Dragon Snakes - Hallucination, Myth or Reality?
Perhaps the most fascinating phenomenon, and at the same time one of the most difficult to accept, that apparently occurs in Solomon Islands are mysterious light manifestations appearing in some specific places of the archipelago, and particularly on the islands (or, should we say, over the islands) of Guadalcanal and Malaita (as I have recently found out, also over the island to Makira). The locals have their stories about them, and Marius Boirayon devotes much space to them in his article. Here is how he describes those mythical, or perhaps completely real, light spectacles:
"About a kilometre away there was a very bright, luminous, white object flying slowly over the water. [...] I noticed that it was about 60-foot round and seemed to make no noise. We watched it for a couple of minutes until it submerged itself into the sea. [...] When it came back out of the water, it was glowing twice as brightly as when it went in. We continued to watch it with my binoculars as it returned to the coast in the direction whence it had come and until it disappeared out of sight over the top of the coconut trees."
And further:
Dragon Snakes have displayed "unacceptable and unfriendly behaviour towards the […] people. Indeed, there have been several outright abductions and murders. [...] As we were talking [to the local inhabitants – W. Bobilewicz], I brought up the topic of the Dragon Snake. [...] They told me several stories of deaths and abductions, all of which confirmed to me that these UFOs are definitely not friendly. They may be friendly in other places in the world, but certainly not here. [...] [A fisherman] had been out fishing in his fibreglass boat at about 3.00 am, when he saw the Dragon Snake flying along. In foolishness, he started flashing his torch at it. That was when it flew over to him in an instant and hovered overhead. Panicking, he started the motor and took off to get away from the Dragon Snake, but it followed him as he "zigzagged" his way back to shore. It was during this short pursuit to the beach that it fired some form of light at him but it only partially hit him. A later inspection of his […] boat showed traces of scorching upon some of the boat's interior paint. He said that when he drove his boat up the beach and ran into the bush, the Dragon Snake followed him to where he was hiding behind a tree and hovered above. When he moved around to the other side of the tree, it also went around to the other side. It was then that he literally got down on his knees and began to pray to God with his hands clasped in front of him. With that, the Dragon Snake moved on.".
How should one interpret those – admittedly – incredible accounts? What are those mysterious lights? Who or what do they represent? In order to at least try to respond to these questions, first of all we need to pose another one: are accounts of mysterious and strange lights true or not? And if we assume that they are but a fabrication, a fantasy, a joke or a hoax, then who is misleading us? Boirayon or the local inhabitants? Let us remember that – according to his story and theirs – the lights appear relatively regularly in very specific places. This is peculiar among unidentified phenomena which are usually of a very ephemeral nature and appear in various places at various times. Therefore they constitute an ideal subject for research and investigation. Should it therefore turn out that Dragon Snakes are only central figures of myths and legends which do not exist in actual reality, then it would not be difficult for members of an expedition to demonstrate that no such light emanations take place. Besides, what hallucinogens would the author of this text have to take in order to observe non-existent lights during his stay in Solomon Islands in 2008 (as described in his report)?
If we then assume that Dragon Snakes (and/or any other light emanations) ARE true, i.e. if they are indeed observable phenomena or entities that exist in our physical reality, then the following possibilities exist:
"Dragon Snakes" are forces of nature. Such an interpretation seems to be the most sensible of all; as we know, Solomon Islands occupy an area of an increased seismic activity, and the influence of grinding and pressing forces may – under specific physico-chemical and geological conditions – result in a piezoelectric effect, which, in turn, may manifest in a form of lights. There is, however, one major fault in that line of thinking: namely, I do not know of geological piezoelectric phenomena that appear IN THE SKY (separate from the Earth’s surface), make complicated movements, submerge in water and then emerge again... And – if we are to believe stories told by Boirayon and the natives - I certainly have not heard about any piezoelectric effect/light "chasing" the locals and burning them and/or their boats, apparently driven by some intelligent force...
