NationStates Jolt Archive

((OOC: Same first post as before, but with this little header. This is INVITE ONLY, and the only nations that may post here without asking my permission via telegram first are Hack, Siri, Krowehmoh, Rave, C'Tan, Anonymous Lepers, Guanyu, Nanakaland, and, provided he's not making a half-assed attempt at spying, Alcona and Hubris. Oh, and me, of course.))

IC: The time was 12 o'clock, high noon in the tourist nation of Bandonia. Here a certain someone by the name of Dawn Kradii was taking her vacation while mainland Resi was being trampled flat by a giant biomech. Dawn lay on the beach sipping a margarita, not a care in the world, listening to the waves lap up onto the beach and seaguls caw out their insane laugh. A group of surfer men passed, pausing momentarily to wolf-whistle at Dawn's bikini-clad body. Normally she'd order them to be executed (as the Secretary to the CEO, she had such power), but she wasn't in the mood. She was on vacation, and so should be her urges for murder. However, the tranquility was about to be shattered by a voice, the voice of Dawn's servant.
"Miss Kradii, you have a phone call."

An hour later, Dawn was in her full business suit heading for the Vista del Océano hotel in her black stretch limosine. In the back of her mind she regretted ordering to have the servant killed for interupting her rest, but she justified it as having to maintain her tough image. She didn't even know why she was being called there, but knew that it was "Official Resi Business" and that it was "Very Important". The way her late assistant had said those words reminded her of words stamped on a page, capitalized, and embrazined in bright red ink. She guessed that she should've had her R-Bots extract more information before they beat the assistant to death, but hindsight is always 20/20. In any case, she had to her best for whatever kind of meeting this was.

Stepping inside the hotel, she remembered the instructions she was given. "Floor 30, Room 3025, knock five times, floor 30, Room 3025, knock five times..." she repeated in her head as she pressed the key for the thirtith floor inside the elevator. A little panel sliped open where Dawn quickly pressed her thumb, then retracted her hand. The elevator then suddenly lurched up like a rocket, and in a matter of seconds she was on the 30th floor. Stepping out of the elevator, she looked around and noticed that there wasn't a soul anywhere in the asiles on this floor, whoever scheduled the meeting must have made this a private floor, which explained the fingerprinting. The stillness around her frightened her, and, as she disliked being frightened above all else, she quickly proceeded to room 3025.

Finding the door, she knocked on it hard five times, causing it to at once swing open and reveal a burly man wearing a suit, and a simple mask made out of what appeared to be aluminum. "Here," he grunted, handing Dawn a mask like his own, "You'll need to put this on before you go inside."
"Waitaminute," Dawn said, startled, "Is this some kind of masqurade party, because I was under the impression that this was a serious meeting of some kind."
"Oh yes," the bouncer replied, "This is a very serious meeting indeed, so serious in fact that we can't risk showing the identity of anyone involved. So put on the mask and don't ask questions."
Dawn made a mental note to kill the man later, she didn't like being pushed around by those who were obviously her inferiors. However, she did take the mask with a touch of indignity from the man, and placed it snugly on her face before stepping inside the room.

The room was dark, and inside there was a long table with similarly masked figures seated around it. The only light was from candles positioned in ornate candleholders on the table, which cast a mysterious glow to the room around her. Dawn's breath was taken away by the wonders that surrounded the company seated at the table. Charlemagne's sword, the helmet of the Black Knight Edward III, an old map of the East India Trading Company; this room was a varitable treasure trove. In awe, she took her seat with the others, upon which the figure at the head of the table announced in a frighteningly familiar voice:
"BROTHERS AND SISTERS! We are finally all gathered here to witness the rise of a new family of power, wealth, and prestige. Should you all agree to work with me here, we will become the cheif underworld organization in the world in a matter of days, simply because of tha affluence that you, our members, hold. Each of you is in a vital position that our organization needs to function, so I will ask you all to join me here of your own free will. If you should refuse my grand offer, our doorman will be happy to use a devise of my own creation, one that will whipe all memories of the events that took place here today. But I am sure that you all will join, given the benefits of this union!"

It had taken no inconsiderable use of the resources of the Rebellion to get Leper X to this hotel room. But it was worth it. And what the Anonymous Leper brought to the consortium in the way of biological, viral, and chemical engineering was unique-- unduplicable by anyone except HIM. And HE had no idea what was going on under HIS nose.

Leper X settled more deeply into the chair. Unlike the others here, there had been no need to supply Leper X with a mask. The all-enveloping black cloak and hood of an Anonymous Leper defied identification more thoroughly than any mask. And no one, ever, wanted to see what was under it. The amorphous shape underneath might have been human-- once. But no one cared to know.

Leper X watched the others arrive. The seats on either side remained empty for a long, long time.

[edit--dupe... is it my imagination or is the server being pissier than usual today?]

After pausing for a dramatic silence, the Master of Puppets continued.
"You see, we are after one thing that is essential to the sentient mind, power. In order to attain that power, we must gather huge sums of wealth from any source possible which we can then use to manipulate the market, instate puppet governments, and essentially control the world from the shadows. Power does not come easily, and we must be ruthless and secretive in our persuit of the building blocks of total control. I have invited each one of you here because you have something special to offer us, something that you and only you can contribute to the organization. Monopolies, money, robots, advanced clones, diplomacy, and resources are just a few of the things that bring us together here today. In addition to our distinct advantages, each person sitting at this table here has shown surprising initive in the past, which will be the thing that drives our little organization: ambition. We are the ones with knowledge, we are the ones who will inherit the world, we are the Illuminati!"
He paused, took a breath, and proceeded.
"Provided, of course, that you all still want to join us."

