Jacques Bergier: The Occult at NASA and The Pentagon

 

 

Jacques Bergier: The Occult at NASA and The Pentagon

From “The Secret War of the Occult” (1978)

                 Flying saucers do not exist. All those who have researched the matter agree on this conclusion. The existing testimonies illustrate their apparitions with an abundance of details. On the other hand, "ufologists" do exist, and they are mercilessly exploited by the intelligence services. The world's best author of spy novels, Len Deighton, author of Ipcress: Immediate Danger, has made this the subject of one of his novels: Catch A Shooting Spy.

                How do the intelligence services benefit from these staged sightings? Every time that a saucer sighting is announced, the  results of the investigation are published in many magazines that treat the subject seriously. Therefore, it becomes possible to obtain important information regarding the position, frequency and number of oscillations of the radar stations covering the area in question, the location of the nearest military base, that of the nearest A.D.C. base and the fighter squadron that it houses, and to the military's response when faced with a crisis.

                Several years ago now, I myself drew attention to a rather notable American "ufologist," Congressman Gerald Ford, who would later become President. As a result of my report, some basic security measures were taken: from then on, Congressional discussions regarding the protection of American airspace would be held behind closed doors, and the FBI's counterespionage services would not lose sight of those who claim to have been witnesses, even of matters beyond the realm of UFO's.

                The Soviets, for their part, aren't far behind. Strict security measures are taken with regard to this subject: all UFO groups were dissolved and some of their members sent to the Gulag, for instance, and there have been instructions to fighter pilots to shoot down any flying object without clearance to fly over Soviet airspace. Guided missiles have managed to knock out of the air, in accordance with these regulations, an impressive array of objects that cross the skies: American spy-balloons which imitate an eagle flapping its wings, and, in May of 1978, a South Korean airliner which had confused Japan for the Urals, flying 4000 kilometers off its course. This unfortunate navigational error caused it to accidentally fly over secret installations. When the plane fell, the KGB confiscated all photographs. The incident only left three wounded. A report was immediately sent to the Soviet High Command and to the Academy of Science.

                In spite of having shot at anything that was a meter in diameter and flying lower than 20 kilometers high, no flying saucers were ever recovered, nor photographed, nor picked up on radar. Other interesting things have been found above the 20 kilometer mark, particularly radiation which appears to be the by-product of the annihilation of antimatter particles as they fall from space into our atmosphere. The many committees of the USSR Academy of Sciences have concluded that flying saucers are but a mere invention.

                Putting aside the discussion of what is or not the case, what certainly is true is that Soviet ufologists daren't risk sharing their activities with the CIA, while those in other countries broadcast theirs to the KGB too generously. The Pentagon, given its contrary attitude, does not help the situation any, seeing that, within its considerable edifice, apparently anyone has the right to place a "top secret" label on a document. This makes it impossible to ever obtain a complete dossier on anything.

                I cannot resist the temptation to include here the true story of an official who, upon entering the Pentagon as a lieutenant, was quickly promoted, due to his efficiency, to the rank of general. As is the case in most American offices, he had two trays on his desk, one marked "In" and the other "Out." Every time he found a paper in the "In" box, our man placed it inside the second without having read it, scribbling on it "Forward to Colonel Smith."  "Smith" is the American equivalent of the common French name "Dupont," and there were many Smiths in the building. Each document therefore had a different addressee. By carrying out ten times the work of others, the officer in question became a general.

                Digression aside, what is the Pentagon's position regarding flying saucers? Up to now, it has not lodged any formal complaints against the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind--where it is presented as building a landing pad for flying saucers--judging perhaps that any complaint would do little to enhance its image. Since the non-existence of flying saucers is plainly evident, those in high office should begin to think about the danger that lies in the exploitation of the UFO organizations by enemy intelligence agencies. But the Pentagon is in a riskier position than the KGB, since it lacks the same sweeping powers, and because it is now under the command of a president that supports ufologists (Mr. Carter claims to have seen a saucer with his own eyes, but lays no claim to having seen "little green men"), and a Congress filled with believers in UFOs, which is the reason why the Congressional Record has become the most valuable source of information for foreign spies operating in the United States.

                As regards NASA, its position is even less coherent than the Pentagon's. It has placed someone by the name of Oberg in charge of investigating all cases of astronauts who have seen flying saucers. Most of the time, these things are no more than the invention of a reporter, or else the object detected turns out to be something identifiable, such as a stage from a rocket booster falling after launching the payload. With NASA's authorization, Oberg has published an article based on his report, entitled UFO: Unidentified Fraudulent Objects.

