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]
