Part 18 (2/2)

At least, for now, you can probably grasp this much: their fundamental fallacy is the Aneristic Delusion. They really really believe in law 'n' order. As a matter of fact, since everybody in this crazy, millennia-old battle has his own theory about what the Illuminati are really aiming at, I might as well tell you mine. I think they're all scientists and they want to set up a scientific world government. The Jacobins were probably following precise Illuminati instructions when they sacked the churches in Paris and proclaimed the dawn of the Age of Reason. You know the story about the old man who was in the crowd when Louis XVI went to the guillotine and who shouted as the king's head fell, ”Jacques De Molay, thou art avenged”? All the symbols that De Molay introduced into Masonry are scientific implements-the T-square, the architect's triangle, even that pyramid that has caused so much bizarre speculation. If you count the eye as part of the design, the pyramid has 73 divisions, you know, not 72. What's 73 mean? Simple: multiply it by five, in accordance with Weishaupt's believe in law 'n' order. As a matter of fact, since everybody in this crazy, millennia-old battle has his own theory about what the Illuminati are really aiming at, I might as well tell you mine. I think they're all scientists and they want to set up a scientific world government. The Jacobins were probably following precise Illuminati instructions when they sacked the churches in Paris and proclaimed the dawn of the Age of Reason. You know the story about the old man who was in the crowd when Louis XVI went to the guillotine and who shouted as the king's head fell, ”Jacques De Molay, thou art avenged”? All the symbols that De Molay introduced into Masonry are scientific implements-the T-square, the architect's triangle, even that pyramid that has caused so much bizarre speculation. If you count the eye as part of the design, the pyramid has 73 divisions, you know, not 72. What's 73 mean? Simple: multiply it by five, in accordance with Weishaupt's funfwissenschaft funfwissenschaft, the science of fives, and you get 365, the days of the year. The d.a.m.n thing is some kind of astronomical computer, like Stonehenge. The Egyptian pyramids are facing to the East, where the sun rises. The great pyramid of the Mayans has exactly 365 divisions, and is also facing to the East. What they're doing is wors.h.i.+pping the ”order” they have found in Nature, never realizing that they projected the order there with their own instruments.

That's why they hate ordinary mankind-because we're so disorderly. They've been trying for six or seven thousand years to reestablish Atlantis-style high civilization-law 'n' order-the Body Politic, as they like to call it. A giant robot is what their Body Politic really amounts to, you know. A place for everything and everything in its place. A place for everybody and everybody in his place. Look at the Pentagon-look at the whole army, for G.o.ddess's sake! That's what they want the planet to be like Efficient, mechanical, orderly-very orderly-and inhuman. That's the essence of the Aneristic Delusion: to imagine you have found Order and then to start manipulating the quirky, eccentric chaotic things that really exist into some kind of platoons or phalanxes that correspond to your concept of the Order they're supposed to manifest. Of course, the quirkiest, most chaotic things that exist are other people-and that's why they're so obsessed with trying to control us.

Why are you staring like that? Am I changing colors or growing bigger or something? Good: the acid is starting to work. Now we can really get to the nitty-gritty. First of all, most of what I've been telling you is bulls.h.i.+t. The Illuminati have no millennia-old history; neither do the JAMs. They invented their great heritage and tradition- Jacques De Molay and Charlemagne and all of it-out of whole cloth in 1776, picking up all sorts of out-of-context history to make it seem plausible. We've done the same. You might wonder why we copy them, and even deceive our own recruits about this. Well, part of illumination-and we've got to be illuminized ourselves to fight them-is in learning to doubt everything. That's why Hagbard has that painting in his stateroom saying ”Think for yourself, schmuck,” and why Ha.s.san i Sabbah said ”Nothing ”Nothing is true.” You've got to learn to doubt us, too, and everything we tell you. There are no honest men on this voyage. In fact, maybe is true.” You've got to learn to doubt us, too, and everything we tell you. There are no honest men on this voyage. In fact, maybe this part this part is the only lie I've told you all evening, and the Illuminati history before 1776 really is true and not an invention. Or maybe we're just a front for the Illuminati ... to recruit you indirectly.... is the only lie I've told you all evening, and the Illuminati history before 1776 really is true and not an invention. Or maybe we're just a front for the Illuminati ... to recruit you indirectly....

