Trust no one.
The very nature of Aegis' work means that the organization has to work in secret, away from public
scrutiny and hidden from the keen surveillance of their enemies. The National Defense Directorate
manipulates and schemes in secret bases around the country, plotting and moving pawns in a
deadly chess game of deception. A conspiracy against another conspiracy.
Aegis' secret agenda is the core of a conspiracy, but that conspiracy is built upon an altered
and secret history - a conspiracy within a conspiracy. Lies within lies. A conspiracy against
their own operatives. When faced with many conspirators, who can you trust?
This is the hidden world of Conspiracy X, where Aegis battles the NDD for control and superiority
in a fight where both sides think they are doing what is best for humanity.
Where cults and secret societies work behind the scenes, infiltrating and being infiltrated in turn. But the truth
is far more shocking than anyone could have foreseen and will rock the agents' beliefs to the very core.
The Conspiracies Sourcebook is a supplement for the Conspiracy X 2.0 roleplaying game. In it, you will find:
• Details on the history and structure of the National Defense Directorate, including their advanced weaponry
reverse engineered from alien technology, as well as details of their operations working both against and
collaborating with the various alien races.
• The true history of The Watch, finally revealing the truth behind the split that formed Aegis and the National
Defense Directorate.
• Never-before-seen background information on Aegis, as well as a detailed overview of Area 51 and the
various divisions at the core of the conspiracy.
• Rules for creating smaller conspiratorial groups and cults, as well as many example groups that can be plugged
into an existing game.
• A radically new development in the Conspiracy X world that will have agents doubting who or what they can trust.
Compatible with All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Armageddon, Terra Primate,
CJ Carella’s Witchcraft and other Unisystem games.
www.edenstudios.net
Conspiracy X™, artwork, text, icons, characters and personalities are copyright ©2013 George Vasilakos All Flesh Must Be Eaten™, Armageddon™, Terra Primate™, CJ Carella’s Witchcraft™ ©2013 Eden Studios, Inc. Unisystem™, copyright ©2013 C.J. Carella
Published under exclusive license. All Rights Reserved.
Produced and published by Eden Studios, Inc.
Conspiracy X™, artwork, text, icons, characters and personalities are copyright ©2013 George Vasilakos All Flesh Must Be Eaten™, Armageddon™, Terra Primate™, CJ Carella’s Witchcraft™ ©2013 Eden Studios, Inc. Unisystem™, copyright ©2013 C.J. Carella
Published under exclusive license. All Rights Reserved.
Produced and published by Eden Studios, Inc.
EDN5602
$35.00 (US)
EDN5603
ISBN 978-1-933105-33-X
$35.00 (US)
EDN5603
ISBN 978-1-933105-33-X
www.edenstudios.netGAME SYSTEM
Trust no one.
The very nature of Aegis' work means that the organization has to work in secret, away from public
scrutiny and hidden from the keen surveillance of their enemies. The National Defense Directorate
manipulates and schemes in secret bases around the country, plotting and moving pawns in a
deadly chess game of deception. A conspiracy against another conspiracy.
Aegis' secret agenda is the core of a conspiracy, but that conspiracy is built upon an altered
and secret history - a conspiracy within a conspiracy. Lies within lies. A conspiracy against
their own operatives. When faced with many conspirators, who can you trust?
This is the hidden world of Conspiracy X, where Aegis battles the NDD for control and superiority
in a fight where both sides think they are doing what is best for humanity.
Where cults and secret societies work behind the scenes, infiltrating and being infiltrated in turn. But the truth
is far more shocking than anyone could have foreseen and will rock the agents' beliefs to the very core.
The Conspiracies Sourcebook is a supplement for the Conspiracy X 2.0 roleplaying game. In it, you will find:
• Details on the history and structure of the National Defense Directorate, including their advanced weaponry
reverse engineered from alien technology, as well as details of their operations working both against and
collaborating with the various alien races.
• The true history of The Watch, finally revealing the truth behind the split that formed Aegis and the National
Defense Directorate.
• Never-before-seen background information on Aegis, as well as a detailed overview of Area 51 and the
various divisions at the core of the conspiracy.
• Rules for creating smaller conspiratorial groups and cults, as well as many example groups that can be plugged
into an existing game.
• A radically new development in the Conspiracy X world that will have agents doubting who or what they can trust.
Compatible with All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Armageddon, Terra Primate,
CJ Carella’s Witchcraft and other Unisystem games.
Producers: M. Alexander Jurkat, George Vasilakos Line Developer: David F. Chapman Director: George Vasilakos Writing and Conversion: David F. Chapman
Susanne Johnson (Conspiracies, Aegis, and Black Book), Bernard C. Trombley (Conspiracies and Black Book), T. J. Talamini (Black Book) Unisystem Game Design: C.J. Carella
Original Concepts and Writing: Rick Ernst, Shirley Madewell, and Chris Pallace Editing: Janice Sellers, M. Alexander Jurkat
Layout and Graphics: George Vasilakos Cover Art: C. Brent Ferguson
Interior Art: Jason Steve Bryant, C. Brent Ferguson, Heather McKinney, Jason Nadeau, Scott Neely, Michael Osadciw, Paul Phillips, Cary Polkovitz, Christopher Shy, George Vasilakos
Playtesting: Bret Canney, Tim Maytom, Owen Badham
Special Thanks to James Brown, Nick Ingham, John Snead, and the people who helped fund this book on Kickstarter to get it printed!
