All language subtitles for Chasing.Conspiracies.S01E05.The.Alien.Files.720p.WEBRip.x264-DHD[eztv]

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: FOR OVER 50 YEARS,
THE WORLD HAS BEEN ENTHRALLED

BY STRANGE TALES
OF ALIEN ENCOUNTERS.

HE SAW A SPACESHIP.

Narrator: SOME BELIEVE
THAT EXTRATERRESTRIAL VISITORS

ARE FACT, NOT FICTION.

AND THEY CLAIM THAT
A SECRET GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY

IS HIDING THIS TRUTH
FROM THE PUBLIC.

WE HAVE THE GOVERNMENT LYING,
REALLY, FROM DAY ONE.

THE GOVERNMENT KNOWS MORE
THAN THEY'RE LETTING ON.

Narrator: IN "CONSPIRACIES:
THE ALIEN COVER-UP,"

WE INVESTIGATE BRITAIN'S
MOST MYSTERIOUS UFO SIGHTINGS.

[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS ]

DID THE U.S. MILITARY

ATTEMPT TO COVER UP
A UFO ENCOUNTER ON U.K. SOIL?

MAN: It's coming this way.

It is definitely
coming this way.

ANYBODY THAT WAS A WITNESS...

WAS TOLD TO TREAT IT
AS TOP-SECRET.

Narrator: DID ALIENS ATTACK
A MAN IN A SCOTTISH FOREST?

Robinson: THE MARKS THAT
YOU'RE
LOOKING AT COULD'VE BEEN MADE

BY SOMETHING
NOT OF THIS WORLD.

Narrator:
HAVE BRITISH SCIENTISTS

REALLY MADE CONTACT
WITH AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION?

White: THE ROSETTA MISSION IS
A
MILITARY RECONNAISSANCE
MISSION.

THE COMET HAS WHAT SEEM TO BE
STRUCTURES ON IT

THAT LOOK INTELLIGENTLY MADE.

Narrator:
AND DID THE U.K. GOVERNMENT

DESTROY
IRREFUTABLE UFO EVIDENCE?

THE BEST WAY TO KILL THE STORY

IS TO MAKE SURE
NO ONE HAS THE PICTURE.

[ LOCK CLICKS ]

-- Captions by VITAC --
www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

Announcer: DO YOU BELIEVE
IN FLYING SAUCERS?

Narrator: FOR OVER 70 YEARS,

WE'VE BEEN GRIPPED
BY EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS

OF STRANGE SIGHTINGS
AND CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

WITH WHAT ARE CLAIMED
TO BE SPACESHIPS

AND EXTRATERRESTRIALS...
FROM BEYOND OUR WORLD.

IT WAS ABLE TO MOVE SIDEWAYS
TO MANEUVER.

NO AIRCRAFT IN THIS COUNTRY
COULD DO THEM SORT OF
MANEUVERS.

THE OBJECT WAS LIKENED
UNTO A CROSS.

I BELIEVE THE UFO PHENOMENA

AND THE CROP CIRCLES
ARE TOTALLY CONNECTED.

Narrator: BUT COULD WE REALLY
BE EXPERIENCING ACTUAL CONTACT

WITH BEINGS
FROM OTHER PLANETS?

ASTRONOMERS AND SCIENTISTS
WHO SPECIALIZE IN THIS AREA

DO BELIEVE THAT,
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING,

THERE MUST BE NOT JUST LIFE
ELSEWHERE IN THE UNIVERSE

BUT INTELLIGENT LIFE.

Narrator:
FOR SOME, THE EVIDENCE
GATHERED
FROM SIGHTINGS AROUND THE G

POINTS TO ONLY ONE CONCLUSION
--

EXTRATERRESTRIALS HAVE
ARRIVED.

Friedman:
THERE'S NO QUESTION IN MY
MIND.

ALIEN VISITORS ARE MONITORING
THE WHOLE DARN PLANET.

Narrator: STANTON FRIEDMAN HAS
INVESTIGATED UFO ENCOUNTERS

FOR OVER 50 YEARS.

HE NOT ONLY BELIEVES
THAT ALIENS HAVE VISITED
EARTH,

BUT HE CLAIMS
THAT OUR GOVERNMENTS

HAVE SECRETLY CONSPIRED
TO COVER UP THIS TRUTH.

Friedman: THERE'S A WHOLE
SECRET WORLD OUT THERE --

TOP-SECRET WORLD.

THE NEED TO KNOW
IS WHAT'S CRUCIAL HERE,

AND VERY FEW PEOPLE
HAVE A NEED TO KNOW

THE MOST CLASSIFIED STUFF.

Narrator: FRIEDMAN AND OTHERS
CLAIM THAT, BEHIND OUR BACKS,

TOP-SECRET SECTIONS
OF THE MILITARY

ARE SECRETLY STUDYING UFOs

TO LEARN FROM THEIR ADVANCED
ALIEN TECHNOLOGIES.

THEY MAKE A WONDERFUL
WEAPONS-DELIVERY AND

THE EXTRAORDINARY
MANEUVERABILITY,

THE ABILITY TO HOVER,

TO MOVE STRAIGHT UP,
STRAIGHT DOWN,

RIGHT ANGLE TURNS, ALL THIS --

BOY, WHAT A GREAT BOMBER
THAT WOULD MAKE.

Narrator: BUT DESPITE
THIS ALLEGED SECRECY,

THERE HAVE BEEN
NUMEROUS DOCUMENTED INCIDENTS

OF ALIEN ENCOUNTERS.

ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS CITED
BY THE CONSPIRACY THEORISTS

OCCURRED RIGHT HERE IN THE
U.K.

MAN: It's coming this way.

It is definitely
coming this way.

Now we're observing

what appears to be a beam
coming down to the ground.

This is unreal.

Penniston:
ANYBODY THAT WAS A WITNESS...

WAS TOLD TO TREAT IT
AS TOP-SECRET.

Narrator: 1980 WAS
THE HEIGHT OF THE COLD WAR.

THE U.S. AIR FORCE CONTROLLED
MANY AIRFIELDS IN THE U.K.,

INCLUDING TWO ON THE EDGE
OF SUFFOLK'S RENDLESHAM
FOREST.

AND IT WAS HERE
THAT IT'S CLAIMED

THAT THE U.K.'s BIGGEST
MILITARY COVER-UP

OF AN ALIEN ENCOUNTER
OCCURRED.

[ INSECTS CHIRPING ]

IT WAS THE NIGHT
OF THE 26th OF DECEMBER, 1980.

AT 3:00 A.M., BASE SECURITY
AT WOODBRIDGE AIR FORCE BASE

SAW A STRANGE LIGHT IN THE SKY

FALLING TOWARDS
RENDLESHAM FOREST.

THE ALARM WAS RAISED.

[ Indistinct chatter
over walkie-talkie ]

26-YEAR-OLD SERGEANT
JIM PENNISTON

LED THE TEAM
SENT OUT TO INVESTIGATE

WHAT THEY THOUGHT
WAS A CRASHED AIRCRAFT.

WHAT HE BELIEVES HE DISCOVERED
CHANGED HIS LIFE FOREVER.

