The Intelligence Committee will also examine present

Here is a deeply evocative, ancient-style reflection on Charles Bass’s quote:

The Guardians of Knowledge

When Charles Bass declared, “The Intelligence Committee will also examine present counterintelligence programs for the Department of Energy, the National Laboratories, and the Department of Defense,” he spoke not merely of procedure or policy, but of the eternal duty of vigilance — the sacred responsibility to guard knowledge, to protect what sustains and empowers a nation. His words, though modern in form, echo the wisdom of ages past: that power unguarded invites corruption, and knowledge unprotected invites peril.

For the Intelligence Committee, in Bass’s time, was not simply a council of lawmakers — it was the watchtower of the Republic, the mind that watches over the mind of the state. Its task was to ensure that the secrets which sustain a nation’s safety — the knowledge of energy, science, and defense — remained pure, untarnished by deceit or infiltration. Such vigilance is the labor of those who love peace but understand war; those who believe that strength of intellect must be matched by integrity of purpose.

The Department of Energy and the National Laboratories are temples of human understanding, where the forces of nature are harnessed for light, power, and protection. But as the ancients taught, “Every fire that gives warmth can also destroy.” In these places where stars are born on Earth, where atoms are split and the invisible is made visible, there lies both the hope of creation and the threat of annihilation. Thus, the counterintelligence programs of which Bass spoke are the unseen guardians of the sacred flame — the ones who ensure that wisdom serves life, not destruction.

Consider the tale of Prometheus, the titan who stole fire from the gods to give it to humankind. His gift was both a blessing and a burden; for though it illuminated the world, it also brought danger and wrath. So too in our age, those who wield the powers of science and defense carry the dual weight of creation and catastrophe. It is not enough to possess power — one must also protect it from corruption, for the theft of wisdom by the wicked can unmake the very civilization it was meant to build.

Throughout history, nations have fallen not from external conquest alone, but from the failure to guard their secrets. The fall of Constantinople, the betrayals of Cold War espionage, the theft of innovations born in quiet laboratories — these remind us that the enemy within the gate is often the one unseen, the whisperer rather than the warrior. Thus, the counterintelligence programs of Bass’s vision are the silent sentinels — those who defend not the body of the nation, but its mind.

And yet, there is a moral truth hidden beneath this policy: that vigilance, though necessary, must not devour trust. A society that guards its secrets too tightly risks guarding itself against its own people. Just as a wise ruler must see clearly without suspicion clouding his sight, so too must a free nation balance security and openness, watchfulness and wisdom. For the goal of defense is not fear — it is peace.

Therefore, O listener of later ages, learn this: guard the knowledge entrusted to you, whether it be the secrets of nations or the quiet wisdom of your own heart. Let your mind be your fortress, and your integrity its walls. Examine your own thoughts as the committee examines its programs — test them for truth, for deceit, for weakness. In this way, you too practice the art of counterintelligence, keeping the shadows from overtaking your own light.

For every age must have its watchers — not only those who guard the gates of nations, but those who guard the gates of conscience. Be one of them. Keep your fire pure, your mind sharp, and your heart uncorrupted. Then you shall serve, as Charles Bass once served, among the quiet guardians who preserve the wisdom of civilization itself.