jak.themothmanprophecies- 第52节

　　
　　〃I've　been　watching　your　tires；〃　he　told　her。　〃I　think　there's　a　bad　lump　on　one　of　your　rear　tires。〃
　　
　　She　looked　but　could　see　nothing　wrong。　The　gas　station　attendant　came　out　and　the　man　got　back　into　his　truck　and　drove　off。　The　lady　continued　her　drive；　following　Ivan's　plicated　instructions…his　farm　was　not　easy　to　find…until　she　came　to　a　small　restaurant　and　decided　to　stop　for　a　snack。　The　moment　she　stepped　out　of　her　car　the　man　in　coveralls　reappeared。
　　
　　〃I'd　really　better　have　a　look　at　that　tire；〃　he　announced。　Before　she　could　protest；　he　crawled　under　the　rear　of　her　car。　After　fussing　underneath　the　vehicle　for　two　or　three　minutes　he　crawled　back　out。
　　
　　〃I　guess　it　will　be　okay；〃　he　told　her。　〃Where　are　you　going？〃
　　
　　〃Not　far　from　here；〃　she　answered。　Unnerved；　she　decided　to　forego　the　snack；　jumped　back　into　her　car；　and　continued　on　to　Ivan's。
　　
　　As　soon　as　Ivan　heard　the　story　he　picked　up　his　phone　and　called　me。　I　snapped　on　my　tape　recorder　and　suggested　that　he　should　go　out　and　look　under　the　woman's　car　while　I　talked　to　her　about　the　incident。　She　outlined　the　story　to　me；　then　Ivan　came　back　on　the　line　very　excited。
　　
　　〃Listen；　Keel；〃　he　began　breathlessly。　〃There's　some　stuff　on　the　bottom　of　her　gas　tank。　Three　big　globs　of　it；　placed　in　a　very　neat　triangle；　all　equal　distances　apart。〃
　　
　　When　he　described　the　〃globs〃　to　me　a　chill　ran　down　my　spine。　He　seemed　to　be　describing　a　material　I　had　handled　in　basic　training　when　the　army　was　hopelessly　trying　to　turn　me　into　a　trained　killer。
　　
　　〃It　sounds　like　plastic　explosive　to　me；　Ivan；〃　I　declared。　〃Maybe　you'd　better　call　the　police。〃
　　
　　Ivan　did　just　that。　The　police　came　out　and　carried　away　the　substance。　It　proved　to　be　an　ordinary；　harmless；　puttylike　material。　The　woman；　who　had　a　phenomenal　memory；　was　able　to　recall　the　sign　on　the　side　of　the　truck　which　named　an　appliance　pany　and　a　nearby　town。　But　a　police　check　failed　to　find　any　such　pany　in　that　town。
　　
　　The　strangest　part　of　this　episode　was　my　tape　recording　of　our　conversation　that　afternoon。　We　had　an　excellent　connection　with　none　of　the　usual　interference。　Ivan's　voice　on　the　tape　came　through　loud　and　clear。　But　each　time　the　woman　spoke　to　me　on　the　same　phone　and　same　line　there　was　heavy　static　on　the　tape　drowning　out　her　voice　pletely！　Yet　we　did　not　hear　any　static　at　all　while　we　were　talking。
　　
　　Later　Ivan　theorized　that　the　putty　had　been　used　to　hold　wires　forming　the　antenna　to　a　small　electronic　homing　device。　The　man　in　the　panel　truck　had　gone　to　elaborate　lengths　to　remove　the　device；　Ivan　speculated。
　　
　　After　this　incident　I　began　to　have　more　problems　with　recording　phone　conversations。　Whenever　a　contactee　or　mystery　voice　would　call；　the　tape　would　just　contain　static。　I　switched　to　another；　better　recorder　but　the　problem　persisted。　Even　portions　of　conversations　with　Mary　Hyre　were　drowned　in　static　when　she　was　discussing　some　of　the　more　mysterious　events　in　Point　Pleasant。　Somebody　was　not　only　able　to　manipulate　my　phone　but　also　my　tape　recorder！　（*）　
　　
　　
　　
　　＇*＇　Dr。　Berthold　Schwarz；　a　deputy　police　officer　in　Pennsylvania；　and　several　other　investigators　have　had　similar　problems　with　their　tape　recorders。　Even　former　President　Nixon　had　trouble　with　his　tape　recorder。　
　　
　　　
　　
　　II
　　
　　After　many　freakish　phone　conversations　and　exchanges　of　letters　to　nonexistent　addresses；　I　had　a　definite　date　for　the　big　December　〃EM　effect。〃　It　was　scheduled　for　December　15。　By　this　time　Mr。　Apol　had　assumed　a　definite　personality。　He　was　as　real　to　me　as　Cold　was　to　Derenberger；　although　I　would　never　meet　him。　I　studied　his　psychology；　his　quick　temper；　his　mischievous　sense　of　humor。　I　argued　with　him　on　the　phone；　sometimes　for　two　or　three　hours　at　a　stretch。　And　I　felt　sorry　for　him。　It　became　apparent　that　he　really　did　not　know　who　or　what　he　was。　He　was　a　prisoner　of　our　time　frame。　He　often　confused　the　past　with　the　future。　I　gathered　that　he　and　all　his　fellow　entities　found　themselves　transported　backward　and　forward　in　time　involuntarily；　playing　out　their　little　games　because　they　were　programed　to　do　so；　living…or　existing…only　so　long　as　they　could　feed　off　the　energy　and　minds　of　mediums　and　contactees。　I　could　ask　him　any　kind　of　obscure…question　and　receive　an　instant　and　accurate　answer；　perhaps　because　my　own　mind　was　being　tapped　just　like　my　telephone。　Where　was　my　mother's　father　born？　Cameron　Mills；　New　York；　of　course。　Where　had　I　misplaced　my　stopwatch？　Look　in　the　shoebox　in　the　upper　right…hand　corner　of　the　bedroom　closet　（it　was　there）。
