For this week's cover stories on Return of the Jedi, the third installment of the Star Wars saga, San Francisco Correspondent Dick Thompson crossed the Golden Gate Bridge to San Rafael to explore the mysteries of the film's wondrous special effects in, of all places, a common cinder-block warehouse. There, and at a similar illusion factory in Van Nuys, Calif., Han Solo's Millennium Falcon spaceship first blasted into hyperspace, and E.T., C-3PO, R2-D2 and Jedi's furry Ewoks were born. Says Thompson, who has reported stories for TIME on subjects ranging from genetic engineering to nuclear fusion: "I believe that I became a science reporter because I love mysteries. But after seeing the workshops, I've decided that some mysteries should be left alone. Discovering that Darth Vader's dread Death Star is a ball of plastic is a bit like learning that Santa's beard is fake." At home, Thompson prefers the simple way of life. A traditional grandfather clock stands in his living room, and he drives a 1973 VW bug. Says he: "At least I can understand the car's innards."

The film took Senior Writer Gerald Clarke from New York City to San Francisco for an advance look at the newest Star Wars movie, which was fresh out of the editing room. Ever since he saw the first episode in 1977, Clarke has been hooked on Lucas' special brand of magic. Says he: "Lucas seemed every bit as nervous about Jedi as he was about Star Wars. He is a compulsive worrier, a nonstop perfectionist. Maybe that is why his movies are so good." Clarke spent a day, along with Los Angeles Correspondent Denise Worrell, interviewing Lucas and his wife Marcia, an Oscar-winning film editor who helped cut Jedi, at their white Victorian mansion in nearby San Anselmo. Worrell also toured Skywalker Ranch, the 3,000-acre film-making community that Lucas is constructing in Marin County's rolling hills. Says she: "George told me that when he was a teenager, he used to grease his hair back with Vaseline and attach taps to his pointed black shoes. It didn't take much imagination to picture that.

But looking at him, with his white socks and faded jeans, it's a hyperspace jump to figure out where the Empire, Yoda and the whole Star Wars fantasy came from." This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.