By Boris (tonys@pacificrim.net)
The "Grey" race responsible for the crashed ship are a breed of Nephandi beings from somewhere in the Deep Umbra intent on altering Gaia to the extent in which they may suitably inhabit and dominate the planet.
The Technocracy, aware of the potential threat posed by such an "advanced" race, created a joint Void Engineer/Iteration X/NWO coalition, known alternately as Majestic, or MJ12. Their purpose: to reinforce through the dissemination of "alien"-related information and conspiracy theories the outer-space paradigm, to escalate the readiness of Sleepers to accept radical new technologies, and to create a general atmosphere of fear of "invasion from Beyond." Later, in the 40s, when more crashed ships and a handful of bodies were recovered, their objective was to keep the sleepers from knowing of the Technocracy's involvement with the Greys, thus the Men In Black. In the mid-80s, contact was finally made. MJ12 became the official emissaries of Earth in "Alien Affairs." They are currently engaged in the wide-spread use of Syndicate-controlled media to covertly prepare the sleeping masses for "alien" contact.
The etheric body, as implied by its name, is composed of the same electrically-charged, supra-interconnected substance as the stuff of emotions (i.e., pathos, gnosis, vitae, quintessence, glamour, etc.) and is the source of magick. The human body, or, more specifically, the nervous system, is capable of out-performing any piece of technology or machinery, however advanced. The mistake of the greys, and likewise the technocracy, was in externalising this form of manipulative control, thus creating duality and exclusion. And so the gauntlet was born, through the replication of the human energy field in a static pattern. The greys, even though they knew this, had so totally mutated their life patterns that they had become hopelessly addicted to their destructive paradigms.
This separation between 1st and 2nd bodies, or between physical and psychical bodies, was not complete, as that would have completely killed them, but was rather a separation of misalignment. An analogy can be drawn from the Digital Web, where icons and programs are actual cognizant spirits, rather than the robotic, mindless functions supported by the the technocratic paradigm -- you tend to become what you believe in. Besides the destruction of their atmosphere, the pollution of the gene-pool and the misalignment of their auric fields, another factor had arisen that forced the grey nation to leave the galaxy completely. This was an occurrence similar to the precession of the equinoxes on Earth, but rather on a galactic scale.
(From "Nothing" page 12) "The Earth's axis has 23 1/2 degrees of tilt, which gives us the seasons. At the celestial equator, the plane of the Earth's equator cuts the celestial sphere or the imaginary sphere on which the stars seem to lie. So if you take the Earth's equator and extend it out onto the sphere of the sky, the two points where the sun crosses this celestial equator mark the spring and fall equinoxes. At these points, day and night are of equal length. Now, the Earth's axis is wobbling in such a way that shifts the equinoctial points about 1 degree every 72 years. So every 2160 years, the equinoctial points move into a different zodiacal constellation. Every 25920 years, one full wobble or one full cycle circulates the zodiac. Over 25920 years the tip of the north pole traces an ellipse. At one focus of that ellipse it is closest to the center of the galaxy; at the other it is furthest away."
A similar phenomenon occurs in every celestial pattern among the living realms; every 5 1/2 million or so years, all elliptic foci point to the center of the galaxy, the granddaddy of all harmonic convergences. It is at these times that galactic ascension is possible, as the core of every star sends out an explosive shockwave of prime energy, much like the firing of a nerve cell's electro-chemical transmission. The greys, with their misaligned auric fields would have ceased to exist, shattered into a gazillion pieces, so they opted to leave.
The time during their stay in the Orion galaxy remains mostly a mystery, muddled even in their own collective consciousness. What is known, however, are two things: First, that they brought their problems with them, and that these problems worsened their situation. Due to their life patterns' inability to assimilate and process prime energy, their polluted genepool could no longer produce healthy new bodies for themselves. They were forced to rely on defective clones, reproduced from their own polluted genestock, among other similarly self-limiting processes. It was for this reason they returned to the Solarian Umbra. After the last galactic ascension, the center of life moved from Mars to Earth, riding the shockwave's return to the solar core. (Another interesting sidenote.....this is why the next leap in consciousnss is supposed to be a "return" to the intuitive, beautiful, female mother aspect of consciousness, as we return to the energies associated with the planet Venus.)
The original inhabitants, who lived exclusively in the Gaian dream-time, were the Lemurians, and the coming of the Greys altered life on Gaia permanently.
