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147 that is no longer considered realistic, especially in view of our thorough knowledge of early Soviet jet airplanes and rockets. Moreover, it makes absolutely no sense for the Soviets (or anyone else) to fly secret experimental (and therefore highly sensitive) aircraft over the United States, where the slightest malfunction would lead to a forced landing or a crash. Priceless secrets and a clear picture of the state of the art would have been revealed, and nothing would have been gained. We test our secret aircraft over the empty areas of Nevada and Califor- nia, where they will attract minimum attention. The Soviets tested theirs over equally vacant parts of their huge country. Having thus eliminated all the suggested alternative expla- nations for what was recovered from the New Mexico crash sites does not prove that alien spacecraft were responsible. There may yet be other explanations—obscure, yet mundane—that should be considered. One of them may pro- vide the elusive solution to the questions that remain un- answered. After all, the process of elimination works only when you are absolutely certain you have considered all the possibilities. There is one more possibility: that all the witnesses— military and civilian—are lying. Accusations are not enough. Proof must be presented that dozens of persons with excellent reputations in their communities have conspired to invent a complex story for no apparent reason. Lacking such proof, it must be assumed that the witnesses are telling the truth as they remember it. ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS FOR THE WRECKAGE