The Andreasson Affair (23 page)

David:
This bothered you?

Betty:
Yes.

David:
Didn't they tell you that you would only have it for a period of time?

Betty:
Yes, that's right. They did tell me that.

David:
Did they tell you how long it would be?

Betty:
They said it would be 10 days.… [
Pause
] That's right; they said it would be 10 days that I would have to look at it.

Joseph:
Did they tell you they were going to take it back?

Betty:
Yes, they said that they would give me so many days to look at it.

David:
On this day that you looked in the closet and found that it wasn't there, do you remember what day it was? What day of the week?

Betty:
It seems like—[
Pause
] it seems to me like a Tuesday. It could have been a Thursday.

David:
Why do you say Tuesday?

Betty:
Because the day before, the kids were at school.

David:
Couldn't it have been a Wednesday?

Betty:
Wednesdays I went shopping because I would always look for Wednesday bargain days to save money.

Joseph:
Well, when was the last time that you went to pick up groceries—before you lost the book?

Betty:
It seems as if I stayed in the house. It seems as if I didn't want to leave it. I didn't want to leave that book alone there.

Joseph:
So then you didn't do any shopping until after the book was gone?

Betty:
That's right. I don't think I did because it was too important. I wouldn't leave that alone.

Joseph:
Did you go shopping the following week?

Betty:
I must have, but my heart wasn't in it.

David:
Did you spend a lot of time with the blue book each day until you found it was missing?

Betty:
Yes, I did spend time with the blue book. It's strange, because it was mostly my Bible that I usually spent time with, and why I would spend as much time on that blue book is strange because the Bible is all-important to me.

Fred:
Did you go to church between the time of the sighting and the date at which you last had the blue book?

Betty:
[
Softly
] No.

Joseph:
How did they recover the book?

Betty:
I don't know. It's gone.

David:
Betty, on the day that Becky mentioned the dream to you—did you actually hand the book to Becky?

Betty:
She touched one of the white pages. Her hand seemed to glow from it. She touched the second white page of the three white pages of the beginning of the book, and her little hand glowed from it.

David:
What did she say?

Betty:
She just said, “Look, Momma!” And I said, “I know, I know.” And again, I'm getting goose bumps.

David:
Are you getting cold?

Betty:
A little cold now.

David:
And after you and Becky were finished looking at the blue book, what did you do with it then?

Betty:
My hands and my feet are beginning to feel that feeling!

David:
Are they?

Betty:
That feeling in my hands again. Oh-h-h-h! They're starting to hold my hands down again!

Betty realized that the aliens were again taking control of her. Were there some things about the blue book that the aliens did not want us to know? We attempted to find out if this was the case.

David:
Do you feel as if they have a reason for doing this, Betty?

Betty:
I don't know what it is, but they're doing something to me again.

Joseph:
Now?

Betty:
Right now!

Betty suddenly began speaking in an unknown tongue and sighed deeply.

Fred:
Betty, can we contact the beings today?

Betty:
Yes.

Fred:
Will you ask them if they'll answer some questions for us?

Betty:
They said, “If it is in the scope of realism.”

Fred:
Okay, would you ask the being you're in communication with what his name is?

Betty:
Andantio.

Fred:
Andantio?

Betty:
That's what he says, or what the word is.

Joseph:
Where is he from?

Betty:
He is from the same place as those that have been before him.

Joseph:
What is the name of the place?

Betty:
I can't pronounce it.

Joseph:
Can you write it? Can you spell it?

Betty:
It begins with a Z.… [
Pause
] It isn't like ours. There's too many consonants and very few vowels in it, and I can't pronounce it.

Joseph:
Can you spell it? Can you see it? Can you see the word?

Betty:
No, he's saying it.

David:
Is it one word, or two or more, or can't you tell?

Betty:
It's one word.

Again, Betty started speaking in the strange tongue.

Fred:
Andantio, may we speak with you
directly?

Betty:
Not at this time, he says.

David:
Does he give you a reason why not at this time?

Betty:
Because you are not ready.

David:
Can he tell you why we're not ready, or what we need to do to prepare ourselves to be able to communicate with him?

Betty:
He can see that you are serious. Simplicity has got to be there. Minds are open, but there are walls there—walls that have been caused by knowledge. We would not understand what he would tell you, and it would be a waste until you find the simple things.

Joseph:
Can he tell us something that we would understand?

Betty:
Know yourselves. Please, please, please know yourselves.

Virginia:
Betty, could I ask you about the symbols you described last week which you got from this being?

Betty:
Yes. Is it the line down with the lines through and the circles with the anchor to the right?

Fred:
I have a question for Andantio. I want to know if he is familiar with the formulas that were given to you.

Betty:
Those formulas are very simple.… They are the building blocks to a higher way.

Fred:
I'd like to ask some questions regarding the first formula.

Betty:
It has to do with a liquid that life has been removed from. It is stillness. Are you able to understand this? It has stillness within it. It will not wave or move—no vibrations. It's pure.

