New World Order
Name: New World Order, N.W.O
Plural: New World Order, N.W.Os
Pronunciation: noo' wurld' or'-dur
Nicknames: Cloak and Dagger Convention
Faction: Technocratic Union
Formerly known as the Cabal of Pure Thought (1325-1851) and the Lightkeepers (1851 - 1898).
New World Order, often shortened to N.W.O, are the secret police force within the Technocracy, dedicated on shaping and guiding information in progress with the Collective Will of the Masses. New World Order is responsible for much of processing of Reality Deviants and advancing the goals of the Time Table.
New World Order specializes in Mind.
Contents
Paradigm
There are "things-man-was-not-meant-to-know." Your job is to keep people from knowing about the things that could wreck humanity. You perpetuate this fiction not because you're cruel or because you're an enemy of the truth, but because those things could hurt all society. Far better that the Masses believe your Truth (with a capital "T") instead. It's safer, it's simpler, and best of all, if enough people accept it, it might as well be real. Hunt down things that shouldn't be, erase violations of your Truth, educate those too stubborn or foolish to accept it. Above all, remember, you're doing it for their own good. Everyone has potential and is worth saving.
History
The New World Order cannot match the millennia-old histories of the other Conventions. They do not claim to have invented fire, the wheel, animal husbandry or money. Nor can the New World Order point to glorious battles against Tradition mages during the Mythic Age or the Renaissance. Instead, like any good bureaucracy, they were created by fiat. During Queen Victoria's house-cleaning, as the Conventions were being renamed and the Order of Reason reorganized itself into the Technocratic Union, the Inner Circle recognized the need for an organization to police the thoughts of the Masses.
Laying down a detailed history for the Convention also proves difficult because of constant "re-examinations" of their own history and that of the Technocratic Union, in which some details, like the Ksirafai, who could be seen as the spiritual forefathers of the New World Order, simply vanish.
The factual forerunners of the New World Order were the Lightkeepers, who were formed from the remnants of the dissolved Cabal of Pure Thought (as well as likely some Ksirafai that chose to remain with the Order) after the disastrous events of the French Revolution, the attempted installation of a culte de raison, and Napoleon's near-conquest of Europe. The purpose of the Lightkeepers was to "keep the light of reason", by excising anything that could strengthen the "superstitionistic cause".
Victorian Age
In 1851, the Lightkeepers, and the larger Order, underwent reorganization and emerged as the Technocratic Union. The Lightkeepers were re-christened as the Ivory Tower. This lasted until the later years of the 19th century, when the Union overhauled itself yet again. The Lightkeepers became the New World Order.
Modern Nights
The work of the Order within the Union lies now in collecting, disseminating and transforming information. Its agents operate throughout Sleeper society, but especially seek to influence education and the media. The Convention also maintains spies throughout Traditions and Crafts Chantries, sometimes working with the Progenitors to create perfect clones of enemy willworkers — a technique that some whisper the NWO uses on other Conventions as well. Nevertheless, the New World Order much prefers subverting its enemies to destroying them, and Gray Men work constantly to recruit rival willworkers through blandishment, argument and torture.
The Avatar Storm in 1999 (although the Order prefers the term Dimensional Anomaly) severed contact to the umbral bases of the Union, making work harder for them. The events of 9/11 aided their goal of information control, but economic crisis and the growing advance of the Internet and the growing of Nephandic influence within the Middle East, the Union has much to do and to observe.
Without the guidance from Control, the New World Order also clashes with Iteration X, who want to reinstate the Pogrom and wipe out all Reality Deviants. Additionally, the other great power within the Union, the Syndicate, has been objected to greater scrunity in the aftermath of the economic disaster of 2007 and the apparent failure to gain substantial control over the ever growing mass media. Th Syndicate resents this, and tensions are brewing between the two. Organization Edit
The New World Order possesses a complex rank-structure, in which members are differentiated by Enlightenment, seniority, function and Methodology. The majority of un-Enlightened personnel are Sympathizers: the communications experts, secretaries, psychologists, government agents, intelligence operatives and interns of the New World Order and its front companies. The Order also employs Sympathizers as spies and agents throughout the mortal world, particularly in academia and the media. New World Order sympathizers are rarely aware that they work for a great global conspiracy; most simply do jobs of some importance in business or government, reporting their findings to committees, sharing their interests with higher-ranking co-workers and advancing the causes of order and stability. Few ever discover the subtle connections between government branches, academic circles and global politics.
Following that, the rank of a member of the New World Order becomes convoluted with the various Methodologies. The Black Suits (originally called "Men in Black") are the field agents and the most public face of the Order among amalgams and Sleeper institutions. Following them are the Grey Suits (also called "Men in Grey"), who are used as infiltrators and spies in other groups, sometimes even within other Conventions. Those who answer directly to central Collegium from within the Ivory Tower are the White Suits (the "Men in White").
