The Mission - Part B

Keywords: UFO, unidentified flying objects, Bible, flying saucers, prophecy, Paleo-SETI, ancient astronauts, Erich von Däniken, Josef F. Blumrich, Zecharia Sitchin, Ezekiel, biblical prophecy, spacecraft, spaceship, NASA, Roswell, aircraft, propellant, extraterrestrial hypothesis, Jacques Vallee, interdimensional hypothesis, Project Blue Book, Condon Report, ancient history, Jesus, Judaism, Christianity, Middle East, end times, engines, rockets, helicopters, space travel, aliens, abductions, alien abductions, crop circles, extraterrestrials, astronomy, economics, biology, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Space Shuttle, Apollo, stars, planets, solar system, scriptures, design, fuel tank, aerodynamics, fuels, hydrogen, oxygen, wheels

Chapter 8

    All indirect indications hinge on the already briefly mentioned economic feasibility of an undertaking. We know from our own experience of the infancy of space travel that the financial resources required are very considerable even for the big powers taking part in this activity. If we want to avoid digressing into the science fiction area, we must assume also that even the highest developed civilizations have to engage in financial planning of their constructions and projects. The idea underlying the total expenditure defines the mission which can itself be traced back to the simple question: "Why do we want to go there and what do we want to do there?" Even in the face of the basic obligation incumbent on a society capable of such feats, this question must be asked and answered. I do not mean this in a political but in a technical and economic sense because the answer determines the tasks, the design, and the financial planning.  [p.128] 

    Before we return from these general considerations to our main topic we should draw attention to a feature common to all travels, be it a weekend excursion or a spaceflight: at a given level of costs of travel and subsistence the expenses at the end point of a trip have but little impact on the total amount spent. For example, whether an astronaut covers a distance of five or fifty miles on the moon will make a negligible difference tn the overall cost of the roundtrip earth-moon-earth. The considerable broadening and deepening of knowledge is out of proportion to the very small increase in the expense. In this we stress the word "knowledge" because, to stay with the same example, it would be absurd to calculate the cost per pound of rocks gathered. These moon rocks have a significance only because of the knowledge and the information they convey to us. And the knowledge is what counts, not the quantity of stones. So far as an extension of activities is at all possible at the end point of a trip, its achievement—in addition to the intellectual and idealistic obligation which exists anyway—becomes imperative even from an economic point of view.

    If we now apply these considerations to Ezekiel's encounters, we arrive in the first place at the unavoidable conclusion that he could in no case have been the only target of these visitors. On grounds to be discussed later we shall realize that he was not even their most important target. Ezekiel himself supports this view very pointedly at the end of the third encounter by the description of the departure of the very same spacecraft on which he came. It departs without him and it is obvious that it has other tasks to perform. Ezekiel is taken home by another spacecraft which was summoned only because of the critical manipulation carried out on the first one. The commander of that second spaceship had therefore been at work somewhere else and his tasks were thus basically independent of Ezekiel.

    Apart from these various indications and references we read that the commander speaks to Ezekiel, takes him on flights, and shows him buildings. How then can we connect all these individual observations with each other and what kind of a picture would emerge as a result?

    We begin with the proven peacefulness of the visitors and combine that fact with the well-substantiated concept of an undertaking that goes beyond the short contacts with Ezekiel and that is therefore not exclusively connected with him. In other words, we see a peaceful project which encompasses an area as yet undefined in terms of geography and time. Since we do not know of any influence of such an undertaking on the history of mankind—a topic to which we shall revert later—we come to the natural conclusion that we are dealing with a reconnaissance mission. All the information we can derive from Ezekiel's report points with certainty' to the fact that these visitors already knew the earth and its inhabitants quite well. It would be futile to try to deduce from Ezekiel's information how long they had already been here. Sheer probability would suggest that the encounters took place neither at the beginning nor at the end of their mission but rather "at some time" in the course of the project.

