Totally speculative post. Imagine there was secret knowledge that a group of humans had survived a prior catastrophe by going underground, then emerged when it was over and were mistaken for gods...

Imagine prior civilizations on Earth had advanced much further than we currently know or is acknowledged by mainstream science and archaeology. This isn't new, this is basically what Hancock argues.

I don't know all of Hancock's work but I think he believes it is possible that an ancient civilization encoded their knowledge in structures such as the pyramids because they foresaw a cataclysm coming and wanted to ensure that some of their knowledge would survive it.

But imagine some of them were able to survive the cataclysm, perhaps by going into deep cave or bunker systems (some kind of equivalent of DUMBs). When they emerged after the collapse of civilization, with intact knowledge and even technology, they would appear to be god-like to survivors who would be reduced to very primitive survival-based conditions.

If it was known by our current "elites" that a catastrophe is coming, it would explain why they apparently DGAF about flirting with nuclear war etc. If they think what is coming is that much more cataclysmic than even a nuclear war, and they plan to ride it out deep underground in Antarctica or wherever..

However, twist in the plot, what if the "knowledge" that has been handed down to them is not actually correct but just a mixture of "elite" mythology and occultism which they have badly misinterpreted?

They think they are going to go underground then emerge as the gods of a new dawn, but in reality they are acting out an ancient archetype of another kind, which may be the Samael archetype of the "blind god" or demiurge. They believe they will be creating the world anew, but in fact they are just repeating a cyclical misunderstanding which perhaps could cause the very catastrophe they are seeking to escape, evade or capitalise upon?