Project Blue Beam

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{{hatnote|For the [[UFO]] study done by sane people, see [[Project Blue Book]].}}

'''Project Blue Beam''' is a [[conspiracy theory]] which claims that [[NASA]] is attempting to implement a [[New Age]] religion with the [[Antichrist]] at its head and start a [[New World Order]], via a technologically-simulated [[Second Coming]]. The allegations were presented in 1994 by [[Quebec]]ois journalist and conspiracy theorist [[Serge Monast]] and later published in his book ''Project Blue Beam (NASA)''. Proponents of the theory allege that Monast and another unnamed journalist, who both died of heart attacks in 1996, were in fact assassinated, and that the [[Canadian]] government kidnapped Monast's daughter in an effort to dissuade him from investigating Project Blue Beam.<ref name=ey25jul05/><ref group=note>He was [[homeschooling]] his son and daughter; they were made wards of the state in September 1996 so that they would receive ''actual'' schooling.</ref>

The project was apparently supposed to be implemented in 1983,<ref name=ey25jul05/> but it didn't happen. It was then set for implementation in 1995 and then 1996,<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20080118214535/www.geocities.com/area51/shadowlands/6583/project238.html Project Blue Beam] (Contact, April 1996)</ref> and it still didn't happen. Finally, Monast thought that Project Blue Beam would be brought to fruition by the year 2000,<ref name=1994tape/> and… well, you can probably guess the rest.

== Structure ==
Project Blue Beam has all the usual hallmarks of a conspiracy theory:

* It attempts to [[shoehorn]] events that have happened, and are happening, into its "[[Prediction|predictive]]" framework, particularly with references to films being used to prepare people psychologically for the conspiracy's dramatic conclusion.
* It shows a lack of comprehension of the practical [[psychology]] of those who are not [[Paranoia|paranoid]].<ref name=hamling />
* It plays on fears of [[technobabble|alleged advanced technology]] that most people, including its author, do not understand.

The theory cobbles together past conspiracy tropes, starting from paranoia and progressing to technologically-implausible plans with motivations that ''literally'' do not make any sense.

The primary theorist's death from a middle-age heart attack cut off its possible spread early and left it short on source material in English &mdash; though there is the tantalizing promise of several books' worth in French &mdash; but did cap the theory off.

== Propagation ==
[[File:Serge Monast Ésotérisme Expérimental frame.jpg|thumb|Monast speaking to host Richard Glenn of ''Ésotérisme Expérimental'' in the early 1990s. Dig that conspiracy theorist beard.]]
The theory is widely popular (for a conspiracy theory) on the [[Internet]], with many Web pages dedicated to the subject and countless [[YouTube]] videos explaining it. The actual source material, however, is very thin indeed.

Monast lectured on the theory in the mid-1990s (a transcript of one such lecture is widely available), before writing and publishing his book, which has not been reissued by his current publisher and is all but unobtainable. However, a three-page summary of the theory, apparently penned by Monast himself, appeared in his French-language periodical <i>RINF</i> (<i>Réseau international de nouvelles par fax</i>) at the end of 1994.<ref name=RINF>Serge Monast, [https://archive.org/details/du-complot-de-saturne-au-nouvel-ordre-mondial "Du complot de Saturne au Nouvel Ordre mondial"], <i>RINF</i> [<i>Réseau international de nouvelles par fax</i>], vol. 1, nos 2-3-4 (octobre-décembre 1994), p. 13-15. Monast claims to have relied on "certain informations received and broadcast by several [[shortwave]] radio stations across the United States".</ref> The currently available pages and videos all appear to trace back to four documents:

