Imagine the
future – a
strange new
weapon is
detonated high
over a large
city. There is
no explosion, no
visible
destruction, but
everything
electronic
within the range
of this weapon
will go out …
permanently.
Every electronic
gadget in every
home and office
– disabled. No
computers, no T.V., no life
support systems
in hospitals,
no water supply,
no heat, no
lights – truly,
a return to the
dark ages.
Imagine a full
range of new
weapons; one can
take out the
electricity in
your city,
another can
destroy you. If
you haven’t
heard about
these weapons,
it’s no
surprise. Their
development has
been secretive
and they sound
more like
science fiction
than reality.
When did this
reality really
begin and how
far advanced is
it now? This
revealing
documentary
opens the window
on this -until
now- secretive
science.
On a calm
Sunday morning
in 1978,
residents of
Bell Island,
Newfoundland
hear an odd,
high-pitched
hum, immediately
followed by a
sudden and
terrifying blast
resounding for
hundreds of
miles. Witnesses
observe a
“straight shaft
of light”
descending from
the sky, and a
barrage of
violent
electrical
phenomenon.
Outbuildings are
destroyed,
livestock
electrocuted,
televisions
explode and
power lines
vaporize.
Observed from
space, the light
emissions from
the “boom” are
more powerful
than those of
the Hiroshima
blast.
The
Invisible
Machine
unravels the
mystery of the
Bell Island
“boom” and in
doing so takes a
chilling look at
the U.S.
military’s
experimentation
with
electromagnetic
pulse (EMP)
weapons,“e-bombs”,
directed energy
weapons that can
destroy
electrical and
communications
systems but
leave people
seemingly
unharmed. We
interview eye
witnesses, an
EMP weapons
designer,
scientists,
journalists,
policy makers
and activists
who warn that
these weapons
are real and may
have been used
by the US
military during
its “shock and
awe” campaign
against Iraq in
2003.
While the
United States
continues to
develop and
experiment with
these weapons of
mass
destruction, the
questions
remain: were the
bizarre events
on Bell Island
in 1978 related
to early testing
gone wrong and
were directed
EMP weapons at
Baghdad’s
electricity
generation plant
the most recent
experiment? If
so, what are the
consequences of
unleashing this
powerful force?
The Invisible
Machine
pulls back the
veils of secrecy
to find the
answers.
