OMNI January 1979

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onnruiANUARY 1979EDITOR & DESIGN DIRECTOR: BOB GUCCIONEEXECUTIVE EDITOR: FRANK KENDIGART DIRECTOR: FRANK DEVINOEUROPEAN EDITOR: DR. BERNARD DIXONDIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING: BEVERLEY WARDALEEXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT: IRWIN E. BILLMAN

Cover art lor this month'sOMNI is a new view olplanet earth byDe s Schwerlberger catted "Rescue.SchwerlbergerjAi^s born in Austria andnow lives in New 'iark City. His book.Fundamental Images, was published in1974. Hs is now at work on a new book.

CONTENTS PAGEFIRST WORD Opinion 6OMNIBUS Contributors 8COMMUNICATIONS Correspondence 10OMNI FORUM Dialogue 12EARTH Environmeni 16SPACE Astronomy 20LIFE Biomedicine 23STARS Comment 24THE ARTS Media 26UFO UPDATE Report 32CONTINUUM Data Bank 35FOREVER WAR Article MiliamK Stuckey 44NEWTON'S GIFT Fiction PaulJ.Nahin 50FRITZ GORO GALLERY Piclotial Anthony WoUf 54NEW IS BEAUTIFUL Fiction Tony Holkham 66I.J. GOOD Interview Dr. Christopher Evans 70THE FIRST STARSHIP Article Owen Davies 76RACE THE WIND Fiction JackC-Haldemanll 82ATOMIC FIRSTS! Pictorial 86GOODBYE GRAVITY Article Dr. Robert L, Forward 88SOLAR POLITICS Article Helen Drusine 92THE HOLE THING Fiction Dean R, Lambe 98WORLDS BEYOND Pictorial 102PIGS HAVE WINGS Fiction Nancy Kress 108EXPLORATIONS Travel Jerry Schad 131VIDEODISC Phenomena Paul Brieriey 142GAMES Diversions Scot Morris 144LAST WORD Opinion Isaac As i mow 146

3rintmQCorp.aniiaistriDulBdiiiOieU.S.A.,CanadCompany, 21 Henderson Drive, West Caldwell, M.jn SW9, Eng. Enlire contents copyrighled OMN


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FRANKKENDIG6 The object was silverit had a flatbottom from which sixlegs protruded, andit was circular or discshaped. It looked likea barbecue grillturned upside down

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s ne g Fu he e fc had aten h a e g n me //a s hed(-scnpti5is wcrpcorsi tent iheobjecvashivtt tl hd 1 afldthoifornfrom wfcrs, hin leg pro ibded itwascfrrularrrdisc -^hai J Se./erdi alier saidlhatiI o( ed like a harbecue gnll upsfdeoo>AP

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DRJimiBUB

Solar power is being shuffled intoa hold file by program managersat ths Department of Energy,"

writes Helen Drusine. former energy con-suitant with tfie House government sub-commitlee on environment, energy, andnatural resources,

Drusine was working with the subcom-mittee when she wrote the highly contro-versial report, "Nuclear Power Costs," Itraised quite a few eyebrows at the De-partment of Energy and apparently gotindustry and business leaders upset. Soupset, she was fired Drusine then pickedherself up, gathered her notes, and camestraight to Omni. The story is "Solar Poli-tics" {p. 92), in whicfi solar and nuclearforces continue to wage war for the samefederal dollarswith nuclear winningsubstantially over the past several years.Conclusion? "Solar technologies will be-come exotic toys more in line with StarWars and the 21st centurynot victors ofthe energy war"The 1977 Nobel Prize for physiology

and medicine was shared by Andrew Vic-tor Schelly of Poland and Roger Guiiieminof France. It's been said both winners' ca-reers are models of persistence, brilliantintuition, and efficient managementnotto mention tear, jealousy, and characterassassination, William Stuchey , contri-buting editor and author of "Nobel Prize"in our first issue, here investigates the bit-ter, often savage, personal battle be-tween these two giants of science in theirrace for science's most prestigious

award. "If their twenty-one year struggleagainst their competitors and each otheris a general reflection of the scientificlife," warns Stuckey, "then send your kidto art school. Science is for the piranhas."Follow ihem blow-by-blow in "ForeverWar" (p, 44).A trip to the stars within a hundredyears? Journalist/editor Owen Davies ex-

amines the possibilities in "The First Star-ship" (p. 76 ), a proposed mission by theBritish Interplanetary Society (BIS) tolaunch an unmanned star probe toBarnard's Star in search of planetsandpossibly life. "It won't be easy," warns Da-vies. "The rocket will take 20 years just tobuild, not to mention the 50 years it willtake for it to get to its destination. Ques-tion is, is the whole thing worth it?" An-thony Martin, editor of the BIS journal, be-lieves the idea is "very sensible indeed,""My ambition is to explain scientific

ideas and facts to the lay readership, us-ing the camera as atooi," photographerFritz Gofo told Omni staffers during athree-hour slide show from which thephotographs for this month's pictorial es-say were selected. For 30 years a staffphotographer at Life. Goro traveled theworld taking unique photographs of everykind of subject matter.

Goro's superb sense of design is read-ily apparent in all his work. His photos ofcomputer microcircuits alone resemblestunning abstract paintings. We'll letOmni's exclusive gallery of Goro speakfor itself, beginning on page 54 .

Is there really a way to control gravity?According to Dr. Robert L. Forward, se-nior scientist at Hughes Research Lab-oratories in Malibu, California, the answeris yes. A leading specialist in gravita-tional theory, Dr. Forward suggests that ifwe take a closer look at Newton and Ein-stein, we'll see that antigravity catapultsand "negative-gravity" starships are notas absurd as they might seem. It's"Goodbye Gravity" (p, 88 ).The notion that sand possesses magi-cal, musiclike qualities is intriguing andvalid. Legends have for centuries told ofstrange sand dunes that squeaked, whis-tled, and boomed. In our Explorationscolumn this month, Jerry Schad reportson this bizarre phenomenonand tells uswhere we can listen for ourselves to"Acoustic Sands" (p.i3i ).

"I find myself treading on thin ice talk-ing to you, I'm afraid I'm going to revealtoo many things." That's what RichardConner, tv and film director, told Omni re-porter James Delson when asked to dis-cuss his latest film venture. Superman.Supposedly one of the most difficult filmsever made. Superman promises to be thebiggest box office smash yet (p, 26 ).

Finally, you won't want to miss Omni'sspecial two-page spread, 'Atoms in Liv-ing Color," highlighting the work of Mi-chael Isaacson and Albert Crew, the twobrilliant Chicago physiclsjs whose Scan-ning Transmission Electron Microscopelook history's first moving pictures of theatom (p. 86). DO


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LETTERS -

carmn/iumicATorusToffieresque AnticipationsThe interview with Alvin Toffier was su-perb, and it restimuiated aii the excite-ment I felt wlien I first read Future Shock.Ted Nelson's "Computer Lib," too, af-

fected me personaily {I'm a programmer).It was {almost too) snappy, but it brouginiup a much needed "Toffieresque" antici-pation of the use to which aii this new-found computing power wiil be put; thaiis, eilfierforlfie distribution of gadgets ortowards a revoiuiion in tfie organization ctinformation and communication.

Reginald T AubryMetfiuen, MA

Aboui the loftier interview I disliked theway Toffier railed against us progressma-niacs. We don't want to ruin tfie earlfi, we)ust want to get off. Once off the earth wecould go our elitist ways, splicing genesand meddling with human evolution, looi


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DIALOGUEDfUirUI FDRUrUlIn which the readers, editors, andcorrespondents discuss topics arising outof Omni, and theories and specutation ofgeneral interest are brought forth. Theviews pubiished are no! necessarily thoseof the editors. Letters for publicationshould be mailed to Omni Forum, OmniMagazine, 909 Third Avenue, New York,NY 10022.UFO DebateHow sad to see such a poor article onUFOs in Omni's first issue. James Obergis certainly no authority on the subject. Hisarticle tries to come across as unbiased,but even someone with a superficialknowledge of the issue can see thai it islaced with distortion and innuendo.

It has been said that in war the firstcasualty is truth. The UFO controversy is akind of war with two armies defending theirviews of reality. This controversy is withouta doubt one of the most remarkable andpersistent scientific debates of the 20thcentury, with emotions riding h gh on bothsides.

When the revolution is over and theUFOs, whatever they are, are incorporatedinto the consensus of reality that scienceis building, we will look back and see thatthe UFO controversy like Darwinism andrelativity, was just another scientificrevolution in the evolution of mankind'senlightenment.

If "UFO Update" is representative of thetype of coverage controversial issues willreceive in the future, then Omni has little tooffer a questioning mind.

Terry HansenMinneapolis, MM

Mr Oberg replies: It is an article of faitharnong UFO buffs that their phenomenaare destined to become accepted byfuture science, since in the past other"heresies" such as Darwinism andrelativity were ultimately accepted, too.But most heresies, lil


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on some unexplained phenomena than inactually investigating the phenomena,

I beg of you Omni, please, offersomething more on UFOs than juslOberg's one-tracts point of view: thesubject craves variety. For example,Springs, New York, has had a wave ofperhaps Linprecedenled UFO sightings,very impressive ones, iool


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PACIFIC JEWEL

EMRTHBy.Kenneth BrowerThe Palau archipelago is thewesternmost cluster in Microne-

sia's galaxy of small islands."Micronesia" is more a convenience torgeographers than a real geographicalentity, and Palau is less a part of tfiatdoubtful entity than most of tfie scatteredarchipelagos that discompose it. InGreek, mikros means "small," nesosmeans "island," and most of Micronesia'sislands are, as the name suggests, tiny;but the Palaus are exceptions. They aresizable pieces of terrain.

Palau is closer in topography to a main-land than any other Micronesian group,and, as a result, its flora and fauna are theleast iaiandlike. Over millennia, the windsand currents have brought seeds andstray creatures from nearby landsNewGuinea, Malaysia, the Philippinesandioday Palau's ecosystem is almost conti-nental in its diversity This is a welcomedevelopment in an ocean of small, sim-ple, and often monotonous ecosystems.

