Most of the objects seen in the sky come from our two neighbours, Mars and Venus — particularly Venus. Dr. Layne and his fellow scientists dwell at some length on the probability that life on Venus takes place on a higher octave of matter than on Earth; in other words, at a higher vibrationary rate, and that by reducing this vibration to the rate of that of earthly gases, liquids and solids, the Venusians are able to appear here in solid or semi-solid forms, as they will. This hypothesis would require more than one volume for full discussion, and in any case we have not yet sufficient data, for or against, to make that discussion profitable. In any case, I do not think it matters very much whether men of other worlds appear ‘solid‘ or ‘unsolid’. What matters to us is, ‘do they exist ?’
Dr. Layne says ‘they do’; and that, besides coming from our neighbouring planets, they also pass us on long voyages from some of the many millions of other systems that comprise our galaxy.
They have overcome the space-time problem sufficiently to make inter-stellar voyages practical. Possibly time is only what we think it is. Our great-grandfathers would have considered a voyage round the world as a project requiring the best part of a life-time. We regard it as a pleasant little jaunt, by jet-propelled airliner. We now consider rocket-trips to the nearest star the way our great-grandfathers regarded a trip round the world. In a few hundred years’ time we may also look upon stellar travel as an interesting holiday experience, and no more.
Dr. Layne gives details on the Venusian craft which certainly fit in with many observed facts, and are largely confirmed by witnesses who have testified in sworn affidavits. As such 1 feel they are worth considering as perhaps a piece of advance information on what may in a few years seem no more fantastic than the miracle of radio and television.
Dr. Layne believes that the moon, though an uninhabited dead planet, is frequently used by space travellers as a convenient stopping-off point; and that the first earthly expedition to arrive there will find, to its surprise, some wonderful installations and equipment established for the use of all bona-fide travellers— that is, travellers bent not solely on rape and planet-snatching. I took the trouble to consult some of the astronomers’ records regarding the moon and find ample evidence that great activity does, in fact, take place on its surface at certain times; particularly in and around the crater Plato which, by all appearances, seems to be some kind of lunar headquarters.
George Adamski was the first astronomer to obtain photographs of activity on or near the moon, but he is by no means the first to observe lights, moving bodies and signals, that are as good a proof as any that our satellite is frequently used by person or persons unknown. On locking up some records, I discovered a number of instances, but I feel sure there are many others tucked away in dusty astronomical archives about which I should be delighted to hear should anyone know of them. The following notes date from the time large telescopes first made their appearance on Earth, and are taken from the records of various observatories.
1824 October 20th. A flashing light seen on the dark part of the moon; flashing intermittently from 5 a.m. till 5.30 a.m.
1832 July 4th. A display of flashing dots and dashes seen in Mare Crisium when in the dark part
1835 December 25th. Something resembling a bright star seen in Crater Aristarchus.
1836 February 13th. Two straight bands of light with luminous dots arranged symmetrically between them.
1847 March 18th and 19th. Luminous dots appear on the dark part.
December 11th and 12th. A bright flashing light on the dark part.
1866 May 4th. Crater Linné changes from black to white. Small well-defined dots then appear in the centre.
1867 April 9th. Small shining point in dark part.
May 7th. Another bright light in the Aristarchus.
June 10th. Three distinct black spots near Sulpicius Gallus, remaining there till June 13th, when they vanished suddenly.
August 6th-October 1st. Odd movements in Crater Linné.
1869 From August 16th till April 1870. Strange moving lights and changing patterns observed in Crater Plato.
1873 Large number of luminous bodies cross the moon.
1874 April 24th. Dazzling bright object leaves the moon and speeds into space.
1875 July 13th. Luminous projections like a searchlight beam, stabs out from moon’s upper limb.
1877 February 20th. Strip of light is drawn across Crater Eudoxux.
March 21st. Strip of light across Crater Proclus.
1887 November 23rd. Huge illuminated equilateral triangle in Crater Plato. Tiny points of light appear all over the moon, originating in different craters, they converge on Plato. traverse its high walls and are seen to unite themselves in the huge floodlit triangle. (If a secret Order were convening in Plato, that night they took no pains to conceal their activity.)
1893 April 1st. Shaft of light, as from a great searchlight, shines from the side of the moon.
September 25th. It is repeated.
1903 March 3rd. Flashing light in Aristarchus.
1915 January 13th. Seven white spots appear in Littrow, arranged like the Greek letter ‘Gamma‘.
December 11th. Very bright spot on north shore of Mare Crisium. A few days later a black line projects across Crater Aristillus.