I WENT IN ONE PERSON
AND LEFT ANOTHER.

IT WENT AGAINST
EVERYTHING I BELIEVED IN

AND WHAT COULD BE TRUE,
WHAT COULD BE POSSIBLE.

Narrator: THE TEAM MOVED
TOWARDS A FAINT LIGHT

THEY BELIEVED
WAS THE CRASH SITE.

AS WE ENTERED THE TREE LINE...

THERE WAS A FLASH OF LIGHT.

I MEAN, A HUGE FLASH OF LIGHT.
IT WAS BRIGHT BLUISH-WHITE.

AS THE LIGHT FADED,
SERGEANT PENNISTON CLAIMS

HE SAW SOMETHING
OUT OF THIS WORLD.

Narrator: MANY PEOPLE CLAIM
THAT
OUR GOVERNMENTS ARE CONSPIRING

TO COVER UP THE TRUTH
ABOUT UFO ENCOUNTERS.

ONE OF THE MOST
INCREDIBLE SIGHTINGS

IT'S CLAIMED THEY SUPPRESSED

OCCURRED RIGHT HERE IN THE
U.K.,

WHEN SERGEANT JIM PENNISTON
OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE

WAS SENT TO INVESTIGATE
STRANGE LIGHTS

IN RENDLESHAM FOREST.

Penniston: I WASN'T SURE
WHAT I WAS SEEING.

I HAD MY MIND SET
THAT IT WAS AN AIRCRAFT CRASH,

AND THERE WAS NO CRASH.

I COULD START SEEING
A STRUCTURED CRAFT,

AND IT WAS A TRIANGULAR CRAFT

THAT WAS SITTING
ON THE FOREST FLOOR,

AND IT LOOKED LIKE BLACK
GLASS.

WHEN I PUSHED IT, IT WAS
SOLID.

IT WAS WARM.

THERE WAS SOME TYPE
OF MARKINGS ON IT.

THERE WERE GLYPHS ON IT

THAT WERE SOMETHING
I'D NEVER SEEN BEFORE.

THERE WAS ANOTHER FLASH OF
LIGHT
COMING OUT OF IT.

AND THEN IT STARTED
TO LIFT OFF THE FOREST FLOOR

AND MOVED A LITTLE BIT
THROUGH THESE TREES.

IT MOMENTARILY HOVERED THERE,
DID A SLIGHT TURN,

AND WAS GONE
IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE.

WHEN I LOOKED, IT HAD MOVED
ANOTHER 100 YARDS AWAY.

WE PURSUED IT, AND WE COULD
NEVER QUITE CATCH UP WITH IT.

Narrator: FEARING RIDICULE,

PENNISTON DIDN'T DISCLOSE
HIS CLOSE ENCOUNTER,

REPORTING ONLY THAT
HE SAW UNIDENTIFIED LIGHTS.

BUT RUMORS
OF HIS TEAM'S UFO SIGHTING

BEGAN TO CIRCULATE
AROUND THE BASE.

AND TWO NIGHTS LATER,
THE LIGHTS WERE SEEN AGAIN.

THIS TIME, A LARGER FORCE
WAS SENT TO INVESTIGATE,

LED BY DEPUTY BASE COMMANDER,
LIEUTENANT COLONEL HOLT.

AT THE SITE
OF PENNISTON'S ENCOUNTER,

HOLT'S TEAM RECORDED STRANGE
INDENTATIONS IN THE GROUND,

AND DETECTED
ABNORMAL RADIATION READINGS.

[ METER CRACKLING ]

THEN, THEY, TOO, SAW THE
LIGHTS.

COLONEL HOLT RECORDED
EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED.

-What is it?
-We don't know, Sir.

There's something
very, very strange.

It's coming this way.

It is definitely
coming this way.

Now we're observing

what appears to be a beam
coming down to the ground.

This is unreal.

Narrator: WHEN THE LIGHTS
FINALLY DISAPPEARED,

HOLT RETURNED TO BASE
A BELIEVER.

HE SENT AN INTERNAL MEMO
UP THE CHAIN OF COMMAND,

DOCUMENTING HIS ENCOUNTER.

I HAVE A LIEUTENANT COLONEL,
DEPUTY BASE COMMANDER,

WHO NOW ACKNOWLEDGES
AND VALIDATES THE FIRST NIGHT.

IT'S NO LONGER JUST ME
TELLING THE STORY.

HE EXPERIENCED SOMETHING
THAT HE COULDN'T EXPLAIN
EITHER.

Narrator: AFTER COLONEL HOLT
REPORTED HIS SIGHTING,

PENNISTON WAS ORDERED

TO GIVE A DETAILED DESCRIPTION
OF HIS OWN CLOSE ENCOUNTER

TO GOVERNMENT INSPECTORS.

BUT THEIR RESPONSE
WAS UNEXPECTED.

ACCORDING TO PENNISTON,
THEY GAVE HIM A COVER STORY

AND ORDERED HIM
TO SUPPRESS THE TRUTH.

Penniston:
I SAID, "IT'S NOT ACCURATE."

AND THEY SAID,
"THIS IS AN OPEN INVESTIGATION

BY THE OFFICE
OF SPECIAL INVESTIGATION.

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO GO AHEAD
AND USE THIS AS THE COVER
STORY

TO ANYBODY
THAT ASKS ABOUT THIS."

Narrator: AT THIS POINT,
SERGEANT PENNISTON CLAIMS,

THE INTERROGATION
TOOK A SINISTER TURN.

AGENTS DRUGGED HIM TO MAKE HIM
FORGET THE WHOLE INCIDENT,

EXPLAINING WHY HE'S BEEN
SILENT
ABOUT HIS ENCOUNTER FOR YEARS.

I CAN UNDERSTAND
THEIR NEED FOR THAT.

I CAN UNDERSTAND IT.

I DON'T -- I DON'T AGREE
WITH THE METHODS.

SODIUM PENTOTHAL WAS USED.

AND, YOU KNOW,
IT WAS -- IT WAS REALLY...BAD.

[ CHUCKLES ]
I MEAN BAD.

Narrator: SERGEANT PENNISTON
SAYS THAT IT WAS YEARS

BEFORE HE REGAINED THE
MEMORIES
OF HIS CLOSE ENCOUNTER.

BOTH HE AND COLONEL HOLT CLAIM
THE RENDLESHAM INCIDENT

IS A HUGE U.S. GOVERNMENT
COVER-UP OF A UFO ENCOUNTER.

BUT WHY DID UFOs CHOOSE
TO LAND IN RENDLESHAM FOREST,

AND WHY WOULD
THE MILITARY COVER IT UP?

CONSPIRACISTS CLAIM THAT
IT'S ALL ABOUT NUCLEAR
WEAPONS.

THEY SAY THAT
THERE IS NO COINCIDENCE

THAT UFO SIGHTINGS HAVE SHOT
UP

AFTER WE ENTERED
THE NUCLEAR ERA.

FROM AN ALIEN PERSPECTIVE,
MANKIND HAD COME OF AGE.

