For most people, the question of whether or not we are alone in the universe is a mere philosophical musing — something of academic interest but of no practical importance. Even evidence that we are currently being visited by non-human advanced life forms seems to many to be an irrelevancy in a world of global warming, crushing poverty and the threat of war. In the face of real challenges to the long-term human future, the question of UFOs, extraterrestrials and secret government projects is a mere sideshow,right? Wrong — catastrophically wrong.