CHAPTER 4 CONSPIRACY HISTORY

  “I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect, has intended us to forgo their use, and by some other means to give us knowledge which we can attain by them.” Galileo Galilei

  “Correct Mr. Burton, while Galileo was an unprecedented genius, he did not imagine the danger that could come to him through sharing his knowledge with everyone. The tragedy of Galileo is widely known, however, I will now tell you things that are not widely known which happened after his death. The origins of the Galilean Conspiracy”

  “Owen Burton, do you swear to keep secret the existence and origins of the conspiracy, which I will now reveal to you?”

  Not seeing that he had any other choice, Owen replied “I swear.”

  “Do you also swear to not repeat Galileo’s mistake by revealing potentially dangerous information to anyone who is not a member of the conspiracy?” This too had a ritualistic aire.

  “I swear.”

  “After Galileo’s death, several of his contemporaries vowed that, ‘never again would they allow anything like that to happen’, this was the beginning of the Galilean Conspiracy.” As professor Robert Smith spoke, his tone began to imply a ritual air, and Owen guessed that he had given this speech many times before.

  “They collaborated in secret, only revealing their results to the world when they were sure that their inquiries and results were not a danger to themselves. The conspiracy started small, but new members were gradually inducted as their member mentors determined that they were ready. Soon, there were members and chapters at every major college and university.”

  “Then in the 1660’s and 70’s, both Issac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz began developing, in parallel, what would later be called The Calculus, and the battle for scientific priority over the field was both polarizing and divisive within the Conspiracy. By the mid 1680’s they had both published “Conspiracy Papers” on the subject of “The Calculus”, and for the next decade it consumed almost all of the conspiracy’s business. The petty bickering continued among conspiracy factions for over a decade until Newton and Leibniz reconciled and began collaborating on the refinement and unification of their work, becoming very close friends.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Then, in March of 1712, working together on calculus through correspondence, Leibnitz and Newton discovered Prestidigitation within a few months of each other. Having learned their lesson during the calculus controversy, they took to their graves the secret of who discovered it first, as they knew it would tear the Galilean Conspiracy apart, and they both knew that the world needed the conspiracy now, more than ever.”

  “Newton traveled to Germany that summer to plan with Leibniz, they needed to strengthen the conspiracy before they shared what they had found with anyone, including other conspiracy members. They informed their local chapters of the conspiracy that they needed to expand the charter of the conspiracy, expand their membership base, and enhance secrecy and safety precautions before they would share what they had found.”

  “The original conspiracy was founded on the idea that the sharing of information and ideas could be dangerous for the person sharing those ideas, mostly due to the reprisal from other groups, including the church, royal families, and governments. This laid the groundwork for the idea of ‘dangerous knowledge’, but it didn’t go far enough. The founders of the Galilean Conspiracy had never considered that scientific knowledge could, by itself, be a dangerous thing, and should not be revealed, even anonymously, because of the danger that it might pose to everyone, both Conspiracy members, and everyone else.”

  “Thus it was, on Christmas day 1712 the Second Convention of the Galilean Conspiracy met and revised the charter, this time with much stronger language and oaths. Only after this revised charter was put into place, and oaths made among all the members present, Newton and Leibniz distributed their findings to all those present.”

  The tension in the air lifted as the professor ended his long explanation. With that sort of build up, Owen was bursting with curiosity over what sort of findings would require that sort of absolute secrecy.

  “You will now have the opportunity to join with these Conspiracy members and learn what Newton and Leibniz discovered. Here is a copy of the revised charter; read it! Take special note of the oaths listed at the end, as you will be expected to take them if you choose to join. I will return in about an hour, take your time and decide if this is something you want to do. When I get back, I will either administer the oaths to you, or your apprenticeship with me will come to an end, choose carefully.”

  With that, professor Smith left the room, and Owen began to read.