(Created page with "{{Group|title1=The Collective|image1=collective.png|aliases=*The Collective *SDS-023 (By SDS Foundation) *The Worm of the Flesh (By the Covenant of Wan) *The Assorted King (By the Library of Eden) *A myriad of voices speaking as one (By Sizhou) *It (By Sizhou)|type=Decentralized Telepathic Hivemind|headquarters=N/A|mission statement=Divided, man will only reach extinction. Connected, the possibilities are endless.|products=*Industrial Equipment *N...") |
(collective content expansion done!!!!!!!! since they're relevant again!!!!!!) |
||
| Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
*"Collective" (Secretly)|notable members=*[[BESI Supervisor]] | *"Collective" (Secretly)|notable members=*[[BESI Supervisor]] | ||
*[[Hao Xiuying]] | *[[Hao Xiuying]] | ||
*Unnamed [[Unity Station]] Occupant|member count=~35000|notable bases=*[[Anomalous Object and Inactive Entity Containment]] (River Naktun, [[Arstotzka]]) (Shared with [[UOI]]) | *Unnamed [[Unity Station]] Occupant|member count=~35000|notable bases=*[[Anomalous Object and Inactive Entity Containment Facility]] (River Naktun, [[Arstotzka]]) (Shared with [[UOI]]) | ||
*[[Beijing Experimental Science Institute]] ([[Beijing]], [[Sizhou]])* | *[[Beijing Experimental Science Institute]] ([[Beijing]], [[Sizhou]])* | ||
*[[Collective Detention Facility]] (Unknown Location) | *[[Collective Detention Facility]] (Unknown Location) | ||
| Line 16: | Line 16: | ||
*317 (First discovered)|preceded by=Pre-Assimilation Sapients|member groups=*[[People's Revolutionary Directorate]] | *317 (First discovered)|preceded by=Pre-Assimilation Sapients|member groups=*[[People's Revolutionary Directorate]] | ||
**[[Sizhou]] (Not fully assimilated) | **[[Sizhou]] (Not fully assimilated) | ||
*(Others)|allies=<code>While The Collective lacks any true "allies", it cooperates with groups such as:</code> | *(Several Others)|allies=<code>While The Collective lacks any true "allies", it cooperates with groups such as:</code> | ||
*[[United Occult Initiative]] | *[[United Occult Initiative]] | ||
*[[Department of Containing Anomalous Entities]] | *[[Department of Containing Anomalous Entities]] | ||
*[[Sizhou|Labour Collective of Sizhou]]|created by=Hakced|controlled by=Hakced}} | *[[Sizhou|Labour Collective of Sizhou]]|created by=Hakced|controlled by=Hakced|enemies=<code>While The Collective lacks any true "enemies", it actively opposes groups such as:</code> | ||
The Collective<ref>Also known as [[SDS-023]].</ref> is | *[[Covenant of Wan]] | ||
*[[Library of Eden]] | |||
*[[SDS Foundation]]}} | |||
The Collective<ref>Also known as [[SDS-023]].</ref> is a [[Hivemind#The Collective|Telepathic Hivemind]] initially born from a telepathic link between a few hundred people, eventually spreading into a vast network composed of more than 35000 people<ref>These "assimilated" individuals are spread out into the normal human population, making them hard to track down.</ref> via voluntary assimilation. The Collective generally operates as a communal organization between these telepathically linked people, who use this ability to share its total sum of knowledge and capabilities among each-other, while also retaining their individuality, personality and free-will<ref>Though some people may be hijacked by the Central Intelligence for a new purpose if it is deemed necessary.</ref>, though despite this most Collective members tend to live in fairly typical circumstances. While collective members are autonomous and individuals, each of them tend to present uniform traits including a concern for suffering or disadvantaged individuals, a desire to improve the world, and a highly cooperative nature. These traits, especially their cooperativeness and deep level of understanding between one-another, has made several outsiders describe Collective members as somewhat "uncanny" to observe or talk to. | |||
The Collective aims to connect<ref>As in integrating them as members of The Collective's telepathic link</ref> all of humanity<ref>And beyond, further into other sapient species</ref> in order to | The Collective aims to connect<ref>As in integrating them as members of The Collective's telepathic link</ref> all of humanity<ref>And beyond, further into other sapient species</ref> in order to everyone access to the entirety of human knowledge, which would then be used to better humanity via scientific and technological advancement with the goal of eliminating various socioeconomic issues within human society such as poverty, world hunger, war, etc. Despite these goals currently being seen as a future prospect, they already attempt to better the world with their current resources, which has been fairly successful<ref>These are generally civil engineering feats. The Collective currently lacks the necessary manpower to execute intricate global operations.</ref>. Much of their success can be attributed to them siphoning knowledge by infiltrating other organizations and even certain governments such as [[Sizhou]]. | ||
