The Symmetry of Life- Book 1: To See, To Know, To Be Human - 5. Chapter 5: National Security

Chapter 5: National Security

After what happened in the tent, we were all moved including the ship to Edwards Air Force Base, where the famous X-planes were developed secretly, starting in 1946. It took two months to convince the military to give the grey, as they started calling him, an opportunity to speak with the President and select members of Congress. To be honest, Brian and I did not have good summer vacation either, but we were isolated and protected due to the 12 men that used to visit us. If you follow the conspiracy theories of your world, I think you all have figured out that those 12 men are in fact the legendary Majestic 12, powerful military, scientific, and business leaders tied together in a cabal. Through their connections, they were the most powerful organization in the US and possibly the world after World War II. Secret underground organizations are not new to gay and lesbian rights groups. People from Uncle Frankie’s era had to hide in the face of public scrutiny, ignorance, and intolerance. In 1924, the Society for Human Rights was created as the first open gay rights organization in the US by a World War I veteran named Henry Gerber. By 1925, the organization was completely shut down after one of their members was revealed by his wife. In addition, she alleged that sex acts and indecency around her children had occurred. The Chicago Examiner of the time had a headline, “Strange Sex Cult Exposed” and pushed even further with allegations of the kids being sexually molested. All those charges were false of course, but it highlighted the point to retain secrecy. Gerber would later decry that there were powerful and wealthy gay men in America, who could have done more to help his organization and his vision of equality. If my guess is correct, he probably knew of my father’s group, but he could never get their backing. I am very surprised none of the conspiracy theorists have ever tried making the link between the two. Probably the idea of a link is so far-fetched that no one would have ever imagined it. How would you draw a massive conspiracy theory from the forefather of gay rights to the Roswell incident?

Brian seemed to enjoy the most attention like he was a war hero or something, but he was grieving in his own way. I was the only person that he would speak to throughout those two months; he wanted to keep me by his side as a go-between rather than talk to the 12 or any other military personnel. I think he didn’t want me to leave him behind and to be honest, I didn’t want to leave him either. Brian was a 5 year old kid; he should have been playing with sand castles and eating his fill of ice cream cones. He didn’t get that life and I think it always haunted him in the part of him that wanted to be human and ignorant.

Sometime around late August of 1947, several planes landed at the air base. All three of us, Brian, the Gar’ta, and me, were led into a small conference room, where we came face to face with the famous and irascible Harry S. Truman along with three other men dressed in suits and the twelve along with guards. In many ways, people of my time vilified President Truman unjustly as a warmonger and cruel leader. I think he simply tried to do what he could with the hand that fate dealt him. Truman was the first modern Democrat, his ideals on the common man and the fight against communism foreshadowed the decades to come. Along with the President, his Chief of Staff of the Army was sitting to the side, who was none other than General Dwight Eisenhower. Brian smiled seeing the two men sitting together side by side; he probably had inclinations on what the future may bring for General Eisenhower. In 1947, General Eisenhower was one of the most vocal opponents of the Soviet containment policies of the Truman administration and believed that peace should be the aim of foreign policy, not war. He would later shift and agree with President Truman that Soviet containment was necessary, but he still wished that peace could have been achieved.

On one side of the table, the Speaker of the US House Joe Martin, Republican of Massachusetts, took a seat. No one in your time will remember this man, only his political party. He was a genuinely honest man, who believed everyone deserved a chance to work and do something with their life. He would later be among those that overtly opposed the insanity of the McCarthy era. He was one of the dying old guard that used to be the Republican Party. Next to the congressman, Iowa Republican Senator and Joint Committee on Atomic Energy chair, Bourke Hickenlooper was adjusting his chair. If there was a root to the modern Republican value based system, he represented the two sides of the coin, a passionate believer in fiscal responsibility and a staunch defender of social structure. If you wonder why President Truman chose two members from the opposition party to attend this conference, he really had no choice. The Republicans had gained majorities in congress during the 1946 elections and held the leadership of both houses. I didn’t know about these facts until years later.

