All language subtitles for Ancient.Aliens.S15E09.The.Shapeshifters.720p.HIST.WEBRip.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN_track3_eng

Narrator:
They transform their appearance

right before our eyes.

Bruce fenton:
They're able to go from being

totally human-looking

to dangerous beasts
that tear people to pieces.

-(man screams)
-david childress:
They turn into bats

or a sudden mist and disappear.

(woman screams)

lynn picknett:
The most terrifying thing

is they can steal

the face of a loved one

and lure you to your doom.

Narrator:
Accounts of creatures
able to morph

from one form into another

can be found all over the world

and throughout history.

Giorgio a. Tsoukalos:
You have to ask the question,

what is the core of truth
behind those legends?

Childress:
When you look at all
the different legends,

we have a very strong
connection between

shape-shifters
and extraterrestrials.

Narrator:
Is it possible that earth
has been infiltrated

by shape-shifting beings
from another planet?

William henry:
What if there are millions
of extraterrestrials

that are walking
amongst us and suddenly

they reveal
their true appearance?

Narrator:
There is a doorway

in the universe.

Beyond it is
the promise of truth.

It demands
we question everything

we have ever been taught.

The evidence is all around us.

The future is
right before our eyes.

We are not alone.

We have never been alone.

Narrator:
22-year-old forestry worker

travis walton

is driving home after sundown

with a group of coworkers when

suddenly a strange light
appears in the sky.

I noticed, uh,
some little glimmers

of light coming
through the trees.

And the light
seemed to be coming

from higher than where
ground level would be.

It was only when we got to where

this light was crossing the road

that we had an unobstructed
view of the craft.

It was a clearly visible,

clearly defined metallic object,

a disc hovering there,
outlined against the sky.

I threw open the door,
thinking I'd get

a closer look
before it took off.

As I got closer to it,
the sound it was making,

it was a sound you,
you both heard and felt.

And, uh, the crew
said they could

feel the vibration in the truck.

They said it seemed like

something was about to happen.

And, uh, it was. (chuckles)

that's when this energy hit me.

The crew said that it was like
I'd stepped on a land mine.

Like an explosion

so violent that, uh,

they thought it, uh,
it had killed me.

When this beam of energy hit me,

I felt like a physical blow,
but with a sort of a...

Tingling sort
of an electric shock sort

of feeling at the same time.

I don't know whether I came to
soon after I was taken aboard.

But I know I was on some

kind of an elevated gurney
or operating table.

I was looking straight into
the-the face of this creature.

And I just flipped out.

Michael salla:
He sees these

grey extraterrestrials
around him,

and he panics.

And he begins
to struggle very violently.

And so those
grey extraterrestrials

leave that room.

And then shortly afterwards,

you have two human-looking
extraterrestrials walking in.

Walton:
In the case of these

human-looking ones,
I started to

have serious misgivings that,
that this was a rescue.

And that's when they put
this mask over my face.

And I just blacked out
real quickly.

Nick pope:
Now the suspicion here

was that actually these
weren't different aliens.

These were the same aliens,
but they were capable

of shape-shifting
into something else,

specifically to calm him down.

Narrator:
Travis walton's story

has become
one of the most famous

alien abduction cases
ever reported,

and was even adapted
into a movie in 1993.

But if true,
was he abducted by beings

that are able to shape-shift
and mimic humans?

While travis walton's account
is extraordinary,

it is not entirely unique.

Salla:
There are many stories
of these abductees,

who see these non-human looking
extraterrestrials, these greys,

who then are replaced
by beings that look human.

And this seems
to be extraterrestrials

using this shape-shifting
ability

to make it look as though human
extraterrestrials are there.

Narrator:
In 2013, public policy polling

released data that showed
12 million americans believe

that shape-shifting beings
live amongst us.

Fenton:
One of the most intriguing
conspiracies today

is that of the
shape-shifting aliens.

The idea that perhaps there is
a class of entities on our world

today that is able to represent
itself as humans at will.

These extraterrestrials that are

hidden from the rest
of the-the normal

human society around them.

