A lot of people ask me, “Do you really believe that Illuminati conspiracy theory stuff … or does it just make good fiction?” I always find it hard to answer. I’ll admit I started researching the subject solely to write this series of books. But somewhere along the way, it began to dawn on me that the conspiracy theories weren’t too far off. There is definitely a cabal of political and economic elite who hold [not-so] secret meetings to plot the future. I suppose the maliciousness of their intent depends upon where you are destined to fare in their plans.

The term Illuminati is easily as old as our country and refers to just such a group of men. In history their observance of secrecy carried with it a sense of religiousness, and many have tagged this group with bringing forward the mystery religions from ancient cultures. In its modern incarnation, the Illuminati movement coalesces around is a “Committee of 300” chosen from the most wealthy and politically powerful members of society. This group then controls larger organizations with interlocking members. Chief among these groups are The Bilderberg Group, The Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Trilateral Commission. Each of these in turn has members and sponsors think-tank analyses of items affecting the world’s citizenry. The goals of these groups are altruistic on the face of it. Basically they believe the world is headed for serious trouble, largely arising from overpopulation, and someone with the means (them) needs to take control of the situation (us) in order to preserve the planet. It’s the globalist utopian dream, but it comes at a price, namely the lives of those at the bottom.

The operational objectives of these groups vary a bit, but most contain the following points:

• Establish one international geopolitical identity.
• Establish centralized control of the population.
• Promote the United Nations as a de facto world government.
• Demolish the middle class in favor of a [more easily controlled] welfare state.
• Limit population growth.
• Limit technological advances available to the public.

So, it would appear that their answer to world crisis is a return to the good old days of feudalism. Good for them. Sucks for you and me. Not to worry, though, we won’t be able to reproduce with wild abandon, so everything will be fine in the long run.

There are certain ideas that threaten the realization of this utopia. One of them is freedom of conscience. To that end these groups look to destabilize existing world religions to replace them with a sort of shared cultural meme that goes something like this: “There are many paths to God. Each person must choose his own. It’s all good as long as you live as you stay within societal norms.”

Another idea that threatens them is the thought that we are all created equal and that liberty is an inherent right. To counter this, they foster conflict and violence with one sole endgame: to make people so tired of violence that they’ll give up their rights for peace. Think it can’t happen? Look closely at the Patriot Act in the United States.

Because these groups work behind the scenes and in the shadows, like Luciano Begliali in the This Generation Series, evidence of their activities is fleeting. But there has been conjecture, an occasional leak, and at least one admission from a person high in the organization:

• During the 2008 Presidential Campaign, the top two Democratic nominees, Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton decided to meet. Interestingly enough, they met in, of all places, Chantilly, VA. Was it just an amazing coincidence that the Bilderberg Group met in the same town at the same time? Some say our president was chosen by the Bilderbergs at that meeting.
• Rhodes Scholar, successful oilman and U.S. Ambassador, George Crews McGhee passed away in 2005, leaving his detailed papers to Georgetown University. People examining the thousands of documents came across papers detail the activities of the Bilderberg Group, including his agenda from their first meeting in May of 1954.
• Albert Pike was a long-term Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in the 1800s. (There is some evidence that Freemasonry and the Illuminati joined hands around the time of the American Revolution.) The significance of Pike to this discussion is that he wrote of three planned world wars. Two went down as he predicted. In his writings, the third world war would be instigated to bring Islam into conflict with the Western world. Stunning in light of today’s headlines, isn’t it?

And finally, I’ll leave you with the admission of David Rockefeller from page 405 of his Memoirs: “Some believe we are a part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States characterizing me and my family as internationalists and conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated political and economic structure—one world, if you will. If that is the charge, I stand guilty of it and am proud of it.”