Friedman:
AT THE END OF WORLD WAR II, I

THAT SOON THESE IDIOT
EARTHLINGS
WOULD BE ABLE TO GO OUT THERE

AND BOTHER THEM
WITH NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY.

Narrator: IT'S CLAIMED THAT,

IN THE 1980s,
STRATEGIC NUCLEAR WEAPONS

WERE SECRETLY HOUSED
AT U.S. BASES IN BRITAIN,

INCLUDING THE TWO MILITARY
BASES

ON THE EDGE
OF RENDLESHAM FOREST.

BUT IT'S NEVER BEEN CONFIRMED.

BELIEVERS CLAIM

THAT THE UFO HAD COME
TO SPY ON THESE MUNITIONS.

IN HIS ACCOUNT,
COLONEL HOLT STATES

THAT THE UFO SHONE A BEAM
ONTO THE HANGAR

WHERE THE NUKES WERE
ALLEGEDLY STORED.

Friedman: WHEN YOU'VE GOT
NUCLEAR WEAPONS,

I WOULD THINK
ALIENS WOULD WANT TO KNOW

WHAT WAS GOING ON HERE.

Narrator:
THE CONSPIRACY THEORISTS

POINT TO THE FACT
THAT THE U.S. MILITARY

KEPT THE RENDLESHAM FOREST
INCIDENT UNDER WRAPS

FOR OVER TWO YEARS.

THE STORY OF THE UFO ENCOUNTER
ONLY HIT THE HEADLINES IN
1983,

WHEN COLONEL HOLT'S
OFFICIAL MEMO

BECAME THE SUBJECT OF
A FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
REQUEST

AND THE MILITARY
WAS FORCED TO RELEASE IT.

BUT SKEPTICS CLAIM
THAT THE RENDLESHAM INCIDENT

WAS NO CLOSE ENCOUNTER.

THEY SAY THERE IS
A SIMPLE EXPLANATION

FOR THE STRANGE LIGHTS.

A LIGHTHOUSE -- SPECIFICALLY
ORFORDNESS LIGHTHOUSE,

ON THE COAST A FEW MILES
FROM THE FOREST.

IF YOU'RE STANDING IN
RENDLESHAM
FOREST AT THE RIGHT POSITION,

YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE
THE LIGHTHOUSE STICKING OUT.

I'VE SEEN IT.

IT'S PERFECTLY VISIBLE
FROM WHERE COLONEL HOLT WAS

AT THE TIME
HE WAS MAKING THE RECORDING.

Narrator: THE LIGHTHOUSE
FLASHES
EVERY FIVE SECONDS,

A FACT SKEPTICS SAY
PROVES THERE WAS NO UFO.

YOU PLAY
COLONEL HOLT'S RECORDING,

AND YOU CAN HEAR HIM.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY TIME IT
AGAINST THE FLASHES.

THERE IT GOES AGAIN.

NOW, HE DIDN'T DESCRIBE
IN ANY STATE RECORDING

SEEING A UFO AND A LIGHTHOUSE

HE DESCRIBES SEEING A UFO.

HE DOESN'T MENTION
THE LIGHTHOUSE

AT ANY POINT IN THAT
RECORDING.

SO, HIM SAYING YEARS LATER

HE COULDN'T POSSIBLY
HAVE GOT THE TWO MIXED UP --

I'M SORRY, DOES NOT
COOK ANY...WITH ME.

OH, IF THEY WANT TO SAY
IT'S A LIGHTHOUSE, THEY CAN.

I DON'T CARE.

IT WAS A STRUCTURED CRAFT.
IT WAS ON THE GROUND.

THAT IS WHAT
THEY'RE TRYING TO HIDE.

Narrator: THE SKEPTICS ALSO
DOUBT BOTH PENNISTON'S ACCOUNT

OF HIS CLOSE ENCOUNTER
WITH THE CRAFT

AND THE DRUG-FUELED COVER-UP,

BECAUSE THESE KEY REVELATIONS
WERE ONLY REPORTED BY
PENNISTON

YEARS AFTER THE EVENT.

Clarke: NONE OF THAT
WAS MENTIONED IN 1981.

THE RIGHT WAY OF LOOKING AT IT
IS TO SAY,

THOSE PEOPLE
MAKING THOSE CLAIMS,

LET'S SEE YOUR EVIDENCE.

WHERE IS YOUR EVIDENCE?

THERE ISN'T ANY, JUST STORIES.

AND THOSE STORIES BECOME
BIGGER
AND BIGGER AND BIGGER

AND MORE ELABORATE EVERY YEAR.

Narrator: SKEPTICS BELIEVE
THERE WAS ANOTHER REASON

FOR THE MILITARY COVERING UP
THE ALLEGED ENCOUNTER.

IF NUCLEAR WEAPONS WERE
SECRETLY KEPT AT THE BASES,

THE AUTHORITIES WOULD'VE BEEN
KEEN TO HUSH UP ANY INCIDENT

THAT CAST DOUBT ON THE
SECURITY
AND INTEGRITY

OF THE BASE DEFENSES.

THE IDEA THAT
THE GOVERNMENT IS COVERING UP

SOMETHING IT'S EMBARRASSED
ABOUT
IS A LOT LESS INTERESTING

THAN IT'S COVERING UP
SOMETHING
THAT IT'S FRIGHTENED ABOUT.

BUT THE FORMER, OF COURSE, IS
MUCH MORE LIKELY TO BE THE
CASE.

Narrator: WHETHER OR NOT
THE U.S. MILITARY

WERE ATTEMPTING TO HIDE
IMPORTANT SECRETS

REMAINS UNKNOWN TO THIS DAY.

BUT WE NOW KNOW FOR A FACT

THAT FOR DECADES,
ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC,

THE MILITARY HAD BEEN
SECRETLY STUDYING UFOs.

BY THE EARLY 1950s, BOTH
THE U.S. AND U.K. MILITARIES

HAD SET UP
TOP-SECRET TASK FORCES

TO INVESTIGATE THE POSTWAR
BOOM

IN SIGHTINGS
OF UNIDENTIFIED FLYING
OBJECTS.

Pope: THE CENTRAL PURPOSE
OF THE UFO PROJECT

WAS TO ASCERTAIN WHETHER OR
NOT
ANY OF THESE SIGHTINGS

CONSTITUTED A THREAT
TO THE DEFENSE OF THE U.K.

IN OTHER WORDS,
WE LOOKED TO THIS STRICTLY

AS A DEFENSE
AND NATIONAL-SECURITY ISSUE.

Narrator: THE BRITISH
AND U.S. GOVERNMENTS' FEAR

WAS THAT UFOs WERE IN FACT
ENEMY SOVIET AIRCRAFT.

Pope: CONCERNS ABOUT

PARTICULARLY WHAT
RECONNAISSANCE
AND BOMBER AIRCRAFT

THE SOVIET UNION POSSESSED

WAS REALLY A HUGE QUESTION.

SO, THESE SIGHTINGS OF UFOs,
PEOPLE WERE THINKING,

"MAYBE THE SOVIETS
HAVE MADE A QUANTUM LEAP."

Narrator: THE M.O.D.'s
UFO PROJECT SPENT DECADES

INVESTIGATING THOUSANDS
OF REPORTED SIGHTINGS.

