Roy is questioned in a small holding room [in the decontamination camp] by Laughlin and Lacombe. Laughlin translates for Lacombe.

Laughlin: We need answers from you that are honest, direct, and to the point.

Roy: Where's Jillian?

Laughlin: Do you realize the danger that you and your friend have risked? By coming here, you've exposed yourself to toxic gas.

Roy: There's nothing wrong with the air.

Laughlin: What makes you say that?

Roy: I just know. There's nothing wrong with it.

Lacombe: Go outside and make me a liar.

Roy: Uh, look, I want to talk to the man in charge.

Laughlin: Mr. Lacombe is the highest authority.

Roy: He isn't even an American.

Roy is asked if he has any physical symptoms: a persistent ringing in his ears, any headaches, migraines, an irritation in his eyes and sinuses, hives, allergies, a burning on his face and body. He is becoming exasperated with them after being shown a drawing of Devils Tower.

Roy: Yeah, I got one just like it in my living room. Who are you people?

His question remains unanswered. Their final question is all revealing

Laughlin: Mr. Neary, please, one more question. Have you recently had a close encounter - a close encounter with something very unusual?

As he is shown about a dozen snapshots of individuals who have also come on a pilgrimage to Devils Tower [prior 'chosen' witnesses of UFOs], he can identify only one who isn't a stranger - Jillian.

Laughlin: The two of you felt compelled to be here?

Roy: Yeah, you might say that.

Laughlin: What did you expect to find?

Roy: An answer. That's not crazy, is it?

Laughlin and Lacombe speak to each other in French.

Roy: Hold it, hold it, hold it! Is that it? Is that all you're gonna ask me? Well, I got a couple of thousand, god-damn questions, you know. I want to speak to someone in charge. I want to lodge a complaint. You have no right to make people crazy. If this is nerve gas, how come I know everything in such detail? I've never been here before. How come I know so much? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON AROUND HERE?! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE?!

Wearing a gas mask and flanked by guards, Roy complains vehemently as he is led from the compound at the base of Devils Tower to a waiting transport helicopter filled with like souls.

Roy: I didn't come this far just to be taken on any bus ride home.

As he anxiously looks around at other gas-masked faces inside the copter, he finds Jillian's familiar face.

The military leader of the project, Major Walsh reprimands Lacombe for disobeying proper evacuation procedures.

Walsh: You brought in twelve people to the decontamination camp instead of the evacuation center where they belong. I'd like to know why.

Lacombe (and Laughlin): Because this means something. These people have come from all over their country to a place they have been told will endanger their lives. Why?

Walsh: Because somebody could be trying to subvert this whole operation by sending in fanatics and cultists and Christ knows what all.

Lacombe shows him sketches drawn of Devils Tower by all the captives.

Lacombe: This is a small group of people who have shared a vision in common. Look. . .

He pulls up the shade to reveal the Tower in the window.

Lacombe: It's still a mystery to me why they are here. Even they do not know why.

Taking a chance, Roy removes his gas mask because he doesn't accept the poison gas ruse.

Roy: Listen, there's nothing wrong with the air around here. The army is getting us out of here because they don't want any witnesses.

One of the women obediently objects.

Woman: But if the army doesn't want us here, then it's none of our business.

A few more remove their masks - one comically jokes that the air there is better than it is in Los Angeles.

Roy: How many of you people are for getting out of here?

Lacombe: Listen to me, Major Walsh, it is an event sociological.

Back inside, Lacombe wants to discover why so many people inexplicably came together at Devils Tower:

Lacombe: I believe that for everyone of these anxious, anguished people who have come here this evening, there must be hundreds of others also touched by the implanted vision who never made it this far. It's simply because they never watched the television. Or perhaps they watched it, but never made the psychic connection.

Walsh: It's a coincidence. It's not scientific.

Roy, Jillian, and another man, Larry Butler (Josef Sommer) decide to escape from the copter.

At the same moment, Lacombe glances outside through a window (that reflects the image of Devils Tower), joyfully suppressing any word of alarm that they are running through the command post and toward the slopes of the mountainous area of the tower. One of the evacuation plans is to dust the quarantined area with sleep aerosol.

