Grey alien
The Greys (or Grays, also known as Zetas or Reticulians after the ζ Reticuli star system) are the type of intelligent extraterrestrial life that appears most commonly in modern conspiracy theories, particularly UFO conspiracy theories and other UFO-related paranormal phenomena, especially the abduction phenomenon.
Greys have largely replaced "little green men" as the stereotypical extraterrestrial of popular culture.
Aspect and origin
Descriptions
Greys are generally depicted as short (around 3.75 feet (1.25 meter) tall), slender humanoids with hairless grey skin (hence the name) and large heads with enormous black almond-shaped eyes and small (often lipless) mouths. Some note that this resembles a neotenous human, i.e., a human with infant-like features. Others have compared the appearance of Greys to that of a fetus.
In addition to the 3.75 foot (1.25 meter) type there is a variant known as the large-nosed Grey, so named because it has a more prominent nose than the shorter subtype. It is also much taller; abduction reports have described specimens between five and seven feet (one and a half to two meters). In cases where the large-nosed Grey is present, it is generally depicted as having authority over the smaller variants.
Greys can also possibly be very advanced evolved humans from the future. It is assumed by many that if evolution continued on its present course, humans might look that way in a million years or so. (This assumption is based on a very flawed interpretation of evolution, however, since evolution is not a deterministic or predictable process, merely a series of adaptations to changing environmental conditions. It is thus impossible to accurately predict how humans might actually evolve.) It is generally assumed that Greys might be extraterrestrials from another planet able to change to a human appearance, or a hoax. The theory of evolved future humans is the one that can explain so many features that are similar to us such as two eyes, one nose, and one mouth.
Skeptical perspectives
Skeptics suggest that the Greys' physiology is inconsistent with existence in Earth's environment. Details include a tiny mouth (unspecialized for natural eating), scanty musculature, and enormous eye pupils (unable to adjust their size for different intensities of light). Furthermore, based on the large portion of the eye which is exposed, the entire eyeballs themselves would be huge, taking up a great deal of space inside the skull cavity. This might detract from the idea that Greys have large brains.
On the other hand, there are counterarguments to some of the above observations (although such counterarguments are based largely on speculation or on eyewitness testimony, both of which are rife with their own potential pitfalls). Some note that Greys are said to be clones developed for a specific environment. Though their mouths are small, Greys have been said to take nourishment intravenously or via skin absorption.
In some recent conspiracy theories and alien abduction accounts, Greys have sometimes been supplanted by "reptoids" (who are sometimes described as the "masters" of the Greys).
Explanations
Martin Kottmeyer claims that the origin of the contemporary appearance of Greys comes from the mask of the Bifrost alien (designed by Wah Ming Chang) from the "Bellero Shield" episode of the 1960s sci-fi TV-series "The Outer Limits". Not long after the episode's debut on February 10, 1964, according to the contactee reports, Greys seemed to suddenly acquire most of their characteristic features. Although there are some differences, it should be remembered that "bug-eyed" aliens were a staple of space opera for decades prior to the allegedly genuine reports of contactees and alien abduction experiencers. This explanation also notes that as time passed, the stories of Greys grew more and more outlandish. The eyes of Greys (in some reports also their heads) were growing larger until they reached their current two-times-larger state; this is similar to developments in the cyberpunk science fiction genre and specifically with Japanese anime of that genre.
Artist and philosopher Michael Grosso notes that the depiction of Greys as fetus-like beings mimics the commonly televised images of starving children in Third World countries, with their thin, bony arms, large head, and bulging eyes. Before the TV age, the effects of starvation and privation of children were uncommon sights, and their sudden appearance evolved into the popular media-saturated image of these "aliens".
In the Fugo balloon hypothesis advanced by (Popular Mechanics) and others, the Roswell UFO Incident was in reality the crash of an experimental hybrid balloon glider carrying a Japanese crew. The downed balloon came to be mistaken for a UFO, and its Asian crew served as a model for Greys.
Occultist Aleister Crowley produced a drawing of the angel "Lam" he allegedly met which looks similar to a Grey. An image of Crowley's sketch of Lam is available at this external link: [1]
Fictional appearances
- Greys made their first significant fictional appearance in the 1977 motion picture Close Encounters of the Third Kind, wherein the director, Steven Spielberg, used childlike aliens as a creative metaphor. However, Close Encounters of the Third Kind was not the first appearance of Greys.
- "Bug-eyed" humanoid creatures, often with large heads and slender bodies, were common as science fiction villains well before Close Encounters. See, for example, the Neptunians from Space Patrol (1963).
- Perhaps most notably in recent years, Greys (called Reticulans in Squeeze) were featured prominently on the TV series The X-Files as a part of the central conspiracy of the series. Greys also make appearances (in one form or another) in the movies Men in Black, Independence Day, Signs, War of the Worlds and in television shows such as Babylon 5 (as Vree), as well as in the X-COM: UFO Defense computer game (as Sectoids), the Star Control computer game series (as Arilou Lalee'lay), and Deus Ex.
- The TV series Stargate SG-1 identifies the Greys as the Asgard: an advanced race of aliens from another galaxy who had visited Earth on several occasions, and who assumed the identities of Norse gods to protect some peoples from Goa'uld dominion.
