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  Science fiction and modern special effects have no doubt helped the average person understand the enormity and strangeness of the universe. They have shown us incredible new machines and the concept of faster-than-light travel by “warping” or “folding” space. They have opened up strange new worlds and a menagerie of bizarre alien creatures. One movie, however, was to capture the popular imagination as never before, attracting critical acclaim and becoming one of the highest-grossing movie of all time. That movie was Star Wars.

  George Lucas’s Star Wars (released in 1977) became a cinema classic. It captured the old style of “good guys versus bad guys shoot ’em up” escapism, combined with a stunning display of special effects. However, its greatest attraction was as a story of human nature — how we handle adversity and choose our paths in life. Its focus was the eternal struggle of good versus evil in all of us, and about mankind finding our place in the universe. These spiritual themes were prevalent in the film’s portrayal of the “Force” — a mysterious energy that is supposedly present in all living creatures. Its power could be harnessed — for good or for evil. This is a New Age religious theme that suggests “god is in you and in everything else, too.” This same impersonal god is the “Force” that supposedly binds all living things together.

  Interestingly, this is also the most common theme that the “space brothers” have been telling their earthly followers for many years. Even George Lucas admitted the following:

  I put the Force into the movie in order to try to awaken a certain kind of spirituality in young people… . I think there is a God. No question. What that God is or what we know about God, I’m not sure.[45]

  He must have succeeded. There is good evidence to suggest that such pop culture has awakened in many young people the question of “How did it all begin?” Informal surveys of high school students show that the majority believe that a god or “force” is responsible for the creation of the universe. Undoubtedly, the portrayal of human frailty, and its religious overtones, helped moviegoers relate to the struggles of the main characters. A popular movie review website had this to say about the original Star Wars:

  Star Wars, George Lucas’s stunning sci-fi masterpiece, is arguably one of the most inventive and entertaining films ever made, garnering generations of loyal fans who are forever imprinted with the memory of its characters and dialogue.[46]

  The review aptly illustrates that the Star Wars legacy has endured. For the first time, a science fiction movie garnered critical, as well as box office, acclaim and crossed into mainstream popularity, ensuring that millions more would become addicted to “sci-fi.” Two more movies in the series followed, forming an initial trilogy, which ended with the Return of the Jedi in 1983. Such was their legacy that in 1999, director George Lucas returned to filming to shoot prequels to the original trilogy, some 16 years after Jedi. In one of the most eagerly awaited events of the last century (yes, it was that big), Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace was released. It immediately climbed to number four on the all-time box office list.

  After the huge success of the original Star Wars, a literal flood of similar movies followed. The public could not get enough of sci-fi. Even the crew of the old television series Star Trek, no longer in production and doomed to reruns, was called into action once again — but this time on the movie screen for six episodes. Then, due to the success of the movie versions, a new television series appeared called Star Trek: The Next Generation. The newer version became the most popular syndicated TV show in history, and it, too, has spawned multiple spin-off series.

  E.T. the Extraterrestrial, Alien (four movies), Cocoon (two movies), Contact, Dune, Battlestar Galactica, The Time Machine, The Fifth Element, The X Files, Roswell, Dark Skies — the list of popular sci-fi movies and TV series is far too long to mention them all. But in gauging the popularity of sci-fi, the most up-to-date information at the time of writing this book shows that four of the five highest-grossing movies of all time are science fiction (although the list continually fluctuates). When analyzing the top-grossing movies, science fiction films regularly feature in the top entries.[47]

  The increasing popularity of science fiction and increased sightings of UFOs and alleged visitations seems to go hand in hand in a kind of symbiotic relationship. UFOlogist Thomas Eddie Bullard notes:

  Science fiction has anticipated much UFO lore and UFO lore has found its way into science fiction time and again. The relationship has been a busy two-way street. An examination of the science fiction literature cautions that whatever the nature of UFOs, the beliefs people have and the stories they tell about these objects reflect cultural expectations and concerns as well as objective observation. Reports combine both cultural beliefs and perceptual experience. An intriguing trend toward magic and the supernatural, as opposed to mechanical wonders, has lent a fairy-tale quality to much recent fiction. A similar trend is apparent in UFO reports as abductions and other sightings seem to involve non-physical objects and surrealistic experiences. Perhaps a new mystical consciousness is in the making.[48]

  Most think that UFOlogy has its roots in science, and that the study of UFOs will reveal explanations for the origin of life and that mankind will benefit from the technological abilities of supposedly superior alien races. However, regardless of which aspect of the UFO phenomenon we consider — science fiction themes, the prophetic messages of the cults, or the quest for futuristic knowledge to save ourselves — it seems to reflect an underlying desire in man for knowing the meaning of life and bettering our existence. Many of the commentators quoted in this chapter have also noticed this spiritual link. This observation strongly testifies to a universal belief that there is more to life than our meager, pleasure-seeking, short-term existence on this planet. There is a spiritual hunger within every human being. Every religion has tried to grapple with the mystery of, and meaning to, man’s existence.

