Original subtitles

Narrator: THEY'RE WATCHING YOU.

MORE THAN 4,000 SATELLITES CIRCLE THE EARTH.

EVERY DAY, THEY UNCOVER NEW

MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA THAT DEFY EXPLANATION.

WAKING THE DEAD ON DEVIL'S ISLAND.

ONE CAN FEEL THE HUMAN SUFFERING,

THE SOULS THAT WERE BEING DESTROYED.

Narrator: INVASION U.S.A.

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME ENEMY TROOPS HAVE BEEN ON

AMERICAN SOIL SINCE

THE BRITISH WERE IN THE WHITE HOUSE.

Narrator: AND NARCS VERSUS NARCOS ON THE HIGH SEAS.

Carter: THEY ARE WILLING TO DO ANYTHING IT TAKES,

AND GOD HELP ANYBODY THAT GETS IN THEIR WAY.

Narrator: BAFFLING PHENOMENA. MYSTERIES FROM SPACE.

WHAT ON EARTH ARE THEY?

**

**

THE TROPICAL RAINFORESTS OF EQUATORIAL SOUTH AMERICA.

MARK HORTON IS HEADING FOR A DESERTED ISLAND OFF

THE FORMER COLONY OF FRENCH GUIANA TO INVESTIGATE

A MYSTERIOUS SATELLITE IMAGE.

THIS ISLAND, ILE SAINT-JOSEPH,

IS PART OF THIS WHOLE ARCHIPELAGO,

WHICH IS COLLECTIVELY KNOWN AS DEVIL'S ISLAND,

ONE OF THE MOST HORRID PENAL COLONIES

THAT MAN HAS EVER CREATED.

Narrator: THE NOTORIOUS DEVIL'S ISLAND IS FORMED

OF THREE SEPARATE LAND MASSES.

BETWEEN THE MID-19th AND 20th CENTURIES,

THE FRENCH-RUN PENITENTIARY IS HOME TO 80,000

PRISONERS INCARCERATED IN THE MOST HORRIFIC

CONDITIONS IMAGINABLE.

[ DISTANT SHOUTING ]

SEVEN DECADES AFTER IT WAS SHUT DOWN,

A FEATURE ON THE PENAL COLONY HAS CAPTURED

THE ARCHAEOLOGIST'S TRAINED EYE.

Horton: THIS IS A REALLY RATHER INTRIGUING IMAGE.

WHAT I CAN SEE IS A SERIES OF THESE SORT OF

RECTANGULAR BLOCKS,

MAYBE 6-, 8-FOOT IN SIZE.

SO I THINK WHAT WE'RE PROBABLY LOOKING

AT HERE IS SOME FORM OF CEMETERY.

Narrator: WHAT BAFFLES HORTON IS THAT THE CEMETERY

APPEARS TO CONTAIN ONLY A FEW HUNDRED GRAVES.

WE HAVE RECORDS -- LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF PRISONERS

DIED ON THE ISLAND,

SO IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. THE NUMBERS ARE WRONG.

**

Narrator: EIGHT MILES OF OCEAN SEPARATE

DEVIL'S ISLAND FROM FRENCH GUIANA'S

VAST JUNGLE INTERIOR.

BONJOUR! HELLO! HI!

**

Narrator: FOR INMATES, THESE WATERS PROVIDED A STRONGER

DETERRENT AGAINST ESCAPE THAN ANY PRISON WALL.

SO, YOU'LL GET EATEN ALIVE

IF YOU DIDN'T DROWN IN THE WAVES.

Silbey: ESCAPE WAS ESSENTIALLY IMPOSSIBLE.

AS ONE WARDEN PUT IT, THERE WERE TWO

ETERNAL GUARDIANS -- THE SEA AND THE JUNGLE.

Narrator: THE FRENCH BEGIN SHIPPING CONVICTS

TO DEVIL'S ISLAND IN 1852.

IT MARKS THE START OF A CENTURY-LONG CAMPAIGN TO

RID THEIR COUNTRY OF A HUGE SPECTRUM OF CRIMINALS

AND UNDESIRABLES.

Morgan: THE ASSORTMENT OF PEOPLE CONDEMNED

WAS REALLY QUITE UNBELIEVABLE.

Silbey: YOU MIGHT BE A VAGRANT. YOU MIGHT BE A PETTY CRIMINAL.

YOU MIGHT BE A MURDERER -- THE FRENCH JUST DIDN'T CARE.

Narrator: PACKED LIKE CATTLE INTO TRANSPORT SHIPS

WITH SERIAL KILLERS AND PSYCHOPATHS,

MANY PRISONERS DO NOT SURVIVE THE 4,000-MILE JOURNEY

ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.

Bellinger: IT WAS AKIN TO THE MIDDLE PASSAGE WHERE

AFRICAN SLAVES WERE BROUGHT TO THE NEW WORLD.

THE BRUTALITY THAT BEGINS ON THE VOYAGE CONTINUES

ONCE THEY GET TO FRENCH GUIANA.

**

**

Narrator: UPON ARRIVAL, THE SURVIVING PRISONERS

FIND THEMSELVES IN A TROPICAL HELL,

ALIVE WITH PARASITES AND VENOMOUS INSECTS.

**

UP TO 80% DIE WITHIN THEIR FIRST YEAR ON THESE ISLANDS.

IT'S THERE -- THIS MUST BE THE CEMETERY

I CAN SEE ON THE SATELLITE MAP.

[ GRUNTS ]

HERE WE CAN SEE AN INSCRIPTION.

I CAN ACTUALLY READ...

THIS POOR MAN DIED ON CHRISTMAS DAY, 1865.

Narrator: WALKING AMONG THE DEAD CONFIRMS HORTON'S SUSPICION

THAT THIS CANNOT ACCOUNT

FOR THE HUGE NUMBER OF PRISONERS WHO PERISHED

ON THESE ISLANDS...

...YET REVEALS ANOTHER MYSTERY.

