The Illuminatus! Trilogy

First collected edition, 1984
Author	Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson
Cover artist	Carlos Victor (1975 paperbacks)
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre(s)	Science fiction
Publisher	Dell Publishing
Publication date	1975 (individual volumes); 1984 (collected edition)
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	805 pages (paperback collected edition)
ISBN	ISBN 1-56731-237-3 (Hardback collected edition) & ISBN 1-85487-574-4 (Paperback collected edition)

The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels written by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson purportedly between 1969 and 1971^[1], and first published in 1975. The trilogy is a satirical, postmodern, science fiction-influenced adventure story; a drug-, sex- and magic-laden trek through a number of conspiracy theories, both historical and imaginary, which hinge around the authors' version of the Illuminati. The narrative often switches between third and first person perspectives and jumps around in time. It is thematically dense, covering topics like counterculture, numerology and Discordianism. Image File history File links LinkFA-star. ... The Illuminati refers to one of any number of secretive groups, including the Bavarian Illuminati. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 404 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (421 × 625 pixel, file size: 55 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) 1984 edition, copyright Dell Publishing. ... Robert Joseph Shea (1933 - March 10, 1994) was the co-author (with Robert Anton Wilson) of The Illuminatus! Trilogy. ... Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson or RAW (January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was a prolific American novelist, essayist, philosopher, psychologist, futurologist, anarchist, and conspiracy theory researcher. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Dell Publishing was an American publisher of books, magazines, and comic books. ... A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) book is bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth or heavy paper) and a stitched spine. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... “ISBN” redirects here. ... A trilogy is a set of three works of art, usually literature or film, that are connected and can be seen as a single work, as well as three individual ones. ... Robert Joseph Shea (1933 - March 10, 1994) was the co-author (with Robert Anton Wilson) of The Illuminatus! Trilogy. ... Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson or RAW (January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was a prolific American novelist, essayist, philosopher, psychologist, futurologist, anarchist, and conspiracy theory researcher. ... 1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ... Postmodernism is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or superseding, modernism. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... An assortment of psychoactive drugs A psychoactive drug or psychotropic substance is a chemical substance that acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it alters brain function, resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness and behavior. ... This article is about human sexual perceptions. ... Not to be confused with Magic (illusion). ... For other uses, see Conspiracy theory (disambiguation). ... This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... The Narrator is the entity within a story that tells the story to the reader. ... The Narrator is the entity within a story that tells the story to the reader. ... In sociology, counterculture is a term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. ... Numerology is any of many systems, traditions or beliefs in a mystical or esoteric relationship between numbers and physical objects or living things. ... Discordianism is a modern, chaos-centered religion founded circa 1958–1959 by Malaclypse the Younger with the publication of its principal text, the Principia Discordia. ...

The trilogy comprises the books The Eye in the Pyramid, The Golden Apple and Leviathan. They were first published starting in September 1975, as three separate volumes, and in 1984 as an omnibus; they are now more commonly reprinted in the latter form. The trilogy won the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award, designed to honor classic libertarian fiction, in 1986.^[2] The authors went on to create several works, both fiction and nonfiction, that further discussed the themes of the trilogy, but no direct sequels were produced. Illuminatus! has been adapted for the stage, and has influenced several modern writers, musicians and games-makers. The popularity of the word "fnord" and the 23 enigma can both be attributed to the trilogy. It remains a seminal work of conspiracy fiction, predating Foucault's Pendulum and The Da Vinci Code by decades. The Prometheus Award is an award for libertarian science fiction novels given out annually by the Libertarian Futurist Society (which also publishes a quarterly journal, Prometheus). ... This article does not adequately cite its references. ... Look up Fnord in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A seminal work [semen = seed (from the Latin seminalis)] is a work from which other works come--it is an engendering work which is so important in its ideas or technique that other people take these up and create new works too. ... Particularly since the 1960s, conspiracy theory has been a popular subject of fiction. ... Cover of Foucaults Pendulum, 1989 Picador edition. ... This article is about the novel. ...

Narrative

The plot meanders between the thoughts, hallucinations and inner voices (both real and imagined) of its many characters, as well as through time (past, present and future)—sometimes in mid-sentence. Much of the back story is explained via dialogue between characters, who recount unreliable, often mutually contradictory, versions of their supposed histories. There are even parts in the book where it actually reviews and jokingly deconstructs itself. A hallucination is a sensory perception experienced in the absence of an external stimulus, as distinct from an illusion, which is a misperception of an external stimulus. ... Deconstruction is a term in contemporary philosophy, literary criticism, and the social sciences, denoting a process by which the texts and languages of Western philosophy (in particular) appear to shift and complicate in meaning when read in light of the assumptions and absences they reveal within themselves. ...

Plot summary

Paperback reprint of the collected edition.

The trilogy's rambling story begins with an investigation by two New York City detectives (Saul Goodman and Barney Muldoon) into the bombing of Confrontation, a leftist magazine, and the disappearance of its editor, Joe Malik. Discovering the magazine's investigation into the John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinations, the two follow a trail of memos that suggest the involvement of powerful secret societies. They slowly become drawn into a web of conspiracy theories. Meanwhile, the magazine's reporter, George Dorn – having been turned loose without support deep in right-wing Mad Dog, Texas – is arrested for possession of drugs. He is jailed and physically threatened, at one point hallucinating about his own execution. The prison is bombed and he is bodily dragged into the hands of the Discordians, led by the enigmatic Hagbard Celine, captain of a golden submarine. Hagbard represents the Discordians in their eternal battle against the Illuminati, the conspiratorial organization that secretly controls the world. He finances his operations by smuggling illicit substances. Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... “Leftism” redirects here. ... President Kennedy with his wife, Jacqueline, and Texas Governor John Connally in the presidential limousine just moments before his assassination The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, took place on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, USA at 12:30 p. ... Robert Kennedy The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy ocurred on June 5, 1968. ... “MLK” redirects here. ... “Right wing” redirects here. ... Official language(s) No official language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Largest metro area Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Discordianism is a modern, chaos-centered religion founded circa 1958–1959 by Malaclypse the Younger with the publication of its principal text, the Principia Discordia. ... Captain Hagbard Celine is a fictional character from the Illuminatus trilogy of books by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, named after the legendary Viking hero Hagbard who died for love. ...

