Creating a Cell

It has rapidly become possible for a small group of knowledgeable and skilled individuals to create chaos, wreak havoc, destabilize, and potentially destroy what is currently referred to as 'Western Civilization.'
Michael Wilson, The Precipice Problem

"OK, we are all in agreement then. Let's do it."
The program was camouflaged as a spreadsheet installation program. While the others watched Roland went through a sequence of apparently normal choices and settings, ending up with a new dialogue on the screen. Cell Installation. This will install a new cell into the Concordat. Please enter relevant information below. They argued for a while about a name for their cell, settling for Loki's Matrix. Roland entered the nyms of their sponsors, and together with the others composed a description of the cell and what it planned to be.

Is this information correct? Y/N "Everybody? Yes."

On the net keys were silently exchanged and authentifications compared. Messages passed through devious channels to reach hidden systems, telling them about a new nym, checking its integrity. The systems of their sponsors' gave their virtual approval. Finally, a message returned from the hidden depths of SubNet: Installation successful. Welcome to the Concordat!

"We're committed. No backing out now. "

Just as characters are individually created, the cell must also be described and created. This is best done by having the Coordinator and players go through a kind of Dialogue after finishing the characters.

However, it is a good idea to start out first (before even starting with the characters) by discussing what kind of game the participants are interested in. The Coordinator might have a fairly fixed setting (perhaps a high-stakes political thriller in Beijing), and then the characters should fit it, or the Coordinator might be open for suggestions from the players about what kind of game to run. Ideally everybody agrees on the basics; the details are left for later.

When creating the cell it is a good time to determine how the characters first met unless it was dealt with in their individual Dialogues, as well as what their shared goals are. Here are some useful questions about the cell:

How was it founded, and by whom? Is it an established cell, a cell created from scratch or has it budded off from a parent cell?
What is its name?
What is its goals?
How did the PCs join - did they found it or were they recruited, or even tracked the cell down to apply for membership?
What is its history?
What is its current credibility in the Concordat? Its reputation?
When it joined the Concordat, the cell was sponsored by two other cells. Who were the sponsors? How are they related to the cell?
Who are the cell's main friends and enemies?
How much does the cell know about the InfoWar, the Concordat and other things?
How is the cell organized internally? Is it an adhocracy, a democracy or hierarchy? How is access to the cell's nym and IOUs managed? Can individuals use them freely, or do they have to seek permission from each other?
What is the cell doing right now? What plans does it have for the future?

In some sense, the cell is a kind of character on its own, with its reputation, contacts, gifts and faults. No two cells in the Concordat are similar; they are just as individual as people.