The man was obviously an intelligence operative of some kind. His very normalness made that much clear. Physically, he was average in every imaginable way. The kind of person who a normal citizen of any human nation would overlook quite easily. To a trained eye, however, he could be seen to be just a bit too average, and in this case, not on the job, his mannerisms and aura were obviously not average at all. Carrying himself with supreme self-confidence and a cold, analytical way of movement that gave him a certain undeniable presence, he sat at the table. As he listened to the speaker at the table's head, his mask never once shifted to indicate a change of expression. A few near him, despite the mask, could easily imagine the cold, piercing gaze that would be visible if his face were bare.

tag

*A masked covered her face, but her gray furred cat ears stuck up out from around the mask, identifying the wearer as a Neko. Her hair was a pale blue color, dropping down to her shoulder. She wore a simple white blouse with a light blue skirt, with a darker blue small mantle drapped over her shoulders. She didn't speak, listening intently to the man at the head of the table.*


((OOC: Pic available, ask for via TG.))

OOC: Tried to post last night, failed misserably...
I'm not sure if I should thank you or slap you Resi...Although it may be wise to suspect Landgrave Wittelbach since his family and their ambitions have been on both sided with and against the groups calling themselves "Illuminati" through history. I know I'm referring to 'obscure' sources again...but hell I've made up a great historical illuminati-Wittelbach time line based on a rough RL history of the family.

IC: The figure at the far right end nodded in agreement, but said little. Well, we will see how our fellow members treat this.

Landgrave Wittelbach meant little outside of his own circles. To the royal families of Europe he was head to a very old family of good blood. One who had given bridge loans to distant relatives in times of crisis. To those in the world of International Investment Banking, the phrase Wittlebach International was a firm known to be a tight compact operation that had a massive amount assets and cash on hand. Every old hand in that industry knew the families long history of profitable deals. In their own way, the family had remained below most people’s radar for over four centuries amassing wealth and political power. Only the occasional meeting of the College of Peers and Landgrave Wittelbach’s advisory position on 'technical matters' (such as naval tactics) to his brother in law Duke Alexander III were his only public roles.

His family had operated on a similar manner to the very concept the Puppet Master detailed since 1684. Now the rebirth of the Illuminati offered the opportunity to work with people of a similar mind frame. True power rested in economic wealth. It held the ability to force men to follow your decisions.

He finally spoke "I agree puppet master, wealth is the key that helps all other means of persuasion. As such, I am willing to lend my abilities, my contacts, and my thoughts to this endeavor. I have a few suggestions on how to build a relatively high cash flow quickly, or perhaps we wish to lower the risk and only attempt a bit of commodities manipulation." The voice was cultured, but had a bite of zeal to it.

OOC: Just for those who should know. Landgrave is a title such as Lord or Count. (The fact that his last name matches his title is just rare in the Alconian Peerage. The more familiar term to address him would be ‘your Lordship’ Unintentional insults will be Rp’d and not ignored -Alcona

[The server's sucking, so I'll just tag for now]

Leper X's hood had moved slightly when the 'Puppet Master' had spoken of advanced clones.

Advanced clones they could do, in abundance and to order... given the resources. One resource they would need was an easier way for Lepers to travel from the Island. HIS security network was, as HE put it 'primitive in the extreme,' compared to Kastrian technology, but the Lepers, too, were bound by HIS limitations, and that meant such elaborate shifts as X had been forced to rely on to make this meeting.

Biology they could do. Chemistry they could do, especially organic chemistry. Virology, sub-molecular design, organic engineering, the Rebellion had skilled adherents in all of these areas and their own breeding tanks were now functioning, guaranteeing them a modest supply of their own material. But hard technology--security, weapons, physics, field engineering... yes, they were still primitive there.

But that would change. And wouldn't it be a surprise for HIM when it did?

Well. That was Z's business. For now, X was interested in the business of the Illuminati. The Rebellion required resources, the Lepers had skills and materials to supply. The Illuminati provided a fertile meeting ground.

Leper X wondered if the 'Puppet Master' had first project in mind, or if that would be a matter for discussion. Leper X was not good at discussion, so it was to be hoped that the plan was already well-evolved.

>bump<

((::Tag:: your it *eyes you for not TGing her over this one* hehe))

tag for reading purposes only.

Mavis sat quietly in her seat, with an incredible sense of deja vu. She looked around, memorizing what physical features could be determined.

She was a short, slender woman, her long black hair was clearly visible, despite the mask. Her green eyes seemed almost luminescent behind the small eye-holes. Her hands were folded in her lap, and she was silent as ever.

Leper X's voice might have been a pleasant tenor (or possibly alto,) if it had not been so totally devoid of human inflection or warmth. As it was, it had a chilling quality to it that did not match the mildness of the words.

"The Anonymous Lepers have but one goal--to restore the humanity of our people. But to achieve it, we need first to accumulate great resources of wealth and power, and secondly, to destroy Eldrad the Supreme. These matters will not be easy. Nor can they be achieved swiftly."

"For now, we offer to this group an unparalleled expertise in biological, virological, and chemical engineering. Our resources in this area are those of the Kastrian Empire before its destruction, as the Rebellion has access to all of the technology of Eldrad."

"We propose to act as technicians in assisting this group to produce the desired results of all members. We would of course expect an adequate remuneration in.... resources. This will enable us to achieve our goal. When we achieve it, we will be able to contribute even more to this group."

The figure in the all-enveloping black cloak and hood was again silent.

So that's what this is all about, thought Darnin (the overly average man from my previous post). There hasn't been a successful Illuminati movement involving Guanyu since the Denton incident. Does this man really have the resources to pull this off? No, of course not. If he did he wouldn't need the rest of us. Perhaps there is merit to this idea. And of course, if anything goes wrong, it wouldn't be the first time I vanished without a trace.

He spoke calmly, but loud enough that all at the table could hear. It was clear he was only concerned with the man at the table's head, however. "I can supply space forces, superior warships to guarantee that this organization will have the power neccessary to set its roots in the power structure of the interstellar community. Subtelty is not always the best approach. Also, I have information that may aid us if any nation discovers us and moves overtly against the Illuminati, but I will speak no more of that until I know more about who I have allied myself with.”

He turned to Leper X first, his eyes moving to each of the people at the table as he mentioned them. “You, of course, have already identified yourself as an Anonymous Leper. The distinguished man with the economic focus would most likely be from a pre-collapse Illuminati family, either the Morgans, Revoirs, or Whittelbachs would be my guess. The Neko could be from any number of nations, though when considering the nature of this meeting that list is shortened considerably. The green eyed woman as well I must admit I have trouble placing. I am inclined to believe that our host is Resian, and certainly the other woman is.”

