All language subtitles for Ancient.Aliens.S06E18.Alien.Encounters.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.HEVC-Saon_track5_[eng]

NARRATOR: Unexplained sightings.

The first responders on
the scene reported a UFO.

NARRATOR: Miraculous
appearances.

Inside the tilma
was a Virgin Mother.

NARRATOR: And visions
that changed the world.

This extraordinary
sign from the heavens

becomes one of the
crucial turning

points in human history.

NARRATOR: Stories of
strange encounters

accompany many of
history's major events.

Is it merely coincidence?

Or might it be evidence of
extraterrestrial intervention?

It appears that there is
an ongoing plan in place,

a hidden hand in history
that is manipulating events

for a certain given outcome.

NARRATOR: Millions of
people around the world

believe we have been
visited in the past

by extraterrestrial beings.

What if it were true?

Did ancient aliens really
help to shape our history?

And if so, might mankind's
greatest moments have been

influenced by alien encounters?

Japan, March 11, 2011.

Emanating 43 miles off the eastern
coast of the Oshika Peninsula.

One of the largest earthquakes
in recorded history,

a magnitude 9.0,
shakes the earth.

The massive movement
of two tectonic plates

instantly moves the entire
Japanese mainland some eight

feet, ripping down buildings,
setting fires,

and killing thousands of people.

But the worst is yet to come.

The earthquake also
triggers enormous tsunamis.

Waves as high as 130 feet
begin smashing ashore

with devastating consequences.

GREGORY BEIRICH: One
wave in particular

struck the Fukushima Daiichi
Power Generating Plant

and overwhelmed the safety
systems, which caused the plant

to enter a critical phase
and release radioactive

material into the atmosphere
and into the water.

NARRATOR: With the nuclear power
plant's reactors melting down

and radiation seeping
into the atmosphere,

the authorities
evacuate the region.

The only people who
remain are employees,

who struggle for days to
prevent a larger catastrophe

from occurring.

But according to
eyewitnesses on the scene,

these workers were not alone.

There were UFO
sightings reported

in some significant numbers
in that area in the weeks

and the days leading up to
the earthquake and tsunami,

and there were a number
of UFO sightings reported

in the immediate area
directly afterward.

WILLIAM HENRY: And this
would suggest the possibility

that extraterrestrials were
involved in stabilizing

that situation.

Because had that Fukushima
plant melted down,

it would have made a large
swath of Asia uninhabitable

for a very long time.

DAVID CHILDRESS: Is it possible
that extraterrestrials became

aware of this meltdown
and they did something

to lessen the impact
of this disaster,

and ultimately save mankind
from what could have been a much

worst cataclysm?

NARRATOR: Could
extraterrestrials really

have been present at
the Fukushima meltdown?

And might they have helped to
prevent it from being an even

more catastrophic disaster?

Ancient astronaut
theorists point out

that similar accounts of
strange objects seen in the sky

were also reported 25 years
earlier during the meltdown

at the Chernobyl Nuclear
Power Plant in Ukraine.

DAVID CHILDRESS: A
number of witnesses

reported that there were UFOs
hovering around the power station,

and that even beams of light

were coming down from these
UFOs and doing something

to the nuclear power
plants and keeping them

from having a much worse
meltdown than-- than they did have.

CHRIS PITTMAN: Some have
speculated that the UFOs that

were seen during the crisis may
have been perhaps protecting

us, trying to stave off a
horrifying nuclear explosion.

Or if not protecting us, at
least protecting our world.

NARRATOR: Was it
simply good fortune

that the nuclear
accidents at Fukushima

and Chernobyl weren't
far more deadly?

Or is it possible that
the UFOs eyewitnesses

spotted were responsible for
averting these catastrophes

when humans were
powerless to do so?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe these encounters

weren't random
occurrences, but part

of an extraterrestrial agenda
that has been in place on earth

for thousands of years.

It appears that there is
an ongoing plan in place,

a hidden hand in history
that is manipulating events,

that we are interacting
with an alien civilization

and that we are experiencing
the fruits of what they are

offering us because our
history is being intelligently

guided and directed to steer us
towards a particular outcome.

NARRATOR: But if alleged alien
encounters really are evidence

that extraterrestrials are
intervening in human affairs,

what is their purpose?

