This article is classified "Real"
Area 51, fact or fiction? In this article I will to strip the facts from
the fiction. Due to the fact that I live in the UK, quite a distance from
the alleged air base, my article will be based on anything that can be
uncovered from various books on the topic of unexplained phenomena and UFOs,
as well as anything that I can find on the Internet in newsgroups, etc. At
the end of this article can be found a bibliography of books, articles and
people consulted.
Area 51 is the name commonly given to an air base which is located about
ninety five miles north of Las Vegas on the site of the dried up Groom
Lake. It officially does not exist. It appears on no civil or military
map and around the base are signs stating that the use of "deadly force is
authorized". In my language that loosely translates to "if you come here,
we are allowed to shoot you on sight". I haven't heard of anyone being
shot for trespassing in Area 51, but I wouldn't like to put it to the test
either.
A common rumour about Area 51 is that it is the housing place for a total
of nine recovered alien crafts and that these are being reverse engineered
in order to discover their secrets.
This could be good news for Earth bound hitchhikers wishing to go
intergalactic as alien technology could potentially lead to cheap forms of
travel in space and time. At the moment though this is just a dream caused
by an unproven rumour, the source of which I am yet to discover.
There has been an attempt made to sue the US Air Force over the alleged
illegal dumping of toxic waste within the complex. This action was brought
forth by a group of ex-servicemen who worked within Area 51 and have
suffered from illness since. The action was stopped by the President in
a statement which told of how such an action would require the revealing
of classified information and would therefore cause a threat to the
security of the USA. So basically, within Area 51, the laws of the USA do
not exist.
One thing that prevented this case going through was the fact that one of
the key figures in the prosecution's case was suddenly forbidden by a court
order to either own or refer to a copy of the areas security manual. Quite
odd, considering that this is an unclassified, publicly available document.
Since this event, steps are allegedly being taken to classify this document
in order to make sure that it can never be used in any legal actions.
For any hitchhiker wanting to see weird stuff flying about in the sky, then
it is claimed that the sky above Area 51 is the place for things to happen.
The best observation point was "Freedom Ridge", but this been closed of by
the US Air Force with the claiming of over 4000 acres of land. The same
threats as mentioned earlier can be found in that area now, so if you intend
to visit then I either suggest that you discover the secret to turning
yourself invisible and then doing so beforehand, or I strongly suggest that
you don't go where you are clearly told not to, unless you are the sort of
person who likes getting hurt, of course.
The only explanations for the sudden seizing of the land were from
spokeswoman Kim Ransford, "We identified the additional land as being
needed to ensure the safety and security of operations on the Nellis Range
Complex", and another spokeswoman stated, "We don't have UFOs out there.
What goes on is classified." This statement could be taken as a
contradiction, because if what goes on at Area 51 is so top secret and
classified then why are they even telling us anything about it at all?
People who have been caught trespassing in Area 51 before have told stories
of how they were apprehended by men wearing camouflage uniforms, with no
military badges or any other forms of identification. All they have are
walkie talkies and guns, big guns. The jeeps that these men drive
allegedly have Government plates. The men are apparently extremely
unsympathetic to any excuses and will remove you very quickly from the
area, as well as allegedly subjecting you to a good kicking and destroying
any recording materials that you may have about your person.
If you wish to take photos of the area then maybe you could work out some
way of integrating your towel and a camera, just to make it a little more
inconspicuous. This is just an idea, I haven't a clue if, or how, it would
work. Any field researchers care to work this out?
The only place left open for observation of Area 51 is Tikaboo Peak. I'm
afraid I don't know if anything has ever been spotted from here (or from
Freedom Ridge) but I am currently trying to find out about any alleged
sightings. Apparently it is quite a hike to get up there and you need a
telescope to be able to see anything. I don't know about the legality of
using telescopes for observation purposes within the area, but I suspect
that it would not be too popular with the security patrols.
For hitchhikers who do not fancy trying the difficult climb up to Tikaboo
Peak a new vantage point has been discovered. This point is called
Smitty's Ridge and although the air base itself cannot be seen from here
it's apparently a great place for watching the airspace above the base.
Directions to Smitty's Point are :
Take Castle Rock Road (the old trail to Freedom Ridge).
Go south at the four way crossroads.
Go south for 5 miles to the border and you will see the keep out
signs and the barbed wire fencing.
Look north along the fence and follow it northwards.
After a mile and a half you will see a turn around space and a
faint pickup trail.
Take this trail to get to the highest, legal, vantage point to
view the airspace above the base.
There should be a camp set up here from Spring 1996 onwards.
Hitchhikers who prefer to stay in a warm hotel room rather than a tent can
find cheap accommodation at The Little A'Le'Inn (Alien) in the nearby town
of Rachel. The food is apparently quite good and is also very reasonably
priced. With friendly staff and free movies (and also because it's the
only hotel in the area) I can only recommend it as a place to stay.
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Bibliography
Title: The X-Files Book Of The Unexplained Volume 1
By: Jane Goldman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0-684-81633-4
Title: The Groom Lake Desert Rodent
Posted By: Tikaboo (tikaboo@aol.com)
Posted To: alt.alien.research on 25th January 1996
Person: Ian Henderson, Good Friend, Student, UFO Enthusiast
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