I'm with you. I think there's a breakaway civilization and that the tech/physics to get into space is alot simpler than we're led to believe.

imho, one of NASA's roles is to psy-op people into thinking getting off-planet takes vast resources and a huge power expenditure to generate the force required. the actual tech required and physics to understand is probably fairly simple. the kind of thing a couple 21st cenury Wright Brothers could build in their garage.

again imho, i think the Hutchison Effect guy was probably flirting with some of the physics principles involved in modulating whatever it is we call "gravitation". his focus wasn't on generating a propulsion system, though.