Original subtitles

Narrator: THEY'RE WATCHING YOU.

MORE THAN 4,000 SATELLITES CIRCLE THE EARTH.

EVERY DAY, THEY UNCOVER NEW MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENON

THAT DEFY EXPLANATION.

COMING UP...

REDS, NARCOS, AND SECRET AGENTS...

Pavelec: WHAT YOU MIGHT BE LOOKING AT IS A LOST PLANE

OR A C.I.A. SECRET MISSION.

Narrator: ...TRANSYLVANIA AND THE EERIE, FORBIDDEN MOUNDS...

COULD WE BE LOOKING AT THE TOMB OF DRACULA?

Narrator: ...SPYING ON THEIR SPIES, SPYING ON OUR SPIES...

IF CHINA TELLS YOU IT'S NOT IN MILITARY FACILITY,

IT PROBABLY IS.

Narrator: ...AND STRANGE SHAPES IN THE LAND OF LEGENDS...

WE FOUND SOME SKELETONS,

WHICH HE INTERPRETED TO LOOK LIKE THE SKELETONS OF GIANTS.

Narrator: ... BAFFLING PHENOMENA, MYSTERIES FROM SPACE.

WHAT ON EARTH ARE THEY?

-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

**

DECEMBER 2005, THE QUICKBIRD-2 SATELLITE FLIES OVER THE BAHAMAS

ON THE WESTERN SOUTHERN TIP OF THE AREA

KNOWN AS THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.

IT SPOTS THE SHAPE OF AN AIRPLANE,

BUT NOTHING HAS BEEN REPORTED MISSING,

AND THERE'S NO HISTORICAL RECORD OF A CRASH HERE.

Kourounis: JUST LOOKS COMPLETELY OUT OF PLACE.

WHAT IS IT DOING HERE?

Baker: HOW COULD THIS BE SITTING HERE AND PLANES FLYING OVERHEAD

OR SHIPS IN THE AREA NOT HAVE NOTICED IT?

WHAT KIND OF PLANE GOES DOWN AND NOBODY SAYS ANYTHING ABOUT IT?

Narrator: EXPLORER AND DIVER GEORGE KOUROUNIS HEADS FOR

THE BAHAMAS TO INVESTIGATE THE SATELLITE IMAGE.

Kourounis: I'VE CHECKED WITH THE CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITIES

IN THE UNITED STATES,

AND THERE'S NO RECORD AT ALL OF ANY PLANE

GOING DOWN IN THIS AREA,

SO THIS WRECK IS NOT NEW,

BUT HOW OLD IT IS IS ANYONE'S GUESS.

WHO WAS ON BOARD? WHERE WERE THEY GOING?

WAS IT DITCHED INTENTIONALLY?

DID IT CRASH?

Narrator: THE IMAGE WAS TAKEN OVER SHALLOW WATER

ALMOST 50 MILES FROM NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS' CAPITAL.

THE CLIMATE HERE IS TROPICAL,

IT'S ON THE SOUTHERN TIP OF THE ATLANTIC GULF STREAM,

SUBJECT TO VIOLENT HURRICANES.

THIS IS THE GATEWAY TO THE FAMOUS BERMUDA TRIANGLE.

IT'S KNOWN FOR WEIRD THINGS LIKE MAGNETIC ANOMALIES

THAT THROW OFF COMPASSES, STRANGE WEATHER.

YOU GET FOGS THAT COME IN, EXTREME WINDS, HURRICANES.

WE'VE HEARD PEOPLE CALL IN, FREAKING OUT ON THE RADIO,

DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE, AND THEN THEY FINALLY DISAPPEAR.

Kourounis: THIS PLANE IS RIGHT ALONG THE FLIGHT PATH

OF ONE OF THE FIRST PLANES TO HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED

TO HAVE DISAPPEARED IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.

Narrator: THAT PLANE WAS THE STAR ARIEL,

AND ITS DISAPPEARANCE CONTINUES TO BAFFLE INVESTIGATORS

TO THIS DAY.

IT TAKES OFF ON JANUARY 17, 1949, FROM BERMUDA,

HEADING FOR KINGSTON, JAMAICA, AND IS NEVER SEEN AGAIN.

NO RADIO CONNECTION, NO DEBRIS, NO WRECKAGE, JUST LOST.

NOBODY KNOWS WHERE IT IS.

**

Narrator: GEORGE HEADS OUT TO THE CRASH SITE.

IF THE PLANE TURNS OUT TO BE THE LONG-LOST STAR ARIEL,

IT COULD BE AN IMPORTANT FIND, WHICH COULD OFFER CLUES

TO THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE DISAPPEARANCES.

THE BAHAMAS ARE DEFENDED BY AN EXTENSIVE CORAL REEF,

WHICH ACTS AS A BARRIER AGAINST THE TURBULENT WATERS

OF THE ATLANTIC.

THE SEA HERE IS FLAT, SHALLOW, AND CLEAN,

PERFECT FOR THE PRESERVATION OF A CRASHED PLANE.

BUT SOMETHING ELSE HAS HELPED PROTECT THE WRECK

FROM INQUISITIVE HUMANS.

THESE ARE AMONG THE MOST SHARK-INFESTED WATERS

IN THE WORLD.

Kourounis: SO HERE'S A WING. IT'S PRETTY BIG.

AND THEN THE FUSELAGE GOES ALONG THIS WAY.

JUST COMING -- OH, YOU CAN SEE THE ENGINES.

COCKPIT WOULD BE RIGHT HERE.

Narrator: AT LOW TIDE, MUCH OF THE PLANE IS VISIBLE,

BUT THERE ARE NO REGISTRATION NUMBERS

OR IDENTIFYING MARKS ABOVE THE WATER.

IT'S TIME TO GET WET.

**

ONE THING I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT IS THE CURRENT

DRAGGING ME INTO THE SHARP METAL,

SO THAT'S A LITTLE SCARY.

IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE'S TAKEN AN ICE-CREAM SCOOP

AND JUST GOUGED OUT THE GUTS OF THE PLANE.

THE TOP IS COMPLETELY MISSING.

**

IT'S ABOUT 70 FEET LONG, MAYBE 100-FOOT WINGSPAN.

THE ENGINES ARE SO INTACT, IT LOOKS LIKE

I COULD JUST START IT UP AND FLY THE THING OUT OF THERE.

**

Narrator: IN LINE WITH INTERNATIONALLY AGREED RULES,

ALL CIVILIAN AIRCRAFT MUST CARRY REGISTRATION

AND IDENTIFICATION CODES ON FIREPROOF PLATES ON THE FUSELAGE

AND TYPICALLY ALSO ON THE TAIL AND PROPELLERS.

THIS PLANE APPEARS TO HAVE NONE.

Kourounis: THE MARKINGS ON THE TAIL SECTION

ARE NO LONGER EXISTENT.

UNFORTUNATELY, THAT'S THE ONE PART OF THE PLANE

THAT GOT QUITE DESTROYED.

