The current state of the world has drastically changed since the departure of the ISV Unity and the six score years since then and its return. Major historical events have fundamentally changed the geopolitical spectrum, and the technological paradigm has changed.

History

The Aberrant War

The Aberrant War started formally in the 2050s, after several Taint-maddened Novas caused significant damage to the world and fought against nations, each other, causing incredible amounts of collateral damage in the meantime. In 2059, the nations which signed the Zurich Accord repealed it, stripping fundamental human rights from Novas and making it fully legal under UN law to declare war against them, which was done so in 2061. This was an unprecedented maneuver in UN history, the declaration of war against an entire race, although the declaration stood up against all legal challenges pressed against it and has done so for decades.

The Aberrant War was a horrific affair, with millions of civilians and soldiers dying from the godlike might or stranger powers of the Aberrants, cities being destroyed, and once-great nations being humbled and shattered.

The Zurich Repeal

(displaying excerpt)
"...given the horrific actions perpetrated by the majority of these "Aberrants" and their capacity to wreak havoc on the Earth on a grand scale, and recent studies by Project Utopia's Triton division which demonstrate that this onset of violent insanity is extremely common in all Novas, we, the United Nations, formally repeal the Zurich Accords, retracting the statement that Novas benefit from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Men and women may be free to do what they wish, but those with the power of nuclear arsenals must accept that their power must be controlled, for the good of all nations and all peoples..."

Earth Strike Ultimatum

The Chinese Earth Strike Ultimatum was declared in 2067, giving all Novas 72 hours to surrender, leave Earth, or die, as the Chinese military was willing and capable of the destruction of any amount of land up to and including the viability of Earth's biosphere to eliminate the threat to her sovereignty. The demonstration of the Chinese will to inflict this involved the elimination of a group of aberrants known as "The Liberators", who had taken over Bahrain. Chinese fusion warheads scoured Bahrain clean, baseline and aberrant alike, boiling the sea... ...as such, there is no longer an island of Bahrain, merely the Bahrain memorial. This demonstration of power eventually led to the exodus of the Aberrants...

Politics

Federated States of America

A Nova known as Jeffery Wycoff used biomanipulative powers to create a horrific blight across the American midwest, destroying a significant proportion of the world's arable land and causing the deaths of millions. As a result, the United States federal government was forced to undertake emergency powers, instituting martial law across North America. After the Aberrant War, the former United States was left in shambles, and coveting its almost entirely intact neighbor, annexed Canada. Canada was far healthier economically and politically but the US military was, at that time, one of the largest and most advanced ones on Earth. The combined territories are now known as the Federated States of America, a republic with a civilian government that is heavily influenced although not controlled by its military and corporate "advisors".

The FSA is classified as a facade democracy by both Aeon and the UN. Although the civilian governance is elected and some issues come to a vote, the Central Security Agency and Federated States Military both hold veto power over any vote "in the interests of national security", and have exercised this option several times in the past. Power lies in the military leadership and the corporate advisors, and the actual "power behind the throne" comes in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the Federated States Joint Intelligence Community Council. Although heavily propagandized, the FSA suffers from several internal insurrections, including long-standing insurgencies in Canada and Texas, Orgotek obstructionism, and the Friendship Annex.

FSA citizenship is multi-tiered: Most people in the FSA are Class 2 citizens, with full legal rights and protection under the law costing additional tax money for the citizen in question (these citizens are Class 1 citizens). Similarly, votes are dependent on poll taxes paid (typically on the order of 10,000Y per year per vote with no limit to the number of votes), and Class-1 citizens must purchase at least 3 votes in this fashion. This method of voting allows the FSA to claim to uphold the original democratic ideals of the United States while giving the pro-FSA corporate interests and oligarchs disproportionate power.

The FSA employs very few psions, due to common anti-psion prejudice and possible paranoia. The few who do are often naturally occurring psiads rather than artificially induced psions, as few members of the Psi Orders are willing to join up with the Federated States.

Friendship Annex

The US military and intelligence takeover of North America was not unopposed from the inside, but the vast majority of soldiers did what they were told. The "Friendship Annex" is a pro-democracy group operating in the United States, originally consisting of the remnants of United States domestic and foreign intelligence agencies and surviving soldiers who managed to successfully desert. Their goal, as it stands, is to depose the FSA and reinstate a democratic government in the United States. With reasonable numbers of sympathizers in the FSA at large, including suspected high-ranking agents in the military-industrial complex, the Friendship Annex has had no problems managing to fight an unconventional war against the Federated States since its inception, and is exceedingly well armed for an insurgency.

Aeon Babel Dossier: Friendship Annex
Friendship Annex tactics have evolved out of Central Intelligence Agency unconventional warfare tactics, possibly due to casualty aversion. They tend to find another group of less-organized insurgents in the FSA, then arm and train them to accomplish their goals, rather than engage in direct warfare-although it is no slouch in direct engagement. Aeon operatives in the FSA working against it have found the Friendship Annex quite useful for various purposes, including armaments and intelligence.

Proteus Division analysts suspect that Orgotek is arming and equipping the Friendship Annex, for unknown reasons.

Orgotek

Orgotek is one of the Psi Orders, structured as a corporation under Proxy/President (Prexy, in normal parlance) Alex Cassel. Orgotek is the primary creator of electrokinetics, who are capable of manipulating the electromagnetic spectrum, and also is a leader in the research and development of various fields such as bioapplications, biotechnology, and electronics. With government and private sector contracts throughout the world, Orgotek has significant market share in a whole host of fields. It also has positive associations with most Psi Orders, and an especially close one with the Legion. Mixed Orgotek/Legion Psion teams commonly operate near the Mideast Blight Zone, and cross-training is not unheard of.

Orgotek itself is very image-conscious, having forged a reputation for low corruption, high accountability, and free public works. Orgotek "traveling schools" seek to educate FSA citizens despite constant harassment from the government, Orgotek employees are given excellent benefits packages and well-taken care of, and Orgotek is quick to punish elements of its corporate hierarchy which do not live up to its noble public image. This, in concert with its universal contracts, have made it largely untouchable in the FSA despite its actions sometimes sabotaging FSA policies.

Aeon Babel Dossier: Orgotek
Orgotek's public face may not be all it seems. Information gathered from operations such as the Tunguska Raid, the Huang-Marr scandal, and so on reveal that several times when Orgotek interests were threatened, operatives with unknown affiliation attacked and seemed to have objectives involving the destruction of evidence. This operations group is tentatively named "Option Eight" (from the Orgotek file on disciplinary policy, with Options One through Seven delineating ever more extreme punishments) and is likely to be an Orgotek black operations unit. Whether Alex Cassel is complicit or this is being undertaken without his knowledge is unknown.

Furthermore, Orgotek has links to terrorist and FSA underground groups such as the Friendship Annex, the Free Canada Movement, and the Barret Commission.

