Alien Base: The Evidence for Extraterrestrial Colonization of Earth – FREE FALL
Prior to Alan’s elaborate explanation of propulsion, the craft had flown over New York City — at a reduced height of 20 miles and a reduced velocity of 600 m.p.h., affording Fry an excellent view. ‘The differing temperatures of the various air strata beneath me,’ he wrote, ’caused the lights to twinkle violently, so that the entire city was a sea of pulsing, shimmering luminescence.’
Before the return trip, Alan offered Fry the chance of experiencing ‘free fall’. ‘To reach this condition fully under the present circumstances would be somewhat dangerous,’ said Alan, ‘but we can approach it closely enough so that while you will still retain some stability, you will experience the sensation of weightlessness.’
‘Instantly the compartment light came on,’ said Fry. ‘While I was attempting to adjust my eyes to the light, my stomach suddenly leaped upward toward my chest.’ Although having been through steep dives and sharp pullouts in aircraft, and ridden in many devices at amusement parks, he had never experienced anything like this.
‘There was no sensation of falling. It simply felt as though my organs, having been released from a heavy strain, were springing upward like elastic bands when released from tension . . . In a few seconds I felt almost normal again.’
Pushing down with his hands on the seat, he then rose slowly to the ceiling, though his body rotated and tipped forward so that he came to rest with his knees on the chair and his eyes only a few inches from the back cushion.