A Deeper Look at the Protagonist in the play:
The Strange Case of Flat-Earther Elliot: A Modern Day Flat-Earther on Trial
Only a year ago Flat-Earther Elliot was an aspiring engineer, working at a civil service job in a rural central Florida county. He was happy and engaged in his new job. Shortly after starting his job, he made an offer on a small farm house not far from his workplace. He planned to invest in a colony of honey bees because he liked bees and he heard it could bring a supplemental income without much work. His future looked bright.
Things are different today. The world is different, all because Flat-Earther Elliot made a trip to Tennessee and slipped down the flat earth rabbit hole. Over the last year since that trip, his immersion into the flat earth perspective took him on many paths: scientific, philosophical, even spiritual. His view of life and the people around him has become forever altered.
When Elliot first fell for the flat earth theory, he descended with all the other flat-earthers into a melting pot of personalities ranging from level-headed intellectuals to wild emotional ranters touting foul language and rhetoric supreme. But Elliot always focused on the factual evidence not the hype. He concentrated on scientific facts, and cautiously discarded simple declarative sentences rooted in untested assumptions. He always asked, “why?” “who said so?” “where is that written?” or “where’s the evidence for that?”
Many people spoke out. Some were set in their ways, but some were open-minded and willing to listen. The most notable to Elliot of the people who spoke out for or against, were Brian Mullins, Rob Skiba, Glenn Hall, Zen Garcia, Carolyn Hamlett, B.o.B, Joe Rogan, Steve Quayle, Stan Deyo, Mark Sargent, Eric Dubay, and Neil Tyson. There were many others, some for and some against, and some curiously ignorant of the flat earth.
Elliot listened carefully to what both camps said and often wondered why some were willing to listen to new ideas while other refused to ponder any alternatives. He wondered if the new flat-earthers were starting a scientific revolution, a revolution just like Thomas Kuhn talked about in his classic 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
Did not Copernicus create a scientific revolution in 1543 with his strange Heliocentric supposition? That fact attests to the possibility that established order can once again change, but of course change takes time. It took 100 years before the Copernican theory took hold in scientific circles. Personalities and politics do not change easily or quickly, if at all.
As Elliot progressed along his mind-changing educational journey, his new avocation slowly became his new vocation. His graduation came one night while examining the writing of Gerrard Hickson’s 1922 book, Kings Dethroned. Elliot’s door was suddenly smashed in by unknown authorities who boxed up and removed his computer and miscellaneous papers. He was drugged and committed to a mental ward to satisfy the state’s Baker Act.
With time to ponder his situation, he reflected on the fact that all of this would have never happened if he had not taken that long week-end off just over a year ago, a weekend to hike the Appalachian Trail. He liked to hike, but also knew a certain young lady frequently hiked along his favorite section of the AT.
So late last fall in hopes of striking up a long-distance friendship, he drove to the little town of Unicoi in eastern Tennessee. He followed route 107 to an access point leading to the trail. It was September and the through-hikers were long gone. After four hours of hiking uphill, he found the trail empty and no dream girl about. Crossing a creek, he studied a snapping turtle beneath the small bridge. Suddenly somebody in the forest said, “you better eat him before he eats you!”
He was surprised to see an old hermit in drab clothing sitting like a ghost on a tree stump. At first glance, Elliot thought this was a mental case.
The old-timer looked up and said, “welcome, flat-Earther! I’m Apostle.”
Flat-Earther, Elliot thought. He knew he had assumed correctly. This was a loose nut alone in the woods. In any case, he tried to be polite.
“Hello, Apostle, I’m Elliot,” he replied, out of breath from the steep hike up an incline they call Iron Mountain.
The old man seemed friendly and started a conversation spontaneously. “Hey flat-Earther, where would I go if I fell over the edge?” he asked.
“You can’t fall off,” Elliot laughed. “You’re on a globe with gravity!”
“But even if I’m on a globe, I should be falling off right now, or at least falling down due to the spin of the Earth,” the old man replied.
Elliot didn’t know what to say. He thought the old geezer was kidding.
“I’m not kidding you,” Apostle said. “Unfortunately, we’ve been conditioned to dismiss any talk of our earth’s shape. You even mention flat earth and people laugh. But it’s not really funny. It’s sad, because all it takes to condition people are spherical images, complicated math, and a steady flow of indoctrination with classroom globes.”
Apostle pointed down the trail where he had a cabin close to the AT. “Come on, since you’re here I’ll show you my place, it’s a cabin just uphill over the curve.” He laughed at his play on words.
They passed a clearing created for wild edibles, such as ginseng, ramps, wild onions and wild spinach. Upon entering the so-called cabin, Elliot was shocked at the sparseness of it, not much more than a shack smelling of raw hardwood and drying herbs.
Elliot removed his pack and found a seat in one of two large rocking chairs. A wood stove stood in one corner and was still warm from the night’s fire. Apostle went to the stove and poured two cups of barley tea and gave one to Elliot. A diploma beside the front window proclaimed the old man’s real name, William Burt Carley, with the words: Doctor of Philosophy in Physics.
