"...the unpleasant fact is, 50,000 
              people can not be lying. Something is here--probing people, 
              inspecting them, and planting thoughts in their minds, 
              manipulating their bodies--treating them, in a sense, like so many 
              cattle. 
				Is it all simply a gigantic cosmic joke, or is there a 
              more sinister plot at hand? 
				Are we seeing the formation of a new 
              and highly destructive cult, one whose view posits the elimination 
              (the New Agers call it 'spiritual cleansing') of people who are 
              'unfit' to exist in the coming New World? 
				Are there really demonic 
              entities hovering about, searching for likely candidates whose 
              brains and minds they can invade, filling them full of fairy tales 
              and lies--fattening them for the kill? 
				The answer is not easily 
              forthcoming. But whichever scenario you may choose, the ominous 
              statement of John Keel must--for all but the most hardened 
              skeptics--ring in our ears. 'The earth is not inhabited,' says 
              Keel. 'It's infested.'"
            
            If indeed the earth is 'infested' by 
            beings whose purposes can only now be guessed at, one thing seems 
            increasingly clear; the dualistic worldview which 
			
			Dr. John Mack 
            discussed--the idea that the spiritual realm and material realm are 
            separate parts of the same reality--may at last be known... and 
            sooner than many people are prepared for or can conceive. 
			Parallels 
            between "angels", "demons", and ET phenomena have been recognized by 
            experts of different fields for some time. More and more question 
            the mechanized "nuts-and-bolts" approach to defining UFO 
            phenomena in favor of, for want of a better term, "spiritual 
            conceptualization" of ET.
            According to Dr. John Mack (Abduction),
            
              
               "The 
              alien beings that appear to come to us from the sky in strange 
              spacecraft present a particularly confusing challenge.... For they 
              seem to partake of properties belonging to both the spirit and 
              material worlds, bridging, as if effortlessly, the division 
              between these realms which have become increasingly sacred and 
              unbreachable since science and religion went their separate ways 
              in the 17th century.
"The 
              alien beings that appear to come to us from the sky in strange 
              spacecraft present a particularly confusing challenge.... For they 
              seem to partake of properties belonging to both the spirit and 
              material worlds, bridging, as if effortlessly, the division 
              between these realms which have become increasingly sacred and 
              unbreachable since science and religion went their separate ways 
              in the 17th century. 
				
              	On the one hand these beings seem able to be 
              seen by the abductees, who feel their bodies moved and find small 
              lesions inflicted upon them. On the other hand the beings seem to 
              come, like intermediaries from God or the devil, from a nonembodied source.... My own impression is that we may be 
              witnessing... an awkward joining of two species, engineered by an 
              intelligence we are unable to fathom...."
            
            In his book, 
			
			Witnessed, Budd 
            Hopkins agreed:
            
              "Everything I have learned in 20 
              years of research into the UFO abduction phenomenon leads me to 
              conclude that the aliens' central purpose is not to teach us about 
              taking better care of the environment; instead, all of the 
              evidence points to their being here to carry out a  complex 
              breeding experiment in which they seem to be working to create a 
              hybrid species, a mix of human and alien characteristics."
            
            My wife and I fictionalized a 
            worse-case scenario about this in our book, The Ahriman Gate:
            
              Tapping his finger against his palm 
              as if to emphasize the next point, Jones stressed, "And as far as 
              how UFOs would be used to deceive us, this comes down to an 
              argument of origins."
              "Meaning what?"
              "The ageless question—where did we 
              come from? If people believe UFOnauts are advanced 
              extraterrestrials scurrying about in spaceships, and that these 
              same creatures visited the Earth in ancient days and tinkered with 
              hominid DNA, that disturbs the Judeo-Christian doctrine concerning 
              the age of the Earth and biblical creation. Satan would love 
              people to believe we are nothing more than an alien zoology 
              program. Of course," he said, rolling his eyes, "there’s always 
              Indy’s Theory of UFOlogy."
              "Indy’s Theory? As in your own 
              personal theory?"
              "Mine and a few others."
              Sheri smiled. "Tell us about this 
              mysterious theory."
              "I thought you’d never ask. 
              According to the Bible, the End Times will be accompanied by 
              fearful sights and great signs from heaven. The book of Second 
              Thessalonians even says that, when the Antichrist is revealed, he 
              will be accompanied by ‘lying wonders.’ Maybe these verses are 
              talking about UFOs being used to introduce the Man of Sin. 
              Wouldn’t the world react to the sudden arrival of an intergalactic 
              wise man with awe and wonder? The prophecies of Daniel seem to 
              support this possibility."
              "You’re telling me the prophet 
              Daniel talked about a Last Days invasion of UFOs?" Joe said, 
              sounding incredulous.
            