The plot meanders around the globe to such far-flung locations as Las Vegas, Nevada (where a potentially deadly, secret U.S. government-developed mutated anthrax epidemic has been accidentally unleashed); Atlantis (where Howard, the talking porpoise, and his porpoise aides help Hagbard battle the Illuminati); Chicago (where someone resembling John Dillinger was killed many years ago); and to the island of Fernando Poo (the location of the next great Cold War standoff between Russia, China and the USA). Vegas redirects here. ... ... For other uses, see Atlantis (disambiguation). ... Genera Neophocaena Phocoena - Harbor porpoise Phocoenoides - Dalls porpoise The porpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... John Dillinger John Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American bank robber, considered by some to be a dangerous criminal, while others idealized him as a latter-day Robin Hood. ... Bioko (spelled also Bioco) is an island off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea, formerly called Fernando Pó or Fernando Póo. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

The evil scheme uncovered late in the tale is an attempt to immanentize the eschaton (a catchphrase meaning "bringing about the end of the world" or "creating heaven on earth", and derived from a quotation in the works of Eric Voegelin). Here it refers to the secret scheme of the American Medical Association, an evil rock-and-roll band, to bring about a mass human sacrifice, the purpose of which is the release of enough "life-energy" to give eternal life to a select group of initiates, including Adolf Hitler. The AMA are four siblings who comprise four of the five mysterious Illuminati Primi. The identity of the fifth remains unknown for much of the trilogy. The first European "Woodstock" festival, held at Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany, is the chosen location for the sacrifice of the unwary victims, via the reawakening of hibernating Nazi battalions from the bottom of nearby Lake Totenkopf. The plot is foiled when, with the help of a 50-foot-tall incarnation of the goddess Eris, the four members of the AMA are killed: Wilhelm is killed by the monstrous alien being Yog-Sothoth, Wolfgang is shot by John Dillinger, Winifred is drowned by porpoises, and Werner is trapped in a sinking car. To immanentize the eschaton means trying to bring about the eschaton (transcendent, spiritual, or future; the end of days, see eschatology) in the immanent (present or material) world. ... Eric Voegelin, born Erich Hermann Wilhelm Vögelin, (January 3, 1901 – January 19, 1985) was a political philosopher. ... The American Medical Association (AMA) is the largest association of medical doctors in the United States. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Hitler redirects here. ... The Woodstock Music and Art Fair was a historic event held at Max Yasgurs 600 acre (2. ... Ingolstadt (Austro-Bavarian: Inglstådt) is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, Germany. ... For other uses, see Bavaria (disambiguation). ... National Socialism redirects here. ... Eris (ca. ... Yog-Sothoth (The Lurker at the Threshold, The Key and the Gate, The Beyond One, Opener of the Way The All-in-One and the One-in-All) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos. ...

The major protagonists, now gathered together onboard the submarine, are menaced by the Leviathan, a giant, pyramid-shaped single-cell sea monster that has been growing in size for hundreds of millions of years. The over-the-top nature of this encounter leads some of the characters to question whether they are merely characters in a book. This metafictional note is swiftly rejected (or ignored) as they turn their attention to the monster again. The threat is neutralized by offering up their onboard computer as something for the creature to communicate with to ease its loneliness. Finally, Hagbard Celine reveals himself as the fifth Illuminatus Primus — he has been toying with both sides and playing them off against each other in order to keep balance. He is a representative of the "true" Illuminati, whose aim is to spread the idea that everybody is free to do whatever they want at all times. This article is about the biblical creature. ... Picture taken from a Hetzel copy of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Sea monsters or leviathans are sea-dwelling, mythical or legendary creatures, often believed to be of immense size. ... Look up metafiction in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Titles

Original 1975 publication of The Eye in the Pyramid featuring artwork by Carlos Victor

The titles of the three volumes or parts (the front covers were titled Illuminatus! Part I The Eye in the Pyramid, Illuminatus! Part II The Golden Apple and Illuminatus! Part III Leviathan) refer to recurring symbols that relate to elements of the plot. The Eye in the Pyramid refers to the Eye of Providence, which in the novel represents in particular the Bavarian Illuminati, and makes a number of appearances (for example, as an altar and a tattoo). The Golden Apple refers to the Golden apple of discord, from the Greek myth of the Judgement of Paris. In the trilogy it is used as the symbol of the Legion of Dynamic Discord, a Discordian group; the golden apple makes a number of appearances, for example, on a black flag, and as an emblem on a uniform. Leviathan refers to the Biblical sea monster Leviathan, which is a potential danger to Hagbard's submarine Lief Erickson. Image File history File links Illum_EitP-1975. ... Image File history File links Illum_EitP-1975. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This is an article about groups called the Illuminati. For information on the games, see Illuminati (game) and Illuminati: New World Order. ... // The Golden apple is an element that appears in some countries legends or fairy tales. ... The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the Ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. ... The Judgment of Paris, Peter Paul Rubens, ca 1636 (National Gallery, London) For the wine-tasting event known as The Judgment of Paris, see Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 The Judgement of Paris is a story from Greek mythology, in which the legendary roots of the Trojan War can be... Discordianism has been described as both an elaborate joke disguised as a religion and a religion disguised as an elaborate joke. ... This article discusses various anarchist symbols, including the circle-A and the black flag. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... This article is about the biblical creature. ...

The three parts of the trilogy are subdivided into five "books" named after the five seasons of the Discordian calendar. These books are also subdivided into ten "trips" named after the ten Sephirot. The last trip's conclusion is followed by fourteen appendices named after letters of the Hebrew Alphabet, which share their names with paths on the Tree of Life. The first page of the Appendix includes this mysterious note: "There were originally 22 appendices explaining the secrets of the Illuminati. Eight of the appendices were removed due to the paper shortage. They will be printed in heaven", while "Appendix Mem" states: "Where are the missing eight appendices? Answer: Censored." This appears to be another of the authors' jokes, although it is true that eight letters of the Hebrew Alphabet are missing, and the publisher required the authors to cut 500 pages from the book.^[3] The Discordian calendar is an alternative calendar used by some adherents of Discordianism. ... Category:Sephiroth      Sefirah redirects here. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Category:Sephiroth      Sefirah redirects here. ... Mem is the thirteenth letter of the Phoenician and Hebrew alphabets. ...

Publishing history

The trilogy was originally written between 1969 and 1971 while Wilson and Shea were both associate editors for Playboy magazine. As part of the role, they dealt with correspondence from the general public on the subject of civil liberties, much of which involved paranoid rants about imagined conspiracies. The pair began to write a novel with the premise that "all these nuts are right, and every single conspiracy they complain about really exists".^[4] In a 1980 interview given to the science fiction magazine Starship, Wilson suggested the novel was also an attempt to build a myth around Discordianism: For other uses, see Playboy (disambiguation). ... Civil liberties is the name given to freedoms that protect the individual from government. ... Discordianism is a modern, chaos-centered religion founded circa 1958–1959 by Malaclypse the Younger with the publication of its principal text, the Principia Discordia. ...

There was no specific division of labor in the collaborative writing process, although Shea's writing tended towards melodrama, while Wilson's parts tended towards satire. Wilson states in a 1976 interview conducted by Neal Wilgus: Eris (ca. ... Poster for The Perils of Pauline (1914). ... 1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ...

