The secrets of Steven Spielberg's script raise some serious questions about what we might expect when the film is released in June

For those of us who have read H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds often, we already know that Spielberg will be using many of the elements not previously explored in the 1939 radio broadcast and the 1953 movie, such as black smoke and red weed.

But what about the other aliens?

H.G. Wells not only gave us the invading aliens and the environmental disastrous red weed as part of 1898 book, but also introduced -- if briefly -- a second alien species, a subservient race of two-legged Martians off which the master race fed.

The same space ships that transported the master race for their invasion of earth also transported this secondary species, only briefly reported on by Wells' narrator. Wells spoke about them only in passing, because the pathetic creatures ceased to have a significant function once the master race of invaders reached earth.

"Their (the master race of alien) undeniable preference for men as their source of nourishment is explained by the nature of the remains of the victims they had brought with them as provisions from Mars," Wells wrote.

The maser race, as well pointed out, were mere heads and hands, needing no bodies because they injected blood right into their veins -- as to eliminate any need of the digestive tract we humans have, and which occupies the greater portion of our bodies. Freed from such needs, the master race could evolve their intellect more aptly, and they were also free of the moods food digestion imposed on us humans.

Once they invaded, human blood became the principle source of this blood, and thus we can expect Spielberg to return to the roots of science fiction in this gothic tale of vampire lust for blood.

But what of the tasty morsels the master race brought with them and lived off of prior to developing their taste for human blood? What role can we expect of these creatures in the Spielberg version of the story?

According to the description supplied us by Wells, these creatures resembled human kind in many ways, having two legs and such, although they seemed a bit too frail to survive long in our heavy gravity. The master race kept them alive for most of the trip in order to keep the blood supply fresh, killing them off only as they neared earth. Two or three of these lesser creatures traveled in each space ship.

Spielberg, with his tendency for providing us with some group of persecuted people, might well resurrect these creatures, allowing them to play a role in his film they failed to play in the original book. This would fit well with contemporary UFO mythology which claims there are evil aliens and good aliens.

Since Spielberg -- during his Internet broadcast a month ago -- said he had gone back to the book for fresh ideas, can we expect this other race of aliens to make an appearance in his film?