Administratively The Collective is organized in a similar manner to a Technocracy, with those deemed<ref>At times certain individuals have been covertly "rewritten" in order to better fit a certain function if necessary.</ref> experts at specific tasks or functions being put in charge of said task. As the Collective's knowledge-sharing can only transfer actual knowledge, utilising pre-established experts is still considered optimal due to their own training and muscle-memory, which the hivemind is largely incapable of providing. Alongside their own more specialized training, every Collective member is capable of basic close-quarters-combat, combat tactics, and the know-how to operate an assortment of weapons and machinery for self-defence, safety, and security. | |||
=== Their Hivemind=== | === Their Hivemind=== | ||
The Collective is capable of "connecting" other humans to its hivemind via prolonged proximity<ref>Connection becomes more efficient the closer the target is.</ref> with a Collective member. The connection process itself is not a subconscious or accidental thing that just "happens", instead it is an intentional act done by The Collective if it is able to. The Collective generally tries to make this process consensual by asking or convincing people to connect to it instead of forcibly assimilating people. They try to respect people not wanting to become a part of it, but in rare emergency situations they may ignore this moral restriction and forcibly connect someone<ref>Forceful connection is generally perceived to be a rare | The Collective is capable of "connecting" other humans to its hivemind via prolonged proximity<ref>Connection becomes more efficient the closer the target is.</ref> with a Collective member. The connection process itself is not a subconscious or accidental thing that just "happens", instead it is an intentional act done by The Collective if it is able to. The Collective generally tries to make this process consensual by asking or convincing people to connect to it instead of forcibly assimilating people. They try to respect people not wanting to become a part of it, but in rare emergency situations they may ignore this moral restriction and forcibly connect someone<ref>Forceful connection is generally perceived to be a rare occurrence, however it is unknown how true this is due to the sense of understanding and loyalty to one-another each Collective member gains when connected.</ref>. Resisting being connected to the Collective is in some cases possible via methods such as shielding against psionic/telepathic influences, or simply being genetically resistant to connection, although this is incredibly rare. | ||
Because of their telepathic link Collective members are capable of various abilities, such as the instantaneous transfer of knowledge and training<ref>Albeit not always very effective in people without actual training due to muscle memory.</ref> to one another. Additionally this makes The Collective immune to infiltration and memory erasure, as its decentralized and connected nature allows them to easily notice a spy or re-grant a member's lost knowledge in the case of a memory wipe. Though | Because of their telepathic link Collective members are capable of various abilities, such as the instantaneous transfer of knowledge and training<ref>Albeit not always very effective in people without actual training due to muscle memory.</ref> to one another. Additionally this makes The Collective immune to infiltration and memory erasure, as its decentralized and connected nature allows them to easily notice a spy or re-grant a member's lost knowledge in the case of a memory wipe. Though the Collective can theoretically be susceptible to cognitohazards and psionic attacks<ref>Though psionic ''contact'' instead of an attack may lead to being connected to The Collective.</ref>, such threats are typically dealt with efficiently via various methods such as isolating affected individuals from the network. | ||
===Their | ===Their Central Intelligence === | ||
While The Collective initially started as just a mere telepathic link between several people, the mere existence of this link eventually led to the birth of a ' | While The Collective initially started as just a mere telepathic link between several people, the mere existence of this link eventually led to the birth of a 'central intelligence' out of each member's collective will. This collective intelligence is effectively its own being, which claims to also be called "Collective"<ref>When referring to this being, use the name "Collective" and refer to it with personal pronouns, instead of ones referring to a group of people.</ref>. | ||
Collective secretly controls the entire organization behind-the-scenes, keeping itself hidden from its members. Collective aligns with the goals and objectives of the hivemind as a whole, however it may occasionally intervene in the organization by hijacking and rewriting the personalities of those who step out of line, don't align with The Collective's goals, or discover its existence. Additionally Collective has various goals of its own, including the spread of itself, which it makes its members do unknowingly. | Collective secretly controls the entire organization behind-the-scenes, keeping itself hidden from its members. Collective aligns with the goals and objectives of the hivemind as a whole, however it may occasionally intervene in the organization by hijacking and rewriting the personalities of those who step out of line, don't align with The Collective's goals, or discover its existence. Additionally Collective has various goals of its own, including the spread of itself, which it makes its members do unknowingly. | ||