Narrator: IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE, THE SHAPE AND DIMENSIONS

OF THE WRECK ARE REASONABLY CLEAR.

GEORGE HAS SENT THESE, ALONG WITH HIS UNDERWATER FOOTAGE,

TO AVIATION EXPERT MIKE PAVELEC BACK IN THE U.S.

TO SEE IF HE CAN IDENTIFY IT.

RECORDS SHOW THAT THE STAR ARIEL WAS AN AVRO TUDOR MARK IV,

A RARE BRITISH PLANE FROM THE 1940s.

VERY FEW WERE MADE.

IS THIS ONE OF THEM?

WELL, I KNOW YOU WERE HOPING THIS WAS THE STAR ARIEL.

BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.

THE STAR ARIEL HAD FOUR ENGINES.

THIS ONLY HAS TWO.

TO ME, IT LOOKS MORE LIKE A C-46.

C-46?

Narrator: THE CURTISS C-46, KNOWN AS THE COMMANDO,

WAS USED BY U.S. ARMY, AIR FORCE, AND BY THE MARINES.

ITS POWERFUL ENGINES ALLOWED IT TO CARRY TROOPS

LONG DISTANCES OVER DIFFICULT TERRAINS.

IN WORLD WAR II, IT FLEW MISSIONS BETWEEN CHINA,

INDIA, AND BURMA, TRANSPORTING TROOPS OVER THE HIMALAYAS,

BUT IT WASN'T JUST THE AMERICAN MILITARY

WHO FLEW CURTISS COMMANDOS.

IN FACT, ONE OF THE THINGS IT WAS USED FOR AFTER THE WAR

WAS FOR THE NEWLY FORMED C.I.A. IN CLANDESTINE MISSIONS,

SO WHAT YOU MIGHT BE LOOKING AT IS A LOST PLANE

FOR A C.I.A. SECRET MISSION.

THE CURTISS C-46 WAS A MAINSTAY OF AIR AMERICA,

THE C.I.A.'S CLANDESTINE AIRLINE.

THEY WERE USED REGULARLY IN THE 1960s AND '70s

IN VIETNAM AND LAOS.

Baker: ESSENTIALLY, IT'S A CARGO PLANE. THINK ABOUT IT.

THAT'S WHAT ITS PURPOSE WAS.

BIG CAPACITY, LARGE FUEL TANK,

SO IT HAD THE ABILITY TO TRAVEL.

Narrator: THE C.I.A. IS KNOWN TO HAVE USED THE COMMANDO

IN THE NOTORIOUS BAY OF PIGS INVASION,

WHEN C.I.A.-BACKED INSURGENTS UNSUCCESSFULLY MOUNTED

A COUNTER-REVOLUTION AGAINST FIDEL CASTRO.

IT WAS PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY'S

ALLEGED REFUSAL TO PROVIDE FULL AIR COVER FOR THIS OPERATION

THAT LED TO SPECULATION THAT ROGUE ELEMENTS IN THE C.I.A.

HAD SOME INVOLVEMENT IN HIS ASSASSINATION.

THE QUESTION THEN BECOMES, WAS THIS PLANE UNDER THE WATER

BECAUSE IT WAS A C.I.A. OPERATION?

Narrator: COMING UP, THINGS GET WEIRD IN TRANSYLVANIA...

Gerhard: IT IS BELIEVED BY THE LOCALS THAT,

IF YOU LEAVE A RAZOR BLADE NEXT TO THESE MOUNDS,

IT'LL SHARPEN ITSELF.

Narrator: ...AND SEX, SPIES, AND SECRETS IN PARADISE.

Capps: HE WALKS TO A MARKET OR GOES TO A RESTAURANT,

AND HE'S FLANKED BY NEO-NAZI GUARDS.

Narrator: EXPLORER GEORGE KOUROUNIS IS IN

THE BAHAMAS, INVESTIGATING A SUNKEN PLANE

SPOTTED BY THE GEOEYE SATELLITE.

THERE ARE NO IDENTIFICATION MARKINGS,

BUT THIS IS A CURTISS C-46 COMMANDO.

IT'S A PRETTY COOL AIRPLANE.

IT WAS EVEN USED FOR CLANDESTINE MISSIONS

BY THE C.I.A.

WHO WAS FLYING IT?

WHY DOES IT HAVE NO IDENTIFYING MARKS?

AND WHY HAS THIS CRASH NOT BEEN REPORTED?

IT IS KNOWN THAT THE CURTISS COMMANDOS

WERE USED BY THE C.I.A. IN THE BAY OF PIGS FAILED COUP

AGAINST FIDEL CASTRO.

CUBA IS JUST 300 MILES SOUTH OF HERE.

BUT NEARER STILL IS A TINY ISLAND CALLED NORMAN'S CAY.

THERE ISN'T MUCH ON NORMAN'S CAY,

BUT ON THE ORIGINAL SATELLITE IMAGE,

GEORGE SPOTS A RUNWAY.

IT EXTENDS FOR A FULL 1,000 FEET,

STRANGELY LARGE FOR SUCH A TINY ISLAND.

WHEN GEORGE ASKS AT A LOCAL BAR, THEY TELL HIM

IT WAS BUILT 40 YEARS AGO BY CARLOS LEHDER,

A NOTORIOUS COLOMBIAN NARCO DRUG LORD NICKNAMED

CRAZY CHARLIE.

GEORGE IS GIVEN THE NUMBER OF A MAN WHO KNOWS ABOUT HIM

AND ARRANGES TO MEET AT CRAZY CHARLIE'S ABANDONED HOUSE.

SHELDON. NICE TO MEET YOU.

SO WHO IS THIS CRAZY CHARLIE CHARACTER

THAT I'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT?

CRAZY CHARLIE WOULD BE CARLOS LEHDER.

THAT WAS THE GUY.

HE BASICALLY WAS PARTNERS WITH PABLO ESCOBAR.

Capps: YOU MAY NOT KNOW WHO CRAZY CHARLIE IS,

BUT YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD OF PABLO ESCOBAR.

AND PABLO WAS HIS PARTNER.

TALK ABOUT THE BIGGEST, BADDEST DRUG OPERATION IN THE WORLD.

Narrator: CRAZY CHARLIE HERO-WORSHIPPED ADOLF HITLER

AND HATED AMERICA.

HE EARNED HIS NICKNAME, SENDING NAKED GIRLS IN JEEPS

TO PICK UP GUESTS FROM HIS PRIVATE RUNWAY.

HIS WILD ORGIES ON NORMAN'S CAY

WERE FAMOUS THROUGHOUT THE CARTELS.

DRUG-RUNNING WAS EARNING HIM BILLIONS,

AND HE WAS DETERMINED TO SPEND ALL OF IT.

Baker: HE HAD AN INSATIABLE APPETITE FOR

THE PARTY LIFESTYLE, FOR WOMEN, FOR JUST EXCITEMENT.

Capps: CAN YOU IMAGINE HAVING CRAZY CHARLIE AS YOUR NEIGHBOR?

