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The Nine Unknown Men are a legendary two millennia-old secret society reputedly founded by the Indian Emperor Asoka c. 270 BC. According to the legend, upon his conversion to Buddhism after a massacre during one of his wars, the Emperor founded the society of the Nine to preserve and develop knowledge that would be dangerous to humanity if it fell into the wrong hands.
Some versions of the story include an additional motivation for the Emperor to conceal scientific knowledge: remnants of the Rama Empire, an Indian version of Atlantis, which according to Hindu scripture was destroyed by advanced weaponry 15,000 years ago.
The early appearance of the society in the fictional works of Louis Jacolliot and Talbot Mundy has led some to conclude that the legend is a modern fabrication.