                The reader will ask: do honest scientists believe in UFO's? There are few, and almost all have given up in the light of scientific evidence regarding the impossibility of UFOs. Such is the case with Carl Sagan. The Invisible College, a book by Jacques Vallée published by Albin Michel and, adapted for the film Close Encounters, in which François Truffaut plays Vallée, is a good account of the complex opinions held by ufologists. It could be that some of the aspects of this subtle way of thinking elude me, but I believe I have understood that under his interpretation, we ourselves are flying saucers. I share this idea, although I think that the saucers lack any physical reality and the psychological forces that produce them are deceit and stupidity, whereas Vallée is of the opinion that they do have a physical reality and are produced by a power of the collective unconscious, whose objective is to transform the human race.

                As far as its use by the espionage services is concerned, I will add that every time that the U.S.A.F. carries out a new maneuver, such as mid-air refueling, deployment of new planes or rockets, it never escapes the notice of the ufologists, who detect these activities as saucer maneuvers. The objection could therefore be made that not all UFO events are mere fantasy, as many of them are explained by this sort of maneuver.

                Both the Pentagon and NASA follow the evolution of parapsychology with the greatest interest and with an eye on military applications. The project of astronaut Edgar Mitchell stands out among them, since after having left NASA, he established the Institute of Noetic Studies (530 Oak Grove, Menlo Park CA 94025), where the term "noetic" is very imprecisely applied to all the sciences related to the paranormal. This institute has been an

object of great interest. For that very reason, Soviet cosmonaut Vitaly Sebastianov paid it a visit on 18 October 1976. Sebastianov currently holds the record for the longest endurance in space, having spent 63 days aboard the Salyut 4 space station, and as a member of the Soyuz 9 mission.

                The works of the Sanford Institute, particularly those pertaining to clairvoyance, were translated into Russian specifically for perusal by Professor Lev N. Lupichev of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In the same manner, Russians and Americans have come to exchange information on the precognitive phenomena that often permit astronauts to know beforehand that a section of their capsule is about to fail, proving a gradual adaptation of humans to space. Neither NASA nor the Pentagon has funded this institute, but since they have become aware of a possible military windfall, they have begun to give credit to this subject matter, much as they do toward nuclear energy. Seeing that the Russians do the same, it becomes evident that there are clear military applications. The institute also works on other projects, such as the healing and relief of illnesses by the patient's own will, with spectacular results.

                Going back to NASA and the Pentagon, the official documents that have somehow made it through the strict secrecy point to many other areas of research within the realm of the occult: an aggression detector successfully tested in Vietnam and whose description has been provided by the U.S. Navy. It consists of two metal coils that are manually articulated and actuated like a pendulum, although it seems that some form of psychokinesis plays a role. The tubes, normally in a horizontal position, tend to become vertical if the owner of the device is being threatened, be it from a nearby land mine, whether metal or plastic, or a tangle of vines spread in the jungle by the enemy, or a trap in the ground covered by foliage and branches that would give way if stepped on, landing its victim on sharpened stakes. The device works whether or not there is a human presence involved. Though extremely easy to build, it is quite hard to explain. In the event of a human presence, it would be easy to imagine a telepathic transmission of hostile intentions. Since 1938, Heinrich Urban, in Vienna, had demonstrated that hostility can be broadcast at a subconscious level, without any intervention from the five outer senses, in studies conducted on paranoiacs (I would like to point out that in my case, not only do I find people boring, as I consider myself paranoid, but other paranoid personalities even talk about me behind my back). Therefore, the subconscious of an American G.I. can perceive the presence of Vietcong guerrillas hidden in the jungle, and take precautions.  But if so, how do we explain the reaction of the mechanical detector in the absence of any human at all? There are significant appropriations targeted toward this research. If it became possible to develop a theory and build a device equipped with electronic amplification, or if someone were to develop a biological transistor that could vary electric resistance according to the force of the hostility directed toward its bearer, this would be a crucial discovery and the appropriations would increase.

                There is also the report of Rho Sigma, a pseudonym employed by a distinguished German scientist who was at Peenemunde and who currently works for NASA. His identity is unknown to me. He has published a paper in German entitled "Forschung in Fesseln. Elektro-Gravitation UFO-Phanomene: Das Ratsel der Elektro-Gravitation" (Wiesbaden: Ventla Verlag, F.R.G., 1972). According to this text, the study of levitation phenomena leads toward anti-gravity, a study now disrupted in the West. The title of the paper reads "Chain investigations." Research in this field has always led to discoveries in the East regarding experimental electogravitational aircraft, which have flown around the world and have been classified as flying saucers. Faced with its own military survival, the West would have to reactivate this line of research. This report was taken seriously and led to the creation of a team to pursue investigations: Electrodynamic Gravity Inc., P.O. Box 1976, Sarasota, FL 33578.