AND IN 2009, THEIR FILES
WERE FINALLY DECLASSIFIED.

THE OFFICIAL LINE --

THEY NEVER FOUND ANY EVIDENCE
OF EXTRATERRESTRIALS.

BUT SOME CLAIM
THE TRUTH IS VERY DIFFERENT

AND THAT SOME SIGHTINGS
WERE NEVER EXPLAINED.

Pope:
AROUND 80% OF THE SIGHTINGS

COULD BE EXPLAINED
SATISFACTORILY

AS MISIDENTIFICATIONS.

ANOTHER 15% -- REALLY,
THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT DATA

TO COME TO A FIRM CONCLUSION,

LEAVING 5% UNKNOWN.

Narrator: MANY UFOLOGISTS
CLAIM
THAT THE TRUTH ABOUT THIS 5%

HAS BEEN KNOWN FOR DECADES

AND THAT THE HIGHEST LEVELS
OF THE U.K. MILITARY

ARE COVERING UP ALIEN CONTACT.

I DON'T BELIEVE FOR A MINUTE

THAT ENGLAND HAS RELEASED
ALL OF THEIR FILES.

THAT'S THE KICKER HERE --

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SECRET
AND TOP-SECRET, FOR EXAMPLE.

Robinson: I DO BELIEVE THAT
MAYBE THE GOVERNMENT KNOWS
MORE

THAN THEY'RE LETTING ON.

THAT'S WITH UFO SIGHTINGS
IN BRITAIN AS A WHOLE.

I DO BELIEVE THEY'VE GOT
A LOT MORE TO ANSWER FOR.

Narrator: MALCOLM ROBINSON

HAS BEEN INVESTIGATING
UFO SIGHTINGS FOR OVER 30
YEARS.

HE BELIEVES THAT THE ABSENCE
FROM THE M.O.D. RECORDS

OF CERTAIN KNOWN UFO
ENCOUNTERS

POINTS TO
A CONTINUING CONSPIRACY.

[ BIRDS CHIRPING ]

ONE SUCH ENCOUNTER OCCURRED
IN 1979 IN DECHMONT WOODS,

NEAR THE TOWN OF LIVINGSTON
IN SCOTLAND,

WHEN FORESTRY WORKER
ROBERT TAYLOR

CLAIMED TO HAVE BEEN ASSAULTED
BY EXTRATERRESTRIALS

IN BROAD DAYLIGHT.

IT WAS SUNDAY MORNING
OF NOVEMBER 9th, 1979,

THAT ROBERT TAYLOR
WAS WALKING DOWN

THIS FORESTRY PATH BEHIND ME.

AND AS HE WALKED DOWN THIS
PATH,
HE CAME TO THIS CLEARING.

AND AS HE STOOD THERE,

HE WAS ABSOLUTELY GOBSMACKED
BY WHAT HE SAW.

Narrator: ACCORDING
TO HIS LATER TESTIMONY,

HOVERING ABOVE THE CLEARING
WAS A UFO.

Robinson:
HE WAS ABSOLUTELY TRANSFIXED.

HE'S NEVER SEEN
ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE.

HE WAS ABSOLUTELY ASTONISHED.

AND HE NOTICED
THAT PARTS OF THE OBJECT

DEMATERIALIZED
AND SOLIDIFIED AGAIN.

AND JUST THEN, WHAT RESEMBLED
TWO SECOND-WORLD-WAR SEA MINES

DESCENDED
FROM BENEATH THIS OBJECT

AND STARTED ROLLING ACROSS
THE GRASS TOWARDS HIM.

THEY STOPPED, AND THEY
PROJECTED
THESE ROD-LIKE PROJECTIONS

TOWARDS BOTH OF HIS HIPS
AND PULLED HIM,

AND AT THAT POINT...

...HE LOST CONSCIOUSNESS.

Narrator: IN NOVEMBER 1979,

WHEN 61-YEAR-OLD ROBERT TAYLOR
WAS WALKING THROUGH WOODLANDS

NEAR LIVINGSTON
IN CENTRAL SCOTLAND,

THE LAST THING HE EXPECTED
TO SEE WAS A UFO.

WHATEVER HE ENCOUNTERED,

HE CLAIMED HE WAS ATTACKED BY
IT
AND LEFT UNCONSCIOUS.

ACCORDING TO TAYLOR'S
TESTIMONY,

WHEN HE CAME TO,
THE UFO WAS NOWHERE TO BE
SEEN,

BUT HE CLAIMED THE AIR WAS
FULL
OF A CHOKING GAS.

IN A DAZE, TAYLOR STUMBLED
BACK TO HIS HOUSE

AND CALLED THE POLICE.

WHEN THEY ARRIVED,

THEY DISCOVERED
THE FORESTRY WORKER

BATTERED AND BRUISED,
WITH TORN CLOTHING.

IT'S GONE DOWN IN HISTORY,
THIS CASE,

AS BEING THE ONLY EXAMPLE
OF A POLICE INVESTIGATION

INTO A SUSPICIOUS ATTACK
BY A UFO ON AN INDIVIDUAL.

Narrator: ROBERT TAYLOR
WAS THE ONLY WITNESS

TO THE EVENTS HE DESCRIBED,

BUT HIS ACCOUNT WAS JUDGED
TO BE RELIABLE.

Dash: EVERYBODY
WHO'S INVESTIGATED THE CASE

SAYS BOB TAYLOR HIMSELF
WAS A VERY CREDIBLE WITNESS.

HE DIDN'T TRY TO MAKE MONEY
OUT OF THE CASE.

HE WAS VERY PHLEGMATIC ABOUT
IT,

AND DIDN'T SEEM PARTICULARLY
PERTURBED OR EXCITED ABOUT IT.

AND HE WAS NOT SOMEBODY
WHO WAS KNOWN

FOR MAKING UP STORIES
OR MAKING INCREDIBLE CLAIMS.

HE BELIEVED -- AND HE ALWAYS,
TILL HIS DYING DAY,

HE BELIEVED
THAT HE SAW A SPACESHIP,

FOR WANT OF A BETTER WORD.

IN FACT,
THAT'S THE WORDS HE USED.

HE SAW A SPACESHIP.

Narrator:
UNLIKE MANY UFO SIGHTINGS,

TAYLOR'S EYEWITNESS STATEMENT

WAS SUPPORTED
BY PHYSICAL EVIDENCE.

WHEN THE POLICE
VISITED THE CLEARING

WHERE TAYLOR CLAIMED
HE WAS ATTACKED,

THEY FOUND THE GROUNDS SCARRED
WITH STRANGE INDENTATIONS.

ON EXAMINING THE AREA,
I FOUND TWO TREAD MARKS

AND APPROXIMATELY 40 HOLES
IN THE GROUND.

SINCE THEN,
I'VE PHOTOGRAPHED THE HOLES.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE
THE TREAD MARKS,

WHICH CORRESPOND
TO THE MARKS HERE.

THIS IS THE AREA IN QUESTION

WHERE ROBERT TAYLOR SAID
HE SAW THIS FANTASTIC OBJECT.