The room felt confining and the rectangular table with chairs seem to barely be able to fit. Four guards, who we had never met before today, were positioned at each corner of the room; they seem stern and scary to me with their side arms and rifles at attention. Brian was particularly focusing on one of the guards, who looked no different than the other three. However, Brian made a glance at me with unspoken expression that I needed to watch out for this one.

President Truman took a glance at us, then focused his attention towards the grey, “Well, so you’re the little grey man that created all this ruckus.”

The grey telepathically spoke to everyone in the room, “You are a leader among your people, but I sense reservations and doubt. My people may seem alien to you, but we are of distant relations.”

President Truman grimaced at Senator Hickenlooper, “Bourke, maybe he’s one of your relations. I can see the family resemblance.”

Congressman Martin interjected, “I still do not understand why the two kids are here or the story that I was told about them.”

Brian breaking his silence, “Do you still play ball Mr. Martin after you throw those newspapers from your bike?”

Congressman Martin was shocked at Brian’s reply, “How did you know about that?”

The grey replied for Brian, “He is the “First”, the Master of thought and Master of death. Among my people, he is respected and feared greatly.”

Senator Hickenlooper stared at Brian, “Sounds almost like these little grey men think he’s God or something. Child, Master of death is reserved for only God.”

One of scientists among the twelve looking agitated replied, “Senator, I don’t think God would have issue with a title. Brian represents the part of death that transitions between our world and the greater universe beyond us. He doesn’t pick people to die like God in the Bible. He helps them realize their life and transition them in death. There’s nothing magical really in it.”

Senator Hickenlooper responded, “Well sir, I don’t hold much in the stock of scientific theories and tricks. This boy may be able to tell Joe what team he played on in high school or what type of sandwich he had yesterday, it doesn’t give him power.”

Brian looked over at Senator Hickenlooper, “I am not, what I am not. God is what God is.”

It took Senator Hickenlooper a few moments to think the concept over, “I see what you mean, it is Exodus 3:14 in reverse. Yet, the only other being mentioned to be opposite of God is the Devil.”

Brian scratched his head, “I am not what I am not, Mr. Hick-in-loop. I don’t have horns or lie like the devil. He would say he is what he is not.”

General Eisenhower nodded and contemplated the meaning, “I grew up a Presbyterian, I was never taught about anything like this, but our grey colored friend here proves that there are many things that we might not know or may never fully know. You seem to be forthright about yourself and my gut tells me that you’re telling the truth.”

President Truman interjected in this theological discussion to cut it short, “I understand, whether it is the way Brian said it to describe himself or the way the Bible says it to describe God, both would be true statements. Bourke, the kid is not the devil. We got more fish to fry right now with the little grey man than talking about what the Bible says or does not say.”

Congressman Martin began, “First, you must have a name that we can call you beyond merely the little grey man. I think it would serve as a good point of reference for all of us.”

The grey looked at me with a puzzled expression, “We know each other not by names, but references based on thought, Josh was given secret words from the “First”. He can give me a designation.”

My 8 year old brain started squeezing out names, until one felt right, “Gary, it’s sort of like what daddy called you?”

President Truman laughed and finally paid attention to me, “Gary sounds fitting my boy. I read in this report that you were given some type of coded message. My cryptographers can’t make heads or tails of the symbols that you drew, nor find any reference within any human languages as far as I know.”

One of the military men among the twelve explained, “Josh was told this secret was his to crack and he is the only one capable to crack it. It is not extraordinary that no one else can answer it.”

General Eisenhower, looking over at me as I began shaking at the memory, “If this is as important as it was described in the report, you must tell us Josh, when you crack it. Let me tell you, bravery is not always found on the battlefield; real bravery is facing something that you fear and defeating it. Do your best.”

I nodded and calmed down, “I will do my best.”

