National Institute for Discovery Science Essay Competition: Strategies for Collecting Evidence of Intelligent Extra-Terrestrial Activity

Strategies for Collecting Evidence of Intelligent Extra-Terrestrial Activity

Author's name withheld on request.
The author is a Ph.D. physicist at a U.S. government laboratory, Maryland, USA.

This essay deals with the question of collecting evidence of extra-terrestrial intelligence (ETI) activity on Earth and to a lesser extent in the solar system. After first developing some assumptions to both limit and clarify the problem, we construct a simple method for evaluating the quality and effectiveness of evidence. Possible ETI motivations are considered next as they will largely determine what sorts of evidence will be produced. We then develop broad strategies for pursuing evidence of ETI activity.

This essay represents the casual thoughts of a relative outsider rather than the culmination of a serious research effort by an ETI expert. It is assumed that ETIs have recently or for the last several centuries been visiting our planet and we desire to amass convincing evidence of ETI activities. Before considering any particular evidence, it is imperative that a good working model of ETI activity be developed although this essay will focus on evidence gathering rather than model building. A reasonable understanding of the overall ETI activity picture provides the only means by which one can begin to extract the real, useful evidence and data from the morass of speculation, misinterpretation and possibly rampant government misinformation. We first consider the question of why ETIs would want to visit us since their particular activities will largely determine the sorts of evidence that are produced. We then try to anticipate what evidence would accumulate as the ETI carried out various hypothetical projects. The usefulness or persuasiveness of evidence will be rated on a scale of one to four for general convenience. Evidence for ETI presence/landings will be characterized as either general (e.g. saucer sightings) or specific if tied to a particular project or task that the ETI is pursuing on Earth (e.g. cattle mutilations). A plan for gathering and evaluating more evidence will then be developed.

Level I Conclusive – doubt limited only to those who still believe that the Earth is flat (e.g. UFO lands on White House lawn, ETI holds press conference, etc.).

Level II Highly Suggestive – sufficient to command tentative belief by most reasonable, open-minded people (e.g. mass credible witnesses viewing a landing or a close-up sighting of an ETI vehicle making "impossible" maneuvers with radar confirmation, good pictures of ETIs or their machines, etc.).

Level III Suggestive – sufficient for most people to conclude that further serious study may be justified (e.g. UFO sightings by credible witnesses, some abduction reports, unexplainable animal mutilations, etc.).

Level IV Interesting but unscientific – only useful when providing clues or guidance to higher level evidence (e.g. remote viewing, channeled information, many abduction reports, etc.) or when helping to construct a better general picture of ETI activities and motivations.

Since men are generally curious about foreign or alien cultures – including animal societies, it is logical to assume that foreign or alien cultures may share a similar curiosity and amuse themselves by gathering information on us. When we study animal societies, we often try to observe from afar – without being seen or disrupting the society under study. More recently, we have begun to attempt rudimentary communication with several species under study – such as dolphins and chimpanzees. Given the huge amount of readily accessible written and recorded history, literature, political science, psychology, etc., it may not be necessary for ETIs to physically or directly interrogate us unless correlating body language with responses was deemed important and judged to be incomplete in our published and recorded literature. The study of humans does not require overt contact and in fact, such contact may even contaminate an otherwise "pure" study of Earth cultures and behaviors. An ETI with this motivation might not only avoid contact but also work to ensure that no evidence of its visits would remain.

Science Fiction writers have long speculated on how humans would taste to a meat hungry race of carnivorous aliens. Although this may have been a consideration in centuries past, it is not now possible to remove a significant number of people from even remote villages without attracting notice.

A similar but stranger possibility is voiced by Bob Monroe in his books on his out-of-body experiences. He describes humans as designed to transmute certain types of subtle, esoteric energy into forms more useful to "higher" beings. Presumably, if we increase our awareness of and sensitivity to these types of energy, we may begin to uncover more of the situation. Since the interactions occur on "other planes and dimensions," they are beyond the scope of this essay and it is not likely that such visits would result in the kinds of physical evidence needed to sway public opinion on ETI presence.