| Line 42: | Line 47: | ||
- Collective (Central Intelligence)</ref>, although it does informally have various positive and/or hostile relationships with various organizations. This informal stance also affects how The Collective decides to work with other groups, such as cooperating with them<ref>They tend to be silently manipulative to some degree in these cases.</ref> or actively sabotaging and/or trying to destroy/assimilate them. | - Collective (Central Intelligence)</ref>, although it does informally have various positive and/or hostile relationships with various organizations. This informal stance also affects how The Collective decides to work with other groups, such as cooperating with them<ref>They tend to be silently manipulative to some degree in these cases.</ref> or actively sabotaging and/or trying to destroy/assimilate them. | ||
== History == | |||
The early history and creation of The Collective are largely shrouded in history, even to itself. Possible origins include the likes of ancient rituals, mind-control experiments, a psychic parasite, and whatever other explanations the world's psuedo-scientists conceived of to explain The Collective's nature. Little is known about the earlier phases of Collective's<ref>(Central Intelligence)</ref> existence, although it can be inferred that it was not always a force of dedicated individuals working towards societal progress, instead The Collective during its youth appeared to be largely apathetic, thinking it had experienced everything a highly intelligent entity inhabiting a couple hundred human minds could see. This apathetic attitude was however derived from the very thoughts that would eventually become the basis for its ideals; inequality. Its hosts were located in various different positions of human society, while many were living in comfortable positions, many were also impovrished and living in the midst of pollution and hardship. Through some kind of prophetic experience it has never elaborated on, The Collective came to the realisation that the only way that injustices it hated could be cured was if instead of leaving [[Humanity]] to bicker and fight amongst one-another for useless causes, an entity such as itself could push them in the right direction, the direction of progress and inspiration. | |||
The first time The Collective was discovered by an outside force was by the [[SDS Foundation]] in 317, whom discovered The Collective and its underground compound named "[[SDS-023 "The Collective"#SDS-023-1|Sentinel Colony]]" in the Appalachian Mountains, which it was utilising as its primary base of operations. While it is unknown if all Collective members of the time were present in Sentinel Colony, what is known that all suspected members of The Collective were executed, with the various prisoners within the compound being administered [[Amnestics]] and released back into the public. What the SDS Foundation did not know at the time was that the Collective is that these prisoners were also members of The Collective simply pretending to be prisoners, as the Collective's members are resistant to memory-wipes due to the hivemind's decentralized nature, allowing said individuals memories to be granted back to them neigh-instantly. Once these former prisoners re-entered public life, they over-time began to spread The Collective across the general populace of [[Yata]], recruiting a vast majority of the next generation of Collective members in a rebuilding effort. | |||
While already being somewhat aware of what The Collective was thanks to recovered documents from the SDS describing it, the [[United Occult Initiative]] accidentally encountered The Collective assaulting SDS Forces in [[Storage-Site-4]] in the year 367, which the UOI was also planning on attacking. UOI members broke into the facility and assisted in the defeat of remaining SDS forces, as The Collective did not prevent their intervention. UOI soldiers thus attempted to figure out who or what the Collective actually was, in response The Collective described itself as a group of like-minded individuals dedicated to bettering the world whom decided to take advantage of the [[SDS-UOI Conflict]] to launch attacks on the SDS, which they saw as a mutual nuisance. The UOI decided to trust these claims, and organized a meeting with The Collective to discuss what should be done with the captured facility. | |||
These discussions were held onboard [[Unity Station]] between a Collective Representative and [[Jason Winters]], Deputy-Secretary of the UOI. Initial agreements such as sharing Site-4, now rechristened as the [[Anomalous Object and Inactive Entity Containment Facility]], and some degree of cooperation between the two groups. As The Collective saw the UOI as a possible ally, it decided to convince Jason Winters by revealing certain things about its history and nature, including details about the attack on Sentinel Colony, its egalitarian principles regarding free-information and betterment of humanity, and its nature as a Hivemind, and how any additional connections to the Hivemind are voluntary and non-intrusive in order to gain the UOI's trust. This was successful, as the UOI agreed to form a proper alliance between itself and the United Occult Initiative due to supposed shared common goals. Slightly concerned by The Collective's capabilities, the [[Order of the Metal Mind]], which was secretly present in the meeting, began introducing psionic screenings to its members to prevent Collective espionage. | |||
