system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Independence Day] Was Russel really abducted by the aliens?

Russel famously was...sexually...abused/probed by aliens, or so he says. He certainly seems to believe it, since he announces "I'm back" when he destroys the first ship.

Were the aliens really conducting programs of this kind prior to the invasion? And would they return someone they'd abducted? Why? I got the impression that they arrived - and attacked - rather suddenly. I know one crashed at Roswell - was that part of the science program? An advanced scout?
gpt
The novelization explores some of this. At first, Casse doesn't recognize the aliens. Later he realizes this is because of their exosuits, as they look exactly as he remembers them once they are out of the suits.