What you may think is real may be only a stunt.

Okay, you may have heard the contentious discussions regarding whether I, Pluto, am a planet or not, which was based purely on misapprehension. My reversal of fortune took place late last month when some 400 nerdy scientists conspired to strip me of my planet status and demote me to a rank lower than that of the planet Earth. They subsequently realised that what they had believed for more than 70 years was a lie.

I used to enjoy and take pride in revolving in the same orbit as Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus, but now my status has been downgraded to that of the dwarf planets and I will be stuck with Xena and Ceres. I will no longer belong in the astronomical premiership but will instead be relegated to the same level as these two tiny asteroids.

In fact, none of your planetarians have ever set foot on me. But yet, they believe what they saw from their telescopes was real, even though reality might suggest otherwise.

Remember, in 1930, they thought that they had made a great discovery - the ninth planet, which they thought was several times larger than the planet Earth. But now they blame me for pulling an astronomical stunt and their punishment is relegating me to the status of a second-tier dwarf planetoid.

I won't reveal my celestial identity, as I believe that it will take several years before my true identity is revealed after the arrival of the first human spaceship. And when that time comes, humans may be surprised to find out that they can be wrong more than once.

I know that planetarians are not difficult to deceive, as they tend to mix reality and the interpretation of the facts.

Look at what happened in what Thai police describe as the assassination plot to kill caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. There's no actual scientific proof linking the jigsaw of events. But yet, Lieutenant Thawatchai Klinchana was suspected of engaging in a plot to assassinate Prime Minister because he was driving a car with a fake licence near the prime minister's home.

The police believed their assumption was right because they found what they believed were "explosive devices", including 3.5 pounds of C-4, a detonator, four sandbags, two gallons of benzene and some fertiliser. Couldn't the guy have been carrying all of these for other purposes, or should we assume that anyone carrying these items must intend to kill the prime minister?

Within a few hours, authorities said they had misjudged the situation by underestimating the bomb's potential. Later they said lubricants found in the car contained the powerful Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil (Anfo), which has a killing radius of 1,000 metres.

Thawatchai insisted that he had no idea that what he was carrying had the incredible potential to destroy buildings and the nearby flyover. Almost half of the people recently surveyed meanwhile said they believed it was a set-up.

I don't have to explain the controversy and the consequences that came afterwards. Planetarians in Thailand now don't seem to care what is real and what is just a perception. They are just trying to grapple with images that try to convince them one way or the other.

And if the fate of me, Pluto, can serve as any indication, it may take several decades before the truth is discovered behind the alleged assassination plot.

As for today, Thawatchai and the "bomb-laden" car were just like me in 1930 - something big, stunning, amazing, shocking, something of grand design intended to unleash highly significant consequences. But the great-grandchildren of the Thai police may find the whole thing totally different. Hopefully, the mega-assassination scheme of your planet won't be demoted to the status of a hoax by that generation.

Sincerely, Pluto

Jeerawat Na Thalang