Elliot’s thoughts quickened. He had met a real eccentric. For thousands of years people thought the Earth was flat. But those people never flew to space and discovered the curvature of the Earth. Their misperceptions were understandable, but how could anyone today continue to think the earth was flat?
Apostle sipped his tea carefully. “I have an interest in deception,” he said. “The system has its secrets. Our duty is to test our beliefs and speak the truth as we see it — observe, make notes, devise simple tests, repeat, discuss, and also build consensus with the thoughts and tests of others. Here’s my hypothesis: the Earth is flat!”
Elliot was also a student of physics and so he had to ask, “What makes you believe your hypothesis is correct?”
“Believe it’s correct? I can prove it’s correct,” Apostle said, then added, “or at least make a darn good case for it.”
Elliot had to challenge him. “What about the satellite phones and cell phones and GPS that depend on satellites that orbit the earth?”
Apostle shook his head. “LORAN is an old ground-based technology using triangulation that started us off with long-distance communication. I call it LORAN with the GPS brand. Bell already had a good multi-carrier, long-distance system with coaxial and microwave back in the forties! Now underwater fiber optic cables, cell towers and aircraft using the same triangulation can give us what we need. GPS is all ground-based. Of course, it can bounce off things higher up–AWACS, balloons, and such but it’s all been ground-based since the early 1900s. Yes, there could be a few temporary satellites, but they are only fairly low gas balloons, no way are they at 22,000 miles out.”
“No disrespect,” Elliot said, “but what about science? Science proves we live on a spinning globe tilted at 23 degrees! We’ve got the seasons, day and night!”
Apostle shook his head again. “Actually, there is hidden scientific evidence that we do not live on a globe! Read up on George Airy, also the Morley and Michelson experiments. Much of their work is never taught in universities, never even mentioned.”
“How do you explain the work of Copernicus? The globe has been around for centuries!”
The old man replied, “Actually we have an even longer history of ancient maps of the flat earth. Even today the USGS uses the Azimuthal Equidistant map — the same map that is displayed on the United Nations flag and in their auditorium, a flat-earth map, an ancient map.”
“But if the Earth is flat, then where’s the edge? Why don’t we fall off at some point?” Elliot asked.
“Nobody can fall off. The continent of Antarctica surrounds the edge with a 200 foot wall of ice.”
Elliot was momentarily speechless. “OK, but we’ve got airplanes. Someone would have found the edge by now!”
Apostle paused and then admitted, “Someone may have, but they make it difficult for all of us. The U.S. military enforces a no trespassing policy on most of Antarctica. No air travel is allowed, except to a small tourist destination just below Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands.”
He sipped his tea and went on, “It’s funny because back in 1954 Admiral Byrd claimed Antarctica was bigger than the U.S. and loaded with natural resources, but look now . . . no single country claims it or uses it. It makes no sense — until you think “flat earth” boundary, a portal to the unknown.
“OK, assuming Antarctica is the edge of the earth, it’s off limits, that would be natural, but explorers . . .”
Apostle interjected, “And why do you suppose planes can’t fly direct routes in the southern hemisphere? For example, from Sidney directly to Santiago? They say they do have some planes scheduled for non-stop routes, but actually there are no such direct “global” flights within the southern hemisphere.”
“So how to planes get from Sidney to Santiago?” Elliot asked.
“Look at the flat map of the United Nations,” Apostle said. “Sidney is on the opposite side of the earth from Santiago, so a plane would pass near Los Angles on its way. The most direct routes are actually the routes they take. They go over Los Angles, or stop there or Canada, because North America is between Sidney and Santiago.” He studied Elliot’s reaction and then said, “the globe is not an accurate depiction of the Earth–the Earth is flat.”
Elliot wanted to change the subject. Looking out the small cabin window, he thought of the time he flew to Ft. Lauderdale for spring break. Lounging on the beach, he remembered seeing huge cruise liners moving out to sea, toward the Bahamas, eventually disappearing over the horizon. That’s the proof, he thought.
“Ships disappear below the horizon!” he exclaimed to Apostle.
“That’s your proof of a globe?” Apostle laughed. “Have you heard of the vanishing point?”
“Yeah, so?” Elliot answered.
“It’s in your human perception that things vanish at infinity. Compounded by the fact that multiple layers of waves and sea spray accumulate with distance, a ship seems to sink below the horizon to the naked eye. Yet it does not. Take an inexpensive telescope, or a 10x zoom on your iPhone — you’ll see the whole ship again. It’s the same with lighthouses. Their lights are seen over a hundred miles out to sea, but according to Pythagorean theory no lighthouse should be visible at those distances.”
Apostle sipped his tea and smiled. “Here’s a globe experiment for you. You observe that it’s 12 noon on 1 September of any given year and it is indeed daytime. You set a clock and wait exactly 6 months. At the same time of 12 noon, you observe that it daytime. From your experiment, it should be dark and midnight. Why is it daytime and not midnight?
