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- [00:00]
Brian Sigley
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home in auto policies. Try it@progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.
- [00:19]
Susan Ettlinger
The PC gave us computing power at home, the Internet connected us, and mobile let us do it pretty much anywhere. Now generative AI lets us communicate with technology in our own language using our own senses. But but figuring it all out when you're living through it is a totally different story. Welcome to Leading the Shift, a new podcast for Microsoft Azure. I'm your host Susan Ettlinger. In each episode, leaders will share what they're learning to help you navigate all this change with confidence. Please join us, listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
- [00:49]
Ryan Reynolds
This message is brought to you by Abercrombie and Fitch I've been ready for summer for a while, and now it's finally time for summer outfits. With a trip coming up, the A and F Vacation Shop has me covered. Abercrombie really knows how to do a lightweight outf. Their tees, sweater, polos and linen blend shorts never miss. I wear Abercrombie denim year round. Their shorts are no different and have the comfort I need for summer prep for your next trip with the A and F Vacation Shop, get their newest arrivals in store online and in the app.
- [01:25]
McLeod Andrews
Imagine plunging into waters deeper than any any lake on Earth, where light fades to absolute and perfect darkness. But as you descend into the chilling abyss, a movement catches your eye and you realize something else lurks within these depths. And as this boundary between its world and ours is crossed, the question becomes not what we might discover, but what has already discovered us. Welcome to Sightings, the series that takes you inside the world's most mysterious supernatural events. Each week we bring you a thrilling story that puts you at the center of the action, followed by a discussion that dives into the accounts that inspired the story and our takes on them. I'm McLeod.
- [02:12]
Brian Sigley
And I'm Brian. And this week we're diving into the deepest lake in the world.
- [02:17]
McLeod Andrews
When a group of divers come face to face with the impossible. They realize that some mysteries may be older than humanity itself. Find out how on this episode of Sightings. My name is Victor sokolov, and for 35 years carried the weight of what happened beneath Lake Baikal in Siberia. I was 23 then, fresh from the Naval Academy of Vladivostok and eager to prove myself but truly, no training could have prepared me for what I encountered in those dark waters. We arrived at the lake in March of 1982 for deep water dive training. And there was no better place than.
- [03:22]
Victor Sokolov
Lake Baikal, which was, and still is.
- [03:25]
McLeod Andrews
The world's deepest freshwater body. I'd heard stories about the lake since childhood, of course. Rumors of monsters lurking beneath the surface. And locals called it the Sacred Sea, claiming it held secrets deeper than its waters. But I didn't believe in such things back then. Our team consisted of 12 men, four instructors, and eight trainees, including myself. We'd been selected from hundreds of candidates and were all elite swimmers. But in addition to learning the ins and outs of deep water diving, we were also instructed to report our thorough observations in the water. This was strange, but the military had allegedly taken a recent interest in Baikal's depths. The first week went according to protocol. We focused on acclimation dives, nothing deeper than 30 meters. Unlike the ocean, there was no salt to provide buoyancy, making every movement more laborious. And though the waters were impossibly clear, they were brutally cold. So we required specialty suits just to survive. And even then, we could only stay down for short periods before the chill began to affect us. But on our eighth day, everything changed. We were conducting our first deeper dive, down to 60 meters, and the morning was clear and cold. My group consisted of one instructor and four trainees, including myself. All were strong men and excellent divers. We descended along the steep underwater slope that leads to the abyss. Around 50 meters, we stopped to check equipment and make sure everyone was handling the increasing pressure. That's when I noticed Nikolai gesturing towards something in the distance. At first, I saw nothing, Just the fading blue light from above. An endless darkness below. Then I caught movement. My first thought was that it was a seal. Then I realized that what I was seeing was far too large to be any such creature. Plus, there were three of them, each easily 3 meters tall and moving through the water with an eerie grace, as if the crushing depth and cold meant nothing to them. As they grew closer, I realized they were humanoid, with sleek limbs, clad in what appeared to be some kind of silver suit. And most disturbing of all, they had no breathing apparatus, no tanks, no regulators, nothing. They were completely exposed, yet completely at ease at a depth that would crush unprotected human lungs. They stopped about 20 meters