THIS AREA HERE -- WE HAVE
OVER 40 HOLES IN THE GRASS.

AND IN THE MIDDLE
OF THIS SLOPING FIELD,

AT THE TIME,
WERE THESE TRACK-LIKE MARKS.

REALLY BAFFLING STUFF,
BECAUSE THERE WERE NO TRACKS

ACTUALLY RUNNING TO THE
CLEARING
OR RUNNING AWAY FROM IT.

Robinson: WITH THE TESTIMONY
OF ROBERT TAYLOR,

WITH THESE SPIKY BALLS

THAT DESCENDED
FROM BENEATH THIS OBJECT

AND ROLLED ACROSS THE GRASS,

PERHAPS IT WAS THAT,
THOSE DEVICES,

THAT MAY HAVE MADE
THESE INDENTATIONS,

THESE MARKS IN THE GRASS.

Narrator: THE POLICE
PHOTOGRAPHS
AND SKETCHES

ARE NOT THE ONLY EVIDENCE
THAT REMAINS FROM THE
INCIDENT.

Robinson: WHAT I'M HOLDING
HERE
IS THE ACTUAL TROUSERS

THAT ROBERT TAYLOR WORE
ON THAT EVENTFUL MORNING.

AND THEY CLEARLY SHOW
THE RIPS ON THE TROUSERS HERE.

WE HAVE QUITE A SUBSTANTIAL
RIP
ON THE RIGHT LEG OF THE
TROUSER.

AND ALSO, IF WE TURN
THE TROUSERS ONTO THIS SIDE,

ON THE LEFT LEG, WE HAVE
QUITE A MORE SUBSTANTIAL TEAR,

AS WE CAN SEE HERE.

THE TESTIMONY WAS
THAT THESE RIPS WERE MADE

BY THESE SEA-MINE DEVICES

THAT FELL
FROM BENEATH THE OBJECT

THAT ROBERT TAYLOR SAW
ON THAT EVENTFUL MORNING.

THE MARKS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING
AT

COULD'VE BEEN MADE
BY SOMETHING NOT OF THIS
WORLD.

Clarke: THEY FOUND EVIDENCE

THAT SOMETHING HAD ATTACHED
ITSELF TO HIS TROUSERS.

ALMOST LIKE HAVING HAVING
ALMOST TRIED TO LIFT HIM UP

AND MADE RIPS
IN THE SIDE OF THE TROUSERS,

AND THESE WERE FOUND
IN THE FORENSIC LAB.

Narrator: BUT ULTIMATELY,

DESPITE ALL THE EYEWITNESS
AND PHYSICAL EVIDENCE,

THE POLICE INVESTIGATION
GROUND TO A HALT.

AND WHEN
THE GOVERNMENT'S UFO FILES

WERE FINALLY RELEASED IN 2009,

THERE WAS NO FILE
ON ROBERT TAYLOR'S ENCOUNTER.

FOR MALCOLM ROBINSON,

THIS IS EVIDENCE
OF A DELIBERATE COVER-UP

OF WHAT REALLY HAPPENED
IN DECHMONT WOODS.

IT'S MY BELIEF

THAT THE GOVERNMENT WERE AWARE
OF THIS CASE.

IT WAS ON THEIR RADAR.
IT WAS ON THEIR AGENDA.

IT'S MY CONTENTION

THAT THEY UNDERTOOK
THEIR OWN INVESTIGATION

THIS WAS MAJOR.

I BELIEVE THAT WE ARE DEALING

WITH A VERY REAL -- A VERY
TANGIBLE -- ALIEN PRESENCE

HERE ON PLANET EARTH.

THAT SOUNDS FANTASTIC,

BUT JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING
SOUNDS AND LOOKS RIDICULOUS,

WE SHOULDN'T LAUGH AT IT.

Narrator: ROBERT TAYLOR'S
ACCOUNT GOES DOWN

AS ONE OF THE MOST MYSTERIOUS
BRITISH UFO SIGHTINGS EVER.

BUT SKEPTICS BELIEVE THERE IS
A MORE MUNDANE EXPLANATION

FOR HIS ALLEGED ENCOUNTER.

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
WITH THESE THINGS IS THAT,

IN ALMOST ALL CASES,

ONE TENDS TO FIND
THAT IT'S EITHER A HOAX

OR SOMETHING'S HAPPENED
IN SOMEBODY'S BRAIN.

Narrator: THE THEORY IS THAT,
IN THE FOREST THAT DAY,

ROBERT TAYLOR
MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED

SOME KIND OF EPILEPTIC
SEIZURE.

ONE OF THE COMMON SYMPTOMS
OF AN EPILEPTIC ATTACK

IS PEOPLE SEEING A BALL OF
LIGHT
RUSHING TOWARDS THEM

OR SUDDENLY
LOSING CONSCIOUSNESS.

AND THE SMELL THAT
ROBERT TAYLOR SAID HE SMELLED
--

THIS HORRIBLE CHOKING SMELL --

THAT'S THE SORT OF THING
YOU WOULD EXPECT

FROM SOMEBODY HAVING A
SEIZURE.

Narrator:
BUT IF ROBERT'S UFO EXPERIENCE

THERE IS STILL NO EXPLANATION
FOR THE MARKS IN THE CLEARING

OR THE RIPS IN HIS TROUSERS.

THE POLICE CASE REMAINS
OPEN AND UNSOLVED,

AND THE RUMORS OF CONSPIRACY
CONTINUE.

THE ROBERT TAYLOR
AND RENDLESHAM INCIDENTS

ARE NOT THE ONLY ENCOUNTERS

CONSPIRACY THEORISTS CLAIM
THE GOVERNMENT IS COVERING UP.

MANY BELIEVE
ONE PARTICULAR ACCOUNT

RECORDED IN THE U.K. UFO FILES

POINTS TO
THE WILLFUL DESTRUCTION

OF THE BEST EVIDENCE
EVER PRODUCED

[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING ]
OF A UFO OVER BRITAIN.

THE BEST WAY TO KILL THE STORY

IS TO MAKE SURE
NO ONE HAS THE PICTURE.

Narrator:
ACCORDING TO THE UFO FILES,

IN AUGUST 1990,

TWO HIKERS WERE WALKING
IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS,

CLOSE TO CALVINE,
NORTH OF PITLOCHRY.

SUDDENLY, THEY SAW
SOMETHING INCREDIBLE.

[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING ]

IT WAS A CHANCE
FOR THE PICTURE OF A LIFETIME.

THE HIKERS IMMEDIATELY
CONTACTED JOURNALISTS

FROM THE SCOTTISH
DAILY RECORD NEWSPAPER.

AFTER VIEWING THEIR PHOTOS,

THE JOURNALISTS CHOSE TO SHARE
BOTH PICTURES AND NEGATIVES

WITH THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE.

THE UFO DESK FILES SAY THAT
THE IMAGES WERE THEN ANALYZED

BY THE BEST TEAM
IN THE BUSINESS.

THE DEFENCE INTELLIGENCE STAFF
SENT THESE IMAGES TO JARIC.