For humans, as for plants and animals,Palau is a mixing ground Melanesia'srealm of black islands is nearby, and

many of Palau's people show a Melane-sian influencedark skin and nappy hair.Polynesia's many islands are not out ofreach, and many Palau Islanders demon-strate Polynesian traitsbig, robust menand women. And Malaysia's genes arethere, loo.

Presently Palau, along with most of therest of Micronesia, is administered by theUnited States through another doubtfulentity, the imitation quasi-sovereigntycalled the U.S. Trust Temtory of thePacific Islands.

History in Micronesia has a peculiarrhythm. The islands doze through long,placid, Edenic periods in which nothingmuch happens, then wake to catastro-phe^typhoon, or in this century, worldwar. The deep calm Iha! settles regularlyover the islands seems always to be thecalm before the storm. Paiau's history inthe 20th century has not been a happyone. First the Germans and then the Jap-anese intruded to rule: then in 1944 thewar touched down in Palau. and the is-lands of Peleliu and Angaur were devas-tated in some of the bloodiest fighting be-

t1? '

i Charles Gibbons, the fourth chief of Koror, paintedat age 75.

tween ttie United States and Japan. TheAmerican occupation of the years sincehas been peaceful, but the quality of thecalm is different now.A great demographic change is occur-ring in the Pacific generally, and Palau isno exception. There is a migration fromthe outer islands, small villages, and tra-ditional life into the district centers and acash economy Contusion and resent-ment have followed this reverse diaspora,as always happens with large-scalehuman movements.Today Palau's district center, on the

central island of Koror, is becoming abarrio of tin roofs and gardens, agreenand spacious slum, but a slum just thesame, full of young men and women withnothing to do. There is too much drinkingin Koror Town, too much fighting, notenough good feeling. The small villageshave been abandoned to the ve.ry youngand the very old. The very old are reposi-tories of traditional lore and wisdom buthave nobody to impart it to, for as soon asthe young people are old enough to un-derstand, they are shipped to Koror for athird-rate Western education. Traditionallife there is losing its vitalityA second, smaller migration is under-way Bright young Palauans are traveling

in increasing numbers to the UnitedStates for a second-rate, and occasion-ally a first-rate, American education. Theyreturn to Palau to find parents andcousins living in the Bronze Age. Until re-cently, they were embarrassed at thisprimitiveness of their relatives. Now theyare ambivalent. Technological civilizationhas begun to doubt itself, especially in itsclassrooms, and the young Palauanscholars pick up on that. Return-to-the-soil sentiments are now fashionable in theUnited States; the young Palauans knowthat their countrymen have never left it.They have been alerted to the pitfalls ofthe fvlachine Age, but tliey have also hada bite of the apple. Some decide that so-cialism is the right path for Palaua re-turn to Palau's old communal tradition.Others become capitalists, joining whatthey see as a mainstream. Most aren'tsure what to believe.


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Palau js entering a decade of decision.Soon Palauans, along with otiier resi-denls of the trust territory, must decidewhat l


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occupalion wear it cropped short. Youn-ger men are experimenting now witliAfros, or whatever that style should becalled In the Pacific. Yel some Palauanmen continue to fish from bamboo rafts,and Ihey all use spears, as in the olddays. For the most pari .22 rifles havereplaced blowguns, but those ancientweapons are still in use in parts of Babel-daob, and the fruit bals and pigeons muststill be alert for the quiet, lethal darts. To-day Palauan women wear print dressesinstead of grass, and they seldom go top-less anymore missionaries and T-shirtshave ruined that. Only old women, tat-tooed in girlhoods belonging to anotherepoch, still boast the permanent operagloves of that time. But Palauan womenstill work in theirtaro gardens, gossipingand singing old songs. They still wieldtheir covert matrilineal power. The first-childbirth ceremony endures, and in iteach new mother returns briefly to thechildhood of the race, donning a grassskirl, casting her blouse aside, and dye-ing her torso yellow.

Fourteen thousand is not many, aspopulations go. The survival of Palau'straditions, or their failure, might not seemsignificant. Yet in a curious way Palau's14,000 outweigh the 14,000 citizens ot,say, a small Kansas town, or the 14,000residents of an apartment complex inNew York City or of a city block in Paris.Palau is a whole world. Palauans, in theirisolation, have evolved a distinct andseparate way ot looking at life and thecosmos. They have their own languageand ethos. Ttieir culture is duplicated,and duplicable, nowhere else. Similarlyunique are the cultures of Rongerik,Jaluit, Utirik, and Bikar in the MarshallIslands; of Losap, Sorol, Pulap, Fayu,Pikelet, Ngulu, and Eauripik in the Caro-lines; of Rarotonga, Takuiea, (Vlitiaro, and

Ailulaki in the Cook Islands; o! Haraiki,Kikueru, RaiatSa, and Morokau in theSociety Islands; of Epi, Efala, Eromanga,and Malekula in the New Hebrides. Eachof these bits of land is a planet unto itself,as different as Callisto. Titan, Ganymede,and the other disparate moons of Jupiter,or as Arrakis, Caladan, and Salsa Se-cunda in the imaginary Imperium of FrankHerbert.Oceania Is a universe. One constella-

tion, Micronesia, spangles the equinoctialline. Another, Melanesia, dips down intoUrsa Major. A third, Polynesia, runs fromCygnus down through Cassiopeia toPerseus. In the 20th century, one afteranother, Oceanic cultures have beenwinking out. Sometimes whole islandsdisappear, as has happened in Bikiniatoll Each light is tiny, but when it fails,the earth gets disproportionately darker.When a species vanishes, we neverknow quite what we've lost. Does Palau'sjungle, for example, hide some mold witha potential like penicillin's? Does Palau'sreef, half of its species still unknown toscience, hide some fish or some coral orsome arthropod to which our designersmight go for analogy, as our aeronauticalengineers once went to birds? We can'tknow once that jungle and reef are gone.The same holds for small Oceanic civili-zalions that the 20th century is steadilysnuffing. Might there be, in Palau's oraltradition, some proverb from which theworld at large might benefit? Might therebe, in Palau's old and still vilal pharmaco-poeia, some remedy? In Palau's elhicssome principle? In Palau's humor sorhejoke?Some ancient thinker, or thinkers, de-signed Palau's society cleverly Palau isfull of divisions, with the various compo-nents set off against one another. Villagecompetes against village, island against

The Palau Islands archipelago is the westernmasl clu term Micronesias galaxy o! small i!,lands.Palau Is located due north of Auslialla and New Guinea and due wtrst ot the Phihppinf^s -ind China.

island, clan against clan. The result is alot of productivity and an excess of ner-vous energy On the surface Palau looks alol like one of those careless, dreamy ar-chipelagos in South Sea island mythol-ogy Underneath, it sleepily seethes. Theword most visitors choose to describePalauans, in comparing them to other Mi-cronesians, is "aggressive." This is toosimple, of course, but there is truth to it,Palauans do have terrible trouble gettingalong. Sometimes it seems that Palau'sold social architects succeeded too wellin their faclionaiization of Palauan society.

It often appears that every Palauan isat odds with his fellow, thai no one quiletrusts anyone, thai contrary lo Donne,each man is an island after all. Palau's es-sential factiousness has had polilicatconsequences unhappy tor Ihe islands.Two Palauan conlemporaries who

head two of the factions in the islands areYuiaka Gibbons, the high chief of KororIsland, and Francisco Uludong, Palau'smost vocal socialist. Gibbons is theyouthful leader of an old aristocracy. Ulu-dong is Palau's original Young Turk. Thetwo men are not opposed on all issuesboth are suspicious of United Stales mili-tary intentions in Palau, and both are re-sisting oil-industry plans to build a super-port in the islandsbut in other mattersIhey often find themselves on oppositesides.

Chief Gibbon's elevation lo power wasrecent and sudden.

In the summer ot 1 973, at five o'clockone morning, at the U.S. Army Presidio inSan Francisco, SpecialisI Fifth ClassYutaka Gibbons, a cook, was soundasleep when a call came down lo hiscompany from Washington. His sleepycompany commander was ordered to re-lease Gibbons immediatelytomorrow ifpossible, Back in Palau, Gibbons's ma-ternal-uncle, NgoriakI, had died. NgoriakIwas Ibedul, the high chief of Koror (andgenerally regarded as paramount in allPalau, though this, like everything in Pa-lau, is debated). Gibbons was first in lineof succession. The Palau Legislature hadpetitioned Washington to send their newIbedul home,JIa Belau ("This is Palau"), Palau's only

newspaper, reported Ihe accession of thenew Ibedul more solemnly than a regularreader might have expected. The pub-lisher is Francisco Uludong, and radicalsentiments usually smolder on his eve'rypage."The new Ibedul," said Tia Belau, "was

chosen following Palauan customs, byQueen Bilung and the female elders ofIdid. the highest clan in Koror His ap-pointment was confirmed last month byIhe Ngarameketii, Koror's Council ofChiefs,

"His investiture ceremony began withhis return lo Palau last month, when hedonned a traditional hat, symbol of para-mount chief. For the next 15 days he un-derwent a period of 'retreat' in which heCOMTIfJUEO ON PAGE 133


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HAPPY NEW YEARByMarkR.Chartrandlll

Happy 1979! Also, Happy 2732and 2639! And continuing telicj-tationsfor 7487, 5739, 2727,

2290, 1695, 1399, and 1900,Those first tliree years, depending on

which calendar you use, are eminentiyacceptabie Jn wishing someone a happynew year. January 1 marks the beginningof 1 979, according to the Gregorian cal-endar, which ostensibly counts the yearssince the birth of Jesus (it doesn't really,for reasons explained in last month's col-umn). But this year is also the 2732ndyear ab urbe condita. since the foundingof the oily of Rome. And it is 2639 yearssince the first human emperor of Japantheoretically descended from heaven torule on earth.As for the other years mentioned

above: It is now 7487 of the ByzantineEra, figured trom the creation of the worldin that mythology The Jewish calendarreads 5739, the elapsed time since Gen-esis, And it's been 2727 years since Ne-buchadnezzar ascended to the throne ofBabylon, in case you've lost count. Thisdating system was used by classical as-tronomers, including Ptolemy. Forlhosewho prefer the Seleucid calendar, it isnow 2290, calculated from the time of theSeleucid monarchy in Asia fvlinor. TheDiocletian system has the year at 1 695,counting from the accession of that Ro-man emperor. We are near the beginningof Islamic year 1 399, the number of lunaryears since the Hegira, the flight of Ivlo-hammed from Mecca to Ivledina. And inIndia the Saka Era, the official calendar, isin its 1900th year

EVOLUTION OF A CALENDARWe owe to the Egyptians the first use of

the astronomical solar yearthe lime ittakes for our planet to orbit the sun andfor the seasons to repeat. The Egyptian

c solar year was about 365 days, about af, quarter of a day too short. The Babylo-% mans had realized earlierthat a solar years was about 36SVi days but had opted for ac 360-day calendar based on lunar


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was simple enough, but getting rid of theten exira days was not.

