's say the authorities had proof, 'indisputable proof that UFOs had come to earth." "'What would be the result if it leaked out?" "Mass hysteria." "'Terror." "A breakdown of authority.'" "I said that in the apartment." "Hello, Paul." "Ah, the field leader of Project Foster, Operative Janna Wade." "It's all been a test for you, Foster." "You followed a predictable set of clues, showed a certain initiative." "But basically, it was an inevitable chain that led you to the studio." "Thank you." "No, stay, Alec." "You realise, of course, that we can never let you go free." "You know too much." "There is one way." "SHADO needs men." "I'm talking about leaders, commanders." "Men able to captain the world's most advanced submarines, take control of Moonbase." "The right men." "Are you one, Foster?" "After the stiffest medical you've ever experienced, after weeks of computer and psychoanalytic tests, after a training course tears your guts out, you might be halfway there." "Well, I'd like to try." "I thought you would." "Read this." ""Foster, Paul J. 804."" "He's all yours, Alec." "Straker." "Yes, yes, I'll speak to him." "Would you get me Moonbase, please?" "And where are those transit reports?" "Would you get this please and get it good and clear?" "Immediately means now." "Right."