On the path we've chosen, we have to be more professional, more ambitious than anyone else! Nobody said it would be easy to reach sanctuary.
Sanctuary
Needless to say the Knights are hunted by several powerful groups, especially Genentech and TransLife Corporation, from which they have copied sensitive research files and generally hindered, as well as the European Genome Oversight Organization. They are controversial inside the Concordat too, since several groups claim the Knights are stealing intellectual property, but they also have support by a large contingent who points out that the genetics corporations have already claimed genes that don't belong to them.
The Knights are secretive, but their official spokesnym is DNight, who sometimes appears in Concordat virtuals as a knight in black medieval armor. DNight is known as a fierce debater and skilled diplomat, although it is likely that there are several people behind the nym.
UII has permanent virtual offices at the Market (where they also maintain some of the transaction archives), complete with helpful agent secretaries and marketers.
Where there is love of medicine, there is love of humankind.Atoll is one of the most famous underground hospitals in the Concordat. It is reputed to score well even compared with the largest legit clinics, employing several world-class specialists and using state of the art technology (including medical nanotechnology and advanced gene therapy). Its researchers are extremely influential among the biohackers and UA; to many Atoll is a nearly mythical place of medical perfection.
Hippocrates
The truth is somewhat more modest, even if Atoll still is quite impressive. The hospital has no fixed location, but is usually somewhere in California -- or anywhere else. Much of the equipment is simply nanofabricated whenever a new location is set up. The essential hospital equipment (MCs, feedstock and larger medical devices such as MRI scanners and telepresence rigs) can be fit into a trailer; packing/unpacking it can be done in a few hours and if Atoll needs to escape much can be left behind.
The medical specialists work virtually: they are never present in the clinic. They access it through telepresence equipment from somewhere else, giving them total anonymity and safety (they can in principle operate anywhere the equipment is set up).
The real strength of Atoll is the tightly knit personnel, a central team of medical specialists and several associated teams of engineers, researchers and interfacers. The cell has no problem hiring the best people for research, security and getting supplies; most of the people involved deal with Atoll through the net and never encounter the physical equipment or any members. In fact, several of the research and interface teams only work together virtually, making them almost completely untraceable.
One reason for Atoll's mystique is its secrecy. Nobody knows its whereabouts, usually not eben the patients themselves, nobody knows anything about the members other than their Nyms (usually names of pacific islands). The spokesperson for the group, "Dr Jaluit", has immense prestige and is a well-known diplomat and mediator; everybody listens to his/her advice or comments on the rare occasions he/she makes it official on SubNet.
Wisdom is the wealth of the wise.Alexandria is officially a virtual organization seeking to create a free "universal library", a database containing all the essential knowledge of humanity accessible for all. Their vision is a net- accessible database containing all the classic literature and art, but most importantly all the necessary information in science, economics, history and technology; they want to create the universal library and distribute it to guarantee that whatever happens civilization will never loose its greatest treasures. To this end they gather public domain texts, employ people to write suitable information, education materials and translate into a variety of languages.
Ecclesiasticus
Alexandria is actually a partial cover for a cell in the Underground Academy that is indeed involved in building the universal library, but also the "universal manual" and maintaining the Concordat databases. The Manual is a database containing all the nanodesigns, genetic structures or devices that have been released onto the Net, as well as a lot of other research or technical information from the UA. One of its most interesting side-projects is a history of the Concordat; since most cells are secretive about themselves (for security reasons) and the Concordat has emerged as a gradual coalition this project is extremely tricky. Alexandria also maintains huge archives of discussions on SubNet, records of transactions and archived Memory Palaces. To this end they maintain several hidden file servers, most likely hidden across the world or in legit university systems.
Alexandria might be an idealistic organization that allows people to browse most of its files for free, but it makes a tidy profit in the information finding and management field; for a payment it can usually dig up references from its huge databases of tremendous value, and many members are excellent cybrarians.
The Ghosts are often hired as instructors and advisers to other Concordat groups but sometimes they are involved in direct small scale operations and even open warfare in some rare occasions. The Ghosts do not operate as a regular army, they often use small scale operations even in direct warfare, all soldiers are well- educated specialists and shareholders of the regiment. The degree of technical knowledge required on a modern battlefield is enormous, losses in personnel are very costly, equipment can always be replaced. But the FOG armies still have the 20th century philosophy, especially in the crazed dictator states: force millions of poorly trained and educated young men into a bureaucratic, dictatorial hierarchy give them antiquated and bad equipment and shove them out on the battlefield under poor management and lousy leadership. Losses are always replaceable, humans are for free! That's why the Ghosts are so successful in Third World warzones, a few Ghosts can defeat an entire African army.
The Ghosts have invested in a Mark II MC and other nano equipment which means that they even don't have to bring truckloads with equipment with them. A few raw materials and the Ghosts can build a base camp complete with tanks, artillery, jeeps, computers and aircraft in a matter of days. They can infiltrate enemy territory unarmed and be an effective strike-force before the army has even finished to mobilize. The Ghosts don' t need to have many higher ranking officers, it is better to give greater responsibilities to well- respected, well- educated and experienced NCOs and to have one or two commissioned officers that manage high- level strategical questions and overview on the battlefield.
Other groups regard the Kommando as a bit of a fringe group but they always pay good for services they require in their struggle and they do not break the Concord without paying generous compensations and explaining the philosophical reasons for their actions. The Kommando also contains some of the best interfacers and hackers in Europe and many Concordat members use their bank.
It is the international system of currency which determines the vitality of life on this planet. That is the natural order of things today. That is the atomic and subatomic and galactic structure of things today! And you have meddled with the primal forces of nature!This American Concordat cell has specialized in forging Credcards and printing play money. To increase the number of play money in circulation is part of their economic warfare against the "legal" counterfeiter, the FOG. To make paper currency is quite easy with a Matter Compiler (they have released recipes for low-value bills into the public domain; for making serious amounts of play money they provide a meterware recipe). They often cooperate with the BCCS and Kommando Ragnar D.Skjöld's banks.
Mr. Jensen, Network
The five dragons are very slow and cautious to use their power. They know that the region is dangerously unstable, or are they perhaps gathering their forces for something? The cell is very secretive even for the Concordat and various legends about its origin have appeared on the SubNet: everything from 15th century Buddhist monks over exiled Guomindang (Chinese nationalist party) officers to Macao-Portugese hackers have been mentioned as founders. The dragons just smile when they are presented with such theories, and continue with their mysterious work.
