The Reall News - March 2007

The official newsletter of the Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land

“It’s a very dangerous thing to believe in nonsense.” — James Randi

Volume 15, Number 3

March 2007

“The Invaders” (1935) by Martin S. Kottmeyer

W

e retell a tale of alien abduction from 1935. Two humans see in the distant sky a gleaming object made of a mirror-like metal. It was shaped somewhat like a banana, only straighter and rounder. It gave a curious impression of speed at first. Curious, because it was so huge the shape grew slowly. It decelerated as it approached. It settled slowly in a large clearing. They felt a strange pressure and could see grass being pressed down and palm fronds wavering alongside. Anti-gravity; not rockets. This craft, what later ufo buffs would call a cigar-shaped ufo, is roughly a mile and a quarter long. A great door swings open and five aliens emerge. They are seven feet tall, have large chests, thin waists, and long limbs with extra joints. The heads were large and round. There was no nose. But there were ears that were cup-shaped and animated. Their alien form departs from human norms dramatically in other ways. They have long prehensile tails. They have three eyes. They wore bright-colored girdles. They carried little sticks that cause pain and unconsciousness. The aliens grab humans with their tails and render them helpless. More aliens fly out of the ship— no wings—and more are captured and brought in-

In This Issue The Invaders .............................................................................. 1

side. The abducted humans don’t actually remember being brought inside, but they awake in a room with bars on one side. The air is cool and smells peculiar. Actually, there are two cells. One is for the men. One, some distance away, is for the women. After a while, we learn one of the women is lying unconscious on a table that slides across the floor in a large white room illuminated by a blue light. A glint of metal is seen and after a swift movement, the abdomen is open with blood welling out. Vivisection. Her male friend cries out, then quails, and retreats in terror. Over time other humans are brought into that room. They are never seen again. In the days that follow, some humans remain alive and are fed fruits. During one feeding, a fruit made some humans sick. They are tested carefully and given something that makes them well. One, though, dies in agony. More humans are captured and brought inside. Gradually, some humans learn the language of the abductors. The aliens call themselves Tharoo. The aliens let the humans outside after a week and they see the beginnings of a settlement. Metal houses have appeared. Ground is being turned up for farming. The humans are instructed to plant seeds. More time passes and they are instructed to saw wood to build more houses, and to help excavate the ruins of nearby human cities. Eventually, the aliens learn things about the history of the humans. These humans were once a much greater race, but technol(“The Invaders” continued on page 4)

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The REALL News

Purpose The Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) educational and scientific organization. It is dedicated to the development of rational thinking and the application of the scientific method toward claims of the paranormal and fringe-science phenomena. REALL shall conduct research, convene meetings, publish a newsletter, and disseminate information to its members and the general public. Its primary geographic region of coverage is central Illinois. REALL subscribes to the premise that the scientific method is the most reliable and self-correcting system for obtaining knowledge about the world and universe. REALL does not reject paranormal claims on a priori grounds, but rather is committed to objective, though critical, inquiry. The REALL News is its official newsletter. Annual Membership Rates: Regular, $20; student, $15; family, $30; patron, $50 or more; subscription only, $12.

Board of Directors Chairman......................................... Wally Hartshorn Vice Chairman ................................ David Bloomberg Secretary-Treasurer ......................... Jim Rosenthal Newsletter Editor ............................ Clark Olson At-Large Members .......................... Mike Henebry Bob Ladendorf Janet Trutter

Editorial Board Clark Olson Wally Hartshorn Jim Rosenthal Unless otherwise stated, permission is granted to other skeptic organizations to reprint articles from The REALL News as long as proper credit is given. REALL also requests that you send copies of your newsletters that reprint our articles to the above address. The views expressed in these articles are the views of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of REALL.

REALL Contacts Chairman, Wally Hartshorn ............ [email protected] Editor, Clark Olson [email protected] Web Site................................................... www.reall.org

March 2007

From the Chairman Wally Hartshorn

O

kay, enough with the blizzards and the 11 inches of snow! I don’t know what that good for nothin’ groundhog did on February 2, but Spring better get here soon! I’ll wait a bit longer, maybe as long as March 21, but after that I’m going to lose patience! Darwin Day Recap We had a good Darwin Day celebration this year. Thanks to the generous offer of David Gehrig, we even had a speaker! About 15-20 people attended David’s presentation at the library, where he gave an overview of creationism and evolution, including the aftermath of the 2006 Kitzmiller decision. He had plenty of additional information that just wouldn’t fit in the 2 hours that we had available, but he’s indicated that he’d be willing to return with another presentation in the future, so we’re looking forward to that! After David’s talk, we went across town to The Pasta House Co., where we had the banquet room reserved with plenty of food and discussion, along with the traditional birthday cake and the reading of a selection of Darwin Awards. (Thanks to Jim Rosenthal for compiling the latter.) Photos from David’s talk and from the Darwin Day dinner are on pages 3, 6, and 7 of this issue.

