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The history, as told to the public, of Xenonauts contains a single Extraterrestrial encounter prior to the invasion of 1979. We continue in our series of short entries, showing the alarming truth that our governments were only too well aware of the threat well before this date. In Article 1, we saw that the alien Invasion ships had been spotted in Earth’s atmosphere at least as early as Kenneth Arnolds’ sighting in 1947. In Article 2, we continued with the obvious physical and behavioural similarities between the Caesians and early abductions. In this instalment, we focus on what we were told was a new threat to mankind, The Sebillians. Myths around amphibious/ reptilian creatures go all the way back to the water gods and spirits of ancient mariners and communities dependant on rivers and lakes for their sustenance. Many civilisations contain bipedal/ humanoid reptile gods or significant beings that have brought enlightenment from beyond to humanity, from Gucumatz to the Serpent of Eden. Further, there are numerous legends of hidden reptilian races such as the Naga and the race described in the book of Jasher. From the Prussian Autrimpas to the Orkey Islands Selkie, from the Amazon to Swaziland, myths of reptilian creatures can be found in every culture. Many simply dismiss the numerous legends as tales of seals and dolphins, but there is a huge body of evidence showing interaction with humanity, including mating, that would suggest something much larger. Even in these early tales, mer-creatures would transform themselves into beautiful men and women. There is a focus on breeding. A large number of folk tales include abductees acting as midwives for the creatures. The results were often hybrids, with the Athenian King Cecrops is considered to be part of this race. In the middle ages, we have tales of abductions by water based creatures from Slovenia (1547) and near Saalbach (written in 1630). From these early tales, we already have clear links to the behaviour and patterns that would shape modern encounters with Reptilians; Shape changing, infiltration, abduction and Interbreeding. Such an interest in hybridisation would explain the many different variations of amphibian/ reptilian sightings throughout the years. It also provides a chilling possibility that the Sebillians encountered in from 1957 onwards were in fact, genetically altered by something else. The humanoid/ lizard creature entered popular culture with 1954’s provocative footage of Jack Arnold’s Amazonian expedition. A creature resembling the 1954 appearance was sighted on three occasions in Lake Thetis, British Columbia in 1972. Domnique Menuge’s encounter with hybrid, frog like creatures in 1976 serves to further promote the continuing hybridisation of Reptilian research. Clearly, infiltrating humanity is not their only goal. More frog-like beings, were seen near Lake Constance in Germany in 1977. The shocked witness gave their description, following a “meteorite” sighting. These reports, and much of the early, pre UFO, tales offer a number of interesting theories. Are such creatures indigenous and have developed advanced technology earlier? Or, as the 1979 Invasion would suggest, have they been visiting us for centuries? If the latter is true, have they established deeper links on Earth than we realise. This is a point we will return to. Possibly, the most important modern link between The Reptilians occurred on 7th December 1978, less than a year before the Invasion. In Liguria, Italy, Fortunato Zanfretta was abducted into a UFO crewed by such creatures, connecting the ancient water myths to modern UFO sightings. But is the threat from the Reptilians following the Invasion really over? An unusual, spherical craft appeared above a wheat field at Nordling in 1984. Once its iris shaped door had opened, witnesses saw two amphibian like creatures. Clearly, the implications of this event provide a different picture from the apologist “V” released in 1983, that has Visitors appear only in modern times in giant space craft, and with some altruistic intent. The positive message of the Visitors is further reinforced in the controversial 1985 release of Enemy Mine, which seeks to show genuine positive attributes of the Invaders. Consider this humanising approach to the aliens, and recall the shape changing and infiltration of earlier reports. This line of thinking has clearly influenced the warnings of people who believe that the Reptilians have infiltrated us to such an extent that they are now in positions of power across the planet. With so little information post-Invasion and none forthcoming from the big A10 or their new masters, speculation grows that we may not have seen the last of the aliens. Another possibility is that we may have seen the last of them in this form, and that an Illuminati could have achieved it’s purpose.