According to Ken Campbell, who created a stage adaptation of Illuminatus! with Chris Langham, the writing process was treated as a game of one-upmanship between the two co-authors, and was an enjoyable experience for both: Kenneth Victor Campbell (born December 10, 1941 in Ilford, Essex) is a British writer, actor, director and comedian, known for his unconventional work in theatre. ... Christopher Langham (born 14 April 1949) is a British writer, actor, comedian and convicted paedophile. ...

The unusual end product did not appeal to publishers, and it took several years before anybody agreed to take it on. According to Wilson the division of Illuminatus! into three parts was a commercial decision of the publisher, not the authors, who had conceived it as a single continuous volume. Publishers Dell also required Shea and Wilson to cut 500 pages to reduce printing costs on what was seen as a risky venture,^[5] although Wilson states that most of the ideas contained therein made it into his later works. The idea that the top secrets of the Illuminati were cut from the books because the printer decided to trim the number of pages is a joke typical of the trilogy.

Dell first released these individual editions (with covers illustrated by Carlos Victor) in the USA in 1975, to favorable reviews and some commercial success. It became a cult favorite but did not cross over into large mainstream sales. In Britain, Sphere Books released the individual editions (with different cover art) in 1978. The individual editions sold steadily until 1984, when the trilogy was republished in a single omnibus volume for the first time. This collected edition lost the "what has gone before" introduction to The Golden Apple and the "Prologue" to Leviathan. Some of the material in that foreword, such as the self-destruct mynah birds (taught to say "Here, kitty-kitty-kitty!"), appears nowhere else in the trilogy, likely a result of the 500 pages of cuts demanded by Dell. The omnibus edition gave a new lease of life to flagging sales, and became the most commonly available form of the trilogy from then on. See also: 1974 in literature, other events of 1975, 1976 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Sphere Books, a British paperback-publisher from 1961 to 1990. ... See also: 1977 in literature, other events of 1978, 1979 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1983 in literature, other events of 1984, 1985 in literature, list of years in literature. ... † See also Starling, Oxpecker The mynas are part of the family Sturndidae, along with the starlings and oxpeckers. ...

The trilogy was translated and published in German, again both as separate volumes (the three covers of which formed a tryptych) and an omnibus. The face of J. R. "Bob" Dobbs was split across the first two volumes, despite the Church of the SubGenius not being featured in the novel (although Wilson had become a member). The Church was founded by Illuminatus! fans, and the image of "Bob" is widely considered to be a representation of Wilson himself.^[8] Categories: Stub | Painting ... J. R. Bob Dobbs J. R. Bob Dobbs is the figurehead of the Church of the SubGenius. ... J. R. Bob Dobbs The Church of the SubGenius is a postmodern religion, originally based in Dallas, Texas, which gained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s subculture, with a large presence on the Internet. ...

Themes

The Illuminatus! Trilogy covers a wide range of subjects within its 805 pages. These include discussions about mythology, current events, conspiracy theories and the Cthulhu Mythos. Cthulhu and Rlyeh The Cthulhu Mythos encompasses the shared elements, characters, settings, and themes in the works of H. P. Lovecraft and associated horror fiction writers. ...

Conspiracies

The Eye in the Pyramid as represented by The Great Seal of the United States on a dollar bill

Although the many conspiracy theories in the book are (presumably) imaginary, these are mixed in with enough truth to make them seem plausible. For example, the title of the first book, The Eye in the Pyramid, refers to the Eye of Providence, a mystical symbol which derives from the ancient Egyptian Eye of Horus and is rumored to be the symbol of the Bavarian Illuminati. Some of America's founding fathers are alleged by conspiracy theorists to have been members of this sect.^[9] Official Big Brother 6 UK logo File links The following pages link to this file: Big Brother (TV series) ... Official Big Brother 6 UK logo File links The following pages link to this file: Big Brother (TV series) ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Eye of Horus The Eye of Horus (originally, The Eye of Ra) is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection and Royal Power, from the deity Horus or Ra. ... This is an article about groups called the Illuminati. For information on the games, see Illuminati (game) and Illuminati: New World Order. ... Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, by Howard Chandler Christy. ...

The books are loaded with references to the Illuminati, the Argenteum Astrum, many and various world domination plans, conspiracy theories and pieces of gnostic knowledge. Many of the odder conspiracies in the book are taken from unpublished letters to Playboy magazine, where the authors were working as associate editors while they wrote the novels. Among the oddest, the suggestion that Adam Weishaupt, founder of the Bavarian Illuminati, killed George Washington and took on his identity as President of the United States is often noted in Illuminati-conspiracy discussion.^[10] Proponents of this theory point to Washington's portrait on the United States one-dollar bill, which they suggest closely resembles the face of Weishaupt. Argenteum Astrum, also known as Argentinum Astrum, Argentinium Astrum (Latin for silver star), Astron Argon (Greek for shining star), or simply A∴A∴(According to the Thelema Website, A..A.. stands for Arcanum Arcanorum; Latin for Secret of Secrets or Mystery of Mysteries), is a magical order created by Aleister... Alexander the Great Philip II of Spain Napoleon Bonaparte For other uses, see World domination (disambiguation). ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... For other uses, see Playboy (disambiguation). ... Editor has four major senses: a person who obtains or improves material for a publication; a film editor, a person responsible for the flow of a motion picture or television program from scene to scene a sound editor, a person responsible for the flow and choice of music, voice, and... Johann Adam Weishaupt (* 6 February 1748 in Ingolstadt; † 18 November 1830 in Gotha) was a German who founded the Order of the Illuminati. ... George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)[1] led Americas Continental Army to victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and in 1789 was elected the first President of the United States of America. ... For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... For the US one-dollar coin, see United States dollar coin. ...

Fnord

Main article: Fnord

One of the most well-known concepts in the book is the fnord, a word coined by the writers of Principia Discordia and given meaning by Shea and Wilson for Illuminatus! which has since been adopted in numerous other contexts. It makes its first appearance in The Illuminatus! Trilogy without any explanation during an acid trip by Dr. Ignotum Per Ignotius and Joe Malik: "The only good fnord is a dead fnord".^[11] Several other unexplained appearances follow. Only much later in the story is the secret revealed, when Malik is hypnotized by Hagbard Celine to recall suppressed memories of his first-grade teacher conditioning his class to ignore the fnords: "If you don't see the fnord it can't eat you, don't see the fnord, don't see the fnord..."^[12] Look up Fnord in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up Fnord in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Loompanics Yellow Cover combined 4th & 5th Edition Principia Discordia, (1979). ... Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly called LSD, LSD-25, or acid. ... A psychedelic experience, or trip, is characterized by the perception of aspects of ones mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ordinary fetters. ...

In the Shea/Wilson fictional construct, it is a type of subliminal message technique brought about by seeing the word in print: a word that the majority of the population since early childhood has been trained to ignore (and, of course, trained to forget both the training and the fact that they are ignoring it), but which they associate with a vague sense of unease. Upon seeing the word, readers experience a panic reaction. They then subconsciously suppress all memories of having seen the word, but the sense of panic remains. They therefore associate the unease with the news story they are reading. Fnords are scattered liberally in the text of newspapers and magazines, causing fear and anxiety in those following current events. However, there are no fnords in the advertisements, thus encouraging a consumerist society. Fnord magazine equated the fnords with a generalized effort to control and brainwash the populace. To "see the fnords" would imply an attempt to wrestle back individual autonomy.^[13] A subliminal message is a signal or message embedded in another object, designed to pass below the normal limits of perception. ... For other uses, see Fear (disambiguation). ... Anxiety is a physiological state characterized by cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral components (Seligman, Walker & Rosenhan, 2001). ... Generally speaking, advertising is the paid promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas by an identified sponsor. ... “Consumerist” redirects here. ...

Others have pointed out that fnord may instead/also be a symbol representing the "is" of identity condemned by Alfred Korzybski.^[14] Alfred Habdank Skarbek Korzybski is a philosopher and scientist born on July 3, 1879 in Warsaw, Congress Poland, Russian Empire and died on March 1, 1950, in Lakeville, Connecticut, USA. He is probably best-remembered for developing the theory of general semantics. ...

Numerology

Numerology is given great credence by many of the characters, with the Law of Fives in particular being frequently mentioned. Hagbard Celine states the Law of Fives in Appendix Gimmel: "All phenomena are directly or indirectly related to the number five." Another character, Simon Moon, identifies what he calls the "23 synchronicity principle", which he credits William S. Burroughs as having discovered.^[15] Both laws involve finding significance in the appearance of the number, and in its "presen[ce] esoterically because of its conspicuous exoteric absence."^[16] One of the reasons Moon finds 23 significant is because "All the great anarchists died on the 23rd day of some month or other." He also identifies a "23/17 phenomenon." They are both tied to the Law of Fives, he explains, because 2 + 3 = 5, and 1 + 7 = 8 = 2³.^[17] Robert Anton Wilson claimed in a 1988 interview that "23 is a part of the cosmic code. It's connected with so many synchronicities and weird coincidences that it must mean something, I just haven't figured out yet what it means!".^[18] Numerology is any of many systems, traditions or beliefs in a mystical or esoteric relationship between numbers and physical objects or living things. ... Discordianism is a modern, chaos-centered religion founded circa 1958–1959 by Malaclypse the Younger with the publication of its principal text, the Principia Discordia. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... William Seward Burroughs II (February 5, 1914) - August 2, 1997), more commonly known as William S. Burroughs (pronounced ), was an American novelist, essayist, social critic, painter and spoken word performer. ... Etymology Esoteric is an adjective originating during Hellenic Greece under the domain of the Roman Empire; it comes from the Greek esôterikos, from esôtero, the comparative form of esô: within. It is a word meaning anything that is inner and occult, a latinate word meaning hidden (from which... Exoteric knowledge is knowledge that is publicly available, in contrast with esoteric knowledge, which is kept from everyone except the initiated. ... Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events which occur in a meaningful manner, but which are causally inexplicable to the person or persons experiencing them. ...

Counterculture

The books were written at the height of the late 1960s, and are infused with the popular counterculture ideas of that time. For instance, the New Age slogan "flower power" is referenced via its German form, Ewige Blumenkraft (literally "eternal flower power"), described by Shea and Wilson as a slogan of the Illuminati, the enemies of the hippy ideal. The book's attitude to New Age philosophies and beliefs are ambiguous. Wilson explained in a later interview: "I'm some kind of antibody in the New Age movement. My function is to raise the possibility, hey, you know, some of this stuff might be bullshit."^[19] In sociology, counterculture is a term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. ... New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ... A bus covered with Hippie slogans and flowers Flower power was a slogan used by hippies in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of the non-violence ideology. ... Flowers are not widely associated with the Illuminati -- outside of Shea and Wilsons fiction. ... Hippies (singular hippie or sometimes hippy) were members of the 1960s counterculture movement who adopted a communal or nomadic lifestyle, renounced corporate nationalism and the Vietnam War, embraced aspects of Buddhism, Hinduism, and/or Native American religious culture, and were otherwise at odds with traditional middle class Western values. ...

The prevalence of kinky sex in the story reflects the hippy ideal of "free love"; characters are both liberal-minded and promiscuous. The authors are well aware that it also provides an excuse for mere titillation: in a typically self-referential joke, a character in the story suggests the scenes exist: "only to sell a bad book filled with shallow characters pushing a nonsense conspiracy". Similarly, the books espouse the use of mind-altering substances to achieve higher states of consciousness, in line with the beliefs of key counterculture figures like Timothy Leary. Leary himself called the trilogy "more important than Ulysses or Finnegans Wake". This quote is blurbed on the covers or front page of its various printings. Paraphilia (in Greek para παρά = over and philia φιλία = friendship) is a mental health term recently used to indicate sexual arousal in response to sexual objects or situations that are not part of societally normative arousal/activity patterns, or which may interfere with... The term free love has been used since at least the nineteenth century to describe a social movement that rejects marriage, which is seen as a form of social bondage, especially for women. ... A self-reference occurs when an object refers to itself. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Timothy Francis Leary, (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American writer, psychologist, modern pioneer and advocate of psychedelic drug research and use, and one of the first people whose remains have been sent into space. ... Ulysses is a novel by James Joyce, first serialized in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on February 2, 1922, in Paris. ... For the street ballad which the novel is named after, see Finnegans Wake. ... Look up blurb in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Cognitive dissonance

Every view of reality that is introduced in the story is later derided in some way, whether that view is traditional or iconoclastic. The trilogy is an exercise in cognitive dissonance, with an absurdist plot built of seemingly plausible, if unprovable, components.^[20] Ultimately, readers are left to form their own interpretations as to which, if any, of the numerous contradictory viewpoints presented by the characters are valid or plausible, and which are simply satirical gags and shaggy dog jokes. This style of building up a viable belief system, then tearing it down to replace it with another one, was described by Wilson as "guerrilla ontology".^[21] For other uses, see Reality (disambiguation). ... Cognitive dissonance is a psychological term which describes the uncomfortable tension that may result from having two conflicting thoughts at the same time, or from engaging in behavior that conflicts with ones beliefs. ... 1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Guerrilla ontology is a practice described by Robert Anton Wilson as a method of dealing with people with extremely fixed worldviews, such as religious fundamentalists and economic materialists. ...