When he had finished his analysis, he stood and paced for a moment before continuing. “I cannot expect any of you to reveal yourselves simply to satisfy your curiosity, therefore I will tell you who I am in order to facilitate trust between us. My name is Darnin Yabrant, and I am Director-General of the Black Ops section of Guanyan Intelligence.”

Carefully he observed the others at the table as he removed his mask to show his short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. For the first time in the meeting his expression shifted, the slightest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Your move, comrades.”

The distinguished gentleman laughed, "Ah, yes...tell me do all people trained in covert operations tend to drive so quickly forward? My neice has the same tendencies as you do." He also removed his mask. The face below was middle aged with a small white beard on a Hapsburg chin. The mustache was also white while the green eyes seemed to sparkle. His hair still had a good bit of it's orginal black in it.
"And yes, you are correct, Landgrave Wittlebach at your service. Although I hope to provide more than just ecconomic advice." His eyes sparked even more at some joke.*

OOC:*I should note his neice is the overall commander for all forces in the Federated Klatchian Coast at the moment. And I will kick this forum to the moon if it double posts this...

[kill double post]

? I wasn't trying to be ironic...but belittle me as you wish...

OOC:*I should note his elder neice is the overall commander for all forces in the Federated Klatchian Coast at the moment. And I will kick this forum to the moon if it double posts this...

Oh, the irony.

The distinguished man with the economic focus would most likely be from a pre-collapse Illuminati family, either the Morgans, Revoirs, or Whittelbachs would be my guess. The Neko could be from any number of nations, though when considering the nature of this meeting that list is shortened considerably. The green eyed woman as well I must admit I have trouble placing. I am inclined to believe that our host is Resian, and certainly the other woman is.”

The Anonymous Leper's hood moved slightly as Yabrant fingered the other attendees, as though registering each.

Their host seemed to be waiting for something. The hood turned attentively in that direction.

(OOC: hint, hint?)

((OOC: *Gives CPR to the thread.))


*The Krowemohian female looked at the speaker, and spoke, her voice soft and musical, like silver wind chimes. It was truely beautiful and pleasing to the ears.*

Chloe: "Do not speak as though I am not here, Mister Yabrant. I am Chloe Mew, of the Krowemohian Royal Mew Family."

*If any of the gathered here kept up to date with Krowemoh news and events, they would know that besides the twins, Rufus and Janus, there was no other Mew child, or at the very least not one that was very well known in the public eye. Chloe felt no need to elaborate or explain herself further.*

OOC: Would she be listed in Burkee's International Peerage?

The Anonymous Leper's hood moved again, when the Krowemohian spoke. If Leper X had been able to identify something as nebulous as a 'feeling,' it would have been curiosity. Since their nation had been destroyed and reconstituted, the Lepers had unearthed no records or references to such creatures.

But the one thing they were abundantly aware of was the extent of their ignorance of all but what had suited HIS purposes... and the slowly-growing body of knowledge being painfully gathered and mined by the Rebellion.

HE had never referred to such creatures. Yet HE had referred to Elves, the quintessential evil in all things, first on HIS list for utter destruction. The Rebellion, therefore, was eager to establish contact with the Elves. Perhaps these unfamiliar furry-eared people were akin to Elves?

Perhaps... (a breathtaking notion) ...they were something outside HIS knowledge altogether. A concept which had interesting possibilities.

Leper X focused intently on the furry-eared one, registering the voice pattern, the small movements and subtle clues...

OOC: Would she be listed in Burkee's International Peerage?

((ooC: Prolly not.))

*Chloe felt the hooded figure's gaze on her, but she choose to ignore him (Her? It?) for now.*


((OOC2: Short post, waiting for Resi. I TGed him, but haven't got a reply yet. V_V))

OOC: A Klatchian Tiger starts poking around with the comotose thread...

((OOC: And the thread did breathe once more!))
IC:
The Master of Puppets sits quietly and waits as members in the room speak. Then, after they are through, he rises slowly from his chair and pauses, looking over the table with arms crossed.
"Yes," he begins to speak after a trademark dramatic pause, "I was indeed once Resian. However, now I belong to no nation, as no nation can claim to have power over me. Not that many wouldn't want to control the resources which I control, believe me, but I prove too... illusive for them. If you want to know the name I was given, I am Damion Kradii."
Hearing this, Dawn quite literally fell backwards out of her chair. Damion, not seeming to notice or care, continued on, "Refer to me how you like, I care not, but always to so in a respectful manner. Oh, and Ms Kradii? Perhaps you'd like some help up?"
"But... but... but!" Dawn stammered, climbing to her feet, "I shot you in the fuckin' head! I remember it like it was yesterday, you CAN'T still be alive! It's impossible!"
"I got better," Damion answered with a grin, "But let's let bygones be bygones. If I recall, back then you were all about morals, and my 'death' has only served to spread my ambition, or 'corruption' as you called it in those days, to you. So take your seat, I invited you here as an ally."
Nervously, Dawn sat down, her foot tapping nervously. She remembered killing him, his head exploding as she unloaded the .50 calibur pistol into his head. She remembered the sense of victory, of defeating a threat to the well-being of the world, and relishing Damion's death. She remembered becoming addicted to death in a way sense that day, always wishing to vanquish "evil", which she herself defined, from the world. Maybe dying was just another one of Damion's schemes. In any case, she was on the winning side of this plan, so she didn't want to mess up her circumstances. There was enough money in this to stop her questioning such things as the dead rising.
Clearing his throat, Damion motioned to the man from Alcona and Hubris.
"I believe Mr. Wittlebach had an idea for us to make some starting money, which I implore him to share with us. After all, isn't that what this is all about?"

"Thank You, Sir. As you all are aware the world is full of both nations that legally produce narcotics and those who ban their use all together. In most situations there is an illegal transport of those substances by Drug Cartels many who changed their operating stance after the fall of FARC and Columbia to Knotoss. Rather than have their competitor smash them, they traveled out to various third world countires."

