Exobiology: In Search of the SanGraal.

David Calvert

The search for the holy grail of ufology is a prolonged and lofty goal and one worthy of those who
seek a truth that is wondrous, yet not expressly holy. Theirs is a scientific quest not dissimilar to that
of the Arthurian knights of legend - being both daunting and seemingly unattainable. What follows
is not a work of fiction however, rather a speculative look at the evidence in support of
extraterrestrial intelligent life, of the worlds they may inhabit and how they got there. In so doing, it
reveals a potentially common link between them and us.

It can be truly said that nature abhors a vacuum. Our world teems with life of every description,
ranging from the mundane to the downright outlandish. It would appear that every niche of our
planet is populated with life, in one form or another. Even the most hostile and extreme
environments are hosts to microbial life forms know as extremophiles.

One such species is the hyperthermophiles. They can be

found thriving in temperatures exceeding 80 C, whilst at
the other end of the spectrum can be found the cryophiles
that exist at -15 C or lower. Then there are the toxitolerants
that can exist in pools of benzene and on nuclear waste.
Some, like the anaerobes, can even survive in the absence
of oxygen, and the list goes on. It would appear that the
blue planet we call Earth is a veritable zoo on which
multitudinous life forms have taken hold.
Hyperthermophiles

But what of exobiological life forms? Might our universe teem with life as some scientists have
theorised? Moreover, have some of those entities evolved into intelligent sentient creatures like
man?

Panspermia Hypothesis

Since the discovery of Martian meteorites on Earth we now know for certain that interplanetary
transfer of material takes place and, following in the wake of new scientific discoveries, the
Panspermia Hypothesis is now considered as credible by the scientific community that had once
labelled it ridiculous.

Though the first mention of the term first appeared in the writings of the 5th century BC Greek
philosopher Anaxagoras, it wasn't until Sir Fred Hoyle and Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe became
proponents of the theory that it developed some credibility. No lesser personage than physicist
Stephen Hawking championed the cause when he stated in a 2009 presentation that Life could
spread from planet to planet or from stellar system to stellar system, carried on meteors.

We know that extremophile bacteria can survive even the harshest of environments, even that of
outer space. The theory suggests that the transport system for these possibly dormant bacteria may
well be meteoroids, asteroids, and even comets. Having been trapped in these bodies they are
carried through the universe until colliding with planets etc. If the conditions on the planet are ideal
the bacteria are activated and the evolutionary process begins.

Through the process these bacteria slowly evolve into various species over a period of aeons. Each
assumes a particular niche on its home world. Eventually, one of those species reaches a point
where it becomes the dominant life form. As on Earth, intelligence arises and they go through their
equivalent of the Stone Age, Bronze Age etc. until they reach a level of technological sophistication
that allows them to travel beyond the confines of their world.

On the Kardashev scale (a method of measuring a civilisation's level of technological

advancements) we humans currently stand as a Type 0 civilisation. Theoretical physicist, Michio
Kaku has suggested that we will attain a Type 1 status in about 100-200 years. He goes on to say
that we may achieve a Type II status in a few thousand years, and a Type III status in about 100,000
to a million years. The following shortened list shows what each civilisation may be capable of.

A Type 0 civilisation extracts its energy, information, raw-materials

from crude organic base sources and is capable of orbital space flight.

A Type I civilisation extracts its energy, information, and raw-materials

from fusion power, hydrogen, and other high-density renewable resources.
It is capable of interplanetary space flight, interplanetary communication,
and planetary terraforming.

A Type II civilisation is capable of building a Dyson sphere; a system of

orbiting solar power satellites surrounding a star, capturing most or all of
Its energy output. They may also be capable of collecting photons from the
accretion disc of a black hole.

A Type III civilisation might use the same techniques as Type II, but
from multiple galaxies. They may also be capable of tapping into the
energy from super-massive black holes or the emissions from quasars and
have the capacity for inter-galactic travel via wormholes.

There are actually other extensions to the above scale, but for the purposes of this article we need
only consider the above.

