The story of Shangrila begins with the tale of Dr. Laurent Sorbonne, a
little-known scholar and wizard who lived in France. He had a devoted group of
followers, and established the Societe de Shangrila in 1844, whose purpose was
to explore his belief that mankind's dreams could actually create another
world. Sorbonne was originally a man of the professional class, and was well
educated. He regarded man's greatest achievement to be his intellect, and his
adherence to the higher virtues, in a triumph over baser and more instinctual
motivations such as lust, greed, and gluttony.