Pope:
There is a theory that there
are aliens among us.

Aliens in human form.

That there's an advance guard,
a fifth column.

Call it what you like,
but the idea that

perhaps as a prelude
to a full-scale alien invasion,

they infiltrate, they get their
people into positions of power.

And one could be walking right
past you and you wouldn't know.

People think of disclosure
as being the archetypal landing

on the white house lawn,
uh, spaceships in the sky.

What if it's actually not that?

What if aliens are already here?

Narrator:
While the notion that

shape-shifting extraterrestrials

are living among the human race

may sound like something ripped
from a science fiction movie,

this concept was
actually prevalent

among people living
thousands of years ago.

In ancient times,

nearly every culture
across the globe

described their gods as not
only descending from the sky,

but also having the ability
to transform their appearance.

Jonathan young:
Shape-shifting has shown up

throughout history
in shamanic lore,

in the great religions--

the olympians in greece,

the hindu gods
would change shape,

the egyptian gods.

There's something
about this idea that

particularly the gods
can change into another person

or become an animal.

Ric rader:
These stories are not just
here to entertain us.

They are here to make
sense of our relationship

to the world and to the gods.

And that is not a world that
we have a lot of control over.

And that, ultimately,
is a terrifying thing,

because when they come
down to our world

in whatever shape they take,

we are subject
to the whims of the gods.

Narrator:
Are tales
of shape-shifting beings

a mere manifestation
of a deep-seated fear

that we are not in control
of our own reality?

Curiously, a common element

found in many
of these ancient stories

is that the reason
the gods changed shape

was so that they could navigate
the human world undetected.

Rader:
In order to traffic

in the human world, the gods
have to take on a human shape

or something that exists
in the human world.

Zeus, in particular, um,

wants to have sexual relations
with human beings,

with, uh, with women.

Zeus takes the form of a bull,
an especially beautiful bull

which attracts
the interest of europa,

who was a phoenician princess.

Henry
in the greek story,

europa climbs aboard this bull.

Together they cross
over the mediterranean

to the island of crete.

Zeus shape-shifts back
into himself as zeus the god,

impregnates europa.

So this is zeus using
shape-shifting as a way

to attract a human female
and ultimately to create

a new island civilization
in crete.

Rader:
Zeus changes himself
into a bull.

Changes himself into an eagle.

Changes himself
into a golden rain shower.

For practical reasons,

the gods need
to disguise themselves.

Because if they show up
in the human world undisguised,

then it'll wreak havoc.

And the limitation
of our imagination

is that they
sort of look like us.

They may not,
we don't really know.

They have to take a shape
that our puny mortal minds

are capable of comprehending.

Tsoukalos:
Throughout history,

we have these stories
of ancient gods

being able to shape-shift.

So you have to ask the question,

what is the core of truth
behind those legends?

Narrator:
Could there be some significance

to the fact that
in story after story,

coming from all parts
of the world,

gods are said to change shape
to interact with humans?

Is it possible
that at some point,

the ancient people
actually witnessed

extraterrestrials
changing shape?

Childress:
We have many stories

in the past, legends and myths
of shape-shifting gods.

The greeks have
many stories with this.

The hindus, the sumerians.

All over the world,
we have these stories.

And you have to wonder
if it might have something to do

with shape-shifting
extraterrestrials.

The ancient astronaut theory
tries to decipher

misunderstood technology
in mythological stories.

This whole idea
of shape-shifting

is rooted solidly in the concept

of misunderstood technology.

Actual flesh-and-blood
extraterrestrials

were able to change
their appearance

with technology.

Perhaps they had
an invisibility cloak...

Or they had a cloak with which
they could change themselves

into whatever they wanted.

This was witnessed
by the people,

and this is how these stories
came into existence.

(owl hooting)

narrator:
If extraterrestrials inspired

the ancient stories
of shape-shifting gods,

as ancient astronaut
theorists suggest,

were they here
only in the distant past,

or have they remained with us
for thousands of years?

And what could be their reason
for hiding among humans?

Narrator: Here,
hidden along the ocean floor,

researchers discover
a new and unusual creature--

the mimic octopus.