from us. And for a long moment, we simply stared at each other. And after what felt like an eternity, they turned in perfect unison and swam away, disappearing into the darkness below. When we surfaced, my Fellow recruits were babbling with excitement, but my instructor, Baranov, and I exchanged worried looks. We just witnessed something impossible and seemed to be the only ones who appreciated this fact. So Baranov and I reported the incident to Captain Volkov immediately. I expected him to dismiss it, to tell us we'd seen shadows or some other natural phenomenon. But instead, he grew very quiet and made a phone call to headquarters in Moscow. Later, he summoned Baranov back to his office, and then Baranov pulled me personally aside. Our orders had changed, he said, and we were to now attempt to capture one of these entities for study. I wanted to object. This was madness, of course, but I held my tongue. I knew my place in the order of things. That night, we prepared for what would become the most notorious mission in Baikal's history. Baranov selected the team himself and chose me and five of our strongest recruits. All, I realized, were men who could handle themselves under pressure, men who could keep secrets. Our equipment was simple but effective. Metal snares attached to strong cables designed to entangle rather than injure. We also carried specialized nets that could be quickly deployed to surround a target. The plan was to descend to the same location, wait for the beings to appear, then capture at least one of them. If that proved impossible, we were to gather as much information as we could about their capabilities and equipment. They made it sound perfectly straightforward in the briefing room. But I knew better and spent the night unable to sleep, mind racing with possibilities. What if these things were some kind of new American technology? What if they were something else entirely? Either way, I knew the Kremlin wouldn't authorize an operation like this unless they knew more than they were telling us. That was for certain. Morning arrived under a blanket of heavy fog, but the lake's surface was mirror smooth, as if it were holding its breath. As we suited up, I noticed my comrades were unusually quiet. Most had seen the same things I had. But now the reality of our mission seemed to be sinking in. So we performed our final equipment checks in complete silence, testing every seal twice. Then we entered the water and began our descent. We settled about 60 meters down, just as we had the day before, and positioned ourselves in a loose circle, our nets and cables at the ready. For nearly 20 minutes, nothing happened. Then Baranov signaled. I followed his gesture and saw three silvery figures rising from below, moving directly towards us with that same fluid grace. To my eye, they seemed almost curious, approaching more boldly than before. And as they drew nearer, I could make out more details. Their suits weren't fabric, but appeared to be made of a single piece of metallic material that moved like liquid mercury. Their helmets were transparent, and inside I saw huge dark eyes that seemed to peer directly through me. Leonid made the first move, unspooling his snare as he approached the closest figure. But before he could get within range, one of the creatures reached down to its side and withdrew what looked like a small metallic cylinder. Everything happened fast after that. The creature pointed the device at us, and suddenly the water itself seemed to come alive. A massive vortex formed around us, spinning with impossible force that threw me violently to my side and ripped my equipment from my body. Through the chaos, I could see the other divers being tossed through the water at a rate human bodies were never meant to endure. Someone grabbed my armitri and started pulling me towards the surface. But we'd been at depth too long and were ascending too quickly. The shift in pressure would kill us if we didn't reach the decompression chamber. Immediately, we broke the surface in chaos. The support team was screaming, trying to help us from the water, but we were already crippled by the pain of decompression sickness. I struggled to gain my bearings, but Baranov grabbed me and pulled me along, shouting through his mask that we needed to reach the chambers. But as we halved our distance to the vessel, we heard impossible shouts from the crew. One of our two decompression chambers had faltered only minutes earlier. There was now only room for four of us. The other three would have to wait. And waiting meant certain death. I'll never forget what happened next. Baranov pushed me through the water towards the boat, told me I was the strongest swimmer. It was my duty to tell them what we saw. And I didn't even have time to look back. I just swam through the pain until I was hauled out of the water and into the life saving chamber. And as three others piled in with me, the doors sealed with an excruciating hiss, sending everything to a pitch black, even darker than the depths below.
- [11:45]
Brian Sigley
Eczema isn't always obvious, but it's real. And so was the relief from Ebglis.
- [11:53]
Susan Ettlinger
After an initial dosing phase of 16.