The next logical question would be just how many space-

faring civilisations might there be and what might they look
like? SETI scientist Frank Drake formulated an equation as
to how much intelligence there may be in the universe. He
came up with a disturbingly high number. The number was
probably between 1000 and 100,000,000 in our Milky Way
galaxy alone.

Frank Drake

We humans are the product of our environment. Like us, an alien species would be shaped
according to gravitational effects, solar influences, and atmospheric conditions etc. It is not
unreasonable to think that if they had a 20,000-year evolutionary head start on humanity, and
survived self-annihilation, they might eventually travel beyond the confines of their solar system
and out into interstellar space.

For the sake of argument lets assume there are one thousand civilisations in our galaxy alone that
have achieved the level of interstellar flight at faster than light speeds. Lets further assume that
only a handful of these extra-terrestrials stumble upon our world and decide to investigate. They
study our social structures, our technological achievements, our religions, fauna and flora, among
other things. Inevitably, during this process, humankind becomes aware of their presence. Some
encounters appear so bizarre and outlandish that their stories are summarily dismissed as mental
aberrations, hoaxes or just downright lies. Unquestionably, a fair number of encounters fall under
such categories. However, a small percentage of these are not so easily dismissed.

ALIEN TYPES.
THE GREYS.

The most commonly reported alien is the infamous Grey, so-called

because of its skin colouration. This image is a typical depiction of a
Grey alien. Though humanoid in form, one can readily appreciate the
differences between them and us. They lack muscular definition, as
well as external human organs. Their legs are shorter than those of
humans and have an awkward articulation that gives them a waddling
gait. and their limbs are proportionately different from ours. The arms
in particular are very long and reach to the knees. Some experiencers
have reported the Greys as having three or four mobile fingers, with no
opposable thumbs.

The head is disproportionately large for the body and has no

discernible outer ears or nose, only small orifices. Their mouths are
very small, whereas the opaque eyes are strikingly large and black, but
devoid of iris or pupils. The eyes, like those of an owl, might indicate
that the Greys' home world has a low light environment, which could
also account for their grey skin. Their slender build is indicative of a
low gravity world, possibly smaller than that of the Earth. The lack of
sexual organs has led some ufologists to theorise that the diminutive
Greys, typically reported to be between 2-4ft in height, may be clones
created by a taller and more dominant home world species. There is a
commonly held belief that their genetic makeup may well be derived
from insects.

Grey Alien

The short Greys are described as being dispassionate, showing little empathy towards those they
have abducted. Conversely, the taller Greys are often said to be more sympathetic towards the
abductees, appearing to act in a liaison-like fashion between the two groups. According to some
ufologists and abduction researchers, they are more authoritative and have a far superior complex
psychology than their diminutive counterparts and may be biologically alive, unlike their shorter,
cloned, retainers. These entities and their creators are said to come from the Pleiades star system,
such as the Nordic aliens.

The Betty and Barney Hill abduction, on the night of 19 September 1961, is believed to be the first
recorded description of the Greys. However, this is not strictly true. They first appeared in an
article, 'Man of the Year Million (1893), by renowned science-fiction writer H G Wells, pre-dating
the Hills encounter by some 68 years. Remarkably similar entities also appear in his novels First
Men in the Moon (1901), and The War of the Worlds (1898). Might this imply a cultural rather
than cosmological link for the ubiquitous Greys, as some have speculated?

THE NORDICS
One of the earliest reports of Nordic aliens came from the
now largely discredited George Adamski on the 20th
November 1952. The event was reported as having taken
place in the Mojave Desert, Arizona, USA. The being told
Adamski his name was 'Orthon, and that he came from
the planet Venus.

If there ever was such an entity, he certainly didnt

originate from Venus. Its surface temperature is high
enough to melt lead and its atmospheric pressure is 94.5
times higher than Earths. Without a heavily pressurised
suit Orthon would have exploded the moment he set foot
on our world. His physiology, and the fact he was not
wearing any kind of breathing apparatus, would indicate
that he would have come from a world very similar to that
of our own, with atmospheric gases roughly consisting of
78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038%
carbon dioxide, and traces of hydrogen, helium and other
noble gases. It has been speculated by some ufologists
that Orthon may well have lied to Adamski to hide the
truth behind his true origins.
Nordic Alien.

Billy Meier, a Swiss citizen, claimed he first made contact with Nordic aliens in 1942 at the age of
five, but it wasnt until 1975 that his first official contact with them took place. From these
communications, he learned that the Nordics were from the star system Plejares, which
supposedly lies beyond the Pleiades, some 420 light years from Earth in the constellation of Taurus.
They further informed him that their home planet was called Erra just one of ten planets that
circle their sun.

The term Nordic is applied to this species because of their Scandinavian appearance. They are
incredibly human-like, with light blond or white hair and pale white skin. They are said to possess
remarkable pale blue eyes but, as in the human species, there are differences in their colouration and
shape. They are sometimes reported as having pink, red, yellow, green or violet eyes. In some cases
they are said to possess eyes reminiscent of the Greys large and slanted. Eye colour is a polygenic
phenotypic character. It is determined by the amount and type of pigments in the iris. Red and violet
eyes occur in people with severe forms of albinism, owing to the extremely low quantities of
melanin, allowing the blood vessels to show through. True violet-coloured eyes only occur due to
albinism. Could the pale white skin and white hair, suggest that these alleged entities suffer from a
form of albinism? If so, it is one that appears to affect a large proportion of their species.

Although extremely human-like in appearance, there are said to be subtle biological differences
between Nordics and humans, the most paradoxical of them being their skin pigmentation. Their
world is reportedly hot and dry, so one might expect from an evolutionary standpoint that the skin
tone should be much darker to protect them from folate depletion created by exposure to strong
sunlight. Any gene variations that result in lighter skin would not survive under such conditions.

Further biological differences are said to include: Larger lung capacity (due to lower oxygen levels
on their home world), copper-based blood to carry oxygen more efficiently. They have longer
craniums than humans and their skin allows moisture to be drawn from the air. The heart is said to
be situated in the area where the human liver is and beats at around 242 beats per minute, and their
average blood pressure is 80 systolic and 40 diastolic. They possess extremely dilated blood vessels
and their blood cells are biconvex. Neither do they possess a pineal gland, which is in keeping with
their pigmentation. Their said method of communication takes the form of telepathy, and their
average life span is reportedly 700 years.

THE TAILLESS REPTOID

Reptilian humanoids are undoubtedly one of the

most controversial subjects in ufology. The
earliest modern reference to them came from a
Los Angeles news story dated January 29, 1934.
As yet, no one has managed to prove their
existence, and so they are consigned into the
realms of popular fiction and also into the hands
of notable conspiracy theorists such as David
Icke.

The first person to conduct a serious investigation

into them was John Rhodes, who established the
Reptoids.com Researcher Centre in 1997. He
contends that modern-day Reptoids are the
evolutionary offshoots of Earth dinosaurs.
Conversely, others believe them to be offshoots of
extraterrestrial lineage. I leave it up to the reader
to decide which side of the argument they favour.

Reptilian humanoid.

The tailless reptoid is anywhere from 5 12 ft. in height and has a muscular, lean and scaled body.
There is some differentiation in scale colouration. They have long arms, ending in hands with three
long fingers with opposable thumbs. Each foot has three toes and a recessed fourth one towards the
back of the ankle. Each toe contains a short, blunted, claw. That they have no teats or navel would
suggest they are oviparous reptiles, and do not give birth to live young. It is claimed they speak a
language called Eshu and can also speak many other languages.

Further, they appear to have differentiated types of dentition, including canines. This differentiation
is also noticeable in their eyes. Some have large black eyes with vertical slit pupils; whilst others
possess white eyes with vertical, flame coloured, slit pupils. There is a minor tapering to the head,
with two bony ridges continuing from the brow towards the back of the head. The nose is small and
flattened, consisting of two small nasal cavities that slant upwards in a V formation. There are holes
on either side of the head, but unlike humans their ears have no fleshy folds connected to them.