Believer: Randall Dederick, James Chambers, Michelle "mikrima" Martin, Rick Loomis, Trask Al'Jeek, Christy Burge, Jacob "MooseCake" Kernohan
CORS Agent: Adam Boisvert, Adi Marcus, Bastien Pilon, Charles Meigh, Chris Fazio, Chris Huning, Chris Jahn, conan, David Jenks, Gary Trost, Geoffrey Tillman, Harry Russell, James Robertson, Jason Anderson, Jason Freston, Jason Kurtz, Jeff Eaton, Jeremy Fridy, John Clayton, John Kelbaugh, John Smith, Jonathan Topham, Julie STratton, Keith Johnson, Lennie Lenford, Lon Braidwood, Mark Kadas, Michael Beck, Michael Bentley, Mike Bassler, Mr Andrew Norman, Nelson Ruger, Noodles, P Tracy, Paris Conte, Patrick Sniegoski, Pawel Sowizral, Peter Trueman, Ralph Dukes, Robert C. Kim, Ross Nicoll, Ryan Wilkerson, Scott Ballantyne, Scott Vandervalk, Sean Murphy, Steve Anderson, Steven Darlington, The Cementbloc/Radek Drozdalski, Tim Walker, Xavier Freycon Spreading the Lies: Herman Duyker, John Ellis, Jonas Christensen, Jordan Bowman, Marius Bredsdorff, Michael Mattei, Micheal Parker, Ray Spitz, Svend Andersen
Conspiracy Theorist: Aaron Wong, Adam Rajski, Adrian Reynolds, Alexandre T Yamao, Amiel Kievit, Ana Silva, Andreas Sundgren, Andrew Berthiaume, Andrew Ross, Andrew Schubert, Angus Abranson, Anthony S. Vornheder, Austin Stanley, Benoit Devost, Bjørn Ove Asprem, Brett Purcivall, Brian Isikoff, Chad Bowser, Chad Hughes, Chris Allison, Chris Davis, Chris Harvey, Chris Quin, Christian Turkiewicz, Christopher Church, Christopher Hatty, Christopher Snyder, Dan Adamski, Daniel Steadman, Daniel Walker, Darrin Fesperman, Dave Chapman, Dave Ellingwood, Derek Potter, Dr Matthew R Broome, Eric Edwards, Fabrice Breau, Felix Shafir, Frank Rafaelsen, Gareth Clifford, Gerry Saracco, Gordon D. Duke, Greg Walters, Harald Schlang, Jack Emmert, Jacob Boersma, James Galloway, James Richard Brown, James Silvers, Jason L Blair, Jason Marks, Jason Willetts, Jeff Pittman, Jennifer Parr, Jens Renberg, John Larkin, John Morrow, John Thompson, Jonathan Souza, Jose LaCario, José Luis Nunes Porfírio, Joseph Connell, Joseph Davis, Joshua D. Meadows, Jussi Myllyluoma, Keith Nielsen, Kelly Stanaway, Kevin Moldenhauer, Kevin Wong, Kurt McMahon, Kurtis Evans, Leath Sheales, Leó Páll Hrafnsson, Mark Solino, Matthew Wasiak, Michael Ehrhardt, Michael Gorczyca, Michael Smith, Mick Moss, Mike Browne, Mike J. Murtha, Mike Lowrey, Monte Cook, Morgan Ellis, Mr Duncan Webster, Mr H Kanth, Nate Elwood, Nicholas Muehlenweg, Olivia Hunt, Olivier Vigneresse, Owen Thompson, Pål Are Nordal, Patrick Dargirolle, Patrick Vaughan, Peter Aronson, Peter Hurley, Petri Wessman, Philip Burge, Philip K. Sharp Garcia, Philip Stein, Phillip Fatka, Renato Retz de Carvalho, Richard Degrou, Richard Forster, Rob Farley, Robbie Corbett, Robby Anderson, Robert D McCuaig, Robert Harrison, Robert Rosenthal, Roger Kernsmith, Seana McGuinness, Shaun Kennedy, Shawn Craig, Stefan Ohrmann, Stephen Forscutt, Steve Ellis, Steven Vest, Susan Jones, The Roach, Thomas G. Gately, Thomas Gronek, Tim Soholt, Timothy Yablonsky, Tyler Dion, Wajanai Snidvongs, William Miller Internet Conspiracy Theorist: Alexander Hawson, Bo Bratsberg, Bryan Fowler, Chris Morrell, David Lystlund, Gerolf Nikolay, Jason Buchanan, Jochen, John Hacker, John Stryker, Josh Traub, Kay
Burns, Kennon Bauman, Kevin Flynn, Leslie Smith, Mark Whittington, Michael Miguel-Sanchez, Paulo Bernardi Baccarat, Philip Harney, Reto M. Kiefer, Richard Osterhout, Tom Reed Conspiracy Seeker: Arnaud Martin, Dan Hagy, Douglas Grimes, Ed Kowalczewski, Edouard Contesse, Edward Ludemann, Gareth P. McSorley, Gary Page, Iain Anderson, Jake Papas, Jason Nell, John
Frewing, Lars Schear, Matthew Moorman, Michael Calabrese, Michael Richards, Stefano Cinotti, Trentin Bergeron, Walter F. Croft
AEGIS Field Agent: Andrew Chang, Andrew MacLennan, Ben McCallum, Brian Davidson, Bruno Pereira, Derick Eddy, Erik Conradi, Greg Chapin, Hadley Shurmer, James Dyer, Mark Radford, Mike Musteric, Paul Cooper, Sean Wolf, Stephen Esdale, Zachary Pollak
AEGIS New Recruit: Adam Whitcomb, Aric Wieder, Brett Bozeman, Brian Snodgrass, Calvin Shafer, Christophe Crinon, Christopher Cowles, Damian Siech, David Odie, David Rybacki, Ged Trias, Ingo Beyer, Jason J Middleton, Keith Preston, Kenny Chik, Kyle MacKay, Kyle Pinches, Matthew Sanderson, Nathan Dilday, Pentland Chapin, Robert Perkins, Ross Thompson, Sara Grocott, Scott Galliand, Seth Hoover, Steven Pope, Thomas Vanstraelen, Vincent Ecuyer, Zachary Hopko
Smoking Gun: Andreas Paulussen, Bruce Lancaster, Chad Curtis, Justin Picchi, Oliver Barker, Oliver Mattsson, Sam Wong Conspirator: Chris Gunning, Derrick Smith, Edmund Wilfong, John Lambert, William McCormick
Dedicated to June Chapman (1930-2012)
Eden Studios • 6 Dogwood Lane • Loudonville • NY• 12211
Cover art, text, art, icons, personalities, characters, Conspiracy X™, copyright © 2013 George Vasilakos Unisystem™ copyright © 2013 C.J. Carella.
Published under exclusive license. All rights reserved. Produced and published by Eden Studios, Inc. under exclusive license.
No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except for review purposes. Any similarity to characters, situations, institutions, corporations, etc. (without satirical intent) is strictly fictional or coincidental. This book uses settings, characters, and themes of a supernatural nature. All elements, mystical and supernatural, are fictional and intended for entertainment purposes. Reader discretion is advised.
Comments and questions can be directed via the Internet at www.edenstudios.net, via e-mail at [email protected], or via letter with a self-addressed stamped envelope.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
BRIEFING
4
CHAPTER TWO
THE TRUE HISTORY
(THE WATCH)
9
CHAPTER THREE
AEGIS
21
CHAPTER FOUR
THE NATIONAL
DEFENSE
DIRECTORATE
99
CHAPTER FIVE
CULTS AND
CONSPIRACIES
145
APPENDIX I
AEGIS PROFESSIONS
(EXPANDED)
214
APPENDIX II
CIVILIAN
PROFESSIONS
256
CHAPTER SIX
THE FUTURE
IS NOW
202
INDEX
270
Within every society are groups that have their own agendas.
Sometimes those groups are well known, but usually they are
hidden in the shadows. Group members often share common
motivations, but this is not always the case. Under pressure, a larger
group may splinter into smaller groups. It is within the context of
secret societies that individuals look for ways to obtain information,
power, control, or whatever leverage brings them closer to their
goals. By understanding a group’s overall philosophy, it is possible
to determine what kinds of events its members are likely to become
involved with and what kinds of situations will draw their attention,
much like individual Cells in Aegis.
Chapter One
Briefing
Conspiracies provide some kind of understanding, an especially desirable idea in today’s
overwhelming information age. At its heart, a conspiracy holds together a number of paradoxes, such
as the fact that once it has done its job it no longer needs to exist. If this conspiracy is the lifeblood
and paycheck of numerous individuals, they have a vested interest in insuring that new, better, and
deadlier opponents arrive on the scene.
Nuclear war constitutes the central hub of such an invisible core. The military and industrial complex
around it exists only because of the idea of such a war, but its existence also depends on avoiding that
war. In much the same way, a religion might depend on a messiah, but the actual arrival of the messiah
would mean the religion’s end. Similarly, a counterconspiracy needs its enemy conspiracy both
psychologically and factually to keep its coherence. It is not necessary for such a conspiracy to actually
exist, as long as it can be perceived behind the machinations of the state to dispose of the
counterconspiracy.
Incorporating Secret Societies
There are many ways to introduce or include secret societies in a
Conspiracy X campaign. Individual
Aegis or NDD agents may be members of secret societies with their own agendas and expectations, or
an entire Cell or group may be attempting to infiltrate a secret organization to determine its intent.
