Alfred Isaac Middleton: The greatest explorer that never existed.

January 8, 2023 by Fredrik

This article received an update on 11/5 2023

Let's talk about AI-generated images and stories. You might have seen a recent report on social media accompanied by old-timey pictures of the great explorer Alfred Isaac Middleton. The spelling varies with one or two "D" in the last name. These pictures are usually accompanied by a story that goes something like this:

"British explorer Alfred Isaac Midleton (Or Middleton) traveled the farthest reaches of the globe during the late 19th century in search of zoological, botanical, and archeological wonders. These recently unearthed photographs help to shed light on some of his amazing discoveries during several missions to then-uncharted regions of Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Amazon rainforest. 

Unfortunately, all of his journals and scientific writings were lost in 1901 when Midleton and his team vanished during a Sumatran expedition to uncover the fabled Lost City of Dawleetoo. Due to these tragic events, scant details are known about what you see in these fascinating photos."

Picture this: a mysterious story with clues hidden in plain sight. It starts with the protagonist's name, A.I. Middleton, which seems innocent enough. But take a closer look; you'll see it's a clue to the story's origin. Artificial Intelligence Middleton. Add in the city of Dawleetoo, a play on the name of Dall-e II, and suddenly the mystery deepens.

But the author doesn't stop there. The story's construction is downright clever. You see, Middleton wasn't just any name plucked from thin air. It was the name of a real-life archaeologist and museum director during the 1800s. John Henry Middleton, to be exact. And get this: in 2011, an archaeological society was named after him. It's almost as if the author is trying to make the story more believable by using a name that resembles a genuine person.

It's little details like these that make this story so intriguing. Who knows what other secrets are waiting to be uncovered?

Some of the stories seem inspired by the adventurer Percy Fawcett, who we will get to in a moment, and a document called "Manuscript 512." The document's real name is "Relação histórica de huma oculta, e grande Povoação, antiguissima sem moradores, que se descubrio no anno de 1753" or in English, "Historical relation of an occult, large, very old settlement with no inhabitants that was found in the year 1753." The record was discovered in 1839 in the National Library of Brazil by Manuel Ferreira Lagos. 

All in all, the manuscript contains twelve pages written by an unknown author and seems to be part of a letter. The tale within the pages follows a group of "Bandeirantes," another name for slavers/explorers in Brazil, and their discovery of an abandoned city in the state of Bahia. The short version goes as follows. 

As they journeyed through the rugged terrain, a contingent led by a Portuguese colonel chanced upon a breathtaking sight: a deserted settlement perched atop a high mountain range. The entrance to this mysterious city was adorned with a Roman-looking triple archway and etched with cryptic inscriptions in an unknown language, shrouding the place in an aura of enigma. As they ventured further into the city, they came upon a square dominated by a black pedestal bearing a statue of a man pointing resolutely northwards. An expansive building, resplendent with intricate reliefs and inlaid works depicting crosses, crows, and other intricate designs, loomed nearby. The magnificent street portico was graced by a relief carving of a half-naked figure sporting a laurel crown, imbuing the place with an air of regal majesty. 

Undaunted, the group explored the abandoned mineshafts and were astounded to discover rocks infused with silver and inscriptions that defied their attempts at decipherment. Their discovery of a sprawling countryside manor was even more astonishing, replete with untold secrets and mysteries waiting to be uncovered. In their quest for riches, they tested the soil near the nearby river and were rewarded with a bounty of gold flecks. Despite the allure of wealth, the author pauses to reflect on the deserted city's strange and curious state and marvels at the fauna that now inhabits the ruins. As the group searched the town, one expedition member found a remarkable treasure - a gold coin portraying a young boy kneeling on one side and a bow, arrow, and crown on the other.

As we delve deeper into the annals of history, we often find that the intersection of nationalism and "alternative history" is a theme that rears its head time and time again. And so it was when the Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute received the details of the enigmatic Manuscript 512.

With hopes of uncovering evidence of a Greco-Roman culture to bolster their newly-formed Brazilian identity, expeditions were launched in search of the lost city the manuscript purportedly detailed. Alas, all efforts were in vain. But the document's legacy would prove to be far-reaching.

Manuscript 512 became a source of inspiration for many in the arts and literature. Perhaps most famously, it was the foundation for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel "The lost World," published in 1912. And it was also entwined in the lore of Percy Fawcett's search for the lost city of Z.

Doyle also appears in some of the more elaborate versions of the Middleton story. Or rather, Doyle's assistant is claimed to have kept a cache of documents safe about Alfred Middleton. The age of the assistant is a bit vague, but some articles of a bit dubious origin claim that this assistant should have sent or received an email about this. A claim that would be impressive since Doyle's assistant, Alfred H. Wood, died in 1941.

In the realm of alternative history, tall tales, and half-truths often capture the public's imagination. One such account involves the supposed cache of documents kept by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's assistant, which is always unnamed within the accounts.

However, there are many holes in this narrative. Some articles with dubious origins claim that this assistant either sent or received an email about these documents to or from the British consulate. But considering that we know that Doyle's assistant was Alfred H. Wood, who died in 1941, the likelihood of such an email is slim to none.

But all of this leads us to Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Fawcett. A fascinating person who might be the main inspiration for the Indiana Jones character. Fawcett also became friends with Arthur Conan Doyle, who based some of his books on Fawcett.

Percy Fawcett was a man cut from a different cloth. After retiring from the military in 1906, he became obsessed with exploring the uncharted wilderness of Brazil. In a time when being an adventurer was an actual job title, Fawcett mounted seven expeditions between 1906 and 1924, earning a reputation as a capable explorer.