THAT'S THE JOINT AIR
RECONNAISSANCE AND INTE

NOW, THIS IS THE U.K.'s
MILITARY CENTER OF EXPERTISE

WHEN IT COMES
TO IMAGERY ANALYSIS.

Narrator: THEY IDENTIFIED
A SMALL JET IN THE BACKGROUND.

BUT THE LARGE DIAMOND-SHAPED
CRAFT IN THE FOREGROUND

DEFIED CLASSIFICATION.

THESE INTELLIGENCE PERSONNEL
COME TO THE CONCLUSION

THAT THESE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE
REAL.

IT'S A SOLID CRAFT,

AND NO ONE HAS THE FAINTEST
IDEA
WHAT IT IS.

Narrator: AT THE TIME,

NICK POPE WAS A JUNIOR MEMBER
OF THE UFO TEAM.

HE REMEMBERS THE RESPONSE
OF THE M.O.D.'s TOP UFO
EXPERT.

HE STARTED GESTICULATING,

AND HE SAID, "WELL,
WE KNOW IT'S NOT THE
AMERICANS,"

AND HE POINTED HIS FINGER
THAT WAY.

AND HE FLIPPED IT THE OTHER
WAY,

AND HE SAID,
"IT'S NOT THE RUSSIANS."

AND HE SAID,
"THAT ONLY LEAVES..."

AND HE DID THAT.

AND MY BOSS LOOKED
AT HIS FINGER,

LOOKED UP AT THE CEILING,

AND WE ALL JUST
LOOKED AT EACH OTHER,

AND NOTHING FURTHER WAS SAID.

I MEAN, THERE WERE CERTAINLY
PEOPLE IN THE M.O.D.

WHO WERE PREPARED TO THINK
THE UNTHINKABLE AND SAY,

"YEAH. MAYBE, JUST MAYBE,
IT COULD BE EXTRATERRESTRIAL."

Narrator:
BEHIND NICK'S UFO PROJECT
DESK,

THE CALVINE PICTURE
HAD PRIDE OF PLACE.

Pope: PEOPLE WOULD COME
INTO OUR SECTION,

THEY WOULD SEE THIS THING,

AND SAY,
"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?"

AND WE'D TELL THE STORY.

IT'S THE BEST UFO PHOTO
WE EVER RECEIVED.

Narrator: THEN, SUDDENLY,
THINGS CHANGED.

ACCORDING TO NICK POPE,
AN INTERNAL COVER-UP BEGAN.

Pope: ONE DAY,
MY HEAD OF DIVISION CAME IN

AND HE REMOVED IT.

I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT WAS
SENT
SOMEWHERE ELSE FOR SAFEKEEPING

OR SOMEONE ELSE ON HIS BEHALF
PUT IT THROUGH THE SHREDDER.

BUT WHATEVER HAPPENED, WHEN
THE M.O.D. OPENED ITS UFO
FILES,

QUESTIONS WERE ASKED
ABOUT THAT PICTURE,

AND THE ANSWER WAS, "WELL,
WE DON'T KNOW. IT'S GONE."

[ LOCK CLICKS ]

Narrator: OUTSIDE EVIDENCE
OF THE PHOTOGRAPH'S EXISTENCE

HAD ALSO DISAPPEARED.

THE DAILY RECORD NEVER
PUBLISHED THE PICTURES,

AND NOW THEIR JOURNALISTS
CLAIM
NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE STORY.

NOW TO ME, IF YOU'D BEEN
GIVEN A PHOTOGRAPH LIKE THAT,

WHAT A FANTASTIC SCOOP.

I JUST THOUGHT,

WHY WAS IT THAT
THE SCOTTISH DAILY RECORD

DIDN'T PUBLISH
THESE PHOTOGRAPHS?

AND I SPOKE
TO ALL THE CHIEF REPORTERS

WHO WERE AROUND AT THAT TIME.

THEY KNEW ALL THE PEOPLE
WHO WERE THERE BACK TO 1990.

NONE OF THEM COULD
REMEMBER THE STORY AT ALL.

Pope: I CAN ONLY ASSUME

INTELLIGENCE SPECIALISTS
IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

CONVINCED THE PAPER
NOT TO RUN THIS,

MAYBE THROUGH
USE OF A D-NOTICE,

BUT MAYBE THROUGH
SOME OTHER MEANS.

AND FOR WHATEVER REASON,

THE PAPER COMPLIED
WITH THIS REQUEST,

AND THE STORY WAS DROPPED.

Narrator:
WITHOUT THE JOURNALISTS,

THE HIKERS COULD NOT BE
TRACED,

AND THEY HAVE NEVER
COME FORWARD.

ALL THAT NOW SURVIVES IN THE
UFO DESK'S CALVINE IMAGE FILE

ARE A COUPLE
OF CRUDE LINE DRAWINGS.

THE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH
HAS DISAPPEARED WITHOUT TRACE,

AND MANY BELIEVE
THIS POINTS TO A COVER-UP.

WELL, IF IT WAS
AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL CRAFT,

THAT'S A BIG, BIG STORY
FOR THE GOVERNMENT,

NOT ONLY OF THE U.K.,
BUT ANY GOVERNMENT,

TO OPENLY PUT A HAND UP
AND ADMIT THAT WE ARE DEALING

WITH A RECOGNIZABLE
ALIEN TECHNOLOGY PRESENCE HERE

SURROUNDING PLANET EARTH.

IN THIS SORT OF SITUATION,

IT REALLY IS THE CASE THAT
A PICTURE PAINTS 1,000 WORDS.

YOU KNOW,
THE BEST WAY TO KILL THE STORY

IS TO MAKE SURE
NO ONE HAS THE PICTURE.

Narrator: BUT COULD THERE BE
ANOTHER EXPLANATION

FOR A GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY --

ONE THAT DOES NOT
INVOLVE ALIENS?

WELL, I THINK THIS IS ONE
OF THOSE RARE OCCASIONS

WHERE THERE ACTUALLY IS
A CONSPIRACY OF SORT,

THOUGH MAYBE IT'S NOT QUITE
THE CONSPIRACY

THAT PEOPLE THINK IT IS.

Narrator: THE TRUTH IS THAT,
DURING THE COLD WAR,

THE U.S. MILITARY
HAD MANY SECRETS TO HIDE,

INCLUDING THE STEALTH
AND SPY AIRCRAFT TECHNOLOGY

THAT HAD LED
TO THE F-117 FIGHTER

AND B-2 BOMBER.

RUMORS THAT THE AMERICANS

WERE WORKING ON AN EVEN MORE
ADVANCED SPY PLANE

HAD CIRCULATED

IN THE MONTHS LEADING UP
TO THE CALVINE INCIDENT.

A LOT OF STUFF ON TV AND RADIO

ABOUT THIS
NEW HYPERSONIC AIRCRAFT

THAT THE AMERICANS
WERE SUPPOSED TO BE TESTING --

CODE-NAMED AURORA --

WHICH WAS SUPPOSED
TO BE DIAMOND-SHAPED,

AND IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE
THE NEXT GENERATION

OF STEALTH AIRCRAFT

AFTER THE F-117
AND THE B-2 BOMBER.