A Nod to Our Patrons REALL would like to thank our patron members. Through their extra generosity, REALL is able to continue to grow as a force for critical thinking in Central Illinois. To become a patron member of REALL, please use the membership form insert. Patron members are: Randy & Betsy Alley, Edmonds, WA Karen Bartelt, Washington David Bloomberg, Springfield David Brown, Danville Alan Burge, D.D.S., Morton

Wally Hartshorn, Springfield John Lockard, Jr., Urbana Jim Rosenthal, Springfield Mark Russillo, Springfield Doug Smith, Springfield

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Color versions can be found on our Meetup.com web site at http://skeptics.meetup.com/134. (If you haven’t already done so, please go there and register. It’s a great way to stay informed about REALL’s upcoming meetings, as well as provide feedback about how we’re doing.) March Meeting—Creationist Video, Icons of Evolution Our March 6 meeting will feature the video version of the creationist book, “Icons of Evolution.” If you attended David Gehrig’s talk at our February meeting, you heard him mention this book by Jonathon Wells, published in 2000. It’s difficult to refute what the other side is saying if you haven’t actually heard it. When arguing with someone about why a certain creationist book is wrong, admitting that you haven’t actually read the book in question immediately weakens your case. Spending an hour watching this video will at least provide some defense if you don’t feel like actually slogging your way through all 363 pages of the book. April Meeting—Speaker Clark Olson has found a speaker for our April 3 meeting at the library. I’ll have additional details in next month’s newsletter, as well as on the web site. May Meeting—Creationist Video, Unlocking the Mystery of Life Unless we come up with something better before then, our May 1 meeting will feature another creationist video, Unlocking the Mystery of Life. If you

At our February Darwin Day meeting, David Gehrig presented an overview of the history of evolution and creationism, including the aftermath of the 2006 Kitzmiller decision.

attended the creationist talk that John Mark Henry gave a few years ago, you saw a few minutes of this video near the end of his presentation. June Meeting—New York Times Best Selling Author Victor J. Stenger We also will have a speaker at our June 5 meeting, which will not be at the library due to their annual book sale. Victor J. Stenger has written numerous science books, as well as articles for skeptical publications. He’ll be passing through Springfield on a book tour, promoting his two most recent books, The Comprehensible Cosmos: Where Do the Laws of Physics Come from? (October 2006) and God: The Failed Hypothesis. How Science Shows that God Does Not Exist (January 2007). Just as we were going to press with this issue, we (“Chairman” continued on page 6)

No matter what side of the argument you are on, you always find people on your side that you wish were on the other. — Jascha Heifetz Russian-American violinist (1901—1987)

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(“The Invaders” continued from page 1)

ogy brought too much freedom from challenge and risk. All threats like disease and predators were gone. The descendents became indolent and devolved. The aliens plan to restore the intellect of the humans by a program of guided breeding. Eugenics. They develop tests to calibrate desirable qualities. Males and females are coupled by the guidelines of expert eugenicists. There is some inbreeding to create pure strains, then outbreeding to the larger population. Over the course of many generations, they succeed in creating a line of humans of splendid physique and competence. Though there is some highminded benevolence motivating the program, they are also careful to breed out all signs of ambition and rebellion since the aliens wish to stay masters. However, they increasingly direct the path of evolution towards humans with enough scientific aptitude to aid not only in the repair of technical devices, but to improving the designs. Unknowingly, the seeds of ambition take root in certain special lineages. We learn the aliens left their world because their sun would soon be disrupted. Though most were doomed to perish, a fleet of ships was sent out to colonize other worlds to continue the race. They visited a vast number of stars before they were successful in finding our solar system. Fortunately for them, both Earth and Venus turned out to habitable. The humans eventually take back Earth and exile the Tharoo to Venus to scratch out a living in its savage jungles. They discover firsthand the exact meaning of work. “The Invaders” was first published in the June 1935 issue of Astounding Stories a science fiction pulp founded by the father of the science fiction genre Hugo Gernsback. The story was published under the name Don Stuart, a pseudonym for John W. Campbell. Campbell would two years later be given the editorship of Astounding Stories and he revolutionized the science fiction field. All agree he was the guiding figure in science fiction’s Golden Age. Though Campbell is a major figure known to all sf history buffs, “The Invaders” is not a major

