VOLUME 1: BACKGROUND

AND

WORLD INFORMATION

Carnivle..............................................................................................................................................2 Carnivle Mythology...........................................................................................................................3 Terms...............................................................................................................................................3 Avataric Blood....................................................................................................................................4 Avataric Nature..................................................................................................................................4 Characters.........................................................................................................................................4 Carnivle Jargon and Quotations.........................................................................................................12 Synopsis.........................................................................................................................................21 Clubs..................................................................................................................................................22 Diogenes Club..................................................................................................................................22 Drones Club.....................................................................................................................................23 Hellfire Club.....................................................................................................................................24 Junior Ganymede Club......................................................................................................................25 Curious Goods (Antique Store)...............................................................................................................26 Detroit Times Article.............................................................................................................................35 Ebola Pentex .......................................................................................................................................35 Firearms in the WoD.............................................................................................................................36 Ammunition.....................................................................................................................................36 Firearms Accessories.........................................................................................................................39 Caliber Tables..................................................................................................................................39 League of Extraordinary Gentlemen........................................................................................................40 Volume One.....................................................................................................................................40 Volume Two.....................................................................................................................................41 About the Series...............................................................................................................................43 The Black Dossier.............................................................................................................................43 Volume III: Century..........................................................................................................................44 Tales of The League..........................................................................................................................45 The World of the League....................................................................................................................45 History of the League........................................................................................................................53 Rival Leagues...................................................................................................................................54 Timeline of the Leagues.....................................................................................................................54 Martial Arts Styles................................................................................................................................62 Blocking..........................................................................................................................................63 Styles.............................................................................................................................................63 Myths Over Miami.................................................................................................................................71 Project Manticore.................................................................................................................................75 Terminator Future War Timeline............................................................................................................81 Cyberdyne Systems..........................................................................................................................81 Skynet............................................................................................................................................82 Tech-Com........................................................................................................................................84 Terminator, Series 800 (Future Assassin).............................................................................................85 Terminator, Series 1000 (Mimetic Assassin, TC)...................................................................................86 Terminator, Series X (Terminatrix, TC)...............................................................................................87 Time Travel.....................................................................................................................................88 Mission History.................................................................................................................................89 Treasure of Jarman ..............................................................................................................................92 Umbrella Files......................................................................................................................................93 Wesker's Report...............................................................................................................................98 Wesker's Report II............................................................................................................................99 Viruses .........................................................................................................................................104 Umbrella Corporation......................................................................................................................106 Known Umbrella Facilities................................................................................................................108 Paramilitary Units...........................................................................................................................108 Weapon Plus Program.........................................................................................................................109 World of Darkness: Cthulhu.................................................................................................................112 Index................................................................................................................................................117