In 1582, thanks to Gregory, Thursday,October 4, was immediately followed byFriday, October 15. There were riots in thestreets. The populace did not understandthe change and thought they had beencheated out of ten days of life and tendays of wages {conveniently forgettingthey hadn't worked those ten days). Butauthority prevailed, at least in Catholiccountries, and the Gregorian calendarwas established, sporadically, throughoutmost of Europe..Great Britain, however, wasn't having

anything to do with "popery" They contin-ued with the Julian calendarand withthe ancient custom of beginning the yearin [Vlarchuntil 1 752, by which time theerror had grown to 1 1 days. Of course,the North American colonies were part ofthe British Empire back Ihen. And todaywhen we celebrate Washington's birthdayon February 22 and say he was born in1 732, we are correct if we are going bythe Gregorian calendar. But a calendar otGeorge's day would have read February11, 1731The Gregorian calendar makes the av-

erage length of the year 365.2425 days,or about 26 seconds too long. This is anegligible error and won't amount to a fullday for more than 3300 years. When thailime comes we'll do something about it,hopefully with less fuss than accompa-nied the last change.ONCE AROUND AGAINThe central problem with the

calendarand one we can do nothingabout but juggle numbersis that thelengths of the various astronomical pe-riods don't come out evenlyThere are 365 days, 5 hours, 48 min-

utes, and 46 seconds In a solar year. Thisis the time itfakesforthe earth to circlethe sun once, and for the seasons to re-peat. There are 29 days, 12 hours, 44minutes, and 3 seconds between fullmoons (moonths) This gives 354 days, 8hours, 48 minutes, and 36 seconds intwelve lunar monthsmore than ten daysshort of the cycle of the seasons. (Actu-afly there are several different kinds ofyears and months, depending on howthey are defined, but that would take toomuch togo into now.)

There are three possible ways of solv-ing the problem: 1) try to find some cyclein which there is an even number ofboth kinds of years; 2) ignore the sun al-together; 3) ignore Ihe moon and itsphases.The Jewish calendar Is called "luniso-

lar"as it tries to accommodate both the sunand moon. The calendar has lunarmonths of 29 or 30 days, with the monthbeginning at the time of Ihe first appear-ance of the new crescent moon followingnew moon. Years can have lengths of353, 354, or 355 days since some of the22 OMMI

months can have a varying number otdays. Seven years out of every 19-yearcycle, an extra month is added after thesixth month, Adar, ahd before the seventhmonth, Nissan. (Long ago, Nissan beganthe year so the extra month would haveended a year.) This juggling of yearlengths keeps the Jewish calendar al-most in step with the Gregorian solar cal-endar, and the Jewish new year. FirstTishri or Rosh Hashanah, falls about thetime of the autumnal equinox.The Muslim calendar ignores the sun: itis based only on Ihe moon and has 12 lu-nar months of 354 or 355 days. It, too, be-gins ihe month with the new crescentmoon. Since there are about 33 [Vtuslimyears for every 32 Gregorian years, theseasons drift through the calendar byabout ten days per year.The Gregorian calendar, as we haveseen, measures the course of the sun andignores the moon. Thus moon phases oc-cur anywhere in a month, unlike in a lunarcalendar. The one strong connection be-tween the Gregorian calendar and themoon is the set of rules by which Easter isdetermined. In order to assure that Easterfalls around the time of Passover and thevernal equinox, the rules consider thephase of the moon and, necessarily theJewish calendar. But because the Gre-gorian calendar is tied to the sun, thedate of Easter changes from year to yearOne odd thing perpetrated on us is Iheuse of the initials B.C. and a.d. The firststands for the English words "BeforeChrist," whereas A.D. is for the Latinwords "Anno Domini." The languages, ofcourse, came in the inverse order.Another curiosity is that despite all thesins of commission and omission againstthe calendar, the cycle of time that hasbeen changed the least is the week, theperiod with the most tenuous connectionwith astronomy Seven days is about thetime from one phase of the moon to thenext, but our week seems to have arisenmore from a mixture of numerology andastrology

CALENDRIC CURIOSITIESSeven has had mystical powers in most

cultures, with some slight physiologicalfoundation. Four was also mystical andfour times seven is 28, about a lunarmonth and also the approximate time of awoman's menstrual period. Seven is alsothe number of classical "planets," count-ing the sun and moon. Not long beforethe Caesars, the Romans had taken tonaming the days after their seven plane-tary gods (Dies Soils, Dies Lunae, DiesiVIartis, Dies Mercuri, Dies Jovis, DiesVeneris, and Dies Saturni). Reinforced bythe Mosaic law of resting every seventhday theweek became firmly established.Even when Gregory dropped ten days,Thursday was promptly followed by Fri-dayMany people have sought to change

ttie calendar since Gregory Probably thmost famous try was by the French duritheir Revolution, in which they tried tousher in an "Age of Reason." The reasonable French did come up with one inno-vation that has fared reasonably wellthe metric system._Their Calendar of Reason was less fortunate.They renamed Ihe months after the af

fairs of nature: NIvose. the snowy month;Pluviose, the rainy month; Floreal. theflower month; Vendemiaire. Ihe vintagemonth, and soonfor allot their 12 30-damonths (with five days added at year'send). The British, ever contemptuous ofthe Revolution, parodied the months as:wheezy sneezy, freezy; slippy drippy,nippy; showery flowery bowery; andhoppy croppy, poppyPromulgated in 1 793, the Revolutionar

calendar lasted until Napoleon reinstatethe Gregorian calendar in 1806.THEASTRONOMERS' CALENDARA calendar that's still in use today was

developed in the 1 6th century by JosepJustus Scaliger, a French historian andchronologer. Astronomers deal with vastsweeps of time, and such rules as "Thirtdays hath September . , , ' dividing byfour and the like can be vexatious. SoScaliger devised a sysiem of "JulianDays," named in honor of his father.This is a continuous count of days, withno years, months, or days of the month tconfuse things The day numbers repeatafter 7980 years, a figure he arrived at bmulliplying together Ihe lengths of sev-eral natural and artificial periods of time.He calculated thai all Ihe cycles had hada common start in 4713 B.C., and he thusbegan his count on January 1 of that yearTo make II easy for astronomers who ob-serve at night, the Julian day begins atnoon, so there is no awkward change ofdate at midnight. January 1, 1979, atnoon, will be the start of Julian Day2,443,875. Astronomers use this systemfor dating long-period phenomena suchas variable stars and comet orbits.

There are those who would change thecalendar yet again to make the monthsmore regular or the dates fall out on thesame day of the week each year. Somehave proposed days of ien "hours," eachwith 100 "minutes," each of 100 "sec-onds."So far, the calendar changers have hadmuch less success than the proponents

of going metric, but someday they justmight change things again. 'Y'ou might sathat time is ontheir side. OQThis year, two science fiction "splat" filmswill treat in unremitting gory horrorwhat would happen if a giant meteoritecrashed into a major city. Ivleteor cratersdo pock tile earth, testifying to suchcelestial damage in the past. What areIhe odds of such a catastrophe today?See "Space" In next month's Omni,


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HENRETO'S LEGACYBy Dr. Bernard Dixon

Cloning has caught the imagina-tion for one sie^y good reason: Itrepresents a step toward per-

sonal immortality. But let's not forget thatalready thousands of laboratories, inmany countries, contain living tissue de-scended from an American woman whodied a quarter of a century ago. It was in1 952 that the biologist George Gey re-moved some cells from Henrietta Lacks'scervical lumen The mother of five chil-dren, Mrs. Lacks died less than fivemonths after the cancer was diagnosed,at the age of 31 . HeLa cells, as they werenamed later, have proved to be of consid-erable value in scientific research andmedical diagnosis. They have continuedto grow and multiply, so that the totalweight of them in the world is now greaterthan that of Henrietta Lacks when shewas alive.A major application of HeLa cells is inthe diagnosis of virus infections. Unlikebacteria, viruses cannot proliferate on ar-tificial media. They multiply only in livingtissue. To identify a virus, therefore, a cli-nician will often take a swab from thethroat or whatever part of the body is af-fected. A technician then inoculates thesuspect material into HeLa ceils main-tained in laboratory glassware. If a virusis present, its behavior in the tissue cul-ture (whether or not it grows, the way itgrows, and its response to vahous anti-bodies) allows it to be identified.Perhaps for this uncanny reason, the

lady concerned remained all but anony-mous until a few years ago. As a student,I was taught that HeLa was a contractionof Helen Laneand indeed this name ap-pears in many textbooks. More specula-tive was the notion that George Geynamed the cells after a favorite film star,Hedy Lamarr It was a little-known paperpublished inObstetrics and Gynaecologyin 1 971 , however, that confirmed the realidentity of this unique historical figure,A teasing question,Tiow thatwecancontemplate taking the nucleus from abody cell, inserting it into an unrelated,enucleated egg cell, and producing afe-tus derived from the nuclear donor. Iswhether this technique might be applied

to HeLa cells, Could Henrietta Lacks bereborn? The answer is almost certainlynot. Quite apart from some horrendousethical implications, the changes thathave occurred in the hereditary materialof the cells {after years ol artificial culture)mean that any such attempt would bedoomed to failure. It remains possible,however, that much information abouttheir first owner could be gleaned byscrutinizing the encoded information ontheir DNA even todayCHINA, ART & PARITYScience is not a totally cerebral pro-

cess. The cultural climate in which a sci-entist Is raised can have a profoundeffect on his work. But how much of aninfluence?

