Ah, the dark web. It's a place that has long held fascination (and terror) since it emerged from the deepest depths of the internet over two decades ago.
But what if I told you there was somewhere deeper than the dark web, where even the most trained of cyber-hackers couldn't reach?
Like an onion, the internet is made up of many different levels.
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The internet as we know it - such as sites like Google, social media sites and standard web pages - exist on the surface web and are easily accessible to anyone with a connection to the internet.
Below that is the deep web, which holds the likes of government databases and paywalled websites. Go further and you reach a section called the dark web, which is accessible by Tor, and hosts a range of illegal activities alongside completely encrypted communication.
However some users think the depths of the internet reach even further, to a little inaccessible trench known as Mariana's Web.
Like any hardly accessed corner of the internet, Mariana's Web has reached a level of fabled legend. Some say it holds the answers to the darkest secrets of modern civilisation, others speculate that it houses something even sinister.
Here are some of the most common theories about Mariana's Web.
Home of sentient AI
The explosion of artificial intelligence in the past few years has left people rightfully concerned about what our future will look like. Will the music and art of the future be created solely by a computer? Will robots force us all out of a job?
The further we venture into the uncharted territory of AI, the more horror stories about our robotic future crop up and according the rumours about Mariana's Web, sentient AI is already here.
According to this theory Mariana's Web isn't a place but a thing, a super powered sentient being that oversees all of our internet activity. Others go even further and claim that Mariana's Web is in-fact all of AI itself. Pretty creepy to think about.
Secrets of our civilisation
Myths such as 'where is Atlantis' or 'what is kept in the Vatican archives' are questions which keep conspiracy theorists and message-boards in business.
While the rest of us speculate about what was burned in the library of Alexandria or where is Genghis Khan buried, Mariana's web is reported to be holding all of these secrets, locked away on deeply encrypted websites.
It can only be accessed by a Quantum Computer
As it sits on the ocean floor of the internet, Mariana's Web needs a pretty powerful computer to reach it - which means your laptop or smartphone won't cut it.
In order to break into Mariana's Web you're going to need a quantum computer which can calculate the complicated algorithm needed. Redditors often claim you need something called a 'Polymeric Falcighol Derivation' to get onto the darkest part of the web - however no evidence of this actually exists.
Mariana's Web is all just a myth
Of course, like the majority of urban legends which grace the internet, Mariana's Web could just be completely made up, either by a government officials looking to keep us distracted or a bored teenager in their bedroom.
Or all of this and more could be completely true. Either way, we'll never know.
It won't stop us from searching and it definitely won't stop us from speculating.
Topics: Technology, Conspiracy Theory, Artificial Intelligence
Brenna Cooper