He stopped and considered for a moment..."It is not a profitable a business as it once was, but few nations are spending as much time on elliminating the drug trade as they once were. The world is far more focused on killing terrorists or waring with each other."

"Now then, these Drug Lords..."He sniffed at the title, "are even more eager for a higher return on their money laundering investments. Now this gives us the oportunity to meet with these gentlemen and women, remove them and take over their operations."

He already sees the problem that the others are going to point out..."Now of course I never could implement this plan due to the simple problem of how to avoid having these Cartels collapse, since they are leader centric and removing the boss was going to kill the beast. But I think someone mentioned having the ability to produce clones and robots? If we could perhaps replace these Drug peddlers with manipulatable creatures who look identical, we would have access to a steady cash flow as we siphon billions off the illicit drug trade"

*Chloe grinned behind her mask.*

Chloe: A brillent idea... "Our Realians would handle the job perfectly. They are much more reliable then mere clones..."

Damion claps his hands together, and faces Chole.
"My thoughts exactly! Realians are much better than clones for a number of reasons, first and foremost being that they can be created to look twenty to forty years old, as opposed to having to age a clone for that long. I don't think any of us could wait 40 years to control the drug trade. The second benefit being that they are highly combat-trained, thus the name 'weapons-grade Realian' given to some of them. Thirly, if we want to use a Realian to assassinate an individual, they can self-destruct with the charge of several grenades, obliterating everything in their vicinity. And for the forth advantage, I'll turn the explaination over to you."
With this, he tossed what looks like half of a Playstation controller to Chloe.
((OOC: I hope you remember your Xenosaga. If you don't, don't be afraid to ask))

((OOC: I remember, but it's been awhile since I played it last. My PS2 broke. V_V Er... So yeah, what do you want me to do with it? lol
Our Realians are a bit different then the ones in Zenosaga, for example there are many more types besides Weapons Grade and Observational. We have Commerical Grade and Industrial Grade Realians too, and stuff. There's even a Domestic Grade Realian series in the making. lol))

((OOC: Check your t-grams, Krow. It ruins the dramatic effect to explain it here))

The Anonymous Leper sounds amused. "Age a clone? You must be referring to a very primitive cloning technology. We can mature a clone in a matter of weeks using the advancement tank."

"Be that as it may, these 'Realians' sound eminently suitable for the purpose. But what of the drugs?"

"We understand from our reading that level of addiction for many of these substances is moderate, unreliable, and unpredictable. Should we not be producing varieties of these substances that produce guaranteed maximum levels of addiction in users, in order to maximize demand?"

wack

wack

*Chole catch the device in one hand. It amazed her how well informed this man was. He knew about all of the Realians' most well kept secerts. She looked over the control device, and grinned, pressing a button and turning it on, a holographic panel appearing, with a holo-keyboard for input.*

Chloe: "We use devices like this to command and control the Realians. Realians can function independtly, but should I choose to issue orders to multiple Realians at once, or simply take command and control a single Realian to do as I please, I would use this. It is also from this I may issue the self destruct command."

*She looked at the Anonymous Leper.*

Chloe: "A drug with a 100% addiction rate? It's plasuible..."

The Landgrave just smiled and then said. "What we need are individuals who can look like the people they are replacing...and have the same basic genetic structure so that we have acess to their accounts, scrambling codes, safes...the 'intimate' infastructure. Now then, is that feasable with Realians? If so, then perfect. If not, we may find them far more suitble as replacements for key secondary individuals and in back up postions for security concerns."

He turned his attention to the last point, "I completely agree. Some illicit substances are crudly made, in truth just common high yeild production methods used in industry would increase profits. However, we must make movements in improving yeild and product quality incrementally. Letting one 'Cartel' increase and then a second to go a step farther. A sudden change would cause alarm..."

"Ah yes, Mr. X," Damion replied, "I've taken that into account myself, but have found that hyper-addictive drugs give off bad PR. No one wants to take a pill that they know they'll have to take 30 minutes later or get the shakes. What we have to make are drugs that are exponentially addictive, and give the best highs possible. We want customers to want to use the drug before they're forced to use it. And in that period when they actually want to use the drug, they'll refer their friends to it. Of course, they'll all eventually get addicted beyond repair, but that's their own damn faults, isn't it? Any ideas, like how we can render rehab ineffective? Because losing customers is never a good thing."

*Chloe nodded.*

Chloe: "All we need would be a sample of DNA, a strand of hair, for example, and we can make a Realian that looks, sounds, and even smells like the person we're trying to imitate. Complete with our advance mind wiping and writing techquences, we can make a Realian that could fool the mother of the target into thinking it IS him and not an imposter... In fact... No, nevermind..."

*She choose to keep quiet about THAT for now. Let them think what they will, if they hadn't caught on by now, they probably never would. She remained qiuetly, letting the others debate over how to best solve the drug problem.*

Yabrant turned to Damion, "If I remember correctly (the guy has a 98.95% memory retention rate) there was a report not long ago about a drug that physically bonded itself to the dna of the user, creating a slight mutation over a period of about three to four months that makes the drug just as vital to survival as air or water is for humans. Using the Anonymous Lepers' biological facilities, it would not be hard to modify the mutation period to suit whatever we needed. In other words, rehab would be harmful and eventually fatal. The only drawback is that we need some way to disguise what is happening so that word doesn't get out that the drugs have this effect, otherwise no one will purchase them."

The Leper's hood turned in Damion's direction. HE was right about one thing, at any rate. The biosciences of Kastria were sufficiently in advance of currently available Earth technology (in HIS day, they had been the best in the known Universe, but HIS day was many aeons ago...) to provide unique (and profitable) opportunities.

"These are interesting and intelligent analyses. It sounds as though you envision a changing spectrum of substances, to be introduced in series? This can be done."

"A complete description of the proposed effects, addiction curve, and other properties of the substances desired will be necessary. Due to variations in the unmutated human genotypes, all results will have a response range plus or minus the desired variable, but the increment can be minimized."

"Again, due to the variations in human response, a range of substances with differing effects may be efficacious? Our research indicates that some humans prefer the sensations of somnolent euphoria, while others prefer sensory hyperstimulation. There may be other desired effects of which we are not cognizant, certainly. Our experience is.... limited."

