“Shoot,” Todd said. “We’ll let you know if it’s a good idea or not.”
“I’ve been thinking about writing the paper on government conspiracies. I mean, if the government is lying about us, imagine what else they have lied, or are lying, about?” I toyed with my glass. “It interests me. I might learn something, and I think I can do a good job on it.”
“I don’t know,” Dave pondered, swallowing a sip of wine. “You’d have to tread lightly there. No sense opening up a can of worms with your essay. People already suspect the government is lying, and think you and Todd are shifters. If you write about other theories, they may bring up the situation in the discussion portion when you share your paper.”
“Personally, I like the idea,” Todd said thoughtfully. “It will solve the problem of what to write about. And, it may help the class realize that if she is a shifter, maybe the government is forcing her to be silent about it. And…” he added, “I am sure Beverly can handle herself in any class discussion.”
“Thanks Todd,” I said gratefully. It felt good to know he believed in me, even though the results of my last exam had shattered my confidence.
“So guys, I think I am going to do it. Let me ask you, what conspiracies come to mind when I say ‘government cover up?’ What famous conspiracies can you think of?”
“Some people believe that man’s first landing on the moon was a fake.” Todd grinned as he reached for the bottle of wine, pouring himself another glass.
“Now, that is just plain crazy!” I shook my head at Todd.
“Project Blue Book is the first thing I think of,” Dave said.
“Project Blue Book?” Todd tilted his head quizzically.
“Yeah. Some years ago, the U.S. Air Force investigated a bunch of UFO sightings, and they called it Project Blue Book. They shut it down because they said there was no evidence to support UFOs,” Dave said.
“Ha! No evidence to support UFOs? Just look at Roswell!” I cried.
“Are you talking about Roswell, New Mexico, where a UFO supposedly crashed and aliens were found?” Todd asked.
I nodded.
“But Beverly, no one knows if that really happened.”
“Todd, there were eye witnesses. Plus, I saw a show where someone had filmed an alien autopsy. It was an alien from the crash site.” I shuddered as I thought of the skinny, pale alien creature with the big head from the television show. “It was so creepy!”
“Beverly,” Dave laughed. “That wasn’t real. Fox TV admitted those were actors.”
“Oh! Ha ha, I didn’t really believe the show, but I didn’t realize they actually admitted it was fake.”
Todd laughed. “Yeah, well they did. It had a lot of people going for a while though.”
“To support your paper,” Dave said, “It will help to reveal actual government cover ups that have been proven. Don’t focus on the crap stuff.”
“Ok, I know one for sure. It was my first experience learning about government cover ups and I was about thirteen.”
Dave and Todd looked at me quizzically.
“My stepfather, Bob, attended a convention at the Greenbrier Hotel, and my mother and I tagged along.”
“The Greenbrier Hotel—that’s a fancy resort in West Virginia, right?” Dave asked.
I nodded. “It is super expensive and very luxurious—massages, horseback riding, golf... We should all go sometime—when we get some money.”
Dave nodded, his head caressing my shoulder. “That sounds real good baby.”
“Anyway, you would never dream that hidden underneath the hotel’s West Virginia Wing is a secret bunker. While my stepdad was at one of his meetings, mom and I explored the hotel and they gave us a tour of the underground facility.
“Oh yeah, I remember hearing something about that place,” Todd said.
“The Greenbrier is elegant and gorgeous. It’s crazy that underneath the building there is this—this gigantic emergency place in case of a war.”
“What was it like?” Todd asked.
“Well, the Greenbrier is just magnificent, very beautiful and so classy, and the bunker underground is fascinating. It was built during the cold war as an emergency shelter to house the U.S. Congress in case of an attack. No one was supposed to know about it, but the tour guide admitted that almost everyone did. The locals and many others knew about it before ‘The Washington Post’ exposed it. When we toured it, I wondered how the Government could ever have expected to keep such an enormous facility with dormitories, a pharmacy, medical unit, cafeteria, meeting halls, and more a secret.”
“Ok, I get that they try to cover things up Beverly … and in the case of the bunker, it sounds like they tried to keep it secret so they would have a safe place for members of Congress to hole up in. They would be needed to make decisions in case of a war.”