One assumes that our planet is rich in natural resources of interest to space faring ETIs. Consequently, one could expect ETI visits for mining or gathering operations. Consider three possibilities: 1) If the ETIs don’t care what we think, they would probably engage in large scale strip mining to expose and exploit minerals of interest. If the output of terrestrial mining operations could be tracked and accounted for, then this would represent a dead end. However, if substantial resources seem to disappear, then one may have stumbled onto illegal, classified, or least likely, alien operations. 2) If the ETIs wish to avoid public disclosure and discussion, they could work covertly in "abandoned" mines and through undersea operations, 3) ETIs could bribe, control or otherwise manipulate business and public leaders to support ETI operations out of the public eye. Although straight bribery is unlikely, the possibilities of advanced mind control are at least open-ended. Unless mining operations are confined to small amounts of rare elements, the removal of large amounts of ore would require a significant amount of ETI vehicle traffic – given our preliminary assumptions.

Interest in resource exploitation may also include Earth’s biological resources. Evidence would center on missing or strangely mutilated plants, animals and people. Because of the data collected by Linda Moulton Howe and documented in her classic "An Alien Harvest," we will revisit this point in more detail. Abductees have piqued some public interest with stories of forced biological experiments on humans, but this has not swayed the scientific community. Abductee experiences are most probably useful only when they help to clarify the larger picture of ETI activity or when they help to point to stronger physical evidence. Several genre writers maintain that ETIs are conducting a human/alien breeding program to produce hybrids for diverse purposes. Evidence of the existence of such a facility would certainly convince most people of the reality of ETI activity.

There is speculation that our evolution has been/is being guided by some advanced beings/forces for unknown (but hopefully benevolent) purposes. If one assumes that such ETIs visit periodically, one should see jumps or changes in our social, biological, or scientific development. Evidence would include clear signs that human beings are evolving significantly faster than Darwinian random selection can account for. If the ETI presence is continuous, they must have a base or residence. The discovery of such a base could provide level I/II evidence.

We cannot avoid evaluating ETIs in terms of ourselves and things familiar to us – our cultural references. As Western civilization began to dominate the planet, it actively proselytized native cultures to ensure their belief in the properly accepted Western religions and customs. ETI activity in this area could be either overt (perhaps some of the wilder religious missionaries really are from another planet!) or more subtle – the introduction of an idea here and there to shift public opinion on topics like ecology, racial and sexual equality, abortion, capital punishment, etc. This is highly unlikely as a primary motivation for ETI visitation although it could constitute a subactivity under the above "benevolent guidance."

Throughout recorded history, men have built zoos and described adventure-seeking journeys to foreign and exotic lands. Perhaps the paranoids are right in that "someone" is watching us or we’re all on The Truman Show. However, if Earth has become a galactic tourist stop or party central, it is not at all obvious what sorts of evidence would result other than the ETI equivalent of beer bottles and the sighting of an occasional tourist saucer as it comes or goes. One can amuse oneself with the idea of intoxicated ETIs creating crop circles, but in general, this does not appear to be a fruitful area for seeking high level evidence of ETI activity.

An ETI presence may have nothing to do with humans but may be focused on some other species such as dolphins, whales, yetis, etc. We don’t know much about ourselves (especially in areas such as consciousness, mental development, etc.) – let alone other Earth species. If there were an obvious reason for an ETI to visit another species, we would probably not be aware of it.

Conquest and subjugation by direct force represents an unlikely ETI motivation unless one opines a scenario such as our society is being nudged into a critical dependence on technology that could then be easily removed for rapid conquest by a relatively small force of ETIs. Economic control (to facilitate later exploitation) may be more important than military and could be achieved by pushing the merger of large international companies until only a small, easily controlled handful dominated the entire world market place. However, why wait until we have nearly destroyed the planet before moving in? This provides great grist for cheap novels and B movies but there is not a demonstrably serious ETI threat to the planet.

Suggestive evidence includes antiquarian drawings and paintings that depict recognizable machines that could not have existed during the general period when the drawings were completed. The best that can be hoped for from these paintings is guidance towards accumulation of stronger evidence. As an example, ancient references might lead researchers to an ETI crash site providing a bonanza of level I/II evidence.

Biblical and old literature includes references that can be interpreted as ETI visitations [e.g. see the web pages of "Blue Resonant Human" and the books of Zechariah Sitchin]. The best that can be hoped for from these writings is guidance towards accumulation of stronger evidence.

Astronomers have been studying the skies since before recorded history and have been taking photographs for over 100 years. They could possibly track and record spacecraft maneuvers and provide level II/III evidence. Although observatories are generally silent on or critical of ETI related topics, Jacques Vallee reports seeing UFO data destroyed rather than being publicly released. This is, at best, a dull place to search for evidence of ETI activity although conspiracy theorists will enjoy building on Dr. Vallee’s comments.