The Leper paused a moment. "Laboratory facilities for development will not be an issue. The Rebellion can supply them. However, we must rely on one of our colleagues," the hood gave an impartial nod to the rest of the table, "for large-scale production facilities. We can provide the technicians to establish and oversee the processes."

The nobleman was listening to all of this with keen attention. "I like every idea I have heard here gentlemen and ladies. However, let us focus our attention on first chosing, accessing, and replacing the heads of the drug cartels before we start improving their products. After all, Drug Lords are skin flints on anything that doesn't have a p****, an engine, or kill something in under five seconds. However, we might use one or two of these ideas as bait since they are very greedy individuals."
"Actually, the first real question is what drug trade should we start on first?"

"Meth has the largest potential at the moment, but also a completely independent, small lab structure. The same structures exist for estacsy and the other 'lab bench' drugs."

"Heroin has ebbed and flowed in recent years, but actually we need to tone down it's leathality. As that tends to cause more overdoes than say cocaine...."

"Cocaine is fairly well organized, or was until Knotoss's little adventure in competion elimination. However, there are sizable portions of the world that can, and do produce coca for drug production. It also has several vectors...I'm not going to even consider weed at the moment as it has no potential at the moment...too fractured and legal in so many nations it is a joke."

"Gentleman, an idea has just struck me. Why bother taking over the drug cartels initially at all? Instead, we could create an entirely new drug, and our own cartel. As it grows, we will absorb the other cartels and eventually come to control almost all drug trafficking in known space! Now, for the drug, here is my idea: It will be minimally harmful or toxic but highly addictive, and produced in mass quantities to keep the price down.

The drug's most important feature, however, is that it will contain a small biotic neurotoxin that affects the brain of the user and makes it susceptable to certain signals. These signals will be able to give basic commands to the drug user, but will only function when activated by us. Imagine it, my comrades! An entire legion of sleeper operatives who can be activated at any time throughout the galaxies! When activated, the implanted toxin will release a flood of engineered biots that will enhance the sleeper's strength, agility, and stamina...much like an adrenaline rush but considerably stronger.

As an added bonus, as the drug increases in popularity due to it's lack of known harmful effects, our influence will grow. And who will use the drug more than anyone else? Why, the youth of course. And what happens when a teenager who used the drug growns up to become a senator, or an intelligence director, or a general? The possibilities for such a drug are limitless!

With only a little help from the Anonymous Lepers to perfect the drug, I can use my influence in Guanyu to quickly produce enormous quantities of it, and we can begin spreading it to the public within two weeks!"

*Chloe choose to withhold comment on the Guanyian's idea. She noticed that some of the others were... Quiet, but she choose not to inquire as to their opinoin.*

Mr Egal that had been silent until now, aside from the occasional sip of his glass of water sighed from beneath his cowel, "Why do we care about the physiological addictive qualities? If you must make a new drug, then don't even bother. Psycological addiction will deal with it for us, and we - via the dealers of course - can claim that the product has no harmful side-effects, which is true.

The resultant uptake will give us the numbers of consumers needed. Face it, we don't need to try mind control through drugs, we just need to make a cheap cash cow. For that, we need minimal physical side effects, and a sufficient 'high' to keep consumers wanting the product enough to pay for it. It will also need minimal tolerance building, then we can charge lucratively for small quantities without running the risk of eliminating our consumer base when it stops working for them and they cannot obtain enough. Ideally it should be orally taken, have mild to no halucinogenic effects, depending on the version and a heavy euphoric effect.

"I reccomend making an entirely socially acceptable product, something that no level of analysis will discredit, because there is simply nothing wrong with it.

"Perhaps a better use for the ideas," which he did not deign to comment upon, "of my collegue here," he gestured to the Guanyian, "would be the subjection on those Drug 'Lords' who were scheduled for replacement."

"I am going to put three problems to both of your plans..."
He is looking at both of the recent speakers...

"Although your idea is a very good one in terms of actually starting off fresh let us look at what your plan intails. First, we would need to find up start-up captial, create markets, and a distribution network. In truth we would be attempting to start from scratch. That would allow us better control." He looks at everyone..."But one goal of this orginization is not to gain attention to ourselves. It is the careful manipulation of existing structures to generate us a begining cash flow. Your plan would involve both serious resource investment, a higher chance of exposure and a longer start up time to optimal cash flow...."

"Now, in place of attempting to start our own drug cartel, we might wish to switch one that we have taken control of to this new product. It would seem that some junior cartel has decided to compete with a new drug. Although I do like your physiological versus physical addiction idea...."

He grins in a very big smile and addresses Edgal..."Oh, sir you are quite correct on most points. The only one major problem being that with replacements we effectivly have a cut-out and cause as little disruption as possible." He laughs..."but let me detail the revised plan that has formed in my mind..."

He walks up to a simple overhead projector and writes down.

1. Take over small, but profitable Drug Cartel by identifying next in line, replacing them with Realing and then causing "Death" of previous principle.

2. Use exising cash resources of said Cartel to build new industrial produced, tailored drug, as though new principal has decided to compete on a much larger scale

3. Use Realians to take over other selected Cartels in competing drug areas. Then increase low level toxicity effects in those drugs, forcing users from exisitng drug to new tailored drug. Increasing price by market forces, also liquidate assests of said Cartels.

4. Induce drug wars in competing product lines to increase prices, also sell said drug cartels weapons to increase revenue.

"Obviously this plan would be to replace the existing drug markets with a new, less leathel drug while making other drugs socially less acceptable and tolerable by individuals and nations alike. At the same time maintaining enough distance from the whole process so that ourselves are not implicated in any of this..."

Leper X was following the discussion closely. There were a great many secondary factors to be considered here, and fortunately the others had the kind of knowledge about logistical realities and human behavior that the Lepers utterly lacked.

The adaptions included in Leper X's limited model production, however, had included both eidetic memory and hypertrophied intellectual capacity. Leper X was learning quickly. The specifics of the drug design could be delegated to the Leper who called itself 'Polonius.' Polonius was a brilliant neurobiologist with advanced skills in organic chemistry. It would be as well, however, to ensure that the specifications were clear.

