Kaukolastan
19-07-2004, 02:11
http://69.93.183.37/915/74/upload/p1179902.jpg
Inside the ISA: How it Works
"We are the artists. We mold this society to a prosperous end, we protect it from failure. It is our duty to protect the order which our nation requires, it is our job to craft the meticulous image of civility our people demand. And in turn, we must protect them from themselves. When this mural decays, we must retouch it. When it is cracked, we must repaint it. When neglect threatens to destroy it, we must stop that neglect, and restore this great art."
-ISA Director Anderas Kerrik, before the assassination of Chancellor Fenris
History and Structure -
The Internal Security Agency, commonly called the ISA, is a unique institution. Created by appointed dictator Vizeroth Drak in 1788ce, the ISA was designed to counter the deterioration that had destroyed the Empire, and to preserve the society Drak was building. It proved its usefulness in crushing the Communist uprising, and in the process, gave definition to the then-unheard term, “State Sponsored Terror”. From that point, the ISA demonstrated again and again why it was useful, stopping several wars from even starting, and utilizing its projection power to allow economic and political takeovers without a shot fired. The ISA has kept foreign troops from Kaukolastan’s borders for nearly 300 years, and it has been single-handedly responsible for the rise in power the nation has experienced, as well as orchestrating the Directorate Charter.
Officially, the ISA is a division of the Executive Branch, answering to the sitting Chancellor. In reality, the Chancellors have more often answered to the fourteen Directors who have held post. After all, the ISA vets out candidates for elections, and quietly allows their favored candidate to gain “insider knowledge”, or to sabotage opponents speeches with staged protests. (Nothing malicious, of course, but enough to guarantee that a “valid” Chancellor will attain the rule.) This Chancellor, of course, repays his benefactors with re-validating their charter, and allowing the ISA free run of its business.
The ISA’s business is maintaining the stability of Kaukolastan. Every major election for two hundred years, though conducted “freely”, has been manipulated by the ISA to install successful leaders. The goal of the ISA has never been to grab power, for they already hold that. The only goal of the ISA has been to select good leaders, something a council of high ranking experts is much more qualified to do than the less educated populace. But the ISA does not interfere in everyday life. As a matter of fact, more than 60% of Kaukolastanis will only encounter the ISA in the movies or on the news, as almost all of the actions run are covert. There is an unspoken agreement in Kaukolastan: The public will ignore the ISA’s subverting of democracy, as long as the ISA maintains the precious illusions of freedom, and that it garuantees prosperity. These goals are aligned, for a free, happy populace is a successful populace, and both the general public and the ISA yearn for these goals. In effect, the ISA is tolerated as long as the people are kept sated by the benefits of the omniscient ghost apparatus.
And yet, with all of this power, the ISA has never used its power to oppress the people, or to hoist themselves onto a pedestal. This is fed by the culture of the ISA itself, which is designed to hold itself in check. No one is recruited into the ISA. At the completion of the twelfth grade, when most students embark upon a two year stint of public service, one of the options listed is reads, “Would you be interested in working within the ISA?” Every student who checks this box is then thoroughly vetted. All records of them and their families are exhumed and cross-analyzed. If deemed psychologically capable, physically fit, mentally suited, and loyal, the student is then approached, and offered a chance to enter the ISA. Should the student accept this offer, a series of clandestine tests begin, happening without the subject being aware. By the time the candidate enters the Academy, they are already vetted for at least two hundred man hours of analysis. Only those who truly wish to serve the state are granted access.
From this point, these candidates are tested more and more, being put through immense multi-dimensional tests, many being truly deadly in nature. Should the candidate prove to be fit for service, they are placed through a massive program of psychological programming, designed to create a mentality of dedication. The Agency’s deep mythos and pathos are based upon an almost monastic code of service, sacrifice, and loyalty. As the members rise inside of the agency, these pathos build upon themselves, with each level selecting the most loyal to succeed. Inside of this organization, there are over fifty tiers of state secrets and locked histories, revealed as agents rise in rank. By the time they have attained a Commander rank, they are so thoroughly bred into the ISA code that they become a sort of Paladin of the State, fighting not for any one particular material gain, but for the intangible “Dream of Tomorrow”.
Ranks (see chart)-
All members of the ISA, of less than a C1, can be addressed as Agent. Above that, they are called Commander, until they reach Section Chief or above.
Unlike most martial organizations, there are no clear “officers” and “enlisted” in the ISA. Rather, every member enters at the rank of A1, regardless of whether they possess a college degree or not. As they rise in rank, the ISA provides them with an education, as needed. To attain the rank of C1, the first Commander rank, a degree must be attained, and a Masters is largely expected for C3 and above. However, this is not a scheduled program. Some Agents attain a degree before entering, others in the C2-C3 range, and still others take a sabbatical to receive a degree before accepting a Commander rank.