THE GRAVES SEEM TO CHANGE CHARACTER AT THIS END,

'CAUSE, LOOK, THEY'RE A LOT SMALLER.

THEY MUST BE

THE GRAVES OF CHILDREN, I THINK.

WHAT I CAN CONCLUDE FROM THIS

IS THAT THIS PLACE MUST BE

THE CEMETERY FOR THE GUARDS AND THE FAMILIES

LIVING ON THE ISLAND.

Narrator: GUARDS SENT TO DEVIL'S ISLAND OFTEN

BRING THEIR WIVES AND CHILDREN WITH THEM.

THEIR ACCOUNTS LAY BARE THE GRIM REALITY OF FAMILY LIFE

IN THE MOST ISOLATED PENITENTIARY

IN THE FRENCH EMPIRE.

THEY WERE LIVING CHEEK BY CHEEK WITH

THE WORST CRIMINALS THAT FRANCE COULD OFFER.

THEY WERE PAID TERRIBLY.

THEY TENDED TOWARDS ALCOHOLISM.

THEIR COMPENSATION WAS SO LOW THAT

THEIR WIVES OFTEN RESORTED TO PROSTITUTION.

SO, IT MADE FOR A DARK EXPERIENCE ON EVERY LEVEL.

I THINK THERE ARE

TWO QUESTIONS, I SUPPOSE, FROM THIS HAUNTED PLACE.

WHY DID SO MANY FAMILIES DIE HERE?

BUT ALSO, WHERE ARE THE GRAVES OF THE CONVICTS?

[ BIRD CALLING ]

Narrator: HORTON CONTINUES TO EXPLORE

THE ISLAND'S COASTLINE.

[ BIRD CALLING ]

WELL, THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME FORM OF ENCLOSURE.

ONE CAN SEE THE WALL CURVING ROUND,

AND ACTUALLY, THE STEPS COMING DOWN THE SIDE.

Narrator: HORTON BELIEVES THE ENCLOSURE

IS A COMMUNAL BATHING POOL,

ONE THAT HELPS EXPLAIN THE NUMBER OF GRAVES

IN THE CEMETERY.

IN THE LATE 19th CENTURY, I DON'T THINK PEOPLE FULLY

UNDERSTOOD HOW DISEASES COULD BE TRANSFERRED, AND HERE,

YOU'VE GOT A PLACE WHERE TRANSMISSION OF DISEASES COULD

TAKE PLACE SO EASILY,

BECAUSE AS THEY'RE BATHING, THEY'RE INGESTING

INFECTED WATER,

WHICH WOULD THEN JUST PASS THE DISEASE FROM ONE TO ANOTHER.

Narrator: 19th CENTURY RECORDS CONFIRM

THAT TRAPPED WITH THE PRISONERS ON THESE TINY ISLANDS,

WAVE AFTER WAVE OF DISEASE STALKS THE GUARDS

AND THEIR LOVED ONES.

SANITATION IS AWFUL.

THERE ISN'T SUFFICIENT MEDICAL CARE.

THERE'S ONLY ONE HOSPITAL FOR EVERYBODY.

AND VERY QUICKLY, THE CEMETERY BEGINS

TO FILL UP WITH DEAD GUARDS.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ALMOST A DEATH SENTENCE TO COME HERE

AS A FAMILY AS MUCH AS IT WAS

A DEATH SENTENCE FOR THE PRISONERS THEMSELVES.

[ BIRD CALLING ]

Narrator: YET THE MYSTERY REMAINS OF

THE WHEREABOUTS OF THESE THOUSANDS OF PRISONERS.

HORTON TREKS TO THE CENTER OF THE ISLAND,

SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS.

[ BIRD CALLING ]

AH! I DIDN'T EXPECT THIS UP HERE.

[ BIRD CALLING ]

Narrator: COMING UP, THE TRUTH IS MORE TERRIBLE

THAN HORTON COULD HAVE IMAGINED.

THIS JUST SHOWS YOU HOW VALUELESS HUMAN LIFE

WAS CONSIDERED.

Narrator: AND THE GHOST BATTLE OF ALASKA.

ONE OF THE VERY FEW TIMES IN HISTORY WHERE

AMERICAN TERRITORY HAS BEEN LOST TO A FOREIGN POWER.

**

**

Narrator: MARK HORTON IS ON SAINT-JOSEPH'S ISLAND,

PART OF THE INFAMOUS DEVIL'S ISLAND PENAL COLONY

IN FRENCH GUIANA.

A SATELLITE IMAGE OF A CEMETERY THERE

HAS CAUGHT THE ARCHAEOLOGIST'S ATTENTION.

THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH GRAVES HERE

FOR IT TO BE THE CEMETERY OF THE PRISONERS.

WE KNOW THAT THE CONVICTS DIED

IN THE THOUSANDS ON THESE ISLANDS.

Narrator: HORTON HOPES A GROUP OF BUILDINGS HIDDEN IN

THE CENTER OF THE ISLAND COULD HELP SHED SOME LIGHT.

-[ BIRD CALLS LOUDLY ] -OY!

THIS IS JUST AN ENORMOUS STRUCTURE.

**

JUST A HUGE COURTYARD

WITH THIS -- APPEARS TO BE A CELL BLOCK IN THE CENTER.

**

**

Narrator: THE LABYRINTHINE STRUCTURE IS FORMED

OF SEVERAL CORRIDORS LINED

WITH DOZENS OF SMALL, ROOFLESS CELLS.

HOW MANY CELLS ARE THERE? THERE MUST BE

40 OR 50 ALONG HERE.

EACH ONE IS ABSOLUTELY TINY.

**

Narrator: HORTON CAME LOOKING FOR EVIDENCE

OF WHERE THE INMATES ARE BURIED,

BUT HE'S FOUND SOMETHING EQUALLY DISTURBING...

...THE FEARED PUNISHMENT BLOCK OF SAINT-JOSEPH'S ISLAND.

THIS IS ONE OF THE SEGREGATION CELLS.