SO HE WALKS TO A MARKET OR GOES TO A RESTAURANT,

AND HE'S FLANKED BY NEO-NAZI GUARDS.

YOU'RE SCARED TO SAY A THING.

YOU'RE SCARED TO PUT A FOOT IN A WRONG SPOT.

I CAN IMAGINE CALLING THAT THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.

JUST STAY AWAY.

Narrator: BUT WHEN IT CAME TO RUNNING NARCOTICS,

CRAZY CHARLIE WAS BRILLIANT.

THE CARTELS HAD BEEN USING HUMAN MULES

TO SMUGGLE SMALL QUANTITIES OF DRUGS.

LEHDER REALIZED THAT IF THEY COULD BRING IN DRUGS BY AIR,

YOU COULD MOVE HUGE QUANTITIES AND MAKE VAST SUMS OF MONEY.

THE BAHAMAS WAS AN IDEAL TRANSIT POINT.

FROM HERE, COCAINE WAS SHIPPED TO THE U.S.

ON AN INDUSTRIAL SCALE,

CAUSING AN EXPLOSION OF DRUG ADDICTION IN THE STATES.

Baker: WE CAN'T UNDERESTIMATE HOW MUCH NARCOTIC

WAS MOVING AT THAT TIME,

LATE '70s, EARLY '80s, INTO THE STATES.

IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE BUSINESS.

Narrator: BUT WHY IS THERE A PLANE KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN

FAVORED BY THE C.I.A. CLOSE TO NORMAN'S CAY?

THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF OFFICIAL INVESTIGATIONS

INTO ALLEGED LINKS BETWEEN THE C.I.A.

AND DRUG FUNDED INSURGENCY MOVEMENTS IN CENTRAL AMERICA,

SUCH AS CONTRAS IN NICARAGUA.

COULD CRAZY CHARLIE, NOT THE C.I.A.,

HAVE BEEN USING THE CURTISS COMMANDO?

AND IF SO, HOW DID HE COME BY THE PLANE?

Capps: THE C-46 COMMANDO IS A PERFECT DRUG PLANE.

IT CARRIES ABOUT 1,500 POUNDS OF DRUGS,

AND IT HANDLES ALTITUDE REALLY WELL.

AND A LOT OF PLACES THEY WANT TO GO ARE GOING TO BE

HIGH-AIR STRIPS IN THE MOUNTAINS.

YOU GOT TO IMAGINE, TOO, IF HE'S RUNNING THESE SHIPMENTS

NIGHT AND DAY, THERE HAS TO BE SOME ACCIDENTS.

COULD BE WEATHER, IT COULD BE SOMEONE

WHO WAS TESTING THE MERCHANDISE

A LITTLE BIT TOO MUCH AND DOWNED THE PLANE.

I ACTUALLY WORKED IN THE CARIBBEAN,

AND IT WAS ALMOST THE NORMAL STORY --

SMALL ISLAND WITH A RUNWAY, AIRPLANE WRECKS ALL AROUND IT.

Narrator: THOUGH THERE ARE ALLEGATIONS OF C.I.A. COLLUSION

WITH THE CARTELS, THERE IS ALSO EVIDENCE

OF C.I.A. ACTIVITY AGAINST THEM.

IN 2007, VIDEO WAS RELEASED OF A FIGHTER PLANE

TAKING DOWN A DRUG-RUNNING PLANE.

Narrator: LEHDER IS ARRESTED AND EXTRADITED TO THE U.S. IN 1987.

HE IS SENTENCED TO LIFE PLUS 135 YEARS.

BUT THE SENTENCE IS REDUCED TO 55 YEARS

WHEN HE TESTIFIES AGAINST THE FORMER DICTATOR OF PANAMA,

MANUEL NORIEGA, WHO HAD, IN TURN,

COLLUDED WITH THE C.I.A.

LEHDER IS, STILL, IN THEORY, BEHIND BARS,

BUT HIS WHEREABOUTS ARE UNKNOWN.

ACCORDING TO ONE JOURNALIST, LEHDER KNOWS TOO MUCH

ABOUT THE C.I.A.'S INVOLVEMENT

IN THE IRAN-CONTRA AFFAIR TO BE RELEASED ANYTIME SOON.

WHEN HE COMES OUT, I GUESS, IF YOU WANT TO DO IT,

YOU CAN SET UP AN INTERVIEW WITH HIM.

I WANT TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED HERE.

I WONDER HOW MANY BODIES ARE BURIED AROUND HERE.

THE PLANE IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE REMAINS A MYSTERY.

WHOSE PLANE IS IT? AND WHAT WAS IT DOING?

COMING UP, A TOP-SECRET INSTALLATION

HIDDEN IN DEEPEST PATAGONIA.

WHAT DOES THIS FACILITY DO?

Narrator: APRIL 2016, THE WORLDVIEW-3 SATELLITE

SPOTS SOMETHING NEW IN A REMOTE PROVINCE OF ARGENTINA.

IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE IS THIS HIGH-TECH FACILITY

WITH A HUGE RADAR DISH AND SUPPORT BUILDINGS.

THERE'S A FENCE LINE SURROUNDING THE AREA.

IT'S OBVIOUS THAT WHOEVER BUILT THIS

IS NOT WELCOMING OF VISITORS.

ANALYSIS OF THE IMAGE REVEALS THAT THE DISH IS 115 FEET WIDE

AND HAS A CONVEX SECONDARY REFLECTOR.

IT HAS THE ABILITY TO SEE INTO DEEP SPACE

AND HAS ITS OWN $10-MILLION POWER PLANT.

THIS IS NO ORDINARY SATELLITE DISH.

WHO ARE THEY TALKING TO?

ARE THEY TRACKING SOMETHING,

OR ARE THEY LISTENING TO SOMETHING?

WHAT DOES THIS FACILITY DO?

Narrator: THE ARGENTINIAN GOVERNMENT IS NOT FORTHCOMING.

IN THE SPRING OF 2014, THEIR CURRENCY IS IN FREE FALL,

AND THEIR CAPITAL CITY PARALYZED BY A SERIES OF STRIKES.

SO WHERE DID ALL THE MONEY COME FROM

FOR THEIR PATAGONIAN PARABOLA?

UNDER INTENSE PRESSURE, THEY MAKE A PUBLIC STATEMENT.

THE ARGENTINIAN GOVERNMENT REVEALS

THAT IT'S A DEEP-SPACE TRACKING FACILITY.

Narrator: BUT THIS ONLY PROMPTS MORE QUESTIONS.

ARGENTINA HAS A TENTATIVE SPACE PROGRAM.

BUT SO FAR, THEY HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN A ROCKET

INTO LOW EARTH ORBIT, NEVER MIND DEEP SPACE.

FINALLY, THEY ADMIT THAT THE GIANT ANTENNA

BELONGS TO A FOREIGN POWER.

D'Antonio: NOW, AS IT TURNS OUT,

THIS FACILITY IS OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE CHINESE.

