Ummo Letter 208

Mr. ENRIQUE VILLAGRASA NOVOA: It is very likely that the following statement will fill you with perplexity. It is also likely that you will subsequently adopt a skeptical or at least reluctant attitude. We originate from a distant star. A planet we call by the phonetic expression UMMO, located at an approximate distance from Earth (APPARENT DISTANCE: that is, the distance a coherent beam of electromagnetic waves would travel in three-dimensional space) d = 14.4368 ±0.06% light-years. (NdW: This precision is handwritten) We are fully aware of the transcendence that such a statement may imply for you. You will therefore not be surprised if we tell you that when we have presented documents and notes like this to men of various Earth nations, from different intellectual levels (SCIENTISTS, PRIESTS, WRITERS, THINKERS, TECHNICIANS; EMPLOYEES, etc.) and social backgrounds, their normal reactions have shown a clear repressive tone against the truth of our testimony. This radical position of skepticism, of extreme incredulity, is evident. The human intellect reacts with well-defined psychological defense mechanisms in the face of a constellation of illusory perceptions that may have been created by a fabulist, a psychopathic personality, or an intelligent individual whose sense of humor finds this original way to channel his desire to amuse himself at the naivety of his peers. If one day Linus Pauling knocks on your door, and you receive him in your hall, and he unceremoniously tells you that his profession lies in the field of Physical Chemistry and that not long ago he received the Swedish Nobel Prize in Chemistry; no one could blame you for making a phone call as an excuse to seek the services of a psychiatric facility. Sir: occasionally, we get in touch with different people in various countries on Earth. In Spain, specifically, we have chosen these days two individuals whose curiosity and interest in the habitability of other points in our Galaxy are well known. One of them is a writer, an author of plays: Alphonso Paso. The other: it is you. We are greatly concerned that you may greet these lines with a mocking smile and misinterpret our good intentions towards you. We will call you by phone another time. We are not authorized to engage in dialogue with you for now; just tell us what you think of this matter. Do so frankly, nobly. If, despite appearances, your objectivity and the realism of the situation place you in an analytical position, before risking a dogmatic judgment, before definitively labeling us as madmen or jokers, ask us by phone for information regarding a scientific, religious, philosophical, etc. theme that particularly interests you. A similar document was handed over at the same time to D. ALFONSO PASO GIL Avda de la Habana 27 Tel: 2500919 Madrid 16 Spain.