A Man Who Claimed He'd Time Traveled To The Year 2749 Revealed The Events That Will Happen In The Future

Al Bielek said he'd seen the future — and it was not good. According to this self-proclaimed time traveler, it all started when he and his brother Duncan were drafted into a top-secret government mission at the height of World War II. But, if Bielek is to be believed, the pair weren't aware that the project would hurl them on a journey beyond anyone’s wildest imagination. And he seemingly came back to the present to deliver a warning.

The future man

By most accounts, Al Bielek was an unusual child. As a boy, he could apparently recite amazing knowledge in school — leading to the nickname “walking encyclopedia.” He reportedly had genius levels of recollection, too. For instance, he claimed to have remembered and understood a conversation he overheard at the age of nine months.

Speaking his truth

And yet the most remarkable aspect of Bielek’s life story only became known after his 60th birthday. Yes, in 1988 he watched a film called The Philadelphia Experiment. Originally released in 1984, the Stewart Raffill-directed sci-fi began on the decks of the USS Eldridge in the Second World War — and it struck a disturbing chord within Bielek. His life was never the same again.

Opening up his past

In the movie, U.S. Navy officials concoct a device to make their ship invisible to radar. And watching the film unfold, Bielek saw these fictional scientists test a device on the USS Eldridge. However, the contraption worked too well in the film. Rather than taking the ship out of sight, the experiment had instead transported its crew to the future of 1984. It was just a movie, of course — but for Bielek, it was all too real.

Making sense of his memories

The Philadelphia Experiment was a fantastical tale for most who saw it. And even though the film was based on a book about an urban legend, its original writer, John Carpenter, admitted that the narrative was untrue in a 2016 interview. But for Bielek, there was something about the movie that ran uncomfortably close to real life.

A government cover-up

Bielek said he began having flashbacks to experiences he'd had in real life that were similar to what he’d seen in The Philadelphia Experiment. Before his very eyes — he claimed — appeared visions of shady government experiments and encounters too vivid to be imagined. He didn't think he was losing his mind, either; he thought the sights he was seeing were genuine.

Unlocking the secrets

It seems that Bielek, apparently racked with uncertainty, then searched for ways to unlock the “secrets” embedded in his mind. And after reportedly undergoing different New Age treatments, Bielek said a host of long-buried memories returned to him. Piece by piece, Bielek believed that he began to unravel a supposed truth not only about himself, but also about the space-time continuum.

Identity thief

Bielek said his past was a lie — Bielek apparently wasn’t his real name at all. As he came to believe, he was actually born Edward Cameron in 1916 — not 1927 as his birth certificate states. He said the people he’d come to know as his parents were only legal guardians assigned to raise him by government officials. In regards to his real family, Bielek reportedly had a biological brother named Duncan whom he was now separated from.

His new life story

So Bielek came to believe that the Philadelphia Experiment was completely real — and that he had been a part of it. Following this revelation, he apparently took time piecing together the fragments of his shattered past. Then at a 1990 Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) conference in Texas, Bielek came forward with what he believed was his truth.

Where it all happened

Standing in front of the audience that day, Bielek stated that he was “a survivor of the Philadelphia Experiment.” Both he and his brother, Duncan, enlisted in the top-secret project during World War II — although he said it had actually begun around 1931. And Bielek insisted that the pair were both on board the USS Eldridge when tests were carried out in 1943.

The creation of time travel

According to Bielek, the project involved some great minds and was intended to hide U.S. ships from enemy U-boats. Of note, the scientists apparently included John Hutchinson, John von Neumann, and Nikola Tesla. But ultimately, the group would allegedly create something more revolutionary than invisibility.

Tests gone wrong

By 1940, the team reportedly had already achieved some success with a smaller class of ship. And three years later, Bielek said, they were ready to try their technology on a larger vessel — the USS Eldridge — in Philadelphia. But Bielek reported that the final test, conducted on July 22, encountered “a serious problem.”

A devastating fate

Bielek explained that the ship returned intact after 15 minutes of invisibility. However, its occupants were apparently suffering from delirium and nausea. So, according to Bielek, the Navy demanded another test the following month despite the objections of von Neumann. Bielek and Duncan then seemingly braced themselves for a further go — only to find themselves on a voyage into the unknown.