I believe there is one discovery thatdemonstrates just how greatly a culturecan shape the thoughts of researchers.I'm referring tothenonconservation ofparity, a concept announced back in1957, The work involved some sophis-ticated physics, but the central notionconcerned the symmetry that seems to

Ideograph: Possible a a major discovery.

characterize physics.Loosely defined, parity means equality,

and in physics refers to the tendency ofelementary particles lo exist in pairsmirror image for every image. For exam-pie, electrons can be either left- or right-handed. So it there is to be parity, thereshould be one right-handed electron innature for every left-handed one. And be-fore 1957, scientists assumed withoutqueslion that whatever changes mightoccur within a system, this parity wouldalways be maintained or conserved.Then in 1 957, Dr. Tsung-dao Lee of

Columbia University and Dr. Chen NingYang of the Inslilute for Advanced Studiesin Princeton, New Jersey, developed atheory suggesting that parity was notconserved in certain subatomic decayprocesses. At Columbia, Dr. Chien-shiung Wu did the necessary experi-ments and confirmed thai Lee and Yangwere correct. Nature was not symmetricalafter all. The wot Id acclaimed ahistohcdiscovery But many people, scientisis in-cluded, felt uneasy that Ihe natural worldhad turned oul to be less neat and orderlythan had been supposed.

Later, a biologist. Dr. Robert Livingston,put his finger on the reason why this dem-onstration of parity's nonconservationcaused such unrest. It was, he pointedout, a matter of culture. "My wife," hewrote, "who is an artist, observed at ihetime that this creative departure fromdeeply rooted assumptions of contempo-rary science might be more likely to occurin the minds of persons who grew up in aradically different cultural tradition."And indeed, Lee, Yang, and Wu wereall born in China, the artistic and culturaltradition of which differs fundamentallyfrom Ihat of Ihe West, The secret to theirsuccess may lie in traditional Chinese art,in which there is less of an obligation lopaint a "balanced picture. " The Chinesealso write by using ideographs ratherthan by making horizontal, left-lo-rightstripes. It is at least possible, as a conse-quence, Ihat Chinese physicists weremore open-minded about Ihe conserva-tion of parity than were those reared amidthe Western cullural climate. DO

23


14/102

NO EXIT mar:By Patrick Moore

Long ago, BEMs, or Bug-EyedMonsters, were all the rageAlien planets were populated

with creatures of all kinds, some ot whichlived in seas of liquid methane whileothers had six or seven heads, innumera-ble tentacles, metallic skins, and long,scaly tails. Many were telepathic. Mostwere decidedly unfriendlyToday BEMs have largely vanished,

and our ideas about life elsewhere havechanged. It now seems certain that thereis no intelligent life in the solar system,except (possibly) on earth. Mars hasbeen ruled out. Instead of supportingan advanced technological civilizationcapable of building a planet-wide canalsystem, if has proved to be a world in-habited only by mountains, valleys, vol-canoes, and craterswith no sign ofintelligent life.

In the future, this will almost certainlyalter, Men have been to the moon. Marsmust be next. Barren though it may be, ithas an appreciable atmosphere (unlikethe moon), and there seems to be plentyo( water locked up in Ihe form of ice.

The manned flights to the moon werethere-and-back affairs, lasting only a fewdays. But Mars Is much farther awayRockets of 1979 vintage take months toget there, and though this time will be cutdown, a |ourney to Mars will always be alengthy business. This means that eventhe very first explorers will have to set upa Martian base. Inevitably, certainly within100 years, there will be permanent baseswith people of both sexes. Babies will beborn. And this in turn will lead to a prob-lem thai may turn out to be of extremeimportance.Mars is smaller than earth with only one

tenth the mass. The surface gravity isalso less: 0.38 of earth's. There is no rea-son to doubt that Homo sapiens canadapt to these conditions. After all, theApollo astronauts walked on the moon,where the gravity is lower still. But whatabout Martian-born babies? They willgrow up under 0.38 g, and presumablytheir muscles will develop accordingly.What would happen if a Martian boy orgirl were taken to earth? Could their mus-cles cope?

Lifeless Martian plarri as photugraphed fay Vik:ng 2. No Bug-Eyed Monsters and ver) lihle gravity.

The answer is quite possibly no. Thefeeling of heaviness might prove too in-tense. In that event, we will have a situa-tion in which earth men can go to Marsand live there, but Martians can nevercome to earth. They could look down onthe green fields, ihe forests, oceans, anlakes, knowing that a visit would be fatalThey would be entitled to regard the earas a planet of death, intact, even longspells under reduced gravity may turn oto have irreversible effects on the humabody Men who go to Mars will then do swith the knowledge they will never returhome. In time, inhabitants of the Marsbase will think of that planet as theirhome, not earth.

Despite ihe dangers, the attempt tocolonize Mars will be made. By a.d. 300and probably long before, there will betwo inhabited worlds in the solar systeminstead of one,

STAR MASSIf memory serves me right, it was theWhite Queen in Lewis Carroll's Throughthe Looking G/ass who made a habit ofbelieving at least six impossible thingsbefore breakfast every day. Scientistsare, predictably, much less credulous.the same, there are times when they gotoo far in the opposite direction, and quirecently I read an old book by J. EllardGore that demonstrates what I mean.Gore was a good writer and a good a

tronomer. He was an expert "popularizeand in his book (published in 1918) hedrew attention to a very curious set of ccumstances surrounding Sirius, the mobrilliant star in the sky and only 8.6 lightyears awayOver a century ago, F.W. Bessel com-

mented that Sirius was showing a slow,slight wobble in its motion, and he pre-dicted that there must be an invisiblecompanion tugging on Sirius and pulliit out of position, in 1862 an Americantronomer actually discovered the com-panion, just where Bessel had said itwould be. Since Sirius is the Dog Star,companion was nicknamed the Pup. Ithas only one ten-thousandth the lumin


15/102

of Sirius itself, out studies of its move-showed that it must be almost as

as our sun. Presumably, then, itlarge, cool, and red.

Later, in 1915, W.S. Adams ai Mountson took a long, hard look at the spec-

of the Pup and was surprised to findit was not in the least what he had ex-

Far from being large and red, thewas white-hot. But if the Pup was as

as the sun, its surface while-hot,its faintness meant that it was

no more than 41 ,600 kilometersmiles) in diameter, which isthan Uranus or Neptune,

This was whal Gore knew. Workingout, he commented that it all the

were right, the Pup would have to bedense at least 50,000 times

dense as water. Tons of it could easilypacked into a matchbox. This, said

was clearly absurd.Of course, the data were no; wrong,the Pup really is over 50,000 limes as

as water. It is a white dwarf, a starhas used up its nuclear energy Atpoint the star collapsed, and its con-

atoms were crushed and broken,that the various bits were packed to-

with liltle waste space. Hence thedensity. Gore's impossibility was, innot only possible, but correct.

Another alleged impossibility thatout to be true concerns the sun it-

and how it radiates heal, After manyand changes ot heart, investiga-

discovered that the key to solar en-is hydrogen. Inside the sun, nuclei ofatoms are combining to make

nuclei of helium, Each time this hap-ns, a little energy is released and a lit-mass is lost. When the calculationse made, it was found that in order to

everything fit into mathematical the-the sun would have to be losing mass

the rate of 4,000,000 tons per second.cried the crilire.

But it is not absurd. The sun has muchmass now than it did when youup this issue of Omni. However, I

assure you that there is no need forThe sun will slay much as it is now

the next five billion years at least.OQ

Help save thisvanishing AmericanThere are only 32 known pairs of

wild American peregrine falconsnesting in the United States. Tlieperegrines are the fastest birds onearth, capable of diving at speeds of200 miles an hour.You may never seetills beautiful bird swoop through thesky. Unless you help tis save them.We re the World Wildlife Fund an organization dedicated to helpsave endangered wildlife and naturalareas. We've been working to save theperegrine falcon since 1972, by sup-porting Cornell University's captivebreeding program. This programneeds money in order to continue.That's what the World Wildlife Fund

needs your help and your money.We'll use your contribution to

help save many vanishing species ofanimals, birds and habitats all overthe world. Since we were establishedin 1961, we've Spent more than 17 mil-

'

lion dollars to support over 1200 proj-ects in 84 countries.

x-dediii ibie.:) help the World Wildlife Fund.

Address_City

>A WORLD WILDLIFE


16/102

THE MRTSEven though he flies, Superman isnot an SF film." Richard Conner,

director of Ihe multimillion dollarmovie adaptation, is speaking via phonefrom his home near Pinewood Studios insouthern England. Wiih still a handful ofshots needed to complete ihe picture, hehas lal


17/102

"I am vitally Interested In ttie future, because 1 am going to spend the rest of my life there." -Charles F. Kettering

DrvaoJ!

Bigaa!^ ^THERE IS A UNIVERSAL ARCHITECTURE OFINFINITE ELEGAMCEAND LOGIC FROMWHICH ALL THINGSANIMATE ANDINANIMATESEEM TO DERIVE."Its astonishing to think that the science fic-tion of your childhood isthe science foot oftoday Through the pagesof OWNI. you willprobe the unfolding wonders of tomor-rows world. ..and behold o txeothtakingvision of the future. You'll discoverWHERE LIFE BEGANAccording to cos-mologist Fred Hoyle, life may not haveoriginated cn^his or any ether planet but iriihe vast dust ctouds of intersteiior space.Then how did we get here?By comet ofcourse.

THE FIRST STARSHIPAfter 10,000 mon-hours of study the Brilish Interplanetary So-ciety has completed Project Doedolus, odesign pion forIhe first sforship, Daedalus iso nuclear-powered probe that could bebuilt early next century and then begin its50-year journey to the mysterious planetsorbiting Bernard's Stor

VISIONARY ARCHITECTUREUnderwoterhabitats, houses that change their size,shape, and color like living orgonisms,even buildings towering over 100 miles inthe skythese and rflore are the subjectof OMNCs in-depth iookoftheorchtecfureof ihe future

FUTURE FOODSTired of "Bfg Macs7 By theyear 2000 you may be feasting on cot-

So Visually Stunning,,,So Intellectually Exciting .,.