- In the Nintendo 64 game, Perfect Dark a pair of Maians (aliens similar to greys) act as the protagonist's allies.
- The Kaminoans from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones were clearly inspired by the Greys, albeit quite different in physique.
- The novel series Outlanders by Mark Ellis aka James Axler refers to the Greys as Archons, the result of genetic engineering by the Anunnaki and the Tuatha De' Danaan who held dominion over the Earth in ancient times. They were created as a custodial race, the Watchers of Biblical lore who were charged to curtail humanity's development.
- In the game Destroy All Humans!, the Furons have the same appearance as Greys, only they wear white-ish clothing instead of silver-colored suits, and have many different skin and eye colors.
- In the game Area-51, the Greys appear in the last levels.
- In the game Dark Colony, Greys are the basic infantry unit for the alien "Taar" army.
- A Grey appears in the manga Tenjo Tenge. His vast intelligence and computer hacking skills are a great asset to the Juken club.
- In the video game Deus Ex they appear as animal like creatures that attack the player with radiation. They are theorised within the game possibly to be mutants created by the Versa Life Company.
- In the sequel Deus Ex: Invisible War, the greys are intelligent and help J.C. Denton to found a new human race after being trapped in Antarctica.
- The role-playing game C°ntinuum has the Greys (there called the Inheritors) to be the far future descendants of the human race.
- In the episode "Spanish Fry" of the television comedy Futurama, the Greys are considered intergalatic "bounty-hunters," which is given as their reason for abducting people. They also have a space ship complete with a vanity license plate that reads "Probe1"
- The first episode of South Park, titled "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", has a plot that revolves around Greys (here called "Visitors"). Almost every subsequent episode has a hidden Grey/Visitor that is only visible for one shot.
- One of the Alternity Role-Playing Game campaign settings, Star*Drive, has a race known as the Fraal, who are seen as analogues of greys (and even described as such). They are intensely curious creatures who conducted experiments on humans for years before finally establishing contact with them. They live in giant colony ships, since their original homeworld, Yvrunn, was destroyed when its star went supernova. (They have since reappeared in a couple of the d20 Modern source books .)
- The Steven Spielberg epic mini-series Taken features a more modern version of the Greys.
- A first season episode of Pokemon, "Clefairy Tales" is about the possibility of some Pokemon being aliens. During this episode the villainous Team Rocket's Jessie and James dress up as Greys in a plot to abduct Ash's Pikachu.
- The Tick (animated 1994) episode, "Tick vs. The Big Nothing", features aliens that disguise themselves as Greys while abducting the Tick.
- In the comic series Transmetropolitan, the Transient Movement was a counter-culture movement adhered to by body modification practicioners and other fetishists, and uses the DNA of an alien race anatomically similar to Greys from an offworld colony, Old Vilnius, to become a new species permanently, and those in the process of 'transcience' were highly visible as being half-human/half-grey hybrids. However the movement was marred by detrimental physical and psychological side effects, and the cult of personality perpetuated by its founder, Fred Christ, who is arguably modeled on Malcolm McLaren.
- In the "Animorphs" series of sci-fi/adventure books by K.A. Applegate, Greys are alluded to in the form of an alien race known as the Na (or Skrit-Na). Originally an insectoid alien known as a Skrit, Na are the result of the Skrit's metamorphosis within a cocoon. Na are vastly more intelligent than Skrit, and exhibit a very greedy lifestyle, which leads them to abduct more primitive life forms and artifacts and sell or keep them in collections on their homeworld.
- In the cartoon series "American Dad", Stan Smith hides a Grey (Roger the Alien) inside his house.
- In a song by British band, Muse, titled 'Exo-Politics' (see Exopolitics), there is a line 'When the Zetas fill the skies'.
- In the short action movie Sockbaby, the main antagonists are Greys. They are radically different in appearance than most Greys, being completely humanoid, other than grey skin, black lips, and black eyes.
Reportedly Genuine Appearances
The Hill Abduction incident involved creatures vaguely similar to Greys, and probably represents the prototypical story of alleged human encounters with these beings.
Harvard Medical School professor Dr. John Edward Mack claimed that many of his clients had encounters with the greys. His books Abduction and Passport to the Cosmos described his patients' spiritual transformations and awakening of higher consciousness as a result of their experiences.
Greys were also the extraterrestrials described in horror fiction novelist's Whitley Strieber's non-fiction book Communion, about his abduction experiences, though Strieber does not assert that the Greys are extraterrestrials as such. He holds forth a variety of unusual theories about the Greys' origins—such as the hypothesis that they could be physical incarnations of the human id, or interdimensional visitors.
Many abduction victims have reported strange little "scoop marks" in their bodies after being abducted (supposedly) by greys. The little scoop marks have been photographed by abduction researchers from various countries (Bill Chalker, Budd Hopkins, etc), and seem to be similar in shape and size.
See also
- Abduction phenomenon
- Alien invasion
- Area 51
- Dulce Base
- Extraterrestrial life
- Extraterrestrial life in culture
- Jinn
- Bob Lazar
- Little green men
- Nordic aliens
- Reptilian humanoids
- Phil Schneider
- UFOs
- Zeta Reticuli