UFO of GOD

«Two weeks after Christmas, on January 8th, 2007, our lives changed forever.» — la fecha fundacional del relato, bajo el epígrafe de Ezequiel 1:4.

«around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire» — Ezequiel 1:4, epígrafe con que abre el capítulo del 8 de enero de 2007.

«his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude» — Daniel 10:6, epígrafe que encabeza justo la página de la primera aparición de los seres.

«Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit.» — Proverbios 26:24, epígrafe del capítulo de la investigación de MUFON.

«You may understand my knowledge in the mystery.» — Efesios 3:4, epígrafe.

«at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you» — 1 Pedro 4:12, epígrafe del capítulo del sábado anterior a Pascua.

«And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.» — Santiago 5:15, epígrafe del capítulo de las sanaciones.

«Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.» — Proverbios 27:9, epígrafe.

«Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.» — Mateo 7:7, epígrafe del capítulo final.

«As the saying goes in Matthew, “to him who knocks, and keeps knocking, the door will be opened.”» — la única vez que cita la Escritura dentro de su propia prosa, fuera de los epígrafes.

«And most of all, I want to thank God.» — última línea de los agradecimientos, y última línea del libro.

«One night at our church, Cape Fear Baptist Church, where kids would meet to play, I was alone waiting for mother to pick me up.» — la formación religiosa de infancia que declara.

«An omen from God, from nature, or from the land that made me communicated that I would be kept.» — así lee un episodio de su niñez; la enumeración disyuntiva es suya.

«they believed in baptism by the holy spirit and that speaking in tongues was a result of God’s presence in someone» — sobre la Pentecostal Holiness Church de Falcon, fundada en 1911; añade los relatos de arrebatos extáticos.

«the Pentecostal Holiness Church, where I had begun to serve as Deacon—twice on Sundays and on Wednesday nights» — el cargo que declara haber ocupado.

«I studied the bible day and night like I never had before.» — Añade que fueron los momentos religiosos más ricos de su vida.

«The church her great grandfather had helped create was too ingrained in our lives to turn our backs on.» — el vínculo familiar con la iglesia que después lo expulsa.

«The devil is at work in that man.» — el rumor que relata haber circulado sobre él.

«The Pentecostal church sees Halloween as a pagan ritual used by Satan to encourage demonic worship» — Añade la regla que le adjudica: lo que el libro sagrado no contempla es necedad pecaminosa u obra del diablo.

«Yvonne had to live a double life, continuing to be part of a church that saw me as troubled and demonically possessed» — Describe a los líderes rociándolo con agua bendita ante sus hijos.

«sprinkle holy water as if the ground itself needed to be purged of some Satanic curse» — relata que fueron a su propiedad sin ser llamados.

«cast me out of their ranks as insane, sinful, untouchable» — así nombra la expulsión.

«I had depended on the church in facing the big questions in life, and when I needed them most they accused me of courting demons.» — el balance que hace de esa ruptura.

«The comfort I felt from prayer in church was the same as when I prayed looking up at the night sky, with only my soul and whatever was out there for company.» — Añade que los orbes aparecían sobre todo cuando rezaba.

«shouting at the group how he knew I had been taken by a demonic force» — el decano de un *bible college* bautista, con un libro en la mano, según su relato.

«label me a heretic doomed to hell» — lo que anticipaba de quienes estaban comprometidos con ese *bible college*.

«A roaring thunderous command shook me from sleep.» — apertura del episodio de la Pascua de 2012; la orden que relata haber oído es «ARISE!».

«Take this. It is yours. You must keep it.» — lo que relata que le dijo la figura al entregarle un objeto.

«Before me, a woman floated in a circle of light.» — la aparición de la figura central del libro.

«The gleaming robe she wore hung down to her ankles.» — arranque de la descripción del vestuario.

«They seemed to be some ancient priestess’s robes, with long sleeves drooping past her wrists and an unadorned collar.» — el léxico con que el propio autor la describe: sacerdotal antiguo, no cristiano.

«It reminded me of goddesses’ robes from Roman sculptures and mosaics.» — la única referencia iconográfica que da, y es grecorromana.

«You know why I’m here.» — Precisa que los labios de ella no se movieron al hablar.

«You cannot quit now. You made an agreement that must be kept.» — lo que relata que ella le dijo.

«She talked of the beings as guardians she sent to do her bidding» — jerarquía que le adjudica: los seres dependen de ella.

