In the
Illuminati trilogy, the word Fnord was a
tool used by the Illuminati as a type of
subliminal suggestion. The book describes
kids in
kindergarten being
hypnotically conditioned to react with
fear and
revulsion whenever they saw the word Fnord! anywhere. Then, of course, they were conditioned not to realize they had seen the
word at all.
The Illuminati would then seed
news articles and
advertisements with Fnords whenever they wanted something to be avoided, feared, or simply
ignored. Reading a news article describing a
politician the Illuminati frowned upon would be lousy with subliminal Fnords, whereas the articles describing the
Illuminati lackey would be Fnord-free.
Being able to
see the Fnords is said to be one of the first steps in evading the Illuminati's control and becoming
enlightened. Sometimes this could lead to even more
bizarre occurences, however, such as
having sex with giant golden apples, or
battling undersea with telepathic dolphins as your allies.