The UFO Singularity (23 page)

If a computer could, in theory, function in the complete absence of energy dissipation, we not only see broad implications in terms of so-called “free energy.” We also see that future technologies may be capable of attaining processes that nearly, or even
completely
reverse natural entropy, thus increasing their efficiency. But perhaps the most fascinating potential here, of course, would involve the combination of advanced nanotechnology and reverse computation with human biology in innovative ways, thus lessening certain restrictions that may presently influence our thoughts, and even human perception, due to the laws of thermodynamics.

Although these radical promises for tomorrow’s civilization are indeed fascinating, by now you still might be asking what all this could possibly have to do with bettering our understanding of UFOs. In summary, based on what we know about the function of the human mind, as well as that of computer systems and the obvious restrictions placed on each of these courtesy of the second law of thermodynamics, the reasons underlying our limited perception of time are thus revealed. As Hawking argued, the general trend toward states of disorder that prevails in our universe somewhat governs our ability to perceive time, which is thus limited to observation of the present, as well as computational data or memories of what we perceive as being “the past.” The future, though no doubt existent, has not occurred yet within the limited jurisdictions of human perception. In theory, however, it might not always remain the case that humans would
be bound by such physical limitations, if certain entropic forces were managed correctly. We also see that the efficiency of computers can be greatly increased—perhaps to a point of perfect efficiency where no energy is dissipated at all—on a microscopic level. This calls into question the use of future nanotechnology to improve the way that computers, and eventually the human mind, will be able to function. Ray Kurzweil has argued that a hyper-efficient supercomputer of the future (the “ultimate laptop,”
¹⁶
to borrow MIT professor Seth Lloyd’s name for it) would have the capacity “to simulate one hundred thousand human brains in a cubic centimeter.”
¹⁷
By the year 2030 alone, if Kurzweil is right, such computing will be “roughly equal to our estimate for the capacity of all living biological human intelligence.”
¹⁸
And arguably, as the efficiency of such technology brings us closer to achieving
negentropic
computation within computers, the human mind, and even varieties of artificial intelligence, the universal influences that dictate our perception of things such as “time” may begin to change quite drastically as well.

Let us now imagine an intelligent future civilization, perhaps several centuries further along than our own. Consider the vast technological potentials they will inevitably manage to harness, the very beginnings of which we’ve only begun to touch on within the scope of our present discussion. To wit, I would find it highly unlikely that such a future civilization, having augmented its biology and cognitive processes, or perhaps supplanted
them altogether with advanced cybernetics, would be capable of anything less than perception of levels of reality far beyond our present human abilities. By the same token, with regard to this civilization’s expected ability to transcend the perceptual boundaries of time, there would probably be little necessity for the literal creation of clunky devices and machinery we would call “time machines.” I would argue instead that, rather than building devices literally capable of traveling through physical time, this eventual human ability to evade temporality would be rooted largely in the
perception
of time itself, and that those in future generations might utilize such facilities to interact with other non-temporal states—states the likes of which you or I might call our present day. Also, it could be argued that at least certain aspects of this future intelligence, with capabilities allowing them to observe, or even
manipulate
time in radical ways, would occasionally manifest as phenomena perceptible to us.

Bearing this in mind, consider now the almost
ghostly
nature of many UFO reports, in which these craft move at tremendous speeds, vanish into thin air, cause strange distortions in the passage of time relative to those nearby (in other words, the phenomenon known as “missing time,” as reported by many abductees), and a host of other strange phenomenon and odd occurrences. Rather than having anything to do with the strange and overt use of “magic” wielded by an apparent intelligence in our midst, perhaps these odd occurrences are merely clues—broken fragments of a larger puzzle extending
toward us from beyond our own perceptual limits of space and time. We might liken each manifestation of certain UFO phenomenon to pinholes of light escaping through cracks in the cosmic barrier; they reveal brilliant streams of illumination on an occasional basis, but never enough to allow full visibility of their source.

And yet, what if we were to one day find that the source of this illumination had been human in nature all along—or at very least, that it had been rooted in some aspect
of what humans are eventually destined to become?

Artwork by Caleb Hanks.

I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men. This I have known ever since I stretched out my fingers to the abomination within the great gilded frame; stretched out my fingers and touched a cold and unyielding surface of polished glass.

—Howard Phillips Lovecraft,
The Outsider,
1921

B
y the time we finally reach a point where our accessible technology can be utilized in determining, to some degree of conclusiveness, what varieties of phenomenon are underlying the UFO mystery, the question of their existence—which burns so strongly in our minds and culture today—may no longer bear quite the same significance that it holds for us now. Indeed, this statement may sound a bit strange, but if, in the event that some UFO craft were found to be originating from our future, or from secret technology already in our midst, or from outer space—or from
anyplace else,
for that matter—by the time we have technologies that would allow us to recognize or study these, our own technological capabilities will likely be nearing or intersecting with “theirs”—whomever it is that “they” may turn out to be. We will have reached a singular point in our own existence, where our technology reaches upward like the curious hand of Adam toward that of his Creator, ready to grasp a new kind of knowledge, power, and insight, and merge together with it as
one,
rather than merely staring at it in awe from a safe distance.

