Star Lifter

        Do you believe in UFO’s?  It’s almost impossible not too. There are more than 400 Billion Stars in our galaxy and each of those has a string of planets…  according to Drakes formula that works out to a little over 26,000 civilizations at our level and or higher in our galaxy alone and we know about another couple of billion other galaxies in the observable universe so… 

When I was nine I lived close to Norton Air Force base. They carried out training exercises regularly doing what was called a “sac run.”  Giant planes called Star Lifters that roared from the sky one after the other to have their wheels touch down for a brief moment and then take off again.   

At that time there was a road at the end of the runway you could park and the planes would pass no more than thirty feet over head. Their power as they floated by shook me to the core. It filled me with fear, trepidation and excitement that has lasted a lifetime.

               Late one afternoon as I sat on the hood of my father’s car, I saw it. It gleamed with the brightness of unimaginable silver. It was stunningly thin from tip to tip with a recognizable bulge at its center... a saucer. It floated silently in place, hanging stationary in the air like a balloon and my heart jumped to my throat in surprise. I stared in disbelief as several minutes crept by and it inched closer and closer, inching its way to the ground and to me.            

My heart beat as never before and my mind filled with every Sci-Fi movie, every book, every abduction story I had ever been exposed too. I couldn’t breath, I couldn’t move. It was clear... they were coming for me.

At that instant as it was nearly overhead I crawled backward over the roof of the car to stand on the truck. I was about to scream in terror and the craft turned slightly, banking to the right.

It glided softly toward the runway becoming a Star Lifter once more as it roared over head.

My father and I laughed wildly but to this day the image burns in my memory.

I saw it for myself and real or not I believe.  If you can’t write Sci-Fi after a thing like that you’ll need the help of a tin foil hat…  you know the one !

Reviews

[Wez Hardyn]

Naturally I believe in UFO's - mainly because it's a neutral term to describe any flying phenomena that we encounter but can't designate. Unfortunately I doubt if any have been the result of extraterrestrial technology. The stats do indicate that intelligent life is out there but it's a matter of the incomprehensible distances that separate us from them. Of course science fiction is about much more than aliens, here is a link to something I wrote on the subject many years ago: http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/socialist-standard/2000s/2003/no-1184-april-2003/alien-america
I enjoyed the tin hat reference, although it is uncool to admit to liking any Gibson movie!

[Will Neill]

Tegon, loved the 'tin foil hat' reference, few might get it though. Nice piece only one thing, 'Base' turns up twice in a paragraph and conflicts a bit. Maybe dump the second 'regular bases' and just say regularly or something. Otherwise you know I'm a fan.
Take Care.
Will