SI:9

SI:9 is Munijoch's intelligence and government experimentation agency. They operate independent from the government in terms of leadership, and frequently step over boundaries to procure intelligence. Wearing an all black suit with dark red tinted sunglasses, the agents can be seen prior to important events. Conspiracy theories allege that the agency frequently experiment on various subjects using the mineral Verium, as well as use The Infinite Engine to augment minds, with often disastrous results. As a result, the agency is rumored to have struck a deal with the Nightwardens in an effort to guard the prisoners in exchange for confident secrecy from multiple international government agencies.

Most experiments conducted remain secret, however the agency has been known to openly release subjects back into the world, dispose of them, or place them in stasis holding. This has drawn ire by other countries for Munijoch's dabbling into what is called "magic" under the guise of experimentation.

Notable agents include I04, speculative head of the Intelligence division within the agency, along with A01, B01, and Z01.

Formation
In 1982, the previous leader of the WhiteBloods (and in turn, Munijoch), Lance Vurden, ordered the creation of an organization to finally purge the land of all magic, an effort that was 70 years in the making. Per the recommendation of Mark Yslenski, Lance created the organization to both capture, experiment, and keep specimens coined "subjects" to study their effects to exposure to the WhiteBlood's magic, along with the "heretical" magic that is also imprisoned in their "vault," in keeping with the deal with the Nightwardens. When Mark Yslenski became the Omnipotent Blood, he restructured SI:9 as an experimentation and government agency with orders to both keep the security of the WhiteBloods intact and to research into the artifacts kept in the Nightwardens' vault, performing any experimentation involving them if necessary.

First Experiments
One of the first sets of experiments conducted was the Letter Project, a project involving 26 procured subjects that have been conditioned and trained for their entire lives within the vault. When they turned 18, they were sent on government missions to scout or quell uprisings. While part of the tests were in fact to test combat and reconnaissance abilities, the missions had a secondary function: testing sudden exposure to background level radiation from a mostly radiation-free environment (save for minute emissions). Those that succumbed to the effects of the sudden onset of radiation were placed into a stasis within the Nightwarden's vault. This experiment ended in 1995, however, when the agency decided that the experiment proved that mass-conditioning can be mostly successful.

Running parallel to this experiment was the Binary Tests, an experiment involving the potential of infusing a computer with magic to better perform tasks. While such experiment was deemed a failure, the test yielded the discovery for several metals to theoretically "copy" the effects of an artifact, albeit with a reduced effect, and replicate the same effects.

Second Munijoch Civil War
In an effort to preserve experiments and artifacts, SI:9 received instructions to keep any and all subjects within the vault for fear of the rebellion using the subjects or artifacts as weapons against the WhiteBloods. The Nightwardens, happy to oblige, guarded them, yet frequently received orders to release the subjects deemed fit to be integrated to society. This included the Alphabet Squadron, a group of 26 genetically enhanced subjects with the ability to withstand various forms of punishment, with rumors of them all being clones of each other. In addition to releasing subjects, the WhiteBlood SI:9 frequently withdrew experimental weapons, such as electric C'Huatals (spinning axes) and various magical weaponry deemed too dangerous to use regularly for the government to use in their last stand.

In addition, the agency, despite being ordered not to interfere, decided to interfere. Their tactics involved the assassination of agents through field manipulation technology, yet such assassinations led to their defeat due to the malfunction of a field implant. After being forced to cooperate, the agent led them to their headquarters, and the rebels took control of SI:9, shortly before the end of the civil war.

Agent Augmentation
Following studies in the field of quantum fields and energy manipulation, SI:9 discovered a method of augmenting light particles to create a force field that obscured the immediate field around the agent. This also enabled the agent to charge their immediate fields with other forms of electromagnetic radiation, from radio jammers to an EMP meant to disable electronics. After multiple trials, in 1998, an implantable device, coined "The Mirror," finished laboratory trials and began implantation in all active and future agents. While the government initially objected to these augmentations, Mark Yslenski realized the true potential that agent augmentations can provide. Following the success of The Mirror, the agency began to explore other ways to manipulate fields of energy to give their agents an edge. Short of tearing a hole through reality after an accidental burst of Infinite Engine energy, the agency found a way to mass-teleport a group of agents, or a single agent, anywhere they deem necessary through the use of corresponding reflecting satellites.

Personnel
SI:9 operates similar to a hive mind: everyone speaks for everyone, and everyone has a job to do. Agents are instructed to avoid giving compromising information whenever possible, even if it means initiating a potentially lethal emergency direct teleport to an undisclosed location. Most agents are referred to by a number, a letter or Greek symbol, or a simple title. Each agent carries three cards of identification at any given moment of time, each different, in case someone attempts to steal their identity. All agents are required to wear a black, Kevlar laced suit with PULSE energy contact points connecting it from the jacket to the pants and belt, where a tiny reactor is stored to act as a power plant for the agent's gadgets.

With the exception of computer technicians, all agents are expected to be fully versed in military science, strategy, combat, and espionage, with an option for an added skill to complement any, which is up to the agent to choose. All agents are also expected to be knowledgeable in all weaponry from all countries, with the ability to arm, disarm, assemble, disassemble, and re-purpose them to fit an assignment. While not necessary, an agent can also petition to be placed undercover to act as an information source, although the agency discourages higher-level agents from doing so due to the potential for compromise.

