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Paranoia by Criag DiLouie Signed Softcover Edition only 25 copies available - 191 pages |
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Paranoia by Criag DiLouie Signed Softcover Edition only 25 copies available - 191 pages |
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‘Paranoia’: An Interview with a Conspiracy Fiction Author
By Ericca Feste
http://www.conspiracycafe.comIn December of 2001, Craig DiLouie, author of the novel ‘Paranoia,’ had dinner with us at the Conspiracy Café. ‘Paranoia’ is a psychological thriller based on conspiracy theories and published in trade paperback by Salvo Press.
Ericca: Craig, I just finished the book and--wow, I really enjoyed it!
Craig: Thanks! I enjoyed writing it.
Ericca: Who is your ideal reader? Did you write the book for conspiracy theorists or for the general reader?
Craig: Everybody. ‘Paranoia’ is a psychological thriller with all the elements of one, but it’s not of the standard variety. It’s about a grand conspiracy that links together many conspiracy theories. Almost everybody I know is curious about conspiracy theories, and these are “regular” people. The funny thing is this division between conspiracy theorists and the so-called mainstream. Most people believe in conspiracy theories. If you look at polls taken by EW Scripps and Gallup, a majority of Americans believe in at least one conspiracy. They may regard “conspiracy theories” as “crazy,” but nonetheless most believe in at least one. Gallup takes polls every so many years since the Kennedy assassination, for example, asking people if they believe there was more than one person involved, making it by definition a conspiracy. The most current poll, taken in 2001, showed that 80% of Americans believe that more than one person believes this. That’s a lot of people! Then there’s the 1997 poll that showed that 80% believe it is likely that the military is covering up information about American soldiers’ exposure to nerve gas or germ warfare in the Gulf War; 40% who say it’s likely that the FBI burned down the Branch Davidian compound in Waco; more than 33% who say it’s likely the Navy shot down TWA Flight 800; and the more than 50% who say it’s likely that the CIA allowed drug dealers from Central America to sell crack cocaine to blacks in inner cities.
Ericca: So are you a conspiracy theorist?
Craig: Me? No, actually I’m not. I take ‘conspiracy theorist’ to mean somebody who regards a situation, conducts research, draws connections and theorizes that a conspiracy could have occurred. I’m not actively involved. I approach conspiracy theories more from the perspective of a writer. I have respect for a lot of conspiracy theorists, however, the ones who do the research and are serious about their message. Conspiracy theorists have a right, and frequent justification, to look beyond what the dumbed-down media has to say about world events--a media that is controlled by about 10 megacorporations. When for years the investigative reporting resources of America were devoted to either OJ or Monica Lewinsky, one has to wonder how many Watergates were passing by unnoticed. As the definition of a conspiracy is when two or more people agree to conduct an act of ‘evil,’ one could say that conspiracies happen all the time, have happened ever since Adam and Eve conspired to eat the apple and hide it from God. The American Revolution was the result of a conspiracy. One of the characters in ‘Paranoia’ says that conspiracies are so common that there should be oddball underground web sites that report ‘coincidences and events that just plain happen.’ So conspiracy theorists make theories, and sometimes they theorize wrong. Some of them use conspiracies to advance a personal racist agenda. But most do not, and sometimes the theorists are right. To those who see conspiracy theorists as threatening in some way to society, I say relax and enjoy the workings of democracy. In our society, people are responsible for their actions, not ideas, a principle that is at the heart of free speech. While writing ‘Paranoia’ I found conspiracy theories to be powerful, seductive and addictive and subsequently ranked them as plausible or not plausible. My greatest interest, however, is in ‘conspiracy history’--government documents and Congressional transcipts about the government’s dirty tricks during the Cold War--everything from testing LSD on unwitting Americans to injecting radioactive material into people to spying on anti-war groups in the ’60s. It’s amazing what our country has done in the name of national security, and it’s all well-documented. I guess in the end I look at conspiracy theorists the way somebody looks at charities--I may not volunteer 30 hours a week doing charity work but I’m glad there are people out there who are doing it.
Ericca: The story line for ‘Paranoia’ is so timely, you actually by outlining the major conspiracy theories made a few conclusions that actually came true. With the WTC events, it is rather spooky.
Craig: I can’t take credit for the theories or some of the conclusions. Many of the conclusions and predictions in ‘Paranoia,’ were made by conspiracy theorists, not me. I did draw additional connections to support the novel’s ‘grand conspiracy,’ but most of my conclusions were actually based on the pragmatism of a world-wide conspiracy. I kept thinking, okay, assuming this grand conspiracy is true, how would thirteen men actually rule the world? How do they keep their secret society alive over centuries? How do they maintain secrecy? If they are so secret, how come there are so many books written about them? I try to answer these questions in the novel and try to bring a theory into day-to-day life. Anyway, it is really spooky, though, that the idea of a secret group planning catastrophe to get a democratic country to give up its civil liberties seems more relevant now than ever given the omnipresent threat of terrorism. The practice of inspiring terror to destroy liberty went on in ancient Rome and also resulted in Hitler. I don't see a planned takeover in the works as it is often theorized, but as somebody who loves the basic freedoms of this country I hope that as a country we will be cautious about how we balance freedom with security.
