The Competition According to the Company
Well, remember when you were a child and were afraid of Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies and the Boogie Man? You were right to be - and you should be afraid of them today, because they all exist, and many more that would shatter the mind of the average citizen were the full truth to be known. We have evidence fitting commonly held scientific theory to explain the existence of some of these creatures - but only some. For those, well, the Lab Rats will fill your head with all kind of pseudo, or should we say, meta-scientific theory, but that doesn't stop these critters from eating the brains out of John Q Public or causing havoc. That's where you come in. We know you haven't taken the full plunge, and there's a lot we can't tell you - but we'll let you know what you need to in order to survive out there and do your job. Your job is Field Agent, basically a glorified point-man or scout- find out what's going on and then contact your controller and let them make the call. Never feel embarrassed at calling for help, better that then dead. So here's a brief run-down on the Bad Guys.
1. The Greys. Yep, they're real. The Greys are the aliens you read about in the supermarket tabloids. Most of the rumors about them are lies spread by the Company to keep society looking the other way. They Greys do not come in peace; they are cold-hearted, malicious, and consider humans to be little more than semi-useful cattle. We don't know how long they've been here, but we know they've been active in Human affairs at least from 1947, and believe it was one of their craft malfunctioning that caused the 1908 Tunguskta blast in Siberia based on records recovered from the Soviet Union over the last 50 years. The Greys are physically and mentally superior to Humans, and possess strong telepathic abilities and advanced technology. We think their numbers are few, perhaps they've even been trapped here, and have resorted to manipulating human society through their mental powers, implanting "Brainsucker" parasites into human hosts for more direct control, or by cutting deals with less scrupulous members of humanity, like Majestic-12. As far as we know, the Greys can disguise themselves as human enough to pass cursory examination, reinforced by telepathic powers - but they seem adverse to doing to, perhaps they don't like wearing human clothes. The war with the Greys is a guerilla conflict, raging in the streets and alleyways of the world's major cities. They have advantages in technology and guile, and are sneaky as hell - they are a sinister presence in our midst, from the steaming alleys of Bangladesh to the gleaming boardroom tables of Wall Street. We know that they have been conducting experiments on humans for decades. Not sure why, the Lab Rats think that perhaps they've been enhancing themselves with human DNA, the last Grey body we brought back had human DNA entangled with alien DNA - some sort of hybrid. They may be affiliated with another race of aliens, as if one weren't enough there are more, called the "Reptons" by one source in MJ-12. May not be reliable, but they may indeed exist.
2. Reptons: Our scant evidence indicates they are a race of reptilian aliens, grey like their friends the Greys, with vestigial wings, telepathy, advanced technology, the whole package. We don't know what they're doing here, but it ain't to sight-see. If they are to be found with humans, our guess is at Area-57. Never heard of it? Not surprised, Area-51 is a front. Yeah, the US Government does some fancy research there, but Area-57 in the Toros mountains is where the real action is.
3. Brainsuckers: These parasitic slug-like designer creatures are here courtesy of our friends the Greys. It's pretty obvious why we call them that - they burrow their way into the body, or enter through an orifice and set up shop, sending tendrils throughout the body of the host. They burrow these into the brain and wrap around the nervous system, making the host little more than a puppet or zombie. They also have some surprising powerful telepathic powers, they only work at short range, but watch out. A Brainsucker can even keep its host body functioning after its dead - yes, like the one encountered in New Mexico. You'd be surprised how long a host zombie can live among normal humans and not be pegged. Generally, the guy looks a little sick, might lose a bit of weight, and perhaps stops showing up at work or chatting with friends. It depends on the Brainsucker, how it takes to the host, and what it's mission is. The Greys have used these things to take control of people, public officials or influential people for extended periods of time before the host dies - other times they do it just to cause the sorts of violence rampages that make the evening news, and make society fray at the edges. They've been used in some big jobs - Kennedy, for example. No, a Brainsucker didn't control Oswald - but it did control Giancomo and order Kennedy's death after he initiated the Apollo program and told the Greys to take a hike. Brave man, that Kennedy.
