It was on April 28, 1954 that Alan established direct contact with me for the third and perhaps the
last time. There was a sense of urgency in this contact which had not been present during our previous
meetings. It was also the first time that it was made clear to me that I had a personal duty and
responsibiity in the effort which Alan and his friends are making to alter the natural flow of events,
and thus avert the holocaust which is otherwise inevitable.
I am going to repeat as nearly verbatim as my memory will allow, the entire conversation which
took place between us, in the hope that the purpose and the message of these extraterrestrial
friends may become as clear to you as it was to me.
I had gone to my place in the Oregon woods, in the hope of making this contact, because
I wanted guidance as to what use, if any, I should make of the information I already had.
My place in Oregon is at the end of a small road which leads deep into the woods. It is extremely
isolated, and I felt that it would be an ideal spot for the contact which I was seeking.
I had been absolutely alone for three days when, early in the evening of the third day, Alan’s voice
came to me in its usual abrupt fashion. "Well, Dan, how much longer are you going to hide your light
under a bushel?"
In spite of the fact that I had come eight hundred miles, and had been waiting for three days in the
hope of making this contact, I was just as startled as though I had never heard Alan’s voice before.
I looked quickly around the room half expecting to see someone standing in the shadows,
although my reason told me that there could be no one there. Finally I recovered enough to make
an answer, but all I could say was, "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean," Alan replied. "in your great book of wisdom and philosophy which you
call the Bible, it is stated that when a man has lighted a candle, he does not place it under a bushel,
but holds it forth that all men may be guided by its light. We have expended considerable time and
patience in the effort to light a few candles among the races of your planet. It has been our hope
that the light of these candles might grow in brilliance until it exposed the terrible abyss toward which
the peoples of your world are so blindly rushing.
"We have given you information which is both of interest and of value to your people. Why do you.
keep it to yourself?"
"But what can I do?"I said, "I am an unknown. How can I reach the public, and who would listen
if I could?"
"Those who are not blind to truth will recognize the value of the message, regardiess of who the
messenger may be. Write what you have learned from us, in a book. You have already met the
man who will publish it. Tell the story through your newspapers. your radio and television stations,
and if necessary, shout it from the house-tops, but let the people know."
"You don’t realize what you are asking," I said. "If I adopt this course a few people may listen,
but many more will not. There are too many people in this world who are afraid of the truth,
and who are more afraid of anything which might change the existing order of things. If I attempt
to make public the information which you have given me, it will only mean that I will be scorned
and ridiculed. I will be called a liar by some, a fool by others, and a charlatan by still others.
If I give a statement to our newspapers, they will either ignore it entirely, or they will print a comic
distorted version which will make me appear stupid and ridiculous."
Alan’s voice took on the patient but slightly strained tone of a teacher who is att empting to explain
a simple fact to a somewhat backward student.
"Of course you will be ridiculed. Ridicule is the barrier which the ignorant erect between themselves
and any truth which frightens or disturbs them. Can you name any man of your planet who has ever
accomplished anything of great value to your people, who was not ridiculed and scorned by
some? It is the price which is exacted from every man who is as much as one step in advance of his
contemporaries. There is a saying in the records of the previous civilization of your world which I
believe should be on the frontispiece of every book of philosophy. "It is easier to ridicule than to
investigate, but it is not as profitable." Yes, you will be called a liar by some and a fool by others.
If you seek or accept any financial assistance, however small, you will immediately be accused of
commercialism, and yet the expenditure of at least some money is a prerequisite among your people,
to the accomplishment of almost anything. There are many problems which you will have to face,
but remember that they are by no means peculiar to your position. They have been faced and met
by every individual who has ever offered his services and his knowledge to his neighbors, in the
attempt to advance the culture of the race. Remember also that you will have friends, more friends
than you ever dreamed of. While it is true, as you say, that there are too many persons who fear
anything which might change their way of life, there are others, more than you think, who sense the
critical position of your civilization, and are searching diligently for the remedy. They will look before
they laugh, and for every one who looks, you will have another friend.
"Don’t forget what I have told you about the power of thought. When you have friends, you are
never alone no matter where you may be. Every mind that is for you will be with you, and will give
you added courage and ability."
"I hope so" I said. "I have a feeling that I am going to need plenty of both."
