What Planet Am I On? (21 page)

A lot of us are conditioned, as we grow up, to believe things just because humans have believed them for centuries, even though new evidence that has been unearthed recently or new scientific discoveries may contradict those old beliefs. I really think the next big scientific breakthrough will be in our minds, allowing us to be more open-minded. In a lot of ways, the main thing that is holding back scientific advances is the constrictions of the human mind, our refusal to accept that things that we previously thought were impossible might actually be possible. Scientifically, it is more likely that there is other life out there in the cosmos than there is a God.

I think most people struggle to accept extraterrestrial life because it would blow their minds. It totally would. As humans, we like to think we’re this amazingly developed race, and so intelligent, but in some ways we’re so small time. In many ways, we’re still almost living in the dark ages. We continue to fight all over the planet about religion, for fuck’s sake. Waging wars over things that might or might not have happened thousands of years ago. Does that seem intelligent to you?

I also think the authorities know more than they are letting on. One of the first things that plenty of new leaders have done when they get into power, particularly US Presidents or British Prime Ministers, is to say, ‘Right then, bring me the UFO files.’ Sir Winston Churchill did
it. He was obsessed. JFK did it. Obama did it. But like I said earlier, when they get into power they are then reluctant to discuss it. Obviously they might not be able to say anything because they might be bound by secrecy and all that, but with some of them it’s almost like they try to airbrush history and deny the fact that they were interested in the first place. They just never mention it themselves, and if the topic’s raised they try and slide off the subject as quick as they can.

They know. Trust me, they know. If I can see something from my back garden then, with all the technology they’ve got, they’ve also seen it. They know. They’ve known for years. Just because they don’t tell you doesn’t mean anything. Do you think they would trust you with that information? Listen, we’ve just had evidence from whistleblower Edward Snowden that the US government is spying on just about everyone and everything – not just other governments but you, through your Facebook account, emails and everything. They don’t trust you. Fact. But you reckon they trust you enough to share all their secrets about space and possible UFOs? Come off it.

I also think maybe it’s harder for people to believe the evidence or footage that we do have now that you can create some really weird shit with camera trickery and stuff. No matter how clear the footage is, or how obvious it is that there’s something not of this Earth there, some people will always say, ‘Nah, that’s just created.’ It’s not like the old days of fake footage – you can do anything now, and people are so used to camera effects and stuff
at the cinema that they’re less likely to take stuff at face value. Even I can be a bit sceptical myself when I see footage on television or YouTube.

But it’s different when you see something with your own eyes. You know that’s not camera trickery then. When you have seen a craft with your own eyes, how could it have been faked? Even if somebody had built a model of a craft, it wouldn’t be able to move at anything like the speed or have the agility of what I saw. Not if it was built by humans.

I do think there will be a big announcement one day. Whether it’s in my lifetime, or my kids’ lifetime, I don’t know. I think they’re scared to tell us exactly what is going on, and I can understand why. Your average member of the general public would shit it if the government came out and said UFOs exist. Even if they were told, ‘Listen, it’s fine, don’t worry. They are coming here and visiting us on Earth, but they’ve been coming here for millions of years, so you’ve got nothing to worry about’, they would still shit it. They’d start panicking that their minds and bodies were about to be taken over by these alien beings.

To me, it’s common sense that there is life out there, and I think one day everyone will see that.

The truth is out there, and I for one am going to try and keep getting closer to it.

Me listening to another UFO expert. My UFO journey was one of the weirdest trips I’ve ever been on.

Santiago, where I started the Chile leg of my UFO trip.

General Ricardo Bermúdez, head of CEFAA, Chile’s official UFO agency, set up by the government in 1998.

UFO expert and journalist Antonio Huneeus, me and Squadron Commander Perry at El Bosque Air Force base, where a unidentified flying object was captured on film, flying eighteen times faster than air force planes.

Me in Cajon del Maipo, Chile, on the edge of the Andes.

I spent all night skywatching in Cajon del Maipo, Chile, where the night sky was amazing, but we didn’t see any UFOs.

Rodrigo Fuenzalida, director of Chile’s leading civilian UFO group, AION.

Me in Chile’s Atacama Desert, the driest desert in the world.

Me, with the Atacama Giant in the distance.