It is rare to find blatant examples of Alien writing on planet Earth. This collection of orange lines on a gravel parking lot is one of the more provocative instances thereof. Investigators in the Rare Languages Section have pretty much agreed that this represents something akin to the Earthly territorial tagging employed by gangs. In other words, it is a statement that "this area belongs to us" (whoever "us" is).

What continues to elude explanation is why this area would be attractive to anyone from another world in the first place, as it is in a small town in the middle of a nondescript farming landscape. Numerous theories abound, but the lack of consensus renders all of them hypothetical at best.

What is more pressing, of course, is the need to calm the populace. History shows us that strange messages in public places can have a deleterious effect on society. First there is the stage called Low Resolution Achievement, known casually as the "head-scratching phase." That is eventually followed by a feeling of unease, which leads to unrest. Soon thereafter, people start skipping school or calling in sick at their job. Absenteeism merely makes matters worse, as idle people have plenty of time to dwell on their suspicions, religious beliefs, political philosophies, and brand of toilet paper they use. Unless nipped in the bud, such thought generates a slow decline in social interaction and a boost in anomie. The inevitable result is frustration, anger, and a refusal to watch late-night television. It is just a quick jump from that to a loss of faith in society, which is accompanied by boycotts, riots, and an "every man for himself" attitude. All this places Western Civilization on the brink of destruction.

For these reasons it is imperative to shield the public from messages such as pictured here. Thus the popularity of the tried-and-true process of creating a plausible cover story to prevent things from getting out of hand. In this case, the sanitized story for public consumption---including geotagging---is that these marks were applied to show the location of certain underground utilities in Hansen, Idaho. Follow-up steps to simulate utility construction work were implemented to give the story credence (thanks to the great work of the Covert Construction Corps).