Scotland Yard Trekkie Fear
2 min read
In a bit of news sure to amuse Trek fans, who don’t usually inspire such a reaction, it turns out that Scotland Yard kept a secret dossier on the show back before the millennium change.
They also kept one on X-Files, Roswell, Dark Skies, and The Lawnmower Man.
Apparently, there was a fear that sci-fi fans such as Trek fans might do something crazy like the suicidal Heaven’s Gate cult did as the millennium approached.
A dossier, UFO New Religious Movements and the Millennium, was created in response to the Heaven’s Gate 1997 mass suicide. Members of the cult were “ardent followers of The X-Files and Star Trek.”
Evidently Trek fans, who believe in a bright future, were grouped amongst those that thought the end of the world was imminent. “Fuel is added to the fire by television dramas and feature films mostly produced in America,” said the report.
“These draw together the various strands of religion, UFOs, conspiracies, and mystic events and put them in an entertaining storyline.
“Obviously this is not sinister in itself, what is of concern is the devotion certain groups and individuals ascribe to the contents of these programs.”
“The documents show the police and security services were concerned about the export of some new religious movements concerning UFOs and aliens from the USA in the aftermath of the mass suicide by followers of the Heaven’s Gate,” said Dr. Dave Clark, who obtained the briefing under the Freedom of Information Act while researching his newly-released How UFOs Conquered the World: The History of a Modern Myth. “It’s no coincidence this occurred around 1997 – which was the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of UFOs and the Roswell incident – at a time when the net was buzzing with rumors about aliens and cover-ups.
“We have no knowledge of this,” said a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police.
Thanks to David K.M. Klaus for the tip!
About The Author
Hooray We’re the nerdiest cult on earth!
UFOs were “born 50 years ago”? That’s at least several centuries off, if not millennia. Creepy statement. Ignorance or lies?
And they wasted resources for that.
Stupid Scotland Yard.
Clark is an ignorant man. UFOs are not a myth. The phenomenon of the so called UFOs is real. It has been documented in numerous cases throughout the last several decades, and it’s possibly significantly older than that. The prominent scientist and astronomer dr. J. Allen Hynek is one of those who researched the UFO phenomenon, and the verdict is that the UFO phenomenon is most definitely a real phenomenon in space and time, not some imagined story. It is however the term “flying saucers” (which was used by journalists as a generic term for those strange craft that were sighted in the skies in the 1940s and later) that was “born” 60+ years ago, not the UFOs themselves. The phenomenon itself, which was later termed “UFOs” by the Air Force, is probably much more older than that. There is of course the sociological aspect of it, like e.g. movies, books (fiction in general) being influenced by that very real phenomenon, etc., but that is only the the effect, not the cause.
Nerdier than the Jedi?
Go to a comic con and if you see more Jedi than Starfleet uniforms I’ll eat my combadge.
We seem to be largely on the same page. An important distinction I would make though is that there is never a meaningful discussion around “do UFOs exist?” because they exist by their very definition. When you start with the incontrovertible truth that unidentifiable flying object are real, and then discover that some of them are very mysterious or unexplained, it’s easier to approach the subject. Too often the ignorant masses will equate all the possible implications of UFOs with the looniest thing they can imagine. “UFOs? I don’t believe in time traveling green Martians!” Yeah, thanks doofus, way to keep yourself ignorant. This obliviousness also gives a free pass to even the most mundane explanations. How can you even imagine secret government vehicles if all you know is “UFOs don’t exist.”? It’s a thought process that is dangerously anti-intellectual, and promotes ignorance disguised as common sense. Weird era we live in, huh? Cheers, Trekfan.
Thanks for your reply/comment, Josh. I agree, there is no meaningful discussion about UFOs. I think anyone who has ever researched the subject seriously will come to the conclusion that UFOs are most certainly not a myth but a real phenomenon. What they are, that’s another question. I think we should be trying to answer that question, namely the nature and origin of certain unidentified flying objects, not whether they exist or not. In many cases UFOs can be explained prosaically, but in some cases there is no easy explanation, and even those scientists who are honest enough will agree on that. We are faced with one of the most mysterious phenomenon ever. That cannot be dismissed easily as a “myth”. For anyone who wishes to approach the subject seriously, I would recommend the research and works of the aforementioned J. Allen Hynek and Jaques Vallee, among others. There is a substantial literature by serious researchers and there are also scientific studies, etc. We should be promoting scientific curiosity instead of ignorance. 🙂
Cool to hear back, Trekfan. We are slowly eroding the ignorance of the era! Most of the world should recognize that the answers we lack are doozies, no matter what they are. Personally, I think that if alien species aren’t part of the UFO phenomenon then something even weirder is going on. We know that some are terrestrial aircraft, but it’s a stretch to think our government possesses the sort of shocking tech that has been credibly witnessed, much less that they invented it. But even if you believe it’s all humans, this is a global, and historical mystery that shouldn’t be ignored or diminished just because it sounds like sci fi. One of the voices I trust is Stanton Freidman, a scientist (nuclear physicist, I believe), who is informed enough to know darn well something is up, but not so gullible or hellbent on a desire to believe that he doesn’t seriously examine things and dismiss theories based on insight rather than ignorance. If a historical perspective appeals, then Georgio Tsukalos of the Ancient Aliens show presents some fascinating theories. We owe it to ourselves to pay attention, and to ask big questions, and then of course to consider each conclusion carefully. Associating carelessly with compelling nonsense can continue to create a divide that closed minded “rational” people can’t cross. Between them and the loonies, it’s hard to make any progress on this as a society, except by gradual erosion. I hope we live to see some exciting answers…and that those answers don’t abduct us and poke us with things!
Thanks for the reply. Yes, Stan Friedman is also one of those serious ufologists who has been researching the matter for five decades or so, especially the so called Roswell case. We also have to be aware of disinformation efforts and manipulation which is aimed to distort the truth. But the truth is out there and it’s waiting to be found among all that noise. I share that hope with you. 🙂
One of my highest hopes is that the proliferation of cameras on cell phones (and everywhere else) will quickly lead to so much alarming evidence that the government cannot hide or deny it. On the other hand, a crackdown on visibility may be happening in response to all the camera tech, so who knows? Maybe this will be the most exciting era in modern history. Hopefully it won’t be bad news…. Cheers, man. (Er, or woman that is. Whichever. I’m an old man. 37 that is. 🙂