Japan

Japan is an isolationist island nation, with heavily restricted tourism, continuous monitoring of all foreign presences, and various other seemingly-Draconian security measures against "foreign intrusion". Despite it all, it remains prosperous, trading advanced hardtech to the rest of the world in exchange for resources. Japanese nanotechnology and human enhancement products are top of the line, and many of their hardtech products are high-quality, reliable, and cheap due to superior manufacturing tolerances. Japanese citizens benefit from cutting-edge robotics, medical nanotech, and much more intensive use of automated production. These citizens are generally housed in one of many arcologies surrounded by still-populated "old cities", and one of the more extreme infrastructural proposals is to further expand these arcologies laterally, turning the entire island into one large arcology.

Like China, Japan was largely ignored in the Aberrant War. Out of essentially pure luck, few Japanese Aberrants went insane during the Aberrant War and most willingly left, but the scars of the seeming betrayal of the Aberrants have left indelible marks on the Japanese psyche.

Culturally, Japan is in many ways a nation looking back, or looking into escapism rather than reality. The end of the golden era of the Nova Age and the Aberrant War has left Japanese culture looking to fantasy rather than an increasingly depressing and flawed "reality". Similarly, a classically Asian dedication to work, the remaining wistfulness for the age of supermen, and a need to compete against Psions have lead Japanese to fully embrace human enhancement in the culture. Whereas in other areas heavy modification marks you as either military or possibly dangerously insane, those rich or valuable enough to become barely human via augmentation are respected (or at least tolerated) in Japan.

Similarly, the Nova Age and Aberrant War have left Japan cautious of embracing Psions to the same extent, and Psions are even more heavily restricted and monitored than neutrals when visiting Japan. Japan employs very few Psions, and those it does tend to be extensively loyalty-screened and continuously tested.

Aeon Babel Dossier: Japan
The Japanese security measures have good reason for their existence. They didn't exactly get rid of every one of their Novas during the Aberrant War and are in fact creating new ones. Neptune Division believes most of them perished in the first Colony attack on the solar system, and cannot confirm precise numbers of remaining Japanese Novas.

Japan's survival of the Aberrant War intact has much to do with the defunct Kuro-Tek and its research in Nova physiology. Pre-Aberrant War records gathered by then-Project Proteus operatives imply that most of the potentially dangerous Japanese Novas were assassinated before they could become a threat, explaining Japan's weathering of the Aberrant War. More importantly, Japanese Novas seem to be much more stable than the previous-generation ones. Triton Biomedical Division believes that some sort of modification to the eruption process is being used, which is likely to have a significant net negative effect on power and power growth.

China

The People's Republic of China is the world's sole superpower, a powerful nation which survived the Aberrant Wars essentially untouched. One of the primary impetuses of space exploration, a research and development powerhouse, and hosting the Ministry of Psionic Affairs, Chinese influence in every area of life cannot be underestimated. The People's Liberation Army is the largest and most potent military fighting force in the world, controlling the majority of the Orbital Monitoring and Elimination Network (OMEN) jointly with the FSA, with the largest spacefleet, and controlling shares in most of the Leviathan Jumpships constructed as of 2150.

Although rich and prosperous, China has taken more than a little flak from pro-free-speech activists and pro-democracy activists for the "Chinese Panopticon", a near-universal network of monitoring systems and software which extend through all public areas and make crime (and privacy) almost impossible, as well as media censorship.

Aeon Babel Dossier: China
The "Chinese Panopticon" makes covert operation inside China extremely difficult, as all cities are universally monitored in an "open society". This, in concert with the Ministry, means Proteus has no assets in China and all Aeon assets in China are officially sanctioned and publically documented. All Proteus operatives deployed to China for potentially illegal operations should be equipped, whether technologically or via psionic modes, to subvert this security. Fortunately the security systems are networked, meaning that subverting the security of a small area can easily be extended to create electronic invisibility for a city.

Ministry of Psionic Affairs

The Ministry of Psionic Affairs is a Psi Order, but also a significant force in the politics of the People's Republic and is, in fact, a branch of the PRC's government. Led by Proxy Bue Li, the Ministry's political viewpoint is essentially "technocratic Confucianism". The rule of law, intolerance of corruption, social mobility, and the idea of human rights as a group, rather than individual, right all inform the Ministry's political views and give reasons for its explicit support of the current Chinese government, and further improve the Chinese Panopticon and its reach.

The Ministry believes that the elimination of corruption is best done at the root-and its policies seem to bear it out. The stereotypical Ministry Psion is infallibly polite, completely incorruptible, and totally dedicated to his or her mission, no matter what it may be. More depressingly, the Ministry does not believe in the inalienable right to privacy as much as most of the world does, although they do (by all indications) respect the laws against telepathic intrusion that the rest of the world generally possesses, when operating outside of China.

Aeon Babel Dossier: Ministry of Psionic Affairs
It is currently unknown how much of the Ministry's incorruptibility is due to conventional education and indoctrination and how much of it is due to telepathic alteration of its students. It would not be impossible for Proxy Bue Li and her trusted inner circle to adjust all such agents to be less easily swayed by earthly desires.

Agents beware of Ministry operatives because although not omniscient, they can read your minds. All Proteus operatives sent for black operations in China should be given anti-telepathics training and suicide shunts.

Russia

After the ill-fated coup attempt on the Kremlin in 2024 by a series of Nova conspirators attempting to seize their own nation, Russia became ever more anti-Nova, and was one of the loudest voices calling for the repeal of the Zurich Accords. Russia embraced experimental transgenics with a passion, while other powers looked at Novas as a potential boon and refused methods of human enhancement which might eliminate their appearance.

This was a fortuitous decision in hindsight, because it meant that during the Aberrant War, most of Russia was essentially untouched, although that did not make the decades-long conflict easy. It did, however, mean that it was in an optimum position to pick up the pieces during the aftermath, and did so, retaining all of its previous strength and prosperity. Russia is almost comically anti-Aberrant due to the historical impact of the coup (and the barely-averted attempt to seize the Russian nuclear arsenal by the same conspirators), and most of the neutral Legion combatants and UN Peacekeeping Force volunteers on Khantze Lu Ge are of Russian origins. However, due to the early genetic tweaking and the very high percentage of transgenics, there are few psions and no psi order functioning in Russia, which has impacted its long term growth prospects, and has led to Russia being considered backwards in several critical areas, noetics being one of them. However, as hardtech goes, Russia manages to nearly keep up with Japanese advancements in the fields of materials science, computers, and other "hard" engineering.

Aeon Babel Dossier: Russia
Russia's attempts to deal with its accidental removal of the latency genes from their overall gene pool has forced it to give extensive incentives in an attempt to attract freelance Psions. More importantly, it has been undertaking projects to attempt to mitigate or even reverse this process. However, the decades spent before the problem was apparent mean it is unlikely it will ever catch up in the long term in terms of noetics.

Russian diplomatic services have set up several clandestine meetings with the Qin for unknown (but presumably bioengineering-related) technology trades. No further data is available on this topic.

The European Union

The European Union suffered greatly during the Aberrant War, losing several cities and millions of citizens during it, as well as many of its member nations' capitols. The Esperanza incident in 2120, though, was the straw that broke the camel's back, destroying Paris, one of the EU's largest fully-intact cities, and further crippling the EU's efforts to rebuild to its former glories. The birthplace of western civilization, the European Union is still an excellent tourist spot despite some of the risks, as many historical sites and monuments survived the Aberrant War intact, given their extremely low strategic value.