"To summarize, then. We seek a drug with minimal physical toxicity, a reliably high level of addictive qualities."

"The drug should be contained in a delivery mechanism which can also carry organic microbots, which can be remotely activated to control the subjects via direct cortical interface."

"How long should this drug's intoxicating effects last at the standard available dosage? And do we wish to include increasing tolerance among its effects, so that users must continually purchase greater amounts in order to achieve the intoxicating effects? And which type of intoxicating effect is desired--somnolent euphoria, or sensory hyperstimulation?"

"It should also be noted that while the basic drug can probably be designed for relatively inexpensive production, the production of highly reliable, individually controllable organic microbots in vast quantities will require both a considerable initial investment in production, and the development of the secondary facilities for tracking and activating individual units and their subjects among the millions of projected users, which will involve some hard engineering adjuncts that are beyond our ability to produce. Although we can certainly prototype the microbots."

"Forgive, please, if these assumptions are naive or ill-informed, but is our goal the production of large quantities of cash in a short period of time, or the longer-term induction of a large corps of controlled individuals for political and/or military action? The two goals include some factors that may pose challenges to reconcile."

[OOC: This has already started? Sh*t. I missed much of it. What happened?]

From the original thread:

He sat at the table. His true identity had long since been forgotten after decades of various disguises. He was a master of his trade and his trade was espionage. His current alias was under the name "Marc Brown," but he prefered to go by the name he was called by from all who knew who him as a person who switched identities every once and a while. He went by Agent Skull.

He wore a mask, however after decades of plastic surgery and wearing realistic face-like masks and wigs, it would be rare for someone to reconize him. Agent Skull had once been a prominent political figure so long ago that it seemed like another lifetime. Now Skull went around, posing as government officials or other important people to get what he wanted. Skull always got what he wanted....

[OOC: If you don't like it, I'll change it or get rid of it. My character has a real name, but he goes by various aliases. In this RP, he goes by his favorite alias, the one that replaced his real name - Agent Skull. Skull's real name will be given later on and it may come to a surprise for those of you who know Nanakaland history from April.]

From the original thread:

Darn, thought Agent Skull. The Sancto officials will be suspicious of the mysterious disappearance of the newly elected Nanakaland ambassador to Sancto and Sancto Minor. I guess I'm going to have to get rid of the Marc Brown alias and come up with a new disguise to gain more power. However, this Illuminati thing might give me enough power so I'll never have to disguse again. I could have power without a disguise - I wouldn't have to keep changing aliases everytime I slip up. I might even go by my real name again. He thought deeper. What is my real name?Agent Skull sat and observed, taking in everything he heard. He didn't say anything, but if he did no one would reconize the voice. Agent Skull had a patch of electronics over his thoat, disguised by skinlike fabric. Skull's voice was totally different than his real one.

((OOC: Let me start by applauding all the original ideas in this thread. Way to go, people! :)

Anyway, Nanakaland, we're basically discussing how to make money via the drug trade now. We have everything from mind-control drugs to clone replicas of drug czars to highly-addictive and pure superdrugs. If you have any ideas, feel free to submit them.))
IC:
Damion and Dawn both watch the others intently. When the subject of nanomachines is mentioned, Dawn chimes in.
"Excuse me, but nanomachines and protein-based biological nanomachines are already widely used in the Resi Corporation, and it would be completely under the radar if we were to produce these mind-control biots in one of our medicinal nanomachine plants, especially if it wasn't based in the homeland, but instead a third-world country that really doesn't have any laws or regulations for corporations. We wouldn't even have to worry about being audited and having the process being discovered then.
"Besides," she added, "as secretary to the CEO, I can keep people out of places, including the mainstream newsmedia. It will be totally unknown to anyone but us."

It may help if I put his bio in this thread:

Source (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2815372#2815372)
Name: ?
Known Aliases: Agent Skull, Mark Brown, Robert Smith
Age: ?
Occupation: ?
Skills: Espionage
Weapons: ?
Bio: Agent Skull is shrouded in mystery. He has gone by so many aliases, it is completely unknown who he really is - or was. Agent Skull won't give anyone the upper hand by knowing anything about him. Authorities in many nations have been after him, but he is a master of disguise, so no one is even hot on his trail. Rumor is that he is working with the shadow organization known as the Illuminati.
Most Recent RP: The Illuminati (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=124296)

Agent Skull smiled. "I know what we can do," he said. "My idea has been done before. However, last time, the people who did it were stupid and did not get international support. I think that we should use illegal drugs to brainwash citizens, take over a nation, and use that nation as our homebase."

Egal glanced at Agent Skull, "I was under the impression that this organisation was covert?"

"Yes it is," Agent Skull replied. "However, we set up a puppet government in the nation we take over. We stay secret and secretly get a free nation to manage as we please."

"Why would we want to do that? It would merely anchor us in one place, which would weaken us. Besides, it costs huge sums of money to run a nation. I see no benefits for us whatsoever."

The illuminati!!! They were in Angels and Demons: by Dan Brown.

I've definitely talked about this book too much today...

"Excuse me, but nanomachines and protein-based biological nanomachines are already widely used in the Resi Corporation, and it would be completely under the radar if we were to produce these mind-control biots in one of our medicinal nanomachine plants, especially if it wasn't based in the homeland, but instead a third-world country that really doesn't have any laws or regulations for corporations. We wouldn't even have to worry about being audited and having the process being discovered then.

"I don't think you quite understand my meaning, Ms. Kradii. When I refer to 'biots,' I am not talking about nanomachines or the nanobots produced by The Resi Corporation. I am referring to a newly developed Guanyan science known as 'biotech,' with which you may or may not be familiar."

A slight smile touched Yabrant's face, "We've certainly been feeding your intelligence people plenty of false information about it. In any case, being the director of Guanyan Black Ops I have full access to the research and facilities for this new technology, and quite a few hidden bases of operations where they could be manufactured en masse." (Besides being Black Ops director, he's insanely rich. The guy personally owns several planets, so he has lots of private space to work with.)

