INWO Concordance
Basic Set Resources
The INWO Concordance
was originally created by Colin Roald, expanded by Alan de Smet,
and is currently
maintained and edited by Steve
Brinich.
Illuminati, Illuminati: New World Order,
INWO, and Assassins are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games for its trading card game of conspiracy
theory. SubGenius is a registered
trademark of the SubGenius Foundation, Inc. This Concordance quotes a very
limited amount of material from INWO (card titles, mostly) in order to stay
within the limits of fair use.
Angel's Feather
Traditionally, angels are haloed, shimmering creatures of beauty
with feathered wings. See also the Steve Jackson Games role-playing game
In Nomine. [Th]
Ark of the Covenant
A gold-foiled wooden chest carved in the shape of a temple, venerated
as a holy relic by the ancient Israelites and held to be a vessel for the
Holy Spirit. When not carried into battle to bring the blessing of Jehovah,
it was kept in the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. After the fall of Jerusalem
in 586 BC, the Ark disappeared. In his book The Sign and the Seal,
Graham Hancock traces it to Ethiopia, where he believes it remains. In an
alternate theory, it was stored in Warehouse 23
after being recovered by a treasure-hunter named Jones. [SH,TE]
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, aka Sasquatch, is a hairy giant, generally pictured circa
9' tall, reputed to roam the forests of the Rocky Mountains taunting photographers
and tromping in convenient mud puddles. European players may be more familiar
with the similar legend of the Yeti from the Himalayas. Australian aboriginal
legends speak of a similar creature called the "Yowie".
The creature is alleged by believers to be a yet-unrecognized species
(which strangely contradicts the card's Unique status), evolved from prehistoric
apes on a parallel track with humanity. Skeptics consider Bigfoot sightings
to be either hoaxes or cases of mistaken identity (e.g., bears). [GB,OS]
Book of Kells
The Gospels, illuminated by the brothers at the monastery at Kells
in Ireland in the early 9th century. (The Book was actually begun at Iona
in the late 8th century, but was moved after early Viking raids). On permanent
display at Trinity College, Dublin, it is regarded as the masterpiece of its
kind. [MD]
The Bronze Head
According to Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier, Pope Sylvester II
went to India and got the head from the Nine Unknown Men (an illuminated type
group started around 250 BC by the Emporer Asoka). It apparently answered
yes/no questions and "sounds suspiciously like a small computer." This fits
with the Nine being a technological conspiracy. [CO]
Center for Weird Studies
Bill Humphries writes: This is an inside joke for mid-to-late 80's
Austinites in the fannish and BBS scenes. The Center refered to a 'slan shack'
(house shared by a bunch as SF fans) on 35th Street in Austin.
The residents included Joe DiMaggio (no relation to the slugger),
Bill Humphries (Information Monster), Phil Brogden (Griffin), Andy P. McQuiddy
(AP McQuiddy) and Mark Brown (Lone Sloane.) The household was a center of
activity for BBSers hanging out on Flight and the Austin Party Line as well
the site of one of the legendary Turkey City SF writer's workshops. I am responsible
for coining the term 'Center for Weird Studies.' After leaving Austin for
Graduate School in 1987. The 'Center' moved to a house on West 6th Street.
All of the denizens recieved CWS T-shirts.
Note that the name of artist Rick Harris is on the chalkboard.
Weird science is common in science fiction of the space-operatic or humorous
variety. One example: In The Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers by
Harry Harrison, the heroes discover a method of faster-than-light travel when
one of them puts a block of cheese in a cyclotron, thus creating their own
High Energy Cheese Lab.[AdS,CR,RR,Th]
Clipper Chip
Prospective US Gov't-sanctioned cryptography standard, designed by
N.S.A. experts. Clipper Chip encryption
would have a "back-door" to allow gov't agencies to potentially read any transmission.
The plan has been strongly criticized because of concerns that the government
might abuse this ability and because the chip uses a secret (and therefore
not independently verified) algorithm.
Currently, the government has switched its efforts from the Clipper
Chip itself to the general concept of "key recovery" encryption (meaning that
any algorithm may be used, but there must be some way for the government
to obtain the encryption key). This solves the unverified-algorithm problem,
but does not help with the issue of government abuse. The F.B.I. insists that key recovery is necessary
to enable surveillance of criminals and takes a rather dismissive
attitude toward its critics. The computer industry argues that
key recovery introduces extra costs and creates a risk that hackers might find and use the back
door. Civil libertarians point out that the Feds have a less-than-sterling record
of respecting the privacy of citizens.