CARNIVLE
Carnivle, pronounced /k.nvl/ (car-nih-VAL), was an overarching story about the battle between good and evil as well as the struggle between free will and destiny. At the beginning of the first episode, the carnivals manager (a dwarf named Samson) says: Before the beginning, after the great war between heaven and hell, God created the Earth and gave dominion over it to the crafty ape he called man...and to each generation was born a creature of light and a creature of darkness...and great armies clashed by night in the ancient war between good and evil. There was magic then. Nobility. And unimaginable cruelty. And so it was until the day that a false sun exploded over Trinity, and man forever traded away wonder for reason. This quotation offers a glimpse into the shows subject matter and framework. The story consists of two main plot lines that are slowly converging. The first involves a young man with strange healing powers named Ben Hawkins, the creature of light, who joins a traveling carnival when it passes near his home in Milfay, Oklahoma. Soon thereafter, Ben begins experiencing strange dreams and visions, and finds himself on the trail of a man named Henry Scudder, a drifter who crossed paths with the carnival many years before...and who apparently possessed unusual abilities similar to Bens own. Scudder is eventually revealed to be Bens father. The second plotline revolves around a Father Coughlin-esque Methodist preacher, Brother Justin Crowe, the creature of darkness, Bens opposite and his ultimate nemesis. Justin is also learning the extent of his strange powers, which seem to include the ability to bend human beings to his will, and to make their sins or greatest evils manifest in the form of terrifying, traumatic visions. Justin experiences surreal, prophetic dreams similar to those of his young counterpart. As the story progresses, the carnival travels west toward California and a confrontation seems inevitable. The westward movement parallels the migration of the Okies (migrant workers and itinerant laborers) from Oklahoma to California during the Dust Bowl era. Samson also initiates us into the second season, saying: On the heels of the skirmish Man foolishly called the war to end all wars, the Dark One sought to elude his destiny...live as a mortal. So he fled across the ocean, to an empire called America...but by his mere presence, a cancer corrupted the spirit of the land. People were rendered mute by fools who spoke many words, but said nothing... for which oppression and cowardice were virtues... and freedom, an obscenity. Into this new land, the Prophet stalked his enemy...until, diminished by his wounds, he turned to the next in the ancient line of light. And so it was that the fate of all mankind came to rest on the trembling shoulders of the most reluctant of saviors. In the second season opener, Ben meets the mysterious figure known as Management, the heretofore unseen presence that controls the carnival, and gives Samson his often stupefying orders. Management is actually a man named Lucius Belyakov, Bens predecessor and the previous creature of light. Belyakov shows Ben a vision of the first atomic test at Trinity, near Alamogordo, N.M., and tells him that the devastating explosion hes just witnessed is the final link in a chain of events that is unfolding even now. You must break that chain. (This is the false sun over Trinity spoken of in the opening to the first episode.) The only way to do that, Belyakov tells him, is by destroying the preacher Ben sees in his visions. Meanwhile, Justin (whos begun delivering weekly sermons over the airwaves via a local radio station, eventually drawing thousands of Okies and migrants to the site of his new ministry outside Minter, California) is approached by a man named Smith, who identifies Justin as the Usher and tells him that, in order for him to attain his full measure of power and thus fulfill his destiny, he must kill Henry Scudder, the previous creature of darkness. Fortunately, Ben eventually finds Scudder and brings him to Belyakov, who forces him to reveal the identity of Bens opposite... Belyakovs son, Alexi (Justin and his sister Iris were raised by a minister named Norman Balthus, and given their new names, after their motherBelyakovs wifewas killed in a train derailment). Belyakov then attacks Scudder, forcing Ben to kill him. At that point, all of Belyakovs knowledge and power passes on to Ben, who proceeds to begin searching for his nemesis. The second season ends with a dramatic confrontation between Ben and Brother Justin in a field outside New Canaan, California. The show mixes Christian theology with aspects of Gnosticism and Masonic lore, particularly that of the Knights Templar. While ratings began agreeably, by the end of the first season, they were down significantly. During the second season, the ratings slowly rose toward the end; however, the show became increasingly expensive to produce at the same time. Many fans suspected that, due to HBOs tradition of carrying shows through to an end, and Daniel Knaufs six-year plan, the show would be renewed, but in May 2005, it was leaked that the series would not be returning for another season. HBO confirmed that the show had been cancelled on 11 May 2005. The shows ending after its second season and leaving so many plotlines unfinished has outraged many viewers. Some of them organized petitions and mailing drives to HBO in an effort to get the show renewed. According to HBOs president, this generated more than 50,000 emails to the network in a single weekend. Had the series continued, several things would have occurred, according to Knauf. The series would have been composed of three Books, with two seasons per book, spanning several years. (Thus the first book was completed.) Book II (seasons three and four) would have taken place between 1939 and 1940, and Book III between 1944 and 1945 (leading up to the end of WWII and the explosion at the Trinity test site). 2