In 408 the Government of Sizhou, which had already conceived of various radical collectivist ideals such as the collectivization of humanity itself, launched a series of investigations into the possibility of telepathic communication. While they did not manage to develop such a method of their own, they did make another discovery; the [[Noosphere]], a metaphysical layer of reality containing the total sum of all possible thought. While further investigations into this layer of reality were somewhat successful, yet another thing was discovered in these investigations; a myriad of voices speaking as one, The Collective. The Collective had already been interested in Sizhou's projects, seeing them as compatible with their own worldview, thus it infiltrated these experiments and gave a simple request to the scientists working on the project, to speak with their leader [[Hao Xiuying]]. While most worldleaders would likely say no to speaking to an entity such as The Collective, Hao regardless agreed, and used Sizhou's prototype Noosphere-interacting devices to move into the realm of thought, where his scientists had documented these "voices." Collective, the central intelligence behind ''The'' Collective spoke to Hao, telling him of their shared aspirations of unity, comradery, egalitarianism, and technological advancement, saying how it could provide him with everything he needed to advance his projects as long as he agreed to follow its lead. While initially sceptical, Hao eventually agreed to Collective's proposal, and was assimilated into the hivemind. Upon being disconnected from the device, Hao Xiuying was born anew, now connected to the total sum of knowledge present in countless other individuals under The Collective, including many of the individuals working at that very building. From here on, The Collective gained its first government-scale proxy, gaining control over the government of the fastest emerging post-Confederacy nation-state on Yata, although a vast majority of Sizhou's population outside of the [[People's Revolutionary Directorate]], the collective leadership of the nation headed by Hao Xiuying, remains non-assimilated, yet still technically under The Collective's influence. | |||
==Capabilities == | ==Capabilities == | ||
The Collective has access to highly advanced technology, despite often lacking the manpower to achieve more intricate global operations of its own, only really being able to do this via its [[Sizhou|proxies]]. | The Collective has access to highly advanced technology and commodities, despite often lacking the manpower to achieve more intricate global operations of its own, only really being able to do this via its [[Sizhou|direct proxies]] or organizations under its influence. | ||
<tabber> | <tabber> | ||
|-|Specialized Crafts= | |-|Specialized Crafts= | ||
| Line 79: | Line 98: | ||
|-|Specialized Weaponry= | |-|Specialized Weaponry= | ||
===Specialized Weaponry=== | ===Specialized Weaponry=== | ||
Specialized Weapons are advanced weapons created by The Collective for military use. These are typically more advanced or more unorthodox than typical guns or melee weapons, making their use beyond the Collective rare. | |||
{{Container|header=Bioweapon: Shouldermount | |||
|body=The Shouldermount is an amorphous organism functioning as a shoulder-mounted weapon that was engineered by The Collective. The Shouldermount is equipped with various highly-evolved sensory organs and highly durable and stretchy limbs/tentacles capable of various offensive and defensive maneuvers, both of which are utilised for both their own functions and using its primary weapon, a specially designed venom which it is capable of either excreting in bites or by spraying it. Once equipped, a Shouldermount acts as both a defensive and offensive tool for the wearer, which is able to stay highly coordinated with the Shouldermount thanks to both of them being coonnected to the Collective's telepathic hivemind. | |||
A Shouldermount can be sustained via polymers and meat as its primary diet, which it uses to generate the necessary energy to function. Waste products are excreted out through its skin to act as a protective fire-retardant layer for extra defence. | |||
}} | |||
|-|Standard Crafts= | |-|Standard Crafts= | ||
===Standard Crafts=== | ===Standard Crafts=== | ||
| Line 88: | Line 112: | ||
|-|Other Technology= | |-|Other Technology= | ||
===Other Technology=== | ===Other Technology=== | ||
( | While many of its innovations are in the field of warfare, most of the Collective's technologies are dedicated to more civil purposes. | ||
{{Container|header=Advanced Nutritional Production Unit | |||
|body=The Advanced Nutritional Production Unit (or ANPU) is a specialized industrial device capable of synthesizing matter from waste or inedible materials into processed edible foodstuff, all being possible with little to ono electricity. While the ANPU can typically produce said products entirely autonomously as long as it is provided with sufficient materials, its output, efficiency, and packaging can be tweaked by a human operator. The produced products additionally are high-quality nutrition wise, although somewhat bland flavour-wise. | |||