This highly intelligent
cephalopod

is capable
of not only instantly changing

its color and skin texture,

but it can also transform
its body

to take on the form
of many other creatures.

Kirsten fisher:
The mimic octopus is remarkable.

It's been known
to mimic flounder,

which are like flat fish that
live on the bottom of the ocean.

Sea snakes, with the striping.

And then also lionfish,
remarkably,

which have all these,
like, feathery appendages.

It's been documented
to essentially impersonate

at least
15 different marine species.

Narrator:
With three hearts, nine brains,

and roughly double the number
of genes of a human,

some scientists have speculated
that the octopus

may well be from another planet.

In 2018, a group
of 33 scientists proclaimed

in a peer-reviewed paper

that the octopus
actually has alien dna

and might have originated
elsewhere.

Now, when we think about that,
you have to think: Well,

what might extraterrestrials
actually be like?

Could they be like the octopus?

Could they
in fact be shape-shifters?

We automatically assume
that extraterrestrials

might be humanoid,
that they might look like us,

but the fact of the matter is
that they could in fact

be shape-shifters
able to change their form

into anything they want to be.

Narrator:
If the octopus
is not indigenous to earth,

could that point
to the possibility

that intelligent alien beings
have also arrived here

that have the biological ability
to shape-shift?

Fisher:
The evolution of things

like crypsis, or the ability
to camouflage oneself.

On earth,

we know
the selective pressure for that

is primarily sort of
predator-prey relationships.

Crypsis is basically a trait

to escape detection
by a predator,

if you're an animal
that gets eaten,

or to escape detection
by your prey,

if you happen to be a predator.

I think that selective pressure

could certainly, um,
drive the evolution of crypsis

on other planets as well.

Pope:
Given that shape-shifting has

a clear evolutionary benefit,

it's certainly possible
that this capability evolved

not just here on earth,
but elsewhere in the universe.

It's perfectly possible
there's other life out there,

including intelligent life,

civilizations that have
the capability to shape-shift.

We have to wonder if...

This technology is something

that-that they
just naturally have

as part of their biological dna,

or are they using
some technology

that's doing this for them?

So it could be either,

and even a combination of both.

Narrator:
In the animal kingdom,
the ability to shape-shift

has evolved to conceal
both the hunter and the hunted.

But if shape-shifting
extraterrestrials

truly are hiding among us,

did they evolve
as prey or predators?

A 25-year-old mother of three

is taken to a local physician

after displaying
increasingly bizarre behavior.

She speaks in gibberish

and complains of being plagued
by disturbing visions

and strange voices.

Her family claims
she is possessed

by supernatural beings...

Known as the jinn.

Amir hussain:
Jinn is an arabic term

that means "to hide,"
"to conceal."

the koran says that they are
created of fire without smoke.

Smokeless fire.

It talks about the jinn
being able to take animal form.

It talks about the jinn being
able to take the form

of natural phenomena--
the wind, for example.

And so you will have people
to this day in the muslim world

who will say that this person
is possessed by jinn,

that they're not physically ill,
they're not mentally ill.

Picknett:
The jinn were allegedly created

before humankind by god.

They can take any shape
to beguile you,

and to tempt you.

Because part of their role

is to test humanity.

Narrator:
Encounters with the jinn

are reported frequently
in certain parts of the world,

and millions of people continue
to believe in their existence.

Similar shape-shifting beings
can also be found

in other ancient traditions

and are so common that modern
mythologists have grouped them

into a category called
"trickster gods."

young:
The trickster is the god
of transitions, of change.

They're not always fun
to encounter,

because they-they pull the rug
out from under us.

They are in charge
of mischief and mayhem.

In the norse tradition,
we have the trickster character

known as loki.

Loki is a shape-shifter.

In some stories, he's a salmon,

sometimes a fly.

Deepak shimkhada:
According to hindu mythology,

danivas are demons.

So they have special power

to change shape,

to delude others,

to confuse others,

to appear in any form they wish.

Henry:
We find this in
the celtic fairy lore as well,

where the fairies
are able to shape-shift.