Ancient astronaut theorists
suggest the answer can be found

by looking back at
the very earliest

alien encounters ever recorded.

Mount Sinai, the
15th century BC.

According to the
Bible's Book of Exodus,

it was on the peak
of this holy mountain

that Moses met with God.

But ancient astronaut theorists
believe Moses's encounter

may have been with a different
kind of otherworldly entity.

There's an interesting legend
passed down from temple times

itself that when Moses
ascended to Mount Sinai

to speak with God, a cloud
came down from Heaven

and told Moses, "Come into
the cloud to ascend to God."

The door opened in the
cloud, and Moses walked in.

And it closed behind
him, and he ascended.

ERICH VON DANIKEN: The Lord
descends with smoke, fire,

loud noise,
trembling, and so on.

All religions speak
about the same thing,

or they use different names
and the stories change.

But the basic stories
are always the same.

Somebody descended with
loud noise, smoke, fire.

The humans could not
understand what it was.

They misinterpret
it and believe it

that this was God or the gods.

It's just a misinterpretation.

I am absolutely sure,
there's no doubt,

that we were visited by
beings from outer space.

NARRATOR: According to
ancient astronaut theorists,

such accounts of
unearthly encounters

can be found in
every major religion,

including Islam, where the angel
Gabriel, also known as Jibril,

was said to be the intermediary
between the prophet Muhammad

and the Muslim god Allah.

Jibril normally would come
and dispense wisdom to Muhammad

inside this cave that
he was dwelling in.

But on two occasions,
Muhammad did not

meet Jibril in the
cave in person.

Muhammad went outside the
cave, and it was at this time

that something absolutely
fantastic happened.

What did Muhammad see when
he went outside the cave?

The records show that there
was a magnificent shining

object there in front of him.

It was said to have
600 wings, and it was

burning as if it was on fire.

What do we know of in modern
times that could add up

to a sighting like that?

It's obvious, a craft that
would be hovering there in front

of him giving off
brilliant white light

that he interpreted as fire.

And when he went out and
saw this magnificent shining

object, the same wisdom that
he was getting from Jibril

was imparted to him, though
he could not see any being.

He only could see this object.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that
many of the stories of gods

and angels descending from
the heavens are not actually

divine events, but
extraterrestrial visitations?

And if so, are they
purposely guiding our future?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe further evidence can be

found by examining a
famous vision so important,

it changed the course
of human history.

Rome, Oct 27, 312 AD.

Just north of the city,
the emperor Constantine

leads his troops toward
the Milvian Bridge

and a decisive
battle with Maxentius

to reclaim his throne.

At stake is control over the western
part of the vast Roman Empire.

According to an account
from the historian Eusebius,

on the eve of the
battle, Constantine

looks up into the
sky and sees what

he believes is a divine vision.

Constantine and his
followers saw in the sky

what their chroniclers say
was a huge white

fiery cross.

Now, his followers didn't
know what to make of it,

but Constantine decided that
this was the Christian cross.

Constantine feels after
viewing this extraordinary sign

from the heavens, this
lighted cross in the sky,

that he will go
forth the next day

and he will conquer
the Roman Empire,

and this is exactly
what he does.

This vision becomes one of
the crucial turning points

in human history.

NARRATOR: After winning the
brutal battle of Milvian

Bridge, Constantine
consolidates his power

and begins a campaign
of religious tolerance

across the empire, and
he himself converts

to Christianity.

But what exactly
did Constantine see

in the sky that ended
up changing the course

of Western civilization?

Was it a divine vision,
or something else?

Don't we all see crosses up in
the sky when we look at planes?

Because you have lights on
the sides and at the front.

And if you have a little
bit of light shining on it,

sometimes they
look like crosses.

So we have to ask ourselves,
is it possible that this was

absolutely no Christian
symbol at all,

but that it was adapted over
time after something that

was witnessed up in the sky?

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that extraterrestrials

were responsible for
Constantine's vision?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say one compelling piece

of evidence that aliens have
tried to manipulate mankind

through religious visions
still exists today.

Mexico City, December 1531.