10-FOOT ALSO ACROSS AND ABOUT SIX-FOOT WIDE.

IT DOESN'T HAVE A ROOF. IT JUST HAS A GRILLE.

SO THAT THE PRISON GUARDS CAN LOOK DOWN.

SAINT-JOSEPH'S IS WHERE THE WORST OF THE WORST

ARE THROWN INTO SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.

AND THEY'RE FORBIDDEN FROM TALKING, WHICH GIVES IT

THE NICKNAME "THE ISLAND OF SILENCE."

Narrator: TRANSGRESSION AGAINST PRISON RULES

COULD SEE YOU SHACKLED ALONE

INSIDE ONE OF THESE CELLS FOR FIVE YEARS OR MORE.

OKAY, ON THE WALL,

WE HAVE GRAFFITI

CARVED THERE BY ONE OF THE PRISONERS WHO WAS HERE.

MAYBE THIS IS THE ONLY RECORD,

WHAT WE HAVE LEFT OF HIS EXISTENCE.

Narrator: EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS,

TORMENTED BY SADISTIC GUARDS,

AND BROKEN BY THE UNSPEAKABLE HELL OF TOTAL ISOLATION,

THE CELLBLOCK BECOMES KNOWN AS THE DEVOURER OF MEN.

THERE'S A KIND OF

EMBODIED EVIL HERE.

ONE CAN FEEL THE -- THE HUMAN SUFFERING,

THE SOULS OF THE CONVICTS THAT WERE BEING DESTROYED.

THIS PLACE JUST SHOWS YOU

HOW VALUELESS HUMAN LIFE WAS CONSIDERED.

Narrator: FOR OFFENSES SUCH AS ATTACKING A GUARD,

PRISONERS ARE TAKEN TO THE GUILLOTINE,

AND THEIR PICKLED HEADS

SENT BACK TO FRANCE AS PROOF OF EXECUTION.

**

HORTON THINKS THAT THESE PUNISHMENTS AND THE CONDITIONS

HE HAS WITNESSED OFFER CLUES

AS TO THE WHEREABOUTS OF THE MISSING DEAD INMATES.

SEEING THE UTTER LACK OF HUMANITY IN THE CELLS,

THEN ONE MUST ASK,

WHEN THE POOR CONVICTS DIED,

WERE THEY GOING TO BE GIVEN ANY MORE DIGNITY

IN DEATH AS THEY HAD IN LIFE?

AND I THINK

WHAT I CAN CONCLUDE FROM THIS

IS THAT THE CHEAPEST AND EASIEST EXPEDIENT

WAS TO TAKE THEM OUT TO SEA

AND DUMP THEIR BODIES.

Narrator: ACCOUNTS FROM SURVIVING INMATES CONFIRM THAT

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CORPSES

WERE THROWN INTO THESE WATERS TO BE FEASTED ON BY SHARKS.

AND OVER THE YEARS, A MACABRE RITUAL

DEVELOPS BETWEEN THE GUARDS AND THE MARINE PREDATORS.

THE BIZARRE THING IS THEY ACTUALLY RANG A BELL,

AND THE SHARKS KNEW THAT THAT MEANT DINNERTIME,

AND SO THEY WOULD GATHER AROUND, AND THE BODIES WOULD BE

TOSSED OVERBOARD, AND THE SHARKS WOULD

FEAST ON HUMAN FLESH.

ANOTHER GRUESOME DETAIL WAS THAT THOSE SHARKS

WERE BEING FISHED BY LOCALS,

AND THEN THEY WOULD SELL THEM TO THE PRISON

WHERE THEY WERE USED AS FOOD TO FEED THE INMATES.

Narrator: IT'S STILL NOT KNOWN HOW MANY PRISONERS

FELL VICTIM TO THIS CANNIBALISTIC RECYCLING.

WHAT IS CLEAR IS THAT THE BLEMISH SEEN FROM THE SKIES

IS BOTH A STAIN ON THE HISTORY

OF FRANCE AND A REMINDER OF MAN'S

INHUMANITY TO FELLOW MAN.

THAT SATELLITE IMAGE

HAS UNLOCKED FOR ME

THE MOST HORRENDOUS EXPERIENCE,

A BRUTAL PENAL REGIME

IN WHICH EVERYONE SUFFERED --

THE GUARDS, THEIR FAMILIES, AND THE CONVICTS.

**

Narrator: COMING UP,

BATTLEFIELD USA.

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BOMBED

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Narrator: AND A MYSTERY RISES FROM THE DEPTHS.

Bellinger: I CAN'T IMAGINE WHO BUILT IT,

WHEN, OR WHY.

**

**

Narrator: OCTOBER 4, 2018.

480 MILES ABOVE THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS

IN THE NORTHERN PACIFIC OCEAN,

A SATELLITE PHOTOGRAPHS THIS.

Morgan: ON THE ISLAND OF KISKA,

THE SATELLITE HAS CAPTURED A SERIES OF RECTANGULAR SHAPES.

THEY HAVE A SYMMETRY.

IT SUGGESTS THAT THEY WERE BUILT BY HUMAN HANDS.

Narrator: KISKA IS PART OF ALASKA, YET SITS 800 MILES

SOUTHWEST OF THE MAINLAND IN FREEZING STORMY SEAS.

Merritt: THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST REMOTE PLACES IN THE WORLD,

AND YET THERE DEFINITELY APPEARS TO BE EVIDENCE

OF SOME SORT OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT.

Narrator: CLOSER ANALYSIS REVEALS SOMETHING DISTURBING.

Morgan: THERE ARE A SERIES OF CRATERS

AMONG THESE RECTANGULAR STRUCTURES.

THE CRATERS APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN PRODUCED BY BOMBS.

Narrator: AN ALASKAN SETTLEMENT,

LARGE ENOUGH TO HOUSE MANY HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE,

HAS BEEN WIPED OUT BY SUSTAINED HEAVY BOMBARDMENT.