"It has been almost four years since you first contacted me. In a few more months you should be
completely adapted to our environment. Why don’t you simply set your craft down on the
White House lawn some morning, ask for worldwide communication facilities, and give the whole
world your message at once?"
This ‘simple solution,’ is only wishful thinking on your part, " Alan replied. "We have discussed
this before, and if you will think a little, you will see that there are many reasons, both general and
specific, why such a course would not be successful. In the first place there is the psychological
aspect. If we were to appear as members of a superior race, coming from above to lead the
people of your world, about thirty percent of these people would insist upon considering as as
Gods, and would attempt to place upon as, all responsibility for their own
welfare. Of the remaining seventy per cent, most would consider that we were potential tyrants who
were planning to enslave their world, and many would immediately begin to seek means to destroy us.
If any great and lasting good is to come of our efforts, the actual leaders must be your own people,
or at least men who are indistinguishable from them.
"From the practical standpoint, you know as well as we that if we were to land our craft near the
seat of your govemment, we would immediately be surrounded and taken in charge by those military
forces whose duty it is to protect the heads of your government from any possible danger. We would
be questioned for hours, perhaps days before any request which we might make would even be given
consideration. We would be forced to display our superiority in the realm of the material science.
Once this superiority had been demonstrated, the military leaders would inevitably adopt the position
that it was imperative that their country acquire and ‘protect’ this advanced scientific knowledge.
The attitude of your government, in common with the governments of other advanced nations of your
planet today, is that all new knowledge, particularly scientific knowledge, is the property of the state.
This is not the fault of any individual or political faction, but is simply a philosophism of government
which developed during the last two great wars upon your earth. It was given much impetus in
your country by the necessary secrecy attending the development of your nuclear weapons.
However the secrecy of millitary security has now grown far beyond the bounds of its reason,
and has become, in many cases, only an excuse to conceal anything which might embarrass any
member of your goveming bodies. As a matter of fact, most of the tension which exists between
your nations today is the direct result of this excessive secrecy.
"You must realize that any information which your government might acquire concerning us, our
craft or our knowledge, would be considered the most vital ‘military’ secret which they had ever
possessed."
"But supposing that you did land. Supposing that you did give our country the benefit of your
knowledge, wouldn’t that tend to prevent the outbreak of another war?" I said. "Surely you don’t
think us so barbaric that we would attack another country simply because we felt that we
possessed the means to conquer it?"
"Not at all," Alan replied. "You miss the point entirely. If we were to land in your country, your
government would attempt to keep it a secret, but it would not succeed any more than it
succeeded in keeping the secrets of its nuclear weapons. The government of Russia upon
being apprised of the fact that the militarv forces of the United States were acquiring highly
advanced technical knowledge, would decide that their only hope of avoiding complete
domination by the United States was to launch an immediate attack. Have you so soon
forgotten the lessons of your Pearl Harbor that you do not realize this?
"If we were to land in both countries simultaneously, the result would be only to intensify the existing
race for armaments, and would eventually bring about the very holocaust which we are attempting
to prevent.
"We will point out the way, and give you such help as we can, but you and the other people whom
we have contacted must ‘carry the ball.’ Whether or not your children have any future to look forward
to, will depend largely upon the success or failure of your own efforts."
I realize the danger to our civilization which the possibility of atomic warfare poses," I said, "everyone
whose work is in the technical field does. Almost every one of the top scientists of our country has, at
one time or another made the statement that full scale atomic warfare will probably result in the
virtual destruction of our civilization, but no one seerns to pay any attention to them."
"That is because they have stated only the problem, without offering any solution," Alan said. "Actually,
the possibility of atomic warfare on your earth is not the problem, it is merely a symptom, and no one has
ever had any great success in curing an illness by treating only the symptoms."
Three types of Science
"Your civilization is facing a great problem, and during the last few years it has become a critical
one. Its existence is not the fault of any race, creed or political faction, but is purely the result of natural
tendencies. It is an extremely simple problem, and like most simple things, its importance has been
overlooked by too many of your people. Also, like all simple problems, the solution is inherent in the
complete understanding of the problem. In order that you may understand it thoroughly, I will state it in
the simplest possible terms.
