The Nine Unknown
by Jess Nevins
extracted from “The Jewel in the Crown”
The Wold Newton Universe and India, Tibet, and Nepal
 

Yue-Laou, as Chambers wrote, had ruled the Plateau of Leng for a long, long time. Chambers did not write that Yue-Laou had ruled it since before the dawn of humanity, for the truth that a powerful and inimical being who was in turn the agent of ageless and horrible beings from the stars existed and was sponsoring attacks on human civilization would have sparked panics in America. But such, unfortunately, was the truth. Yue-Laou, and the Plateau of Leng, are millions of years old, and their masters untold billions of years old.

Nor is Yue-Laou the only agent of the Old Ones who “lives” on the Plateau of Leng. The Old Ones who empowered Yue-Laou and the inhabitants of the Plateau of Leng have many worshipers and agents on Earth. One of the most powerful of these agents has been the group known as the “Nine Unknown.” Under that name they came to the attention of modern readers courtesy of the work of the journalist Talbot Mundy, but the truth is that they existed before their battles with James Schuyler Grim and survived his passing.

The Nine Unknown is an organization of evil lamas given unnatural powers and greatly advanced science by the Old Ones. The Nine Unknown use these powers to further the worship of the Old Ones and to spread misery and chaos across the world. Some information about them is already known, but much has only recently been revealed. The truth is that their influence was much more widespread than previously suspected, and that the Nine Unknown, directly and through their agents, have been responsible for many of the woes that have beset mankind. The roster of the Nine changes over time, with each new lama being given powers by the Old Ones to replace the fallen or dead member(s) of the Nine. Unlike Yue-Laou, they have not hid in the Plateau of Leng and had little contact with the outside world; the Nine Unknown have been active on the part of the forces they represent, and have bases and agents around the world. The Nine suffer many defeats, but they always survive, only their agents and lesser forces being destroyed. The Nine seem to believe that the Old Ones they worship will eventually return to rule the Earth, and that patience and endurance will see them through.

Luckily for mankind the universe is not wholly hateful or uncaring. There are incredibly powerful beings in the cosmos and on Earth who are capable of wiping out humanity with barely a thought, but there are also Higher Beings who look out for mankind and protect them.

One of those beings has, like Yue-Laou and the Plateau of Leng, existed for millions of years, before humanity began. Across the millennia he has fought for good, using his strange powers to help mortal men and women. He has always been frustrating ambiguous and coy about his origins, but he has dropped hints that he is a direct representative of a Higher Power–perhaps even the Higher Power. In 14,000 BCE he went by the name of “John Gribardsun.” In 1908 he was called “Sunday.” In the 1930s he was known as “Mr. Am,” and was a friend to the noted industrialist Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks and his ward Annie. In the 25^th century he will call himself “Kevin Uxbridge.” His real name may never be known, but there is evidence of his presence across time.

I believe–and I hope this article will prove–that Mr. Am (as I will continue to call him, as I believe that is his true name) is the leader of an organization of good men and women who are set against the Nine Unknown, their alien masters, and all they stand for. These men and women had and have and will have exceptional powers and greatly advanced technology, possibly courtesy of Mr. Am and possibly derived from other sources. They make use of these abilities and science in the war against the Nine Unknown. They have had many guises over the centuries, but usually they are seen as lamas in various East Asian lamaseries.

This duel, between Mr. Am’s lamas and the Nine Unknown, has spanned centuries, and much of what humanity holds dear exists only because of Mr. Am’s forces. These forces, like those of Yue-Laou and the Nine Unknown, are spread around the world, but they are concentrated in India, Tibet, and Nepal. Their headquarters may be the legendary kingdom of Agartha, described by the French traveler Saint-Yves d’Alveydre.