4. Cthulhu Mythos Entities (CMEs) and Creatures: These guys have been around longer than the Greys, and their influence seems mostly to have been felt during recorded human history through human dupes and allies. How much longer? Well, we're still learning, but its a lot longer - try a few hundred million years. The first evidence we have of these entities outside of information gleaned from various Cthulhu Cultist sources (books, HUMINT, etc.) is a fossil entity, tentatively identified as an "Elder One" in a pre-Cambrian rock formation in Australia along with an unidentifiable tool fragment of an alloy we don't even have the ability to identify. It looks like these guys set up shop, and then another group led by a powerful psionic entity known as "Cthulhu" showed up and they had a war. We think this led to the Permian Event which killed off most life of the day, leading eventually to the rise of more complex critters like the dinosaurs, humans, that sort of thing. We're not sure, but it looks like they may have gone at it several times, including the Big Rock that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Maybe we oughta thank 'em for clearing out the competition for us mammals, just kidding. We could be next. You folks may run into these guys, their followers or allies - Delta Green was founded for that, but has been a great help with the Greys as well. The CMEs and the Greys might be connected, not sure. According to the records we've recovered from Cthulhu Cultists(CCs), there is a whole raft of baddies out there that are able to directly manifest her, or have influence on Earth from other dimensions, or who have set up shop here. Other dimensions? Yep, those exist too. The CCs want to release these entities to gain power here on Earth, though more likely it would mean the end of humanity. Here's a run-down in brief on the main players we know about in the Cthulhu area:
a. Cthulhu: One of the top baddies, lost the war with the "Elder Ones and "Elder Gods." He's what's called a "Great Old One," and from what we understand he is actually either imprisoned on Earth, or in a pocket dimension accessible from Earth. We know that he is a powerful psionic entity who has the ability to influence and even control humans from his prison, and his servitor races like the Deep Ones. Cthulhu has not manifested itself physically, if it does it could be a Real Bad Thing, but has manifested powerful psionic projections that can take on form and substance - like in 1922 when it sunk the steamer Wampanoag in the South Pacific. It is evidently imprisoned in the city of "R'leyh," perhaps in the Pacific where the steamer saw its psionic projection. More than any of the CM Entities, Cthulhu is worshipped by humans around the world and has had the most impact on human affairs. Its "dreams," if you will, have spawned cults from Greenland to Africa, to China. His cult tends to be strongest among uncivilized or stagnant cultures, often in isolated regions. It is most pervasive among cultures who make their living from the sea, and most of the Cthulhu Cults teach that there will come a day when Cthulhu will rise from "watery R'leh" and he and his servants will rampage across the globe and sieze ultimate power. To his worshippers he is known by many names, but mostly a variation of his name, like "T'ulu," or "Cthu-tu," and the like. May be the "Kraken" of ancient myth.
b. Azatoth: Ringleader of the Great Old Ones or "Outer Gods," blind and mindless, it exists in what the CCs call the center of the universe. It seems to manifest as raw energy, a seething mass of nuclear energy accompanied by inhuman musical tones or screams.
c. Dagon: Evidently a servant of Cthulhu, and god king of the Deep Ones, Dagon was worshipped by the Phillistines and is a tough, ornery, 10-meter tall Deep One.
d. Hastur: Dwells in the "lake of Hali," in what we interpret to be an ammonium lake on a gas giant or ice-locked world in what we believe to be Aldeberan. We're not sure how it influences humans here on Earth, perhaps it can travel or send servants through dimensional wormholes or teleportation. This dangerous entity can manifest an image of itself on Earth - if it were to fully manifest, yep, it would be a Real Bad Thing. One of its servant races is called the "Byakhee." The "Tcho-Tcho" peoples of the Himalayas were known to have worshipped Hastur, but are thought to have been wiped out by Mao Tse-Tung in the 1960s.
e. Ithaqua: Known as Wendigo, the Wind Walker by Native Americans, this entity appears to have been a powerful servant or ally of Cthulhu and was not fully physically imprisoned. "Spells," or psionic tools, can be used to summon Ithaqua and has been used by CCs to gain power. It stalks the cold wastes of the far North, hunting for the souls/life force of lone travelers. It is worshipped by a few cultists and isolated tribes in the Artic Circle.
f. Nyarlathotep: This CME appears to be the "messenger" of the CMEs, and is the only fully free CME that we are aware of. Also known as the "Crawling Chaos," Nyarlathotep is the only Outer God with anything approaching what could be seen to be reason or individuality. It can assume nearly any form, but most commonly appears as beautiful man/woman with pure ebon skin, or as a hideous three-legged behemoth with hideous claws and a single blood-red tentacle instead of a face - any takers on which is its real form? Didn't think so. It is very powerful, very intelligent, and because it can communicate directly humans it has the greatest following of any CME outside of Cthulhu himself.
