1958 08 00 Fantastic Universe - Shapes in the sky

Magazine Overview

Title: FANTASTIC UNIVERSE SCIENCE FICTION
Issue: August
Date: 1958-08
Publisher: ICD
Price: 35c

Article: Shapes in the Sky by... Civilian Saucer Intelligence

This article, presented as a monthly column by Civilian Saucer Intelligence of New York, discusses a newly discovered behavior of UFOs termed 'orthoteny,' as identified by French acoustic engineer and UFO researcher Aimé Michel. The author notes that despite the UFO era entering its twelfth year, research seems to make slow progress, with many phenomena and theories predating 1947 and Charles Fort.

The Discovery of Orthoteny

The article highlights a significant discovery made by Aimé Michel while studying the French UFO wave of Fall 1954. He observed a surprising pattern in the behavior of flying saucers: they tended to fly along specific, sharply-defined straight-line paths. This phenomenon, termed 'orthoteny' (from Greek 'ortho-' meaning straight and 'tenein' meaning stretch or extend), was discovered almost accidentally while Michel was studying a large number of sightings.

Evidence from France, September 24, 1954

On September 24, 1954, six UFO observations in France were reported. These included sightings in Vichy, Gelles, Ussel, Tulle, Lencouacq, and Bayonne. Remarkably, when plotted on a map, all six sightings lay on a single straight line, stretching approximately 300 miles from Bayonne in the southwest to Vichy in the center. The probability of such an alignment occurring by chance was estimated to be less than 1 in 200, and by some methods, as low as 1 in 10,000,000.

Further analysis revealed that this line was not the path of a single object, as the details of the sightings differed (e.g., three objects at Bayonne, one elsewhere) and they occurred over several hours, not in sequential order along the line.

Orthotenic Lines as UFO Flyways

Throughout the 'fantastic saucer invasion' of France in the autumn of 1954, this theme of straight lines, or 'orthotenic lines,' was repeatedly observed. These lines were not permanent and seemed to change nightly. The UFOs exhibited 'military discipline' in restricting their movements to these defined paths.

The 'Great Cloud Cigar' and Dispersion Centers

Michel's research also identified a type of UFO he called 'the great cloud cigar.' This was an elongated object, often surrounded by cloud, smoke, or vapors, from which smaller objects frequently emerged or entered. These sightings were often made at locations where orthotenic lines met or crossed, which Michel termed 'dispersion centers.'

Orthoteny in the United States, November 1957

The article explores whether this orthotenic principle applied to UFOs in other countries. The November 1957 wave in the United States provided an opportunity to test this. Using a gnomonic-projection map, linear patterns were indeed found, but they were not as clearly distinguishable from 'pseudo-orthotenic patterns' (accidental alignments) as those in France. The authors suggest this could be due to the difficulty in filtering out erroneous sightings (like Venus) or the possibility that US UFOs in 1957 were a 'different breed' or operated under a different system.

Inconsistent Behavior of UFOs

Despite the potential for orthoteny, the article notes that UFOs seem to take 'positive pleasure in violating generalizations' about their behavior, often acting inconsistently. However, the similarities between the 1957 US sightings and the 1954 French phenomena were striking, particularly the description of the UFOs as luminous neon-red and egg-shaped.

Conclusion

The occurrence of orthotenic lines in France in 1954 is presented as indisputable. The article concludes that these patterns, while baffling, may contain a vital clue yet to be deciphered by UFOlogists.

Mother Shipton's Prophecy

The issue also includes a short section featuring a four-hundred-year-old prophecy by Martha "Mother" Shipton, foretelling advancements like horseless carriages, global communication, underwater travel, and aerial transportation.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The magazine consistently explores the more analytical and pattern-seeking aspects of UFO research, focusing on scientific investigation and the search for underlying principles, as exemplified by the detailed examination of Aimé Michel's orthoteny theory. The editorial stance appears to be one of open inquiry into unexplained phenomena, presenting research and theories for reader consideration without definitive conclusions, while also acknowledging the historical and sometimes speculative nature of the subject.