Close encounters with unidentified flying objects,
including some seen on the ground, and claims of contact with
"alien" beings, are among the most widely reported anomalous
phenomena in the world today. Thousands of sightings and contacts
are recorded each year. While less than ten percent are likely to be
truly anomalous, it is also likely that no more than ten percent of
all encounters are actually reported. They occur in all parts of the
world and often involve physical evidence such as photos and radar
tracks, electrical disruptions, human physiological effects and
marks on the ground.
The study of UFOs is hampered by alleged official ("government")
cover-up of known data. Without doubt, various agencies of the U.S.
government have taken far more interest in UFOs than they have been
willing to admit. Military encounters with UFOs, both in the U.S.
and abroad, have shown decisively that some UFOs easily out-perform
the best human aircraft and are also capable of inflicting lethal
damage with impunity.
In the forefront of current UFO research is the so-called
"abduction" phenomenon, in which humans claim to have been taken by
alien beings into unusual environments where quasi-medical
procedures are performed. Often these encounters have a
gynecological or reproductive focus. Some experiencers and
researchers believe abduction is aimed mainly at creating
alien-human hybid beings. Experiencers also say they are often
instructed regarding world problems and future predictions, usually
of disaster.
Alien encounters, even abductions, are not always unpleasant. In
fact, many abductees characterize their experiences as mostly
"neutral," with only a minority of instances being "negative" and an
equal or greater number being "positive." Furthermore, some
experiencers report encounters with truly benign, even spiritually
enthralling entities -- hardly differing from angelic encounter but
for the alien technological setting.
Such dichotomies arouse great controversy. On one extreme is the
claim that all abductions have positive intent and a negative
impression is simply human misunderstanding (the term "abduction"
itself is considered pejorative and misleading); while on the other
extreme is the claim that all encounters, however "benign," are the
work of evil and deceptive aliens, possibly even of Satanic origin.
Many experiencers report telepathic communication with aliens.
Some say the aliens can telepathically control human thought and
behavior. Others claim to be receiving, via "channeling," important
telepathic information from alien sources. A growing number of
contemporary books consist of nothing but "channeled alien
information."
The actual cause of such experiences remains unresolved. If
"alien" beings are involved, their origin and nature remains
unknown. The "Extraterrestrial Hypothesis" favored by some UFO
researchers is regarded by many others as insufficient to account
for the "high strangeness" of many reports.
Most astronomers and space scientists today agree on the high
probability of other intelligent life in the galaxy; but most do not
believe even very advanced beings can traverse interstellar space to
reach the earth. Hardcore skeptics dismiss claims of UFOs and aliens
as nothing but products of human error, delusion or outright lies
and hoaxes. But growing numbers of open-minded professionals concede
that something is really going on.