According to a February 2006 article on Mediavillage.com, HBO may be considering developing a movie or miniseries that would wrap up many of these plot lines. The article goes on to state that if the ratings are good, HBO may consider renewing the show for a third season. Carnivle Mythology In the Age of Wonder, first there was the Alpha, the first female Prophet. She lived before the Flood. Her story is now lost with the destruction of the Royal Library of Alexandria. From her, to every generation is born a Creature of Light and a Creature of Dark, which implies that she contained both light and dark within her. These Creatures are known as Avatara, manifestations of some higher power. Other than the Alpha, they have always been male. While the moral defect (i.e. Light or Dark) is randomly assigned to an Avatar upon birth, it will also play against their basic human nature that can be good or evil. When Avataric and human natures coincide, the Avatar will work well towards the goal of his House. When they are in opposition, the opposite is likely to happen (like with Scudder). The avataric blood travels within families forming a dynasty. The first born son of an Avatar is himself the Avatar of a new generation. Whether the new Avatar is Light or Dark is chance. All that matters is that there is one of each per generation. Any other children to an Avatar other than the eldest male is a Vectorus. The Vectori are those with avataric blood who are not themselves Avatara. They are not uncommon and are usually female. They cannot become Avatara, as that mantle is only conveyed upon birth. They can exhibit some minor powers and are often crazy in some way. A woman who gives birth to an Avatar is stricken barren and insane. Before that time, she can give birth to unlimited females from an Avatar. The eldest Avatar within a House is called the Prophet and has blue blood. The next in line is the Prince. The Prophet always seems to know his Prince even if he is in a different family. If the Prince dies before the Prophet, a dynasty ends and the first male child born elsewhere in the world with the most avataric blood is the new Prince unless the Prince had a son in which case the son will raise to Prince. If the Prince loses his son while the Prophet still lives, no new Avatar is born until the Prince rises to Prophet then a new Prince will be born elsewhere in the world starting a new dynasty. A dynasty usually lasts about 3 generations. When a Prophet dies while a Prince also lives, one of two things happens. If the Prophet dies at the hands of his Prince, the Prince will gain the mantle of Prophet with an extra boon. This boon is likely additional powers and knowledge not otherwise gained. If a Prophet dies in any other way, the Prince will be automatically raised to Prophet in his stead. All Avatara draw from the same pool of powers. It is only in how they are used that differs. Imagine there is a toolbox with a knife. Both the Avatar of Light and the Avatar of Dark can use the knife. Whereas the AoL might use the knife to help someone else, the AoD will likely use the knife to kill someone. On an individual basis, there is nothing to prevent an AoD from also healing someone, or from an AoL killing someone, it is only on the large scale average that the general trend can be seen. Healing someone in body requires the transfer of energy from elsewhere. To bring someone back from death requires the Avatar to consciously completely remove the life from someone else and "transfer" it. This resurrection may form a connection between the two individuals, as with Ruthie and Lodz. Healing someone in spirit, on the other hand, requires no such transfer in energy and is unlimited in scope. Other types of powers, like astral projection, are trying on the Avatar and may cause him damage. Thus, an Avatar is still mortal even if they are more resilient. Anybody can kill a normal Avatar. Avatars exert a degree of control over dreams. Both Scudder and Belyakov were adept at manipulating the dreams of those they employed (mainly Ben, although Scudder sent dreams to other individuals as well). Avatars also seem to be present in each other's dreams, though they are often unaware of it (Justin was present in many of Ben's dreams, but while Ben remembered his face, Justin was clueless as to what Ben looked like until midway through the second season). Finally, an Avatar can grant some small measure of his power to a mortal. This does not make the mortal of the avataric blood, but does give them additional powers. Lodz is an example of this. Scudder gifted him with his mentalist abilities and his psychometry, but also took Lodz's sight in the process. As a result of the transaction, Lodz is able to sense where Scudder is. The final part of the equation is the Omega. It has been assumed by occult scholars that the Omega and the Usher are one and the same. This is not the case. The Omega is the last Prophet. She is also a female, the bookend to the Alpha. As the Omega, she will be ruled by the principle of the three selves of the Gospel of Thomas. The fixed hidden self is likely Dark, the varying hidden self is likely Light and the varying visible self is a mix of the two, varying between both extremes yet tending to Dark. Once again, the Omega's role in these matters is unknown. The Usher of Destruction is a unique creature. He has been prophesied throughout the ages but can only be manifest once. In visions, he is seen as the Tattooed Man. He can only be killed by an anointed blade thrust into the bough of his tree tattoo where the dark heart dwells. We can assume that the blade must also be whole, since Ben's broken dagger was not enough to permanently kill Justin. Regardless, the Usher's motives are also unknown, but we can assume they involve "destruction." Terms Avatara: Those carrying Avataric Blood and the Mantle of a House. Can exhibit considerable power. 3

Vectori: Any others carrying Avataric Blood without a Mantle. Can exhibit minor powers, often crazy. Houses: Two exist, one Dark and one Light, representing a moral alignment. Manifest in the world through the transfer of a Mantle to one carrying Avataric blood upon birth creating an Avatar. Creature of Light/Darkness: Another name for an Avatar of a particular House. Mantle: The mechanism through which a House manifests on the mortal plane. Cannot be transferred once given. Prophet: Dominant Avatar of a House, always the eldest in terms of generations. Exhibits the Vitae Divina (blue blood). Princes: All other Avatara of a House. Eldest generational Prince is Ascendant. Dynasty: Unbroken line of Avatara from father to son independent of House. Boon: Sum knowledge of the memories and abilities of Prophet. Wild Card Avatara: Avatara that have special rules in addition to, or replacing, the normal ones. The Alpha: The first Avatara female. Her story has been lost since the destruction of the Royal Library of Alexandria by Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria (the patron saint of arsonists). The Usher of Destruction: An Avataric Prophet who has been foretold as a harbinger of the End Times. Known by a thousand names in a thousand books, the true function of the Usher has yet to be revealed. The primary resource about him and Avatara in general is the Gospel of Matthias. He is represented in prophecy and visions as the Tattooed Man. Protected by the Tattoo of the Tree of Knowledge, he is only susceptible to an anointed weapon thrust into his Dark Heart where the branches of the tattoo meet. The Omega: Erroneously considered synonymous with the Usher by most scholars. Commonly