‘I take it you are aware of the alleged events that took place in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947?’
‘The supposed crashed flying-saucer,’ Nellis nodded.
‘Nobody knows what happened that day, but what we can be sure of is that something happened and that it was highly important to the government of the time. The stories of the wreckage actually being a weather balloon aren’t bought by anybody: it was a cover-up all right and within months of the event programs like Project Sign started up to investigate UFOs. The government spent millions trying to understand what happened, but its people just didn’t have the skills to properly investigate such unusual events. After Project Blue Book was closed, the agencies involved adopted a wait and watch policy. They figured that if it happened once, then maybe something similar might happen again.’
Nellis blinked in surprise as he continued to study the file. ‘Are we the only ones involved in this?’
‘Not at all,’ Jarvis replied. ‘NASA recently heavily redacted a press-release that had been leaked to the media. Within it, from a NASA published study entitled Archaeology, Anthropology and Interstellar Communications, a paragraph was revealed that suggested they’re preparing for contact from extra-terrestrial species. If what you’re looking at there is the files the DIA publicly maintain on such events, it’s on page eighteen.’
Nellis flipped to the relevant page and read aloud from it. ‘These scholars are grappling with some of the enormous challenges that will face humanity if an information-rich signal emanating from another world is detected. By drawing on issues at the core of contemporary archaeology and anthropology, we can be much better prepared for contact with an extraterrestrial civilization, should that day ever come.’ Nellis looked up at Jarvis. ‘Is this serious? You think that they’re expecting an invasion?’
‘Not exactly,’ Jarvis smiled. ‘NASA was likely using previous human invasions of other countries in history to compare to the arrival of an alien species here on Earth, but you can guess how the public reacted to such an official paper. After what happened in 1977 with the WOW Signal, I suspect the Pentagon wasn’t too happy with NASA’s more recent leak.’
‘That what signal?’ Nellis asked.
‘The Wow Signal was picked up by the Big Ear Radio telescope of Ohio State University on August 15, 1977 as part of the SETI Project, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence. It bore all the hallmarks of an intelligent, non-terrestrial and non-solar system origin and lasted seventy two seconds. Other, more recent signals have been detected from earth-like systems but are suppressed by the media.’
‘It was an alien broadcast?’ Nellis asked.
‘By all the standards applied to such signals, yes,’ Jarvis confirmed. ‘It was intelligent, technological and came from a star system other than our own.’
‘It’s been government policy for some time to suppress anything that might be considered controversial that NASA or other space agencies might discover.’
‘Such as France,’ Jarvis agreed, ‘who have a full time department called Geipan dedicated to the study of UFO sightings. The British recently operated a similar department but shut it down, or at least the public face of it. After what happened in Israel, the powers that be in Washington want all allied countries to cease further investigations into UFO activity to avoid generating unwanted public interest.’
Nellis reached the relevant page on Israel in the file before him. ‘This material is heavily redacted, I can’t figure out what it actually refers to.’
Jarvis took a deep breath, and let it all out.
‘In the Negev Desert of Israel, a palaeontologist by the name of Dr Lucy Morgan excavated a seven thousand year old tomb, and inside it she found the skeletal remains of a bipedal, non-human figure.’
The room filled with a deep silence as Nellis absorbed the information. ‘Go on.’
‘Morgan vanished, along with the remains and with a delicate political summit underway between Israel and Palestine, official US interference was impossible. Instead, I was tasked with organising a rescue and retrieval mission: liberate Lucy Morgan and tie her into a strict Non-Disclosure Agreement, and ensure that the remains she discovered were secured by the agency and spirited away.’
Nellis nodded, reading from the file and no-doubt filling in the redacted gaps as he went.
‘The mission was a success and led to your further operations.’
‘Four more,’ Jarvis said, ‘in New Mexico, Florida, Idaho and New York and involving various rogue agency-operations that were brought to a close. All were successful, but the unit was wound-down after the final operation in New York City.’
‘What happened?’
‘A rogue CIA unit governed by MK-ULTRA, a supposedly defunct Agency program, hunted down my two lead operatives and forced them into hiding for over six months. After the situation was resolved, the two in question walked away from the DIA and vowed that they would never work for the government again. I haven’t seen either of them since.’
Jarvis saw Nellis wince as he listened, and then he closed the file and looked at Jarvis.
‘A situation has developed and I need your help.’
‘I’ve been out of this game for almost two years,’ Jarvis replied. ‘My contacts have moved on, as has the technology. I don’t know that I would be of any use in…’
Nellis raised his hand to forestall Jarvis, a smile touching his craggy features as he searched for the right words before he spoke.
‘My role here is that of a cipher,’ he said. ‘I have the role of Director of National Intelligence, but that role has been engineered to deny me access to the Black Budget, to the Pentagon’s Special Operations Department, to various sub-agencies operating across the globe and to any high-level clearances afforded the directors of those agencies. In short Mr Jarvis, I’m sitting here as an administrator and nothing more and I don’t damned well like it.’
Jarvis hesitated for a moment before he replied. ‘Majestic Twelve.’
Nellis nodded and his voice dropped an octave as though he were afraid that somebody might be listening, even in an office in one of the most secure buildings on the planet.
‘Is a rumoured cabal of former politicians, intelligence leaders and military-industrial CEOs responsible for running the show we call humanity from behind the scenes. When you believed that you were receiving orders from the Pentagon, you were in fact operating on behalf of Majestic Twelve.’
Jarvis rubbed his temples with one hand. ‘Why have you brought me here today?’
‘I want you to re-start your unit under my command and get to the bottom of what Majestic Twelve is attempting to achieve.’
‘I doubt that will be possible, sir,’ Jarvis replied. ‘As I mentioned, both of my lead agents were compromised and later refused to work for the DIA any longer. Neither of them have any desire to perform more operations for us, and I don’t even know where one of them is.’
Nellis nodded, clearly having memorised the names of the individuals concerned.
‘Nicola Lopez runs the bail bondsmen company Warner & Lopez Inc out of Chicago. Ethan Warner, former United States Marine, is off the grid and has not been seen for almost a year.’
Jarvis nodded. ‘You’re not going to get Lopez out of Chicago, and if Ethan’s decided to get off the radar then you won’t find him.’
‘I agree. We’ve already tried.’