According to an account called
the "Nican Mopohva"

published in the Aztec
language of Nahuatl,

a peasant named Juan Diego
was walking in the countryside

when he heard a beautiful voice
singing on the other side of a hill.

Diego climbed the hill
and saw an angelic vision,

a woman in white garments
that shone like the sun.

And she said to him, "Juan
Diego, I am the Virgin Mary,

and I am asking you to
build a sanctuary for me

here on this hill."

Well, Juan Diego fell
to his knees in awe,

and he said, "Great lady,
I will do as you desire."

NARRATOR: But
according to the story,

Juan Diego couldn't convince
the local bishop that he had

actually seen the Virgin Mary.

So he went back to the hill,
where he again saw the vision.

SABINA MAGLIOCCO: He says,
"Lady, please, give me

a sign, because nobody
believes me when I tell them

that I have seen You."

And she says, "Juan Diego,
take off your cloak."

And he does, he
takes off his cloak,

and she fills his
cloak with roses.

BRETT PETERSON: He took
the roses to the bishop,

and the bishop fell
down on his knees

because it wasn't the roses as
to why he believed the story

from Diego, but inside the tilma
was a painting of the Virgin Mother.

And the bishop believed,
and they built the church

on that hill.

NARRATOR: This cloak
still exists today.

And despite its frail
fabric, it has reportedly

remained in pristine condition
despite the cruel ravages of time.

Right now, you can go to
the church and see the tilma

hanging there, and it has not
degraded over the 400-plus

years that they've had it.

It's been through a fire.

It's been through an explosion
where purportedly an iron cross

was twisted from the explosion,
but the tilma right next

to the cross was still fine.

NARRATOR: Could the sacred
image on the cloak really

be evidence of a visitation
by the Virgin Mary?

Or might it have a different
otherworldly explanation?

In addition to the
tilma inexplicably

enduring for hundreds of years,
those who have studied it

have found other
unexplainable qualities.

Most bizarre of
all are the eyes of the image,

approximately 7
to 8 millimeters wide.

What we see inside those eyes
is a highly enigmatic mystery

because it appears that
there are characters

in the eyes, the
faces of the people

who were there at the time
that the tilma was unveiled

by Our Lady of
Guadalupe in 1531.

NARRATOR: But if Our
Lady of Guadalupe

really does have
otherworldly origins, did it

come from a heavenly
realm or somewhere else?

Not only do ancient
astronaut theorists

believe Juan Diego's vision was
an extraterrestrial encounter,

but even some
members of the church

claim that it was
something other

than a religious experience.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is
definitely a heavenly visitor.

In my opinion,
though, what her story

said disagrees with
what the Bible says.

In fact, she said she would
protect the people that worship

at the church.

What that does is
really deify Mary,

when the Bible is very clear
that only God can protect those

that serve Him.

And so any otherworldly
being that demands worship

or respect, it cannot be
a-- an angel from God.

Juan Diego may have witnessed
not just an apparition,

but an actual live
extraterrestrial appearing

through some sort of
advanced technology

whose mission was to
impart spiritual faith

and a thirst for the divine.

NARRATOR: Could it be that some
of history's most significant

religious visions have actually
been produced by alien beings

carrying out a secret mission?

Ancient astronaut theorists say
yes, and believe further proof

that extraterrestrials have been
guiding our future can be found

in the story of a
mysterious magician

that may have helped propel
humanity into the modern age.

The English Channel, 1588.

King Philip II of Spain has
dispatched an enormous armada

of ships to invade England.

They are reportedly filled
with more than 20,000 soldiers

and scores of medieval
torture devices.

According to some historians,
Philip, a devout Catholic,

wants to bring the brutal
Spanish Inquisition to England

to punish Queen Elizabeth
I and her subjects

for leaving the Catholic Church.

SABINA MAGLIOCCO:
Philip was a Catholic,

and England had been
turned Protestant

by Elizabeth's father,
Henry VIII, when he broke

with the Catholic Church in
order to marry Elizabeth's

mother, Anne Boleyn.

So to Philip, the
English were sinners,

and their ways needed
to be reformed.

So he sent a great armada, a
great fleet of over 130 ships.

There had never been
anything like it before.

England didn't have
a lot of money,

and a lot of their vessels were not
even official government vessels.

They were whatever merchant seamen
and sailors could cobble together.