Feeling paranoid? Good: illumination is on the other side of absolute terror. And the only terror that is truly absolute is the horror of realizing that you can't believe anything you've ever been told. You have to realize fully that you are are ”a stranger and afraid in a world you never made,” like Houseman says. ”a stranger and afraid in a world you never made,” like Houseman says.

Twenty-two big rhinoceroses, twenty-three big rhinoceroses ... ...

The Illuminati basically were structure-freaks. Hence, their hangup on symbols of geometric law and architectural permanence, especially the pyramid and the pentagon. (G.o.d's Lightning, like all authoritarian Judeo-Christian heresies, had its own share of this typically Occidental straight-line mystique, which was why even the Jews among them, like Zev Hirsch, accepted the symbol first suggested by Atlanta Hope: that most Euclidean of all religious emblems: the Cross.) The Discordians made their own sardonic commentary on the legal and scientific basis of law 'n' order by using a 17-step pyramid-17 being a number with virtually no interesting geometric, arithmetic or mystic properties, outside of Java, where it was the basis of a particularly wierd musical scale-and topping it with the Apple of Discord, symbol of the un-rational, un-geometrical, and thoroughly disorderly spontaneity of the vegetable world of creative evolution. The Erisian Liberation Front (ELF) had no symbol, and when asked for one by new recruits, replied loftily that their symbol could not be pictured, since it was a circle whose circ.u.mference was everywhere and its center nowhere. They were the most far-out group of all, and only the most advanced Discordians could begin to understand their gibberish.

The JAMs, however, had a symbol that anyone could understand, and, just as Harry Pierpont showed it to John Dillinger midway through a nutmeg high in Michigan City prison, Dr. Ignotius showed it to Joe midway through his first acid trip.

”This,” he said dramatically, ”is the Sacred Chao.”

[image]

”That's a symbol of technocracy,” Joe said, giggling.

”Well,” Dr. Ignotius smiled, ”at least you're original. Nine out of ten new members mistake it for the Chinese yin-yang or the astrological symbol of Cancer. It's similar to both of them-and also to the symbols of the Northern Pacific Railroad and the s.e.x Information and Education Council of the United States, all of which is eventually going to lead to some interesting doc.u.ments being produced at John Birch headquarters, I'm sure, proving that s.e.x educators run the railroads or that astrologers control the s.e.x educators or something of that sort. No, this is different. It is the Sacred Chao, symbol of Mummu, G.o.d of Chaos.

”On the right, O n.o.bly born, you will see the image of your 'female' and intuitive nature, called yin yin by the Chinese. The yin contains an apple which is the golden apple of Ens, the forbidden apple of Eve, and the apple which used to disappear from the stage of the Flatbush Burlesque House in Brooklyn when Linda Larue did the split on top of it at the climax of her striptease. It represents the erotic, libidinal, anarchistic, and subjective values wors.h.i.+ped by Hagbard Celine and our friends in the Legion of Dynamic Discord. by the Chinese. The yin contains an apple which is the golden apple of Ens, the forbidden apple of Eve, and the apple which used to disappear from the stage of the Flatbush Burlesque House in Brooklyn when Linda Larue did the split on top of it at the climax of her striptease. It represents the erotic, libidinal, anarchistic, and subjective values wors.h.i.+ped by Hagbard Celine and our friends in the Legion of Dynamic Discord.

”Now, O n.o.bly born, as you prepare for Total Awakening, turn your eyes to the left, yang side of the Sacred Chao. This is the image of your 'male,' rationalistic ego. It contains the pentagon of the Illuminati, the Satanists, and the U.S. Army. It represents the a.n.a.l, authoritarian, structural, law 'n' order values which the Illuminati have imposed, through their puppet governments, on most of the peoples of the world.

”This is what you must understand, O newborn Buddha: neither side is complete, or true, or real. Each is an abstraction, a fallacy. Nature is a seamless web in which both sides are in perpetual war (which is another name for perpetual peace). The equation always balances. Increase one side, and the other side increases by itself. Every h.o.m.os.e.xual is a latent heteros.e.xual, every authoritarian cop is the sh.e.l.l over an anarchistic libido. There is no Vernichtung Vernichtung, no Final Solution, no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and you are not Saul Goodman, when you're lost out here.”