- [11:54]
Brian Sigley
Weeks, about 4 in 10 people taking EVGLIS achieved itch relief and clear, or almost clear skin. And most of those people maintained skin that's still more clear. At one year, with monthly dosing, EVGLIS Lebricizumab LBKZ a 250mg per 2ml injection, is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema, also called atopic dermatitis, that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals or who cannot use topical therapies. EBGLIS can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you're allergic to Eglis. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with ebglis. Before starting ebglis, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. Searching for real relief? Ask your doctor about eglis and visit ebgliss.lilly.com or call 1-800-lilyrx or 1-800-545-5979.
- [12:47]
Ryan Reynolds
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- [13:16]
McLeod Andrews
Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop with Mint. You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying. No judgments. But that's weird. Okay, one judgment anyway. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment.
- [13:38]
Brian Sigley
Of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full terms@mintmobile.com.
- [13:48]
McLeod Andrews
I spent six hours in that chamber, the pressure normalizing my body's chemistry while my mind remained in hell. The others in there with me, Dmitri, Alexei and Leonid didn't say a word. We were all processing the impossible in our own ways. When they finally opened the chamber, Captain Volkov himself was waiting for us. His face was granite, but I already knew the truth. All three men who hadn't made it into the chamber were dead. The official report would later claim it was a training accident, equipment malfunction leading to rapid decompression. But we all knew what really happened. We'd seen it, lived it in a debrief session I told Volkov everything I could about the creature's appearance, their strange device, and the vortex that propelled us upward. He listened without expression, then handed me a document demanding absolute secrecy about what I'd witnessed. I signed it. All of us did. If we hadn't, we'd have spent the last 35 years in a labor camp, if we were lucky. But that wasn't the end of it. Not for me, at least. As I was packing up to leave Lake Baikal for good, I was summoned to Volkov's office and informed that I, and I alone was to remain here to join what he called a newly formed geological survey team. So I remained by the water and soon found myself surrounded by a small team of military personnel, scientists, and two men from the KGB who never seemed to sleep. Dr. Lebedev, the head scientist, explained that he chose me personally because I had seen the creatures up close and kept my composure while others panicked. He told me that the things I'd encountered had been under investigation since 1977, when a scientific submersible observed an unknown light source at the depth of 1400 meters. When the crew looked out their portholes, they allegedly saw something massive passing overhead. But the light was too intense to make out its shape. I listened quietly, considering the implications of what this man was saying was something else, something intelligent living in the world's deepest lake. For weeks, we mapped the lake floor using sophisticated sonar, identifying unusual formations and anomalies. When the data pointed to something unusual in the deepest part of the lake, we began preparing for a submersible expedition, a submersible that I myself would help crew, and I won't lie to you, part of me was thrilled, fascinated at the notion of observing these strange creatures one more time. But another part was filled with grave misgivings. Our descent took place in late August. Two sleek metal craft, each bright yellow with Pisces stenciled on their sides, were brought in. I myself was assigned to Pisces 7 alongside Dr. Lebedeff and a pilot named Grigor. That morning, the surface of Baikal once again was like a mirror, too calm to be real. The descent was agonizingly slow. For hours, we sank through increasingly dark waters, the temperature dropping steadily. Soon the darkness was absolute, and our powerful lights cut the black to reveal a landscape as alien as the surface of another planet. Strange formations rose from the lakebed. Not natural rock formations, but structures that seemed almost deliberately placed. Some resembled archways, while others looked like domes partially buried in sediment. I heard Dr. Lebedev quietly whispering to himself that this wasn't natural. This was construction. Then Grigor noted movement on the sonar. Three objects approaching from behind. And before we could react, our submersible was bathed in a yellowish glow. And through the viewport I saw them. Three of the same entities I'd seen earlier. And as they approached the submersible, they moved with what I can only describe as a profound sense of curiosity. One placed a hand