The Day Aberystwyth Stood Still by Malcolm Pryce Read Free Book Online Page B

the story goes, a saucer crashed and the military sealed off the area. They found wreckage and dead aliens in silver suits. Some say there were three, others five. Some say they were still alive.’ She looked at me, not crestfallen but fully expecting the eventuality. ‘I know you don’t believe this stuff.’
    ‘I don’t want to be a killjoy, but aliens in silver suits? Looking humanoid? Why would they look like us if they were from a different star system?’
    ‘I don’t know. Maybe they just disguise themselves to look like us so as not to frighten us, the same way people who shoot ducks have whistles that sound like duck calls.’
    ‘Don’t you think it’s odd, though, that these super-advanced beings from another star system keep crashing their saucers?’
    She began to lose patience with me. ‘They don’t keep crashing –’
    ‘Yes, they do! It seems to happen a lot. How can they master the intricacies of inter-stellar flight and then hit a tree?’
    ‘You’re making assumptions.’
    ‘Yes, I’m assuming there is probably a simpler explanation located in the realm of human psychology. People have been seeing strange visions throughout history; once upon a time they attributed it to the Devil or his works; now we live in a more rational scientific age and people are embarrassed to profess belief in the Devil –’
    ‘Not in Ystrad Meurig, they aren’t.’
    ‘Most people are, so they find a more scientific explanation. I’m not saying they are lying; I’m sure they genuinely experience the hallucination and their mind provides an interpretation with which they can feel comfortable.’
    ‘You could be right, but there’s one sure-fire way to find out, isn’t there?’
    There was a pause. I gave her a quizzical stare. ‘Is there?’
    ‘Of course. Men in Black.’
    ‘Who are they?’
    Calamity pulled a library book from under the pile of clippings. ‘I’ve been looking through Project Blue Book, the official US Air Force investigation into the flying-saucer phenomenon in the ’50s. Judging from the newspaper report, it sounds like the aliens from the Ystrad Meurig incident were Nordics, whereas the ones from Roswell were Greys. Greys are malign and are known to say the thing which is not.’
    ‘Not what?’
    ‘Just “not”. They say it, whereas the Nordics are more spiritually advanced. Some people call them Pleiadeans because they come from the Pleiades star cluster.’
    ‘How do you know the difference between a Nordic and a Grey, apart from saying the thing which is not?’
    ‘Nordics are very attractive and look like Scandinavians. They are tall and statuesque and have pale skin and blonde or white hair. They admire the human race.’
    ‘Are you sure? That sounds like the thing which is not.’
    Calamity ignored the jocular tone and continued with earnest mien. ‘Nordics never say the thing which is not. Maybe “admire” is the wrong word. They take a close interest in our spiritual development.’
    ‘And what about Greys?’
    ‘They are short and stumpy and grey. They have big almond-shaped, slanted eyes that go round the sides of their heads, like a praying mantis. They also have no irises or . . .’ – she consulted her notes – ‘Sclerae.’
    ‘What does that mean?’
    ‘I don’t know; I think it means the white of the eye. They mean us harm.’
    ‘They are not great admirers of the human race, then?’
    ‘No, they are malign.’
    ‘So is it just those two races?’
    ‘Of course not! There are loads of exobiological entities visiting us.’ She counted them off on the fingers of her hand: ‘Reptilians, Sirians, Tall Whites, Hairy Dwarfs, the Hopkinsville Goblin, Dropa, Andromedans and the Flatwoods Monster. But the interesting thing is this: in all the celebrated cases, the contactees received visits shortly after from mysterious strangers dressed all in black. The first was the Maury Island incident. Harold A. Dahl was scavenging with his dog for some logs on