All language subtitles for Ancient.Aliens.S14E21.1080p.WEB.h264-TBS_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR:
Could recent media reports

and newly‐released
military videos

be an indication
that the wall of secrecy

concerning extraterrestrial
visitors to our planet

is beginning to crack?

You've been briefed
on unidentified flying objects.

‐Are they real?
‐We have had people

saying that they've seen things.

JOHN PODESTA:
We know that

there were certain incidents
that were

encountered by the U. S. Navy
that were unexplained.

NARRATOR:
But are these recent revelations

part of a global strategy
intended to prepare humanity

for the ultimate
extraterrestrial encounter?

NICK POPE:
All those things

we're seeing now
is the government

getting ready to tell us.

This is a completely
new ball game here.

NARRATOR:
Or are they the result

of an anxious public's
increasingly loud demands

to know the truth?

JEREMY CORBELL:
This will come from us,

from the people.

If we ask the right questions,

we're gonna get
the right answers.

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:
Osaka, Japan.

July 1, 2019.

In a televised interview,
Fox News political commentator

Tucker Carlson
asks President Donald Trump,

point‐blank, about recent
revelations concerning UFOs.

You've been briefed
on unidentified flying objects.

‐Are they... are they real?
‐Uh,

well, I don't want to really
get into it too much,

but personally
I tend to doubt it.

But we have had people saying
that they've seen things.

Uh, I'm not a believer,

but, you know,
I guess anything's possible.

We spoke to a government
official recently who said

the U. S. government
had wreckage from

a UFO in a, in a facility
on an Air Force base.

‐Are you familiar with that?
‐I haven't heard that, no.

RICHARD DOLAN: Trump's answer
was extraordinary because

I don't believe
there's been any other time

in, uh, recent American history

where a sitting president
was asked this question

in such a serious manner
and gave a serious reply.

POPE:
President Trump's interview

with Tucker Carlson
about UFOs was historic.

Usually presidents,
certainly sitting presidents,

do not discuss this subject
at all,

and if they are ever asked
about it,

they dismiss the whole thing

with a joke
or an evasive answer.

Now, Ryan, if you're out
in the crowd tonight,

here's the answer
to your question.

No, as far as I know, an alien
spacecraft did not crash

in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947.

(laughter)

CORBELL:
Ten years ago,

UFOs were about laughter,

UFOs were the easiest punch line
in a room.

Not so today.

Now, in the new world we live
in, people are paying attention.

We have moved
from a fringe topic

and brought UFOs
to the forefront

of both popular culture

as well as mainstream media.

NARRATOR:
On August 29, 2019,

journalist and former British
Defence Ministry employee

Nick Pope traveled
to Washington, D. C.

He had arranged to meet
with Tucker Carlson

and get his thoughts
on his extraordinary exchange

with America's 45th president.

‐Tucker, hey.
‐Thank you, Nick.

‐Nice to meet you in person.
‐Great to meet you. Thank you.

‐Okay. Thanks.
‐UFOs are real.

Tucker, you've taken the lead

in the mainstream media
in discussing

the latest revelations
about UFOs.

Why is that?
Is it a personal interest?

I just believe it's clear
that there's been deception

around this question
from the U. S. government,

the Pentagon specifically.

And I think
it's important to find out more.

I mean,
if there is real evidence

that this planet
is being visited

from other planets

or solar systems,
or even if there are aircraft

whose behavior we can't explain,

why is that not
the biggest story in news?

I agree. Now, do you have
any kind of pushback

with that
when you run these stories?

How do
the senior executives feel,

and other media professionals?

My feeling was
it's time to rethink, like,

what you think you know,

and so we started doing
UFO segments.

And basically,
the first three times we did it,

people made fun of us,
and after that,

no one has said a single word
about it.

Well, there are these videos
that...

I mean, we've all seen
the Navy jets chasing the UFOs.

What kind of emotional reaction
do you get

watching something like that?

You know pilots.
My brother's a pilot.

I've talked to a lot of pilots.

They're very interested

in how things
lift off the ground and move.

They're interested in flight.
They're saying,

"This is something
completely different.

I don't even know
how this works."

That's... compelling to me.

I asked the president about it.

What did you make
of his response?

I thought his response was odd,
to be honest with you.

I thought it was odd.

‐In‐in what way?
‐He said, "You know,

"I'm not interested
in that topic at all.

