Page 12 - the NOISE MAY 2016 Edition

When Is It not
enough to belIeve
identified flying objectives
& michael horn
sTORy & GRAPHIC By
jury s. judge
on a starry evening in the verdant swiss countryside in 1942, a five-year-old boy named Billy Meier, believes he receives a visitor who hails from the Pleiades star cluster. sftah, an elderly man clad in silver robes will be the first of many humanoid extraterrestrials to al- legedly correspond with Mr. Meier through telepathy and face-to-face encounters. Mr. Meier refers to these beings as the “Plejaren.” even though he claims to have had 22 attempts on his life by various assassins, Mr. Meier has continued to promote his claims of prophecies from the Plejaren about climate change, natural disasters, and war.
One of Mr. Meier’s most devoted followers is his American Media Representative, Michael Horn. Mr. Horn’s childhood love of sci-fi comic books and television shows such as Buck Rogers induced recurring dreams of flying saucers throughout his life. The cultural phenomenon of sci-fi inspired him to write a song titled Captain Tim that was released by A&M Records in 1969. His accomplishments and talents include not only ventures into songwriting, but also film production, creating water purification systems for starbucks, new Age comedy, martial arts, e-books, therapeutic techniques, and pioneering the fingernail art fad. One of the pivotal mo- ments in his eventful life occurred in 1979 at a Los Angeles bookstore. He perused Mr. Meier’s book, UFO: Contact from the Pleiades, Vol. 1 and was instantly smitten by the detailed images of UFOs hovering in the sky.
As an avid hiker, I have frequently encountered Mr. Horn on Mars Hill in Flagstaff. During our conversations, I learned that he is an ardent extraterrestrial enthusiast with a specific interest in the Meier case. Like Mr. Meier, Mr. Horn is an ufologist: an individual who studies UFOs. I was curious to learn what draws some people into following ufology. Mr. Horn is a highly intelligent, articulate, and personable individual, so I was very pleased when he granted me an interview. At a local cafe, we enjoyed a long, lively discussion spanning a variety of topics. I learned about the details of the Meier case and enjoyed the privilege of getting to know more about Mr. Horn.
Because of Lowell Observatory’s significance to Flagstaff and to the field of astronomy, I asked Mr. Horn his opinion regarding Percival Lowell building an observatory to pursue his study of intelligent life on Mars. He replied, “with that as the foundation of Lowell’s work, it would behoove the scientists at Lowell to honor that.” Mr. Horn maintains that the mainstream scientific community is erroneous in its stance on extraterrestrial life because his evidence proves the Plejaren’s existence. “If and when we can get the scientists to get off their snooty high horse, and critically, objectively examine the material, we can evaluate astronomical in- formation.”
Mr. Horn refers to those who question the Plejaren as “skeptics.” However, I was impressed that he was magnanimous toward ideologies different from his own and was patient with my scientifically-oriented line of questioning. “I come very gratefully to skeptics and address all their questions. There are things that I know are empirically true and not true. I’ve seen craft myself. I have the preponderance of evidence.” He described how he saw UFOs in the sky when he was living in the mountains of Brazil with a friend who also followed the Meier case. However, other than anecdotes, Mr. Horn was unable to produce any evidence of his own. In- stead, he sought to validate his claims using Mr. Meier’s photographs, analysis of metal samples from alleged UFOs, and 26,000 pages of transcripts from Mr. Meier’s correspondence with the Plejaren. He added further support to his argument by saying, “I have had communications of them from Meier. would you rather meet the eTs, or the person who teaches them?”
I asked, “what has Mr. Meier taught the Plejaren?” He replied, “The Plejaren learned humor from Billy. They realized that stifling their feeling element was the error of their ways. Thoughts give rise to feelings. Feelings give rise to another thought, and that gives rise to action.” Al- though the Plejaren’s civilization is described to have a culture that emphasizes logic and reason, Mr. Horn said that they are not emotionless or cold-hearted beings. “Logic is naturally compas- sionate, not falsely compassionate.” Mr. Meier has stated that the Plejaren gave him their in- sights out of benevolence toward humanity. The Meier transcripts also indicate that the Plejaren share the same ancestors as human beings, so they feel both an affinity and obligation for the people of earth. Their civilization was described as being 8,000 years more advanced than that of humanity, so they have the advantages of both hindsight and technological prowess.