                On the other hand, the Kirlian Effect is another occult-related discovery that has interested both the Pentagon and NASA. In order to understand it, envision a luminous fluorescent tube similar to those used for lighting. Under the effect of an alternating current in which voltage is being augmented by means of a transformer, a luminous discharge circulates from one electrode to another. This can be done in the open air and, with a certain degree of caution; an object can be introduced into the magnetic field without any danger. It then becomes possible to observe--and photographs prove that this is no optical illusion--that the charge condenses around certain parts of the object. This procedure was at first used by its Russian inventor to study materials. Since then, many investigators have ascertained that the charge condenses over the human body at the typical acupuncture spots, and that it varies according to the physiological and psychological state of the individual. Some have gone as far as to describe auras and ghosts, and photographs of a tree leaf whose tip had been previously cut showing the leaf in its entirety.

                The occultists have gone mad over this device, provoking the wrath of official science. However, within the latter, some individuals have chosen to study the phenomenon a bit more closely. Four scientists from Moscow University--E. Ivanov, I. Shesterin, A. Tambiev and M. Telitchenko have made a few supplementary observations in 1970: the release into the open air at a frequency of 120 khz and a voltage of 20,000 volts, can be carried out over a damp medium as well. The experiment has been reproduced around the world under these conditions, and the concentration of the discharge along certain points in undeniable. There existed the temptation to attribute it to impurities, but this is hardly the best explanation. While no ghosts have turned up, it is true that the hand of an individual under hypnosis produces a different effect from one in the normal state. This would be, as a matter of fact, the only physical phenomenon demonstrated in regard to hypnosis.

                This alone would justify the interest felt by NASA and the Pentagon in organizations that research the Kirlian Effect in the U.S., such as Mankind Research Unlimited, in Washington, which seeks to establish a nexus between the Kirlian Effect and telepathy, since there is a variation in the former when the subject receives a telepathic message. If this fact is confirmed, the door to the scientific study of telepathy would be opened, and not a moment too soon. Conferences on this matter increase day by day, as do research societies. One has even been contracted to detect by these means terrorists planning to hijack a plane. Even now, several American airliners may be fitted with these detectors, an application that is no less significant in military terms.

                They could be used, equally, in the defense of certain areas, such as nuclear storage facilities. If it is confirmed that the Kirlian Effect is truly subjective and the charge from one person's hand cannot be confused with that of another, it would become the surest means of keeping a door from opening to all but the right person. Only the external shape of the hand has been used to this end up to now. The Kirlian Effect could become a security guarantee, since it could not be replaced by any means, unless there exist variations according to the subject's psychological state, which would then make its effect aleatory.

                There exist other applications to be considered, but there are not always entirely satisfactory explanations. Once we have dismissed all the occultist oversimplifications concerning the aura, chakras, and other aspects derived from our misunderstanding of Yoga, we will perforce have to accept the conclusions reached by physics and chemistry. Therefore, among other assumptions, the Kirlian Effect could be the product of chemical impurities that constitute a gas or vapor. American scientists appear to have confirmed that the effect vanishes altogether in a totally dry environment. If the appearance of a gas were confirmed, it would then be possible to build a Kirlian detector that would find explosives at a distance, since an explosive emits fumes even if sealed in a gas-tight container. Much more powerful than sniffing dogs or artificial detectors that imitate the sense of smell, the Kirlian detector would be a priceless antiterrorist weapon.

                There are other hypotheses that should not be dismissed lightly, such as the one that suggests we are dealing with an electromagnetic phenomenon, linked to the electronic and ionic bombardment of the object subjected to the charge. If so, and this radiation is modifiable through electromagnetic sources from without, why not consider building a long-range anti-missile Kirlian detector? And we haven't run out of possibilities yet...

                Currently, the Pentagon is also involved in the investigation of law-enforcement's use of certain drugs. At first, there was great skepticism over the existence of a Tibetan drug which permitted complete control of a person's will, but experts are less skeptical today. As a result of the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the investigations they have carried out, it has been proven that such a drug really exists, although no one outside that country know its formula. It has also been said that some persons brought to trial in the USSR have been forced to ingest a drug of this type in the course of the proceedings. The Soviet Police takes care to prepare reports so detailed that they cause a great impression on the defendant, leaving him no other course but to confess guilt, as was the case with the old Hungarian premier, Rajk. The case of a scientist accused of spying for Germany before the war is also known: he was offered his freedom in exchange for the names of the two chiefs of German intelligence. He gave the names Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, the names of two battleships, and was released. The method, then, is not infallible.

