Project Serpo

This document details the origins and debunking of the 'Project Serpo' narrative, which emerged in November 2005 as a science fiction fantasy presented as historical fact on various UFO-oriented web forums. The core of the hoax involves an alleged 1965 mission where twelve US military astronauts traveled to a planet named Serpo, located in the Zeta Reticuli binary star system, using a spacecraft powered by anti-matter. The narrative claims the mission was the result of an exchange program following a 1947 flying saucer crash in Corona, New Mexico. The document identifies several key figures involved in the propagation of this story, including Bill Ryan, Kerry Cassidy, Linda Moulton Howe, and author Len Kasten. Investigations by the Reality Uncovered Network suggest that the original 'Request Anonymous' email, which initiated the story, was likely authored by Richard C. Doty, a former security guard with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. The document provides a critical analysis of the physics claims within the Serpo story, noting the impossibility of the travel times and distances described, the theoretical nature of wormholes, and the biological improbability of life on the Zeta Reticuli binary stars. Furthermore, it addresses the persistent, though debunked, claim that Steven Spielberg's film 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' was influenced by secret government knowledge of this program. The document concludes that the entire narrative is a fabrication, potentially linked to disinformation efforts, and highlights the role of gullible researchers and media outlets in sustaining the hoax.