NARRATOR: The Spanish
Armada seemed invincible

and the British
severely overmatched.

But when the two
forces finally met,

superior English
tactics and strategy

forced the Armada to retreat.

But the number of Spanish
ships was so overwhelming

that the English couldn't
score a decisive victory

until a freak storm struck.

The English ships
were more maneuverable

than the Spanish ships.

In order to counter this, the
Spanish cut their anchors.

They figured, well,
let's get rid of some

of this dead
weight, so to speak.

But when the winds hit, they
had no way to find a mooring,

and then therefore the
winds blew their ships

all over the place,
including into the coast.

They lost roughly half their
fleet due to the weather.

KATHLEEN MCGOWAN COPPENS:
From the point of view

of the English people, this
extraordinary storm that

destroys the Spanish
Armada is a miracle,

destroying the might of Spain
when mankind cannot do it.

NARRATOR: The English believe
this miraculous storm was

the work of God.

But some ancient
astronaut theorists

claim there is evidence that
suggests it may have actually

been the work of
otherworldly beings.

Their first clue comes from one
of Queen Elizabeth's closest

advisors, a mysterious
man named John Dee.

John Dee was the court
astrologer, mathematician,

philosopher, medical doctor at
the court of Queen Elizabeth I.

He was an extraordinarily
learned man for his time.

GREGORY BEIRICH: He dealt
with magic and potions

and what we might call "spells"
to try to effect change.

John Dee was a hermetic thinker.

Hermetic thinkers believed
that there was a contemporary

of Moses by the name of
Hermes Trismegistus who

lived in Egypt.

And just as God revealed the
Ten Commandments to Moses,

God revealed to Hermes the
secret knowledge of how nature

worked, and that with the
proper mindset and proper tools,

that one could uncover
essentially what God was

thinking by reading the world.

NARRATOR: According
to legend, John Dee

used this knowledge of the
natural and supernatural worlds

to predict the storm
that would ultimately

thwart the Spanish Armada.

GREGORY BEIRICH: The story
goes that John Dee told

Queen Elizabeth not to worry
because the storm would destroy

the Spanish fleet.

And then when it
happened, it confirmed

his knowledge of the world
and what lay beneath it.

NARRATOR: But if
John Dee really did

make such a prophecy,
what was the source?

Was it something divine?

Or is it possible, as ancient
astronaut theorists contend,

that this mysterious man
was using hermetic wisdom

to establish communication
with extraterrestrial beings?

JASON MARTELL: John Dee was
very interested in the occult

and seemed to
spend a lot of time

harnessing or finding a way
to communicate to life forms

beyond this earth.

We really don't
understand the influence

over John Dee as to how
he was able to interpret

such accurate information.

It's very possible that John Dee
was receiving his information

from an outside source that was
possibly an extraterrestrial.

NARRATOR: But if John Dee's
pursuit of hermetic wisdom

gave him insights into
the alien agenda on Earth,

what did he find?

And why would
extraterrestrials want

to sink the Spanish Armada?

It is possible that
these extraterrestrials had

a vested interest in preserving
the monarchy of Queen Elizabeth,

in seeing that the
monarchy was not overthrown,

and they repelled any such
invading forces in order

to make sure that this carefully
constructed power structure was

kept fully intact.

NARRATOR: Ancient
astronaut theorists

suggest extraterrestrials were
not acting to favor Protestants

over Catholics, but may
have wanted to preserve

the great cultural and
scientific developments that

would occur in England
in the coming centuries.

GRAHAM PHILLIPS: What
happened in England

after Queen Elizabeth's time

was nothing less
than miraculous.

We had the Scientific
Revolution.

We had people like
Isaac Newton, and we

had other great scientists
develop what eventually became

the Industrial Revolution,
steam trains, electricity,

and the modern world.

NARRATOR: The period
that followed also

gave rise to champions
of the scientific method,

like Francis Bacon
and John Locke,

and led to an age of
exploration that would give rise

to a greater investment in the
still fledgling new land of America.

If the Spanish had succeeded
in conquering England,

they would have brought
the Inquisition with them

and a period of darkness
and-- and torture.

And likely, the Industrial
Revolution never

would have happened.

