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mal. 191 THE MYSTERY LINGERS up in their own need to believe in the most bizarre theories, for which not a shred of real proof exists. Most delusionary revelations are easily dismissed at the cost of a little rational thinking and cool, detached analysis. But what do you do when something is suddenly presented in front of you that just happens to validate what you regarded as the wildest, most exotic and unbelievable fantasy? Would you dismiss an official document, once stamped TOP SECRET, and declassified only under pressure from independent re- searchers? Would you dismiss a story that is supported by excellent, detailed photographs? Such validation—or the appearance of valida- tion—is what has driven many rational investigators into a state where they are now ready to believe the most absurd nonsense. A VISIT TO THE PLEIADES In the category of absurd nonsense it is hard to improve on the cele- brated case of Eduard "Billy" Meier in Switzerland, which has been turned into a media sensation by a well-organized, well-financed promo- tion campaign in the United States. A book with lavish color illustra- tions was even edited and published by a retired U.S. Air Force officer, Colonel Wendelle Stevens, and it has become a classic in the New Age landscape. It has seduced many intelligent researchers of the paranor- The story of Billy Meier is so well-known that we will merely summa- rize it here. As a young man this Swiss farmer had a number of extraor- dinary experiences with various entities, especially a lady named Semjase who claimed to be from outer space, and more specifically, from ERRA, a planet in the Pleiades. Meier has taken many color photographs of Pleiadian spaceships hovering dramatically over green Swiss pastures. When I met Colonel Stevens at his house in Tucson, he had just come back from a trip to Switzerland and was raving about the quality of the sharp photographs taken by Meier.