The Plantation

Alien Base: The Evidence for Extraterrestrial Colonization of Earth – The Plantation

The two passengers settled themselves down in their compartment for the train journey from Bombay to Madras on the night express. It was October 1964. Ludwig F. Pallmann, a German businessman dealing with the sale and installation of heavy machinery used in the large-scale production of food, eyed his travelling companion. The man was obviously a sahib left over from the British occupation, thought Pallmann. ‘He was very well dressed, and had the unmistakable stamp of authority in his bearing.’ About five feet ten inches or so in height, the stranger had a slim build and extremely long legs.

Pallmann struck up a conversation in English with the stranger and offered him a glass of whisky. ‘My companion and I were the only two travelling in this compartment,’ explained Pallmann, ‘and after the introductory drinks we settled ourselves down in opposite corners and watched the landscape go by.’

It was not long before Pallmann noticed some unusual features about his companion, not least, the eyes, which were exceptionally expressive. In addition, the man had unusually long, slender fingers, the fingertips covered by some kind of protection, the like of which Pallmann had never seen before. ‘For the rest, he was off-white in colour . . . a very light brown indeed; even his hair was light brown. I doubt if he weighed 100 pounds fully dressed, but for all his slim build he did not give the appearance of being physically weak. Indeed, on the contrary.’ Something else attracted Pallmann’s attention.

I could not help observing that every time he inhaled, so he contracted his hands. Indeed, it seemed that he had to have recourse to deep inhalation with every breath, rather as though he suffered from respiratory trouble. Not that there was any external evidence of this, for, as I have said, he looked a very healthy specimen indeed.

When the stranger spoke, Pallmann was astonished to note that his voice did not appear to come from his mouth, but rather from a small ‘speaking device’ clipped to his chest. His speech, too, was peculiar. Although his English was impeccable, there was always a slight hesitation before he spoke. ‘It was as if he was making the mental effort to say the first word, after which all the others would come spontaneously,’ Pallmann elaborated. ‘But that first word was laboured. It was a trick of speech that was not at all unpleasant . . .

The stranger introduced himself as ‘Satu Ra’. At nightfall, the train pulled into a large station. On the platform were throngs of hungry-looking and miserable people, including an emaciated, ragged woman and her fretful baby, who seemed to be suffering from chronic malnutrition.

Without a word, Satu left the compartment, made towards the pair, and pressed a coin into the woman’s hand and a tablet into the baby’s mouth. He then returned to the compartment. ‘Please come with me,’ he said quietly to Pallmann. ‘There is much to be done.’ Satu led the way to the last (third-class) compartment in the train, which was swarming with passengers. Arriving at a group of young children, Satu began dispensing his tablets, at the same time speaking to them in faultless Hindi.

Then, seeing an old man squatting on the floor, Satu spoke gently to him and also handed him one of his tablets. And so it went on. Whatever the ingredients in the tablets, they seemed to have a miraculously beneficial effect on the recipients.

On arrival in Madras, Pallmann asked Satu where he came from, having been unable to place his origin. ‘There’s no real mystery about me, my friend,’ came the response. ‘I come from Cotosoti.’ ‘I’ve never heard of that,’ said Pallmann. ‘Where is it? InCentral America?’ ‘No, no, my friend. It is on Itibi Ra II.’ ‘Now I know you’re joking.’ ‘I assure you I’m not.’ ‘I’ve travelled the world extensively,’ said Pallmann, ‘and I’ve never heard of such a place. Whereabouts is it?’

Satu Ra merely pointed towards the eastern sky.

‘A SERVANT OF GOD’

‘What he inferred,’ continued Pallmann, ‘was that he came from another world, from another planet away out there in distant space. All my life I had dealt with concrete things, concrete facts . . . Anything beyond that, and I would be the first to admit that I was getting out of my depth. Yet undoubtedly I had spent the last twenty-four hours in the company of a flesh and blood person, albeit one with many remarkable attributes.’

Later, at his hotel, Pallmann received an invitation from a distinguished- looking Indian to visit a certain address in Madras, adding the name of ‘Mr Satu Ra’. So, the following morning, Pallman took a taxi and found himself deposited at a palatial mansion, which turned out to be a museum-cum-art gallery, where Satu was staying. After greeting Pallmann, Satu pointed to an image of Lord Vishnu, one of the principal Hindu deities, with images of strange aerial craft painted on to the sacred cloth.

‘This is proof that earlier generations have observed the effigy of our out-of-space crafts having made an earlier landing,’ he said to the bemused Pallmann, who was yet to be convinced of Satu’s alleged origin. Perhaps ‘Itibi Ra’ might be an equivalent of the mythical Shangri-La, he wondered. Was Satu deluded? Or, more likely, was he trying to sell something? ‘At the back of my mind was the thought that there must be a commercial reason for this invitation, and I expected some sales-talk from my host,’ Pallmann continued. ‘However, nothing of the sort happened.’ The two spent a pleasant afternoon together, during which Pallmann was able to observe his host in a better light than hitherto.

He had the light brown skin of a Eurasian, huge dark eyes, a rather small mouth and an unusual chin line. The lower part of the jaw looked slightly deformed. Then, there were those fingertip gloves which he seemed to wear at all times, even though the weather was extremely hot. Above all, there was this peculiarity of speech, this complete reliance upon an electronic gadget to reproduce his voice.

Before the meeting concluded, Pallmann informed Satu of his travel plans, which included Kashmir, Calcutta and Benares. Benares, said Satu, would be the place where the two would meet again. But how? Satu handed Pallmann a curious ring, apparently made of solid gold, in the middle of which was what appeared to be a small piece of metal, sparkling like a diamond (see plates).

‘Maybe this will indicate our presence in Benares,’ said Satu cryptically, adding that the ages-old ring was ‘the symbol of a human religion very close to ours’. After thanking Satu profusely for the unexpected gift, Pallmann ventured to ask what profession his host was occupied in; a question that had been on his mind since the first meeting. ‘I am a servant,’ replied Satu, smiling. ‘A servant of God, as are all my people .