When UFOs Arrive

www.popularmechanics.com ^ | February 2004 | BY JIM WILSON

[Momaw Nadon]

The U.S. and other world governments already have detailed secret plans for first contact.

When UFOs land, a series of plans created to deal with nuclear emergencies and biological attacks will be activated.

Within the scientific community, the question is no longer whether extraterrestrial life exists, but if ET is smart enough to do long division. Scientists are of two minds regarding the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence. Skeptics acknowledge simple life-forms might be found on other planets, but insist that intelligent life is unique to Earth. Their belief is based on the assumption that Earth possesses unique physical attributes, including a magnetic field that deflects cosmic rays and a moon that absorbs asteroids. Together, these protective features make Earth a rare safe harbor--one that nurtured the evolution of primitive life-forms into intelligent beings. The opposing camp sees the prospect for discovering alien life in more mathematical terms. Its touchstone is the Drake Equation, which links the probability of discovering extraterrestrial intelligence to factors such as the size of the universe and the number of stars with earthlike planets. With the discovery of each new planet beyond Earth's solar system--there are now more than 100--the odds of encountering intelligent alien life increase. Governments and international organizations around the world have taken notice of the changing odds. No governmental official has gone on record claiming that UFOs are real, let alone a threat. Yet with little public fanfare, they have begun preparing for the single most important event in human history: first contact. That is, the moment earthlings discover incontrovertible proof that they are not alone.

Early Warning
Unless ET materializes from another dimension in the middle of the Super Bowl, humans most likely will have some advance warning of its arrival. How much time we get to straighten up for extraterrestrial company depends upon who spots ET first.

The privately funded SETI Institute uses radio telescopes owned by observatories around the world to sweep the sky for signals broadcast by advanced civilizations. If ET has read Emily Post, or her intergalactic equivalent, and calls ahead, we could have years, even decades, to prepare for first contact. Unfortunately, the current SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) project can afford to look at only small swatches of the sky, so any extraterrestrial courtesy calls probably will be missed.

A more likely scenario is that the U.S. Air Force would spot ET's spacecraft as it traverses the void between the Earth and the moon. Using powerful radar and optical telescopes in Hawaii, Greenland, Florida and the Indian Ocean, the Air Force Space Command tracks satellites, monitors missile launches, and spots baseball- and larger-size bits of orbiting debris with the hope of preventing it from perforating a space shuttle or the International Space Station. If ET turns up on Space Command's radar, it would mean the alien visitors are only hours or minutes away.

A Proposed Welcoming Committee

The International Academy of Astronautics in Paris maintains a list of volunteers willing to help world governments if ET arrives. Most are astronomers. Here is the team that PM would prefer to see on the job. Shown counterclockwise from the center are: Sen. John Glenn, American Representative. As the first American to orbit the Earth and an elected political leader, the senator is the obvious choice to lead the American delegation. Frank Drake, Science Officer. Creator of the Drake Equation and a driving force behind the SETI project, Drake would represent the world's scientific community. Hal Puthoff, Powerplant Engineering. An expert on zero-point energy, a means of extracting limitless power from the quantum vacuum without violating the known laws of physics, Puthoff would understand how ET powers its craft.

Sheila E. Widnall, Weapons Systems. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who served as Secretary of the Air Force in the 1990s, Widnall would be able to assess ET's weapons. Ning Li, Propulsion Systems. A former NASA scientist, Li devised the theory that explains how the electromagnetic force that we use every day might also be harnessed to manipulate gravity. Perhaps ET uses similar technology. K. Eric Drexler, Structural Systems. A trailblazer in the now fast-growing field of nanotechnology--building materials atom by atom--Drexler pioneered the idea of smart materials, which ET would doubtlessly also use in its craft. Jane Goodall, Communications Officer. Having devoted her life to the study of chimpanzees, primatologist Goodall has proved her ability to communicate with intelligent nonhumans.

