All right, let's talk about conspiracy theories.
Hey, where are you all going? Come back!
I mean Alternate conspiracy theories.
And maybe some real ones. Hey, stop throwing things at me!
History has shown that some conspiracy theories turned out to be true; the Dreyfuss affair, MKULTRA, the Tuskeegee Syphilis Experiment, the Iran-Contra affair, to name a few. These were mostly small-scale, and they still got found out.
I was inspired to make this thread by a comment that a newsgroup once tried to figure out how the moon landing could reasonably be faked, and after really trying they couldn't do it.
A large-scale conspiracy like faking a moon landing would require virtually every member directly working on it to remain silent, and killing them would be all too suspicious unless their deaths could be covered up, which in turn would require all their family members to keep quiet as well. Doing all that would require complete and total state control over just about everything, similar to how North Korea operates. Doubtless the DPRK government could probably be considered a conspiracy by Kim Il-Sung and others to establish his own private monarchy, but I digress.
Moving further, supposed centuries-long worldwide conspiracies like the Illuminati or the Masons would have so many problems operating in a single fashion that it would be comical to see them try. In order to stop one high-up member from using the organization's power against the others to the detriment of their grand master lizard alien plan, they would have to put up a baffling amount of red tape; they would be too bloated to move efficiently when it came time to enact "The Plan." What's more, every time some new technology or large event alters the playing field, they would have to come up with a new master plan almost from scratch. And then there's the fact that the members themselves aren't immortal, and their successors wouldn't necessarily be able to take over The Plan competently; there would be endless arguing over ends and means, and the whole thing would fall to pieces within a generation, and that's assuming everyone was completely loyal to everyone else.
And then there's this, which is just funny.
So, I'm going to stop beating around the bush and ask my question. Or two questions.
First, what kinds of conspiracy theories (true or imagined) might arise in alternate worlds? Doesn't matter which one; just post a link if it's not a well-known TL.
Second, without it being ASB, try and think of the biggest actual conspiracy (by your definition) you can that has a reasonable shot of succeeding. After 1900 would be ideal, but feel free to go further if you need to.
Lastly, and most importantly, let's try and keep actual conspiracy theories out of the thread, okay? I don't want to hear anything about the moon landing or the Kennedy assassination or the illuminati or lizard space aliens being secretly every president since 1800. Specifically I don't want anyone insisting that any of these things are true. Board rules apply. Capisce?
Now, I'm going to hide in this bunker to avoid the ensuing shitstorm. Feel free to discuss!
Hey, where are you all going? Come back!
I mean Alternate conspiracy theories.
And maybe some real ones. Hey, stop throwing things at me!
History has shown that some conspiracy theories turned out to be true; the Dreyfuss affair, MKULTRA, the Tuskeegee Syphilis Experiment, the Iran-Contra affair, to name a few. These were mostly small-scale, and they still got found out.
I was inspired to make this thread by a comment that a newsgroup once tried to figure out how the moon landing could reasonably be faked, and after really trying they couldn't do it.
A large-scale conspiracy like faking a moon landing would require virtually every member directly working on it to remain silent, and killing them would be all too suspicious unless their deaths could be covered up, which in turn would require all their family members to keep quiet as well. Doing all that would require complete and total state control over just about everything, similar to how North Korea operates. Doubtless the DPRK government could probably be considered a conspiracy by Kim Il-Sung and others to establish his own private monarchy, but I digress.
Moving further, supposed centuries-long worldwide conspiracies like the Illuminati or the Masons would have so many problems operating in a single fashion that it would be comical to see them try. In order to stop one high-up member from using the organization's power against the others to the detriment of their grand master lizard alien plan, they would have to put up a baffling amount of red tape; they would be too bloated to move efficiently when it came time to enact "The Plan." What's more, every time some new technology or large event alters the playing field, they would have to come up with a new master plan almost from scratch. And then there's the fact that the members themselves aren't immortal, and their successors wouldn't necessarily be able to take over The Plan competently; there would be endless arguing over ends and means, and the whole thing would fall to pieces within a generation, and that's assuming everyone was completely loyal to everyone else.
And then there's this, which is just funny.
So, I'm going to stop beating around the bush and ask my question. Or two questions.
First, what kinds of conspiracy theories (true or imagined) might arise in alternate worlds? Doesn't matter which one; just post a link if it's not a well-known TL.
Second, without it being ASB, try and think of the biggest actual conspiracy (by your definition) you can that has a reasonable shot of succeeding. After 1900 would be ideal, but feel free to go further if you need to.
Lastly, and most importantly, let's try and keep actual conspiracy theories out of the thread, okay? I don't want to hear anything about the moon landing or the Kennedy assassination or the illuminati or lizard space aliens being secretly every president since 1800. Specifically I don't want anyone insisting that any of these things are true. Board rules apply. Capisce?
Now, I'm going to hide in this bunker to avoid the ensuing shitstorm. Feel free to discuss!