George Lucas’s Lost Flying Saucer
or: How I Traveled to Somewhere in the Galaxy Without Even Trying.
©2014 Richard P. Nixon
Flying saucers don’t exist, right? Wrong! I know because I found one. Yes, I said found and not saw because people get looked at funny and called crazy when they say they saw a flying saucer.
I was thirteen years old with my first pimples, no longer played with some of my favorite toys, and girls weren’t icky anymore, but I knew what I wanted to do in life; make movies, something my best friend Chuck and I had been doing forever, it seemed. But as our skills evolved so, too, did our challenges. We needed help. Our friend Toby joined in about a year ago, and he proved to be as loyal and reliable as they come. Why, he even sacrificed a sprained ankle falling out of a tree saving our main camera. I still feel kinda bad for him but, fortunately, he hardly limps anymore.
Anyway, we had entered an amateur film making contest with the top prize of an all-expenses paid week-long internship at a real movie studio working with a big time director, and there were rumors that maybe even George Lucas himself would be on hand. We were going to win; we were going to see wizards make magic. All we had to do was come up with one reasonably realistic-looking flying saucer.
Dad suggested the local university’s theatrical department. “I know the director there, Mr. Franklin,” he said. “He’s an old friend. I’ll give him a call.”
We made our way to where Mr. Franklin had told us, and when we opened the gate it was as if we’d stepped into the Promised Land. The place was huge! This wasn’t just where they stored the stage props – it was a virtual salvage yard with everything from old computers to filing cabinets to desks. There was even a collection of drinking fountains!
“How are we ever going to find it?” Toby said.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “Maybe we should split up?”
“Any idea what we’re looking for?” Chuck said.
We all looked at each other. Truth is I thought I knew, but now that the question had been asked I wasn’t so sure anymore. “Maybe we’ll just know it when we see it?”
“Yeah. Maybe we’ll get lucky,” Chuck said, “And find the spaceship someone ripped off from that Lucas movie a couple of years ago.”
Toby and I groaned. “Uh huh,” I said. “That was five hundred miles from here, at least.”
Toby ran off ahead saying, “I’ll start over here. I mean we’re not looking for an elephant, or a row-boat, or a castle. How hard could it be?”
After more than half an hour, we still hadn’t found anything remotely resembling a spaceship. I paused to take a deep breath and think. That’s when an old canvas tarp looking out of place under boxes, props and assorted debris caught my eye. “Hey guys! Over here! Give me a hand!” I said.
We dug down and cleared away the clutter until I could pull the tarp away revealing a large and shiny gray metallic object underneath. “Oh wow,” I said.
“That’s a flying saucer,” Chuck said.
“Gosh, that’s big,” Toby said.
It was big, too. Roughly larger than a minivan and flared around the middle. I moved closer for a better look. There wasn’t a lick of gaffer tape or wire or even anyplace to secure a rope. My heart began pounding. I looked at Chuck nervously – this was almost too good to be true, I thought. “What do you think?”
Chuck smiled. “We need a truck.”
“And a crane,” Toby said. “It’s impossible.”
“Hmm,” I said. “Let’s get some more stuff out of the way before we decide it’s hopeless. Okay?” I couldn’t see how we’d be able to move this thing on our own, and there was no way we could set up for shooting in the storage lot. We needed help. I reached out and touched the spaceship as if maybe it would somehow tell me what to do. It felt cold and slippery, like nothing I’d ever felt before. It made my fingers tingle and my hair rise as if charged with static electricity. “Whoa…” I said.
Toby touched it too, and instantly pulled back as if shocked. But he reached for it once more and ran his hand over its surface. “That’s unreal,” he said.
I was beginning to think the same thing. It’s just a prop, I reminded myself wondering just how many millions of dollars it had cost to make. I don’t know what made me do it, but I gave the spaceship a shove as if hoping it weighed much less than it looked. It moved. Not much; maybe an inch but that wasn’t the point. It had moved, and I didn’t even push that hard. “Hey guys,” I said. “Look at this.” I shoved the spaceship again, and it moved.
“What the heck?” Toby said.
Chuck’s mouth gaped.
“Help me,” I said.
We all pushed, and the spaceship moved again, but only a few more inches before it just stopped despite our efforts. “That makes no sense,” I said. “It shouldn’t have moved in the first place but did, and now it won’t.”
Toby, walking around to one side of the spaceship, suddenly lit up. “It’s stuck.”
“No kidding,” Chuck said.
“No, I mean it’s stuck because something’s in the way.”
The spaceship had gotten hung up on a pipe sticking out of the ground. “We could try lifting it,” I said.
“Are you kidding?” Chuck said. “The thing’s got to weigh a ton.”