* A transcript of the 1994 lecture by Monast, translated into English.<ref name=1994tape>[http://www.sweetliberty.org/issues/hoax/bluebeam.htm NASA's Project Blue Beam] (translated transcript of tape); [http://educate-yourself.org/cn/sergemonast1994transcript.shtml another translation]</ref>
* A GeoCities page<ref name=geocities>[http://web.archive.org/web/20080115125110/http://www.geocities.com/area51/shadowlands/6583/bluebeam.html Blue Beam Project] (David Openheimer). On GeoCities, the hallmark of [[green ink|quality]].</ref> written by David Openheimer and which appears to draw on the original book.
* A page on [[educate-yourself.org]], compiled in 2005, which appears to include a translation of the book from the French.<ref name=ey25jul05>[http://educate-yourself.org/cn/projectbluebeam25jul05.shtml Project Blue Beam] (Educate-Yourself); and a [http://web.archive.org/web/20080117073319/www.geocities.com/area51/shadowlands/6583/project144.html slightly different translation] from the GeoCities page.</ref>
* Monast's page in French Wikipedia.<ref>[http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serge_Monast Serge Monast] (French Wikipedia) &mdash; which was then translated into English for RationalWiki's [[Serge Monast]] article and for the {{wpl|Serge Monast|English Wikipedia article}}, the latter then being translated again for the [http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serge_Monast Romanian Wikipedia article].</ref> The French Wikipedia article is largely sourced from two books on conspiracy theories and extremism by Pierre-André Taguieff, a mainstream academic expert on racist and extremist groups.<ref group=note>And [[neoconservative]], though his documentation of racists and conspiracy nuts is considered pretty solid.</ref>

From these few texts have come a flood of [[green ink]], in text and video form, in several languages. Even the French language material typically does not cite the original book, but the English language pages on educate-yourself.org. However, conspiracy theorists seem to use quantity as a measure of substance (much as [[alternative medicine]] uses [[appeal to tradition]]) and never mind the extremely few sources it all traces back to.<ref group=note>This RationalWiki article has been redigested into a [http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proiectul_Blue_Beam Romanian Wikipedia article] ([http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=ro&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fro.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FProiectul_Blue_Beam translation]), which was translated back for English Wikipedia and then {{wpl|Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Project_Blue_Beam_%28NASA%29|deleted|.}}</ref>

Proponents of the theory have extrapolated<ref group=note>A technical term meaning "[[PIDOOMA|made shit up]]".</ref> it to [[crank magnetism|embrace]] [[High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program|HAARP]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040610031533/http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread47629/pg1 Project Blue Beam-HAARP and the NWO, page 1] (Above Top Secret forums)</ref> [[9/11 conspiracy theories|9/11]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20101012153842/http://www.examiner.com/human-rights-in-national/ufos-project-blue-beam-mind-behavior-control UFOs, Project Blue Beam, mind-behavior control] (Deborah Dupre, 2010-10-09)</ref> the [[Norwegian Spiral]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090324231028/http://2012poleshift.wetpaint.com/page/NWO+Project+Blue+Beam:+False+Holographic+Second+Coming NWO Project Blue Beam: False Holographic Second Coming] (Chase K. Hunter, ''2012 Pole Shift Witness'', 3.9.2010)</ref> [[chemtrails]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090603052008/http://www.nowpublic.com/strange/chemtrails-haarp-project-blue-beam-june-1-2009 Chemtrails, HAARP, Project Blue beam?] (NowPublic, June 1 2009)</ref><ref>[http://www.firstcontactradio.com/blog/?p=16793 Don’t Be Surprised: p3 Project Blue Beam and Chemtrails ] (First Contact Radio)</ref> [[FEMA concentration camps]],<ref name=texemarrs>[http://www.texemarrs.com/122002/concentration_camps_in_america.htm Concentration Camps in America] ([[Texe Marrs]], ''Power of Prophecy'', December 2002</ref> and [[Tupac Shakur]].<ref>[https://archive.ph/1Wpu4 Tupac “rises” from the dead and Project Blue Beam]. Archived from fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com, 18 April 2012.</ref><ref>All thanks to [https://web.archive.org/web/20150412154951/https://twitter.com/ThelIluminati/status/191957477401694209 this tweet].</ref> ''Everything'' is part of Project Blue Beam. It's well on its way to becoming ''the'' [[Unified Conspiracy Theory]].

''[[Behold a Pale Horse]]'', [[William Cooper]]'s 1991 green ink ''magnum opus'', is considered a prior claim of, hence supporting evidence for, Blue Beam by advocates.<ref name=RINF /><ref group=note>Bill Cooper's radio show, ''Hour of the Time'', was broadcast on shortwave radio in the 1990s; it is possible that Monast heard Cooper's show in 1994.</ref> The book is where a vast quantity of now-common conspiracy memes actually came from, so retrospectively claiming it as prior evidence is somewhere between [[cherrypicking]] and the [[Texas sharpshooter fallacy]]. However, the following quotes intersect slightly with the specific themes of Blue Beam:

{{quotebox|It is true that without the population or the bomb problem the elect would use some other excuse to bring about the New World Order. They have plans to bring about things like earthquakes, war, the Messiah, an extra-terrestrial landing, and economic collapse. They might bring about all of these things just to make damn sure that it does work. They will do whatever is necessary to succeed. The Illuminati has all the bases covered and you are going to have to be on your toes to make it through the coming years.<ref name=behold>Milton William Cooper, [https://archive.org/details/pdfy-fK_LIU_yIP8YBTfX/mode/2up Behold a Pale Horse]. Light Technology Publishing, 1991. {{isbn|0929385225}}.</ref>{{rp|177}}}}

{{quotebox|Can you imagine what will happen if Los Angeles is hit with a 9.0 quake, New York City is destroyed by a terrorist-planted atomic bomb, World War III breaks out in the Middle East, the banks and the stock markets collapse, Extraterrestrials land on the White House lawn, food disappears from the markets, some people disappear, the Messiah presents himself to the world, and all in a very short period of time? Can you imagine? The world power structure can, and will if necessary, make some or all of those things happen to bring about the New World Order.<ref name=behold />{{rp|177-178}}}}

== The theory ==
{{cquote|Without a universal belief in the new age religion, the success of the new world order will be impossible!}}

The alleged purpose of Project Blue Beam is to bring about a global [[New Age]] religion, which is seen as a core requirement for the [[New World Order]]'s dictatorship to be realized. There's nothing new in thinking of [[religion]] as a form of control, but the existence of multiple religions, [[Schism|spin-off]] [[cult]]s, competing [[sect]]s, and atheists suggest that controlling the population entirely through a single religion isn't particularly easy. Past attempts have required mechanisms of totalitarianism such as the [[Inquisition]].

Monast's theory, however, suggests using [[Clarke's Laws|sufficiently advanced]] technology to trick people into believing. Of course, the plan would have to assume that people could ''never'' fathom the trick at all &mdash; something contested by anyone sane enough ''not'' to swallow this particular conspiracy.

The primary claimed perpetrator of Project Blue Beam is [[NASA]], presented as a large and mostly faceless organization that can readily absorb such frankly odd accusations, aided by the [[United Nations]], another old-time boogeyman of conspiracy theorists.

According to Monast, the project has four steps:

===Step One===

Step One requires the breakdown of all [[archaeology|archaeological]] knowledge. This will apparently be accomplished by faking earthquakes at precise locations around the planet. Fake "new discoveries" at these locations "will finally explain to all people the error of all fundamental religious doctrines", specifically Christian and Muslim doctrines.

This makes some degree of sense; if you want to thoroughly usurp a current way of thinking, you need to completely discredit and destroy it before putting forward your own. However, religious belief is [[Dogma|notoriously]] [[Cognitive dissonance|resilient]] [[Willful ignorance|to things like facts]]. The [[Shroud of Turin]] is a famous example that is ''still'' believed by many to be a genuine shroud of Jesus as opposed to the medieval forgery that it has been conclusively shown to be. [[Prayer#Double-blind tests|Prayer studies]], too, show how difficult it is to shift religious conviction with mere observational fact. Indeed, many [[theologian]]s avoid making [[falsifiable]] claims or place belief somewhere specifically [[NOMA|beyond observation]] to aid this. So what finds could possibly fundamentally destroy both [[Christianity]] and [[Islam]], almost overnight, and universally all over the globe? Probably ''nothing''. Yet, this is only step one of an increasingly ludicrous set of events that Project Blue Beam predicts will occur.

===Step Two===
[[File:FlyingSpaghettiMonster.jpg|thumb|The sky projections will appear to people as ''their'' god.]]

Step Two involves a 
apparition of a Messianic figure who calls himself Abel and is actually a human-made deity ("protodeus")
 gigantic "space show" wherein three-dimensional holographic laser projections will be beamed all over the planet &mdash; and this is where Blue Beam ''really'' takes off. The projections will take the shape of whatever deity is most predominant, and will speak in all languages. At the end of this light show, the gods will all merge into one god, the [[Antichrist]].