As a credible government agency, NASA information is generally regarded as reliable. If NASA could show clear pictures of structures, spacecraft or machines on Mars or on the Moon from several angles, it would constitute level II evidence for locally active ETI. Fuzzier pictures supported by astronaut commentary would also constitute Level II evidence. Pictures and/or discussions of distant, unresolvable, strangely behaving objects seen from orbit (Skylab) or other spacecraft would fall into level III. Many rumors surround the breadth and quality of information supposedly gathered and held by NASA. The space agency remains an intriguing potential source of UFO/ETI data. The Soviet space agency is also teeming with similar rumors although both the U.S. and Russians officially deny that any astronauts have encountered any ETIs or ETI artifacts.

We have become so overloaded with such reports that they now barely count as level III evidence when it comes to influencing general public opinion. However, serious investigators should continue to seek out these reports with special effort focused on clues that may lie buried in the sightings. Commercial pilots and radar perators spend a lot of time looking at the sky and if something is actively flying around in our airspace, they have probably seen it.

UFO skeptics have so thoroughly trashed the use of hypnosis to extract experiences from alleged abductees that the scientific and general publics will not consider the information as significant proof of anything. Abduction stories are only helpful if they point towards sources of higher level evidence. Of more interest are the physical scars and inserts sported by alleged victims of ETI abduction. These include strange scars and body markings as well as the implantation of physical devices into a wide range of body cavities. One would like to show that implants are of extraterrestrial origin or have been planted into places where current medicine cannot reach – short of major surgery. Properly recovered and exploited devices could provide level II evidence.

The significance of any findings clearly depends on the quality of the debris or the oddity of the marks left behind. As with a crime scene, careful cataloging, investigation, and analysis are critical to maximizing the usefulness of any findings. Truly interesting objects or markings could provide level II or III evidence.

During the last thirty years (and possibly much longer), there has been a continuing series of seemingly high-tech animal mutilations across the US, Canada, Latin America and parts of Europe. If it can be shown that the "surgical" techniques used are/were truly beyond current medicine and if one can definitively eliminate the usual mundane perpetrators such as wolves, satanic cults, etc., these anomalous mutilations may be an excellent source of level II evidence. This area will be developed more fully in Part II.

Several books [e.g. Jim Schnabel, Courtney Brown] discuss use of remote viewing techniques as a means of collecting information on ETI activities on Earth and in the solar system. The public in general and the scientific community in particular remain unconvinced of the validity or usefulness of remote viewing. The "evidence" is level IV at best until such time as they are able to provide truly interesting information that can be substantiated.

These exasperatingly mysterious designs continue to defy explanation in ordinary terms, and have not yet provided any useful insight into ETI activities and goals. This is clearly an area where increased scientific study could help to separate possibly useful information from time-wasting hoaxes.

The UFO literature cites many examples of level II and III evidence "disappearing" into the bowels of the pentagon. Astronaut Gordon Cooper claims [UFO magazine Vol. 11, No. 4, 1966] to have filmed a saucer-shaped UFO while conducting test flights in the Mojave dry lake bed in 1957. He says "The object hovered for a time, and then stuck out three landing gears and set down about 50 yards away from a camera crew on the same dry lake bed where the space shuttle now lands." The event was filmed by three photographers using three different cameras and three different types of film. Cooper continues "I looked up the particular regulation related to Unidentified Flying Objects and called the number involved" which he believed was that of USAF Headquarters. "I’m talking to a Colonel. He had already made arrangements to have the base commander’s airplane standing by to take a pouch and carry the film to Washington. He specifically said, ‘do not run any copies’ … which I did not. So, when the film came back, the courier was there shortly thereafter." About an hour after the encounter, Cooper viewed two of the three reels of film just before it was jetted to Washington. The films showed the craft resting on three landing gears and then lifting off. Cooper never found out what happened to the film and reported the incident to Project Blue book officials many years later although he received no response from them. Cooper also noted that he was never given any orders or pressured to keep quiet about the matter.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, several formerly classified UFO-related documents have been released to the public (presumably classified, that is – many levels of deliberate misinformation always remain a possibility). Although there are many possible reasons for the government to manipulate UFO/ETI information, the most obvious is that they are hiding something — besides experimental aircraft. It is difficult to imagine the existence of significant ETI activity without government awareness and cooperation – either forced or willing. This area will be developed more fully in Part II.

