Dimensions: A Casebook of Alien Contact - Above Top Secret

aspects of the UFO problem. I suspect that they are still involved. Discovering the secret of theUFO propulsion mechanism could be such a military breakthrough that any research projectconnected with it would enjoy the highest level of classification. But these UFO enthusiasts who areso anxious to expose the government have not reflected that they may be playing into the hands of amore sophisticated coverup of the real situation.Because of their eagerness to believe any indication that the authorities already possess the proof ofUFO reality, many enthusiasts provide an ideal conduit for anyone wishing to spread theextraterrestrial gospel. The purpose of such an exercise need not be complex or strategicallyimportant. It could be something as mundane as a political diversion, or a test of the reliability ofinformation channels under simulated crisis conditions, or a decoy for paramilitary operations.None of these rumors is likely to lead us any closer to a solution that can only be obtained bycareful, intelligent, and perhaps tedious scientific research. The truth is that the UFOs may not bespacecraft at all. And the government may simply be hiding the fact that, in spite of the billions ofdollars spent on air defense, it has no more clues to the nature of the phenomenon today than it didin the forties when it began its investigations.9. The Case Against ExtraterrestrialsJumping to ConclusionsA fisherman from Mississippi, who has been subjected to lie-detector tests six times, faces thenation on prime-time TV. Seated between Dr. Carl Sagan and an astronaut, he describes the tworobots who came down to take him into the UFO. There was a big machine with an eye, and itexamined him. The fisherman has been interrogated by an engineer, an amateur hypnotist whoassures us that the experience was real. A UFO "expert," having interviewed the witness in a roomfull of screaming reporters, has seen the truthfulness of his reactions by the light of their flashbulbs.This is what America is being told – and it happens to be what America wants to hear.This man, we are asked to believe, is adding to the knowledge we have of other worlds. Jumping toconclusions, my ufologist friends are cross-indexing his every sentence, adding final touches to theconsistent picture they are painting of extraterrestrial life. In their view there is no room for doubt:this fisherman seated beside a famous scientist, now making small talk with the astronaut (who, bythe way, has also seen a UFO), has obviously observed the landing of a spacecraft, and has beenabducted by its robot occupants. Or did he?The time has come to challenge this statement. I do not need the results of a lie-detector test toknow the witness is describing what he saw. But I don't buy the story that he saw a spacecraft fromanother planet.Challenging the Spacecraft TheoryThe study of UFOs is very much like American politics in one respect: there are only two partiesyou can join. In politics, you can be only a Democrat or a Republican. In ufology, either you are adebunker who doesn't believe in UFOs at all or you agree they are spacecraft from another planet.But are these necessarily the only two possibilities? If UFOs are real, is it obvious that they arespacecraft?For many years the best reports of unexplained sightings were of disks that appeared to be metallic,of large size, and capable of fantastic acceleration. They frequently disappeared by going straight upout of the witness's view, suggesting that they were going home to another planet. Their occupantswere wearing diving suits and walked awkwardly. The French press of 1954, for instance, was full