UFOs, mythology and plausible deniability

There are two competing theories that propose to account for the close-encounter experience throughout human history. The first holds that nonhuman encounters found in folklore -- such as interaction with the "little people" that populate the Celtic fairy faith -- are misreadings of encounters with extrasolar aliens. Since the witnesses to fairies and their activities lacked a suitable technological vocabulary, their descriptions were naturally prone to the "supernatural."




Illustration by John Velez.


The second theory maintains that the modern extraterrestrial hypothesis, in which evident nonhuman intelligences originate from other star systems, is at least as fictitious and misleading as the notion that humans share the planet with fairies. According to this view, the core phenomenon adapts to fit the reigning zeitgeist when in truth it is something altogether different -- possibly even immune to comprehension. (One wonders what form close encounters will take once we have assumed the role of space travelers we now casually grant to "ufonauts.")

In both scenarios, the UFO intelligence retains plausible deniability. Since we necessarily comprehend it in mythological terms, it could vanish and leave our civilization largely unscathed. The contemporary UFO phenomenon has demonstrated that it is capable of assuming a physical form at least partly amenable to empirical investigation. But its liminal nature seems designed to leave room for doubt; lacking conclusive proof of nonhuman visitation, we will always be able to chalk the enigma up to various misidentified natural processes.

The phenomenon's raison d'etre seems to be to remain hidden, all the while functioning in an evasive "standby" mode. Although this strange behavior could be explained by a variety of esoteric models, it's equally possible that we are, after all, seeing "nuts and bolts" visitors from elsewhere in the galactic neighborhood. Of course, one could argue that a civilization capable of bridging the distance between stars could remain absolutely and indefinitely hidden, in which case we would have no global tradition -- however distorted -- of nonhuman contact. So our visitors -- if "visitors" is an applicable term -- would seem to have an abiding interest in keeping their presence known to us, even if that presence is confined to our mythology.

That the UFOs fail to make open contact indicates an equally stubborn need to remain hidden. Indeed, their home turf appears to be the periphery of human consciousness. All of this suggests an agenda. I don't think "they" are patiently waiting for us to make some gesture of ultimate recognition; rather, I propose that the UFO/contact experience -- whatever its goal -- is well underway.