Dimensions: A Casebook of Alien Contact - Above Top Secret

a high fever. The details of the case were obtained through an investigation by the Italian police.Eleven years later a new flurry of reports began. On July 1, 1965, Maurice Masse, a French farmerwho lived in Valensole, arrived in his field at 6:00 A.M. and was getting ready to start his tractorwhen he heard an unusual noise. Stepping into the open, he saw that a machine had landed in hislavender field. He thought it must be some sort of prototype and walked toward it, with a mind totell the pilots, in no uncertain words, to go find another landing spot for their contraption. It wasonly when he was within twenty feet of the machine that he came in full view of the scene andrealized his mistake.The object was egg-shaped, had a round cockpit, was supported by six thin legs and a central pivot,and was not bigger than a car. In front, appearing to examine a plant, were the two pilots. They weredressed in one-piece, gray-greenish suits. On the left side of their belts was a small container; alarger one was on the right side. They were less than four feet tall and had human eyes, but theirheads were very large. They had partically no mouth, only a very small opening, without lips. Theywore no respiratory device, no headgear, and no gloves. They had small, normal hands. WhenMasse came upon them, they seemed to become suddenly aware of his existence, and yet it waswithout any indication of fear or surprise that one of the "pilots" took a small tube from its containerand pointed it at Masse – with the result that the witness found himself suddenly incapable ofmovement.The two entities looked at Masse and appeared to be exchanging their impressions vocally in a sortof gargle. These sounds came from their throats, insisted the witness, but the mouths did not move.The eyes, in the meantime, conveyed human expressions. In private, Masse told me that he had notbeen frightened by their attitude and that it contained more friendly curiosity than hostility towardhim.After some time – estimated by Masse at about one minute – the creatures went inside the craft. Thedoor closed "like the front part of a wooden file cabinet," but Masse could still see them through thecockpit. They were facing him as the object took off in the opposite direction, first hovering a fewfeet from the ground, then rising obliquely with the take-off speed of a jet plane. When it was aboutsixty yards away, it vanished.I closely questioned the witness on this last point, but Masse insisted he could not say whether theobject went away so fast that the eye could not follow it or whether it actually disappeared. Hemade it quite clear, however, that "one moment, the thing was there, and the next moment, it wasnot there anymore." Masse remained alone in his field, paralyzed.The word paralysis is not properly used in connection with incidents of this type. Masse said that hewas conscious during the whole observation. His physiological functions (respiratory, heartbeat)were not hampered. But he could not move. Then he became very frightened indeed. Alone in hisfield, unable even to call for help, Masse thought he was going to die. It was only after about twentyminutes that he gradually regained voluntary control of his muscles and was able to go home.There is a sequel to his experience. For several weeks after the incident, Masse was overcome withdrowsiness, and all his relatives – as well as the investigators – observed that he needed so muchsleep that he found it difficult to stay awake even for four hours at a time. This is another littleknowncharacteristic of close-proximity cases. To Masse, who was used to working "from sunup tosundown," this was a very impressive and disturbing consequence of his experience. Another resultof the publicity the case attracted was the great damage to Masse's field, as crowds of touristsgathered to see the traces left by the craft.At this point, I should say that Masse is a man respected in the community. A former Resistancefighter, a conscientious and successful farmer, he is regarded as absolutely trustworthy by the policeauthorities who investigated the case under the direction of Captain Valnet, of Digne. Yet this mantells us a story that does not simply appear fanciful; it is completely unbelievable.What is Masse's impression of the visitors? For some reason, he says, he knows they meant noharm. They were not hostile to him, only indifferent. As he stood facing them, during that longminute, he suddenly was overcome with the certitude that they were good – a belief he is unable torationalize, because at no point did he understand their strange language.