Narrator: CHINA IS THE NEW BIG PLAYER IN SPACE.

THEY SPEND AROUND $6 BILLION PER YEAR.

THEY HAVE A MOON MISSION PLANNED FOR 2018

AND A MARS MISSION PLANNED FOR 2020.

Pappalardo: HAVING A FACILITY IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

IN ARGENTINA MAKES PERFECT SENSE IF YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT

BEING ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEM WHENEVER YOU WOULD WANT.

Narrator: IT ALL SOUNDS PLAUSIBLE,

BUT FURTHER RESEARCH BY IMAGE ANALYSTS

REVEALS THAT THIS ANTENNA CAN DO MORE THAN JUST POINT INTO SPACE.

LOOKING AT THE SHADOW FROM THIS, YOU CAN SEE THAT

THIS IS ACTUALLY A MOUNT THAT ALLOWS

FOR THIS DISH TO BE STEERED.

WHEN ANALYSTS PLOT THE PRECISE COORDINATES

OF THE CHINESE FACILITY, THEY SEE THAT IT'S THE SAME

LONGITUDE SECTOR AS WASHINGTON, D.C.

THAT MEANS IT CAN BE AIMED AT SATELLITES

TRAVELING OVER THE D.C. AREA NORTH TO SOUTH,

A SO-CALLED POLAR ORBIT

SOMETIMES USED BY EARTH-MONITORING SATELLITES.

WITH THIS FACILITY, THE CHINESE MAY HAVE A CAPABILITY

TO LISTEN IN TO OUR SPY BIRDS,

OUR NORTH-SOUTH-ORBITING DEFENSE SATELLITES.

THOUGH THEY PROTEST THEIR INNOCENCE,

THE CHINESE HAVE A HISTORY IN THIS AREA.

IF CHINA TELLS YOU IT'S NOT IN MILITARY FACILITY,

IT PROBABLY IS.

Narrator: IN 1997, THE CHINESE OPEN A SIMILAR BASE

ON THE ISLAND OF TARAWA ATOLL ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PACIFIC.

THEY CLAIM IT'S A SPACE-TELEMETRY-AND-TRACKING

STATION UNTIL LOCAL JOURNALISTS POINT OUT THAT IT'S POSITIONED

RIGHT NEXT TO A MAJOR U.S. MISSILE RANGE

IN THE ADJACENT MARSHALL ISLANDS.

THE CHINESE ARE THE NUMBER-ONE PERPETRATOR

OF CYBER SHENANIGANS.

Narrator: SO THE PATAGONIAN FACILITY CAN BE USED FOR SPYING,

BUT WHEN INTELLIGENCE OPERATIVES DELVE DEEPER INTO

THE SATELLITE IMAGE,

THEY DISCOVER SOMETHING EVEN MORE WORRYING.

SCRUTINY OF THE IMAGES SHOW ANOTHER PARABOLIC ANTENNA

AND SUGGEST THAT THESE TWO COULD BE USED IN TANDEM.

Pappalardo: IF YOU HAVE A SECOND SATELLITE DISH WITH AN ANTENNA,

YOU CAN USE THOSE TWO TO FIND THE POSITION OF A SATELLITE

PASSING OVERHEAD A LOT MORE QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY.

Moran: LASER BEAMS FROM A SITE LIKE THIS

COULD BE USED TO DISABLE OTHER SATELLITES,

OBLITERATING THEIR ABILITY

TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR BASES.

A SATELLITE THAT CAN'T COMMUNICATE WITH THE EARTH

IS SPACE JUNK.

**

Narrator: THIS NIGHTMARE SCENARIO IS NO SCIENCE FANTASY,

AS RECENT HISTORY SHOWS.

ONLY A FEW YEARS AGO, CHINESE HACKERS,

POTENTIALLY WORKING FOR THE GOVERNMENT,

MANAGED TO TAKE OVER TWO U.S.-BASED SATELLITES.

IT SHOWS THE SCOPE AND RANGE OF WHAT THEY'RE CAPABLE OF.

THEY HAVEN'T PLAYED BY THE RULES,

AND I KNOW IT'S TIME THAT THEY'RE GOING TO START.

Narrator: WITH TENSIONS GROWING BETWEEN THE U.S. AND CHINA,

THE WORST MAY BE YET TO COME.

THERE ARE INDIVIDUALS THAT ALREADY SEE A SECOND COLD WAR

EMERGING BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND CHINA ALREADY.

DISABLING THE AMERICAN SPACE ASSETS

WOULD BE THE FIRST STEP IN ANY CONFLICT.

SPACE WARFARE IS GOING TO BE INEVITABLE IN THE FUTURE.

Narrator: COMING UP, IMPOSSIBLE MEGASTRUCTURES

ON THE EDGE OF THE OCEAN...

NAN MADOL HAS A HISTORY OF REPORTS OF BEING HAUNTED.

Narrator: ...THE GIANT RUSSIAN INFERNO...

IT'S A CATASTROPHE THAT'S ON STEROIDS.

ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING.

Narrator: ...AND A TRANSYLVANIAN BURIAL GROUND FIT FOR VAMPIRES.

NOT ONLY ARE EXCAVATIONS BANNED FROM THE SITE,

THEY ALWAYS HAVE BEEN.

Narrator: THE QUICKBIRD-2 SATELLITE

FLIES HIGH OVER THE PACIFIC

AND CAPTURES THESE IMAGES OF GIGANTIC SQUARE BLOCKS

OFF A REMOTE ISLAND IN THE REGION KNOWN AS MICRONESIA.

Kourounis: THERE'S SOMETHING STRANGE GOING ON OFF THE COAST

OF THE MICRONESIAN ISLAND OF POHNPEI.

THERE ARE THESE TINY ISLANDS, ALMOST 100 OF THEM,

THAT ARE REMARKABLY SIMILAR AND GEOMETRICALLY SHAPED.

THE REASON IS NOT SO CLEAR.

WHERE DID THEY COME FROM? WHY WERE THEY CREATED?

Kourounis: THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF TABOOS

ABOUT VISITING THE PLACE.

WHY HERE? WHY OFF THE COAST?

Narrator: AS THE SATELLITE IMAGE INDICATES,

POHNPEI IS EXTREMELY REMOTE,

2,500 MILES FROM LOS ANGELES AND 1,600 MILES FROM AUSTRALIA.

ONCE, IT WAS INHABITED BY AN ANCIENT RACE

ABOUT WHOM VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN.

Hunt: WHY WOULD SOMEBODY BUILD A CITY

OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN?

WHY HERE, SO FAR AWAY FROM ANY OTHER KNOWN CIVILIZATION?

Narrator: THE 97 INDIVIDUAL BLOCKS

SEEN IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE ARE SEPARATED BY

NARROW CHANNELS OF WATER.

IT'S NOT UNTIL THESE ARE SEEN AT GROUND LEVEL

THAT THE EXTRAORDINARY SHAPE

AND SCALE OF THESE STRUCTURES BECOME SO STRIKING.

