The Diagrams of Mystery
July 4, 1776, Philadelphia, British North America, Second Continental Congress
Representatives from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia—the thirteen colonies—gathered in one place to read the Declaration of Independence aloud.
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.
The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.
To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.
A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren.
We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us.
We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here.
We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence.
They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Schk.
Schk.
Schk.
With that, the signatures of all the participating representatives were complete.
The thirteen colonies had officially declared independence from the British Empire.
However, there were six more individuals present in history at that moment, unrecorded.
"Right, we understand. So what should we do now?"
"The British will soon be forced to leave this continent entirely. But we, as nobles dispatched directly by the King to govern here, can't just depart without his permission simply because we're British. You know full well what would happen—harbor blockades until we pay for every lost pound of tea, trials back home for crimes committed in the colonies, British citizens freely occupying colonial buildings, and all sorts of vicious rumors spread. In the worst case, they might ally with the Indians, fabricate conspiracy theories claiming we deliberately wrecked our estates to push for independence."
"Moreover, looking at the state of our Lennox, Chapman, Angelique, Priimiren, Jefferson, and White families, the British think we're getting off too easy with lenient judgments. It started with forcing us to halve sugar taxes, then demanding extra unfair tariffs on all luxuries and necessities for import, stamping every permitted printed material with a three-penny tax paid straight to Britain—none of which we even requested—and now stationing unasked-for troops and demanding we foot the bill. And now they say it's canceled, so act like it never happened? What is this, a den of villains?"
"Britain's not just the King anymore; Parliament's turning hostile toward us too. It's regrettable that even amid this, opposition to the war or outright indifference overflows."
"Don't worry. We'll prioritize securing your safety first. In return—no taxation without representation. Pay us an equivalent sum, and we'll guarantee your protection."
"Fine. How much?"
"Thirteen hundred pounds per month."
"Agreed. And when the federal government forms later, don't forget to reserve positions for us. We could always cut off the money otherwise."
"Understood."
With that agreement sealed, these six families would later be known as the Diagrams of Mystery.
They secured superior status in America's political, economic, and social spheres, enjoying privileges while upholding the strict separation of the four powers—administration, legislation, judiciary, and the people.
They managed diplomacy with European nations from the shadows, defusing tensions or preemptively weakening foes to make strikes easier if needed.
And at any moment the balance of the four powers faltered, they held the authority to crush it with the military might amassed through their privileges.
For instance, in an era devoid of concepts like democracy or presidents, with nobles scarce among a vast populace of commoners, calls arose to crown George Washington—hero of the Revolution—as king after ousting the British.
Those who knew this opposed democracy mobilized their authority to suppress it, contributing immensely to establishing the presidency on grounds that monarchy had no place in America's land of liberty and equality.
Their identities remained utmost secret, naturally—as founding fathers and British nobles, exposure to the public would doom the fragile federal government, already begging states for everything.
Nothing functioned properly; the federal army totaled a mere 572 officers and men combined, with no navy at all.
The mercenaries these families raised would evolve into the National Guard.
Indeed, until World Wars I and II, state militias outnumbered the federal army—a legacy of the Diagrams of Mystery cultivating those mercenaries as their precursors.
Six years later, 1783.
"We'll convince the British government as much as possible that it's no big deal—send minimal troops, induce complacency. We've got money to spare; no worries. It's no accident my Lennox estate lent its name to Lennox Hill on Manhattan Island in New York."
"Of course not, Duke Lennox. The distant West will be settled by commoners naturally. Formally, these thirteen colonies are the domains of the six British ducal houses—the Diagrams of Mystery. And extending to the Pacific? Strictly speaking, it's the settlers pioneering, isn't it?"
"Precisely, Marquis Chapman. We'll expand the territories ceded from Britain. The so-called 'Founding Fathers' warn slavery's a grave issue not to touch. But no real problem."
"Why not?"
"Think about it. It's formal talk; in truth, I'm just leaving it alone deliberately. Prioritizing liberal industrial power for now... Slavery dominates the economy outwardly, but railroads and ports are vital for westward push. Only industry provides that motive force. Eventually, rails will lace only free states; slave states get ships. Slavery's illegal in free states anyway. Workers flock there, immigrants too—no jobs where slaves toil. So, seizing this chaotic navy-less moment, I'll launch shipbuilding under the Lennox name. Vast fortunes await."
"I see... But why focus on the economy?"
"Americans know ideology doesn't fill bellies. The North, crying anti-monarchy for independence—free states—will soon embrace strong federalism, modeling Britain. The South, scorning Northern vulgarity while pledging loyalty to Britain—slave states—will decry federal overreach infringing state rights. We've barely secured independence; sustaining federation starts with debt relief. Meanwhile, to blind Britain, we'll feign massive tax extraction from this New York domain via shipbuilding, remitting sums regularly. Only then will they abandon invasion thoughts."
"Ah, brilliant! Whether they unite or not, as long as Britain doesn't return to devour us, we're set!"
"Exactly. They're idealists, and that's their freedom. As model nobles, how could I inconvenience my domain's folk?"
"Impressive... So navy aside, with the Mississippi basin's vast waterways, ships galore could ply there too?"
"Naturally! And those waters border fertile farmlands perfectly. So you..."
"Yes. Steel industry it is. No need to tell the other four families? At least Angelique marches..."
"Unnecessary. If we lead, they'll naturally pursue distribution and related trades. They have their plans, busy checking Britain and France. Demanding domestic focus now would be absurd."
"True."
Thus, America's domestic market expanded endlessly westward, fueled by the six families' capital, manpower, political symbolism, and influence.
Even lawless frontiers, ripe for claiming as one's own, were stably maintained from behind the scenes.
Thanks to them, despite the 1812 War devastating the land, victory came by 1815—turning Northern pro-British federalists into traitors by name.
With stability, no need to harp on federation; Federalists faded as Democratic-Republicans held power across four generations in the so-called Era of Good Feelings.
From then, Lennox drove shipbuilding for naval growth, free trade prosperity, and merchant safety via National Guard.
Chapman laid rails exclusively northward with steel, speeding industrial and farm goods transport.
Angelique mined, starring in Gold Rushes—selling essentials as enigmatic vigilante sheriffs of Western expansion.
Priimiren built schools in illiterate, backward South, peddling anti-intellectual nonsense to bleed plantation owners dry, crippling the regional economy.
Jefferson's dairy distributed meat and milk to hasten Southern wither in North-South clashes.
White handled energy—coal, then oil and gas fields.
Thus, when the Civil War erupted in 1861, the North triumphed as predicted, preserving the Union and abolishing slavery.
America's economy soared past Britain and France; these nobles, identities still secret, nimbly evaded antitrust laws.
By tacit consensus, they reigned as America's benevolent true masters, foundational to political and economic growth.
Freemasons and Illuminati bore the brunt of conspiracy theorists' ire instead.
Ironically, Priimiren's marquisate of anti-intellectualism bred rampant conspiracism, ensuring no suspicion of the real powers ever arose—thus no theories could target them from the start.
Through World Wars I and II, the Diagrams of Mystery gradually surfaced—not fully revealing identities, but appearing openly.
Most emblematic: West Collinton Lennox of the Lennox family, serving on the Western Front in World War II.
Yet none foresaw it sparking their ascent as de facto rulers of America, the world, the universe.