Alien Psychology

by Roderick R. MacDonald

  Nobody has proved anything about Area 51. All evidence is hearsay and observations of supposedly weird spacecraft again prove nothing about aliens being there. Secrecy is a natural thing for the military: it gives them a sense of purpose and keeps everyone in line. Perhaps there are unusual aeroplanes at Area 51 and below the surface they may be doing things that contravene international regulations. Despite agreements on limiting certain types of warfare, we can guess that research into these fields is still carried on, not just in the USA but in Britain, France, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iraq, Israel, North Korea to name but a few. What an excellent cover this alien business is! The military must be laughing themselves stupid every time the thought crosses their minds.

  Despite this, the conspiracy theorists will carry on. Everyone loves a good conspiracy. We've had theories and counter theories throughout history on all sorts of events, including JFK's assassination, the moon landing, and even George Bush's (senior) reasons for not liking broccoli. Some suggest that the steady increase in science fiction in the media over the last few years has purposefully toughened us up to accept the fact that extraterrestrials exist so when the time for revelation comes we won't be all that phased out. This indeed would be a large conspiracy involving thousands of people with hidden agendas never with the urge to blurt out the real facts over a few beers. Absolute baloney!

  The idea that alien disclosure will cause widespread panic and loss of life is often cited as the reason why we're kept in the dark. This probably stems from the Orson Wells radio broadcast of H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds early in the twentieth century. Thinking that Martians were in the process of wiping us out, some naturally panicked but seventy years on, we are all more sophisticated regarding media presentations. Only those with a couple of slates missing would think that the Independence Day, Starship Troopers or Men in Black movies were based on real events. Thankfully we're more discriminating, having the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality in all forms of media presentation.

  Nonetheless, the major conspiracy theory remains: governments are holding out on us. I consider this nonsense. I know many people will disagree with this assertion but it's made not out of any high regard for the military or for governments. Let's consider the USA, for example. This is an excellent study because this country has been the most powerful in the world since before the Second World War. Following the terrible economic collapse and depression of the 1920's and 1930's, America enjoyed a huge material surge mainly resulting from the expansion promoted by the war. When the war finished, it was the fear of many that a downturn in the economy would come again but, with the help of the cold war, it didn't. The reverse happened.

  It was discovered that the act of war was not as important as being ready for war. From the late forties until the fall of the Soviet Union, America and, to a lesser extent the western world, were at a state of continual war readiness, a state which had to experience continual self-examination, modification and updating. The economy continued doing well, men were sent to the moon to beat the Russians and military might was spread over every possible sphere of influence in the world in a process of phoney war with the Soviets. While the two sides never fought directly, their smaller satellites often did and it was in these arenas that many lives were needlessly lost. Of course, on two major occasions the west fought wars against communism, in Korea and Vietnam, while the Soviet Union engaged itself in a pointless war of ideology in Afghanistan but American and Russian soldiers never had a battle between themselves.

  Many people liked the cold war. We had great spy stories and real life (and death) adventures of people trying to tunnel under the Berlin war. No longer was there room for misconceptions—it was our side against theirs, everything clearly differentiated into black and white, good and evil. Despite the continual threat of nuclear annihilation and invasion it was comforting to know where we stood.

  The military had a fondness for the cold war too. Military budgets were, and still are, very high. Armament industries made countless millions and generally, the USA economy never looked back. It was by playing the mythological Star Wars card that the west outmanoeuvred and outspent the east, making the Soviet Union economy and stability collapse. Of course, once the Soviet threat had been dealt with, a new form of threat was important to keep the military bandwagon pulling the economy along. The Gulf and the former Yugoslavia helped out. Now, however, with the war against terrorism, we have a completely new ball game which, if we're not careful, will develop into a war between Christians and Muslims.

  The American military didn't have it all their own way, even during the height of the cold war. Anti—Vietnam War demonstrations rocked the boat somewhat, as did ethnic struggles to achieve rights. A little more control over the population would have been desirable. Some say that the USA military had control over alien spacecraft and alien beings from as early as 1947 but subsequently withheld this information from the public by employing huge deceitful cover—up plots, misinformation and downright lying. Was this really the case?

  What if the American military really had knowledge of extraterrestrials? They would be absolutely delighted. They would be over the moon, so to speak! Forget the Soviet Union, aliens are threatening us! The military would have an open—ended budget that the government would readily support on every occasion, not just because they wished to but because the public demanded it! What a great opportunity this would have been for the military? No expense spared on anything to combat the aliens’ threat! Generals would be gods and the people, their servants. Effectively, the military would be in charge of everything.

  Public disorder? Not a chance! With stakes so high, thoughts of anarchy would be quashed immediately not just by the military but by the public. We would have a society similar to that depicted in Heinlein's Starship Troopers where everyone was united towards a common cause with personal freedoms minimised, draconian measures taken as the norm, and, public effort maximised.

