The UFO Singularity (13 page)

“When I saw the craft in Locust Grove, I remember thinking to myself that the craft is drawing some type of energy from the station.”
¹³
Mike described the way the craft had positioned itself directly over the power facility, unmoving except for the rotating lights along the rim of the craft. Holding its position in this way, he described this as being what he called a sort of static mode. “Maybe this craft has the ability to draw energy from external sources, and the colored lights are a product of this,” he guessed.
¹⁴

Mike further speculated that the color configuration of the lights rotating around the craft could have resulted in the craft appearing as a single, white light from a distance. Guessing that the saucer’s outer rim acted as a centrifuge, perhaps spinning more quickly as it accelerated, Mike suggested that when the craft’s rotation changed from the “static” state into a “hyper mode” that visually white light may result. “This would probably make some sort of sense, since most sightings that are seen at night are white light,”
¹⁵
he said, recalling also that the object he witnessed had first appeared as either a white or bright orange light as it initially became visible to he and his family over the mountains in the distance. Based on the function of the craft he witnessed, this notion complements a general
additive color model
for light, where red, green, and blue light can be combined to produce
other colors. If one of these primary colors is blended with another in equal amounts, it is possible to create secondary additive colors that include yellow, cyan, or magenta. Combining all three primary colors of visible light in equal measure will produce white light.
¹⁶
Could it be mere coincidence that the colors Mike and the others saw on the craft happened to be the additive primary colors of the visible light spectrum?

This understanding of visible light and its behavior was first credited to Scottish mathematical physicist James Clerk Maxwell, whose research provided many of the fundamentals for modern theories of how electric and magnetic fields interact with matter.
¹⁷
Ironically, Maxwell’s own interest in colored light prompted him to design, of all things, a
rotating disk,
as well as a “color box” that he used to help discern the inner workings of additive color mixing. Maxwell’s inspiration for the use of a disk-shaped device in this way may have stemmed, at least in part, from an earlier experiment he described in his ground-laying work,
A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism.
This involved the French physicist Dominique Arago’s discovery that “a magnet placed near a rotating metallic disk experiences a force tending to make it follow the motion of the disk,” despite there being no such interaction when the metal surface and the magnet are at rest.
¹⁸
Arago first discovered this effect in 1825, formulating a simple device based on his observations where a compass needle was placed on a pivot above a circular piece of copper, which he turned using a hand crank
attached to the device. Of particular interest to Arago was the observation that the proximity between the two had an unusual effect of reducing the influence of Earth’s magnetic field on the compass needle.

After consulting with a few colleagues who were equipped with far more expertise in the fields of electricity and magnetism than I presently wield, I came to the determination that, although my deductions based on Maxwell and Arago’s research could represent possible factors involving the propulsion of the Locust Grove UFO, the multitude of other unknown elements involved here (its specific dimensions, the various materials the craft had been built with, its exact weight, and so forth) could easily modify or make unlikely the basic mechanism I had begun to envision. In other words, given the perceptual limitations of any single, standalone encounter such as this, we are provided with only bits and pieces of information, each pointing to more specific possibilities as to how such a craft might function. Therefore, I should say right up-front that I recognize the potential flaws any set of unknown circumstances might cause in attempts at understanding a craft like this. Still, the Arago effect, which involves long-known, tested, and valid observations, may nonetheless hold a key to understanding some aspects regarding the operation of the strange saucer Mike witnessed. If I had to admit that intuition of any kind was involved in this determination, I could say it’s a gut feeling, if nothing else.

Thus, stopping to consider the behavior of the object seen over Locust Grove in 1973, especially compared with Maxwell and Arago’s observations of electricity and magnetism in relation to spinning disks, a number of parallels do begin to emerge. If this UFO craft were indeed designed to reduce the natural influence Earth’s magnetic field would exert against it, then it is likely that the technology Mike and the others observed may utilize a more thorough understanding than most, with regard to the curious interrelationship between electricity, magnetism, and gravity. Although some speculate that these forces may literally be distinct observable effects of a single, fundamental, and universal energy source, our scientific ability to discern between these, or manipulate them independently, still remains incomplete. True, a highly advanced technology—whether alien, or stemming from some variety of human origin—that has mastered the manipulation of electricity and magnetism would no doubt have solved this great riddle of the sciences; the behavior the Locust Grove craft exhibited indeed might hint at a technology that could also manipulate gravity.
¹⁹

Regarding Mike’s own ideas as to how this craft might have operated, I feel it is relevant now to include some of his background information, excerpted from a resume Mike shared with me, detailing both his educational and military background. In 1972, he completed his study of mechanical drafting at the Atlanta Area Technical Institute; this was followed in 1978 by studies in pre-engineering curriculum at Georgia College in
Milledgeville, Georgia. Between 1982 and 1985, Reese went on to study architectural engineering at the Southern Technical Institute, located in Marietta, Georgia. Finally, in 2000, he obtained his present certification as a North Carolina Licensed General Contractor at Southwestern Community College. At the time of our first meeting, he was also undergoing a series of business and entrepreneurship classes at Tri-County Community College.

Regarding his military service, between 1975 and 1978 Reese was a member of the U.S. Army. He served positions at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and Fort Carson, Colorado, in addition to a position in Dexheim, Germany. Reese’s expertise was primarily that of a combat engineer and tank crew member. He was honorably discharged following his service, during which he obtained confidential clearance.