g. Tsathoggua: A giant toad-like bi-pedal entity said to have the ears of a bat and eyes like glowing red coals. It appears to have been worshipped by the Anderrsen Glacier culture, a proto-human culture discovered beneath the ice cap in Greenland. It has had dealings with cultists throughout history, apparently granting powers/wishes in exchange for their service. It is apparently less malicious than other CMEs, often ignoring human contact altogether. It is guarded by some beings called "Formless Spawn," that the Company has little intel on.
h. Servants/Lesser Beings: We know of the Deep Ones, Byakhee, Elder Ones, Shoggoths, Ghouls, Serpent Men and the Mi-Go.
i. Deep Ones: An amphibian humanoid race that may have been bred by the Outer Gods from humans, since its genes are almost 99% compatible with human genes, and they can in fact interbreed with humans. They are squat, powerful creatures who dwell in cities built deep under the sea. What few cities have been discovered were destroyed by the US Navy during the 1920s, and in another program in the 1960s. The Deep Ones have been known to set up half-breeds in isolated sea-side communities as fronts to obtain whatever they may want from humanity. They have little in the way of what we would term technology, but do possess spells and other psionic tools and powers. They worship Cthulhu and are ruled by Dagon.
ii. Byakhee: Not much is known of these creatures other than that they seem to have the ability to transport themselves through space-time in the service of Hastur. They have an insect-like bulbous torso, two legs and arms with vicious claws, wings, and massively jawed, toothy mouths.
iii. Elder Ones: An independent race, we believe, who may have warred with the Outer Gods, or perhaps with other unknown aliens. First discovered as ancient fossil remains, a partial corpse was recovered by an expedition in 1924 to Antartica. They are shaped like a barrel, with a cluster of five tentacles with eyes at the tips on the top of the body, fragile-looking wings, and tentacle-like feet on the bottom of the body. They may be extinct, but the autopsy performed in the 1920s, as well as recent examinations, show that it could survive in deep ocean environments.
iv. Shoggoths: Amoeba-like masses of sentient protoplasm that can spawn limbs, eyes, and tentacles at will from its shiny bubble-like blob-body. Related to the Elder Ones somehow, they are nasty customers. Seldom encountered, but smart and hard to kill. Call for back-up if you meet one.
v. Ghouls: A race we're still trying to puzzle out. These powerful humanoid beings have hoof-like feet, strong rubbery limbs and an overall canine cast to their features. Sightings of them may have led to some Werewolf/vampire tales - though those guys exist too. We're short on resources, but they appear to dwell in and around human cemeteries scavenging off of the dead. They may be a degenerate offshoot of humanity as evidenced by the few Ghoul remains recovered from theur burrows. They have psionic spell-tools related to the CMEs, but do not appear to worship any particular CME. We also believe they have an extradimensional travel capability to or through something known as the "Dreamlands," a parallel universe. Anything you could find out about this would be useful. The Ghouls seem to be reclusive and want to be left alone - which we would be more than happy to do if they'd stop snatching people and ripping their guts out.
vi. Serpent Men: Perhaps also the source of the "Repton" sightings, they appear to be a race of reptilian beings resembling upright snakes with two arms and legs. They are scaled and hairless, their limbs end in taloned hands and feet, and they have tails. Genetic evidence left from an encounter with the Serpent Men appears to show that they are terrestrial in origin, though we can't say if they evolved from a ophidian/raptor-like dinosaur, or were bred by the CMEs. They don't appear to have any particular CME allegiance, worshipping something called "Yig." Ancient Semitic texts refer to what may have been a city of theirs called "Irem" in the Mid-East, but we have yet to find it. We don't know much about them or their motives.
vii. Mi-Go: Really don't know much about these aliens either - and it drives our planners crazy. They've been spotted in the Appalachians, Andes, and other remote mountain regions, and resemble a sort of freakish giant insect with an eyeless fungal-looking head. They seem to have some advanced bio- and psionic tools and weapons, and are quite dangerous.
We're sure there's a lot we don't know about these entities, and they are the major focus of the Delta Green section of the Company.
5. Angels and Demons: We don't have a clue about these entities, so watch your step if you meet them. The more clinical among us believe these to be cross-over entities, aliens, psionic entities, that sort of thing. But there does seem to be, for lack of a better term, a spirit world. We know that the human mind can tap into the Astral Plane with great training and difficulty, maybe number 29 of 31 dimensions, but there could be more to it than that. Those among us with more faith than skepticism believe these entities to indeed be the messengers of God and the Devil. They are powerful beings, they possess immense psionic and "magic" talents and are better left alone. The "Angels" seem to be helpful entities, though sometimes their actions defy explanation, and have even been known to help field teams against Demons. Leave them be. "Demons" are among the nastiest entities you will ever encounter, and with luck, you never will. If you meet one, run and call for back up - we don't need dead agents, live ones are more useful.
