A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
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Hill. Barney recalled his first glimpse via b<strong>in</strong>oculars <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> craft that he and his wife Betty had<br />
been observ<strong>in</strong>g at that po<strong>in</strong>t for several hours.<br />
Beh<strong>in</strong>d <strong>the</strong> clearly structured w<strong>in</strong>dows he could see <strong>the</strong> figures, at least half a dozen<br />
liv<strong>in</strong>g be<strong>in</strong>gs. They seemed to be brac<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>mselves aga<strong>in</strong>st <strong>the</strong> transparent w<strong>in</strong>dows, as<br />
<strong>the</strong> craft tilted down toward his direction. They were, as a group, star<strong>in</strong>g directly at him.<br />
He became vaguely aware that <strong>the</strong>y were wear<strong>in</strong>g uniforms. Betty, now nearly two<br />
hundred feet away, was scream<strong>in</strong>g at him from <strong>the</strong> car, but Barney has no recollection <strong>of</strong><br />
hear<strong>in</strong>g this.<br />
The b<strong>in</strong>oculars seemed glued to his eyes. Then, on some <strong>in</strong>visible, <strong>in</strong>audible<br />
signal, every member <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> crew stepped back from <strong>the</strong> w<strong>in</strong>dow toward a large panel a<br />
few feet beh<strong>in</strong>d <strong>the</strong> w<strong>in</strong>dow l<strong>in</strong>e.<br />
Only one rema<strong>in</strong>ed look<strong>in</strong>g at him, apparently a leader. In <strong>the</strong> b<strong>in</strong>oculars, Barney<br />
could see appendages <strong>in</strong> action among <strong>the</strong> apparent crew at what seemed to be a control<br />
board beh<strong>in</strong>d <strong>the</strong> w<strong>in</strong>dows <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> craft. Slowly <strong>the</strong> craft descended lower, a few feet at a<br />
time, as <strong>the</strong> f<strong>in</strong>s bear<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> two red lights spread out fur<strong>the</strong>r on <strong>the</strong> sides <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> craft, an<br />
extension lowered from <strong>the</strong> underside, perhaps a ladder, he could not be sure.<br />
He sharpened <strong>the</strong> focus <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> b<strong>in</strong>oculars on <strong>the</strong> one face rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g at <strong>the</strong><br />
w<strong>in</strong>dow. His memory at this po<strong>in</strong>t is blurred. For a reason he cannot expla<strong>in</strong>, he was<br />
certa<strong>in</strong> he was about to be captured. He tried to pull <strong>the</strong> glasses away from his eyes, to<br />
turn away, but he couldn’t. As <strong>the</strong> focus became sharp, he remembers <strong>the</strong> eyes <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> one<br />
crew member who stared down at him. Barney had never seen eyes like that before. 301<br />
Barney later stated, “I was told to close my eyes because I saw two eyes com<strong>in</strong>g close to m<strong>in</strong>e.<br />
And I felt like <strong>the</strong> eyes had pushed <strong>in</strong>to my eyes.” 302<br />
This sense <strong>of</strong> be<strong>in</strong>g seen as <strong>in</strong>vasive is a<br />
common trope <strong>in</strong> tales <strong>of</strong> abduction and as we shall see is one po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>of</strong> entry <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> utopian<br />
implications <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> phenomenon.<br />
Travis Walton, ano<strong>the</strong>r celebrated and controversial abductee, recalled that his alien<br />
<strong>in</strong>terlocutors “had no eyebrows, no eyelashes. They had very large eyes—enormous eyes—<br />
almost all brown, without much white <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>m. The creepiest th<strong>in</strong>g about <strong>the</strong>m were those eyes.<br />
Oh man, those eyes, <strong>the</strong>y just stared through me.” 303<br />
One Streiber correspondent, whose<br />
communiqué is repr<strong>in</strong>ted <strong>in</strong> The Communion Letters, recalls awaken<strong>in</strong>g and experienc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />
301 Fuller, 16-17.<br />
302 Fuller, 118-119, 123-124.<br />
303 Jerome Clark, Walton Abduction Case <strong>in</strong> “The UFO Book: Encyclopedia <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Extraterrestrial</strong>” (Detroit: Visible<br />
Ink, 1998) 646.<br />
210