Invasion Day: An Oral History of the Veech War Micah Gurley (best business books of all time TXT) 📖

What was your interaction with the prisoners?

None. I didn't interact with them at all. I mean, we were always there, either watching from the outside of their rooms or stationed inside while someone else was in the room, but I never talked to any of them. We observed them a lot, probably more than anyone else. We were always there.

We never moved them. Once they were put in the room, that's where they stayed. We gave them food through a hole in the door. It came in plastic bags, so we never had to pick it up; they could put it in a chute.

The prisoners wore jumpsuits like you see on T.V., except instead of orange, these were an army green. For some reason, they didn't like the jumpsuits. Acted like they were some kind of torture. One time, one of the officers, a big one, tore the top off a Veech's upper jumpsuit, just keeping the pants on. That Veech had scars crisscrossing his body like he'd been in a million sword fights. The scar tissue on his arms was so thick it almost looked black instead of grey like the rest of his body. All the Veech had scars like that, but that particular Veech had the most of any I'd seen. I've heard they have some kind of cutting ritual but don't know if there's any truth to it.

When they were first put in their rooms, they roared and shouted for three days. It sounded like a deep, keening sound, really deep. It was freaky. They constantly prowled the room, pacing back and forth, up and down, all day long. They acted like trapped animals at the zoo. It made me wonder if they had prisons on their world. Do you remember how they moved? All robotic, like they were always on a drill parade all the time. Well, they eventually mellowed out after being stuck in there a while.

The lights in the rooms were kept dim because their eyes weren't used to the brightness we use. I was told it was still too bright for them, but we didn't want them too comfortable.

Also, their eyes had some kind of flaps that would fold down in bright light. One the guards, an idiot named Patrick, would flip the lights from bright to dark just to see the flaps fold down. He did this over and over, causing them a lot of distress. That didn't last long. He disappeared one day, and I still have no idea what happened to him. The bosses didn't care that the Veech were distressed, but you didn't mess around with their plans. They didn't take shit or give warnings and expected you to be professional at all times. I don't want to think about what happened to Patrick.

How many Veech were there?

We started with thirty, but by the time I left, only ten remained. They couldn't have been the first prisoners the government captured, but I didn't ask the suited guys questions like that. I did my job and stayed quiet. Every once in a while, a guy from the hunter-killer teams would show up. Never talked to them, but they seemed alright. They were intense though. I think they were the guys who captured the group of Veech I watched over. Another question to ask someone else. (smiles)

What were the interviews like?

Well... (He sips his beer and leans back in his chair.) This is the part I had to get permission for. They told me it was declassified so I can share it. The thing is, they weren't interviews at all but testing, you know. Experimenting. There were some introductory interviews when they first got there, but nothing came of it. The Veech would just sit there and look straight up while being locked up in a chair. They didn't respond to the questioner or questions in any fashion. That lasted a few days, then the real work started.

At first, it was just weird. They would show them T.V. shows like Mr. Bean, then one of those medical dramas, then some kind of action movie. Those prisoners got to watch a lot of T.V. (Laughs.)

Other times, they would put on an act to see the Veech's reactions. They pulled me aside before it started and gave me instructions on how to react. They'd have two guys asking questions. Then the guys would start arguing with each other until one of them would strike the other. I would step in and stop the fight, the two interviewers backing down. Another time, it would be a woman interviewing them. She would suddenly break down and start crying, and I would be told to escort her out—weird stuff, man. The entire time they had people behind the glass taking notes.

There was even a baby one time. A woman brought the baby in and stood near the door, just rocking the little guy. That one made me nervous. I remember my body was tight as a string, waiting for something to happen. When I left for the day, I felt like I'd run ten miles, and my adrenaline was pumping. I think that test affected me more than the aliens. The Veech didn't react to most of the tests, at least as far as I could see, but then again, I had no idea what we were looking for.

There was one time where they put two Veech into separate rooms, with a two-way mirror in the middle. They treated one guy well, gave him more food, dimmed the lights, and played some of the weird music they got from the Jhi. The whole time this was happening, they treated the other one terribly. Bright lights, death metal blaring from the speakers, and no food or water. After a few hours, they put both of the Veech into the same room and watched to see what would happen. It wasn't pretty.

Eventually, it got to the hard stuff. (He takes a drink of beer