"For someone not meant for this world, I must confess, I’m suddenly having a hard time leaving it. Of course, they say every atom in our bodies was once a part of a star. Maybe I'm not leaving; maybe I'm going home."- Vincent's thoughts in his space flight as he gazed on the stars (Ethan Hawke's character in "Gattaca", one of my all-time favorite films)
prehistoric rock art at Val Camonica, Italy (Wikipedia)
Pacal the Great, Mayan ruler (or perhaps space traveller); this work of art was found at his tomb in Central America (courtesy of Wikipedia/ illustration by user:Madman2001)
the Nazca 'astronaut'(courtesy of Wikipedia/author:Raymond Ostertag)
Nazca Line Hummingbird (look closer/ courtesy of Wikipedia/author:Martin St-Amant)
Hieroglyphs of Abydos allegedly depicting modern day vehicles and a spacecraft (courtesy of Wikipedia/Olek95)
A vintage paperback copy of Erich Von Daniken's Chariots of the Gods?
WARNING! The following blog entry contains some science, quasi-science, and eerie contents which may bring discomfort to most readers who prefer cool blogs. You may ignore this if you feel that you'll just be wasting your time in giving attention to a prose done by the nerd-and-geeky side of this weird blogger. Thank you. :)
Probably by now, included among the rarest books in the world are those of the Swiss writer, Erich Von Däniken. And during his great popularity and the powerful competition between NASA and the Soviet Union when it comes to space explorations and Cold War, his books were certified bestsellers especially in Europe. I first encountered a short article about him at the bottom part of a page of an encyclopedia while I was researching for something. From then on, I have not forgotten his name until fate made me scour the bargain books of the Booksale branch (the ukay-ukay of used books and back issues of magazines) at the SM Mall of Asia in 2007. And from the great heap, I had excavated a very rare mid-20th century artifact of controversy, the "Chariots of the Gods?". The author's first bestseller for only 15 pesos! What a catch along with an old edition of Edith Hamilton's "Mythology" which up to now has modern editions but this sturdy one was 15 pesos, too (I love this Booksale branch where I also found two other greats, E.B. White's "The Trumpet of the Swan" and Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time", both for very nice low prices; who knows how many persons had already read these books before me?). It was like a discovery of gold. Good that the "Chariots" was already translated in English by Bantam Books, a well-known publisher of occult and science mysteries. I eagerly read the said book but there were times when I did skim reading on some chapters which were laden with heavy scientific and mathematical jargon. I did not really side with Herr Von Däniken's arguments and beliefs but I was amazed by the level of his critical thinking on his heavy researches and his own perspective of intellect. He did not hesitate to raise his questions on the theories and hypotheses from conventional archaeology and he was outstanding in how he expressed his views and speculations despite all the criticism, sarcasm, and bitter skepticism from scientists to the ordinary citizens alike.
The history of the world is so full of mysteries. The answers all beneath the shroud of unending obscurity and perpetual questions shall continue through ages to come. How did those ancient natives of Easter Island able to transport their gigantic sculptures which weighed several tons each when they just used crude tools? What were the Nazca Lines for? How did the Mayans of Mexico and other Mesoamerican nations construct their superbly accurate calendars? It was always noticeable among many prehistoric cave paintings that there were peculiar, anthropomorphous figures which had round headdresses and strange costumes that resembled the helmet and spacesuit of a modern day astronaut and these beings carried tools that looked like remote control gadgets and antennae. Just a coincidence? Lots of puzzling, perplexing mysteries in every continent! The author even mentioned the Philippines among the many countries with alleged UFO sightings. However, he did not give his opinions directly if those flying things were of extraterrestrial origins.
In the "Chariots of the Gods?", the author discussed his supercontroversial claim that the civilizations of the human race were owed to the great beings from outer space who arrived here in our planet during the Stone Age or earlier than that (well, long before 10,000 B.C. or Year One). The extraterrestrial visitors were the ones who taught our ancestors to be 'human'. On the other hand, let's recall some other related themes. Remember "Stargate"? The ancient Egyptians there (probably before the first dynasty of pharaohs) worshipped a young man with hypnotic eyes whom they believed to be Ra, the god of the sun and their chief deity as well but actually an alien from a distant galaxy. And years back when the Raelian movement emerged with a disturbing 'revelation' that we humans are clones of aliens and that the Garden of Eden was a laboratory (however, this group fell into obscurity now and so is human cloning).
According to Von Däniken, the sacred books of different cultures frequently mentioned about magnificent flying vehicles that came from the skies. One of the best accounts was about the prophet Ezekiel's vision of fiery, flying chariots and strange beings. Many native South American groups had myths and legends that their Adam-and-Eve ancestors came all the way from the other planets (and not from Asia by means of the Arctic land bridge during the Ice Age). The 'ancient gods' according to the author, were undoubtedly powerful beings with very advanced, sophisticated technology and weapons of mass destruction. Sodom and Gomorrah were destined to be destroyed because they failed miserably in the eugenics program or scientific human breeding conducted by the heavenly beings. First, Lot and his family should be isolated (this character somewhat showed his misogynist side because he would readily sacrifice his own daughters to their lewd neighbors just to protect their divine guests who actually had the power to punish those vile people). The angels told Lot and his family to hasten and hide in the mountains. Von Däniken speculated that a countdown had already started. When the time came, from the sky poured forth fire like hydrogen bomb. In just a short time, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were completely destroyed. The blast was like the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. Lot and his family fled to the mountains to protect and shield them from the devastating radiation left from the blast but his wife did not heed the angels's warning and she turned into salt when she looked back at their former city (comic trivia: according to Philippine Daily Inquirer cartoonist Steven Pabalinas in his usual satirical Divine Comedy found at the comics section of the said broadsheet, Lot's pet dog then turned into a little pile of vetsin or MSG, tsk-tsk-tsk!).
