Flying Saucer to the Center of Your Mind: Selected Writings of John A. Keel (46 page)

1. Entities from another star system would probably have a technology completely different from our own

2. They might also have a much longer lifespan – or even immortality

3. They might know many things about the universal laws that we have not discovered, or even suspect

In other words, the factors that seem like insurmountable problems to us might not even exist to them.

Now, let us assume that such an extraterrestrial race exists and that interstellar travel is no problem to them. This is a mighty big assumption, admittedly, but there are some extraordinary “facts” to support a very interesting hypothesis. The alien race might have “discovered” the Earth in prehistoric times and established a base or two here, far removed from the areas where man was then living. Perhaps the giants and dwarfs were the most advanced lifeforms on Earth then, and they were either driven into hiding by the aliens, or were drawn into a compact with them.

As the centuries passed, the aliens found it expedient to enlarge their bases on Earth. Perhaps they found that their home planet was orbiting a dying star and they realized that they had to find a new home. If all of the contact reports contain a grain of truth, then they closely resemble us and come from an environment similar to ours. Therefore the Earth might be more suitable to them than any other planet in our solar system, or even in the entire galaxy.

But while they were preparing to evacuate their own planet, we were breeding rapidly, and also progressing technically. Recognizing this, and realizing our fierce, warlike nature, the aliens were forced to adopt a subtle, long-range plan – a plan to commandeer our planet as suddenly and as painlessly as possible. Additional bases would have to be established prior to the final, overt action. We would have to be kept either totally unaware of their activities, or confused and uncertain about it all. As the plan neared completion, more and more people would have to be enlisted to help prepare the way for the arrival of the final armada. The evacuation or transfer would be an enormous operation, and the ultimate “takeover” would be on a global scale. It would probably be achieved in a single day of our time.

More and more, the massive numbers of UFO sightings in 1966-67 seem to uphold this “hostility theory.” The obviously covert activities of the objects in remote, thinly populated areas, far removed air force bases, radar nets, and major military installations further indicates a planned operation based upon the element of surprise. In addition, we are confronted with the enigma of the unidentified people who visit UFO witnesses in these areas, and harass or threaten them into silence.

Reports on the activities of these mysterious individuals are now coming in from every state, and the government denies knowledge of their identity. Most of these “mystery men” are described as being dressed in dark clothing, and they are said to be dark-skinned with Oriental features. In a number of recent cases, very tall individuals with unusual features have also turned up, sometimes accompanied by females who usually have red hair. They use ordinary automobiles for transportation, but rarely have a license plate visible.

Could it be that a “Fifth Column” is now operating amongst us, preparing for the final stage of the UFOs’ unknown plan? In 1967, there were over 1,000 inexplicable power failures reported in areas of intense UFO activity, and something new was added – telephone failures. Phone companies have their own power supplies. During the Great Blackout of Nov. 9, 1965, the telephones continued to function in the stricken Northeast. Since then, telephones have become an object of distrust among ufologists. Innumerable UFO witnesses report bizarre telephone problems after revealing details of their sightings to the press or to local UFO investigators.

Many ufologists throughout the country received strange threatening calls this past summer, warning them to get out of the UFO field. Whoever is committing these “hoaxes” must have either unlimited funds (for monumental phone bills), or they must possess the technical equipment necessary to cut into the phone system. To accomplish the latter, they would also need a thorough knowledge of how the telephone system really works. It is improbable that this kind of telephone interference could be accomplished by equipment aboard objects hovering in the air. It would almost have to be done from the ground. AT&T is “baffled,” and apparently unable to do much about the complaints pouring in.

In a speech before the 1967 Congress of Scientific Ufologists in New York City, Prof. Gordon Evans, a political scientist and one of the best of the “serious-minded” ufologists, suggested that we may have made a grave mistake by trying to simplify the subject. “You don’t simplify the extraterrestrial,” he said. “You give him more credit than hitherto.” in other words, if the UFOs are from an extraterrestrial source, they are apt to be up to something far more complex than a simple aerial survey of our planet.