The encryption issue in the U.S. came
to a head in September 1997, with legislation introduced before both houses
of Congress. The current round of legislation started out as generally pro-civil-liberties
in this area, but was amended into strongly pro-government-snooping form as
a result of backroom dealings in committee. [FM,SMB]
Crystal Skull
A real gem made from a single block of quartz weighing 11 pounds
7ozs. Commonly known as the Mitchell-Hedges crystal skull, the life-sized
artifact seemingly came to light in 1927 after the excavation of a lost
Mayan citadel in British Honduras. Subsequent investigation by Joe Nickell
indicated that the item is not of Mayan ancestry, but rather is much more
modern. Furthermore, the claims of death stalking the owner of the skull
seem to lie more in the realm of imagination rather than fact. It is beautiful,
though. Possibly more than one such gem exists. [LM,DV,ANH]
Cyborg Soldiers
These appear to be based most directly on the movie The Terminator,
altough any number of science fiction writers have written about cyborgs;
probably the best known of these is Martin Caidin's Cyborg, which
was the inspiration for the television series The Six Million Dollar Man.
[OS]
Death Mask
A death mask is molded from the face of a recently deceased person
(the mold takes some time to dry properly, which presents obvious difficulties
when trying to make a life mask from a living person). [SMB]
Earthquake Projector
What self-respecting, if not downright self-aggrandizing, megalomaniac would be without
some sort of disaster-inducing device?
It may be possible to trigger earthquakes with properly timed explosions,
pumping water into the ground, etc. in order to dissipate the potential
energy along a fault line in a series of small tremors, thus preventing major
earthquakes. [SMB]
Eliza
The early pseudo-AI psychoanalysis program. The user pours out his
heart to Eliza, which responds by quoting fragments back at him prefaced by
phrases like, "Why is it that..." and "Is it because of your mother that..."
This is especially amusing when trying to discuss sports with Eliza.
By the way, if you have emacs (the unix text editor), you almost
certainly have Eliza as well. Try M-x doctor (or M-x psychoanalyze-pinhead
for the truly illuminated). [AdS,CR]
Flying Saucer
Kenneth Arnold's description of his 1947 sighting appears to have
given rise to the label "flying saucer" (and the occasional variant "flying
disc," which never really caught on).
Believers and skeptics alike referred to "flying saucers" in the
1950s and 60s, but the term has picked up pulp-SF and pop-culture connotations
that make it embarassing to modern believers, who prefer to call them "UFOs". [SMB]
The Frog God
Probably a reference to Tsathoggua, Clark Ashton Smith's Cthulhu Mythos frog god, from "The
Mound," "The Whisperer in Darkness," and "The Horror in the Museum".
In the Illuminatus! trilogy, there is a scene in which a main
character witnesses an Obscene Ritual performed in front of an idol much like
this one. [JR,GG]
Hallucinations
Psychic projection of disorienting hallucinations into a target's
mind is a staple of comic book
psi-combat, and sometimes appears in science fiction.
Note the psychic has a nosebleed -- possibly a reference to David
Cronenberg's movie Scanners. The telepathic and telekinetic mutants
in this movie often developed nosebleeds when using their powers. [BB,SMB]
Hammer of Thor
Called Mjolnir. Thor is the Norse god of storms and fertility; his
hammer was associated with thunderbolts. After Ragnarok, the Norse armageddon,
it was said Thor's hammer would be one of the only artifacts to survive
the gods' demise. [DR]
Hidden City
There's a long list of "hidden locale" myths in legend; the one that
always occurred to me when looking at the card is Shambala, the mythical city
featured in the Shadow radio and comic series. [AY]
Hitler's Brain
Possibly a reference to a Grade Z movie, "They Saved Hitler's Brain".
After the Red Army moved into Berlin in the closing days of the WWII in
Europe, Hitler's remains disappeared into the bowels of the Soviet bureaucracy.
This appears to be the result of a Soviet policy decision to prevent the
body from serving as a relic that might inspire future Nazis. The official
autopsy report did not mention a head wound, though the survivors who had
been in the bunker to the end said that he shot himself in the head with
a pistol; instead, the Soviets officially described the death as suicide
by poison. It may be that the Soviet
authorities rewrote history
to make Hitler's demise seem as unheroic as possible, in a further effort
to dampen any Nazi resurgence. [JY,JK,WL,RB,MV,SMB]
The Holy Grail
The name given to the cup from which Christ drank at the Last Supper;
believed to have miraculous healing powers. Lost for millenia; one theory
holds that it is guarded by a surviving order of Templars. [AdS,CR]
Immortality Serum
Analogous to very real work being done by many top scientists involved
in longevity research; a favorite subject of Illuminatus! author
Robert Anton Wilson ("I'm going to live forever, or die trying!"). [OS]
The Library at Alexandria
The most famous library of classical antiquity. Founded and maintained
by the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt beginning from the 3rd century BC; initally
organised by Demetrious Phalerus. The Library was destroyed in the Roman
civil war under Aurelian in the late 3rd century AD. (Alexandria was the
capital of the Hellenistic Egyptian kingdom founded by Alexander the Great
in 332 BC.) The Library was rebuilt, to be destroyed a second time by the
Arabs in the 8th century. Allegedly, the commander proclaimed that if the
scrolls agreed with the Koran, they were superfluous; if they contradicted
it, they were pernicious--so burn them all. [WL,GG]
Loch Ness Monster
In late 1933, the Daily Mail hired self-proclaimed big-game hunter
Marmaduke Wetherall to find the Loch Ness Monster. He took a stuffed hippopotamus
foot ashtray, and placed tracks and 'spoor' along the shore, and claimed
to have found evidence of the monster. When his hoax was exposed, he was
dropped by the Daily Mail, which wounded his pride.
