cseti4

Implications of an Extraterrestrial Disclosure

In a recent conversation with a retired Air Force General, we were discussing a major disclosure
on the existence of extraterrestrial life forms. This gentleman, who had known the UFOs were
real and were extraterrestrial in origin since 1946, asked me, "But Steve, what would a disclosure
mean."

It was clear to me that he had real uncertainty regarding the implications of such a disclosure,
even though the general was wholly in favor of the truth coming out now. And it occurred to
me that we very much needed to elaborate, to the extent possible, what the implications of
disclosure would be to humanity. We needed to 'connect the dots', and draw as broad a picture
as possible, no matter how tentative it may seem. Because what may be obvious to some may
be hidden to others.

For nearly three years, I have been having this discussion with national security think tanks,
business leaders, CIA officials, UN figures and various world leaders. It is time to put some of
these ideas down on paper, at least as a starting point. We need to begin contemplating a future
which includes the existence of extraterrestrial life forms, and the early stages of inter-planetary
relations.

Lest the more pragmatic among us question the timeliness of such a discussion, let me state here
unequivocally that we are about 50 years late in this deliberation. For half a century , it has been
known that we are not alone,and the long-delayed discussion of the meaning and implications of
contact with advanced extraterrestrial civilizations is long over-due, not premature.

But before any such discussion can begin, we must first consider the nature, atmosphere and
framework of a disclosure: The implications are very different if the disclosure is militaristic,
alarmist, xenophobic and frightening, versus one which is calm, scientific, evidence driven and
hopeful. That is, the message, images, framework and atmosphere surrounding a disclosure will
largely determine its immediate implications. A disclosure can be one of the greatest galvanizing
and transcendent moments in human history, if handled wisely - or it can be terror in the aisles.

Given current media, entertainment and UFO subculture treatment of the subject, there is reason
for concern here. Because if this disclosure is in any way linked to the mind-set of space
invaders,'victims of alien abduction' and other disinformation, paranoid or fantasy-driven
perspectives, then we are in real trouble.

However, the CSETI Project Starlight disclosure effort is aimed 180 degrees away from such

     >That there is substantial scientific and witness evidence for the existence of ET life
         forms in proximity to the earth;
     >That, while the specific motives of these life forms may not be totally understood, there
         is no evidence that they are hostile,and that there is no reason for fear or alarm; and
     >The world community needs to move in the direction of open discussion on this matter
         and take constructive steps to ensure a peaceful, sustainable relationship with these life forms.

Of course, this sounds simple, but we are competing with the fear-mongering and paranoic

I leanings of the pop culture. Nevertheless, the prevailing madness in the media and entertainment
fields should not be allowed to deter us from a disclosure of the simple truth that we are not

alone. But we must be prepared to calmly distance this disclosure from the histnonics of those
who would have us scream 'the sky is falling...'

         The remaining discussions, then, will assume a framework of disclosure which is calm, scientific
I        and hopeful. And regardless of the immediate din of alarmist proclamations from certain
         quarters, there will be fundamental
         here.These implications are really so profound and far-reaching, that no aspect of life on earth
         will remain unaffected. From theology to technology, from geopolitics to economics, from the
         environment to the future exploration of space, nearly every field of human endeavor will
         eventually be touched by such a disclosure.

IMMEDIATE IMPLICATIONS

         The near-term implications of a high-level disclosure on the existence of extraterrestrial life forms
         range from the gee-political to the philosophical. The most pronounced immediate effect of such
         a disclosure will be that of altering the fundamental paradigm of how we view ourselves, the
         world of humanity and theyniverse. While the full effect of this will take some decades, if notl
         centuries, to manifest fully, there will be an immediate realization that we are really all onel
         people on the homeland of earth, among many worlds inhabited by other intelligent life forms.

This realization will alter not only our view of ourselves and the earth, but I believe it will
         impact on the current state of geopolitical fractionation. In the post-Cold War era, the world is
         becoming increasingly 'balkanized', precisely at the time when one would hope for increasing
         world unity and coherence. The definitive disclosure that we are not alone in the universe, and
      that, more importantly, these advanced life forms are landing on terra firms, will provide
         significant impetus to the as-yet incomplete process of forming a truly global civilization.
   disclosure will complete the galvanizing effect which the space program provided as it sent back'
       to the earth photographs of this beautiful blue sphere floating in space, which we all call home.

As the global community contemplates the immediate and future reality of earth coming inte
         contact with other advanced civilizations, all of the usual preoccupations with the endles
         internecine battles among nations and peoples on earth will suddenly appear in quite a different
         light. The differences and conflicts between various racial , religious, ethnic and national
         identities will be seen in a new perspective as we begin to contemplate the reality of earth

This can - and must - be done without either demonizing or deifying these extraterrestrial
peoples. The ingrained xenophobic response of today and yesteryear will need to give way to
a new paradigm motivated by hope, understanding and tolerance of diversity.