“Yeah, so it shouldn’t have glided over the concrete, but it did,” I said.
Because the saucer’s skin was so slick we couldn’t get a good grip, but somehow we managed well enough to get the craft over the pipe, and once free it glided with little effort except when scraping over imperfections in the floor.
“Okay,” Toby said. “That’s just weird.”
We looked at each other and nodded. I racked my brain trying to come up with a plausible explanation but the only thing that came to mind was that this was no ordinary movie prop. I’d seen enough of the behind-the-scenes bonus features to know most models and props were slapped together with duct tape and chewing gum and relied on cables and pulleys and electric motors and such to work, and always with someone operating the controls. What we had was something else, something even more extraordinary. “You know what?” I said trying hard to contain my excitement. “Suppose this isn’t a movie prop at all?”
Chuck and Toby shot me puzzled looks.
“This is more like something Lucas would have his effects wizards put together so he could drive it around his ranch for his own enjoyment.”
Toby grinned. “That would explain a lot,” he said.
I nodded. “Yup. It sure would.”
Toby cocked his head and shrugged. “Then why was it here?”
“I bet it’s a prototype,” Chuck said. “It might have been used it as a prop at one time, then got stolen just like the news accounts said, and by the time it was recovered Lucas probably already had his people build him a new and better one and didn’t need this one back.”
That sounded reasonable to me. I mean what else could it be?
“What if it’s military?” Toby said. “It could have ended up in a surplus auction by mistake.”
I’d read about that happening. A guy bought a missile guidance system for a few dollars and brought it to pawn shop trying to score some quick cash; not the sort of thing that was supposed to happen but did. “Na,” I said. “This being Lucas’ makes the most sense.”
We draped the tarp back over our spaceship and told Mr. Franklin that we’d found something we could use but needed to get it out through the back gate. He smiled and called a security guard to help us. Thankfully, he didn’t question what we were moving or how.
It took nearly an hour to get back to our fort. Okay, so it wasn’t so much a fort as it was the nerve center of our production operation. I chuckle each time I think of it that way, but it was a pretty accurate description. We had double-glazed windows and skylights, insulation in the walls, proper doors and most important of all, electricity. Not just a few battery-operated lanterns but real mains power from a bank of salvaged solar panels and deep-cycle batteries feeding a grid-compatible inverter. If we’d scrounged enough wire, we could have made some pocket money selling the excess back to the power company, but as it was we were able to run our equipment, a refrigerator, and even a small air conditioner.
“We need to secure this thing so it doesn’t blow away with a breeze,” I said. We tried crisscrossing the saucer with ropes tied to tent stakes we’d hammered into the ground, but the ropes wouldn’t grip the saucer’s slippery surface and fell away no matter how much we tried to tighten them. Duct tape did the trick, though.
“So now what?” Chuck asked.
“So now we look for the way in,” I said. I began sliding my hands over the saucer’s skin, feeling for any imperfection that might mark a button or latch. I worked my way about half way around when all of a sudden symbols glowed light blue under where my hands passed over. “Hey guys,” I said. I repeated the hand movement, and the same symbols glowed again. “Check this out!”
“Whoa…” Chuck said.
“Those look like Imperial symbols from the movies. Probably means, ‘Press Here’,” Toby said.
Chuck thumped Toby in the arm. “I suppose you speak Bochi, too.”
“Heck no.” Toby recoiled. “But Lucas was always doing that sort of thing. Remember Club Obi Wan in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?”
I pressed on the symbols. There was a click and then a low hum and suddenly an oval outline larger than a man appeared in the same light blue glow as the symbols. In moments, the material inside the outline disappeared. Whoa,” I said. “I knew Lucas was into some very cool stuff, but this…this is way cool.”
“Gotta be military.” Toby said.
I nudged Toby and said, “Stick your head inside.”
All to eager to please, Toby smiled and moved toward the craft.
Chuck shot me a dirty look.
I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Hold up, I’ll do it,” I said, pulling Toby out of the way. I shone the tiny blue-LED flash-light attached to my key ring into the craft. From what I could tell the inside was made of the same slippery metallic material as the skin. When I eased my hand inside, immediately the chamber lit up. “Much better,” I said under my breath. My heart pounded and my mouth went dry, and I was scared half to death but I had to keep going, had to find out what this thing really was. “Looks like some kind of an airlock.”
“Why would there be an airlock? Unless…”
“Oh, shut up. It’s supposed to be some sort of spaceship, right? So of course they would have to have this to make it look right on screen. Duhhh…”
“I thought we thought this was some kind of cool machine Lucas used to fly around his ranch?”
“Well it could have been both, you know,” I retorted.