THE SATELLITE IMAGERY OF THIS ISLAND

IS FASCINATING -- IT'S A WAR ZONE

ON AMERICAN TERRITORY.

Morgan: IT BRINGS UP THE NEXT BIG QUESTION --

WHO WAS BOMBING THE UNITED STATES?

FIRE!

Narrator: SINCE THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE,

THE U.S. HAS INVADED OR HAD A MILITARY PRESENCE IN

ALL BUT THREE COUNTRIES ON EARTH.

YET ONLY A HANDFUL OF NATIONS HAVE DARED TO RETURN THE FAVOR.

THE SATELLITE IMAGE HAS CAPTURED

THE GHOSTLY LEGACY OF ONE OF THEM.

I THINK THESE CRATERS ARE EVIDENCE OF ONE OF THE MOST

REMARKABLE BUT FORGOTTEN CHAPTERS OF WORLD WAR II,

THE JAPANESE INVASION OF AMERICA.

[ EXPLOSION BLASTS ]

Narrator: THE STORY OF JAPAN'S AUDACIOUS INVASION OF

AMERICA BEGINS IN EARLY JUNE 1942.

WHILE THE MIGHT OF THE U.S. NAVY

IS DIVERTED 1700 MILES SOUTH FOR THE PIVOTAL

BATTLE OF MIDWAY,

A FLEET OF ENEMY WARSHIPS CREEPS TOWARDS THE ISLAND

IN THE IMAGE.

THE JAPANESE STRATEGY WAS PARTLY TO DIVERT

AMERICAN STRENGTH AT A CRITICAL MOMENT

IN THE PACIFIC WAR.

WE KNEW THAT THEY WERE AIMING AT THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS.

BUT THE WEATHER WAS ROUGH,

AND WE LOSE THIS JAPANESE INVASION FLEET

AS IT GETS CLOSE.

Narrator: USING THE BAD WEATHER AS COVER,

ON JUNE 6th, MORE THAN 500 JAPANESE MARINES

LAUNCH A SURPRISE ATTACK ON KISKA.

THEY SWIFTLY OVERPOWER THE 10 U.S. SOLDIERS BASED THERE

AND RAISE THE RISING SUN FLAG OVER THE ISLAND.

THE JAPANESE KNEW THAT THEY COULD MAKE A BIG

STATEMENT IN INVADING A TERRITORY

OF THE UNITED STATES.

THIS IS PSYCHOLOGICALLY A GREAT SHOCK.

[ SHOUTING ]

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME ENEMY TROOPS HAVE BEEN

ON AMERICAN SOIL SINCE

THE WAR OF 1812 WHEN THE BRITISH LAND,

AND THEY BURN THE WHITE HOUSE.

Narrator: ON JUNE 7th, THE JAPANESE ALSO

CAPTURE NEIGHBORING ATTU ISLAND.

OVER THE FOLLOWING MONTHS,

THEY ESTABLISH NAVAL AND SUBMARINE BASES ON KISKA

AND STATION OVER 7,000 MEN THERE.

Albertson: THESE BASES WERE FAIRLY ADVANCED

AND COULD PROVIDE A JUMPING OFF POINT AGAINST

THE AMERICAN WEST COAST IF THE JAPANESE INVASION EVER CAME.

Narrator: IN RESPONSE, U.S. FORCES BLITZ

THE JAPANESE POSITIONS WITH 6 MILLION POUNDS

OF BOMBS, PRODUCING THE CRATERS IN THE IMAGE.

YET THE ISLANDS REMAIN UNDER ENEMY CONTROL

FOR A FULL NINE MONTHS.

STUNG BY THEIR RESISTANCE, ON MAY 11, 1943,

THE U.S. LAUNCHES A MASSIVE AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT ON ATTU.

THE ENEMY VERY INTELLIGENTLY ALLOWS US TO GET ASHORE

AND THEN OPPOSES US IN THE CHALLENGING TERRAIN INLAND.

THEY HAVE A TACTICAL SOPHISTICATION THAT WILL

HAUNT US FOR THE REST OF THE WAR.

**

Narrator: THE U.S. AND CANADIAN TROOPS ARE POORLY EQUIPPED FOR

THE FREEZING TERRAIN AND ILL-PREPARED FOR THE FIERCE

JAPANESE RESISTANCE.

[ GUNSHOTS FIRING ]

Pavelec: IT'S A BLOOD BATH -- THE JAPANESE GARRISON OF

ABOUT 2,500 FIGHT ABSOLUTELY TO THE DEATH.

IT'S COMPLETE CARNAGE.

Narrator: IT TAKES TWO WEEKS AND THE LOSS OF HUNDREDS OF

ALLIED SOLDIERS FOR THE U.S. TO GAIN THE UPPER HAND.

Wawro: ONCE THE JAPANESE ARE CORNERED AND NEARLY WIPED OUT,

THEY TAKE ALL SURVIVING TROOPS

AND LAUNCH THEM IN A LAST DITCH BANZAI CHARGE AGAINST

THE ENCROACHING ALLIED TROOPS,

[ SHOUTS INDISTINCTLY ]

AND ALL ARE EITHER SHOT DOWN OR CAPTURED.

Narrator: WITH ATTU FINALLY SECURED, THE U.S. UNLEASHES

A 35,000-STRONG ASSAULT ON KISKA.

U.S. AND CANADIAN FORCES CAME FAR BETTER PREPARED

AT KISKA THAN THEY WERE AT ATTU,

BUT THEY SHOW UP TO FIND NO ENEMY THERE TO FIGHT THEM.

Pavelec: THIS WAS CALLED THE GHOST BATTLE OF KISKA,

BECAUSE IT TURNED OUT THERE WASN'T ACTUALLY A BATTLE.

THE JAPANESE HAD ALREADY ABANDONED THE ISLAND.

Narrator: BY AUGUST 15, 1943,

BOTH ISLANDS ARE BACK UNDER U.S. CONTROL.