“That seems obvious to me,” Elliot said. “Because if you wait exactly 6 months, that’s 180 days. 180 x 24 hours will be a lot of hours but end up being the same hour of the day six months later, 12 noon.”
“You forgot one thing,” Apostle countered. “On your globe, after 6 months you’re on the opposite side of the Sun. . . so now you’re facing away from the Sun at 12 noon, as your rotations were 360 degrees 180 times. Obviously you will be facing space, away from the Sun. It will be dark. Try the experiment with your own body as the Earth and revolve and rotate around an imaginary Sun. This should be a simple proof that we are not on a globe, but people don’t think that far out.”
Elliot agreed to try the experiment later. Then Apostle motioned him to come to the back of the cabin. They went out the back door and entered another cabin. Between the cabins, a brown pit dog was chained to a post. “This is my kitchen. Try some of my Kennebecs and black beans,” Apostle offered.
Elliot sat down at the kitchen table. “Okay, I’ll give you a clue to the globe problem,” Apostle continued. “It’s a problem because the 24 hour day doesn’t fit nicely within the annual calendar we use. With the 24 hour day we are always out of sync with the overall calendar. That’s why you would realize by the experiment that noon turns into midnight in the experiment. So to explain this little slip up, they made up an ad hoc theory that the real day is a sidereal day of 23 hours and 56 minutes. This seems to correct the problem because 180 days of missing 4 minutes per day equals 12 hours after six months. So everything looks hunky dory, until you figure you’re going to end up with 366 days each year…and that’s not how our calendar works. See the system is broken. We’re obviously not in a heliocentric system.”
“Looks like the devil’s in the details,” Elliot said.
Elliot continued to sample his hot bowl of beans and potatoes. He was curious to know if NASA’s long history of space travel would stump Apostle. “I’m guessing you do not believe the U.S. landed men on the moon.”
“Not likely, Apostle replied. “NASA is not what you think it is. I worked for government contractors back in the 70s — everything was SCI, secret compartmentalized information projects. Knowledge is subdivided and people are under oaths of secrecy. They don’t connect the dots to see the overall mission. Compartmentalization is their way to keep secrets,” he said.
“But why would they fake the moon landings?” Elliot demanded.
Apostle explained, “If the Earth is flat, then the solar system is not the system they say it is. The moon resides inside the firmament much closer to Earth than they tell us. Is it an operational base? Who knows? But it does not reflect any light. It creates its own light based on harmonics.
“That’s pretty far out!” Elliot said, trying not to laugh.
The brown dog started barking outside. Apostle reached over and picked up a shotgun leaning near the back door. He yanked back on the fore grip and chambered a round, then stood silently watching the dog crawl under the porch. “I’m the police chief, fire chief and doctor around here. That dog’s got a good ear, but he doesn’t know a green hiker from a crazy hillbilly.”
Apostle put the shotgun back in its place and continued his thought.
“It’s a sad fact, but the moon landing pictures are faked. Everyone’s seen the LEM sitting on the moon. Why is there no crater or disturbance below it from the LEM’s engines? Why no dust on any part of the LEM, but plenty of astronaut footprints in the loose soil? he quizzed.
He continued, “If you read the book Who Built the Moon you’ll learn that the moon is an artificial structure. Why do you think it never rotates? It’s a powerful electromagnetic computer, a mediating and monitoring device in the sky, a perpetual clock.”
“You can’t deny NASA has lots of photos of Earth from space,” Elliot offered.
“Sure, NASA makes a lot of videos and graphics. None are actual photography and they admit that. NASA is like a movie studio when you think of it. They shoot rockets into low circular paths, and make animated graphics. They never show the actual flight path of the entire flight, except via studio graphics.”
“You’re saying all NASA photos are fake?” Elliot asked.
“Yep, if you tell a lie, you’re best off if you tell a big one. I’m not saying they don’t shoot rockets, or take real pictures of Earth from high altitude aircraft. I’m saying they fake photos with different techniques. Fish-eye or wide angle lenses will put a curve on the otherwise flat horizon. Photoshop can do wonders for dressing up graphics or creating them from scratch,” he said.
“OK, there’s probably some truth to that, but Buzz Aldrin says he’s been to the moon,” Elliot stressed.
“Sure, what else can he say, but he’s got no proof. Even NASA won’t stand behind him, having destroyed all technical records of the Saturn 5 rocket,” Apostle said, smiling.
Apostle continued with many fascinating insights on the delicacies of the Copernican model,l the moon missions and the lack of hard evidence thereof, then said flatly, “Yes, there are assumptive proofs of the Heliocentric model, but no, there are no conclusive scientific tests in the history of science that prove the Earth rotates or revolves around the sun.
Was the old man crazy? Elliot had to find out. As a consequence, a year later Elliot was being held for incompetence and being a threat to public safety.
On to the trial:
The Strange Case of Flat-Earther Elliot : A Modern Day Flat-Earther on Trial
by John Eriksen