Even the process of coming to grips with the post-disclosure reality of an extraterrestrial presence
will force the world to evolve the moral, spiritual, psychological and physical capacity to
effectively meet the challenges of the situation. So the immediate impact will include the rapid
development of a functional global capability vis a vis an extraterrestrial presence. No single
nation can achieve this; no superpower, however well-meaning, can think and act on behalf of
the entire world as it adjusts to the early challenges of inter-planetary relations. This, then, will
provide both the practical and philosophical setting for the development of a world civilization.

While people will no doubt retain their various national, ethnic and religious identities, there will
be added to these the over-arching identity of being 'from earth'. Beyond this, an awareness will
grow that , indeed, all conscious, intelligent life forms have in common the intangible but real
link of awareness, of consciousness, and the early stages of universal 'citizenship' will dawn.
That is, we will experience, first inwardly and later in practical life, the awareness of the
universality of life.

This theme could, no doubt fill an entire book, if not several volumes of books. But in the
interest of time, let us look at other immediate implications:

> Governments around the world will immediately be affected in several inter-related
ways. There will be an examination of covert, previously unacknowledged 'black' projects in the
military/intelligence/industrial sector, and these projects will be moved back to the public domain
and to conventional oversight and control. Currently, these projects officially 'do not exist', and
as such constitute a serious threat to governmental integrity, especially in constitutional
democracies such as the United States. A disclosure will set in motion governmental and social
pressures to restore constitutional chain of command and control over this matter, and senior
government leaders will no longer be able to avoid responsibility for this issue by claiming
'plausible deniability'. In short, this disclosure on the existence of extraterrestrial life forms in
proximity to the earth will reverse the excesses of secrecy which developed in the post World
War II era and Cold War.

>Academic, scientific and governmental institutions and agencies will quickly focus on
the meaning, implications and requirements of a newly ordered global paradigm, which suddenly
includes the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations visiting earth. From international policy
'think-tanks', to various academies of science around the world, this issue will become a prime
focus of discussion, study and debate. In an academic sense, no field of study will be untouched
by such a disclosure: History, anthropology, philosophy, geopolitics, exe-biology, theology,
philosophy, the arts, science and technology, business and economics - all will be immediately
galvanized by and preoccupied with such a disclosure. The vast and profound implications
inherent to the fact that we are not alone in the universe, and are already being visited by
advanced extraterrestrial life forms will indeed be of unparalleled significance in the history of
the human species.

     >Theological and philosophical implications will immediately be discussed among the
         world's religions and religious leaders, as they come to terms with a universe in which humans
         are no longer the only intelligent, sentient children of God. In this respect, concepts of God,
         creation, life and religious meaning will evolve in the direction of accommodating the existence
         of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, and this will cause an increasing' universalization'
         of God and religious meaning. Additionally, there will likely be an unfortunate yet predictable
         reactionary segment from various religions around the world which will place such a disclosure
         into a strictly eschatological framework, or worse. Already, among fringe elements in the civilian
         sector, we see attempts to either demonize or deify these extraterrestrial visitors ( many of these
         reactions are reminiscent of the movie 'The Gods Must Be Crazy'). Nevertheless, such reactivity
         and fanaticism, while predictable, will eventually give way to a more reasoned and mature
         response and the world's religions will adopt an understanding of intelligent life which is
         universal, and which will, I believe, redound to the appreciation of an infinite Creator whose
         glory is not confined to the earth.

INTERMEDIATE AND LONG-TERM IMPLICATIONS

         The length and scope of this paper obviously does not permit a thorough analysis of the
         immediate ramifications of such a disclosure, how much less the intermediate and long-term
         implications. However, it is important to review a few of the highlights of these more distant
         implications, because it is here that we will see a literal transformation of human society.

I This cannot be appreciated fully, however, without also appreciating a central fact of the past 50
years of UFO/ET secrecy: That covert human projects have possessed advanced extraterrestrial

technologies and have been 'reverse-engineering' them for decades. This means that in the post-

I disclosure era, there will be the opportunity to eventually apply these technologies to the
problems of human society. The elaboration of the mechanisms of advanced energy, propulsion,

         communications and other extraterrestrial technologies will have an extraordinary impact on
I        current earth technologies, including energy generation, transportation, communications,
         education, manufacturing, medicine and more. Aside from our science, physics, mathematics and
         technology textbooks being rewritten, the practical applications of these technologies will
         completely transform the face of human society.

         There is, however, a disturbing side to this, and that is the long history of humans using every
         breakthrough in technology to build a better war machine. The proliferation of nuclear, chemical
         and biological weapons of mass destruction should give us some pause as we contemplate what
         the destructive uses of such advanced ET technologies might be. (Moreover, we should be quite
         concerned already about the implications of such technological breakthroughs resting in the
         hands of 'black' projects which do not answer to the people or the 'chain of command'
         mechanisms of government,.)For this reason, it is extremely important that such applied
         technologies not be propagated until the world has established a more stable international setting
         and attained a lasting international peace.

