UAPs

One of the weirdest developments over the past few years has been the normalization of talk on UFOs. In 2019, videos were leaked of US Navy personnel observing the flight patterns of unidentified flying objects. They moved at impossible speeds against strong wind with no discernible source of propulsion, and in one case submerged into water. In 2020, a statement was released that neither confirmed or denied the legitimacy of the leaked footage but acknowledged their "veracity". In 2021 they confirmed that these videos were taken by the Navy.

In 2020 the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force (UAPTF) was established, and in 2021 a report was released on information collected on these and similar sightings. In addition to the odd qualities seen in the videos I've mentioned, these objects have been known to occasionally emit radio signals, hover in place, demonstrate maneuverability that can't be replicated, break the sound barrier without creating a sonic boom, and stalk US aircraft. The final verdict was that it cannot be confirmed whether or not the origins of any of these objects are extraterrestrial.

I'll be honest. I'm a believer. I believe in big-headed stocky grey-bodied people in flying saucers who have not only visited Earth, but visit regularly. I don't require that you believe what I do, it makes no difference to me. But it's funny how different people can interpret stuff like this report. When I was visiting Guelph one time I brought it up, and Mom (who is not a believer) said "Oh, I saw that. I almost wanted to call and tell you, but I didn't want to sound like I was bragging" I was like "What do you mean?", she said "They can't confirm it's aliens" and I was like "They also can't confirm it's not!"

Of course most UFO sightings are the product of hoaxes, misperceptions, mental instability, tall tales and lucid dreaming. Believers often point to the infinite possibilities that the universe provides, which skeptics sometimes concede to, while maintaining their position that even if there are aliens out there, they likely haven't visited us, and they're probably in the form of algae or moss or something.

To the credit of skeptics, this idea that because the universe is potentially infinite, it provides infinite possibilities leading to inevitable contact, is kind of flawed. Even if there are millions of planets with intelligent life forms, there is no guarantee that any planet has enough resources to make it far enough to meet its closest neighbours. After all, it's easy to forget that even something as unnatural-seeming as a computer chip or a Kraft single fundamentally come from resources found on our planet Earth. If we don't have the specific resources, or have it in the quantity we need, this assumption of unending advancement is kind of weird.

And the vastness of space is such an incredible hurdle. It's impossible to comprehend exactly how much space is in space. You can fit every planet in our solar system between the Earth and the moon! And they're comparably right next to each other!

But because of historical and cross-cultural consistency, as well as some of these new developments, I believe it is more likely than not that some entity has tapped into a situation in which they are able to, and do visit us.

The UAPTF is not the first instance of government funded research on this topic. The Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program ran in secret between 2007 and 2012, and similar operations have run under the names Project Sign, Project Grudge, and Project Blue Book.

Until recently, governments have preferred to keep their research into such matters private, so the public development of the UAPTF and 2021 report are notable. The slow rollout of information since 2019 with sparing commentary and the rebranding from Unidentified Flying Object (UFO), to the less stigmatized Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP), feels like an attempt to normalize these sightings. Why are we being encouraged to talk about it now, especially when it's been discouraged for so long?

Former Israeli Space Security Chief Haim Eshed has said straight-up that extraterrestrials exist, that there's a Galactic Federation, and that there is a base on Mars with both human and alien representatives. This came out in 2020 (weird year). He said that deals have been made between extraterrestrials and the US Government, and that information has been limited so as to avoid mass hysteria. He said that they're waiting for us to be ready to be aware of them, and that he's become more outspoken recently because people have become more open. That's a bit much even for me... Honestly, the only reason that this got traction is because of the guy's resume. 

I'll share the one story I have of some people I know who claim to have had an encounter. They were out at a cottage, on a lake. One guy was trying out a flashlight, and as he shone it back and forth, he impulsively decided to point it up. Above them was a flying saucer. Hovering, making no sound, showing no lights. They all saw it. And then, noiselessly, it just moved up, up, up, and out of their field of vision. No idea if this story is true, but the way he emphasized "You'd think there'd be lights, everyone talks about lights" seemed like one of those weird little details that stick with you when you get surprised by something.

Honestly, the alien thing isn't really that intimidating to me. If they're here, it seems like they've been around for awhile and have left us relatively undisturbed. Egyptian hieroglyphs depict advanced aircraft that they wouldn't have had access to, and the Nazca Lines in Peru seemed to be made for viewing from the sky. Both of those sources depict some weird looking humanoids, too.

The idea of the US having developed technology to this level in secret, so that lower government branches aren't even aware, is its own brand of terrifying. I heard an official state he was concerned that the US might have been "leapfrogged" in technology by another country, although its' been stated that the technology observed in these sightings is beyond what is known to exist on this planet. I don't necessarily trust humans to be more responsible with that technology than the hypothetical aliens.

If the government is just straight-up lying... That's also terrifying.

If it's natural phenomenon, it runs contrary to what we understand about physics. All the non-alien theories are still fascinating. 

I guess the most mundane theories surround camera glitches and incidental optical illusions. Still, we're talking technology and analysts from some of the best this planet has to offer, it's hard to write it all off to tech problems and human error.

If I had to guess, I'd say that we're kind of like a nature preserve. We're being monitored by an advanced species, likely simply for the purpose of study. Maybe we're considered an evolving or developing species and they're not supposed to interact with us because it could result in us being domesticated. Something went wrong in Egypt and they learned from it, maybe. Or perhaps it's for a larger ecological reason to do with solar systems that we can't understand yet. Stories of people being abducted, probed, and replanted back on Earth sound kind of like when we tag an animal and release it back into the wild for observation. 

Of course, there's always the possibility that their purposes are simply beyond our comprehension, being more evolved. After all, us humans are unable to convey information even to animals that are exceptionally compatible with us, such as cats and dogs, or even to some of the cleverest, such as chimps, parrots, and dolphins (honourable mention to octopi and elephants). Why do we assume that we are equipped to process information from any potential species, even if we learn to interact with them?

Maybe they come from the Lost City of Atlantis, or maybe they're a kind of mer-people. After all, these crafts have demonstrated an ability to maneuver through water as well as air. Maybe they are aliens, and they have a base beneath the ocean. After all, we've only discovered like, 5% of it. Good place to hide out. Saves a trip to Mars.

Maybe these are time travelers, and the big-headed stocky grey guys are just evolved humans. The unathletic bodies could be from a continued sedentary lifestyle through advances in technology, and the big heads could be from brain growth through evolution.

Maybe the squat grey bodies are robotic. After all, we can do so much remotely with our own technology, would an advanced species feel the need to send traditional explorers? Maybe they're organic but artificial. Maybe they're made to look like humans so that they'll seem approachable to us, but they missed the mark like when we try to create convincing robotic animals but they can't quite convince the species they're built to mimic. That would mean the original creators of the bodies would likely look much different from us. Maybe it's all the product of an autonomous AI.

At any rate, I can't explain it but it's all very weird, and I feel like it's going to get weirder sooner rather than later.