UFO sightings are at their highest level for 10 years and it seems that hardly a day goes by without the subject being covered in the media. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is in the process of releasing its entire archive of UFO files and gets more freedom of information requests about UFOs than any other subject. I worked for the MoD for 21 years and from 1991 to 1994 I ran their UFO project, researching the phenomenon and investigating the 200 to 300 reports that we received each year. 95% of sightings could be explained as misidentifications of something ordinary, such as aircraft lights, meteors or satellites. But 5% couldn't be explained. The MoD has files on sightings by pilots, police officers and military personnel, together with some cases where UFOs were tracked on radar.
Some encounters are decidedly closer than others and at the extreme end, some people claim not just to have seen a UFO, but to have been abducted by aliens. The MoD even has a file on this: D/Sec(AS) 12/5 - Close Encounters, Alien Entities, Abductions. Opinions, of course, are divided. Believers interpret alien abductions in a literal sense and think people are being taken on board spacecraft, where they're probed by small grey extraterrestrials with huge, black, almond-shaped eyes. They think abductees are being treated as little more than laboratory rats, with their DNA being taken, perhaps as part of some alien masterplan to create a hybrid race. Sceptics think these people are attention-seeking hoaxers, or that they're suffering from some psychological condition. Dreams, hallucinations and sleep paralysis have all been suggested as having a part to play.
Having investigated alien abductions for the government, I'm used to people asking me about this subject. Are these experiences real? Why are they happening? How can people stop them? But nothing prepared me for the bizarre request from journalist and TV presenter Chris Bell. He wasn't just interested in the phenomenon - he wanted to be abducted! It sounded crazy, but why not? After all, some people go on skywatches, looking for UFOs. Chris wanted to take this one step further and he asked for my help. I was happy to oblige.
So I'll be advising Chris on his strange quest. His journey will involve meeting abductees, scientists, UFO watchers and other assorted experts. We'll even see if hidden memories of alien abduction can be uncovered by using hypnotic regression. There'll be some hard science, but some fun stuff too. We'll be asking if there are any common factors in these experiences: what sort of people get abducted? Where do they live? What time of day do these experiences happen. Because, if we can piece all this together, some pattern might emerge. If it does, we can try to replicate these factors, so Chris can maximise his own chances of being abducted.
I have no idea whether Chris will succeed in his mission. I can offer him expert help and advice, based on my official research and investigation. But at the end of the day, it's out of my hands. All I can do is wish him good luck and - perhaps - bon voyage!
