by Phillip Krapf

Reviewed by Katharina Wilson
 

[Numbers in brackets refer to the page number(s) where the information first appeared.]

INTRODUCTION

Phillip Krapf spent 30 years as a reporter and journalist. He worked for 25 years as an editor on the Metro copy desk of the LA Times, and shared a Pulitzer Prize as a member of the Metro team that won the award for the newspaper's coverage of the LA riots in 1992. Krapf took an early retirement in 1993, at the age of 58, and is now approximately 63 years old. He and his wife live happily and comfortably together in southern California.

Krapf indicates that he is familiar with at least some abduction related information, but had always remained very skeptical of abductees' claims until one day in 1997. From July 11th 1997, until 2:30 a.m. on July 14th 1997, an event occurred that would forever change his views about abductions by extraterrestrials. Amazingly, after it was all over and his book was nearly completed, Krapf wrote in his Epilogue, "my life has not been transformed since the early summer of 1997. It seems inconceivable that a person could go through such an experience and not come out of it a totally different person."

I have studied abduction reports for ten years. I have also had first-hand experience with extraterrestrials, so I found myself agreeing with Phillip Krapf's assessment of his life after spending three days on board an extraterrestrial craft. Anyone familiar with the abduction literature will find some elements of his abduction particularly unusual.

Phillip Krapf was never abducted during his childhood - not even during his adolescence or young adulthood. He was 62 years old when he had his first, and perhaps only abduction experience. The extraterrestrials told him their species' name. If it were to be translated into English using the closest word available they would be called "Verdants."

While reading The Contact Has Begun, I found myself mentally organizing Krapf's three days on board the Verdants' craft, into roughly six categories. One of these I found particularly unsettling and it is the reason I have decided to write this report.

I. FAMILIAR ABDUCTION DETAILS

Phillip Krapf describes the Verdants as being uniform in height with slender bodies. They have dark eyes with slanted openings and appear so similar to one another that he suspects they may be clones. At least one Verdant female (as seems to be the case with several other alien types) has a "persistent and compelling curiosity about the sex habit of humans." Krapf gives us an explicit first-hand description of this female's anatomy, the details of which will not be covered in this report. Krapf, like other abductees, is also told the names of some of the aliens. [pg. 4,6,14, 61]

When the Verdants walk, he describes their walk as a strange gliding-type of walking: "Instead of walking, the aliens seemed to glide along smoothly, almost as though they were on wheels rather than legs..." [pg. 11]

His description of certain areas of the craft's interior is also similar to other abductees' reports. He recalls seeing a large, rectangular room with hundreds of tables upon which other humans are being examined and studied. Clustered around these tables were teams of three to five aliens. In this same area of the craft he sees large monitors that are described as "high resolution color television screens" upon which he could determine the general nature of study (of the abductee) that was being displayed. [pg. 5,9]

While he, and two or three Verdants walk through the craft, they pass other Verdants who pay little or no attention to him, as is the case with many other abductees. He also describes a room filled with panels that have blinking lights, dials, gauges, etc. [pg. 11,12]

Again, as is the case with so many of us, the Verdants lead Krapf to believe that he is "special" and "chosen." They tell him he is going to participate in something that ranks as one of the most important events in human history. [pg. 18]

It is perhaps the lack of repeated abductions and a lifetime of exposure to the aliens, which prohibits Krapf from realizing that he may not be so special after all. Assuming that Krapf's Verdants are the same as many of the other aliens we have learned about, Krapf may realize several years from now, that he is one of many experimental subjects the aliens have utilized. As you will see toward the end of this review, "time will tell" if he is the important messenger the Verdants have lead him to believe he is. 

II. PREVIOUS ABDUCTEES UNIMPORTANT?

I don't want people to think I'm saying "shoot the messenger," since the author is simply relaying what occurred to him. However, there are unusual (some might say hurtful) comments made about abductees in this book. The term "abductee" is not looked upon fondly by the Verdants. Krapf on the other hand, understands this term and sticks with it as the most accurate description of what he saw after his arrival on the Verdants' craft. (The room with hundreds of tables upon which other humans were being examined and studied.)

