A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
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concerns and from <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong> O<strong>the</strong>rs that figure so centrally <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> displaced utopian are<br />
anachronistic <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> most literal sense - simultaneously residents <strong>of</strong> past, present and <strong>the</strong> future.<br />
The dead, ascended masters and aliens transcend time as it is experienced by mortal humans,<br />
exhibit<strong>in</strong>g that most coveted <strong>of</strong> traits—immortality. Under <strong>the</strong> guise <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> eternal such temporal<br />
markers as “past” and “future” are merely that, “markers,” with no value except as abstractions.<br />
The displaced utopian imag<strong>in</strong>ary reveals <strong>the</strong> ultimate orig<strong>in</strong>s and fate <strong>of</strong> humank<strong>in</strong>d to its<br />
believers. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, it does so through <strong>the</strong> agency <strong>of</strong> be<strong>in</strong>gs that exist outside <strong>of</strong> time. In<br />
<strong>the</strong>se senses, Spiritualism as discourse promises <strong>the</strong> collapse <strong>of</strong> time, putt<strong>in</strong>g past, present and<br />
future all <strong>in</strong>to communication.<br />
One might recall that as a complement to this collapse <strong>of</strong> time, <strong>the</strong> so-called “higher<br />
phenomena” <strong>of</strong> mesmerism - phenomena that were exhibited under <strong>the</strong> guise <strong>of</strong> Spiritualism as<br />
well - <strong>in</strong>cluded “travel<strong>in</strong>g clairvoyance.” The latter term implies <strong>the</strong> ability to report back<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation (most commonly visual <strong>in</strong>formation) that orig<strong>in</strong>ates from a geographically distant<br />
source. Swedenborg’s report <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Stockholm fire—an event that he viewed from a distance <strong>of</strong><br />
280 miles—is one example <strong>of</strong> this. O<strong>the</strong>r examples are legion <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> literature <strong>of</strong> Mesmerism<br />
and Spiritualism. One commonly reported application <strong>of</strong> travel<strong>in</strong>g clairvoyance is <strong>the</strong> diagnosis<br />
<strong>of</strong> illness from afar, <strong>of</strong>ten with <strong>the</strong> subject <strong>of</strong> diagnosis be<strong>in</strong>g unknown to <strong>the</strong> medium. As Sir<br />
Arthur Conan Doyle writes <strong>in</strong> his chapter on Davis, “Prophet <strong>of</strong> a New Revelation”,<br />
Davis’s m<strong>in</strong>istrations were not conf<strong>in</strong>ed to those who were <strong>in</strong> his presence, but his soul or<br />
e<strong>the</strong>ric body could be liberated by <strong>the</strong> magnetic manipulation <strong>of</strong> his employer<br />
[Lev<strong>in</strong>gston], and could be sent forth like a carrier pigeon with <strong>the</strong> certa<strong>in</strong>ty that it would<br />
come home aga<strong>in</strong> bear<strong>in</strong>g any desired <strong>in</strong>formation. Apart from <strong>the</strong> humanitarian mission<br />
on which it was usually engaged it would sometimes roam at will, and he has described<br />
<strong>in</strong> wonderful passages how he would see a translucent earth beneath him, with <strong>the</strong> great<br />
ve<strong>in</strong>s <strong>of</strong> m<strong>in</strong>eral beds sh<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g through like masses <strong>of</strong> molten metal, each with its own<br />
fiery radiance. 59<br />
Thus, <strong>in</strong> addition to <strong>the</strong> collapse <strong>of</strong> time a central component <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> powerful appeal <strong>of</strong><br />
Spiritualism was <strong>the</strong> collapse <strong>of</strong> space. Toge<strong>the</strong>r, this collapse <strong>of</strong> time and <strong>of</strong> space embodies<br />
59 Doyle, 44-45.<br />
48