Much of what is now called UFOlogy is a modern-day substitute for religion, says Australian author Gary Bates, writer of the best-seller Alien Intrusion: UFOs and the Evolution Connection. Mr Bates, who will speak at a public meeting in Palmerston North on Thursday, is on a national tour that began in Auckland on October 26 and ends 14 stops later in Christchurch on November 7. He claims that more sightings of UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) are occurring than ever before, but are attracting less attention because, in part, of a greater acceptance that extraterrestrial life exists and might have influenced developments on Earth. In the first chapter of Alien Intrusion he said, ". . . we now live in an age where, more than ever before, UFO/Extraterrestrial beliefs are no longer the speciality of science-fiction writers. They have become mainstream." Mr Bates, who examines the UFO phenomenon from a Christian standpoint, will speak at the Central Baptist Church, 190 Church Street, at 7.30pm.

A self-confessed science- fiction fan, he nonetheless quotes Ronald Story, editor of The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrial Encounters, who said, ". . . science fiction has become our myth and science has become our religion." "Due mainly to media influences and a hideously complicated world, most people are finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish fantasy from reality." After Mr Bates appeared on a three-hour Coast-to-Coast radio show in the United States, his book shot into the top 100 on Amazon.com and within 24 hours brought another dozen requests for media interviews. He has since been on speaking tours in the US, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

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