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STRIP TEASE BUENOS AIRES, 1947 rinth." According to Borges' story, Tlon is a hypothetical planet invented by a group of clever men financed in the United States by an eccentric Southern aristocrat in Memphis. They use their own talents and that of various contractors to produce a monumental work, an encyclopedia of Tlon, complete with the details of the languages, the philosophies, 111 With the passage of time the scientific documents mailed around the world by the UMMO source (or sources) appear increasingly ludicrous and childish. Not only did UMMO miss all the important advances that have been made in computer hardware design and in biogenetic engi- neering in the last ten years, but cancer cures now on the horizon are not expected to involve radiation (not even of cybernetic nature). Most significantly, UMMO is still using spatial propulsion systems that are antiquated with respect to current speculations in physics involving such concepts as traversable wormholes and superstring theory. The most damning fact of all, of course, is that nothing in the UMMO documents explains the genuine UFO sightings that have accumulated since 1946 and that continue to come to the attention of serious investigators around the world. But such rational considerations will not deter the UMMO disciples. Once a belief system is established, it keeps going under its own power, gaining strength from its very absurdity. ARGENTINA, Among the great contemporary writers is Jorge Luis Borges of Argen- tina, who died in 1987, leaving a vast, beautiful, and haunting body of work. He was fascinated by the promise and the ambiguities of contact with alien entities. I have already quoted his disturbing poem "Laby- There is a little-known short story by Borges in his book entitled Fictions to which I return again and again. It is a purposely obscure and convoluted tale written in Spanish about 1947 and entitled "lon Ugqbar Orbis Tertius." This last tale may well have supplied the inspira- tion for the UMMO hoax.