                The drug in question has also been the focus of serious study, as is another drug called "angel dust" (PCP), which has given rise to many disquieting rumors. Ten per cent of deaths are due to overdoses. In 1977, five murders on the West Coast were attributed to its use. It seems that the ingestion and tolerance of "angel dust" is considered a matter of virility. The analyses conducted reveal that it is phencyclidine hydrochloride, also referred to as "rocket fuel" by adolescents. Its discovery goes back to 1950, when it was tested as an anesthetic and subsequently withdrawn in the light of its serious side effects, both in test animals and human subjects. In principle, no one has the right to manufacture it and its purchase is also forbidden. Someone, however, is breaking the law by making large quantities of it, which are freely handed out. This seems to affect the U.S. alone, but with a significant exception: in May 1968, "angel dust" managed to circulate for a short while in France.

                Who could be this dangerous enemy of the U.S. be? American authorities have gone as far as to accuse China, but I do not think that this country is the culprit. The Chinese mentality has a great deal of morality attached to it. The problem has not been solved and there are no means of telling how much more of the substance has yet to be distributed.

                As a matter of fact, this is not the first time that a drug has been used as a weapon. In the 19th century the British declared war on China, which was attempting to introduce opium and its derivatives. A sufficiently potent drug mixed in water or foodstuffs could render an entire army useless. Investigations in this field have been systematized by the Pentagon, where it is known that the CIA has been testing drugs for a decade. There was even a scandal when it was learned that CIA maneuvers had led to suicide or overdose by persons who had been given drugs without their consent. CIA agents confessed before a Senate panel to having taken part in such activities. Convicted for abuse, the CIA has agreed to quit such experimentation. Let's hope it keeps its word!

Its research becomes even more disturbing when we realize that it has no need of special facilities: these are standard organic chemistry experiments which need no special installations or large amounts of manpower.

                The number of clandestine laboratories sponsored by the Pentagon is unknown. It is thought to be quite high, as we learn that over ten thousand new organic compounds are discovered each year, and each of them, it is believed, could have physiological properties. In certain cases, a simple examination via computer of the compound's derived formula, and the study of analogous compounds, is enough to prove it. It is not too late to learn that biochemical warfare is much more menacing than biological warfare, and its specter has been felt in these years, as it bases its principles on magic and the occult. "Angel dust" is derived from the magical Chinese drug Ma-Huang, which is a type of ephedrine. The pharmaceutical lore of primitive tribes is also studied by the Pentagon. In Brazil, some tribes make use of a drug, yajé, which heightens telepathy. It would be interesting to know if it is related to the product with a similar effect, mentioned in reference to Chad.

                On the other hand, the Pentagon and NASA are trying to discover other means of communications aside from electromagnetic radiations. This would avoid the risk of laser beams. Under water, it is sufficient to make use of ultrasounds, which, alas, do not spread, or do so very weakly, in the air. How could a telepathic communication procedure be implemented? Some 20 years ago, experiments of this nature were made aboard the nuclear submarine Nautilus under such secrecy that is doubtful they took place at all. On the other hand, it is true that Edgar Mitchell has tried it from a space capsule 160,000 km. away from Earth, without any conclusive results. If NASA continues to attempt this, the truth remains that there is still very little information on the investigation. In France, a small experimental report shows that a telepathic message registered on an apparatus can be received later on. If this turns out to be true, the consequences would be tremendous for the field of military or space communication, or even espionage.

                Within the field of research itself, work has been undertaken on a telephone that works on mu particles, which can go through any object. Communications between two points thirty miles apart have been established by these means. On a larger scale, it will become possible to cover the entire planet. A problem would arise, however: the highly complex receivers and broadcasters are large in size.

