FLY ME TO THE MOON ... : UFO EXPO WEST OFFERS BELIEVERS, SKEPTICS ALIKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE SPACE, WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT BE THE FINAL FRONTIER.

Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Staff Writer

Some say Barney, TV's purple dinosaur, is part of a government-sponsored plot.

At the two-day UFO Expo West, this past weekend, billed as the world's largest conference devoted to all things paranormal, that wasn't even the most far-out idea.

This was an event where participants wore anti-alien lapel buttons to show their anger with extraterrestrials for lying to the human race. An event where it made perfect sense that the CIA and FBI hid proof that UFOs landed in New Mexico.

At least one of those agencies couldn't persuade CBS News to kill the story of a pending arrest in the Unabomber case.

To many of the nearly 600 paying customers Saturday and Sunday, it's all part of the same mass cover-up.

``The government, which controls the media, would not want it known that there is life on other planets because it would destroy their hold on society,'' said Giuseppe Alleva, a Venice-based distributor of videotapes that purport to show alien-built ruins on the moon and pyramids on Mars.

Although believers may differ in many fundamental ways, most agree upon the existence of the Greys, a group of hairless, doll-like space creatures so-called because of their coloring and complete lack of personality.

Think Bob Dole with less hair.

The Greys, who allegedly sport big cylindrical heads and black, wraparound eyes, communicate telepathically and are to blame for abductions in which humans are studied, poked, prodded and sometimes implanted with minute objects during the hours between midnight and dawn.

Let's just say you'll never see a Grey wearing a T-shirt that trumpets, ``Aliens for the Ethical Treatment of Humans.''

At the UFO Expo, 34-year-old Terrie Lindau described herself as ``a true believer. There are definitely life forms on other planets.''

Lindau said her own brother was abducted by the Greys several times from his bed in El Paso, Texas, six years ago. It wasn't just wishful thinking on her part, she insists.

``They would come in the house while he was sleeping and take him and perform operations and probes,'' the Los Feliz woman said. ``He's got marks on his body to prove it.''

American doctors won't make house calls. The Greys presumably fly millions of miles with their stethoscopes. And don't send bills.

``I'm convinced something is going on,'' said 39-year-old James Aramant, producer of the sixth annual UFO convention at the Airport Wyndham Hotel.

``People from all walks of life are talking about this. Some of them believe movies such as `Independence Day'' and `E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial' and Barney and `The X-Files' on TV are designed to get society accustomed to the idea of strange-looking beings from space, so when they do make themselves known, there won't be this mass hysteria,'' Aramant said.

``All I'm trying to do is present a forum for all these different ideas, so people can make up their own minds.''

Speakers included ``Communion'' author Whitley Strieber, researcher Derrel Sims on alien implants, Las Vegas TV anchorman George Knapp on secret UFO activity in Russia and about 15 others.

Before his lecture, the Texas-based Sims showed members of the crowd a jewelry case filled with what he said were tiny objects placed in human bodies by space beings during abductions. One item looked like a metal piece from an earring, another looked like a wisdom tooth, and a third resembled a pebble you might find embedded in your foot after a walk on the beach.

``If abductions are actually occurring, there must be evidence,'' said Sims, who will speak at 22 UFO conferences in seven countries this year. ``Our goal is to bring medical and scientific scrutiny to the objects we are finding.''

The usual reaction from the medical and scientific communities? ``Puzzled,'' Sims admitted.

Judy Chiswell, a member of the Ventura County chapter of the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), has all the proof she needs.

``When I was a child, I had a series of dreams that were questionable,'' she said. ``I remember this luminous, swirling mass. It was very frightening and very powerful.''

The 52-year-old Chiswell, whose MUFON group meets monthly in Newbury Park, said her parents simply brushed off her inquiries about the dream. It was many years before she realized she had been treated to a glimpse of interplanetary activity.

At the expo, vendors offered videos such as the ever-popular ``Aliens Among Us'' and ``Flying Saucers Are Real!'' as well as computer discs supposedly filled with recently declassified CIA documents relating to UFO sightings. Visitors browsed at booths selling such fun titles as the 450-page ``The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological and Electromagnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness'' ($78).

Also available were aura photos; maps; massages; vitamins made from grape skins; even algae, ``the perfect food. Great for pets, too.''

Rick Rubin, record producer and head of the American Recordings label, wandered among the crowd. The rising interest in unexplained phenomenon, he said, was evident throughout popular culture.

``It goes with the rise in spirituality,'' Rubin said. ``People are questioning all aspects of their lives and belief systems. It's not really new. It's been in the air for a long time, even before `E.T.' and `Close Encounters of the Third Kind.' ''

Strieber, whose series of best-selling books deal with UFOs, alien abductions and government conspiracy, was mobbed by fans in a hallway after his lecture. He said he once believed his own experiences were simply hallucinations. Not anymore.

``I'm no longer willing to believe they are hallucinations,'' he said. ``And why, if the Cold War has ended, does the government continue to keep secrets?''

Secrets? The government is having a hard time keeping a sitting president out of a Little Rock courtroom.

Whether you believe or not, the legends that go along with the extraterrestrial scene are among the most popular and powerful of myths, said UFO Expo West patron Rich Costigan.

``If you're coming here for answers, you'll have a nervous breakdown because there are so many views,'' the 29-year-old Redondo Beach resident said. ``This replaces religion for some people. Personally, I'm a believer. I've seen UFOs, so I'm not denouncing them in any way. At the same time, there are no haunted houses anymore. What's replaced them is the fear of a military- or government-sponsored conspiracy to keep the truth from the people.''

The wiry Costigan, wearing a tiki necklace and a green flight suit adorned with pictures of opossums, said he was surprised at how toned-down the crowd was at the convention this year.

``In the past, people would come in spacesuits,'' he said. ``A lot of the folks into this stuff today are really quite ordinary.''

With that, he got into his spaceship and flew away.

Aura-wise, color him skeptical

First off, I don't believe in auras, beings from outer space or the grammatical rule that demands ``i before e except after c.''

So, when I was asked to step right up and have a picture of my aura taken by what looked like a glorified DMV camera at this weekend's UFO Expo West convention, I could barely stifle a laugh.

What was I going to get back? A picture of Mr. Potato Head, a Starbucks sign and a barely running Pontiac emerging from a blizzard of white smoke?

Instead, the photo showed my face surrounded and partly obscured by bright red and orange streaks. This was supposedly my aura, the normally invisible atmosphere that surrounds a person and hints at his or her true personality.

The guy behind the desk interpreted the colors: ``Artistic, creative and incredibly (in need of a girlfriend),'' he said seriously. ``You're very angry about something.''

One out of four ain't bad.

CAPTION(S):

5 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) INALIENABLE RIGHTS

UFO bel iever Rich Costigan

(2) Researcher Derrel Sims displays a jewelry case filled with what he said are tiny objects placed in human bodies by space beings during abductions.

(3) Expo video offerings included ``Flying Saucers Are Real!'' and ``Aliens Among Us.'' There were also computer discs supposedly filled with recently declassified CIA documents relating to UFO sightings.

(4) An assortment of cosmic items were available, including aura photos, maps, massages, vitamins made from grape skins - even algae.

(5) This orange and red cloud, Fred Shuster was told, is his aura.

Gus Ruelas/Daily News

Box: Aura-wise, color him skeptical (See Text)