In essence, the intellectual and technological “union” we hope would result, given the best-case scenario, with a new kind of knowledge, as well as an entirely new
perspective of our universe, may greatly overshadow the discovery of another intelligence in our midst. A better way of putting it might be to liken the fate of such “alien” technology to being rendered effectively
obsolete,
to borrow again from the terminology employed by the late Mac Tonnies, which I included at the beginning of
Chapter 8
.

This, of course, represents a concept that I have begun to refer to as
the UFO Singularity,
a point where our own technological capabilities will become so advanced that they begin to mirror that of other intelligences in our universe, some of which may already be in our midst, though partially obscured by the limitations of human perception. Eventually, it could be argued that these two separate technologies may begin to share their discoveries with one another, and perhaps even merge together as one unified intelligence at some point. Or, in the event that hostilities may arise between them instead, perhaps they will just as simply negate each other. The likelihood of any such scenario that might arise, let alone the vast implications they might entail, presents us with considerations that extend well beyond the scope of the present discussion; they are, however, no less pivotal to our very existence, whether they are discussed here, or at a later time.

Having been rendered essentially indistinguishable from one another, we can hope that perhaps the eventual merging of two advanced intelligences, rather than manifesting as some cosmic collision between distant alien cultures, would in a way resemble the simple, yet sublime discoveries of our earliest primitive ancestor. I can imagine
this curious young creature as he crept along the water’s edge, searching only for those things known to him in his sheltered, but demanding little world. Perhaps he hoped to catch a fish, or to find an unattended nest full of eggs he could steal, though maybe some bright stone, which had captured the sun’s brilliance from beneath the running brook, would steal his attention away occasionally.

It was here, as he hunted along the familiar banks of this shallow stream, that chasing an unexplained illumination from beneath the water’s surface—one not unlike the strange lights that haunt our skies today—led him to discover a still pool, and he peered into it for the first time. There, it was nothing alien or monstrous that he found; it was merely his own likeness, captured in the water’s reflection. And yet, in a sense, he had discovered something far more complex and terrifying than any water nymph, monster, or intelligent alien being lurking beneath the ripples that scattered gently across its surface.

He had discovered, for the very first time,
himself.

1
. Vallee, “Unidentified.”

1
. “Things.”

2
. Ibid.

3
. “Twenty.”

4
. “Predicting.”

5
. “15 Big.”

6
. “Google Effects.”

7
. “Google Has Made.”

8
. Coffman and Odlyzko, “The Size.”

9
. Jung,
The Archetypes.

10
. Goertzel, “When.”

11
. Ibid.

12
. Pelletier, “Global.”

13
. Heinlein,
The Moon.

14
. Ibid.

15
. Vinge, “First.”

16
. Vinge,
Threats,
p. 72
.

17
. Vallee and Meyer, “Dynamics.”

18
. “What Is?”

19
. Ibid.

20
. Kurzweil,
The Singularity.

21
. Fowler,
The Andreasson.

22
. Vallee,
Dimensions.

23
. Ibid.

1
. Strieber,
Communion.

2
. Ibid.

3
. Deutsch, “Quantum.”

4
. Hafele and Keating, “Around-the-World.”

5
. Calder,
Magic,
p. 378.

1
. Verne,
Robur.

2
. Ibid.

3
. Ibid.

4
. Schnabel,
Dark.

5
. Ibid.

6
. Danelek,
The Great.

7
. Nicholson, “Those?”

8
. Ibid.

9
. Ibid.

10
. Danelek,
The Great.

11
. Dooley, “The Development.”

12
. Danelek and Davis,
Phantoms.

13
. Kurzweil,
The Singularity.

14
. Danelek,
The Great.

15
. Scully,
Behind.

16
. Ibid.

17
. Farrell, Lecture.

18
. Moiseenko, “UFO.”

19
.
Coast to Coast AM.

20
. All quotations in the following paragraphs recounting Stewart’s story are from the
Coast to Coast AM
show.

21
. Liebson, “The Discharge.”

22
. Watson,
Radar.

23
. All Maloney quotations from an interview with Mack Maloney, February 15, 2012.

24
. Fuller,
Proceedings.

25
.

1
. Personal correspondence via e-mail from Dallas Michael (Mike) Reese, June 9, 2011.

2
. Ibid.

3
. Ibid.

4
. Ibid.

5
. Clark,
The UFO.

6
. Personal correspondence via e-mail from Dallas Michael (Mike) Reese, June 9, 2011.

7
. Schnabel,
Dark.

8
. Personal correspondence via e-mail from Dallas Michael (Mike) Reese, June 9, 2011.

9
. Ibid.

10
. Personal conversation with Dallas Michael (Mike) Reese, September 24, 2011.

11
. Ibid.

12
. Ibid.