The sighting in this video below was observed by thousands of people and forced the closure of 2 Chinese regional airports. It was the eighth that month. The government claimed it was a military test flight, but failed to explain their motive behind flying top secret experimental aircraft through populated civilian airspace.
I'll admit, I'm a bit of a conspiracy theorist. Not the sort that believes we staged the moon landing, but I do consider myself an independent thinker. Whether you're a skeptic or someone who sleeps with a cork and a roll of duct tape to prevent probing, there's no denying the fun in pondering a certain age-old question.
Is anybody out there?
The Facts
I'm with Stephen Hawking. I'd say he speaks for himself, but that's a little cruel. Playing his numbers game, I think it's hard to deny the existence of company. Scientists have already identified 544 extrasolar planets (with 1235 more awaiting confirmation), yet we've scanned only an infinitessimal portion of our surroundings. Solar systems, even those with rocky planets in the habitable zone, are not particularly rare. Based on mass and luminosity measurements, astronomers believe there are roughly 100 billion stars in our galaxy, and an equal number of galaxies in the universe. Counting the number of stars in the sky goes beyond billions, past trillions, and even further than quadrillions. Forget about quintillions too. There are at least 10 sextillian stars, and we've found an earth-like planet orbiting one that's just 20 light years away. On a galactic scale, it's so far under our nose we'd have to cross our eyes to see it. In my mind there is no way, none whatsoever, that we're totally and completely alone out here.
I know what you're saying. Even if life had somehow spawned elsewhere, who's to say it would be any smarter or more advanced than us? There's certainly the possibility that we're the best and brightest of what's out there, but I really, really doubt it. We made Jersey Shore for heaven's sake. Guidos and other microbial life aside, take a look at the universal time scale. Based on the date of the big bang, the universe is approximately 13.75 billion years old. Radiometric dating of meteorite material on earth has pegged its age at roughly 4.55 billion years. The first unicellular organism appeared about 3.7 billion years ago, and we presumably evolved from there. Imagine if somewhere along the way, over the course of planetary formation and evolution, an intelligent race developed .0001% earlier than us. A head start of one ten-thousandth of a percent, an incredibly minute and statistically insignificant deviation, would put them ahead of us 1,375 years. Where was mankind, darling of the universe, lord of everything, that long ago? Lost in the dark ages.
Look how far we've come since then, and imagine what our society would look like (and what technological capabilities it would possess) if we made it to year 3386. I'd contend that for us to make it that long, we'd have to have developed some sort of capability for interplanetary travel. Our resources just won't hold out.
But Ben, you say, no matter how advanced they may be, the vast void of space is just too large to traverse. That argument folded recently in the wake of new studies on gravity and special relativity in relation to string theory. Scientists proved in 2009 that Einstein was right: gravity does warp space, even on a galactic scale. This was proof of concept for anti-gravity research and the sci-fi style "warp drive" we're all so familiar with. Imagine being shrunk and asked to walk from one end of a piece of paper to the other. Wouldn't it be great if, instead of traipsing all the way from end to end, you could just fold the paper back on itself and hop across? Yep. If we can conceive it now, I'm sure we'll perfect it within the next 1,375 years.
The Implications
So E.T. has a reasonable chance of existing somewhere out there, and the possibility of him (her? it?) possessing vastly superior technology is not altogether inconceivable. Does that mean those flying saucers are out there? Are we being visited? I wouldn't be particularly surprised. The following are actual quotes:
"All Apollo and Gemini flights were followed, both at a distance and sometimes also quite closely, by space vehicles of extraterrestrial origin - flying saucers, or UFOs, if you want to call them by that name.
Every time it occurred, the astronauts informed Mission Control, who then ordered absolute silence."
Maurice Chatelain
Former Chief of NASA Communications Systems
"At no time, when the astronauts were in space were they alone: there was a constant surveillance by UFOs."
NASA Astronaut Scott Carpenter
Carpenter photographed a UFO while in orbit on May 24, 1962. NASA still has not released the photograph.
"Let there be no doubt. Alien technology harvested from the infamous saucer crash in Roswell, N.Mex., in July 1947 led directly to the development of the integrated circuit chip, laser and fibre optic technologies, particle beams, electromagnetic propulsion systems, depleted uranium projectiles, stealth capabilities, and many others.
How do I know? I was in charge!
I think the kids on this planet are wise to the truth, and I think we ought to give it to them. I think they deserve it."
Colonel Philip Corso
Former Head of Foreign Technology at the U.S. Army's Research and Development Department at the Pentagon. Four years Director of Intelligence on President Eisenhower's White House National Security Staff
"We must insist upon full access to discs recovered. In the LA case the Army grabbed it and would not let us have it for cursory examination."