on our viewport, a long, six figured hand with webbing between the digits. Its face came close to the glass, and I found myself staring into large pupil less eyes that reflected our cabin light like mirrors. And in those eyes, I saw intelligence, ancient and unfathomable. Dr. Lebedev activated the external camera and the entities immediately backed away, retreating into the dark. Then Lebedev cursed under his breath as the camera and then the entire submersible went dark, its electronics inexplicably disabled. Then we all felt a sensation of movement, not of descent, but a lateral motion, as if the submersible itself were being pulled through the water. And for the next 20 minutes or so, all we could do was wait in the dark as we were transported through the depths, moving ever closer to a distant glow. Soon that glow consumed everything around us. And as we came to a sudden halt, I looked outside to see a massive pulsating orb rising slowly from the lake bed. As it moved past us, it felt as though its light was all consuming, as if it penetrated our very bodies. Then the orb settled above us, its glow increasing until it was impossible to look at. Then it blinked out of existence, seemingly speeding up into the dark at impossible speed. Then we too began to rise. And as we did, our electrical systems slowly flickered back to life. But inexplicably, and much to the dismay of Dr. Lebedev, our camera systems remained inoperable. At approximately 500 meters, our sonar detected movements all around us. And through the viewport I could make out the silvery forms of at least six swimmers, gesturing upwards as they heralded us towards the surface. Then they retreated, and we broke the water nearly 2 km from our starting point. The days that followed were a series of debriefs and interrogations. Since we had no photographic evidence, all we had were our own accounts. And though I expected our encounter to trigger an even larger scientific investigation, instead the opposite happened. Equipment was packed away, records were destroyed and personnel were reassigned. I myself was sent to a naval base in Vladivostok, where I was promoted to instruction instructor and given a stern warning to never discuss what I had seen. And in the years since I've tried to make sense of what happened. Why would our government abandon such a monumental discovery? All I can think is about some strange moments from those interrogations. Suggestions that these entities of Lake Baikal may have always been there, maybe older than human humanity itself. And that, I suspect, has left people terrified. Still, I wonder about those beings in their silver suits, living in glowing domes deep beneath the surface. Are they ancient visitors from another world? Or something else entirely, Something beyond our understanding? And they often wonder what's happened to now, down in the cold, dark depths of the world's deepest lake? Are they watching us, studying our world from their underwater sanctuary? I believe they are. And I believe they will continue long after we are gone.
- [22:14]
Ryan Reynolds
She's made up her mind to live pretty smart Learn to budget responsibly right from the start she spends a little less inputs more into savings Keeps her blood pressure low and credit score raises she's cutting debt right out of her life she tracks her cash more on.
- [22:36]
McLeod Andrews
Her spreadsheet at night Boring money moves.
- [22:38]
Brian Sigley
Make kinda lame songs but they sound pretty sweet to your wallet brilliantly boring since 1865.
- [22:44]
Ryan Reynolds
Summer's here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parmesan delivered. A cabana, that's a no. But a banana, that's a yes.
- [22:58]
McLeod Andrews
A nice tan?
- [22:59]
Victor Sokolov
Sorry, nope.
- [22:59]
Ryan Reynolds
But a box fan? Happily, yes. A day of sunshine? No. A box of fine wines?
- [23:04]
McLeod Andrews
Yes.
- [23:05]
Ryan Reynolds
Uber Eats can definitely get you that. Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by Regency app For details.
- [23:15]
Susan Ettlinger
This message comes from Greenlight. Ready to start talking to your kids about financial literacy? Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money app that teaches kids and teens how to earn, saving, save, spend wisely and invest with your guardrails in place with Greenlight, you can send money to kids quickly, set up chores automate allowance and keep an eye on your kids spending with real time notifications. Join millions of parents and kids building healthy financial habits together on Greenlight. Get started risk free@greenlight.com Spotify sightings will.
- [23:45]
Brian Sigley
Be back just after this.
- [23:58]
Victor Sokolov
Welcome back to Sightings, everyone, and I hope you're as ready as I am for a deep dive into that story we just told.
- [24:10]
Ryan Reynolds
He did it.
- [24:11]
Victor Sokolov
Yeah, he did it, folks.
- [24:12]
Brian Sigley
The first of many that I'm sure are going to be in this episode.