«an icon of humanity: directionless, senseless, without head or tail, in dire need of protection and guidance» — lo que dice que ella declaró sobre el objeto entregado.

«I had been chosen to tell humanity of the phenomena’s benevolence.» — el encargo, tal como lo formula.

«A new knowledge must arrive. Mankind must awaken to it.» — el mensaje que atribuye a la figura.

«it was clear she was director of all that had happened» — le adjudica la dirección de todo el fenómeno.

«This is your burden. You must bear it.» — el cierre del episodio.

«the whole subject area is extraordinarily complex and perhaps, ultimately, insoluble» — Jim Semivan, «Former CIA, Clandestine Directorate of Operations», en el prólogo.

«a truly enigmatic figure with the obvious religious and cultural correspondences» — Jim Semivan, en el prólogo, sobre «The Lady»; sigue «She has appeared before, often in quasi-religious contexts, and her role is always as a protector, guide, and hierophant of the otherworld». La correspondencia religiosa de la dama la introduce el prologuista, no el testigo.

«no one, to my knowledge, has come up with an adequate theory or hypothesis to explain all of the weirdness» — Semivan, en la misma página: el aval es de credibilidad, no de doctrina.

«The Invisible College indeed took notice» — Semivan usa el término de Vallée; Vallée no aparece en el libro: `--buscar "Vallee"` y `--buscar "Vallée"` dan 0 páginas cada uno.

«there are spiritual consequences related to these observed phenomena that exceed the limits of our current knowledge» — Col. John B. Alexander, PhD, en la introducción; la frase arranca «As some of us believe» al pie de la p. 6.

«it is the confluence of so many multifaceted phenomena that lends credence to the hypothesis that consciousness is at the heart of these events» — Alexander, introducción.

«Readers should know that these concepts are directly related to spirituality.» — Alexander, introducción.

«I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness…» — Max Planck según Alexander, en la introducción: cita anidada de tres eslabones.

«This book, UFO of GOD, will be an important addition to your repertoire.» — Alexander, cierre de la introducción, seguido de «Shanti, Shanti, Shanti». Es la única página del libro donde aparece el título, y está en boca del prologuista.

«In the past we interpreted the UFO as gods, goddesses, angels, demons, and today most would interpret the UFO as an advanced form of technology.» — Jeffrey Kripal, citado a la letra por Bledsoe; sigue la pregunta de por qué no se los interpreta hoy como dioses y demonios. Única aparición de Kripal en el libro.

«She said that in all her years studying the bible, she knew that the popular image of angels was completely at odds with the texts in which they appeared.» — Diana Pasulka en estilo indirecto de Bledsoe; sigue «Rosy-cheeked babies are not crawling around in mid-air in the Book of Revelations».

«She wanted the title to be Seraphim , an ancient term for angels and other celestial beings used in ancient Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.» — Pasulka, en estilo indirecto: era el título que ella quería para un libro sobre él.

«I was reminded of Diana Pasulka’s descriptions of seraphim and how that word, usually taken to mean “angels,” literally translates as “the burning ones.”» — la etimología, adjudicada a Pasulka por Bledsoe.

«Diana said that one of the biggest stumbling blocks for people when it comes to reckoning with the phenomena was a mistranslation of the word cloud in both the old and new testaments.» — la tesis de la mistraducción es de Pasulka según Bledsoe, no de Pasulka directamente; sigue la lista de sustitutos: *weather, rain, sky, angel, voice*.

«Diana Pasulka had even suggested that my RA was analogous to the stigmata that plagued Saint Francis of Assisi.» — la analogía hagiográfica, también en estilo indirecto.

«Something his grandmother had always told him was that the appearance of a silver snake was always a sign from God.» — cadena de cuatro eslabones: abuela de Tim Taylor → Tim Taylor → Bledsoe → el libro. Adjudicarlo a Tim Taylor pierde uno.

«Later that day, David told me that Uri Geller had a similar experience with a piece of material that Wernher von Braun handed him» — segunda cadena: Geller → David Broadwell → Bledsoe → el libro.

«which John explained was what they called a telepathic connection with a nonhuman intelligence» — el término «temporal connection» se lo explica John B. Alexander, según Bledsoe.

«You have opened my eyes to something I couldn’t see.» — lo que relata que le dijo uno de los escépticos del Monroe Institute; la obra registra que las objeciones se retiran.

«Cover Design: David Broadwell Interior Design: Creative Publishing Book Design» — paratexto editorial. El mismo David Broadwell es después personaje del relato (pp. 202–211); coincidencia de nombre que se consigna, no se resuelve.

