WHAT HAPPENED IN PACIENCIA? On most mornings, at 2 AM to be exact, Antonio La Rubia wakes up, brushes his teeth, showers, packs a bag, and leaves for work. A routine, it always takes at least 15 minutes, but never more than 20. Antonio was a bus driver in Paciencia, Brazil; his work day started early and required he take a bus to get to his own. Each work day, he walked from his home, down a road, a aside a stretch of field. Today, though, he stopped at its grassy edge in awe. From above, looking out over the field, he saw something confusing: a large, metallic object.

At first, he thought it was the bus he took each day, but it was clearly not. The dull lead colored thing was far too large, first of all, and was was shaped like a hat. It had three points, the tallest in the center, and was round at its base. Staring at it, he estimated it was over 230 feet long, outsizing even the field it sat in. Though he didn’t believe in aliens or UFOs, the thought crossed his mind. He turned and started to run… but his legs wouldn’t work. He was frozen in place.

A bright light burned behind him, bathing everything in blue. Suddenly, three robot-like beings appeared out of nowhere. They were not stereotypical robots, but something much stranger. They had small, metallic heads shaped like an American football balanced on its end. Wrapped around the middle, like a strip of film, were a series of light blue, rounded square mirrors. Those facing him were a darker, more vibrant hue; the squares dimmed and lit up as they circled him, watched him. Extending from the top of the head was a long antenna. It was nearly as tall as the rest of the creature, stretching 3 feet or so above Antonio. Minus the antenna, they were rather short: only 4 feet tall.

The creatures had no neck; their head was plugged directly into a wide, robust torso. On each side was an arm-like appendage. It was not like a human arm, but an elephant’s trunk. The limb was thick at its base, tapering down to a single, rounded, finger-like digit. Its body and arms were composed of a kind of skin that resembled rough scales. It gave the creatures a reptilian rather than an armored appearance.