NARRATOR: Might some
otherworldly entity really

have intervened in
the Spanish invasion,

sending a storm to
destroy their ships

and ensure the
future of England?

And if so, is this a sign
that aliens really do

have an interest in our future?

Perhaps the answer can be found
by examining the vision that

inspired one of the
world's newest religions.

Manchester, New York,
September 21, 1823.

As he settles into bed,
a 17-year-old farmhand

named Joseph Smith begins
to say his prayers.

Suddenly without warning,
an overpowering light

envelops his room, and
a robed figure appears.

According to Smith's
account, "Not only

was his robe exceedingly
white, but his whole person was

glorious beyond description."

Speaking from the
center of the light,

the angel, whose name is
Moroni, sent Smith on a quest

for several sacred texts
hidden near a local tree.

GREGORY BEIRICH: Upon
locating the tree,

Joseph dug and indeed
found the texts,

but they recorded a language
which he could not read.

A second visitation from
Moroni told Joseph Smith

where he could
find what we might

call a device of some kind that
would allow him to read the text.

Joseph Smith was given
this translating stone,

the Urim and the Thummin, with
which he was able to not only

write down this text,

but also to-- to
be able to translate IT.

GREGORY BEIRICH: He then
translated the texts

into English, which
become the Book of Mormon.

And it depicts,
among other things,

that after Jesus ascended into
Heaven, he came to the Americas

and ministered to
the native peoples here

to convert them to His way
of life, and that at some point

the texts that become
the Book of Mormon

are deposited here so that
Joseph Smith could find them.

NARRATOR: Seven years later,
Smith publishes these texts

as part of the Book of Mormon,
establishing the Church

of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, a denomination

with more than 15
million followers today.

Many religions worldwide
have been founded

with the help of angels.

Whether they are representatives
of Christian, Muslim,

or Buddhist gods,
these apparitions

are thought to be a way
that gods intervene on Earth

with humans.

SABINA MAGLIOCCO:
Angels, when they appear

in religious legends
and in myths,

generally are messengers
between the heavenly realm

and the human realm.

BRETT PETERSON:
Throughout the Bible,

we have stories of angels and
demons appearing to mankind.

In fact, Paul says that you--

"Be careful how you entertain
strangers because some of you

entertain angels unaware."

The Bible is very clear that
angels can take on human form

and appear in the
likeness of man.

NARRATOR: But ancient
astronaut theorists

suggest that sometimes
these heavenly visions

and apparitions may not
actually be angels sent

by an omniscient god.

And curiously, the
so-called angel

that led Joseph Smith to the
sacred texts that would become

the Book of Mormon
did not profess

to have heavenly
origins, but claimed

to be from another
part of the universe.

DAVID WILCOCK: Now, Moroni did
not say that he was an angel.

He said that at one time
he had lived on Earth,

but that now he came from
the Pleiades star cluster,

and he said there were
many others like him.

When we look at the background
of the Book of Mormon,

we see some very
interesting parallels

to what could be an
extraterrestrial tale.

This angel Moroni that
appears to Joseph Smith

seems to be more
than just chance.

It's very possible that
Joseph Smith was interacting

with a type of extraterrestrial.

DAVID WILCOCK: These
extraterrestrials

may be giving these
messages to world leaders

and to prophets and
seers and mystics

to let us know that
we are the product

of an extraterrestrial
interbreeding

and in ongoing contact with
these other people who were not

born on Earth.

And we have lost touch
with that history

only because we refuse
to believe the truth that

is recorded in our
historical books

and see what's right
in front of our faces

even now with the encounters
that are happening

in the modern world.

NARRATOR: But if an
extraterrestrial being really

did inspire Joseph Smith to
found the Mormon Church, why?

Joseph Smith's
encounter ultimately

led the Mormons to migrate west
to establish a new holy land

in Utah, which has led some
to speculate that aliens once

again were guiding the
course of humanity.

Moroni let Joseph Smith know
that he would be the prophet,

and he would lead his
people to the new Jerusalem.

DAVID WILCOCK: Mormonism is
another example potentially

of an extraterrestrial
influence steering

the course of our
humanity and helping

steer the outcome of historical
events here on Earth.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that
Joseph Smith, the founder

of the Mormon
religion, was guided

by an extraterrestrial being?