Entire organizations or individual group members may be used as allies, enemies, or interference.
Another possibility is to run an entire campaign based around a secret organization, pursuing its own
goals and uncovering information. Obviously, other agencies and groups would prefer this information
be kept secret, and so it is inevitable that some type of competition will develop, perhaps on a smaller,
but similarly intense, scale than the Aegis-NDD struggle.
Disclaimer
The world of
Conspiracy X is based on historic and contemporary events, persons, and groups. The secret of a good Conspiracy X
campaign is weaving “real” events as seamlessly as possible into the story line so that the players cannot be sure what is true and
what is deception. Heightened paranoia is central to the experience.
When this book, or any other
Conspiracy X publication, uses names and details taken from history or contemporary affairs, all such
references are fictional or satirical.
Conspiracy X is intended solely as a game and not as a source of the “truth.” Nothing in this
book is intended to degrade or impugn these people or groups, nor does this book purport to reveal true secretive information about
them. In fact, Eden Studios and the authors would like to publicly disclaim any “inside” knowledge and assure any MiBs and Aegis
operatives out there that there is no reason to look into the matter any further. Honest!
CHAPTER SUMMARY
Chapter One: Briefing contains these opening remarks as
well as a guide to how to use this book.
Chapter Two: The True History finally reveals the history
of The Watch and the split that resulted in the creation of Aegis and the National Defense Directorate. The truth is possibly more disturbing than initially thought.
Chapter Three: Aegis gives the Chronicler more
back-ground information on Aegis benefits that their “parent Cells” can provide. This chapter also presents a detailed overview of Area 51 and the various divisions at work at the core of the conspiracy.
Chapter Four: The National Defense Directorate
pro-vides additional information on the National Defense Directorate or “Black Book”, allowing Cast Member NDD agents for Chroniclers who wish to play with the NDD as the “heroes” of the game.
Chapter Five: Cults and Conspiracies provides the
Chronicler with rules for creating her own conspiratorial groups and cults, and a wealth of example organizations that can be plugged into the game.
Chapter Six: The Future Is Now introduces a new level to
the Conspiracy X setting, where the agent’s perception of the battle for humanity may be radically altered by the extreme experimentation of Aegis’ R&D. Who can you trust, if you can’t trust your own mind?
Appendix The final section presents an expanded look at
the Aegis Professions presented in the core rulebook, as well as a host of new Civilian Professions that may be used in a typical Aegis game, or even as civilian investigators into the paranormal.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
In a game called Conspiracy X, conspiracies are an essential part of the world. This book provides the Chronicler with vari-ous levels of involvement. Chroniclers may use or discard any of the information here. Some of the material presented within these pages could originally be found in two of the books for the original Conspiracy X: Sub Rosa: The Conspiracy Creation
Sourcebook and The Hand Unseen: The Black Book Sourcebook. The game stats have been modified and updated
to the new game system, Unisystem, and we have also made a few adjustments and introduced a lot of new material that many fans of the classic game will have heard rumors about but never seen. The final section of this book is completely new material that introduces a new level of play, where various real-ities collide. The agents will be able to perform more cinematic moves that will be familiar to fans of The Matrix and its sequels, and will be able to experience the horrific future that awaits humanity, leading into Conspiracy X‘s sister game Extinction. Chroniclers should feel free to use or modify anything in this chapter to enhance the game.
As this book reveals many of the secrets of the world of
Conspiracy X it is designed to be purely for the Chronicler’s
eyes only. Some aspects, such as new Pulling Strings and Resources, can be made available to Cast Members if the Chronicler decides.
CONVENTIONS
TEXT CONVENTIONS
This book has different graphic features that identify the types of information presented. This text is standard text, and it is used for general explanations.
This style is used for examples that illustrate specific rules or situations. Novice Chroniclers, those who run Conspiracy X games, can look to these examples for guides on how to play.
7
DICE NOTATIONS
Dice are used when the outcome of an action in the
Conspiracy X game is in doubt. The Unisystem relies on four
different kinds: ten-sided, eight-sided, six-sided, and four-sided. Such dice can be found in any good hobby or gaming store, and in many comic books stores. Dice are denoted by placing a “D” in front of their numerical value. Thus, a D4 indicates a four-sided die; a D8 an eight-four-sided die.
Ten-sided dice (D10): Used for Task/Test resolution and
certain weapon damage, D10s are the most commonly used dice. Entire game sessions can come and go without using any dice other than the D10s. They can be replaced in a very rough sense by using two six-sided dice and subtracting two from the roll (treat a result of “0” as a “1”).
Eight- and four-sided dice (D8s and D4s): In the Unisystem, these dice are used only to determine damage.
Six-sided dice (D6s): These are the most common dice
available, easily “borrowed” from any number of easily obtained board games. If D10s are not readily available, D6s can be used as replacements.
Multipliers are expressed after the dice notation. For exam-ple, D10 x 4 means roll one ten-sided die and multiply the result by four. This generates a number between four and 40.
A number in parentheses after, or in the middle of, the notation is the average roll. This number is provided for those who want to avoid dice rolling and just want the result. So the notation D6 x 4(12) means that players who want to skip rolling should use the value 12. Some notations cannot pro-vide set numbers because their results depend on variable factors. For example, D8(4) x Strength is used because the Strength value to be plugged into that notation will vary depending on who is acting.
GENDER
Every roleplaying game faces a decision about third-person pronouns and possessives. While the male reference (he, him, his) is customarily used for both male and female, there is no question that it is not entirely inclusive. On the other hand, the “he or she” structure is clumsy and unattractive. In an effort to “split the difference,” this book uses male designations for even chapters and female designations for odd chapters.
MEASUREMENTS
This book primarily uses U.S. measurements (feet, yards, miles, pounds, etc.). Should metric equivalents be needed, the following rough conversions can be used: miles can be multi-plied by 1.5 to get kilometers (instead of 1.609), meters can be treated the same as yards (instead of 1.094 yards), pounds can be halved to get kilograms (instead of multiplied by 0.4536), and so on. If a Chronicler feels that more precision is necessary, she should take the U.S. measurements provided and apply more exact formulas.
Certain text is set off from the standard text in this manner. This is sidebar text and it contains additional, but tangential, information or supplemental charts and tables.
Other text is set apart in this way. It details Supporting Cast or Adversaries who may be used at the Chronicler’s discretion.
Chapter Two
The True History
The world of
Conspiracy X is one of lies, treachery, and treason.
The agents of both of the major conspiracies, Aegis and the NDD, have come to assume the roles of foot
soldiers in their respective conspiracies, but what if the origins of their orders were merely the
machinations of a greater force? This chapter introduces a new level to the realm of
Conspiracy X,
revealing the potential top rungs of the ladders. As such, the information presented below is classified
“Eyes Only” and should not be revealed to the players unless uncovered by the Cast’s diligent actions.
Some Chroniclers may be uncomfortable with the information uncovered here. Those Chroniclers
should feel free to alter this information as best suits their games.
THE SECRET HISTORY
In order to appreciate the origins of The Watch, the NDD, and Aegis, a vital piece of information must be considered. Behind the splintering of The Watch, the constant conflict between the groups, and some of their technological revela-tions are machinarevela-tions of Atlantean origin.
