Above Top Secret: Uncovering the Mysteries of the Digital Age

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The last century witnessed the rise of what is popularly known as the "conspiracy theorist," a subculture of like-minded people who have become concerned that major contemporary and historical events were not caused by "what we've been told" through mainstream media or our history books. Often misunderstood as "those crazy conspiracy nuts," these people are passionately concerned about society, have a deep affection for their country, and are driven by a strong sense of ethics and justice.

The tipping point that can inspire someone to begin asking the questions that will transform them into a conspiracy theorist are as diverse as the conspira- cies they theorize about. Some have looked as far back as the time leading up to World War I and have noticed the oddities surrounding the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. Many have become doubtful of the official story surrounding the events in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 and the resulting broad spectrum of UFO cover-up questions. The rise of the Federal Reserve and contemporary economic troubles have provided a fountain spring of stimuli for questions related to financial conspiracies. In fact, if you've ever watched the evening news and wondered to yourself, "that can't be right," you have taken your first tentative step into the world of conspiracy theory.

For years, conspiracy theorists belonged to a soft-spoken subculture relegat- ed to perusing a limited selection of small-press books in the dark, unvisited corners of bookstores, searching out hard-to-find independent newspapers, and mail-order VHS tapes of difficult-to-watch production quality. Even with the relatively robust categories of UFO-conspiracy aficionados and JFK assassination theorists, it was difficult to fathom how many of "us" there really were. Then came the Internet, and everything changed.

Starting first via uncertain voices on early bulletin board systems in the 1980s, conspiracy theorists from an abundance of diverse topic areas found each other online. As additional channels for collaboration grew through IRC, Usenet, and CompuServe, more and more like-minded people with troubling questions found answers in their online conversations. The advent of the web and ubiquitous easy Internet access sparked a startling societal explosion that brought conspiracy theories from the dark corners of bookstores to the forefront of popular culture. In fact, the wildly popular phrase of 2007, "Don't taze me bro," was a plea from a conspiracy theorist that exploded into the pop-culture lexicon because of the Internet.

Today, the web has given birth to what is nothing short of a renaissance of conspiracy theory. The zero-cost of entry and easy access to blogging has inspired a significant portion of the "blogosphere" to focus on a myriad of conspiracy topics. For better or worse, untold millions of pages examine hundreds of variations on thousands of conspiracy theories. Some are superlative examples of relentless research, others push the speculative envelope with magnificence, and many more are dubious flights of fancy. But no matter the accuracy or veracity of these millions of thoughts, the sheer volume bears witness to the tremendous number of people with provocative questions in search of answers.

The evolution of the Internet has given birth to another cultural phenomenon, one that has its roots in the core essence of how the medium was birthed. While the technological underpinnings were created via a military mandate, the users of the Internet directed its evolution as a culture of collaboration, driven by the ethics of sharing. Despite all the billions of dollars invested in e-commerce and Internet advertising, the essence of the medium is driven by the share-and-share-alike ideology of its users. From hyperlinking to Facebook, every important advance in core online usefulness has its roots in the need for the users to share information, and nowhere has the urge to learn through sharing been more readily apparent than in the birth of online communities devoted to conspiracy theories.

AboveTopSecret.com began in 1997 as the hobby of an inquisitive teenager named Simon Gray of Swindon, England. Over the years, user demand dictated the inclusion of a discussion board section of the site so that like-minded conspiracy theorists could share information and collaboratively speculate on what they learn. In 2003, the demand imposed on Mr. Gray's original hobby became so great that the site outgrew its humble beginnings and dedicated hardware was urgently required. Over the next four years, demand continued to grow at a pace that required additional investments in technology every nine months on average. The "perfect storm" explosion of Internet accessibility, online conspiracy theory topics, and the urge to share has grown the humble hobby into a stunning Internet phenomenon with over 2.4 million pages of content and more than two million visitors each month, making it the largest and most-popular website dealing with conspiracy theories.

Regular users of AboveTopSecret.com will be eager to tell you that such growth and success is no surprise. The heart and soul of our website is an inspiring social content community that is often referred to as the best in class of any topical genre. Discussion boards, forums and blogs have rightfully earned negative reputations for an often overly free-form environment of juvenile behavior, questionable content, personal attacks, and insults. Five years ago, the users of AboveTopSecret.com decided that they wanted none of that. A motto of "Deny Ignorance" was adopted as a rallying cry that not only spoke to the need to be civil with one another, but also stated the clear desire to understand the truths behind difficult questions. This unique civil environment of AboveTopSecret.com is credited with its rapid rise to success. Participants are able to focus on whatever they feel are important issues and provocative questions, with complete confidence that those responding will do so out of a desire to aid in collaborative learning.

While the civil environment has attracted a humbling number of intelligent people asking important questions, the real magic of AboveTopSecret.com is that it is a true user defined media vehicle. Complete editorial control is in the hands of the "wisdom of the crowds" as more than 1,200 new topics every day are ranked and prioritized by the participants. The staff and management have no ability to influence editorial decisions or the positioning of topics on any of the site's pages (with exception of removing occasional inappropriate items). The result is an ever-evolving ecosystem of content that represents a stream of consciousness from an enormous collaboration of intelligent people who want nothing more than answers that make sense.

No contemporary author is better prepared to provide you with a summary of AboveTopSecret.com's unique and collaborative stream of consciousness than Jim Marrs. He's a superlative writer, a brilliant conspiracy theorist, and most importantly, a firm believer in the notion that "together we are smarter than any one of us." Jim has selected a collection of topics that represent some of the most stunning and imaginative works in recent memory on AboveTopSecret.com. No matter what conspiracy theories hold your interest, there's something for you in this book. And if you don't believe yourself to be a conspiracy theorist now, you're not being honest with yourself. After all, you picked up a book entitled, Above Top Secret: Uncovering the Mysteries of the Digital Age, and read the entire foreword.

Jim, I leave our reader in your capable hands.