Alien Intrusion Read online

  The implications of NASA’s “little lump of Martian rock” — the so-called evidence of extraterrestrial life — have been far-reaching. Even many years after the event, Carol Cleland, from the philosophy department at the University of Colorado, said:

  The claims are still as controversial as when they first came out, but it made people realize how easy it could be for life to be happening elsewhere… . That, more than anything else, was the birth of astrobiology as a serious subject.[36]

  Using a popular scientist and his religious agenda

  Avowed atheist and science fiction writer, the late Dr. Carl Sagan, endorsed the idea of life on other worlds as far back as 1966. In 1998, NASA formed an Astrobiology Institute shortly after the discovery of the hotly disputed Martian rock. The focus of NASA in the immediate future will be the search for more extrasolar planets (i.e., planets outside of our own solar system — discussed in a later chapter). Along with the Mars rock, these “hot topics” have catapulted the field of astrobiology to the forefront of modern space exploration.

  Carl Sagan

  Sagan was convinced of the existence of extraterrestrial life, despite being an ETH skeptic (the ETH specifically suggests that ETs are visiting our planet). He has played a leading role in convincing the public about the existence of life in space. As a best-selling author, he has won a Pulitzer Prize, and his book Cosmos became the largest-selling science book ever published in the English language. An award-winning television series of the same name followed, and was seen by an estimated 500 million people.[37] At the beginning of the series, Sagan proclaims his vision of the universe, with an inspiring image of surf crashing in the background, while he intones:

  The cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be.[38]

  This statement displays Sagan’s atheistic and materialist beliefs — he did not believe that a Creator, such as the Judeo-Christian God of the Bible, was responsible for the creation of the cosmos.

  Sagan played a leading role in NASA’s space program, as a consultant and advisor, from its inception. He briefed all Apollo astronauts before their lunar flights, and was a leading experimenter for the unmanned Mariner, Viking, Voyager, and Galileo planetary expeditions.[39]His influence in guiding and forming NASA’s vision is well known, and as an atheist he believed that evolution (the idea that life developed via chance random processes over millions of years) was fact.

  In his powerful and distinctly anti-Christian science fiction movie Contact (based on his earlier novel — he was co-producer and co-writer of the movie), the question of whether there are any other life forms in the universe was asked three times, to which the reply was, “If there isn’t, it would be an awful waste of space.”

  Aliens and the evolution connection

  For scientific reasons we shall discuss later, Sagan did not, and NASA does not, believe that aliens are visiting the earth in spaceships or that they have yet communicated or made contact with us in any way (ETH). Yet on the basis of their well-advertised efforts to look for extraterrestrial life, it would be easy to conclude otherwise.

  In the series Cosmos, Sagan reflects on mankind’s insignificance in the universe and compares us to “a mote of dust that floats in the morning sky.”[40] NASA clearly does believe, as Sagan did, that life exists elsewhere in this enormous universe. This is derived from their view that the big bang and evolution are the mechanisms of creation. Simply put: if evolution occurred on the earth, it must have occurred elsewhere in this enormous universe (remember Sagan’s comments about the universe being a waste of space if there wasn’t other life?).

  Sagan’s popularity, his influence in NASA, and countless honorary degrees (as well as his earned doctorate) not only made him a leading light and spokesperson on the science of space, but gave his own religious ideas on origins unprecedented respectability (it is a “faith” position because it deals with unobservable past events). Although he may have been a believer in ET life, his materialistic (as in “matter is all there is”) view of origins caused him to be a leading skeptic against anything supernatural. This would have put him at odds with many UFOlogists and cultists, who believe that some UFO sightings, abductions, and visitations are of a supernatural and religious nature. However, many others believe that ancient religious writings, including the Bible, are recollections of a primitive culture that mistook their experiences of alien encounters as visitations by gods (or even demons).

  Many cults also believe that the purpose of these ancient alien visits was to oversee human evolution. Most UFOlogists regard the modern human race as a more enlightened species that should reject the “primitive” religious notions of our ancestors. Many claim that the increased number of sightings, visitations, and abductions today is because the “space brothers” have come to help us ascend to our next stage of enlightenment, or “spiritual” evolution.

  Although the skeptic/Sagan view and the UFO cultic view are in opposition to each other with regard to the spiritual dimension of extraterrestrial life, they do, in fact, both have a religious view of the universe — it forms a part of their deepest beliefs about reality. Their ideas have not been substantiated by science “fact.” The common denominator of both camps is the belief that evolution has occurred for countless eons on the earth and all over the universe. This point cannot be emphasized strongly enough — it is the basis for virtually all belief in alien life, whatever form one thinks that life may take. This idea of cosmos-wide evolution has important implications for our study, as we shall see.

