by M I A Harba
‘I am real, dear brother, as real as anything you see within your reality paradigm. You can touch me, see me, hear me, but I'm not sure if you can smell me or not. I'm as real as I can be,’ the guest said with a smile on his face.
Once again, Sam was puzzled by the words his visitor used, not necessarily within the vocabulary of a Bedouin.
‘Last time it was raining, yet you were not wet. It was muddy outside, yet your shoes were clean. When you left the next morning, while the soil was still wet, I found no footprints anywhere.
‘Look at you now, it’s raining heavily outside, yet not a drop of water on you. Please, explain to me how. Granted, I see you're not posing any threat to me, and I believe it. And I'm comfortable talking to you now, but I need to know more,’ said Sam.
‘You’ll have all the answers today. I think you’re ready,’ said the guest.
‘I've seen huge UFO activities in the sky. From what I read and searched on the web, such activities are usually accompanied by visitors, in black suits, appearing to those vulnerable persons who happened to observe them. Are you one of these visitors, in a Bedouin’s look?’ asked Sam and was as direct as he could be.
‘I understand your anxiety, and I'm here to help. You can think of me as a friend. I will not try to intimidate you. Now that you are certain I pose no threat to you, maybe we can talk in some depth. I'm part of the reality that you perceive now. But what is reality? You were wondering whether we were part of your 3D world or some user interface of this reality, or part of the hidden realities,’ said the guest.
‘Yes, absolutely. I believe what I see now is perhaps an illusion. We don't see everything, and what we see is effectively the reflection of light on the outer surfaces of things,’ answered Sam.
‘This is true. But have you thought about looking at water in a bottle? If the bottle is transparent, and obviously water is transparent, you will see through the bottle. The light might get refracted or reflected, and that might give you a different kind of illusion. But if it passes right through, and you are behind the bottle, then you won't be able to see any difference between the bottle and its surroundings.
‘Even in this world of 3-D reality, there are situations where vision plays an unimportant part. To see water in such a scenario, you need to feel it with your fingers. In other words, use a different sense,’ explained the guest.
‘OK, what are you trying to get at, though?’ asked Sam.
‘I mean, there might be situations out there, different in its molecular structure, and behave as though it is completely transparent. What I'm saying is, there are other objects out there that don't reflect light but exhibit all the features of living tissues. A being like this might be anywhere around you, without you knowing. It might not make any noise or emit chemicals that you can smell or taste. Isn't that possible?’ asked the guest.
‘Again, what are you trying to get at?’ asked Sam impatiently.
‘Isn't it obvious? I mean there could be living beings around you, but you can't touch them, feel them, see them, hear them, or taste them. It is still within your understanding of physics. They are a collection of molecules, similar to the molecules constituting humans’ bodies, but they exhibit different features. Humans, with their standard sensory, will not be able to detect their presence. Isn't that possible, considering the atoms are purely empty space?’ asked the guest, elaborating.
‘Yeah, I guess so. I think I'm beginning to see what you are trying to convey. So, for example, there are collections of molecules that reflect no light and thus humans can't detect their presence. But they are there,’ Sam said, gesturing that he understood what the guest meant.
‘Exactly. They can only be detected when they want to be detected. They have the ability to lose some of their characteristics and exhibit features that you see in the material world around you. Ghosts, poltergeists, and other similar phenomena are such beings,’ said the guest.
‘This is very interesting. What about what I saw earlier, what we call UFOs?’ asked Sam, enthusiastically.
‘Exactly the same. They belong to these beings living but cannot be detected. They allow you to see them as UFOs because they emit light or reflect it as material things in your world do,’ explained the guest.
‘Are you saying there is another form of life, which has the ability to switch between being completely undetectable by the human senses and being detectable?’ asked Sam.
‘Exactly. This is so,’ said the guest.
‘Okay, Let’s say I believe this. But let’s go back to my original question, are you one of them? Do you belong to these beings and you can switch to our material world?’ asked Sam, thinking he made a good point.
‘hahahaha. I think I know what they are trying to get at. But do you want to understand more about UFOs? Do you want to see them up close? Perhaps, feel them?’ asked the guest, invitingly.
‘Now you are definitely confusing me,’ said Sam.
‘Well, the best way is to experience them close to you. I hope you believe now I pose no threat to you, and you can trust me. I can take you where you will be in the presence of these things, and, like me, they will pose no threat to you. I hope you can trust me on that,’ said the guest.
‘But give me a minute. I want to clarify this further in my mind. I have read in some books that you have always belonged to a phenomenon that we don't understand. This phenomenon manifests itself as it sees fit to the particular humans’ frame of mind. In seances, it presents itself as spirits or entities from the beyond. For others, it presents itself as alien spaceships, with alien visitors. They verified this because UFOs and the spirits gave identical predictions of events to happen. So I'm now at loss,’ answered Sam and continued,
‘Are you part of this phenomena? Are you presenting yourself to me because you feel I can understand and associate with spaceships and UFOs? Why didn't you present yourself an entity that appears during seances?’ asked Sam.