“Do you think we should get your dad?”
“Why?” I shot back. I could think of a hundred reasons why but didn’t offer any of them. I bit my lip.
I ran my hand along the walls hoping to activate the same sort of control that triggered the outer opening. Sure enough more glowing symbols appeared on the wall, and when I pressed on them, another oval outline appeared and then the material within it dissolved with an abrupt hiss as if I’d just opened a can of soda. I stepped into the craft and poked my head through the inner opening.
“What do you see?” Chuck said.
Despite it’s rather compact dimensions, the second interior chamber was surprisingly roomy. “There’s a single seat flanked by oval control panels perched facing a flat dimpled console, and not much else.” I said.
“Why is there only one seat?” Toby said.
I thought for a moment. “If you’re George Lucas, one’s all you need.”
Chuck leaned closer to me and said, “So what do you think?”
“I think I’m dreaming.”
* * * * *
I’d said almost nothing to Dad about the saucer except to let him know that we’d gotten something from the university and to say thank you to Mr. Franklin. Within a short time we had everything set up to shoot our first rehearsal. Through experimentation, we had figured out how to turn on various colored lights and alien-looking readouts, and there were moments sitting in that pilot’s seat I could shut out the others and imagine myself flying to the far reaches of the universe before some commotion inevitably brought me crashing to reality on Earth. I needed some time alone in the saucer.
Wednesday morning my alarm went off right on time at 12:30AM. I got dressed, grabbed my flashlight, snuck out the window, and made my way through the woods under cover of night to the fort. I was going to get a take without any distractions. I got the lights and cameras and computer equipment running, sat down in the pilot’s seat and began going through the motions of working the controls as if I were on some interstellar mission. Everything was going great until the blinding flash and…
“And I woke up here in hospital, Dad,” I said.
“That’s the strangest thing,” Dad said. “Are you sure you feel okay?”
I nodded. I felt fine. “But that’s not all.”
“Oh?” Dad said, leaning in closer, his face creased with worry.
“Yeah. I…”
A sharp knock on the door cut me off, and before Dad could say anything, two black-suited men came in.
As Dad got up, the first man flashed a badge. “My name is Agent Smith. This is my partner, Agent Jones, and we’d like to ask a few questions.”
My heart began to pound. “Is this about the flying saucer?” I blurted.
Agent Smith looked puzzled and narrowed on me. “Flying what?”
I swallowed hard and drew in a huge breath. “The flying saucer? We were making a sci-fi movie and found a flying saucer prop only it turned out to be real. I know cause after the flash of light the whole thing took off and on the front view screen I could see the earth, the moon, and an ocean of stars like I never imagined before. The ocean of stars turned to a kind of glowing blur and an instant later I was in orbit around another planet, green I think. It was just like earth in so many ways yet completely different,” I gushed in one breath.
Agent Smith grinned at me. “What an imagination,” he said, shaking his head. “Flying saucers! Space travel! Alien planets!” He chuckled. “Son. The FBI doesn’t investigate flying saucers,” Smith said.
“Anymore,” Jones added.
Dad said, “My son is very tired.”
“Uh huh, uh huh. I understand. This won’t take but a minute or two,” Agent Smith said. “You brought your son to the hospital?”
Dad shook his head. “No.”
“You didn’t?” Agent Smith said. “Reception told me that you did.”
“No,” Dad said. “It was someone who apparently looked just like me.”
Agent Smith glanced at his partner. “I see.”
“He brought my son into the ER, said he was unconscious, and next thing they know the guy was gone.”
“And you’ve no idea who this person was?” Jones said.
“No.”
I shook my head when Agent Smith looked at me.
“And no idea where he might be now?” Smith said.
“Of course not. I didn’t know anything had happened,” Dad said, “Until I got a call from the hospital about my son. He told them who he was when he woke up and, well, here we are. All the doctors can tell me is that Derek is registering an unusually high electrical field.”
Smith nodded. “Residual effect of being struck by lightning.”
“Lightning? What are you talking about?”
The agents nodded at each other. “After surveying the scene and looking at the evidence,” Agent Jones said, “We determined that’s what happened.”
“That,” Smith added, “Would also account for your son’s space travel and alien planet stuff.”
“Really?” Dad tensed.
“Oh yes,” Jones said. “Definitely.”
“But there wasn’t a mark on him,” Dad protested.
“It was an indirect strike,” Jones said.
Smith nodded.
Before Dad could question either of them further, Smith said, “Thank you. We’re done here, for now.” He handed Dad a business card retrieved from a wallet. “If you think of anything to add, call.” He grinned again.
Dad was not amused. “Now look here – who is this mysterious person? Why are you looking for him, and if he’s running from the FBI, why did he risk bringing my son here?”