UFOs are a part of man’s long history on this planet. If they are extraterrestrial, and there is no evidence either contemporary or historical to prove this, then they have deliberately chosen to remain aloof of us. If they are of terrestrial origin, then they come from a group that has carefully remained hidden from us; or else they represent a natural phenomenon beyond the understanding of present-day science.

We have tried to find a simple answer to something that may be extremely complex. The amateur ufologists have struggled to support the extraterrestrial thesis, despite the contrary evidence and the clear indications that the objects have been operating consistently in specific areas. When the UFO buff has been followed by a black Cadillac containing men in dark suits, he has reasoned that he was being harassed by the CIA or “government” because he “knew” that the UFOs are manned by three-foot tall Martians. When his phone misbehaved – apparently “bugged” – he was sure that those same “government agents” were out to “shut him up” and destroy his collection of yellowing newspaper clippings.

Unfortunately, the UFO buffs have spread their anti-Air Force and anti-government paranoia until, today, the general public is whispering about a conspiracy to suppress UFO information. As a result, fewer and fewer people are reporting their sightings and experiences to the government. And this may be precisely what the “aliens” had in mind all along. How could the government take any real action, or investigate the situation properly, if they have been cut off from their central source of information – the public at large?

Maybe it’s all a sucker’s game, and we’re the ones who have been the suckers. So long as there are UFO skeptics in government and out, and so long as there are people who cannot comprehend the meaning of events, the UFO controllers can continue to play this game with us. They could hide a flying saucer a mile from your home, and you would never even realize it. Even if you saw that saucer every night for months on end, you would be more apt to believe that it was coming from Mars every night, or that each object was a different one. Such is our present fallacious line of reasoning.

The 1964-67 outbreak of rarely publicized incidents in the air and on the ground should, at the very least, impel us to launch a crash program to find out exactly what these things are, and what they are really doing here. Our government spends millions of dollars annually on such things as fisheries and studies of butterflies, but the Air Force could only filter out $500,000 to a handful of physicists and psychologists at the Univ. of Colorado for UFO investigations.

We’d all better pray that they discover and are able to
prove
that the UFOs are merely a natural phenomenon because, if these things are manufactured objects, we are in
deep
trouble... We may have already lost a war without even knowing that one existed.

AFTERWORD

“A QUESTION OF RESPONSIBILITY”

Recently, an American UFO journal published a sighting by “a UFO researcher who requests to remain anonymous because he is not out for fame – only facts.” Throughout the modern UFO epoch, both ufologists and UFO skeptics have labored under the delusion that UFO reports and reporters are often motivated by a desire for personal publicity and notoriety – that they are “out for fame.” Actually, the reverse is true. General witnesses are usually most reluctant to permit their names to be used in print, and those who have granted such permission have often suffered irresponsible harassment, not at the hands of the Air Force or the mischievous “Men in Black,” but by the avid UFO buffs themselves. This harassment sometimes becomes so acute that the witnesses desperately begin denying their earlier reports, adding to the mass of speculation about mysterious “suppression.”

In one of my earliest magazine articles, I briefly mentioned the “contact” claim of a Californian TV repairman and ham radio operator, Mr. Sidney Padrick in 1965. Mr. Padrick sent a letter of protest to the magazine, asserting that while he believed his story was true, he no longer wished his name to be associated with the subject.

In 1968, I interviewed a young man in Adelphi, Maryland who described an extraordinary encounter with a flying saucer, and a subsequent visit to another planet. He asked that his name not be used. A year or so later, a group of UFO buffs in Washington, D.C. induced him to appear publicly on radio and give a lecture describing his alleged experiences. His name was revealed, of course. In a letter dated Aug. 11, 1970, this percipient, Thomas Monteleone, stated:

Ever since those appearances, I have been pestered and plagued by a horde of kooks. They call, write, stop to visit, etc. They drove me crazy. Some of my very close friends began to advise me of the dangers to my reputation that these types of individuals were posing. I decided to tell them all, once and for all, that I desired no more public contact. Although the experiences I had were completely true, I sometimes wish I had never revealed them to anyone. The only reason I made them known was because I thought I could help to verify and uncover some of the mystery that shrouds the UFO phenomenon… I should have kept my mouth shut like I had planned to, when you first interviewed me.

