Breakaway civilization

Breakaway civilization is the claim that a covert network of political, military, intelligence and corporate elites has allegedly developed or acquired radically advanced technologies—often linked to recovered UFO craft—and now operates an autonomous infrastructure hidden from public oversight. Advocates assert that this group possesses anti-gravity propulsion, exotic energy sources and back-engineered alien artifacts, all allegedly funded through unacknowledged “black-budget” channels that bypass democratic accountability.

These theories trace their modern origin to historian Richard M. Dolan, who in lectures and a 2016 booklet argues that classified research into UFO phenomena, combined with post–World War II expansion of secret appropriations, enabled a small faction to “break away” from mainstream society. A 1986 review revealed that U.S. secret spending ballooned from US $5.5 billion in 1981 to over US $22 billion by 1987—funds allegedly diverted to highly compartmentalized propulsion and energy projects.

Proponents describe a self-sustaining society with its own research facilities, logistics chains and possibly off-world bases. Funding streams are said to originate from classified R&D and procurement line items—often labelled merely “selected activities” or “special programs”—that total tens of billions annually. This financial cloak relies on legal provisions in 50 U.S.C. § 3348 requiring yearly reports on special access programs yet permitting waivers when disclosure “would adversely affect national security,” effectively enabling extreme secrecy.

Alleged technologies include:

• Anti-gravity propulsion: said to permit silent, high-velocity craft, with historical roots in 1950s T. T. Brown electrogravitics and modern “lifters” hobbyist demonstrations.
• Exotic energy: zero-point or other breakthrough power devices—allegedly withheld to preserve fossil-fuel markets—though no peer-reviewed data confirm functional prototypes.
• Biotechnology: managed “leaks” of CRISPR gene-editing breakthroughs illustrate how partial disclosures may be used to placate public scrutiny while deeper research remains hidden.

Alleged research sites include remote military ranges where satellite imagery and on-site observers report unusual flight testing—interpreted as breakaway aerospace trials. Witness testimony from retired officials, though often protected by non-disclosure agreements, claims briefings on underground labs and recovered craft.

Critics argue that no verifiable artifacts or whistleblower documents have emerged to prove the existence of a society with such capabilities, noting that historic “black” projects like Stealth aircraft eventually become public once declassification occurs and viewing breakaway narratives as an expansion of the Deep state theory lacking empirical evidence. Others note that if an industrial civilization could vanish without trace—as suggested by the “Silurian hypothesis”—then any advanced human faction might similarly leave only subtle geochemical markers rather than ruins.

Despite skepticism, the breakaway civilization concept remains influential in ufology and conspiracy circles, featuring in documentaries and podcasts, including a 2022 Apple TV+ episode “Is There a Breakaway Civilization?”.