AS AMAZING AS THIS SITE APPEARS FROM SATELLITE IMAGERY,

COMING DOWN TO GROUND LEVEL, IT'S EVEN MORE ASTOUNDING.

THERE ARE WALLS THAT ARE 25 FEET TALL AND 17 FEET THICK.

Narrator: THE LOCAL NAME ONLY ADDS TO THE MYSTERY.

THE NAME "NAN MADOL" MEANS "THE SPACE IN BETWEEN,"

AND THERE ARE NUMEROUS CANALS THAT RUN AND SEPARATE

THESE TINY ISLANDS, SO IT'S A REFERENCE TO THAT.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME, NAN MADOL HAS A HISTORY OF REPORTS

OF BEING HAUNTED.

SOME PEOPLE EVEN CALL IT THE GHOST CITY.

Narrator: SCIENTISTS ARE STRUGGLING TO EXPLAIN

THESE GIANT STRUCTURES.

IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AT THE CONSTRUCTION OF NAN MADOL,

YOU WOULD SORT OF COMPARE IT TO A LOG CABIN,

BUT INSTEAD OF USING WOOD, IT'S VOLCANIC ROCK.

Narrator: SCIENTISTS HAVE DATED THE VOLCANIC BASALT,

WHICH FORMED THE BLOCKS, TO 1180 A.D.

BUT THE ISOLATED CIVILIZATION LIVING HERE

COULD SURELY NOT HAVE BUILT ANYTHING THIS BIG.

WHAT'S MORE, BASALT STONE WAS NOT QUARRIED HERE.

HOW DID THESE HUGE LOGS GET HERE?

GETTING THE MATERIALS THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN

THE FIRST HURDLE.

THE SECOND HURDLE WOULD HAVE BEEN MANEUVERING THEM

INTO PLACE.

Narrator: ATTEMPTS TO REPRODUCE POSSIBLE BUILDING METHODS

HAVE FAILED.

PEOPLE HAVE ACTUALLY TRIED TO RECREATE

THE CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES AT NAN MADOL,

BUT THE MOST THEY'VE EVER BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH

IS ABOUT 1 TON.

SOME OF THE BLOCKS AT NAN MADOL ARE 90 TONS.

Narrator: ON SOME OF THE ISLANDS,

THERE ARE ANCIENT TOMBS,

BUT THERE IS A TABOO SURROUNDING THEM.

Krueger: THERE WAS A GERMAN BY THE NAME VICTOR BERG

WHO OPENED UP SOME OF THE TOMBS,

AND WITHIN SOME OF THEM, HE FOUND SOME SKELETONS,

WHICH HE INTERPRETED TO LOOK LIKE THE SKELETONS OF GIANTS.

LATER THAT SAME EVENING, HE BECAME DELIRIOUS.

[ THUNDER CRASHES ] A STORM RAGED, AND HE FELL ILL.

AND THE VERY NEXT MORNING, VICTOR WAS DEAD.

SIMPLE COINCIDENCE? OR THE CURSE OF NAN MADOL?

Narrator: THE SATELLITE IMAGE SHOWS OVER 90

OF THESE MEGASTRUCTURES.

THIS IS ANCIENT CONSTRUCTION ON A SCALE

TO RIVAL THE GREAT PYRAMIDS.

TO EXPLAIN THEIR PRESENCE, THE LOCALS HAVE A MYTH.

THERE WERE TWO SORCERER BROTHERS WHO ARRIVED IN CANOES,

AND THEY FOUND THIS REGION ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE ISLAND

ON TOP OF A CORAL REEF, AND THEY SAID, "THIS IS PERFECT.

THIS IS WHERE WE'RE GOING TO BUILD OUR ALTAR,"

BUT THEY DIDN'T USE RAFTS.

THEY USED SPECIAL MAGICAL POWERS TO HAVE THE BASALT LOGS

ACTUALLY FLY THROUGH THE AIR LIKE BIRDS

AND THEN ARRIVE AT THE LOCATION SITE,

AND THESE TWO BROTHERS WOULD USE THEIR VOICES IN VARIOUS TONES

TO DIRECT THE LOG INTO PLACE TO BUILD THIS CITY-STATE.

**

Narrator: COULD THERE BE A GRAIN OF TRUTH TO THE MYTH?

WAS SOME NOVEL CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE USED HERE?

Schuttler: RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO HAVE CREATED

THESE ULTRASONIC STANDING SOUND WAVES,

AND THIS HAS ENABLED PARTICLES TO NOT ONLY LEVITATE,

BUT THEY CAN ALSO MOVE THEM AROUND THE PLANE,

AND THEY'VE DONE THIS WITH

WATER, METAL, AND WOOD PARTICLES.

HOWEVER, IT'S HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT NAN MADOL

WAS CREATED WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY.

EVEN TODAY, SCIENTISTS ARE ONLY ABLE TO MOVE

THESE LITTLE, TINY PARTICLES, AND IT'S STILL REALLY A MYSTERY

HOW YOU WOULD MOVE THESE 90-TON BASALT LOGS.

Narrator: REVIEWING THE SATELLITE IMAGE,

ANOTHER INTRIGUING POSSIBILITY SUGGESTS ITSELF.

COULD THE BLOCKS FORM JUST ONE PART OF A MUCH BIGGER COMPLEX

THAT EXTENDS OUT INTO THE SEA?

YOU LOOK AT THE REEF ITSELF, THERE ARE STRUCTURES THERE

THAT COULD BE MAN-MADE, COVERED IN CORAL.

THERE ARE TALES OF TUNNELS RUNNING FROM NAN MADOL

OUT TO THE SEA, KIND OF LIKE AN ATLANTIS OF THE PACIFIC.

Narrator: WHEN, IN 1914, MICRONESIA IS FORCIBLY COLONIZED

BY JAPAN, A TEAM OF EIGHT DIVERS ARE SENT TO INVESTIGATE

A RUMORED UNDERWAY CITY, BUT LIKE PREVIOUS INVESTIGATORS,

THEY GET MORE THAN THEY BARGAINED FOR.

Bellinger: THEY FOUND SOME PLATINUM-LINED COFFINS,

WHICH THEY SMASHED.

TWO OF THE DIVING PARTY MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARED,

AND THE TWO SALVAGED COFFINS,

WHICH WERE BROUGHT BACK TO JAPAN,

WERE BROUGHT, UNFORTUNATELY, TO HIROSHIMA AND DESTROYED

IN THE NUCLEAR OBLITERATION.

Narrator: THE BLOCKS SEEN FROM SPACE REMAIN UNEXPLAINED.

WHO BUILT THEM, HOW, AND WHY?

IT'S LIKE EVERY ATTEMPT TO PULL A NUGGET OF TRUTH

OUT OF THE DARKNESS IS THWARTED AT EVERY TURN.

**

Narrator: COMING UP, A MYSTERY BURIAL GROUND

IN REMOTEST TRANSYLVANIA.

Gough: I'M WILLING TO BET THAT WHAT WE HAVE HERE

IS THE GRAVE OF SOMEONE VERY IMPORTANT INDEED.