The true story of Aegis’ inception is known to only a handful of individuals, and none of them are currently the “living” members of Aegis Prime. A few members of The Watch, with some timely information from an Atlantean sympathizer, came to understand the unavoidable return of the Saurian race. In an attempt to prepare Earth for this unprecedented disaster, The Watch made plans to arbitrarily divide into three groups, each working toward its own solutions to the impending extinction of the human race. Shortly after this, the Roswell incident occurred and the groups naturally had a difference of opinion, spurring their division and continuing conflict.
One member of each of the planned groups was told about the need to develop an organization to work toward the protec-tion of humanity from the imminent Saurian threat. The clock was ticking, but the Saurian arrival was beyond the lifetime of these three individuals. To ensure their survival, each was given Atlantean nanotechnology and instructions on how to fake age-ing and how to “die” to later return into their organizations. Each
of these “Guardians” was given information about the others and instructed to apply pressure to encourage competition. Knowing that the most rapid technological advances happened in times of war, the Guardians were given instructions to keep the conflict active to accelerate humanity’s chances. One Guardian formed Aegis (Louis Howe), another formed the National Defense Directorate (General Marsden), while the third (Stein, a possible Atlantean to begin with) regrouped in Britain for a while before recruiting members for the “Third Group” that would retain the name The Watch. This third group is thought to have disappeared, along with Stein, in 1957.
Each Guardian was informed of the Atlanteans and given the true version of Nostradamus’ predictions (which included the date of the Saurian fleet’s return to Earth). The Atlanteans con-tinued to provide some information to the Guardians and to delegate Atlantean infiltrators into each organization, but they do not discuss or disclose operations to the groups.
The Guardian in Aegis, Louis Howe, has secured a position for an Atlantean as head of R&D, Jennifer Norton, appointed in 1983. Howe continually tries to push Aegis towards a more efficient organization that will be able to assist in Earth’s defense when the Saurians return. As for the Guardians in the NDD and The Watch, nothing has been heard from them in several decades.
With this in mind, the true history of The Watch and the splinter groups is presented below.
11
THE WATCH
The origins of the National Defense Directorate (NDD) and Aegis can be traced to a clandestine government agency formed during the first year of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidency. In a secret meeting held on a naval ves-sel off the coast of Newfoundland on July 23, 1933, President Roosevelt met with Winston Churchill and an Italian national known only as “Stein.”
At the time, Churchill had recently fallen out of favor with the British government due to his staunch anti-Nazi stance. It was exactly this position that drew Stein to him. The Italian, pur-portedly a watchmaker, brought him the accusation that the head of the German Nazi Party, Adolf Hitler, belonged to an occult group called the Thulegesellschaft, or “Secret Doctrine.” Furthermore, Stein claimed that Hitler’s group was behind the recent attempt on then President-elect Roosevelt’s life by the assassin Giuseppe Zingara.
The exact details of the meeting were not recorded, so the evidence Stein provided the two men is unknown. It did prove compelling enough for President Roosevelt to agree to provide U.S. support for an organization to oppose Nazi endeavors in the realm of occult studies. Churchill, lacking the backing of his own government at the time, agreed that Stein’s interests would be best served in the U.S. as well.
For years, Stein oversaw experimentation and research into the occult on behalf of the United States. Throughout the 1930s, The Watch, as Stein’s group came to be known, numbered no more than four members at its largest, and often as few as two, or even just Stein himself. Knowledge of The Watch was limited to President Roosevelt and a few key advisors, and the President’s subsequent re-elections ensured the small organi-zation remained one of the best kept secrets of that time.
WORLD WAR II
With the outbreak of World War II, The Watch moved to a more active role in the defense of the United States. The organ-ization also gained considerable influence with the addition of several key military and civilian personnel, bringing its total per-sonnel to thirteen.
The operational guidelines for The Watch were fairly straight-forward, but with vast implications. It was to protect the interests of the United States and Britain from any paranormal activities. To that end, The Watch, working in cooperation with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), established an extensive network of spies to monitor potential threats of a paranormal nature.
At the end of the war, through contacts within the OSS, Watch members interrogated several former Nazi scientists under the auspices of Operation PAPERCLIP. While The Watch learned little of Nazi occult practices in these interviews, as most of the Nazi occultists were too fanatical to surrender or
negotiate with the Allies in the first place, the group did make startling scientific discoveries, some of which bordered on the edge of science fiction for the time.
Those discoveries led several Watch members to suspect that some Nazi research was guided by intelligences other than human. Stein himself believed the German advances were most likely occult in origin, but the majority of The Watch felt the dis-coveries were guided by extraterrestrial entities. In short order, the focus of The Watch began to turn from the occult to a potential threat from unknown, but highly advanced, entities.
Stein, displeased with the new course the group was taking, relocated to Britain. General Avery assumed leadership of The Watch on Stein’s departure. Archbishop Verdicelli departed soon afterward, citing the group’s focus on secular matters rather than spiritual ones as the end of Church interest.
THE POST-WAR YEARS
In 1946, General Avery suffered a fatal heart attack. His replace-ment, General Roger Marsden, was appointed by President Harry Truman. He was ordered to evaluate the validity of The Watch’s claims of extraterrestrial threats to the United States and advise the President on his findings. Memories of the Gestapo and simi-lar organizations were fresh in popusimi-lar memory, and President Truman was rapidly dismantling any organization he felt was unnecessary for the continued security of the country.
At first General Marsden was unimpressed with the evidence presented by his subordinates. To the old veteran, an odd, experimental Nazi aircraft seemed scant proof that the United States was threatened by any race of extraterrestrial beings. However, proof soon arrived from an unexpected quarter of The Watch.
THE VRIL CRAFT
The basis for many of The Watch members’ belief in an extraterrestrial origin for Nazi scientific advances was a strange aircraft designated the “VRIL” by the Germans. Interrogation of Nazi scientists enrolled in the OSS’s PAPER-CLIP program indicated the aircraft had been reverse-engi-neered from the wreckage of another vehicle the Germans had captured in eastern Poland. The Germans believed it to be an Allied craft of unknown design, but The Watch knew with certainty that was not the case.
The craft was capable of nearly soundless levitation and propulsion and was unlike anything yet designed by either side. (In reality, the VRIL incorporated a form of graviton-ics that the NDD [which currently possesses the craft] is only now beginning to fully understand.) Dr. Xopolous, the group’s leading engineer, concluded that it was based on a science far in advance of that of humanity. The NDD to this day has not been able to properly classify the vehicle.
FIRST CONTACT
With the end of WWII, Dr. Karl Novatel realized that his por-tion of Watch research—psychic phenomena—would need astounding results to remain viable. Thus, he began to push his endeavors into previously untested areas of drug therapy. Dr. Novatel initiated a series of experiments he named Project HIVE shortly after General Marsden assumed leadership of The Watch. He hoped to unite several psychics into a collective con-sciousness, allowing them to boost each other’s abilities by working in tandem.
Project HIVE achieved results even Dr. Novatel never expect-ed. The psychics claimed they had made contact with an alien presence.
General Marsden was initially skeptical, but when the psychics were able to accurately predict a number of unexplained sight-ings of flying objects over the next few days, he agreed to a fur-ther psychic contact experiment, codenamed Operation DOVE.