As such, every member of the ISA has attained every rank below their own, or the rank equivalent. No Operations Commander could not have served in combat, for instance, and no Intelligence Chief could get away with not spending years toiling in a lab, assembling data. In this process, the lower ranks are bonded with the upper, and every ISA member is addressed as an officer.
Also, though the chart shows the promotional paths, the actual deployments are mostly mixed departments. For instance, an analyst team might be deployed to an Operations unit, or an Investigative Agent might work with a DARPA research team. No agent owes loyalty to one commander at any time, but to both their Deployed Commander and to their Department Superiors. This removed the threat of internal power games from the ISA, because the ranks are so entwined and mixed.
However, this has another effect as well as unifying the ISA. This webbing makes the ISA extremely insular and hard to compromise or penetrate. The Agency often acts like a single family, with every member owing loyalty to every other. This was particularly evident when ex-Chancellor Fenris removed Director Kerrik. The entire ISA snapped against him, and he was soon dead, and the Director installed as temporary Chancellor. (Geridan terrorists, of course, were blamed.)
All of this combines to make the ISA an extremely dangerous organization. With its extreme interior loyalty and bonding, added to fanatical dedication to the cause of a better tomorrow for Kaukolastan, and combined with the extreme effectiveness of the members, the ISA becomes less of an organization, and more of an organism. It is truly the guardian of Kaukolastan, and as long as a single piece of the ISA is intact, the Dream will never die.
The Dream of Tomorrow –
Spoken of in smoky corners, this is the ultra-secret mission of the ISA. It is, in effect, the long range plan, laid out by Drak three centuries before, and refined and edited by every Director since, that details the goals of Kaukolastan. The Dream is the reality. The ISA keeps the Dream alive, by keeping the people happy and prosperous. They need not bother with real democracy or strife, because the ISA takes the burden of fighting a million secret wars to maintain the Dream of peace and prosperity.
That is the purpose of the ISA. Not to vanquish one foe, or to stop a bomb, but to maintain a standard of life that is impossible in the real world. The ISA takes upon itself the burden of horrible atrocities, dire gambles, and Byzantine manipulations… all so that no ordinary citizen ever has to experience the feeling of fear. The country is prosperous and free, so long as the ISA runs the puppet show. And the people accept this with little complaint. So long as the Dream remains intact, the illusion will stay, and the ISA will continue to weave their webs while the people slumber.
Inside the ISA: How it Works
"We are the artists. We mold this society to a prosperous end, we protect it from failure. It is our duty to protect the order which our nation requires, it is our job to craft the meticulous image of civility our people demand. And in turn, we must protect them from themselves. When this mural decays, we must retouch it. When it is cracked, we must repaint it. When neglect threatens to destroy it, we must stop that neglect, and restore this great art."
-ISA Director Anderas Kerrik, before the assassination of Chancellor Fenris
History and Structure -
The Internal Security Agency, commonly called the ISA, is a unique institution. Created by appointed dictator Vizeroth Drak in 1788ce, the ISA was designed to counter the deterioration that had destroyed the Empire, and to preserve the society Drak was building. It proved its usefulness in crushing the Communist uprising, and in the process, gave definition to the then-unheard term, “State Sponsored Terror”. From that point, the ISA demonstrated again and again why it was useful, stopping several wars from even starting, and utilizing its projection power to allow economic and political takeovers without a shot fired. The ISA has kept foreign troops from Kaukolastan’s borders for nearly 300 years, and it has been single-handedly responsible for the rise in power the nation has experienced, as well as orchestrating the Directorate Charter.
Officially, the ISA is a division of the Executive Branch, answering to the sitting Chancellor. In reality, the Chancellors have more often answered to the fourteen Directors who have held post. After all, the ISA vets out candidates for elections, and quietly allows their favored candidate to gain “insider knowledge”, or to sabotage opponents speeches with staged protests. (Nothing malicious, of course, but enough to guarantee that a “valid” Chancellor will attain the rule.) This Chancellor, of course, repays his benefactors with re-validating their charter, and allowing the ISA free run of its business.
The ISA’s business is maintaining the stability of Kaukolastan. Every major election for two hundred years, though conducted “freely”, has been manipulated by the ISA to install successful leaders. The goal of the ISA has never been to grab power, for they already hold that. The only goal of the ISA has been to select good leaders, something a council of high ranking experts is much more qualified to do than the less educated populace. But the ISA does not interfere in everyday life. As a matter of fact, more than 60% of Kaukolastanis will only encounter the ISA in the movies or on the news, as almost all of the actions run are covert. There is an unspoken agreement in Kaukolastan: The public will ignore the ISA’s subverting of democracy, as long as the ISA maintains the precious illusions of freedom, and that it garuantees prosperity. These goals are aligned, for a free, happy populace is a successful populace, and both the general public and the ISA yearn for these goals. In effect, the ISA is tolerated as long as the people are kept sated by the benefits of the omniscient ghost apparatus.