The Esperanza crash bankrupted many EU nations, which were relying on it for their recovery, and further lowered living conditions in the EU.

Britain

The British Isles are a highly nationalistic, largely isolationist, "racist" government which has been criticized for its xenophobia and isolationism. Having withdrawn from the EU during the Aberrant War, they manage to exceed EU living standards in part by the level of economic damage that the EU suffered during the Aberrant War and Esperanza crash.The British xenophobia is enforced by the British Home Guard, a paramilitary police group which is derided as incompetent buffoons outside of Britain, and constant surveillance by cameras and constant electronic filtering. Ownership of any method to challenge the government is also restricted, and non-citizens have essentially zero rights. Non-citizens can be detained at any time, without reasonable cause, for up to 48 hours, and can be ejected by the Home Guard at any time without a stated reason.

British people are heavily propagandized, with the state censoring the OpNet and all British OpNet nodes accessing the rest of the world only through government filters. The news and entertainment which is available is inevitably slanted to reinforce the isolationist, xenophobic views of the government at large. Elections still occur (with extremely low turnout), but the isolationist attitudes and xenophobia that have resulted from more than a generation of propagandizing in such a fashion have made them essentially echo chambers, at least on foreign affairs. Debates on domestic affairs can get more heated, and have resulted in at least one fist fight in the last 20 years.

Aeon Babel Dossier: Great Britain
The Islington Tea Society incident in 2040, then multiple refugee influxes from the Middle East due to the Twenty-Minute War, created an atmosphere of fear and xenophobia which was in part an impetus for the current British government to take power. Successors of the British National Party, the current xenophobic British government has almost entirely banned immigration, asylum, and other methods of non-British citizens getting into the Isles. Anti-Psion sentiment is also high due to the Tea Society incident and the revelation of their influence in government-and the British government makes little distinction between Psions and Aberrants.

British security ostensibly looks like the Chinese panopticon on paper, but is much easier to break in practice. It's intended to deal with refugees and tourists, not covert operatives. The automated monitoring software is poor and most cameras are not monitored by humans. Similarly, although large the network does have holes.

The British Home Guard's training is variable, but they do have big guns, they like to use them, and there are a lot of them. Proteus operatives should beware.

France

The destruction of Paris from the Esperanza crash and the French government's heavy funding of the station caused its government, already teetering due to damage sustained in the Aberrant War, to implode. France is in a state of anarchy, with warlordism rampant and a handful of teetering local governments too fragile to really reach out and become coalitions. Gangs (and Aberrants) operate openly, the primary industry of France is scavenging, utilities are infrequent, and in general nobody wants to be there.

The collapse of French government was a perfect storm of negative events-the Aberrant War had knocked it teetering and gutted its military and military traditions, constant civil unrest and rioting had frayed any nationalistic tendencies, and the heavy French investment in the Esperanza was seen as a method of recovery. In the 2 years the Esperanza operated, France started to make a seeming recovery-but its destruction (and the destruction of Paris) destroyed the French government and irreparably collapsed the French economy. With few loyalties outside of local groups, and the ability to sustain civilization on a small scale due to France's plethora of rich agricultural land, the tensions that the French government (and to a lesser extent, the Esperanza's success) had been suppressing boiled over. Dozens of warlords with military equipment (and often, military-trained enforcers), Aberrants, and various other parties constantly fight wars to conquer land, people, and resources.

Despite their ostensible advantages, Legion operations in France are limited-only small Legion teams can successfully engage warlords or aberrant cults in battle, but only large forces can win such battles. The response to this has been the deployment Legion "Kill Teams", small squads of extremely high-level and well-equipped Psions. These teams are some of the most prestigious units of the Legion and have caught the eye of popular media.

Aeon Babel Dossier: France
No government means no official support, but it also means that the Aberrants in France don't tend to disguise themselves as well as the more hidden ones in any other area. On the other hand, Aberrant cults can easily form in France. Assume that your enemy will always have armed support from thugs with rifles and rocket launchers, as well as possibly bringing heavier firepower in play. Aberrants are insane, not stupid.

Germany

The collapse of the German government during the Aberrant War resulted in the current Germany, which was taken over and shaped by a largely Communist government. The aftermath of the Aberrant War and the economic collapse that resulted dealt a deathblow to capitalism in Germany. The modern Germany is a democratic communist government, where political freedoms and the freedoms of speech and assembly exist but economic freedoms are limited. Its heavy industry and exports to parties throughout the world have kept its economy stable, and its contribution to the Esperanza was tentative and minor, all reasons for its current economic health.

German citizens use unified ID systems for rations, access to entertainment, and medical treatment, and non-citizens entering Germany must acquire a "Guest ID" ring at a nominal fee, allowing them the fruits of German labor. There are few honored guests-most entrants to Germany only possess the rights and requisitions ability any German citizen does, outside of diplomats and a handful of others.

The Middle East

Increasing incidents of aberrant instability in the Middle East set off the powder keg which was Israel and its neighbors in the late 2040s, causing a nuclear war that was followed by the destructive total war between fanatical and insane aberrants. This has left the Middle East largely wasteland, shattering the cradle of many modern religions. Holy cities and priceless holy sites are now little more than graveyards, silent testimonies to the horrors of the Aberrant War. Radiation levels near the cities of Jerusalem and Mecca are still dangerously high, and due to the tragic use of the highly-dirty and long-lived "Salt Bombs" against those cities in the 2040s are unlikely to be safe for indefinite human habitation until the year 2350...

Aeon Babel Dossier: The Middle East
The Middle East is still radioactive, Tainted, and generally not a place you want to be. Even for religious reasons, Mecca is a radioactive crater and so is Jerusalem. Aberrants and nuclear weapons will do that to you. Recovery will require several decades of radiation scrubbing and intensive restoration work. Gathering the funds necessary for such a plan will require significant public support, although the current Pope, multiple remaining Muslim sects, and various other religious and secular groups have attempted to drum up support for such a project. Currently Neptune Division is working with these groups to pool their efforts for the restoration of the birthplace of civilization.

-Sadly, it always takes tragedies of this scale to unite humanity. <MAMercer>

Africa

After the Aberrant War, Africa was ironically left in a position to do relatively well, although the civil wars and complete collapse of the colonial borders during the Aberrant War had caused significant chaos. But although they had fallen, most nations had fallen far further and left them on a mostly equal footing. Rapid industrialization, a change from the endless parade of tinpot dictators, and a plethora of natural resources had allowed them to become a new rising star, and the influence and assistance of the Upeo in the Psion age was sufficient to further increase their international standing. Their exodus has, of course, hit the continent hard, but with secondhand expertise on the nature of psionic teleportation, the nations of Africa have become critical contributors to Leviathan design and construction.

The United African Nations are one of the few success stories of 22nd century Earth, a once-oppressed continent turned strong and free. The resource-rich continent today is prosperous and wealthy, emulating the best elements of 21st century social democracy, guaranteeing citizens a broad bill of rights, providing them with excellent standards of living, and is entirely unlike the image of the shattered, weak Africa of the late 20th and early-mid 21st centuries.