DOVE
Operation DOVE placed Dr. Novatel’s nine best psychics together at the White Sands Proving Grounds in New Mexico to attempt a repeat contact on July 4, 1947. For several days prior to that, military personnel testing captured V-2 rockets had sighted several unidentified lights in the area. The Proving Grounds’ remote location made it a perfect spot to attempt further contact. General Marsden, after consulting with Colonel Harrison, ordered Dr. Novatel’s operation to be conducted under military leadership and directed that a defensive presence accompany the experiment, as the motives and intent of the alleged alien intelligence had not yet been identified. To that end, Operation DOVE was supplemented by Operation PIGEON SHOOT, under Colonel Harrison’s command. He was authorized to take any action necessary to protect the valuable operatives involved in Operation DOVE. Colonel Harrison commandeered a modified V-2 rocket from the Proving Grounds and positioned it near the location of Dr. Novatel’s group.
THE ORIGINAL THIRTEEN REVISITED
The original members of The Watch were among some of the most influential members of their respective fields. Their influ-ence allowed them to create the two rival organizations. The members of that first group were:
Stein: Group leader; purported Italian national and craftsman; personal details unsubstantiated. The mysterious founder of The
Watch, little is known about him, but he left shortly after the Second World War.
Miles Bilton: Occultist and researcher in the paranormal. Fanatically researched everything to do with Seepage and started
to collate information before finally being institutionalized in 1956. There are no records of what happened to him after this time, though he may have rejoined his old friend Stein with The Watch.
Archbishop Anthony Verdicelli: Theologist; left the Watch shortly after Stein, siding with neither conspiracy. It is possible
that he joined Stein with the reformed Watch.
A
EGIS
Louis Howe: Presidential aide; political liaison and financial advisor. One of the most powerful members of The Watch, and
founder of Aegis.
Dr. Karl Novatel: Biologist, creator of the psychic program used to contact the Greys, and one of the original members of
Aegis Prime.
Dr. Jonathan Pierce: Medical doctor/psychoanalyst, and another member of the original Aegis Prime.
NDD
General Colin Avery: U.S. Army (deceased); replaced by General Roger Marsden, founder of the NDD. Colonel Anthony Wayne Harrison: U.S. Army Air Force, a founder of the NDD.
Captain Hadrian Whitfield: U.S. Army (Intelligence), one of the founders of the NDD. Archibald Rush: U.S. Senator (New Mexico) and NDD founder.
Dr. Anthony Kotil: Anthropologist/parapsychologist, known as one of the founders of the NDD. Dr. Diamond Xopolous: Engineer; another of the NDD’s founders.
After hours of intense effort stimulated by Dr. Novatel’s pharmaco-logical treatments, the psychics succeeded in making contact. Minutes later, an unidentified craft of undoubtedly extraterrestrial design dropped from the clouds and assumed a position over the group. For a short time, nothing seemed to happen. Then a light fell on one of the psychics and he began to convulse and scream.
In the face of this unprovoked attack, Colonel Harrison launched the modified rocket. The V-2 struck the craft and exploded. The craft slowly descended east with an erratic flight pattern. Two of the psy-chics died from cerebral hemorrhages, and one was immolated by an unknown source. Of the remaining five, one went catatonic and the rest were thrown into a state of extreme mental shock; only three fully recovered their faculties.
The downed craft was located early the next day near Roswell, New Mexico. The vehicle was largely destroyed and three of the craft’s four extraterrestrial biological entities (EBEs) crew members were dead, either from impact or during the initial attack. One EBE survived the crash. The survivor was quickly transported to a secure medical facility for study.
The Watch, assisted by a nearby Air Force contingent, quickly secured the area and began a campaign of disinformation to cover up the crash.
THE SPLIT
Dr. Novatel wasted no time in blaming Colonel Harrison for the incident, claiming his actions to be “a knee-jerk, military-conditioned, stimulus-response reaction that subverts the possibility of reason with the implementation of force.” Other, less impassioned, members of The Watch stated the cause of the psychics’ reactions could not be ascribed solely to the extraterrestrial contact; among other possible causes were Dr. Novatel’s untested drugs, the level of contact, the dif-ficulty of the prolonged attempt, the volume of information exchanged, and so forth.
General Marsden, and President Truman once apprised of the situ-ation, agreed with Colonel Harrison’s decision. This no doubt infuriat-ed the dissenting faction of The Watch, and members of that group subverted one of the cargo aircraft carrying the remains of the Roswell crash, seizing it for their own uses.
When the loyal Watch members discovered the treachery, trust between the two factions was lost. The group split. General Marsden, Senator Rush, Dr. Xopolous, Colonel Harrison, Albert Wallace, and Captain Whitfield remained true to the original mission of The Watch—protect the United States. While some of the dis-senters filtered back into civilian life and obscurity, a few went on to influence members of the U.S. government and private sector to cre-ate the Aegis organization.
AEGIS’ HISTORY
After The Watch disbanded in 1947, a small group of individ-uals formed Aegis. As they recruited other individindivid-uals to work for their cause, this original group became known as Aegis Prime. By 1950 Aegis had a solid network of agents established within the bureaucracy of the U.S. government. Recruiting of agents began in earnest, and various government agencies were targeted as high-potential agent pools. With the explosion of development, Aegis Prime selected a site for a central facility on Nellis Air Force Base, and construction began in 1952. After “The Ranch” had been completed, it became the gathering point for recovered alien artifacts and a handful of research staff and operatives. Soon after, all Cells were equipped with the HERMES Mark I terminal, and Aegis developed its first stand-alone project, MOONDUST.
Seeing the amount of work required to coordinate these efforts, a committee was formed to handle operations and tac-tics, to perform essential testing of recovered technology, to provide general guidance for cells and field operatives and to control and monitor Aegis’ ongoing attempts to infiltrate other agencies. As Aegis expanded in many directions, members of Aegis Prime saw the importance of creating committees to handle specialized concerns. Over the course of 1954, two new divisions were created: the Recruitment Office and the Directorate of Administration and Security. These offices were tasked with the responsibilities of monitoring new recruits, documenting recruits’ progress and activities, and smoothing over many of the administrative headaches resulting from Aegis’ growth.
Before these two organizations had barely had time to sur-vey their new responsibilities, a subsection of the Directorate of Administration and Security realized the importance of having an independent committee to review safety and security meas-ures, and Aegis Prime quickly made this a separate division. By 1955, Aegis was well on its way to establishing a national pres-ence, and mutterings were heard about the possibility of expanding into the international scene.
The Bureau of Operations and Tactics controlled issues relat-ing to foreign policy and very cautiously followed the actions of the only three Cells based outside the continental United States: one in Puerto Rico, one in Hawaii, and one in recently unoccupied Japan. After an international incident in 1957, Aegis Prime decided that no Cell operations were permitted to take place outside the U.S. without express permission from Aegis Prime.
By 1959, Aegis Prime realized some projects were duplicat-ing efforts and brought together diverse researchers at a facili-ty on The Ranch to form a division called Alien Analysis. These researchers quickly compiled their results and made a flurry of discoveries, just by having the opportunity to “talk shop.”
REVELATION AND MODIFICATION
After having spent most of the 1950’s branching out and dis-covering limitations, Aegis then went through a period of change where different divisions reformulated themselves. First, the Safety and Defense division became less of a shadow organization, and Max Thibaut finally admitted he was the head of the division. Soon after, OpTac expanded its mandate to include oversight and control of political and civilian resources subverted by Aegis. Thirdly, Alien Analysis was renamed Analysis as Dr. Novatel placed emphasis on keeping abreast of cutting-edge science and technology generated by human scientists.
