The Powers of the Air

© Brian Allan 2003

Word count: 3,522

Foreword

Receiving a visit from outer space sounds almost as comfortable as having a God, yet we shouldn't rejoice too soon, perhaps we will get the visitors we deserve. [Jacques Vallee, Messengers of Deception, p. 246]

Although I am well aware that even within the main groups of UFO enthusiasts and devotees there are individual schisms and subgroups, for the sake of both brevity and clarity I have chosen to ignore these and remain with more common and widespread ideas and opinions. I should also point out that this article is not intended to deny, minimise or trivialise any of these beliefs, but rather to show that for the most part they rely on faith rather than science. Even now, after decades of exposure, the subject of UFOlogy and UFO's still tends to polarise its believers into several camps. For example, there are those who are convinced by the validity of the extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH), i.e. that UFO's and their occupants originate solely from planets orbiting stars other than our Sun.

There are others who regard alleged sightings of strange flying objects and their occupants as visits from other dimensions, and yet others who see these events as evidence that we are being contacted by mutated human beings or their servants from our own future (or indeed brand of fundamentalist Christianity, who view the whole UFO enigma as a sure sign that, "The Prince of the Powers of the Air, Lord of those that Fly", viz. Satan and his demonic horde, use UFO's to wreak havoc amongst us. Finally, there are also those who, with some justification, view the subject as a natural extension of magic and traditional folklore. The purpose of the essay is not to judge, but rather to present a range of alternative explanations for a phenomenon that has puzzled mankind for millennia. Hopefully during the course of this essay I can present some of the arguments surrounding this most enduring of puzzles and also present an alternative explanation that has some credible scientific basis.

The Extraterrestrial Hypothesis

'A working knowledge of occult science is indispensable to UFO investigations' [Trevor James, Flying Saucer Review, Vol 6, No 1]

Comparing each proposition in turn, the ETH is perhaps the easiest to grasp, it is a fundamentally simplistic and straightforward concept but ultimately limited in its scope. Neither is there any real attempt to determine precisely how, and more importantly why, either the vehicles or their occupants actually arrive here. Neither does it question or explain why there should be such a continuing and sustained interest over such a long period of time by the inhabitants of other star systems in the population of a relatively unimportant planet on the edge of the Milky Way. Other points not addressed are the implications raised by the supposed methods by which these craft are powered. Since, according to the tenets of the ETH, they are assumed to be travelling across the gulfs between stars and indeed galaxies, they must by definition employ technology utilising superluminal speeds. If this is indeed the case, then according to our understanding of physics it involves the probability of time travel, which itself opens another range of possibilities. However, if other methods of 'propulsion' are used, then an even more extreme possibility is some variety of 'warp drive' which allows the very fabric of space/time to be 'folded' or warped, permitting the transit of a vehicle across galaxies nearly instantaneously. Since these aspects of the consequences of the ETH are seldom confronted, accounts such as the infamous 1947 incident at Roswell, New Mexico are uncritically presented as proof positive that at least one, and probably two, ET vehicles crash-landed on the Earth.

No 'smoking gun' has ever been obtained that would define precisely what occurred at Roswell; therefore it is assumed that the incident has been successfully covered up by a succession of US government administrations. Even the recent efforts of archaeologists employed by an American TV channel to search the area of the debris field created when the alleged craft skimmed the surface before finally crashing a few miles away failed to unearth anything significant. That said, with knowledge of the existence of a 'black world' consisting of secret defence projects and how they effectively vanish into a covert underworld of secrecy and denial, this may have some basis in fact. However since there is no hard data available to substantiate either UFO retrievals or 'back engineering' crashed UFO's in any readily available information, the main claim that it occurs at all originates from dubious statements made by alleged former Area 51 employees such as Bob Lazar and other alleged whistle blowers. These assertions are not solely confined to the USA, and historically there is a range of other similar supposed landings, either accidental or deliberate in virtually every nation. In the UK, believers in the ETH cite the incident at Rendlesham Forest near the combined UK/ US Bentwaters air base (among others) as further proof of their position. In fairness, it has to be stated that what happened at Rendlesham is in its way one of the most intriguing and well-researched incidents in worldwide UFO lore.