J Edgar Hoover
Former Director of the FBI
"Extraterrestrial contact is a real phenomenon. The Vatican is receiving much information about extraterrestrials and their contacts with humans from its Nuncios (embassies) in various countries, such as Mexico, Chile and Venezuela."
Monsignor Corrado Balducci
Vatican theologian insider close to the Pope. Monsignor Balducci is on a Vatican commission looking into extraterrestrial encounters, and how to cope with the emerging general realization of extraterrestrial contact.
I'm sure there are plenty of storytellers out there looking for a way to rise from obscurity and cash in on 15 minutes of fame. But these are all esteemed and high ranking officials who stand to gain nothing but a tarnished reputation by mentioning this sensitive subject. So let's suppose they're right. Why the coverup? Why haven't little grey people with big heads and glassy eyes landed on the White House lawn and flashed a peace sign?
The answer to the first question is fairly obvious. Proof of extraterrestrials would shake society at its core. The economic impact would be staggering. The risk of invasion and the uncertainty of their intentions would cause financial markets to crumble. Some contingent of the population would inevitably believe that doomsday had arrived and react with the associated stupidity. World religions would have a lot of explaining to do. The knowledge of "others" would fundamentally alter society, for better or worse, forever. Some sort of rough adjustment period is assured, and this is one cat we can't wrestle back into the bag if we're displeased with its behavior. The government figures, and I really can see their point, that there are some things we're just better off not knowing.
In response to the second, only in the past few years have we become capable of interacting in an interplanetary community. If a meet and greet committee presented themselves to welcome us into the galactic federation, country boundaries would have significantly less meaning. We'd have to make decisions uniformly, at a planetary level. Good luck to us in that regard. Political nightmare aside, the technology for us to instantaneously communicate globally has only been around a few years. Can you imagine trying to organize a global summit through international telephone lines? Or even worse, commuting by horseback? This is the first time in human history that we're capable of meeting and drafting planetary resolutions with sufficient efficiency.
A final thought- Check out this article. It's the most compelling evidence I've read that something is afoot, primarily because it makes complete sense within the context of an interplanetary introduction. I have trouble believing the reports of intellectually superior beings stealing us from our beds or putting microscopic transmitters in our bodies, but I can definitely see why they would want to find a way to neutralize our nuclear assets while they make themselves known. Even if docile, they can't be certain how we'll react to their arrival, and nuclear weapons are by far their biggest threat if we opt to militarize.
My Take
My gut feeling is that they're out there, are visiting us, and have been for some time (this website is a little chinsy but certainly interesting). I know it sounds ridiculous, but hear me out. Imagine if they could traverse space simply by "folding the paper." That would change everything, and I think they can. Scientists have already made a mouse levitate by creating an artificial gravitational field using diamagnetism. The major hindrance in its development for largescale use is the immense power it requires (the mouse levitator used 6 MW of power, equivalent to the output of two industrial sized wind turbines). I think a more advanced race would have a way around that one too. Antimatter is real, and its annihilation results in a pure matter to energy conversion. Extreme refinement of an antimatter generator would allow for a compact device installable in even a Hyundai-class spaceship. This may sound hairbrained, but recall that Colonel Corso's quote explicitly mentions particle beams and electromagnetic propulsion systems as technology we "borrowed" from the Roswell saucer. Quite a convenient coincidence. But if they can get here, and indeed are, why haven't they invaded us for our resources like Stephen Hawking said they would? Well, I have an idea. We're discovering that earth-like planets are actually relatively common, but what if they're really common? You wouldn't rob your neighbor's pantry when there are 4 free all-you-can-eat buffets within half a block. Why go to the extra trouble of wiping out an indigenous population? I think James Cameron is on my team, that idea didn't work out too well for humanity in Avatar. I'd imagine they're curious about us and are keeping a watchful eye as we pass technological milestones, but I think they have little interest in our daily affairs and would prefer not to interfere. Some alien middle manager probably lost his (her? its?) job over the Roswell crash.
I hope definitive proof will come sometime over the course of my lifetime, and I think it's more a possibility now than ever. Phone video technology is continually improving and may be soon be good enough to zoom into those spontaneous UFO sightings in HD quality. Instantaneous communication could have 100,000 people tweeting about a mass sighting like this one. Maybe someone in the know, and with proof to back it up, makes their way to Wikileaks. Or maybe, on an otherwise perfectly normal day, we're deemed ready to join some intergalactic community and are ferried hand-in-(hand?) to the stars. I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm looking forward to whatever it is.
