"Excellent definition," Jaggers said. "That fine-grain film really gives resolution when you need—"

"Wilson," Manchek said, "was telling us about his run."

"Yes sir," Wilson said, clearing his throat. He stared at the screen. "At this time I am right over target, where I observed the casualties you see here. My estimate at that time was seventy-five, sir."

His voice was quiet and tense. There was a break in the film, some numbers, and the image came on again.

"Now I am coming back for my second run," Wilson said. "The flares are already burning low but you can see—"

"Stop the film," Manchek said.

The projectionist froze the film at a single frame. It showed the long, straight main street of the town, and the bodies.

"Go back."

The film was run backward, the jet seeming to pull away from the street.

"There! Stop it now."

The frame was frozen. Manchek got up and walked close to the screen, peering off to one side.

"Look at this," he said, pointing to a figure. It was a man in knee-length white robes, standing and looking up at the plane. He was an old man, with a withered face. His eyes were wide.

"What do you make of this?" Manchek said to Jaggers.

Jaggers moved close. He frowned. "Run it forward a bit."

The film advanced. They could clearly see the man turn his head, roll his eyes, following the plane as it passed over him.

"Now backward," Jaggers said.

The film was run back. Jaggers smiled bleakly. "The man looks alive to me, sir."

"Yes," Manchek said crisply. "He certainly does."

And with that, he walked out of the room. As he left, he paused and announced that he was declaring a state of emergency; that everyone on the base was confined to quarters until further notice; that there would be no outside calls, or communication; and that what they had seen in this room was confidential.

Outside in the hallway, he headed for Mission Control. Comroe followed him.

"I want you to call General Wheeler," Manchek said. "Tell him I have declared an SOE without proper authorization, and ask him to come down immediately." Technically no one but the commander had the right to declare a state of emergency.

Comroe said, "Wouldn't you rather tell him yourself?"

"I've got other things to do," Manchek said.

4. Alert

WHEN ARTHUR MANCHEK stepped into the small soundproofed booth and sat down before the telephone, he knew exactly what he was going to do—but he was not very sure why he was doing it.

As one of the senior Scoop officers, he had received a briefing nearly a year before on Project Wildfire. It had been given, Manchek remembered, by a short little man with a dry, precise way of speaking. He was a university professor and he had outlined the project. Manchek had forgotten the details, except that there was a laboratory somewhere, and a team of five scientists who could be alerted to man the laboratory. The function of the team was investigation of possible extraterrestrial life forms introduced on American spacecraft returning to earth.