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Area 51 was a secret U.S. military base containing an alien spaceship and alien bodies from the Roswell incident of 1947. Following the War of 1996, Area 51 was renamed as the Center of Alien Technology and became a headquarters for the Earth Space Defense.[1][2]
History
Area 51 was established as a storage facility containing an alien spaceship and the bodies of its passengers from the Roswell incident of 1947. The facility contains a deep-level hangar, where the spaceship is studied and repaired, and a vault containing the preserved bodies of the vessel's passengers dubbed as "The Freak Show" by the base's staff members.
The existence of Area 51 and its possessions was publicly dismissed as a sensational conspiracy theory. Only a select few in the U.S. government were aware of its existence. The President and other higher ranking government officials were kept ignorant of the facility's existence, as former CIA Director and Secretary of Defense Albert Nimziki stated this for the sake of "plausible deniability." Funding for Area 51 was dependent on a black budget that was secretly funneled from the American congress, as part of the national budget for developing new weapons for the military.[3]
Immanuel Wells was director of research at Area 51 from 1947 to 1968. In 1968, Wells was removed from his position and from Project Smudge due to his erratic behavior and calls to make information surrounding the alien visitations public in order to prepare for a potential invasion. Brackish Okun became director of research in 1974 after working at Area 51 for two years.[4]
War of 1996
As of 1996, Area 51's administrator was USAF Major Mitchell and its research division was headed by Dr. Brackish Okun. During the alien invasion of 1996, President Thomas Whitmore and his surviving staff were informed of Area 51's existence by Albert Nimziki and landed there, where it temporarily became the functioning headquarters of the U.S. government.[4] By this time, the alien vessel was fully repaired and operational, and ultimately used by David Levinson and Steven Hiller to infiltrate the alien mothership and thus disabling the force fields of the City Destroyers. Area 51 soon came under attack by a City Destroyer, forcing Whitmore to lead a counterstrike on the Destroyer and leading to its destruction by the sacrifice of Russell Casse.
Earth Space Defense
Five years after the War of 1996, Area 51 was place under the Earth Space Defense and renamed as the Center for Alien Technology. Area 51 greatly expanded its facilities which included housing for thousands of employees mining from the wreck of the City Destroyer that attacked the base. Unexpectedly, a town was formed by displaced entrepreneurs outside of Area 51 and even has its own mayor and alderman. Although the townspeople haven't choose a name for their town, except being referred to as "the town of 51".[1] Area 51 also contained a prison for the alien survivors of the war. Due to the aliens' fragile form, they cannot be let out of their exoskeletons or they will perish.[1]
War of 2016
Gallery
Independence Day
Independence Day: Resurgence
Behind the Scenes
- Area 51 is a real life United States Air Force base. Because of its intense secrecy surrounding the base it has since become the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and a central component to unidentified flying object (UFO) folklore. Due to the importance of Area 51 in Independence Day, the U.S. military backed out in the movie's production after the producers refused to remove the script's Area 51 references. In July 2013, the CIA publicly acknowledged the existence of the base for the first time, declassifying documents detailing the history and purpose of Area 51.
- During the film making of Independence Day, Wendover Airport doubled for the Area 51 and El Toro exteriors.