  Contrary to what most people think, belief in evolution is not a prerequisite for doing space science (or any other science). Wernher von Braun, a German rocket scientist engaged by the Nazis during World War II, was described by many as the “father of NASA.” Von Braun was passionate about the exploration of space, but for reasons that vastly differ from the current NASA ones. As a Bible-believing Christian, he expected that space exploration would reveal the glory of God, not little green men. Under his inspiration, the NASA team developed the rockets that put the first Americans in space during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions, and the Saturn V rockets used during the Apollo missions remain the largest launch vehicles ever built. It is worth noting that the technology used in today’s space shuttle program is directly due to von Braun’s vision and pioneering work. He wrote:

  I find it … difficult to understand a scientist who does not acknowledge the presence of a superior rationality behind the existence of the universe.[41]

  Wernher von Braun

  Many would agree with von Braun, but instead invoke the idea that the universe itself is an evolving, self-perpetuating, self-guiding force that could produce many different life forms in a variety of locations. Author Ann Lamont commented about von Braun, in her book 21 Great Scientists Who Believed the Bible, that:

  Von Braun was a strong critic of the modern tendency to teach science from an evolutionary standpoint, without examining the creationist alternative as well. He believed that such an approach was unscientific… . He believed that the reason “for the amazing string of successes we had with our Apollo flights to the moon … was that we tried to never overlook anything. It is in that same sense of scientific honesty that I endorse the presentation of alternative theories for the origin of the universe, life, and man… . Manned space flight is an amazing achievement … for viewing the awesome reaches of space. An outlook … at the vast mysteries of the universe should only confirm our belief in the certainty of its Creator.”[42]

  There are also many UFO cults (like the Raelians) who believe that life on Earth was created by intelligence from elsewhere. For example, they credit the aliens for the creation of the unbelievably complex information written on DNA molecules that are found in all living things on Earth. However, they have only succeeded in shifting the problem of “creation” into outer space, because we would then need to ask — who created the aliens? Or did they evolve? It is this quest for meaning that causes mankind to look to the heaven
s for answers.

  In considering the reasons why man searches the stars, and why some believe in the possibility of extraterrestrial life, it is therefore valid to consider all underlying philosophies, including those of Sagan, Wernher von Braun, and others like them.

  What does NASA really believe?

  Without a closer look, NASA appears to have done little to downplay, or even address, the notion of alien-piloted UFOs or abductions. On the surface, this would appear very strange, given the massive number of people who claim to have had UFO experiences around the world. One would think that the ETH is directly related to NASA’s field of expertise. However, we have demonstrated that it would not be in their interests to debunk these notions too vigorously, or the public may question their exploration of space. So what is their official position on the subject?

  Only one official article could be found on their website directly relating to this matter. It says:

  No branch of the United States Government is currently involved with or responsible for investigations into the possibility of advanced alien civilizations on other planets or for investigating Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). The U.S. Air Force (USAF) and NASA have had intermittent, independent investigations of the possibility of alien life on other planets; however, none of these has produced factual evidence that life exists on other planets, nor that UFOs are related to aliens. From 1947 to 1969, the Air Force investigated UFOs; [Blue Book and the Condon Report] then in 1977, NASA was asked to examine the possibility of resuming UFO investigations. After studying all of the facts available, it was determined that nothing would be gained by further investigation, since there was an absence of tangible evidence.[43]

  They could perhaps be described as being a little disingenuous on the subject; NASA and its consultants clearly do believe, as Sagan did, that it is highly likely that intelligent life exists on other planets. So what is going on here? On the one hand they use the search for alien life as the justification for their space program, while on the other they admit they have no factual evidence that life exists on other planets.

  As an illustration of this seeming insincerity, unmanned space missions Pioneer 10 and 11 carried small metal plaques, and Voyagers 1 and 2 carried a kind of time capsule, all designed to communicate a picture of our world to extraterrestrials. On the Voyagers (launched in 1977) 12-inch gold-plated copper disks, containing sounds and images of the earth, were attached. Notably, Carl Sagan was the head of a NASA committee involved in selecting the 115 images and sounds that are included on these exclusive phonograph records. Also included were a cartridge and needle, and interestingly a message from then U.S. President, and UFO believer Jimmy Carter. This once again gained tremendous publicity for NASA, but also served a genuine purpose for the ET believers. It was intended that, after the Voyagers had completed their initial missions of visiting the planets in our solar system, they would continue outward, beyond our solar system, exploring the galaxy on their way. Voyager 1 is currently at least twice the distance from Earth that Pluto is (farther than any other man-made object), and is still soaring away at a speed of 38,000 miles per hour (17 kilometers per second). Both craft are still transmitting data to Earth via the Deep Space Network, but they haven’t recorded meeting any space travelers so far.[44]

  NASA has also used another method of scanning the distant stars and galaxies for alien civilizations, via the once-heavily-funded SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) program (see chapter 2).