We are told that all of the abductees who have come before him: "...were...working-class people mostly from rural and semi-rural areas...in the reigning social orders, they would be the least likely to be believed when relating 'preposterous' tales about being abducted by aliens." [pg. 19]

The Verdant's also tell Krapf, "People with unimpeachable reputations as upstanding citizens were bypassed under the correct assumption that their credibility would draw too much public attention if they chose to openly discuss their abductions." [pg. 19] Ask any credible abduction researcher and they will tell you there are plenty of abductees with "unimpeachable reputations as upstanding citizens."

Krapf states his feelings about the lack of media coverage about abductions by telling us, "...The major mainstream media have, for very solid reasons, not given any substantial coverage to personal reports of alien abductions over the years....As a journalist, I not only understand this policy, I also support it....The media have an obligation to their readers, viewers, and listeners to ensure that such reports have at least a reasonable element of veracity and legitimacy. That means that there must be corroborating evidence that such an event occurred....since the abductions [prior to his] always involved lone individuals in the past, there could be no corroboration." [pg. 29]

We need to ask: "What makes his story of abduction any more important or believable than all the others who came before him?" and "Is Krapf aware of the multiple witness cases that Hopkins, Jacobs, Carpenter, Fowler, and (the late) Karla Turner have published?"

Although there are details about abduction experiences that have never been made public by researchers such as Betty Hill, Budd Hopkins and David Jacobs; every year there is a plethora of new books being published and new television programs incorporating abduction related topics into their programming. Therefore, logic would dictate that the earlier the abduction report, the more reliable it is likely to be. It is difficult to understand why seasoned journalists with Pulitzer prizes cannot comprehend this.

III. THE CHOSEN

We learn early on in The Contact Has Begun that Phillip Krapf has been chosen to tell the World about the existence of extraterrestrial beings. The Verdants tell him, "Yours will be but one voice among many." [pg. 25] He is later asked by the Verdants to write a white paper that will act as "the centerpiece of their [the Verdants'] entire undertaking." [pg. 31] If I read this correctly, his book is the white paper.

Again, on his being chosen: "I had not been chosen randomly...I met the basic criteria that other candidates who had been considered also met. Among these considerations were a college education, a career in a mainstream profession, traveling a true and steady course as an upstanding citizen, and no association with any disreputable or flaky fringe groups." [pg. 32]

With the exception of the last ten words; this statement would include most of the abductees I have met in the past ten years, especially those of us who went on to have our cases published, or published our information ourselves. However, there is the indelible association with the "flaky, fringe groups," without specifying exactly which groups he is referring to. Is Krapf referring to MUFON? CUFOS? The Unarians? or Heaven's Gate?

It is very unfortunate that people reading about the UFO abduction phenomenon for the first time will not know much about the wide-ranging groups who involve themselves in the study of this phenomenon. Therefore, they are most likely to believe the author when he intimates that established UFO organizations are filled with flaky fringe-type individuals, when they are not. CUFOS and MUFON have many Ph.D.s and M.D.s associated with their organizations. Of course, you do not have to have a doctorate to be an intelligent, well-balanced person who is searching for the truth about the ET problem. 

IV. MILAB ASPECTS

The term "MILAB" (military abductions) was coined by Helmut_Lammer, an Austrian space research scientist. Dr. Lammer and I began studying MILAB type abductions a few years ago and we have both published on the subject. MILAB abductions contain terrestrial elements, some of which involve the abductee remembering (oftentimes consciously) humans instead of aliens; humans dressing up as aliens, terrestrial elements like syringes and the use of drugs; hospitals, military bases, automobiles, helicopters, and military personnel.