"I'm just‐‐ I'm not interested
in that topic,

and I don't think
there's anything there."

I didn't believe him
when he said that,

to‐to be honest with you.

It was funny, because he nodded

‐his head and then said no.
‐Yes, that's exactly right.

The president,
like probably most people

in power,
is uncomfortable conceding

that... he's got questions.

I mean, it's much easier just to
say "Nah, there's nothing there.

It's a weather balloon."

And because
there's a stigma attached

to asking questions.

I mean, I've never once said
that I believe

anything in particular
about UFOs, because I don't.

I don't know what to believe,

but I know bull(bleep)
when I see it.

Do you think he knows more
than he's letting on,

or do you think,
as some people say,

even the president doesn't know?

My impression was

that the president...

does know more than he said.

You know, you'd have to think

that, that any person
of moderate curiosity,

given the power
that a president has,

would, at some point,
in, you know,

his first couple years in
office, would call down and say,

"You know, send me all the
information you have on UFOs."

Like, why wouldn't you do that?

Do you think the public want
to know

‐and can handle the truth?
‐Well, you know the...

I mean, let's be... I mean,
let's... let's be honest.

The people keeping
this information secret

at the Pentagon believe
the information is so terrifying

to the public
that it would be contrary

to the national interest
to reveal it.

‐Yeah.
‐I mean, obviously.

When we run through the theories
about this,

we say, could it be some other
part of the U. S. government?

Some secret black project?

Could it be Russia or China?

Or could it be extraterrestrial?

I'm starting to believe
that there is‐‐

and I‐I've heard this
from someone

who I think is knowledgeable
on the subject‐‐

that there is physical evidence

that the U. S. government
is holding, um,

that, you know,
would tell us a lot more

‐about what these objects are.
‐Physical evidence.

‐Uh, wreckage?
‐That is correct.

Who‐who was that?

It's, you know, a well‐known...

someone who worked on this
within the government

for many years who would know.

And I asked point‐blank,

"Is there physical evidence of
the existence of these objects,

these aircraft,
whatever they are?"

And he said, "Yes, there is."

‐Wreckage in a hangar?
‐Wreckage.

‐He did not say in a hangar.
‐Well, somewhere.

He just said, "The U. S...."
He said,

"The U. S. government
has physical evidence."

Here we have a major
mainstream news media figure

telling it how it is.

It goes beyond simply saying,
"UFOs are real,

they're extraterrestrial."
There's something more.

Something too terrible
to be told.

‐Are they real?
‐I'm not a believer, but

we have had people saying
that they've seen things.

NARRATOR: But were
President Donald Trump's

no‐nonsense answers
on the question of UFOs

simply an attempt to dismiss
the matter once and for all?

If so, it didn't work.

In fact, many saw it as a sign

that the U. S. government's
policy toward all things

extraterrestrial had begun
to take a more candid

and possibly more honest turn.

And they remain convinced
that disclosure

is not simply imminent
but that it's already underway.

NARRATOR:
In a reversal
of decades of denial,

a Navy spokesman confirms

that recently circulated
military footage

that was thought to show UFOs
is in fact authentic.

The statement comes
just four months after

Navy pilots from the aircraft
carrier Theodore Roosevelt

revealed to The New York Times

that in the summer of 2014
through March 2015,

they encountered UFOs
on a near daily basis

off the East Coast
of the United States.

POPE:
A number of senators have
confirmed that they have

received classified briefings
on all this.

This is a completely
new ball game here.

We are in new
and uncharted territory.

NARRATOR:
But do the recent
military revelations

concerning UFO encounters really
mean that we are moving closer

to the day of disclosure?

MAN (over radio):
Oh, my gosh, dude.

NARRATOR:
Or is it simply that
they are equally baffled

by what they are witnessing,

and seek the help of the general
public in finding answers?

It's frightening
to hear how little

our government truly knows
about these unknown vehicles

of unknown origin invading
our airspace with impunity

at all times upon their will.

POPE:
Many people in the UFO community

talk about it in terms
of it being a single event.

Disclosure with a big "D,"
as I call it.

In that scenario,

the president
clears his schedule,

goes on television,
announces to the world

that there is an alien presence.

Disclosure
is simply an acknowledgment

by the established structure
of power

that UFOs are real

and some don't belong
to our civilization.