accepted to be the last Avatar. Avataric Blood One Blood through which the Houses manifest following certain rules: Any child of someone carrying Avataric Blood also carries the Blood to lessening degree as they become generationally further removed from an Avatar in the bloodline. Such an individual is a Vectorus (e.g., Iris). Two Houses, Light and Dark, manifest via the Blood by passing a Mantle at birth and creating an Avatar. The hallmark of an Avatar of Dark is coal black eyes, the hallmark of an Avatar of Light is an interesting aura (never seen). An Avatar cannot pass on his Mantle to anyone else (i.e. an Avatar is only born, never made, as evidenced by the failed attempt between Scudder and Lodz). The Mantle is conveyed through the Blood from father to first-born son. If the youngest Prince in a dynasty dies without issue, the first male child born to the world from a Vectori line with the most Blood establishes a new dynasty and receives the Mantle. The only known exceptions to the male restriction are the Alpha and the Omega. One Prophet (Dominant/eldest generational Avatar) per House. The Blood becomes Vitae Divina (blue Blood) upon rising to this level. A Prophet knows the given name of his Ascendant Prince. The mother of an Avatar is rendered barren and insane upon the childs birth. Any weapon infused with the Vitae Divina is enchanted (anointed). Injuries from such a weapon never fully heal. Avataric Nature Nature is Randomly assigned: Dark can beget Light and Light can beget Dark. One Avatar per generation, per House. Mortal, but tougher and more resilient than normal humans. Ascendant Prince must personally kill the Prophet of the same House to gain his full measure of power: a boon with the sum of the Prophets knowledge and power. The Prophet must be in full control of his faculties, and if not willing to pass on the boon, must be taken by surprise else the Prince possibly be harmed in the transfer. Free choice is operative allowing an Avatar to act contrary to the nature of their House. Dark Avatara react to the actions of Light Avatara (AKA Light heals, Dark feelse.g., Justin keeps reacting to Ben healing people). At the close of the series, many plot points were left unanswered and unexplained. Some have since been cleared up by Knauf: The past relationship between Scudder and Lodz (the two worked a sideshow attraction together in Europe; Lodz was blinded when Scudder unsuccessfully attempted to rid himself of his powers by passing them on to his friend). The reason Ben was a fugitive when he first crossed paths with the carnival (he accidentally killed a guard after being imprisoned for attacking the bank manager who foreclosed on his mothers land). The Bear that attacked Belyakov on the battlefield was part of Lodz's circus act before he and Scudder joined forces. Plot points that remain unexplained include the following: Sofies ultimate purpose as the Omega. Justins purpose as the Usher. The significance of the vision Ben and Sofie share of the two kissing as the atomic bomb explodes in the background. Lodzs agenda and what he means when he says that he will soon return in the flesh. The Saunier Manuscript and how it relates to the Avatar. How Jonesy will survive his gunshot wound. How the fate of all mankind hinges upon the explosion at the Trinity test site. Characters Ben Krohn Hawkins was the child of Henry Scudder and Flora Hawkins. His father left when Ben was an infant, leaving him in the care of his mentally unstable mother. Ben was born with a gift, the Christ-like ability to heal. He managed to hide his abilities throughout most of his childhood and early adulthood, most likely because of his mother, who was terrified of her son's power and proclaimed him to be 'marked by the Beast.' Ben was also a wanted chain-gang fugitive. According to Daniel Knauf, the show's creator, 'Ben was imprisoned for assaulting a bank officer. He subsequently killed a guard while escaping'. After his mother's death from dust pneumonia, Ben was picked up by a traveling carnival that 'just happened' to be crossing through town, on 4

orders from the leader of the group, a dwarf named Samson (who in return reports to a mysterious, unseen figure known only as Management.) While traveling with the carnival, Ben sought to learn about his past, and the origins of his strange powers. Among other things, he learned that the power came with a price; to give life, he must also take life in return. (Mostly from small animals and crops). He could raise the dead, but only by deliberately killing someone else. Management eventually revealed to Ben that he was the Avatar of Light, and that in order to prevent the Apocalypse, he must track down and destroy his opposite, the Avatar of Darkness (a preacher named Brother Justin Crowe). Ben also sought out Henry Scudder, both for Management, and for his own curiosity about the man who fathered and then abandoned him. After a number of near-misses and harrowing encounters, Ben finally came face to face with his father during the latter part of the show's second season. Scudder was badly scarred, having dipped his face into acid to hide his identity, but Ben laid his hands upon his father's head and healed him. Eventually it was revealed that even though Ben was the creature of light, his father was the previous creature of darkness. When he brought his father before Management (the previous creature of light, and Scudder's old nemesis, a man named Lucius Belyakov), a fight ensued in which Ben was forced to kill Management, fatally stabbing him with a WWI trench knife - his avataric weapon acquired from his grandmother and passed down to him by his father - and thereby infusing the weapon with avataric blood, transforming it into a weapon powerful enough to kill his own adversary. Scudder ran from the trailer after the fight and was kidnapped by Varlyn Stroud, an escaped convict and acolyte of Brother Justin. As Ben had killed Justin's father to receive his powers, Justin killed Ben's by decapitating Scudder with a sickle. Now understanding his powers more fully (having received his 'Boon,' the sum of his predecessor's knowledge, after killing Belyakov), Ben set out to confront Brother Justin on the grounds of his new ministry in New Canaan, California. Ben and Brother Justin finally met in battle in a cornfield outside New Canaan, a battle in which he slew the minister, after which he passed out from his own grievous wounds on top of the fallen Justin's body, only to be found the next morning. As the carnival left New Canaan, however, Sofie - a former lover of Ben's (and, unbeknownst to Ben, the daughter of his mortal enemy) - came to her father and laid her hands upon him. Immediately the cornfield around them began to wither and die, highly reminiscent of what happened when Ben healed a crippled little girl's legs in the show's first episode. Brother Justin Crowe was born Alexi Belyakov, son of Lucius Belyakov. Alexi and his sister Irina (later Iris) were rescued at a young age by Reverend Norman Balthus, a Methodist minister who raised the two children as his own after their mother was killed in a train derailment. Even as a child, Justin was apparently gifted with strange powers. Once, shortly before coming under