Listen: the chaos you experience under LSD is not an illusion. The orderly world you imagine you experience imagine you experience, under the artificial and poisonous diet which the Illuminati have forced on all civilized nations, is the real illusion. I am not saying what you are hearing. The only good fnord is a dead fnord. Never whistle while you're p.i.s.sing. An obscure but highly significant contribution to sociology and epistemology occurs in Malignowski's study ”Retroactive Reality,” printed in Wieczny Kwiat Wtadza Wieczny Kwiat Wtadza, the journal of the Polish Orthopsychiatric Psociety, for Autumn 1959.

”All affirmations are true in some sense, false in some sense, meaningless in some sense, true and false in some sense, true and meaningless in some sense, false and meaningless in some sense, and true and false and meaningless in some sense. Do you follow me?”

(In some sense, Joe mutters ...) The author, Dr. Malignowski, was a.s.sisted by three graduate students named Korzybski-1, Korzybski-2, and Korzybski-3 (Siamese triplets born to a mathematician and, hence, indexed rather than named). Malignowski and his students interviewed 1,700 married couples, questioning husband and wife separately in each case, and asked 100 key questions about their first meeting, first s.e.xual experience, marriage ceremony, honeymoon, economic standing during the first year of marriage, and similar subjects which should have left permanent impressions on the memory. Not one couple in the 1,700 gave exactly the same answers to 100 questions, and the highest single score was made by a couple who gave the same answers to 43 of the questions.

”This study demonstrated graphically what many psychologists have long suspected: the life-history which most of us carry around in our skulls is more our own creation (at least seven percent more) than it is an accurate recording of realities. As Malignowski concludes, 'Reality is retroactive, retrospective and illusory.'

”Under these circ.u.mstances, things not personally experienced but recounted by others are even more likely to be distorted, and after a tale pa.s.ses through five tellers it is virtually one hundred percent pure myth: another example of the Law of Fives.

”Only Marxists,” Dr. Iggy concluded, opening the door to usher Joe into the chapel room, ”still believe in an objective history. Marxists and a few disciples of Ayn Rand.”

Jung took the parchment from Drake and stared at it. ”It's not to be signed in blood? And what the h.e.l.l is this yin-yang symbol with the pentagon and the apple? You're a f.u.c.king fake.” His lips curled tightly in against his teeth.

”What do you mean?” said George through a throat that was rapidly closing up.

”I mean you're not from the G.o.ddam Illuminati,” said Jung. ”Who the h.e.l.l are you?”

”Didn't you know that before I came here-that I'm not from the Illuminati?” said George. ”I'm not trying to fake anybody out. Honest, really, I thought you knew the people who sent me. I never said said I was from the Illuminati.” I was from the Illuminati.”

Maldonado nodded, a slight smile bringing his face to life. ”I know who he is. The people of the Old Strega Strega. The Sybil of Sybils. All hail Discordia, kid. Right?”

”Hail Eris,” said George with a slight feeling of relief.

Drake frowned. ”Well, we seem to be at cross purposes. We were contacted by mail, then by telephone, then by messenger, by parties who made it quite clear that they knew ail about our business with the Illuminati. Now, to the best of my knowledge-perhaps Don Federico knows better-there is only one organization in the world that knows anything about the AISB, and that is the AISB itself.” George could tell he was lying.

Maldonado raised a warning hand. ”Wait. Up, everybody. To the bathroom.”

Drake sighed. ”Oh, Don Federico! You and your tired notions of security. If my house isn't safe, we're all dead men as of this moment. And if the AISB is as good as it's said to be, an old trick like running water will be no obstacle to them. Let's conduct this discussion like civilized men, for G.o.d's sake, and not not huddled around my shower stall.” huddled around my shower stall.”

”There are times when dignity is suicide,” said Maldonado. He shrugged. ”But, I yield. I'll settle the question with you in h.e.l.l if you're wrong.”

”I'm still in the dark,” said Richard Jung. ”I don't know who this guy is or where he's from.”

”Look, Chinaman,” said Maldonado. ”You know who the Ancient Illuminated Seers of Bavaria are, right? Well, every organization has opposition, right? So do the Illuminati. Opposition that's like them, religious, magical, spooky stuff. Not simply interested in becoming rich, as is our gentlemanly aim in life. Playing supernatural games. Capeesh?” Capeesh?”

Jung looked skeptical. ”You could be describing the Communist party, the CIA, or the Vatican.”