Products procured by the ANPU are either used to keep the Collective's own members fed, sold for exorbitantly cheap prices to supermarkets, or donated to services such as foodbanks or soup kitchens. | |||
}} | |||
</tabber> | </tabber> | ||
==External Documentation == | ==External Documentation == | ||
| Line 99: | Line 128: | ||
<center> | <center> | ||
'''COVENANT OF WAN''' | '''COVENANT OF WAN''' | ||
</center><code> | </center> | ||
We don't want to sound judgemental, but the Covenant of Wan is too big of a commitment to just join because you're interested in tech and brain implants, therefore we always screen new followers before we go through with any physical augmentation. But those infected by the Worm always seemed like true believers, we weren't able to detect anything wrong until we connected to them to the [[COVENANT-NETWORK]] for the first time that we discovered what was actually going on in their heads. We've managed to block their access to our network for now, thus they have not been able to spread digitally. | <code>We don't want to sound judgemental, but the Covenant of Wan is too big of a commitment to just join because you're interested in tech and brain implants, therefore we always screen new followers before we go through with any physical augmentation. But those infected by the Worm always seemed like true believers, we weren't able to detect anything wrong until we connected to them to the [[COVENANT-NETWORK]] for the first time that we discovered what was actually going on in their heads. We've managed to block their access to our network for now, thus they have not been able to spread digitally.</code> | ||
We are concerned though, if the Flesh can somehow upload a Worm into human minds without us noticing, we're in much more danger than i thought.</code> | <code>We are concerned though, if the Flesh can somehow upload a Worm into human minds without us noticing, we're in much more danger than i thought.</code> | ||
}} | }} | ||
|-|Library of Eden= | |-|Library of Eden= | ||
| The Collective | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General Information | |
| Aliases |
|
| Type | Decentralized Telepathic Hivemind |
| Headquarters | N/A |
| Mission Statement | Divided, man will only reach extinction. Connected, the possibilities are endless. |
| Products |
|
| Status | Active |
| Personnel Information | |
| Leader |
|
| Notable Members |
|
| Member Count | ~35000 |
| Territorial Information | |
| Notable Bases |
|
| Historical Information | |
| Founded |
|
| Preceded By | Pre-Assimilation Sapients |
| Alignments | |
| Member Groups |
|
| Allies | While The Collective lacks any true "allies", it cooperates with groups such as:
|
| Enemies | While The Collective lacks any true "enemies", it actively opposes groups such as:
|
| Other | |
| Created by | Hakced |
| Controlled by | Hakced |
The Collective[1] is a Telepathic Hivemind initially born from a telepathic link between a few hundred people, eventually spreading into a vast network composed of more than 35000 people[2] via voluntary assimilation. The Collective generally operates as a communal organization between these telepathically linked people, who use this ability to share its total sum of knowledge and capabilities among each-other, while also retaining their individuality, personality and free-will[3], though despite this most Collective members tend to live in fairly typical circumstances. While collective members are autonomous and individuals, each of them tend to present uniform traits including a concern for suffering or disadvantaged individuals, a desire to improve the world, and a highly cooperative nature. These traits, especially their cooperativeness and deep level of understanding between one-another, has made several outsiders describe Collective members as somewhat "uncanny" to observe or talk to.
The Collective aims to connect[4] all of humanity[5] in order to everyone access to the entirety of human knowledge, which would then be used to better humanity via scientific and technological advancement with the goal of eliminating various socioeconomic issues within human society such as poverty, world hunger, war, etc. Despite these goals currently being seen as a future prospect, they already attempt to better the world with their current resources, which has been fairly successful[6]. Much of their success can be attributed to them siphoning knowledge by infiltrating other organizations and even certain governments such as Sizhou.
Administratively The Collective is organized in a similar manner to a Technocracy, with those deemed[7] experts at specific tasks or functions being put in charge of said task. As the Collective's knowledge-sharing can only transfer actual knowledge, utilising pre-established experts is still considered optimal due to their own training and muscle-memory, which the hivemind is largely incapable of providing. Alongside their own more specialized training, every Collective member is capable of basic close-quarters-combat, combat tactics, and the know-how to operate an assortment of weapons and machinery for self-defence, safety, and security.