Fred:
I would like Andantio to come here so we could talk with him directly. Andantio, will you come here
now?

Betty did not say a word. The room was silent and we glanced about apprehensively, half expecting Andantio to materialize! Finally, Betty broke the eerie silence.

Betty:
I asked him if he would be willing to, and he will not answer.

Jules:
What are the walls and barriers that we have to overcome in order to communicate with him?

Betty:
Again, [
Softly
] know yourself. You think that you know yourselves, but you do not know yourselves. You do not know what you are made up of. You do not know the powers that you possess. You do not know the extensions of love.

Fred:
I don't understand what Andantio would have us do in order to better communicate with him. I think he will have to come here if we are going to have better communication. I'd like to understand more about how to bring that about.

Betty:
You would worship him if he was to come here, and that is not his way. You would be in awe of him. It is his way because he is just a servant and a messenger.

Ray:
Can he show us some proof that he is really communicating through you in this room—something that we would accept without hesitation as proof that he actually exists and is talking through you?

Betty:
The world seeks proof. They cannot see with the spiritual eye. Only those that are worthy will see.

Ray:
But man's mind has been so created that in every other area of life, he has to accept or reject what he feels is reality on the basis of some type of proof. Can he understand the limitations and show us some kind of proof?

Betty:
He understands the limitations. The proof came long ago and still is—he could do all sorts of tricks, but it would not be his way.

Joseph:
We're not looking for tricks. We don't want tricks. We're looking for information.

Betty:
He knows that you are looking for information.

David:
Betty, is Andantio of the same race as Quazgaa?

Betty:
Yes, he is.

David:
Do you feel that they are messengers of the Lord?

Betty:
I believe it now, yes. If I did not believe that they were messengers of the Lord, then I would not give my will over to be used.

Fred:
Andantio, is there a more favorable time or place to communicate with you?

Betty:
I can communicate with you when you are sitting at work, when you are driving in your car.

Fred:
What is the most favorable time and place?

Betty:
Time with us is not your time. The place with you is localized. It is not with us. Cannot you see it?

Fred:
I still would like to have you come directly to communicate with us telepathically now. Won't you please do that?

Betty:
Would the vessel tell the maker what it prefers to have in it?

This cat-and-mouse game continued until it was quite apparent that no further information could be obtained from the quizzical Andantio. It was obvious, too, that he was deliberately blocking our efforts to secure further information from Betty pertaining to the blue book.

The question remained as to whether we had actually communicated with an alien, or with Betty's subconscious mind. But in any event, Betty and her family were in the process of moving to Florida, and reluctantly we decided to call the sessions to a halt.

Betty Andreasson was a simple, unsophisticated country girl. Her childhood was happy and carefree, but the years that followed her marriage had been alternately laced with joy and sorrow. A marital problem developed early that Betty patiently bore for years. Shortly after her 1975 letter to Dr. Hynek, the marital problem intensified, and she and her husband agreed to separate. When we first met Betty, she had shouldered the responsibility of raising her remaining family single-handedly for well more than a year.

She had hoped for the problem's solution and eventual reconciliation, but it did not work out. Reluctantly, Betty had initiated divorce proceedings. She sought a new life and was preparing to move her family to be near relatives in Florida.

The round trip to Dr. Edelstein's office was more than four hours. The long hypnosis and debriefing sessions, coupled with the burden of remembering the unnatural experience, left Betty mentally and physically exhausted. But packing, leasing her house, and managing everyday household affairs had not dissuaded her from cheerfully attending each hypnosis/debriefing session.

We marveled at the tenacity of this woman. In spite of the pressures of a busy schedule, it was obvious that she was determined to find out what had happened to her.

Then, after sessions had been discontinued and just several days before Betty was to depart for Florida, her father was hospitalized with cancer. After going into shock during kidney dialysis, Waino Aho died on August 27. After the funeral, Betty sadly left for Florida to look for a new home for her family. I would not see her again until October.

It was time, as they say in the intelligence community, to make an estimate of the situation and begin the task of evaluating the immense amount of data collected thus far.

The reliving of the traumatic experience by hypnosis and the occurrence of several family tragedies, coupled with Betty's impending divorce, had affected the lifestyle of the principal witness. Nonetheless, this had not negated our overall character check, which provided ample evidence that both she and Becky are honest and emotionally stable persons.

Harold Edelstein had no previous experience with UFO investigation. As the series of hypnotic/debriefing sessions progressed, he seemed genuinely impressed. But for the most part, he kept himself in the background and became directly involved only when necessary. He was careful not to let his words and thoughts influence Betty in any way.

It wasn't until session 12, on July 16, 1977, that Harold made any definitive statement concerning the provocative case. After this session, he took the investigators aside.

“Okay,” Harold said. “I'm going to tell you what I honestly think. I think there is substance here, but it can't be pushed because you'll frighten her.”

That wasn't the question on Fred Youngren's mind: “What do you think we can believe of what we're hearing here?”