Satisfied with that answer, President Truman switched back to Gary, “Well, Gary, I do have several questions. What are you proposing to offer the United States? What do you demand in return?”

Gary outlined the five points that were set up as ground rules for human interaction. Looking around the room, people became tense as they heard about the other species that were coming to earth to seek a solution to their biological issues or in case of the Drake, dominion over this world and its inhabitants. Senator Hickenlooper interjected several times accusing Gary of spreading falsehoods as he started accounting the Hork and their descent as an offshoot of hominid and ape evolutionary process. Even in 1947, decades after the Scopes trial, people did not fully want to believe in evolution, nor desired to be associated with it. Human beings like the senator still wanted to desperately believe that they were special. I guess none of that has changed after more than half a century either.

Now that I can look at the situation with my experiences, I think in any other situation, Gary probably would not have taken the Senator’s constant interjection and tantrums with such good sport. Part of me knew that he would have loved to send Senator Hickenlooper into the sun. If a Gar’ta could withhold exasperation and annoyance, Gary should have won a prize. Eventually, Gary completed the five points and the associated names of the species involved.

Congressman Martin frowned immediately after the terms were set out, “You can’t be seriously considering this Harry, they’re asking for the right to violate American citizens with medical experimentation. We can’t agree to such a bargain. It’s just not…”

Senator Hickenlooper quickly interjected, “Joe, they’re only experimenting on freaks. It sounds too good to be true, quite frankly.”

Gary’s dark almond shape eyes seem to dilate slightly at those words, “You do not understand; many human beings carry trace elements of Ainur traits; I suspect that you may also have it as well.”

Senator Hickenlooper demeanor changed to outrage for the insinuation, “I am not a freak. I was born and raised a good hard working Christian. The Bible explicitly states that these acts are abominations and inexcusable…”

General Eisenhower ended his silence and luckily the tantrum of the Senator, “I cannot in good conscience support such a move. There were men in my command that I’d consider brothers in arms, who I might disagree with due to their particular inclinations, but they did their duty and served our country with honor. If I were to sell them out now, I would be betraying their sacrifice and this nation’s principles. I must agree with Congressman Martin and Senator Hickenlooper.”

It looked as if the negotiations were going to end, when Brian threw a pencil across the room. Everyone’s eyes followed the pencil’s trajectory as it was aimed at the soldier from earlier. The soldier looked perplexed at the harmless missile that scratched his face.

Everyone looked towards Brian for an explanation at the inexplicable move, Brian replied, “Look, blood is green, not red.”

At that the other three soldiers drew their weapons and targeted their companion, who quickly released the safety pin from a grenade.

He laughed maniacally, “So this “was” the avatar of the “First”, I am impressed that you could see through our illusion technology despite the mental shields that prevent even the Gar’ta from searching my mind. Your powers over thought are truly impressive. Now, let’s test your power over death.”

He released a grenade toward Brian. Grenades should explode seconds after the safety pin was released, allowing the volatile chemical compounds to combust. General Eisenhower jumped on top of President Truman and Senator Hickenlooper began a mad dash to the door with Congressman Martin ducking for cover. However as it landed next to Brian, nothing happened to the shock of everyone in the room.

The other three soldiers gruffly raised their guns and cried out, “Put your hands up or we will shoot.”

The green blooded soldier smiled as he gave a salute to Brian, “Well, you do live up to your legend, but we shall retake our world. You cannot defeat us, we are many and strong…” the soldier began to disintegrate right in front of everyone, “You will not capture me or probe my mind for secrets”. Smoke came out of his chest. However, before he was completely gone, we all got a glimpse of his true form. His human façade faded like a shimmer, revealing a grotesque scaly brown body with a face from your worst nightmares. It appeared to have arms, legs, and fingers, but nothing about it seemed remotely human. After that moment of abject horror, his body disappeared into ash.