The UAN possesses one of the few space elevators Earth does, and as such has permanent Legion and Orgotek Operations contingents stationed around it at all times, in the event Aberrants seek to replicate the Esperanza incident. This space elevator is one of the linchpins of UAN prosperity, alongside its joint development of the Jump drive with the Qin.

Aeon Babel Dossier: Africa
The united Africa still has a few problems with ethnic tensions and the occasional terrorist group, but it is weathering those well. The disappearance of the Upeo has exacerbated this, as the Upeo were a very real symbol of Pan-African unity. However, so far police and paramilitary actions have kept these issues under control, and the ethnic tensions have a long way to go before they spiral into anything resembling danger.

South America

The Norca's destruction and assimilation of the former South American drug cartels, and the Norca "going legitimate", left South America stable and united, and a leading powerhouse in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Like many of the poorer nations during the Aberrant War, it was hit relatively lightly by the infrastructural damage of the war due to lacking the high-tech, easily Nova-subvertible infrastructure and often relying primarily on cheaper last-generation technology. This allowed it, like Africa, to later make a fair recovery. South America has forgotten the previous image of the drug lord and now sees them as much more noble creatures, like how 1920s gangsters were viewed in many Hollywood films-criminals, but criminals one can respect. If Proxy Del Fuego is intentionally encouraging it, or if the whitewashing is just human nature, remains to be seen.

South America (alongside Cuba) is one of the few remaining true democratic nations on Earth, a loose confederation of separate sovereign nations with functional democratic processes (tighter-knit than the EU, looser than the defunct United States) with differing cultures and viewpoints. It is a prosperous, thriving coalition today, with cutting-edge biotech research, high standards of prosperity, and excellent government responsiveness and support.

The Norca

The Norca were one of the Columbian drug gangs in the 2030s to 2050s, but as biotechnology made "classic" illegal narcotics such as coca obsolete, their leader, one Del Fuego, found it far more profitable (and morally acceptable) to go legitimate. This came at the same time of the Aberrant War, where the other gangs, fattened as they were via the efforts of their Novas, crumbled from within, and South American governments started cracking down against these shattered gangs in earnest. Del Fuego attached himself to this crackdown, offering his once-rivals a choice between assimilation (and legitimacy) or destruction. A few decades later, Del Fuego, now Proxy Del Fuego, revealed the Norca to the public as one of the Psi Orders.

The Norca are now the leading exporters of pharmaceutical biotech, and although secretive, have managed to cultivate an image of patriots, defenders of South America (and the human race), dashing revolutionaries, and most importantly, family members. Norca members are well-loved throughout South America and often spend time assisting rural areas, "showing the flag", and other volunteer work to keep that image.

Aeon Babel Dossier: Norca
The Norca are almost certainly still fully legitimate. The most suspicious archive data points to several research facilities, one of which was clearly inhabited by Quantakinetics and used to study Aberrants. It is unknown what the Norca study of Aberrants is for-bioapp design? Understanding the nature of Taint? A bioweapon to destroy all Aberrants?

The Norca are also extremely hostile to rogue biokinetics who leave without permission. Norca operatives are suspected of having assassinated more than their share of biokinetic criminals in the past, leaving little evidence of their passage.

Outer System Insurgents

The official moniker "Outer System Insurgents" applies to a half-dozen or more smaller groups with similar anti-authoritarian, pro-space-habitation views, as opposed to the idea that space should be controlled and monitored. Hostile to the government and corporate presence in space, these groups, with names such as the "Trojan Splittists", "Void Chasers", and "Freedmen" are allies of each other but not a strictly united front due to differences in their idea of what "free space" should be. The groups themselves are commonly called "Space Pirates" in OpNet news or discussion due to their modus operandi, and many assume that they are one large group rather than multiple independent groups. The "Space Pirate" movement has hijacked the monkier. The image of the dashing swashbuckler pirate fits quite well with their individualist, anti-authoritarian views.

Their individualist ideology is heavily based on the plethora of resources in space and the advances in automated manufacturing meaning that individualist enclaves are now a viable alternative to state-controlled power. Citing ancient UN agreements about the status of space as free territory rather than the government-and-corporate dominated environment it is now, embracing alternative lifestyles such as transhumanism and neonatal genetic modification, and demanding that they be allowed to consider themselves independent rather than people slaving under the sovereignty an Earth government in perpetuity. Militant freedom fighters, their standard form of protest often involves the boarding and seizing of merchant ships and the ransoming of their crew. The pirates may have a handful of military vessels, but generally use converted fast civilian craft to undertake their operations.

Hookers Rift

Uncommonly called the "New Reno" of space Hooker's Rift, first constructed by one of the early Trojan Splittists leaders J.B. Hooker the asteroid habitant grew in size and complexity as the popularity and size of the "Outer System Insurgency" increased to have the status of, perhaps, a pirate capital. The truth is that Hooker's Rift is merely a convenient meeting point for many groups and its importance is not based on any centralized power entrusted to it by any group, none of which would concede it or rather even could if they desired it, but on that it holds no pretensions.

Here at the station nearly anything can be bought or traded for, from old-model computers to the latest models just barely on the market on earth. Entertainment here is not limited to one venue as each of the four "Casinos", as fancifully styled by the "Families" that run them, alone boast a wide variety to service all the spacers that move in and out of the station's numerous docks. Naturally considering the free spirited philosophy driving its inhabitants the stations government is a loosely directed council of the four "families" with the historically significant names like Wright, Bishop, Mordino, Salvatore who ensure basic services and the maintenance of the station.

Casino Wright
The most Specialized of the "casinos" consisting of six levels, including a specialized, huge, three-level Spatial Rocketball arena which draws a huge amount of traffic and profits. The sport is a distant descendant of football some claim but the reality is that a sport which involves two 10-12 player teams flying in near zero-g with rocket packs with limited fuel supplies after a self-guided "ball" with the intention of rocketing such ball through a net that changes shape randomly has very little relation to anything that came before. Accidents, naturally, occur frequently and often enough the shelf life of a spatial Rocketball player is directly proportional to the amount of head impacts taken. Bei Wright was in his youth a star Rocketball player but sadly an unexpected accident ended his Rocketball days but failed to dampen his enthusiasm for the sport.

The Emporium
Where everything one could ever want can be bought, traded for, or conned for. An open market with many stalls, stores, merchants, and spacers. A hub of commerce between the Space Pirates.

Bishop's Lucky Number Omega
The most "old" fashioned of the Casino's and perhaps the closest to actually being a Casino in the old sense. Known for its android (and gynroid) servers Bishop's most compelling feature is a rotating series of shows. Rumors of certain Acts being kidnapped from earth, of course, is simply dreadful slander.

Norris Star Casino
Come see the fights at the Norris Star. Come see Men test themselves against the Machine; see the weak and the unworthy perish and the strong climb to the top. Run by the Mordino's the Norris Star hosts any number of mixed martial arts, zee-gee kung-fu, exhibitions and death-matches (no children, please, unless accompanied by an adult) and staggering prizes that has been known to draw in even the odd Pison.

