Until then, I had forgotten about Art Green’s letter. I told Redell what Art had said about the Geiger counter. “I knew they went over Gorman’s fighter with a Geiger counter,” Redell commented. “But they said the reaction was negative. If Green is right, it’s interesting. It would mean they have built incredibly small atomic engines. But with a race so many years ahead of us, it shouldn’t be surprising. Of course, they may also be using some other kind of power our scientists say is impossible.” I was about to ask him what he meant when his secretary came in. “Mr. Carson is waiting,” she told Redell. “He had a four-o’clock appointment.” As I started to leave, Redell looked at his calendar. “I hate to break this up; it’s a fascinating business What about coming in Friday? I’d like to see the rest of those case reports.” “Fine,” I said. “I’ve got a few more questions, too.” Going out, I made a mental note of the Friday date. Then the figure clicked; it was just three months since I’d started on this assignment. Three months ago. At that time I’d only been half sure that the saucers were real. If anyone had said I’d soon believe they were space ships, I’d have told him he was crazy. CHAPTER XIII Before my date with Redell, I went over all the material I had, hoping to find some clue to the space visitors’ planet. It was possible, of course, that there was more than one planet involved. Project “Saucer” had discussed the possibilities in it! report of April 27, 1949. I read over this section again: Since flying saucers first hit the headlines almost two years ago, there has been wide speculation that the aerial phenomena might actually be some form of penetration from another planet. Actually, astronomers are largely in agreement that only one member of the solar system beside Earth is capable of supporting life. That is Mars. Even Mars, however, appears to be relatively desolate and inhospitable, so that a Martian race would be more occupied with survival than we are on Earth. On Mars, there exists an excessively slow loss of atmosphere, oxygen and water, against which intelligent beings, if they do exist there, may have protected themselves by scientific control of physical conditions. This might have been done, scientists speculate, by the construction of homes and cities underground where the atmospheric pressure would be greater and thus temperature extremes reduced. The other possibilities exist, of course, that evolution may have developed a being who can withstand the rigors of the Martian climate, or that the race—if it ever did exist—has perished. In other words, the existence of intelligent life on Mars, where the rare atmosphere is nearly devoid of oxygen and water and where the nights are much colder than our Arctic winters, is not impossible but is completely unproven.