Reports of ETI activities are not limited to the US or to any other single country. Many other countries have been identified (in the UFO literature) as collectors of ETI evidence and information. Control of such information necessitates international cooperation on a scale that seems implausible in light of the many current ars and other international hostilities. The larger the "in" crowd, the easier it should be to uncover systemic weaknesses and ferret out the truth. Some suggestions will be developed in Part II.

Significant U.S. government and especially international government participation in ETI activities would require that a substantial number of people have some idea of what is transpiring. Many people speculate that large numbers of people could not keep secrets of such magnitude for long periods of time without special help from something like workable, possibly hypnotic, mind control. If one knew how to detect evidence of attempted or successful mind control, it might easily lead to a better understanding of other pieces of the ETI puzzle. However, experience shows that the government is actually quite good at keeping secrets.

The above assumptions provided many possible motivations for ETI activity on Earth. The most probable center on ETI study of and possibly benevolent guidance of humans (conceivably a David Brin style Uplift). Unfortunately, an ETI intent on studying humans will likely go to great lengths to avoid leaving any evidence of ETI involvement. This would normally imply that our only contact with the ETI would be chance encounters with their spacecraft. However, several anomalies exist: 1) there are numerous cases of animal mutilation for which ETI activity is at least as plausible as other possible explanations, 2) many people claim to remember being abducted by ETIs – with memories aided by hypnosis, 3) crop circle formations continue to defy non-ETI explanations, and 4) world governments appear to be collecting and hiding information of ETI activities.

World governments in general and the US government in particular, may be cooperating with ETIs and assisting with cover-up operations. This provides us with two general areas in which to search for evidence of ETI activity: direct ETI operations and the more indirect investigation of governmental ETI-related operations.

In lieu of an overt landing with attendant press conference, bodies/body parts and physical devices of non-Earth origin would provide the most convincing level I/II evidence of local ETI activity. Photographs, video footage, abductee scarring, animal mutilation, and environmental damage at alleged landing sites will generally be less convincing to the public and more skeptical elements of the scientific community.

The most intriguing area for conjecture and action lies in the evaluation of the U.S. and world government policy towards ETI activity. What do they know? What is the core policy? Who determines core policy? What is the basis for this policy? How do they collect and protect information and possibly materiel? Where do they keep it? ow are operations funded? Who has access? Why? If the US could not keep the H-bomb a secret from its (then) most feared adversary for 5 months, how could the US keep UFO/ETI secrets for 50+ years (assuming the cover-up goes back to at least the Roswell incident)? Since the US government is a likely repository of any existing level I/II evidence, the above questions require serious attention.

Although no private enterprise can command only a tiny fraction of the resources of the US government, one can construct simple, higher-risk strategies for directly seeking out evidence of ETI activity (as opposed to concentrating solely on a search for the government’s alleged hidden caches). Three strategies are proposed: 1) investigation of alleged landing/activity sites, 2) monitoring of regions with high probability of ETI activity, and 3) development of models to determine (from available clues) actual motivations for ETI activity and where the ETIs are likely to appear. Separate strategies will be constructed for attempting to deal with the US and world governments.

There is no substitute for arriving first to the scene with the proper experts for evaluating the landing activity. This requires a team in place and ready to go on short notice and actually becomes practical under some limited conditions. Prediction of landing/activity sites is essential. Since more than one ETI may be active, one should try to focus on the activities of one ETI at a time. The best example is animal mutilations, which demonstrates many common features from site to site. One may then assume that animal mutilations are the work of a particular ETI and that by concentrating on just animal mutilations (rather than sightings in general), one dramatically increases the chance of observing any pattern that might exist in the activity sites. If one area repeatedly hosts events such as animal mutilations or UFO landings, it may be possible to buy or lease it, set up regular patrols or activity warning monitors and be ready to move.

One should also consider use of speculative prediction techniques such as remote viewing. Care should be taken to try to retain people with reasonable (or as reasonable as possible given the subject) performance credentials. These efforts should be conducted on a contingency fee basis. That is, no fee should be paid if the predictions don’t pan out. Additionally, the fee should be decremented by 10 or 15% for each false positive in order to reduce the advantages of simply guessing. This approach allows investigators to test some of the more speculative prediction techniques while minimizing waste of financial resources.