Salvatore's
A state of the art holographic "Casino" where only the imagination and your money is the limit to what can be experienced. Constantly awash in the lights, sounds and smells (trade secret) of a thousand locations and era's Salvatore's provides for some an imagined glimpse of the Golden Age of Earth and for others their darkest and more peverse or uncomfortable fancies; money and trade cares the House, not what the customer desires. Salvatore's has a reputation of strict neutrality even on the station of common profit and brotherhood; much business between various factions take place here in one of the private rooms or in the more seedier areas of the Vampire House on the lowest level of the casino.

Big Red's Intersteller Services
Visitors to Hookers Rift with their own ship suffering damage or mechanical issues might be advised to book an appointment with a repair slip at Big Red's. For those who have equipment that they no longer... need... may be well accommodated at a number of affiliated chopshops. If the most interesting equipment offloaded ends up in or used by the ships of the New Leninist Space Proletariat Squadron cutter that later raids a Chinese freighter one cannot complain- neo-space Leninists often have plenty of coin to trade.

The shipyard, as its something nick named, hosts the prestigious Captain's Cabin. A club for those who own or operate their own ships.

Extrasolar Colonies

The Colony

Aeon Note: Technically it is still a human-origin colony, so it's included here for completeness.

The Colony's original mind is probably a Nova originally called "Unity", a Teragen-affiliated cyberkinetic and Mega-Intellect of some note whose research on the properties of Eufiber were notable during the age. It is not known, and nobody can theorize, what led it (Unity is described in historical texts to have been androgynous and possibly hermaphroditic) to assimilate most of the eufiber-wearing Novas during the Aberrant War, although theories from malice, to curiosity, to miscalculation, to accident, have all been floated. What is known is that the resulting agglutination of Novas can no longer be described by its original mind.

The Colony itself is, from what Ministry has extracted from the handful of defeated Prime Threats, wrapping itself slowly around close orbit to a star, becoming a Dyson Sphere made primarily out of Eufiber. However, attempts to localize the Colony and attack it via constellation matching have been unsuccessful. It does, however, have several dozen mobile nodes, as well as its children, that it uses to directly lead forces as necessary, in concert with its own handpicked Aberrants, generally created from clones or captured breeding stock. It is known that the Colony attempts to localize nova potentials and force eruptions, brainwashing the subjects into loyalty. This is generally (owing to high Mega-Social ability) but not 100% successful and there are occasionally renegade Novas.

Colony forces are as varied as they are horrific. Melds between man and machine, sometimes smooth and almost beautiful, sometimes rough and brutal, almost always alien and disturbing, are common sights in the armies of the Colony. Using artificial node tissue and eufiber to fuse sub-aberrants directly to computing elements to improve response time are common, as are shock troopers patched together via salvaged cybernetics and unwilling donor tissue. Similarly, doctrine is varied according to what leads them. However, strategically the Colony's attacks on colonies and its attempts to suborn domestic governments are both existential threats to free human society.

Sub-Aberrant Classifications

Ferals: The most common form of sub-aberrant, ferals are maddened beasts kept barely in control by the Colony's local commanders, used to distract attackers or overwhelm weakened positions in feral waves. Generally quickly produced, ferals are largely only a threat to civilians or small military units and can easily be killed en masse. They are generally considered a hasty, stopgap method or a psychological weapon, as the Colony has better weapons to be used.

Thralls: The next step in Sub-Aberrant classification, thralls are more intelligent but lack self-will. They are useful general purpose combatants with the capability of complex thought and surprisingly clever tactical planning. Other Thralls are idiot-savant mechanics or surgeons, used to maintain and build facilities for later "finishing" by a biomanipulator aberrant.

Marauders: Marauders are rare (simply because the Colony seems to not trust its soldiers with sufficient degrees of free will) and seem to all be purpose-made and indoctrinated clones. In general, the end result, although heavily physically altered, is almost always largely sane enough for tactical use, although presumably some level of mental aberration is acceptable to the Colony's purposes. These operatives are used as harassment forces or special forces, and as Legion tactics have increased in sophistication their numbers have been increased over time.

Assassins: Assassins are a Marauder variant intended for at least temporary infiltration. Ranging from Spine Drudges, which attach and replace the spinal cords of victims and wear the hosts like zombies, to Sirens, which can at least temporarily take the forms of regular humans, to Succubi or Incubi which are used to seed sub-aberrants into the larger population, these living weapons are thankfully apparently rare and hard to produce.

Titans: Some Sub-Aberrants are of particularly large and inhuman stature and considered "Titans". These creatures are generally horrific fusions of several (often dozens) of humans, held together by grafted machinery, M-R nodes, and eufiber. The smaller designs, such as Satyrs, are generally around 2 meters tall, the size of a miniVARG such as the Chameleon, while the larger ones like the eponymous Titan can end up 30 meters tall. All are gifted with weapons and armor, and the largest ones can often generate enough firepower to threaten smaller warships. Although large and destructive, they are rare and thankfully can be dealt with via strategic weaponry should the need arise.

Colony Nodes of Note

Detailed research into Colony Nodes show that they retain some of the personality, affectations, and of course, all of the abilities of the original novas assimilated. Attempts to exploit this have not been made yet.

Geryon/Leviathan (Nodes 03/04): Both originally Teragen terrorists, the two were assimilated early and have been used as battering rams. Both are brutal fighters and always deploy onto the same battlefield, although Geryon prefers ambush fighting and terrorism and Leviathan prefers direct, brute-force attacks. Although Geryon is a competent terrorist, Leviathan is not, and his attacks are generally repulsed relatively easily for their size and strength.

Backlash (Node 25): A cyberkinetic with associations to the Teragen, his operations tend to involve cyberwarfare and covert sabotage. However, his operations on Khantze Lu Ge have been stymied by (apparently) other cyberkinetics, as well as the extensive use of biocomputers and small self-contained networks.

Pursuer (Node 42): Originally United States Military NDP, Pursuer was a sniper trainer and his tactical, small-unit expertise has been repurposed by the Colony. Generally, his command includes few, if any, sub-aberrants and the ones who are included are ranger-types. His attacks are quick, military hit and fades and are carried out with extensive precision.

Albert McCann (Node 46): One of the few survivors of the British purge of the Islington Tea Society and its mind-controlled thralls from all levels of government, McCann has been one of the masterminds of infiltration operations. Joint Norca/Proteus operations have eliminated most of the major dangers (including at least one attempt to get a thrall elected as Prime Minister of Britain) and rebuilding his network should take time.

Epoch (Node 50): Epoch was once a Nova serial killer masquerading as an Elite and still is a serial killer. His operations are eccentric, often headhunting attempts, and generally as obsessively "artistic" as they are practical. His one vulnerability is that with no sight or hearing, and his only method of sensing being quantum powers (which can be disrupted), Psion bodyguarding of commanders and ISRA forecasting has largely reduced his ability to target enemies, and his own natural cowardice has largely negated his potential impact. Similarly, his quantum invisibility is easily countered via the use of psions, who can sense such a high-taint being via attunement with relative ease.