And yet, with all of this power, the ISA has never used its power to oppress the people, or to hoist themselves onto a pedestal. This is fed by the culture of the ISA itself, which is designed to hold itself in check. No one is recruited into the ISA. At the completion of the twelfth grade, when most students embark upon a two year stint of public service, one of the options listed is reads, “Would you be interested in working within the ISA?” Every student who checks this box is then thoroughly vetted. All records of them and their families are exhumed and cross-analyzed. If deemed psychologically capable, physically fit, mentally suited, and loyal, the student is then approached, and offered a chance to enter the ISA. Should the student accept this offer, a series of clandestine tests begin, happening without the subject being aware. By the time the candidate enters the Academy, they are already vetted for at least two hundred man hours of analysis. Only those who truly wish to serve the state are granted access.
From this point, these candidates are tested more and more, being put through immense multi-dimensional tests, many being truly deadly in nature. Should the candidate prove to be fit for service, they are placed through a massive program of psychological programming, designed to create a mentality of dedication. The Agency’s deep mythos and pathos are based upon an almost monastic code of service, sacrifice, and loyalty. As the members rise inside of the agency, these pathos build upon themselves, with each level selecting the most loyal to succeed. Inside of this organization, there are over fifty tiers of state secrets and locked histories, revealed as agents rise in rank. By the time they have attained a Commander rank, they are so thoroughly bred into the ISA code that they become a sort of Paladin of the State, fighting not for any one particular material gain, but for the intangible “Dream of Tomorrow”.
Ranks (see chart)-
All members of the ISA, of less than a C1, can be addressed as Agent. Above that, they are called Commander, until they reach Section Chief or above.
Unlike most martial organizations, there are no clear “officers” and “enlisted” in the ISA. Rather, every member enters at the rank of A1, regardless of whether they possess a college degree or not. As they rise in rank, the ISA provides them with an education, as needed. To attain the rank of C1, the first Commander rank, a degree must be attained, and a Masters is largely expected for C3 and above. However, this is not a scheduled program. Some Agents attain a degree before entering, others in the C2-C3 range, and still others take a sabbatical to receive a degree before accepting a Commander rank.
As such, every member of the ISA has attained every rank below their own, or the rank equivalent. No Operations Commander could not have served in combat, for instance, and no Intelligence Chief could get away with not spending years toiling in a lab, assembling data. In this process, the lower ranks are bonded with the upper, and every ISA member is addressed as an officer.
Also, though the chart shows the promotional paths, the actual deployments are mostly mixed departments. For instance, an analyst team might be deployed to an Operations unit, or an Investigative Agent might work with a DARPA research team. No agent owes loyalty to one commander at any time, but to both their Deployed Commander and to their Department Superiors. This removed the threat of internal power games from the ISA, because the ranks are so entwined and mixed.
However, this has another effect as well as unifying the ISA. This webbing makes the ISA extremely insular and hard to compromise or penetrate. The Agency often acts like a single family, with every member owing loyalty to every other. This was particularly evident when ex-Chancellor Fenris removed Director Kerrik. The entire ISA snapped against him, and he was soon dead, and the Director installed as temporary Chancellor. (Geridan terrorists, of course, were blamed.)
All of this combines to make the ISA an extremely dangerous organization. With its extreme interior loyalty and bonding, added to fanatical dedication to the cause of a better tomorrow for Kaukolastan, and combined with the extreme effectiveness of the members, the ISA becomes less of an organization, and more of an organism. It is truly the guardian of Kaukolastan, and as long as a single piece of the ISA is intact, the Dream will never die.
The Dream of Tomorrow –
Spoken of in smoky corners, this is the ultra-secret mission of the ISA. It is, in effect, the long range plan, laid out by Drak three centuries before, and refined and edited by every Director since, that details the goals of Kaukolastan. The Dream is the reality. The ISA keeps the Dream alive, by keeping the people happy and prosperous. They need not bother with real democracy or strife, because the ISA takes the burden of fighting a million secret wars to maintain the Dream of peace and prosperity.
That is the purpose of the ISA. Not to vanquish one foe, or to stop a bomb, but to maintain a standard of life that is impossible in the real world. The ISA takes upon itself the burden of horrible atrocities, dire gambles, and Byzantine manipulations… all so that no ordinary citizen ever has to experience the feeling of fear. The country is prosperous and free, so long as the ISA runs the puppet show. And the people accept this with little complaint. So long as the Dream remains intact, the illusion will stay, and the ISA will continue to weave their webs while the people slumber.