As the first Grey scouting party "translated" itself into the living Gaian matrix, the Realm accordingly assimilated the Grey "reality." The distinction between spirit and body was introduced, and beings formerly existing solely in the Gaian dream-time were forced into the organic dimensions. Here lies the answer to questions of the Atlantean Plague -- the Atlanteans, as the Greys came to be called, were themselves the plague.
Approximately 25900 years ago the last Solarian shockwave ascension took place, an event second only to the galactic ascension. "Coincidentally," this time period corresponds to historical accounts of the fall of Atlantis, the great crystal which was aimed through the heart of Gaia. Some philosophers theorize that the coming of the greys was the reality behind the symbol of the great crystal, and that the guardian at the heart of the garden was Gaia herself; all the killing that took place was the translation from dream-time to the organic dimensions, the only plane where death is possible. Other philosophers take a more literal view of historical mythology from this period. Without more information from the greys themselves, confirmation at this point is impossible. The greys encountered on Earth at this time are of two varieties: the artificial and the genuine. The technocracy, upon recovering some specimens from crashed ships, have attempted to model human bodies after the grey "drones," the perfect Umbral travelers. Keep in mind that the greys are subject to the same restrictionsimposed by the horizon gauntlet as we currently are -- they can't, for instance, walk to the nearest moon and back, like the garou. Consequently, with millions of years of time to experiment with their genetic manipulation, they have created the most perfect bodies for travelling the technocratic void of "space."
Of the other varieties of grey aliens beyond the drones we have already encountered, we know very little. Their societal structure has evolved into a sort of insectile hive-mind, with the drone and warrior castes, and we have concluded that in theory, one or more queens exist, probably somewhere in the Orion belt. Their telempathic abilities are truly impressive, they are able to communicate with each other instantaneously, read the complete consciousnss of any being they come across, and even communicate with their home galaxy from ours.
Physically, they are rather weak, comparable to pre-pubescent child, but their average telekinetic abilities compensate for this. At this time they are known to have made "diplomatic" agreements with representatives of Earth (or at least the technocracy) and have at least two covert bases on the planet. More are rumored to exist.
Identification is asked for while Forces-warped antigravitational robots monitor from above. These drones use electromagnetic fields to warp light around themselves, affecting invisibility, while hovering 12' or so above the scene. They are armed with miniature laser pulse rifles (zap guns) and are unfriendly to intruders. Beyond the guard station, set into the side of a slight hill, is the huge iron doorway leading to the facilities themselves. Inside the door, security panels demand palm-print scans (DNA signature) and retinal scans (brainwave signature). After security is cleared, a wall slides away, revealing the elevator to the bottom three sublevels.
The genelab itself occupies most of the bottom floor of the converted nuclear testing facilities. It contains equipment for organic manipulations: the "Greytech Manipulator," a machine that filters gamma radiation through tiny, perfectly formed silica crystals into lasers capable of passing through organic material without damaging tissue. The information decoded from the laserscan is processed by the manipulator, altered and/or recombined with other samples by the operator at the control panels, and then translated to the plasma vats, tanks filled with simple proteins capable of self-organization.
The second sub-level contains various specimens the Progenitors there see as having potential for future uses. This is the archetypal "mad scientist monster lab," with rows of cells containing various abominations. Some of these life-forms require liquid environments, and they can be seen suspended in giant tanks of viscous fluids. This sublevel also has the most by way of security systems -- should one of the specimens break loose from its restrictions, tracking lasers appear from every niche and corner. In the event of total containment breach, the entire floor seals itself off from everything with powerful forces effects and quietly explodes. In the history of Earthlab, this has yet to happen.
The top sub-level contains the living quarters and office space for the 12 resident members. These are all upper echelon members of MJ12, with a few recruits taken directly from the GRUDGE/BLUEBOOK program during the 40s, Drs. Wulfgang Himmel and Karl VonRossenberg. The newest recruit, Dr, Lance Graves, came from a small college town in the Pacific Northwest in 1995. None of the other members have been there less than 25 years.
The Progenitors are the most supportive, naturally, among the Conventions of the Earthlab program. Since its opening in 1943, breakthrough after breakthrough into genetics and the nature of organic chemistry has come from Eartlab. Few Progenitors know of their source, however, as Earthlab has maintained an extremely low profile, preferring to disseminate information through other channels. It is rumoured that Proteus was first conceived here, by mixing genetic tissues from a sea-sponge with that of a human brain.