The famous photo of Nessie was supposedly created bye Wetherall and
his stepson, Christian Spurling, who was an expert model-maker.
Wetherall's link to the photo was not previously suspected, because
the photo had been taken by surgeon Robert Wilson. However, it turns out that
Wilson was a friend of a friend of Spurling's. Shortly before his death,
Spurling described the hoax in an interview. There are still some suspicions
about the truth of Spurling's story, however.
The loch was once dredged by the Royal Corps of Engineers just to
lay the whole thing to rest. Sadly and predictably, it didn't help. -- Summarized from Fortean Times #76
Several other locations also claim to have similar creatures, including
"Champ" from Lake Champlain (which extends from New York to Vermont and
into Quebec). [GG,JY,OS]
Mercenaries
Soldiers for hire. If the money used to pay them is properly laundered,
mercenaries can be sent on secret missions while preserving your deniability
if they get captured. [SMB]
Midas Mill
Midas was a mythical Greek king who wished that everything he touched
would turn to gold... and regretted getting his wish after transforming his
daughter and slowly starving to death. Since a small part of natural sea water
is metallic gold, there have been a few harebrained attempts to extract it.
In all cases, the extraction costs more than the gold output. [GG]
Necronomicon
ie, the Book of Dead Names. Forbidden tome of arcane and forbidden
knowledge from H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu
works. Famous occultist Alister Crowley claimed to have a copy of this book,
despite Lovecraft's insistence that it was purely fictional.
Some enterprising individuals have published books under this name
(usually gibberish that repeats every few pages) which you may find for sale.
[FM,SMB,Th]
Orbital
Mind Control Lasers
Paranoid schizophrenics frequently claim that "They" are controlling
their lives or otherwise attacking them via invisible beams. [RV]
Perpetual Motion Machine
People have tried to build a machine that would provide useful work
without requiring an external power source for thousands of years. The discovery
of the laws of thermodynamics in the nineteenth century convinced mainstream
scientists that perpetual motion machines in the classic sense are impossible.
(Objects not exposed to significant friction, such as planets in their orbits,
can continue moving indefinitely, but any attempt to extract energy from them
would deplete a finite total reserve.)
The proof that perpetual motion machines are impossible caused cranks
to redouble their efforts. Now, the payoff was not only a limitless source
of energy (with all the resulting wealth and fame), but also a chance to
show up all those smarty-pants scientists. People who claim to have invented
working perpetual motion machines tend to display an odd combination of humility
(describing their work as intended for the good of mankind, with little thought
to personal gain) and arrogance (describing themselves as far superior to
pigheaded orthodox scientists).
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
(and most other patent offices) routinely reject perpetual motion machine
applications on the ground that they just can't work. This sometimes ends
up in a lengthy court battle, as in the Joseph Newman
case. [SMB]
Principia
Discordia
or, "How I Found Goddess, and What I Did to Her When I Found Her",
Wherein is Explained Absolutely Everything Worth Knowing About Absolutely
Anything. The bible of Discordianism.
It is available online in several forms (follow the title link, for example).
The Principia was written by Greg Hill under the alias "Malaclypse
the Younger" with significant contributions by Kerry Thornley under the
alias "Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst." Thornley, who once worked in the office
of JFK conspiracy-hunter Jim Garrison, was also the author of the only book
about Lee Harvey Oswald written before the Kennedy assassination: The
Idle Warriors. In fact, some early Discordian writings (predating the
Principia) were actually copied on Garrison's mimeograph machine
(and Thornley was at one point investigated by Garrison as part of the assassination
conspiracy coverup).
Hill and Thornley frequently append the title "K.S.C." to their Discordian
names, which stands for "Keeper of the Sacred Chao"; the Sacred Chao is
a Discordian symbol similar to a yin-yang, but with a slightly askew pentagon
in one side and the golden apple of Eris in the other. The pentagonal symbol
which appears on the actual card is the Mandala, which in turn contains
another Discordian symbol: the "Five-Fingered Hand of Eris" (two arrows converging
to a common point).