- [24:14]
Victor Sokolov
There's gonna be so Many diving jokes. So, first of all, right off the bat, Brian, I'm fascinated by this lake itself. I have never heard of it. I didn't realize that the deepest lake in the world was in Russia. I thought it was, like, one of the Great Lakes or something.
- [24:29]
Brian Sigley
Funny you mentioned the Great Lakes. Actually, this one lake in Russia holds more water than all of the Great Lakes combined.
- [24:37]
McLeod Andrews
No way.
- [24:38]
Brian Sigley
Yeah.
- [24:38]
McLeod Andrews
Why was I not aware of this?
- [24:40]
Brian Sigley
It's not one of the biggest lakes.
- [24:42]
Victor Sokolov
By area, square by area. Gotcha.
- [24:45]
Brian Sigley
Yeah. But it is the oldest lake in the world. It's 25 million years old, and it is the deepest lake in the world.
- [24:52]
McLeod Andrews
Wow.
- [24:52]
Brian Sigley
Which means it's nearly a mile deep.
- [24:54]
Victor Sokolov
I'm astounded. A mile deep. I would never have thought. Okay, is there anything else about this lake before we get into this particular story that I should know about, or.
- [25:05]
Brian Sigley
Yeah. It's also pretty unique because it is very old and it has this vast diversity of wildlife. There's thousands of plants and animals that are only found in Lake Baikal, including this seal called the Nerpa seal. It's the smallest seal species and the only freshwater seal in the world, which is kind of neat.
- [25:22]
McLeod Andrews
That is neat.
- [25:23]
Brian Sigley
And there's hydrothermal vents and springs, apparently, that kind of help foster all that life.
- [25:28]
Victor Sokolov
Yeah.
- [25:28]
Brian Sigley
And apparently also potentially fosters alien life, as we kind of, you know, explored in the story here, which is based on accounts and an alleged story that happened. And it also just so happens that Lake Baikal is kind of a supernatural hotspot in general, not only about what's in the lake, but, you know, there's rumors of a lake monster, of course, in the lake, as all big lakes have, I guess. But there's also a whole bunch of sightings of UFOs in the skies above and around that lake area over the years. And also unidentified submersible objects, kind of like what we encountered in the story, but lots of reports of people on the lake, seeing lights, skimming the surface, diving into the water, coming out of the water, et cetera.
- [26:13]
McLeod Andrews
Wow.
- [26:13]
Victor Sokolov
So it sounds to me like we could spend a lot of time at Lake Baikal.
- [26:17]
Brian Sigley
Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure. But, of course, the most famous One is that 1982 encounter.
- [26:22]
Victor Sokolov
Right. Our story.
- [26:23]
Brian Sigley
That was the story we did. Yes.
- [26:25]
Victor Sokolov
So clearly, McCloud has a geek out for geology, which he wasn't aware of. So I've learned something about myself, because here we are with an alien story, and I'm like, this lake, but let's submerge Ourselves, pun intended, into our 1982 encounter of this story. That was this story. Did this story follow the actual account or did you juice it up?
- [26:50]
Brian Sigley
It did. It did follow the account. The first half of the story is pretty much the account that's popularly known. The second half where they formed the special team and went down in submersibles. I kind of cribbed some other story, stories that have happened around Lake Baikal to kind of put that together, but.
- [27:04]
Victor Sokolov
Those were also actual stories, just a separate ironically.
- [27:08]
Brian Sigley
And we'll get into it, but have a little more credibility than the first story.
- [27:11]
Victor Sokolov
Oh, okay.
- [27:12]
Brian Sigley
But 1982, the best known account of these Lake Baikal swimmers, as they're kind of known, is seven Russian divers who work for the Navy were doing some dive tests, training, whatever, and exercise. They encountered these silvery, 3 meter tall, that's 9ft tall people. It's very big.
- [27:32]
Victor Sokolov
Yeah.
- [27:32]
Brian Sigley
Helmet beings at a depth of 50 meters. So that is getting to the depth where sunlight is approaching, being no longer able to penetrate.
- [27:42]
McLeod Andrews
Right.
- [27:42]
Brian Sigley
And they saw these things. They went back up, they reported what they saw. And of course, the Russian government were like, here are some nets.
