Frank G. Wilkinson - Aboard a Flying Saucer: Truman Bethurum and the People of the Planet Clarion

She was shorter than the men he had seen thus far. Black-haired, olive-skinned, she wore no jewelry or makeup. Her uniform was a bright red skirt, velvety black blouse, and a black and red beret. Her proud eyes considered Bethurum for a long moment. Apparently satisfied, she dismissed his escorts, then gestured for him to take a seat on a long couch which lined the far wall.

She began by explaining that she and her crew were interplanetary travelers who had only very recently begun their contact with Earth. Amazed, Bethurum asked about their planet of origin and how they managed to survive the great lengths of time required to traverse the void of space. She responded that time and distance we inconsequential to her people, and that such questions held little meaning for them. She made it clear that her race had already, in their short stay, divined Humanity's warlike nature, and warned that, although theirs was a peaceful, religious and understanding people, they were also cautious and well-equipped to evade attack or capture by Earthly military powers.

He watched her striking figure as she talked, and again made note of the strange, taught quality of the skin he had noticed in the little men. Her face was gaunt and sharp-boned, almost as if some sort of plastic sheet had been drawn tight over an underlying frame. Her dark eyes reflected great understanding, and seemed to guide his questioning, leading him psychically toward certain questions, away from others. In a hypnotic, sing-songy voice, like someone reading Mother Goose stories aloud to a child, she questioned him about his work, and about the men building structures in the desert (the asphalt plant).

She answered his questions, too, explaining that, while some of the flying saucers being sighted in American skies belonged to her people, the more bizarre news stories involving monsters with hooks or grotesque tails were creations of liars seeking publicity.

As if in response to some imperceptible signal, the lady captain rose without warning and led Bethurum back down the long corridor and out of the saucer. As they emerged into the desert air through the topside portal, he was shocked to discover that the sun was already well over the horizon. Many hours had passed in what seemed to him like mere moments.

He thanked his interplanetary hosts for allowing him to come aboard the "Admiral's Scow," as they had referred to their ship. The captain promised to return soon to visit him again all he needed to do was to think the place and the day. She and her crew would hear his thoughts and keep the appointment.

The great saucer dipped again toward the sandy desert floor. Bethurum stepped off and the door closed silently behind him. As the disc rose away into the dawn sky, he examined its immensity end to end in the sunlight. No propellers, rudders or exhaust vents dimmed its gleaming exterior. It made no sound at all as it drifted toward the clouds then vanished suddenly, without leaving so much as a vapor trail in its wake.