POPE:
Society is being prepped
for this,

some believe,
through the revelations

about government programs
and military encounters.

But all those things
we're seeing now

is the government
getting ready to tell us

so that there won't be
the huge shock

and panic when it is announced.

Because the point is,
with all of this, of course,

you don't shock people so much

if you tell them something
they already believe or suspect.

NARRATOR:
But whether the government's
recent revelations

about UFOs are the result
of an unintended leak

or part of a strategic plan,

two things are certain:

unexplained encounters
are happening

with increasing frequency
in U. S. airspace,

and at the same time,
the Navy revealed plans

to create a new process
to make it easier

for pilots
to report UFO sightings.

Even though the U. S. military

stopped collecting reports
for many, many years,

they're clearly back
in the business

of at least filing them,

accepting them from their pilots
and so on,

so I think it is the first
real crack in the taboo.

This is not the way
it used to be.

It used to be you don't talk

about things you see in the sky
if you want to fly.

So when the Navy loosens up
the reporting options

for pilots,
that is a huge concession

to the new reality.

GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS:
If these craft

that are currently
being observed‐‐

if those craft are not ours,

if they are not Russian,

and if they're not Chinese,

we should all wonder who it is

who has that type
of aviation technology.

And if it's not someone
from our planet,

well, who else is left?

DOLAN:
The fact is that military pilots

for years and years
have been saying

the same thing publicly.

They just haven't gotten
the attention

that these individuals
have gotten.

That's the difference.

And the real question is:
why, and why now?

POPE: Now we've had these
revelations, the Navy videos,

the fact that the Navy

have changed their policy,
telling their pilots

to report, are things changing?

And where do you think
we're going with this?

I don't think
that most news organizations

will cover this persistently
until some...

you know, the alien king
breaks into the 6:00 news

and demands obedience.

Right? I think they're
gonna persist in ignoring it

because there's just a‐a lot
of social pressure to, to scoff.

You get societal

breakdown after a while
when the people in charge lie.

Because it makes it impossible

for people to accept anything,
any explanation at face value.

Um, and it corrodes
the bonds that,

that connect the government

to its citizens, so...

I think it's very likely
that we're gonna learn more.

NARRATOR:
There are many who believe

that the disclosure process
is not new

but has simply entered
a different phase.

They argue that disclosure
actually started decades ago,

and was part of a strategic plan
to prep the global population

by means of books, movies,

TV shows, and other forms
of popular entertainment.

BASSETT:
45% of the American
people right now,

when polled, say that, yeah,
the ETs are already here.

They've been watching movies
since they were five years old

about extraterrestrials.

We have been heavily
indoctrinated or educated

on the concept
of extraterrestrials.

We fly in spaceships
in‐in our CGI movies.

So the idea that suddenly we're
told there's extraterrestrials

actually here as being
some unbelievable,

had‐no‐idea kind of thing‐‐ no.

NARRATOR
But if mankind is on a so‐called

"countdown to disclosure,"

does that simply mean
that our government and those

around the world are aware
that intelligent life does exist

on some other, distant planet?

Or does it suggest that some
form of alien intelligence

has already come here,
and may, in fact,

have been living here
for centuries?

NARRATOR:
As far as ancient astronaut
theorists

and UFO enthusiasts
are concerned,

the sudden flurry of information

concerning possible
alien encounters

comes as no surprise.

For them, evidence
of extraterrestrial

encounters has been obvious
for several decades.

What has them baffled, however,

is the fact that
after decades of harsh denials,

governments all over the world
are beginning

to open up their files
and cooperate.

DOLAN:
In fact, there's been
a disclosure movement

for about 70 years now.

Starting in the 1950s, you get

an organization known as NICAP

formed in the late '50s
with the express intent

of researching UFOs
in a very meticulous way,

at the same time
getting political action

on this matter in Congress.

PODESTA: I think that
there's been a history

and a perception
that the government

has been hiding the ball.

And I think there's
a reason for that,

which is that most
of the investigations,

uh, has been done
through classified programs.

And I think that's led
to a lot of speculation

about what
the government's hiding.

And the best disinfectant is

to let the American people
know what the truth is.

CORBELL:
That system was a closed loop
for a long time.

However,
after the recent events,

the Navy has then changed

their attitude towards
reporting these things.

This is big, this is real,

this is happening, and
if‐if you don't understand it,

it's time for you catch up.