”Superficial,” said Maldonado scornfully. ”And upstarts, compared with the AISB. Because the Bavarian Illuminati aren't Bavarians, you understand. That's just a recent name and manifestation for their order. Both the Illuminati and their opposition, which this guy represents, go back a long ways before Moscow, Was.h.i.+ngton or Rome. A little imagination is called for to understand this, Chinaman.”

”If the Illuminati are yang,” George said helpfully, ”we're yin. The only solution is a Yin Revolution. Dig?”

”I am a graduate of Harvard Law School,” said Jung loftily, ”and I do not not dig it. What are you, a bunch of hippies?” dig it. What are you, a bunch of hippies?”

”We never made a deal with your bunch before,” said Maldonado. ”They never had enough to offer us.”

Robert Putney Drake said, ”Yes, but wouldn't you like like to, though, Don Federico? Haven't you had a bellyfull of the others? I know I have. I know where you're from now, George. And you people have been making giant strides in recent decades. I'm not surprised that you're able to tempt us. It's worth our lives-and we are supposedly the most secure men in the United States-to betray the Illuminati. But I understand you offer us statues from Atlantis. By now they should be uncrated. And that there are more where these came from? Is that right, George?” to, though, Don Federico? Haven't you had a bellyfull of the others? I know I have. I know where you're from now, George. And you people have been making giant strides in recent decades. I'm not surprised that you're able to tempt us. It's worth our lives-and we are supposedly the most secure men in the United States-to betray the Illuminati. But I understand you offer us statues from Atlantis. By now they should be uncrated. And that there are more where these came from? Is that right, George?”

Hagbard had said nothing about that, but George was too worried about his own survival to quibble. ”Yes,” he said. ”There are more.”

Drake said, ”Whether we want to risk our lives by working with your people will depend on what we find when we examine the objets d'art objets d'art you are offering. Don Federico, being a highly qualified expert in antiquities, particularly in those antiquities which have been carefully kept outside of the ken of conventional archaeological knowledge, will p.r.o.nounce on the value of what you've brought. As a Sicilian thoroughly versed in his heritage, Don Federico is familiar with things Atlantean. The Sicilians are about the only extant people who do know about Atlantis. It is not generally realized that the Sicilians have the oldest continuous civilization on the face of the planet. With all due respects to the Chinese.” Drake nodded formally to Jung. you are offering. Don Federico, being a highly qualified expert in antiquities, particularly in those antiquities which have been carefully kept outside of the ken of conventional archaeological knowledge, will p.r.o.nounce on the value of what you've brought. As a Sicilian thoroughly versed in his heritage, Don Federico is familiar with things Atlantean. The Sicilians are about the only extant people who do know about Atlantis. It is not generally realized that the Sicilians have the oldest continuous civilization on the face of the planet. With all due respects to the Chinese.” Drake nodded formally to Jung.

”I consider myself an American,” said Jung. ”Though my family knows a thing or two about Tibet that might surprise you.”

”I'm sure,” said Drake. ”Well, you shall advise, as you are able. But the Sicilian heritage goes back thousands of years before Rome, as does their knowledge of Atlantis. There were a few things washed up on the sh.o.r.es of North Africa, a few things found by divers. It was enough to establish a tradition. If there were a museum of Atlantean arts, Don Federico is one of the few people in the world qualified to be a curator.”

”In other words,” said Maldonado with a ghastly smile, ”those statues better be authentic, kid. Because I will know if they are not.”

”They are,” said George. ”I saw them picked up off the ocean bottom myself.”

”That's impossible,” said Jung.

”Let's look,” said Drake.

He stood up and placed the palm of his hand fiat against an oak panel which immediately slid to one side, revealing a winding metal staircase. Drake leading the way, the four of them descended what seemed to George five stories to a door with a combination lock. Drake opened the door and they pa.s.sed through a series of other chambers, ending up in a large underground garage. The Gold & Appel truck was there and beside it the four statues, freed of their crates. There was no one in the room.

”Where did everybody go?” said Jung.

”They're Sicilians,” said Drake. ”They saw these and were afraid. They did did the job of uncrating them and left.” His face and Maldonado's wore a look of awe. Jung's craggy features bore an irritated, puzzled frown. the job of uncrating them and left.” His face and Maldonado's wore a look of awe. Jung's craggy features bore an irritated, puzzled frown.

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