"He's not the first one who told us that," said Purdy. "We've heard
the same thing from other engineers. Over a dozen airline pilots think
they're coining from out in space. And there's a rocket expert at
Wright Field who's warned Project 'Saucer' that the things are
interplanetary. That's why I'm not writing it off."

"Have you read the Project 'Saucer' ideas on space travel?" DuBarry
asked me. I told him my copy hadn't reached me. He read me some marked
paragraphs in his copy of the preliminary report:

{p. 52}

"'There has been speculation that the aerial phenomena might actually
be some form of penetration from another planet . . . the existence of
intelligent life on Mars is not impossible but is completely unproven
. . . the possibility of intelligent life on the Planet Venus is not
considered completely unreasonable by astronomers . . . Scientists
concede that living organisms might develop in chemical environments
which are strange to us . . . in the next fifty years we will almost
certainly start exploring space . . . the chance of space travelers
existing at planets attached to neighboring stars is very much greater
than the chance of space-traveling Martians. The one can be viewed as
almost a certainty . . .'"

DuBarry handed me the report. "Here--I practically know it by heart.
Take it with you. You can send it back later."

"I know the space-travel idea sounds silly at first," said Purdy, "but
it's the only answer that explains all the sightings-especially those
in the last century."