An unspeakable event

When the switch was flipped, Bielek said, a flash of blinding blue light shone out — and the ship totally vanished. Four hours later, the Eldridge apparently snapped back into existence — but with grotesque ramifications to its crew. When officials inspected the vessel, Bielek explained, they found five sailors stuck in the ship’s metal flooring. And those lucky enough to still be alive had reportedly also gone insane. Yet, Bielek and Duncan Cameron were reportedly nowhere to be found.

Jumping forward in time

What allegedly happened to the brothers is beyond amazing. Bielek related how, as soon as they realized something was wrong, Bielek and Duncan both jumped overboard. But instead of landing in the waters of Philadelphia in 1943, the pair reportedly hit the shore of Montauk, New York. And instead of being in the 1940s, they were apparently actually in 1983 — 40 years later.

A surprising welcome

Bielek told of how the pair were swarmed by guards and patrol helicopters as soon as they materialized on the shore. He said that, after being led into a complex, the pair arrived at an underground level where they met an elderly man. The individual seemingly introduced himself as John von Neumann — the person who’d apparently sent them through time 40 years before.

The paradox

Von Neumann attempted to explain to the brothers the reality of their situation, according to Bielek. At this point in time, the pair were apparently on the grounds of the Phoenix project — a secret government program aimed at harnessing time travel. There, Bielek said, scientists had somehow connected with the energy from the Philadelphia Experiment creating “a hole in hyperspace… which sucked the Eldridge in.”

The destruction of Earth

That seemingly wasn’t the worst of the pair’s problems, though. For you see, the Eldridge was still stuck inside a continually expanding “hyperspace bubble,” claimed Bielek. And its growth could apparently eventually even destroy the Earth. So it seemed that Bielek and Duncan had to return to the ship and destroy the equipment onboard.

A heroic mission

The brothers apparently accepted the mission for the greater good. And soon after, they were apparently sent through the fabric of space and time. “There is a slight feeling when you are going through space-time,” Bielek told Paola Harris in 2005. “The first trip you make can be quite nauseating and after that, you sort of get used to it.”

Closing the rift

Bielek explained that he and Duncan set about completing the assignment back on the deck of the USS Eldridge. The two apparently used axes to demolish the generators and circuitry to unlink the vessel from time and space. Soon, he said, the ship began to stabilize — and the Eldridge returned once again to 1943. But before all that happened, Bielek said, he actually initially woke up in the 22nd century.

Tales from the future

For those tuned into the self-proclaimed time traveler’s account, the story was about to get wilder. In the year 2000 — a decade after Bielek spoke at MUFON — Bielek elaborated on his and Duncan Cameron’s return to the Eldridge. And what he described was staggering beyond belief.

Back to the future

Bielek recalled waking up in an unfamiliar hospital bed with his brother at his side and a TV set in front of him. As Bielek would apparently come to learn, this wasn’t the world of 1943 — nor had he returned to 1983. Rather, they were allegedly in the distant future of 2137.

A strange new world

As the story goes, through some freak occurrence, the pair had once again traveled through hyperspace. And as a result, they apparently required medical treatment for radiation burns inflicted on their journey. All in all, Bielek said, the brothers spent six weeks in this medical facility of the future. Nevertheless, they reportedly learned a lot about the world of 2137 from inside its walls.

Advanced technology

First of all, Bielek said, he noticed an immediate change in the Earth’s medical equipment. Instead of gauze and medicine, he claimed, ultra-advanced light and vibrational energy were used to heal the sick. Television stations of the future apparently only broadcast news, history, and geography shows, too. “I don’t recall there was a single [soap opera] on the air,” Bielek remembered.

A warning

Bielek also apparently realized that serious geographical changes had happened to the Earth. Between the years 2000 and 2025 — he claimed — the United States had lost parts of its landmass. Most severely hit was allegedly the Southern part of the country: Atlanta was now near the coast and Florida was almost entirely gone.