the care of Reverend Balthus, he telekinetically snapped a man's neck. His memory repressed the incident, but Iris remembered, and kept the knowledge from Justin throughout most of his life. As a young man, Justin became infatuated with a gypsy woman named Apollonia Bojakshiya. Sensing his true nature she repeatedly spurned his advances. Eventually Justin forced his way into her home and brutally raped her. Unbeknownst to Justin, Apollonia would later give birth to a child, a little girl named Sofie, before falling permanently into a catatonic state. As an adult, Justin followed in his adoptive father's footsteps and became a minister, eventually tending his flock in Mintern, California. The worst was yet to come. In 1934, Justin once again began exhibiting strange supernatural abilities, including the power to force people to relive their greatest sins in the form of terrifying, traumatic visions that Justin himself would also experience. Despite the anger and self-interest that often lay at the heart of these episodes, Justin initially believed himself to be doing the work of God. After his church was destroyed in a fire that took the lives of several innocent children (an act, unbeknownst to him at the time, committed by his sister Iris), Justin became a desperate, disillusioned wanderer, keeping company with migrants and hobos before finally ending up in a sanitarium following an unsuccessful suicide attempt. While hospitalized, Justin discovered he had the ability to manipulate and control those around him through sheer force of will, eventually commanding rooms full of people to fall silent simply by uttering the words "be still" (even though, in some cases, the people affected were not even within earshot). After using his newfound abilities to secure his release and return to Mintern, Justin quickly began the work of rebuilding his ministry. Shortly thereafter, during a service, Reverend Balthus attempted to baptize Justin, who wanted to be 'reborn' in the eyes of God, and was shocked to see the water from the baptismal font turn to blood as it touched Justin's forehead. Suspecting that Justin might be possessed by a demon, Reverend Balthus confronted his surrogate son, but Justin became enraged and tried to make Norman relive his worst sin. To Justin's horror, Norman's 'greatest evil' turned out to be saving Justin's own life as a little boy. Devastated, Justin begged the priest to kill him, but Balthus could not bring himself to do it. After discovering his true nature, Justin quickly began to embrace the evil within him, reasoning that "perhaps God has a different plan for some of us." Gathering a huge flock of worshippers (mostly migrants and Okies) outside Mintern via his nightly radio sermons and newfound abilities of persuasion, Justin was also approached by a scholar named Wilfred Talbot-Smith, who identified Justin as 'the Usher' and told him that, in order for him to gain his full measure of power and fulfill his destiny, he must find and kill a man named Henry Scudder (unbeknownst to Justin, the father of his counterpart, Ben Hawkins, and the previous Avatar of Darkness). With the help of escaped convict Varlyn Stroud, whom he was able to influence telepathically via radio transmissions, Justin eventually managed to kill Scudder. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to either of them, father and daughter were reunited, as Sofie Bojakshiya came to work at Justin's house in New Canaan (the site of his growing ministry) as a chambermaid. Shortly thereafter, in a cornfield outside New Canaan, Justin at long last met his adversary, the Avatar of Light, in battle, a battle in which his enemy was badly injured and Justin himself was slain. However, Sofie, the Omega, the Final Avatar, quickly arrived and placed her hands on Justin's chest, causing the corn 5

stalks around them to wither and fall away highly reminiscent of what happened when Ben healed a crippled little girl's legs in the show's first episode. According to Wilfred Talbot-Smith (as well as Daniel Knauf, the show's creator), Justin is not only the final Avatar of Darkness, but also the Usher of Destruction, a figure whose coming was foretold in the Gospel of Matthias (an ancient book filled with Avataric lore and mythology). Unfortunately, the show was cancelled before the ultimate purpose of the Usher (as well as that of the Omega, Justin's daughter) could be explained. During a recent convention appearance, however, Knauf revealed that had the show continued, Brother Justin would have come back, with Sofie and his sister Iris apparently still at his side. He also claims that Justin would have continued to struggle with the darker side of his own nature, and that ultimately the audience would have been left in doubt as to whether Justin was truly evil or his counterpart truly good. Knauf followed up in an online forum that Justin and Sofie would eventually marry, and that a child would be involved. Future plot development would revolve around the parentage of the child and Sofie's coming into her own as the Omega to Justin's Usher. Iris Crowe (Irina Belyakov): Iris is Justin's older sister. She has remained a large part of his life since they were children and would do anything for him. On the exterior, Iris appears very demure and polite, the perfect hostess by all accounts. On the inside, however, she is dedicated to furthering her brother's destiny, and will stop at nothing to achieve it, including burning down Justin's church, the Dignity Ministry, which also happened to be full of children. Iris' loyalty, though, is closely linked to her faith. She genuinely believes that her brother has been called upon by God to perform a duty, and this begins to trouble her as Justin's actions move further and further away from the divine. After discovering that she burned down the church, Justin keeps close watch on Iris. Tommy Dolan, who suspects her involvement in the fire, sets out to find evidence of her complicity, at Justin's behest. Iris eventually gives a full, written confession, dictated to Dolan with Justin present, wherein she admits to setting fire to the church and claims she fell under the influence of a "shadow." When Dolan reads the confession to Justin's congregation, however, he finds his own signature at the end. Iris is completely cleared of any suspicion and Dolan takes the fall. Iris retains the major of her normal duties, and effectively manages her brother's growing interests. These include anything from caring for and coordinating the various immigrants flowing into the camp to providing a fresh supply of maids for Justin to rape, both mentally and physically. She is also, at times, performs more heinous acts for her brother. For instance, she murders Eleanor after the older woman accidentally saw Justin with all-black eyes. However, after the incident with Dolan, Iris becomes less forgiving to her brother and begins to actively plot his downfall with Norman. This results in a failed assassination attempt by Norman, after which Justin cursorily acknowledges their conspiracy and dismisses them as "a dried up old spinster and a pathetic delusional cripple." Her work not yet finished, Iris plots to maneuver Carnivle into Justin's camp, aware of the threat