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175 anything but routine and acceptable, at least to the select few who were permitted to learn about it. Mankind's position at the very top of the evolutionary lad- der, considered a source of immense pride for eons, was sud- denly placed in serious jeopardy. The absolute ruler of all the Earth (and presumably everywhere else, too) was on the verge of being revealed as inferior in some respects to those about whom he knew nothing and of whose very existence he was uncertain. Someone had been flying through Man's private skies in vehicles vastly superior to anything developed here on Earth. And even though at least one of them had crashed, they were clearly the product of a civilization having far greater knowl- edge of science and technology. Man might still claim to be the master of the Earth, but suddenly there was proof that someone else was smarter, had started sooner, or had progressed faster. Man might still be able to divert great rivers, clear vast forests, tame wild horses, and teach puppydogs to sit up. But the de- signers, builders, and pilots of the UFOs had awe-inspiring knowledge (if not necessarily wisdom) and could well be in position to submit Man to their own will. Within two weeks of the start of the first great American wave of UFO sightings in 1947, it had become obvious that the strange craft were far faster and more maneuverable than any known flying machines. Moreover, they could fly almost si- lently and seemed capable of controlling their radar profile. Any realistic chance that they might be the tools of some other country was wiped out by the discovery of the remains of two crashed examples in the wilds of New Mexico. The mere pres- ence of superlight, superstrong materials of unknown compo- sition should have been enough to indicate their alien nature. But the discovery of several small nonhumans in the wreckage eliminated the last hope that Man might still deserve credit for this enormous leap forward. By keeping all knowledge of this amazing discovery secret the U.S. government postponed the day when Man would real- ize that his place in the cosmos was not quite as lofty as he IMPLICATIONS