Groom Lake by Bryan O Read Free Book Online Page B

contact with Owens.
    “I need you to tell me about that woman you were with at the bar?” Owens said in a conversational tone.
    Skyles assumed they were concerned with his marital situation. “Just some girl looking for a good time. Look, you know I’m married. It was wrong. But I’ve been having some problems lately—with my marriage,” he added quickly, not wanting to suggest more than was necessary. “I don’t know why I thought it might ease my mind. Just tell me what I’ve got to do to fix things.”
    The government discouraged infidelity with workers of Ben Skyles’ stature. Such trysts opened the door to blackmail and other scandalous situations that detracted from the mental focus necessary to achieve optimal performance on the job.
    “I figured it was something like that,” Owens said. “Pretty lady. I wish I could have let you be, but I had a job to do.”
    “I understand,” Skyles said with a smile, hoping that soon it would all be over.
    Owens began unbuckling the leather straps around Skyles’ wrists. “I’m sorry we had to haul you in here and put you through this. Standard procedure. Once we checked out the woman and confirmed she wasn’t a spy or something of that nature, we cleared you of any wrongdoing. You’ll be going home soon. You have a two-week administrative leave—paid. Stay close to home and relax, concentrate on your marriage. If you aren’t happy at home, it’s tough to be happy on the job.”
    Skyles thought two weeks of rest might help him lick the problems that had been plaguing his mind. He was grateful that through all this he managed to keep them to himself.
    Owens continued to study Skyles’ facial expressions, especially noting the relief evident through his smile. That was the reaction Owens wanted. The tests on Skyles showed a disturbance. All they could determine was that the problems had an external source, something in Skyles’ life apart from work. Owens figured that two weeks would be long enough to find the problem.

CHAPTER 8
SECRECY OR DECEPTION IN THE NEVADA DESERT?
    By William Moreau
Part III of III CONSPIRACY THEORIES AND THE FUTURE

    NEVADA, June 1994 - Congress may dodge questions about black budgets, but the trails are evident. Billions are spent developing secret technologies at facilities like the Groom Lake airbase. Besides reducing oversight, the secrecy also leads to speculation about what kind of technology requires such anonymity.
    When word broke that the Groom Lake airbase was a vault for black projects, the UFO sightings in the vicinity were dismissed as the military’s next generation of stealth aircraft. The noticeable jump in technology from the stealth to the lights in the sky above Groom Lake was extreme, however. Witnesses reported the objects flying vertically, making ninety-degree turns at lightning fast speeds, stopping instantly in midair, and hovering soundlessly. Such aeronautical feats left UFO proponents wondering where the technology originated. Their suspicions were strengthened when former base workers brought forth testimonies about an underground facility near Groom Lake where the government back-engineered recovered extraterrestrial technology.
    Officials vehemently denied the allegations, and the continued veil of secrecy surrounding the base spawned a UFO renaissance movement. A topic scoffed at for decades was revisited—first at a grassroots level, then through print, television, film and even by some in Washington. The resulting debates opened a Pandora’s box of questions about accountability, technology, cover-ups, government knowledge, and hidden spending—standard conspiracy theorist arguments. The truth is: the only conspiracy is one of silence, aimed at limiting public understanding of government-controlled technology.

WHAT LIES AHEAD?
    The Groom Lake airbase is a sign of the times. Fingers can be pointed and accusations made and denied about who is to blame, but the dilemma facing America remains: