The prospect of extraterrestrial life has fascinated earthlings for centuries but the search for proof of its existence has recently become more serious. Since the Hubble Telescope's deep-space photos revealed millions of galaxies which we never imagined existed, scientists have begun to concede intelligent life outside our solar system may be not only possible but, in fact, highly probable.

      Let's suppose, for the sake of the argument, that alien life exists and that it has discovered earth. Then let's project further and say aliens are exploring our planet. The question is-could they do it without our knowledge? Although history has produced myriad sightings, encounters, and in recent times, photos and videos, we still don't have satisfactory answers to the UFO enigma. A new reference, though, may shed greater light on the mystery. The UFO Anthology a CD-ROM (for either Windows or Macintosh) from Cambrix Publishing presents serious students of the phenomenon with a massive collection of data, including over ten hours of photos, videos, interviews, newspaper accounts, sightings, encounters, government involvement and other UFO-related events-much of the material never seen or heard before.

      According to Ernie Greene, the creator/producer, many mind-boggling facts have been hushed up by the government. Traveling the world and using the Freedom of Information Act, Greene has collected what he considers the most important UFO data out there, along with several exclusives, including a video interview with General Thomas DuBose, second-in-command during the cover-up of the notorious crash near Roswell, New Mexico in 1947; never-before-seen photos; never-before-heard air controller's conversations with pilots while chasing UFOs (includes the major 1965 incident over Edwards AFB); a NASA UFO photo archive and many other equally interesting exclusives.

      Among UFO experts interviewed are military officers like retired Command Sergeant Major Robert Dean-NATO (an officer with Cosmic Secret clearance) and respected researchers active today like Linda Moulton Howe (see Len Kasten's interview elsewhere in this issue).

      A young and ambitious producer, Greene nevertheless claims an unshakable commitment to providing the truth even if that truth disproves the existence of UFOs. His own first sighting occurred during childhood. From a bedroom window, he watched a brightly colored object zigzag across the night sky. The memory was powerful and sparked enough adulthood interest to set him on a lengthy search for UFO facts. The UFO Anthology is quite possibly the most complete collection of UFO resource materials ever assembled in a single product.

      From its well-organized interface, the CD-Rom guides users to Reference, UFO Descriptions, UFOs in History, UFOs Worldwide, US Government, Crop Circles, Alien Abductions and Cattle Mutilations. Sub-topics feature photos, videos, interviews, taped conversations and details of encounters. The visuals, whether photos, videos or graphics, as well as the original music and narrative track, are of high-quality.

      The possibility that UFOs and aliens are not extraterrestrial is also explored. Are they secret US government weapons? we're asked. Do they come from a parallel universe? Some say aliens live underwater while others claim they live in a hollow earth. Could UFOs be conventional objects-or just elaborate hoaxes? Many believe UFOs are time-traveling machines or unknown animals that live in the upper atmosphere.

      A timeline demonstrates how apparent UFO sightings follow every step of humankind's development. From cave paintings and ancient pictographs, the producer wonders, if we were visited by aliens in our past, was their technology left behind? Ancient artifacts indicate that electro-plating and alloy manufacturing occurred long before standard history allows. To support this theory, Greene has provided historical references, photos of artifacts and a very special, little-known painting, The Baptism of Christ, completed in 1710 by Flemish painter Aert De Gelder, with a golden, disc-shaped UFO in the sky casting four razor-sharp beams of light at the ground. In the 1940s the first US fighter pilot died while pursuing a UFO, the first Men in Black were reported, Kenneth Arnold coined the words "Flying Saucer" and the 1947 Roswell UFO crash was reported in the newspapers and then suddenly retracted.

      Government UFO debunking gained momentum in the 50s yet the famous Trent and Trinidade photos and the Kenross incident occurred where an F-89 jet reportedly disappeared while pursuing a UFO. One man was said to have been "heat-rayed" by a UFO and for 45 minutes, American and United Airlines commercial flights observed the same UFO.

      One of the most inexplicable incidents occurred in the 60s. A Russian mail plane disappeared from radar as a UFO approached it. Days later, the plane was found in a circular clearing in a forest with no runway for take-off or landing. During these years Dr. J. Allen Hynek headed Operation Blue Book and reported the well-known Socorro, New Mexico UFO landing as "one that most clearly suggests a īnuts-and-bolts' physical craft."

      During the 70s, distinct UFO landing traces were found on Kansas farmland. An Alabama Chief of Police snapped photos of a silver suited "alien" who, he claimed, could run 35 miles per hour. In Iran, an F-4 jet's weapons system went dead when its missile sights locked on a UFO. Also appearing in this time period were the Coltrane photos, considered by many to be the best in-broad-daylight ever taken. This decade also developed the criteria for a valid study of UFO phenomena.

      Also investigated are sightings by pilots and famous people. Once, while in a plane, Ronald Reagan saw a UFO and ordered his pilot to follow it for 300 miles. Gerald Ford, as a congressman, opened an official congressional UFO investigation.