it poses to him. Justin, on the other hand, is aware of his sister's motives, but eager for a confrontation with Ben. During the buildup, Iris confesses her sins to Norman, and accepts the fact that she's going to Hell. She bears witness to the full intensity of her brother's power when he is trapped in the ferris wheel and being psychically drained by Ben. Her faith may or may not have been impacted by her brother's spectacle at the carnival, as well as by the sight of the cross when Sofie heals him in the field. Management: Management is the man behind the curtain. He remains off-screen for all of season 1, and has only a handful of lines. However, he is the driving force behind the carnival. We know little of him in season 1, save that he purchased the Hyde and Teller Company, that he had a falling-out with Lodz in St. Louis, and that something terrible happened between him and Scudder during World War 1 and he's been searching for Scudder ever since. He resides in a small, curtained-off puppet stage in an upscale animal trailer. Regardless, he seems to be gifted with numerous powers, including healing, clairvoyance, telekinesis, telepathy, invisibility, and the ability to create solid objects out of air. His motivations remain as shadowy as he is, unfortunately, and we are not entirely sure just what he intends. He employs Lodz to try to teach Ben how to harness the gift of healing, but Ben rebuffs Lodz's attempts. Sensing that Ben will refuse to give in otherwise, Management orders Lodz to kill Ruthie in order to provoke Ben into acting. The plan succeeds, and Ben goes to Management for advice, unaware of Management's complicity in the deed. Management informs Ben that to heal Ruthie, Ben must consciously take a life in her place. During his talk with Ben, Management drops many clues concerning his identity, claiming that he and Ben are not so different, and that he, like Ben, understands what it's like to choose one life over another. Frustrated, Ben eventually returns to Management to reject his advice. Management plays his ace, and reveals to Ben that it was Lodz who murdered Ruthie. Furious, Ben murders Lodz and resurrects Ruthie, prompting Management to point out to Ben that "perhaps we are of ilk nature after all." Minutes after Ben has murdered Lodz, Management exposits that his true name is Lucius Belyakov and that he was the Russian soldier Ben saw in his dreams. Belyakov was the previous generation's Avatar of Light, and after winding up an amputee due to an encounter with Lodz's bear, he spent the rest of his life tracking down Ben and Scudder. Belyakov also reveals to Ben the nature of the Tattooed Man: the Usher of Destruction. Ben is drawn into a vision of himself standing at the Trinity test site for the atom bomb. The bomb detonates, and Ben sees Brother Justin crouched amid the shockwaves. Once the vision ends, Management tries to convince Ben to prevent these events, but Ben is overwhelmed and flees. Belyakov remains taciturn until Ben discovers Scudder's whereabouts. After retrieving him, Ben brings Scudder to Management, ignoring Scudder's fear that Belyakov will attack him. When Scudder is brought before Management, he reveals the name of Ben's counterpart: Brother Justin, Belyakov's son. Enraged and caught off guard, Lucius attacks Scudder, only to be killed by Ben. As it turns out, it had been Belyakov's plan all along to manipulate Ben into killing him. Scudder 6

was the only incentive (aside from Sophie, perhaps) that would cause Ben to kill Management. Since Belyakov died at Ben's hands, he passed his boon on, granting Ben a much wider set of knowledge and powers. Professor Ernst Lodz: Lodz is the carnival's blind mentalist, whose abilities include: divining past, present and future from an object, reading people's dreams, and telepathic communication. Lodz apparently has no compunctions betraying colleagues, as evidenced by his brief alliance with Management after the carnival changes hands. It is strongly implied that Management is using Lodz to locate Scudder, although this seems to stop after the events that transpire in St. Louis. Afterwards, Lodz returns to his position as the mentalist, and latches on to Ben as he can presumably see the young man's true nature. He attempts to instruct Ben, but the young man rebuffs all Lodz's advances. It is not until Management manipulates Lodz into killing Ruthie (a service which Management rewards by restoring Lodz's eyesight) that Ben is forced to act. Lodz's death will inevitably raise complications, most notably with his pseudo girlfriend, Lila. Lodz's body is hidden by Samson and Ben, at Management's behest. Samson is forced to deny all knowledge of Lodz's whereabouts to the other carnies and perpetuate the lie that Lodz disappeared during the night. Most of the carnies don't care, and others are glad to see him gone, but Lila manages to stage a brief and unsuccessful revolt by incriminating Samson in Lodz's disappearance. The scheme fails and Lila winds up worse off than before. As for Lodz, he makes several appearances throughout the season. He usually appears as a brief shadow, but sometimes he makes a more physical appearance. He also is now able to possess Ruthie's body for brief periods of time in order to interact with the physical world. These "interactions" include going down on Lila and writing "Sofie is the Omega" in lipstick on Ruthie's mirror. However, nothing seems to come of any of this either. In an attempt to escape his avataric destiny, Scudder attempted to transfer his powers to Lodz. The exchange didn't work, and Lodz wound up blind with moderate telepathic abilities, as well as a psychic connection to Scudder. Scudder remained unchanged. The incident in St. Louis was Lodz trying to cut a deal with Scudder, and Management finding out. Felix Stumpy Dreifuss: The frontman of the Gay Paree cooch show, Felix is in a position not many men would enjoy: one that involves promoting his wife and two daughters as stripper-prostitutes to whatever man can afford them. The cooch show itself is rather harmless, and Stumpy seems to be genuinely happy. He has a loving, healthy and stable relationship with his wife, and he seems close with his two daughters. Fortune throws him a curveball in Babylon when, after Samson's insistence to cut the "blow-off" segment of the show (which involves a panty-less Dora Mae), Rita Sue ignores the little man's advice and sends her youngest daughter alone on stage in front of a packed tent full of zombie miners. The situation takes a turn for the worse, and the tent collapses. In the aftermath, a shaken Dora Mae is taken by the miners, mutilated, and hanged from a tree. The death of Dora Mae predictably puts a strain on Stumpy and Rita Sue's relationship, and it turns out to be Stumpy who has the most trouble coping with it. After a particularly demanding Rita Sue tries to force them to rekindle their marriage, Stumpy convinces Jonesy to sleep with Rita Sue once so she'll leave her husband alone. The plan unsurprisingly goes awry, and Jonesy and Rita Sue begin to have an affair. Ironically, Stumpy soon becomes fed up with the fact that his wife is now unwilling to have sex, and picks up a promiscuous Mexican waitress, Caterina de la Rosa, whom