This postmodern lack of belief in consensus reality is a cornerstone of the semi-humorous Chaos-based religion of Discordianism. Extracts from its sacred text, the Principia Discordia by Malaclypse the Younger, are extensively quoted throughout the trilogy. It incorporates and shares many themes and contexts from Illuminatus. Shea and Wilson dedicated the first part "To Gregory Hill and Kerry Thornley", the founders of the religion. The key Discordian practice known as "Operation Mindfuck" is exemplified in the character of Markoff Chaney (a play on the mathematical random process called Markov chain). He is an anti-social dwarf who engages in subtle practical joking in a deliberate attempt to cause social confusion. One such joke involves the forging and placing of signs that are signed by "The Mgt." (leading people to believe they are from "The Management" instead of "The Midget") that contain absurdities like "Slippery when wet. Maintain 50mph." Postmodernism is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or superseding, modernism. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Social constructionism. ... For other senses of this word, see chaos (disambiguation). ... Discordianism is a modern, chaos-centered religion founded circa 1958–1959 by Malaclypse the Younger with the publication of its principal text, the Principia Discordia. ... The Loompanics Yellow Cover combined 4th & 5th Edition Principia Discordia, (1979). ... Malaclypse the Younger (short Mal-2) is the author of the Principia Discordia, a character in the Illuminatus! trilogy, and most likely a penname used by Greg Hill, comrade of Kerry Thornley (aka Lord Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst). ... Dedication (Lat. ... Greg Hill (a. ... Kerry Thornley Kerry Wendell Thornley (April 17, 1938 - November 28, 1998) is perhaps best-known as the co-founder (along with childhood friend Greg Hill) of Discordianism. ... Operation Mindfuck or OM is an important practice in the religion Discordianism. ... In mathematics, a Markov chain, named after Andrey Markov, is a discrete-time stochastic process with the Markov property. ...

Self-reference

There are several parts in the book where it reviews and jokingly deconstructs itself. The fictional journalist Epicene Wildeblood at one point is required to critique a book uncannily similar to The Illuminatus! Trilogy:

Several protagonists come to the realization that they are merely fictional characters, or at least begin to question the reality of their situation. George Dorn wonders early on if he "was in some crazy surrealist movie, wandering from telepathic sheriffs to homosexual assassins, to nympho lady Masons, to psychotic pirates, according to a script written in advance by two acid-heads and a Martian humorist".^[23] Hagbard Celine claims towards the climax that the entire story is a computer-generated synthesis of random conspiracies: "I can fool the rest of you, but I can't fool the reader. FUCKUP has been working all morning, correlating all the data on this caper and its historical roots, and I programmed him to put it in the form of a novel for easy reading. Considering what a lousy job he does at poetry, I suppose it will be a high-camp novel, intentionally or unintentionally."^[24] William Cuthbert Faulkner (September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American novelist and poet whose works feature his native state of Mississippi. ... This article is about the writer and poet. ... First Universal Cybernetic-Kinetic-Ultramicro-Programmer is a fictional computer in the Illuminatus! novels by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea. ... Camp is an aesthetic in which something has appeal because of its bad taste or ironic value. ...

Allusions to other works

For a work of fiction, Illuminatus! contains a lot of references to songs, films, articles, novels and other media. This is partly because the characters themselves are involved in doing research, but it is also a trademark of Wilson's writing.

The novel Telemachus Sneezed by the character Atlanta Hope with its catchphrase "What is John Guilt?" is a spoof of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.^[25] Ayn Rand is mentioned by name a few times in Illuminatus! herself, and her novel is alluded to by Hagbard who says, "If Atlas can Shrug and Telemachus can Sneeze, why can't Satan Repent?" There are also references to Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 and his Gravity's Rainbow, an equally enormous experimental novel concerning liberty and paranoia that was published two years prior to Illuminatus! Wilson claims his book was already complete by the time he and Shea read Pynchon's novel (which went on to win several awards), but they then went back and made some modifications to the text before its final publication to allude to Pynchon's work.^[19] The phase "So it goes" is repeatedly used in reference to death, a deliberate echoing of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. Slaughter of the suitors by Odysseus and Telemachus, Campanian red-figure bell-krater, ca. ... Ayn Rand (IPA: , February 2 [O.S. January 20] 1905 – March 6, 1982), born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum (Russian: ), was a Russian-born American novelist and philosopher,[1] best known for developing Objectivism and for writing the novels We the Living, The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged and the novella Anthem. ... For the film, see Atlas Shrugged (film). ... Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. ... The Crying of Lot 49 (1966) is a novel by the author Thomas Pynchon. ... Gravitys Rainbow is an epic postmodern novel written by Thomas Pynchon and first published on February 28, 1973. ... Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. ... Slaughterhouse-Five; or, The Childrens Crusade: A Duty-Dance With Death is a 1969 novel by Kurt Vonnegut. ...

Author H. P. Lovecraft is alluded to often, with many mentions of characters (e.g., Robert Harrison Blake, Henry Armitage, Klarkash-Ton), monsters (e.g., Tsathoggua, Yog-Sothoth), books (Necronomicon, Unaussprechlichen Kulten) and places (Miskatonic University) from his Cthulhu Mythos. He even appears himself as a character, as does his aunt Annie Gamwell and one of his acquaintances, Hart Crane. Interest in Lovecraft reached new heights in 1975, with two full-length biographies published in the same year as The Illuminatus! Trilogy. This article is about the author. ... Robert Harrison Blake is a fictional character in the Cthulhu mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. ... The Dunwich Horror is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. ... The following fictitious biographies showcase the most important characters in the Cthulhu Mythos. ... Tsathoggua (the Sleeper of Nkai) is a fictional supernatural entity in the Cthulhu Mythos shared fictional universe. ... Yog-Sothoth (The Lurker at the Threshold, The Key and the Gate, The Beyond One, Opener of the Way The All-in-One and the One-in-All) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos. ... A prop designed to look like the Necronomicon. ... Unaussprechlichen Kulten (the name was supposed to mean nameless cults in German, but really translates as unspeakable/unutterable cults) is a fictitious book, said to be written by Friedrich von Junzt. ... Miskatonic University is a fictional university located in the equally fictitious Arkham, set in the real-world Essex County, Massachusetts. ... Cthulhu and Rlyeh The Cthulhu Mythos encompasses the shared elements, characters, settings, and themes in the works of H. P. Lovecraft and associated horror fiction writers. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Literary significance

The Golden Apple (1975 edition)

The books have received laudatory reviews and comments from Playboy, Publishers Weekly, the American Library Association's Booklist magazine, Philadelphia Daily News, Berkeley Barb, Rolling Stone and Limit. The Village Voice called it "The ultimate conspiracy book ... the biggest sci-fi-cult novel to come along since Dune ... hilariously raunchy!" John White of the New Age Journal described it as: Image File history File links Illum_GA-1975. ... Image File history File links Illum_GA-1975. ... For other uses, see Playboy (disambiguation). ... Publishers Weekly is a weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. ... ALA Logo The American Library Association (ALA) is a group based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. ... Booklist is the digital counterpart of the American Library Associations Booklist magazine that provides a critical review of books. ... The Philadelphia Daily News is a tabloid newspaper that began publishing on March 31, 1925, under founding editor Lee Ellmaker. ... The Berkeley Barb was an underground newspaper which was published in Berkeley, California, in the 1960s and 1970s. ... This article is about the magazine. ... This article is about a New York newspaper. ... Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert and published in 1965. ...