Both of these major incidents have their attractions and served to concentrate public awareness on the subject, and there is little doubt that something unusual occurred at each location, but for obvious reasons the British and American military and civil authorities have either explained them away in more mundane terms or flatly denied them. Regrettably, due to the culture of obsessive secrecy particularly in the UK, the truth surrounding major incidents such as these will continue to be denied public scrutiny for the foreseeable future. One additional facet of the ETH, and one that does not help its case, is the parallel theory that there are underground bases dotted around the planet, particularly at Dulce in New Mexico, USA and RAF Rudloe Manor in England. According to this strand of the hypothesis, alien visitors, either as prisoners or guests, are kept hidden from prying eyes with the full knowledge and collusion of national governments. However, although through of necessity underground military facilities undoubtedly exist, there is not one scrap of solid, definitive proof that covert, alien sanctuaries are actually a part of them.

ET's as Paranormal Manifestations

UFO behaviour is more akin to magic than to physics as we know it…the modern UFOnaughts and the demons of past days are probably identical" [Dr Pierre Guerin, Flying Saucer Review, Vol. 25, No

The supernatural paradigm suggests that the occupants of the craft that appear in our skies are not extraterrestrial at all, but are instead supernatural creatures comprising variants on demons, fairies, elves, pixies, gnomes, trolls, sprites, banshees, sidhe, (pron. shee) and sylphs, etc. Every civilisation and culture on the planet has produced its own variation of these magical creatures, as if it was somehow necessary to create something or someone to blame when things went wrong. It should be noted that belief in these creatures, along with animism and shamanism, long predates organised religions and the concept of a single God. Admittedly some of these beings are difficult to tell apart, but nevertheless they all have their own roles to play in the individual society and cultures that created them. It is difficult to apportion which of them were pure inventions and which may have had some basis in fact. Is it possible that some of them were the last remnants of ancient races that used to co-exist with humans, mutations too ill equipped to handle the rapid changes that were happening round about them? Were others perhaps genuine extraterrestrial visitors on missions of discovery, or even creations originating from the minds of our ancestors, minds so much less cluttered than ours, closer to nature and the very fabric of the planet itself?

There is of course the suggestion that all these creatures have always been around, right from the very beginning of time. Entities of pure energy and spirit, only becoming visible when a suitable human mind, or group of minds, was available to decode or otherwise animate them. Perhaps the subtle difference between them comes from the manner in which each individual mind is totally unique and as such the interpretation of the energy or signals from these entities would likewise be unique. To take this hypothesis further, given that these beings apparently have different temperaments, i.e. violent, mischievous or friendly, perhaps the mood or psychological make up of the person interpreting the signals had a significant outcome on the personality of the finished product. When the vision was forming, it would perhaps use the tiny amount of electrical energy present within the human brain and use this to 'fuel' the transformation, and then as the charge slowly dissipated the image would fade away. On the other hand it could be argued that once created, these creatures could maintain their existence indefinitely on the basis that as long as they were in the memory of the their creators they would continue to exist. In other words, as long as they were 'alive' in an organic memory they would continue to draw on the minute quantities of bioelectricity generated and be 'alive' in the real world. This possibility was dramatised in the classic 1950's science fiction film 'Forbidden Planet' when the villain, Morpheus, created an indestructible creature using alien technology to amplify the negative impulses in his subconscious mind. Although at the time this notion had no direct scientific analogue, there are now some hopeful indications in quantum science. One theory incorporating 'probability waves', suggests that reality is an illusion created by the minds of individuals and nothing becomes real until one thinks about it, in effect collapsing the wave function into reality. Indeed, current research into the nature of consciousness by Dr Peter Fenwick of University Hospital, London, England, suggests that once created, consciousness does not reside solely in the brain but appears to partly coexist 'elsewhere'. It is this 'elsewhere' that may hold the answer to many, if not all, the currently paranormal conundrums that bedevil mankind.