At the same time, however, there was a great deal of friction with in the Safety and Defense division, which was eventually resolved in 1966 with Max Thibaut’s retirement and Jim Purcell’s ascension to power. On a completely different front, sorcerers belonging to the Montague Club magically attacked Aegis. These attacks were halted by the efforts of Peter Henry Westmane and his allies, who came to the aid of Aegis.
These attacks led to an overzealous set of security precau-tions on the part of Safety and Defense, which consisted of a large number of internal covert operations, and S&D was renamed the Internal Security Section.
Two years after Dr. Novatel’s retirement in 1967, Analysis struggled to keep on top of the latest scientific advances and was putting huge amounts of resources into examining com-puting technology. Aegis Prime restructured the division, divid-ing it into Research Operations and the Division of Information Security and Database Management (ISDM). Research Operations was given responsibility for traditional scientific research and all research outside computing. ISDM took over the HERMES project and flatly refused to have ISS controlling the code words used in HERMES transmissions, pointing out that even ISS might be compromised. They also were given the task of expanding Aegis’ knowledge about computer systems.
DECEPTION AND REVOLUTION
Many operatives on the inside point to the creation of the Foreign Affairs Division in 1975 as the first sign that Aegis was on a downward spiral into chaos. This division was initially staffed by personnel from OpTac and ISS who had been work-ing in the overseas area, but divisional policy was always one of aggressive expansion, and FAD started recruiting right away. Within a few years, the Foreign Affairs Division had a number of operations underway that they saw fit to disclose to no one, not even Aegis Prime.
A startling trend began to emerge among Aegis operatives: mental instability. An ambitious ISS operative named David Haskell, a recruited FBI profiler, noticed that a number of secu-rity leaks were due to agent stress, and he made attempts to have this addressed by ISS. His attempts were completely
15
ignored, so he consulted with Dr. Jeanne Rousseau-Baptiste, the head psychologist in Psi Division. Over time, their continued meetings came to the notice of Aegis Prime, and their combined work resulted in a merging of operatives from ISS and Psychic Division to form the Central Institute of Mental Health.
In 1977, R&D lucked out with the crash of an alien vessel. ISS moved rapidly to forbid the relocation of this craft to Area 51 without further study as to the security breach it might consti-tute. ISDM also was excited about this discovery and was virtu-ally swarming over a supposed information-systems unit, but R&D exerted some pressure and forced ISDM to wait for almost a year until a full analysis had been completed.
In the next year, two major department heads retired. Jim Purcell, after two years of trying to restabilize his position after his failure to recognize the importance of agents’ mental stabil-ity, finally stepped down. He was replaced by Zachary Baxter, who placed an increased emphasis on treating mental issues rather than risking security breaches, and who made the deci-sion to relocate some ISS staff to two new facilities, one in Seattle and the other in Atlanta. General Price also retired from his post as head of OpTac, and Aegis Prime picked his succes-sor, Max Capoblanco. This selection came as a surprise to many, and his transition was less than smooth. In both depart-ments operatives suffered from divided loyalties, and overall productivity suffered greatly. In 1979, the Recruitment Office saw a shake-up as well, when Aaron Cook was stripped of his position when it became known he had been squandering resources and generally increasing Aegis’ profile. He was replaced by the whistle-blower Iris Erikson. As with OpTac and ISS, this division’s productivity took a nosedive as operatives struggled to make sense of these dramatic changes.
REJUVENATION AND CREATION
The early 1980’s saw Aegis in a state of excitement as its first specialized aircraft, the Horizon, became flight-ready. After working a few bugs out of the system, and creating more streamlined parts, the Horizon II took to the skies under the capable control of Thomas Hendricks. Aegis’ excitement at this triumph was short-lived, however, as the craft literally disap-peared when it broke the Mach 3 barrier. To this day, what hap-pened to the Horizon II is a mystery.
In another airborne tragedy, Max Capoblanco died in a plane crash in the Ozarks while returning from a secret conference with the President and some of his advisors in 1983. Ironically, he was replaced by Ian Hendricks, father of missing pilot Thomas Hendricks, as head of OpTac. Ian Hendricks moved quickly to ally OpTac with the Recruitment Office and to shut down all research that didn’t have direct paramilitary applica-tions. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Jack Tazewell committed suicide by overdosing on tranquilizers, and a new leader rose in Research Operations, Dr. Jennifer Norton. Dr. Norton countered Hendricks at every opportunity and placed a renewed effort on
developing new technology. As a consequence, the division was renamed “Research and Development,” and Aegis Prime saw fit to channel some funds directly to R&D for use without OpTac consent. Needless to say, this sidestepping earned Dr. Norton the animosity of many in OpTac.
The mid-1980’s also brought about a flurry of Aegis activity in terms of supernatural exploration. In 1984, a thorough inves-tigation of the recently obtained Queens Tome showed that it was a detailed and highly lucid account of a complete theory of supernatural effects. Emphasis on the importance of the super-natural made it possible for the newly created Supersuper-natural Exploration Division to make contact with the Lodge of the World Tree and to broker a treaty of mutual aid between this group and Aegis.
In 1985, the Foreign Affairs Division made a splash in Kingston, Jamaica, where it recovered an alien craft. This rogue operation, completely unsanctioned by Aegis Prime, led to ruf-fled feathers in ISS as it scrambled to clean up the mess, with absolutely no resources or contacts to smooth things over. Baxter turned in his resignation, stating it was impossible for him to perform his duties of keeping Aegis secure under these conditions. Meanwhile, Research and Development was ecstat-ic over the scraps of technology retrieved, and Dr. Norton put her support behind Foreign Affairs’ attempts to stay in opera-tion. During a long period of deliberation, Aegis Prime eventu-ally decided to keep the Foreign Affairs Division intact and placed Celeste Shea in command.
ASSIMILATION AND DESPERATION
At the start of the 1990’s, Benjamin Carlisle took the helm at CORS and emphasized cataloguing and sorting massive amounts of information. The next year, ISDM distributed the HERMES Mark II, which dramatically increased transmission efficiency between the Aegis internal machine and outlying Cells and operatives. This information was smoothly integrated into systems for use by CORS, DAS, and ISS. Jonathon Russell took control of ISS after being groomed for the position for a number of years by a few members of Aegis Prime, and the division flourished under his leadership. Aegis also had a major coup in gaining control of Project RASPUTIN, a conquest that gave it an edge over competitors and helped it broaden its knowledge base.
In 1996, while ISDM and R&D were busy trying to keep up with technological advances, ISS came to grips with a com-pletely nontechnological threat: psychics. A security breach caused by a very talented group of psychics led to the creation of a team of individuals from Psychic Division, trained by ISS, called, laughingly, the “Thought Police.” All in all, by the end of the 20th century, Aegis was an organization in constant, des-perate motion, trying to keep afloat and only beginning to rethink operations.
THE NATIONAL DEFENSE DIRECTORATE
In light of the events at White Sands, General Marsden became convinced that a threat to U.S. security existed from extraterrestrial sources. His conviction swayed President Truman, who gave the go-ahead to begin a preliminary assessment of what would be necessary to protect the nation. General Marsden folded this inquiry into his ongoing Project BLACK BOOK.
The remaining members of The Watch had one asset that Aegis did not: the surviving EBE from the Roswell crash. Over the next four months, psychics struggled to communicate with the EBE.
