– Not by sight itself, only by cause and effect. You will not deny the existence of the Sun if you see only its light, will you? There's no such thing as an effect without a cause. The alien equipment and technology was left at the base, which scientists have since investigated on their own, trying to understand and recreate them under Earth conditions. Some of the results of regenerative engineering are the basis for scientific and technological advances, especially in the military field, what we're doing now. They are very pale, albino, with little or no hair cover, and the skin is almost transparent, with the entire subcutaneous circulatory system visible through it. The organs of hearing have virtually no ear buds. This gave reason to say that aliens communicate telepathically.

Ruthra remembered the "alien" on the "last frontier" and the "polygon-style" mental communication.

– In fact, they may simply use a higher sound frequency than humans. For more evolved beings, this makes sense: the higher the frequency, the more information can be transmitted per unit of time. Perhaps they have a chip in their brain. By the way, does that mean anything to you? You are familiar with it, aren't you? – Gabo asked, looking suspiciously at Rutra.

Ruthra smiled in response.

– Did you see them? – Ruthra asked a second time, also looking at the doctor suspiciously.

– No," Gabo replied without a shadow of embarrassment.

– Don't you think your friend has an overactive imagination? Maybe it was those kind of people.

– People like that? What kind of people? What was done to them, why hide them?

Ruthra looked at the scientist from a different angle: an invalid, locked in here, constantly communicating with his imaginary peers, living under the strictest regime of secrecy and non-disclosure, where the next cubicle was no less of a secret than the one on the other side of the world. All of this left an indelible imprint on the worldview. There may have been aliens, though. Why not? Why is it assumed that if they were real, everyone should know about it. Naturally, it would be a secret, more secret than anything else. All the more so if the power in the land of the powerful depended on them. After all that had been said, their existence was not so implausible to Ruthra. Most likely something existed, but not quite what the stories said. At least their "spirit" was in the air here, like atmospheric pressure, whose degree we cannot know without instruments, but whose rise and fall we can feel.

Despite his fatigue, Ruthra decided to listen.

– I'm listening to you, very interesting.

– So, according to the information given by these, as you called, "such people", they completely control and correct human evolution, directing it in the direction they want. They consider a human being only as a genetic container, that's roughly what they call it. The main tool of the aliens in changing DNA is a virus, as it is the only organism capable of transmitting a new genetic code to humans.

Ruthra wanted to say that he had heard that, but decided to keep quiet. Apparently, this topic had been discussed many times here and was a household name.

– Maybe we should talk about this later. I don't have much time, to be honest," Ruthra tried to hint that he wasn't here for that.

– I'll make it quick. Believe me, it's important," Gabo said, and in his gaze, as in Ruzi's, Ruthra saw bitterness, sadness, and hope.

– Religions have been brought to Earth to preserve the "containers" from destruction. The aliens also claim to be able to covertly influence the human psyche.

– Something like this I've heard before and I think I've seen.

Ruthra thought, "And participated too."

– I understand from your story that the aliens were here and left after the conflict.

– Yeah. (chuckles)

– Is there documented evidence of this?

– This information is not provided to me, all documents are seized.

– In reality, could it be just a fiction?

– Fiction? And this? – he pointed to the saucer. – And the technology used?

– Perhaps humans invented it all, but in order to hide the true inventors, they came up with this legend," Ruthra explained his position.

– Look, touch me, I'm real," Gabo said with some indignation.

Ruthra smiled.

– I understand you, but you should also understand that what you say is very fantastic. Besides, I beg your pardon, and you, with a special imagination, can be mistaken for an extraterrestrial inhabitant.

– I see, and you too, and I believed Ruzi.

– I'm fine, I just don't understand what's required of me.

– Since you are here, you are a very important, influential, high-powered scientist. We want you to help us get free and use our achievements in commerce.

– I see. That's the whole point. I take it Lazar used everything for commercial purposes, too? By the way, what happened after his revelation?

– The story of Robert Lazar shook not only the ufological community, but also, due to its specificity, made a lot of noise among scientists and ordinary citizens.

– He wasn't afraid? This whole thing looks like a deliberate leak.

– About him divulging state secrets?

– Yeah. (chuckles)

– He was intimidated by the court, his car was shot at. An investigation was launched into the case. The people who worked with Lazar at Los Alamos were found.

– He worked at Los Alamos?