"Dragon Snakes" are related to some human activity. A possibility of "Dragon Snakes" and/or other light phenomena in the Solomon sky being a result of some human activity is not as improbable as it may seem. Please see the section called "Proof, Circumstantial Evidence" for further details. You will find there descriptions of accounts indicating that perhaps an intriguing mystery of Solomon Islands has its earthly, but very puzzling, explanation and that it is has something to do with military activity...
"Dragon Snakes" are aircraft of alien extraterrestrial, underwater or inter-dimensional beings. I do realise perfectly that such an interpretation of "Dragon Snakes" (and/or other light phenomena over Solomon Islands) may in many Readers evoke a smile of pitifulness, an outrage, amusement or disbelief. After all, it forces us to make some hardly acceptable assumptions, namely not only that in some immeasurable depths of space (or in our own oceans, or, last but not least, in some other time-space dimension) there exist technically (and intellectually) advanced beings, capable of space (and/or time) travel, but also that they more or less regularly visit our own planet, and, what’s more, that they have their underground and/or underwater bases here on Earth! Just this assumption alone seems so preposterous to a vast majority of people that – despite the existence of some other possibilities enumerated above and below – they reject in advance the legitimacy of conducting any field research of the phenomenon, and an idea of an expedition with the aim of investigating "some lights" may seem to them, to put it mildly, weird. Let me therefore emphasize that by no means do I favour this idea over any other interpretation. I treat it as EQUAL and no more or less probable than other ideas. Have I seen space/underwater craft of aliens during my stay in Solomon Islands? I am simply unable to respond to such a question. Have I seen a UFO? Yes. Absolutely yes. I have seen something that I was unable to identify and that – taking into account its trajectory and behaviour – could not have been a meteorite, a plane, a star or another similar, easily explicable thing or phenomenon.
On the other hand, given the accounts of Boirayon and the natives (and if we are to believe them), it may turn out that there is some intelligent force or energy behind those light phenomena, their behaviour, their trajectory, regular appearances etc. If this is indeed the case, then one of the most important questions is: "what is this force or energy?" They must be either humans (see the point above) or... exactly, or what?
"Dragon Snakes" are a joke or hoax. For a sceptic this is an ideal explanation of those light manifestations over the Solomon skies. These are only the locals who want to make fool of a few (dozen) researchers of mysterious phenomena. And in principle we could just agree with that and leave it at that. But let us pause for a moment: "Dragon Snakes" (and/or similar light phenomena) appear regularly in the remote, jungle-covered, tall, slimy mountains of the interior, mostly at night. Usually they are only observed by the natives as hardly any researcher from outside the country or the region wishes or decides to stay on Solomon Islands for several months or several dozen months. If the lights are but a hoax, then who is it addressed to? Who would want – several dozen times a year – to climb the hardly available mountains at night just to "shine some lights"? However, in order to remain objective, we need to take into account even such an interpretation. Again, it needs to remain no more and no less valid than the remaining interpretations...
"Dragon Snakes" are a hallucination. Such a claim is yet another argument for the sceptics. However, if it were to be true it would mean that we are dealing with a collective hallucination. In many cases "Dragon Snakes" have been/are seen by several (dozen) witnesses, also in the case of my own observation of 2008... What could (have) evoke(d) such collective hallucinations? Food? Drink? Some substance in the air?
To sum up, it is impossible to determine the real nature of the light manifestations in Solomon Islands just by conjecturing from behind one’s computer screen, seated in a comfortable armchair. In order to at least TRY to find a response, a research expedition into the region is needed whose purpose would be to OBSERVE and REGISTER alleged lights AS CLOSELY AS POSSIBLE to the places from which – according to the stories told by Boirayon and the natives – those lights fly out. As we see from these stories – it is possible that they are driven by some intelligence. What or who can this intelligent force be? What would the results of such an expedition be? A confirmation of what sceptics and orthodox mainstream scientists say, or one of the greatest breakthroughs in the paradigm of thinking and knowledge? We shall never know until and unless such an expedition is really organised...