                The discovery of a non-electromagnetic spectrum could also be the result of telepathic research. In principle, starting with Einstein's Unified Field Theory, there are three possibilities: a gravito-magnetic spectrum, a gravito-electric spectrum, and one with three phases: gravito-electro-magnetic. When we bear in mind all the scientific advances that have been made in the field of electromagnetism--from radio to radar and from television to X Rays--it is readily apparent that the discovery of three new spectra is replete with great possibilities. The Pentagon and NASA are actively investigating them, but as far as I know, they have not found anything up to now that would compare to the breakthrough discovery of uranium fission in the nuclear field. The U.S. Patent Bureau, suspicious by nature, has agreed to grant patents to several inventors of non-electromagnetic energy detectors. These devices tend not to work in any hands but those of their inventors, but we should bear in mind that the very same occurred with the early radios. The inventor of the three-electrode lamp, Lee de Forest, was sent to jail on fraud charges.

                The possibility of communication via clairvoyance does not leave the Pentagon unmoved. Since, in fact, the seer is "visiting" a place in space, why could that not be accompanied by a measurable effect that could be used for communication--Morse Code, for instance? We have seen in our first chapter such effects in the person of Ingo Swann. These talents, however, do not lend themselves to practical uses, because they require a complex device that would work near absolute zero, or to place in addition a sensitive animal, like a cat, at the point being studied. We can read about all the results obtained from psychokinesis and the manufacture of psitron detectors in Rémy Chauvin's book Les defís de la guerre future (The Challenges of Future War), published by France-Empire.

                On a smaller scale than NASA, the Pentagon is also concerned with all the new energy sources, more powerful and versatile than nuclear energy. At first glance, research of such scale would seem ludicrous. According to the International Institute of Peace Studies, based in Stockholm and directed by Dr. Frank Barnaby, the U.S. has 12,000 nuclear warheads deliverable by missile while the Soviets have some 4,600. On the other hand, each of the superpowers has an arsenal of 60,000 nuclear weapons, which means four tons of trinitrotoluene (TNT) for each man, woman and child on earth. In case of a conflict, each person on earth can be destroyed with 40,000 times more than the amount needed to kill him or her. Why worry about finding new sources of energy, if this is the case? Simply because neither nuclear energy, be it the A bomb, the H bomb, or atomic plants, can be used to power a car or send a rocket into space. A new energy source that could be used to move spaceships at will, replace oil, and facilitate aid to the Third World would have a military and political importance of the first rank. This is the field in which the vested amounts of money on the part of both the Pentagon and NASA are the greatest.

                Some of the research verges on the ridiculous, such as the work of psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich. He died in prison, accused of fraud, having formulated the theory that love generates an energy that causes the sky to be blue. Said energy, called Orgone, could also be used for the manufacture of weapons. He himself had built a sort of Orgone cannon, with which he claimed to have disintegrated flying saucers every day, to impede their flight within our atmosphere. The weapon, confiscated during his arrest, was entrusted to experts to see if it was capable of shooting down airplanes or missiles. I can only wish them the best of luck.

                Putting such foolishness aside, let us resume the train of thought according to which we are all surrounded by very dangerous and potent energy sources. Before scientists suspected its existence, alchemists had already hinted at nuclear energy. Insinuations about these energy sources, from the mouths of occultists or lunatics, are plentiful. Three of them are quite interesting: foremost among these regards the energy that could be obtained from the flow of time. The Russian astronomer Kozyrev has proposed the creation of "time dams," much along the same lines in which water is stored. This suggestion was put into practice by some American oddballs working for billionaire Howard Hughes. Second, the existence of cosmic energies in space that neutralize each other--like forces acting in opposite directions and therefore producing no effect. If this neutralization could be circumvented, it would result in free energy provided by the universe itself. If space could be studied in distances smaller than the tenth power of -23cm., amounts of energy far greater than those generated by the disintegration of matter could be obtained. This idea corresponds to the French philosopher Gustave Le Bon, and it has been reformed by  oddballs seeking to obtain experimental results, as well as by serious scientists who have developed extensive theories about it.

                A final subject that excites Pentagon interest is remote detection, by a flying machine or satellite, of minerals, petroleum deposits, and submarines--in other words, finding a discrepancy in a given medium. In spite of its advances, official science has been incapable of solving this technical problem. For this reason, it has turned to occultists and eccentrics, who speak in terms of "eloptic radiations." I am ignorant of the meaning of this esoteric jargon which no one has been able to explain to me. The receptors of these eloptic radiations have already been invented, and NASA and the Pentagon are investigating from balloons or helicopters rather than planes, as the latter are too fast to detect an oil deposit or a diving submarine. The results may be surprising.

                We can put aside other areas of research whose enumeration would be somewhat onerous and which merely constitute beginnings, although they may be the source of important developments in the future, in light of the importance attached by NASA and the Pentagon to these endeavors.

[Translation © 1992 by Scott Corrales, IHU]