by Timothy Good
The craft are not pressurized like ours. “Because of its propulsion criteria,” Stefano explains, “a scout, even in space, is always surrounded by an envelope of atmosphere; therefore, if opening a ‘door’ while in space, the internal atmosphere would leak out at such a slow speed that it would take weeks to empty. If necessary, of course, it can be emptied within seconds.
“Just like inside the bases, the air itself is luminous: there is no concentrated light source. This generates peculiar effects on shadows that I have not quite understood….
“Light appears to be generated from nowhere,” as Stefano told me. And the flooring of a craft with which Stefano was familiar “appeared to be metallic, but was rather soft and looked like plastic.”23
Most amazingly, certain scouts of about nine meters in diameter can be compressed in some way to a diameter of some forty centimeters, with a corresponding reduction in their mass and inertia. Nicknamed “pocket scouts,” when reduced they can be kept and transported in a square rigid bag about sixty centimeters wide. “Having got to a rather wide clearing,” writes Stefano in Mass Contacts, “the small scout was taken out from its bag and put down with care. Then one had to get at least twenty meters away, if possible concealing oneself behind a tree or a wall.
“Acting on a switch inside the bag, the scout would at once get back to its original dimensions (with an obviously violent blast, pebbles shooting [around] like bullets followed by an inverse air displacement, a loud sound, and leaves flying around). Shortly, this quietened down and the scout was ready to be flown. When [the mission] was over, the inverse operation typically generated lower gradients of pressure, therefore was not so violent as the first one. In both instances, noticeable variations in the air temperature were felt.
“I have never understood the use of such devices: it would have been much easier to have a scout, on auto-pilot, following its owner at a great height, then have it land when necessary…. Probably there was a reason behind such complicated devices, but no satisfactory explanation was given.”24
“Bells”
According to Stefano, this was the common name—campane in Italian—given to flying-saucer scout craft. Much of what he has learned attests to the validity of a number of George Adamski’s disputed claims and provides valuable new scientific and technical data. “Although usually no two scouts are identical to each other,” Stefano reports in his treatise, “some general outlines may be described. The first is that Adamski’s bells look squatter than those of the W56s.” [See below.]
“The height-to-diameter ratio is around 0.6. This second image (below) refers to a typical W56 bell”:
“It may be seen that the proportions are slightly different: the height-to-diameter ratio is around 0.4; moreover, usually the mechanism to extend/retract the three spheres under the disc behaves in a different way: in the Adamski bell, the spheres go up and down vertically, parallel to the scout axis; in W56 devices, there is also a radial movement. [Normally, the spheres are retracted on landing.]”
Stefano adds that the main disc surface of the “bells” is made of cobalt/magnesium, while “the dome on the top of the tower is externally covered with insulating material: strangely enough, this material is again iron, in a very peculiar allotropic state [including two or more different physical forms of a chemical element],” and “the topmost sphere is made of graphite, crossed by an extremely strong electrical flux; therefore it typically becomes incandescent, with a red hue.
“What follows is but a very rough outline of the operating principles of a bell. I believe that most of them may be understandable, but in some cases our technology is not able to duplicate similar effects. I am summarizing my notes, because their content would be too technical for the general reader, and also because I believe that mankind is not yet ready to receive some of the concepts involved.” As Stefano explained to me:
“The three spheres under the main disc are hollow and filled with nitrogen at a very high pressure [via an internal radial magnetic field that forces nitrogen into a ‘doughy’ state, in order to increase its density]. This gas is taken out and pumped along the three rings at the base of the cabin. It circulates in the same direction on the first and third rings and in the opposite direction in the second ring. It is pushed by ultrasonic pumps and contributes to the maintenance of the electrostatic field around the craft.
“The rings on top of the cupola are made, alternately, of metal discs and isolating discs, perpendicular to the ‘torus’ structure, and it rotates in the same direction as the second ring. Then, under the disc itself, there are two more rings, one over the other—the highest one a bit smaller than the lower one—and the lower one rotates in the same direction as the second ring, and they are made of isolation materials. Then there is a central column. The main idea of the operation is that the topmost ring generates the ‘suspending’ operation, while the other rings generate electrostatic fields….
“The spheres must be polarized differently from one another: this may reflect on the direction of flight. In an actual landing, spheres are usually retracted: if this is not possible, their polarizations are equated to that of the outer disc. If this precaution is not taken, a really hard landing would take place, with no damage to the craft but probable injuries to its occupants.
“When taking off, some time must elapse before the craft’s gravity escapes the local one, because the change of polarization requires a big exchange of electrical charges. During this time, the craft floats almost at random, owing to the interaction between its polarization and the local electrical field. That is why Adamski reported that, after takeoff, he felt a push and acceleration. And the reason he got an electric shock [when he first approached a landed craft near Desert Center, California, on November 20, 1952] is that, with the rotating electronic field and the one electrostatically generated by the lower rings, the outer rim is ‘charged,’ owing to currents running around it. If the current is not steady, the magnetic field itself is not steady, and it generates a secondary field on the outer ring that becomes charged electrostatically…. We are not able to store such a large amount of electricity—but that was back in that period.”25
Ian Taylor, a well-informed student of the subject, related to me how in around 1976 he was shown two approximately ten- by eight-inch glossy black-and-white prints of “what at first looked like an illuminated lampshade that was out of focus. Both prints seemed the same but there were minor differences as I recall,” he said. “I asked [the source] what it was he was showing me, after which he turned over the prints to reveal what I gathered was an official USAF seal, in a blue ink, slightly faded but clearly legible. I have seen official military seals before and this looked pretty authentic. He asked me to examine the shots more closely….