- [27:50]
Victor Sokolov
Right. Don't catch us an alien with a net.
- [27:54]
Brian Sigley
Yes, because that, that obviously works. So seven guys went down and had their nets, and they encountered them again. And this, I guess the aliens saw the nets or whatever, and one of them had this little canister on his belt that he pushed, and then this giant, like whirlpool type vortex came out of nowhere. And like, they were able to manipulate the water in such a way that it basically thrust them at a really fast speed back up to the surface. And unfortunately, it's hard to tell whether there were two compression chambers and one of them broke or whether there just was not enough for all of them to begin with. But only four of those seven made it into a decompression chamber, and the other three allegedly died.
- [28:38]
Victor Sokolov
And is this account a written account, an oral account? What's the source material for it?
- [28:44]
Brian Sigley
Okay, so there is not any government accounts of this, Even though the guy who seems to have started the story or popularized the story says that it was based on government documents. No one has ever seen them.
- [28:56]
McLeod Andrews
Okay.
- [28:57]
Brian Sigley
So it's frankly unknown whatever happened after this one incident where the guys were thrust back up the surface and then three people died. It's unknown whether they started setting up teams and sending down submersibles and all this stuff.
- [29:09]
Victor Sokolov
Gotcha.
- [29:09]
Brian Sigley
But this was first reported in a book by a Russian ufologist. Is some guy named Professor Vladimir Azhaza. He is kind of known, though, for making questionable claims about aliens in Russia.
- [29:22]
Victor Sokolov
Okay.
- [29:23]
Brian Sigley
So I don't know. He claims, though, that he says he heard this from two dive instructors and that there were government documents to back it up.
- [29:30]
Victor Sokolov
So this guy maybe not the most credible source.
- [29:33]
Brian Sigley
Exactly. So on the whole, though, there seems to be no real provenance of this story other than this guy who says, like, yeah, I kind of heard this.
- [29:41]
Victor Sokolov
But you said that there was a little bit more to corroborate the submersibles.
- [29:45]
Brian Sigley
Yeah. In 1977, there was an expedition from the Soviet Academy of Sciences and they put down submersibles Pisces 2 and 7. They were the same two that I ended up using in the second half of the story.
- [29:56]
Victor Sokolov
Okay.
- [29:57]
Brian Sigley
And when these submersibles went down, one of them went down to the bottom of the lake.
- [30:01]
Victor Sokolov
Whoa.
- [30:01]
Brian Sigley
Which is a mile down, basically. And when they were down there, they encountered this eerie yellow glow that kind of surrounded them. And allegedly, it's kind of unclear what actually might have happened, but something might have moved up and over them, basically, but they couldn't make out the shape of it because the light was just so bright. Now, mind you, you know, there are bioluminescent fish and things like that, but whatever this was was apparently massive, and it just turned the entire pitch black sea to, like, bright light.
- [30:34]
McLeod Andrews
Yeah.
- [30:35]
Brian Sigley
And that is on the record as having happened.
- [30:37]
Victor Sokolov
That written account exists.
- [30:39]
Brian Sigley
Yes.
- [30:39]
Victor Sokolov
Gotcha.
- [30:40]
McLeod Andrews
Yes.
- [30:41]
Brian Sigley
I wonder if this all kind of flowed from that in a weird way.
- [30:45]
Victor Sokolov
But so the moment when like, say, like, he sees the long entity again and its face comes up, that was.
- [30:53]
Brian Sigley
Me embellishing a little bit and kind of merging those two stories together.
- [30:56]
Victor Sokolov
Merging the two stories. Gotcha.
- [30:58]
Brian Sigley
So let's get to the theories then, and let's just start with completely normal, explainable.
- [31:04]
McLeod Andrews
Okay.
- [31:04]
Brian Sigley
Do you have any thoughts on what this could be if not some advanced race of water beings or aliens or anything like that? What do you think?
- [31:11]
Victor Sokolov
Well, let's start with the assumption that something was seen, some creature was seen, or light phenomenon was seen. So let's assume that actually there was actually a sighting.
- [31:23]
Brian Sigley
Yes.