The Coldest War "Today, America would be outraged if U.N. troops entered Los Angeles to restore order. Tomorrow they will be grateful! This is especially true if they were told that there were an outside threat from beyond, whether real or promulgated, that threatened our very existence. It is then that all peoples of the world will plead to deliver them from this evil. The one thing every man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well-being granted to them by the World Government." - Dr. Henry Kissinger,US Secretary of State 1973-1977 Founded by both world superpowers in the face of a possible invasion, the organisation has had to fight tooth and claw to retain it’s existence, appropriating funds from either side where and when it could. As the Superpowers glacially looked to expand their spheres of influence to counter each other, only the organisation remained aware of a potentially greater threat. When this threat arrived in October 1979, it was clear how far the organisation had moved beyond geopolitics. “A clandestine organisation known only as the ‘Xenonauts’ establishes communication with the major world powers and claims responsibility,” for the only known successful interception of an alien craft over the Baltic Sea. The Xenonauts demand “both funding and authority to operate within their territory and airspace in exchange for protection.“ In fighting the invasion, the goal of the Xenonauts organisation will indirectly result in each nation reassessing their relationships with the rest of the world. Earth’s best defence is a united one. It is the goal of Xenonauts to channel as much collective development and unity from its funding nations as possible. To that end results from some of the Xenonaut research can be distributed throughout the funding nations. While this may sound utopian, bear in mind that the Xenonauts are essentially extorting capital from their funding nations in return for protection and the hope that their advanced technology will secure a victory. Also note that throughout, Xenonauts do not openly share their key research findings with the rest of the world. “The deal was simple – a monthly funding grant and authority to operate in a nation’s airspace and territory, in exchange for protection against extraterrestrial activity. Reluctantly, all the major powers agreed.” Why? The ideas below were some of the very first thoughts I had when putting together the Geopolitical mod thread. That shows the reluctance the funding nations have in greater detail. The short set of ideas below would ideally be part of the same setup, but are separated here as they can stand alone. They follow a similar path that the Alien Origins/The Martian Solution/Cydonia or Bust research topics of the original did. This is intentional so as not to detract or delay the main mission too much. The back story, as provided, shows the Xenonauts as an organisation on the brink of extinction, a situation now facing the rest of the world. It also shows that they have goals and demands that coerce the funding nations into agreement. They are not quite the clean cut outfit that their X-Com predecessors were. The ideas below take the Xenonauts in a direction that is a little darker than simply saving the Earth from an alien threat. Particularly when there are other enemies closer to home. Shadow Kingdom Research Required - Iceland Incident; Alien Invasion; Third tier weaponry Game Trigger - Save scientist mission objective at a particular ticker point. Unlocks Research - The Third Path Unlocks Bonus/Penalty – Reduced staff costs Summary – While liberating a research lab from the aliens, a supposedly missing prominent scientist is rescued. In debriefing, he reveals that, although his research is compartmentalised, that he must be a tiny part of a larger recruitment programme. A programme so aggressive, that the scientist was believed to have died so that he could vanish into the project. Further research has revealed the mysterious disappearances of individuals form a variety of scientific fields. The deaths of prominent figures in Physics, chemistry and astronomy are now put in doubt. This programme has been going on since the late 1950s. Insiders refer to the programme as the Brian Drain, but it is designated Project Aquarius. The scientist’s own work has reached a conclusion. It is unknown if this applies to the rest of the programme. The location of any related work or of funding sources is also unknown. Notes: The third tier research topic could be replaced with something else. Ideally, it should be a technological topic as this fits into the rest of these additions. It should also be something far enough into the game to be advanced technology, but not so advanced as to get in the way of the final mission topics. The game triggers are provided as additions/ alternatives to the required research topics. The reduced staff cost bonus reflects that whatever was going on, it’s now coming to an end. This will free up researchers elsewhere to join the Xenonauts. Ties with existing Xenonauts story: Echoes the steps a clandestine organisation may have taken in the cold war to capture the only people it believed capable of advancing it’s own agenda. Mod Requirements: Edit Research topics, Add research Topics, Add mission objectives, Research Lab indoor mission (optional, but is one of the stretch goals); recruitment cost alteration The Third Path Research Required - Shadow Kingdom, Last third tier topic Game Trigger –Aliens launch a base attack on a base not used by