Project Serpo

Project Serpo is a term in ufology circles referring to an alleged exchange programme between ultra top secret levels in the government of the United States and an alien homeworld nicknamed Serpo.


Background

According to the most common version of the story, an alien creature survived the legendary spacecraft crash (or crashes) near Roswell, New Mexico in the late 1940s.[1] Detained but treated well by American military forces, the creature is said to have contacted its home planet and was eventually repatriated, leading to the establishment of some sort of relationship between the American government and the people of its home world – said to be a planet of the binary star system Zeta Reticuli.[2]

Twelve american service people voluntarily traveled to that world in 1965 as part of an exchange program worked out of that relationship. They lived there for a number of years, eventually returning in 1978. Welcomed by the inhabitants, known by the Americans as "EBENS", the terrestrial delegation was treated well and learned much. However, they suffered some hardships due to the strange environment of the planet. Two died - one through an accidental fall. The natives of that world were said to have expressed remorse and conducted burial services.

Eventually, the majority of the American service people returned home, except for two of their party who chose to remain. All of the party have since died. It has been said that part of the reason why all have since perished is from after effects of the difficult environment, particularly the high radiation levels from the two suns.[2]


Origin of Name

The name "SERPO" is something of a nickname for the planet given by the American delegation and others. It has no reference to the actual name of the planet, if there is one. The inhabitants were said to be unable to use words to communicate in a human manner.

Criticisms

Proponents of Project Serpo argue that witness testimonies from within the United States military validate the project's existence, and it therefore cannot be dismissed as an outright hoax.[citation needed] However, critics point out there is a lack of physical evidence in the public domain supporting the project's existence, and argue that unsubstantiated testimonies do not compensate for this ommission.[2]

Another criticism of Project Serpo stems from the veracity of one of its chief witnesses, Sergeant Richard Doty. It has been argued that Mr. Doty's involvement in other alleged secret UFO-related activities, such as the disclosure of Majestic 12, make the Project Serpo allegations suspect.[2]

Although most believers dismiss it as just coincidence, critics have noted that Serpo is an anagram for Prose. This could signal a possible hoax or practical joke perpetrated by a trickster, who carefully concocted an elaborated narrative and refined his joke encoding in plain sight a hint that all of it is just storytelling.