With his technical background in both military and civilian sectors, it quickly became evident that Mike Reese has a broad understanding of modern engineering and technical drafting/design. I concluded, with certain confidence, that Mike would have a clear ability to discern and make educated technical observations regarding various kinds of machinery, and with a degree of effectiveness that might exceed that of the average civilian UFO witness. Although the Locust Grove incident predated much of his gathered experience, Mike nonetheless had seemed to carefully recall vivid details of the object he and the others witnessed, and throughout the years that followed, began to apply some of his knowledge in
an effort to understand the experience. Thus, after contacting me and discussing his encounter at length, Mike was kind enough to provide me with computer-aided technical drawings of the object, as well as his closest estimates regarding his location in proximity to the craft itself. Additionally, Mike offered to help me in the future by providing similar drawings, based on the observations of other witnesses, particularly when detailed reports or eyewitness sketches were available.

It should also be noted that throughout Mike’s life, he was exposed to a number of subjects of interest to researchers of the unexplained, beginning at an early age. Mike was born in 1953 in Murphy, North Carolina. As a child, he was familiar with a variety of esoteric subjects, due mostly to his father’s interest in such things as yoga, meditation, spiritualism, and, of course, UFOs. Mike described his father as “an interesting fellow…respected by the peoples in this small town”
²⁰
and an avid reader of magazines like
Fate.
Born in 1893, he was almost twice the age of Mike’s mother. “I remember my dad was into Yoga at 60-plus years old, and read a lot of different types of books. He would tell me about how he grew up, and how he witnessed inventions like the airplane, radio, and TV. I began to read a lot of his
Fate
publications, and was very intrigued by the writings, particularly the UFO articles. I would often think,
It would really be awesome to see one of these craft,
but I never thought about how I would react if I did have such an encounter.”
²¹

Mike also described to me privately a number of experiences from his youth that he felt involved the use of intuition, though he never implied that he believed himself to have intuitive or psychic abilities of his own. Some of these instances involved experiences where he picked up on sensations or strong feelings that later proved to be useful, or even life-saving. Altogether, Mike’s orientation regarding his unusual life experiences seemed to be from an entirely logical position. He is a religious man, as are his wife, sister, and other members of the small group that joined us for our late September dinner. But perhaps most incredibly, the Locust Grove incident had not been the only experience Mike had that involved seeing an unidentified flying object. On October 30, 2008, Mike had been traveling late in the day along Highway 515 in the North Georgia Highlands when he witnessed a strange triangular-shaped craft. After his sighting, Mike reported his observations to the Georgia area Mutual UFO Network (MUFON). Following is an excerpt from their database regarding Mike’s second encounter:

An adult male resident of Hayesville N.C. (just above the Georgia state-line in N.C.) was driving along Hwy 515 about 5 miles beyond Blue Ridge. He pulled off to check the load on his truck, and upon getting back in noticed a low oscillating sound he felt might be from the truck, but was apparently not. Looking out through the windshield, the witness observed a triangular object moving to the south perpendicular to Hwy 515 at about 300–400
feet in altitude and moving 40–50mph. The object seemed to be moving with 2 points forward, a dim white light on each forward point, with a white and a red light on the rear point. Witness considered the lights connected (by fuselage) as the background sky was lighter than the craft. The witness did not give an estimate as to distance, but it was close enough to offer the oscillating sound and for him to estimate the lights were about 200–300 feet apart. This witness has agreed to meet with [Field Investigators] Mark and Leslie M. of Blairsville. He is currently working on a sketch and diagram.
²²

Mike told me he likened the Locust Grove UFO to being “the Holy Grail of sightings,”
²³
and that the Highway 515 encounter didn’t hold nearly as much personal significance as the one in 1973. The MUFON investigators that Mike spoke with told him they believed the object was likely a military craft, because there is a small military base south of the location where Mike had stopped to check the load of his truck.

The night of our dinner meeting, I asked Mike to detail for me both these encounters again while we were together in person. Mike’s testimony remained remarkably consistent, especially regarding the Locust Grove incident, which had been the primary focus of our discussion. I only found the details to vary slightly in one area: Pam said her two young girls had been with them the night of the encounter also, asleep in the back seat of the Polara, whereas Mike’s initial recollections had involved his
newborn daughter being the only child present at the time. Despite her reservation, Pam went on to describe an incident from her teenage years, occurring at around the age of 16, where she had awoken in the middle of the night. As she walked into the living room, through the front windows she had observed several objects she described as blimp or dirigible-shaped near the ground, gliding
above
the highway outside her home. The objects were moving fast and disappeared from view quickly. Though she had recalled this experience in vivid detail, she nonetheless advised me that this might have been some sort of hallucination, because she had just awoken from a deep sleep.

After discussing these and a few other UFO incidents in depth, we spent the remainder of the evening chatting and touching on a variety of subjects, including a family member of Mike’s who works in the areas involving intelligence and linguistics. There was a lot of joking and laughter, but regardless of what the subject at any given time may have been, Mike, along with his wife, sister, and the others, were accommodating, enjoyable, and very open with what they shared.

“I’m not worried about this being kept confidential,” Mike told me at one point. “I have nothing to hide, and it’s the truth. You can use my name if you like,” he said with a grin. “I just haven’t told too many folks about the Locust Grove encounter, because when I have in the past, they just look at me oddly.”
²⁴

Mike’s conclusion regarding what he had seen was resolute. “Either our government or some other organization
has some very,
very
sophisticated craft, or there are beings that do come from other places, dimensions, or time.”
²⁵
He admitted that he gravitates toward the latter of these possible explanations, and even thanked me for my research involving the subject of UFOs. Little did he know, at that time, how significant his observations had been—especially such notions as a dimensional, or even trans-temporal origin behind some of these UFOs.