12 • MAY 2016 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us
As the interview progressed, the subject of skepticism was once again addressed. Mr. Horn said, “I challenge them all.” He bemoans individuals who immediately dismiss him and the self- obsessed state of modern culture. “will you please turn that brain on and stop taking selfies!”
“Turn that brain on,” so as to put down the smartphone and engage oneself with the world? Does it confront the idea of skepticism and the mental walls it creates? Or, has cynicism be- come a knee-jerk response to those unconventional perspectives?
Mr. Horn explained the difference between himself and amateur ufologists eagerly pursuing lights in the night sky. “As people run around chasing UFOs, they are actually doing research of military aircraft. you can’t do anything with UFOs. If there really are extraterrestrials, and they came here in UFOs there has to be a reason. The reason is what the case is about.” seeking to demystify his statement, I asked, “what is the ‘reason?’” He replied, “I consider it to be literally, the key to our future survival.” He went on to discuss claims of when Mr. Meier was fourteen, he was forewarned by the Plejaren of climate change and its disastrous effects. Mr. Horn also shared his own insights on ecological issues, “we’re in a closed system. we’re on a ball. It has finite arable land. It has a finite amount of water and atmosphere. It has a limited capacity to supply nutrients for and accommodate the waste of a population of organisms. Observe nature. Animals do not overpopulate successfully.”
I discussed with Mr. Horn that I felt his remarks on environmental issues correlated strong- ly with the work of Thomas Malthus. In 1798, Malthus suggested that the growing human population would create a demand for food greater than its supply. Malthus did not foresee the Industrial Revolution and other technological advances that increased efficiency of food production. But, Malthusian predictions are eerily similar to the current global condition. Mr. Horn is clearly unafraid of confronting the realities of climate change and overpopulation. He emphasized the idea of interconnectedness and stressed the importance of environmental responsibility. “we think we are rulers. we are not! we have to be good stewards. we are so primitive it’s painful. ”
Mr. Horn also provided his observations about the nature of politics. “Politics are antitheti- cal to cooperative human life. It’s the art of advantage. we have separated ourselves from the other.” He distances himself from the material greed that propels corrupt politicians. Instead, his pursuits are of the philosophical realm. “If we are searching for the truth, we are all on the same side. Just be honest.”
Mr. Horn was invited to lecture at NAU on March 30. He said he appreciated the willing- ness of Professor Scott Antes and nAU’s Anthropology Department to host his lecture despite academia’s overwhelming skepticism of the paranormal. Mr. Horn was indignant about other universities declining his presence. “I have such gratitude for Professor Antes for behaving like a scientist. we have been censored at AsU and their Center for science and Imagination. I approached the Futurists with prophecies from the future! They did not respond.” He also lamented that AsU rejected his material in favor of presentations featuring Bugs Bunny.
I attended the lecture Mr. Horn presented to Professor Antes’ Anthropology and Folklore class. Mr. Horn was charismatic and engaged the interest of his audience. The material encom- passed the social norms, physiology, and other characteristics of the Plejaren. The lecture was well-received by the students. One of the students told me, “He presented some really good facts.” Another student said with great enthusiasm, “I thought it was very passionate and infor- mative.” when I asked Professor Antes his opinion on the subject matter, he told me, “In science, we are interested in facts, not beliefs.”
Are there extraterrestrials among us on earth? Are we alone in the universe? Or, are the dis- tances between star systems so vast that earth will forever be isolated? The answer depends on what side of the UFO discussion you identify with. Call the Meier case philosophy or call it prophecy. either way, look up at the beautiful night skies of northern Arizona. you never know what you will see.
| Jury S. Judge has a tendency to look up every now & then.
jury@thenoise.us
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