　　
　　On　the　weekend　of　October　7…8；　1967；　my　phone　stopped　ringing。　My　contactees　and　their　friends　did　not　call。　The　sudden　silence　was　unnerving。　But　on　Monday　the　ninth；　they　all　began　to　check　in；　and　they　all　told　me　identical　stories。　They　recalled　nothing　except　brief　glimpses　of　some　kind　of　hospital。　Shirley　said　she　went　to　sleep　Thursday　night　and　did　not　wake　up　again　until　Monday　morning。　Her　baby　was　in　his　crib；　happy　and　well　cared　for。　Nothing　in　her　house　was　disturbed。　She　mentioned　that　her　feet　were　sore　and　her　legs　ached　as　if　she　had　done　a　lot　of　walking。　All　she　could　remember　was　visiting　a　large　structure　made　of　red　glass。　Jane；　too；　remembered　a　red…glass　building　filled　with　strange　beings　in　white　coats；　like　doctors；　who　were　examining　lines　of　earth　people；　all　of　whom　moved　like　robots　apparently　in　a　drugged　state。
　　
　　Beneath　all　the　hallucinatory　nonsense　I　could　now　perceive　the　roots　of　many　of　the　ufological　legends。　A　surprising　number　of　contactees　were　orphans　and　through　them　the　whole　〃hybrid〃　concept　was　launched。　They　were　told　that　their　parentage　was　a　cross　between　terrestrial　and　extraterrestrial；　that　slowly　more　and　more　earthly　women　were　being　impregnated　by　spacemen　and　eventually　the　whole　planet　would　be　populated　with　a　hybrid　race。　Some　of　the　games　I　was　involved　in　were　obviously　designed　to　convince　me　of　the　reality　of　this　crossbreeding　experiment。　But　I　knew　it　was　just　an　updated　version　of　the　biblical　begatting　theme　when　the　〃sons　of　God　went　into　the　daughters　of　men。〃
　　
　　I　noted　that　as　soon　as　my　attitude　toward　a　game　changed；　the　entities　switched　to　a　new　game。　My　pregnant　contactees　suddenly　became　unpregnant。
　　
　　I　was　more　concerned　with　squeezing　accurate　predictions　for　the　future　out　of　my　mysterious　friends。　The　dollar；　I　was　told；　would　soon　be　devalued。　（It　wasn't　devalued　until　years　later。）　Red　China　would　be　admitted　to　the　United　Nations　（correct；　but　it　seemed　very　unlikely　in　1967）。　Robert　Kennedy　should　〃stay　out　of　hotels〃　（？）。　Man　should　not　attempt　to　go　to　the　moon　（they　were　apoplectic　over　our　space　program）。　I　would　soon　be　moving　to　a　new　apartment　on　the　ground　floor　of　a　building　north　of　the　United　Nations。　（This　also　seemed　very　unlikely　in　1967；　but　a　year　later　I　did　find　a　ground…floor　apartment　in　upper　Manhattan　and　moved。）
　　
　　In　addition　to　the　continuing　warnings　about　the　December　power　blackout；　the　entities　now　began　to　tell　me　about　a　terrible　forthing　disaster　on　the　Ohio　River。　Many　people　would　die；　they　said。　They　implied　that　one　of　the　factories　along　the　Ohio　would　blow　up。　On　November　3；　1967；　I　wrote　to　Mary　Hyre　and　told　her：　〃I　have　reason　to　suspect　there　may　soon　be　a　disaster　in　the　Point　Pleasant　area　which　will　not　be　related　to　the　UFO　mystery。　A　plant　along　the　river　may　either　blow　up　or　burn　down。　Possibly　the　navy　installation　in　Pt。　Pleasant　will　be　the　center　of　such　a　disaster。　A　lot　of　people　may　be　hurt　。。。。　Don't　even　hint　to　anybody　anything　about　this。〃
　　
　　（The　naval　installation　was　a　fenced…in　area　in　Point　Pleasant；　facing　the　river　and　tightly　guarded。　The　men　who　worked　there　were　sworn　to　secrecy；　but　during　my　first　visit　it　only　took　me　a　few　days　to　find　out　what　was　going　on　there。　I　am　not　going　to　reveal　any　national　secrets　here；　but　my　private　conclusion　was　that　some　admiral　in　the　Pentagon　should　get　his　ass　kicked　for　wasting　the　taxpayers'　money　。。。