CH117 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind

He introduced himself, "I'm Douglas Trumbull, the visual artist on the team. You might not know me, but that's okay because you surely know my work. I did the visual effects for '2001: A Space Odyssey.'"

"Oh, he's a big shot," Ethan exclaimed, shaking hands vigorously.

With the introduction, Ethan gradually understood how Spielberg's visual effects in movies were crafted.

To put it simply, it was a miraculous feat of creativity. They built models to bring imagination to life and then enhanced them with the most basic principles of physics.

The process...

"Why do I feel like it's somewhat similar to arcade circuit boards?" Ethan whispered.

"It's essentially the same," Evelyn agreed. "Just a slight difference in cost."

As Ethan was brought by Spielberg, whatever they were curious about, there were professionals in the crew to answer.

After watching for a while, Ethan, having gathered various answers, lost interest in the filmmaking process.

The reason was simple: the intricate behind-the-scenes work made the filming process seem uninteresting.

For instance, cameras in this era didn't have autofocus. Therefore, the camera crew had to measure the optimal distance between the camera and actors with a ruler, and then mark it on the floor with tape. This ensured that the final product wouldn't have out-of-focus issues. Also, monitoring devices like shoot monitors haven't been developed yet. So, during movie shoots, you could only see the live performance of the actors. The real-time footage? Only the cameraman could see that. Even the director had to wait until the film was developed to know if the day's footage was as intended. It was precisely because even the director was uncertain that the term "reshoot" came into existence.

Faced with the boring reality of more work than actual filming, Ethan lost interest in movie production.

Evelyn felt the same boredom.

The girl thought Hollywood film sets would be fun, but...

Is this it?

Out of politeness, they didn't immediately leave. After Spielberg finished his work, he, who had been busy all day, suggested treating the two visitors to a meal. He had already chosen the location, MK Restaurant, which he had mentioned to Ethan before and was known to be Charlie Chaplin's favourite.

Although watching the filming didn't feel great, at the dinner table, Ethan and Evelyn heard some gossip.

"Oh, Ethan, you asked me where the inspiration for 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' came from?"

"The inspiration for this movie actually has a prototype."

"Do you know about the Roswell incident?"

"It's the UFO crash incident that happened in 1947."

"The story actually has a sequel. I don't know if it's true, but I find it interesting, so I decided to turn it into a movie."

"The sequel probably happened a dozen years ago. Finally, America made contact with the extraterrestrial civilization involved in the Roswell incident. They came to our Earth in a spaceship. After some communication, we discovered that they were kind-hearted."

"It was because the aliens were friendly that we wanted to know more. The President at that time directly signed a secret exchange program. The plan was to send a small team of American soldiers to their hometown to gather intelligence. In exchange for the information, we also made an agreement with the aliens to bring them back after so many years."

"The story is that simple. I don't know the ending because there hasn't been any news of humans coming back. But that doesn't matter, right? Just these known details are enough for me to make a movie..."

Well, well!

Ethan was dumbfounded!

So, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" is a sequel to the Roswell incident?

This is too much of a spoof!

And the reason?

Very simple!

Because Ethan had heard of the Roswell incident!

Or rather, in the era he grew up in his past life, even various newspapers were discussing this matter! From the New York Post to Legal Evening News, there wasn't a newspaper that didn't talk about it! The content of this incident was also simple. In 1947, there was a thunderstorm in Roswell, New Mexico. A farmer heard a loud noise, and the next day, he found many metal fragments around the farm. This situation prompted the intervention of the U.S. military.

A few days later, another resident of Roswell claimed to have found the wreckage of an unidentified flying object, with several small bodies around it. Subsequently, the U.S. government forcefully intervened and sealed off the scene.

From then on, the voices of aliens coming to Earth became widespread.

In his past life, Ethan just treated this story as gossip.

Because until 2023, there was no publicly recognized existence of extraterrestrial beings in the world.

But now...

"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" is a sequel to the Roswell incident?

Possible...

Spielberg, this big director, is really impressive!

He can turn any piece of gossip into a movie!

Ethan thought Spielberg's inspiration was a bit outrageous.

And one who found the story quite unbelievable was Evelyn.

After finishing dinner and bidding farewell to Spielberg on the way to the hotel, the girl sitting in the passenger seat continued to complain about the dullness of the movie plot, "If this story is related to the Roswell incident, then I think it should be portrayed darker!"

"Because that would be interesting!"