And if so, was this
alien encounter

another attempt to guide us
into a more enlightened age?

Ancient astronaut
theorists say yes,

and believe further evidence
can be found by examining

a dream that helped defeat
one of the 20th century's most

diabolical dictators.

Olympia, Greece.

This valley on the
Peloponnese Peninsula,

once filled with temples,
altars, and statues,

is where the ancient Greeks came
to pay tribute to their gods.

Near the temple to Zeus,
the king of the gods,

was a sanctuary dedicated to
the Moirai, the only beings

that Zeus was said to fear.

These mythical figures were
believed to control destiny.

English speakers call
them "the Fates."

In ancient times,
fate and human destiny

were thought to be in
the hands of the gods.

There was much less
this idea that we're

in charge of our own destiny
and that we make our own lives

through choices and
decisions and action.

The idea was that human destiny
was in someone else's hands.

It was in the
hands of the Fates.

There were three
supernatural creatures--

Clotho, who spun the thread of
life; Lachesis, who wove it;

and Atropos, who cut the
thread at the moment of death.

In the ancient times,
gods and goddesses

were thought to be able to
influence people's destiny

and that they were constantly
interfering in human affairs.

They were constantly
messing with humans.

They could make humans
do all kinds of things.

They could disguise themselves.

They could trick humans.

They could persuade humans.

And yet, that final
moment of destiny

was still in the
hands of the Fates.

NARRATOR: Other ancient
cultures had similar beliefs.

The Egyptians personified
fate as the god Shai,

who is said to control
the actions of humans,

while the Vedic texts
of ancient India

talked about a universal
order called Rta.

There was a similar legend
in ancient Mesopotamia,

and it was of the Mamitu, who
was a goat-headed goddess who

lived with the Anunnaki
in the realms of the sky.

The Mamitu was also
in charge of our fate.

So you have to wonder, was the
Mamitu and these other gods

of fate some kind of
extraterrestrials that

were controlling our lives?

NARRATOR: Is it possible,
as some ancient astronaut

theorists suggest, that the
gods who were said to control

our fate were actually members
of an advanced alien civilization?

And if so, how were they able
to interfere in people's lives

undetected?

Some ancient astronaut theorists
suggest that extraterrestrials

not only communicate
with us through visions

and physical encounters,
but even through our dreams.

New York City, spring 1940.

At the Bell Laboratory
Complex in Manhattan,

a young engineer named David
Parkinson is using a device

called a potentiometer to
track the varying electrical

voltages that course through a
telephone when people use it.

Parkinson's work
with potentiometers

seems unimportant compared
to the big news of the day.

NEWCASTER
The Nazis have

begun their shattering
blitz on Britain.

NARRATOR: The Nazis have
conquered most of Europe,

forcing the Allies to flee the
continent in a ragtag flotilla

of civilian boats after
the Battle of Dunkirk.

KATHLEEN MCGOWAN COPPENS: The
Nazis were almost undefeatable

at this time in the war, and
there was a tremendous despair

and fear amongst
the Allied forces.

And the story goes that David
Parkinson had a dream one

night, and in the dream,

he was standing beside
a certain type of gun.

And that gun was
hitting every Nazi plane

with absolute accuracy.

NARRATOR: Parkinson's dream
gave him a brilliant idea.

He could use the same technology
that tracked electrical charges

flowing through a telephone to
track enemy airplanes flying

through the sky.

And in the dream, he was
able to see the technology that

was created to make
this gun so accurate.

And it is said that when he
awoke, he went back to the labs

and he ultimately created
the technology that

was necessary to shoot
down Nazi aircraft.

NARRATOR: Parkinson's
dream inspired

him to create the M9 electrical
gun director, which allowed

Allied antiaircraft guns
to hit moving targets

like the dangerous V-1 rocket
with incredible accuracy.

But how could such
an advanced weapon

be completely realized
in a single dream?

The weird part about it
is, this guy was a scientist,

but he knew nothing
about aeronautics.

Because David Parkinson had
no background in aerodynamics,

his contemporaries, other
scientists, and the military

were literally taking
him not seriously at all.

But he insisted, and he even
spent a lot of his own time

creating prototypes which
eventually were found to work.

