In the middle of the night, the Nevada desert is silent. It is not a natural silence, but something more dense, deeper. A void that envelops everything, even thought. In that absence of noise, in 1996, a man chose to enter one of the most supervised and secret places on the planet: Area 51.
Jerry Freeman is an anthropologist, an explorer, a restless spirit with a mission: follow in the footsteps of the pioneers of 1849. He did not look for the flying records, he only wanted to know the history of the gold race better, discover some forgotten testimonies, hidden in those lost diaries over time, perhaps still hidden between the rocks and the sand.
Research led him to a precise point, where dust meets the fence, and where, above all, the American government does not allow questions. A place in everything is classified and strictly supervised. Freeman knocked at the gates of the Air Force, asked for permits, explained his intentions, and as an answer he got a dry “No.”
He did not be discouraged. He waited at night, took backpack and curtain and crossed the border alone.
That gesture made him the protagonist of one of the most singular – and more disturbing stories – linked to Area 51.
The story
Freeman walked in the drained bed of a lake, around it seemed all deserted, even if it was not so. At the center of the expanse, something moved. Lights, intermittent pulsations. During the day, nothing, while at night, there is a different, restless energy.
Freeman spoke only time later, calmly, without excessive clamor. His words affected George Knapp, an expert journalist for ufology. They affected him for the simplicity with which he said: “It seemed that something was landing, or taking off, but nothing was seen.”
More than fear, he tried amazement. It is a sense of impotence. As if the air itself changed shape. He also said – with a certain humor – that if they had taken it, they would have “enlightened it like a Roman candle”.
Freeman did not joke, because the area of area 51 is one of the most controlled in the world, with armed patrols that monitor every corner and sensors that understand every movement. Obviously unauthorized access is prohibited, and every violation can cost dear, very dear.
Freeman did not see astronavians, nor green men, yet he was hit by something that, at least by the story, never went beyond vibrations in the ground and scattered lights. He gave no precise explanations, he didn’t write books. He told his story and that’s it.
Suggestions and reality
The mystery of area 51, after all, is this: a true place, which however seems unreal. Officially recognized by the government only in 2013, yet present for decades in collective fantasies, suspicions, in conspiracy theories.
Over the years, around Nevada, increasingly daring stories have been intertwined in Nevada. Like that – recent – of a triangular tower that appeared near the track. The hypotheses chase each other: there are those who speak of alien technology, some of multiple phases radar systems for the control of drones, those who hypothesize experiments on the hypersonic flight. In short, it is a fertile ground for the imagination.
Then there are the documents declassified by the CIA, dating back to the Cold War. They tell of clashes between Soviet troops and mysterious creatures. According to some witnesses, those beings would have petrified whole departments. He plays crazy, but it is written black on white.
And then one wonders: is it all true? Or is it just the reflection of our fears, of our desires?
Jerry Freeman has never given answers. Perhaps because, after all, he knew that the question was more important. Or perhaps because the mystery should be treated with respect. There is no need to scream, sometimes it is enough to remember and let everyone decide what to believe.
There is something fascinating, after all, in those inaccessible places. They remind us that not everything can be explained, that not everything is under control, and they give us the feeling that beyond the horizon line there is still room for the unknown.