Methodology
Operatives
Thus we do disagreeable things, but we are defensive. That, I think, is still fair. We do disagreeable things so that ordinary people here and elsewhere can sleep safely in their beds at night. Is that too romantic? Of course, we occasionally do very wicked things.
--John LeCarre, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.
The first Methodology, the Operatives, deals primarily with espionage. The secret agent works to gather information in the field and to ensure Security within our ranks. He is the eyes and ears of our Union.
The shock troops of our Convention are the Men in Black. Most mages think of the Black Suits when they hear the words "New World Order," and many acolytes and apprentices think of them as mindless, soulless constructs who lack independent will. This illusion works to our advantage. "Black Suit" work is the starting assignment for most operatives. Not all Mein in Black are constructs, nor are all of them conversant in Technocratic procedures.
These Units' most common activity is the capture or elimination of Reality Deviants, such as Traditionalist mages, Marauders, Cryptozoological specimens, supernatural entities and demonic manifestations. Although the psychological mandates of the Masses have psychic mechanisms to actively ignore some types Reality Criminals, the Men is Black must police the front lines to ensure the Safety and Security of humanity. Fortunately, Men in Black can operate with some degree of impunity in the field because they are often mistaken for government authorities. Most Sleepers either trust or fear their government. Those who trust do not question; those who fear dare not question.
The constructs and sympathizers working as Men in Black actually run interference for more experienced agents. Although the majority of Black Suits are male, their superiors, the Gray Suits, have a more even balance of genders. The Gray Suits are the assassins, impersonators, thieves and saboteurs. While some work in the shadows, others work openly, assuming an alternate identity and working in the midst of the Traditions.
The most common task of the Gray Men is infiltration, Cabals often come to think of units of Black Suits and cyborgs as their most immediate threat. Actually, the greatest threat of their cabal is often living in their midst. Because of the nature of the Pogrom, most Tradition mages have to bestow a certain level of trust to each other. There usually isn't time for them to interrogate any renegade mage they encounter. This makes the task of infiltration easier.
While Black Suits and Gray suits work on the front lines, Intelligence Analysts organize them and interpret the data they gather. Their bases are often in Horizon Constructs. These agents also act as intermediaries between Unit Leaders in the field and administration. Coordinating field work also means teaming agents of the New World Order with agents of other Conventions. This is also part of the administrative responsibilities of the operatives.
The masters among the Operatives are the Men in White, agents who are responsible for monitoring the loyalty of the individuals. "Men is White" is of course a colloquial term; such agents are as often female as male. Men in White have great latitude in their inquiries, anyone ranking below a Whit Suit can be interrogated by her, regardless of Convention. Among their other responsibilities are overall Security for Horizon Constructs, ideological conformity within Horizon Realms, and regional reports to the highest ranks of the Technocracy.
The Ivory Tower
We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
--Pink Floyd Another Brick in the Wall
The second Methodology, the Ivory Tower, oversees education and administration. The armies of sympathizers, educators, academics, teachers, psychologists, computer programmers, Reality Programmers, bureaucrats, administrators, instructors, and indoctrinators ensure that this is the most divers of the Methodologies. At the highest levels of this Methodology, the masters of the Tower act as mediators, in inter-Convention politics, organize Symposiums and report to the Inner Circle. The Ivory Tower can be divided into five areas of influence: Recruitment, Education, Computer Security, Psychology and Bureaucracy.
On the front lines legions of sympathizers work within universities and other educational systems to gently guide the Masses towards correct indoctrination. many sympathizers work as recruiters. Universities are one of the best areas of recruitment. Disaffected youth, Enlightened drop outs, gifted students and Orphaned mages also make for excellent sympathizers.
Education involves the transfer of ideas and the colonization of minds. On the Horizon, instructors and academics oversee the indoctrination of Technomancers of all Conventions. Educators withing the Ivory Tower have many tools at their disposal for processing students, including sleepteaching, subliminal broadcasting and virtual reality systems. One important application of these tools is the education of field specialists, who often work with amalgams on the front lines. The education branch of the Tower also includes the Collegiaums, sanctuaries of academia where luminaries are free to debate the philosophies of our Union.
Computer security is the third area of influence. Since our Convention handles information storage for all the Conventions, access to information is critical. The most difficult responsibility is preventing "Hacking" and attacks from Virtual Adepts. fortunately many of the brightest security specialists are former Adepts who have undergone Social Conversion. The new World Order also works in collaboration with the Cybernauts of the Void Engineers. Servants are usually more proficient with the Digital Web.
Psychologists are invaluable in the War against Reality Deviants. The wealth of information they can access allows them to process psychological profiles of Sleeper and mages, as exemplified by the Citation Procedure. Their abilities to process the mind and access technological devices enable them to assist with such tasks as Social Conditioning -- the process of altering the belief system of an individual -- and mindscaping--the process of altering an individuals perceptions of reality. Psychologists proficient with Social Conditioning and mindscaping are sometimes known as Realty Programmers and often work with Intelligence Analysts of the Operative Methodology.