But in their deepest
and darkest sense,

they're seeking to extract
something from humanity.

Fenton:
Some of these encounters
that we hear about

with shape-shifting beings

may be extraterrestrials.

There are some good examples of
this with the so-called "greys."

there's one incident where...

A large owl was seen that was
about three foot high, and...

The witness just thought
this could not add up,

and then suddenly it just
changed back into a grey.

Very strange.

Deception runs through
this whole phenomenon.

The idea that
the extraterrestrials

are deceiving, seducing,
tricking people.

We see it in mythology.

We see it in close encounters.

Narrator:
Is it possible

that accounts
of shape-shifting beings,

both in the remote past
and in modern times,

are not the product
of overactive imaginations...

But actual encounters
with extraterrestrials?

But if so,

do they have a sinister agenda?

Perhaps further clues can be
found by examining stories

not of gods...

...But of monsters?

(cawing)

narrator:
This picturesque
transylvanian town

is the birthplace of vlad tepes,

otherwise known
as vlad the impaler,

or vlad dracula.

This infamous romanian prince

was known to drink the blood
of his enemies,

and inspired the title

of bram stoker's 1897
vampire novel, dracula.

In 2014, a tourist
visiting a local church

came across a painting
so strange

that she sent a photo of it

to the israeli extraterrestrials
and ufos research organization.

Henry:
In the hometown

of vlad the impaler,

upon whom the story
of dracula the vampire is based,

we find the church
of the dominican monastery.

And in this church is
a 700-year-old painting

that clearly portrays
what most would identify

as a circular craft, a ufo,

hovering over a building that
is thought to be the church.

Fenton: We have this very
strange jelly-mold-shaped saucer

hovering over the ancestral home
of the great figure

that really has given rise
to the idea of...

You know, dracula the vampire.

Now, is there a link here
in some way

with this vampire legend
and extraterrestrials?

Narrator:
Is it possible that
a 700-year-old painting

in a church in transylvania
provides a connection

between vampires and aliens?

Could it be that the stories
of these shape-shifting entities

that are said to morph
from human form into bats,

wolves and other creatures

are based on real encounters?

While bram stoker's dracula
is a work of fiction,

it is inspired
by historical events.

Picknett:
In the classic vampire story,

from bram stoker's dracula,
the late 19th century,

he did do some research
into the romanian traditions.

As I say,
they're very complicated,

and they-they tend to...

To differ village
from village even.

So were there ever such things,

paranormally speaking,
as vampires?

For a time--

15th, 16th, 17th,
into the 18th century--

in certain parts of the world,
vampires did exist.

Narrator:
During the construction

of a roadway
just outside this small town,

a shocking discovery is made.

Workers unearth a burial ground

that provides a gruesome window
into the past.

It contains four skeletons,
all decapitated.

Recently in poland,

some graves were found that
had unusual characteristics.

The remains had the heads
removed and placed on the legs.

This was evidence
of a ritual execution.

Some theorists think

these might've been
suspected vampires.

Narrator:
Archaeologists estimate

these burials date back
to the 16th century,

and according to the traditions

that existed in poland
at that time,

keeping the head separated
from the body would prevent

the undead
from coming back to life.

Similar vampire graves have
been found throughout europe,

some even containing bodies

with stakes driven
through the hearts.

When we think about vampires,

we think
of bram stoker's dracula, uh,

or indeed, hollywood portrayals
of vampires.

-(bats squeaking)
-but for the peoples of europe,

particularly in eastern europe,

the idea of vampires was
a very frightening

and very real
supernatural phenomena

which was something that they
had to guard themselves against,

because the vampires
were shape-shifters.

And the most frightening thing
about these was

that they had
to sustain their existence

by drinking the blood of animals
or human beings.

Narrator:
While the modern concept

of the vampire was informed
by european folklore,

similar shape-shifting beings

with a thirst for blood
have been reported

throughout the ancient world,

like the rakshasas described
in the sanskrit texts of india.

Shimkhada:
In hindu scriptures,

rakshasas have special power
to change shape.

