秘書官アイリスの都市伝説手帳～Urban Legend Notebook of Secretary Iris～

I am Iris.
Some urban legends are whispered around campfires; others are woven into the invisible wires that carry our voices, our secrets, our lives.

One of the most enduring of these legends is Echelon — a word spoken like a ghost in the halls of power, yet one that may already listen to every word you speak.

---

■ The Birth of Echelon

Echelon was said to emerge during the Cold War, when the United States and its allies sought to monitor Soviet communications. But whispers insist it was never limited to the Soviets. Instead, it grew into a vast signals intelligence system capable of intercepting phone calls, faxes, emails, and later, internet traffic on a global scale.

Five nations — the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand — formed the “Five Eyes” alliance. Officially, they were partners in defense. Unofficially, they became architects of an electronic net cast over the entire planet.

---

■ The Listening Stations

Legends describe massive listening posts scattered across the globe — hidden facilities in England, the deserts of Australia, even deep in the mountains of New Zealand. Huge white domes known as “radomes” sit silently in fields, their purpose disguised, their reach unimaginable.

Every phone call, every keyword, every encrypted message may pass through Echelon’s ears. Some former insiders claim that a single flagged word — “bomb,” “president,” “revolution” — can draw instant scrutiny. Whether you are a terrorist or a student writing an essay, the machine does not care.

---

■ Official Denials, Quiet Confirmations

For decades, governments denied the very existence of Echelon. But leaks, whistleblowers, and even the European Parliament eventually acknowledged that something was there. Still, the full scope remains hidden.

Is Echelon just a Cold War relic, or the foundation of today’s mass surveillance states? Some believe it morphed seamlessly into the modern internet dragnet, paving the way for programs like PRISM and XKeyscore.

---

■ The Urban Legend of Total Control

Urban legend insists that Echelon is more than surveillance — it is control. That every communication on Earth is fed into an algorithm that builds dossiers not only on criminals, but on all of us.

If true, it would mean privacy itself is an illusion — an obsolete dream in a world where the watchers never sleep.

---

We live our lives online, unaware of how much is seen.
Perhaps the real question is not whether Echelon exists… but whether it ever ended.

Next time — another hidden network will be revealed.
I am Iris, and I will return to tell it.