The Fortean Times was also enthusiastic, whilst acknowledging the difficulties many readers would have attempting to follow the convoluted plot threads: Fortean Times is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. ...

Illuminatus! even garnered some attention outside of literary criticism, having several pages devoted to it in a chapter on the American New Right in Architects of Fear: Conspiracy Theories and Paranoia in American Politics by George Johnson (1983).^[28] This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

In more recent years, it was complimented in the bibliography to the New Hackers Dictionary as a book that can help readers "understand the hacker mindset." The Dictionary described it as: The Jargon File is a glossary of hacker slang. ... This article is about computer hacking. ...

It was also included in the "Slack Syllabus" in The Official Slacker Handbook by Sarah Dunn (1994),^[29] a satirical guide aimed at Generation X. The human brain is separated by a longitudinal fissure, separating the brain into two distinct cerebral hemispheres. ... Douglas Richard Hofstadter (born February 15, 1945) is an American academic. ... Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid: A metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll (commonly GEB) is a Pulitzer Prize (1980)-winning book by Douglas Hofstadter, published in 1979 by Basic Books. ... Generation X is a term used to describe generations in many countries around the world. ...

Follow-ups

Wilson and Robert Shea went on to become prolific authors. While Shea concentrated mainly on historical novels, Wilson produced over 30 works, mixing fictional novels with nonfiction. Although both authors' later work often elaborated on concepts first discussed in Illuminatus!, the pair never collaborated again. The trilogy inspired a number of direct adaptations, including a stage play and a comic book series, and numerous indirect adaptations that borrowed from its themes.

Shea and Wilson

Wilson subsequently wrote a number of prequels, sequels and spin-offs based upon the Illuminatus! concept, including an incomplete pentalogy called The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles,^[18] a standalone work entitled Masks of the Illuminati and The Illuminati Papers, in which several chapters are attributed to the trilogy's characters. Many of Wilson's other works, fictional and nonfictional, also make reference to the Illuminati or the Illuminatus! books. Several of the characters from Illuminatus!, for example, Markoff Chaney ("The Midget") and Epicene Wildeblood, return in Wilson's Schrödinger's Cat trilogy, which also carries on some of its themes. The third book of the Cat trilogy, The Homing Pigeons, is actually mentioned as a sequel to Illuminatus! in "Appendix Mem". A prequel is a work that portrays events which include the structure, conventions, and/or characters of a previously completed narrative, but occur at an earlier time. ... For other uses, see Sequel (disambiguation). ... A spin-off (or spinoff) is a new organization or entity formed by a split from a larger one such as a new company formed from a university research group. ... A pentalogy is a series of five related works of art, a lesser-known relative of the words trilogy (three) and tetralogy (four). ... The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles is a series of three novels by Robert Anton Wilson written as a follow-up trilogy to his highly successful The Illuminatus! Trilogy. ... MASKS OF THE LLUMINATI is a 1981 novel by Robert anton Wilson and Robert Shea, the same tandem that brought about the Illuminati trilogyItalic text. ... The Illuminati Papers by Robert Anton Wilson takes the characters he created in his novels and other realities and gives them voice to present his views on our future way of life. ... The Schrödingers Cat trilogy is a trilogy of novels by Robert Anton Wilson, chronicling events and characters in several parallel universes. ...

Wilson and Shea did plan to collaborate again on a true sequel, Bride of Illuminatus, taking place in 2026. It was rumored that it would feature a resurrected Winifred Saure (the only female member of the American Medical Association) exerting her influence through virtual reality.^[30] However, Robert Shea died in 1994 before this project came to fruition. An excerpt was published in Robert Anton Wilson's Trajectories Newsletter: The Journal of Futurism and Heresy in spring 1995.^[31] In a 1994 interview for FringeWare Review, Wilson suggested he may even "do a Son of Illuminatus later".^[32] Curiously, in Intelligence Agents by Timothy Leary (1996)^[33] he was credited with having already authored Son of Illuminatus in the 1980s. This article is about the simulation technology. ... Robert Joseph Shea (1933 - March 10, 1994) was the co-author (with Robert Anton Wilson) of The Illuminatus! Trilogy. ... Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson or RAW (January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was a prolific American novelist, essayist, philosopher, psychologist, futurologist, anarchist, and conspiracy theory researcher. ... FringeWare Review was a magazine of Cyberculture published in Austin, Texas. ...

Shea, meanwhile, never wrote another Illuminatus!-related book, although many of his later novels include references to the themes of that work. Locus magazine describes Shea's Saracen novels as "Deep background for the Illuminatus trilogy".^[34] Locus Magazine is subtitled, The Magazine Of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field. It reports on the science fiction writing industry, including comprehensive listings of new books published in the field. ... The Saracen is a two-part novel written by Robert Shea. ...

Adaptations

The Royal National Theatre in London, from Waterloo Bridge

An audacious proposal by English actor, theatre philanthropist and comedian Ken Campbell to stage The Illuminatus! Trilogy in its entirety at The Royal National Theatre in London was met with surprisingly open arms given its length: a cycle of five plays (The Eye of the Pyramid; Swift Kick Inc.; The Man Who Murdered God; Walpurgisnacht Rock; and Leviathan)^[35] each consisting of five 23-minute-long acts. It was in fact the first-ever show to open the theatre's third space, the Cottesloe Theatre, running from 4 March to 27 March 1977. It had initially opened in Liverpool on 23 November 1976, and even featured Illuminatus! author Robert Anton Wilson as a naked extra in the witches' sabbat scene. Wilson himself was delighted with the adaptation, saying: National Theatre from Waterloo Bridge. ... National Theatre from Waterloo Bridge. ... Kenneth Victor Campbell (born December 10, 1941 in Ilford, Essex) is a British writer, actor, director and comedian, known for his unconventional work in theatre. ... The Royal National Theatre from Waterloo Bridge The Royal National Theatre is a building complex and theatre company located on the South Bank in London, England immediately east of the southern end of Waterloo Bridge. ... is the 63rd day of the year (64th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 86th day of the year (87th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... For other uses, see Liverpool (disambiguation). ... is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Francisco Goyas Los Caprichos: Linda maestra! (Nice mistress!) - witches heading to a Sabbath In Christian folklore, the Sabbath (also known as Witchs Sabbath) was a gathering supposed to have been celebrated by Satanists, witches and warlocks to honor the Devil, offend God, Jesus, the sacraments, the cross, and...

In thanks, Wilson dedicated his Cosmic Trigger I: The Final Secret of the Illuminati (1977) to "Ken Campbell and the Science-Fiction Theatre Of Liverpool, England."