NARRATOR:
Many date the origin of both the
first U. S. government cover‐up

and the disclosure movement
to July 1947‐‐

the date of the now‐famous
Roswell UFO crash.

The incident began
when the Air Force

issued an astounding
press release

stating that the military
recovered the remains

of a "flying disc"
from a New Mexico ranch.

The story immediately
became front‐page news

in the local paper.

But within a day,
officials retracted

their initial statement
and dismissed the find

as simply debris
from a downed weather balloon.

The first press release
was the truth.

And the second one was a lie.

And I call it
"the foundational lie."

Because, to the best
of my knowledge,

from that day, 1947,

until 2017,
the group that became

what we have called the
shadow government has not told

the truth about
anything of significance.

NARRATOR:
Shortly after
the Roswell incident,

various groups and individuals
began demanding

that the U. S. military
tell the truth about UFOs.

But although
the government formed

a series
of investigative bodies,

including Project Grudge,

Project Blue Book,
and the Condon Committee,

they never produced
any viable evidence.

In retrospect, many consider
that such government efforts

were designed
not to promote disclosure

but to stifle it.

They would investigate cases.

And the intriguing thing
about all of it is,

is maybe ten percent of
the cases that they looked at

were unexplainable.

They did not know
what they were.

They always come out
officially after and go,

"Hey, there's some things
we can't explain here,

"but there's nothing to see,
there's no ET,

"there's no evidence of any kind

of extraterrestrial‐controlled
craft flying in the skies."

NARRATOR:
When the CIA formed
a scientific committee

called the Robertson Panel
to review unsolved UFO cases,

the committee found that
continued reporting on UFOs

might cause
"hysterical mass behavior."

It issued a top secret
recommendation

suggesting that the government
undertake an aggressive

public relations campaign
to systematically

debunk UFO sightings.

This is the‐the typical
government response.

Just form a panel
and tell everybody that what

they think they saw is not
what is the actual reality.

WHITEHEAD:
I think that was the start
of the propaganda machine.

It's counterintelligence
information.

So they release little bits
of truth, but then

they just say, "You know what?

"It‐‐ there's nothing
to see here.

Go back to sleep."

NARRATOR:
Over the decades,

and despite government denials,

a robust citizens' movement
took shape

that investigated incidents,
published reports,

and held news conferences‐‐

all in an attempt
to demand disclosure.

One notable effort was the
Citizens' Hearing on Disclosure,

held in Washington in 2013,

in which multiple
credible witnesses

testified about UFO incursions.

There is no doubt that
the United States government

has known
about the extraterrestrial

interactions with Earth

and that their policies of
denial in the alleged interest

of national security
are still in effect.

BASSETT:
Paradigm Research Group,

my organization,

began by delivering
to the entire Congress a full

30 hours of testimony,
which I felt, and many do feel,

was the most important citizen
disclosure event at that time.

These objects know
in great detail

how our missiles operate
and they can

shut down our missiles
at any time.

We got a lot of media attention,

in‐including some attention
from Congress.

Um, and, of course,
we had these ex‐congressmen

sit in as we presented our case.

So this movement,
disclosure movement, uh,

has been going on for some time.

What kind of defense do we have
against these things?

I think we changed
a lot of minds.

But then, of course, things...

(laughs)
changed the next day,

The‐the news cycles.

NARRATOR:
For years,
UFO advocates have argued

that such high‐profile efforts
were secretly subjected

to government whisper campaigns,

each designed
to discredit witnesses

and divert public attention
from disclosure.

TSOUKALOS:
The government did everything

in order to stop
these whistleblowers

or to deny these witnesses,
but guess what.

That did not stop the
whistleblowers from talking

and it certainly
did not stop the research.

In fact, this little flame

that began in the 1950s
is now a raging fire.

And it is illuminating
all of the darkness.

NARRATOR:
But if the government
has been conspiring

to silence UFO researchers,
witnesses,

and believers since
the Roswell crash... why?

Is it to avoid widespread panic?

Or was it something
more strategic?

Possibly, it was designed
to keep the knowledge

that was gleaned from
extraterrestrial encounters

from getting into
so‐called enemy hands.

NARRATOR: Prominent think tank
the Brookings Institution

issues a 186‐page,

government‐funded report
that examines, in part,

the question
of how humanity would react

to the discovery
of extraterrestrial life.

