Two weeks ago, Blather gave mention of Dr. Franklin Ruehl’s claims of extraterrestrial involvement in the malfunction of NASA’s Deep Space 1 probe. Dr. Ruehl wrote Blather an interesting letter in response, and so we have decided to share our rather gentlemanly argument with the readership, with Blather as Devil’s Advocate.
+The Doctor and the Devil+
According to the biography that he has passed to Blather, Dr. Ruehl holds a Ph.D. in theoretical nuclear physics (UCLA), has a weekly column *Ruehl’s Riddles* in the *Sun* supermarket tabloid, and has published some 1,687 technical papers and popular articles. He lectures regularly before various colleges, organizations, aerospace firms (such as Hughes, Lockheed, and Aerojet), and at expos (such as the Whole Life Expo) and conventions (such as the Babylon 5 Con).
His TV program *Mysteries From Beyond The Other Dominion*, was one of the four original series to debut on the Sci-Fi Channel in 1992, and he is a regular on two other syndicated TV shows, *Strange Universe* and *Weird TV*.
*Seconds out…*
Franklin Ruehl: Thank you for your interest in my controversial theory. While I am well aware of your skeptical bent, I am also cognizant of the fact that your site attracts individuals with an open mind to controversial theories regarding ETs.
Blather: Doctor Ruehl, loathe as I am to introduce a dichotomy into the proceedings, I would be interested in hearing what you would regard as a preferable opposite to a ‘skeptical bent’. I would distance myself from the likes of CSICOP and their like, finding them to be dismissive of the paranormal *on principal*, whereas I am more than happy to entertain the possible existence of paranormal entities – physical or otherwise. However, that *doesn’t* lead me to assume that extra-terrestrials are visiting our planet, or messing with our space probes.
FR: While I have no evidence that ETs have established an outpost on Asteroid 1992 KD, I am convinced that advanced aliens somewhere in the cosmos, whether in our solar system or beyond, have set up such asteroidal bases. For instance, four additional planet-bearing stars have just been identified,and more undoubtedly will follow.
B: Without sounding like a barrister, may I enquire as to exactly what has convinced you that ETs not only exist but are in our midst comsmologically and/or psychically speaking?
FR: Considering that the ion engine has the potential to increase our spacefaring capabilities by a factor of 10, it is certainly conceivable that aliens might wish to sabotage our efforts in this regard. That engine had functioned flawlessly on the ground in multiple tests, but just 4.5 minutes after running on Deep Space 1, it failed, and refused to start up despite numerous attempts to reboot it. JPL even used the term “mysterious” concerning its failure!
B: When my new PC fails to boot up, I too often mutter ‘mysterious’. I think you may be taking a mile when NASA have given but an inch. With the sabotage idea too – I mean, I’m all in favour of speculation, but it’s quite a leap from a technical malfunction to allegations of sabotage by ETs!
FR: ETs might wish to restrict us in a non-forceful manner to our own domain of space. Recent discoveries have confirmed my thesis that planetary moons are potential sites for alien life. There may well be underwater civilizations on Callisto, Ganymede, and Europa, not to mention tiny Enceladus (which has at least a 40% water content). Even if these entities have not developed a spacefaring technology, they may have evolved powerful psychic abilities,which may have been directed at Deep Space 1, i.e. alien remote viewers may have been responsible for its failure!
B: Hmmmm – just because these moons have the potential to harbour organic life, it certainly doesn’t follow that organic life has evolved to a level of consciousness and technical ability which enables it to track what’s going on here on Earth. On the other hand, if these extraterrestrials are more advanced than us, why would the bother merely sabotaging our hardware (which didn’t work by the way, Deep Space 1 is back on the rails)? It would be quite a fluke to think that the ETs are at the same step of the (theoretical) evolutionary ladder as us, not at some primeval or advanced stage… or even extinct.
FR: Obviously, I cannot prove any of these suppositions, but all are well within the realm of feasibility! Not only may have aliens also zapped the 1993 NASA Mars probe, but may have also been responsible for the enigmatic disappearance of the Telstar 401 in January, 1997, and the recent failure of the Galaxy 4 communications satellite.
B: No pun intended, but as William of Occam put it “Entities should not be multiplied more than necessary”. I can’t help but think that you’re stacking these suppositions on some fairly frail assumptions. Machines are fallible, there are a host of more credible assumptions to make about their breakdown before one even gets close to considering interference from another planet.
Blather also brought up Dr. Ruehl’s theories concerning the pyramids…
FR: Regarding my contention that ETs were responsible for the creation of the three Great Pyramids and the Sphinx, I point to the erosional evidence adduced by Dr. Robert Schoch, backdating their construction to anywhere from 7,000 to 9,000 years ago when there was no organized Egyptian society capable of creating them. While that does not prove that ETs were responsible, it certainly makes the ET hypothesis as credible as any of the others that have been advanced.
For example,there were some 2.5 million stone blocks in the Great Pyramid of Cheops, each weighing anywhere from one to 40 tons, constructed over a 20-year period. Assuming they worked only 12-hour shifts in the daylight, 300 days per year (taking time off for holidays, inclement weather, etc.), they would have had to cut, grind, and move in place one such huge stone every 1.45 minutes! In light of such data,the extraterrestrial hypothesis seems worth considering!
B: In other words, it simply adds another hypothesis, perhaps more unprovable than the rest? Just because we don’t know – *at the present time* – how humans could have done it in the past, it doesn’t necessarily follow that humans could never have done it. We might as well attribute the building contract to ‘The Gods’.
If someone else other than humans could have done the building… *how* did they do it? Are we going on the assumption that extraterrestrials imported some form of heavy lifting gear (mechanical or otherwise) and then took it home with them again? If they have such marvellous powers at their disposial, how come they can’t sucessfully take out a pesky space probe, several thousand Earth years later? Are they the same aliens, or are humans creating extraterrestrials scapegoats created to fill gaps in our understanding, like dozens of little gods?… so that we have Pyramid Builders/Contractors ETs, Space Probe Hating ETs, Abductor ETs…
Blather remains unconvinced.
+More+
Non-Temperance Zone (earlier dicussions about Dr. Ruehl)
[‘The Doctor and the Devil, in case anyone’s wondering, is a reference to *The Doctor and the Devils* by Dylan Thomas, a play about the 19th century body-snatcher-murderers Burke and Hare]
+Geminid Skywatch+
Blather was in touch with Eamon Ansbro of the Irish Centre for UFO Studies/ Programme for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Research – they have a skywatch planned for Monday December 14th at the Moylurg Tower in Lough Key Forest Park, Co. Roscommon, from 5:30 onwards. This date seems to have been predicted as when the UFOs are to show themselves… as the Geminid meteor shower is due to peak on Sunday, and if it is a clear night, doubtless there will be some level of success for the skywatchers.
Recent Blather coverage of the ICUFOS *Energy fields! – Shields up!*
Last year’s Geminid shower/ICUFOS skywatch
Lough Key Forest Park, Co. Roscommon