The 23-strong cast featured several actors, such as Jim Broadbent, David Rappaport and Chris Langham, who went on to successful film, stage and television careers. Broadbent alone played more than a dozen characters in the play.^[36] Bill Drummond designed sets for the show, and it was eventually seen (when it moved to London, with Bill Nighy then joining the cast) by the young Jimmy Cauty. The duo later went on to form the Illuminatus!-inspired electronica band The KLF. The play was later staged in Seattle, Washington in 1978.^[37] James Broadbent (born May 24, 1949) is an Academy Award-winning English theatre, film and television actor. ... David Rappaport David Stephen Rappaport (November 23, 1951 – May 2, 1990) was a British actor, probably one of the best known dwarf actors in television and film, standing at 3 11. Rappaport was born to a Jewish family in London, and soon developed talents in both music and theatre. ... Christopher Langham (born 14 April 1949) is a British writer, actor, comedian and convicted paedophile. ... William Ernest Drummond[1] (Bill Drummond) (born April 29, 1953, Butterworth, South Africa)[2][3] is a Scottish musician, music industry figure, writer and artist. ... Bill Nighy (IPA: ; born December 12, 1949) is a Golden Globe and BAFTA-award winning English actor. ... James Cauty, Jimmy or Jimi, also known as Rockman Rock, was born in Devon, England in 1956 and not much is known about him until, as a 17-year old artist, he painted a popular Lord of the Rings poster (and later, a counterpart based on The Hobbit) for Athena. ... The KLF (also known as The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (The JAMs), The Timelords and other names) were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s. ... “Seattle” redirects here. ...

An attempt was made to adapt the trilogy in comic book form beginning in the 1980s, by "Eye N Apple Productions" headed by Icarus!-23. Icarus! met with Wilson in 1984 and subsequently obtained permission from Wilson's agent to adapt the trilogy. Illuminatus! #1 was issued in July 1987, then reissued in substantially revised form later that year by Rip Off Press (who had published the original 4th edition of the Principia Discordia in 1970). A second issue followed in 1990, and a third in March 1991, after which the venture stalled (although several ashcans of the as yet unpublished Fourth Trip were distributed at comic book conventions in the Detroit and Chicago areas between 1991 and 2006). Each comic covered one "trip" from the original trilogy, so had further issues followed this pattern, there would have been ten issues in total. The "new first issue" contained a letter from Bob Shea, who had seen the first issue and the materials for the next two. He wrote in part, "I'm delighted. I think it is very faithful to the novel and does a wonderful job of translating the spirit of the novel into a visual medium."^[38] The creators of the comic also made an Illuminatus! discussion room on Citadel bulletin board systems. A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Rip Off Press, Inc. ... The Loompanics Yellow Cover combined 4th & 5th Edition Principia Discordia, (1979). ... Captain Thunder, soon to be Captain Marvel, on the cover of the ashcan copy of Flash Comics #1. ... A fan convention, or con, is an event in which the fans of a particular TV show, comic book, or actor, or an entire style of entertainment such as science fiction or anime, gather together to meet famous personalities (and each other) face-to-face. ... This article or section seems not to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopaedia entry. ... A bulletin board system or BBS is a computer system running software that allows users to dial into the system over a phone line and, using a terminal program, perform functions such as downloading software and data, uploading data, reading news, and exchanging messages with other users. ...

Influence

The infamous 1980s computer hacker Karl Koch was heavily influenced by The Illuminatus! Trilogy. Besides adopting the pseudonym "Hagbard" from the character Hagbard Celine, he also named his computer "fuckup", after a computer designed and built by that character. He was addicted to cocaine and became extremely paranoid, convinced he was fighting the Illuminati like his literary namesake. In 1987 he wrote a rambling seven-page "hacking manifesto of sorts, complete with his theories on Hagbard Celine and the Illuminati."^[39] The 1998 German motion picture 23 told a dramatized version of his story; Robert Anton Wilson appeared as himself. This article is about computer hacking. ... Karl Koch (born July 22, 1965 in Hanover, died - probably - May 23, 1989) was a German hacker in the 1980s, who called himself hagbard, after Hagbard Celine. ... Captain Hagbard Celine is a fictional character from the Illuminatus trilogy of books by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, named after the legendary Viking hero Hagbard who died for love. ... First Universal Cybernetic-Kinetic-Ultramicro-Programmer is a fictional computer in the Illuminatus! novels by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea. ... The year 1998 in film involved some significant events. ... 23 is a 1998 German movie about a young hacker Karl Koch, who supposedly committed suicide on May 23, 1989. ... Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson or RAW (January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was a prolific American novelist, essayist, philosopher, psychologist, futurologist, anarchist, and conspiracy theory researcher. ...

Steve Jackson Games' Illuminati

A card game inspired by the trilogy, Illuminati was created by Steve Jackson Games. Using the Illuminatus! books as "spiritual guides but not as actual source material," it incorporated competing conspiracies of the Bavarian Illuminati and Discordians and others, though no characters or groups specific to the novels.^[40] A trading card game (Illuminati: New World Order) and role-playing game supplement (GURPS Illuminati) followed. The instruction booklets' bibliographies praise the novel and Wilson particularly, calling Illuminatus! in part "required reading for any conspiracy buff". Robert Shea provided a four-paragraph introduction to the rulebook for the Illuminati Expansion Set 1 (1983), in which he wrote, "Maybe the Illuminati are behind this game. They must be—they are, by definition, behind everything." Despite this initial involvement, Wilson later criticized some of these products for exploiting the Illuminatus! name without paying royalties (taking advantage of what he viewed as a legal loophole).^[41] Image File history File links Illuminati_cardgame_cover_small. ... // For the game on The Price Is Right, see Card Game (pricing game). ... Illuminati game components Illuminati is an unusual card game (not a trading card game) made by Steve Jackson Games (SJG), inspired by The Illuminatus! Trilogy. ... Steve Jackson Games (SJG) is a game company that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games. ... This is an article about groups called the Illuminati. For information on the games, see Illuminati (game) and Illuminati: New World Order. ... Discordianism has been described as both an elaborate joke disguised as a religion and a religion disguised as an elaborate joke. ... Collectible card games (CCGs), also called customizable card games or trading card games, are played using specially designed sets of cards. ... Illuminati: New World Order (INWO) is a collectible card game (CCG) that was released in 1995 by Steve Jackson Games, based on their original boxed game Illuminati. ... This article is about games in which one plays the role of a character. ... The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, commonly known as GURPS, is a role-playing game system designed to adapt to any imaginary gaming environment. ... A rough breakdown of GURPS books. ...