‘I think you are very advanced in your line of thoughts. If you want to think about it as a different phenomenon, then indeed it is different. But we understand your world and your reality perhaps better,’ answered the guest, in his usual vague manner.
‘But what about this global phenomenon that controls UFOs and mediums, yet we don't feel them or see them? If I may ask the question, are you part of this phenomena?’ asked Sam, persistently.
‘Your definition of this phenomenon is not entirely right. It is an oversimplification. But I guess, this is the best humans can understand with their limited sensory and brain capacity,’ answered the guest, insultingly.
‘Excuse me, but are you denying this phenomenon, or confirming its existence?’ asked Sam, brushing aside the insults.
‘As I said, your definition of the phenomenon is not entirely right. And, if I'm to explain it, there will be no way for you to understand my explanation. I guess the best thing is to feel it for yourself and experience this phenomenon close if you want to call it a phenomenon,’ answered the guest.
‘Although I don't necessarily believe the paranormal as all scientists, I do have at the back of my conscious mind a belief that they might exist. This is why I'm scared at night because of the demons and visions I see. I want to always think they are just visions. I'm worried if you take me and present me to such beings or this phenomenon, I might go mad. Or even worse, everybody around me will think I'm completely insane,’ answered Sam.
‘Well, let's think of it as some kind of a revelation. I can assure you what you will see is completely safe and will not present you with any harm. Further, I hope that after you see this, you will not be scared at night anymore because you will have a better understanding of what scares you at night,’ answered the guest.
‘Dear brother, I have to be very honest with you. I'm really scared, and I don't want to go there. If you are one of them, and I now believe you are, then indeed you present no threat to me and I'm not scared of you. But what I will see might not be the same as you. They
might be different, with different outlooks and aspirations,’ explained Sam.
‘Well, put it this way. They might give you an insight into reality and put your mind at rest. I can detect in your mind that you want to believe, and you are not restricting your options to religion or other theories. You want to find something convincing enough for your brain to accept,’ said the guest.
‘Indeed, I haven't spoken about this, but you seem to have read my mind. It's my inquisitiveness and searches for a belief that brought me from the city to this monstrous land,’ Sam answered, opening his heart to his guest.
‘Fine, you can think about it, and I assure you again that we pose no threats to you. Maybe, you need a few days to think it over, and I will visit you again at your house to talk about it. If you're happy, I take you along with me on a venture to experience what you think is your confused reality,’ said the guest.
Sam thought about it for a bit and wanted to say no, but his inquisitive mind overcame his fear.
‘Fine, give me a few days to think this out. But if I decide not to go, you will accept my decision and leave me alone. Do I have your word on this?’ asked Sam, seeking reassurance.
‘Absolutely. You have my word,’ confirmed the guest.
They remained chatting about other unrelated matters, like life and the desert and its challenges. After that, they both crawled out of the tent, to find the storm had passed, and the wind and rain had eased. The guest walked away, after saying his goodbye, and disappeared in the fog that accumulated.
Sam was mentally exhausted. Was that part of a dream or was it real? He looked at his watch and it was 2:30 am, suggesting his watch had stopped. He looked for marks, footprints, or anything the guest left behind but, as with last times, there were none.
But the guest did eat some dates and drank from the water bottle. This evidence was inside the tent. He hurried back inside the tent and, to his absolute amazement, the food was untouched, and the water was undrunk. But he saw the guest eat and drink.
It must have been a dream, and it must be untrue. There was no guest inside his tent, and there was no chat about meeting in a few days. It was all in his mind, he thought.
He went back to sleep, and his sleep was deep, unbothered by any visions. The following morning was beautiful, with blue skies and warm sun. The sunlight reflected green, blue, white, and purple, the colours of the desert stretching around him.
What a day it had been, he thought. He met, or imagined he met, the Bedouin guest, found the clay fragments he was anxiously looking for, and found a truffles spot. He rinsed his face using a water bottle and looked around. He ate the leftover sandwiches in silence and stared at the clay fragments he found yesterday. There were no signs on them or any engraving. The only way to explain them was to date them.
If the Simulation Hypothesis is to believe, then the simulation computer generated for him the truffle he found. There could be millions of similar findings humans make every single day, and the simulation computer must generate a suitable scene for them. It must be a very powerful simulation computer to cater for the billions of humans on earth who are finding new things every day. This computer remains unaffected, showing the same resilience it did hundreds of years ago. This was one of the doubts he had about the Simulation Hypothesis.
How powerful is the simulation computer? Surely, it must have finite capabilities, not infinite. As the number of people on the planet increases, and as new aspects arise every day, the simulation computer must show signs of slowing down.
Even if it did slow down, how could the simulated humans measure it? To them, time is what they feel. For the programmer, time is a parameter he can play with. What we see as billions of years of evolution could be only seconds in the running of the simulation programme. The time scale is completely different between us, humans, and what the programmer notices in the simulation run.