The report speculates
that if NASA were to make

such a discovery public,
it could result in chaos.

BASSETT:
They used
the Brookings Institute

to get a report done and to talk

about the implications of this.

And it was kind of about,

"Oh, people will panic,

"uh, markets will collapse,

religion will collapse,"
blah, blah, blah.

(indistinct shouting)

HELLYER:
I would be willing to accept

that the original decision

to, uh, withhold the truth

was based partly, at least,
on that concern.

But that, over the years,
has disappeared totally.

NARRATOR:
In a 2018 study conducted

by Arizona State University,

participants were asked
to review media stories

about recent discoveries

that suggest
extraterrestrial life exists.

Surprisingly, researchers found
that in the 2000s,

the reaction to this idea

has become almost
entirely positive.

HENRY:
What this suggests is that, even
from a religious perspective,

people have grown more accepting

of the possibility
of extraterrestrial life.

NARRATOR:
If fears of creating
widespread panic are outdated,

why is the U. S. military
still so reluctant

to share what it has learned

about extraterrestrials
and UFOs?

The fact that there
might be panic in the streets,

I‐I think that was more
of an excuse.

I think, uh,
the military aspect‐‐

that the recovered craft

could be used to develop
military weaponry‐‐

was probably more the reason
for the secrecy.

Two fighter pilots from the
aircraft carrier USS Nimitz

investigate
an unidentified aircraft

off the coast of San Diego.

They encounter a bright white,
oval‐shaped craft

that resembles
a massive Tic Tac‐‐

over 40 feet long,

and it has no windshield
or wings.

According to Navy pilot
David Fravor,

the ship makes seemingly
impossible stops

and turns over the Pacific

before accelerating away

at thousands of miles per hour.

HOWE:
And this is David Fravor,

skilled pilot.

He said, "I am looking

"at speeds,

"90‐degree angles,

stopping."

Any human inside
of what I'm watching

could not sustain life.

MICHIO KAKU:
We have these videotapes.

We can actually
calculate the velocity

of these objects.

We can calculate the g‐forces

on these ships.

So that's the sea change.

It used to be that
if you were a UFO believer,

the burden of proof was on you

to prove that you saw
something in the sky.

Now it's shifted.

Now the establishment
has to prove

that it isn't a visitor
from another planet.

NARRATOR:
For UFO researchers,

the recent videos
finally provide

clear evidence not only
of what the government

has been hiding for decades...

...but the potential reason
for the cover‐up.

The technology is the key.

If any single factor

explains UFO secrecy,

it's the aspiration to acquire

extraterrestrial technology.

The nation that first
acquires that technology

is going to be
in game‐changing territory.

This is truly an arms race.

Whoever figures
this out first wins.

So any developed nation is
looking right now to leap ahead

with a technological
innovation, based upon

the reverse engineering of what
we're seeing in the skies.

What our pilots are
engaging in the skies.

What Commander Fravor chased.

NARRATOR:
To many, the military's desire

to monopolize
extraterrestrial technology

is reason enough
to explain a cover‐up.

But some believe there
are additional motives

for government secrecy.

While others point
to a general culture

of bureaucratic secrecy
that pervades all of government.

Some disclosure advocates
say that the reason why

we haven't seen disclosure yet
is because of economics.

That you have an oil‐based
economy, and clearly

the craft that we see in the
skies are not running on oil.

They're using
advanced propulsion systems

that would completely transform

the economies of Earth
if they're ever implemented.

HELLYER:
So, yes.

It would have
a negative financial

impact for the wealthiest people

who own the oil in the ground.

But it's not the whole story.

PODESTA:
The government

seems to be completely
unaccountable

to the American public.

They may be accountable
to their superiors

in the Department of Defense
or at NASA or others.

But they rarely release
anything they do know.

WENDT:
I think we're afraid to find out
what these phenomena are.

Governments in particular are
afraid, and the reason for that,

I think, is because
the contract between

governments and their people

is that governments
provide security,

and that we provide
loyalty to the government.

If you even raise the issue
of the possibility

that UFOs are ETs,

then that raises big questions

about that contract because
it's clear that the government

cannot provide security
for us from these beings.

And that would call into
question, well, why should I

be loyal to the government
and everything else?

It would undermine the
sovereignty of the government,

the sovereignty of the state.