    The elimination of a narrow limitation of the visits in terms of time and geography leads to the assumption of a larger program, probably including repeated visits to the earth. The events described by Ezekiel are thus mere episodes. It is of course impossible to infer from the material developed here what the tasks and the purpose of the program may have been. However, in this regard, we can have some idea of them on the basis of our own situation and knowledge. For example, as an initial incentive, we can assume general interest in the earth as a planet and beyond that as a planet which may be inhabitable. In such a case an exploration of geography and life-forms would have priority.

    However, as the first visit may have already revealed that the planet Earth was inhabited, an immediate expansion of the exploration would necessarily follow, which would entail including the study of human beings in the program. Whether that initial step was followed by the encounters discussed here a few years or many thousands of years later cannot be ascertained.

    With regard to all these explorations, the geographical location of the region in which Ezekiel lived is most significant. It is situated on the relatively narrow strip of land linking the two huge land masses of Eurasia and Africa. This location, clearly marked by the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf, is most conspicuous and therefore easy to find and to describe. Thus, it is ideally suited both for arrival from space and as a starting point for the direct exploration of the earth. Finally, it possesses yet another feature that may not be a deciding factor in selecting the location of a base of operations, but that, nevertheless, is a welcome addition in the sense that it can facilitate a closer study of the earth and its inhabitants: Europe, Asia, and Africa can easily be reached by air from this point without flights over expanses of water. The flying distance to the coastline of China is roughly the same as that to South Africa. This region is therefore almost exactly in the middle between the most remote points of the area to be explored. The distance to the farthest limits of Europe is shorter. Thus many arguments are in favor of the preferential role of the strip of land between the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf. On the whole of our planet there is only one other point possessing equally outstanding features in that regard: the Central American land bridge between North and South America.

    The general exploration of our earth and its cartographic survey is however of little interest in the context of the questions we are studying. Nonetheless, to show that they are compatible with the other objectives of the mission, a brief discussion of the technical aspects of possible flights is in order. The simplest method for a global observation is a polar orbit, that is an orbit over both the north and the south poles. Let us imagine this orbit as a circle crossing or almost crossing the imaginary axis of the earth over the two poles at a certain distance from the earth's surface. Since the earth is turning beneath this circle, the passengers of the spaceship can observe all the regions of the earth and survey and document them according to the means available to them. In addition, this orbit means that one is able to land at any point of the globe, independently of its geographical longitude and latitude. As it follows its polar orbit, the vehicle moves from south to north on one side of the earth and, as it continues its circling, it flies from north to south on the other side. The trajectory of a spacecraft flying from the mothership to the earth follows the same directions and, in this connection, we recall Ezekiel's statement at the outset of the first encounter:

    The polar orbit is particularly favorable for surveys and observation of the earth and it also makes landing possible at any point of the globe. Yet it has a disadvantage with regard to return flights from the earth to the mothership. This disadvantage may best be illustrated by considering, as an example, a lift-off from the equator or a low latitude. A point located on the equator moves at a speed of roughly 1040 miles per hour around the axis of the earth. This speed decreases first gradually and then faster with increasing latitude, yet it still accounts for a noteworthy portion of the velocity needed by the spacecraft to reach orbit. Now, when the orbit goes over the poles, this initial velocity is of course not effective and must be compensated for by a longer burning time of the engine, which means higher propellant consumption. For missions aimed mainly at a landing on earth, the most favorable orbit of the mothership is one whose inclination to the equator can be adjusted to the latitude of the terrestrial location of lift-off. In that case, too, observations of regions farther to the south or to the north would of course be possible through manned or unmanned special flights.

    The technical feasibility and compatibility of all these possibilities with the various tasks of the spacecraft is therefore beyond question. It cannot of course be ascertained what options were actually chosen. Nor can we ascertain the ratio of explorations of geography and living conditions compared to explorations with humans as their object. This applies both to the amount of time and the resources invested in the effort.

    Also, no clues exist to help us in the assessment of the total extent of the operation that led to the encounters with Ezekiel. However, we do have some information on its lowest limits, that is, the minimum effort known to us.

    With respect to the time involved we know that a twenty-year period elapsed between Ezekiel's first and last encounters.  [p.132]