The programmer could adjust or play with the time. Our time might be stretched out or shrunk as the programmer wishes. For us, the simulated characters, it feels the same. We experience our normal kind of speed, or at least, this is what the proponents of the Simulation Hypothesis say. Sam found this a little too difficult to accept.
Religion has had its own troubles with science over the years. The Catholic Church in the middle ages prosecuted scientists who postulated ideas and paradigms different from theirs. Unfortunately for the church, time has proven science was right, and the church was wrong. The church had to adapt to be more acceptable. For example, one priest estimated the time since the creation of man was 5650 years and specified which day of the week it was. This was the age of Earth, too. He counted the number of prophets who received revelations and worked back the years.
Geologists later discovered that earth is much, much older than that. Geologists based their estimation on proper examinations of the properties and geology of Earth itself. They estimated Earth is 4.5 billion years old, not 5650. The church had to change its perspective, saying that whatever time the creation took, it doesn’t matter. The faith remains unaffected.
When scientists declared that Earth was not the centre of the universe, or the sun did not go round the earth, the church resisted. Again, the church lost the battle and had to change its perspective accordingly.
History shows the church had to adjust its paradigm and outlook of the divine creation, repeatedly over the years, to survive the rigour of the observations and experimentations of science. So, the theory put forward by the religion of what we are, and how we are created, has evolved with science, although it doesn't consider science as a fundamental pillar in its explanation.
Even though religion has been proven wrong now and again, some people believe religion to be true in any circumstances. Even if science proves certain aspects to be wrong, and the interpretation by religion has to change, those same people will adopt the new interpretation but stick to their religious belief. So, what theory people believe in is not dependent on the convincing aspects of the theory, but on how the brain of a person is built.
Sam drove back to his house eventually, with about half a kilo of truffles. Still, he hailed it an achievement, considering his relative inexperience. He washed them, put them in a plastic container, and shoved them in the fridge.
He had his dinner out on the patio, as it wasn't a cold evening. The sky was absolutely beautiful, and the glittering diamonds appeared as though welcoming him back to his house. There was a half-moon to the East, and its light bathed the terrain with nice cool light. His eyes, after adjusting to the soft light, could see kilometres in the distance. He couldn't see things clearly, but as shadows far away. He strained his eyes at the horizon for the ghost caravan, but there were no caravans that night. However, the sky appeared busy with UFO activities.
Strange lights moved with undecided directions and sharp changes and danced all over the sky. He saw them concentrated in one area of the sky, as though it was part of their highway. Surely, they were not all glitches in the simulation programme. They appeared a real phenomenon, tangible, visible and recordable. Glitches in a programme may occur now and again, and sometimes haphazardly, but not in any particular pattern. Here we have 10 s of these light blobs in different formations, with different sizes and shapes. They couldn't be glitches in the simulation programme.
He wished he had the authors of the books about the Simulation Hypothesis with him, to see this phenomenon for themselves. It is part of our existence, part of our reality.
He retrieved his diary and started writing about his observations. He made little sketches of the formations that he saw yesterday and that evening. He was unsure, though, whether to write about the elusive guest or not.
Was there anything particular about the date, or the day, to have so many activities in the sky? Or was this something that has always been here, but he hadn't noticed before?
He thought about his meeting, or his imagined meeting, with the elusive guest last night. He said he would come to his house in a f
ew days. Sam must decide whether to go along with the plan, or simply decline.
It was disconcerting to meet with an entity apparently from the phenomenon that John Keel mentioned in his book. His assertion that there was no way we could understand the full extent of this phenomenon., rang loud in Sam’s tormented brain. If the phenomenon was capable of presenting itself as spirits from beyond the grave to mediums, as UFOs, as men in black suits, or, in his case, as a Bedouin, then it is elusive, unfathomable.
If he saw these UFOs and found that they belonged to some molecular or atomic structures that didn’t reflect light and thus couldn’t be seen, then what?
Human minds over the ages interpreted ghosts as the souls of the departed, lingering in this world. It was a simple and convenient explanation. The elusive guest, however, had implied there were other entities or beings of different molecular or atomic structures, living beyond our detection. So is it the souls of the dead, or beings pretending to be the departed ones?
Religion has another interpretation for it, jinnees[1] and demons, which are another creation but different from humans, undetectable, and can take the shape of humans or animals. This theorization can shed new light on all kinds of observations and happenings. The paranormal could be assistance provided by those transparent beings.
In Islam, the Jinn live in communities and have their own culture but are completely invisible and undetectable by humans. This is part of the religious belief and part of the divine Creator paradigm of understanding. Indeed, this explanation fits well with many religions. Certainly, they are not glitches in the programme if the elusive visitor is to be believed. They are real entities in their own different world.
The elusive visitor was not referring to different dimensions. He was explaining beings living within our frame of reality but exhibiting features we couldn’t detect.