On the eve of Halloween in 1938, a major event occurred in the United States that has been repeatedly studied by sociologists, psychologists and communication scientists - the "Martian invasion". Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

In his previous life, John had always regarded this most serious "fake news" incident in the history of news communication as a joke, so if it wasn't for Little Ella's sudden reminder, he would have forgotten about it.

Historically, on October 30, 1938, the night before Halloween, the famous CBS radio program "Mercury Radio Theater" aired a radio drama based on the novel "Star Wars".

Perhaps in keeping with the horror atmosphere of Halloween, the show's producer Wells added a simulated news broadcast to it. A few minutes after the start of the radio drama, a news announcement was suddenly "inserted", and the announcer told the listener in a trembling voice: the United States is suffering from an alien invasion, and the Martians are using the "death light" as a weapon to completely destroy the earth.

The "newscaster" told listeners that at least 40 people, including six state militiamen, had been killed in the fields east of the Griver manufacturing plant in New Jersey, and that their bodies had been charred and deformed by the "death light," and reminded residents near the scene to evacuate as soon as possible.

After a while, the program interjected another "news": another announcer claimed to be broadcasting live in Times Square in New York, reporting the news of the destruction of New York by aliens, and finally the announcer was "heroically killed" under the attack of the Martians, holding a microphone.

About 6 million Americans tuned in that night, and although the host repeatedly emphasized that it was a radio drama and not reality, almost 1 million Americans were thrown into panic and riots because of it.

In New York and New Jersey, thousands of people began to flee by car, causing massive congestion on highways. Tens of thousands of people poured into the streets, gathered in major parks, or managed to hide under bridges. Many others covered their mouths and noses with wet towels or put on gas masks, just as soldiers had protected themselves from chemical weapons during World War I.

Churches, police stations, and hospitals were all flooded, newspapers, magazines, and radio calls were flooded, and everyone was desperate to find out what was going on. Many more are restless at home, with radios in their arms and crosses in their hands, praying and looking out the window at the sky for signs of so-called aliens.

The New York Times later defined the "Martian invasion" as a "massive Sisdylian wave." Wells, the producer of the show, also admitted that he never thought that anyone would take such an absurd thing as true, but he himself was strongly condemned by all walks of life.

Although John also thought that these Americans were simply too funny in his previous life, they were fooled so easily. But now in this era, John realizes that this "wave of terror sweeping across the United States" is not a funny thing.

The American people today are certainly not as well-informed as those in the era of the information explosion, but they are not lacking in basic common sense and judgment. The reason why the radio drama of "Mercury Radio Theater" was able to cause riots is also related to the overall mood of American society at the moment.

The new round of economic recession that began last year has made the financial situation of many ordinary families no longer able to withstand any unexpected blows. People are very sensitive to any unexpected disasters that may occur, and their psychological tolerance is already very fragile.

In addition, the whole United States had fallen into an anxious and sensitive mood because of the clouds of war in Europe, and even John himself was affected by this emotion. Radio dramas easily turn fears of war into fears of another attack.

With this in mind, John dismissed the idea of preventing this from happening, although he could have done it. With his partnership with Westinghouse, the parent company of CBS, trying to get involved in an entertainment show is just a matter of words.

But in John's view, the "Martian invasion" was a collective catharsis of the American people's nervousness. It's like opening the exhaust valve of a pressure cooker, reducing the pressure on the entire American society. Although it caused a certain amount of commotion and panic, it ended in one night and did not cause any serious consequences.

In his previous life, John had heard another theory from a UFO fan friend that the so-called "Martian invasion" incident was a game done by the U.S. government. They did find the wreckage of the alien spaceship, so they wanted to test the reaction of the people through the radio.

As a result, seeing such a fierce reaction from the public, the government concealed the news and turned to secret research on aliens, so there was later Area 51.

John scoffs at this statement. Only a double lover of UFOs and conspiracy theories can come up with such an explanation. If John had really been interested in this, he wouldn't have turned down Donovan's offer in the first place. The so-called mysterious Area 51 is in the hands of the CIA. If he had become a CIA veteran, he would have had a chance to know these secrets.

But even if you know, what can you do? When Carter, Reagan, and Clinton were running for president of the United States, didn't they all swear that they would release information about aliens and Area 51 after they were elected? Did you see who did it? The United States is a country governed by the rule of law, and even the president can only satisfy his curiosity and has no right to release this information to the outside world.

John felt that instead of painstakingly keeping it a secret for decades, it would be better to not know about it in the first place. Anyway, in his previous life, he hadn't encountered an alien until he crossed over, and he didn't have to worry about aliens invading the earth in this life.

So about this kind of thing, John felt that there was no need to meddle at all, and it would be better not to let Adele and Ella listen to the radio when the time came. Well, why don't you take Adele and Ella to Grandma Susan's farm for the holidays, where it's almost time for a good harvest of pumpkins. Go to the countryside for a day or two, and when you come back, everything should be calm.

At dinner, John told his wife and daughter about the idea, and they were unanimously approved. Even if this little episode is over for John's family, he has a lot more important things to worry about.

For example, how to mend his relationship with Hoyt Vandenberg. Last week, John had an unpleasant argument with a captain officer in the Planning Division who was five years older than him because of a serious discrepancy between the data provided by the Planning Division of the Army Aviation Command and the facts.

Yesterday, William called and said that Senator Arthur Vandenberg was going to invite him to dinner and apologize on behalf of his nephew Hoyt. John only realized what kind of person this brain gate captain was. This guy has long been the deputy commander of the Allied Air Force during World War II, the commander of the Ninth Air Force, Hoyt Vandenberg, and the famous Vandenberg Air Force Base in the United States is named after him.

Good guy, accidentally bumped into the great god, John is still a little apprehensive in his heart. Although Vandenberg is still unfounded, at the age of 39 he is still a captain, and he is not as good as John in any way. But I can't stand the fact that there are people behind them (Arnold's favorite general), and I have caught up with the good era of army expansion.

Historically, Vandenberg, who was promoted to major in July 1941, was promoted to brigadier general in November 1942, and this speed rocket could not catch up. In any case, Vandenberg later became a four-star general, the chief of staff of the Air Force, and it would be too uneconomical for John to make a bad deal with him because of this little thing.

What's more, John also knew that Vandenberg would soon be the chief of the Operational Planning Section of the Air Command, a position that was too important for Hughes Aircraft Company. Isn't it just that if you offend him, you can't get along with the dollar! John has to find a way to make up for the relationship between the two.