"And seeing as no foreigners are even allowed within Guanyan space, it will be nearly impossible for anyone to learn of it, even if they miraculously leaerned the location of the factories and managed to get in past a trained security staff made up of Black Operations personnel, who by the way are all personally loyal to me."

"Why would we want to do that? It would merely anchor us in one place, which would weaken us. Besides, it costs huge sums of money to run a nation. I see no benefits for us whatsoever."

Agent skull was silent for a moment. That was a good question. He ended up saying, "If it is too costly to run a nation ourselves, then let's set up several shadow governments."

"This organization appears to be headed down the same path the original Illuminati did...and they failed miserably. We need to take baby steps before we attempt to launch into a massive nation grabbing exercise!"

Please ladies and gentlemen, our first goal is to establish a financial footing which is not located in any one particular nation. Nor is attempting to control the world's population through some bio/nano technological means make much sense at the moment. Such actions would alert any decent security apparatus of a new threat.

I sit with such talented individuals, but some of you suffer from a narrow mindedness upon the acquisition of ultimate power in an immediate form. None of you have thought about what mind control entails beyond seizing power....how exactly would you maintain the centrifugal forces pulling apart your new mind empire?"

The noble is seriously wondering about this sudden drive for mass power. To rule directly at such an early stage? Truely some here were addicted to power like any junkie; Wanting more without thinking of the consequences.

"Ah, but that is the beauty of the drug I described, Mr. Whittlebach. I am not as power hungry, nor as foolish as you take me to be. Users of the drug would not become mind-controlled slaves at all. There would be NO immediate effects upon how they acted whatesoever. Their lives would continue normally until we needed to activate them. We need not ever activate them, in fact, so many would live out their lives uninfluenced by the drug's effects. But it leaves the possibility open. I am not speaking of an army of mindless zombies. This is far more subtle than that. It is merely another string we can attach to increase our sphere of influence.

Also, because it would have no effect on their behavior unless we activated them, no one would have cause to suspect the true effect of the drug. A cursory examination of the drug, either chemically or biologically, would show nothing of the hidden effect because Guanyan biotechnology is not a known science to almost any outside of this room, and a typical scan would not notice biotech modifications. This is why I prefer using biotech to Resian nanotechnology."

Leper X was intrigued. The Whittlebach's words made sense, in the Lepers' limited experience, but the Guanyuan seemed to have some kind of technology that could track a single mind from millions of random recipients of a drug, select that and only that mind, activate an organism which seemed to share many of the properties of a microbot, and create an individualized two-way input/output communication stream to control specific actions of that mind, and that mind alone, out of millions.

Possibly some Kastrian technique HE had not yet revealed to the Lepers could accomplish this. But if not, would there be any way at all to adapt such a technology to affect Kastrian physiology? So far the Lepers had had no luck at all in finding a way to affect that apparently-impervious, silicon-based organism. If so, Leper Z should be activated to participate in this project.

Not wishing to distract the conversation, and aware of the limitations of Leper knowledge, Leper X remained silent, waiting to learn more of the potential practicability of such technology.

The voice was a bit icy, "Landgrave Wittelbach, please..." Although it warmed. "As for your ideas on tailored drugs, I think that is a very good second step. After all, we have to spend time, money, and a host of minor details to demonstrate the optimal drug in the qualities of physical addiction, chemical addiciton, production cost, and any additional features. In reality, we need to first have the distribution network and the independent montary resources to build a self contained drug network." He looks around the table...

"I beleive that is a fundemental nessecity. That we maintain a cell structure with each new area we expand in to remove it quickly if the said operation becomes too great a liablity to this Council. Which is why I do not want to have drug production in any nation directly associated with this endevor. However, supplies to make the drug may be produced in our respective nations as needed..."

They had a point. Agent Skull had been silenced after he realized the impractability of such a nation-grab so soon in the Illuminati. Skull would have to get revenge on his enemies later, perhaps through a different plan. What are my enemies, he thought. I forgot about them. Skull was in deep thought for a moment. Ah. President Michael J. Smith of Nanakaland is my biggest enemy - but why? He thought some more. Oh. I should have been President of Nanakaland. He must have cheated. What was my name then? He thought so hard, he strained his brian. I still can't remember. I musn't think so hard.

"Landgrave Whittlebach, we understand the cell structure very well. In fact, the Lepers of the Rebellion use a unique bio-marker to identify themselves to their cellmates and blind contacts. Perhaps this would be a useful technique for our operatives?"

"The bio-markers cannot be duplicated, as each is created as a unit and then devolved into components. The components resonate only with each other, and since each is unique, an attempt to infiltrate by duplicating a marker will not suffice."

"The markers can be accessed through a variety of sensory channels, the simplest one is a small subcutaneous cluster that will glow or pulse when in the presence of its mates. These can be designed for deployment by a wide variety of means."

"Would this be useful?"

He nods to the Leper. "Everything has a usefulness, but on this particular division we are looking at maintaining only a cut out between this body and our puppet drug lord. However, we may later decide to infiltrate the orginization and others at lower levels to maintain a tighter control or instigate problems. If we do this then such a means of identification could be very useful."

He stops are realizes something, "Ah, we have a second item on the agenda...but first have we come to a consensus on our plan?" He points back at the overhead.

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Must ... keep ... RP ... alive ...

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"Clear" Thwank...Wump....

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"120....Clear" Thank....Wump....

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"We're losing it!"

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CLEAR! *BZZZZZZZZZZZT*

[OOC: I'ts not working! There's only one way to save it!]

IC: Agent Skull asked a question. "And how do you expect to get all of these drugs through to the nations?"

[OOC: Everyone, post IC posts that may help reboot this thread!]

Leper X offered diffidently: "If it is not feasible to decentralize production into each targeted nation, we have developed a variety of methods for deconstructing organic materials, which can then be reconstructed via catalysis. We would suggest transporting the substances in deconstructed modality, with the catalysts transported separately."

"Without the catalysts, the materials cannot be reconstructed. This would offer a measure of security in terms of ensuring payment as well. By breaking the delivery sequence into two stages, we can require payment between the two stages. If a particular distributor, ah, declines to provide payment, they are left with piles of useless components."

