Redell lighted his pipe and then read the draft, nodding to himself now and then.
“I think that’s correct analysis,” he said when he finished. “That was a very curious case. You know, Project ‘Saucer’ even had psychiatrists out there. If Gorman had been the only witness, I think they’d have called it a hallucination. As it was, they took a crack at him and the C.A.A. men in their preliminary report.”
Though I recalled that there had been a comment, I didn’t remember the wording. Redell looked it up and read it aloud:
“‘From a psychological aspect, the Gorman incident raised the question, “Is it possible for an object without appreciable shape or known aeronautical configuration to appear to travel at variable speeds and maneuver intelligently?”’”
“Hallucination might sound like a logical answer,” I said, “until you check all the testimony. But there are just too many witnesses who confirm Gorman’s report. Also, he seems like a pretty level-headed chap.”
Redell filled his pipe again. “But you still can’t quite accept it?”
“I’m positive they saw the light—but what the devil was it? How could it fly without some kind of airfoil?”
“Maybe it didn’t. You remember Gorman described an odd fuzziness around the edge of the light? It’s in this Air Force report. That could have been a reflection from the airfoil.”
“Yes, but Gorman would have seen any solid—” I stopped, as Redell made a negative gesture.
“It could be solid and still not show up,” he said.