75 YEARS LATER, THE SCARS OF THIS BIZARRE PERIOD IN

MILITARY HISTORY REMAIN FROZEN IN TIME

AND VISIBLE FROM SPACE.

Morgan: AND SO, IN THIS SATELLITE IMAGE,

WE'RE SEEING EVIDENCE WHERE THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

BOMBED THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

**

Narrator: COMING UP, UNIDENTIFIED FLOATING OBJECTS.

IT LOOKS LIKE A BUNCH OF DRUNKEN SPIDERS RUNNING

ALL ACROSS THE SCREEN.

Narrator: AND CODE OF THE ANCIENTS.

WHATEVER IT IS, IT COULD BE THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD.

**

**

Narrator: SATELLITES SCAN THE EARTH'S OCEANS 24/7,

TRACKING THE GPS SIGNALS TRANSMITTED BY SEAGOING VESSELS.

ALL MODERN SHIPS, BOTH MILITARY AND CIVILIAN,

ARE OUTFITTED WITH SATELLITE AND LINK SYSTEMS THAT CAN PROVIDE

THE LOCATION OF ANY SHIP ANYWHERE AROUND THE WORLD.

Narrator: ON OCTOBER 5, 2016, GPS DATA

EMERGES THAT APPEARS TO MAKE NO SENSE.

THIS IS THE MOST CONFUSING TRACKING IMAGE I'VE EVER SEEN.

THERE'S NO RHYME OR REASON TO THIS.

IT'S INCREDIBLE, WHAT LOOKS LIKE A BUNCH

OF DRUNKEN SPIDERS RUNNING ALL ACROSS THE SCREEN.

FORMER CIA OPERATIVE LINDSAY MORAN

STUDIES THE WEIRD SIGNALS

AND DISCOVERS SOMETHING STRANGE.

THERE ARE U.S. COAST GUARD REPORTS

OF GPS BLIPS

IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN

MOVING IN THE SAME KIND OF ERRATIC WAY

THAT WE'RE SEEING HERE.

Narrator: IN 2017, DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENTS

INVESTIGATE A GROUP OF MYSTERY OBJECTS

WEAVING THROUGH THE WATERS OFF EL SALVADOR.

WHAT THEY FIND ARE THESE LARGE BUOYS

SCATTERED THROUGH THE OCEAN.

BUT WHAT THEY'RE SHOCKED TO DISCOVER

IS THAT THEY'RE PACKED WITH HARD DRUGS.

Narrator: AGENTS BELIEVE THAT NARCOS

LOADED THE GPS-FITTED BUOYS WITH 1,000 POUNDS OF COCAINE

AND USED CURRENTS TO SMUGGLE THEM

ACROSS VAST TRACTS OF OCEAN.

USING THESE NARCO BUOYS IS ACTUALLY A VERY CLEVER PLOY,

BECAUSE THEY DON'T DRAW ANYBODY'S ATTENTION,

AND THROUGH GPS, YOU CAN ALWAYS TRACK THEM

AND PICK THEM UP WHEN YOU WANT.

Narrator: THE GPS BUOYS REPRESENT THE CARTEL'S

LATEST ATTEMPT TO RETAIN CONTROL

OF THE $400 BILLION GLOBAL DRUG TRADE.

ONE THING THE CARTELS ARE, IT'S INGENIOUS.

THEY ALWAYS FIND A WAY TO GET THEIR DRUGS

FROM POINT A TO POINT B,

AND GOD HELP ANYBODY THAT GETS IN THEIR WAY.

Narrator: IN RECENT YEARS, THE U.S.

HAS INTERCEPTED SEVERAL CUSTOM-BUILT SUBMARINES,

SEIZING BOTH THE NARCOTICS AND TRAFFICKERS TRAPPED INSIDE.

BUT THE DRUG BUOYS ENABLE THE CARTELS

TO STAY ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE LAW.

Moran: THE REASON THIS IS A PARTICULARLY CUNNING PLOY IS

THAT WHEN THE AUTHORITIES GET THERE,

THERE'S NOBODY THERE TO ARREST.

Carter: SO COULD THIS BE WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THESE IMAGES,

THESE BUOYS JUST RANDOMLY BOBBING ABOUT ALONG THE SEA?

ZOOLOGIST ROLAND KAYS INVESTIGATES.

HE THINKS THE PATTERN IS NOT TYPICAL OF MARINE VESSELS.

THEY'RE ALL HEADED TOWARDS SOME SORT OF SIMILAR GOAL

AND MOVING MORE OR LESS AT THE SAME SPEED.

IT REMINDS ME OF PATTERNS I'VE SEEN WHERE YOU PUT

A DEVICE ON AN ANIMAL TO LEARN ABOUT

THEIR MOVEMENTS AND MIGRATIONS.

Narrator: IT APPEARS THAT SATELLITES HAVE CAPTURED ONE OF

THE MOST MYSTERIOUS AND SPECTACULAR EVENTS

IN THE NATURAL WORLD.

WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE IS ONE OF THE GREATEST MIGRATIONS

ON EARTH, MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF EUROPEAN EELS

STARTING IN THE FRESHWATER LAKES AND RIVERS

OF EUROPE AND HEADING OUT TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.

Narrator: THE EUROPEAN EEL IS A SNAKE-LIKE FISH

WHOSE LIFECYCLE HAS LONG BAFFLED SCIENTISTS.

FOR MILLENNIA, IT WAS BELIEVED THAT THEY

WERE MAGICAL CREATURES THAT MATERIALIZED OUT OF NOTHING.

THE EUROPEAN EEL HAS A LONG HISTORY IN MYTH AND LEGEND.

ARISTOTLE THOUGHT THAT EELS JUST SPONTANEOUSLY APPEARED,

BECAUSE NO ONE HAD EVER SEEN THEM BREED.

Narrator: IT WASN'T UNTIL THE 20th CENTURY THAT SCIENTISTS

DISCOVERED EELS BEGIN THEIR LIVES

3,000 MILES FROM EUROPE IN THE SARGASSO SEA.