  Popular culture transformed

  Today, society seems thoroughly convinced that extraterrestrial life exists, demonstrated by the fact that universities are offering specialist studies in this area. Yet there are no documented cases of any life on other planets, let alone an extraterrestrial encounter.

  Scientists are viewed as rational, objective beings that only deal with the facts. In this regard, they have become the high priests of our society, being viewed in an almost infallible light. Operational science (the study of how the world works through finding out and applying natural laws) has led to amazing growth in technologies and discoveries. This has promoted science to something approaching an icon of worship. Many look to science for a form of salvation, believing that it will hold the key to solving all of the world’s problems.There are many people alive today who once thought that lasers, travel to the moon, and palm computers were sheer science fiction. If such wild fantasies can become scientific fact in one generation, surely the distant future promises almost limitless technological developments. It is not difficult to believe that, if our technology can grow so rapidly, then civilizations elsewhere in the universe, which have been developing for countless millennia, must be unbelievably advanced. This idea is promoted heavily in science fiction and in the media.

  It is quite normal for scientists to start with unproven ideas or theories, but most ordinary people don’t realize this. Science “facts” are always interpreted within a framework of belief, and scientists often passionately disagree with each other on many basic issues, particularly when it comes to the origin of life. Some ideas are just plain unprovable. This demonstrates that “scientific evidence” does not indisputably prove truth by itself — it is interpreted within a framework of pre-existing beliefs.

  This is seen in astrobiology and exobiology. Despite having no proof of any alien life, modern astrobiological evangelists, like Sagan, have already made up their minds that it must exist, based on their ideas about how life must have evolved on Earth (in the unobservable past). Their ideas have strongly influenced the majority of the populace on this planet. But how have their views become so strong and influential? There are two apparent reasons.

  First, our lives have been affected and transformed by science. Modern communications, jets, and rockets that can deliver nuclear warheads and destroy cities have “shrunk” our planet. News of conflict on the other side of the world is beamed into our homes in living color. People all across the world watched in horror, experienced in real time, as the World Trade Center collapsed after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

  The same technology that brings wonder and blessing has also made us feel vulnerable. We have realized that, no matter where we are on this planet, we could be hurt by events elsewhere, such as a nuclear explosion or man-made pollution which is apparently causing global warming and even holes in our ozone.

  The second reason is the influence of the media, which has gained its near-instantaneous ability to broadcast news and events from those selfsame advances in science and technology. Great sway is held over the public imagination by way of the media’s promulgation of ideas and philosophies — particularly in relation to science. We have already discussed NASA, an icon of achievement in its own right, whose exploits (and thus ideas) have been heavily covered by the media. Television shows, movies, and other popular media have become such a normal part of our everyday lives that we underestimate their influence upon our thinking.

  If popular media are not incredibly influential, why do countless marketing groups spend billions of dollars promoting products? As a reader, could you honestly say that you have never been emotionally affected by any image on your TV screen — never hidden under the pillow at a terrifying moment in a TV drama? Or if you’ve ever viewed a science fiction movie that had UFO themes, has the thought not crossed your mind that maybe, just maybe, the government really does know more than they are telling us?

  No one is immune from the power of images that almost transplant themselves into our minds, aptly demonstrated by the War of the Worlds panic. Even Spielberg’s Close Encounters, although science fiction, led millions to believe that aliens were responsible for many unusual disappearances of people, planes, and other unexplained phenomena. The subtle blend of part reality/part fiction combines to provide a powerful and intoxicating cocktail that spurs our imagination on to “possible” realities.

  Many such themes link UFOs with current events. In the Cold War of the 1950s and 1960s, the threat
of a nuclear confrontation loomed large on the world stage. All-out nuclear war would have effectively extinguished human life on Earth. Many people thought then that UFOs were the result of secret technologies being developed by the enemy or even their own “team.” Many similar conspiracy ideas still abound today. One powerful science fiction movie that captured the mood of the time but also catapulted the concept of visiting alien UFOs into the pubic imagination was the 1950s classic The Day the Earth Stood Still.

  {See The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)}

  The “Force is with us”

  For the majority of the 20th century, cowboys and Indians and war movies proved to be the most popular form of adventure movie and entertainment escapism (especially after two world wars had scarred the planet). However, a not-so-subtle change took place in the latter third of the century. Science fiction movies became, and have remained, exceedingly popular. In their early days, many had a horror theme. The quality of some was appalling, lacking any realism — and as we have pointed out, realism, or just a dash of it, is the key to making the subject believable. Although popular, very few of them could be called cinematic giants. Some received critical acclaim for the themes they portrayed, but few achieved both critical and enormous box office success.