If the above models and predictions indicate a sufficiently strong chance that ETI activity will appear in a sufficiently restricted locale, a response team should be assembled. If one further assumes that the target site has been leased or purchased, preparations should include the following:

One does not always know exactly when an ETI will visit or have the luxury of preparing an area for an ETI visit. A response team should endeavor to mobilize as many of the above "preparations" as possible and, of course, be ready to complete the landing site evaluation items listed above.

Minimally, one assumes that the US government is collecting and storing or destroying ETI evidence. More boldly, one assumes that the US government has established dialogue and at least an informal working relationship with at least one ETI. Much more boldly, one assumes that the US government and many other nations have a significant formal working relationship with one or more ETIs and that the entire process including cover up activities is directed and controlled by the ETIs. The only way to keep from getting lost in the myriad possibilities is to construct a series of models and like a giant jig saw puzzle, try to put the pieces in place while maintaining vigilance against the gamut of misinformation possibilities. The first goal of the models should be to uncover why the government is hiding evidence of ETI activity, then other government actions can be much more easily anticipated.

The most nonsensical policy attributed to the government centers on claims that UFOs are experimental aircraft from simple "black" research programs. This only becomes interesting when one adds the assumption that the research is partially or primarily based on ETI technology gleaned from alleged crash sites or that he research is being conducted under some sort of partnership with an ETI.

Slightly more believable is the notion that the government doesn’t have a clue what is going on and is afraid to admit it for fear of embarrassment or causing widespread panic across the nation. Superficially, this would not seem to provide sufficient justification for the intensity and extent of the current cover-up.

At the next level of believability, the government knows quite a bit about ETI activities and wishes to control that information so that it can exploit the knowledge, or it possesses legitimate reasons for fearing disastrous public response. At this level, one should find government involvement in the exploitation of knowledge from observations of ETI devices or possibly actual devices.

Finally, one may assume that the government is in cahoots with one or more ETIs who are helping the government to maintain an information blackout while pursuing their own agenda(s). These could include anything from the typical X-Files exploitations to benevolent but not ready for prime time guidance.

The situation is (perhaps by external design) quite complicated. Each set of scenarios must be followed separately (despite seeming contradictions) while maintaining an ever-vigilant watch for misinformation. As we shall see, serious study of alleged government-ETI affairs requires serious resources and serious organization.

It is easy to assume that the US government is behind all ETI cover-up activities. However, the government may only be an arm of a larger controlling organization and our elected officials and their principal appointees may be pawns rather than kings in the ETI response business. The need for a larger pan-governmental authority becomes more obvious when international questions are included in the larger overall picture. For the moment, it does no harm to continue referring to the government as if it were the ultimate controlling authority for information on interaction with ETIs.

The classic place to search for ETI vehicles and activity is Area 51 in the Nevada desert. The Air force more or less acknowledges that it executes "black" projects and builds experimental aircraft in the vicinity. There are several ways to gather information about such a secret base and its workings – all of which should be presumed to be standard espionage tools that our (Earthly) adversaries already have in place.

A variety of Russian satellite photographs is openly available. They would provide a good baseline for general activity and would certainly prove useful in constructing a model of base projects and operations – especially if a continuous series were to be obtained. However, if one assumes an international conspiracy to repress ETI evidence, the Russians would certainly be included. It would then be highly unlikely that any direct evidence would appear on any photographs – although misinformation would be an increasing concern.

The differences between ETI vehicles and craft that we are likely to have under development center on acceleration, speed, and maneuverability. Breakthroughs are possible but some are less likely than others. Look for:

These performance parameters would generally appear on local microwave and infrared radar screens. Since Area 51 personnel are unlikely to allow access to their base radars, a bi-static approach should be studied in which one uses their transmitter(s) to illuminate the targets but provides separate (passive) receivers and processors to reconstruct the radar images. This requires some knowledge of and synchronizing with base radars but should provide good information and would be difficult to detect. This same technique could be used to gather information on other critical air spaces of interest. It would also be possible to construct a small active radar in one of the amateur radio bands although one might have to do a little dancing around some of the regulations. The active system suffers the disadvantage of being easy to detect although it could be quite useful if one knew when to turn it on.

Infrared detectors and cameras should also prove useful in recording flight characteristics of interesting aircraft. The resolution and imaging capability are dramatically increased if the target is illuminated with a friendly wavelength laser. Like the bi-static radar, the laser illuminator need not be located anywhere near the detectors. Some considerations are:

Normal security forces continually remind workers that they should not speak secret thoughts on unsecured lines. However, people frequently bend the rules – especially at the higher, more interesting ranks. It would be reasonably easy and possibly helpful to monitor as many communications as possible in areas of interest.

