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gates shut. The Vatican has repeatedly warned that spiritualism is “‘evil’’ and the ‘‘work of the Devil.’”” When seemingly authentic religious mir- acles occur today, and there have been many, the theologians and churches approach them with great caution and try to play down their significance. The Bible warns us that during “‘the last days”’ this planet will be overrun with wonders in the sky and false prophets and performers Af aaten nt. of miracles. There are now many cases in which the voices of deceased persons have seemingly called up their loved ones on the telephone, just as the metallic-voiced space people have been phoning researchers and reporters around the world. To add to our problems, the telephone system, worldwide, is sagging and breaking down, unable to keep up with the increasing load we are placing on it. We face a complete breakdown of all communications within the next few years. Television sets, telephones, ham and citizen’s band (CB) radios in flap areas have been going awry on a massive scale during the periods when the UFOs have been most active. Thousands of people deserted California in April 1969, after hundreds of people had received prophecies in dreams, through Ouija boards, and at seances that the West Coast was about to slip into the Pacific Ocean. As Sherlock Holmes used to say, the game is afoot. It is happening on every level of our society, manifesting itself in countless ways. The year 1968 was comparable to the year 1848. Great changes are taking place on our college campuses, in our churches, and in the halls of government. The demons of old are marching among us again. In 1966, I was a lifelong atheist raised in the hard school of objective journalism, skeptical but hopeful that I could somehow validate the enthusiasts’ speculations about extraterrestrial visitants. The extraterres- trial hypothesis then seemed to me to be the only acceptable explanation. But my experiences over the past few years have changed both me and my outlook, just as similar experiences have changed so many others. I have stood on many a windy hilltop staring in amazement at the multicol- ored objects cavorting about the night skies. I have dealt with thousands of honest, sincere witnesses by mail, phone, and in person. My skepticism has melted away, and I have turned from science to philosophy in my search for the elusive truth. The late Wilbert Smith, the Canadian scientist who chased UFOs in the 1950s, apparently followed a similar course. “The inevitable conclusion was that it was all real enough,”’ Smith said in 1958, “but that the alien science was definitely alien—and possibly even beyond our comprehension. So another approach was tried—the philosophical—and here the answer was found in all its grandeur....”’ 272 / Operation Trojan Horse