This is a rather baffling plan, as it seems to assume that people will think this is ''actually their god'', rather than the more natural twenty-first-century assumption that it is a particularly opaque Coca-Cola advertisement. Evidence commonly advanced for this is a supposed plan to project the face of Allah, despite its contradiction with Muslim belief of God's uniqueness, over Baghdad in 1991 to tell the Iraqis to overthrow [[Saddam Hussein]]. Someone, somewhere, must have [[Ignorance|thought]] that those primitive, ignorant non-Western savages wouldn't have had television or advertising and would never guess it was being done with mirrors.<ref name=hamling>[https://archive.ph/7Luvh Good Lord! What in heaven's name is that?] (David Hamling, ''Sydney Morning Herald'', February 5th 2000) The article is about ridiculing the blithering stupidity of those who would advance such a ridiculous plan. But somehow it's become a special favorite of conspiracy theorists, who seem to ignore how the last two paragraphs point out that normal people just aren't stupid enough for this sort of thing to work, even as they mirror it widely.</ref> In general, pretty much anything that either a) involves light or b) has been seen in the sky has been put forward as evidence that Project Blue Beam is real, and such things are "tests" of the technology &mdash; namely [[unidentified flying object]]s. Existing display technology such as 3D projection mapping and holograms are put forward as foreshadowing the great light show in the sky.

This stage will apparently be accomplished with the aid of a [[USSR|Soviet]] computer that will be fed "with the minute physio-psychological particulars based on their studies of the anatomy and electro-mechanical composition of the human body, and the studies of the electrical, chemical and biological properties of the human brain", and every human has been allocated a unique radio wavelength. The computers are also capable of inducing suicidal thoughts.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050329123012/http://www.thewatcherfiles.com/bluebeam.html The Watcher Files]</ref> The Soviets are (not "were") the "New World Order" people. Why NASA would use a Soviet computer when the USSR had to import or copy much of its computer technology from the West is not detailed.

The second part of Step Two (wouldn't that be Step Three?) happens when the holograms result in the dissolution of social and religious order, "setting loose millions of programmed religious fanatics through [[demonic possession]] on a scale never witnessed before". The United Nations plans to use Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" as the anthem for the introduction of the New Age one world religion.<ref name=ey25jul05/><ref group=note>As it happens, "Ode to Joy" is already the {{wpl|anthem of Europe||.}} Surprisingly, the Blue Beam fans have not yet noted this much.</ref>

There is relatively little to ''debunk'' in this, the most widely-remembered section of the Project Blue Beam conspiracy, as the idea is so infeasible. Citing actual existing communication technology is odd if the point is for the end product to appear [[magic]]al, rather than just as cheap laser projections onto clouds. This hasn't stopped some very strange conspiracy theories about such things popping up.<ref group=note>Including people thinking that the ''entire sky'' is a hologram: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBLXVtzrhWo Holograpic sky??]</ref> Indeed, the notion of gods being projected into the sky was floated in 1991 by conspiracy theorist Betty J. Mills.<ref>[http://www.sweetliberty.org/issues/hoax/circlesofpower.htm As I See It: The Vision and Circles of Power] (Betty J. Mills, January 1991)</ref> And US general (and [[CIA]] [[shyster]] extraordinaire), {{wpl|Edward Lansdale||,}} actually floated a plan to fake a Second Coming over [[Cuba]] to get rid of [[Castro]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120825014001/http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2012/08/faking-the-second-coming/ Faking the Second Coming] (Nick Redfern, ''Mysterious Universe'' blog, 21 August 2012)</ref>

===Step Three===

Step Three is "Telepathic Electronic Two-Way Communication". It involves making people think their god is [[bicameral|speaking to them through telepathy]], projected into the head of each person individually using [[extreme low frequency]] radio waves. (Atheists will presumably hear [[Fun:Richard Dawkins' face found on tortilla|an absence]] of [[Richard Dawkins]].) The book goes to some lengths to describe how this would be feasible, including a claim that ELF thought projection caused the depressive illness of Michael Dukakis' wife, Kitty.