Countdown To Contact
The broad-brush outline for Earth's response to the first alien encounter is set out in an international agreement called the "Declaration of Principles Concerning Activities Following the Detection of Extraterrestrial Intelligence." Written by a committee of scientists organized by the SETI Institute, the declaration spells out what astronomers should do, and what they should avoid doing, immediately after first contact.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the agreement is that astronomers who sign on to the declaration agree to keep the news of an imminent contact under their hat until the astronomy community and authorities have been notified.

The declaration also establishes fairly specific guidelines regarding the protection of the radio frequencies that alien civilizations might use to communicate with Earth. As soon as a radio signal is confirmed as originating from an extraterrestrial source, the International Telecommunications Union would ask governments around the world to forbid use of that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is hoped that ET will have sufficiently studied human habits to understand that calling earthlings on the frequencies used for microwave ovens and garage door openers will be interpreted as a belligerent act.

Close Encounter
Around 1999 the first contact protocols were put to the test. For 12 hours, SETI astronomers marveled at the prospect that their golden moment had arrived. A signal that repeated in an organized pattern was detected beaming straight at the Earth from 1 million miles in space.

The first priority was to alert radio astronomers around the world to redirect their telescopes. The signal from the distant stationary object quickly faded as the relentless rotation of the Earth swept it out of the telescope's listening range. Douglas Vakoch, the SETI Institute's social scientist responsible for preparing Earth's reply to an extraterrestrial message, tells POPULAR MECHANICS what happened next: "At this point, all of our discussions were internal to our team. We didn't want to cry wolf. Then, in the midst of the process, we get a call from The New York Times." So much for the secrecy provision of the SETI protocol. Within hours, the story evaporated. The SETI team identified the mystery signal as a data transmission from SOHO, a sun-watching observatory on an almost-stationary orbit about 1 million miles from Earth.

Vakoch says he was not surprised that the story of the possible alien contact leaked so quickly. "These guidelines have no legal force. They have been drafted in the hope of getting broader discussion."

As far as the U.S. government is concerned, that discussion started and ended more than 40 years ago. Regardless of how the world's astronomy community might want to handle first contact, Uncle Sam has ideas of his own. And they rest on the assumption that ET is first and foremost an illegal alien.

Presumed Dangerous
The question of how humanity might react to its first contact with intelligent aliens was officially raised in the late 1950s by the then newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Curious as to how discoveries about the origin of the universe might affect society as a whole, NASA contracted with the Brookings Institution, a leading think tank, to research the question. Only a small part of its 100-page answer, which came to be known as "The Brookings Report," dealt with alien encounter. But it contained a stern warning. "Anthropological files contain many examples of societies, sure of their place in the universe, which have disintegrated when they had to associate with previously unfamiliar societies espousing different ideas and different life ways; others that survived such an experience usually did so by paying the price of changes in values and attitudes and behavior."

In 1972, as engineers prepared the first space mission that would travel outside of Earth's solar system, NASA decided to ignore warnings in the 1960 "Brookings Report" about the dangers inherent in contact with an advanced alien race. Instead, the space agency sent an invitation for extraterrestrials to visit Earth. A gold-anodized aluminum plaque engraved with a map showing the location of Earth was attached to the Pioneer 10 spacecraft. When it sent its last message, in January 2003, it was more than 7 billion miles along on a trip that will take it to the star Aldebaran.

State Of Emergency
If ET turns up at NASA's doorstep bearing that invitation, it is in for a surprise. Instead of getting a handshake from the head of NASA, it will be handcuffed by an FBI agent dressed in a Biosafety Level 4 suit. Instead of sleeping in the Lincoln Bedroom at the White House, the alien will be whisked away to the Department of Agriculture's Animal Disease Center on Plum Island, off the coast of New York's Long Island. Here it will be poked and probed by doctors from the National Institutes of Health. A Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Emergency Search Team (NEST) will tow away its spacecraft.

