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After we entered the outer office, Jennifer closed the door to the inner office. She motioned for me to take a seat, and, then, she sat down in an adjacent chair.

"I believe," she started out, "that we may have a problem beyond the ones we have been discussing. There were several things about the hypnotic session with Beth that have been bothering me.

"First and foremost, Dr. Phelps, I'm not convinced Beth had an abduction experience, and this is not, as you must know if you really have read my article, because I reject the possibility or reality of such experiences.

"One reason for my doubts about the authenticity of her alien abduction experience concerns the absence of any physical complaints or problems. The list of questions which I asked Beth following the hypnosis session were designed to check for the kinds of difficulties that are frequently reported by 'abductees'.

"Beth answered in the negative with respect to all of the questions I asked following the session. Of course, her negative replies, in and of themselves, are inconclusive because not each and every 'abductee' reports such symptoms or difficulties.

"A far more important reason for my doubts has to do with the character of the affect or emotion which Beth displayed during the session. It was all wrong. It didn't fit the signature profile of the kind of emotion usually exhibited by 'abductees'."

Jennifer launched into a brief explanation of what she meant by the signature profile idea. "The emotive aspects of abductees as they relive their abduction experiences is more intense than anything else I've seen in my clinical experience. They show incredible bouts of crying, screaming, sadness, grief, rage, terror and writhing about. They often perspire profusely.

"Beth reflected many of the descriptive features of an abductee's experience quite accurately. This would include aspects such as: how the experience begins; the nature of bodily sensations during the experience; how one is transported to the ship; what the ship looks like; what happens during the examination; the physical appearance of the beings; how they communicate, and what sorts of images and thoughts are projected during instances of communication.

"Nevertheless, the affective dimension of her reliving the alleged abduction experience was not even remotely similar to what I've seen in most, if not all, of the abductee cases with which I've been involved. Yes, there was a certain amount of emotion and movement associated with her retelling of her supposed experience, but it was far too...sedate, almost matter of fact, maybe even staged."

"Dr. Ormsby, are you saying, Beth was faking it? Because, if you are, this would be saying something about her that I would find difficult to accept. If you like, such fabrication doesn't match with my signature profile of her as a person."

"Well, Dr. Phelps, this brings me to a further reservation of mine concerning the authenticity of Beth's abduction account. I believe Beth sincerely believes she was describing actual events while under hypnosis.

"If my hunch is correct, however, Beth's abduction memories were not invented by Beth, but by someone else. Why someone would go to the trouble of doing this is beyond me."

Jennifer began to outline her hunch. "Early in Beth's account, she talked about having difficulty in breathing and feeling dizzy. These sensations are somewhat atypical of abductees - or, at least, these sensations are atypical of the abductees with whom I have worked.

"On the other hand, these sensations of dizziness and difficulty in breathing are classic symptoms of someone who has ingested or inhaled certain kinds of drugs that, among other things, have anesthetic properties. Ketamine, for example, is one possibility, but there are others.

"Ketamine in an extremely powerful abreactive agent. It begins to act on an individual immediately when it is inhaled through the nose.

"This drug breaks down a person's will to resist the suggestions of those who are administering the drug. Moreover, sufficiently high doses of ketamine also can leave a person with amnesia for the period during which the drug is active in that individual's system.

"Beth said something was coming toward her from the right. She looked up and began to have difficulty breathing and felt dizzy.

"Ketamine has been one of the drugs of choice for those wishing to abduct people who, otherwise, normally might be expected to resist the idea of being taken hostage or kidnaped by a person or persons unknown. Often times, what happens is that the perpetrator uses a dispersal method that will allow the drug to be released into the nasal passages of the intended victim, where it begins to take effect immediately.

"Another possible candidate might be flunitrazepam, somewhat better known under the trade name of Rohypnol. This drug is tasteless, odorless and colorless.

"More importantly, when ingested in the right amount, people who have been under the influence of Rohypnol not only have been known to experience hallucinations, but they also often develop complete amnesia in relation to how they received the drug or what transpired after ingesting it.

"Unfortunately, Rohypnol has become one of the tools used by certain animals, sometimes euphemistically referred to as men, in order to be able to sexually assault unsuspecting women with minimal, if any, legal complications. Ketamine has been used for the same purposes."

