After an additional string of questions, it was apparent that he had gotten all he was going to get from the Colonel or the Major. When he got back to his office, he immediately started working on the copy for the paper. Within an hour, however, Lieutenant Walter Haut from the base walked into the office with a press release.
While it did confirm much of what he was writing, it had been sanitized in typical military fashion. Lieutenant Haut was the Public Relations Officer for the Roswell Army Airfield. The reporter wrote his article and had the press release from the base included.
All hell broke loose the following day when the papers hit the street. The phones started ringing off the hook. The same thing was going on at the air base as well as at the Foster Ranch.
The story was quickly becoming a national event as it was picked up by the national news service. Boy, did I open a can of worms, the reporter thought, as he tried to block out the persistent ringing of the phone.
It wasn’t enough that the phone was ringing, but people were starting to drop by and wanted to ask questions. He tried to explain that what he wrote was all he knew at this time but few believed him.
Finally around noon, Lieutenant Haut came back in with another press release. It was rescinding the previous statement. According to the new release, the object recovered was nothing more than a high altitude weather balloon. The mix up was due to the fact that it was an experimental balloon and few knew of its appearance.
Several test dummies used for high altitude experiments were recovered as well, according to the release. The Lieutenant produced a picture, showing pieces of the balloon in the Colonel's office. The picture was to be distributed with the new press release.
The reporter looked at him for several seconds and then just said, “Yeah, right.”
The Lieutenant pulled at his tie, nodded his head and left. So, it’s started already, he thought. He was very accurate indeed. It was just the beginning of sixty years of cover-up and denial by the government.
“Now let me get this straight. You’re saying that you have firsthand knowledge of the Government’s cover-up of a crashed alien spacecraft? That they have not only visited us before, but they are still coming here? On top of that, one of these aliens is even working with our military?”
“That’s not exactly what I said. I said I had hands-on experience. That’s not the same thing. I actually saw and worked on some of these projects.”
“Mr.?”
“You can call me Robert for now,” he said.
“All right, Robert. You’re sitting here telling me this, but what proof do you have?”
“Well, I can tell you about several projects I was involved with,” he said.
“I would have no way of verifying them, so I would need more. A hell of a lot more.”
“All right. I will tell you this. I worked on projects at Groom Lake,” he said.
“Groom Lake?"
“Area 51. Dreamland. The Nellis Gunnery Range. They are all essentially the same thing.”
“You worked there?”
“Yes, for three years.”
“I’m sorry..uh, Robert. I would like to have a long chat with you but unless you can prove any of this, I afraid I can’t be of much help,” the interviewer said.
“I understand your reluctance to take this at face value but let me tell you about what has been going on in my life. Essentially, because I left the program and they are afraid I will spill the beans, so to speak, they have made every attempt to not only discredit me, but to make me vanish as a person.”
“Vanish? You mean kill?” the interviewer asked, becoming a little more interested.
“No. I mean vanish as if I never existed. My hospital records, military service records, employment records, and even my education records have disappeared. Vanished. Wiped out. Gone.”
“How can that happen?”
“You tell me. All I know is that when I try to access my school records, none exist. It is the same for my military service records and everything else. Whomever is responsible, they are trying to make me seem like some nut running around yelling the sky is falling. Well, for me the sky is falling,” he said.
“So you can’t prove any of this. For that matter, Robert, you can’t even prove you are who you say you are.”
“Correct. I have become afraid for my life now that they have managed to erase almost all of my past existence,” he said, closing his eyes.
“Almost erased?”
“Yes. They still have some loose ends but who knows what will happen after that?” he said.
“What kinds of loose ends?”
“Here,” he said, handing over a backpack that was loaded down.
“My real name is Lake. Doctor Lake. Maybe I should have said that from the start but I have to be very careful. It’s my life I’m gambling with here.”
“Alright. Let’s stick with Robert for now if that will make you more comfortable. What are you giving me?” he said tapping the bag with his foot.