  Military philosophy, if there's such an animal, was based on the maxim of hit first and ask questions later. At the time when aliens were supposedly landing on earth, i.e. during the forties, fifties and early sixties, this exactly was the way they operated. General MacArthur's wish to use nuclear weapons in Korea was well known to everyone and how we ever survived the Cuban crisis is a great mystery. I never was a great fan of the Kennedy brothers but they probably spearheaded the initiative, along with others like Robert McNamara, and prevented a nuclear war that would have wiped out millions if not billions. The American military at the outset wanted to bomb the Cuban missile sites, an option that could have only led to a full-scale world war. This was possibly the gravest crisis of the latter half of the twentieth century and only persistence and a miracle saved us. Undoubtedly the nuclear deterrent prevented a conventional war between west and east but playing the MAD card is a very dicey business. Knowing the prevailing character of the American military machine at the time, I've no doubt that if they seriously knew of an alien presence, they would have played that card too.

  Had the American military really been in possession of alien knowledge and artefacts, this is where we would be now. We wouldn't have bothered too much about measly Soviets, and neither they about us: we would have been mobilised against a far greater threat to our lives and futures. Dissent would not be tolerated in this single-minded battle against creatures that were even worse than the Ruskies. But, we aren't in this situation and such types are not in charge of the military so I don't think the latter has any a clearer picture than the rest of us. Unfortunately for those with a love of a good conspiracy, it's likely that there's none!

  This brings us on to the Roswell case. Evidence as it stands wouldn't hold up in a court. Many people aren't convinced. The verbal evidence is rather sketchy and some of it is hearsay. Undoubtedly something crashed on the desert but had it been a spacecraft capable of travelling not only through earth's atmosphere but through interplanetary space, a much larger explosion and probably d
angerous radioactivity would have been produced from a crash.

  Perhaps it was a balloon device carrying a capsule with monkeys to test the effect of attitude on living creatures similar to men. Remember, these were the days of early experiments into rocket planes, the Bell X -1 for example, and high altitude balloon fights to test human capabilities of space travel. It was the normal course of action to use monkeys. In fact, before American men flew into space during the Mercury programme, monkeys and chimps were sent up first. Alan Shepard, the first American to make a sub orbital flight and John Glenn, the first American into orbit in 1961 and 1962 respectively, were both beaten by the chimps Ham and Enos.

  There are those not convinced that any living or dead creatures were found at the site: no aliens, chimps, monkeys or even dummies. It is also no coincidence that Roswell isn't far away from the missile testing ground at White Sands. This area saw the development of many types of missiles and rockets some of which were later used to launch satellites into orbit. In 1947, only a short time after the Second World War, apart from American produced rockets, experiments were being carried out on captured German V2 rockets. The V2 was far ahead of anything existing elsewhere at the time and earlier, during the war, it had been used as a terror weapon against Britain. Hundreds had been fired at a considerable loss of life. The rocket was well capable of travelling a few hundred miles on its own but the American / German experimenters at White Sands also used it as the first stage of a two-stage rocket which could travel even further.

  Much of the work at White Sands was carried out in secrecy. The atomic bomb existed at that time and it was thought that rockets could be used to deliver them. Many of the experimental rockets had faulty guidance systems; they could end up anywhere including the site seventy miles or so from Roswell. Looking at matters logically and considering the presence of an experimental rocket site in the vicinity, if you were asked to decide on what had crashed, a secret rocket or an alien ship, you would have to put your money on the former. It is, by far, the likeliest explanation.

  In 1947, people in a relatively remote place in America had little knowledge of rockets, balloons, or such things. A spark of imagination was all that was necessary in order to set the alien spaceship ball rolling and, decades later, the popular momentum of the myth carried the incident forward towards its cult status. It's trendy to believe in Roswell. It's a good money earner for tourism and the associated paraphernalia marketed around the site. Roswell is a lot richer financially than it would be without the aliens so why burst a particularly lucrative bubble? Certainly, in Scotland where I live, they've been at it a lot longer. How much money has been made, especially by the locals, from the monster myth? The whole idea of the monster, and this is from someone with a family background from the Highlands of Scotland, is ludicrous and nonsensical; however, it doesn't do anyone harm so why not let it be?

  On a last word concerning Roswell, at a later date a dissection film was produced showing, ostensibly, the post mortum of a dead alien. This wasn't convincing and, considering the fact that the person marketing the film looked like someone you wouldn't want to buy a used car from, the whole episode can be put in the bucket where it deserves to be.

  What about the men in black? Men in black supposedly visit people reporting UFO's. Archetypal 1960's, they are dressed, surprisingly enough, in black, wear black glasses and drive outmoded 1960's huge black gas-guzzlers. They don't come from any official government department, or not one that anyone knows about, and do their best to convince you that the sighting had nothing to do with extraterrestrials. Should their powers of persuasion not convince you, don't be surprised if they use subtle techniques like imparting a bit of grievous bodily harm. Quite a lot has been written about them, including a guide on what to do should one actually visit you. Some even say that the men in black are not entirely human; their wax—like complexion and deficiencies in human mannerisms and speech suggest that they too could be aliens! I would go further in saying that they're not human, I would suggest they're not real and merely the product of over imagination or mischievousness. (phew, my disclaimer means I won't now get a visit)

  Moving on to other myths, one has to mention Velikovsky and his book “Worlds in Collision” which was published in 1950. He created quite a following in the populace of the easily—taken—in, the scientifically ignorant and those with nothing better to do. To describe his work as pseudo science would be overly kind: basically it's complete rubbish.