The Void Engineer Convention owes a great debt to Earthlab. The Greytech Manipulator, when it first arrived, already contained the geneprint for one of their drones, and the first replication of a grey alien for space travel was accomplished here.
As such, in-house meetings and Initiation of new recruits are not an occurrence here. The directors attend the annual Progenitor Symposiums, but have had minimal progress to report. No one other than the two directors know of the successes of Species 016 and 017, but the NWO has come to suspect that something is afoot, and has obtained joint permission from the other Conventions involved to place Dr. Graves within the compound. The closest thing to acolytes here are the two pairs of rotating-shift guards posted at the perimeter check-station.
Essence: Pattern
Nature:Co-conspirator
Demeanor:Conformist
Attributes: Str 2, Dex 3, Sta 2, Cha 4, Man 5, App 3, Per 3, Int 5, Wit 3
Abilities: Alert 4; Brawl/Dodge (Aikido) 4; Express 3; Intuit 2; Streetwise 2; Subter 4; Research 3; Stealth 2; Tech 4; Comp 3; Science (Organic Chemistry) 5
Spheres: Life 3, Mind 2, Matter 2
Arete 4
Willpower 6
Backgrounds: Allies 5(NWO), Influence 2
Lance Graves was born the child prodigy of progenitor parents, taking to Biology and later Organic Chemistry at an early age. He graduated top among his class, completed his doctorate degree and was ripe for initiation into the Progenitor Convention, when the NWO snatched him out of their grasp. He was forcibly awakened by Men In Black, who kidnapped him as he was leaving work and then took him to one of the Grey's established bases in northern Idaho. They then brought him before Mr. X, an army general with MJ12, who educated him about the World of Darkness in general, and the Grey Nation in specific. Lance was detained and observed for six months while they tested his absolute loyalty and taught him the science of Mind. After his six-month probationary period, he was briefed on the Earthlab Project, taught what he needed to know to avoid detection, and delivered to Austin,TX, and the Earthlab facilities.
Roleplaying tips: You're a competent scientist. You do what you're told, looking over your own and other people's shoulders when you think no one's looking, and try to find out what those directors are doing when no one's around. If you manage to get out on furlough anytime soon, hopefully you'll have something to report. From the feel of things here, it should be something pretty interesting.
Drs. Karl VonRossenberg and Wulfgang Himmel
Drs. Karl VonRossenberg and Wulfgang Himmel are no longer human. During the 50s, after seeing the success of the first grey alien cloning experiments, they became fascinated with the remarkable brain capacity of the subjects. These first experiments, replicated Grey Drones, showed amazing intellectual capacities. They were uncooperative, however, and had to be neutralised. Later experiments with cross-matched human and alien genetic tissues produced specimens with similar mental capacities that were linked to the human subconscious, rather than the signal emanating from the Grey Queen somewhere in the Orion Belt. Continued observation of the specimens proved them suitable for Technocracy purposes, and they were handed over to the Void Engineers for their V2 Flying Disk program.
The brain power of the human/alien crossbreeds held the two directors enthralled, and they devised a plan. In a courageous gesture of self-experimentation, Dr. Himmel transferred his consciousness to a specially-prepared clone of himself, with a new brain cultured from the Grey/human mix. The results were astounding. Dr. VonRossenberg followed suit twelve weeks later. Neither of the two directors told anyone of their experiment, partly in order to observe the reactions of unbiased and uninformed observers, but mostly out of fear of discovery by an "unenlightened" world.
As time passed, increasingly unignorable impulses to perform very specific experiments and to act in increasingly irrational manners caused the two directors to take an unwanted sabbatical. They both left the facilities in separate vehicles, seemingly unaware of the other's intentions, and were surprised to run into each other in the remote foothills south of Santa Fe, both travelling impulsively, on separate paths, where they were greeted by a blinding light. It is here that their memories hit a seeming blank spot. Neither of them mentioned anything to anyone about the incident. This occured on Oct. 7th, 1971, 4:20 AM.
Immediately afterwards, the two directors began mass-producing clones of themselves, with a wide variety of characteristics and capabilities, which they keep hidden in a secret storehouse below the third sub-level. The only traits they share in common are their physical and social appearances and continuous memories (they are both telepathically linked with each of their clones). The clones take shifts, often changing late at night, so the bodies masquerading as the two directors are often not the same from day to day. None of the clones remember which is the original.