Unfriendly as this welcome may seem, it is the chain of events that most likely will follow the visitor's arrival. Unique as the appearance of an alien-piloted spacecraft may be, the event incorporates elements of three situations familiar to federal emergency response workers: a plane crash, the release of radioactive material, and the capture of an animal suspected of harboring a contagious disease. Responsibilities in these situations are spelled out in Presidential Executive Orders.

Unless it is spewing exhaust, the craft would be assumed to be nuclear powered. This determination would put NEST technicians in charge of securing the craft and moving it to a DOE facility, most likely in New Mexico, where it would be in close proximity to the Sandia and Los Alamos nuclear laboratories and the White Sands Missile Range. International agreements also put NEST on call if the craft lands out of the United States, as happened in 1978 when a Soviet satellite leaking nuclear fuel landed in the Canadian wilderness.

NEST, however, would operate in the background. In a nuclear emergency, the FBI is put in charge of public safety, public health and public information. Those, at least, are the plans. How things might actually turn out is anyone's guess.

Skeptics often ask why UFO sightings seem to take place only in remote locations instead of on busy city streets. Perhaps ET knows what earthlings have in mind when it lands.

[realpatriot71]

"For we do not struggle against mere flesh and blood, but against demonic Principalities, against satanic Powers, against the celestial Rulers of the Darkness of this Present Age; --against Evil Spirits in the Interplanetary Spaces."

I like that translation, although, personally I like to stick the KJ version (for my own reasons, that could start another whole debate). Interestingly enough, there is nothing in that particular translation that changes the meaning, only clarifies that the conflict is not happening in a complete vaccum on this planet, but is in actuality a conflict taking place on a scale effecting the entire universe.

[realpatriot71]

Or 3) Were all running even at this point

another reasonable conclusion

[realpatriot71]

Are any of the aliens GOOD, or from God? If we reject them all, do we run the risk of turning away ANGELS, who some, like Abraham, have "entertained unawares"?

Gotcha. The Bible is clear about testing the "spirit" of an messenger. Are there Good angels? Of course, but I expect them to manifest themselves in a similar manner to how they have always manifested themselves to man, giving all Glory to the Creator, speaking not in contradiction to the Word.

[goldilucky]

Very fascinating, indeed!

[Chris Talk]

"Principalities" and "Powers" are, of course, two different levels of angels in the Kabbalah, I think there are about 7 different levels in the pecking order IIRC.

Not the whole Universe, though, just the area that is in the Solar System, or to be more liberal, let us say the area that is nearer to our Sun, than to any other Star.

[goldilucky]

I thought so. Thank you!

[Chris Talk]

And also not "spiritual wickedness," that is just another KJV/ English language abstraction or abstract non-tangible noun.

Let's be very clear, the meaning is "EVIL SPIRITS."

[realpatriot71]

"Principalities" and "Powers" are, of course, two different levels of angels in the Kabbalah, I think there are about 7 different levels in the pecking order IIRC.

Look, you see it again and again - you go searching for "secret mysteries" and the devil is more than happy to show up and hand them to you on a silver platter. The Kabbalah came about after the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, where many jewish priests dabbled in the Babylonian religion. After the captivity the apostate esoteric tradition was brought back with the Jews. It's not from God.

[Chris Talk]

Waaaal, I don't know if I were "searching for secret mysteries," ...It is only in recent years I have learned anything of Zohar, and the Saucers we have had with us from childhood.

and of course, Paul himself was very well versed in the Kabbalah, especially the Lore of Creation...otherwise how does HE know so much about it, and this is just one of many dozens of places where we can see he was a Kabbalist of the first rank. So surely, what HE can study, EYE can study... Right?

Actually, Shimon bar-Yokhai, the author of Zohar and the Greatest Kabbalist, was both a contemporary and a kinsman of Jesus. I am not sure I find anything anti-Christian or non-Scriptural in it, but there is indeed a lot of esoterica...It isn't a big deal of mine.

