Editing A.C.I.O. (section)

== 2. The modern myth: the “Tartarian Empire” conspiracy theory ==
Since the mid-2010s, a conspiracy theory that has become very popular on TikTok, YouTube, and Reddit (often described as “the QAnon of architecture”) has completely reinvented these concepts. According to the supporters of this theory:

* '''An advanced global civilization''': Tartary is said to have been a highly developed worldwide empire, erased from the history books by Western elites in the 19th or 20th century.
* '''Free energy and giants''': This empire is claimed to have mastered clean, wireless energy (generated by the spires and domes of cathedrals or ancient buildings) and to have coexisted with giants.
* '''The great erasure (“Mud Flood”)''': This civilization is said to have been destroyed by a gigantic worldwide mud flood (which, according to them, explains why some old buildings have windows at ground level or semi-buried basements). The world wars are claimed to have served as a pretext to bomb and destroy the rest of their infrastructure.

In this conspiracist imaginary, Xanadu is sometimes cited as one of the mythical capitals or one of the major technological centers of this original “Tartarian Empire,” merging the legendary splendor of Kublai Khan’s court with fantasies of lost technology.
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