Although distant surveillance of sites like Area 51 is unlikely to yield level I/II evidence, any observations that capture truly unusual craft may add to a better understanding of the overall picture.

The primary purpose of this effort is to gain a better understanding of any government role in dealing with or hiding ETI activities. The most obvious sign of a government cover-up of ETI activity is the control of information. When critical information comes in, someone must recognize it and then route it to the appropriate black hole so that it disappears without a trace and is never seen again. This was certainly the case with the previously described report of Gordon Cooper. If information is to be controlled, there must exist a planned pipeline to connect the myriad entry points with the central processing/control elements. Reports from military observers, commercial pilots and radar operators, law enforcement agencies, NASA, observatories, and foreign countries must all find their way into and along the pipeline. Although this information flow structure represents a good target for analysis and possibly penetration, one must remember that if it exists, it will necessarily have been designed to thwart discovery and penetration – possibly even for good reasons.

The openings to the information pipeline will most probably represent the weakest "security" point of the system. Potential node analysis should anticipate scenarios similar to that followed by Cooper. That is, what are the real instructions given to those likely to encounter ETI activity (Air Force pilots or air traffic controllers) or likely to handle such a report (local law enforcement officers)? The same questions (re reporting instructions) should be posed to commercial pilots and radar operators, naval officers, NASA astronauts and communications crews, observatories, and anyone else who might be connected to the information pipeline. The next step is to identify actual organizations (or their covers) and actual people known to have handled "disappeared" information. Organizational missions, budgets, and deliverables can then be evaluated for consistency. Similarly, people can be tracked to determine their specific products, their backgrounds, and how they might fit into the information flow system or any of the covers under which it will try to operate. Of course, any effort to penetrate government secrecy will probably be met with a counter effort to penetrate the investigating organization and inject false and misleading information!

In this section, one assumes that many people would be willing to discuss items concerning ETI activities or the government handling of ETI information if only someone would ask the right questions of the right people. Procedurally, someone should be commissioned to write a book and use it to justify sending out letters of inquiry to retired pilots (civilian and military), radar operators (military and civilian), law enforcement officers, NASA workers, and anyone else who might have trafficked in information on ETI activities. Retirees should be targeted because they will feel less threatened by any real or imaginary pressures and inhibitions that may have surrounded their previous work environments. The books, movies, TV shows, and general interest in the Roswell Incident can be traced to Jesse Marcel Jr.’s response to hearing UFO researcher Stanton Friedman speaking on a local radio talk show.

One should also target specific highly placed individuals in the government and scientific community who may be sympathetic to the investigation. Several presidents have expressed interest in ETI activities including Reagan and Carter who both filled out formal UFO reports and more recently Bill Clinton. Writing in his memoirs entitled "Friends in High Places", Webb Hubbell quotes Clinton as saying "If I put you over at Justice I want you to find the answers to two questions for me, One, who killed JFK, and two, are there UFOs?" Hubbell reports that Clinton was dead serious so he looked into both questions but was never satisfied with the answers. A good investigative reporter with proper tact and decorum should be able to determine who in recent administrations (Congress, White House, Justice, FBI, etc.) was interested in ETI activities and how far they got in their inquiries. Officials should be encouraged to describe not only what they learned but also efforts that bore no obvious fruit. The big overall picture must include everything.

Formal leaks such as the MJ-12 documents may represent either a bonanza or spectacular coup for the soldiers of misinformation. One must neither ignore nor put too much credence clues that seemingly appear from nowhere.

ETI have declined to hold press conferences on the White House lawn. Therefore, the next best evidence for elucidating their existence and activities is exploitation of ETI spacecraft – presumably crashed, although broken and abandoned is at least a theoretical possibility. ETI crashes fall into three categories: 1) new and not yet investigated, 2) recent or old but "sanitized" and no longer accessible (e.g. the alleged Roswell crash), and 3) old and not yet investigated.

Careful study of an ETI vehicle in even crashed condition would provide sufficient evidence (level II) to convince most people of ETI existence and would possibly provide key breakthroughs in unraveling the greater part of the ETI puzzle. However, unless one were tipped off ahead of time by some sort of clairvoyant or remote viewer, it is unlikely that private investigators could reach or exploit a crash site before government officials closed it off and sanitized it. If a crash exploitation situation did arise, the team assembled for animal mutilation studies could provide the core for a team to investigate ETI vehicles.