  Perhaps UFOlogy is set to become the world’s fastest-growing and most unifying religion.

  In 1960, NASA commissioned a report to determine the effect on society should they discover and release information about the existence of extraterrestrials. It drew a terrifying conclusion:

  While the discovery of intelligent life in other parts of the universe is not likely in the immediate future, it could nevertheless, happen at any time. Discovery of intelligent beings on other planets could lead to an all-out effort by Earth to contact them, or it could send sweeping changes or even the downfall of civilization… . societies sure of their place have disintegrated when confronted by a superior society.[49]

  Does this mean the government really is hiding the truth? Are UFOs slowly conditioning us, preparing us for change? We shall now delve deeper and uncover the evidence about UFOs and extraterrestrial life, and determine whether mankind can indeed find salvation in the stars.

  Endnotes

  [1]“The War of the Worlds,” , January 4, 2010.

  [2]“Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds,” , January 15, 2003.

  [3]“War of the Worlds: How Orson Welles Drew the Nation into a Shared Illusion,” , January 15, 2003.

  [4]Ronald D. Story, editor, The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrial Encounters (London: Constable & Robinson, 2002), p. 679.

  [5]As reported in the Pro-Life Infonet newsletter, , January 23, 2003.

  [6]Ibid.

  [7] Erdling Hallo, “Ufologie,” Focus 45:254.

  [8]Story, The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrial Encounters, p. 679.

  [9]Douglas Curran, In Advance of the Landing: Folk Concepts of Outer Space (New York: Abbeville Press, 1985), p. 13, 1985, cited in William T. Alnor, UFOs in the New Age (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1992), p. 73.

  [10]“Project 1947,” , January 27, 2003.

  [11]Story, The Mammoth Encyclopedi
a of Extraterrestrial Encounters, p. 679.

  [12]“Clinton Aide Slams Pentagon’s UFO Secrecy,” , January 22, 2003.

  [13]Ibid.

  [14]“UFO Researchers & People; Jimmy Carter , President,” , January 4, 2010.

  [15]The “ETH” is a standard term in UFOlogy.

  [16]Story, The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrial Encounters, in an article by Richard J. Greenwell, p. 209.

  [17]Jacques Vallée, Messengers of Deception (Berkeley, CA: And/Or Press, 1979), p. 9, cited in Alnor, UFOs in the New Age, p. 72.

  [18]“Gordon Cooper: No Mercury UFOs,” , January 22, 2003.

  [19]“UFOs and the United Nations,” , January 27, 2003.

  [20]“UFO Folklore: Dr J. Allen Hynek,” , January 27, 2003.

  [21]New York Times, October 8, 1955, cited Timothy Good, Need to Know (New York: Pegasus Books, 2007), p.214.

  [22]“Learn the Truth about UFOs,” , January 27, 2003.

  [23]Robert Urich, from Alien Encounters, by Walt Disney Productions, cited in “Disney and UFOs,” , January 27, 2003.

  [24]“Solar System Exploration,” , January 30, 2003.

  [25]Ibid.

  [26]For example, Ivan Noble, “Conclusive evidence’ for Martian life,” , September 16, 2003.

  [27]Time, August 19, 1996, p. 83.

  [28]“Life on Mars,” , September 13, 2009.

  [29]William T. Alnor, UFO Cults and the New Millennium (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1998), p. 76.

  [30]“White House Go-Ahead On NASA Nuclear Prometheus Project,” , February 2, 2003.

  [31]“Dan Goldin’s speech to the American Astronomical Society,” , January 28, 2003.

  [32]“Origins: What Is the Origins Program?” , January 28, 2003.

  [33]“Astrobiology,” , January 31, 2003.

  [34]“Astrobiology Isn’t a Dirty Word Anymore,” The Scientist 2004, 18(1):44, cited in , January 4, 2010.

  [35]“Astrobiology,” , January 31, 2003

  [36]“Astrobiology Isn’t a Dirty Word Anymore,” The Scientist 2004, 18(1):44, cited in , January 4, 2010.