There are certain aspects about Krapf's three days with the Verdants that are so "un-alien like," some may even laugh when they read about them. I want to assure the readers that this is no laughing matter. These terrestrial elements may tell us more about his three day abduction than any other information this book provides. I found several examples of MILAB related elements in this book. Some examples follow:

Phillip Krapf describes the Verdant's ears as being pointed and slightly larger than a human's ears. [pg. 4]

If these aliens were not applying a consistent three-day long screen memory or using camouflage, then the ears seem suspect. Yes, there are some cases during which the abductee has seen pointed ears, but in combination with several other elements, it would be easy to speculate that the Verdants were really humans dressed up to appear like aliens.

If a group of humans wanted to appear alien looking, it would be more difficult for them to hide or cover their ears than it would be to elaborate on them, for example, making them appear larger and/or different (pointed).

Verdants are also described as wearing pastel-colored, flowing robe-like garments. [pg. 4] Again, while there are reports of some aliens wearing capes with hoods and robes, even pastel colored, the use of a gown or robe would make it easy to conceal the human body-shape thereby hiding the terrestrial attributes of the abductors.

A Verdant's hand is described by Krapf as "warm, about the same as a human hand, quite thin [it was a female's] and I could feel the sharpness of the bones and tendons under the soft flesh." [pg. 72]

While there are aspects about this that seem alien, there are also similarities to a human being's hand. We are not told how many fingers the Verdants have. I would assume that if Krapf saw how many digits they had on their hands, he would have included that information in his book.

The Verdants' eyes are described as shining through slit-like openings. [pg. 4]

This has also been reported by some abductees, however, most abductees describe the aliens' eyes as quite prominent. Also, the slits indicate that the author did not see a large surface area of the eyes. This might indicate the use of a mask. It is conceivable that humans may not be able to duplicate the exact nature and depth of the aliens' eyes. By using slit-like openings, not very much of the eye would be visible.

The use of hospital gowns on many abductees under examination. [pg. 11]

Hospital gowns are of a terrestrial nature and to my knowledge are not described during abduction encounters without MILAB elements. The majority of alien abductees describe themselves, as well as other abductees, as being nude during the aliens' examinations and procedures.

Upon his initial arrival to the Verdant craft, Krapf is brought into a very large room filled with abductees who are being examined, but is told he will not have to undergo an examination. [pg. 11]

It is possible he was shown a holographic image to make his abduction by aliens appear more believable. Concurrently, by telling him he will not have to undergo an examination, they make him believe he is special. Another example of the possible use of holographic technology is when a room he is standing in, "vanishes" or "evaporates" only to have a new room appear in its place. [pg. 13] All of this can be accomplished with holographic-based technology.

A feeling of being "programmed" is often described by alleged victims of mind control as well as MILAB abductees. Krapf's abductors tell him they will "bestow upon him, a special gift" that allows him to have total and complete recall of all the events that occurred to him. [pg. 14] Another hint is when his abductors tell him he was abducted for the purpose of "preparatory orientation, education and indoctrination." [pg. 18] Are these the events that occurred to him, or are these the events the Verdants - or possibly his human abductors - want him to remember?

Another terrestrial and possible mind control aid, is his abductors use of name tags displaying human names; specifically simple first names. The dialogue between Krapf and his abductors is often extremely open and human-like. [pg. 17] In addition to the name tags, he is taken into a room that looks like a boardroom of a corporation, complete with 12 cushioned chairs and a long conference table. I am familiar with this setting in MILAB cases, but not alien abduction cases.

While he is onboard the Verdant craft, he travels in what looks to him like a freight elevator. Another "terrestrial" object. [pg. 38] He enters a room that turns out to be his sleeping quarters. It includes a king-size bed and he describes it as "straight out of a Holiday Inn." Krapf continues by telling us the dresser drawers are filled with T-shirts and underwear that fit him perfectly. [pg. 38,39]

Krapf is fed an array of terrestrial foods, including a "sizzling steak with mushrooms...hot rolls and sweet creamery butter, fresh fruit, hot coffee and tea, a beverage that was unmistakably Diet Pepsi ... steamed vegetables, a green salad, vanilla and chocolate pudding and apple and blueberry pie." He goes on to say that he felt he was in an American hotel and that the room also had a TV remote and a big-screen television. [pg. 39] Later the Verdants tell him they grow their vegetable matter hydroponically. [pg. 98]

In other words, almost everything he describes about his room is terrestrial, not extraterrestrial.

Later, when Krapf requests to see the engine room of the craft, he is instead shown what he describes as a "typical computer clean room." He is then told the engine room is inaccessible to him. [pg. 97] He is neither told what kind of fuel their craft uses, nor does he ask. [pg. 98]

As is the case with both abduction and MILAB cases, he is not shown what he really wants to see. Interestingly, these appear to be things that would be very difficult for humans to reproduce. However, he is shown the "brain" of the "ship." This turns out to be the typical computer clean room, something that is very terrestrial. This would also be convenient, especially if he was in a building that housed a corporation with ties to the military industrial complex. It would make sense that he would ride a freight elevator (to be kept from being seen by employees) and have nice accommodations, clothes that fit him, and excellent food.

V. VERDANT DISINFORMATION?

Krapf is told the reason the Verdants chose people [abductees] who would be "the least likely to be believed," was to avoid causing a panic among the people of Earth. [pg. 19] Following this statement is the usual paragraph about the "War of the World" fiasco and the aliens explaining how they did not want to cause mass panic or unduly influence Earth's culture. [pg. 19]

Contrary to our most published abduction researchers' findings, "...multiple abductions were ruled out...no couples, no groups." [pg. 20] One has to wonder how the "Allagash Four" would respond to this.

We also learn that the Verdants have been "intensely studying Earth and its inhabitants for roughly 1,000 years." [pg. 35] Their life-span is approximately 20,000 years, yet females can only bear one child during this incredible life-span. [pg. 47] Paradoxically, there is no mention of the three main categories we have come to believe represent the core of the abduction phenomenon: The "hybridization program," the presentation of babies to abductees, the implied "merging" between two species, and the reason for their apparent numerous sexual encounters with abductees.

As of the author's abduction in July of 1997, the Verdants claim that the abductions were "coming to a close, and no further abductions would occur." [pg. 21] They tell their journalist-abductee, "We didn't want the public to believe before, but now we do. It will happen." [pg. 25] "The time has come for our two peoples to meet formally." [pg. 23]

If the author's "Verdant ETs" are the same ETs we have been studying for the last three and a half decades, then it is my opinion that they are lying when they tell him, "...not one [abductee] has ever been harmed, intentionally or unintentionally." [pg. 13]

This sounds as if they are using Krapf, a respected journalist, to repair their image the same way a corporation might hire a PR firm: it is strictly spin. If they are indeed wanting to make open contact, they are definitely going to have to convince - if not the World, then at least abductees - that they haven't done the awful things abductees remember them doing. I doubt if abductees will be easily, if at all, convinced of this. 

VI. THE VERDANTS' PLAN FOR HUMANITY

From now on, only special people will be brought on board the Verdants' craft to be trained. These people will be the Verdants' "Ambassadors" and "Deputy Envoys." They will be used to prepare the rest of the human population for "contact." [pg. 26-28]

The Verdants tell Krapf that the "Deputy Envoys" are said to be chosen for their skills, rather than for their positions as are the Ambassadors. I find this odd since many abductees have been told, directed or "led" to write their books and make their information public. However, the Verdants do not include these individuals in their "great plan" since they claim abductees are not "prominent, rich, famous, socially powerful, civic leaders or government officials." Of course, any good researcher would know this is simply not true.

From the number of manuscripts and letters that I have received over the years, my estimation is that for every abductee who self-published or was published by a publishing company, there are probably ten abductees that were led or directed to "share their information with the World," but were not able to for various reasons. Some of these reasons appear to be the lack of: money, the knowledge of how to get their work published, professional contacts in the publishing world, time, and to a lesser extent, the required level of writing skills.

If the Verdants are really who they claim to be, these abductees would be included. Because they are not counted, indicates that the Verdants are either lying to their abductee (which is nothing new); or this contact will occur and the thousands of abductees who were abducted and experimented on will be left out in the proverbial cold.  

VERDANTS' TIMELINE FOR EARTH [pg. 141-142]

The Verdants' timeline for Earth is listed in brief, below. You will have to read the book to obtain all the details. I hesitate to list this much because it would be unfair for me to give too much of the book away, but I think it is important for researchers to have this information in order to validate (or invalidate) the various extraterrestrials' "promises of contact" we are always being given.

1998: "The publication of the book," the alleged white paper, The Contact Has Begun;

2002: The public admission by the pre-chosen and "very special people," the Ambassadors - that "they, too, were involved with extraterrestrials;

2003: "The briefing by the Ambassadors of the world leaders;"

2004 "The occurrence of several spectacular events that could only be of extraterrestrial origin to erase any lingering doubt;"

2005 "The rise of the new city of Genesis in the American Southwest;"

"The actual summit conference;"

2005 - 2008: "The preparatory orientation, education and indoctrination sessions with human representatives;"

2009 "Humankind's eventual admission into the Intergalactic Federations of Sovereign Planets;"

"Humankind's venture into interstellar travel by the year 2010 at the latest."

Krapf explains how the population of Earth will be kept informed through various forms of media about what is going to occur, and writes, "...There will [also] be religion stories featuring interviews with the major spiritual leaders of the world. There will be feature stories involving the reactions of the average person on the street, of psychologists, and of UFO cultists." [pg. 143]

Again, we have the predictable "slam" against ufology. I am beginning to believe that these smart journalists and scientists who continue to fall back on this over-used generalization, use it because it is so much easier to ridicule UFO and abduction reports than it is to research and study them.

Conclusion

I wrote this quasi review/report on The Contact Has Begun because of the potential effect this book may have on abductees (first), and ufology (second). I cannot really say who or what abducted Phillip Krapf. I believe he is being sincere in his telling of his story. I cannot imagine a respected 63 year old retired journalist from the LA Times making up a story like this.

There are elements of genuine abduction events coupled with MILAB experiences throughout this book. It is a book that will most likely be read by many people because it is inexpensive, a "quick read," available in major bookstores, and was written by what appears to be a credible individual.

If this book represents a PR trick by the aliens, then abductees will have an even more difficult battle to fight. How will they be able to make the World understand that what happened to them was real while our Governments plan our futures with extraterrestrials who can create "Gardens of Edens" in our deserts? Abductees do not have rooms straight out of a Holiday Inn. They are not given four or five-course meals. They do not even know where their children (hybrids?) have been taken. Many of them have suffered and deserve much more from life than what they have experienced. Now, it seems there is this apparent effort by the Verdants to diminish their experiences.

If this is a ploy by a group like the alleged "MJ-12," then there must be a plan in the works for public disclosure. I am sure they realize how difficult it is going to be to have open contact between the Governments of the World and an extraterrestrial species. Especially after our Governments have looked the other way while these same extraterrestrials performed painful physical and mental experiments on a portion of the Earth's population.

In a way, I'm glad Phillip Krapf wrote The Contact Has Begun. Time will tell if these events will come to fruition. While other abductees are being told we will have to wait another fifty years for open contact, it does not look as though we will have to wait too much longer for the Verdants.

by Phillip Krapf
(Published 1998, by Hay House; Carlsbad, CA.)

[Numbers in brackets refer to the page number(s) where the information first appeared.]

Ms. Katharina Wilson is the author of The Alien Jigsaw, its companion Researcher's Supplement, and Project Open Mind: Are Some 'Alien' Abductions Government Mind Control Experiments? She has been studying and reporting about the abduction phenomenon for 10 years.