            
              "No, no. But he said the Antichrist 
              will be a worshiper of Baal, and Baal was the lord of the sky. As 
              Baalbamoth he was the lord of the aerial regions. As Baalzebub he 
              was the lord of those that ‘fly’ or that flit about in the 
              atmosphere. In the New Testament, Satan himself is referred to as 
              the prince of the powers of the air. Therefore Scriptures lead me 
              to believe that the aerial phenomena you and I interpret as UFO 
              activity could be part of a Last Days delusion—something to 
              trick humanity into accepting the appearance of Antichrist."
              Joe took a deep breath and exhaled 
              slowly. UFOs could introduce the Antichrist, huh? He stared 
              at the image. "So when it comes to these Anunnaki, you believe 
              we’re talking about fallen angels?"
              "In a nutshell, yes."
              "And somehow this relates to our 
              little image here."
              "In ways I don’t understand. To be 
              honest, I’m amazed to see Sumerian written on it. If it’s not a 
              fake, I would…"
              "I already told you it’s real," Joe 
              said, defensive of his father’s claims.
              Jones picked the image up and 
              turned it over in his hand. "Don’t be offended, Joe. I’m just a 
              professor. We’re paid to be cautious, even skeptical. So listen. I 
              have a friend who runs an independent laboratory. He does all 
              kinds of subcontract work for the state and federal government, 
              mostly crime lab stuff, but also a little radiocarbon and 
              metallurgy testing. If you’d let me borrow this thing for a couple 
              days, I could have him run a series of tests on it to determine 
              its age and material makeup. We could even do a photo analysis and 
              database search to see if any comparable artifacts have been 
              discovered or described in the past. This is the best way I know 
              to provide an authoritative answer. With your permission, I’d like 
              to take it to him right away."
            
            And later in our story...
            
              Corsivino frowned. "We found our 
              dream disintegrating. No matter how we tried, we couldn’t 
              replicate the Nibiruan Key’s effect on the Enigma nor obtain the 
              vortex described by 
				the Dropa discs. To make matters worse, the 
              project took an unexpected turn when advanced human DNA labeling 
              was discovered in the Dropa. It illustrated genetic manipulation 
              done by 
				
				the Anunnaki thousands of years before, including specific 
              formulas for improving the human species."
              
              Maybe Dr. Jones knew what he was talking about 
              after all, Joe thought.
              
               "The 
              formulas called for introducing animal, and, in at least one case, 
              alien DNA into human genome. Experts at the Pentagon quickly 
              determined humanity had been the subject of unknown mutation 
              experiments. They convened a black operations panel and concluded 
              that regardless of what else the Dropa texts represented, the 
              discovery provided a unique opportunity for human enhancement 
              studies."
"The 
              formulas called for introducing animal, and, in at least one case, 
              alien DNA into human genome. Experts at the Pentagon quickly 
              determined humanity had been the subject of unknown mutation 
              experiments. They convened a black operations panel and concluded 
              that regardless of what else the Dropa texts represented, the 
              discovery provided a unique opportunity for human enhancement 
              studies."
              "So this is where you got involved, 
              I take it," Dave said.
              "Following the panel’s 
              above-top-secret report, genetic engineers like myself were given 
              unprecedented resources, and the genome sciences were born."
              "Sickening," Joe slipped.
              Corsivino looked into his deep 
              green eyes. "I understand. Not everybody was enthusiastic about 
              our research back then, either. There were project 
              scientists—those of religious persuasion—that came to believe the 
              spacecraft and its contents were a remnant of forbidden 
              technology, something cast down from heaven, perhaps a leftover of 
              Lucifer’s rebellion against God."
              "Did they express these views?" Joe 
              knew in the military that you usually keep your mouth shut, even 
              when you disagree.
              "A Jesuit named 
				
				Malachi Malina did. 
              He openly cautioned about dark forces he thought were trying to 
              initiate Armageddon again, to unleash the Antichrist."
              "What do you mean, trying again?"
              "You know, another Hitler or 
              Antiochus Epiphanes, except this time a very high-tech one. The 
              Jesuit based his conclusions about the Nibiruan Key and its 
              devilish connection on similarities between ancient history 
              involving the Nibiruans, or Anunnaki, and the genetic experiments 
              growing out of our research."
              This was really starting to sound 
              like Jones now.
            