Jennifer seemed to be considering other possibilities. After a pause of some 10-15 seconds, she said: "I suppose tetrodotoxin might fit into this scenario as well. The floating sensation which Beth described has featured prominently in the reports of quite a few people who have been under the influence of this substance.

"In addition, people exposed to tetrodotoxin frequently mention suffering both acute respiratory difficulties and considerable dizziness, similar to what Beth indicated while under hypnosis. Moreover, Beth indicated experiencing a tingling or vibrational sensation of some sort just prior to the actual abduction memories, followed by a sense of paralysis. These kinds of effects and sensations are quite consistent with the symptoms associated with the influence of tetrodotoxin.

"One or more of these kinds of drugs could have been given to Beth when she was in the ravine. The intensive use of these drugs, plus various kinds of hypnotic conditioning, over a period of eight or nine days, might provide an alternative, plausible account for many of the things that Beth believes she has experienced in the context of a supposed alien abduction incident.

"Maybe, Beth did have an abduction experience, but one that is quite different from what her memories under hypnosis would suggest. Maybe her abduction memories were implanted by someone for some, as of yet, unknown purpose.

"This is why I asked for the hair samples. What I told Beth was true, just not the whole truth.

"I know someone at the University who could test for the presence of certain metabolites associated with ketamine and a few other drug possibilities. The results could be ready in 24-48 hours."

In an attempt to strengthen her proposal, Jennifer asked: "Furthermore, don't you feel the nearly simultaneous occurrence of Brian's escape and Beth's memory-lapse incident are much too peculiar to be purely coincidental?

"I don't believe in these kinds of coincidences," Jennifer proclaimed. "I am of the opinion there's always something significant going on beneath the surface which brings such events together."

My initial reaction was to shake my head and say: 'Dr. Ormsby, you sound as conspiratorial and paranoid as you believe me to be. Maybe more so.' My second reaction, which went unspoken, was to acknowledge to myself that there might be something to her conjectures.

Jennifer seemed amused about the change in direction of finger pointer. "I may not share your paranoid biases concerning the FBI, Dr. Phelps, but this doesn't mean I naively assume we live in a world free from evil doers. Furthermore, unlike your theory concerning the FBI, my hypothesis concerning foul play is much more amenable to being tested."

"So, what about Beth?" I persisted. "My ideas about the FBI may not be as testable as your thesis is, but I believe a very powerful historical case can be constructed in support of that perspective, especially in conjunction with people like Beth."

Sighing, I said: "If we can avoid doing so, I would prefer that we keep Beth away from the FBI for a few days. I might be clutching for a will-o-the-wisp, but, Beth's position might be more tenable in a few days than it appears to be right now. I would like to give her that chance.

"Besides," I added, "if your twisted abduction hypothesis turns out to be true, we might be able to use that evidence to help defend Beth. Certainly, the FBI would be more prepared to accept your kind of abduction scenario than what came out during Beth's hypnosis session."

Jennifer suddenly interjected: "Why doesn't Beth come stay with me for a few days? If, as you say, there is no outstanding warrant concerning her, then I don't think I'll be running too big a risk in having her as a house guest for a day or two.

"In any event, even if the FBI were following you around, hoping you might lead them to Brian or Beth, there is no established connection between you and me. Our getting together today was entirely fortuitous and unplanned, so they really have no reason to come looking for me in conjunction with Beth, you or Brian."

Apparently checking for possible holes in her logic, she inquired: "Did you meet anyone, or were you seen by anyone, on your way over here?"

I reflected briefly and shook my head. "No, to the best of my knowledge, everything was pretty deserted, even in the elevators."

Warming to the idea of having Beth as a house guest, Jennifer thought of another possibility. "You know, I don't have much on tap for the next little while. I could spend some time with Beth and, if you don't have any professional objections, maybe I could work with her on some of the traumatic aspects surrounding her recent memory-lapse ordeal, whatever it turns out to be.

"Unless something of a significant nature changes in all this, we could maintain the arrangement I'm suggesting until, at least, the tests at the University have been completed. At that time, we'll all get together again and decide what to do. How does it sound?"

"Let's go see what Beth says," I suggested.

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