[x]

Seems like interest in UFOs started to fall off a few years ago -- about the time Kennedy Assassination theories began to fade. Doubtless strange and unexpected things happen in the world, but over fifty years of UFO theories sort of wore out the interest. Theories of dark forces and mysterious conspiracies thrive in the darkness, but put them front and center on the Internet or TV's X Files, and the interest dies out. For a little while, there's intense interest, then it just becomes yesterday's thing (I've been watching Taken, and while the first few episodes were interesting, it all seems like an fad that's long since passed its heyday). Maybe the conspiracy fans have moved on to something else...

[Cvengr]

Don't discount the doctrines regarding familiar spirits too lightly.

Antediluvian demons are described in the Old Testament in Gen 6 as having offspring with women, of bodily form, producing half angelic, half human species. This continued for 120 years upon which time the Great Flood occured, purifying the species once again. The first civilization began with Adam and ended with the Flood and a small group of believers.

The post Flood civilization began with Noah and His family yielding the racial species of believers and spiritually alive man, with the Jews. It will end in the Second Coming and the Great Tribulation.

The third civilization will be the Millenial Reign of Christ and will terminate man's time with the Gog and Magog revolt.

In each of these civilizations, God begins with believers and ends the civilazation in a conflagration. Then will come the Great White Throne Judgment.

Consider how previous bodily demons raped women and had offspring. Upon the Flood, those anomalies were wiped out. The demons who had encroached beyond their domain were then bound in the Abyss and other demons who lost in other conflicts were sent to Tarturus.

It's interesting to note that during our time, demons are disembodied spirits. There are two types of demonic attacks today. Demonic possession wherein the demon invades the body of an unbeliever and demon influence, wherein the demon invades the soul through satanic thought or activity. Anybody residing outside of God's system of grace becomes susceptible to falling under demonic influence, eiher for believers or unbelievers.

The bodily demonic forces are mentioned in Revelation as well as their king, Abaddon or Apollyon who is now in the Abyss and will bring forth the first great demon army attacking man during the Tribulation.

The posts and reports of encounters during dreams are important to consider. In many reports the abductions are associated with spiritual encounters. To understand this a bit further, study the discernible differences between tricotomous and dicotomous anthroplogy of man in Scripture.

Man, after Adam, except for Christ, is dead in the spirit upon our first birth. Faith in God through Jesus Christ is associated with the rebirth of man in the spirit by God the Holy Spirit.

Note also the discernment between the first, second and third heavens in Scripture, and the significance of the curtain in the Temple being rent from bottom to top upon the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross.

The reports of dream like encounters as well as being frozen, unable to move are all very consistent with the description of how God has created things. For example, there is no temptaiton too great than that which may be resisted. In most of our daily lives we are exposed to different situations where we always have an opportunity to decide to act within God's will and obey Him. It's interesting to note, that in certain spiritually dangerous situations, man will freeze up, unable to move or act, or sometimes even think unless reminaing in fellowship with God through Christ.

This reveals several things, one of which His immense love and grace for man, and also how we are also a spiritual species, able to become members of His royal family through faith in Jesus Christ. While faithful, we are endowed with tremendous authority and power, as well as a love from Him from which we will not be separated while we remain faithful to Him.

Whenever exposed to such an encounter, first priority should be to immediately confess any past known sins and place oneself in simple devoted faith with God through Christ. The confession is to nobody other than God through Christ. Secondly, place all faith and devotion to God through Christ. Let Him handle the authority and power of the situation. Compared to demons, man alone isn't very competent. They've been around for millenia, they know man's character and tendencies better than we know our own.

However, they also are persons and have distinct character,...in all cases almost to a incredible fault.

They might be perceived during waking or sleeping periods as they are spiritual beings. If during a waking state, they won't be a embodied person, unless they have possessed the body of another person by invasion.

It might be the case that the 'aliens' encountered are a clone or replication of an animal for the demonic spirit to inhabit.