Charity (Node 104): "Charity" is unlike the typical monsters of the Colony, being a beautiful goddess not out of place at the height of the Nova age but she is no less dangerous. A skilled biomanipulator, her "gifts" and the creation of these new sub-Aberrants have been the cause of at least one outbreak of sub-aberrants on various extrasolar colonies or, in at least one documented case, on Earth itself. She is willing to give her favors freely to anyone with a grievance, and is considered a high level subversive threat.

Khantze Lu Ge

Khantze Lu Ge was an originally Chinese resource base which was attacked by Colony-affiliated around 2130. War has been continually raging on Khantze Lu Ge, and although the disappearance of the Upeo had worsened prospects, the heavy industry and experienced Legion units stationed there allowed the forces on-station to maintain their effectiveness. The split between Yog-Death and Kali also allowed the UN forces, cut off from resupply, to make some level of gains. And finally, renegade Novas rejecting Colony instruction and brainwashing have also become a fourth party, wary temporary allies of the Legion and the UN, although they are still very much aware of their condition, they are also too useful to dispose of and they know it.

Khantze Lu Ge at this point is extremely heavily militarized on both sides, both parties in the middle of fighting a grinding decade-long total war. Originally intended for mining exotics, the resource-rich soils of Khantze Lu Ge are now being tilled to fuel a war that has killed millions of people on both sides and shows no signs of stopping or even slowing down.

Legion presence on KLG is extremely heavy, with roughly 450,000 Psions actively fielded there, nearly half the Legion's psion complement, and significantly more neutral soldiers. Similarly, it has become a testing ground for anti-aberrant tactics and weapons of various sorts.

The opposition on Khantze Lu Ge is as varied as it is horrific-terrible abominations of warped machinery and twisted flesh, held together by taint. The operating word in the occupied areas is "Gigeresque".

Far Nyumba

Far Nyumba is a colony on a moon orbiting a gas giant. Although the isolation period before the Jumpships and tessers came online nearly drove the colony to total disaster, it survived and thrived, and now has a population of over 10,000. Now a self-sufficient and growing research colony, the colony's research on alien artifacts has raised several interesting questions but has uncovered little in the way of answers.

The artifacts on Far Nyumba suggest that the race in question was extensively technologically advanced, with advanced technologies that bend the limits of "conventional science" (as non-noetic non-quantum fields of research are considered), but little in the way of noetic or taint-fueled technologies. The main attraction, tentatively named "Mgitu Station", is built around several advanced catalyzed-fusion reactors and contains a quantum teleportation system as well as evidence of extensive use of nanoengineered materials and self-maintaining components. Similarly, another artifact in orbit seems to be a cradle for the construction of lighthugger-type vessels.

Current theories believe that the unknown extraterrestrials are heavily modified and have matured to the point where the timescales involved for STL interstellar travel have become acceptable or even palatable. The potential of said alien technology, though, has been sufficient for every major defense contractor to have research teams working on Far Nyumba to unlock its secrets.

Karroo

The Karroo mining colony was a UAN resource base that was suddenly attacked by hostile extraterrestrial entities a few months before the cutoff. In that time, it has weathered many more attacks and taken significant losses, but intermittent Upeo relief and supplies, as well as Edenite help, have kept it intact and working. The removal of most of the Chromatic military assets on-station by the use of radiant conversion have heavily reduced, but not eliminated, the Chromatic threat.

Karroo was heavily industrialized for expansion and resource extraction, and during the attacks has turned its infrastructure to wartime. Visitors to Karroo are likely to see various types of improvised fortifications and defenses, as well as a variety of local weapons from the crude-but-effective to the professionally built and designed. Chromatic attacks and raids are a fact of life, as the aliens launch repeated probing attacks to test defenses and find weakpoints in the colony defenses in preparation for larger attacks.

Although Karroo is now back in contact with the UAN, the Darwinian selection of Chromatic leaders that Karroo's impassioned defense has induced have rapidly increased the tactical and strategic acumen of Karroo Chromatics. As each Chromatic is a powerful electrokinetic, UAN strategic analysts are concerned that if the Karroo aliens are allowed to refine their tactics and communicate back to their homeworld, attempts to invade their homeworld might become essentially impossible.

Averiguas

Averiguas was in the middle of a full-scale rebellion and civil war before recontact, but the disappearance of the Upeo forced both sides to work together to survive and resulted in a ceasefire becoming a long-lasting peace and detente. However, recontact has allowed Brazil to send additional "pacification forces" and an interim government to add fuel to the cooling fire. Relations are still generally cooperative but tensions are increasing due to several heavy-handed crackdowns. Interestingly enough, the Norca are similarly split in the situation, and Major Elena Vargas, the local Norca commander, is unwilling to commit her loyal forces to any possible Norca-on-Norca fighting. Similarly, the "rebel" shifters have sworn to not act against the Norca outside of self defense.

Averiguas is currently divided between two factions, the Brazilian colonial government which controls the northern half of Averiguas's main continent, and the Worker's Union, a communist movement that has taken control of the southern half of Averiguas. As a third party with its own interests is the Norca, which holds significant sway in the Brazilian colonial government and seek to keep their research stations away from Brazilian oversight, as they do research on aberrancy and taint in their Averiguas facilities.

Averiguas is a rocky, desolate planet with arid land that has required all the biotechnological mastery of Orgotek and the Norca to terraform into habitability.

Procyon

Lost Colony #1

Zanzania

The Zanzania colonization ship was launched in 2080 as a potential "lifeboat" for the human race should the Earth end up uninhabitable due to Aberrant taint. Its crew entirely genetically enhanced and screened, the Zanzania colonists had no incidences of the aberrant genetic sequence, and arrived at their destination in 2127. However, first recontact was difficult, as the colonists mistook the Upeo for Aberrant invaders and one of the jumpers was killed in the attempt. Using the tesser system and Upeo to jump a hardtech craft and UN diplomats worked more successfully, and Zanzania is a functional if relatively limited colony.

With no incidences of either latents or aberrants, it has basically been ignored by all parties despite being a functional, stable colony with a working democratic government. Currently, the usefulness of psions and encouragement by various parties has led to heated debate on whether or not the genetic sequences for latency should be edited into the genomes of its children to allow them to take advantage of noetic technologies.

Psi Order Breakdowns

Total Latents: ~1/500 to ~1/100 (24 to 120 million potential Psions)
Active Psis: ~1/3000 (4 million total)

Orders

Legion (Psychokinesis): 1 million

Ministry of Psionic Affairs (Telepathy): 0.75 million

Orgotek (Electrokinesis): 0.5 million

Aesculpians (Vitakinesis): 0.5 million

Norca (Biokinesis): 0.4 million

ISRA (Clairsentience): 0.25 million

Upeo(Teleportation): ~60,000

Chitra Bantu (Quantakinesis): ~3,000

Remaining Psions: ~400,000

Psiads: ~25,000

Government Employed: ~280,000 (not counting Ministry employees)

Freelancers: ~94,000

Psionic Criminals: ~1,000

Alien Life

Chromatics

The Chromatic race leapt onto the stage with their attack on Karroo Colony, not even bothering to communicate before attempting to kill everyone involved, combatant or noncombatant. A combination of Upeo and Legion forces drove them off, but with the disappearance of the Upeo, the forces were stranded there and until recently could not rely on any sort of reinforcement.