So Extraordinary an Experience ...You Must See It For Yourselfl

You Are Invited to

SUBSCRIBENOWUNDER THISSPECIALCHARTER OFFER!

tonburgers, souteed mealworms, LakeChad Algae and Winged Bean Soup,Andif one theory is correct by 2050 you maynot havetoeatatall.

THE FUTURE OF ANIMALS While manysoientists o.'-e now looking at man os onendangered species, a number of otheranimals are thriving. The coyote. Ihe cock-roach, the beaver, and the boboon. ifseems, may flourish long after we oregone,

PIus...e>:clusive interviews with Thor Heyer-dohi, E.O. Wilson, Ted Taylor: and other vi- ^sionory thinkers . , Biology . . UFOs .Oceanography . . Genetic Engineering

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Fusion Sotar Power . The FutureYOUR FUTURE!

OMNI Subsc


18/102

THE MRTSIn music now we have an ifield that is being explored simultane-

ously at seemingiy unrelated points.As we move into the future, we move si-multaneously on all fronts " So says JohnCage, the elder statesman of experimen-tal music.

Music turns on itself unpredictably, in-tractably, It's directions are infinite andever changing. It defies capture. Butthere are guides at the outposts of musi-cal space, explorers at music's leadingedge. From John Cage, Steve Reich,Philip Glass, composers who are strip-ping down and rebuilding the "language"of classical Western concert music, toLarry Fast, synthesizer whiz kid, to SunRa, the outrageous jazz mysticfive mu-sicians who are "out there" tell Omni whatwe might expect to hear from music as ittranslates future time Into rhythm andsound.John Cage is the musical futurist. Hiswork has promoted and established the

use of percussion and voice, tape-recorded composition, principles of inde-terminacy, graphic notation, and liveelectronics. Distinguished music criticand composer Virgil Thompson said ofCage in 1945, "He has produced atonalmusic not by causing the twelve tones ofthe chromatic scale to contradict one an-other consistently but by eliminating, tostart with, all sounds of precise pitch."

Looking ahead, John Cage sees the fu-ture of music in quantitative terms; "Whenyou have a larger number of people, youhave a larger number of minds. So youhave quantity of mind. You have inter-penetration of diverse musical attitudesand the advent of an increasingly largernumber of technical possibilities.

"Formerly when things were separat-ed, when there were fewer people andcultures were separated, everyone ineach isolated group was going in thesame direction. Now we have this simul-taneous movement. And not in any partic-ular way."The cross-cultural implications of

Cage's thinking'are amplified by SieveReich. Reich's music has been variouslytagged "minimal music," "trance music,"28 OMNI

"modular music," "phase music," and"pulse music." What all these names at-tempt to convey is a kind of music thatemphasizes rhythm, a music consistingof melodic patterns with minute metricadjustments.

In Reich's work a single pattern can berepeated over and over again in rhythmicrelationships that gradually change sothat a further number of new patternsevolve. Or alternatively, a musical patternis gradually extended for such a long du-ration that a kind of "slow motion" musictakes shape.

Overlaying the rhythmic undercurrentsare slow shifts of timbre and subtle har-monic changes,

Reich's music is rooted in multiple cul-tural traditions: Europe from 11 00 to1750; Balinese gamelan music; West Afri-can music; American jazz (primarily be-bop); Stravinsky, Barlbk, and Webern. Heis now studying traditional forms of cantil-iations (chanting) of ancient HebrewScripture.

For Reich the earth is becoming asmaller, more compact place, with an ac-celerated potential for personal encoun-ter. Reich sees future music as "some-

Sfeve Reich: modular trance music,

thing completely new, which instead ofcoming from the Western tradition, theIndian tradition, the African tradition, willlegitimately, and not in some weird way,come from a world musical tradition."

"The main thing," says Philip Glass, "isthat we're getting into post-Einsteinianconcepts of time." For Glass, Newtoniantime, more rigid and formal in its struc-ture, has given way to elastic, stretched-out, relativistic temporal constructs. Hiscompositions and performances are four,five, and six hours long, changing alwaysas a function of his changing time/spaceconcerns.

Glass's music has been called "hyp-notic" because of its continuous droneand uniform pulse; "modular" because itlinks distinct, self-contained units to oneanother; and "minimal" because it seemsto lack the usual psychological narrativedevices of Western music such as antici-pation and climax. And repetition and ex-tended time sequences In his works areparalleled by technical breakthroughs.

"Digital systems using laser beams willbe commonly used in the near future," hesays, "and Ihat will change music. Laserbeams will decode information from arecord groove. This means the length of aside will no longer be limited to twentyminutes. In the future, one side of an LPwill store two or three hours of music. Andwhen the record is turned, it will be doneautomatically and without interrupting themusic, We'll have home entertainmentcenters with speakers all around theroom. The kind of music I'm experiment-ing with will sound best then."

"Just by the nature of its increasingcomplexity, increasing reliance on auto-mated forms of equipment, increasingcomputer assistance, and eventual com-puter control," believes electronic com-poser Larry Fast, "music will become veryexciting to listen toand less exciting towatch."

Technological expansion is at the coreof Larry Fast's musical vision. Fast is anelectronic wizard. Together with Dr. Rob-ert Moog, he designed an early prototypeof the polymoog synthesizer, and he con-tinually designs customized equipmentCONTINUED ON PAGE 137


19/102

iiBiiiaBiHHii^mlO O O O O OOOOOOOOI

>M^>~

W'.

ree17x22 full coloir poster by DiFateTravel to Altair IV and back, .courtesy of award-winning sciencefiction illustrator Vincent DiFate, and writer Steve Rubin, whopresent the revealing behind-the-scenes story of the production ofFORBIDDEN PLANET, one of the most beloved science fictionfilms of a)i time. It's another unique, spectacular, 96-page doubleissue of CINEFANTASTIQUE, with 24 pages in full color, in thetradition of our acclaimed issues devoted to STAR WARS andCLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, illiistrated withfuH color and behind-the-scenes production photos never beforepublished! Subscribe today, and get the large, 17x22, full colorVincent DiFate poster shown above absolutely free! This posterwit! not be available with newstand copies. So send a New Year'sgreeting to yourself and all your friends from Rofaby, the robot,the original "droid." A gift card will be enclosed at your request.

CINEFANTASTIQUE (say sin-eh-fawn-toss-teek) is Jiie. reviewhorror, fantasy and science fiction films, aglossy, large size, 4page magazine now in its eighth year of publication. Also gour spectacular 96-page double issue on CLOSE ENCOUNTEROF THE THIRD KIND, dubbed by its director, Steven Spielber"a monumental tribute to the craftsmen and technicans whcollaborated to make CE3K the success that It is," illustrated wi24 full color pages of the film's amazing makeup and special \/iseffects, many never before published! Just check box FP + CE3below. Or receive FORBIDDEN PLANET plus ou( next two singissues by checking box FP -I- 2 issues. The full color 1 7x22 VinceDiFate poster shown above is free with either subscription. Anwe'll also send free a full color brochure illustrating the contents25 other back issues still available. Your satisfaction is guarantee

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20/102

THE MRTS^^^k book that may revolulionize ourm^'^L attitudes toward the future has# just been published by a WestCoast publishing house, Peace Press, in

Culver City, a suburb of Los Angeles. Thetitle is Doomsday Has Been Cancelledan abrupt chailenge to the fashionableneo-Martichaeans who have beenpreaching Apocaiypse tor the pastdecadeand the back jacl


21/102

"HE COYNE INCIDEN"UFD UPDMTEBy James Oberg5omethJng from outer space

buzzed an army helicopter onenighl about five years ago, ter-

rifying Ihe tour crewmen inside andnearly causing theJr deaths Truly spec-tacular and unexplainable. the incidentseared its way into the pages of UFOhistory and ignited a controversy whoseflames sill! rage.One thing seems certain: the encounter

of Captain Larry Coyne and his crew,near Mansfield, Ohio, at 1 1 pm on Octo-ber 18, 1973, is one of the most impres-sive UFO cases on record. Whether thecosmic visilor was an alien spaceship, asUFO buffs insist, or a bright fireballmeteor, as UFO skeptic Philip J. Klasssuggests, the fact of Ihe sighting itselfhas withstood rigorous scientific scrutiny.A low-ilying, northbound helicopterwas paced by a strange red light to theeast. As the UFO neared at high speed,the alarmed helicopter pilot put his air-craft into a sleep dive, the UFO sloppeddead overhead, bathed ihe crew in agreen light, and sped off to the west,

changing colors again. Instruments in thehelicopter malfunctioned, and the radiowas dead. The entire aircraft was trappedin some sort of antigravity vortex and rosethousands of meters into the nighl sky be-fore the pilot could bring it under control.So impressive was this case, and sounimpeachable were the witnesses, thatthe weekly tabloid National Enquirer se-lected It "Ihe best UFO case of 1973." Thecontest had been hard fought that year,with such powerful competitors as IhePascagoula abduction of two fishermenand a report from the governor of Ohio.

Recent findings have made the CoyneUFO case appear even more impressive.Leading authonly on the pro-UFO side isOhio investigator Jennie Zeldman, whosereports have appeared in the Mutual UFONetwork's UFO Journal, in Flying SaucerReview {published in Great Britain), andin the monthly magazine Fate. A majornew progress report on the case is beingprepared for ihe International UFO Re-porter, published by the Center for UFOStudies.

Lenticular cloud lorinalion photographed by an American lourisl a! Santos, Brazil, It32 OMNI

Despite the unarguable facts of theCoyne chronicle, UFO buffs realize thatpilots have been experiencing similarUFO near-collisions for 30 years. In 1 9480-3 pilots Clarence Chiles and JohnWhitted spotted a cigar-shaped objectwith two rows of glowing portholes as itwhizzed past their aircraft. A similarlyshaped UFO fiew over Indiana and Ken-tucky in early 1968; three different aircrawere nearly rammed by a fleet ol cigar-shaped UFOs later that same year.