Smith shook his head slowly. “I’ve no idea.” He motioned to his partner who opened the hospital room door. “But if you see him again, or anyone you think might be him, call us.” The agents left.
After a few moments, Dad looked at the card and said. “That was strange, huh?”
“It wasn’t a lightning strike,” I said quietly. “Dad? I don’t trust them.”
Dad chuckled. “You seem to have inherited your mother’s judge of character.”
I swallowed hard. “I miss her,” I said. We used to all go down to the Keys where the water was crystal clear. Perfect diving conditions to maybe find a Spanish galleon or the lost city of Atlantis or even a UFO. But we hadn’t been back since we lost Mom on a dive there just over a year ago.
“I know son. I do too.”
It seemed like the longest silence had passed between us before I went on. “The ocean of stars turned to a kind of glow, indistinct but all around,” I said. “An instant later I was high above another planet, green this time. It was just like earth in so many ways yet completely different.”
Dad’s eyes widened as he listened intently. He looked like he wanted to believe but at the same time seemed to stare through me as if not really listening at all. “Dad,” I said. “I’m scared.”
Dad gave me a hug. “Don’t worry, son. We’ll talk more later, when you get home.”
* * * * *
The hospital released me the next day, saying they had no real explanation as to what might have happened. As I got in the car with Dad, I happened to spot Agents Smith and Jones in a car across the parking lot. “Dad,” I said, pointing toward the men as covertly as I could.
Dad nodded gently. “I know,” he said.
Smith and Jones followed us home, and parked down the street. I figured they expected the mystery man to show up again I didn’t have time to dwell on it as Toby and Chuck came barreling up on their bicycles just as I got out of the car.
“How are you?” said Chuck.
“We heard you got struck by lightning!” Toby was lit up with excitement.
I grinned. “You aren’t going to believe the story I’ve got.”
“Now, hold on a minute,” Dad said. “Before you guys get too involved in catching up, Derek’s very tired and needs his rest.”
“Aw, Dad” I complained. “I feel fine. Besides, the doctors said there was nothing wrong with me.”
Dad smiled. “Even still, take it easy, okay?”
We nodded innocently and waited for Dad to go in the house.
“So what’s this story you’ve got for us,” Chuck said.
I glanced down the street. The FBI men hadn’t budged. “Shhh,” I said. “Not here.”
“How’s the saucer?” I said as Dad headed.“How’s the fort? How’s everything?”
Chuck turned to me and said, “The saucer’s gone, and so’s our stuff.”
“What?” I said.
“Yeah,” Toby added.
I raced ahead to the fort, but when I got there I stopped dead in my tracks – the saucer was right where it was supposed to be.
“What the…?” Chuck said. “I swear it was gone.”
“Yeah,” Toby said. “No way was it here yesterday. No way!”
Inside the fort looked like someone had been searching for something in a hurry. There were papers on the floor, and stuff taken out of drawers and just strewn about. And just like Chuck had said, both our cameras and the computer were gone. “I bet it was the FBI guys,” I said.
“FBI?” Toby said.
“Yeah. Didn’t I tell you guys about that?”
“Nuh uh,” said Toby shaking his head.
“A couple of agents came to see me in the hospital.”
“What did they want?” Chuck said.
“Asked me about some guy who dropped me off in the emergency room and left. Said he looked just like my dad.”
“Wow!” Toby said.
I got up and walked toward the saucer. I wanted to check it out to see if it was okay inside, and just as I did, the craft’s hatch opened. A familiar figure peered back at me. “Dad?”
Before he could answer, though, a bolt of energy flew past him and exploded against the saucer. The figure wobbled as if stunned.
“Dad!” Just then I saw Agent Smith and Jones about twenty yards away. “What the?”
“They’ve come for me,” said the figure. “Go! GO!”
Smith fell to one knee and took aim.
I lunged, frantically waving my arms and yelling “No!”. I don’t know why. Maybe I was being stupid, but at the time all I could think about was protecting Dad. And then things got really weird, for just as Smith fired, out of nowhere Dad tackled me. I hit the ground hard, had the wind knocked out of me, and while I gasped for air the energy bolt exploded in a blinding concussion of light. A wave of terror ripped through me. “DAD!”
I closed my eyes and began to cry.
“Wh-what happened?” a familiar voice said.
I tingled with joy. “DAD!!!”
“Wow! That was something!” Toby squealed.
Fear suddenly rippled through me. “The agents!” I said.
“They’re gone,” Chuck said. “So’s the saucer.”
Dad put his arms around me and pulled me close. “It’s over now, son,” he said. “It’s over.”
I looked into his face. “Is it?”