            
              "He showed us where the Anunnaki offered weapons 
              technology to Israel’s enemies in exchange for women. The 
              antediluvian females became hosts to genetic experiments, 
              resulting in a breed of giants called 
				
				Nephilim."
              "Like Goliath," Dave said.
              "According to Malina, yes. Goliath was one of an 
              army of giants, created to destroy God’s people and to take over 
              the world. God thwarted the original plan by eliminating the 
              ancient Nephilim."
              "And that was that." Dave said.
              "I wish it were that simple. Malina believed 
              history was repeating itself—that the disc recovered from Sedona 
              was a Trojan horse—something to trick world governments into 
              joining forces with Satan in preparation of Armageddon. Malina 
              even speculated that the alien bodies we had recovered were 
              demonic concoctions." …
              "Sounds like something a friend told me 
              recently," Joe said to Corsivino.
              "What’s that?"
              "Dr. Jones, a friend of the family, he believes 
              aliens and demons are one and the same."
              "Father Malina was convinced of it, and he 
              claimed it was illustrated in history books from civilizations 
              around the world."
              "History books? You mean mythology, don’t you?" 
              Dave corrected.
              "Both. I remember Malina discussing the Greek 
              Titans, how their legend began with so-called gods mating with 
              earth women. He compared that story to Genesis where the Sons of 
              God took women for wives and their offspring became mighty men of 
              old. He also showed us how the word Titan equals 666 in Greek and 
              means ‘gray, whitish, or chalky gray,’ fitting the skin coloration 
              of the bodies recovered at Sedona. He certainly felt we were 
              opening the gates to an ancient perdition by tinkering with this 
              alien technology."
              "So…he’s the one that convinced you to quit?" 
              Joe asked, referring to Malina.
              "What started me thinking we scientists had been 
              duped was a meeting between Major General William H. Layton, the 
              secretary of defense, and Montero’s top genetic researchers."
              Joe recognized the Major General’s name. He had 
              heard him speak while he was stationed in Hawaii. He was 
              definitely a command presence, not somebody to second-guess.
              
               "He 
              told us that Special Agent Apol Leon—a military expert of some 
              kind—would be in charge of genetic research in our department from 
              there on out. We were becoming an All Black operation. No 
              information concerning our undertaking was to be divulged to any 
              military or government departments outside our own. This was now a 
              top-level national security issue. Of course we voiced our 
              allegiance and reaffirmed our oaths, but the ethics of our work 
              certainly changed after Apol Leon, and Hell, came to Montero."
"He 
              told us that Special Agent Apol Leon—a military expert of some 
              kind—would be in charge of genetic research in our department from 
              there on out. We were becoming an All Black operation. No 
              information concerning our undertaking was to be divulged to any 
              military or government departments outside our own. This was now a 
              top-level national security issue. Of course we voiced our 
              allegiance and reaffirmed our oaths, but the ethics of our work 
              certainly changed after Apol Leon, and Hell, came to Montero."
              It suddenly dawned on Joe that Corsivino was 
              talking about the man on his answering machine at home. He froze 
              and listened carefully.
              "Mr. Leon was on special assignment from 
              Wright-Patterson Airforce Base where the alien bodies were kept. 
              After formal introduction of him, General Layton disclosed top 
              secret information related to an advanced race of humanoids, which 
              supposedly visited Earth some ten thousand years ago."
              "What proof did they offer of that allegation?" 
              Dave said smartly.
              "What proof did they need to offer? We had the 
              alien bodies and their ship."
              Dave opened his hands, palms up. "I mean that 
              Earth was visited ten thousand years ago?"
              "According to General Layton, the aliens left 
              evidence of their visit everywhere—the pyramids, Nazca Lines, even 
              an ancient city on Mars where excavations were underway by joint 
              U.S.-Soviet stealth expeditions. We were told in no uncertain 
              terms that these aliens were our creators. Homo sapiens was the 
              product of their genetic handiwork on apes."
              Joe stared across the room at Dave’s computers 
              again. He was familiar with many U.S. political and military 
              figures. This was astounding information and probably confirmed 
              Dave’s worst conspiracy fears. He returned his sights to Corsivino 
              and said, "General Layton actually said that?"
              "Not only that. We were told of a second, more 
              aggressive breed of creature called Anakim. The aliens made them 
              to rule over the newly created people. Each Anakim had the 
              strength of ten men. They were ruthless, but outnumbered by the 
              humans. Eventually they were killed by hordes of men after the 
              aliens, who were also known as ‘flying geniuses,’ departed for 
              outer space. According to General Layton, the death of the Anakim 
              was recorded in the mythos of every ancient culture, including the 
              Bible, where the Hebrews called them Nephilim."
            