he also brings into the cooch show. At Catalina's behest, Stumpy has his cards read by Sofie and Apollonia, who reveal that Rita Sue is having an affair. Sofie fails to mention the man's name, but Stumpy is capable of putting two and two together. In a series of tense confrontations, Stumpy manages to repair his relationship with Rita Sue and smooth things over with Jonesy. Rita Sue Dreifuss: Rita Sue is quickly established as the tacit leader of the Dreifusses. Though Felix is the talker, she's the one pulling all the strings. Due to her concern for the financial welfare of her family, Rita Sue countermanded Samson's order to have Dora Mae keep her panties on during a charged show in Babylon. Dora Mae went ahead with the act, and wound up being mutilated and killed by the desperate miners. Rita Sue was obviously distraught, but her grief lasted far less than that of her husband's. Frustrated by his continuous lack of communication after the incident, Rita Sue spitefully accepted Felix's suggestion that she sleep with Jonesy. The affair was brief, and ended badly. Jonesy eventually ended the relationship, against Rita Sue's wishes. However, Felix learned of the affair from Sofie during his first Tarot reading, and contemplated murdering his wife. He and Rita Sue settled the matter after a tense confrontation, and reconciled themselves to the unique marriage they'd attained. Dora Mae Dreifuss: Born in 1916 to Felix and Rita Sue Dreifuss, Dora Mae was the youngest of the Dreifuss daughters. She danced the cooch show with her mother and her sister, Libby. Having grown up in the carnival, she and Libby were each other's only friends. This relationship was strained when Libby began spending time with Sofie. Dora Mae had formed an unusual friendship with Gecko, the lizard-man, but this was short-lived, much like Dora Mae. When the carnival entered Babylon, Dora Mae was kidnapped after a show and brutally murdered, and had the words "Harlot" carved on her forehead. After her burial, it was revealed that the Babylon bartender had been the one to perform the deed, and though he escaped carnie justice, he wasn't so lucky when Samson shot him in the head in his bar. On his way out of town after killing the bartender, Samson notices a ghostly, naked Dora Mae standing in a window in the deserted town. She is soon pulled away from the window by the strong arm of a miner, and Samson realizes that Dora Mae is doomed to serve as the sex-toy of the undead miners for the rest of eternity. Libby Dreifuss: The eldest daughter of Felix and Rita Sue Dreifuss, Libby was born in 1914 and joined the Gay Paree Show as a performer in 1928, at the age of 14. Raised in the carnival with only her sister and her parents for company, Libby grew up extremely quickly, losing her virginity to a stranger at the age of 11. Libby became close with Sofie after the death of her sister (and sole companion), Dora Mae. The friendship soon 7

turned into one of mutual attraction. However, after witnessing her mother and Jonesy having sex, she refrained from divulging this to Sofie. This fact came to light when Sofie read Felix's cards, and an infuriated Sofie planned a cruel revenge. Making a suggestive late-night date with Libby, Sofie also arranged for Jonesy to arrive in the same place under the same impression several minutes later. Jonesy walks in on Libby and Sofie making out, and Sofie berates Jonesy for sleeping with Rita Sue, and Libby for failing to tell Sofie about it. Devastated by what happened with Sofie, Libby forms a bond with Jonesy over the affair. The two soon begin to fall for each other, and drunkenly marry each other. Although both Rita Sue and Felix oppose the marriage, Libby and Jonesy develop genuine feelings for each other. At one point, Jonesy is wrongfully blamed for a ferris wheel accident which killed several people. He and Sofie are kidnapped by the widower of one of the women killed in the incident. Jonesy is brutally tarred, feathered, and then left for dead with Libby. They are coincidentally discovered by Ben, who sends Libby away while he heals Jonesy. Libby attempts to keep Ben's secret, but caves under he mother's pressure. Rita Sue is shown up, though, when Jonesy returns and reluctantly reveals his healed leg. Libby and Jonesy are soon separated when Jonesy follows Stroud to rescue Sofie and winds up being shot by Sofie once she assumes her role as the Omega. Unaware of his death, but fearing the worst, Libby tearfully departs New Canaan with the rest of her family. Clayton Jones: Jonesy is Samson's right hand man. Samson's the one who tells the men where to pitch the tents, but Jonesy's the one who keeps them in line and makes sure they're doing their jobs. He's a good man, but rough around the edges because of the hand life dealt him. Samson respects him, but is still wary of Jonesy's alcohol problem. Jonesy doesn't improve matters when, during a powerful dust storm, he enters Management's trailer and finds nothing behind the curtain. Believing that Management must have been a fiction Samson cooked up, he almost leaves the carnival, but is drawn back in by Dora Mae's death. Samson regains Jonesy's trust after Management temporarily employs Lodz to manipulate Ben. The shifting power dynamic does not go unnoticed by Jonesy, who once again sides with Samson. His powerful feelings for Sofie are immediately apparent to all, but she's reluctant to become involved. As a result, Jonesy, who rarely knows whether Sofie's coming or going, enters into a brief but passionate affair with Rita Sue. The affair is doomed from the start, something which both are aware of, but they continue long enough to be seen by Libby, Sofie's closest friend. Jonesy eventually ends the affair, much to Rita Sue's displeasure, but it's too late. During a tarot reading, Apollonia reveals to Stumpy that his wife has been having an affair. When pressed for the identity of the man, Apollonia divulges his name to Sofie, but not to Stumpy. Appalled, Sofie discovers that Libby was aware of the affair and refrained from telling Sofie. Sofie plans an elaborate revenge scheme, which culminates in Jonesy finding her in bed with Libby. Sofie chastises them both, saying "This is what it feels like to be betrayed by someone you love." Nevertheless, when Sofie winds up trapped in a burning trailer, Jonesy is the first to rush in to save her. The season ends with both lives in the air. Jonesy manages to rescue Sofie, but after the incident he makes it brutally clear that he wants nothing more to do with her. He also sits down with Libby and assures her that he won't tell anyone about her and Sofie, another relationship which is now over. As Jonesy deals with the added hassle of Sofie becoming a roustie, he also strikes up a flirtatious relationship with Libby, something which doesn't please Rita Sue and Stumpy. After a violent and lengthy brawl with Stumpy over the issue, and after seeing Ben and Sofie post-coitus, Jonesy pursues Libby with renewed vigor. Soon, the two are married, and happily it seems. Unfortunately for the both of them, Jonesy and Libby are kidnapped by a man who wants revenge on Jonesy for being party to the death of his wife. The man's wife was killed when the Carnivle Ferris wheel malfunctioned