Unfortunately, Mr. Monteleone’s experiences were not unique. I usually avoid “blind” (anonymous) accounts in my articles and books. Many of the witnesses I have named (with their express permission) have later complained to me about the outrageous harassment to which they have been subjected. The most common complaint is the lack of courtesy displayed by self-styled UFO investigators, who belligerently invade their privacy at all hours of the day and night.

A carload of teenagers or college students might suddenly drive up unannounced at 10 p.m. The youngsters flourish membership cards to some UFO organization and literally demand an interview. These interviews are often conducted at an inept, impolite, and even insulting level. After a few such interviews, the witnesses are naturally reluctant to submit to any more.

Insulting phone calls are also common. A number of witnesses have told me of calls they have received, often from long distance, from persons purporting to be well-known UFO investigators. “How much did Keel pay you to say this?” is one favorite phrase of these callers. Antagonistic mail on the same order is also common. Many witnesses have passed along the strange, often outrageous letters they have received from individuals well known in ufology. Any witness who undergoes this sort of treatment naturally quickly assumes that all UFO enthusiasts are crazy. They soon refuse to have anything to do with any of them.

Soon after my articles on the “Mothman” sightings in Pt. Pleasant, WV appeared in print, the named witnesses were inundated with phone calls, letters, and personal visits from untrained, impolite UFO enthusiasts. Eventually the local sheriff adopted a policy of denying everything that had been published on the events in Pt. Pleasant. (I should point out that many other writers and reporters had investigated and written about those events independent of me.) Today, very few of the people in Pt. Pleasant are willing to even discuss the affair with any outsiders.

Many ufologists tend to confuse excessive suspicion with objectivity. Actually, the suspicion that one finds among ufologists usually follows the classic patterns of paranoia. The field does seem to attract schizophrenic-paranoiacs. Such types are often driven by an urge to attain personal publicity and recognition. They often assume that others, such as the average people who become UFO witnesses, suffer from a similar urge.

In truth, the average person has no desire for publicity, and certainly has no desire whatsoever to be connected with any “far out” subject. The UFO enthusiasts have transferred their own shortcomings to the witnesses through their speculations. These two unfortunate traits, the urge for personal publicity and the tendency to apply excessive suspicion to all things ufological, have generated a large part of the UFO lore and, more important, created and sustained the aura of ridicule that has surrounded the subject for twenty years.

In 1969, I compiled a special issue for England’s
Flying Saucer Review,
which contained detailed reports on a number of significant new cases that had been carefully investigated by myself and others. Soon after the special issue (called
Beyond Condon
) appeared, one of America’s best-known UFO researchers circulated an incredible “open letter” not only accusing me of having fabricated the cases out of whole cloth, but also of having “invented” some of the other contributors to the magazine, such as Richard S. Hack!

While such tactics are amusing to professionals outside the UFO field, they demonstrate the sad state of ufology in general. The field has always been dominated by petty gossip (usually totally unfounded), amateurish speculation, and unchecked hearsay. Many people have found expression for their immaturity in ufology. Emotional believers have added to the bedlam by accepting unverified nonsense as fact whenever it fell into the pattern of their beliefs.

New myths are constantly being added to the UFO maze. One of the most popular “truths” of ufology, at the present time, is that the “negative”
Condon Report
effectively squelched public interest in the subject. The truth is that the
Condon Report
received very little national publicity when compared to such things as the recent
Report of the Presidential Commission on Pornography.
The
Condon Report
sold very few copies in paperback. Various independent polls have shown that
the average American has never even heard of the “Condon Report,” and that only 12% of the working press has heard of it.
The
Condon Report
has had a negligible effect on public opinion, and it has received the most publicity from the UFO enthusiasts themselves! If the UFO enthusiasts had not discussed it angrily at lectures, on radio and television, etc., the
Condon Report
would have had even less effect. But the buffs will undoubtedly blame the steady decline of ufology on Dr. Condon for years to come.