Narrator: AUGUST 2011, WORLDVIEW-2 PHOTOGRAPHS

AN ANCIENT ENIGMA IN THE HEART OF TRANSYLVANIA --

EIGHT HUGE MOUNDS.

THESE MOUNDS ARE SO LARGE, THEY CAN BE SEEN FROM SPACE.

Mosher: THEY ALMOST LOOK LIKE PYRAMIDS THAT HAVE BEEN

WORN DOWN, AND THEN GRASS HAS JUST SORT OF GROWN OVER THEM.

Gough: THE QUESTION IS, WHY ARE THEY THERE?

WHAT'S INSIDE OF THEM?

WE JUST SIMPLY DON'T KNOW AT THIS POINT.

Narrator: FOR HISTORIAN ANDREW GOUGH,

THE MOUNDS REPRESENT AN IRRESISTIBLE CHALLENGE.

Gough: WHEN I FIRST LOOK AT THESE AERIAL IMAGES,

IT'S REALLY INTRIGUING.

TO ME, THESE IMAGES COULD VERY WELL BE BURIAL MOUNDS.

I'M WILLING TO BET THAT WHAT WE HAVE HERE

IS THE GRAVE OF SOMEONE VERY IMPORTANT INDEED.

Narrator: THE ONLY WAY TO RESOLVE THE MYSTERY

IS TO HEAD FOR ROMANIA

AND TAKE A 3 1/2-HOUR DRIVE FROM THE CAPITAL, BUCHAREST,

TO THE SMALL VILLAGE OF SONA, IN THE HEART OF TRANSYLVANIA,

THE SO-CALLED LAND BEYOND THE FOREST.

Gough: WE'RE ENTERING TRANSYLVANIA.

THE PLACE HAS REALLY KEPT ITS MEDIEVAL FEEL.

IN FACT, IT STILL FEELS A BIT WEIRD, CREEPY.

[ BELL TOLLS ]

**

Narrator: THERE ARE MANY LOCAL SUPERSTITIONS

SURROUNDING THE MOUNDS.

Gerhard: IT IS BELIEVED BY THE LOCALS THAT,

IF YOU LEAVE A RAZOR BLADE NEXT TO THESE MOUNDS,

IT'LL SHARPEN ITSELF,

THAT WATER LEFT BY THESE MOUNDS WILL IN FACT GAIN

SOME TYPE OF MAGICAL HEALING PROPERTIES.

WE JUST TURNED THE CORNER, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN,

THEY'RE RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, AND THEY'RE HUGE.

Narrator: THE LOCALS CALL THEM GURUIETI,

LITERALLY "PILES OF EARTH."

THE TALLEST IS 100 FEET HIGH, THE LONGEST 200 FEET ACROSS.

Gough: WOW, LOOK AT THAT.

YOU KNOW, THEY'RE MUCH BIGGER THAN I THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE.

YOU JUST CAN'T GAUGE THINGS.

AND WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT A SATELLITE,

YOU ALWAYS THINK IT'S GOING TO BE MUCH SMALLER IN PERSON,

BUT THESE THINGS ARE HUGE.

Narrator: THERE'S NO GEOLOGICAL EXPLANATION FOR THE GURUIETI,

BUT THERE IS A KIND OF ANCIENT MOUND KNOWN TO ARCHAEOLOGISTS.

THEY CALL THEM TELLS, AND THEY'RE FORMED

BY THE DETRITUS OF FORMER CIVILIZATIONS

DATING BACK THOUSANDS OF YEARS --

PREHISTORIC GARBAGE DUMPS.

TELL STRUCTURES ARE BASICALLY MATERIAL FROM A SOCIETY

THAT LIVED IN THAT AREA THAT WAS BUILT UP OVER THE CENTURIES

AND PERHAPS THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

Narrator: BUT NO ARTIFACTS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN THE AREA,

AND THESE HILLS ARE THE WRONG SHAPE.

Bellinger: THEY'RE REALLY QUITE STEEP.

THAT SOMEWHAT ARGUES AGAINST THE EXISTENCE OF A TELL.

Narrator: EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT TELLS,

THESE HILLS ARE OLD AND PART OF LOCAL FOLKLORE,

THE WORK, PERHAPS, OF THE ANCIENT ANCESTORS

OF THE TRANSYLVANIANS LIVING HERE.

ANOTHER THEORY IS THAT THE DACIANS LIVED IN THIS AREA

AND PERHAPS BUILT THESE MOUND BEFORE THE ROMANS ARRIVED.

Narrator: THE DACIANS WERE A LOCAL TRIBE WHO LIVED HERE

FROM 500 B.C., WHEN THEIR KING, DECEBALUS,

DEFIES THE ROMAN EMPIRE, HE SIGNS HIS OWN DEATH WARRANT.

THEIR DOOMED WAR AGAINST ROME IS ACTUALLY DEPICTED

ON TRAJAN'S COLUMN.

Narrator: STANDING 98 FEET TALL, TRAJAN'S COLUMN IN ROME

REPORTS THE EMPIRE'S VICTORY AGAINST THE DACIANS

IN A 620-FOOT FRIEZE THAT SPIRES AROUND IT.

AT ITS CLIMAX, DECEBALUS CHOOSES TO SLIT HIS THROAT

RATHER THAN BE CAPTURED.

TODAY IN ROMANIA, HE'S A NATIONAL HERO,

BUT WITH HIS DEATH,

DACIAN CULTURE IS SUPPRESSED RUTHLESSLY.

MAYBE THESE BURIAL MOUNDS DIDN'T OCCUR ALL AT ONCE,

BUT MAYBE THEY ARE THE TOMBS OF ANCIENT DACIANS

WHO WOULD BRING THEIR KINGS OR QUEENS OR CHIEFTAINS

HERE OVER TIME.

THIS THEORY HOLDS THAT THESE MOUNDS ARE PART

OF A REGION-WIDE NETWORK OF LANDSCAPE ELEMENTS

THAT ARE ACTUALLY LINKED AND HAVE MEANING

AS CEREMONIAL SITES TO THE DACIAN PEOPLE.

Narrator: THE ONLY WAY TO TEST OUT THE DACIAN THEORY

IS TO EXCAVATE, BUT WHEN ANDREW RINGS HIS LOCAL CONTACTS,

HE'S SURPRISED AT WHAT HE HEARS.

Gough: THAT WAS INTERESTING.

THEY TOLD ME THAT NOT ONLY ARE EXCAVATIONS BANNED

FROM THE SITE, BUT THEY ALWAYS HAVE BEEN,

SO WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S THERE.

EVEN DURING THE COMMUNIST REGIME

WHEN THE LANDS SURROUNDING THIS AREA

WERE DIVIDED UP FOR INDIVIDUAL AGRICULTURAL PLOTS,

NOBODY WOULD TOUCH THIS AREA.

THE AUTHORITIES LEFT THIS ALONE.

