Free The Reality Conspiracy by Joseph A. Citro

and all that?"
    "No, I don't believe in them; I don't disbelieve in them, either. I'm a skeptic in the true sense of the word. But, dear doctor, I'll tell you this: Most of my less speculative colleagues don't believe in them at all. Period. End of discussion. In fact, they don't believe in them because they're paid not to. Part of our job is to think the whole idea is lunacy, which, I take it, puts us in the same ball park as you, right?"
    "I guess. I don't know. I never gave it much thought. Then again, there are still people in my profession who don't believe in MPD. I guess we're both destined to be misunderstood. And that's another thing we have in common." She finished the wine in her glass. "But seriously, Jeff, how can you work at something you don't believe in?"
    "Oh, I've got my price. I can be bought."
    "Seriously now, come on."
    "Seriously? Okay. I believe people are seeing something in the sky. I believe folks have been seeing airborne phenomena for a long time. If these shapes and lights and flying bugaboos aren't from outer space, then where else can they come from? Ever think about that?"
    Karen shrugged as Jeff continued. "And what could be causing them? What do they mean? That's what I'm working on—I'm trying to make a complete list of possible solutions to this mystery. And, as mysteries go, this one's a crackerjack. UFOs have been around, and fairly well documented, for hundreds, actually thousands, of years. Take the biblical descriptions of fiery chariots, for example, and wheels within wheels. Or more recently, in 1883, a Mexican astronomer named José Bonilla photographed 143 circular objects moving across the sun. And starting about 1897 people all over America started seeing huge flying 'airships'."
    The waiter returned with the new bottle of wine. He went through his presentation ritual and Jeff made a big deal of sniffing the cork, looking dismayed, then holding it between his lips like a wooden cigar. When he reached for the lighted candle, Karen looked away, embarrassed but amused. The waiter about-faced and made a hasty exit.
    "Alone at last," Jeff said, tossing the cork onto the tabletop. He leaned forward. "Tell me something, Karen. Have you ever treated one of these people who claim to have been abducted by a UFO?"
    "No, I really haven't." She thought a moment while pouring each of them another glass of wine. "But I've read something about it in the journals. I guess it's not all that uncommon these days. Oh, and I also read that book—it was quite a long time ago—about that couple from New Hampshire who were supposedly taken aboard a UFO where they underwent some kind of medical examination."
    "Sure, Betty and Barney Hill; that's a famous case. The psychiatrist who worked with them practices right here in Boston. But, Karen, is it safe—or should I say, accurate—to conclude that as of now, right this minute, you have no professional interest in the topic?"
    "Yes, that's true. I think I can honestly admit to being personally curious, however."
    "Right. Good. I'm curious, too. Our files are full of 'contactee' cases where people believe they've been abducted, actually lifted off the earth. In some instances, whisked away to some distant planet. I don't know if these alleged abductions are literally, physically, true, or if it is some brand-new variety of mental aberration. Something not listed in your bible—what did you call it?—the DSM-III-R?"
    "Right, the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual ."
    "So what's your diagnosis, Dr. Bradley?"
    Karen had no idea what to say. "Well, I . . . I don't know. I haven't read all that much about it. Of course, I recall what Dr. Jung said about projections of the unconscious collective psyche, but—"
    "But that's nothing more than a polite, scientific sounding way of saying they're imaginary. Don't forget now, Jung later retracted that view. Not long before he died he said he'd come to accept that UFOs are real,