Rakshasa is
a flesh-eating demon.

That rakshasa loves
to eat flesh.

Fenton:
All across the globe,
we have mythology

that represents some kind
of vampiric-type entities.

There's the ekimmu
in the sumerian texts.

There's the jiangshi in china.

All these classes of entities
that seem to be

in some way interested
in human blood.

But is there a real route
to this?

You know,
is there some kind of entity

that's interested
in human blood?

Narrator:
Could these bloodthirsty
abominations

be more than just fantasy?

As far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

the centuries-old tales
of vampires

bear striking similarities
to a very modern phenomenon--

accounts of alien abduction.

Bill birnes:
When we talk about vampire

experiences,
we break them down into,

there is the sighting.

Then there is the trapping
of one's own mind

and the luring
of the person into the vampire.

But aliens abductions are
exactly the same way.

Abductees report

they are transfixed by a light,
a figure approaches them.

The figure engages with them,
and the figure takes them away.

Pope: Central to alien
abductions is the idea

of some sort
of medical procedure.

Uh, some people say
that dna is taken,

but in other cases, blood seems
to have been removed.

Very often,
the person is immobilized

in these abduction reports.

And yet, when you look
at the vedic texts,

the chinese legends,
the european legends,

one can draw these links
between vampires

and ufos and abductions.

Childress:
We have a very strong connection

between vampires
and extraterrestrials.

Is it possible
that extraterrestrials

somehow need our blood?

(hissing)

narrator:
If stories of vampires

have been inspired
by extraterrestrial encounters,

as ancient astronaut theorists
suggest,

might they reveal that
blood plays an essential role

in the ability to shape-shift?

Perhaps
further clues can be found

by examining
humanity's own efforts

to transform life on earth

through the manipulation of dna.

Narrator:
Archeologists excavating

a stone age settlement
known as "star carr"

make an extraordinary discovery.

Under layers of dense peat,

they uncover
a ritualistic headdress

that is 11,000 years old--

one that would have been worn
by a shaman or priest.

As long as there's been people,
there's been the idea

that certain people,
certain special people,

can shift their shape.

And the priests of the ancient
magical world, the shamans,

allegedly had the ability
to shift their shape

into an animal.

Narrator:
Curiously, in recent years,

the site
and its surrounding region

have become renowned for reports
of a horrific shape-shifter,

known...
As the flixton werewolf.

A number of very odd experiences
have been occurring there

over the last 50 years or so.

These include the appearance
of a strange biped

with either a canine
or wolf-like head.

-(growling)
-in other words,

half wolf, half human.

And in addition to this,

there have been
many strange sightings

of mysterious light forms
and structured craft,

ufos, in the same vicinity.

We have ufo activity

and what would be
werewolf activity in europe,

particularly in yorkshire.

And so, we have to wonder,
is there some connection

between ufo activity
and these shape-shifters?

It would seem so.

Narrator:
In 2016,

nearly a dozen sightings of the
flixton werewolf were reported

in the nearby town of hull, just
50 miles south of star carr.

Witnesses claimed
to have seen the creature

feasting on the blood
and flesh of local dogs,

leaving residents gripped
by terror.

Collins:
For the peoples of europe,

in the past,
this was a very real threat.

It was believed that
there were certain individuals

that could transform themselves,
shape-shift,

into a particular animal,

-most obviously a wolf.
-(howling)

and whilst these individuals
were in the form of a werewolf,

it was believed
that to sustain their existence,

they had to have the blood
and life force

of either animals
or human beings.

Narrator:
Among the many stories

of shape-shifting beings--
from vampires

to werewolves and even modern
alien abduction accounts--

a recurring theme
is the need for blood.

And as far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

it's very possible that these
beings need something contained

within the blood
in order to shape-shift--

dna.

Fenton: Now, could it be
that in some way,

this shape-shifting ability
could be harnessed

by blending of the genes
of a species

to just morph into whatever

you need to look like
instantaneously?

Howe: The priority is
genetic harvesting,

because
they can mix and match genes

at a sophisticated level,

and make any body container
that they want,

and then,
they can use it as camouflage.