Throughout human
history, there

are amazing stories of how
mankind has been inspired

through their dreams and
through their visions.

I think we have
to ask ourselves,

what is the source
of this inspiration?

Where do these dreams
and visions come from?

Is it possible that we
are being communicated

with by otherworldly beings?

NARRATOR: Could
extraterrestrials really

be using dreams to convey
ideas and information

to the human race?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes, and claim the proof

that dream manipulation is a
real possibility can be found

in the human brain.

Throughout history, many of
mankind's greatest thinkers

have been inspired
by their dreams.

Scientist James Watson claimed
the double helix structure

of DNA came to him through his
dream of a spiral staircase.

Friedrich august Kekule
discovered the chemical

structure of benzene when he
had a dream of a group of snakes

swallowing their tails.

Srinivas Ramanujan, whose
mathematic principles are still

being used by quantum
physicists today,

said that he obtained these
mathematic theorems in dreams

implanted in his mind by
the Hindu goddess Namagiri.

DAVID WILCOCK: We are seeing an
ongoing pattern of dreams being

used to communicate information.

But this is a
widespread phenomenon.

It's been going on for
many thousands of years,

and it continues right straight
through to the present day.

NARRATOR: Is it really possible
that extraterrestrial beings

could actually
manipulate our dreams?

Ancient astronaut
theorists say yes.

And as evidence, they point out
that modern science is already

starting to understand how
to interpret and manipulate dreams.

Moran Cerf is a neuroscientist
who studies human brainwaves.

In one of his experiments, he
shows pictures to test subjects

while they're awake and analyzes
how their brains process the images.

So each of those
little squares

here corresponds to a
cell in Matt's brain.

So right now, Matt has 128
electrodes in his brain.

They come from all varied
parts of his brain,

right, left, and so on.

All of those wires go into this
computer, and what we see here

are the activities of those
little cells in his brain.

So if I pick cell number
36, I double-click

on that, what you see here is
the activity inside his brain.

This is like a microphone sitting
next to one cell in his brain.

NARRATOR: Dr. Cerf can determine
which cells stores the memory

of a particular picture,
like movie star Cary Grant,

by analyzing which cell reacted when
he showed it to his test subject.

Once he's figured this
out for dozens of cells,

Dr. Cerf waits for his
patients to go to sleep

and then watches for
signs that they're

dreaming about the
images he has shown them.

In a very basic way, he can
see his patients' dreams.

But in the future,
Dr. Cerf may actually

be able to dictate our dreams
by stimulating the set of cells

that store our memories
about a person or event.

If I re-mapped
the entire sequence,

if I know all the, say, one
million cells that encode Cary

Grant in your brain and
know exactly what they are,

and I activate all of them,
I stimulate all of them,

then we believe you are going
to actually see Cary Grant.

NARRATOR: If aliens really
have been coming to Earth

for thousands of
years, could they

be using similar technology
to manipulate our dreams?

Is it possible that the
extraterrestrials don't want

to directly interfere
in our society,

but to guide us from
behind the scenes?

And even though they
have to push us along

in certain directions, we need
to have the feeling that we're

doing it, even if
it does include

some extraterrestrial guidance?

WILLIAM HENRY: But they continue
to communicate with humans

through dreams and
visions and other methods

of indirect communication
in order for them

to provide guidance, but
also to provide this guidance

in a hands-off way.

DAVID WILCOCK: Is it
possible that they withdrew

from our reality because
we had to modernize?

It could be that
the purpose of this

was to give us the opportunity
to follow them without being pushed.

And if they forced it upon us,
we would simply worship them

as gods and we would
have learned nothing.

But by doing it ourselves,
we form our own path,

we actually make our own
ascension experience,

and we become much more
like them in the process.

NARRATOR: Has life on Earth been
influenced by alien encounters

for thousands of years?

Are divine visions,
prophetic dreams,

and modern-day UFO
sightings all signs

that we are being manipulated by
a more advanced race of beings?

Could it be that these
encounters are not

meant for them to
get to know us,

but for us to get to know them?

And if so, what are
they guiding us towards?

Perhaps we are getting closer
to our ultimate destination,

and when we reach it, we
will once again be reunited

with our alien ancestors.