Fawcett had a different approach toward the indigenous people of the Amazon than others. He treated the locals respectfully and patiently, offering gifts on contact to be better accepted. This set him somewhat apart from other explorers in the area.

But even a man like Fawcett couldn't escape the pull of war. When World War I broke out, he reenlisted at the age of 50, leaving his explorations behind and heading back to Britain.

In 1925, Fawcett embarked on his final expedition to find the City of Z, accompanied by his son Jack and Jack's friend, Raleigh Rimmel. They were last seen on May 29, 1925, entering the jungle in search of the lost city. Despite numerous search and rescue missions, no trace of Fawcett or his team was ever found, and their disappearance remains a mystery. The last known location of the party was at the Horse Shoe Camp, where Fawcett wrote one of his last known letters. 

The theories around Fawcett's disappearance range from dying from starvation, exhaustion, and being killed by one of the tribes in the area to being sucked into a time warp or kidnapped by aliens. In the most likely hood, they got hit by disease or had an accident that killed them. But in 1979, Fawcett's signet ring turned up in a pawnshop within the small city of Cuiabá. Located in the southwest of Brazil. This, of course, led to speculations that bandits were behind his disappearance. Until we find the expeditions bodies, we won't have any specific answers, but the jungles have claimed people in the past and will continue to do so.

Looking at pictures of Percy Fawcett, we're met by a grave man with a steely gaze. He could almost be likened to a mysterious wilderness guide, living off the land and keeping to himself in a Victorian post-apocalyptic world. It's also abundantly clear that Fawcett is the inspiration for the stories when we look at the pictures accompanying the posts. Among the photos is a portrait of a man with a beard, a straight nose, and a piercing stare wearing a pith helmet. If we compare this face with the pictures we have of Fawcett, there is no doubt that this portrait is based on Fawcett's photographs. 

Now, I want to warn you, dear listeners, that some don't let facts get in the way of a good story in the world of alternative history. We've seen it before, and we'll see it again. Sensationalistic blogs like "Lost Books" and "Mysteries Unsolved" have been quick to jump on the Middleton bandwagon, but let's take a closer look at one of their supposed sources, shall we? They claim a book called "The Lost Casket of Dawleetoo" supposedly contains the story of Middleton, gold statues, and the lost city. They even named the author, a Frenchman named Fortuné du Boisgobey. 

But here's the thing, folks. While Fortuné du Boisgobey was a real author, he never wrote about Dawleetoo or Alfred Isaac Middleton. In 1881 du Boisgobey published a book called La Main coupée; in its English translation, it is called The lost casket. This book is available on the Internet Archive and Gutenburg Project for free, but I must warn you. It is not as exciting as these alternative history blogs make it out to be.

So, with all of this knowledge, we could be pretty confident when declaring the story and the pictures a hoax. But all this research might have been a bit overkill. Since we do know who did create both the account and the photos. On July 29, 2022, Visual Effects Supervisor Mitch Gates posted on his Facebook wall. The post got little traction compared to later reposts, but it is the origin of the whole concept. The post even contained the hashtag #midjourney. 

Mich Gates has created quite a lot of these AI-generated pictures. One set depicts what we are supposed to think is the set for the faked moon landing conspiracy theory. While another explores a hypothetical future where artificial intelligence has replaced human creativity, leading to the downfall of art stores and the displacement of creative professionals. These thought-provoking images offer a unique perspective on the impact of technological advancements on society and the arts.

On August 3, 2022, Mich Gates even complained about "another share who forgot to credit." So it seems clear that we have the story's origin right here with Mich. From what I can tell, it was never intended to fool somebody or deceive. It was a fun thought experiment visualized by Midjourney with some tongue-in-cheek text added to give the pictures an additional flavor. 

If you look closer at the photographs made by Gates, you will notice a lot of AI artifacts since these seem to not have been edited afterward. AI, at this point, also struggled with portraying humans, so all portraits look odd to the human eye. As the technology advance, this might not be the case in the future, and something you will need to keep an eye on. While we have struggled with Photoshop for some time, AI art has the potential for even more hoaxes. Gone are the days when a picture could be accepted as is. The gen five of Midjourney can create photo-realistic renderings of prompts you feed them on a level where it's tough to tell it apart from reality. 

So if you don't trust the source, you should definitely not trust any pictures from there. Even if it's a trusted source, you must do some investigations before accepting it since they could have been duped. While being a skeptic has become even more challenging, we should take pride that it's never been more critical.

This would have been where I told you, listener, that all of this was written by an AI. And I did try to use ChatGTP to write this but first. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Gates created the Middleton story too recently, so it's not part of what ChatGTP knows. So I tried giving it the information I wanted to use, but the issue was that the AI started to make things up anyway to a point where it's started to create even more sources for Alfred Isaac Middleton that don't exist. When I called the bot out on it, I only got excuses and that it would try to do better in the future.

The AI tools are great if you really know the material you work with and looking to improve your texts. But as a research assistant or a replacement for searching Google? Then it can be outright dangerous. While we have added the word intelligence to this type of bot, we must remember that it does not really understand things and can't separate between good and bad information.

Sources, resources, and further reading suggestions

Cust, L.H. (2004). Middleton, John Henry. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/18676.

Heckenberger, M.J. (2009). Lost Cities of the Amazon. Scientific American, 301(4), pp.64–71. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1009-64.

Langer, J. (2002). A Cidade Perdida da Bahia: mito e arqueologia no Brasil Império. Revista Brasileira de História, 22(43), pp.126–152. doi:10.1590/s0102-01882002000100008.