1916 October 10th. Red glow in Plato.
1917 August 29th. Luminous, moving spot (position not given).
1919 February 21st. Extremely dark line reaches out a long way from Lexall.
May 19th. Marconi picks up radio signals on the 150,000-130 meter band, ten times longer than any used on Earth. The signals were regular, and appeared to be some form of code—never solved.
1920 November 23rd. Brilliant shaft of light projects from Funerius.
In 1871 Astronomer Birt deposited in the library of the Royal Astronomical Society a record of some sixteen hundred observations he had made of light changes, moving bodies, geometrical patterns and flashing signals in the Crater Plato. No one seems to have tried to analyse them, or we might now have an understanding of a language older than Sensar, as well as the recognition signals and codes of inter-system travellers: a useful perquisite for Messrs Clark and Ley to have on that first lumbering rocket flight to Luna on which they have set their hearts.
And lastly, we have Adamski’s amazing pictures of craft moving from or near the moon; pictures he obtainsed as the culmination of several hundred unsuccessful attempts. On 9 March 1953 Professor Shapely at Harvard Observatory announced that he had discovered a thin but breathable atmosphere on the moon. But in 1949 Adamski speculated that the moon had a breathable atmosphere in his book Pioneers of Space.
Meade Layne lists the following type of craft originating from Venus alone:
‘(1) A crescent, or rubber heel-shaped craft about 45 feet in width and 18 feet high. It uses a form of "jet " drive; with "jets" set in universal mounting at each point of the crescent. Control is obtained by changing the direction of these "jets"; no external control-surfaces are used. This is a very ancient type of flier, but well suited to present requirements.
‘The small fliers use several types of propulsion. A form of "jet" drive, although very ancient in origin, is still extensively used. A very small "dis" ray plays on a stream of fuel in a closed chamber, and automatically disintegrates it. The usual fuel is air, which is collected in scoops through the forward motion of the craft, and automatically compressed to injection pressure Other fuels, including metals, can be used in airless locations.’
Dr. Layne has never read Scott Elliott, nor the description of the vimanas in the ancient books, nor did he know that a similar engine, using mercury as fuel, is discussed in the Samarangana Sutradhara. When I sent him a translation of the stanzas given on pp. 93-94 he was amazed. Certainly his information adds weight to the theory that the vimana was an early type of flying saucer and that this method of propulsion has been known for thousands of years.
‘(2) A doughnut-shaped craft, about 125 feet in outside diameter and 36 feet thick. In the centre of this disk is a hole about 25 feet wide. These craft are sometimes referred to as "Flying Laboratories" because of the large amount of test equipment which they carry. They are observation craft and used only when very involved technical observations are required. Normal crew: fifty. "Electro-Magnetic Drive".’
Note the resemblance to the ‘Earth Satellite’ now being designed in America, which also is doughnut-shaped, and most certainly a flying laboratory. The first recorded object answering to this description appeared over Cherbourg for three successive nights beginning on 12 January, 1836.
‘(3) A cigar-shaped craft, about 100 feet long and 25 feet wide at maximum diameter. Primarily an escort and fighting craft. Used only if circumstances required protection for the other craft. Normal crew: twenty. Uses both "jet" drive when in the atmosphere, and " Primary Drive" when in space.’
This appears to correspond to the silver cigar-shaped craft that was seen in company with sixteen flying saucers over Gaillac, France, in November, 1952. I suggested that the saucers were escorting it. According to Dr. Layne it was escorting the saucers. The huge luminous " aerial submarine " that flew alongside an American airliner in early July 1948 was described by the pilots Chiles and Whitted as being at least 100 feet long with peculiar blue lights along the side. These I suggested might have been the exhausts of its jets. Certainly it is to be expected that such a vessel would be using ‘jet’ drive in the low levels of the atmosphere where ‘primary’ or ‘space‘ drive would be impractical. I shall discuss these other types of propulsion in a moment.
‘(4) A spherical craft, about 100 feet in diameter. A transport vessel, used to carry passengers and cargo. Normal crew: twenty-five to thirty. " Electro-Magnetic Drive ".’
Many reports of such a craft cram the records. Unfortunately, its resemblance to the ‘Skyhook’ or high-altitude meteorological balloon make it the most difficult of all craft to identify with accuracy. It would be safer to confine ourselves to the pre-Skyhook Age of the Flying Saucer Museum, there to examine the reports of ‘large luminous spheres‘ travelling too slowly for meteors; or else those modern reports where such objects have been seen moving against the wind at speeds too fast for any balloon. The object photographed over New York by August Roberts may well have been one of these.