Chromatics are roughly 1.5 meter long, vaguely saurian creatures which mass ~40 kg. Despite their diminutive size, they have extremely powerful musculature and inhuman physical ability. An average Chromatic warrior is far stronger, tougher, and faster than any but the most enhanced operatives humanity can muster. More importantly, they are universally powerful photokinetics, and seem to be born with an instinctual understanding of the use of their psionic abilities. Chromatics have multiple-redundant cardiovascular systems and even brains, making them extremely hard to kill.

Fortunately, Chromatics tend to be extremely poor soldiers, with poor coordination that often leads their offenses to break down into attritionary attacks, a limited understanding of tactics past small-group tactics and very poor unit coordination, and other tactical flaws which have managed to make their overwhelming physical and psionic superiority, as well as their superior numbers, manageable.

Aeon Babel Dossier: Chromatics
Chromatic technology is of an unknown but presumably human source. Chromatic biotech tests for 99.98% similarity to human biotech. The only difference is that whereas most human biotech tends to be cybernetic, fusing hardtech components such as hyperfusion generators and fusion drives to biotech vessels for superior performance, Chromatic biotech uses entirely biological methods of function. Propulsion is done via psychokinetic-active bioapps, weapons are universally Psi-based, computers are neural tissue rather than hybrids, and so on. This reduces their efficiency for no seeming reason-although it does let the Chromatics literally grow their weapons and equipment, rather than build it.

Aeon operatives have had very limited success interrogating Chromatics, as they choose to suicide rather than suffer capture. In concert with Ministry data and what is known of their designs and equipment, the current internal theory is that the Chromatics are an uplifted race. Their benefactors and the purpose of this uplift are unknown.

Coalition

Little is known about the Coalition. They are extremely advanced (and seemingly friendly) aliens, despite a diplomatic accident happening a few years ago. What is known is that they are a host of separate species-the warrior Spinals, the technically adept Sasq, the diplomatic Envoys, and the general-labor Drones. Communication is by a combination of auditory and pheromonal signature, and each species seems to have an individual language.

Coalition technology is extremely advanced, including very high-penetration personal particle accelerators, common plasma weaponry, artificial gravity, shape-altering metals, and other applications of hardtech. Interestingly they do not possess biotechnology, nor any evidence of psionic powers.

Aeon Babel Dossier: Coalition
The Coalition's "separate species" have DNA over 99.5% alike. Given that many Earth organisms do not have 99% identical DNA, it is unlikely that any of the Coalition's statements are trustworthy-it is nearly impossible that these separate species evolved individually. The Coalition has admitted to having FTL after being confronted with questioning of the Sasq engineers, making them the possessors of the sole non-Novatech, non-Psionic FTL system in existence.

Doyen

No results for your search "Doyen". Search again?

Aeon Babel Dossier: Unknown Xenosophonts

Bioapp base genetic matrix shows near-zero similarity to terrestrial life forms, possibly xenobiological in origin?
Aeon Psions have occasionally detected strong anomalous psionic signatures-Proxy level.
One Proteus operations team was attacked by assailants, equipped with military-grade weapons and equipment. Mindscan of the sole survivor of said team revealed one word: "Doyen". Deeper scan showed that the person in question had his psyche entirely wiped, rendering him in the words of the team leader "a human cruise missile". Analysis of Telepathy shows that only perhaps Proxy Bue Li could have done something to this extent-but Proxy Bue Li has no motive for such an action.

Qin

The Qin are advanced psi-capable aliens, notable because of their friendly relations to humanity. Their true appearance is unknown, but they tend to wear humanoid biotechnological power armor, known as biosuits, when encountering human beings. Qin biotechnology is far ahead of the human understanding, and their developments have included biotechnological intelligence enhancement, several developments in genetic and vat-grown human enhancement technologies, improvements in BioVAS suits, and the Leviathan jumpships. For our part, the Qin are intrigued by hardtech and have been more than willing to exchange biotech advances for technologies such as hyperfusion, modern metallurgy, and other advances.

Aeon Babel Dossier: Qin
It has been suggested that the Qin were the benefactors who gave humanity the base genetic matrix for bioapps, but Qin biotech is completely dissimilar to human biotech in construction. Similarly, this would require the Qin to have an FTL system, and given that they were surprised at the Upeo research data, it is unlikely they are our "Doyen". Qin biotech tends to have its own mind and life cycle, rather than being dedicated single-use applications. Although less efficient, it means they can create their own ecosystem.

The Aeon Trinity

Neptune

Administration, Exploration, and Diplomacy
If you've ever wanted to step foot on new worlds and meet new people, or simply help people see past their differences and find their inner similarities, Neptune provides opportunities for idealists such as you to do their part in helping society grow past petty bickering into a grand, united whole. From exploring new worlds to understanding alien species to working closely with the Psionic Orders and shaping public opinion, Neptune can provide you a posting in almost any field you wish. Applicants to Neptune Division should be well-motivated and idealistic, and should have previous experience (or at least certification) in the area they seek employment in.

Aeon Babel Dossier: Neptune Division
The leader of Neptune Division is officially listed as Maxwell Anderson Mercer, who was born in 1889. Aeon officially states that this is because "he is with us in spirit" but it is unlikely that an organization which has reinvented itself multiple times to deal with an influx of posthumans (first Novas, then Psions) would keep such a tradition for no reason. Similarly, many of the internal missives of Neptune Division (in the 21st and 22nd centuries) involve other anomalous names, such as Whitley Styles (birth unknown, but early 20th century records show a "Whitley Styles" in the Aeon Society for Gentlemen), Michael Maxwell Mercer (birth unknown, dated to Aeon Society photos in 1945-1950), Margaret Mercer (born 1967), Jack Tallon (born 1865), and Jake Stefokowski (born 1905).

Aeon Closed Council

Paramorphs

Maxwell Anderson Mercer (b.1889)

Maxwell Anderson Mercer is a powerful paramorph with mastery over time and space, capable of playing tricks with causality and time loops with a whim. This is not the first time he has tried to steer the 22nd century to a positive end for humanity, and he will not stop leaping through history until he can guide humanity through these turbulent times. His unique power is Time Travel-he can appear and disappear during crisis points in history, as well as points where Hammersmith incidents happen.

Michael Maxwell Mercer (b.1921)

The son of Maxwell Mercer, Michael Mercer possesses most of the same abilities but not the time travel. He has taken over many of his father's official duties, managing Aeon in his stead. Like his father, Michael Mercer is a polymath master-of-everything who complements this with his ability to manipulate time and probability.

Jake Stefokowski (b.1905)

An adventurer and pilot without peer, Jake Stefokowski can outdogfight an E-15 in a vintage F-86. Those who know him would say that he could probably do the feat in space without any ammunition (they are exaggerating, but only slightly). As Jake Danger, Aberrant Hunter, he is one of the two people who have fought a Prime Threat and won (the other is Proxy Larssen) without aid. Stefokowski is possessed of standard Paramorph abilities as well as an encyclopedic knowledge of land, sea, air, and space vehicles from the 19th century to the 22nd.