      Dr. Richard F. Haines, Ph.D., a NASA research scientist, interviewed commercial airline pilots and collected voice recordings made while in pursuit of UFOs. Obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by Greene, the tapes include three very compelling exchanges between pilots and air controllers. In one, a UFO accelerated from 120 knots to 990 knots in less than 3 seconds. Command-Sergeant Major Dean explains why he believes our government has been actively garnering UFO information since WW II. There are lists of dozens of reported UFO crash sites dating back to 1896 with photos of materials reportedly left behind by UFOs like a mysterious metal sludge and a white fiber called "angel's hair."

      The NASA Photo Gallery contains photos taken by astronauts during the Mercury and Apollo missions. Comparison can be made between shots of the same type UFO by Apollo 13 and by the Russian Phobos II. Astronaut Donald Slayton gives an account of chasing a UFO that left him bewildered by its speed. One Apollo 13 photo shows three different UFOs in one shot. Another photo reveals a blue UFO hovering above one of our moon buggies while it was parked on the lunar surface. Photos taken by Gemini XI in 1966 match UFOs in photos take by Skylab III in 1973. Included is the actual transmission from a 1965 UFO report during a space mission from James Lovell and Frank Borman. There is also a remarkable video from the STS-48 space shuttle showing an object cruising past the shuttle, then making an abrupt turn and speeding away in a fraction of a second.

      The evidence of a government cover-up is hard to ignore. When astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon in 1969, their public voice transmission was suddenly silenced by NASA for an hour. However, HAM radio enthusiasts reported overhearing the conversation with Mission Control. The astronauts claimed there were two UFOs parked on the rim of a nearby crater. Later, it is reported, Armstrong said they were being "warned off" the moon. The CIA covered up the incident. This encounter was photographed by Aldrin and confirmed by Marice Chatelain, NASA's Chief of Communications for all Apollo missions. The 1964 NASA moon photos in this section show what appear to be strange looking "machines" parked in craters.

      The Phobos I and Phobos II missions provided mysteries still unsolved today. Phobos I disappeared before it reached Mars and shortly after Phobos II landed, its transmission was lost. The last photo Phobos II sent back from Mars was that of a saucer-like shadow looming over it.

      The mysterious Area 51 is also covered, and the images provided are probably the most revealing ever published. Many were taken by Greene himself. Top Secret operations here have included, according to Bob Lazar (an Area 51 ex-employee), the care of captured aliens, back engineering of UFO flight mechanisms and UFO test rides.

      Other secret bases-all of them owned by Lockheed, Northrop or McDonnell Douglas-are also profiled. When a lapse in security occurred at one of the facilities, Greene snapped a photo of a 30-foot disc on the ground. A three-story building constructed on tracks (used to hide the object) happened to be rolled away when Greene flew over with a ready camera.

      Secret documents detail a vast number of high-energy government cover-ups. Much of the information and photos in this section were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Many of the forty- to fifty-year-old Top Secret memos and letters are heavily blacked out by government censors and are still considered Top Secret today. Some examples: The Twining Memo determines UFOs are real and metallic. The Top Secret MJ-12 Report shows a letter to President Eisenhower about the Roswell crash and a letter to President Truman about four alien bodies recovered from the crash.

      The final incident under this topic makes a strong case that the government is indeed concealing information. The Citizens Against UFO Secrecy sued the National Security Agency for the facts behind UFOs. The National Security Agency gave the presiding judge a 21-page Top Secret document. The judge read the document and immediately dismissed the case without hearing another word. The producer obtained an exclusive video interview with General Thomas DuBose, Chief of Staff with US 8th Air Force and involved in the Roswell "clean-up." The General admits the weather balloon story was a cover-up and reveals the Air Force hid the actual UFO crash materials, classifying them Above Top Secret. This comes from the man who personally sent the crash debris to Fort Worth.

      Under this topic, Command Sergeant Major Robert Dean (ret.) reveals "what changed his life." While on duty, he reviewed a government Cosmic Secret UFO Report. This report, Dean explains, substantiates the Roswell crash, alien autopsies and the military's possession of crashed discs. It also claims we are being monitored by four alien groups.

      Also explored are crop circles and their possible UFO connection. Colin Andrews, the foremost authority on the subject, has found the circles are made by advanced technology and high intelligence. Crop circles have already yielded five new geometric theorems. Over the years, the circles have become complex pictograms, far too elaborate to be created by drunken farmers or prankster students. Dr. W.C. Levengood, a research scientist, concluded crop circles are created by rapid energy changes which cause cell pit enlargement, swollen and exploded growth nodes and metabolic changes in cell respiration. We are left to wonder, if crop circles are not alien, what are they? Messages in an alien language? Mathematical geometric problems? Or intergalactic musical notes? So far, no one has solved their riddle...

      One section of The UFO Anthology is devoted to "alien abductions". Narrated by Yvonne Smith, a certified hypno-therapist, the section probes the 60s Betty and Barney Hill case and their "medical examination" onboard a UFO. While most abductees, like the Hills, apparently lose only a couple of hours, one man, Travis Walton, lost five days. Walton's abduction was witnessed by six co-workers and while under hypnosis he recalled he too underwent a "medical examination" by aliens.

      Although the producer points out known hoaxes, The UFO Anthology presents a convincing argument that something unusual has been happening in our skies and, whatever it is, our government may very well be hiding it.