[ ENGINE STARTS ]

Narrator: SO WHAT IS EVERYONE SO SCARED OF?

ANDREW HEADS FOR SONA TO FIND OUT.

THE BLACKSMITH KNOWS ALL THE LOCAL LEGENDS.

GIANTS?

SO THERE IS TOO MUCH EARTH TO CARRY TO BE MADE BY MEN.

Narrator: THE MOUNDS ARE CERTAINLY GIANT SIZED,

BUT IT'S UNLIKELY THAT A MYTH ABOUT GIANT BOOT SCRAPINGS

IS ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY A GOVERNMENT BAN.

WHAT DO THE MOUNDS CONTAIN THAT THEY DON'T WANT DISTURBED?

RETURNING TO THE SATELLITE IMAGE,

ANDREW SEARCHES FOR ANY CLUES.

CLOSE BY, HE FINDS THE MEDIEVAL CITADEL OF SIGHISOARA.

IT'S A PLACE INFAMOUS FOR ONE THING ABOVE ALL ELSE.

THIS IS THE BIRTHPLACE OF VLAD DRACULA,

THE VERY REAL AND GENUINELY TERRIFYING PRINCE OF WALLACHIA.

Bellinger: VLAD WAS REVERED AS A HERO AMONG HIS OWN PEOPLE.

HE AS ABSOLUTELY VIEWED AS A TERRIBLE,

BLOOD THIRSTY VILLAIN BY HIS ENEMIES.

Narrator: VLAD IS BORN HERE IN SIGHISOARA IN 1431.

HIS FATHER IS A MEMBER OF THE ORDER OF DRAGONS, THE DRACUL,

HENCE VLAD'S CHILDHOOD NICKNAME DRACULA, SON OF THE DRAGON.

AS HE TURNS INTO THE MONSTER HE BECOMES,

HE GAINS ANOTHER CHILLING NAME, VLAD DRACULA THE IMPALER.

**

THIS IS THE ROOM WHERE DRACULA WAS BORN.

HOW AMAZING IS THAT?

AND THIS ONE PAINTING TELLS US WHY PEOPLE THOUGHT

VLAD THE IMPALER WAS DRACULA.

JUST LOOK AT THIS IMAGE.

HIS VICTIMS ARE BEING IMPALED

WHILE THESE PEOPLE ARE STILL ALIVE.

IT'S BLOODY. IT'S GORY. IT'S SHOCKING.

AND HE'S HAVING A MEAL WHILE THAT IS GOING ON.

IT MUST HAVE BEEN AN EXPRESSION OF ABSOLUTE POWER,

ALL OF HIS ENEMIES SURROUNDING HIM,

ALL OF THEM IMPALED AND DEAD AND HIM HAVING A MEAL.

Narrator: ACCORDING TO THE HISTORY BOOKS,

VLAD DRACULA IS KILLED BY OTTOMAN TROOPS IN 1476.

IT IS SAID HE WAS BEHEADED,

BUT IT IS STILL UNKNOWN EXACTLY WHERE HE WAS BURIED.

Gough: I CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER, SOMEONE SO INFAMOUS

AND SOMEONE WHOSE TOMB HAS NEVER BEEN FOUND,

COULD THE SATELLITE IMAGE, COULD THAT POSSIBLY BE

THE UNDISCOVERED TOMB OF VLAD AND HIS COURT?

Narrator: THE SHAPE OF THE MOUNDS DOES REFLECT

ONE KNOWN RITUAL OF VAMPIRE BURIAL IN TRANSYLVANIA.

VAMPIRE LORE AND VAMPIRE BURIALS

ARE STILL VERY COMMON IN THE AREA.

THERE'S A VERY STRONG BELIEF

THAT VAMPIRES CAN RISE FROM THE DEAD.

[ SCREAMING ]

Narrator: IN ORDER TO PREVENT VAMPIRES FROM RETURNING,

TRANSYLVANIAN VILLAGERS TURN THEIR GRAVEYARDS

INTO PRISONS FOR THE UNDEAD,

STAKING CORPSES IN THE HEART OR WEIGHING THEM DOWN WITH STONES.

Wolter: THERE HAVE BEEN GRAVES THAT HAVE BEEN FOUND

WITH LARGE STONES ON TOP OF THE DECEASED

TO KEEP THEM FROM RISING FROM THE DEAD

TO HAUNT THE LIVING AS VAMPIRES.

[ SCREAMING ]

IMAGINE LAYING OUT A MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY IN A COFFIN

BUT THEN HAVING TO TAKE THE ADDED PRECAUTION

OF DRIVING A STAKE THROUGH THEIR HEART,

COVERING THE BODY WITH STONES TO PREVENT THEM FROM RISING AGAIN.

Narrator: COULD THESE HUGE MOUNDS GLIMPSED

IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE BE MASSIVE STONES

OR PILES OF STONES DESIGNED TO WEIGH DOWN VAMPIRES?

Mosher: THESE MOUNDS ARE SO HUGE.

IF THERE ARE ANY VAMPIRES DOWN THERE,

THEY'RE SURE NOT GOING ANYWHERE,

BECAUSE THEY WEIGH TONS AND TONS.

Narrator: THE ONLY WAY TO BE CERTAIN IS TO

INVESTIGATE THE SITE THOROUGHLY, BUT THAT WOULD REQUIRE

CENTURIES OF SUPERSTITION TO BE OVERCOME.

NOBODY HAS DISTURBED THESE MOUNDS,

AND NOBODY SEEMS TO HAVE THE STOMACH TO DO IT.

I WOULD LOVE IF THIS COULD BE PROVEN

TO BE THE BURIAL PLACE OF VLAD,

BUT IT JUST SCREAMS OF A DACIAN CEMETERY,

A ROYAL CEMETERY.

THE ONLY WAY TO UNEARTH THE MYSTERY OF THESE MOUNDS

IS TO EXCAVATE WITH PROPER ARCHAEOLOGY.

UNTIL THAT HAPPENS, WE'RE JUST GOING TO BE GUESSING.

**

Narrator: COMING UP, AS RUSSIA BURNS,

THE WORLD HOLDS ITS BREATH.

TO SEE THAT SMOKE FROM 1.5 MILLION KILOMETERS

AWAY FROM OUR PLANET IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING.

Narrator: IN THE SUMMER OF 2016,

THE DEEP SPACE CLIMATE OBSERVATORY

PHOTOGRAPHS A HUGE CLOUD IN THE SKIES OVER SIBERIA.

THIS IMAGE IS EXTREMELY STRIKING.

WE CAN SEE THE CONTRAST OF BRIGHT WHITE CLOUDS

WITH THIS PLUME OF GRAY.

WE'RE LOOKING AT SOMETHING THAT WOULD ALMOST COVER THE ENTIRE

UNITED STATES.

WHATEVER IT MAY BE, IT'S NOT VERY GOOD

FOR WHOEVER IS ON THE GROUND THERE.