“It soon began to dawn on me that I was actually looking at what appeared to be night-time shots of a shape that was almost identical to Adamski’s classic Scout, albeit seemingly slightly more compressed, but that could have been down to the printing processes in the darkroom or for whatever other reason. What I was looking at was the shape of the craft in its familiar outline as a white illumination made up of parallel, horizontally opposed bars of light of an almost neon-like intensity. It soon became apparent that what I was looking at was the magnetic energy field of excitation circumnavigating the underlying form, or something to that effect.
“I asked where he had gotten these images and he said they had been smuggled out of the USA a few years back by a colleague who had known people in the U.S. Air Force who had had access to certain classified material, and that he had been given the prints as something to own, but never to make public…. I have to admit that I was completely taken aback by the sheer clarity and definition contained in the shots. As I was well into photographic techniques and special effects in my work in the creative business, I had a suspicion these would have been copies taken from the original negatives rather than original prints
, but it was difficult to say.”26 (See photo section.)
“Overalls”
For me, the most astonishing mode of alleged W56 transportation was a one-piece apparel, referred to as “overalls.” “Typically, the W56s used these overalls—not scouts—to move from one place to another,” Stefano told me. “The suit was a biological entity/device for supporting its occupant, from any point of view: nutrition, elimination of waste, and so on. Under the ten-centimeter-thick soles were two propulsive devices. From my point of view, they were rather elementary, as the propulsive system wasn’t so difficult to use. It generated two identical ‘pushes’ from your feet toward your head, or vice-versa.”27 In Mass Contacts, Stefano expounds:
“The overalls were biological entities, strictly personal, which acted as [both] defensive and transportation systems. They were to be worn over the naked body, protecting the occupant against practically any external danger.
“There was a whimsical system for managing inertia: the overall was able [incrementally] to adjust its inertia up to unbelievable levels…. The propulsion system was really rudimentary, based on two ‘pushes’ applied perpendicularly to the soles, and the only control system was a button on the belt which was able to modulate the intensity of the two pushes (identical to each other). Pushes could be both positive (upward) and negative (downward). The pilot’s skill lay in graduating the strength of pushes and in carefully orientating his feet….
“Needless to say, more than once, funny episodes took place; for instance, one morning in Munich, Germany, passers-by were astonished by the sight of a distinguished elderly gentleman who, upside down, was flying randomly at a height of a few meters, from time to time bumping into buildings in his path!
“The overall would tune itself to its owner’s identity, which it was able to recognize, not through DNA but thanks to a biological principle still unknown to our scientists. A different occupant would have been considered a potential enemy….”28
It is worth noting that, though relatively rare, sightings of “flying humanoids” have been reported in other countries. In an article published in 2007, researchers Ruben Uriarte and Steven Reichmuth describe a series of sightings in Mexico of what they categorize as “unidentified flying humanoids” (UFH). “A number of UFH sightings have been reported over the skies of Mexico since the year 2000,” they report:
“Mexican citizens equipped with home video cameras have recorded flying silent humanoids, often wearing an apparatus on their backs or around their waists. Sometimes they appear to be in a sitting or reclining position. They hover or move silently, regardless of wind direction, displaying definite flight control characteristics. They have been reported predominantly around Mexico City, notably over Cuernavaca, just southeast of the capital city. Sometimes they are reported to accelerate to 100 mph or more, but more often they are filmed hovering….”
Uriarte and Reichmuth checked the possibility that such sightings were related to people flying with the aid of “rocket belts” propelled by hydrogen peroxide. They consulted Juan Mañuel Lozano, CEO of Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana (TAM), which manufactures such belts. Lozano denied that TAM was responsible and said he was unaware of any other company in Mexico that made such rocket belts. On viewing video footage of some of the Mexican incidents supplied by Uriarte, Lozano—himself a pilot and parachutist—declared his bafflement:
“I don’t have an explanation for the ‘thing’ that is seen in the video. It is clear that it is some kind of human form, but this is not a parachutist, this is not a rocket belt or jet pack, and this is not a craft that is known around here … my rocket belt only flies for thirty seconds. No other rocket belt in the world can fly for more than thirty seconds.”