March 2007

WAN-4 TRIVIA note: In “The Invaders,” The aliens institute a system of naming breeding subjects. It combines short words with numbers that indicate the number of its generation. A human named Wan has a great-grandchild named Wan-4. Wan-4 is a very minor character, appearing in only two paragraphs that describe the death of a first generation witness of the Landing. His descendants had gathered to visit his final moments. No other number Wan is mentioned in the story George Hunt Williamson, one of the first contactees, noted in his radio diary that on 27 September 1952 he made contact with an alien of the Safanian Solar System with the exact same name and number: Wan-4. They belong to different fictional worlds, but it seems fair to say this reinforces the suggestions of others that this premiere contactee consumed science fiction. Lester del Rey, ed., The Best of John Campbell Ballantine, 1976, p. 81. George Hunt Williamson, The Saucers Speak - A Documentary Report of Interstellar Communication by Radiotelegraphy (1954; reprint by Neville Spearman 1963), pp. 84, 160. story. His celebrity however led to the story being reprinted in The Best of John Campbell in 1976. Even regarded as a mere curiosity from his early career, it is worth stating it has garnered only positive judgments from the handful of science fiction scholars to take notice of it. “The Invaders” was the middle segment of a trilogy whose working title was “The Teachers,” though this title only became known years after it was first published. The first episode of the trilogy was titled “The Machine” and set up the premise for man being a fallen race capable of being easily overtaken by the Tharoo when they arrived centuries after their fall. The third episode was called “Rebellion” and actually I already gave away its premise in the final two sentences of my summary. “The Invaders” is a very typical Gernsback era story, in fact more typical of what Gernsback liked than what Campbell became celebrated for liking in his Golden Age editorship. The plot-point that over-

March 2007

The REALL News

dependence on technology leads to decadence and weakness was a ubiquitous theme in the stories published by Gernsback. “The Invaders” also recycles numerous gimmicks found in the pages of Astounding—superior aliens, jaw-droppingly huge buildings and machines, atomic energy, cultural stagnation, hypnotic powers, creative labor management, slave revolts, wars against tyranny. Eugenics, the central theme, was a veritable cliché of the whole culture in the inter-war period thanks in part to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. The idea of aliens employing eugenics instead of mad scientists or future social engineers was probably innovative. It is the earliest example I know of, but whether this is the absolutely first example I resist saying. There’s not much danger of anyone confusing this tale with contemporary alien abductions. The aliens have some superficial similarities to Grays, but they are conceptually distinct. Their intelligence is just enough to take them to the stars, but there is an admission that humans at their height were probably more intelligent. These aliens don’t have paranormal powers. Eventually, over the course of generations, the breeding program evolves humans with large brains powering minds that can stun other beings with energies coming from their eyes and fingertips. The aliens themselves lack this hypnotic eye-power. The Tharoo are not thin because of the degenerative effects of civilization, but because the gravity on Thar was lighter. The three eyes may remind ufo buffs of the 1978 Zanfretta abduction by a Creature from the Black Lagoon-sort of alien in Italy. The Tharoo however have the third eye in the back of the head, not in the middle of the forehead. The prehensile tail, to my knowledge, has no modern parallel, nor do the cup-ears, nor the bright girdles they wear. The author was endeavoring to be creative more than he cared to be traditional. The initial scene of vivisection is horrific like modern abductions, but in this story the humans do not survive the examination. Not to sound cold about it, but Campbell’s version does sound far more likely. Admittedly, though, this is not something modern abductions could parallel, for as Terry

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Matheson points out, if you’re dead, how do you tell the story? The most compelling parallels shared by “The Invaders” and modern abductions are the concepts that both sets of aliens come from a dying world and institute a breeding program on humans. That breeding program is also multigenerational rather than random one-shot acquisitions of sperm and eggs. In “The Invaders” we follow the eugenic evolution of human lineages through hundreds of years. Such multi-generational oversight of human bloodlines by aliens was later highlighted as the surprise revelation of Budd Hopkins’ abduction best-seller Intruders (1987). Unlike modern abductions, the Tharoo aliens are in plain sight and mostly open about their intentions. They are not doing things in secret. They don’t need to. They’re in complete charge. There’s no semen stealing, no embryo transplants. They simply put the man with the woman. They don’t bother trying to create hybrids, but are pleased to create better and better versions of humans. Again, all far more likely from the standpoint of biology, but obviously not something one could directly transplant into ufo mythology where aliens don’t freely walk among us and humans can not be prevented from screwing whoever they desire. Another notable feature is the morally perverse element of aliens employing inbreeding to speed the program along. Some will recall abductologist David Jacobs reporting Grays forcing sex between cousins to collect sperm. (Threat, p. 79) There are a number of subtler parallels to modern abductions present. The story follows Bullard’s correct order of story elements: capture, examination, conversation, return, aftermath. The story features doorway amnesia, a feature Bullard was proud to discover was common among the better abductions in his study. The ship’s interior is cool, something Hopkins reports was common in his sample of cases in Missing Time. Aliens carrying sticks with magical properties have been seen in cases like The Andreasson Affair and Hands [and, naturally, overtly fictional aliens like the Ebans of The Outer Limits episode (“The Invaders” Continued on page 7)

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The REALL News

(“Chairman” continued from page 3)

received word that God: The Failed Hypothesis has just made the New York Times Best Seller list. The location and time have not been set. Stay tuned for details! July Meeting—Picnic and Friday the 13th Superstition Bash?