NARRATOR:
But even with a growing number
of more open‐minded policies

concerning both UFO reporting

and disclosure, there are many

who doubt that the U. S.
military's penchant for secrecy

will ever really allow
full disclosure.

They insist that America
is far too afraid

that extraterrestrial knowledge
could fall into the hands

of its territorial enemies

to ever admit
that aliens do exist.

NARRATOR:
Santiago, Chile.

November 11, 2014.

A Chilean Navy helicopter

is on a routine
daytime patrol mission

flying north along the coast,
west of Santiago.

While filming the terrain,

a technician observes
a strange object

flying to the left,
over the ocean.

He aims his camera
and records the encounter.

The Navy immediately turns over
the footage to the CEFAA‐‐

the Chilean government agency
that investigates UFOs.

And they release it.

We have the Chilean government
also releasing all kinds of

fighter footage
from their own military jets.

So the government
and the‐the military

has been studying this
for over 70 years.

And they must have
so much evidence,

in‐including video footage, that
they are keeping secret from us

that would boggle your mind.

NARRATOR:
Over the past ten years,

there has been a movement
among many governments

to declassify some
of their UFO investigations

and release them to the public.

PODESTA:
I think that people

around the world,
in Belgium and Chile and in,

in, uh, the U. K.
and other countries have said,

"You know, we ought to,
we ought to really take a look

at what's going on."

DOLAN:
But the fact is,

the U. S. intelligence
infrastructure

is often deeply imbedded
in the infrastructures

of those countries.

So, in other words,
they can't say boo

without the U. S. and NSA,
particularly, knowing about it.

NARRATOR:
If allies of the United States

are reluctant
to disclose the facts

about UFOs and possible
extraterrestrial visitation

without American permission,

what about America's
adversaries?

Hangzhou, China.

July 7, 2010.

Chinese officials shut down
Xiaoshan International Airport

for nearly an hour

after an unidentified aircraft
is seen in the vicinity.

The incident marks
one of the very few times

the Chinese ever publicly admit

that UFO sightings
happen in their country.

POPE:
I can't see any circumstances
where disclosure

of an alien presence would
do anything other than loosen

the hold of the party
on the people.

It's not in China's interest
to disclose.

NARRATOR:
In Russia,

details about
any recent UFO incidents

are even harder to come by,

as all media outlets are
currently controlled by one man,

Vladimir Putin.

Announcing the existence
of aliens is not in any way

going to strengthen
Putin's hold on power.

Why would he? What's, what's
the benefit to him?

What would he get out of it?

Putting one over
on the Americans? Well, maybe.

But the downside,
in terms of the one thing

that Putin can't afford‐‐
instability‐‐

the downside
is too big to gamble with.

NARRATOR:
But if China and Russia

are unwilling to disclose
what they know

about possible
extraterrestrial contact,

and no other countries
will do so

without the blessing
of the United States,

then why are we beginning to see
a gradually more open attitude

concerning disclosure on
the part of the U. S. military?

What has changed
in recent years?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe the answer can be found

by taking a closer look

at recent activities involving
America's space program.

Boca Chica, Texas.

August 27, 2019.

SpaceX, a private
aerospace company

run by billionaire Elon Musk,

announces the successful
fourth and final test flight

of their starship prototype
Starhopper.

The craft is
an early conceptual model

that Musk hopes will bring
the company closer

to its ultimate goal:
creating a 100‐person starship

capable of transporting
humans to Mars.

PODESTA:
I think in the private sector,
oddly, there's the potential

to have at least
more public disclosure,

given the fact that the
Air Force have been so unwilling

to try to seriously review
and release what they do know.

NARRATOR:
As far as many ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

the ongoing efforts
to privatize space exploration,

by everyone from Elon Musk

and Amazon.com billionaire
Jeff Bezos

to Robert Bigelow and Virgin
Atlantic's Richard Branson,

will soon make secrecy
about UFOs

and possible alien visitations
a thing of the past.

TSOUKALOS:
Sooner or later,
there will be space tourists,

so what if they walk
on the surface of Mars

or the surface of‐of the Moon
and will walk by an artifact?

Well, am I allowed
to take a‐a selfie?

Am I allowed to take a photo?

Or do I have to go
through NASA first?

You're not going to ask NASA
for permission first.

The fact that we are now
entering this new era

in space exploration
illustrates to me

that the doors are open.

