U.F.O.
"Ordeal"
What Really Happened after Foster was removed from the alien space suit…
"All right," Commander Edward Straker began, as he, Col. Alec Freeman, Dr. Jackson and General Henderson met in Straker's office. "We have a problem." He nodded to the doctor.
"This experience has been traumatic," Bogdan Vladek 'Doug' Jackson began in his thick East European accent, "but not just for Col. Foster. But for all of us. I recommend we apply the paramidazol amnesia drug1 to all personnel, including all of us."
"Are you saying, Doctor," Henderson demanded, "that none of us should remember this incident? That it should be buried?!"
"It will be better, in the long run," Jackson insisted. The man, curiously, also had a legal background and an astute strategic mind as an interrogator himself 2. He had a strong Polish heritage but chanced to have a western surname because of his half-American father.3
"That is not to say that we should not make records of it and place in secure storage of what happened, and what we decided to do. In regards to the most senior affected personnel, I also recommend we use hypnosis to make the experience, what happened so long ago that long-term memories have already taken root 4, be clouded, indistinct… so that it does seem more like a dream. Then, we would return Colonel Foster to the spa, where he will awaken and not be able to be absolutely certain of the experience."
"Colonel Foster is still on the moon!" Freeman objected. "It's a nine-hour journey!"5
"He will be asleep for most of that journey, and in fact, we can tranquilize him for the added time necessary. But the debriefings must begin within the hour. The paramidazol medication within four. Once he falls asleep, the process of conversion to long-term memories will begin.
"We also must undertake our debriefings."
"Dr. Frazer is dead! So is Joe Franklin!" Freeman pointed out. "We can't very well return him to the spa when two people he has recollection of are no longer there!"
"Franklin can be recalled," Straker put in, having been listening carefully to all the input. So far, Jackson's recommendation made sense. "He and Paul had no contact until they met at the spa. Franklin's death can be reported at a later date."
"And Frazer?" Henderson asked him acerbically.
"Facial mimicking," Straker declared. "A mask. And the next time Foster goes there, Frazer is no longer there. Congenital condition."
Henderson shook his head. "I don't know if this has much of a chance of working!"
"I don't see that we have any real choice in the matter," Straker declared. "As Dr. Jackson has pointed out, this has been a traumatic experience for all of us. For Lew… missing the shot and subjecting Foster to alien interrogation… or killing a colleague if he didn't miss. General, I want your support. I'm approving of this plan."
Henderson's often skeptical look appraised Straker, then took in Freeman and Jackson, before he reflected, then nodded.
"I'm going to make one additional recommendation, general. From now on, there will be minimal sharing of information of this nature. Need-to-know. For example, in this case, Lt. Ellis and assisting personnel needed to know that Paul Foster was in a yu-fo coming off of Earth, but not everyone. Not the custodians at Moonbase. Not the general personnel aboard Skydiver. Not every computer operator in that room out there! As it is, three quarters of the personnel here at headquarters are going to be sleeping for the next eight hours! We're going to be severely understaffed."
"Makes sense. But we already have that procedure," Freeman pointed out.
"Yes, Alec, but we'll have to make it more stringent."
"I don't think you need my debriefing," Henderson noted. "I wasn't in on much, so you might as well give me the paramidazol right now."
"As of now, gentleman," Straker said, "we are on orders to tell all for the record, and may sweet heaven keep us from remembering it afterward."
Foster was already aboard a transfer shuttle as he, Lt. Gay Ellis and other Moonbase staff were debriefed.
Dr. Jackson gave more precise instructions on how to identify Basil Frazer's "illness" and the order of events for Foster to learn.
No new technical details were obtained on the structural design of the alien spacecraft, even as straight forward as the location of the access hatch. Foster recalled the interior control panel was remarkably simple in design, though it had maneuvering controls and others that might involve weapons control. With his debriefers, he concurred that most of the fine control might be automated, the automatic controls responding to the choices of maneuvers. He observed one of the aliens having put another device around his helmet that included some kind of apparatus in front of the visor, possibly indicating a heads-up display, and second gloves on the suit gloves, possibly indicating additional control capability using the individual fingers.
The interior space was limited by a rear bulkhead that seemed to cut the craft in half, suggesting the other half might be the service module including the power plant.
Foster was told that "extraordinary" measures were being taken, and the paramidazol was administered en route to Earth. He also was given a full medical exam on arrival to ensure there were no "curiosities" that might make Foster or others wonder about what happened to him for the last 48 hours. His flesh was scrubbed with pumice to remove the slight greenish stain left by the alien respiratory fluid. His lungs were fine. His eyes were fine.
The alien space suit was put into artifact storage along with others that had been acquired. The Moonbase infirmary was cleaned up.
Straker, Lew Waterman, Freeman and other personnel were quickly debriefed and then had the paramidazol administered. A replacement spa doctor was located and told he was simply to pretend to be Dr. Basil Frazer, and would be wearing a convincing rubber mask. If Foster pursued conversation, he was to make small talk about it being his last day on the job because he had been having rough mornings, feeling dizzy for a few seconds, but being fine virtually all day. Other staff were brought into the quickly-repaired facility. The spot where the UFO had touched down was quickly re-landscaped.
When Freeman, Straker and Henderson awoke, they were told to read a letter left for each.
By agreement of senior command personnel of SHADO, extraordinary measures were taken to obstruct recollection of an experience threatening SHADO security that had the potential of leaving traumatic memories. A record has been made of the full debriefing and documentation of the incident. It was agreed to be highly inadvisable to reacquaint with the incident from the said record. Records are stored under the security classification A-1 Oxford.
Agreement was also reached of more stringent need-to-know procedures. Not all details of an incident are to be revealed even to personnel who are customarily aware in the course of their work. File B-1-0647 contains the additional instructions and should be reviewed by all command personnel within 48 hours.