After the arrival of the Gigergene, things changed drastically at the compound. The first of the species experiments was deemed a failure (see Steve Kok and Eric Wicklund'sSpecies file) and work with the Greytech Manipulator was supposedly brought to a temporary halt. The third sublevel was shut down and all personnel were restricted to the upper two levels. In actuality, the clones below were working feverishly day and night to perfect the Gigergene strains.
For purposes of game mechanics, the two directors may have any attribute/ability scores, with the following exceptions:
1: They may not have ratings in either Prime or Spirit--they may use others' tech which uses these powers, but they, like the Greys, are incapable of manipulating these energies.
2: Willpower, Intelligence, & Perception are all at human max.
-Roberts, this is Ground Control...Your transmission is breaking up...Check your {static}
-Ground Control, I lost contact...the lifeform is showing signs of some serious activity...Ground Control!...It's broken into the cabin. Oh my God the air its {screams}
Video records fleeting image of alien ovipositor attacking crew member. He crashes into camera; end transmission.
A semi-crysalline lifeform had attached itself to the hull of the ship in an attempt to use it as an incubator. Somewhere between the Orion Umbra and the Solarian Umbra, the lifeform had clung to the craft, its silicate physiology, combined with a deep and truly powerful empathic ability allowing it to avoid detection by both the Engine's computer and the spirit of the Monitor. When the shuttle Nemesis left its rendezvous with the Monitor, the crew in cryogenic sleepchambers, the lifeform was attached. Of the two crewmembers, the first served as a host to the silicon/carbon based incubi, allowing it a rudimentary scan of the human collective Subconscious. The second passenger served as its first meal. The shuttle, operating on computer autopilot, landed at Spacestrip 519 in Nevada at 4:15, November 17, where Technocracy agents eagerly awaited.
Summary: Video Archives, Series 0354967-45-b3476, [Nov 17, 1971, 4:10 AM]
Landing strip, uniformed soldiers with heavy artillery stand at the ready. Camera pans to sky, the blaze of the approaching shuttle looms closer & closer. Pan back to landing strip area, a huddled group of scientists in white labcoats and two men in dark suits, the obvious directors.
{Voice-over from loudspeaker}: Receiving from on-board navigational computer; autopilot functioning in optimal working order...Prepare for landing sequence.
The soldiers shoulder their weapons; a few shuffle nervously. The craft lands without incident. Two "volunteer" soldiers move cautiously toward the craft, blow the airlock and step back from the smoke and falling debris. A dark blur shoots through the opening, slaughtering the first two soldiers immediately. Shots ring out from all sides as the soldiers open fire. Close-up on the lifeform, a simpler variant of Species 016. Bullets ricochet off the exoskeleton as it surveys the assembly, hissing. One shot penetrates and it charges the nearest cluster of soldiers, taking out five more before the heavy-weapons infantry moves in. A Wavefield Generator is raised at the alien; it crumples and soldiers with restraining gear quickly move into place. The lifeform is boxed up, loaded into a van and driven away. Tape ends.
Earthlab is an underground Progenitor testing laboratory, stocked with "Grey" genetech. The only access point on this side of the Gauntlet is a single door at the end of a long dirt road, inside restricted-access Military ex-nuclear facilities, shielded with five foot thick ferro-cement Gauntlet-reinforcing walls. It is protected by a wide range of security systems, from barbed wire and armed guards to optical and palmprint scans to closed camera circuits and identicard checkstations.
Using the Grey's genetech, the Progenitor team bypassed the creature's normal means of reproduction (by parasitically devouring its host's nervous system and adapting its own physical shape to approximate its host's) and synthetically grafted the lifeform's DNA to a sample of human genetic tissue donated by one the participating scientists. The result was, to casual observation, a human child with abnormally slow life-signs, and rapidly accelerated growth processes. During a stressful episode at the the laboratory the child's true abilities were revealed. During an intensive intelligence test, the child (already six days old with the body of a thirteen-year-old) transformed into its biomechanoid form after seducing and mesmerising the scientist performing the testing. It killed and partially devoured the scientist, and almost escaped before it was terminated by internal security systems.
Later experiments, using cloned cell-samples from the original alien, were conducted under stronger precautionary measures after the damage to the equipment and lab was repaired. Several specimens, while still somewhat uncontrollable, were considered wildly successful.
-Species 017B proved a more stable variant of the first organism, and was reported to have ahigh success rate in biologically accepting behavior programming RCC's.