One thing definitely doesn't make sense, if one takes the atheistic response. If they are ETs, from far far away with highly advanced skills, ...why would they bother mutilating cattle and abducting men in stealth to study biological functions? We're supposedly considerably less advanced, yet can develop ways to study other species and phenomenon without invading their privacy or cause bodily destruction. If destruction is no issue, why mutilate at night or in stealth? If impact on humans is no issue, why are these abductions in unseen situations?

These perspectives are much more indicative of beings who lack bodies, seek to learn how we function, in order to replicate bodies, and perform their actions in malevolent deception. Interesting how fallen angels are also described as being 'malevolent deceivers'.

Best way to study about them, is first to receive salvation and then study Scripture about what God has for man. The rest is merely a tangeantial issue, provided one remian s faithful through Christ.

[Chris Talk]

Which doesn't change the fact that from 200 to 500 intelligent American Internetters see unexplainable UFO's every month, and both know about, and post to, nuforc.org...and tell about what they saw and where and when.

The actual number of sightings must be HUGE.

[realpatriot71]

Paul himself was very well versed in the Kabbalah, especially the Lore of Creation...otherwise how does HE know so much about it, and this is just one of many dozens of places where we can see he was a Kabbalist of the first rank.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'm curious as to where you get your support for this statement.

Actually, Shimon bar-Yokhai, the author of Zohar and the Greatest Kabbalist, was both a contemporary and a kinsman of Jesus.

There has always been false prophets and teachers. I am not surprised that one of them was a contemporary of the Lord.

[Consort]

The Angelic Hierarchy.

[Chris Talk]

Well, the very fact he says "Principalities and Powers" shows he has been reading kabbalistic angelology. There is very much else, the idea of 7 heavens, and being caught up into the 3rd one, where he saw things too wonderful for human speech, whether he was in or out of the body he couldn't tell, etc. I once had a list of 52 or so such instances of Paul's kabbalism.

Also thanks, Consort, for the lists of types of angels. Interestingly, one of those lists gives the Shinnanim, which literally means "copies" or "clones" in Hebrew. Send in the clones. Must be a lower grade of angel. I know I have seen the Shinnanim in the Psalms, not just QBLH, and I am going to look it up.

[Cvengr]

FWIW, I believe I may have astually seen my first UFO this last weekend in Palm Springs. I was looking up at two jet aircraft both moving in synchronous motion, about 5000AGL, when I realized they were crossing over airspace they generally shouldn't be crossing and they were fairly close together, maybe 800 ft between aircraft.

Then I realized one aircraft had a pronounced fuselage, wings, tail, exhaust, etc, while the other was a luminscent yellowish green glow but no wings or tail.

The more I studied them for about 20 seconds, it became more obvious that the winged aircraft was slightly varying it's course, but the other craft stayed with it, running parallel, side by side, nose to nose by about a 800 ft constant distance between them with almost synchronized action.

They were headed west, so I figured they must be headed to Neverland Ranch or Hollyweird Hills,..no story here,..move along.

[Chris Talk]

Psalm 68:17 says: The vehicles of the celestials are twenty thousand, and each with thousands of clones in it [Heb. shinnaniim; KJV "angels"]; YHWH is one of them; just as he was in Sinai, so he now is in the Holy Place [i.e. the Temple].

How bout THAT? Not only the clones, but more saucers as well!

[realpatriot71]

I once had a list of 52 or so such instances of Paul's kabbalism.

Interesting, considering Paul's place in the Jewish hierarchy of the day, perhaps he was knowledgable about Kabbala. However, Paul was also clear that God is not a God of confusion and that the mysteries of God have been revealed. There is no place for esotericism in the worship of God, for God has made himself plainly known in His Word. Paul may have known about jewish mysticism, but he never advocated it in any of his writings.

[Chris Talk]

He also said, what you have seen in secret, what you have heard whispered in the ear, that shout from the housetops. What had been esoteric or private, he was all in favour of making Public.

Too bad he didn't have the Internet, but then he has me to put it up here for him.

[Cvengr]

Thanks, good link.