Chapter 8

    Summing up, we can therefore define the following three groups as the objectives of the program: exploration of the planet, observation and study of man, and intellectual influence on mankind.  [p.135] 

    As a follow up to this thought, we find yet another area where the tasks of the ground crew could be expanded and we shall put it in the form of a question: Could they not—stationed as they were at important points—also participate in the function of teaching and influencing? They doubtless had suitable opportunities to do so.

    We have now, as far as this was possible, explored the objectives and the organization of the project. The question remains: Why was it Ezekiel who was repeatedly contacted?

    The two obvious versions of a possible answer are planning and coincidence. A planned contact becomes plausible when we recall the existence of the ground crew. The community of Jewish exiles in Tel-Abib could, for a variety of reasons, have been of much interest to the observers. Within that community, already as a priest, Ezekiel must have been of particular importance to them. His superior intelligence must have drawn attention and further enhanced his importance. No wonder then that they proposed him to their superiors for special tasks.

    On the other hand, if we speak of an accidental meeting, we certainly do not mean one single landing of the commander which, by sheer chance, brought him and Ezekiel together. Many such landings have most probably taken place. It seems, however, that the space travelers' problem was that the "normal" human being they contacted used to run away (compare Daniel, Chapter 10, Verse 7). In one of these landings, however, the commander met with a rare exception: A "son of man" did not run away! He threw himself on the ground as a sign of submission and was obviously excited—but he stayed! He looked intelligent, gave apposite answers, and it took little experience for the commander to realize almost immediately the importance of this encounter.

    Both answers, planning as well as chance, thus lead to the same point: the commander finds in Ezekiel a son of man who can be utilized exceptionally well. He knows that he will have to take him on flights later; but he also knows—either through deep understanding and empathy or from earlier experiences and reports—that these men can have strong reactions to the experience of flying which is alien to them. It therefore seems best to test out immediately this son of man who makes such a promising impression, by taking him up on a short flight.

    The question posed above: Why Ezekiel, the man? can also be put in the following words: Why Ezekiel, the Jew? We derive the answer from the two first-mentioned objectives of the visit. We can infer therefrom that those visitors were familiar with the cultures and religions of a large part of the earth. Therefore they must doubtless have recognized the high potential of the Jewish creed, its superiority over the other contemporary religions; they were equally aware of the political and religious difficulties of the Jews at that time. It is therefore conceivable that they may have wished to bring consolation and reassurance to the Jews, and of course especially to those who live in exile. On this point, incidentally, the interpretation given here agrees with the traditional version. From the viewpoint of a very advanced civilization the wish to counteract an acute threat such as the one inherent in the situation of the Jews at that time would be quite understandable.

    To be able to see the behavior of these visitors in the proper light, we must remember that their mission was a peaceful one, that it included a mandate to explore and was definitely not undertaken in order to prepare an invasion. The history of mankind has, in the meantime, convincingly proved this. These visitors, therefore, knew that their stay on earth was limited in time. This circumstance shows how much their ethical and also their political level was different from our own today. To make this clearer, let us exchange the roles and attribute our own mentality of the twentieth century to the commander and the ground crew. Would we be able to muster so much trust in the intelligence of others and so much faith in the fertility of ideas to try to strengthen only the faith of these beings in their people and their religion? Would we really prefer natural growth to assistance by superior material power which could only be effective for a short time? In this regard we are further removed from them than by the few decades which seem to separate us in terms of technological and scientific achievement.

    Many questions remain unanswered. Will we ever be able to establish when these visits to the earth began? Or will we at least be able to prove conclusively that there have been earlier and later visits?

    When did they end? And did they?  [p.138]