The male reptoids genitalia consist of a penis hidden within a vertical slit at the base of the torso. In
contrast to humans, however, they dont appear to have a soft-sacked scrotum only a rigid
muscular protuberance from the base of the penis to the underside of the torso.

It has been claimed that the reptoids live in the bowels of the Earth which would imply that they
have evolved into a warm-blooded species or that thermoregulatory adaptations within their bodies
allow them to maintain their core temperatures. The theory of
convergent evolution holds that different species could evolve
similar traits to that of humans; traits that could include
intelligence and bipedalism and other humanoid skeletal
changes. In 1978 Harry Jerison, an American psychologist, gave
a presentation to the American Psychological Association titled
Smart dinosaurs and comparative psychology in which he
proposed that the dromiceiomimus of the late Cretaceous period
could have evolved into a highly intelligent species.

If, however, Earth isn't their true home world, it must

nevertheless be incredibly similar. This seems to be an emerging
pattern in alien encounters. The vast majority seem to have little
problem breathing our atmosphere. What is more, they also
share the distinction of being humanoid. Could a humanoid
body plan be the most adequate for an intelligent species as
some have argued, allowing for the use of tools and the
development of bigger brains?

Dromiceiomimus

The reptoid species are divided into four types.

Reptilian-Humanoids (as above and the most commonly reported).

The Winged Draco Reptoids
The Draco Prime Reptoids
The Reptilian Grey cross-breeds.

The Earth appears to be unique in that it contains an enormous quantity of water. If we consider this
species to be native to Earth then there is little problem regarding water supplies. If they are from a
distant world then it follows that their planet must also have sufficient amounts of H20, which is
considered a prerequisite for all life.

In January 2013, it was estimated by astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for

Astrophysics that there are at least 17 billion Earth-sized exoplanets in our Milky Way Galaxy. To
date, Earth is the only known planet that has large stable bodies of surface liquid water. Much closer
to home is our neighbouring planet Mars. Though it does not have the same volume of water as our
world, it was observed in 2008 to have possible seasonal flows of melt water on its slopes. Not only
that, in 2004 Opportunity rover photographed clouds of water-ice in its atmosphere. Then on
September 29, 2011 the European Space Agency (ESA) revealed that their orbiter spacecraft
discovered that the Martian atmosphere was super saturated with water, bringing the possibility of
at least finding microbial life such as cryophiles and anaerobes that little bit closer. Researchers
such as J. P. Skipper, et al, have contended that Mars actually has small stable bodies of surface
liquid water, and much more besides, and have presented photographic evidence in support of their
claims.

Last, but not least, comes the Jovian moon Europa with its tenuous atmosphere composed primarily
of oxygen, and its water ice surface. The smoothness of the striated surface has led scientists to
hypothesise that an ocean of water exists beneath it, which could possibly serve as a habitat for
extraterrestrial life. Moreover, the heat from tidal flexing causes the ocean to remain in a liquid
state.
 THE CHUPACABRAS

Originally, this creature was known as El Vampiro de Moca as some

of the first killings were reported in
the small town of Moca, in the
Dominican Republic, 1992. Then,
some three years later, accounts of it
surfaced in Puerto Rico, then
subsequently in Central and North
American regions of Mexico and the
United States. They have also been
witnessed in Maine and as far south
as Chile. The island of Puerto Rico
became a major region for UFO
sightings, so it wasnt long before
the two phenomena were linked.

Humanoid Chupacabra Panther-like Chupacabra

The given name for this entity is derived from the Spanish words chupar to suck and cabra
goat, due to the entitys reported predilection for attacking and drinking the blood of livestock,
particularly goats.