            
              "But why would a Major General get involved with 
              all this mythology?"
              "A newly deciphered portion of 
				
				the Dropa had 
              caught his attention. It provided the genetic formula for 
              recreating the Anakim-Nephilim. Needless to say, the military was 
              profoundly interested in it. This represented the ultimate 
              soldier, a perfect killing machine, and Apol Leon was at Montero 
              to introduce our researchers to the technology we would use to 
              manufacture them—the cutting-edge science of transgenics."
              Joe realized he was clenching his fists again. 
              His head was tilted down, his eyes fixed on Corsivino. He needed 
              to calm down, think about his plan, glean as much information as 
              he could from this man before making his move. He bit his lip and 
              said, "So, Apol Leon came to teach you about transgenics, huh, the 
              technology you would use to re-create the Nephilim. What does that 
              actually mean?"
              
               "Simply 
              stated, transgenics is the science of altering the genetic 
              structure of one species by introducing the DNA of a different 
              species into its genome. Under Apol’s watchful eye, transgenics at 
              Montero developed in the form of male human embryos having their 
              molecular biology altered through inserting animal and alien DNA 
              into their genome."
"Simply 
              stated, transgenics is the science of altering the genetic 
              structure of one species by introducing the DNA of a different 
              species into its genome. Under Apol’s watchful eye, transgenics at 
              Montero developed in the form of male human embryos having their 
              molecular biology altered through inserting animal and alien DNA 
              into their genome."
              "Just where does one get alien DNA? I assume you 
              don’t run to the corner market for it."
              Corsivino grinned. "From the specimens we 
              recovered at Sedona. Those strands produced the most fascinating 
              and horrific results."
              Dave shook his head. "I hate to think what 
              that means."
              "Mutated embryos aggressive inside their 
              mother’s wombs, highly intelligent, brutish creatures after birth, 
              babies with phenomenal growth rates, an unequivocal thirst to 
              rule, conquer, and dominate."
              "You must have been so proud," Joe smirked 
              again. Remember! Diplomacy!
              
              "Actually, we were flabbergasted. At six months 
              of age the real problems developed. The chimera—or Nephilim 
              as Apol insisted we call them—became uncontrollable. Due to their 
              size and physical strength, special cages had to be designed to 
              hold them. A few months after that we found it necessary to 
              implant control chips directly into their brains."
              "Evidently those chips were not foolproof at 
              supervising your babies."
              "What? Why do you say that?"
              "Because at least one of them escaped," Joe 
              said. He took a moment to fill Corsivino and Dave in on the 
              recovery near Montero. He described the appearance of the carcass, 
              the arm that was now in Dr. Jones’s possession, and the wire 
              inside the beast’s head. He speculated that Jones was having the 
              specimen tested at Nathan Reel’s laboratory.
              Corsivino’s reaction was one of astonishment. 
              "That’s what he had in the blanket at the hillside? This arm?"
              "Affirmative."
              "Well, when and if that arm’s DNA is analyzed, a 
              fifth and sixth nucleotide will be discovered. It’s unlike 
              anything ever seen in animal or human DNA before. It could really 
              open a can of worms."
              
              Good. "And the wire in 
              the giant’s head? That was one of your control devices?"
              "It’s called AngelStar. It too was a product of 
              reverse engineering, actually designed for human implantation. The 
              aggressive nature of the Nephilim forced us to interface the 
              neural chip with the beast’s brains, in order to control them. 
              From what I remember it caused the creatures to become lethargic 
              when set at one hundred sixteen megahertz."
              Dave, sounding like his contemptible old self 
              again, said, "But did it satisfy naysayers?"
              "What do you mean, naysayers?"
              "The scientists that were uncomfortable with the 
              project…the Malina guy and the others who thought this might be an 
              Antichrist thing. Were they willing to go along with the research 
              once they saw the ape-men could be controlled?"
              Corsivino looked confused by the question and 
              said, "The fact that we learned to control the beasts was a 
              separate issue to Malina and his colleagues. Questions about the 
              ethics of our research grew regardless, even among the 
              nonreligious types. Eventually, I found myself among them."
              Joe raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you 
              were a project leader?"
              "I was, but you must understand, Joe, even 
              though I knew I was breaking my own values, there was something 
              alluring about our work. It was as if a beautiful Siren stood 
              somewhere in the distance, bidding us to come to her. It drew us 
              back day after day with promises of discovery and immortality. 
              Indeed, we believed our work would immortalize us in more ways 
              than one."
            