Narrator:
SKEPTICS BELIEVE THAT THE HEAD

ALTHOUGH NOT CLEARED
TO KNOW ABOUT AURORA,

WOULD HAVE HAD THE INCENTIVE

TO PROTECT
AN AMERICAN MILITARY SECRET.

THEY'D NOT GOT ANY
CONFIRMATION

THAT THIS WAS FLYING
IN BRITISH AIRSPACE,

BUT THEY SUSPECTED IT MIGHT
BE.

SO, TO THEM,
THIS WAS POTENTIALLY, YOU
KNOW,

A PICTURE
OF A TOP-SECRET AIRCRAFT.

SO, YOU CAN IMAGINE THERE
WOULD
BE A LOT OF SORT OF, "MM."

YOU KNOW, "THIS IS NOT
SOMETHING
WE WANT TO SAY MUCH ABOUT."

Narrator: THE DESIRE TO
PROTECT
TECHNOLOGICAL SECRETS

COULD EXPLAIN WHY ALL TRACES
OF THE CALVINE PHOTOGRAPH

WERE REMOVED.

THE INHERENT SECRECY OF
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE
MILITARY

HAS LED TO A SITUATION

WHERE PEOPLE THINK
WE DO HAVE A SPACESHIP HIDDEN

IN AN AIR-FORCE HANGAR
SOMEWHERE.

IF WE DID HAVE
A SPACESHIP HIDDEN,

I'M AFRAID THEY DIDN'T TELL
ME.

Narrator: BUT UFO BELIEVERS
REMAIN UNCONVINCED.

AND THEY CLAIM GOVERNMENT
COVER-UPS NOW EXTEND INTO
SPACE.

THEY ALLEGE THAT
A RECENT SPACE PROBE

IS JUST A COVER
FOR A MORE SINISTER MISSION

TO RENDEZVOUS WITH ALIENS.

White: IT WAS PRETTY OBVIOUS
STRAIGHTAWAY

THAT THERE WERE
STRUCTURES ON THERE.

AND THERE WAS EVEN A UFO
HOVERING JUST ABOVE THE
SURFACE,

ABOUT THE SIZE
OF A FAMILY CAR.

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: WITH ADVANCES
IN ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY,

SPACE EXPLORATION
HAS ENTERED A NEW ERA.

UNMANNED PROBES ARE NOW
AT THE FOREFRONT

OF OUR EXPLORATION
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

[ Man speaking indistinctly
over radio ]

BUT SOME BELIEVE
THAT OUR FORAYS INTO SPACE

HAVE A MORE SINISTER PURPOSE.

THE LATEST SPACE MISSION

TO FALL UNDER
THE CONSPIRACY SPOTLIGHT

IS THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY'S
ROSETTA MISSION.

Man: 2014 LEAVES ONE NAME
WRITTEN IN SPACE -- ROSETTA.

A SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENT
20 YEARS IN THE MAKING,

AND SO FAR,
IT'S WORKED PERFECTLY.

Narrator:
THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY

PORTRAYS THE ROSETTA MISSION
AS PURE SCIENCE --

A 10-YEAR VOYAGE ACROSS
MILLIONS OF MILES OF SPACE

TO SURVEY THE DISTANT COMET
67P.

Man: ROSETTA'S IMAGES
AND MEASUREMENTS

ARE HELPING SCIENTISTS

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT
THE ROLE OF COMETS

IN THE EVOLUTION
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

Narrator: BUT SOME BELIEVE
THIS MISSION IS A SMOKE
SCREEN.

JOE WHITE RUNS THE UFO
SPOTTERS'
WEB CHANNEL ArtAlien.

IN AUGUST 2014, HE RECEIVED
A MYSTERIOUS E-MAIL.

White: I ACTUALLY
READ IT OUT TO MY WIFE.

SHE INSTANTLY RECOGNIZED IT

AS SOUNDING VERY OFFICIAL,
AND AUTHENTIC, AS WELL,

BECAUSE THE WORDING IS DONE
IN A VERY SORT OF MILITARY
WAY.

Narrator:
THE E-MAIL'S ANONYMOUS AUTHOR

CLAIMED THEY WORKED
AT THE SPACE AGENCY

AND THAT ROSETTA'S
SCIENTIFIC MISSION WAS A
COVER.

"DO NOT THINK FOR ONE MOMENT
THAT THE SPACE AGENCY

WOULD SUDDENLY DECIDE
TO SPEND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS

TO BUILD AND SEND A SPACECRAFT
ON A 12-YEAR JOURNEY

TO SIMPLY TAKE CLOSE-UP IMAGES

OF A RANDOMLY PICKED-OUT COMET
FLOATING THROUGH SPACE."

Narrator: THE E-MAIL ALLEGED
THAT THE REAL AIM OF THE PROBE

WAS TO CARRY OUT
A MILITARY MISSION

TO MAKE CONTACT WITH ALIENS.

IT STATES THAT, DECADES AGO,
A MYSTERIOUS RADIO SIGNAL

HAD BEEN RECEIVED
FROM THE DISTANT COMET 67P.

[ SIGNAL PLAYING ]

White: MY UNDERSTANDING OF IT
IS

IS ONE OF OUR DEEP-SPACE
SATELLITES OR PROBES

MAY HAVE PICKED UP THIS SIGNAL
AS FAR BACK AS 20 YEARS AGO.

[ SIGNAL CONTINUES ]

Narrator: CONSPIRACISTS
BELIEVE
THE SIGNAL IS A MESSAGE

FROM INTELLIGENT
EXTRATERRESTRIALS.

THIS SIGNAL IS ACTUALLY
MUSICAL,

AND CONTAINS SOME SORT
OF INTELLIGENT STRUCTURE

WHICH COULD POSSIBLY BE
DECODED.

THIS MISSION
WAS NEVER REALLY ABOUT

JUST RANDOMLY LANDING ON A
COMET
350 MILLION MILES AWAY.

IT WAS ACTUALLY -- AND IS -- A
MILITARY RECONNAISSANCE
MISSION.

Narrator: CONSPIRACISTS CLAIM
THAT ROSETTA IS DESIGNED

TO RENDEZVOUS WITH THE ALIENS
WHO SENT THE SIGNAL.

JOE BELIEVES
THE FINAL CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE

IS HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT
IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS

ROSETTA IS NOW BEAMING
BACK TO EARTH.

White: IT'S A LARGE ROCK.
IT'S 4.5 KILOMETERS LONG.

AND IT HAS WHAT SEEM TO BE
STRUCTURES ON IT

THAT THE LOOK
INTELLIGENTLY MADE.

AND THERE IS EVEN A UFO
HOVERING
JUST ABOVE THE SURFACE

WITH A SHADOW UNDERNEATH IT
ABOUT THE SIZE OF A FAMILY
CAR.

THERE IS A TOWER ALSO,

WHICH LOOKS LIKE
A COMMUNICATIONS TOWER.

IN FACT, IT LOOKS VERY MUCH
LIKE A LIGHTHOUSE,

AND IT STICKS STRAIGHT UP
LIKE THIS.