Coyne's UFO was similar, especially ithat none of these near misses causedany air turbulence or sound whatsoever.The Chiles-Whitted case, as even mosUFO believers concede, was probably a

train of meteohc fragments fireballingacross the night sky cueing the startledpilots into assuming that the lights wereportholes and then into imagining an outline of the nonexistent structure. Justsuch an illusion is documented in the firs1 968 case, where a flaming falling satel-lite seduced an intelligent, levelheadedgroup of witnesses into seeing an eerilylit, cigar-shaped object pass within 299meters (1 000 feet) of themwhen in factthe actual objects were hundreds of kilo-meters away A second 1968 case, whicunlike the other examples occurred indaytime, led the pilots of three aircraftinto thinking they had nearly beenrammed when in fact the disintegratingfireball (such as it was, based on othereyewitness accounts and photographs)was hundreds of kilometers awayThe most famous "non-UFO explana-

tion" for the Coyne incident was gener-ated (critics would say contrived) byPhilip J Klass, an editor at Aviation Weekand probably the world's foremost Uf^Oskeptic. Klass claims that Captain Coynelike other pilots before him, may havebeen fooled by a bright meteor possiblyfrom the Orionid shower, which reoccursannually in the October 18-22 period.While some UFO experts have assertedthat the Orionid shower does not producfireballs, professional meteor specialistsreport just the opposite. A second brightOrionid fireball appeared over theMidwest an hour before the Coyne sight-


22/102

ing, and a third, moving in the same di-rection as the Coyne UFO, was seen alithroughout the Midwest on October 18,1977, four years to the night after llieCoyne event (but a few hours eariier,resulting [n more witnesses).Although Kiass's conclusions have

been almost uniformly rejected by iead-ing pro-UFO researchers, severai of hissubsidiary observations have beenquietly verified. Failure of the radio follow-ing the encounter is now attributed to thehelicopter's low altitude, causing hills toblock transmission (on Kfass's request,Coyne tried the radio at the same locationn a subsequent flight and confirmedthis), as well as to a too rapid switching offrequencies by a panicked radio opera-tor. The "mysterious rise" of the aircrafthas also lost its miraculous flavor

This levitalion is now attributed to thepilot's action of instinctively pulling backon the control stick as soon as the per-ceived danger of collision had passed.Diving toward the ground, impact was im-minent within seconds had this not beendone. Later, the crewmen could not recalldoing exactly what experienced pilotsshould have done without thinking aboutit. Records show thai other pilots understress in similar life-threatening incidentsfail to remember what subconscious re-flex actions they took. But since the heli-copter later responded immediately toCoyne's handling of the controls, once henoticed the rise and acted lo correct it,there is no evidence of external forceassociated with the UFO.Pro-UFO investigators evidently agree.

as written by Zeldman in the MUFOIMUFO Journal: 'There is no physical evi-dence to Indicate that the . . . climb or ap-parent radio malfunction were in any waya product of the object's proximity." Andone should also note that there is ofcourse no real evidence of even theobject's proximityit could have been ahundred kilometers overhead.The key objections to Kiass's Orionid

fireball hypothesis are threefold; first, to-tal duration of the helicopter crew's ob-servation of the UFO may have been toolong for it to have been a fireball, which

;d on page 139

Wild Turkey Lore:In 1776 Benjamin Frank

proposed that the WildTurkeybe adopted as thesymbol of our country.The eagle was chosen

instead.The Wild Turkey

later went on tobecome the symbol ofour country's finestBourbon.

mI

Austin Nichols_

WILDTURKEY

WILD TURKEY/ 101 PROOF/S YEARS OLD.


23/102

camTimuunn)AFETYAT HOMEfOISON ABROAD

In1 975, a dangerous pesticide caused convulsions, speech

impairment, and loss of bladder control among Egyptianfarmers and Iheir families. It killed an undisclosed number ofpeople and more than a thousand water buftaio. The chemi-

cal, Leptophos, had been exported to Egypt and about 3D othercountries by an American firm. It had never been approved foruse in the United Slates.

In 1972, U.S. companies exported to Iraq 80,000 tons ofwheat and barley coated with a mercury-based fungicidebanned in America. Four hundred Iraqis died and 5000 morewere hospitalized.These are not isolated examples. In various developingcountries, people are routinely exposed to the potentially dan-gerous products of American technology^pesticides, weedl


24/102

camTimuunnKILLER AMOEBAAs it Legionnaire's Dis-

ease wasn't enough toworry about, now ttiere'sparasitic encephalitic men-ingitis (PEM), a disease thatsounds like sometliing outof a bad science ficlicnmovie.Caused by an amoeba

thai lives on Ihe bottom offreshwaler ponds and lakes,PEM is little understood andnearly always fatal. Theamoeba has caused 121 re-ported deaths since its dis-covery in 1963 and may beresponsible for more,according to Dr. GeorgeHealey, parasitologist at theFederal Center tor DiseaseControl in Atlanta, Georgia."These organisms arevery opportunistic," saidHealey. "Ttiey enter a swim-mer's body through thenose and go to the oxygen-

rich environment of thebrain." There the amoebasdevour brain matter and se-crete a substance that l^illstissue. "We never knewamoebas could cause thiskindof damage," he saidResearchers are baffledby Ihe erratic occurrence of

the disease and lEs resis-tance to treatment. fVlost ofthe reported cases haveinvolved young people, pn-marily boys. Only three vic-tims Slave survived, one anine-year-old California girltreated with antitungicidedrugs in June. But the sametreatment failed to save aneight-year-old South Caro-lina boy in August.

Dr. Healey said he doesn'!want to scare anyone- "Thedisease is rare, and anyoneworried about ii should wearnose clips while swimmingin la(


25/102

called the experimenlal re-search vehicle. It looked iikea Sherman tank.

"The latest versions are allunder 3000 pounds [1370kilograms], less than a Mus-tang. They make great useof reforming plastics thatbounce back when hit, pas-sive restraint systems [airbags], and other safety fea-tures. They're economicaland nonpolluting. These arethe basic elements of thecar of ihe future " AM.MAYANMISMANAGEMENT

It may not have beenslaughter or disease thatabruptly ended the MayanCivilization in CentralAmerica a thousand yearsago, but a wholesale disre-gard for ecological balance.The soil surrounding Mayantemples and palaces bearsevidence that expandingpopulations depleted thefields of essential nutrientsthrough overly intensiveagriculture. The Mayans,it seems, were the victimsof their own unwitting landmismanagement,

Gerald Olson, professorof agronomy (soil science)at Cornell University, hasfound acharacleristic lay-ered soil compositionaround several ancient set-tlements of the Yucatan Pen-insula. Digging downthrough a meter of newlight-brown soil, Olsonfound a band of clear blacksoil silting on liie undis-turbed earth below. Theblack soil, he suggests, mayindicate the Mayans' grow-ing numbers forced themto burn off jungle areas foruse as farmland and to

shorten disastrously the fal-low periods critical id soilrestoraiion.

Without the rain forest tohold and replenish the top-soil, Olson says, floods and

droughts followed with cataatrophic results Eventuallyeven btop gap measuresbuch as small raised fieldsencircled by irrigationcanalsfailed, anu 1500years of empire building,stopped dead.Dava SobelPLANET WARMINGTwo radio astronomers at

NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab-oratory (JPL) in Pasadena,California, have discoveredmajor changes taking placedeep within the atmosphereofUranus, M.J. Klein andJ, A, Turegano of JPL's Plan-etary Atmosphere ResearchSection found that radioemissions from within theUranian atmosphere have

become 30 percentstronger during the past tenyears,

Using tMASA's 64-meterradio telescope at Gold-stone. California, the two as-tronomers were able to pen-etrate the dense clouds ofthe distant world, where theatmospheric pressure isthought to be at least tentimes greater than at theearth's surface.

Klein and Turegano be-lieve their findings suggesttwo possibilities. One is thatUranus's atmosphere iswarming up, though bothscientists deem it unlikelythat the temperature deepin a planet's interior couldbecome 30 percent warmerin just ten years. Such achange on earth would raiseour average air temperatureabove 1 20 C {250' F).More likely, the scientistsfeel, the change is due to ,

the planet's unusual onenla-!ion. Different from any otherplanet, Uranus rotates on Itsside as it orbits the sun Dur-ing half the Uranian year (84earth years), the north orsouth pole of the planet isalways facing sunward.Uranus's north pole is pres-ently turning toward the sunfollowing 42 years ol dark-ness. The scientists suggestthat the radio beams sentfrom earth are now detect-ing hotter temperaturesfrom regions of the atmo-sphere exposed to sunlightfor the First time as ihe orien-tation of the planet begins tochange."At every crossway on theroad that leads to the future.each progressive spirit isopposed by a thousandmen appointed to guard thepast." Maeterlinck


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CDruTimuuanALL THAT GLITTERS

All the firefighters whoattend helicopter landingsand t3keo[fs on ihe WhileHouse lawn wear faceshields coated wiih a film of24-karaI gold. Outwardly at-tractive, the shields are alsollfesavingpart of the heat-

ers who work with moltenmetals.The Safety Systems Divi-

sion of the 3M Companymanufaclures the film ofgold on Mylar plastic, andseveral firms clamp the lilmonto Plexiglas visors.

Another popular industrialuse of gold Is In the produc-

The man with Ihe golden mask: Fireman's 24-kaiat-goid mask istranspateril to visible light but reflects away radiant heat.resistant metalized suitsthat enable firemen to seeand work at close range inthe intense heat of a heli-copter fire, from which theymay have to pull out a pas-senger or more.The gold film is 300 ang-

stroms thicka "skin" thinenough to be transparent towavelengths of visible light,but thick enough to be to-tally reflective to the slightlylonger wavelengths of radi-ant heat. Because of thisability to admit light but notheat, gold visors are alsoused by airport crashrescue squads, other kindsof firefighters, and smelt-38 OMNI

tion of spark plugs for snow-mobiles, motorcycles, andracing cars. ChampionSpark Plug of Toledo, Ohio,Introduced the gold-tippedspark plug in 1969, recom-mending it for snowmobilesfor quicker starts in coldweather. At present Cham-pion makes over 30 types ofgold-alloy spark plugs,D.S.In 1899the director of theU.S. Patent Office urgedPresident McKiniey to abol-ish the Patent Office alongwith his own job because"everything that can be in-ventedhas been invented.