Jack Tallon (b.1865)

Even in the founding of the Aeon Society for Gentlemen, Jack Tallon was old and a seasoned adventurer and explorer. Now, he is possibly the most well-traveled man in all of existence. A walking expert on survival, hunting, and diplomacy, Jack Tallon is not the most dangerous member of the Closed Council but he is certainly the most seasoned one. He has talked to the Qin, fought Chromatics, faced down the Colony, and done a thousand other things that would be life-defining for someone else. Tallon is an old man in his apparent sixties, but in excellent shape, who always carries around a machete and an old revolver.

Eximorphs

Professor Benjamin Franklin Dixon (b. 1870)

Benjamin Dixon was seemingly born Inspired, with a genius-level mind and a lust for knowledge from an early age. He weathered the Nova age well enough, and although mostly working in seclusion he does occasionally show up to closed council meetings to provide advice. Dixon is a seemingly-weak Nova with very high Mega-Intelligence and Inventive Genius, as well as a high rating in Mega-Stamina and some Mega-Dexterity (fast tasks + microscopic precision). On the other hand, he always has an arsenal of gadgets whenever travelling and often can improvise them from local materials. More importantly, he has nearly three centuries of adventuring experience.

Doctor Hephaestia Geary-Wexler (b. 1880)

The ex-wife (twice) of Professor Dixon, her relationship with the Closed Council has been rocky at best, involving a love-hate relationship with Aeon and split personalities. However, she's also old, smart, and very, very good at what she does. Hephaestia's obsession with clockworks and machinery has adapted itself throughout the age, and she has thrown her talents at just about every buzzword technology to ever come along-clockwork, gasoline, radio, atomic power, fusion, nanotechnology, quantum physics-she's done it all. The only one she has avoided is biotechnology. Hephaestia has 1-2 in all physical mega-attributes and Mega-Intelligence 4, with a custom Enhancement which improves her ability to create gadgets or advancements based on the buzzword-tech-of-the-year. She is also more than a little crazy (due to problems entirely unrelated to Taint).

Athena Boyd (b.2000)

Originally Project Utopia Internal Affairs, Boyd's discovery of Proteus's black operations eventually led her to the discovery of the Closed Council and a membership invitation from Michael Mercer himself. She is a handsome woman who looks to be in her mid-twenties, with a handful of Mega-Attributes at 2s and 3s and limited ESP, but few other powers.

Psychomorphs

Margaret Mercer (b.1967)

One of the younger members of the Mercer clan, Margaret, daughter of Michael Mercer, presided over Aeon over most of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Her powers include some level of mega-mental ability as well as limited telepathic ability.

Whitley Styles (b.~1890)

When Styles was young, he was kidnapped by a cult of assassins and raised to be one of them. With the tutelage of Mercer, he unlearned their heritage but never their skills. He has grown wise, but not old, working at the behest of his father-figure and building Aeon up from its humble heritage. Styles is possibly the most powerful non-Proxy human psi currently alive, and possesses Psi 10 and every non-Quantakinesis mode at the maximum a Psiad can. He has never fully discarded his original learnings, and has done more than his share of personal wet works operations as well.

Baselines

Director Thetis (b.1980)

The director of Project Proteus during the Nova age, Thetis (a pseudonym, she has erased her real name from the mists of time) joined the Closed Council by virtue of having discovered it. The sole baseline on the council, she is the voice of almost sociopathic pragmatism, and makes up for her lack of powers with being a very gifted woman. Thetis and Athena have butted heads repeatedly, and it is open knowledge in the Council that there is no love lost between the two.

Triton

Research And Technology
Since its founding, Triton has brought to you many of the advancements which have increased the human lifespan and bettered the human condition. From its earliest discovery of a cancer vaccine and the cure for AIDS in 2014, Triton has provided many of the great leaps in biomedical technology, making the human race better by leaps and bounds. Triton trains many of the finest scientists and engineers in cutting-edge technology. For more than a century, Triton has been a trusted name in the sciences, and we do our best to live up to our reputation.

Any graduate of a certified college program in a field of scientific engineering may apply to Triton for additional training or a career. Do you want to allow the human race to step ever forward? If so, choose to become a member of Triton today. Latent Psions or currently active ones should note Triton's close partnership with many Psi orders, and how one may be able to join one of many joint projects. There is no reason why an Aesculpian, Norca, or Orgotek employee needs to retire from their order to work with Aeon Triton.

Aeon Babel Dossier: Triton Division
Triton Division was created in 2020 as part of Project Utopia, as a biomedical research front specializing in Novas. Dealt a devastating PR blow by the Teragen leaking the existence of the Bahrain facility, this leak led to its attack (and the destruction of Bahrain) in the Aberrant War. More critically, the research findings of Trition Division may be invaluable for any attempt to create a unified theory of Taint and its prevention or mitigation. Information may yet remain in abandoned Project Utopia facilities in the Middle East, and Project Proteus is known to have an encrypted copy of at least some of the data.

Proteus

Special Operations
Do YOU think you have what it takes to become a member of Project Proteus? Let me tell you, you probably don't. If you've got enough determination and skills to make us think otherwise, come to an Aeon recruitment center today, ask about joining Project Proteus, and show us that you've got the right stuff to become one of us. As a member of Proteus, you will be on the front lines, defending humankind from internal and external threats, from alien invasions to Aberrant cultists, living a life of excitement, duty, and wonder.

To be accepted into Proteus training, you must possess:

A Morgan-Atherholt Trauma Function Test of 70+ (acceptable Morgan-Atherholt TFTs are those administered by any Triton facility or the Legions. Any tester from a national military must retest [all retest costs are covered]).

No augmentation allergies, or a combined physical aptitude test result of 84+ (any Triton facility can test for augmentation allergies).

Creativity, intelligence, and a love of learning.

A sense of duty to humanity as a whole.

A willingness to spend years isolated from Earth in an extrasolar colony.

A willingness to make hard decisions and take responsibility for them.

No mental illnesses, physical disabilities, or social anxieties which cannot be permanently treated via hypnotherapy, pharmaceutical, or surgical means.

Note that Latent or already practicing Psis of particularly high power may waive some or all requirements. These requirements are the bare minimum-applicants are encouraged to have additional expertise before application, such as in translation, cultural sensitivity, law, investigation, or other similar fields. A full list can be found on the Aeon Trinity OpNet Node.

Aeon Babel Dossier: Proteus Division
The original Project Proteus was used in situations where Team Tomorrow or Utopia's own peacekeepers were too high-profile for Project Utopia's tastes. Much of this legacy remains. In fact, with the OpNet crash in the Aberrant War, many of Project Proteus's safehouses have become essentially lost, especially safehouses in Europe and the North American blight zone. Project Proteus stores and protects several files which are over a century old and still restricted-access. Filenames for these files include "Apostasy Protocols", "Hammersmith Investigation", "Galatea Incident", and "Bahrain Aberrant Syndrome Research".

More interestingly, Project Proteus has existed for a lot more time than its official origins would let on. The Aeon Society, in the post-1945 Z-Ray fading, absorbed the IDA and Branch 9. Several of the operatives of both seem to reappear in Project Proteus internal missives.

The World of 2150