Because my second Kestrel novel is called Alien Secrets, I set up a Google Alert for the title to capture any mentions. The last week or so it has been alerting me to the viral spread of Storm Area 51.
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| Area 51 (Image Getty) |
Area 51 is a secret US base in Nevada used for weapons research and testing, but widely believed to contain aliens and their weapons and craft that have been captured since the 1950s. Well, not so secret now, but heavily guarded and access restricted. The military claim that several UFO sightings in the area were test flights of spy planes under development.
Various attributed to Mickey Roberts or Jackson Barnes, someone created a Facebook event called Storm Area 51, They Can’t Shoot Us All, scheduled for 20 September. He originally created it anonymously but had to come forward because of the response. He said it was a joke to see how many ‘likes’ he could get, but the last report I saw said almost two million people had signed up!
The reason I got the alerts was because they are looking for alien secrets. They plan to rescue the aliens held inside and reveal the UFOs to the world. This idea has been encouraged by films such as Independence Day and Paul.
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People are becoming increasingly concerned about how many people are actually going to turn up. There is talk of planning a festival to entertain the crowd, although he still insists he has no intention of actually storming Area 51.
On the back of this viral phenomenon several people have jumped on the bandwagon:
The sites in question have reacted with alarm, concerned about coping with large numbers of people, but Area 51 in particular has pointed out that storming it would be considered treason and possibly terrorism. In January this year a man was shot dead when he broke through the security gate.
Ann Marie Thomas is the author of four medieval history books, a surprisingly cheerful poetry collection about her 2010 stroke, and the science fiction series Flight of the Kestrel. Book one, Intruders, and book two Alien Secrets, are out now. Follow her at http://eepurl.com/bbOsyz