I THINK THE ESA KNOW
EXACTLY WHAT THIS IS,

AND...THIS IS EXACTLY WHY WE
WENT THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

AND I THINK THAT
THE E-MAIL STATING AS SUCH

IS BANG ON THE MONEY,

BECAUSE EVERYTHING THAT
THAT PERSON SAID IN THE E-MAIL

HAS TURNED OUT TO BE TRUE.

Narrator: BUT MANY SKEPTICS

CHALLENGE EVEN THE BASIC
PREMISES OF THIS CONSPIRACY.

Dash:
IF YOU LOOK AT THE CONSPIRACY

YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
IS THAT THE ENTIRE MISSION

HAS BEEN PUT TOGETHER
OVER A 20-YEAR PERIOD

TO INVESTIGATE THIS ONE COMET,
AND IT'S SIMPLY NOT TRUE.

IT WAS ACTUALLY SUPPOSED

TO INVESTIGATE
A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT COMET.

Narrator: UNTIL ITS
ORIGINAL LAUNCH WAS DELAYED,

THE ROSETTA MISSION
WAS DESTINED FOR COMET 46P.

COMET 67P WAS THE BACKUP
OPTION.

AND SKEPTICS SAY

THE ARGUMENT THAT ROSETTA
WAS MUCH TOO EXPENSIVE

TO BE A SIMPLE SCIENCE MISSION

IS JUST NOT TRUE.

Dash: A LOT IS MADE ABOUT
THE EXPENSE OF THIS MISSION.

"IT WAS
A BILLION-POUND MISSION!"

A BILLION POUNDS IN NOTHING,
ESSENTIALLY,

IN THE BUDGETS
OF THESE TYPES OF MISSIONS.

IT'S THE COST
OF FOUR JUMBO JETS.

IF YOU LOOK AT IT
FROM THAT POINT OF VIEW,

THIS IS NOT A VERY EXOTIC
OR WELL-FUNDED MISSION.

[ SIGNAL PLAYS ]

Narrator: THE SCIENTISTS ALSO
HAVE A RATIONAL EXPLANATION

FOR THE RADIO SIGNAL.

IT WAS RECORDED VERY RECENTLY

BY ROSETTA'S PHILAE PROBE
ON ITS APPROACH, AND WAS
CREATED

BY THE COMET'S OWN FLUCTUATING
ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS.

THAT STILL LEAVES
THE BUILDINGS ON THE SURFACE,

BUT THE SKEPTICS
ARE NOT CONVINCED.

Clarke: THERE IS A
PSYCHOLOGICAL
PHENOMENA CALLED PAREIDOLIA,

WHERE A HUMAN BEING LOOKS
AT A RANDOM PATTERN,

WHATEVER IT IS --
DARK SMUDGES, WHATEVER --

AND YOU SEE PATTERNS IN THAT,

BECAUSE WE ARE ALL PROGRAMMED
TO FIND PATTERNS IN
RANDOMNESS.

AND PEOPLE ARE LOOKING
AT LANDSCAPES,

AND BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE
IN ALIENS

AND THEY BELIEVE IN UFOs,

AND THEY'RE SEEING
RANDOM OBJECTS AS ALIEN FACES

AND FLYING SAUCERS AND
EVIDENCE
OF TECHNOLOGY, ET CETERA.

IS PAREIDOLIA.
THAT'S WHAT IT IS.

Narrator: SO, SHOULD WE
BELIEVE

IN THE EXISTENCE
OF ALIEN CONTACT?

IS THERE ANY EVIDENCE
TO BACK UP THE IDEA

THAT THERE IS
A GLOBAL CONSPIRACY

TO KEEP THE TRUTH HIDDEN?

OR IS THERE ANOTHER
EXPLANATION

FOR THE GRIP OF THIS IDEA
ON THE POPULAR CONSCIENCE?

PSYCHOLOGISTS BELIEVE

ALIEN-COVER-UP
CONSPIRACIES EXIST

BECAUSE THEY TAP
INTO A DEEP HUMAN NEED.

Persaud: THE UNIVERSE IS SUCH
A VERY, VERY, VERY LARGE PLACE

THAT IT IS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE

FOR INTELLIGENCES
TO EXIST ELSEWHERE,

AND EVEN BE
HIGH-TECHNOLOGY INTELLIGENCES,

BUT THE VAST SPACES
THAT SEPARATE US

LEAVE US TO BE MAROONED
FROM EACH OTHER,

IF NOT PERMANENTLY MAROONED.

THAT IS VERY DIFFICULT
FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE TO ACCEPT.

SO, THEREFORE,
THEY HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT

CONTACT IS NOT JUST POSSIBLE,
IT MUST'VE HAPPENED.

AND IF IT MUST'VE HAPPENED,
THERE MUST BE A COVER-UP.

AND, AGAIN, YOU SEE
THE INEVITABLE LOGICAL STEPS

IN CONSPIRACY THINKING.

IT WAS ANGELS
HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO.

IT'S ALIENS NOW.

ANOTHER FEW HUNDRED YEARS,
IT WILL BE SOMETHING ELSE.

PEOPLE WANT TO THINK
THERE ARE CREATURES OUT THERE

THAT ARE INTELLIGENT,
THAT ARE INTERESTED IN US,

THAT WANT TO STOP US
FROM DESTROYING OURSELVES

WITH ATOMIC WEAPONS.

AND NOTHING I CAN SAY
WILL CONVINCE THEM OTHERWISE.

AND PEOPLE WILL CONSTANTLY
LOOK
FOR EVIDENCE OF THOSE THINGS

AND FIND IT.

Narrator: BELIEVERS ARE NOT
DISSUADED BY THESE ARGUMENTS.

FOR THEM,
THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH
CONTINUES.

I CAN'T IMAGINE
ANYBODY IN THE GOVERNMENT

WANTING TO ADMIT,
"OH, BY THE WAY,

WE HAVEN'T BEEN TELLING YOU
THE TRUTH FOR ALL THESE
YEARS."

WE HAVE THE GOVERNMENT LYING,
REALLY, FROM DAY ONE.

THEY LIED ABOUT IT
AND GOT AWAY WITH IT.

White:
WHETHER THE ESA WILL AGREE

TO MENTION THIS
TO THE PUBLIC OR NOT

IS UP TO THEM.

BUT IF THEY DON'T
DO SOMETHING FAIRLY SOON,

THEY'RE GONNA LOOK
INCREASINGLY MORE OUT-OF-TOUCH

WITH WHAT
RESEARCHERS ARE FINDING

AND WHAT THE PUBLIC ARE
SEEING.

Robinson: THE VOLUME OF
EVIDENCE
THAT HAS BEEN GATHERED

FROM ALL CONTINENTS
OF THIS PLANET

IS SIMPLY OVERWHELMING,

I HONESTLY BELIEVE
I WOULDN'T BE SITTING HERE
TODAY

IF I DIDN'T BELIEVE

WE ARE DEALING WITH A REAL,
HONEST-TO-GOODNESS PHENOMENON.

Narrator: WHEREVER SIGHTINGS
REMAIN UNEXPLAINED,

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

[ WHOOSHING ]

THERE'S ALWAYS THE CHANCE
THAT MAYBE, JUST MAYBE,

THERE IS SOMEONE OUT THERE.