NARRATOR:
In a world that includes
24‐hour news, WikiLeaks,

and a growing number of
corporate space entrepreneurs,

is discovering the truth
about aliens simply inevitable?

Throughout history,
governments have never been able

to keep a secret.

Look at all
the so‐called secrets

that are being exposed
almost on a daily basis.

Governments are furious
that some lowly clerk

is simply leaking all this
evidence into the public domain,

and so I think
it's gonna happen anyway.

But at that point,
what do we do?

POPE:
I think there is huge

public interest in this...

‐Yes.
‐...and everyone wants to know
what's going on.

Why will the government
not tell us?

Well, whose government is it?

Does it belong to some GS‐13,
some bureaucrat?

Of course not. We pay for it.

We own it. This is a democracy.

The default setting in D. C.
is secrecy.

There are still documents
from the First World War,

which was 102 years ago,
that are classified.

So, there's a lot of information
in Washington

that ought to be public
but that is not.

If you want to fix that, what
you need is just political will.

You need someone to stand up
and say I'm not gonna be quiet.

Look me in the eye, speak slowly
so I can understand.

Why are we not sharing this
with the public?

I want to make
this stuff public.

Scientists, academics
and researchers

gather at the Royal Society
for a conference titled

"The detection
of extra‐terrestrial life

and the consequences
for science and society."

Although their stated goal is to
create protocols for the world

in the event of an
extraterrestrial visitation,

they are unable to come up
with a cohesive plan.

In fact, thus far,
no official protocol

for a post‐disclosure world
has been offered

by the United Nations,
the U. S. government,

or any other global superpower.

HENRY:
We have military plans,

economic plans,

we've got health care plans
for people.

But no plan for the single most
important event

in human history?

How can that be, or why is that?

POPE:
In government,
you call it a low probability,

high‐impact scenario.

Even if you think something
is unlikely to happen,

if the societal consequences
of it happening are big enough,

you sure as heck need a plan.

There isn't one
for extraterrestrials.

There should be.

We have to prep the population.

Prep humanity
for what this means.

And that's not something that
could be done in a week or two.

That's gonna require
a long, long discussion‐‐

ethical discussion,
political discussion‐‐

about humanity and our place
in the universe and so on.

That's a long process.

NARRATOR:
As far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

whether the truth
about alien encounters

is revealed by world powers,
renegade journalists,

whistleblowers, or the
extraterrestrials themselves,

disclosure is inevitable.

TSOUKALOS:
We are in the midst

of finding out about our true
cosmic origin on planet Earth,

and right now it is one of the
most exciting times to be alive.

And what I hope for
after full disclosure

is that we finally come together

as one human species
and understanding

that we are
on this blue marble together.

I think it would change
humanity's consciousness.

COMMAND:
Okay, Neil, we can see you
coming down the ladder now.

PODESTA:
Perhaps, much like
when the astronauts

first took photos
of the Earth from space,

and you began to see
the fragility and the beauty

of the Earth
when shot from the Moon.

That, I think, changed
the way people related

to the natural world,
to our place in the universe.

And I think it could have
the same kind of effect.

CORBELL:
This will come from us,

not from a big daddy government.

This is gonna come
from the people.

Disclosure is up to individuals
in this world

asking the right questions.

Because questions are weapons,

and if we ask
the right questions,

we're gonna get
the right answers.

POPE:
I think the next time

you're with the president
on Air Force One,

you should give him
a couple of beers and, uh,

get the conversation going
and say, "Come on,"

you know,
"What‐What's going on?"

You know, the funny thing is,
I was on Air Force One.

I had dinner with him alone and
I should have asked him that.

‐Thank you guys for coming.
‐Yeah, no, thanks.

‐It was so nice
to meet you in person.
‐Yeah.

Nice to meet you in person.

NARRATOR:
If mankind really is

on the verge of discovering
that extraterrestrials

not only exist but that they've
been right here on Earth

throughout human history,
will it really come as a shock?

Or will it merely be
a confirmation of a truth

that somehow we've always known
deep within ourselves?

It is for this reason that
ancient astronaut theorists

believe disclosure isn't an
event that others must trigger

in order for it to happen.

It's happening every day.

And it's not because information
we are receiving has changed.

What's changed is the way
we interpret it

and our willingness
to accept the simple fact

that we are not alone.

CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY
A+E NETWORKS