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That is an objection that is only valid for a story happening in a time near to us. But, as you say:
and nobody out there can possibly know their own field hundreds of years in the future. I state my case: handwave everything and concentrate on the story.
I believe I may have phrased that quoted part poorly. Perhaps, "... long before the time the copies diverge enough to want to split into completely separate groups, they would likely have already learned enough about the current state-of-the-art of organizational theory to have amended the charter from its initial, preliminary form into something quite different". I didn't mean to imply 'hundreds of years', just a set of individuals learning about a field previously outside their area of expertise.