March 2007

title “Stump Pond Monster—Solved.” Perhaps you didn’t know that Illinois had its very own “lake monster”. Well Rich thinks he has the solution. Check next month’s issue to see whether you agree! Until then, enjoy some more pictures from February’s Darwin Day Dinner—and blame the groundhog if we’re still shoveling snow by the time the next issue arrives!


Because the library isn’t available in June, we normally have a picnic that month instead of a meeting. However, this year we will be having a meeting in June, so I’m thinking we might have our annual picnic in July. Looking at the calendar, I see that there’s a Friday the 13th that month! How does a Friday the 13th Superstition Bash/ Picnic sound to everyone? We’ll talk about it more between now and then. Stay tuned for details! Andreasson Affair—Son Speaks? We’ve received several emails recently from someone claiming to be Robert Luca, Jr., stepson of Betty Andreasson Luca. This person claims to have information about the real story behind the Andreasson Affair, a rather famous UFO case. Martin Kottmeyer has written about or mentioned this case numerous times in past issues of The REALL News, as early as the very first issue in February 1993 and as recently as this very issue! It remains to be seen whether this person is in fact who he claims to be and whether what he says can be verified as true. I’ll pass the information on to Martin Kottmeyer and see whether he thinks this is worth a story. Next Month in The REALL News It arrived too late for inclusion in this month’s issue, but I just received from Rich Petraitis an article with the

(Above, clockwise from front) Lynn, Jim, Harry, Thea, Mark, David, Randy, and Janet enjoy some appetizers and good conversation while waiting for the main course.

(Below) The traditional dinosaur-themed “Happy Birthday Charles” cake. When Wally picked up the cake, the man who had created it said to “Wish Charles a happy birthday.” Wally assured him we would.

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(“The Invaders” continued from page 5)

(Above, clockwise from front) Randy, Janet, Mark, Thea, and Clark gather around speaker David Gehrig’s laptop to view the music video of “Dance like a Monkey” by New York Dolls, featuring the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Charles Darwin, an Intelligent Design protestor, and numerous evolution/creationism references. (How many songs have you heard that include the line “Inherit the Wind”?) (Below, clockwise from upper right) Speaker David Gehrig, Bob, Sharri, Matthew, Andrew, David, Lee, and Frank start in on the appetizers while Wally (reflected in the mirror on the back wall) snaps a photo for posterity.

“Nightmare.”(1963)] The ship lands using anti-gravity, not rockets, generating a ‘zone of strangeness’ felt at the physiological level. The aliens can also individually fly via levitation. I’ve depicted the story as typical 1930s science fiction, but there is an interesting aspect of its history worth highlighting. When it was reprinted in the spring of 1976 it was as part of a mass market Ballantine/ Del Rey reprint series. It also became a Science Fiction Book Club selection. Sales figures are not conveniently at hand, but I’m tempted to say it certainly had to have had a lot more readers in 1976, than its initial appearance in 1935. Thus, beyond the always interesting distinction of the fictional Tharoo beating the ‘real’ Grays to the idea, this particular story drops the concept of aliens guiding a multigenerational breeding program into the grab-bag of culture at the right time to seed the nightmares of the generation of people who became Hopkins’s informants about the ufo aliens’ ‘real’ agenda. Martin Kottmeyer is a long-time contributor to The REALL News.


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March 2007

Our Next Meeting Creationist Video: Icons of Evolution From the video’s description: “Are students learning the whole truth about Darwin’s theory of evolution? According to a growing number of scientists, the surprising answer is no. They claim that many of the most famous “Icons of Evolution”—including Darwin’s “Tree of Life,” finches from the Galapagos islands, and embryos that look remarkably similar—are based on outdated research and sloppy logic.” Oh boy. Bring your rotten tomatoes and your blood pressure monitors. We’ll give it a fair, objective viewing and make fun of it (not necessarily in that order).

www.reall.org skeptics.meetup.com/134

Springfield, Illinois Lincoln Library (7th & Capitol) Tuesday, March 6, 7:00 PM

Free and Open to the Public

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In This Issue Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land (REALL) P.O. Box 20302 Springfield IL 62708