Transportation
Most agents teleport relatively short distances from the headquarters if espionage is a priority. If the opposing target is an enemy, a more primitive source of transportation, such as a blacked-out, stealthy sedan, gets utilized. For flights, most agents opt for sonic jets to quickly traverse the region, usually with other agents in tow. Helicopters, while loud, also see action due to their usefulness in almost all situations. Rumors of a massive SI:9 ship, codenamed Black Octagon, are rampant in the government due to missing funds for the agency, yet the agency vehemently denies this due to the potential ramifications of an SI:9 space-capable vessel.

Like most workers, agents are expected to commute to the headquarters. Unlike other workers, however, they are required to board "black-buses" that only stop when a signal is given to the autonomous driver. These buses, which are bullet-proof, anti-reflective, and potentially capable of flight, are meant to protect the SI:9 agents from any harm that may come to them.

Equipment
SI:9 utilizes all forms of PULSE weaponry, both experimental, stable and unstable. Their resources are seemingly unlimited, as they frequently make purchases in the billions of Grams. All agents are equipped with a PULSE Handgun, PULSE Boots, a miniature PULSE Reactor, bulletproof suits, a frequency finder, a communication device, holo-glasses, and a survival kit. With direct access to the Infinite Engine, SI:9 is able to directly experiment and utilize it to assist the agency or hurt enemies.

Their computer systems utilize an Artificial Intelligence system based on the Chipguin protocol, with multi-layer encryption, multi-stage air gap networking, anti-acoustical equipment modifications, proprietary ports, and quantum computational security systems to cross check, verify and confirm all information being sent between the server and the user. At their end of life, they disintegrate all electronics, place their ashes in a capsule, and prepare it to be sent to deep space due to the potential risk of matter reconstitution.

Hackers that have been found out by SI:9 rarely make it out with their knowledge of the system intact due to techniques used by SI:9 to erase recent memories, known as quasi-photon dispersion cyclic exposure.

Unofficial Mottos
Many agents typically agree on the agency having a motto, yet cannot agree on which suits it better. For example, a good portion says the motto, "What we see is what you can't," characterizes the agency quite well. Others suggest that "Already twenty steps ahead in all directions" suits it better. Some agents in higher positions affirm that the motto "We spy on your cup holders" gives a very accurate depiction of the agency's true purpose. To settle this argument, a contest is held every year to determine which motto the agency shall internally use, with the winning motto being placed on all official internal documents.

Cryptography
The agency uses a proprietary, self-confirming cryptographic key, one that involves the usage of prime numbers, along with the old-fashioned usage of a code book, stored on an agents implant, to receive and send encoded documents or messages. One of the few public things the agency does, in fact, is openly hold challenges to determine who can attempt to decrypt a document with a voucher for a million Grams. This cryptography, used by almost all levels of the agency, only represents a quarter of the cryptographic encryption done by the agency to maintain secrecy.

In addition to creating their own encryption methods, SI:9 also functions as a cryptographic research institute, another of the agency's public outreach efforts. Their office, located in the City of Progress, allows citizens to contribute either their electronic devices or their brains to assist in decrypting various encryptions, cryptographic alphabets, or codes, with the potential for them to get a job within the agency as an analyzer. To maintain secrecy and security, the decrypting is done through a multi-layered air gap server with no connection the outside world beyond USB connections, loaded as well with a read-only old-school cartridge. The actual institution is located in a Faraday cage to prevent transmission of signals.

Usage of Runes
With the establishment of SI:9 based primarily around the research of The Infinite Engine and the usage of magic in Munijoch, it is no surprise that SI:9 has a vast knowledgebase of the intricacies surrounding Runes, as well as its potential usage. Most buildings are covered at some corner with these runes, often unable to be understood and largely ignored as meaningless design elements. The inscriptions, as they're called, actually have a purpose. For example, the inscription can create a barrier surrounding the building unbeknownst to the passerby. Or, the bus used to transport agents could have the exact same inscriptions in a different usage. Likewise, weaponry like knives can have inscriptions to electrocute someone. As a whole, this interest in the usage of Runes greatly skyrocketed following the partnership with the Nightwardens taking full effect.

Integration of Runes with Modern Technology
SI:9 is especially interested in using these advancements in the creation of magical, mass-produced weapons. They have researched heavily into the creation of a "universal inscription" for all the runes to abide by, and have, so far, made sufficient progress for basic application. The pinnacle of their technology is often given to the departmental heads. In addition to this, they are also striving for the complete compatibility of their inscriptions with "natural" ones, or those that derive themselves directly from the rune's natural energy flow being traced by the first practitioners of it. Their ultimate goal is the integration of the Infinite Engine with a rumored ship, Black Octagon, in order to properly obtain power for it.

Notable Members of the Agency

 * I04: Operative I04 leads the intelligence sector of the agency, and has also contributed to many international operations for various organizations and purposes. Most notably, he resolved several internal conflicts within the agency, and kept the agency safe from hostile takeover during The Frosian War.
 * a6: a6 is a member of the secretive alpha Squadron, speculated to be recruitees that have been brainwashed to be in support of the agency unconditionally. a6 is frequently seen with I04, their purported superior.
 * Z01: Leader of the Z-Sector, dealing with magic. She is a figure of note due to their similar appearance to many other people in old photographs.