SCIENCE OF HUMORWhat's so funny? Dr. How-

ard Pollio's research, forone thing. The University ofTennessee psychologist isstudying humor.

"I get it from people ail thetime," he grumbles. "Skepti-cism, wisecracks, Even mymother calls me and asks,'What kind of a job is this,for a grown boy to studyhumor?'"

Yet it's not so strange. Dr.Pollio testifies. "Humor is animportant topic There ishardly any society wherelaughter is not consideredhealthy and desirable. Ihave never understood whypsychologists always studyabnormal behavior."

Further, he points out, hu-mor is easy to study Whensomeone tells a joke, youcan measure precisely howlong it takes the audience tolaugh, how long they laugh,and how loudlyOther studies are pos-

sible. Dr. Pollio once asked

Jerry Lewis: It's finally official;he's loud and crazy.

his students to classify com-ics, grouping those theyfound similar. "After a rigor-ous statistical analysis," hereports, "we found four ma-jor categories of comic: loudand crazy, typified fay JerryLewisthere was a wom-en's subgroup centeredaround Carol Burnett:skinny and weird, likeWoody Allen; black comics;and old, fat, and sarcastic,such as WC. Fields.

"The problem with thiskind of study," he adds, "isthat we can't repeat it. Bythe time we've finished thestudy, people have alreadyforgotten half the comics.I'd never before realizedwhat a short halt-life theyhave."

Despite such experimen-tal hardships, Dr. Polliohas gleaned a few insights,

"Relative social position,"he says, "is very important.The butt of the joke, a per-son, institution, or tabootopic must be valued andimportant in your societyand you must deflate it. Thebasic form of the joke is theput-down. And most humorflows between equals ordownward. Seldom willsomeone joke about his su-perior at work to his face. Inthis way, humor acts as a de-vice for tension manage-ment."A general theory of hu-mor, though, has been frus-tratingly elusive. "Therehave been thousands oftheories," Dr. Pollio sighs."Virtually every major philos-opher, social critic, and psy-chologist has had one. Isuppose it would be toomuch to hope that my re-search will explain what


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makes somelhing funny inevery case."He plans to keep on try-ing, however. "I think thereis a strong relationship be-tween the ability to see ajoke and the ability to solveproblems," he suggests,"Laughter underlines howsilly it is to think about themind and body separately,"he adds. "The stimulus of alaugh is an intellectualevent, yet it quickly goes onto block out ai! else. Thereare only two other phenom-ena thai so completely takeover your awareness: the or-gasm and the sneeze."Owen DaviesALLURING FISHA fish that looks like a

rocl< and has its own built-infishing lure has recentlybeen discovered in watersoff the Philippine Islands.Scarcely more than ten centimeters (four inches) longitself, the anglerfish wavesabout a liny lure on the endof a flexible filament.

The lure iooks exactly likea fish in the region that theanglerfish loves to eat. Theprey is attracted to the lurein hopes of a mating ren-dezvous, not realizing thatthe "rock" beneath it is adeadly enemy Other fishhave built-in lures, but onlythe anglerfish has a lure thatresembles a fish itself,The anglerfish is alsounique in its ability to wiggleIhe lure while maintainingthe "immobile, inert appear-ance of a sponge- or coral-like algae-encrusted rock,"according to Theodore W.Pietsch and David B. Gro-becker of the College ofFisheries at the University ofWashington, the first scien-tists to describe the fish.The anglerfish outdoesmost animals in its elegantcombination of camouflagehunting prowess and energy conservation 11-^ shapeand color allow it to htdefrom predators while simultaneousJy lunng its foodDS

Anglerfish (large rack like object} waves about its realisticlure: A model ot camouflage and energy conservation.

SUPERTANKThe U.S. Army's new

Xfvl-1 tank is a 59-?on ar-mored knight with a kind oflaser lance. Using a laserrange finder and ballisticcomputer, its 105-mm can-non fired on the run in a re-cent demonstration, uner-

extinguishing system is de-signed to react to fires inthree milliseconds and toquench them in 200,

Chrysler Corporation isthe main contractor forbuilding 3325 XM-1S undera $4 7 billion governmentcontract, Alton Slakeslee

rqly hitting targets moredn one kilometer away

I averaged 50 kph (about30 mph) over hilly terrainand disappeared behindcover after releasing smokegrenades that, within sec-onds had hidden the tank ina gray cloud.

For protection, the XM-1IS made of British-inventedChobham armor, whosecomposition is still secret.To reduce the chances ofdestruction and death fromammunition tires, the ammoand four-man crew com-partments are separated byarmor bulkheads and slid-ing armor doors. A fire-

"What sir." said Napoleon tosteamship inventor RobertFulton. "You would mal


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camTimuuR/iSEDIMENT FROMOUTER SPACE

As NASA scientists strug-gle with shrunken budgetsto continue their study ofouter space, geologists atthe California Institute ofTechnology have taken toprobing the ocean bottom tolearn more about Interplane-tary conditions. Whatthey're looking for are tinybits of meteors or comets.When meteors hurtle to-wards earth, atmosphericfriction causes them to meltand throw off microscopicspheres of silicon andmetal. These droplets landIn the sea and can be foundin the sediment below.Though the particles' ex-

traterrestrial origin had beensuspected since they werediscovered more than a cen-tury ago. Dr. Donald E.Brownlee has only now beenable to prove that hypothe-sis. Using the high-technology method of neu-

tron activation analysis, hefound that their metal con-tent duplicates that of knownmeteorites.The particles, less than 2.5

hundredths of a millimeter(one thousandth of an inch)across, form barely one partper million of the ocean floor.But it is a fraction well worthsearching for. Dr. Brownleefeels.

"About one particle in tencontains unmelted meteoricmaterial, " he explains. "Mostmeteors are so fragile thatthey break up in the air.These particles may be ourbest chance to find out whatthey are like.

"Our great hope, though.Is that we will be able to findparticles from the head of acomet, probably the oldestunchanged material in theuniverse With luck, we mayeven find particles thatformed before the solar sys-tem did. They could tell us agreat deal about the origin ofthe sun and planets," O.D.

Extraterreslrial sea sediment magnitied 2300 times: Underwaterparticles could hold the secret fo the origin of the solarsystem.

POLLUTION FLOWERThe spiderwort, a small,

delicate flower common toall temperate climates, hasfound a peculiar role in thisage of nuclear energy andtoxic chemicais: It changescolor in the presence of ra-diation and pollution.The cells of the stamen

hairs in a particular strain ofthe spiderwort change fromblue to pink within twoweeks of exposure to lowlevels of radiation and suchpollutants as sulfur dioxide,vinyl chloride, and ethylenedibromide (a pesticide andgasoline additive). The pinkcells are actually mutationscaused by the harmful sub-stances, and can easily beseen under a microscope(magnification, 1 5 times) bya nontechnical person.Each stamen hair has 22cells, which look like a chainof colored beans. The num-ber of pink cells can becorrelated with the severity

of the dose. (The stamenhairs are those sticking outof the center of the flower.)

Scientists are now usingthe spiderwort to study howliving things react to lowlevels of pollutants. Al-though the results are stillpreliminary, indications arethat the plant could serveas a very cheap detectiondevice.The spiderwort discoverywas made in the mid-1960sby scientists at BrookhavenNational Laboratory onLong island. But it did notreceive much attention untilone of those scientists, Jap-anese geneticist SadaoIchikawa, started travelingthroughout the world re-cently to teach the spider-wort detection method toopponents of nuclearpower. Stuart DiamondBEAMING IN ONTERRORISTS

Laser guns ihat don't hurtanybody are being used totrain Department of Energyconvoy guards to protectnuclear materials from ter-rorist attack.

Participants in the trainingexercises are divided intotwo groupssome traineesact as convoy escorts whileothers become their am-bushers.The trainees carry M-16

rifles equipped with harm-less low-intensity lasers thatemit invisible beams when-ever blanks are fired. Themen wear helmets and spe-cially designed electronicvests that give out signalswhenever a "bullet" passeswithin a foot or so. The vestbeeps to signal a near-miss


29/102

and produces a piercingsound for a kill. (The shellsbeing ejected in the photobeiow are the expendedblank cartridges.)

This equipment, the Multi-ple Integrated Laser En-gagement System (MILES)was designed tor the U SArm/by ihe Vero' CDrpora

Sandia convoy guards: Shoot-ing it oul with harmless lasers.

The ambush exercises,which tal


30/102

CDruTimuuR/iTHE WEATHERQUESTrON"Everybody talks about

the weather, but nobodydoes anything about it,"said Mark Twain 80 yearsago Today, he couldn't getaway with surhglibne s

Q PMore than 145 nations, con-cerned about ttie effecl otrecent frigid winters andsteaming summers oncrops, health, energy cos!s,and human life, have beguna S500 million research pro-gram to figure out exactlywhat is going on.The programthe most

ambitious weattier research!undertaking in tiistoryincludes satellites, surfaceweatherstations, ocean-going vessels, and bal-loons. It began in December1976 and will run until De-cember 1979. Instrumentswill collect data on everyconceivable aspect ot theearth and atmosphere that42 OMNI

might relate to weather. Theinformation will be fed intocomputers, which will drawprecise profiles of weatherpatterns.

in one experiment, air-planes will release46-centimeter cylinders tomeasure atmospheric tem-peratures, pressures, hu-midity, wind speed, andother components at vari-ous altitudes as they para-chute toward earth.The Nalional Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administra-tion, this country's leadingweather agency is develop-ing satellite systems to pre-dict potential flash floods,hurricanes, and other largestorms, so appropriate pro-tective measures can betaken before it's too late. Asatellite launched in Sep-tember {Nimbus G) willmeasure differences in thehealing of land masses andoceans in various latitudesto try to determine if theearth is warming up or cool-ing down.

