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Area 51. The mechanism of the cover-up seems to be consistent—moving extremely rapidly, the intelligence agencies sweep all the evidence and, if necessary, secure the key witnesses. If word of the event leaks out, the normal military chain of command operates to keep any controver- 157 SPECIAL EFFECTS lights? Even after extensive investigation it was not possible to answer these questions with certainty. But it was clear that a systematic at- tempt at cover-up had been implemented. Perhaps it is at this level that the Bentwaters case is most interesting—for what it teaches us about the nature and the structure of such observations around military bases. DELUSION OR DECEPTION? The English investigators have presented convincing evidence that the various explanations offered to the public for the Bentwaters case— allegedly caused by the beam of a distant lighthouse and some bright stars—were utter rubbish. It is tempting to conclude that the military were indeed confronted with an alien craft and its occupants. This may well be the solution. But there are intriguing alternatives. To me the most plausible theory is that the U.S. military has devel- oped a device or a collection of devices that look like flying saucers, that they are primarily intended for psychological warfare, and that they are being actively tested on military personnel. Thus, the persons who control the experiment can always contain the repercussions if the story leaks out. In such cases OSI may be used both to calibrate the observ- ers—hence the visit to the radar men and the collecting of all photo- graphs—and to cover up the exercise itself. If the reports leak out, the cover story may be, very simply, that the object was in fact a UFO. This is the ultimate explanation, the end of the road: "What do you want us to do? This was an object we could not identify. You know as much about it as we do . . . ." In other words, OSI could be actually covering up the fact that such sightings are not cases of actual UFOs! No wonder amateur ufologists are confused, as they are confused by the observation of strange disk-shaped lights over