===Step Four===

Step Four has three parts:
# Making humanity think an [[alien invasion]] is about to occur in every major city;
# Making the [[Christians]] think the [[Rapture]] is about to happen;
# A mixture of electronic and [[supernatural]] forces, allowing the supernatural forces to travel through fiber optics, coax, power, and telephone lines to penetrate all electronic equipment and appliances that will, by then, all have a special microchip installed.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20080118072403/www.geocities.com/area51/shadowlands/6583/project079.html What is the Blue Beam Project?] (David Openheimer)</ref>

Then [[chaos]] will break out, and people will finally be willing, perhaps even desperate, to accept the New World Order. "The techniques used in the fourth step is exactly the same used in the past in the USSR to force the people to accept Communism."

A device has apparently already been perfected that will lift enormous numbers of people, as in a [[Rapture]]. [[Alien abduction]]s are tests of this device.

Project Blue Beam proponents believe psychological preparations have already been made, Monast having claimed that ''2001: A Space Odyssey'', ''Star Wars'', and the ''Star Trek'' series all involve an invasion from space and all nations coming together<ref name=1994tape/> (the first two don't, the third is peaceful contact) and that ''[[Jurassic Park]]'' propagandises [[evolution]] in order to make people think [[God]]'s words are lies.

===The New World Order according to Monast===

The book detailed the theory. In the 1994 lecture, Monast detailed what would happen afterward.<ref name=1994tape/>

All people will be required to take an oath to Lucifer with a ritual initiation to enter the New World Order. Resisters will be categorised as follows:
#Christian children will be kept for human sacrifice or sexual slaves.
#Prisoners to be used in medical experiments.
#Prisoners to be used as living organ banks.
#Healthy workers in slave labour camps.
#Uncertain prisoners in the international re-education center, thence to repent on television and learn to glorify the New World Order.
#The international execution centre.
#An as-yet-unknown seventh classification.

==The actual source of the theory==

Joel Engel's book ''Gene Roddenberry: The Myth and the Man Behind [[Star Trek]]'' was released in 1994, shortly before Monast's lecture on Project Blue Beam:

{{cquote|In May 1975, Gene Roddenberry accepted an offer from Paramount to develop Star Trek into a feature film, and moved back into his old office on the Paramount lot. His proposed story told of a flying saucer, hovering above Earth, that was programmed to send down people who looked like prophets, including Jesus Christ.}}

All the steps of the conspiracy theory were in the unmade mid-'70s ''Star Trek'' film script by Roddenberry, which were recycled for the ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode ''Devil's Due'', broadcast in 1991.<ref>[http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Due_%28episode%29 Devil's Due (episode)] (Memory Alpha)</ref>

There is no evidence of deliberate fraud on Monast's part; given that [[Crank|his head was quite thoroughly full of squirrels and confetti]] by this time, it's entirely plausible that he thought this was the revelation of secret information in a guise safe for propagation.<ref group=note>Possibly aided by Cooper's book or Cooper's radio show on shortwave. We have no idea if Monast read Cooper's book specifically, but he does mention in 1994 that he got some information from shortwave broadcasts from the United States.</ref> However, the actual source was so obvious that even other conspiracy theorists noticed.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20101124144328/http://secretsun.blogspot.com/2010/11/project-blue-beam-exposed.html Project Blue Beam Exposed! (UPDATED)] (Christopher Knowles, ''The Secret Sun'', 2010-11-03)</ref> They confidently state it was obvious that Monast had been ''fed deceptive information by the [[CIA]]''. Of course!

==Further reading==

Not just in French, but on ''paper''. You'd think we were Wikipedia.

* Serge Monast. ''Project Blue Beam (NASA)''. Presse libre nord-américaine, 1994. The original book. It has not been reissued by Monast's current publisher and is practically unobtainable. If you have (or can track down) a copy, ''this article needs you!''
* Serge Monast, ''Project Blue Beam (NASA)''. Ethos, 2021, {{isbn| 8412386280}}. Reportedly a reprint of the original 1994 French language edition. 
* Pierre-André Taguieff. ''La Foire aux illuminés : Ésotérisme, théorie du complot, extrémisme.'' Paris, Mille et une nuits, 2005, {{isbn|2842059255}}
* Pierre-André Taguieff. ''L'imaginaire du complot mondial : Aspects d'un mythe moderne.'' Paris, Mille et une nuits, 2006, {{isbn|2842059808}}

==See also==
*[[List of people accused of being the Antichrist]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|2|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Conspiracy theories]]
[[Category:Unified conspiracy theory]]

Categories: Conspiracy theories, Unified conspiracy theory