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''The Nine Unknown'' is a 1923 novel by
Talbot Mundy Talbot Mundy (born William Lancaster Gribbon, 23 April 1879 – 5 August 1940) was an English writer of adventure fiction. Based for most of his life in the United States, he also wrote under the pseudonym of Walter Galt. Best known as the ...
. Originally serialised in ''
Adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme sp ...
'' magazine, it concerns the Nine Unknown Men, a
secret society A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ...
founded to preserve and develop knowledge that would be dangerous to humanity if it fell into the wrong hands. The nine unknown men were entrusted with guarding nine books of secret knowledge.


Plot

In the novel the nine men are the embodiment of good and face up against nine
Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tradi ...
worshippers, who sow confusion and masquerade as the true sages. The story surrounds a priest called Father Cyprian who is seeking possession of the books but who wants to destroy them out of Christian piety, and a number of other characters who are interested in learning their contents.


Influence

The concept of the "Nine Unknown Men" was further popularized by
Louis Pauwels Louis Pauwels (; 2 August 1920 – 28 January 1997) was a French journalist and writer. Born in Paris, France, he wrote in many monthly literary French magazines as early as 1946 (including ''Esprit'' and ''Variété'') until the 1950s. He partic ...
and
Jacques Bergier Jacques Bergier (; maybe born Yakov Mikhailovich Berger (russian: link=no, Я́ков Миха́йлович Бéргер); Odessa, Paris, 23 November 1978) was a chemical engineer, member of the French-resistance, spy, journalist and writer. He ...
in their 1960 book '' The Morning of the Magicians''. They claimed that the Nine Unknown were real and had been founded by the
Mauryan The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion unti ...
Emperor
Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...
around 270 BC. They also claimed that Pope
Silvester II Pope Sylvester II ( – 12 May 1003), originally known as Gerbert of Aurillac, was a French-born scholar and teacher who served as the bishop of Rome and ruled the Papal States from 999 to his death. He endorsed and promoted study of Arab and Gre ...
had met the Nine Unknown, and that nineteenth-century French colonial administrator and writer
Louis Jacolliot Louis Jacolliot (31 October 1837 – 30 October 1890) was a French barrister, colonial judge, author and lecturer. Biography Born in Charolles, Saône-et-Loire, he lived several years in Tahiti and India during the period 1865-1869. Jacoll ...
insisted on their existence.


In popular culture

* In the first edition of Anton LaVey's '' Satanic Bible'' (1969), The Nine Unknown were the final dedicatees mentioned in the dedication. * The "Nine Unknown" have since been the subject of the several novels including '' Shadow Tyrants'' by
Clive Cussler Clive Eric Cussler (July 15, 1931 – February 24, 2020) was an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached ''The New York Times'' fiction best-seller list ...
and Boyd Morrison; ''
The Mahabharata Secret ''The Mahabharata Secret'' is the debut novel by Indian author Christopher C. Doyle and was released on 21 October 2013 by Om Books. The story follows Vijay and his friends, as they try to decipher a series of clues which would lead them to a dev ...
'', a 2013 novel by Christopher C. Doyle; '' Finders, Keepers'', a 2015 novel by Sapan Saxena; and Shobha Nihalani's ''Nine'' novel trilogy. * The American television series ''
Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
'' prominently features the number nine, and the writers and producers Aron Coliete and Joe Pakaski have credited the story of
Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...
and ''The Nine Unknown Men'' as one of the many influences for the series and as a clue to the mystery surrounding the number. * '' JL50'' is a Hindi-language
sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...
web series launched in September 2020 on
Sony Liv SonyLIV is an Indian over-the-top freemium streaming platform owned by Culver Max Entertainment. SonyLIV was introduced in 2013 as the first OTT service in India. As a streaming service, it is carrying content from its local networks, includi ...
. The series centers around the Nine Unknown and the books they preserved. It relates that these books contain knowledge of political power, the origin of martial arts, communication with extra-terrestrial species, and time travel. The series mentions Project A (for ''Ashoka'') which involves time travel. * On 27 August 2020,'' Reflector Entertainment'' announced a video game '' UNKNOWN 9'' presenting the story of the secret society formed by ''
Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...
'' to be published by '' Bandai Namco Entertainment'' for PC and next generation consoles.


See also

* Ascended master *
Eight Immortals The Eight Immortals () are a group of legendary ''xian'' ("immortals") in Chinese mythology. Each immortal's power can be transferred to a vessel () that can bestow life or destroy evil. Together, these eight vessels are called the "Covert Eight ...
*
Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...
*
Navaratnas Navaratnas (Sanskrit dvigu ''nava-ratna'', ) () or Nauratan was a term applied to a group of nine extraordinary people in an emperor's court in India. The well-known Nauratnas include the ones in the courts of the Hindu emperor Vikramaditya, t ...
* Seven Brahmarshi * Vaimanika Shastra *
Emperor Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...


References


Further reading

*


External links


A Short Film based on ''Nine Unknown Men''HTML text
at Gutenberg Australia *
The Nine Unknown Men of AshokaLegend of the Nine Unknown Men
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nine Unknown Conspiracy theories Works originally published in Adventure (magazine) Novels first published in serial form Memorials to Ashoka Cultural depictions of Ashoka