‘(5) A smaller version of the heel-shaped craft. Only about 14 feet across. A single seater, but can carry two men when required.’
Scott Elliott says the early vimanas were two-seaters. Perhaps this is a museum model !
‘(6) A spherical craft, 5 to 6 feet in diameter. Robot or remotely controlled from some other craft. Used for visual observation where larger craft would attract too much attention. " Electro-Magnetic Drive ".’
‘(7) A smaller, more frequently used version of the above. Only a foot in diameter. Sometimes these are disintegrated after use, and are regarded as expendible.’
Possibly it was one of type (7) that played tag with Lt. Gorman on 1 October 1948 over Fargo, North Dakota. In his book The Riddle of the Flying Saucers Gerald Heard refers to these objects as ‘Thinking Lights’, and puts forward similar suggestions. Other authors, believing that everything which flies must contain a pilot, have said they carry tiny beings six inches in height. Gerald Heard tried to convince us that they were propelled by intelligent insects from Mars. And one scientist, who should have known better, advanced a theory for small intelligent vegetables !
These craft turned up in large numbers during the latter days of World War II, giving some alarm to Allied pilots who thought them to be a new German weapon and nicknamed them ‘Foo Fighters.’ They joined on to formations of bombers, dived, circled and played around them, quite unafraid of our gunners. It was not until after the war we discovered from enemy records that the Germans had been equally alarmed and bewildered by their appearance, and had, like ourselves, attributed them to some new secret weapon. On the files of the American Air Force there is an account by a bomber crew who stated that one of these objects penetrated their plane, flew slowly up and down the interior, and then disappeared through the tail. Before leaving, I hope it transmitted an accurate picture of the crew’s expressions to the high-riding mother-ship above.
According to Meade Layne these little craft are simple to make and are considered expendible. They contain a simple form of ‘television‘ device which sends back a complete picture to the mother-ship. At the end of their mission they may be disintegrated harmlessly. This may account for some of the things that have fallen from the sky and for many of the ‘fireballs’ that have exploded in the air, dropping curious fragments on the ground that cannot be fitted into any meteoric categories. On several occasions small disks or spheres have been seen to land and then to disintegrate in a shower of sparks, leaving nothing but scorched grass to prove they ever existed.
In all cases, great care seems to be taken to see that they do not cause injury or damage.
‘(8) The green fireballs. These are devices sent out to counteract radioactivity in the atmosphere, caused by the haphazard release of atomic energy.’
According to Meade Layne, the floods and weather disturbances of the past few years would have been vastly greater had we not benefited by the timely assistance of these peculiar constructions, which usually appear shortly after an atomic test. We know precisely nothing concerning the long term effects of atomic fission on our world. Our scientists go ahead in the hope that because they do not know, there is nothing to know. A child plays with fire because it does not know that it may get burnt or set its house on fire; so, because we have let off a few dozen atom bombs with nothing worse than the most violent weather for years, and floods destroying much of East Anglia and Holland, we continue blissfully in the hope (with no proof whatsoever) that these disasters had nothing to do with atomic explosions.
I hope we are right.
But if we are not right, then I sincerely hope that Dr. Layne’s information is accurate and that this friendly intervention with green fireballs will continue. It is worth noting that the highest concentrations of saucer-sightings are usually in areas where atomic tests, or atomic production plants are situated.
There is a very old tradition in the Arcane Schools of Egypt, Greece, South America, and in some of the Western Arcane Orders that a planet in our system was once destroyed by the misapplied discovery of the fundamental power of the atom. Modern astronomy has calculated that, according to their rules of celestial mechanics, there should be another planet—about the size of our own—between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, Instead of a planet, however, there is a ring of cosmic dust, stones and debris called ‘The Asteroid Belt’.
If such a planet did exist and was suddenly destroyed, the repercussions on the rest of the Solar System must have been catastrophic, particularly upon Mars and Jupiter. It is possible that our own universal Deluge Legends and accounts of a terrible catastrophe in which the ‘stars fell from their places and rained down on the Earth ‘may be related to the same cause. And the name of that broken planet is given as the name borne by Satan before his ‘fall from heaven’.
This would certainly explain the tremendous interest shown in our Earth displayed by the flying saucers since the discovery of atomic energy, for the Solar System happens to be their home as well as our own.