YET THEIR EPIC MIGRATION THERE REMAINS SHROUDED IN MYSTERY.

WE KNOW THEY START IN EUROPE,

AND WE KNOW THEY END UP IN THE SARGASSO SEA,

BUT HOW THEY GET THERE, WHAT THEIR ROUTES ARE,

IS COMPLETELY UNKNOWN.

Narrator: WHEN SCIENTISTS TAGGED A NUMBER OF EELS,

SATELLITES CAPTURED THEIR EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY

FOR THE FIRST TIME.

THOUGH THEY CAN REACH AGES OF 80 YEARS OR MORE,

EUROPEAN EELS MIGRATE ONLY ONCE IN THEIR LIVES.

THE TRACKING DATA REVEALS

ALMOST ALL PERISH AS THEY BATTLE TO CROSS THE ATLANTIC.

THESE EELS HAVE TO RUN THE GAUNTLET.

THEY'VE GOT HUMAN PREDATORS.

THEY'VE GOT ANIMAL PREDATORS.

THEY HAVE ALL KINDS OF BARRIERS TO PASS THROUGH

TO MAKE IT TO THIS BREEDING GROUND.

Narrator: EVEN FOR THOSE THAT SURVIVE,

IT'S A ONE-WAY TICKET -- AFTER THEY MATE, THEY DIE.

THE LOVE LIFE OF AN EEL IS ONE OF THE SORT OF ROMANTIC,

TRAGIC STORIES WHERE THEY HAVE ONE CHANCE TO BREED

SO THEY'VE GOT TO MAKE THE MOST OF IT.

Narrator: ONCE THEIR EGGS HATCH,

THE LARVA ARE CARRIED BACK ON OCEAN CURRENTS TOWARDS EUROPE,

A VOYAGE THAT TAKES UP TO THREE YEARS.

SWARMS OF JUVENILES, CALLED ELVERS,

THEN MOVE UPRIVER BEFORE THE PERILOUS CYCLE

BEGINS ONCE AGAIN.

BUT THEIR NUMBERS ARE IN SHARP DECLINE.

AND BIZARRELY, THIS, IN PART, IS DUE TO THE NARCOS.

AS IF NATURAL PREDATORS AND THE USUAL OBSTACLES

THESE EUROPEAN EELS FACE ARE NOT ENOUGH, COCAINE USE

FROM MAJOR CITIES IS LEACHING INTO THE WATER

AND IS BECOMING A PROBLEM FOR THE EELS.

Narrator: RIVER SAMPLES TAKEN NEAR LONDON'S HOUSES OF

PARLIAMENT REVEAL HIGH LEVELS OF THE NARCOTIC,

RESIDUE FROM COCAINE USERS' URINE

BEING FLUSHED INTO THE WATER SUPPLY.

AS THE EELS INGEST THIS DRUG-LACED WATER,

IT DISORIENTS THEM AND AFFECTS THEIR ABILITY TO NAVIGATE TO

THE DISTANT BREEDING GROUNDS OF THE SARGASSO SEA.

SO I SUPPOSE THAT, IN SOME WAYS, DRUGS ARE AT LEAST

PARTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ERRATIC NATURE

THAT WE'RE SEEING IN THESE EELS' SATELLITE TRACKING PATHS.

**

Narrator: COMING UP, THE CIRCLE OF DEATH.

THERE ARE STORIES OF CARCASSES ROTTING IN THE SUN.

Narrator: AND THE MYSTERY DESERT BLACK SITE.

Carter: ALMOST ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN THIS FACILITY,

AND, MORE THAN LIKELY, WE WOULD NEVER KNOW.

**

**

Narrator: NOVEMBER 1, 2015.

AS ENGINEERS DRAIN A BODY OF WATER

ON THE CANADIAN SHORES OF LAKE SUPERIOR,

A MYSTERY RISES FROM ITS DEPTHS.

Paul: WHAT WE SEE HERE IS A CIRCULAR STRUCTURE.

IT APPEARS TO BE MADE OUT OF STONE.

IT'S REALLY STRANGE.

I CAN'T IMAGINE WHO BUILT IT, WHEN, OR WHY.

Narrator: LOCAL HISTORIC RECORDS REVEAL

THE LAKE IS MANMADE, CREATED IN 1901.

CLEARLY, WHATEVER IT WAS WAS BUILT BEFORE

THIS LAKE WAS HERE.

THAT MEANS THAT THIS STRUCTURE IS FAIRLY ANCIENT.

IN FACT, IT COULD BE THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD.

Narrator: FOR SCHOLARS OF NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY,

THE ANCIENT CIRCLE IS A RARE AND HIGHLY

SIGNIFICANT DISCOVERY.

ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WITH DOING NATIVE AMERICAN

ARCHAEOLOGY IS THAT THERE IS NOT A LOT OF PHYSICAL MATERIAL.

HOWEVER, ONE THING THEY DID LEAVE BEHIND WERE TIPI CIRCLES.

Narrator: RINGS OF STONE WERE ONCE USED TO SECURE TIPIS

AGAINST THE VICIOUS WINDS THAT SWEEP ACROSS THE PLAINS.

WHEN THE FIRST EUROPEAN SETTLERS MOVED WEST,

THEY FIND THE LANDSCAPE LITTERED WITH THEM,

FOOTPRINTS OF THE NOMADIC TRIBES' MOVEMENTS

ACROSS HISTORY.

BUT KAREN BELLINGER DOES NOT THINK

THE STRUCTURE IN THE IMAGE SERVED THE SAME PURPOSE.

IF THIS WAS A TIPI RING, IT WAS A TIPI FOR GIANTS.

YOUR TYPICAL RING WAS EIGHT TO MAYBE 25 FEET IN DIAMETER.

THIS IS NEARLY 100.

ITS SIZE MAKES ME WONDER,

WAS THIS PERHAPS A CEREMONIAL STRUCTURE

FOR A FIRST NATIONS GROUP?

