Computer "Beast"

Short Description

The text of one of the most stable versions of conspiracy theory, which is not tied to any particular author, distributed on the Internet , is given in the article by folklorist Alexander Panchenko ^[1] . The text refers to a certain doctor Hanrik Eldeman, the chief analyst of the Common Market , who in 1974 showed the Beast supercomputer, located on three floors at the headquarters of the Common Market in Brussels, to the leaders of the Common Market and scientists. The computer will give every person on earth a digital number that will be tattooed on the body for use instead of credit cards. Thus, the computer will control all world trade.

Another Internet text cited by religious scholar James Lewis states that the computer will collect all information about people so that the government of Antichrist can follow them ^[2] .

US Distribution

In the 1970s, in the United States among the Protestant fundamentalists ( evangelicals ) eschatological sentiments intensified ^[3] . There were several reasons for this. The unification movement in Europe, which began with the signing of the Rome Treaty (1957), was interpreted as a revival of the Roman Empire ^[4] . The eschatological prophecies corresponded to the political events of 1973: the Doomsday War , the oil crisis connected with it and the deterioration of relations between the USA and the USSR ^[5] . Technophobia was popular among Protestant fundamentalists: fear of television, as an instrument of the Antichrist, was enhanced by fear of computers ^[6] .

According to one version, for the first time the theory of the conspiracy about the computer “The Beast” appeared in the anti-utopian novel by American Christian writer Joe Masser, “And this horse is pale ...” (Behold a Pale Horse, 1972) ^{[7] [8]} . According to another version, Masser was not involved in the creation of this conspiracy theory, and its probable creators were David Webber and Noah Hutchings, authors of books on the apocalyptic role of computers ^[9] .

In 1975, the evangelical Southwest Radio Church in Oklahoma reported that a supercomputer called the Beast is located in Brussels, which will unite all the banks in the world and lead to a socialist economy ^{[9] [10]} .

In the same 1975, Colin Deal in the book “Will Christ Return by 1988? 101 proof ”wrote that during the meeting in Brussels the leaders of the Common Market were shown the Beast computer ^{[9] [10]} . The "Beast" must assign each person a number that will be applied to the body and replace credit cards ^{[11] [10]} . The author hinted at the barcodes that appeared in 1974 and referred to the fragment about the number of the beast from the 13th chapter of the Revelation of John the Theologian ^[1] :

In 1979, the author of an article in the Awakeners Newsletter accused the Beast computer of a conspiracy to destroy humanity and pointed to the connection of the computer with the mafia , the CIA, and the Order of Malta ^[10] .

An important role in popularizing conspiracy theory was played by the 1981 book of evangelical preacher Mary Stuart Ralph, “When Your Money Loses its Meaning.” System 666 in action ” ^[1] . Relf mentioned the Beast computer several times, claimed that the number 666 penetrated all spheres of life, and emphasized the eschatological role of international organizations (the World Bank , etc.), as well as the USSR ^[12] .

Distribution in Russia and other countries

In 1981, Pavel Vaulin, an emigrant from the USSR, a professor at the University of South Alabama , translated fragments from Relf's book into Russian and titled “The Beast's Offensive” published them in the Niva magazine published by him ^[13] . Another translation of fragments from Relf’s book was made by American Old Believers and penetrated the USSR in the late 1980s ^[14] : in 1989, text on numbering people using a computer was found in the archive of one Old Believer in the Sverdlovsk Region ^[8] .

Athos monks translated Relf's books into Greek ^[14] . In 1987, the Athos monk Paisiy Svyatorets wrote the book “Signs of the Times, 666”, which stated that “the computer“ beast ”in Brussels with the number 666 had almost swallowed all countries” ^[14] . In 1991, Our Contemporary magazine published a letter from Scheimon Anthony (Chernov), who lives in Great Britain, about the Beast computer ^[8] . In 1995, the letter was reprinted in the book “Russia before the Second Coming” ^[8] . The founder of the Mother of God Center John (Bereslavsky) mentions the "Beast" in a 1992 book ^[8] . The Beast computer has become an important motive in the eschatology of the White Brotherhood ^[15] .

The conspiracy theory about the Beast computer has become part of the Orthodox “conspiratorial canon” associated with the denial of barcodes, TIN , SNILS ^[16] . Unlike the American evangelicals, Russian conspiracy theorists add anti-Semitism to it and see it as part of a Jewish conspiracy ^[17] . For Russian believers, it is important that the computer is supposedly located in Belgium (as, for example, the secret world government is in the USA), since they consider Russia a sacred space , beyond which there is chaos ^[18] .

The plot of the Beast computer is found not only in the USA and Russia: texts about it can be found on English, French, and Belgian sites ^[8] .

Researchers attribute the plot of the Beast computer to conspiracy theories ^[19] and urban legends ^[20] .

According to Alexander Panchenko, this conspiracy theory plays a significant role in the religious culture of Russia at the beginning of the XXI century ^[3] . He recalls that the theme of total control over people carried out by hostile forces is a traditional part of Christian eschatology, which is connected with the 13th chapter from the Revelation of John the Theologian ^[21] . The seal of Antichrist is perceived as a mark on the body: conspiracy theory supporters are afraid of laser tattoos in the same way that Russian peasants were afraid of vaccination in the 19th century ^[21] . Panchenko believes that conspiracy theory is part of a more general “eschatological-conspiracy theological metanarrative,” common among Protestants and Orthodox Christians alike, in which fear of a barcode is combined with moral anxiety and homophobia ^[22] . He suggests considering the plot about the Beast computer within the framework of the theory of memes ^[21] and the concept of “emotional communities” by Barbara Rosenwein ^[23] .

Religious scholar Robert Fuller and social anthropologist Maria Akhmetova examine the theory of the conspiracy about the Beast computer in the context of fears of computers and new technologies in general ^{[24] [25]} . “Computers seem to be a caustic symbol of the type of knowledge that remains alien to those who think only in biblical categories,” notes Fuller ^[26] .

• Ageeva E.A. Old Believer polemic about antichrist at the end of the 20th century // Ural collection. Story. The culture. Religion. - Yekaterinburg: Ural State University, 1997. - S. 9-16 .
• Akhmetova M.V. End of the world in one particular country: Religious communities of post-Soviet Russia and their eschatological myth . - M .: OGI, 2011 .-- 336 p.
• Panchenko A. A. Computer named Beast: eschatology and conspiracy theology in modern religious cultures // Anthropological forum. - 2015. - No. 27 . - S. 122-141 .
• Soboleva L. S. American essay on the Antichrist-computer in the interpretation of the Ural Old Believer // Studies on the history of the book and traditional folk culture of the North: Interuniversity. Sat scientific tr .. - Syktyvkar: Publishing House of the SSU, 1997. - S. 118-130 .
• Fuller RC Naming the Antichrist: The History of an American Obsession. - N. Y .: Oxford University Press, 1995 .-- 232 p.
• Lewis JR Satanism Today: An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore, and Popular Culture. - Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2001 .-- 371 p.
• Panchenko A. The Beast Computer in Brussels: Religion, Conspiracy Theories, and Contemporary Legends in Post-Soviet Culture // Folklore. - 2017 .-- Vol. 69 . - P. 69-90 .