"There are three types or branches of science which are necessary for the proper development of
mankind: the Spiritual Science, the Social Science and the Physical or Material Science. The spiritual
and social sciences must come first. There can be no development of the material science unless there
first exists a foundation of the spiritual and social sciences. You can prove this to yourself by considering
the difference between man and the animals. The animal has no spiritual or social science and
consequently has never developed a material science. A few of your insects such as the ant and the
bee have developed a rudimentary form of social science to the extent that they are able to live together in
large numbers, work together for their mutual welfare, and have a form of discipline which is common
to all. As a result of this they also have developed a very limited material science, in that they do erect
structures. and store food against a future time of need. The fact, however, that they have no spiritual
science has proven an absolute bar to further development with the result that they have not advanced
a single step in thousands of years.
"Mankind, on the other hand, has, from the very beginning of his development, sensed the fact that
there is a supreme power and intelligence which pervades and controls all nature. Man’s attitude toward
this power has varied from fear and resentment, to reverence and love. but always he has had the desire
to learn more of the nature of this power. Thus the spiritual science had its beginning in the very dawn
of human intelligence. With the realization that man could improve the conditions of his life only by
co-operation, came the first tribal gatherings which were the beginning of the social science.
"From the foundation provided by these two sciences the superstructure of the material science
began to emerge, and here begins the problem. The development of the material science, being
constantly stimulated by the ever increasing needs and desires of the body, progresses normally
according to the square of time. This too, you can prove to yourself if you consider the inventions
and material developments which have taken place within the last thirty of your years, compare them
with the development of the previous one hundred years and then compare that in turn, with the
previous one thousand years. You will see at once that the development of the material science takes
place at a rate which is constantly accelerating. The spiritual and social sciences on the other hand,
progress normally, only directly with time, and even this rate of progress is not always maintained.
"You now have the problem of a huge and massive structure, growing at an ever increasing rate,
standing upon, and supported only by a foundation which is growing at a much smaller rate.
It is obvious that unless some means are found to stimulate greatly the growth of the foundation,
a time will inevitably come when the structure will collapse upon that foundation, bringing ruin and
destruction to both. This has occurred before upon your earth, and your civilization has now entered
the stage where it is likely to occur again.
"Your race is now in constant danger of total destruction by an agency which it has itself produced.
Why should a people be menaced by their own creations? Simply because they have not progressed
far enough in the spiritual and social sciences to enable them to determine the uses to which their
creations shall be put.
Most of the thinkers of your race are well aware of the danger inherent in the use of nuclear weapons,
but there is another aspect of the problem which is not generally recognized. That is the fact that unless
unity is achieved between your nations, the very existence of such weapons will eventually bring
about the downfall of your civilization, even though they are never used. The truth of this fact can
be understood by anyone who will think a little. Civilizations are built and maintained by men of
vision, who think and work for the future. What man will be willing to dedicate his life and his work
to the benefit of generations yet unborn, when the foreseeable future does not extend beyond the
next twenty-four hours? "Already many articles have appeared in your newspapers and magazines,
commenting upon the rapid rise of what they describe as juvenile dilinquency. Some writers place the
blame upon the parents, some upon the schools, others blarne the church or the state. Actually none
of these agencies are especially at fault. The condition is due principally to the fact that youth is
particularly sensitive to a condition of insecurity, (any of your psychologists will verify this) and never
in the history of your race has the future been less secure.
"It has been publicly stated by one of your highest government officials, that the political and military
tension between your government and the government of Russia may continue at its present level for
the next forty years. This would mean that two more generations of your people would be born and
reared under the constant threat of imminent annihilation. No civilization which the universe has yet
produced could endure under these conditions."
"I think I understand the problem now," I said.
"But what about the solution? There are many people who sense the hazard of our present position,
but their advice varies. Some say that we should halt the development of the material science, stop
working with advanced conceptions of any sort, and prohibit the study of nuclear physics. Others go
even further and say that we should destroy the material science entirely and ‘go back to nature,’
living as the animals do."
"If you were in the process of erecting a large new building," Alan replied, "and you suddenly
discovered that because of a miscalculation, the foundation was not going to be strong enough
to support the structure, would you at once begin to tear it down? Hardly! You would instead,
if you were at all intelligent, begin at once to seek the means to enlarge and strengthen the
foundation.
"The progress of the material science cannot successfully halted. Either it will go forward, or it will go back.
If it goes back, it will collapse because of the fact that the principal supporting members will be the first to
weaken under a program of retrogression. There is nothing that is intrinsically wrong with your material
science. It will progress and expand to horizons as yet undreamed of, if only your people will provide a
foundation capable of supporting it."
