Lost in cyberspace

Many people would like to think that these stories are all in good fun, but in reality, most of these netizens are looking for honest support to deal with what they believe was an alien abduction. These groups -- along with the innumerable web sites, chat rooms, and on-line service areas dedicated to aliens and paranormal phenomenon -- are some of the many things that give the alien craze its hip cachet.

The Internet can take at least some of the responsibility for the creation of this "alien nation." In and of itself, the Internet is somewhat paranormal -- a universe in which everyone is connected, little is completely private or secure, and no matter how hard people try, it's beyond any one person's or agency's control. Today's worldwide X-Files following first bred on the Internet, which has made alien-autopsy photos, crop-circle analyses, and live views of Area 51 available at any time. And through the Internet, all those alien abductees living in rural America have been able to find one another and share implant stories.

If you'd prefer to rummage around the net and read some information on aliens or the paranormal before corresponding with these folks, the Web is a good place to start. The serious UFO investigator should begin by pointing a browser to the Extraterrestrial Biological Entity Page at http://www.ee.fit.edu/users/lpinto/. This award-winning web site will give you a good idea of what you're getting yourself into. It has subpages dedicated to the Roswell Incident, Area 51 (with lots of photos), UFOs, crop circles, abductions, alien-information resources both on and off the net, and links to guide you to other alien-related sites.

Another good spot for general alien, paranormal, and conspiracy information is America Online's ParaScope area (keyword: "paranormal" or "parascope"), which also has a web site at http://www.parascope.com/. ParaScope is an on-line reporting team dedicated to investigating the mysteries, rumors, and incidents surrounding conspiracies, cover-ups, aliens, UFOs, and unexplained phenomena.

For a more humorous look at the on-line alien beat, Aliens!, Aliens!, Aliens! at http://www.xensei.com/users/john9904/, a site run by two local alien enthusiasts, takes all the usual topics and makes them interactive jokes. Features include an "Ask Zorknapp" (he's an alien) mail-in question-and-answer service, an "adult child of a Man in Black" support page, and dating tips for alien clones and hybrids. Mike Lord, co-creator of Aliens!, Aliens!, Aliens!, says that people react to the site in varying ways. "Some people get really upset and mail us saying, `How can you make fun of this?!' But then we get alien and UFO researchers mailing us too, telling us how funny they think the site is."

Lord, a science-fiction fan, doesn't buy modern alien-visitation reports. "I never really believed in aliens visiting Earth but was always intrigued by the idea. It's something that I would like to be true, but I know that it just is not. I personally get a kick out of the fact that people are looking at our page thinking that it is filled with `facts' about `aliens.' There's an oxymoron for you."

Once you feel prepared to correspond with fellow alien enthusiasts, venture onto Usenet. Groups to look for include alt.alien.research, alt.alien.visitors, alt.sex.aliens ("How to make the most of your UFO abduction"), alt.personals.aliens, alt.ufo.reports, and alt.paranet.abduct. These newsgroups are among the highest-trafficked in the alien-related fields. Also, the official X-Files web site at http://www.thex-files.com/ has a messaging system (click on "fan forum") that offers subtopics ranging from X-Files characters to personal experiences with the paranormal.

Don't be shy -- whatever you believe, it's guaranteed that someone on the Internet will believe it along with you.