Bureaucracy and administration are the largest sections of the Tower. Admittedly, some jaded members of other Conventions will claim that these are tasks that none of the other Conventions want to oversee; however, handling these duties helps us to maintain our position of leadership within the Techonocracy. After all, as some of the bureaucrats of the Tower are overly fond of reminding us, information is indeed power. The highest levels of administration use that pwoer to maintain harmony among the Conventions.
All Servants of the Ivory Tower are adept at processing information, regardless of whether their procedures are based on education, psychology, Reality Programming, computer programming or politics. As a concerted front against the deceptions and dangers of Traditionalist thinking, the Servants are united by their slogan: "Our knowledge is Our Strength."
The Watchers
Approaching northern perimeter. Contact imminent. Contact imminent. Orange alert. Orange alert.
--#36, The Prisoner
This is Emerson Carter, Network XXIII, coming to you live and direct!
--Max Headroom
Procedures in the third Methodology, the Watchers, are based on surveillance, media and communications. Their primary tasks include monitoring or crimes against Reality, manufacturing the consent of the Masses, and working with amalgams to locate and neutralize random elements in Reality.
Sympathizers to the Watchers work within the mundane radio stations, television stations, as well as within telephone companies and other communications organizations. Most have limited knowledge of our Union, and some only partially realize the role they play in the war effort. Other sympathizers assist in the production of media. The process of manufacturing media == making a film, manipulating an image, producing a television a television program, "electronic news gathering," or addressing an audience over the radio -- is a process of transferring a message. As Marshal McLuhan has said, "The medium is the message," and as such, the language of a technological medium can easily become a process for a Technocratic message. Sympathizers assist with the menial tasks of production, freeing the Enlightened to carry out their duties. Dutiful sympathizers are promoted to positions where they, too, can help create Our Reality.
Field agents of this Methodology are usually Field Observers, Reporters or Lensmen. Field Reporters are often assigned to amalgams in which a Man in Black or a Gray Man is not needed, ensuring that the proper documentation of their mission is preserved. Reporters can also work with amalgams to gather incriminating evidence, seek out the supernatural, and document or even counteract Reality Deviance. Lensmen coordinate surveillance in the field, including the installation of permanent posts. Many of these technicians work will with units of Men in Black and the field patrols of Iteration X.
Horizon Constructs usually contain outposts for surveillance over wider areas. Working in conjunction with satellite systems, ground-based security systems, radar and manar tracking stations, and computer systems, Watchers can direct field operations and gather evidence. Numerous devices exist for tracking Sleepers as well, such as credit cards, cash point systems, marked currency, computer monitors in automobiles and automatic teller cards. Anything a Sleeper carries with a distinct magnetic encryption or unique encoded message "marks" him for tracking.
On the Horizon, Watchers provide Intelligence Analysts and White Suits with information on disloyal citizens. This is partly a procedure of counterespionage. It is also a means of helping Technomancers guard against possible betrayal by coworkers. Working within a collectivist society heightens our sense of individuality; we must stay on guard against possible traitors in our midst. By limiting our trust of others, we intensify our overall trust in our Union. The vigilant eyes of Horizon surveillance surround and safeguard us. Back to back, we stand against the intrusion of deviants who would rend the fabric of our Safe Reality.
Gatekeeper coordinate the activities of sympathizers, monitoring activity in the media as well as Sleeper reactions to it. Just as rating systems can be used to measure the Masses' responses to media, so can adjusting rating systems alter the response of the Masses. By subtly controlling the messages of the media of the Masses, we direct society toward homogeneous and harmonious union. By manufacturing consent, we create a secure world.
The Surveyors stand at the top of the pyramid. They oversee the efficacy of the War on all fronts, including working with deep space and Deep Universal surveillance and patrols of the Void Engineers. Their expertise the data coordinates the data of telescopes, space stations and scout ships with the expertise of Intelligence Analysts. Rumors of mind-control satellites continue, no doubt, to help support researchers in their perfection of this valuable weapon in the fight for freedom.
The eye of the Watchers represents eternal vigilance in our perpetual battle to purge disruptive random elements from the fabric of Reality. As long as the Safety of the World is threatened as long as the selfish egotism of the Traditionalists endangers the Security of the Masses, the Watchers will faithfully give their all to the Ascension War.
Adjustments & Procedures
Effects, Rotes, or What? In previous editions, Effect referred to single-Sphere spells, and rote referred to spells with more than one Sphere involved. Procedure, Adjustment, and spell all referred to either option. For clarity’s sake, Mage 20 refers to all workings as Effects, uses rote or spell to refer to pre-prepared mystic workings that have a sense of history, and Adjustment and Procedure to refer to Technocratic and technomagickal rotes that have official sanction within the affiliated groups.
Credit to the Author: http://whitewolf.wikia.com/wiki/New_World_Order "Technocracy: N.W.O.", White Wolf Publishing.