"Take, for example, if aliens came to Earth, and there were some inconveniences before their benevolent contact with humans. After a slight modification, these extraterrestrials turned out to be advanced beings in the universe. They came to Earth to observe whether this lower civilization posed a threat to them. If there was a threat, they would strike directly. If not, they would collect genetic data and suppress human development."

"So, they would take away a group of humans when leaving, intending to conduct special research on them. Later, they promised to bring them back. The extraterrestrials were planning to send spies disguised as humans secretly, after thoroughly studying human DNA."

"So, this revelation would only be known to those humans who had boarded the spaceship. The movie's ending would be them gazing at the Earth getting farther and darker in space, indicating that Earth would be in deep crisis in the future."

"So, how about it? Doesn't this story sound much more interesting?" Evelyn blinked at Ethan.

She almost wrote 'praise me' all over her face.

Ethan, amazed by her imagination, commented, "Oh! Wow! With your twist, it turns from a sci-fi film into an action film, maybe even a sci-fi action film. This movie could definitely have a sequel – extraterrestrials integrating into Earth!"

As he said this, Ethan felt something was off.

If they followed his sister's imagination, wouldn't the movie become a Marvel-like secret invasion event?

This imagination was really...

Out there!

However, just as Ethan was about to reflect on the coincidence of this inter-temporal connection...

A sudden flash of insight made him feel that things were even more unusual.

Frowning slightly, he said, "Evelyn."

"Hmm?"

"Did Steven just say that at the end of the story, the extraterrestrials promised to return those taken humans after some time?"

"Yes, what's the matter?" Evelyn instinctively replied, not understanding why Ethan asked.

But at this moment, Ethan felt his imagination running wild!

Spielberg's version of the story was that extraterrestrials came to Earth and took away an electrician, returning him many years later.

Evelyn's version of the story was that extraterrestrials harbored ill intentions towards humanity, plotting to subvert the entire human civilization.

Combining these two stories, it became: Extraterrestrials came to Earth, took away an electrician, and sent a disguised alien back to Earth many years later. As the electrician had already learned about the extraterrestrial conspiracy on the spaceship, upon arriving on the alien planet, he actively sought the extraterrestrials planning to infiltrate Earth and tried to turn them against their own kind.

As the good-hearted alien opposed its civilization's plan to subvert others, it decided to help the electrician when he found it. The alien, having learned a lot of human knowledge, especially in electrical work, gradually became an electrician on Earth.

But this identity couldn't allow it to warn the world of the extraterrestrial crisis. So, after much thought, it decided to spread its warning by writing a book. After numerous attempts, it wrote a sentence based on its own experience—

'The universe is a dark forest, and each civilization is a hunter with a gun...' 

(TL: Talking about Three-Body Problem - Novel)

Yes!

The electrician with thick eyebrows and big eyes, Liu Cixin, turned out to be an extraterrestrial!

The logic was so neatly closed!

"Hahaha—"

Thinking of this, Ethan burst into laughter.

His strange laughter puzzled Evelyn, "Ethan, what's wrong with you?"

"I'm fine... Hahaha... I just... Hahaha... I just thought of something fun..."

Ethan laughed uncontrollably.

At this moment, he finally found his joy for the day!

Although this imagination couldn't be shared with others, it didn't matter!

He was happy, and that was enough!

Hahaha—

He tried not to laugh out loud.

In the process of silly laughter, Ethan remembered another question.

Evelyn believed that after the third encounter, the extraterrestrials would attack Earth? Isn't this the story of 'Space Invaders'?

Oh...

So, that's where the inspiration for this game came from!

At this moment, Ethan felt that no one understood 'Space Invaders' better than himself!

TL Note:

The Roswell incident has been discussed on various platforms, and for those interested, a quick online search can provide a wealth of interpretations. There are numerous interpretations, perhaps even more than the scales of psoriasis on a utility pole. A book titled "The Truth About Roswell" was published after this incident. Even if you are curious, it's advisable not to buy it. The contents are not significantly different from what circulates on the internet; it merely adds many details and is truly a waste of money.

Whether "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" was inspired by the American folk-popularized 'Zeta Operation' is something Spielberg has not directly addressed. However, the film did gain popularity due to the aftermath of the Roswell incident. Extraterrestrials were a hot topic in the American public during that era. Thus, watching "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" now might seem dull, but back then, people saw it as a documentary-like film, a comprehensive reflection of the fantasies and expectations of Americans at that time. It was a product of its era.

"Space Invaders" is indeed a reinterpretation in the opposite direction of the 'Zeta Operation.' It presents the notion that extraterrestrials may not be as benevolent as believed.