Lastly, Meade Layne’s group gives a brief account of an immense torpedo-shaped carrier-craft, or mother-ship, a kind of interplanetary aircraft carrier which brings the smaller saucers through space, releasing them when it has entered the atmosphere. Its length they give as about 7,000 feet, with a crew of 2.000; figures which sound quite fantastic. And yet the huge ‘spindles’ and ‘torpedoes’ seen and reported by astronomers were estimated to be hundreds of miles away, at which heights they must be immense to be seen at all. But once the problem of efficient space propulsion has been solved I do not suppose that actual physical size is very important.
Propulsion: ‘Electro-magnetic Drive operates by cutting the natural magnetic lines of force produced by a planetary body, and can only be used relatively near the surface of some planet or celestial body. When used at low altitudes it has the effect of " blanking out" radio apparatus and causing variations in magnetic compasses and other magnetic apparatus in the vicinity.’ There are several cases on record of radio fade-outs at the same time as saucers were seen in the area. Sometimes they had the effect of cutting out the electrical components of aircraft whose engines stopped until the saucers had passed. This, possibly, may have happened to Captain Mantell when he flew too near the metal monster of Godman Field.
‘Primary Drive is true space-drive and, although it can be used on a planet, it is ordinarily used only when it is desired to travel at a very high rate of speed for a long distance. Control mechanism in the craft is placed in synchronous frequency with the universal energy flows which exist in all space, but slightly out of phase with them. Either " lagging " or "leading" phase can be used, depending on whether it is desired to travel with the flows, or against them. The speed depends on the degree of phase angle which in turn depends on the amount of " shading power " which the control apparatus can apply. In addition to the three types of propulsion listed, all craft have the means of hovering motionless when desired.’
One piece of mechanism produces a cone-shaped electrical field which diverts the ‘gravity‘ around the craft much as: ‘an umbrella diverts rain, thus cancelling most of the "weight". It is quite common to use this diversion field while in flight, in order to reduce the effective mass of the craft, thus making it very manoeuvrable, and reducing the amount of power required to maintain flight. This field will, under certain conditions, produce a corona discharge which will give the craft the appearance of being surrounded by a luminous or fiery envelope. A similar corona is quite common also on craft using the electro-magnetic form of propulsion.’
I have already listed many cases where a saucer was seen surrounded by a halo or corona of changing shape and colour. It is my belief that those accounts of huge glowing pear-shaped objects hanging motionless in the sky, such as the one seen by Mrs Gladys Keevil at Purewell, Christchurch, Hampshire, on 28 January 1952 may have something to do with this. Such objects are always described as ‘pears’ or ‘cones’ with the ‘pointed end‘ uppermost. They do not move; they simply fade away. The saucer itself is hanging invisibly in the dark sky just above the glowing apex, and the ‘pear‘ is merely an auroral effect, or ionisation of air within the cone of force. When the craft move away these cones do not move too but, according to eye witnesses, slowly fade out. 58
58/ ’I got out of bed to see what it was. Hanging in the sky was an object shaped like a pear, with the big end downwards. It was glowing with a red firelight glow and appeared to be hovering... We watched it for a quarter of an hour until it gradually faded away.’—Sunday Dispatch, 20 April 1952,
Certainly if the weight of a craft could be reduced practically to zero, most of the problems concerning their sudden changes of direction, and almost impossible rates of turn, are solved. An object with zero mass would experience as little difficulty in changing direction at 2,000 m.p.h. as would a beam from a searchlight waved back and forth in the sky.
During the time I have been corresponding with him, Dr. Layne has sent me several hundred pages of typescript, not only on flying saucers, but also on experiments being conducted in very advanced and mysterious fields of physics—fields where the familiar signposts are left behind and where anything might— and does—happen. Much as I would like to discuss them here, there simply is not the time nor the space, for some of these experiments, on their own, would provide material for many volumes which I hope one day will be written.
So, for the time being, I shall have to leave his remarks on space-craft for the reader to accept or reject as he feels fit. They are, at the moment, no more than fragments of advance information, glimpses of the future, tips—if you like—on the trend future flying saucer books may take. As a saucer investigator of several years’ solid study, I think that Dr. Layne should be closely watched, and that his information should not be lightly disregarded. For since he has spoken I have been supplied with first-hand, concrete evidence that much of what he says about the small saucers; the great carrier craft; their methods of propulsion (particularly their magnetic hovering devices) is very near to the truth.