It is expected that ail ofthese programs will eventu-ally improve the record ofthe nightly tv weather up-date, although it might takeyears for the new informa-tion to affect theforecasts, S.D.ALCOHOL AND SEXWhen the Scottish noble-man m Macbeth asks the

porter what desires drinkprovokes, he replies, "Lech-ery, sir, it provokes and un-provokes: it provokes thedesire, but takes away theperformance," Now, almostfour centuries later, thephysiological basis for thiscontradictory phenomenon

colleagues at McCiean l-4os-pital in Belmont, Massachu-setts, and at Harvard Uni-versity measured the levelsof sex hormones in thebloodof 16 healthy nonal-coholic males shortly afterthey had been given ap-proximately 5.5 ounces of100-proof liquor (theamount varied according tobody weight).They found that as the al-

cohol level in Ihe bloodrose, the level of testoster-one, a sex hormone regu-lating the production otsperm, greatly diminished,while luteinizing hormone(LH), which signals thetestes to produce more tes-tosterone, increased. Men-delson believes that thebrain interprets the in-creased levels of LH as sex-ual arousal, creating theparadoxical state ofheightened desire butdiminished performance. ,

ODDS AGAINST LIFEThe Viking missions toMars returned strangely

puzzling answers to thequestion of "Life?" on thatplanet. The data gatheredabout surface conditionsthere indicated that earthlife wouldn't stand evenone chance in a million ofsurvival.Subsequently a special

panel recently reported tothe Space Science Board cthe Watlonal ResearchCouncil that the likelihood ofsuch survival was far mquestionable: the "probabil-ity of growth" for any terres-trial organisms thai inadver-tently reached the Martiansurface was not one in a million, but one in ten billion.The impiicalion of this sta-

tistic for NASA is that theagency needn't be quite sofussy about pre-launchsterilization procedures onany future missions toMars. D.S,


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FOREVERWARGuillemin and Schally 'laid thefoundations for the newest and

perhaps most important branchof endocrinologythe study of

the hormones produced by the brainitself.'"

Sc/ence, April 21, 1978"Why should I share my data or materi-als with Guillemin? Does the U.S. shareits newest missiles with Russia? Therewere years of vicious, almost hystericalcompetition,"

Dr. Andrew Schally, May 2, 1978"It's been months since Guillemin andSchally won the Nobel Prize, but theirlight still goes on, Guillemin just refusedto appear on the same stage with Schal-ly at a Stockholm scientific meeting."Dr. Samuel McCann, June 2, 1978

"You know the story. Nice guys finishlast."

Dr. Karl Folkers, November 1977The careers of the cowinners of the 1 977Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine,Andrew Schally of Poland and RogerGuillemin of France, have been modelsof persistence, brilliant intuition, and ef-ficient managementplus fear, jealou-sy, and character assassination. If their21-year struggle against their competi-tors and each other is a general reflec-tion of scientific life, then send your kidto art school. Science is for piranhas.

But while it was sheer hell for the re-searchers, the Schally-Guillemin questpromises to do as much for the rest of usas the combined discoveries of penicil-lin, insulin, psychotropic drugs, the Pill,and Spanish fly did. Their still-contro-versial deciphering of Ihe chemicalstructures of several hypothalamic hor-mones may eventually lead to the pro-duction of drugs that will control appe-tite and obesity prevent blindness anddiabetes, control breast and prostatecancer, Improve memory and learning,limit mental instability and increaseconcentration, and eliminate a large

BY WILLIAM K, STUCKEY

Twenty-one years ago, twhormone researchers

began slugging it out fothe Nobei Prize. In

1977. both won. Yet todathe battle still rages on.

range of human treakishness, includwarfism.Perhaps even more dramatic,

Schally-Guillemin accomplishmentallow us to prevent inadvertent bmaking on the one hand, and onother, transform us all into sex objbeyond our most fevered dreams.the 1977 Nobel Prize research maysult in the first effective over-the-counaphrodisiac, perhaps in the formnasal spray We'll talk more aboutfuture benefits of hormone resealater on, But first, a look at the blshed , .

.

It is extremely rare for scientists ttheir dirty linen, and it is difficult to cvince them that it is beneficial to doFor example, an otherwise respecNobel laureate told me in 1975 thatcause he disagreed with the mastream precepts of his science (with the mainstream leader), hehaving difficulty getting reseagrants, publishing his scientific papeand obtaining jobs for his students.when I suggested that he providenames and dates and go public, he"appalled" at such an idea. The |nalistic principal of cure through exsure a la Watergate is an alien onresearch and its international symbothe Swedish judges who awardNobel Prize. Consequently, we hearsentially the same lament from a loSchally-Guillemin competitor.

"Look, I can't say too much," he spleading for anonymity, "I could stillhurt professionally by . , . well look,skip it. This field is very competitive,a lot of cutthroat competition. I womake specific charges, but I knowsome of my competitors pulled dtricks on me. Schally makes a locomments. Guillemin is a very egoctric guy Schally is aggressive, hadriving, a cutthroat competitor, but Iderstand him. Guillemin is harderunderstand . . . smoother . . . mcultured,"The unusual thing about the Scha

Guillemin conflict is that Andrew Sch

PAINTING . SCHWERTBERG


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has become the whistle blower. Hethe first researcher since DNA pioneer

B. Watson (author of The Doubleto remind us that science not onlyon golden wings but occasionallyon dog doo.

VS . THE PETTY POLE _fiction novelist Joe Haldeman

describe the Schally-Guillemmwith one of his litles, The Forever

and it is one that Schally sees himselfin public relations terms. Recently

sat in his lab at the U.S. Veterans Hospi-in New Orleans and waved the latest

of Science magazine at me:'Always always always," said Schally,

tends to speak in threes. "They areys describing Guillemin as urbanesophisticated, while I am made out tolike a warmonger Science has notme fairly"He referred to an unusual three-part'by Nicholas Wade in the journal of

American Association for the Ad-of Science (April 21-May 5,

Wade had made a Herculean effortuntangle the complex and heavily dis-chronicle of Schally and Guillemin,

Guillemin seemed to win on points,as Talleyrand, Voltaire, and the

of Modesty while Schally emergedthe petty Pole.The third-party quotes about Guillemin

along the "urbane Frenchman" line;was dismissed as "a Slav in manys, very excitable." Schally breaks the

of the Swedish Nobel Prize judgesadmitting thatthere indeed was a "race"that yes, it was for the Nobel Prize. The

like to think of scientists as truth-Buddhas who would never dreamracing, lobbying, blabbing, or throat cut-

for something so intangible as a mereprize. The Guillemin who appeared

Science was made to look like Buddha.race? he asked. What prize? Oh yes,

research "required constancy consis-and increasing know-how, but really,was nothing conceptually revolu-in this field that made me think a

Prize had to b^ awarded for it."There is little doubt as to which of the twothe most personally impressive. Schally

dry, long, and stringy haircombed overspots and a voice thatoften elevates

an incredible, high-pitched whine. Guil-is bald, with intellectually thin lips,

as a trim frame often dressed in some-muted and continental (whereassported -emerald-green trousers

Ecuffy black shoes the day I met him),owlish eyes reflecting a personal and

interest in every inanity a visitorexpress. The French-born Guillemin

display noblesse plus oblige, Even his

Schally-(lar left) ana Guillemin (far rigt^t).t hailaf centerphoto captures them in rare

together at Nobet ceremonies.Yalow is at center

OMNI

esea h ';ei ng he au te e and '=' p jcable of he S^k not u e c B g CdStudies in La Jolla, California, with majesln,views of the Pacific's great whale migrationlanes and of cliff-top launching pads forbutterflylike hang glidersfar outshinesSchally'sa lab that is just down the streetfrom the screaming madhouse of New Or-leans's Charity Hospital and with a view ofthe Superdome.''Schally leads his scientific staff like a

combat sergean!. In pursuit of the elusivehypothalamic hormones, he shared themessy job of helping grind up one millionpig brainspersonally mashing the bean-like hypothalami with mortar and pestle.Guillemin delegated his own osterizingoperationliquefying six million sheepbrains (Schally chose pigs in part becauseGuillemin had selected sheep)to amember of his large staff,

I first coniacted Schally in November1977, a few weeks after he had won hisshare of the Nobel, Ironically, Schally hadonce worked in the same lab with Guille-minat Houston's Baylor Medical College,from 1957 to 1962and I asked howthings had been. (1 had no knowledge atthe time of a blood feud),

"The atmosphere was unbearable. Iwouldn't be suppressed and dominated byhim any longer," Schally recalled as hisvoice rose. "I had gone to work for him atBaylor with the understanding that wewould be fifty-fifty partners, sharing thecredit with each other He doesn't sharecredit with anyone. I would not beone ofhisslaves."

Guillemin, however, took an entirely dif-ferent and indirect approach when he dis-cussed the Baylor days. Very Utile was saidabout Schally at all, except that "he was mystudent." For fuller information, Guilleminsuggested that I speak with the venerableBaylor physiologist (and the man who gaveGuillemin his first American research post),Hebbel Hoft, Here are selected quotes

from Dn Hoff as to those discrete five years: "There was no doubt from the very be-ginning that the solution of thehypothalamic hormone problem was aproblem of Nobel level. Roger was just soclearly in advance in his ideas and tech-nique that nobody else ever caught up. Ofcourse,Schally did a great piece of work for'Roger, bufhaving him share the Prize withRoger? That's a little bad," "I do not think Schally developed any ofthe basic ideas." "When some people are around peopleof greatness, some people would like toprove lo the world that they are just asgood." In answer to Schally's comment that theatmosphere in Guillemln's Baylor lab wasunbearable: "If you considered how longmost of Roger's other assistants stayedwith him, youwould conclude that the labo-ratory atmospherewas acceptable to mostpeople. But Schally was simply burning tobe independent. To that kind of a guy, theatmosphere in anybody else's lab would beunbearable,""You have to understand that Schally's

father was a general with the Po

OMNI January 1979

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