            
              "But you were finally convinced otherwise?"
              "It all came to a head one day during a casual 
              conversation with Malachi Malina. He’d been removed from the 
              research program at Montero a week before. The official reasoning 
              was ambiguous, but we all knew Malachi was terminated as a result 
              of his challenging the ethics of Montero’s research. In the days 
              following his departure, Malachi contacted several team members, 
              including myself. He couldn’t speak publicly, so he chose to 
              address his former co-workers privately, to challenge our moral 
              apathy. In my case, he specifically wondered why as a professing 
              Christian I was not concerned with my role at Montero, why I 
              couldn’t see it as an affront to the divine order."
              Joe was incredulous. "You’re a Christian?"
              "Is that so hard to believe?"
              "With the work you were involved in? Yes, as a 
              matter of fact."
              "Then you and Father Malina would have agreed. 
              He came right out and asked me. ‘Andrew,’ he said, ‘the Bible 
              tells us that God commands humans, animals, and plants to 
              reproduce after their own kind. If God requires species integrity, 
              how do you reconcile what you are doing? Your research at Montero 
              not only violates Scripture, but could open a Pandora’s box to a 
              molecular biological nightmare.’"
              "He was right," Joe said, not that he understood 
              the science.
              "I know, in many ways, I see that now. By 
              introducing animal and alien DNA into human genome, we were 
              breaching the species barrier and producing unclassified mutations 
              beyond imagination."
              Joe couldn’t help himself. Even though he wanted 
              to play this guy, he scoffed, "Yet you remained. I sure hope the 
              pay was good."
              "Actually, I left the program not long after 
              Malina did."
              "I remember that," Dave said, raising his 
              finger. "It was big news."
              Joe was more interested in what motivated him. 
              "Was it a conflict of conscience, or were you just protecting your 
              butt somehow?"
              "I’d say a mixture of both, although my 
              conscience drives me these days, believe it or not."
              "That’s not an answer."
              
               "Okay, 
              in particular, the problem for me was this: The molecular 
              biologists at Montero classified the functions of the alien genes 
              supplied by Apol Leon. Yet none of them knew how the gene’s coding 
              would react from the alien species to human.
"Okay, 
              in particular, the problem for me was this: The molecular 
              biologists at Montero classified the functions of the alien genes 
              supplied by Apol Leon. Yet none of them knew how the gene’s coding 
              would react from the alien species to human. 
				
              	There were strong 
              possibilities that interspecies differences would measurably 
              effect the gene’s protein interactions, thus modifying the human 
              hereditary traits in the mutations. That represented a potential 
              catastrophe beyond measure."
              Joe hoped he would rephrase the comment so he 
              could understand the important point.
              As if reading his mind, Corsivino said, "Let me 
              put it a different way. Since interbreeding between humans and
				Nephilim was now theoretically possible, it was reasonable to 
              believe the  would get out of the bottle someday. When 
              that happened, alien and animal characteristics would be 
              introduced to our own species, altering the human genetic code and 
              eventually eliminating humanity as we know it. Malachi Malina 
              believed this was not only possible, but also perhaps the whole 
              idea. That was something I could not be part of."
              Joe was contemplative, then finally said, 
              "Sounds like a Dr. Jones theory."
              "Meaning?"
              "Something the professor told me about God 
              having to destroy the human race during Noah’s flood because 
              giants had interbred with humans. According to Jones, by the time 
              Noah and his children came along, they were the only ones left 
              with DNA not corrupted by intermarriage with Nephilim and their 
              offspring. In order to preserve the human species, God had to 
              eliminate everybody but Noah and his family."
              "Jones is a smart man," Corsivino said. "What 
              would you say if I told you a similar plan is unfolding as we 
              speak, right beneath the world’s nose?"
              "I’d hope you were kidding. A plan to annihilate 
              mankind by interbreeding humans with Nephilim? Why would anybody 
              want to do that?"
              "They are deceived. The government and military 
              are deceived. They believe their research is leading to a super 
              army that will police a New World Order—a better world system. 
              Those of us in Operation Gadfly think differently. We believe 
              Montero’s work is part of a larger scheme to force Armageddon and 
              to enslave mankind."
            
            
              Dave raised his hand again. "Operation Gadfly?"
              "It’s a consortium of scientists dedicated to 
              the destruction of Montero, its research and researchers, and 
              similar factories around the world."
              "You mean there’s more than one factory!?"
              "Oh yes. Nine others in the Alliance of Nations. 
              Ten in total."
            
            
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