They are commonly described as reptile-like beings, with an approximate height of three to four
feet. Their stance is said to be like that of a kangaroo, with a hopping, bipedal motion. There
appears to be two varieties of this entity. One is said to have a panther-like face, with large fangs
and forked tongue, the other is more humanoid in appearance. When it becomes alarmed it is
reported to give off a sulphuric stench and hisses and/or screeches. One story of a Chupacabra
surfaced on January 20th 1996 in Varginha, Brazil. It was reported that the entity, having been
captured by the military, gave off a buzzing sound. There are also reports of them leaving a slimy
residue on their victims bodies.

Clearly, these supposed EBEs are predatory by nature and kill their prey by draining them of blood
through their necks or chests, a trait know as hematophagy and which is found in three bat species
on Earth. Listed among some of the chupacabras prey are goats, horses, dogs, mice, sheep, and
cattle. Considering their diminutive stature, begs the question as to how they are capable of bringing
down larger prey, such as cattle and horses. Perhaps, like the vampire bat, they anaesthetise their
victims before injecting their saliva into the animals bloodstreams. Anticoagulants then inhibit
blood clotting and compounds prevent the constriction of blood vessels near the wound. Unlike
vampire bats, however, these creatures appear to have a voracious appetite, draining their victims of
every last drop of blood to the point of death. Another commonality is that they also seem to be
nocturnal predators.

To this authors knowledge, these entities have never been seen on board or in close proximity to
UFOs and have never been described as wearing clothing or in possession of any form of
technology whatsoever, implying that they are not an advanced species. Some ufologists have
conjectured that they may have been brought here by an intelligent extraterrestrial life form and
have escaped their captivity or been released into our environment by them. Others still, that they
are the product of a genetic engineering experiment conducted by, as yet, unknown organizations.

In August 1995, in the Puerto Rican town of Canvanas, it was reported that 150 farm animals and
pets were discovered dead. They had been completely drained of blood and had 3 puncture wounds
in their chests. Original eye witness, Madelyne Tolentino furnished a description of the creature she
had seen which matched that of the chupacabra.

Former deputy editor of the Skeptical Inquirer, Benjamin

Radford , who holds a Masters degree in Education and a
Bachelor's in psychology, conducted a 5 year
investigation into this case. He came to the conclusion
that the creature was nothing more but a cinematic fever
dream. His conclusion was based on a description given
by Tolentino of the creature, which matched that of Sil,
a fictional character from the science-fiction horror movie
Species that she had seen prior to making her report.
The first Species movie was released in July 7, 1995 and
certainly could account for the Tolentino sighting
description. However, this cannot account for any
preceding sightings of the beast. Is this a case of art
imitating life as opposed to life imitating art? Whatever
the truth of their origins may be, you can be certain that
we have not heard the last of these elusive cryptids.
Sil, from the movie Species.

We marvel at the complexity of our home world with its variety and abundance of life. With each
new discovery, our knowledge grows exponentially. The current total of known species on Earth
amounts to a staggering 7,227,130. This number does not include animals such as sheep, goats,
camels or single-celled organisms such as bacteria. Even now we are discovering hitherto unknown
life forms and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. It has been estimated that there are
approximately 5,523,300 species yet to be discovered. With each new finding, we become
increasingly enriched by the scientific advancements that develop from the examination of such
discoveries. Consider the advancements to medicine from the study of plants, of how our
understanding of the atom changed our world forever, of how alchemy evolved into the science of
chemistry and astrology into astronomy. These advancements were necessary to our evolution as a
species.

There are those who are still of the opinion that we are alone in the vastness of the universe. Self-
relevant information is seen to be more important to these people when shaping their judgements or
thoughts. Thankfully, such outmoded belief systems inevitably crumble under the pressure of ever-
increasing knowledge and understanding. It gradually erodes egocentrism to a point where we
become capable of comprehending and coping with the fact that reality can be different to what we
may believe. For now, however, we still have a long way to go with regards to the existence of
intelligent extraterrestrial life. We either embrace the increasing likelihood of intelligent
extraterrestrial biological entities being discovered, or we dont. Either way, the discovery of such a
truth will have earth shattering implications for all of humanity.