Narrator: THE GREAT LAKES ARE THE HOMELAND OF THE ANISHINAABE

GROUP OF PEOPLES, WHO MIGRATE HERE IN THE 16th CENTURY.

MANY ARE MEMBERS OF AN ANCIENT,

SECRETIVE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY CALLED THE MIDEWIWIN.

THE MIDEWIWIN VISION OF THE UNIVERSE

IS ONE OF A SERIES OF CIRCLES POPULATED BY MANIDOOG,

OR SPIRITS THAT OFTEN TAKE ANIMAL FORM.

Bellinger: THERE WERE INITIATION RITES AND OTHER CEREMONIES,

BUT THE DETAILS OF THE MIDEWIWIN REMAINS SHROUDED

IN SECRECY FOR ANYONE WHO'S NOT

AN INITIATED MEMBER OF THE TRIBE.

Narrator: AS EUROPEANS SPREAD INTO ANISHINAABE LANDS,

THEY BECOME SUSPICIOUS OF THE MIDEWIWIN AND ATTEMPT

TO ERASE THEM FROM HISTORY.

THERE IS FEAR ABOUT MYSTERIOUS

OR UNKNOWN SYSTEMS OF BELIEF,

AND THE MIDEWIWIN WAS A CASUALTY OF THIS KIND OF

CONSERVATIVE BACKLASH.

IT COULD BE THE REMAINS OF A MIDEWIWIN LODGE.

Narrator: JOE WATKINS SPECIALIZES IN

NATIVE AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY.

RATHER THAN A SPIRITUAL STRUCTURE,

HE THINKS THIS COULD HAVE ONCE

BEEN THE SCENE OF MASS SLAUGHTER.

BISON HUNTERS USED TO CREATE STRUCTURES

THAT THEY WOULD CHANNEL BISON INTO.

THIS CIRCULAR STRUCTURE WITH A FAIRLY LARGE OPENING,

VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE ARE SEEING IN THE IMAGE.

Narrator: HUNTING BISON WAS SO VITAL

TO NATIVE AMERICAN PEOPLES THAT MANY WORSHIPPED

THE ANIMALS AND BELIEVED THEIR MIGRATIONS ACROSS THE PLAINS

WERE CONTROLLED BY CELESTIAL POWERS,

MIGRATIONS THAT, AT ONE POINT, NUMBERED

IN THE TENS OF MILLIONS OF ANIMALS.

IT IS SAID THAT IF YOU TOOK ALL THE BISON AND SPREAD THEM

NOSE TO TAIL,

THEY WOULD HAVE GONE AROUND THE EQUATOR

NEARLY 1.5 TIMES.

Narrator: FOR HUNTERS, A SINGLE BULL

COULD PROVIDE 800 POUNDS OF MEAT

AND MORE THAN 45 SQUARE FEET OF HIDE.

BUT THIS BOUNTY DID NOT COME EASY.

HUNTING BISON WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.

BISON ARE ABOUT SIX FOOT TALL AT THE SHOULDER.

THEY CAN WEIGH TWO TONS.

THEY CAN RUN UP TO 30 MILES AN HOUR.

Narrator: TO STALK AND LURE THE GIANT BEASTS,

HUNTERS MIMIC WILD ANIMALS AND LURE THEM USING SO-CALLED

BUFFALO STONES, FOSSILS WHICH THEY BELIEVED

WERE IMBUED WITH MAGICAL POWERS.

Watkins: THERE WERE DIFFERENT WAYS TO HUNT BISON.

ONE WAY WAS ACTUALLY TO STAMPEDE

THE BISON OFF OF A CLIFF,

WHAT'S CALLED A BUFFALO JUMP,

OR THEY WOULD CONSTRUCT THESE POUNDS

TO DISPATCH THE ANIMALS ONE BY ONE.

Narrator: USING THESE HUNTING METHODS,

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND THE ANIMALS THEY REVERE

AND RELY ON COEXIST FOR COUNTLESS GENERATIONS.

BUT AROUND 1830, FRONTIERSMEN BEGIN SLAUGHTERING THE BEASTS

AT THE RATE OF UP TO TWO MILLION A YEAR.

BY 1884, ONLY 325 WILD BISON

REMAIN IN EXISTENCE.

THERE ARE STORIES OF BISON CARCASSES

ON THE GREAT PLAINS ROTTING IN THE SUN.

ONCE THE BISON DISAPPEARED,

THE PLAINS WAY OF LIFE DISAPPEARED ALSO.

Narrator: AS THE ANIMALS THEY SO DESPERATELY RELY ON

VANISH FROM THE PLAINS,

SO DO MANY OF THE TRIBES' BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS.

SUCH IS THE DECIMATION OF THEIR HISTORY THAT WATKINS

REMAINS UNSURE AS TO WHAT PURPOSE

THE STRANGE CIRCLE FULFILLED FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY

PEOPLE THAT ONCE RULED THESE LANDS.

IT'S A LITTLE FAR EAST TO BE

PRIME BUFFALO AREAS.

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO RELY ON FUTURE RESEARCH TO GIVE US

BETTER EVIDENCE ABOUT WHAT THIS STRUCTURE REALLY IS.

Narrator: COMING UP, THE SECRET DESERT WAR.

THAT USUALLY MEANS ONE THING -- SPECIAL FORCES.

**

**

Narrator: SEPTEMBER 20, 2017.

A SATELLITE SCANNING THE COASTLINE OF ERITREA ON

THE HORN OF AFRICA CAPTURES SOMETHING

THAT SEEMS OUT OF PLACE.

Mosher: WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE IS

A DESERT FACILITY FAR AWAY FROM ANY CIVILIZATION.

Patel: THIS IS SOME PRETTY SERIOUS INFRASTRUCTURE.

WHY WOULD YOU NEED TO BUILD SOMETHING

OF THIS KIND OF MAGNITUDE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT?

