In Lincoln County, in the south of the American state of Nevada, there are two inconspicuous towns - Rachel and Heiko. Their total population is only 173 people. Around - endless dull semi-desert and dusty roads. It would seem that nothing interesting can and should not happen here.
But both provincial settlements are close to a top-secret US Air Force base commonly referred to as Area 51. People who believe in the existence of alien civilizations are convinced that it is here that secret studies of intelligent beings that have come to Earth from space are taking place.
Starting September 19, tens of thousands of people intend to arrive in these two tiny towns for two festivals at once - Alienstock and Storm Area 51 Basecamp.
Unlike regular festivals, these didn't take months or even years to organize. It all started with a joke on Facebook four months ago.
The joker who started this venture now says that at least one of the upcoming festivals could lead to a humanitarian disaster.
In June, 20-year-old Californian student Matty Roberts created an event on Facebook for fun, inviting everyone to storm Area 51 together, since no security system can stop a large crowd of people.
In his rather playful post, he also wrote that, breaking into the territory of the base, everyone can themselves discover samples of alien technology, and maybe even the aliens themselves.
A few days later, his jokes began to spread viral throughout the world, attracting more and more new members.
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“I posted this post on Facebook around 2 am on June 27,” Roberts told the BBC. "It was an innocent joke, but it suddenly attracted the attention of many people."
So far, more than 3 million people have said they intend to take part in the September 20 attack on the base. Another one and a half million indicated that they were interested in it. According to Matty Roberts, many of them take this venture quite seriously.
One of those who announced their participation is a 33-year-old Ohio realtor named Art Frasik, who told the BBC that he and his comrades are determined to infiltrate the base and find aliens there.
“I will go to Area 51 because it is funded by our taxes, and after 70 years of hiding new technologies from us there, we have the right to see them,” he wrote on Facebook.
Two Dutch citizens - a video blogger and his friend - have already been detained in a closed area surrounding the base. They managed to walk about five kilometers. Thies Granzir, 20, and Govert Sveep, 21, were charged with illegally entering a prohibited area. They themselves say that they just wanted to see what was happening there.
Many others also promise to infiltrate the base, but how serious these statements are is difficult to judge.
But the US Air Force sees no joke here. Air Force spokesman Laura McAndrews told the BBC that any attempt to illegally enter a military facility or training ground is life-threatening.
Matty Roberts agrees with her words, and says that he does not want anyone to get hurt. After his joke on Facebook went viral, FBI agents have visited him to find out his intentions. He convinced the detectives that he was not collecting bombs or doing anything reprehensible.
But the joke is already out of control. The US Air Force, as well as the authorities in Lincoln County, are taking this development very seriously.
Both festivals are very problematic for the local police and general infrastructure. Alienstock, which will take place at the Little A'Le'Inn in Rachel, and Storm Area 51 Basecamp, which will be based at the Alien Research Center in Haiko, have already received permission to host their events.
But in preparation for the invasion, the Lincoln area has already prepared the necessary documents to declare a state of emergency. No one knows exactly how many people will come to both festivals, but between five and 50 thousand people are expected to arrive.
Proponents of various conspiracy theories concerning aliens have been visiting the Area 51 area for years. The base is located near the Groom Lakes. It was opened in the 1950s to test the Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft.
But, according to Glenn Campbell, who has been studying everything related to "Area 51" for a long time, it was not until the 1980s that they began to associate it with aliens.
Then physicist Bob Lazar, speaking at a television station in Las Vegas, unexpectedly announced on the air that he had been invited to investigate and try to reproduce the technology of an alien aircraft near "Area 51".
"Immediately after this announcement, thousands of conspiracy theories emerged," Annie Jacobson, who wrote the Area 51 study, told the BBC.
Since the base remains classified, no one knows exactly what is happening there. According to Jacobson, the job of the base staff is to develop military technology faster and better than in any other country. But since the base is strictly classified, many have suspicions.
“The base remains a kind of black box, into which no one outside can enter, and, accordingly, many people think whatever they want about its work,” says Glenn Campbell.
And, as Roberts' joke on Facebook demonstrated, Area 51 attracts conspiracy-minded people like flies to honey.
Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee says that even if only one percent of those who announced their intention on Facebook make it to these places, local authorities simply cannot cope with such an influx of people.
According to Kerry Lee, 150 police officers and 300 doctors from other parts of Nevada have been sent to the area. In an area of 27 thousand square kilometers, usually only 26 police officers work.
He also adds that those who try to infiltrate the base will be detained and face a $ 1,000 fine. “I would advise those who want to come and see Area 51 to do it from a distance,” he says.
Local authorities are also assisted by state and federal agencies, including the FBI.
The FBI, according to Kerry Lee, collects information on how many people can come to both festivals.
If, in fact, about 50 thousand people will come, then the population of Lincoln County, where only five thousand people live, will increase 10 times per day.
The townships of Rachel and Heiko just can't handle it. There are only a few shops and one hotel. There is no hospital or ambulance service, there are not enough toilets or gas stations for that number of people, and the internet connection is barely, if ever, working at best.
A few days ago, Mattie Roberts completely severed ties with the organizers of the festival.
“Due to a lack of infrastructure, poor planning, a lack of risk assessment and a complete disregard for the safety issue of at least 10,000 people expected, Alienstock should be canceled,” he wrote on the festival website.
Frank DiMaggio, former organizer of Alienstock, shares this view. He believes the festival should be canceled before it becomes what he says is the largest humanitarian disaster in southern Nevada's history.
Little A'Le'Inn innkeeper Connie West assures that the Alienstock festival will not be canceled. According to her, she has already paid for security, for mobile toilets, and also organized the presence of doctors. In addition, 20 music groups and two comedians will come to the festival.
When the TV reporter asked her if she regretted anything, Connie West burst into tears and said: "No matter what happens, I can't stop anything."
The organizers of the second two-day festival, which will be attended by people convinced of the existence of aliens, "experts" in UFOs, and, of course, the musicians, look calmer.
Their festival will take place at the Alien Research Center in Haiko.
Storm Area 51 Basecamp festival organizer Keith Wright told the BBC that they can host about five thousand people.
Tickets for one day of the festival cost $ 51 each, which includes parking, two bottles of water, and a $ 10 food voucher. People can live in tents ($ 50 per day), or in vans ($ 150 per day).
Wright says the organizers have ample tent space; water, electricity and toilet issues have also been resolved
But he also adds that the risk of a catastrophic turn of events is high.
Everyone is now expecting what will actually happen. Matty Roberts says he has no regrets so far. Everyone who comes to the festivals will do so of their own free will, he says.
“I did my best to try to convince people not to do it,” concludes Roberts.
Joshua Nevett