- [31:23]
Victor Sokolov
There's all sorts of interesting marine life that's quite long. I think there's a fish called coelacanth, but maybe that doesn't live in fresh water. Anyway, I could imagine there being some sort of actual fish, like a sturgeon or, I don't know, just something that was very long.
- [31:39]
Brian Sigley
There are giant sturgeon in this lake. I think I saw somewhere that they're like 25 or 30ft long.
- [31:45]
McLeod Andrews
Yeah.
- [31:46]
Victor Sokolov
Which is horrifying. Terrifying. Terrifying because I don't like the water because there's 30 foot creatures who are much more comfortable there than I am.
- [31:54]
Brian Sigley
There's also giant fish with like meter wide jaws that are way bigger than the rest of their body. It sounds horrifying as well.
- [32:01]
Victor Sokolov
Oh wow. In this lake?
- [32:02]
Brian Sigley
In this lake, yeah. That said though, from the description these things sounded like the silver furiness, the kind of helmet look, it doesn't seem very fish. Like generally speaking, there have been thoughts that these could be. Those seals though.
- [32:17]
Victor Sokolov
Do they get that big?
- [32:18]
Brian Sigley
They don't get that big.
- [32:19]
Victor Sokolov
Or is it just like they were casting a shadow?
- [32:21]
Brian Sigley
They don't necessarily cast a shadow. And I have a little bit of trouble stretching my mind to believe this, but these poor seals, like they can get trapped under the ice, you know, when, when the whole lake freezes because this is Siberia.
- [32:31]
Victor Sokolov
Right.
- [32:32]
Brian Sigley
And when the lake thaws again, they're kind of just floating or you know, they're kind of just in the water and they have these kind of whitish silvery bellies.
- [32:40]
Victor Sokolov
Wait, like bobbing dead or like.
- [32:42]
Brian Sigley
Yeah, bobbing dead or potentially alive. If they saw them alive. They do have these kind of white silvery bellies that could I guess in some circumstance be mistaken for these.
- [32:53]
Victor Sokolov
Maybe it was a sturgeon holding a silvery seal.
- [32:57]
Brian Sigley
I think we're grasping at straws here on this one because I feel like these guys are like divers who are used to being in the water. And unless you're seeing these for like a split second, you would realize it's not a seal.
- [33:08]
Victor Sokolov
But remember, the account is not from these divers. It's from some guy who's a ufologist who says he talked to some divers.
- [33:16]
Brian Sigley
Yes. If they aren't seals or fish, I think we really only have two options which are a, this is some kind of co evolved species that branched off from humans or some other species at some point and is living in this lake and only this lake.
- [33:34]
Victor Sokolov
Yeah, well, that's the thing I was gonna say about the height. Like the fact that they're three meters long and like kind of wispy and thin like tells me that like they couldn't, they wouldn't be able to survive with that morphology on land. Which tells me that they either adapted to the water or evolved to live in the water. An environment which would support having a body like that.
- [33:58]
Brian Sigley
Yeah. And if we're talking evolution, I mean the lake is 25 million years old. To put that in perspective, homo Sapiens. Our species is 300,000 years old.
- [34:07]
McLeod Andrews
Wow.
- [34:07]
Brian Sigley
Wow.
- [34:07]
McLeod Andrews
Yeah.
- [34:08]
Brian Sigley
That's a long time that something could have branched off from Neanderthals or something super early or something else entirely.
- [34:15]
Victor Sokolov
Right, right.
- [34:16]
Brian Sigley
And kind of done its own thing.
- [34:17]
Victor Sokolov
A water ape.
- [34:18]
Brian Sigley
I guess so. Yeah. But these are ones that are kind of silvery and clearly seem to have some kind of technology, if we're to believe any aspect of these accounts.
- [34:26]
Victor Sokolov
Yeah.
- [34:27]
Brian Sigley
Because they have their suits and their little helmet type things and then their little cylinders that make the vortex.
- [34:32]
Victor Sokolov
Yeah. Like, there's so much. This is the thing about this story, which it's like. Even if there's not, like, very much, like, plausible evidence of some of this stuff, it's a really fun space for your imagination to go.
- [34:47]
Brian Sigley
Absolutely.
