>...
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>>>Why be surprised at finding Illuminati in your neighbourhood? Our local Rosacrucians got up a petition to have them evicted from the spooky ruined priory on the hill. Even spookier, the hill's called Mount Sion!
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>>I'm sure that was just sour grapes. "Our secret society is more secreter than yours. So hah!"
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>British secret societies never use a double comparative, dear boy :-)
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>>Have a read of Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum. If you can follow it, you're a better man than I.
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>I'm a bit up-to-here with "ancient conspiracy theory" novels at the moment, what with having read "Rule of Four" (load of cack) and more recently "Shattered Icon" (not bad)

I think Foucault's Pendulum was the forerunner. It was written in 1988.