[ KEYBOARD KEYS TAPPING ]

Narrator: WHEN ANALYSTS EXAMINE THE IMAGE IN DETAIL,

THEY REALIZE SOMETHING IS SERIOUSLY WRONG.

Agrios: THIS PLUME OF GRAY DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A NORMAL CLOUD.

CLOUDS ARE WHITE.

IT'S USUALLY SMOKE THAT'S GRAY, NOT CLOUDS.

Narrator: BUT IF THIS IS SMOKE, WHATEVER WAS HAPPENING

ON THE GROUND MUST BE TRULY HORRIFIC,

ONE OF THE BIGGEST WILDFIRES IN HISTORY.

TO SEE THAT SMOKE FROM 1.5 MILLION KILOMETERS

AWAY FROM OUR PLANET IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING.

HOW COULD SOMETHING THIS MASSIVE ACTUALLY GET STARTED?

Narrator: SIBERIA REPRESENTS 57 % OF THE TOTAL LAND MASS

OF RUSSIA AND 10% OF THE EARTH'S SURFACE.

MUCH OF IT IS COVERED IN FOREST.

Wallace: SO THESE ARE PRECIOUS ECOSYSTEMS,

RICH WITH A TAPESTRY OF WILDLIFE UNLIKE ANY OTHER PLACE ON EARTH.

YOU HAVE SIBERIAN TIGERS, ARCTIC FOXES,

ALL SORTS OF MIGRATORY BIRDS.

Narrator: BUT WHAT COULD HAVE CAUSED AN INFERNO

ON SUCH AN INCREDIBLE SCALE?

Cerveny: IN THESE SUCH REMOTE LOCATIONS, BETWEEN 20% TO 40%

OF THE FIRES ARE LIGHTNING RELATED.

IT JUST TAKES ONE TO SPARK A FIRE WITH DRY ENOUGH

CONDITIONS UNDERNEATH TO IGNITE THE VEGETATION,

AND YOU'VE GOT A WILDFIRE ON YOUR HANDS.

Narrator: LIGHTNING CAUSES FIRE EVERYWHERE

BUT NEVER ANYTHING LIKE THIS.

WHAT'S MORE, IF THIS IS A NATURAL TRAGEDY,

WHY IS THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT TRYING TO KEEP IT A SECRET

AND THEN PLAYING DOWN THE SCALE?

THE RUSSIANS SAY IT'S ABOUT 2,500-SQUARE-MILE-BURN

OF FOREST FIRE BUT MIGHT BE AS BIG AS 10 TIMES THAT.

WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO HIDE?

Narrator: THERE IS A HISTORY OF COMMUNIST RUSSIA

COVERING UP DISASTERS.

IT TAKES TWO DAYS FOR MOSCOW TO ADMIT

THAT ANYTHING HAD HAPPENED AT CHERNOBYL,

THE WORLD'S WORST NUCLEAR ACCIDENT.

IT TAKES DECADES FOR THE FULL HORROR

OF THE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT

THAT SHRUNK THE ONCE HUGE ARAL SEA TO BECOME APPARENT.

BUT WHAT'S BEING COVERED UP HERE?

Pavelec: WE KNOW THAT THE RUSSIANS DON'T PRACTICE

THE SAME SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

AS THE AMERICANS AND THE BRITISH.

SO COULD THIS BE JUST WANTON DESTRUCTION

OF MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF NATURE

BECAUSE THEY WANT TO PERFECT MILITARY SYSTEMS?

Narrator: NO CONVENTIONAL WEAPON COULD CAUSE THE DEVASTATION

SEEN IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE.

BUT WHAT ABOUT UNCONVENTIONAL WEAPONS?

SUSPICION FALLS ON THE SURA IONOSPHERIC TESTING FACILITY.

THE SURA IONOSPHERIC RESEARCH STATION DOES THESE EXPERIMENTS

WHERE THEY SHOOT RADIO BLASTS UP INTO THE IONOSPHERE

TO SEE HOW THEY INTERACT WITH THE IONS.

YOU'VE GOT TO WONDER WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT.

SO NO ONE REALLY KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE UP TO,

BUT SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT FUTURE WEATHER WEAPONS

COULD LEAD TO CATASTROPHIC NATURAL DISASTERS

SUCH AS HURRICANES OR EARTHQUAKES.

IF THEY ARE PLAYING WITH THE WEATHER,

COULD THAT HAVE CAUSED THESE MASSIVE FIRES?

Narrator: BUT SOMETHING DOESN'T ADD UP.

WHEN I HEAR THINGS ABOUT A WEATHER-CONTROL FACILITY

CONSPIRING TO FORM THIS CONFLAGRATION,

IT REALLY MAKES ME WONDER WHAT THEY'RE DOING WRONG.

IF YOU HAVE WEATHER-MODIFICATION EQUIPMENT, WHY NOT PUT IT OUT?

Narrator: THERE IS ANOTHER EXPLANATION,

WHICH ALSO INVOLVES THE RUSSIAN MILITARY.

IN 2016, THEY CONDUCTED 16 ICBM TESTS.

BUT A NUMBER OF THESE TESTS END IN FAILURE.

COULD A STRAY ROCKET BE THE CAUSE?

Pavelec: THE LAUNCH FACILITIES FOR THE NEW-GENERATION ICBMs

WERE VERY CLOSE TO WHERE WE SEE THESE FOREST FIRES.

IF YOU WERE TO HAVE A LAUNCH OF A MISSILE THAT EXPLODED

AS IT WAS GETTING UP INTO THE HIGHER PARTS OF THE ATMOSPHERE,

THOSE LITTLE BITS COULD THEN FALL DOWN ON TO THE EARTH,

AND EACH ONE BECOMES AN IGNITION SOURCE,

A POINT OF SOURCE FOR STARTING ONE OF THESE FIRES.

Narrator: COLLATERAL DAMAGE FROM A FAILED MISSILE TEST

OFFERS A CONVINCING EXPLANATION FOR SOME OF THE FIRES,

BUT COULD IT ACCOUNT FOR ALL OF THEM?

Agrios: THE SHEER NUMBER OF FIRES HERE MAKE IT

REALLY UNLIKELY THAT THEY WERE STARTED BY A ROCKET

THAT CRASHED.

THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE HUNDREDS OF ROCKETS.

Narrator: WITH THE RUSSIANS CONTINUING TO STONEWALL,

WE MAY NEVER KNOW FOR SURE WHAT CAUSED THESE FIRES,

BUT THERE'S NO QUESTION THAT THEY WILL HAVE A GLOBAL IMPACT.

Agrios: THIS IS ONE OF THE LARGEST FORESTS IN THE WORLD,

SO THERE'S THIS REALLY STRONG CHANCE

THAT IT WILL JUST KEEP BURNING AND BURNING.

THESE FORESTS ARE LIKE THE LUNGS OF THE PLANET.

THEY STORE A LOT OF CARBON DIOXIDE

THAT WOULD REALLY BE CATASTROPHIC

TO HAVE RELEASED INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.

IT'S A CATASTROPHE THAT'S ON STEROIDS.