And so one
of our greatest questions is,

"who walks around on our planet,
looks human, but is not?"

narrator:
If there really are

alien shape-shifters
here on earth,

might they require dna in order
to mimic a human or animal form?

Over the past 30 years,

advances
in gene-splicing technology

have allowed humanity to begin
experimenting with cloning

and transforming
earthly creatures.

In 2019,
researchers in china announced

they had created
the first hybrid embryos

that are part human
and part monkey.

Similar experiments have been
done around the world,

crossing human dna
with pigs, sheep,

and soon, mice and rats.

Amy teitel:
We are seeing modern technology

able to create these kinds
of cross-species.

So what geneticists are able

to do is actually clip pieces
of a dna strand,

insert a new strand in to
complete the sequence, and then,

put that back into a cell.

When it's able to grow
and become an embryo,

and then grow into a full being,

it has this different
dna sequence in it.

Michael dennin:
When you think about what

we already know
about gene editing,

first of all, you know,
the technology's possible.

So it is certainly well within
the realm of possibility

that an advanced civilization,
an alien civilization,

would have skills
in gene editing

far surpassing what we have now,

and could really do things
that are actually unimaginable

and outside the scope
of what we're thinking.

Narrator:
Could it be that
the genetic modifications

that scientists are now able
to achieve in a laboratory

were perfected thousands of
years ago by extraterrestrials?

For ancient astronaut theorists,
this possibility

raises another
intriguing question--

could they similarly
alter the dna

of humans?

Narrator:
The southwest region
of France is home

to some of the earliest
examples of prehistoric art

ever discovered.

The caves of lascaux,

niaux, and pech merle

all contain rock paintings

that date back
more than 15,000 years.

But among the ancient cave art,
one image stands apart.

Tucked inside the trois-frères
cave is the depiction

of a mysterious figure known
simply as "the sorcerer."

young:
In the south of France, a cave

was discovered with an image,
believed to be something

like 15,000 years old.

This might be the very earliest
image we have of a deity.

It's a stag,
but it's a human inside,

so it seems to depict
a shamanic ritual leader

channeling animal powers.

Collins:
It has the body of a deer,

uh, it has the eyes of an owl,

it has the tail
possibly of a horse,

but it's quite clearly
standing on human legs

and has humanlike arms.

And although
it's been interpreted

perhaps as the first god,

more likely is that it
represents a shaman,

who has transformed, uh,
into one or more animals,

to move through
the supernatural realms

that the shaman
is thought to have taken.

Narrator:
While there is no written record

to definitively identify cave
art from 15,000 years ago,

in the american southwest,
the notion of shamans

transforming themselves
into shape-shifters

is still prevalent today.

This 500-acre expanse
has been plagued

by reports of strange
phenomena for decades.

Phenomena that include both

ufo sightings and accounts
of a shape-shifting monster.

Any paranormal activity

that you can imagine
has happened, allegedly,

at this skinwalker ranch.

You've seen ufos.

They have seen
different creatures.

They have seen weird things
happening up in the sky.

There is a history
that not only goes back

over the past 100 years,
but over the past 1,000 years

of activity happening
in that area,

some of which is connected
to navajo legends.

Tales of shape-shifters called

skinwalkers have existed

since time immemorial.

Narrator:
In the oral traditions of both

the local navajo and ute
populations,

the shape-shifter for which
skinwalker ranch is named

has inhabited the area
for centuries.

But the story
behind this creature

is different from that
of other shape-shifters.

According to the navajo,
the skinwalker is a human,

who has attained the ability
to transform his body.

A "skinwalker"
is the name that is given

to a navajo shaman or witch

when they are in
a supernatural form.

Very often a skinwalker
will be a wolf,

but it can be
other animals as well.

The native tradition
concerning the skinwalkers

is that these are
actual people that,

uh, have gained
a certain type of power.

They were given
certain abilities

and shape-changing and magic.

Narrator:
When it comes to how
the skinwalker is able

to change shape,
the navajo have a similar notion

to that of ancient
astronaut theorists.

They believe it is
connected to dna.