Sanitized sites such as Roswell remain interesting only from the perspectives of studying government information handling techniques and of ferreting out clues to the overall big picture. For example, it should be possible to identify who specifically manned the cleanup crews at Roswell. Many of these people should still be alive. Are they ready to talk? If not, what would it take to release them from their enforced vows of silence? Would an Air Force directive stating that "There are no longer any classified aspects to any of the Roswell crash activities and participants are free to discuss their participation in any level of detail" be sufficient? Would a presidential directive be more effective?

The sanitization of any ETI vehicle crash will involve large numbers of people who may be persuaded to relate their experiences if properly approached. Recently, men dressed in black suits (the so called "Men in Black") have been allegedly associated with monitoring and covering up ETI activities. These men can be photographed nd they presumably leave fingerprints and are susceptible to other kinds of identification. As they become known, they can be traced and studied.

The search for old ETI craft at old sites should also be considered. Obviously possible sources of information include old writings (e.g. Sumarian tablets), archeological studies, legends of Indians, aborigines, and other peoples who retain old lore, and, of course, the usual assortment of psychics, remote viewers, etc.

Satellite and spacecraft photos not only provide a glimpse of extraterrestrial moons and planets but also show us much about the Earth. A verifiable set of photographs clearly showing obvious structures or vehicles on Mars or the Moon would provide level II evidence of ETI activity. HUMINT from NASA or the Russian space agency would be especially helpful in locating areas of special interest. One should also look for 1) areas of consistent poor coverage, 2) shots missing from a series, and 3) indications of what pictures have not been released and why.

Several web sites on the Internet are devoted to this activity. However, it is not clear how systematic and thorough their approaches have been.

Astronauts are in an especially good position to observe a wide variety of ETI activities. Radio amateurs have reportedly intercepted ETI-related communications on "secret" frequencies not intended for public release. An effort should be made to determine all possible spacecraft frequencies and to monitor and record them 24 hours a day with some sort of scanner arrangement. A small crypto-lab should be established to decipher any coded messages. The information in these communications will probably not dramatically sway public opinion, but it could provide helpful clues to the overall picture.

Given our initial assumptions, the suppression of ETI related information is a global rather than local operation. As noted above, even Presidents and Prime Ministers may be mere pawns in the larger picture. One must consider that the ETIs themselves and not men control cover-up operations and other ETI activities. This also opens the door to infinite speculation on possible operational structures and technologies that could be used to perpetrate cover-up activities. Real "Men in Black" could be even better organized and equipped than their cinematic counterparts.

Of all possible ETI technologies, mind control merits special consideration because it pervades so much of the ETI encounter lore – especially with respect to abductions. Mind control is the perfect tool for isolating a Big Brother organization from the component suborganizations that carry out all designated commands and perform all assigned tasks without ever knowing why or for whom. Various forms of mind control are claimed to prevent most abductees from remembering what their ETI experiences were all about. However, one must ask, "If mind control was a widely available option, why wasn’t it used on key Roswell witnesses to ensure completeness of the cover-up?" Such thoughts continue to bring us back to the basic question of "Why are the ETIs here?" which can only be answered by filling in more of the larger picture than is now complete.

Another intriguing aspect to a Big Brother type organization is funding. In years past, the federal budget was impossible to decipher and "black" budgets were difficult to locate. However, new openness has made the federal budget much more accessible and computers have made it significantly easier to track and account for most of the line items in the budget. If one goes back over past budgets and identifies costs for programs that are no longer hidden, it may be possible to bracket the amount of money that could have been siphoned from the federal budget to support Big Brother and its satellite organizations. This approach may be fruitful if Big Brother actually maintains large standing recovery and response teams consisting of real people whose funding and chains of command can theoretically be traced. However, if Big Brother merely appropriates existing resources such as Special Forces units, the exercise/staff funding trail disintegrates but the chain of command becomes an extremely important target.

From Big Brother’s point of view, the most sensible approach would be to use government dollars to establish outside business investments that could grow and finance operations. If such a program had been carefully carried out thirty or forty years ago, the roots would probably be impossible to trace.

The peculiarity of the shapes and designs appearing in fields across Europe and North America remains as controversial as it is blatant. Clearly, someone is trying to tell us something although we can not yet determine if it is "Look at what a great hoaxer I am" or rather some enigmatic message from an ETI. Several seemingly competent groups are actively engaged in studying the circles. As a result, additional new activity is not recommended in this area, although the study of crop circles should be closely followed.