Oddly enough this concept has its direct counterpart in the world of mysticism, particularly in Buddhist beliefs. This system of religion posits the possibility that one can create, or project, a thought form called a 'Tulpa' by an effort of will and concentration. The traveller and explorer, Alexandra David-Neal, claims to have done this in Tibet when, on an expedition, she created an entity identical in appearance to the local bearers. At first, the entity seemed amenable enough, but in time it became difficult and surly and it took a considerable and lengthy effort of David-Neal's behalf to dissolve the entity. This leads one to wonder if, after an extended period of time, it might become virtually impossible to send the creation back to the quantum reality it came from. Perhaps these entities actually draw increasing strength and solidity from the fact that once created, providing other human beings accept them as real, if effect they become real. The obvious extension of this is, if they are real and possess their own consciousness could they then create their own objective reality? Strange perhaps, but as we shall see, a concept no stranger than some of those currently being scrutinised and evaluated by science.

ET's and The Bible

"And God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female created he them. [Genesis 1:26, 27.]

The proposition that the bible contains a record of ET visitations is not new nor is the idea that the emergence of humanity is a direct result of deliberate and systematic biochemical manipulation. Nor does this begin with the early hominids, it predates them, right back at the beginning when single celled organisms were artificially created and encouraged to develop and mutate. This of course directly opposes Darwinism and his theory of natural selection, but neither does it have a direct link to Creationism that attributes the appearance of life upon the planet to Gods' divine intervention. Rather, it provides an alternative to both, namely the concept of 'intelligent design', but instigated by whom, and why? To attribute the human genome and DNA as the sole progenitors of humanity as we know it, in effect an accident of astonishing chemical complexity that developed by natural selection over millennia is surely wrong. Are we instead the deliberate products of an ongoing experiment in social and cultural engineering?

The Old Testament tells of battles in heaven that resulted in rebellious angels being defeated and cast out by God, sent to a place of imprisonment and punishment; namely Hell. We still tend to assume that Hell is below us, somewhere deep below ground where those who do not fulfil their spiritual obligations here on earth are incarcerated after death. Perhaps there may even be a grain of truth in this belief, and it may also have parallels with those who believe that UFO's originate from vast caverns deep below the ground in the Hollow Earth. The truth or otherwise of this assertion can never be proved, however given that there actually exists a world wide labyrinth of such gigantic caverns between the earths crust and mantle called the 'Mohorovicic Discontinuity,' then perhaps some vestigial memory remains. Is it possible that the vanquished 'angels' took refuge in these caverns to escape the fighting? Is it likely that after the fighting abated, the 'angels' eventually left their hiding places and actually attempted to breed with human women and were the offspring of these unions the biblical 'Nephilim'? The only records we have of what they may have looked like are depicted in scripture and early drawings and woodcuts; 'Mighty men were they, men of old'.

Biblical accounts also tell us that because of the actions of the rebel 'angels', once again God was forced to act, sending his most trusted and powerful lieutenants, the Seraphim, against these hybrids to destroy them. We are told that the eyes of the Nephilim were seared from their sockets after having gazed upon the power of the Seraphim. Biblical tradition tells us that the Nephilim, due to their' angelic' fathers, possessed the souls of angels; was this a metaphor for genetic material? Was in fact the ultimate crime of the fallen angels that they had attempted to corrupt the original experiment using their own genetic material? If this is indeed the case, then is it possible that the fallen angels were in fact acting in the best interests of humanity? To modern eyes, the accounts of these events as laid out in the bible make little sense except when read in the context of the activities of extraterrestrial entities. However, if you accept the hypothesis that UFO's and their enigmatic occupants have been around since the beginning of time, then the technology involved in genetics should not be beyond the capabilities of a space faring race. The reasons and motives behind the cross breeding would however be a matter for conjecture. There can be few valid reasons for experiments such as this beyond attempts to bio-engineer a hybrid species for highly specialised purposes. However, when used to justify any particular strand of belief, the bible can be made to say anything you want it to say, it all depends on interpretation and context. It is also worth considering that even at our present level of technology we are able to successfully manipulate genes, and the birth of the first cloned human being (ethics and governmental controls permitting), is only a question of time and surely the birth of a specifically designed, bio-engineered human cannot be far away?