Gen. James Henderson, president, I.A.C.
Col. Edward Straker, commander-in-chief, S.H.A.D.O.
Col. Alec Freeman, deputy commander, S.H.A.D.O.
Dr. Bogdan Jackson, chief of medical staff, S.H.A.D.O.
09 July 1987, 07:14 UTC, SHADO HQ
The letters detailed additional actions to be undertaken over the next 48 hours, and the succeeding six months, including the acknowledgment of deaths of several people. Henderson, Straker and Freeman were surprised to learn of so many deaths, particularly of spa personnel, but respected the advice they had evidently recorded before taking the amnesia drug. However inadvisably, they mused that it had something to do with Paul Foster and a UFO that had been known to be approaching Earth before their memories ceased. The UFO was officially recorded as destroyed by Moonbase interceptors before reaching Earth.
When Foster was back on Earth, Jackson, the only person who was refamiliarized with pertinent details of the incident, used other drugs and hypnosis, and did it in Foster's assigned room at the spa. What little Foster could recall about the first day at the spa was made a little cloudy and spread over what would seem to be two days.
While Foster ended up not quite sure of himself, his memory pieced together suggested that…
One… he attended a party, was up nearly the entire night, and left for the spa without a good night's sleep.
Security always kept an eye on SHADO operatives' off-the-job activities, so one of the partiers had been from Security, and a full audio and video record of the party was used to reinforce Foster's memories of the party.
Two… he met Joe Franklin, then the "torment" began. Later that day, he went into the steam room. Nothing remarkable happened. He emerged and was put through what seemed like an exact rerun of the morning session.
Three… after a dreamless overnight sleep, he was roused early for yet another session that resembled the first two, but Joe Franklin was missing. The hypnosis kept him focused on himself, but he did occasionally see Franklin in another part of the room on an exercise bike.
Four… back into the steam room. This time, he had a dream about being abducted by the aliens, then crashing on the moon and being rescued by Moonbase personnel. After the alien helmet was removed, there were confused seconds, then he was back in the steam room at the spa.
He sang "Beautiful Dreamer", and emerged to realize Joe Franklin was missing. Dr. Frazer was griping about Franklin's sudden recall in the middle of all the exercise. Foster believed then he was served more of that food that was supposed to be nutritious lunch, then sent to do some jogging with one of the coaches. And then, again at his room at the spa, he drifted off to sleep… but he thought he might first have called SHADO to ask about any UFO sightings and been told there were none. Then… he fell asleep.
Leaving the sleeping Foster, Jackson was taken back to SHADO and administered the paramizadol a second time to not remember the hypnosis sessions.
Finally, after that second night of dreamless sleeping… Foster awoke for what he believed was his third day at the spa. The alien abduction "dream" haunted him, and he sat on the bed for a few moments trying to clear his head of the cobwebs and get his memories straight. They seemed to be a mess… but he could recall the steam room and thinking he saw an alien come and pin him to the floor, then come to back at the spa. He could count… three? Four sessions of massage? Two sessions in the steam room, the latter being the weird one? Going jogging? Franklin being recalled? It just didn't seem like this could be his third day, but his wristwatch showed it was the third day of his health leave. He dressed as expected and headed out of his room just as an attendant came to rouse him.
"Where's Franklin?" Foster asked after "breakfast" as he came for more massage.
"You forgot already?!" the massager asked. "You came out of ten minutes in that sauna and heard Franklin was pulled out."
Foster thought he might remember that, but it seemed too fuzzy.
"Frazer was griping about it," the massager went on to say.
"Where is Frazer this morning?"
"He's in the loo. Doc's going to have a look at him."
"Yeah? Hm. Franklin… something about… recall?" Foster asked.
"Recalled. He doesn't get to share the rest of your lovely time here. But he'll get a second shot at it next month… lucky dog."
"Yeah…" Foster winced as the massage began. "Lucky dog."
When Frazer came in, he was across the room. Foster looked over. The man's face looked puffy.
"Ted? Sorry you had to be called in," Frazer said to the new man Foster hadn't seen before. "I'm out of here. Off to see the doc."
"Hey, maybe you need another turn," Ted said. "Keep us posted."
"I will. Foster? You get in shape, hear?"
Foster grinned with a grimace as his back was treated.
On the fifth day, Foster heard from the staff that Frazer was permanently off the job.
Seven weeks later, another UFO incident provided a cover for Joe Franklin's death. Paul Foster thought it odd that a missile technician was involved, but in the dangerous work they were engaged in, not entirely impossible.
1 Though the drug was not named on-camera, it would make sense that outsiders would not be given the drug's actual name. Internally, the drug would probably be referred to by name, especially if improved ones are later developed. Midazolam is a real drug, and was used to derive the name of the fictional drug.
2 "Court Martial" – Jackson took a very active role in the prosecution against Paul Foster, and seemed to also have taken part in the investigation that led to Foster's arrest and preparation for the court martial.
3 Jackson was played by Władysław Rudolf Zbigniew Sheybal (Vladek Sheybal), a Polish character actor. I chose Bogdan from a list of first names, added Vladek in honour of the actor, stuck in "Doug" as a nickname used in at least one episode, acknowledged Polish heritage, and suggested his surname came from a western family.
4 Derived somewhat from the episode "Twilight" of the series Star Trek: Enterprise. Capt. Archer had been infected with microbes that kept him from forming new long-term memories; each day's memories were lost. SHADO's amnesia drug would also seem to have the effect of preventing the forming of new long-term memories.
5 The duration of the lunar shuttle flight has never been identified, however, it must be more rapid than an Apollo moon mission, thanks to improved technology. The risk of a longer journey is attack by a UFO. Possibly as short as four hours.