President Truman slowly regained his composure and looked at Brian in awe, “Well, you saved our bacon, say, how did you manage that little magic trick? I thought your dozen or so friends over there said you don’t do magic tricks.”

General Eisenhower shook his head, “Well, I guess the title, Master of Death, may appropriately belong to you after all.”

Brian only grinned in response to the question, while everyone in the room looked at one another trying to figure out what exactly happened. Even Gary was perplexed that Brian could have stopped a chemical reaction without any visible evidence. We did not have to wait to get our answer, when the soldiers outside quickly came charging in.

One of them was a local enlisted man, who has been keeping an eye on us, “Mr. President there was reports of a small explosion in the sky above us. We do not know the origin…” The soldier noticed that he stepped onto a pile of recently charred ash and quizzically looked at everyone around the room for an explanation.

President Truman gave a hearty laugh in spite of what had occurred, “So, you do have a few tricks up your sleeves, even the egg-heads can’t explain.”

Another scientist among the twelve was able to collect his thoughts, “Sir, it is energy displacement. In concept, we think of death as a point of our physical body’s termination, but also on an atomic level, energy is moving and being displaced. This is an incredible feat to accomplish and proves…”

Before he could summarize his explanation, Brian collapsed.

I quickly ran towards him, but something told me that he was not dead. However, the rest of the room did not have my foresight with everyone calling for a medic or a doctor.

Gary attempted to calm the room as he spoke to Brian through his telepathy, “Brian shall be fine. To displace energy is not an easy feat in a frail human body, let alone a child. I am in communications with his mind and he should be fine in about a day, but will require rest.”

President Truman focusing on the men that just arrived, “Boys, Brian here needs the best of care, you hear me. Bring him over to a bed and if he even gets a mosquito bite, I’ll skin your hides personally. We will continue this meeting without him.”

Senator Hickenlooper’s daze finally wore off as he grudgingly shook his head, “Maybe there is more to heaven and earth than what we can know, I’ll grant you that now. However, we have seen the face of the enemy and our position has been exposed. We must get the grey being, his ship, and these special kids out of this place. Can one of you twelve men think of a more secure location?”

They stared at one another and agreed that it was probably best, the scientist interrupted earlier by Brian’s fainting spell responded to the question, “There is a facility several miles from here that was built as an auxiliary airstrip and bunker. We have begun converting it to serve as an advanced aircraft testing site. The official name of the area is called Groom Lake. However, it is not ready to be used for several months due to budget cuts.”

Senator Hickenlooper gave an accusatory stare at President Truman, who quickly asked “We need to continue this meeting, first and foremost. We must double the guard on this facility. We must redouble our efforts at finishing that facility at Groom Lake. As for moving people around, we do not have a choice to make in that matter.”

Congressman Martin nodded in agreement, “Agreed Harry, after seeing what we have seen today, I am convinced that there is a threat to the national security of the United States. These lizard beings have just demonstrated that they have and are capable of infiltrating us without warning or ability to counter. We are far outgunned and outmatched in this fight. Though, the price is far higher than I would like; we may need to bear some of it in the present to preserve our posterity. Perhaps, Gary may be willing to compromise.”

General Eisenhower, after examining the ash and Brian, shook his head in agreement, “The kid is a major asset in a pinch. I wonder if this magic trick can work on other types of explosions?”

President Truman instantly understood the meaning and stared at the scientist, who replied, “Yes, as you know atomic weapons need explosives in order to reach critical mass, so in theory, he could transfer the explosive energy of one of these weapons away before it creates the chain reaction or even allow the entire process to occur and displace the energy to another location, almost instantly.”

General Eisenhower went over to where Brian had fallen and gave his light brown hair a tussle, “Perhaps the peace of death can save mankind from our demons in life. Maybe you are not God, but you do share his goals.”

Gary looked over at me, “Josh, you are the protector; in human terms, you are his biological sibling and offspring. I believe that you may speak on his behalf and he would support the decisions you make.”