ET's and Quantum Physics

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is identical to magic". [Arthur C Clarke, author, scientist and visionary.]

Where the first glimmer of possibility that visitations by alien entities becomes viable is the proposition that they originate from an alternate reality existing concurrently and in parallel with our own. One theory incorporating 'probability waves', suggests that reality is an illusion created by the minds of individuals and nothing becomes real until one thinks about it, in effect collapsing the wave function into reality. The one major drawback of this particular theory lies in its theoretical premise; due to the shortcomings of current technology it cannot be proved one way or the other that these alternate realities exist, but the evidence is growing. Indeed, current research into the nature of consciousness by Dr Peter Fenwick of University Hospital, London, England, suggests that once created, consciousness does not reside solely in the brain but appears to partly coexist 'elsewhere'. It is this 'elsewhere' that may hold the answer to many, if not all, the paranormal conundrums that bedevil mankind.

However, that aside, we should now consider in detail the theory that opened this essay, the ETH and it's far reaching implications for the existence of parallel dimension and their occupants. As already mentioned, to actually arrive here in our solar system, the vehicles and their occupants have, of necessity, to do one of three things; 1) travel from a to b faster than light, 2) actually 'fold' space and transit instantaneously from one side to the other, or 3) Arrive here from another continuum, in effect travel 'sideways' in space/time. It is here that some of the principles and theories arrived at in particle physics may provide evidence that this is possible. As far as is known, research in the 'black world' is examining the possibilities opened up by 'gravity modification', which is of course anti-gravity by any other name. From what is known about the research, some of the implications indicate that spinning superconductors actually 'perturb' space/time. According to the author and journalist Nick Cook in his splendidly researched book 'The Hunt For Zero Point', anything of sufficient rotational mass will generate a torsion field around itself. If you can create a torsion field of sufficient strength, theoretically you can bend space around the generator. The more torsion you generate the more space you 'perturb' and when you bend space, you bend time'. The consequences of this astonishing display of physics leads to the conclusion that it cannot be explained in terms of three spatial dimensions plus one of time; in effect you arrive at a fifth dimension: hyperspace. It has been suggested that another way to short circuit the journey is to harness the power of black holes, the most destructive objects in the galaxy, to travel in space and time. This is based on the hypothesis that the singularity of the black hole, by nature of its gravitational ferocity, does not exist in our universe and opens onto a new continuum. This is of course fine as it goes; the only limiting factor is the utter chaos at the singularity and our total inability to survive the transition. Although remarkable in itself, it still does not take account of other, more far reaching theories indicating the existence of an infinite number of dimensions ranging in size from a pinhead to creations infinitely larger than our own. If we use the analogy that we are rather like fish swimming in a very narrow sliver of an infinitely deep electromagnetic ocean, effectively unaware of anything out with our own perception, then what if our capabilities became expanded allowing us glimpses of what lies above and below us. Could we then travel to these previously unexplored regions, what would we find when we got there and could we comprehend it?

This analogy is already partly fulfilled, we can already see beyond our own visible spectrum into the invisible reaches of the infrared and microwave ranges right on to gamma rays and beyond. However, although as human beings we are physically tied by the restrictions of our physical bodies to remain within the comparative safety of our here and now, it does not mean that our inner senses could not be set free to explore this new frontier. Can quantum science fashion the ultimate key unlocking the final door to project consciousness into this brave new world of pure energy? If this is the case, could the work of Dr Fenwick and others indicating the possibility that consciousness exists partly 'elsewhere' provide the final elusive piece in the puzzle? Does the final answer partly lie in the millennia-old truths taught by shamans, mystics and Eastern traditions that through consciousness we are truly and literally at one with the cosmos and all that is in it? Is the journey into the dim reaches of hyperspace only but a hairsbreadth away? While there is still much to be done and proof to be found, we can be assured that the answer is close and provided that it is not denied us by the venality, greed and stupidity of corporate science and outmoded dogma, it is ours to take, it is our birthright.

References:

	'The Hunt for Zero Point', Nick Cook.
	'Cauldrons, Caverns and Concealed Creatures' by Mike Mott