Major population decline

But the changes to the world apparently didn’t stop at a geographical level. It seemed that the United States — which was allegedly now under military rule — had long ceased to exist as a nation-state. The globe’s population had allegedly decreased by an alarming number, too. As Bielek claimed, there were only 300 million people left on Earth in the 22nd century. That’s a drastic reduction from the 7.95 billion we have around the world today.

World War III

The reason for this — Bielek argued — was due to a global conflict in the early 21st century. He said the war between Eastern and Western forces saw entire cities decimated and centralized governments destroyed. Meanwhile, radioactive contamination left over from these battles was apparently creating severe problems for the conflict’s survivors.

A stark prophecy

At this point in the story, then, Bielek had reportedly journeyed between two entire centuries. And yet the time traveler’s voyage was apparently still far from over. After spending time recuperating in the 22nd century, Bielek said, he once again inexplicably shot forward to another point in the Earth’s existence: the distant future of 2749.

A distant utopian future

Oddly, Bielek could not account for why he alone was thrust even further through time. Although, happily, the world he reported was far more Elysian than the one he’d just left. Since becoming devastated by nuclear war, civilization had recovered to an incredible degree, he claimed. Now 600 years on, society had apparently rebuilt itself into a utopia.

Floating cities

In the 28th century, Bielek claimed, humanity had made significant advances in technology and had mastered the mechanics of anti-gravity. He described seeing two-and-a-half-mile-high floating cities suspended on platforms. Untethered from the ground, these metropolises could apparently travel the surface of the planet just as freely as a Jumbo jet.

AI taking over

Astonishingly, he said, mankind’s fate was no longer in human hands. Instead of governing itself, each city reportedly had its own artificial intelligence that looked after the day-to-day needs of its inhabitants. As a result, things we view today as a necessity — such as money or labor — were made completely immaterial, apparently.

Socially conscious

In Bielek’s own words, the world of tomorrow is deeply socially conscious. To this end, wars had reportedly become obsolete because countries had disbanded their armed forces. And after eliminating the need for money, this future civilization apparently worked on a credit system that provided everyone with enough to get by.

Back to the past

All in all, Bielek claimed, he spent two years living in the 28th century. Then — just as mysteriously as he had appeared — the voyager reportedly traveled back to the year 2137. And upon reuniting with his brother, Bielek then apparently returned through the hyperspace wormhole that they came through. But just when you thought the story couldn’t get any weirder, well, it does.

Transporting consciousness

Because although Bielek allegedly found himself unharmed in Montauk in 1983, his brother wasn’t so lucky. Bielek said a freak occurrence brought on by time travel caused Duncan to age phenomenally fast and die soon afterward. But Bielek apparently persuaded his parents to conceive another child in an effort to save his brother’s consciousness. And, wait for it — the child received Duncan Cameron’s thoughts and memories, said Bielek.

De-aging process

Bielek claimed that he remained on the Montauk Project, working with von Neumann on time travel. But apparently, they weren’t alone — they also had the reincarnated Duncan's psychic abilities. But soon, allegedly, the military became spooked by what Bielek had witnessed of the future. Consequently, Bielek said, the decision was made to de-age him, delete his memories, and transport him to 1927 under a new persona.

The Navy's official stance

Of course, whether or not Bielek’s version of events can be believed is really up to you. Crucially, though, in the 80 years since the Philadelphia Experiment supposedly took place, the U.S. Navy has never confirmed its existence. In fact, they've actively denied it. But for conspiracy theorists, that behavior is typical of any authority. Yet... some of Bielek's predictions for the future have already failed to materialize.

The last piece of the puzzle

In 2007 Bielek passed away from a stroke leaving many questions unanswered about the Philadelphia Experiment and Project Phoenix. But if his claims about the future are anywhere near true, we can be sure of a brave world before us. What we do know is that time travel has long been a part of science fiction.

The Enduring Question

For instance, in 1895 H.G. Wells released The Time Machine, which detailed a Victorian inventor’s quest into the 802nd century. And since then, humanity has been obsessed with whether the idea of traversing time, and witnessing what our future holds, is possible.

Great minds say it's possible

And while the majority of people see time travel as science fiction, some have claimed that it could become a reality. For instance, the late physicist Stephen Hawking speculated that it could be possible someday for man to travel through time. However, there are those who claim that these journeys have actually already happened.