The truth may be out there, but don’t expect to find it in the latest government report about unidentified flying objects. That’s according to the X-Files creator, at least, after the US government released a long-awaited report about objects no one seems to understand being spotted over the course of the last few decades.
As The New York Times detailed, Friday saw a new government report about unexplained phenomena that, well, remains unexplained despite the long-awaited details about unexplained sightings in the atmosphere. The conclusion, while extremely unsatisfying to anyone who wants a definitive answer about whether Earth has been visited by extraterrestrials, is that no one really knows anything for sure.
A total of 143 reports gathered since 2004 remain unexplained, the document released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said. Of those, 21 reports of unknown phenomena, involving 18 episodes, possibly demonstrate technological capabilities that are unknown to the United States: objects moving without observable propulsion or with rapid acceleration that is believed to be beyond the capabilities of Russia, China or other terrestrial nations.
There is no evidence that any of the episodes involve secret American weapons programs, unknown technology from Russia or China or extraterrestrial visitations. But the government report did not rule out those explanations.
That’s not good enough for Chris Carter, the screenwriter who created the X-Files. He also wrote in the New York Times on Friday that he’s “skeptical” of this new report on potential life outside of Earth coming here to check things out. His piece discusses many of the uncertainties of the report’s release, but mostly concludes (correctly) that we just probably wouldn’t get a strong answer one way or the other unless there’s a true smoking gun so to speak.
I think in all likelihood this report will come and go, and with it the mainstream chatter around U.F.O.s, until definitive proof is exposed. A planet that can’t come together on climate change or a global pandemic might not pay much attention even if wreckage or an alien corpse is discovered. The culture wars alone might eclipse it, so rabidly are we in their grips.
This comes after a report earlier in the month about the objects that said there was no evidence of extraterrestrial life being the explanation for what military pilots have seen. Barack Obama himself hasn’t shut the book on alien activity, mind you, so perhaps we should keep an open mind about it all. But it’s clear no one is willing to admit they know for sure what’s going on here just yet.