The Nazca Lines are among the ancient heritage sites that amazed me lot. How I envied explorer Romy Garduce when he toured Peru in an episode of GMA-7's "Pinoy Meets world". The Nazca plain was a part of his exciting itinerary. There were so many strange patterns done all over the arid desert including a huge figure of what looked like an astronaut carved at the face of a steep cliff. It was not clear if that was a representation of a god of the pre-Columbian peoples or a monument of one of their revered leader or king. The Nazca Lines really captured the imagination of the world. I, myself got a fanciful thought that the plain was once an airport and space center that was why there were distinct patterns and designs for the orderly parking areas reserved for spaceships owned by aliens. There was an equal opportunity for all pre-Columbian communities to study aeronautics and space travel in schools established by the aliens here in our planet and the most famous were the Gate of the Sun at Tiahuanaco, Bolivia and Teotihuacan in Mexico. Oh,hahaha... what fancy! And yet, will the unanswered questions about the remains of the past and its heritage and legacy to the world ever remain shrouded in mystery forever? The author blamed the conquistadores, missionaries, and other white people from Europe because they were so active in their burning zeal to triumph over heathen matters by bringing destruction to important documents and artifacts of several native American civilizations that was why crucial guides in studying the past were gone forever. However, it was also noted that not only the Europeans but even Mayan, Aztec, and Inca rulers had destroyed several ancient heritage sites and artifacts in their conquests to expand their empires. And even though humanity advances towards the modern ages, questions about the enigmatic past will never fade out.
I am not a fan of the author but his books were truly mind-boggling especially his views in the "Chariots of the Gods?" even though I don't share in his beliefs. He might had underestimated the initiatives, efforts, and enduring endeavors of the early humans. He looked at those ancient mysteries to have something to do with extraterrestrial factors. And one sure thing, I would ultimately disagree was about his 'established' knowledge that jade comes only from China but in fact, this mineral is found in so many areas around the world!
Still, I have this imagined scenario again like what he thought about first. Imagine... I ponder as I gaze at sky whether by day or by night. I feel the warmth of the sun and look up at the stars, planets, and the moon up there. What if the space exploration programs continued without the burden of costly funds for these? That the technology became so modern and so high and so awesome like that of Star Wars and Star Trek? Then, a region in space was discovered that houses the wormhole or time-space warp which will make space travels and voyages quicker and safer (unlike the artificial black hole in "Event Horizon" but reminiscent of the mystical arch in "Stargate" or from "Voltes V" yet the tesseract of "A Wrinkle in Time" is the friendlier alternative). An Earth spacecraft travelled through the warp and reached a life-sustaining planet, an Earth-like world, several light-years away. The crew then explored this planet teeming with flora and fauna, a biodiversity almost similar to that of Earth and to their astonishment, they found out that the inhabitants here were anatomically similar to them only that the level of living was primitive and reminded them of the Stone Age, the same geologic time that the ancestors of all Earth people went through in the distant past. The Earth astronauts mingled and befriended the natives. They shared what they know and this passing of knowledge had influenced the establishment of more organized communities and societies and then advancement of civilizations. But one day, the Earth astronauts decided to go back home and to call for more explorations and the possibility of colonization of the planet they had been to without conquering the inhabitants there (ethical, weren't they?). Then came more spaceships from Earth and the astronauts kept on teaching the people of the planet who in turn attributed their civilizations to them. And for the second time, the astronauts returned to Earth to invite more people to settle in the new world. but an inevitable incident occured when a cosmic disturbance fell on the warp passage as the interplanetary ships were about to embark on a space journey. The warp passage could not be able to provide trips across the universe for a very long time. Meanwhile, life on the new world went on even though the Earth astronauts who stayed behind kept on hoping that their companions would return but they died without going back home to Earth. Yet they had children with the local inhabitants. These were the new breed of human beings, the traits or genes of the Earth people blended perfectly with that of the natives that was why different races had scattered all over the planet. And eons and eons had passed, so many thousand years when the people of the planet had advanced to higher civilizations and eventually to their own space age. They could travel to space and send probes to the distant planets and moons. They had their conquests of space, their final frontier. And a time came when a writer emerged with a highly-controversial book that contained his highly-controversial claims and speculations. A lot of people made fun of him but he remained steadfast in what he believed in about those ancient beings who visited their ancestors a long, long time ago. The ancient beings who were celebrated in mythologies, legends, and depicted in artifacts and ancient monuments were the ones who molded their long history and civilizations. Those extraterrestrials who arrived aboard the magnificent ships that sailed to and from the stars and they all came from a distant planet called Earth. However, that writer belonged to the age where mere speculations and hypotheses about the possibility of existence of life elsewhere in the universe, were not generally accepted. And he might even wonder where the planet Earth was among the multitude of stars he gazed upon during clear night skies...
The Pleiades star cluster of the Taurus constellation (NASA Photo)
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My artworks
Quetzalcoatl City
Evening Bliss