Dover:
Our view on it

is that they're manipulating
the dna of their own body.

They do change shape.

And it's usually an animal
that they have the skin for.

And they'll use the skin and
with a-a combination of chants,

actually turn into that animal.

And interestingly enough,

in navajo tradition,

you are taught early on
as a child,

you don't leave
your fingernail clippings,

you don't spit on the ground
and not cover it up.

All of this has to do
with the transmission of dna.

Narrator:
If extraterrestrials are

harvesting dna
in order to shape-shift,

as some ancient astronaut
theorists suggest,

is it possible that
they could also bestow humans

with this same ability?

And might the skinwalker be
evidence of alien intervention?

While it may sound farfetched,

former navajo police officer
jonathan dover

is certain that the being
called the skinwalker is real.

I spent, uh, 31 years
in law enforcement.

We've had many, many incidences
where people have seen them

chasing their vehicles as their
vehicles are traveling

at 60, 65 miles an hour,

and having a human figure
running behind you.

(crickets chirping)

I've had police officers
arrest people

and had them in handcuffs,
they get to the station,

they hadn't stopped anywhere
and the person is gone.

Whether we have
an alien presence,

we don't know for sure,
but there's enough

information there
that I would say

don't take it lightly
just because

it's a different culture.

Narrator:
Is the strange figure that was

depicted on a cave wall
in France 15,000 years ago

alive and well
in the american southwest?

Have there always been
shape-shifters among us,

both alien and human?

And is it possible that new
scientific developments

are leading towards a future
in which we could become...

The shape-shifters?

Narrator:
Scientists developing
shape-shifting technology

announce their latest
and most incredible creation--

lattices that can
transform in response

to changes in temperature.

When researchers demonstrate

the material's remarkable
metamorphosis,

as if by magic,
the flat mesh morphs

into a three-dimensional face

of 19th century mathematician

carl friedrich gauss.

This has been used to take
a flat sort of structure

and turn it to look like a human
face or other interesting

sort of three-dimensional shape.

When you talk about

shape-shifting technologies,
what you're seeing

right now is our ability
to control materials

is really
at a transformative point.

Narrator:
In the near future,

shape-shifting materials
like this

could be utilized in many ways,

from constructing smart fabrics
and self-repairing electronics

to ushering in the next
generation of robotics

and high-tech medical equipment.

But ancient astronaut theorists

see an even more
profound possibility.

That these advancements

combined with
our growing understanding

of dna manipulation will unlock
the potential for humans

to harness the power
of shape-shifting.

In science fiction,
one of the-the great ideas

was the idea of being
able to-to shape-shift.

To change the color
of your skin or

to change your form
to turn into something else.

And now high-tech companies are
actually working on this today.

Fenton:
In nature we see
animals that can

suddenly shift colors,
change their shapes.

Could it be that in some way
this ability could be harnessed

and used in technologies?

Or perhaps in even a-a
cybernetic blending

of the genes of a species
like this with a technology,

allowing us to have these
rapid shape-shifts, to just

morph into whatever you need
to look like instantaneously?

Human technology is advancing
here by leaps and bounds.

By all accounts,
we already have pretty much

optical invisibility,
or certainly camouflage so good

that it's-it's almost
indistinguishable.

I mean, some of this is,
of course, so classified,

we won't get to hear
about it for years, but...

But if you're reading hints
about it here and there,

you can bet
that it already exists.

We now have technology
that is equal to what we see

the gods using
in these ancient stories.

And now we're faced
with a new reality.

What if suddenly we realize
that there are,

are thousands,
hundreds of thousands,

maybe millions of
extraterrestrials that are

walking amongst us and suddenly

they reveal themselves
for their true appearance?

Narrator:
As humanity begins to harness
the extraordinary abilities

that ancient peoples
associated with the gods,

will we awaken
to an incredible new reality?

One in which we will not only

achieve the power
to shape-shift,

but in the process,
will discover that humans

are not the only intelligent
species on earth?

Perhaps a reunion
with our alien ancestors

will only happen
when we are finally

able to open our eyes and see

that they are all around us.

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