"And if they do not?" I asked. "Then your civilization will go down," Alan replied slowly. "It will destroy
itself in a holocaust which will leave few survivors. Those few who do survive will have neither the
ability nor the desire to rebuild their science. In a few generations their descendants will have returned
almost to the level of the animal. Then the process of evolution will begin again. In fifteen or twenty
thousand years another civilization will emerge. It will face the same problems and have the same
opportunity for their solution. If it fails, it will in turn go down. This is an immutable law of the universe,
but one which operates according to the free choice of the race. Your race and your culture are not
doomed to extinction, they may continue upon their upward course until they have left this danger
behind them forever. The choice is yours."
"There is little doubt," I said, "which choice the people would make, if they were aware of the
alternatives between which they were choosing."
"Precisely," Alan replied. "That is why we are here, and that is why you are here."
The great lesson
As I have said before: our ancestors were a group of survivors of the last complete collapse of
civilization on this planet. This was more than thirty thousand years ago as you measure time today,
but even then they had developed a material science which was, in some respects at least, considerably
advanced over your present position. They followed the natural laws, instead of pitting one against the
other as your science does, so that their devices were much simpler, and yet they could accomplish things
which you have not yet been able to do. They, too, failed to realize the absolute necessity of an equal
development of the spiritual and social values. A political and social cleft developed between
the two principal nations of that era. Friction between the two increased yearly, until at last it exploded
into a war of annihilation. Weapons of absolute energy were used by each nation against the other,
weapons whose destructive power was a thousand times greater than that of the Hydrogen bomb
which threatens your race today. There was no question of victory or defeat. They simply
destroyed each other. There were few survivors and the radiation level of the entire surface of the
planet had been raised beyond human tolerance. This did not mean that all survivors were doomed
to immediate death from the radiation, but it did mean that progressive deterioration of the mental
and biological functions, together with the large nurnber of mutations which would be produced in
succeeding generations, would, eventually, bring their level of existence down almost to that of
the beast.
"On a high plateau, in what is now the country of Tibet, six of our aerial craft had been landed
by their crews. A council was held to deterrnine what, if anything, could be done.
"It was suggested that an attempt be made to reach another planet. The aerial craft then in use were
capable of traveling in space and had been frequently used to reach elevations of a few hundred miles
above the surface of the earth. However, no attempt had yet been made to leap the gulf between
planets and the crew members were far from certain that such an attempt would prove successful.
"The planet, which you now know as Mars, was then in conjunction with the earth and, at that time,
the surface conditions of temperature, atmosphere, water, etc., were much better suited for human
survival than the conditions which your astronomers report to exist at the present time.
A vote was taken and the members of the crews of four of the craft elected to take the huge gamble
in the hope of preserving thereby, at least a portion of the culture of the race.
"The remaining crew members believed that because of the elevation of the plateau on which they
were gathered and the comparatively low level of the radiation which existed there, that they could
continue to live in this area without suffering complete physical or mental degeneration in themselves
or their descendants. They elected to remain.
"Since I can see the question which is forming in your mind, I will explain that this race had achieved
perfect equality of the sexes and both were about equally represented in this council. Of the four craft
which essayed the great leap, three arrived safely at their destination. There is no record in our history
as to the fate of the fourth.
For many generations the grim struggle for survival demanded the entire time and energy of the people.
These were the dark ages of the new race and we have comparatively little knowledge of this
period. However, the original crew members, immediately after their arrival upon the new planet,
compiled a carefully written history of the races of earth, pointing out the reasons for their downfall.
Throughout the intervening centuries this history has been carefuily preserved. It is known as ‘The
Great Lesson’ and is the first thing which is taught to all of our youth when they begin to prepare
themselves for active life.
"As the battle for survival was gradually won, the development of the material science resumed its
normal pattern but with the lessons of the past constantly before our people, it was maintained always
in its proper relationship to the social and spiritual values. We have found that all three of the science
have the same basic natural laws and we have come far in their understanding.
"We are now essentially independent of planets. Some of our craft are very large, judged by your
standards. They are many times the size of your largest ships. We are able to produce all of the
necessities and comforts of our physical lives within these craft and since we have solved the problem of
energy, we have no personal need to land upon any of the planets, except occasionally to obtain raw
material for new construction.
"The satisfaction of our own physical needs now requires but little time and effort, consequently we
are able to devote much of our thought and energy to the assistance of those races which have not yet
passed the critical point in their development."