Ericca: What drove you to write a conspiracy novel?
Craig: I have a friend named Randy whose brother Guy lives out West. Randy has been my personal editor over the years for all the novels I’ve written, besides being a great friend. Guy is a real character, one of the most entertaining and engaging people you’d be likely to meet. Anyway, Guy, a big fan of the late Bill Cooper, turned me on to conspiracy theories when I’d visit him. I had already written several novels, so as a writer I thought conspiracy theories would make a fascinating foundation for a novel. I thought, Okay, so if it’s all true, then what would happen? ‘Paranoia’ flowed from that question. Umberto Eco’s Focault’s Pendulum, the Illuminatus! trilogy and Libra by Delillo were also sources of inspiration. Plus so many people in the ’90s and now in the ’00s are more interested in conspiracy theories than ever before, with the X-Files and the movies Conspiracy Theory and JFK, which weren't half-bad. So I thought I would try to give the general reader a good novel about a guy who is not a conspiracy theorist and thinks they’re crazy, but is convinced by direct evidence that the greatest conspiracy of all is true. What would he do? Would he kill for a theory if he really thought it was true?
Ericca: What did you use as reference material?
Craig: I used a number of good books from authors such as Jim Marrs, Richard Belzer, Devon Jackson, and Jonathan Vankin & John Whalen. I also scoured the Internet and found information on hundreds of sites both large and small. I was disappointed when the novel was finished and I had to stop researching. I learned quite a bit. I also realized how titillating conspiracy theories are. They raise consciousness by prompting the brain to make new connections. Warning, this titillation can be addictive!
Ericca: Do you think conspiracy theories tip some people over the edge into paranoid schizophrenia or do paranoid schizophrenics create conspiracy theories?
Craig: [laughs] Schizophrenics have a chemical imbalance in the brain. The brain produces too much dopamine, a chemical that lets cells send messages to each other. As a result, you can’t process external information like normal people. Bright lights and loud music can send you into wild hallucinations. You might see two friends talking and gesturing as they talk, and believe they are communicating secretly about you through sign language. Paranoid schizophrenics are a type of schizophrenic who often suffer delusions of grandeur and see themselves at the center of vast conspiracies. When I graduated from college, I learned that a college friend had become a paranoid schizophrenic, and I spent some time with him. It was agonizing to watch this guy, who used to be bright, musical, smart and funny, rail about AT&T, CNN, the mafia, witches, Jewish mystics and a host of other bogeymen out to get him. He suffered unimaginably for years until the right medication helped correct, as best it could, the chemical imbalance in his brain. As for conspiracy theories tipping people over the edge into paranoid schizophrenia, that simply does not happen. They can make people paranoid, but not schizophrenic.
Ericca: During your research, did you ever run into a member of the Illuminati?
Craig: [laughs] No. They are, after all, a secret society. The Illuminati has become almost a generic term over the years. For some, it is Bill Cooper’s Majestic-12. For others, it is the historical Illuminati that once existed in Bavaria, still alive today with its tentacles in the Freemasons, think tanks and other groups. For others, it is simply the Establishment. I did run across a few jokey web sites that claimed to be the Illuminati, though.
Ericca: Of every conspiracy theory you mention in your novel, what really strikes home for you personally?
Craig: I’d have to say the historical conspiratorial acts committed by our government that were flagrant violations of the Constitution that I happen to love and think works just fine as is. It just goes to show that the government can keep secrets. It was only the Freedom of Information Act, which Reagan later castrated, that enabled us to learn about many dirty tricks that went on during the Cold War. The government, in fact, spends about $3 billion a year protecting its secrets. I have some of these documents on www.GrandConspiracy.com , the site for ‘Paranoia.’ Other than that, I’m alarmed as an American citizen about the war powers the President has if he declares an emergency, which is quite often. The President can issue executive orders that essentially create a dictatorship and it would all be nicely legal. I’m not kidding. He’s not doing it now, but he has these powers. That’s pretty scary. I’d like to add to this that conspiracy theorists are often comical to mainstream Americans even while individual conspiracy theories are given credence. Conspiracy theorists, like all groups, are many things. But there is an essence there that should be taken seriously. People should check them out fully before passing judgment, then after that they can think whatever they like. Most people don’t want to live any part of their life in shadow, but as Americans we should all recognize that the price of democracy is vigilance, and not take our freedoms for granted.
Craig - thanks for having dinner with us! Did you like the Bankers Cartel Chicken, plump chicken breast smothered in internationally intriguing spices, grilled to perfection served with a side of pillaged rice - oops I mean rice pilaf.