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worth your time and effort."
    "There's money there, they're just not spending it," Simon said.
    Simon was holding back something.
    "I just want to get a look at the cult," he said. "With you along, I might be able to meet the leaders."
    Christy was being used. Simon wanted to use her reputation as a theological bridge builder to get an inside look at the cult. Uncomfortable playing the Judas goat, Christy looked for a way out.
    "We'll never make it. It's at least a six-hour drive."
    "I've got a plane."
    Trapped, Christy assented, embarrassed because she was only doing it to protect her grant.
    Christy was a seasoned commercial air traveler and comfortable in jumbo jets. Simon's plane was tiny in comparison and at the mercy of the air currents in a way the jumbos never were. The plane bounced and swayed in alarming ways, Christy's stomach always a second behind with each lurch. She considered it a miracle when they approached the Light in the Darkness Fellowship Ranch and she still hadn't retched.
    Using the highways as markers, Simon followed the long access road to the ranch. As soon as they crossed the perimeter their perception of the cult was shaped. A double row of barbed wire ran out of sight in both directions.
    "See the barbed wire? Look, along the road, guard towers and multiple gates. It doesn't make sense," Simon said.
    "Why?" Christy asked. "A lot of cults are security conscious and a little paranoid. Jim Jones in Guyana had his people believing the CIA was out to kill them."
    "Saucer cults are usually different. I've never seen one that fortified their compound. They don't feel they need to since they've put themselves in the hands of higher beings—protection is extended to them. They don't lock out the world so they are easily penetrated. I joined one myself when I was in graduate school. It was my master's thesis."
    "Are you sure this is safe? If they don't want people driving into their compound, they surely won't want people flying in."
    "I called ahead. They have a landing strip and we're welcome to use it."
    The central compound came into sight. Essentially a small town, it was laid out in an L shape. There were six wood-frame buildings that looked like shops, barns, garages, and other commercial structures. Surrounding the core were many smaller cottages. The road through the middle of the compound was paved but as they flew over the compound the pavement ended leaving two dirt ruts. Simon continued following the ruts. Then large concrete buildings came into sight. This is where the money had been spent. Several large multistory buildings sat in a semicircle next to a large concrete circle. There was a tower covered with antennae and another topped by a radar dome. Grandstands sat on the far side of the circle with cars parked behind; people sprinkled the seats. What Christy didn't see was a runway.
    "Where are we supposed to land?"
    "Here it is."
    Simon banked the plane into a turn and Christy saw a long strip of green grass.
    "You can land there?"
    "This plane can."
    Christy held her breath as Simon throttled back and set the flaps. Then throttling forward and back, he brought the plane in for a bumpy landing. Happy to be on the ground, Christy quickly climbed out expecting someone to be waiting for them—there wasn't.
    "Simon, this doesn't fit either. Miles of security fence and guard towers but no one to take charge of us when we land?"
    "It's odd, all right," Simon said, nervously playing with his bow tie. "A cult this security conscious should have had guards waiting for us. Let's get a look around while we still can."
    Christy followed Simon toward the buildings. The largest was four stories tall with a large airplane hangar door. The others looked to be industrial buildings, made of concrete blocks and corrugated steel. A few people could be seen in windows, but they ignored Simon and Christy. They circled the buildings but saw nothing unusual and no one challenged them. Finally, Simon stopped in