6. Wigglers and Beasties: There are lots of things that go bump in the night that fall outside of the CMEs and Grey - and outside the precise, logical classification systems of modern science. Some things don't want to be stumbled upon, and some things defy classification. Most people would call these things monsters, but we call the small, hard to find and kill things "wigglers," and the bigger ones "beasties." Whatever they are called, they are dangerous. Some of the wigglers we know about include big bugs, especially giant roaches and sewer flukes; the brainsquid which eats nerve tissue; breederbugs which scoop out and animate corpses as their nests; the ice weasel, a voracious artic/antartic predator; and the rockworm with its crushing maw. Known beasties include the gigantic gullet, capable of eating an entire platoon for breakfast - though it may have some CME links, with what we believe to be mentions in CC texts as "Cthonians" or "Dholes;" the mind-eating, body-smashing soul dog; psychotic vampires which devour human flesh (most of them), or prey on humans for generations; werewolves and other beastmen; the bloodthirsty gargoyles; demons, creatures of pure evil; powerful psychic ghosts; and an assortment of lesser critters, dinosaurs and sea monsters.
Oh, we forgot the Human Beasts out there as wellunfortunately there are many humans who have turned on their own kind, we call these people Rogues, Groups and Cults - and we put 'em down like rabid dogs if we find them. Here's the short list - some of these groups go back centuries and have had serious impacts on human history and societal evolution.
1. Rogues: Any human with psionic or meta powers and who use them in a dangerous or selfish fashion. There are three main varieties of rogue:
a. The Lodge: A close-knit cabal of self-styled "mages" who would like to be the "conspiracy that runs everything." They dress their powers in strange rituals, and use them to manipulate events and pull strings in society. These include "The Fate," for instance.
b. Mind: An informal network of powerful psychic hedonists who are mostly interested in wealth and power without the associated responsibility. If the Lodge manipulates events, the Mind manipulates people. Mind members often turn out to be associated with cult activities, including CC activity.
c. Ramblers: A collective term used to describe psychic "joy riders: who are out to raise hell and have fun. These perpetual teenagers cruise around the world parting and having fun - fun for them, often chaos for others. They don't seem to be organized.
2. Groups: Any of a number of secret organizations who would like to be the "conspiracy that runs everything," from Government agencies to private groups.
a. Majestic-12: MJ-12 was founded in 1947 by the US Government after the Roswell crash to deal with the Greys. They have since been co-opted by the Greys and are their primary tool within the USG. Well funded and with many resources, they are the most serious Group competitor of the Company. The have not yet tied Delta Green with the Company, and given the CME-focus of Delta Green, MJ-12 often will stop short of killing Delta Green operatives - but it's gloves off between the Company and MJ-12. The Company is concerned that if MJ-12's power within the USG continues to grow that its resources will outstrip that of the Company's. Total War has been considered, but not planned as of yet.
b. GRU SV-8: A Russian version of MJ-12, but with far fewer resources. The Company believes that GRU SV-8 has more CME knowledge than MJ-12, but also has such a splintered command and control system that some "cells" may actually be in opposition to the Greys.
c. Karotechia: While their HQ is unknown, their influence has been felt. The Company believes that Karotechia was founded by several high-ranking Nazis of the Schutzstaffle after the fall of Berlin, perhaps fleeing in U-852, intent on restoring the Reich to power. The Schutzstaffle was Hitler's personal theologic/occult bodyguard, led by Himmler. The only identified ranking member is SS Oberfurh Reinhard Galt. The full extent of their resource base is unknown, but they are believed to be heavily involved in the drug trade, and may have an advanced technical base that could approach MJ-12's level of sophistication. We do not believe they are aware of the Company.
3. Cults: These run the gamut from relatively harmless Wiccan groups, to Satanists of varying levels, up to the Cthulhu Cultists. They are too numerous to name, but the most consistently dangerous of them are based in the Cthulhu Mythos Cycle. CC cults include the Church of Starry Wisdom, the Church of Our Lord of Hidden Knowledge, and Tiger Transit of SE Asia.
Want to stay home with the blinds drawn? Can't blame you, but they'd find you there, wouldn't they, so you're better off playing on their turf than on yours - keeps carpet cleaning bills down. Good luck, and don't forget to gather intel on any other nasties you find out there in the Field.
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