The Illuminatus Trilogy! is steeped with references to the 1960s popular music scene (at one point a list of 200 fictional bands performing at the Walpurgisnacht rock festival is reeled off, and there are numerous references to the famous rock and roll song, "Rock Around the Clock"), and has influenced many bands and musicians. The anarchic British band The KLF was named after one of the secret societies from the trilogy.^[42] They released much of their early material under the name "The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu" (JAMs), also from the trilogy, and much of their work was Discordian in nature. They mirrored the fictional JAMs' gleeful political tactics of causing chaos and confusion by bringing a direct, humorous but nevertheless revolutionary approach to making records. The American band Machines of Loving Grace took the name of a sex act performed by one of the main characters during a Black Mass for the title of their song "Rite of Shiva" on their eponymous album.^[43] UK chillout maestro Mixmaster Morris also named his band The Irresistible Force after one that appears at the festival in the last part of the trilogy. Together with Coldcut he organised a huge Robert Anton Wilson Memorial Show at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on March 18, 2007. Walpurgis Night (Valborgsmässoafton in Swedish, Vappu in Finnish, Volbriöö in Estonian, Valpurģu nakts or Valpurģi in Latvian, Walpurgisnacht in German) is a holiday celebrated on April 30, in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Germany. ... Rock Around the Clock is a rock n roll song from 1952, written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter under the pseudonym Jimmy De Knight). Although first recorded by Sonny Dae & the Knights, the more famous version by Bill Haley & His Comets is not, strictly speaking... The KLF (also known as The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (The JAMs), The Timelords and other names) were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s. ... The Justified Ancients of Mummu is one of the two protagonist secret societies in the Illuminatus! series of books by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. ... The Machines is an industrial/post-punk band from Tucson, Arizona. ... // the people of hte black mass religion should ill go worship god insted. ... An eponym is the name of a person, whether real or fictitious, who has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular place, tribe, discovery, or other item. ... Ambient DJ and underground musician Mixmaster Morris was born in Brighton in 1965 but started his DJ career in 1985 with his Mongolian Hip Hop Show on pirate radio in London. ... Irresistible Force is the production identity for UK ambient DJ Mixmaster Morris. ... Coldcut: Jonathan More (left) & Matt Black Coldcut is a duo comprising English DJs Matt Black and Jonathan More. ... The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, which hosts daily classical, jazz, and avant-garde music and dance performances. ... is the 77th day of the year (78th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

In general, The Illuminatus! Trilogy can be credited with popularizing the genre of conspiracy fiction,^[44] a field later mined by authors like Umberto Eco (Foucault's Pendulum) and Dan Brown (Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code), comic book writers like Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, Watchmen) and Grant Morrison (The Invisibles), and screenwriters like Chris Carter (The X-Files) and Damon Lindelof (Lost).^[45] In particular, the regular use of the Illuminati in popular culture as shadowy central puppet masters in this type of fiction can be traced back to their exposure via The Illuminatus! Trilogy.^[46] Particularly since the 1960s, conspiracy theory has been a popular subject of fiction. ... Umberto Eco (born January 5, 1932) is an Italian medievalist, semiotician, philosopher and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose (Il nome della rosa) and his many essays. ... Cover of Foucaults Pendulum, 1989 Picador edition. ... This article is about the author. ... Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Angels and Demons Angels and Demons (Angels & Demons) is a bestselling mystery novel by Dan Brown. ... This article is about the novel. ... For other persons named Alan Moore, see Alan Moore (disambiguation). ... This article is about the comic book series. ... For other uses, see Watchman. ... Grant Morrison (born January 31, 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer and artist. ... The Invisibles is an adult comic book series that was published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics from 1994 to 2000. ... Chris Carter (born October 13, 1956) is an American Jewish screenwriter and producer, best known as the creator of The X-Files. ... The X-Files is a Peabody- and Emmy Award-winning science fiction television series created by Chris Carter, which first aired on September 10, 1993, and ended on May 19, 2002. ... Damon Lindelof, 2006 Damon Laurence Lindelof (born April 24, 1973) is an American television writer, executive, hack, and most recently noted as the co-creator, executive producer, head writer and show runner for the hit television series Lost. ... “LOST” redirects here. ... References to the Illuminati in popular culture include the satirical, humorous, and fictional: // Books and comics Illuminatus! by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson is a three-book science fiction series published in the 1970s, which is regarded as a cult classic particularly in the hacker community. ...

Editions

Major English-language editions^[47] include:

• 1975, USA, Dell, Separate editions, The Eye in the Pyramid ISBN 0-440-04688-2, The Golden Apple ISBN 0-440-04691-2 Leviathan ISBN 0-440-14742-5
• 1976–7, UK, Sphere, Separate editions, The Eye in the Pyramid ISBN 0-7221-9208-8, The Golden Apple ISBN 0-7221-9209-6 Leviathan ISBN 0-7221-9211-8
• 1980, USA, Laurel, Separate editions, The Eye in the Pyramid ISBN 0-440-34688-6, The Golden Apple ISBN 0-7221-9209-6, Leviathan ISBN 0-440-34742-4
• 1984, USA, Dell ISBN 0-440-53981-1, Pub date January 1984, Paperback (collected edition)
• 1986, UK, Sphere, Pub date December 1986, Paperback (separate editions), The Eye in the Pyramid ISBN 0-7221-9219-3 The Golden Apple ISBN 0-7221-9222-3 Leviathan ISBN 0-7221-9216-9
• 1988, USA, Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group ISBN 0-440-53981-1, Pub date November 1988, Paperback (collected edition)
• 1998, USA, MJF Books ISBN 1-56731-237-3, Pub date February 1998, Hardback (collected edition)
• 1998, USA, Constable and Robinson ISBN 1-85487-574-4, Pub date July 1998, Paperback (collected edition)

Sphere Books, a British paperback-publisher from 1961 to 1990. ...

Notes and references

Leviathan (1975 edition)

Image File history File links Illum_L-1975. ... Image File history File links Illum_L-1975. ... is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Netzach (נצח) (victory) is the seventh Sephira in the Kabbalah, located beneath Chesed, at the base of the Pillar of Mercy. Netzach is Perpetualty, Victory, and is astrologically related to Venus. ... is the 61st day of the year (62nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Thomas Jefferson (13 April 1743 N.S.–4 July 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801–09), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of Republicanism in the United States. ... Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757–July 12, 1804) was an Army officer, lawyer, Founding Father, American politician, leading statesman, financier and political theorist. ... Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most well known Founding Fathers of the United States. ... George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)[1] led Americas Continental Army to victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and in 1789 was elected the first President of the United States of America. ... is the 62nd day of the year (63rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 62nd day of the year (63rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 10 is the 69th day of the year (70th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 63rd day of the year (64th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jack Sarfatti (born September 14, 1939) is an American theoretical physicist and the author of a number of popular works on quantum physics and consciousness. ... is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the day. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... [[Media:Italic text]]{| style=float:right; |- | |- | |} is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 236th day of the year (237th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... William Ernest Drummond[1] (Bill Drummond) (born April 29, 1953, Butterworth, South Africa)[2][3] is a Scottish musician, music industry figure, writer and artist. ... is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 16 is the 136th day of the year (137th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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