Idea for a science-fiction story

The year: 3000 AD. Science has reached the peak of its capabilities: not a thing about the physical world remains that we do not fully understand. Then the Magical Club, a well-funded clique of former scientists, artists, and others, starts seeking government money for research into "preternatural sciences," code for magic. They give amazing demonstrations of their power - and a few veiled threats - to the Solar Federation.

Simultaneously, a bunch of monks ("backward" and "obscurantist," as the news outlets of the time remind us) start denouncing this as evil. However, the presence of one monk at a Magical Club demonstration screws everything up. Of course, the Magical Club has to Do Something.