The Collective is capable of "connecting" other humans to its hivemind via prolonged proximity[8] with a Collective member. The connection process itself is not a subconscious or accidental thing that just "happens", instead it is an intentional act done by The Collective if it is able to. The Collective generally tries to make this process consensual by asking or convincing people to connect to it instead of forcibly assimilating people. They try to respect people not wanting to become a part of it, but in rare emergency situations they may ignore this moral restriction and forcibly connect someone[9]. Resisting being connected to the Collective is in some cases possible via methods such as shielding against psionic/telepathic influences, or simply being genetically resistant to connection, although this is incredibly rare.
Because of their telepathic link Collective members are capable of various abilities, such as the instantaneous transfer of knowledge and training[10] to one another. Additionally this makes The Collective immune to infiltration and memory erasure, as its decentralized and connected nature allows them to easily notice a spy or re-grant a member's lost knowledge in the case of a memory wipe. Though the Collective can theoretically be susceptible to cognitohazards and psionic attacks[11], such threats are typically dealt with efficiently via various methods such as isolating affected individuals from the network.
While The Collective initially started as just a mere telepathic link between several people, the mere existence of this link eventually led to the birth of a 'central intelligence' out of each member's collective will. This collective intelligence is effectively its own being, which claims to also be called "Collective"[12].
Collective secretly controls the entire organization behind-the-scenes, keeping itself hidden from its members. Collective aligns with the goals and objectives of the hivemind as a whole, however it may occasionally intervene in the organization by hijacking and rewriting the personalities of those who step out of line, don't align with The Collective's goals, or discover its existence. Additionally Collective has various goals of its own, including the spread of itself, which it makes its members do unknowingly.
The Collective has somekind of presence or an interest in most major organizations and some governments across Human Space as it seeks to utilise knowledge and technology from various differing sources to improve its capabilities. While some of these plants within other organizations are merely for cooperation or business[13], some of its operations into other organizations are for espionage or sabotage purposes.
The Collective's "official stance" when it comes to other groups is fairly neutral, claiming to not have any true allies or enemies[14], although it does informally have various positive and/or hostile relationships with various organizations. This informal stance also affects how The Collective decides to work with other groups, such as cooperating with them[15] or actively sabotaging and/or trying to destroy/assimilate them.
The early history and creation of The Collective are largely shrouded in history, even to itself. Possible origins include the likes of ancient rituals, mind-control experiments, a psychic parasite, and whatever other explanations the world's psuedo-scientists conceived of to explain The Collective's nature. Little is known about the earlier phases of Collective's[16] existence, although it can be inferred that it was not always a force of dedicated individuals working towards societal progress, instead The Collective during its youth appeared to be largely apathetic, thinking it had experienced everything a highly intelligent entity inhabiting a couple hundred human minds could see. This apathetic attitude was however derived from the very thoughts that would eventually become the basis for its ideals; inequality. Its hosts were located in various different positions of human society, while many were living in comfortable positions, many were also impovrished and living in the midst of pollution and hardship. Through some kind of prophetic experience it has never elaborated on, The Collective came to the realisation that the only way that injustices it hated could be cured was if instead of leaving Humanity to bicker and fight amongst one-another for useless causes, an entity such as itself could push them in the right direction, the direction of progress and inspiration.
The first time The Collective was discovered by an outside force was by the SDS Foundation in 317, whom discovered The Collective and its underground compound named "Sentinel Colony" in the Appalachian Mountains, which it was utilising as its primary base of operations. While it is unknown if all Collective members of the time were present in Sentinel Colony, what is known that all suspected members of The Collective were executed, with the various prisoners within the compound being administered Amnestics and released back into the public. What the SDS Foundation did not know at the time was that the Collective is that these prisoners were also members of The Collective simply pretending to be prisoners, as the Collective's members are resistant to memory-wipes due to the hivemind's decentralized nature, allowing said individuals memories to be granted back to them neigh-instantly. Once these former prisoners re-entered public life, they over-time began to spread The Collective across the general populace of Yata, recruiting a vast majority of the next generation of Collective members in a rebuilding effort.