Walsh: Same stuff that we use with the livestock. Comes out of riot control. They'll sleep for six hours and wake up with a hell of a headache.

As Walsh walks away after ignoring Lacombe's request not to use riot control methods, Laughlin yells after him that the people he questioned were hypnotically compelled to travel there.

Laughlin: We didn't choose this place! We didn't choose these people! They were invited!

Lacombe: They belong here more than we.

Roy, Jill, and Larry climb up the steep incline on the side of Devils Tower. Helicopters buzz by with loudspeakers blaring a warning.

Loudspeaker: This park has been superseded by the United States Government...You are entering a military reservation.

Roy cautions about climbing up the steep face toward the top

Roy: It's a three hundred foot drop straight down.

Jillian and Larry both realize their perspectives were inaccurate in their drawings:

Jillian: What do you think it's like on the other side?

Roy: There's a box canyon on the other side with ravines and trails......if you take this incline to the right.

Jillian: I never imagined that. I only painted one side. There was no canyon in my doodles.

Roy: Next time, sculpt.

Ground troops search behind them on foot.

Soldier: Nothing to report at mid-station. It looks up ahead that there's thousands of places to hide. We're gonna need at least three times the men if you want this covered in one hour.

The searchers are ordered off the northern face so that helicopters can begin dusting the area with sleep aerosol. As night begins to fall, they press on and scramble for hiding places when another helicopter approaches. Larry falls behind and pauses to rest in the open, exhausted by the climb. The sleep-inducing helicopter, one with nightmarish sand, passes over him and releases a cloud of dust. Like so many other fallen birds, he quickly drifts off to sleep after inhaling the dust.

As they near their goal, they can see spot lights shining into the evening sky. After an exciting pursuit scene as they crawl and pull each other along to avoid another spraying by the dusting helicopter, they emerge through a notch at the pinnacle of the tower.

There, they are rewarded with the discovery of a colossal runway.

The huge extinct volcano with its incredible mountain formation has been transformed into a secret landing site for UFOs. All of Roy's and Jillian's premonitions, obsessions, and implants now make clear sense.

At the landing site, a loudspeaker announcement prepares the scientific crew awaiting the aliens' visit.

Project Leader [over a loudspeaker]: Gentlemen, ladies, take your positions, please. This is not a drill. I repeat. This is not a drill. Could we have the lights in the arena down sixty percent, please... sixty percent.

The lights go down and running lights turn on one at a time up the runway.

Project Leader: I don't think we could have asked for a more beautiful evening, do you? Okay, watch the skies please. We now show uncorrelated targets approaching from the north-northwest.

In the sky above them, streaking objects resembling comets whoosh through the blackness.

Roy [whispers expectantly]: We're the only ones who know. The only ones.

Three tiny, neon-lit scout ships appear with the tiny red orb following in their wake - they hover over the end of the runway. Audio analysis personnel ready themselves to communicate with the sparkling, illuminated objects at the rendezvous point. A giant electronic board covered with colored strips and a powerful synthesized musical keyboard have been constructed at the site.

The Air Force scientists duplicate the electronic sounds that they have heard in transmissions, mixing them with light sequences (on colored strips) to communicate. The computer and audio specialists play the loud clear sounds of the five-note sequence after the signal, "Sunset."

Project Leader: If everything's ready here on the Dark Side of the Moon... play the five tones.

Specialist: Start with the tone. (Pinkish-red) - G

Specialist: Up a full tone. (Orange) - A

Specialist: Down a major third. (Purple) - F

Specialist: Now drop an octave. (Yellow) - F (an octave lower)

Specialist: Up a perfect fifth. (White) - C

French scientist Lacombe suggests that the organist play the sequence with an increased tempo and try different frequencies for the five notes or tones, to lure the friendly mothership to land, as he marches out to the end of the runway.

The three ships dance above the runway and respond with their own duplicate tones - they emit the musical sounds in the specific combination of five notes. And then they fly off, separating and soaring heavenward. Applause exuberantly erupts through the audience. The show appears to be over - but it isn't. Lacombe looks into the skies, commenting on what's happening.

Lacombe: I don't know, but it is beautiful.