As an 8 year old, I really didn’t know what to make of everything that just happened, but I could feel history was being made here in this small room. Even now, I didn’t know the large ramifications this meeting would have on US policy, both domestic and foreign for the next three decades, nor the untold thousands of lives that would be sacrificed in the name of “National Security” or the costs of failure as my grand-nephew Ben eventually found out 90 years later without knowledge of my part in it.

No, all those things would happen in their own time and their own reasons just as the meeting had occurred due to a conflagration of events. Sometimes, I wondered if things were really destined or fated to occur.

A military field medic came in and carried Brian off for some rest. General Eisenhower went with the medic along with some men to guard Brian and made special security arrangements, including a blood test screening of all base personnel. President Truman, Congressman Martin, and Senator Hickenlooper returned to their seats, except now instead of 4 guards in the room, we had 8. President Truman came in with a laid back congenial attitude toward meeting a living extraterrestrial, but after the failed attack, he seemed far more formal and protective. Senator Hickenlooper demeanor had changed from skeptical and condescending to a type of survivalist hysteria. Congressman Martin, who came into the meeting without a sense of scope, was opening up to the horrible prospects before him. Part of me still wonders about him, why was he so fearful about the experimentation? As a minor historical footnote, he was never married and he seemed to profess little interest in his Catholic faith. The possibility has been quite salient in my mind and it would make perfect sense in a way. I might just be over analyzing it, now in my death.

President Truman began this time, “Gary, is there a way to detect these beings among our people even without blood tests, like what Brian did? We must prepare for this “Enemy” you spoke about. That last line he said came from the book of Revelations as Senator Hickenlooper would attest, concerning “Legion” the army of evil that would descend on earth.”

Gary nodded, “Yes, but only the Arknor possesses technology to break through mental shields and illusion technology that the Drake uses. Though as a correction, they are not the “enemy” that the “First” has mentioned, merely allies. In terms of allies, they rank among the weakest among the enemy’s forces.”

Senator Hickenlooper gasped, “There are things worse than those demons?”

Gary answered, “Yes and in terms of demons, Drake are technologically advanced, but foolish and naive. If you think about the last incident clearly, you would realize that it was a failed scout, who improvised due to the surprise that it was meeting the “First” rather than an assassination attempt. I had used my telepathy to screen all of you earlier, but his shield created a false series of memories. You came here secretly and did not reveal the destination until it was too late for him to recall or seek reinforcements. He was merely a scout based on these facts. True assassins of the “enemy” can remain dormant in human bodies for years, until they wish to act. They use your strongest emotions like hate, vengeance, and ambition to gain a foothold within your mind. It is why those concepts were taught as prohibitions in your holy scriptures. The only way to eliminate those beings from influencing a human mind is through self reflection or intervention from other beings with compatible mental potential or technology like my people or the Kal. The “First” and the being known to you as God are the only beings capable of completely eliminating such creatures without the aid of technology.”

Senator Hickenlooper smiled as if he had just found water in the desert, “Well, it seems true evil does exist. I can get used to the fact of duality in life and death, but my Lord is still my shepherd.”

Gary’s skin grew paler, but what I felt was contempt, “Among my people, we usually fear the being you refer to as God. We trust the “First” and his agents far more as they bring merely transition, not complete extinction. It is primarily due to the fact that our people accepted the peace that the forces of God offered in exchange for amnesty, instead of standing side by side with the rest of our people on earth or joining the Kal. My people deeply regret our fatal error in our short sightedness. While we were protected from the enemy, we also lost the ability to procreate due to the term that we were no longer allowed to export or mate with Homo sapiens. Thus, we relied on cloning and now, we are a dying race. While morally, our treatment of Homo sapiens as slaves was wrong, the prohibition was far too heavy handed. We have been sending messages and ships to earth for ages, hoping for the “First” to hear our appeals as we no longer trust in the benign nature of your God.”