  The first step along the path that he had chosen for himself was to appear intellectual. Being old, resembling a nutty professor, helped his case and with a delivery of erudite knowledge (of nonsense) he created an heir of authority that some could believe in. In biblical times, he said, a comet appeared out of Jupiter, grazed the earth causing all sorts of problems and then ended up in orbit around the sun to become the planet Venus. He based his theory on old myths and some biblical texts from Genesis and Exodus. Despite the fact that science was involved, science was totally ignored and sadly to say everything he put forward was not only unlikely but completely impossible. Venus, a planet which has been investigated thoroughly by Soviet and American space probes, is not a comet, it never was a comet and it certainly didn't come out of Jupiter.

  Sadly, people believed in this nonsense when it had it's last round of publicity in the early 1970's and incredibly there are a few today still supportive of Velikovsky's theories. One wonders why this is the case but, considering the vast population of earth and the mathematical distribution of common sense, it's obvious that some must come up short in possessing this attribute. Nevertheless, Velikovsky is a useful example to illustrate a bad, nonsensical theory which must be avoided.

  Unfortunately, Velikovsky isn't alone. A book could be filled with references to idiotic theories but it is sufficient to mention only a few. Next on the hit list is Adamski. Some may remember his books from the 1950's describing his exploits in space. Amongst other destinations, he landed on the moon and Venus, describing the people who lived and worked there. A considerable following gathered, reminding me somewhat of Brian's followers from the Monty Python film, Life of Brian. However, unlike Brian, Adamski encouraged his followers, no doubt inspired by the lucrative book trade ensuing from such a following.

  Especially when nobody else has been there to discover what the conditions were like on the other planets, it's quite easy to say that you've been around the solar system on a flying saucer because disproving your claims in these circumstances is then impossible. Where little or no facts reside, you've the ability to make up all sorts of fanciful theories. At the time, of course, kindly people considered Adamski to be suffering from delusions: others just thought he was a con man. Science in the 1950's pointed plainly to the fact that people didn't exist on other planets in the solar system and later evidence from space probes reinforced this fact.

  Sadly, those who did believe in Adamski had their beliefs shattered. Like other nonsensical stories about extraterrestrials, this sort of thing puts the subject in a bad light, making it the object of ridicule for the general public. Should someone actually go through an experience which they honestly believed was the result of alien abduction, they would be less likely to talk publicly about the experience through fear of ridicule. This ridicule has its basis in the likes of Adamski.

  More recently, a book has been published about UFO sightings in Israel. Looking at the videos, large stationery low-lying objects appear illuminated in the distance. Later pictures show slight variations of this image. It's rather obvious to discern that the objects are not in the sky at all: they are below the horizon and are the result of using a telephoto lens at high magnification on a distant illuminated building.

  Looking at this sensibly, Israel is situated in the most military volatile area in the world. Surrounded by past enemies and current potential enemies, the country has sophisticated air defenses. Should something of this nature appear in the Israeli skies and remain there for some considerable t
ime, the video would be full of military jets. There are none! This piece of tomfoolery has been expounded to be the result of extraterrestrials visiting Israel, but not just any old aliens because these are the giants or, more accurately, the Nephilim. There is a vague reference in Genesis to a group of large antediluvian people called the Nephilim. They apparently disappeared and these sightings testify to their return. Would this convince you? I certainly wouldn't give this theory any credence at all.

  The Cydonia region of Mars was photographically captured by an American Viking Orbiter spacecraft in 1976. One of the frames taken when the sun was low in the sky on that part of Mars showed something that vaguely resembled a face. This was really an effect of shadows falling over a particular geological formation but the curiosity didn't die there. The pseudo scientists soon got their hands on this lucrative potion of Martian real estate, claiming that the structure and other features in the vicinity were artificially created by a race of extraterrestrials.

  Presumably built in ancient times, this structure, and the city of pyramids close by, were meant to be seen by humans in order to bring the reality of extraterrestrials to their attention. Why, one asks, build this on Mars when a similar construction on the moon would be much easier for us to see? Perhaps we were being put to the test? Perhaps the aliens only wished us to become aware of their presence after we had developed to a sufficiently high standard, measured by our ability to reach Mars? At any rate, many books, websites, documentaries and a film were spawned by this picture of Cydonia. Involving all sorts of geometrical patterns drawn on the surface, some apparently went to great lengths to prove that the structure was artificially produced but they all had the feel of something built out of nothing.