Xenonauts at a particular ticker point/ or a simpler pop up screen stating that local agents uncover a base, but it isn’t an alien one. Much like in X-Com/ Alien Base mission, but they’ve used a previously extant Xenonaut-like Base. Unlocks Research - New World Order Unlocks Bonus/Penalty – Free Base/ Reduced Construction Costs Summary – While the Xenonauts are setting up new bases around the world to combat the alien invasion, another party is making use of the bases set up in the 1960s following the Iceland Incident. While many of the facilities look to have been deserted for decades, there is clear evidence of recent and intensive use in key areas, such as laboratories and workshops. Whoever vacated the base in a hurry left few clues for the retrieval team. However, in the dust covered, deserted command centre Project Aquarius briefing documents are found, supporting the ‘missing’ scientist’s claims. The documents outline high level meetings between the Soviet Union and the United States military in December 1958. In these meetings, available findings from the Iceland Incident were shared. Analysis of potential further threats was made and ideas on how to combat such an enemy were suggested. These ideas became three distinct solutions. The solutions were known as Project Majority, an inside joke on the lack of consensus achieved to select one of them over the others. The documents suggest that parallel programmes, entitled The Three Paths (and the Three Bears informally), were put in place. Disturbingly, the Xenonauts look to be connected to one of these alternatives. Path 1: Project Aleph – The manipulation of population sizes, in order to force a cohesive, militaristic humanity prepared for the alien attack. Such extreme population control measures could only be put into effect by creating a number of disasters. Biochemical research was proposed for this purpose as was artificial escalation of the Cold War. A further option was to use this research to deny the planet to enemy forces should the situation become hopeless. This ruthless, cold option was considered one where worst case scenarios would prevail. Path 2: Project Anteus - Aquarius would ensure the construction of numerous underground shelters. Ostensibly these would be built to survive a nuclear war. In truth, they were to be build to survive an alien invasion. The bases would house a military command structure and a breeding population of civilians. Path 3: Project Aquarius – An expansionist approach that suggested that mankind’s best hope was through it’s own rapid advancement. By expanding knowledge in electronics, propulsion, astronomy and physics mankind could reach beyond the Earth. Increasing detection capabilities was considered an immediate goal of this project. Projected suggestions looked to move mankind to a more even footing with any invading force. These suggestions advocated that mankind should set up a base on Mars, titled Wells Station, using the Moon as a staging post. Veterans of Operation Verne provided support for an Aquarius programme that looked to advance the military readiness of a unified military force. They outlined a number of necessary projects. There are clear parallels between the Project Aquarius proposals and the structure of the Xenonauts. These projects would become the operational structure of Xenonauts in years to come. Aquarius – Umbrella project cataloguing all available intelligence from the Iceland incident Garnet - Coordination of all information relating to the aliens. Sign – Intelligence gathering to determine further aliens presences. Sign alerts the organisation following the WOW signal. Blue Book – The public face of Project Sign, actively investigating the public UFO sightings. Snowbird –Create disinformation to cover test flights & gauge intelligence. Redlight – to pilot reverse engineered UFO Pluto – Evaluating all alien technology with a view to enhancing human space capabilities/ biological intelligence. Excalibur – develop a weapons system capable of combating an alien craft. Gabriel - The use of pulsed sound weaponry against alien craft. Sigma – Establish communications with the aliens. No communications were received throughout the Iceland Incident. Plato – A project looking to create diplomatic links with an alien species. Blue Fly/ Blue Team – Reaction, retrieval and recovery operation briefed and trained on Iceland Incident. Xenonaut soldiers are trained by retired Blue Fly operatives. With no alien incursions following 1958, Blue Team eventually became part of Project Sign. Delta – The security arm of Blue Team and Pounce. Luna – Relates to construction and maintenance of secret underground bases. Pounce – the subsequent retrieval of crashed UFO materiel following Blue Team missions. Notes: Again, the research topic used as a requirement can be replaced. The changes to bases as a reward reflects the Xenonauts uncovering the series of hidden bases placed around the world by their organisation in it’s prime. It is suggested that the Xenonauts research topics be designated project titles as above to further tie them in with the Project Majority briefing documents. Ties with existing Xenonauts story: The back story reveals that the initially, well funded Xenonauts had a number of hidden bases that then fell into disrepair. This topic returns to that. It also suggests some tactical options available to countries facing a threat of unknown, but superior technology. Mod Requirements: Possibly a scripted map – combining alien and Xenonaut base (optional)