"Can you give me some specific instructions?" I said. "Some definite information which I can pass along
to anyone whom I can persuade to listen?"
"There is little need to do this," Alan replied. "Your own philosophers, both past and present, have given
your people ample instruction, ample wisdom to enable them to chart the proper course, if they can only
be made to realize the absolute necessity of following it.
"If a man with a blindfold over his eyes were rushing toward a cliff, a great effort might be necessary
to tum him away from the danger. However, if the blindfold is removed, (a much less difficult task)
no further effort is necessary, since the man will now turn of his own accord.
There are many statements in your books of religion and philosophy which show that the great
thinkers of your race down through the ages, have been well aware of the dangers of concentration on
material science. In the first book of your Bible there is the story of the Tower of Babel, of a race
which had lost sight of the spiritual science entirely and were attempting to reach God by the work of
their hands. The attempt ended, of course, in frustration and chaos as such attempts always do.
"The development of the social and spiritual sciences becomes almost automatic if the vital
necessity of that development is understood by everyone.
A sound basis for a unified world
"If reduced to the simplest terms, social science is the study of man’s relationship to his fellow man.
The spiritual science is the study of man’s relationship to God. The indispensable requirement for
progress in either of these sciences is a sincere desire for a better understanding.
"One of the errors which was made in the translation of your Bible was that the words ‘love’ and
‘charity’ were used when the words of the original text actually meant ‘understand’ and ‘understanding.’
In your Bible it is stated that the greatest commandment of all is this - ’Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind and with all thy strength.’ The
translation should have been ‘Thou shalt strive to understand.’ There is no need to command man
to love God. If man understands God, love follows inevitably.
"Again, there is the statement, ‘Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels and have not
charity (understanding) I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.’ It is obvious that no
matter how fluently a man may speak, his words can have no real meaning unless he understands
that of which he speaks.
"Your books of philosophy state that man should love his neighbor and forgive his enemies. Ours say
that if a man understands his neighbor and his neighbor understands him, they will never become
enemies. Understanding your fellow man requires the ability to put yourself in his place and to see
things as he sees them. There is a great difference between knowledge and understanding.
The seat of knowledge is in the head but the seat of understanding is in the heart.
"The vital need of your world today is simple understanding between the people of your nations.
There is but little value in a treaty, a pact or a guarantee between governments, if understanding is
lacking between the people.
You have developed the means of rapid, worldwide communication through your radio, television,
telephone and telegraph. Why are these means not devoted to a much greater extent to the propagation
of understanding between nations? True, you have a few radio broadcasting stations which have been
dedicated to the task of spreading truth, but they are far too few and the programs they carry consist
principally of propaganda. Propaganda is merely the means of ‘selling’ another person or nation an
idea or a course of action which you believe should be followed.
"What the people of your world must recognize is that the needs and desires, the hopes and fears of
all the people on your earth, are actually identical. When this fact becomes a part of everyone’s
understanding, then you will have a sound basis for the formation of the ‘One World’ of which your
politicians speak so glibly, and your spiritual leaders so wistfully.
"The people of your nation, through your government are spending billions of dollars each year in
‘Foreign Relief,’ treating the symptoms of the illness. You are spending tens of billions yearly in
preparation for the global conflict which, if it comes, will only prove that the illness has become fatal.
If ten per cent of this money and effort were spent in an attack upon the illness itself, (which is simply the
lack of knowledge in the individual and the lack of understanding between them) in a few years the
illness would be cured.
"The industries of your nations, released from the necessity of expending half of their time and energy
in producing the means of destruction, could raise the standards of living of everyone on your earth to
the point that there would be complete freedom from want. With freedom from want comes freedom
from fear and your civilization would be safely past the critical point in its development Your
greatest era, your Golden Age lies just before you. You have only to go through the proper door.
"I have given you as much instruction as you are capable of absorbing at this time. Do everything
possible to bring our words to the attention of your people If you make any progress we will contact
you again. As I have said before, we will not and cannot force our knowledge or our culture upon
your race, nor can we appear in person before your people as a whole unless and until there is
substantial evidence that the majority desire it. This is far from being true at the present time.
"I will leave you with a final quotation from your own philosophy, ‘Examine all things. Cling to that
which is good.’
"Good-bye, Dan. Do your best."
back to linkpage
suggestion
read and sign my guestbook