As Uriarte and Reichmuth confirm, the UFH objects were recorded on video flying for much longer than any human-designed rocket belt. “UFHs have been observed and videotaped flying effortlessly at well over 300 feet high [and] flew totally silently, as opposed to the 150 decibels produced by rocket belts,” they point out. “If alien in origin, are these some sort of flexible kinds of individual transport? What could these objects do that good old-fashioned flying discs cannot do as well?”29 How prescient. To the best of my knowledge, neither Uriarte nor Reichmuth were aware of the Amicizia saga. Mass Contacts was not published (in English, at least) until 2007. And they were certainly unaware of the following, which is published here for the first time.
Stefano claims that “overalls” are capable even of transporting an occupant to another planet—at least in our solar system—and related to me how one of his friends had once visited Mars, allegedly discovering that the temperature was less cold than, and the percentage of oxygen well above, that which is officially stated.
“Giants on the Earth”
To return to the W56 aliens, the gigantic Dimpietro had rented a small house owned by an elderly woman in the country near Forlimpopoli, at that time a small village some thirty kilometers north of Rimini. He liked to cook his own meals and, by way of relaxation at night, sometimes played his violin (which he had made himself) in the grounds surrounding the house! “Think how small the violin would be for a 3.5 meter-tall man!” remarked Bruno Sammaciccia.30 Indeed. As a violinist myself, I surmise that, given his proportionately larger hands, the instrument he made must have been larger than our full-size instruments—possibly the size of a viola. Dimpietro refused to be disturbed during such periods.
Bruno had been asked by Dimpietro to rent a large car for him and remove the front seat so he could sit directly on the floor. On one amusing occasion in 1957, Bruno invited Dimpietro to his flat in Milan. Before being introduced to Bruno’s wife, Dimpietro tactfully sat on the floor to avoid alarming her. “When this happened,” explained Bruno, “my wife had just come home after her shopping, found this incredible being seated on the floor of our kitchen, got frightened and ran into the bedroom, locking the door behind her. I had told her about our friends, but she had never met any of them. At the time, I was walking in the neighbourhood with my dog Dik, and deciding to return home, I looked for the caretaker to let me into the building, but he was nowhere to be seen. So I rang the bell at the intercom, and my wife Alessandra opened the door.
“As I entered my flat, Alessandra told me that there was ‘somebody’ in the kitchen; Dik had already gone there himself. When I entered the kitchen, I found Dimpietro seated on the floor and Dik sitting beside him. My wife, still terrified, [returned] to the bedroom. Dimpietro remained seated, without uttering a word. Then he got up, his head just touching the ceiling. ‘How will we talk to each other?’ I asked him, ‘with a megaphone?’ ‘That’s why I sat on the floor,’ he replied. ‘So sit down again,’ I said, which he did. ‘Your wife is terrified of me, but do I look as though I would terrify anyone?’ ‘It’s not that…. She knows you’re a man from another world, and she’s very upset.’”
Dimpietro asked for a cigarette. Bruno offered him one, but it was declined. “These are for children,” he complained. “Downstairs, you’ll find a car parked just in front of your building; here are the keys. Do not get upset when you see that there’s no driver’s seat, because I need to sit directly on the floor of the car. You’ll find some cigars inside the glove compartment.” Bruno found four cigar boxes, and returned with one of them.
“Call your wife in,” said Dimpietro. “We have to calm her down and convince her that I’m not aggressive.” Alessandra returned to the kitchen, still nervous. Hands shaking, she made some napoletana coffee, with Dimpietro ensuring she knew how to prepare it properly and to serve him without sugar in a larger cup than the others. Next he made himself a frittata (a kind of Italian omelette). “We offered him some bread,” said Bruno, “but he refused, because he said he wasn’t yet accustomed to our bread. Instead, he asked for some wine. In my kitchen was some white wine, and I knew that he drank only red, so I phoned a nearby grocer and in a few minutes we had a bottle of Corvo di Salaparut
a [a fine Sicilian wine].”
“Would you allow me to drink directly from the bottle?” asked Dimpietro. “I’m used to doing it this way. If you like, I’ll pour some wine into a couple of glasses for you, and then I’ll drink from the bottle.” He drank the rest of the wine in three mouthfuls. Bruno asked if this could be harmful. “No,” came the reply, “you must understand that it is not the quantity that hurts, but the quality.”
After another smoke, it was time for Dimpietro to leave. “He knelt on the floor,” said Bruno, “embraced my wife with great delicacy (she was still a bit upset because of that unusual dinner), and told her: ‘Remember, I do not eat women, I only eat peppers, pasta, and some sweets at times….’ He kissed her on the forehead. It was a strange vision, I can assure you, looking at this extremely tall man, kneeling on the floor and trying to calm down my poor wife.
“It was three o’clock in the morning, and he had to drive the car, parked in the street. Luckily it was night, and nobody was around: of course, he couldn’t use the elevators, so Dimpietro, Dik and I went downstairs, with great care. He opened the car door, and as there was no driver’s seat he entered just as if going to bed, sat on the floor and finally forced his legs on both sides of the steering wheel. ‘Do you have any problem with the pedals?’ I asked him. ‘Not at all; if necessary, I can use my hands to operate them.’
“He started the engine and began to move. I asked him, ‘Do you know the way?’ ‘I know every street, even the alleys,’ he answered, and sped away.”31