Eventually, they succeeded in reaching not only the EBE but also its superiors, determined to originate in a star system known as Zeta Reticuli, some 40 light-years from Earth. General Marsden assigned one of his trusted subordinates, Colonel Mark McReedy, as the liaison with the EBEs, soon referred to as Reticulans. After some discussion, Colonel McReedy became convinced that the White Sands incident had been a case of misunderstanding, one that the Reticulans were willing to forgive. Furthermore, the Reticulans proposed an alliance with BLACK BOOK.
Colonel McReedy, anxious to cement relations, tentatively agreed to the alliance. McReedy’s actions were hasty, but rather than risk the appearance of indecisiveness or poor command, General Marsden agreed to the treaty.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 347B
In light of the developments with the Reticulans, President Truman penned Executive Order #347b on February 14, 1948. That order cre-ated the National Defense Directorate and provided for its mission and authority. General Marsden assumed command of the NDD, rolling over much of the staff of Project BLACK BOOK and the remain-der of The Watch directly into positions in the Directorate.
Colonel McReedy was reassigned due to his indiscretion in the ini-tial negotiations with the Reticulans. A debilitating illness claimed his life less than one year later.
For much of the next decade, the NDD built its resources and con-tacts. General Marsden’s focus during that period was primarily
THE BLACK BOOK
General Marsden’s initial inquiries into the EBE threat were codenamed Project BLACK BOOK or, more simply, the Black Book. Later, the Air Force would fund a similar although far less intensive study known ironically as Project BLUEBOOK. Over the years, the disenfranchised former Watch members who founded the subver-sive Aegis organization came to refer to the NDD as the Black Book, rather than by its official designation. Apparently, Aegis operatives continue to use this label to this day, presumably in an attempt to denigrate the Directorate through petty misnomers.
17
assessing the potential threat posed by EBEs and what resources were available to counter it, if any. By the mid-1950’s, the NDD had identified at least two other alien races involved in terrestrial dealings: the Atlanteans and the Saurians. The lat-ter are further divided into numerous subraces. The Directorate
forged favorable relations with one of the Saurian subraces, the Gna-Tall, near the end of the decade.
The NDD also expended considerable effort toward deter-mining the activities of the other Watch members and the suc-cess of its own agency, Aegis.
THE RETICULAN COMPACT
A summary of the key components of the compact is presented. The full text is available on a need-to-know basis. The requirements of Project BLACK BOOK:
1. BLACK BOOK is to assist the Reticulans in the acquisition of subjects for purposes of study and understanding. No intentional harm is to befall those subjects.
2. BLACK BOOK is to assist the Reticulans in endeavors insofar as such assistance does not violate its members’ sworn duty to the United States of America or the protocols of the organization.
3. BLACK BOOK is to intervene on behalf of the Reticulans in any encounters with agencies of another government. 4. BLACK BOOK is to assist the Reticulans in the study of paranormal events.
5. Without prior consent from the Reticulans, BLACK BOOK is never to experiment on a member of that race.
The requirements of the Reticulans:
1. The Reticulans are to provide psychic support to any BLACK BOOK missions upon request.
2. The Reticulans are to maintain covert status on Earth and not to interact with any government, agency, or organ-ization other than Project BLACK BOOK.
3. The Reticulans are to maintain communications with BLACK BOOK for the purpose of informing that organization of any internal conflicts or external conflicts that could compromise the security of the agency, the integrity of its mission or the well-being of the United States of America.
4. The Reticulans must assist BLACK BOOK in advancing its understanding of technology and assist it in developing applications when requested.
(The compact was revised to substitute National Defense Directorate upon passing of Executive Order #347b in 1948.)
PRESIDENT TRUMAN’S MANDATE
The purpose of the National Defense Directorate (NDD) shall be to coordinate all American activities connected in any way with any EBEs, including the management of all research into extraterrestrial activities, technologies, and biologics. In matters of national security pertaining to EBEs, their presence or technologies, the NDD shall have the highest authority.
The NDD shall also be responsible for the collection of all nonconventional materials and information. To protect against panic or subversion, it shall use its resources to prevent the American public and other government agencies from learning about any matters pertaining to EBE actions. The NDD shall work outside the usual structure of law enforcement and legisla-tive oversight to safeguard the precious freedoms all Americans have come to know and treasure from threats heretofore unimagined, and actively defend this country from such threats. The NDD must protect American shores from the threat of those shadowy players that may strive to move this great nation into global communism under an unimaginable dictatorship.
The NDD shall recruit, train and provide for its own personnel in every respect.
To facilitate its mission, a new series of classifications shall be formed corresponding to the highest levels of secrecy. The des-ignations shall bear the name MAJESTIC (MJ) and be followed by the numbers 1 though 12. These classifications will rank beyond Top Secret (SCI); the very existence and designation of the security classification MAJESTIC is hereby classified MJ1. The Office of the President shall be assigned the highest clearance during this administration and shall be reassigned a clearance thereafter solely as determined by the Directors of the NDD.
OPPOSITION
Whereas the NDD operated under Presidential, if clandes-tine and highly classified, authority, Aegis instead built a labyrinthine network of cells, blinds, and double blinds. It siphoned off valuable government funding to bolster its own coffers and often directly undermined legitimate NDD activi-ties. Unfortunately, due to the necessity of maintaining the integrity of the Directorate’s mission, direct and open conflict with Aegis was not possible. Instead, the NDD was forced to remain content merely blocking that group’s continued attempts to infiltrate and subvert the U.S. government in pur-suit of its misguided goals.
One of the first projects in which NDD operatives forced Aegis’ hand was the CIA’s MKULTRA mind-control experiment. Initially, operatives merely sabotaged the research or abduct-ed particularly promising subjects. However, as the project progressed, it became obvious that more stringent measures were necessary to prevent Aegis from garnering untold num-bers of sleeper agents. Project HEARST enjoyed one of its ear-liest and greatest successes by exposing the CIA’s efforts to both public and Congressional scrutiny, bringing an end to MKULTRA by 1963.
It came too late to prevent a national tragedy.
THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION
President John F. Kennedy discovered a nest of Aegis infiltra-tors among his own Secret Service bodyguards during routine monitoring of White House activities. All U.S. presidents techni-cally are aware of the NDD’s existence due to their position. Still, since President Truman’s term and as a matter of course, the NDD has maintained a low profile with respect to the Executive Office. As a result, President Kennedy was not fully aware of the danger posed by the Aegis operatives.
The President confronted the compromised agents and threatened a full Congressional investigation and exposure of the Aegis organization. In return for his silence, he demanded Aegis operations be subordinated to his direct command. Aegis instead took steps to assassinate the President.
Directorate operatives learned of the situation through a mole in the Aegis organization. Upon authorization from the Twelfth Directorate, the operatives opened a full-disclosure dia-log with President Kennedy, apprising him of the dangers posed by Aegis while impressing upon him the importance of the integrity of the Directorate’s mission.
Aegis, however, had already activated a former MKULTRA subject, Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald was successful in his mis-sion to assassinate the president, although NDD operatives did manage to alert authorities to his identity and whereabouts quickly enough to ensure his capture.
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THE GNA-TALL ALLIANCE
In the mid-1960’s, the NDD’s relations with the Gna-Tall pro-gressed to a full-fledged alliance. Unlike the Reticulan Compact, the agreement with the Gna-Tall was not formalized in writing, nor was it nearly as restrictive. In return for assistance in preventing the U.S. space program from uncovering Gna-Tall activities, the EBEs agreed to provide the NDD with advanced technology.
