- Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
I just got done reading the book, Interstellar, a novel based on the screen play for the move by the same name (Note: as I write this, I have not yet seen the movie). The ideas are interesting. Although, I was not overly impressed with some aspects of the story, I was struck by one aspect - the need to expand beyond Earth in the relatively near future. I also recently read an article on space.com, in which Steven Hawking talks about his view that humanity must expand into space or face extinction. While that journey will likely take us to the planets first, ultimately, I believe that our destiny lies among the stars.
Another classic bit of literature I recently re-read was the story of The Day the Earth Stood Still. The story is a cautionary tale in which an alien named Klattu lands his flying saucer on the White house lawn and warns us.
"...if you threaten to extend your violence, this Earth of yours will be reduced to a burned-out cinder. Your choice is simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration...."While I doubt that a universe of Gort-robots is lurking out there, threatening to incinerate us, the concern is a valid one in real life. With humanity being in its currently warlike state, would the Cosmic Community, whoever is out there beyond our known world, allow us to travel to the stars? And if we did try to travel beyond the confines of our solar system, what would happen? Would we be greeted by a hostile welcoming committee? Perhaps, in the words of Klattu, "The penalty for provoking their action is too terrible to risk."
And yet, I suspect we are probably within a few hundred years (at most) from developing a working means of star travel. I recently received a copy of the book Frontiers of Propulsion Science, by Mark Millis and Eric Davis, two scientists at the forefront of advanced space travel concepts. The book offers detailed (very mathematical) treatments of possible ideas for star travel. The bottom line, travel to the stars could be feasible in the foreseeable future.
FTL (Faster Than Light) travel is not strictly prohibited by the theory of relativity, as has always been assumed in the physics world. There are ways around the Einstein barrier. The Alcubierre warp drive is one such concept. While a practical implementation of this is nowhere near feasible at the present time, it shows that at least in principle, the mathematics allows it. We can picture a hundred or so years of work by brilliant minds would produce solutions to the "impossibilities" of star travel.
So, if you were the Cosmic Civilization, observing an upstart, warlike race of beings on the verge of developing star travel, what would you do? Would you incinerate this threatening world? What if that upstart species offered something important to the universe? What if destroying them would be an incalculable loss? Perhaps, instead of destruction, you would do something else - somehow intervene to improve that race, force its evolution to the point where it would become acceptable - at least from your (the Cosmic Community's) point of view.
How would that intervention appear to those living on that developing world? Would they see a landing on the White House lawn? What impact would that have on this upstart world? According to the most experts, the effect of open high-level contact would likely be severe. So to avoid disrupting this developing species/civilization, you would probably keep your influence covert. You might allow yourself to be observed only in fleeting moments. To me, this is exactly how the UFO and CE4 phenomenon presents itself. It describes the human-visitor interaction in great detail.
I firmly believe that our human destiny is among the stars. And now, as physics advances, it seems increasingly likely star travel could become feasible far sooner than anyone had thought. World War 2 accelerated our technology in some areas - perhaps by several generations. Rocketry, nuclear technology and other areas of physics are just a few. Progress in all of these areas accelerated during that time period. In some areas, in only about five years we advanced by nearly a century. As a result, we are much closer to routine space flight and the scientific/technological breakthroughs needed for interstellar travel.
In The Cosmic Bridge, I discuss just such a possibility. And from the point of view of the Cosmic Community, this human-improvement project would suddenly take on new urgency. We would expect to see a tremendous acceleration of the UFO/CE4 phenomenon. The timetable is tight - to effect a fundamental change in the state of human civilization within a few hundred years. As a result, the interaction, while still covert, would have to be on a truly massive scale. Indeed, since World War 2, we have seen a tremendous increase in the number of reported UFO encounters. Perhaps this reflects that urgency.
If this picture is a valid model for the close encounter phenomenon, then what should we see in the next generation or so? Should we see some sort of change to the aggregate consciousness of humanity? Should we see a shift away from war? Should we see an advancement of human thought toward more harmonious living - peace within humanity and with the Earth, itself? And if so, what would the initial signs be?
So far, in the last few decades, I have not yet seen signs of a large-scale, fundamental movement away from war and toward harmony. At the time of this writing, several new wars have broken out, filling our evening news with a steady stream of violence and suffering. Political tensions are rising and environmental issues appear to be getting worse, not better. Yet perhaps the "improvement" influence is still below the surface, taking a greater period of time and manifesting in a more subtle way. If so, then perhaps we will not see any overt changes in the near future. Yet, as psychic/spiritual the changes reach a critical mass, I wonder if we will see a rapid shift in the aggregate human behavior, the aggregate world body-politic. Still, I'm not holding my breath.
As I see the effects (both positive and negative) the close encounter phenomenon has on the individual, its propagation down the family line, and the children of experiencer families, I can only conclude that "They" are up to something roughly akin to this "human-improvement" project. (Note: we again need to remember that this is an improvement from their point of view, not necessarily ours.) As I observe this, and at the same time I observe current world events, I can only wonder, will this "improvement" be completed in time? And what will "They" do if we develop interstellar travel and start spilling out into the galaxy before we are fully "improved"?
So, as we reach this critical crossroads, I have to ask the question - what should we expect to see next? And even more fundamentally - where is this all going?