None of the leaders really knew how to respond to that, so the room fell silent. The good thing about being a kid was that I didn’t think as deeply as adults, so I responded “Maybe, God wanted you to think about what you done. I stole some candy and my mom didn’t talk to me for a long time, then I thought about what I did. It was bad that I stole the candy, because then the other kids would not have the candy.”

Yeah, I know it sounds pretty stupid compared to the double entendre of Brian or the deep exposition of my dad. I’m not a philosopher. I just speak what’s on my mind. The concept of “time out” would not be invented for another 11 years, in 1958, by a man named Arthur Staats.

Imagine this from an 8 year old point of view, God is supposed to be the ultimate parent in your existence. He uses spankings and other physical discipline to make sure the kids stay in line. He also sometimes uses silence as a tool for discipline. That is what I learned from the stories in church; God tries his best to be a good parent. The “First” represents your uncle, who doesn’t like to use discipline at all, but instead tries to use reason and justification to show you the ways to do things, not tell you what is the right way to do things. I guess that represents a style of parenting that probably could never work for human beings as logic and reason are usually beyond our grasp.

Gary somberly returned to his grey form, “I nearly forgot that all life carries wisdom, even those with so few years of experience.”

With less excitement, President Truman began, “I do not believe we can negotiate for human experimentation, but it may be possible for us to give you some medical research, including a recent set of human experimentation from Europe.”

Congressman Martin immediately realized what President Truman was offering, “That research was taken from the Nazis after the war. Those studies were created on the back of human suffering and millions of dead bodies in their concentration camps. Harry, you can’t be seriously considering using that in exchange for technology.”

This time Senator Hickenlooper shook his head in disagreement with his colleague, “Joe, we have no real choice in the matter. You saw the lizard being and that is not the worst of it, based on what this being has told us. This little alliance may be our last best hope. I think those Jews and Gypsies, who died would rather not die in vain, if their suffering could be used to help mankind.”

Congressman Martin glanced over towards me, hoping for another ray of wisdom, then redirected his gaze to this colleague in anger, “You don’t get it Bourke, if we allow this research to be used, then we are no better than the Nazis.”

President Truman affirmed, “I fear that we have no choice, unless you wish for human experimentation to be conducted. At this moment, we are at war against enemies that we can neither see nor identify. I wonder now if even these Drake might be allying themselves with our foe, the Soviets. Outside of this meeting, I have been hearing of strange intelligence reports from the eastern bloc about the Russians acquiring advanced technology from former Nazis. What are the odds that these Drake may try to offer their technology to them as well? What are odds for Gary’s people or the Kal?”

Gary acknowledged the truth, “My people are desperate and there may be groups, who will not adhere to the rules that even the “First” has set down; even though, the risk for them are extremely high and unpleasant. I think your offer will satisfy my people for the moment, but they will ask for an agreement review possibly within 7 of your solar years. Also, I can offer as much technology as I am able to, but without the technical and industrial infrastructure, I fear your foes if they have received aid from the Drake will be able to advance past you significantly until technical infrastructure can be built.”

President Truman responded in kind, “I want a quick vote between us right now. I can convince my party to go along with this deal, but we need your support. Joe, you have to persuade the House. They need to accept this treaty, perhaps the first of many between us. We will hold back some of the human experimentation areas of the treaty for later, but we can offer the research to them instead for the time being. We also need appropriations placed into new areas of covert operations and research to build the infrastructure that he’s talking about.”

Senator Hickenlooper seconded and, despite his reservations, House Speaker Martin agreed. It was the first of a long set of interstellar agreements. Most times, I was ignored and Brian was invited to attend the later meetings, but he refused to attend until 1955.

The warnings about the Soviet Union and their technology held substance. In December of 1947, the Soviet Union or USSR launched the MiG-15 with a maximum speed of 668 Mph. In 1949, the USSR was able to detonate their first A-bomb. The US was falling behind as predicted by Gary, until the fall of 1954.