The Principia was a significant inspiration for Illuminatus!.
[CF,JK,MV,OS]
Rogue Boomer
A "boomer" is a submarine armed with strategic nuclear weapons. A
rogue (refusing to obey orders -- in this case, defecting) boomer captain
initiates the plot of Tom Clancy's The Hunt For Red October. [SMB]
Shroud of Turin
A sacred artefact of the Catholic Church, held to be Christ's burial
cloth. Considerable controversy exists over its authenticity. Radiocarbon
dating on the shroud suggests it was made around the period of the Crusades,
only shortly before its first verifiable appearance in Europe in the possession
of the Crusader Geoffroi de Charny. One respectable academic opinion holds
that it was made in Byzantium as an icon (an aid to devotion) and misidentified
(possibly deliberately, by the medieval equivalent of tourism promoters)
after being taken to France.
A similar artifact is Veronica's Veil, a cloth supposedly imprinted
with the image of Jesus (prominently featured in Anne Rice's novel Memnoch
the Devil). [OS]
Soulburner
Likely a reference to the key macguffin in Steve Jackson Games' second-coolest
publication ever, the world of Merlin from Time Travel Adventures.
Alternately, it could refer to one of the Wizard novels by Simon Hawke.
[DS]
Spear of Longinus
The spear that pierced Christ's side when He was on the cross, also
known as the Spear of Destiny (Longinus was the name of the centurion who
wielded it). According to legend, its owner was invincible in battle. Reportedly,
Hitler wanted
this baby badly (though it should be noted that reports about Hitler's "fascination with the occult" appear to
be untrue, and perhaps based on confusion with other high-ranking Nazis who
were interested in occultism, notably Heinrich Himmler).
In actuality, the Nazis actually did get their hands on an ancient
Roman spear they believed to be the Spear of Longinus; less then a
day after American soldiers occupied the museum where it was held, Hitler
was dead by his own hand. (Or was he?) [BB,DV,KB,SMB]
Suicide Squad
A group sent on an extremely hazardous mission, with little chance
of survival.
One of the squad members in the artwork has a peace sign and the
word "KILL" on his helmet, suggesting the Kill for Peace goal. [RLM,SMB]
Warehouse 23
Reference to Hangar 18 (in some versions, Hangar 54), where supposedly
the US government stores crashed UFOs,
dead aliens on ice, and other such objects it finds or acquires. Possibly
also a reference to the UFO flick Hangar 18.
This may also refer to "Area 51" (also known as "S/4," "the Ranch"
and "Dreamland"), located outside Nevada's Nellis Air Force Base near Groom
Lake, site of numerous UFO sightings. Physicist Robert Lazar has claimed
to be part of the group that investigated the remains of nine captured UFOs,
attempting to recreate the alien technology therein. Lazar's claims have also
included reports of actual contact between aliens and U.S. officials. In
fact, secret Air Force designs have been tested at Area 51, which naturally
leads the Air Force to take a dim view of people observing the area too closely,
which in turn naturally fuels the UFO theories.
Another likely inspiration for the concept is the last scene of the
movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, in which the crated Ark of the Covenant is placed in a huge warehouse
full of other, outwardly identical, crates.
It should also be noted that "23" is a very Illuminated number, particularly
important in Discordianism as a representation of the Rule of Fives (2+3=5).
The key tenets of the Rule are (1) that the number 5 controls far more of
our lives than can be attributed to mere chance, and (2) that any other number
would serve as well as 5.
The Warehouse 23 concept is now the basis of a GURPS supplement.
[AC,FM,JY,OS,SMB]
Weather Satellite
This term is generally used for satellites that just report the weather.
[SMB]
Xanadu
"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree..." Reference
to Coleridge's unfinished classic poem "Kubla
Khan". Coleridge woke up with several hundred lines of poetry in his
mind and began writing it down. Unfortunately, a "person from Porlock" came
by and interrupted him before he finished; worse yet, the visitor kept him
occupied for so long that he forgot the rest of the poem.
The described effect is also reminiscent of the fashion in which
the Assassin cult insured
the total loyalty of its members, using a combination of hashish and a pleasure
garden to convince them that when they died they had assurance of heaven.
[GB,JK]
CREDITS
The bulk of the entries were originally written by Alan
de Smet and/or Colin Roald (Basic Set) or Steve Brinich (Assassins). Others
have provided feedback, additional facts, and occasional entire entries;
these entries are marked with the initials of the contributor(s). The full
names corresponding to these initials are listed on the credits page.
I would like to thank everyone who provided entries and
feedback.
Last Updated October 1997
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