Form and Mechanism - Part A

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 9

    Ezekiel describes the commander (or commanders), the ground crew of the third encounter, and his guide during the fourth encounter always and only with the short words "man" or "men" or "likeness of a man." On no occasion does he say more. The same observer, who possesses such an outstanding perception, finds nothing worthy of mention about them other than the fact of their presence. His treatment of their clothes is analogous; he does not mention them as long as there is nothing special about them; but he always does whenever they are different from the ordinary, the expected.  [p.139] 

    Curiously enough this very absence of description conveys to us quite an accurate picture of these "men"; it shows, namely, that these visitors really looked like ordinary men, and that their appearance was within the range of such variations as might normally have been expected in Ezekiel's times with respect to size, weight, and color of skin. An additional indication may be inferred from Ezekiel's flights in the spaceship. Since he fitted into the seat in the command capsule, these beings were certainly not substantially smaller or thinner than he was.

    From everything we could learn we must therefore conclude that in their appearance these visitors possessed characteristics of the human form, that the maximum deviations in their height could not have exceeded some eight inches, more or less, from the average height of the people of those days, and that their proportions (such as, for example, the waistline) were also fairly consistent with the average values of their human contemporaries.

    We know, however, that biochemistry has made us aware of forms of "life" very different from those we are familiar with. To expound such knowledge into the area of highly developed organisms would necessarily include the idea that their appearance may he entirely different from ours. These doubtlessly justified considerations have, however, had the effect of focusing the thinking on this particular possibility—of an appearance other than ours—thus obscuring the possibility of a resemblance to the outward appearance of man. This is why I feel that this latter possibility merits closer investigation. To accomplish this I shall explore the question of form from the point of view of the mechanical system involved (or from the point of view of a design engineer, which is the same) and briefly define the underlying fundamentals. The legitimacy of such considerations is evident: the overall system which we can describe as the "intelligent being" must not only be chemically, biologically, and mentally self-sustaining and capable of development, but its structure must be such as to ensure the equally important mechanical functions. The invariable basic requirements of the latter are the ability to move and the operation of tools (needed for the intake of food, for the ability to fight, and to shape materials).

    No matter how high the level of development of a civilization, it needs the full industrial spectrum ranging from mining and heavy industry to high-precision processes which may not even be known to us. And even if—for unfathomable reasons—it should no longer require all this, it must have had it at the stage of its development comparable to our own today. (Note: Since we are talking about evolution, we automatically rule out the spontaneous creation of a ready-made highly advanced civilization.) The individual beings making up this society must be able to cope with such conditions which again means that they must be able to fulfill functions similar to those of humans.

    To be able to study the influence of mechanical requirements on the form, we must consider and treat the latter as a mechanical system. That system must be capable of the following functions:

    Observation, evaluation, command (combined in a control center)
    Change of place (movement)
    Operations
    Conversion of energy

    The first and the last of the functions listed above are, it is true, of a nonmechanical nature, yet an advantageous location within the overall system of the structures they require is beyond question a matter of design.

    There are sufficient reasons to eliminate flying and swimming beings from this investigation, . . .  [p.141]