-Species 016, Variant C Class 5, was a joint effort with the Iterators, using a HIT-Mark endo-skeletons and Internal Computer linkage, covered with organic cell-tissue from the original human/alien mutation.
| Attrib | Human | Morph | Health Levels |
| STR | 4 | 6 | OKx4 |
| DEX | 4 | 6 | -1 |
| STA | 5 | 6 | -1 |
| CHR | 2 | - | -2 |
| APP | 3 | - | -3 |
| MAN | 2 | - | -3 |
| PER | 5 | 6 | -3 |
| INT | 2 | 2 | -3 |
| WIT | 4 | 6 | Incapacitated |
Description: Outwardly human unless under duress, these creatures manage to simulate human behavior unless engaged in social interaction, where some discrepancies may appear. Some 17's, during the beginning stages of their moulting phase, may show patches of greenish scales. All 17's are outfitted with remote control chips and extensively conditioned, allowing their human forms some semblance of humanity. These are basically the same creatures as from the "Species" movie; see also the Species file by Steve Kok and Eric Wicklund."
Special abilities: In addition to their human and biomechanoid forms, 17's can assume any in-between combination of forms (Mix-morph at Sta, difficulty 4, 1 success needed). In morphed form, they possess powerful exoskeletons that give them an additional 3 dice to their soak pools. This, and their ability to remain alive beyond the incapacitated level unless aggravated wounds are sustained, is due to their silicon/carbon physiology, which gives them another -2 difficulty modifier to all soak rolls plus a -1 modifier to all Sta rolls; they regenerate one level of damage (aggravated included) per day. Their original genestock comes from a highly telepathic "alien" hive-mind, giving them powerful empathic abilities. Combined with their ability to "smell" heat, they have 4 additional dice to all their location rolls. {This is equal to the Sense Life and No Mind Mage effects}
Attacks: Claws have a difficulty of 6 and do damage at Str+3 aggravated. Bite has a range of 2, difficulty 8, and does Str+3 aggravated wounds. Tail has a range of 4, difficulty 7, does Str+2; it can be used in combination with either attack with no penalties. {Counts as one action}
Other: These are extremely hideous creatures with no social ratings at all. They are so terrifying that Sleepers viewing them suffer effects of delirium. Even magickal creatures must make a will roll to avoid panic/frenzy. They themselves are immune to all psychological and will effects, and vampires cannot dominate them.
Suggested skills: {Human/Morph} Alertness 2/5; Athletics 3/4; Awareness 2/4; Brawl 3/5; Intim 2/5; Leadership 2/-; Melee 3/-; Stealth 2/4; Survival 5/5; Enigmas 3/3
These are your standard Sigourney Weaver-brand of Alien, augmented with bionics. Using prepared HIT-Mark endo-skeletons, the Progenitors at Earthlab have perfected the process of cloning cell-tissue around bionic cyberstructures. Most Hairballs (of the ten total 16's at date 11-8-95, 4:15) are only deployed in the Deep Umbra or ultra-secret clandestine domestic "raze-and-burn" operations such as Chernobyl. They are immune to Will and Mind magic attacks.
Description: Like their cousins the 17's, 16's possess strong exo-skeletons (+3 to soak pool) in addition to the HIT-Mark internal frame (+4 to soak). They regenerate one wound level per combat round and the acidic concentration of their blood causes 1 wound for every 2 wounds of damage from melee they incur. Like the 17's, their silicon/carbon physiology (+2 more to soak= +9 total to soak rolls; -1 difficulty all Sta rolls) causes them to be able to survive anything not aggravated. They are carnivorous, completely silent (unless fitted with electronic tansmitters) and utterly repugnant to everything--vampires included--and incite Delirium. They perceive through their sense of smell; they can sense heat with amazing accuracy.
Str 6; Dex 5; Sta 6; Cha -; App -; Man -; Per 4; Int *; Wit 4 *Computer guided
Health levels: OKx6, -1, -2, -3, Destroyed.
Attacks: Claws do Str+3, difficulty 6; Bite does Str+3, difficulty 8, range 2; Tail does Str+2, difficulty 7, range 4 and can be used with either attack. All wounds inflicted are aggravated.
Suggested abilities: Alertness 4, Athletics 4, Brawl 4, Dodge 2, Intimidation 4, Stealth 5, Survival 3, Tech 3, Enigmas 3, Science 2