The Bast Theory

Prelude

There are two obvious camps whenever Ancient Mysteries are debated - those that cite a lack of hard physical evidence, and those that trust their instincts. Prime examples are the pyramids and flood myths. These were global phenomenons in ancient times, and the similarities appear obvious to the layman, which is why so many books on the subjects are published and sold. Serious academics, who went through university adhering to strict scientific principals, will argue that there isn't enough evidence to show that ancient societies were in contact with each other. Flood myths apparantly arose from local flooding, and global pyramids... it's all just a coincidence, they say.

It is as if 100 people witnessed a murder, and knew the murderer personally. The murderer fled. Each witness told their children, who in turn told their children. Amazingly, two generations later, the murderer returns to hand himself in. Hundreds of grandchildren of the original witnesses know who he is and that he is guilty, because of the details they had been told. But he will not be punished, because there is no physical evidence, and no original witnesses.

There is little likelihood of anything surviving the ravages of time unless it was specifically designed to do so. Even today, we are finding that we are unable to contain nuclear waste forever, and settle for a few hundred years of safety ( see here ). Ancient texts like the Dead Sea Scrolls have come to us only through a fluke of circumstances.

In the search for answers I have decided that starting with evidence and then developing theories is the wrong path. There is unlikely to ever be enough definitive evidence, and if there was, scientists and academics are the best qualified to do so. So I have begun with a theory, based on instinct and obviousness, and am now trying to gather enough proof to convince the majority of humans that are sane, regular people. I have little desire to change the opinions of academics, but I have respect for some of their methods and standards - where appropriate I will choose to quote academics over laymen, and as much as possible I will provide verifiable references for anything I find. Which means any mentions of Zacharia Sitchin or Erich von Daniken are unlikely, regardless of how well meaning and intelligent they appear to be.

I also choose not to mention UFOs. I wouldn't be too surprised if we had alien visitors from time to time, but evidence is lacking. And it would be difficult for me to remain a non-fiction author with the number of possibilities they allow.

In its purest form my theory is based on these assumptions:The Starting Point

• Ancient cultures communicated with each other in some way
• Mysterious Elders have appeared from time to time to guide us
• Pyramids and mounds had a purpose other than burying royalty
• Evolution doesn't generally occur in small stages
• Global cataclysms have occurred within the last 12,000 years
• Our galactic neighbourhood could be more dangerous than is commonly acknowledged

These assumptions are certainly not unique, and many books have been written on each, with perhaps the last being debated less often than the others.

The Theory

In One Sentence: Every so often a force from space causes global cataclysms and mass mutations.

• The Anicent Mayan Calendar ends in 2012. We would be very foolish to ignore this warning, a doomsday date that may have been given to the Maya by others
• Pole shifts have occurred in the past and will occur again. There is no known terrestial mechanism that can cause pole shifts, so the trigger could well be extra-terrestial. With the universe being the mystery that it is, we should accept that anything is possible.
• Mass extinctions and rapid evolution occur at the same time as cataclysms. Rapid evolutionary change can only be achieved via extremely high rates of mutations, and by mutations that are not random. Unicorns and dragons once actually existed, they were mutant strains that didn't survive very long.
• Cosmic rays cause mutations. A huge influx of cosmic rays would cause high rates of mutations. Although scientists are unsure about where all the cosmic rays come from, the source might be the same as what powers the pole shifts.
• The ancients were aware of the dangers of cosmic rays and cataclysms and encoded information about them into their calendars, myths and monuments. I also believe that pyramids may have been designed as cosmic ray shelters.

All of these topics are, or will be, dealt with in-depth within these pages.

Why am I investigating these ideas?

As a human it is not surprising that I like humans. I don't want them to be wiped out. And I prefer them just how they are, as opposed to any mutant strain that might occur. The Mayan end-date is not far off, and if it happens to be the date of the next cataclysm, I would like to help some of us to prepare, and survive.