– Yes. The strangest thing I encountered was the complete absence of any documents to support the usual facts of Bob Lazar's biography. All the documents left in the apartment disappeared without a trace. The clinic, in whose archives a copy of Lazar's birth certificate was supposed to be kept. No trace. At school, at the University of California, at the Institute of Technology where Lazar studied and earned his degrees, it was impossible to find a man named Robert Scott Lazar. And Los Alamos National Laboratory officials at first denied that he worked for them. Only when the telephone directory of this closed institution was presented, where the list of employees included not only Robert Lazar's phone number, but also the building and office where he could once be found, did the lab management admit that Lazar had indeed worked for them "in a secondary position. It was more difficult to prove Lazar's involvement in the S4 facility, but there was confirmation. A receipt of tax payment in the United States is a serious document. And so the journalists were shown a receipt certifying that Robert Lazar, living in Las Vegas, had paid taxes in full on the salary paid to him by the Navy Board in 1989.

– All right," Ruthra interrupted him. – What was in the documents you claim were related to the aliens?

– About us being containers for souls. Religion was tailor-made for us.

– I've heard that somewhere before, too.

– Don't think it's trivial. Have you heard anything about the Yellow Book Project, which contains everything about our earthly religions and the one practiced by the aliens themselves?

– No, I don't.

– So, it is much more classified than everything else. But if our earthly religions have been sent down from above, it means that they are only the first initiation, the first step to the higher universal religion, which man has yet to join. It becomes clear why the "Yellow Book" is classified an order of magnitude higher than the technical secrets of flying disks. The authorities realized that they were dealing with a hellish machine capable of shattering the fragile stability of the modern world.

– I think I've encountered something like that too.

– If the agency allowed these classified materials to be released, then it must have had some even more fantastic purpose.

– All right! I understand you. Now listen to me. I'll go to Los Alamos, figure out how they can match the code to the signal encryption, come here, you demonstrate to me the sending of the signal to Russia with source concealment. Then I will get a reply from Russia that the signal was received and the system identified it as valid, but the source of sending cannot be determined. And if that is indeed the case, then I promise to get you and Ruzi freedom of movement in the United States. Unless, of course, the whole problem is what you've told me.

– You don't think that's enough?

– No, I just don't think it's such a big secret anymore. Military technology is, but this isn't.

– Is it?

Ruthra stared at Gabo, wondering if some of this was true, because he really believed it. Ruthra made a joke to lighten the mood, because he needed to make friends with the doctor.

– You're out of touch with life here, in Russia it's commonplace.

– What?

– Aliens.

– I always suspected you had a center like this. There's good reason to think so.

– Calm down, we go out early in the morning, especially after the holidays, there are so many aliens around, swaying, holding on to trees, the laws of gravity act differently on them.

– There you go again.

They both laughed and shook hands. As Rutra left, Gabo said to him: "I want to go to the sea." Rutra became convinced that this was a code phrase; either the sea was the peak of bliss for them, or they associated it with freedom. Probably the latter.

As he thought about what he had heard, he reached the administrator's compartment, who was in his quarters.

– Delighted? – He asked as soon as he saw Ruthra.

– Super," Rutra replied, smiling in his American way.

– You must be hungry, tired? – the administrator asked.

– Tired, yes, but not hungry. I ate in your dining room, thank you.

– How are the results of the scientific endeavor?

– Well, not really.

– I see, they must have messed you up with their aliens. It is because of them, scientists, all this nonsense has become a cult. They are people of science, and their opinion is listened to as an expert. From time to time they try to make a sensation, leaving, so to speak, from scientific work to show business.

– I want to come back soon and try one experiment.

– What's that? It's a restricted facility.

– No more than what's in the contract.

– And yet? I mean, it's got to be documented, accounted for.

– Long-range signal transmission using a reflector. Perhaps an extraterrestrial reflector, somewhere in orbit, or even further away.

– I see you're infected. Everyone here gets infected, then they get delusional. The technology that's official for civilians is a notch or two below what we have. Otherwise, how do you run a society? You probably know that, since you're here.

"Yes, it's very familiar to me," thought Ruthra.

– Yes, I realize that, but everything else I've already checked, it's still like this.

– Okay, no problem.

They said their goodbyes, Rutra was escorted to the capsule conduit, and he left for the base below the airport.