- [34:48]
Victor Sokolov
And novel. Not your typical, like, aliens visiting us from outer space. It's like the idea of these being, like, native terrestrial beings that have evolved on Earth and have always been on Earth is really cool. The idea of us not being the only, like, technologically sophisticated beings. Although I think to become a technologically advanced civilization, you need numbers of brains.
- [35:13]
Brian Sigley
Yeah.
- [35:13]
Victor Sokolov
And. And people doing things and experimenting. That can't happen with a small population at the bottom of a lake.
- [35:20]
Brian Sigley
I agree.
- [35:21]
Victor Sokolov
That would mean probably more likely it is aliens. But then there's kind of the. What if it's not like aliens who just come down there and visit sometimes, but aliens that came 25 million years ago or like millions and millions of years ago and stayed there and have been evolving here on Earth is kind of cool.
- [35:40]
Brian Sigley
Yeah. But kind of like with Loch Ness lakes, there's just such a weird allure to lakes. They're just the deep. The mystery of it all.
- [35:48]
Victor Sokolov
Yeah.
- [35:49]
Brian Sigley
Why not have something cool in the lake like this, you know?
- [35:52]
Victor Sokolov
Yeah. And the fact that it's a space that we are not. That we are not made for, but where there is so much volume, so much unexplored territory that we have. You know, it really nibbles at that kind of adventurous spirit of humans to explore and know more. But we can't. We're restricted by our biology.
- [36:11]
Brian Sigley
Absolutely. And that's what's so cool about deep stuff in general. Love it. So, listeners, if you have any theories about this or want to chat about it, hit us up on Instagram itingspod or leave us a comment on Spotify. We love looking at those.
- [36:24]
Victor Sokolov
Or just broadly, give us a review on Apple telling us how you feel about all of it in general.
- [36:28]
Brian Sigley
Positive reviews on Apple.
- [36:30]
Victor Sokolov
Positive reviews, yes. If you don't like it, Just. Just leave us pee. Okay, so Ryan, I think it's time for us to climb out of the abyss and rise to the surface.
- [36:40]
Brian Sigley
Oh, there it is again.
- [36:42]
Victor Sokolov
And move on to our next exciting story. Where are we going next week?
- [36:47]
Brian Sigley
We got another listener story episode. It's the last week of the month.
- [36:50]
Victor Sokolov
Woo dawg. These have been evolving in a really fun way.
- [36:54]
Brian Sigley
Oh yeah, we have had so many awesome stories come in. As a reminder, please send us yours. You can find us on email at@storiesightingspodcast.com but yeah, I'm not gonna tell you any more than this listener stories cause I know. I love to keep you on your toes.
- [37:07]
Victor Sokolov
I know, I know.
- [37:10]
Brian Sigley
So listeners, same time, same place, next week right here on Sightings.
- [37:14]
Victor Sokolov
See you then.
- [37:19]
Brian Sigley
Sightings is hosted by McLeod Andrews and Brian Sigley. Produced by Brian Sigley, chase Kinzer and McLeod Andrews. Written by Brian Sigley. Music by Mitch Bain. Mixing and mastering by Pat Kickleiter of Sundial Media. Artwork by Nuno Sernatus. For a list of this episode's sources, check out our website@sightingspodcast.com Sightings is presented by Reverb and Q Code. If you like the show, be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you're first to hear new episodes every week. And if you know other Supernatural fans, tell everybody them about us. We'd really appreciate it.
- [38:02]
Ryan Reynolds
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- [38:31]
Brian Sigley
I'm Dallas Taylor, host of 20,000 Hz, a lovingly crafted podcast about the amazing world of sound. From music and video games to science and history, the world of sound is full of great stories. The TIE fighter was made with a car passing by a microphone on wet pavement. And then layered on top of that are these elephant growls. You can choose between snares.
- [39:00]
Ryan Reynolds
You can start chopping up the onman break and rearranging the individual beats into other configurations.
- [39:08]
Brian Sigley
And this barely scratches the surface. We've also revealed the hidden stories behind the most iconic sounds to ever be created to unlock your sonic world. Follow 20,000HZ right here in your podcast player.