Narrator: A 100-MILLION-SQUARE-FOOT FACILITY

WITH A TWO-MILE-LONG RUNWAY

HAS QUICKLY RISEN OUT OF THE DESERT IN ONE OF

THE POOREST COUNTRIES ON EARTH.

[ BIRDS CHIRPING ]

WHEN ANALYSTS UNCOVER LAND RECORDS, THE MYSTERY DEEPENS.

Mosher: EVEN THOUGH IT'S IN ERITREA,

THE SITE IS ACTUALLY FUNDED BY THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES.

WHAT ARE THE U.A.E. DOING THAT

NEEDS TO BE SEQUESTERED AWAY FROM HABITATION?

Narrator: ASTROPHYSICIST ATHENA BRENSBERGER HAS A THEORY.

THE U.A.E. IS ACTUALLY

PURSUING A VERY AMBITIOUS SPACE MISSION,

AND THERE'S NUMEROUS PARTS OF THIS IMAGE

THAT LOOKS SIMILAR TO HOW SPACEPORTS LOOK.

Narrator: MONEY MADE FROM PRODUCING OIL IS FUNDING

A SPACE MISSION TO UNDERSTAND THE CAUSE

OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON MARS.

Mosher: THE U.A.E. WANTS TO UNDERSTAND,

IN PART, WHY THE PLANET LOST MOST OF ITS AIR.

THE MORE DATA WE HAVE OUT THERE,

THE BETTER WE CAN UNDERSTAND MARS AND IMPROVE OUR PROSPECTS

OF MAYBE TURNING THE PLANET INTO A HABITABLE ONE.

Brensberger: THERE'S BUILDINGS WHERE THEY COULD BE BUILDING

ROCKET PARTS, MAYBE EVEN THE SPACECRAFT ITSELF.

Narrator: INTELLIGENCE ANALYSTS STUDY THE IMAGE.

THEY DISMISS THE SPACEPORT THEORY.

I START TO SEE SEVERAL THINGS THAT ARE

INDICATORS TO ME THAT THIS IS A MILITARY OPERATION.

CARGO PLANES AND FIGHTER JETS,

I SEE CHINOOK HELICOPTERS IN THESE IMAGES,

AND THAT USUALLY MEANS ONE THING --

SPECIAL FORCES.

Narrator: SARA CARTER THINKS THE SATELLITE HAS UNCOVERED

A CLANDESTINE MILITARY FACILITY BUILT

BY THE U.A.E. ON FOREIGN SOIL.

ITS LOCATION ON THE RED SEA OFFERS MORE CLUES.

LOOKING AT THIS IMAGE

ACROSS FROM IT, WE HAVE YEMEN,

AND U.A.E. ARE IN A PROXY WAR WITH IRAN OVER YEMEN.

Narrator: SINCE 2015, YEMEN HAS BEEN SUFFERING FROM

A BRUTAL CIVIL WAR,

WHICH HAS CLAIMED OVER 100,000 LIVES AND DISPLACED

THREE MILLION PEOPLE.

THE VIOLENT TURMOIL HAS ALLOWED TERRORIST GROUPS,

INCLUDING ISIS AND AL QAEDA, TO INFILTRATE THE COUNTRY.

Albertson: BOTH GROUPS ARE REALLY CAPITALIZING ON

THE DISAFFECTION AND CHAOS

IN YEMEN BY SETTING UP SHOP THERE.

[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]

[ LOUD GUNFIRE ]

Narrator: IN RECENT YEARS, ISIS AND AL QAEDA HAVE SUFFERED

A SERIES OF DEFEATS ELSEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

THE FEAR IS THE TURMOIL IN YEMEN IS ALLOWING

THE JIHADISTS TO REGROUP AND RECOVER THEIR STRENGTH,

READY TO LAUNCH YET MORE ATTACKS IN THE WEST.

Carter: YOU HAVE THE WORST OF THE WORST, RIGHT?

YOU HAVE A BROKEN SYSTEM,

A COUNTRY THAT'S FAILING, AND A DIVIDED NATION.

[ SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE ]

Narrator: SEVERAL ARAB STATES CLAIM IRAN

IS FUNDING THE TERRORISTS, MORE EVIDENCE,

THEY BELIEVE, OF A POWER GRAB BY TEHRAN IN THE REGION.

IT PROMPTS THE U.A.E. TO JOIN FORCES WITH SAUDI ARABIA

AND CONDUCT SECRET AIR STRIKES ON YEMEN.

Albertson: IT WOULD MAKE SENSE FOR THE U.A.E. TO HAVE

A BASE HERE, BECAUSE IT IS THE INTEREST OF THE U.A.E.

TO STOP WHAT'S GOING ON IN YEMEN

AND TO ROLL BACK THE INFLUENCE OF IRAN IN THE REGION.

Narrator: THE U.A.E. AIRSTRIKES HAVE KILLED COUNTLESS

INNOCENT CIVILIANS, INCLUDING YOUNG CHILDREN,

AND CARTER DISCOVERS THAT THE SITE IN THE IMAGE ALSO

SERVES A SECONDARY, EQUALLY TROUBLING PURPOSE.

I HAVE TALKED TO U.S. INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS

ABOUT THIS -- WHAT THE SUSPICION IS NOW

IS THAT THERE ARE BLACK SITES

WHERE HIGH LEVEL TARGETS COULD BE CAPTURED

AND TRANSPORTED TO UNDERGO QUESTIONING.

Narrator: THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES AND SAUDI ARABIA,

BOTH, IN THEORY, ALLIES OF THE U.S.,

MAY BE EXTRACTING SUSPECTS FROM YEMEN AND TORTURING THEM

AT THE SITE IN THE IMAGE.

AND THE LATEST INVESTIGATIONS SUGGEST THIS IS JUST

ONE OF 18 SECRET TORTURE CENTERS IN ERITREA.

Carter: JOURNALISTS JUST DON'T OPERATE IN THE REGION,

SO ALMOST ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN THIS FACILITY,

AND, MORE THAN LIKELY, WE WOULD NEVER KNOW.