High-level advisers from the Clinton and Bush administrations testified before the commission investigating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in Washington, D.C., this week.

Now a growing subculture of skeptics, amateur sleuths and independent researchers of all stripes are questioning the ``official narrative'' of Sept. 11, and about 100 people are gathering in San Francisco this weekend for a three-day inquiry of their own.

It's easy to dismiss the self-proclaimed ``911 Truth Movement'' as little more than conspiracy theorists gone overboard.

But the movement, which until recently largely lived on the Internet, is increasingly holding public forums and attracting attention from the mainstream media.

The weekend event, at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, includes panel discussions about Al-Qaida's links to the CIA, the history of covert operations, and the role of Pakistan in Sept. 11. Some of the more incredible theories say that the planes never hit the World Trade Center towers but that the towers were destroyed by remote control; others insist that some of the hijackers are still alive. The Internet is filled with Web sites like www.911 review.org and www.911 sharethetruth.com, many of which argue that Sept. 11 was an elaborately planned hoax.

Part II of the ``International Inquiry Into 9-11'' will take place in Toronto on Memorial Day weekend.

The conference, which began Friday and continues through Sunday, comes as the events of that day are still fresh in the public's mind. The official inquiry in Washington, D.C., has drawn widespread attention. As it began, Richard Clarke, a former counterterrorism expert, published a book saying that President Bush ordered him to look for a link between Iraq and the Sept. 11 attacks.

The official Sept. 11 commission has largely focused on warning signs that a terrorist attack was in the works and who in the Bush and Clinton administrations was aware of those warnings.

Different theories

But they have stayed far away from questions such as ``What happened to the fifth jetliner and the hijackers on it?'' (The ``fifth jetliner'' theory stems from early news reports on the morning of Sept. 11 that five, not four, planes were unaccounted for.)

The timing of the San Francisco event is no coincidence.

``We want our inquiry to go on before the official inquiry comes to their own conclusions,'' said Carol Brouillet, a Palo Alto mother of three who is organizing this weekend's events. Brouillet, 46, is a longtime local peace activist, and she says that she wants the public to have a chance to hear from a variety of researchers.

Ellen Mariani of New Hampshire, whose husband, Louis Neil Mariani, died when United Airlines Flight 175 was flown into the south tower of the World Trade Center, is a cult hero to many, in part because her participation in the ``truth'' conferences gives the group some legitimacy.

Mariani has filed a lawsuit against Bush and other White House officials that charges them with complicity in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

``My husband was on his way to our daughter's wedding, and he never made it,'' said a tearful Mariani at Friday's news conference at the Herbst Theatre. ``Mr. Bush, I am ashamed of our government. They have lied.''

Growing doubts

The Internet has allowed Sept. 11 theories to spread like wildfire. And growing public concern about the government's rationale for the war in Iraq has fueled further speculation.

``The Iraq war really increased the interest in Sept. 11 conspiracy theories,'' said Kathryn Olmstead, a history professor at the University of California-Davis who is writing a book called ``Governing Conspiracies.''

``It's morphed into one: The government set up Sept. 11 so they could go into Iraq so they can control the oil. There was a small number of activists who were suspicious from the start, and then once the anti-war movement got going a lot of people who were opposed to the war wondered if there was a link. But there are some serious people who are genuinely concerned that their government is hiding information from them.''

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED

For more information about this weekend's conference, go to www.911inquiry.org. Tickets are available through City Box Office at (415) 392-4400.