  [37]“Solar System Exploration,” , January 31, 2003.

  [38]Carl Sagan, Cosmos Video, Episode 1: The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean (Turner Home Entertainment, 1989), cited in “Contact: A Eulogy to Carl Sagan,” , January 4, 2010.

  [39]“Solar System Exploration,” , January 31, 2003.

  [40]Ibid.

  [41]Wernher von Braun cited in Ann Lamont, 21 Great Scientists Who Believed the Bible (Brisbane, Australia: Answers in Genesis, 1997), p. 250–251.

  [42]Lamont, 21 Great Scientists Who Believed the Bible, p. 250–251.

  [43]“The US Government and Unidentified Flying Objects,” , January 31, 2003. (Also cited in “Official UFO Investigations,” , January 4, 2010.

  [44]“Voyager’s Greeting to the Universe,” , January 31, 2003. “Voyager,” , January 31, 2003.

  [45]“Of Myth And Men,” , January 5, 2010.

  [46]“Yahoo movies,” , February 9, 2003.

  [47]“All Time Box Office,” , September 3, 2002.

  [48]Story, The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrial Encounters, in an article by Thomas E. Bullard, p. 629.

  [49]Chuck Missler and Mark Eastman, Alien Encounters (Indianapolis, IN: Koinonia House, 2003), p. 193.

  2

  The Science of Fiction

  A gruesome beginning

  We have already seen the strong symbiosis between UFOlogy and science fiction, and sci-fi has successfully predicted many useful technologies, as we will see. However, much of modern science fiction is fantasy-driven and portrays many phenomena or technologies that could never exist. Much of it also contains supernatural concepts that are often presented as some form of quasi-science.[1]

  Some would argue that modern science fiction has its roots in the writings of authors such as Edgar Allen Poe and, in particular, Mary Shelley. Shelley was born in 1797, the daughter of journalist William Godwin and feminist author Mary Wollstonecraft.[2] She is best remembered for her novel Frankenstein, which has been made into over 50 movies spanning several decades. Although she claimed the idea for Frankenstein came to her in a dream, her husband, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, attended experiments performed by Luigi Galvani in which he used electricity to make the severed legs of frogs move. Shelley borrowed this concept for her novel, in which electricity brings to life a man-like creature assembled from the body parts of corpses. For its time, the novel portrayed unspeakable ghoulish horror, and it remained controversial for many years. Yet it displays the true characteristics of science fiction in adopting cutting-edge concepts of the day while it stretches the imagination and pushes the boundaries of credibility. This is why science fiction is so captivating. The part-science, part-fiction blur creates a mysterious yearning for the story to be somehow true. It has an almost addictive attraction about it.

  Some of the most prolific science fiction writers are scientists, but most of them simply have an interest or background in science. It has been said that science fiction writers are also visionaries. In some respects, this also applies to scientists in general, who start with ideas and then set out to investigate them.

  Even earlier than Shelley, one of the founding fathers of modern scientific study was also a science fiction writer. His name was Johannes Kepler (1571-1630). A committed Christian, Kepler reasoned that the universe was designed by an intelligent Creator, and therefore was ordered and not chaotic. As an astronomer, he used this belief to study the motion of the planets, and was one of the first to support the Copernican view that the earth and other planets orbited the sun, instead of the other way around. His three laws of planetary motion, particularly the relative motion of the sun and moon, helped us understand the seasons, phases of the moon, tides, eclipses, and so on. His discoveries had enormous implications for our modern world in such areas as agriculture, fishing, and even space exploration. They helped dispel confusion in his day between astrology and astronomy, and laid the foundation for Sir Isaac Newton's later research in the study of gravity.[3]

  Few know that Kepler also wrote fiction. Of most interest is his story called Sominium, the tale of a man who is flown to the moon by a demon.[4] Kepler based this story on his knowledge of astronomy at the time. But the demonic element came from his Christian beliefs, which included the view that demons are fallen angels under the influence of Satan. Kepler's story highlights that even science fiction stories are predicated on a world view, although Bible-based science fiction is an oddity in a literary genre dominated by evolutionary themes.

  The first author to try to incorporate scientific accuracy into his fictional writings was Frenchman Jules Verne. Early in his life, Verne came across the works of Edgar Allen Poe and was captivated by them. Although impressed at his storytelling ability, Verne was
unimpressed by Poe's scientific details. Verne asked:

  Why did not Poe take the trouble to correct his science? His story would have lost nothing and gained much.