Loving the Alien

Her eyes are not red, but albino. Which is to say that the irises, lacking any pigmentation, reflect the internal blood vessels of her eyes. Her hair also is a snowy albino white, and her complexion has the pallor of true albinism. But there is more: her nostrils are tiny, and any exterior flanges of the nostrils appear to be absent. That her ears seem somewhat higher than normal, and her head more dome-like, might be due to the slightly downward camera angle, but the effect as a whole is still of someone other than entirely human.

This photograph is claimed to be that of an extra-terrestrial, leaked from the files of a shadowy clandestine group said to have infiltrated its way into government top security organizations. This group, known by the acronym S.A.A.L.M. (which apparently stands for the pretentiously self-titled Supreme Anunnaki Alliance of Lord Marduk), is mentioned in the superimposed facts sheet on the photo which, considering the alleged exotic nature of the subject in question, lists the known information about its subject with a mundane, almost banal, matter-of-factness.

What is going on here? We are presented with an admittedly poor-resolution photo which might or might not be what is claimed about it. The apparent alien-ness of specific physical features can easily be obtained with photo manipulation software, and claiming credit for exposing the alleged fraudulence of the image (as some YouTubers inevitably have done) is like claiming credit for being able to sneeze. It's as easy to call it a fake as it is to believe it is genuine, depending upon what one personally opts for, and in which direction one's own personal heretical inclinations lean. Everywhere I have so far found this image on the Internet involves a discussion of this fake-or-genuine aspect. But that is not why I am writing my own post about this photo.

What fascinates me is the power of the image. Falsified or genuine, the subject in the photo emanates a calm and charismatic poise that demands our attention. She seems to meet our wondering gaze with absolute confidence, challenging us in turn to doubt her supposed off-world origins with a ghost of a secretive smile, as enigmatic and as inscrutable in her aloofness as da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Hawkwood.