Copyright 2014 Joaquin De Torres,

      All rights reserved.

      Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com

       http://www.eBookIt.com

      ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-2207-7

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

      To: Alex, Sakura, Borna and Antonella:

      I may not have always been there throughout the years.

      I may have failed you at times in the way people fail each other in life.

      I may not have had all the resources at the time when you needed them. . .

      But what I did have, what I will always have, is an undeniable, infinite compassion and pride for who you are, and the great people I know you will become. And this love I carry for you. . .like the molten flames in the Earth, can never be extinguished. I love you. Dad

      . . .Those with the courage to explore the weave and structure of the Cosmos, even where it differs profoundly from their wishes and prejudices, will penetrate its deepest mysteries.

      Carl Sagan

      When you walk to the edge of all the light you have and take that first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for you to stand upon. . .or you will be taught to fly.

      Patrick Overton

      Genius is present in every age. But the men carrying it within them remain benumbed. . .unless extraordinary events occur to heat up and melt the mass so that it flows forth.

      Denis Diderot

      Forward

      The approximate number of homeless people in the United States as of 2014: 633,782

      U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development

      The approximate number of homeless people who suffer from mental illness: 150,000 - 200,000

      The National Alliance to End Homelessness

      The approximate number of homeless people who suffer from mental illness. . .and who’ve had contact with extraterrestrial life:

      CLASSIFIED

      Department of Defense

      Prologue

      Plesetsk Forest

      Arkhangelsk Province, Soviet Union

      15 November, 1980

      The troops ran up the hill with frantic urgency, following the orders of their general who yelled at the top of his lungs.

      “GET TO THE TOP! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!”

      The men didn’t know why they were there as they entered the forest. Nor did they know why they were awoken in the middle of the night, ordered to get into the trucks fully armed, travel more than 23 kilometers, and then ordered to ascend a hill once the trucks could go no further. Was it a training exercise? If so, why didn’t the garrison commanders know anything about it? They sat in the trucks with the same dumbfounded looks as their men. And if this was an exercise, why was it led by the region’s top commander, General Mikhail Kirolovka? Such a man of his distinction and power would never waste his time leading a garrison of 80 men in the middle of the Russian winter.

      “HURRY! GET TO THE TOP OR I’LL SHOOT YOU MYSELF!”

      The slope was steep and rocky, the trees were dense and the snow was up to their knees. The hill seemed endless as they struggled up, seeing their labored breath crystallize before their faces. Spurred on by the bellowing man they trudged on, cursing to themselves, damning the general. Near the top, they saw the radiating glow of a light which further guided them.

      The general himself was one of the first to reach the top. He stood at the lip of a ridge that opened to a tree-less clearing, a flat area roughly 400 meters in diameter where a large bonfire was burning. When the rest of the garrison emerged at the lip, he sent half of them to the left ridge, the other half to the right, and told them to wait. Around the fire were perhaps 100 people. They stood in the cold; silent, unmoving with their arms stretched to the stars. The moon was full and huge; the entire forest was illuminated in a soft blue glow. The general searched the night sky and turned his eyes to the moon.

      Then he saw it.

      “SHOULDER ARMS! PREPARE TO FIRE!” he yelled. The men dropped to one knee and raised their AK-47 rifles. Although their training brought them to their ready positions quickly and efficiently, the men didn’t know who or what they were aiming at. The bonfire and the people were just 50 yards away, but none of them were holding any weapons. One of the garrison’s commanders, a young captain, turned his head up to the general.

      “Comrade General, who are we shooting?”

      “All of them!” he answered still looking at the moon.

      “But General, they’re just peasants.” Suddenly the starry night above them disappeared, replaced by solid black. Something huge slid over them at a height of several hundred feet and remained hovering in place. A loud hum filled their ears, and grew louder as the blackness widened across the sky. The pressure on their ears was crushing, as if a gigantic invisible vent was blowing down air on the entire plateau. The men shrank even lower in their stances.

      “HOLD FAST! SHOULDER YOUR ARMS!” the general yelled through the deafening hum. Then from that void of solid black an intense light bathed the plateau, covering all of the hill and surrounding forest. The light was so intense that the men covered their eyes or looked away. The general was prepared and quickly brought up his night vision goggles. He noticed that the people directly under the light did not turn away. Nor were they affected by the downdraft of air pummeling his men. They remained calm with welcoming arms still outstretched. The young captain turned his head and his eyes were able to glimpse at the large full moon.

      “GENERAL! LOOK AT THE MOON! SOMETHING’S COMING!”

      “FIRE! FIRE ON THE CROWD!” the general yelled. The men struggled to remain stationary and fired into the crowd, daring not to question the order. The general noticed that the people didn’t run or scream as they were gunned down. They didn’t even turn around; they just fell where they stood.

      “ADVANCE FORWARD! LEAVE NO ONE ALIVE!” No one else saw the source of the glowing light except the general whose skin turned to ice beneath his uniform and heavy winter coat.

      As the men moved forward towards the crowd, he stood alone, eyes transfixed on the huge object above the forest. His head turned to the moon and an even larger object, perhaps the size of an entire city, was silhouetted and approaching. He couldn’t judge distance, or time, or reality then. He was terrified, shaking uncontrollably. But he bit down hard on his lip and strengthened his resolve. He had to stop it from coming.

      As that last person fell dead from gunfire, the blinding overhead light suddenly turned off. The massive winged object pulled away from the forest, the force of its exodus washed over the hill knocking the men to the ground. The stars were again revealed overhead. The general dropped to his knees and watched the black angular shape disappear gradually into the night. His head turned to the moon again. The gigantic silhouette that looked so menacing as it drew closer, had pulled away and also disappeared into the night. The men, still clearing their eyes and shaking their heads, inspected the bodies using their flashlights. They were all dead.

      “Captain, you will