Although the Gna-Tall supplied only finished products—the TD-121 is the foremost of such material assistance—the NDD’s research divisions reasoned they could reverse-engineer any devices given time, providing a substantial advantage to the organization. Actual physical devices were far more than the paltry assistance the Reticulans had provided over nearly two decades of alliance.
The NDD’s primary duty was to provide launch and trajecto-ry plots to the Gna-Tall. On several missions the flight plans posed a substantial risk of exposing Gna-Tall assets, and thus the existence of EBEs, to the populace as a whole. That expo-sure would in turn jeopardize the integrity of the Directorate. During the 1960’s, indirect methods such as altering flight or weather data, tampering with supply channels, and even infect-ing crewmembers with mild infirmities served to alter missions sufficiently to protect both the Gna-Tall and the NDD.
THE SPACE SHUTTLE
The space shuttle program posed a different problem. The Gna-Tall, and consequently the NDD, were understandably threatened by the frequency with which the shuttle could be launched. In order to accommodate the accelerated frequency of shuttle trips, the Gna-Tall requested the NDD temporarily halt the program while they readjusted their own long-term activities.
Unfortunately, a successful media campaign by NASA fueled American backing for the shuttle program. IA carefully analyzed statistical and sociological data and determined only a shocking and catastrophic event would be able to curb public support for the program.
As a result, the Directorate assisted a group of morphed Saurians in infiltrating Cape Canaveral, Florida, in late January 1986. Once inside, the Saurians sabotaged the Challenger booster rockets, causing them to detonate shortly after launch on January 28, 1986. The catastrophe cost the lives of seven American astronauts but preserved the integrity of the Directorate’s mission.
The Gna-Tall were involved again when the crew of the shut-tle Columbia discovered alien modular technology installed on the International Space Station. Reports are that one of the astronauts alerted mission control, saying that the station was being used for additional research, using technology they did-n’t recognize. The Gna-Tall acted without NDD authorization, opening fire on the shuttle as it made its re-entry to Kennedy on
February 1, 2003, rather than have their actions investigated. Initial reports said that plasma had penetrated the interior of the Columbia’s wing, destroying the support structure. The use of the word “plasma” was retracted later, with a report saying it was inaccurate, after the NDD managed to debrief NASA offi-cials. As NASA is infiltrated with Aegis agents, however, the truth behind this disaster may never be known.
More recently, the NDD has been heavily involved in the Gulf conflict, as the Gna-Tall uncovered evidence of another Saurian clan’s presence on Earth. The Croll’s infiltration of Iraq’s military dictatorship and their work in expanding their biological armory resulted in the Gna-Tall’s encouraging the U.S. President’s determination to end the threat, sending in the mil-itary. Croll and Gna-Tall forces clashed in the Gulf, while human troops fought an unpopular and media-fueled war. When the real human dictator was discovered, the Croll MiB who had posed as Saddam fled along with the bulk of the Croll to Iran. The Croll continue to keep the conflict in the Middle East a hotbed of violence and trickery to weaken the U.S. and under-mine Gna-Tall power.
WAR FOOTING
The NDD’s mission in recent years has been guided by sub-tle cues garnered from its Gna-Tall allies. Researchers have noted that the EBEs are more forthcoming with advances and, on occasion, have even assisted technicians in understanding some of the underlying, albeit basic, theories of their technolo-gy. Furthermore, an increase of UFO and EBE encounters, com-bined with an increased general sense of uneasiness among Gna-Tall assigned to NDD operations, has led Project BREAST-PLATE to postulate a potential future conflict is nearing.
To that end, the Directorate is slowly redirecting its efforts from Reticulan and Atlantean activities toward a preparation for the most feared of all NDD scenarios—invasion.
Chapter Three
AEGIS
STRUCTURE
Aegis as an organization has been evolving and growing over the years, into a labyrinthine network of divisions and Cells. This chapter presents the full organizational layout, from Aegis Prime, through the divisions based at Area 51 and across the country, to the individual Cells. The chapter introduces some new rules for Aegis agents to employ, from new tech to Aegis Pulling Strings.
AEGIS INFLUENCE
Many of the “Movers and Shakers” listed in Aegis have Influences that are purely within Aegis itself. They have “Influence (Aegis)” Qualities, and often the level of this Quality is very high. Outside of Aegis, they will have levels of Influence in their fields, but these are usually a lot lower than the corresponding levels within Aegis. In cases when an operative has to exert influence outside of Aegis , use the Influence (Aegis) Quality, but the level should be halved. In some cases, the operative’s Influence outside of The Ranch is high enough to warrant a second Influence Quality in her respective field.
AEGIS PROFESSIONS
Many of the internal divisions of Aegis deal with the basic bureaucracy and day- to- day wheeling and dealing of the conspiracy: maintaining contacts, raising funds, legal work, and research. None of these is particularly interest-ing to play in an RPG, therefore few profession packages are listed. A few operatives in the field are from Aegis itself, separate from the Cells, and these have packages list-ed, though in most cases these agents are loners, spies, and security operatives who work alone due both to their assignments and their dispositions. Again, these are not easy to play in Conspiracy X, and while a few of these pro-fessions are detailed, they are not recommended except for the most experienced Chroniclers.
Determined players who wish to play characters in the more mundane lines of work with Aegis, such as lawyers and administrators, should use the civilian professions pro-vided in the Appendices (see p. 254), increasing their Influence and related abilities to suit.
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AEGIS PRIME
Aegis Prime is essentially the ruling organization of Aegis. It was first composed of the eight original members of Aegis, who then began the process of recruiting other operatives and Cells. The original members were born in the 1910’s, and none of them is currently a member of Prime. However, their collective consciousness lives on, guiding Aegis through its operations (see p. 204).
M
EMBERSHIP
Aegis Prime currently consists of seven members. Throughout its history, Prime has attempted to keep its mem-bership between seven and nine individuals, usually preferring an odd number to prevent stalemates when voting is used. Membership duration usually lasts at least a decade, ending when the individual dies or steps down voluntarily. In only two circumstances has Aegis Prime had to forcibly remove (and ter-minate) a member of Prime. Obtaining membership in Prime is by invitation only. Members of Aegis Prime are often aware of a number of viable candidates and monitor these individuals regardless of whether a position is open.
C
ONDUCTING
B
USINESS
Members of Aegis Prime never reside at The Ranch and only rarely meet in person as a group. For the most part, members meet in small circles or by secure VR or video conference calls. Members of Prime are generally given specific responsibilities to undertake, then do what is needed. Aegis Prime does not oper-ate so much as a committee as it does as a set of individuals who rely on their colleagues to assist in ferreting out problems.
R
ESPONSIBILITIES
The responsibilities of Aegis Prime cover four areas: moni-toring development, selecting divisional directors, developing new divisions, and maintaining and creating resources. As stat-ed above, once members of Aegis Prime have selectstat-ed or have been assigned specific responsibilities, they conduct them fairly autonomously.
AEGIS STRUCTURE
Area 51 (Groom Dry Lake Facility)
Outlying Divisions Central Office of Recruitment Services (CORS) Aegis Prime Directorate of Administration and Security (DAS) Bureau of Operations and Tactics
(OpTac) Research and Development (R&D) Internal Security Section (ISS) Psychic Division (Psi-Div) Division of Information Security and Database Management (ISDM)
Foreign Affairs Division (FAD) Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH) Supernatural Exploration Division (SED) Cells