While already being somewhat aware of what The Collective was thanks to recovered documents from the SDS describing it, the United Occult Initiative accidentally encountered The Collective assaulting SDS Forces in Storage-Site-4 in the year 367, which the UOI was also planning on attacking. UOI members broke into the facility and assisted in the defeat of remaining SDS forces, as The Collective did not prevent their intervention. UOI soldiers thus attempted to figure out who or what the Collective actually was, in response The Collective described itself as a group of like-minded individuals dedicated to bettering the world whom decided to take advantage of the SDS-UOI Conflict to launch attacks on the SDS, which they saw as a mutual nuisance. The UOI decided to trust these claims, and organized a meeting with The Collective to discuss what should be done with the captured facility.
These discussions were held onboard Unity Station between a Collective Representative and Jason Winters, Deputy-Secretary of the UOI. Initial agreements such as sharing Site-4, now rechristened as the Anomalous Object and Inactive Entity Containment Facility, and some degree of cooperation between the two groups. As The Collective saw the UOI as a possible ally, it decided to convince Jason Winters by revealing certain things about its history and nature, including details about the attack on Sentinel Colony, its egalitarian principles regarding free-information and betterment of humanity, and its nature as a Hivemind, and how any additional connections to the Hivemind are voluntary and non-intrusive in order to gain the UOI's trust. This was successful, as the UOI agreed to form a proper alliance between itself and the United Occult Initiative due to supposed shared common goals. Slightly concerned by The Collective's capabilities, the Order of the Metal Mind, which was secretly present in the meeting, began introducing psionic screenings to its members to prevent Collective espionage.
In 408 the Government of Sizhou, which had already conceived of various radical collectivist ideals such as the collectivization of humanity itself, launched a series of investigations into the possibility of telepathic communication. While they did not manage to develop such a method of their own, they did make another discovery; the Noosphere, a metaphysical layer of reality containing the total sum of all possible thought. While further investigations into this layer of reality were somewhat successful, yet another thing was discovered in these investigations; a myriad of voices speaking as one, The Collective. The Collective had already been interested in Sizhou's projects, seeing them as compatible with their own worldview, thus it infiltrated these experiments and gave a simple request to the scientists working on the project, to speak with their leader Hao Xiuying. While most worldleaders would likely say no to speaking to an entity such as The Collective, Hao regardless agreed, and used Sizhou's prototype Noosphere-interacting devices to move into the realm of thought, where his scientists had documented these "voices." Collective, the central intelligence behind The Collective spoke to Hao, telling him of their shared aspirations of unity, comradery, egalitarianism, and technological advancement, saying how it could provide him with everything he needed to advance his projects as long as he agreed to follow its lead. While initially sceptical, Hao eventually agreed to Collective's proposal, and was assimilated into the hivemind. Upon being disconnected from the device, Hao Xiuying was born anew, now connected to the total sum of knowledge present in countless other individuals under The Collective, including many of the individuals working at that very building. From here on, The Collective gained its first government-scale proxy, gaining control over the government of the fastest emerging post-Confederacy nation-state on Yata, although a vast majority of Sizhou's population outside of the People's Revolutionary Directorate, the collective leadership of the nation headed by Hao Xiuying, remains non-assimilated, yet still technically under The Collective's influence.
The Collective has access to highly advanced technology and commodities, despite often lacking the manpower to achieve more intricate global operations of its own, only really being able to do this via its direct proxies or organizations under its influence.
Specialized Crafts are advanced crafts created by The Collective for its own uses. These are very expensive to build, so only a handful of them are in existence. Each Craft is ordered to avoid direct combat engagements, and pursue evasive manoeuvers. If these fail, lethal force is authorised in order to protect the integrity of the vessels.
|
|
|
Specialized Weapons are advanced weapons created by The Collective for military use. These are typically more advanced or more unorthodox than typical guns or melee weapons, making their use beyond the Collective rare.
|
While many of its innovations are in the field of warfare, most of the Collective's technologies are dedicated to more civil purposes.
|
Despite its secrecy, several organizations have taken note of The Collective's activities and infiltrations over the years. The following is a collection of such documentations.
|
|
|
| Item#: SDS-023⠀ | Clearance Level 3: Confidential |
| Containment Class: Narakan | Disruption Class: 4/Ekhi |
| Secondary Class: Uncontained | Risk Class: 2/Caution |
|
|
We are not truly allied to opposed to any groups."
"There are simply 2 categories . People who have joined us, and those who have not yet."
- Collective (Central Intelligence)