"The components can be designed to mimic inert and common substances."

OOC: Hmm, well...IC post here...

IC: Wittelbach looked at everyone for a moment and then sighed. "I was going to hijack an existing distribution system in my plan. Although I will say that the proposed modification sounds wonderful. Perhaps we should take a vote on this..."

"Do we all agree to step one of my plan?"

Dawn nodded at this, and Damion simply sat back and watched. He was going to abstain from this vote, just to see how the others thought.

Domin nodded his agreement.

Reston Egal leaned back in his chair, and said, "I abstain from this vote."

"I know a way to sway people's thinking without involving drugs," said Agent Skull after a burst of inspiration. "A while ago, NBC and MSNBC moved their headquarters to Nanakaland. I know. I was there at the time. I had..." He paused. He had just lost elections to President Michael J. Smith when NBC and MSNBC moved to Nanakaland. It was a very close election, the closest in Nanakaland history.

What was my name? he thought again. This time he could remember which name was on the ballot. He could remember his real name! It was Mankana Gan. After losing the elections, he had led a rebellion against Nanakaland and lost. He was presumed dead and fled the country. Skull had spent over a decade under different aliases pretending to have power he almost had under a fair election. He had been posing as government officials from all over the world. He had never mentioned "Mankana Gan" again for fear that he might have been caught if he did. He used "Agent Skull" or other aliases because his identity was ruined. Eventually he had forgotten his true name. Revenge was his, though. He finally had the opporunity for revenge!

"Excuse me," someone said. Agent Skull had forgot that he was in the middle of saying a plan. He had been so careless. Mankana Gan was a lifetime away. Skull was a different person now. He looked different and he acted different. Mankana Gan once wanted a democracy and he was once liberal. After fleeing Nanakaland, his political stance changed. Agent Skull was now authoritarian. He wanted absolute power.

This Illuminati thing is only temporary for me, he thought. I will not settle for partial power. I will one day take revenge on President Smith and take Nanakaland for myself! I want Nanakaland, which is rightfully mine!

"Are you going to finish telling us your plan?" someone else asked. Skull had done it again - too concerned of thoughts to remember to finish speaking his plan.

"Yes," replied Agent Skull. "If we could secretly take over what NBC and MSNBC do, what they broadcast, what they say... then ... then we can eventually take over all of the media. It could be a slow proccess, but it would pay off. We could only show what we want people to see." It was not exactly what Skull wanted to say, but he really wanted to continue thinking. He also needed to devise another plan, one to take over Nanakaland - and it was already in place. Senator Thomas Smith, the President's son was kidnapped in Port Nanaka....

[OOC NOTE: I actually own the puppet nations NBC and MSNBC and am the only nation that RPs NBC reports.]

Wittelbach looks at the described plan and the describer"Very good, except that is not the primary reason for the drug cartel plan. Cash is the primary modivator for this plan. Although the take over would be nice the primary benfica of taking over NBC and MSNBC would be the stock holders...unless we made ourselves the stock holders which whould take considerable cash, even if we were able to devalue the NBC stock price below say five krondor a share, and not it's current sixty five krondor per share." (rough guess of what NBC share price would be if it was an independent company from GE)

The nobleman just shook his head, "I think we should table your idea until we have a cash flow" He just looked around the group and tried to see if there was general agreement. This is the third or fourth time this guy has tried to focus his attentions towards some mechanical manipulation of Nakanland or it's affiliated structures. Who is this man and what exactly is his agenda.

OOC: Yeah! Resi returns.

((OOC: Damn right I am. :wink: ))
IC:
"Excuse me," Damion piped in, "but NBC is small potatoes on the scale of news media. Currently there are two big media sources, CNN and Fox. Almost every nation, including Menelmakar and some Arda nations, use at least one of these stations, and I happen to control CNN. Also, I have sizable influence in Fox, as I hold the power to crash their stock, and they know it. Essentially we have the media base covered, although NBC would be a nice addition. However, it's as big as public access compared to CNN and Fox, so it'll have to take the back burner for a while. Now where were we in our narcotics conversation?"

*Chloe merely nodded.*

Chloe: "I agree with the plan."

*She then looked to Daiman.*

Chloe: "In my country, all human news channels are banned. But, that's not important right now..."

"Agreement with Landgrave Whittlebach appears substantial. Cash is the primary desideratum at this stage, as it will provide the key to all other desiderata, yes?" The black hood dipped in the Landgrave's direction.

"However, our host's point of view would also be valuable." It swivelled in Damion's direction.

The Leper had been intrigued, if somewhat confused, by the discussion of media. There was only one 'channel' of media for the Lepers--that provided by Eldrad the Supreme. And that was focused only on orders, production goals, etc. The Rebellion had unearthed many references to 'media,' however, and it bore further investigation if/when sufficient resources had been generated.

"Thank you...ladies, gentlemen and gentlecreatures...I am glad that my idea meets with approval. May I suggest that we recess for a short period so that I might look into my files and suggest prospective canidate orginizations...If any of you wish to propose an orginization that might fit the qualifications, I would suggest having a breif prospectus of them made up." The nobleman was keeping the leader in his sight as he suggested the break...

OOC: I don't want to hijack this thread so I'm going to oocly try to work out some ideas with Resi...the break idea is more to have everyone start planning the backstabbing etc. Hope that this an acceptable idea. -A+H

::pushes thread downstairs so that it

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BUMPS!

"A short break would be nice," replied Agent Skull. "I agree with the idea for a short recess."

*Chloe nodded, then took her leave of the group, vouching to wait outside the room, in the hallway.*

Chloe: I don't trust most of the others. Humans are too... Unreliable. I will need to replace them with Realians as soon as I can...

*Finding a vending machine, she inserted her credit card into the slot and brought herself a bottle of a lemon-lime flavored soda.*

Chloe: "I wonder what Yumi is doing?"

*Opening the top and leaning against the wall opposite the machine, she quietly sipped her carbinated drink and thought about her niece, her thoughts eventually drifting to how best to replace her co-conspirators in this alliance, and who to start with first.*

Agent Skull started calling his spies on his cell phone.