«Copyright © 2023 by Chris Bledsoe» — la única declaración formal de autoría del archivo; la portada con el título no está en el troceo.

«This situation may change, of course, but I think not without the help of the phenomenon itself.» — Jim Semivan, en el prólogo: si el cuadro cambia será por concurso del fenómeno mismo, no del esfuerzo humano.

«And that prospect—a formal introduction or, perhaps, a long, Socratic dialogue—does not appear to be in the cards.» — Semivan descarta que vaya a haber presentación formal ni diálogo con el fenómeno.

«So far, we are engaged in a one-way conversation with the phenomenon despite the messages and admonitions it occasionally dispenses to contactees, experiencers, and abductees.» — Semivan describe el trato como conversación de una sola vía, aun contando los mensajes que el fenómeno reparte.

«UFOs have appeared often enough in our history that they are now indelibly stamped on our imagination.» — Semivan mide la presencia del fenómeno por su huella en la imaginación, no por prueba.

«But, they offer no calling card or fixed address except the occasional remark that they hail from a distant galaxy or planet or from another reality.» — Semivan consigna que el origen declarado —galaxia lejana, planeta u otra realidad— viene solo de comentarios sueltos.

«To add to this muddle, the science necessary to explain the phenomenon and/or place it in context and the philosophy to understand it ontologically are simply not available or exist only in a nascent form.» — Semivan sostiene que faltan a la vez la ciencia que lo explique y la filosofía que lo entienda ontológicamente.

«And perhaps more importantly, worldwide governments, scientists, and academicians are simply not displaying the courage and fortitude needed to finally accept that this phenomenon is a clear and unalterable part of our reality.» — Semivan carga la falla a gobiernos, científicos y académicos, y la nombra falta de valor, no de datos.

«Despite the recent U.S. government acceptance that there is possibly more to our consensus reality than we care to acknowledge, the subject is still seen as fringe, to be discussed only with a good deal of trepidation and skepticism.» — Semivan advierte que el reconocimiento oficial reciente no sacó al tema del margen.

«What should be “the story of the millennia” is too often relegated to the alternative press, informal government seminars, or used as titillating fodder for late night television.» — Semivan describe el destino editorial del asunto: prensa alternativa, seminarios informales y televisión nocturna.

«terms the “tradition of disbelief” is still encouraged despite overwhelming evidence of the reality of the paranormal, psychic phenomena and UFOs.» — la frase arranca al pie de la p. 3, donde Semivan atribuye el término al folclorista y etnógrafo David Hufford.

«But not having a context or branch of science to specifically place the phenomenon is certainly not an excuse to ignore it.» — Semivan niega que la falta de marco científico justifique desatender el fenómeno.

«Despite the opaque nature of the phenomenon we should find hope in the work of the many and varied intrepid researchers and historians doing credible research.» — Semivan cifra la esperanza en investigadores e historiadores, no en instituciones.

«And more importantly, we should look to the experiencers, those special few whose stories engage and enlighten us and offer a glimpse into the wilderness of mirrors that is the phenomenon.» — Semivan pone al testigo por encima del investigador como vía de acceso.

«there is no guile, no attempt to appear special in any way, and always a dedication to remaining on a morally and ethically centered course.» — Semivan avala el carácter del testigo, no sus tesis.

«What happened to Chris on January 8th, 2007 was life-altering and seminal in his later development as a teacher and healer.» — Semivan fecha el suceso y lo lee como origen de un maestro y un sanador.

«And his experience seemed to hit most if not all the variables of a classic contact and abduction experience: lost time, orbs, saucers, up close and personal contact with an alien presence, healings, absurd visuals, and, of course, the appearance of The Lady, to name a few.» — Semivan inscribe el caso en el inventario clásico del contacto y la abducción —tiempo perdido, orbes, platillos, sanaciones—, marco que el propio testigo no usa.

«Chris has probably been visited officially and unofficially by more “government types” and UFO researchers than any other contactee or experiencer.» — Semivan afirma que el caso recibió más visitas oficiales y extraoficiales que ningún otro.

«I am not a researcher, but like many of you who have purchased this wonderful book, I am a devoted student of the phenomenon.» — Semivan declara su propia posición: estudioso devoto, no investigador.

«The recent U.S. government interest in UFOs and the phenomenon is also, I think, a notable vindication for Chris and his family, a late but important acknowledgement that like many other» — Semivan lee el interés gubernamental como vindicación tardía de la familia.