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Review of Ancient Aliens “Earth’s Black Holes”
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Review of Ancient Aliens “Earth’s Black Holes”
Playgrounds for Exotic Physics
One of my guilty pleasures is chilling with a glass of wine while watching the latest Ancient Aliens. For a science fiction writer, it is full of pieces of gold that could be weaved into the next short story, or a one-liner that helps expand on a futuristic environment. I thoroughly recommend it, if only to broaden your perceptions.
Earth’s Black Holes
Earth’s Black Holes was surprising in that it not only gave some really serious science (with actual interviews with real scientists) and some fantastic imagery of black holes (along with some dramatic voice-overs) it was creative and accessible enough that I’m sure many kids would have loved this episode.
Physicists
An integral part of the first section was the research done at the SLACK national accelerator laboratory. Commentary was provided by Michael Dennin Ph.D Physicist at the University of California – Irvine, and John Brandenburg Ph. D Plasma Physicist at Orbital Technologies. Fascinating stuff. I had always thought that black holes were collapsed stars, involving intense gravity, and the cessation of various physical laws. But black holes can be created by other means, especially via just about any kind of vortex. Gravitational, electromagnetic, you name it. Get rid of some electrons in a certain way, and a vortex or hole will automatically appear.
Portals through space / time
I was interested in the idea that the SF trope about black holes being a portal through space / time could actually be true in a smaller sense. The environment of Earth, even just the weather, is ripe for portal creation. The idea of any part of the environment forming a vortex that could transport you through space / time is quite attractive for me, and has probably contributed to thousands of Science Fiction and Fantasy stories over the decades for other writers, too. (The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, anyone?)
Aliens!
Of course, the basic premise of Ancient Aliens is to make sure that any idea mentioned ends up making some kind of connection with aliens. So, of course, these portals or pockets created by electromagnetic squalls would be ideal for aliens to visit Earth via, say a quick hi, drop some knowledge, then split again. There was discussion about the South Atlantic Anomaly, and how it is a localized reversal of the EM field across South America, information about how nature can create its own electrodynamic space/time portals, and a lot more.
Compelling Stuff!
Skipping Journeys
I personally loved it because it used an idea that has been a feature of many of my stories for over 10 years, namely finding a way to either flash to another location through instant teleportation, or space folding, or wormholes, or tunnels through space and time. Essentially, I’ve always wanted to get rid of any boring ‘travel’ or unnecessary ‘journey’ paragraphs. (Yes, I’m one of those who has never made it past the first few chapters of Lord of the Rings – OMG a journey??? Saw it at the cinema instead!)
When I was a kid, I used to find stairs so boring that I would simply jump flights of them. My friends would slide or skate down the banisters, but even that was a bit slow for me. Now, if I could find a way to physically and instantly travel almost anywhere in the universe, I’d be very happy, (As would my hips, and probably later my replacement hips.) I’d love to jump about one of the Magellanic Clouds one day!
Ancient Aliens Convention
In its 13th year, the series has become popular enough that it now has its own annual convention, called Alien Con, not only featuring presenters of the programme, but also X-Files and Star Trek luminaries. At the time of writing, David Duchovny, Gates McFadden and Robert Picardo for the June 2018 convention. The marketing is USA-only, so I had to set up a fake USA address to find out more from the robot system, but I’ve since been in contact with one of the organizers of the convention, and things look like they’re going to be pretty wild.
As a brand, Giorgio A. Tsoukalos is well known, and it would be great to rub shoulders with him, learn a bit about the behind the scenes stuff that goes on. Meeting Erich Von Daniken would also be a highlight, and he’s not in as many episodes as I’d like. I read his book in the 70s, and was quite taken with it. Chariots of the Gods. It has probably influenced quite a lot of my SF writing over the years, so I’m sure a convention would elicit more interesting insights from him that would not otherwise be seen in a restricted 40 minute format.
Unfortunately, beyond my budget
Most tickets have already sold out (US$549 Gold Pass!) A 14h flight from Melbourne to Pasadena (AU$1500) plus accommodation (US$200pn) plus food and drinks and local travel (probably lots of drinks!) I’d be expecting to pay, at a bare minimum, about AU$4000 for the weekend. So, hopefully there’ll be some Youtube videos afterwards.
If you want to know more about the Ancient Aliens Convention, check out the website here:
Being a writer, I wanted to know how much I could advertise my book Alien Frequency in their programme guide for. Unfortunately, a bit beyond my budget. US$1000 for a page – more than I earn in a month! (Quarter pages available for US$300)
Maybe next year.