The pessimists and cynics will say that humans will never reach a state of stable international
peace, but I hold the opposing view that we will, because we will have to. Humans have many
faults and foibles, but when all is said and done, we are survivors - and adapt extraordinarily well
to circumstances threatening our survival. Certainly, the current situation of weapons of mass
destruction proliferating into the hands of every unstable dictatorship is such a circumstance. And
while there may yet be disastrous consequences, these will only serve to galvanize humans into
doing what must be done to survive:Adapt and evolve into a peaceful, stable global civilization.

Putting this debate aside for now, let us contemplate a'down-loading' of these advanced
extraterrestrial technologies in a setting of international stability and peace.

These technologies are not polluting fossil fuels or radioactive nuclear power, but are completely
revolutionary energy systems which are non-linear, zero-point type technologies. That is, there
is a background source of limitless energy which is omnipresent in the universe, even in deep
space, and these devices 'tap into' this energy. The result is vast amounts of energy generated,
and, in defiance of the 'law of thermodynamics', more energy is obtained than is put into the system .

Without going into a long discussion of propulsion systems which propel vehicles at beyond the
speed of light (allegedly impossible according to 20th century physics) or of'bending' space-time,
or of negating the effects of gravity and mass inertia, or of non-linear communications systems
which interface directly with mind or thought, or a myriad other considerations related to
advanced ET technology, let us simply state that these technologies are many quanta ahead of
current technology on earth.

What are the implications of such technologies being applied around the world?

>The Environment, which is being degraded at an alarming rate primarily due to the
burning of fossil fuels and the relative scarcity of energy, would be greatly assisted, if not saved
by the widespread application of such technology. For the most part, the earth is still in the
1800s as far as energy generation, transportation and related technologies are concerned. The
internal combustion engine reigns supreme, as does gas, oil and coal as sources of energy. Aside
from being the chief sources of pollution of the air and water, their relative scarcity results in a
further cost and efficiency related inability to 'scrub' other sources of pollution from waterways,
chemical processing, manufacturing and the like. Such inefficiencies, scarcity and intrinsically
polluting qualities of the current world energy system are literally killing the earth. The
application of advanced ET energy systems would completely reverse this situation.

>When it takes only minutes - instead of 12-14 hours - to go from asia to New York, the
world will truly be a global village. Indeed, the need for vast, inefficient and dehumanizing
metropolises will no longer exist, since both communications and transportation will allow small
towns and villages to have access to each other instantly. This will result in a transformation in
the nature and function of society unequaled in recorded history.

>The relative scarcity of energy, and hence of resources generally, has resulted in a vast
inequality among the poor and rich nations of the world. The application of these ET
technologies will alter this situation radically, and eventually abundance and an economic
equilibrium will emerge. This will alter the world socio-economic situation and mitigate the
economic pressures and inequalities which create so much strife and conflict in the world. With
zero-point and related technologies in every village and every home, the consciousness of scarcity
and a'zero sum game' will give way to one of abundance. And with this, the human race will
be freed from the oppressive mentality of material acquisitions and survival to a larger vision of
developing the full potential of each human.

>Public health and medical advances will result both directly and indirectly from these
new technologies. For example, imagine a world where abundance of clean water and energy
removes the specter of famine and disease from the entire earth.

>Space exploration will be a viable possibility, since these energy and propulsion systems
permit transport through space effectively at multiples of the speed of light. And with this, well
the sky is the limit.

Aside from these technological and environmental long-term implications, there are the long term
implications related to the world coming to grips with the early and eventual mature stages of
an open relationship with various extraterrestrial civilizations. What might be the effects of an
open dialogue with advanced life forms on world culture, art, music, philosophy, science and so
forth? Only when we have stopped lying to ourselves about the existence of these other
civilizations and disclosed the truth can we move in the direction of a sustainable global and
inter-planetary society.

Volumes can - and no doubt will - be written on the meaning of contact with advanced
extraterrestrial civilizations. But of this we are sure: The first step is to achieve an honest
disclosure. The implications of this disclosure are truly world-encompassing and far reaching.
Because today, we do not have a sustainable civilization on this planet, but one which is morally,
technologically and socially moribund. And as the old Chinese proverb says,'Unless we change
directions, we are likely to end up where we are going...'

Indeed, to borrow from Al Gore's book title, earth is in the balance. The evolution of a
sustainable global civilization, and the further development of the capacity to become an inter-
planetary civiliaation, is dependent on an honest disclosure regarding the existence of
extraterrestrial civilizations, and our development into a peaceful world civilization. Only then
can we enter an era of sustainable technology, a sustainable economy,and a lasting culture, and
take our place among the stars as members of a growing universal civilization.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX