Image via WikipediaName of Alt
By Kevin A. Kierstead
Something compelling happens when you start reading words written by Kevin Kierstead. I swear he must be a newspaper writer somewhere... You may have read my reviews of his other humorous works. Name of Alt is "somewhat" more serious in nature. It is the story of Alt, an alien, an extra-terrestrial who is 172 years old. He's been appointed to share much of importance with us here on earth...
What? You don't believe in life existing on other planets. Well, I'm not so sure I do either, but I try to be open-minded. After all, how many chances do you get to learn directly from an alien. Let's face it, most of what we've heard has been filtered through government sources and stifled for the most part.
After all, if it wasn't for writers such as Kierstead, where would we get any of this information? Kierstead has spent much time doing internet research and even credits NASA, The History Channel, National Geographic, Neil Commins (The Hazards of Space Travel), and Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (Chariots of the Gods) in his acknowledgments.
Alt is a Douzian Explorer. Full name Altinison Borahamen. He quickly notes that is as close as he can translate into the sounds in our world. I'll just call him Alt... Like E.T., Alt admits he's lost. Actually I have no problem when that is said. After all, our own vehicles have technical breakdowns. Why not a space ship?
I tried to picture Alt from his own description--he says he's not too different from us, except he doesn't have a nose and his hands are shaped differently with two large fingers and two thumbs. He's about 5 feet tall, so we need not be afraid, right?
Like other stories, Alt says that aliens are peaceful, while admitting that people are indeed abducted...and others have been accidentally killed while ships have been entering or exiting our oceans. What I don't understand, though, is the claim that aliens are far superior in intelligence. My own theory is that, if people who lived so far away have been there for millions of years, and we humans have not lived as long, then they have just more experience, not more intelligence...
Actually, I find it hard to accept his claim that extra-terrestrial beings have lived on this planet since before man. On the other hand, I did find the exploration of historical accounts to be comprehensive and quite interesting and informative. No, I did not previously know that Alexander the Great and his men reported that UFO's swooped down on them during battles. Nor did I know that Columbus reported seeing a UFO; of course, they didn't know that the light was really a space ship. Alt took the time to clarify this for us. You will learn of other sightings from individuals right out of our history books!
Readers will learn of space travel vehicles, cities on different planets. Perhaps most important is what aliens have to say about where we humans are heading:
There are currently three theories the Douze most often ponder when it comes to humans. First, you keep going as you are and within 100 years, destroy your climate, use up and/or fully pollute your water, and cut your population down to about ½ billion people, who will diminish quickly as they try to adapt to living with these new challenges. Second, we estimate that you get a hold of your climate problem temporarily but that your accelerating population prompts a focused space colonization effort as you sense the trouble coming on Earth, settling both Mars and the moon. Enough people will survive to continue on in both places and the search for a new Earth-like planet will be a 1,000-year goal... Our third theory is that war and man-made (and/or man-released) biological agents wipe humans out before there is time to destroy the climate. (p. 141)Alt really does have something to tell us, doesn't he? If you want to know more, allow Kevin Kierstead to introduce you to Altinison Borahamen. He may be the only alien you may ever meet! Quite an opportunity for those readers who are interested!
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Of course, I didn't have to take such a bold position regarding some of Kierstead's news:
This small book also contains similar short essays on The Purpose of Life, Evolution, War, Pets, Men and Women, Political News, U.F.O.s, Buzz Words, Work, Bugs, Music, The Beach, Penguin, and Scam, Lint and Education. As you can see, the eclectic range of information is surely going to capture your immediate attention.