Abduction scenarios only constitute level II or III evidence of ETI activity when accompanied by implants or physical markings on the body. Skeptics seem to have convinced the bulk of the public and scientific communities that people who "remember" abduction experiences are delusional. This is reinforced by the fact that most remembering comes while in the extremely suggestive and poorly understood state of hypnosis. The stories that people tell of their ETI abduction experiences may contribute to the overall picture of ETI activity but harder evidence is needed to sway public opinion.

All discoverable ETI implants should be carefully collected and studied to determine 1) are they of extraterrestrial origin or manufacture (beyond our technology) or 2) were they implanted into places via means that are beyond current medical technology? Obviously, one also wishes to determine a range of uses for the implants and any evidence that would support one purpose over another. The physical scars and marks should be cataloged and studied to determine possible patterns and intentions.

Resources – Various UFO Organizations, WWW Calls for Assistance, Newspaper/News Show Calls for Assistance, etc.

Many resources exist that can help relatively small organizations gather and process large amounts of ETI related information and occasionally even compete with the government. Foremost are the various UFO organizations that provide erratic but widespread "eyes and ears" coverage of much of the planet. Small funding grants could act to leverage and steer organizations into desired directions and ensure that incoming information would be readily accessible. Control should be limited to relatively minor influence. Any attempt at strong control would be counterproductive. The databases of the various UFO organizations contain valuable information for constructing an overall picture of ETI activity. Deliberate and accidental misinformation should also be anticipated.

The Internet provides an unparalleled opportunity to not only gather information and ideas but also to send messages to people and organizations such as retired pilots and air traffic controllers. One could even use the Internet to sponsor essay contests on topics of interest! The Internet is also a great way to gather baseline information on the government and other "Big Brother" organizations.

Television and radio now reach most of the people on the planet. With the expansion of both TV and radio channels, stations and networks are increasingly hungry for interesting material. One could fill part of this media vacuum with carefully produced documentaries that not only encouraged people to think about specific ETI questions but also provided means for viewers/listeners to get more information and/or report their own experiences. One could commission similar articles and appropriate language translations for foreign newspapers and magazines. This should be considered to be a global rather than national or local project.

The accessible evidence centers on animal mutilations, crop circles, and abductions. Thus far, the public and the scientific community have been unimpressed by all analyses of these data. It may be possible that better analyses may be more convincing and they should certainly be pursued, but they are no substitute for ETI artifacts and clear photographs of ETIs in action.

The odds on predicting ETI landing/crash sites may be greater than playing the power ball lottery, but the potential payoff justifies buying at least some tickets. One might shave the odds by studying landing patterns associated with animal mutilations or crop circles and/or by employing remote viewers or clairvoyants.

Trolling the Internet and associations of retired pilots, radar operators, astronauts, air traffic controllers, etc. for people likely to have witnessed ETI activity or its cover-up could pay handsome dividends if the right people are ready to come forward and their stories can be verified and separated from any government misinformation. One should also commission movies, shorts, and news shows that explain the ETI investigation situation and invite viewers to come forward with their own information via addresses and telephone numbers.

Studying the government in areas of suspected ETI interest or activity may yield clues to better evidence. Independent radar surveillance of suspicious bases such as Area 51 may confirm existence of craft not likely to have been developed by current human technology. Following information flow and use of the Freedom of Information Act may also provide pieces to the puzzle of government activity in ETI related matters. In addition, NASA operations should be monitored as closely as possible – especially when special activities in space are planned.

Three principal conclusions stand out. First, someone needs to provide leadership, coordination and funding to the search for ETI evidence. There are many disparate organizations devoted to various aspects of the ETI problem such as UFOs, crop circles, abductions, etc. Together they represent a formidable resource if their energies can be focused on the problems at hand.

Secondly, one cannot over-emphasize the importance of constructing good, all-encompassing models of suspected ETI activity and government response. Models will not only help to spot and eliminate misinformation but also guide the search for more evidence.

Thirdly, one should take every opportunity to actively collect information and evidence. Passively waiting for things to happen will never break the deadlock in publicly available ETI evidence.

The assumptions excluded consideration of stranger ETI interactions on other "planes of existence" but at least some effort should be made to sort through the possibilities and include them in the modeling effort.

Strategies for Collecting Evidence of Intelligent Extra-Terrestrial Activity

Part I: Mise en Scene

Part II