and crashed. Jonesy, who was blameless in the ordeal, is horribly tarred and feathered, and Libby is forced to watch. Ben, on the road in pursuit of Stroud and Scudder, chances upon the tragic scene, and orders Libby to leave the area immediately. He proceeds to drain the life from the nearby vultures and restores Jonesy to perfect health, curing his limp as well. After this, Jonesy becomes Ben's wingman, assisting him in his more dangerous endeavors and defending his reputation to the other carnies. Eventually, in order to win back the other carnies, Jonesy reveals his completely healed leg and Ben's complicity in the deed. Once the carnival arrives at Brother Justin's New Canaan, Jonesy is charged with the task of rescuing a captive Sofie. He follows Stroud to the abandoned woodshed and, after knocking Stroud unconscious, frees Sofie. Sofie, unfortunately, is feeling less than grateful. She is now under the influence of her role as the Omega, and chooses to retrieve Stroud's gun and shoot Jonesy in the chest, then leave him for dead. Samson, who must get the carnival moving before the inhabitants of New Canaan realize that their messiah has been murdered, has no choice but to abandon Jonesy to his fate. After Carnivle's cancellation, Dan Knauf revealed that Jonesy would be alive in season 3. Henry (Hack) Scudder: Ben's absentee father. Scudder remains in the background for most of season 1, existing more as a name than an actual character. We catch glimpses of him in Ben's dreams, and see traces that he left in his path across America, but we never actually encounter the man. Ben, however, sees him constantly, whether waking or sleeping, and the line between reality and delusion is often blurred, such as when Scudder heals Ben's self-inflicted neck wound, and then disappears. What we know of Scudder is that he was born in 1889 in Ingram, Texas to Hilton Scudder and Emma Krohn Scudder. In 1914, Scudder joined the 1st Canadian Depot Battalion, stationed in Lemberg as an observer with the Austro-Hungarian army. He was involved in an assassination attempt by a Russian officer, which was thwarted by a runaway circus-bear, Bruno (whose master happened to be Professor Ernst Lodz). After the war, Lodz and Scudder travelled Europe for several months, conning the wealthy, until he became aware of Management's pursuit. Scudder fled to the States in 1915, where he met Flora and fathered Ben. Soon after Ben's birth, Scudder once again recognized the 8

signs of Management's search for him, so he left his wife and infant son, taking a job as "The Gentleman Geek" with the Hyde & Teller Company. This gig lasted until Management purchased the carnival, at which point Scudder, now a full-blown alcoholic, fled across the Southwest, taking a job at the Baylon mine. Little is known about what transpired here, but it is revealed that Scudder murdered another worker, Lyle Buttredge, with a pickaxe. The next day, he presumably caused a cave-in which killed every man in town (save the bartender). After the cave-in, though, the dead men's souls were anchored to Babylon, and have dwelled there ever since. Indeed, all of Babylon works as an anchor now, and anyone who dies within the town is doomed to spend eternity there. After departing from Babylon, Scudder continued to traverse the Southwest before vanishing in 1922. Scudder is revealed to be the previous generation's Avatar of Darkness. He did not want the mantle, and so he tried to escape his destiny. His whereabouts remain a mystery for half the season, until Ben, under Management's direction, locates him in Damascus, Nebraska. Scudder is horribly disfigured, the result of an effort to ensure that he would not be recognized. Ben drains the life from the hotel Scudder works in and from many people on the street in order to restore Scudder's features. Ben brings Scudder back to the carnival, after swearing to defend Scudder if Management attacks him. Sure enough, once Scudder and Belyakov start talking, Scudder has only to reveal that the current Avatar of Dark is Belyakov's son, Alexei, for Belyakov to viciously attack him. The two fight until Ben finally steps in and kills Belyakov. While Ben is distracted from receiving his boon, Scudder escapes. His flight is short-lived, and he is soon captured by Justin's apostle, Varlyn Stroud. Since Justin must kill Scudder himself to receive the boon, he locks a drugged Scudder in a woodshed until the time is right. Scudder escapes when Smith tries to extract the location of a manuscript from him. Using his avataric powers, he frees himself, murders Smith and steals a car. Unbeknownst to him, Justin was waiting in the backseat, and decapitates him with a sickle. Thus, Justin acquires his boon. The next day, while Ben is on his way to find Scudder and Brother Justin, he sees a vision of Scudder's severed head floating in a cow trough. Ben and Justin are now equals once again. Apollonia Bojakshiya: Apollonia was once a renowned seer who read cards for the rich and famous on the eastern seaboard. She was the only psychic Houdini was unable to debunk, and when a reporter later opined that perhaps Madame Apollonia was "the real McCoy," Houdini reputably snapped, "Just because she fooled me doesn't mean she's not a fake." We know that Apollonia was raped, and in 1913, during childbirth or soon thereafter (reports vary), she suffered a series of devastating seizures that left her paralyzed and catatonic. She was subsequently cared for by her sister, Anash, and later by her daughter, Sofie. The two eventually began working the travelling circuits as a mother-daughter act, since Sofie was able to hear her mother's thoughts. Sooner or later, the pair joined up with the Hyde and Teller company, and stuck with it after Management took over. Apollonia kept a tight rein on Sofie, and was prone to violent outbursts. She was highly critical of her daughter's life and sought to keep Sofie as sheltered as possible. This is due in part to Apollonia being aware of the fact that Sofie is the Omega. Apollonia also displayed a marked interest in Ben Hawkins, from the moment that he joined up with the carnival. Her interest was apparently great enough that one night she roused herself from approximately 21 years of immobility to walk to Ben and tell him that "[he's] the One." As a result, we can infer that Apollonia was also conscious of Ben's avataric heritage. In fact she pressured Sofie into interacting with Ben, to the point of inviting him to have his cards read and performing menial tasks for him (like driving him around). Contact between Ben and Apollonia ceased after Ben and Sofie had a falling out. Besides Ben, Apollonia communicated with Professor Lodz as well, though infrequently and only when she had to. At the end of season 1, fearful that Sofie would try to leave the carnival, Apollonia revealed what she knew to Lodz, who declared the whole situation insane and ran out of the room. Worried of losing Sofie, and worried that Sofie would lose herself, Apollonia felt she had no other option than to murder her daughter. In a desperate attempt, she trapped Sofie and herself within their burning trailer. During the fire, Apollonia died, though Sofie and Jonesy survived. However, much like Lodz, Apollonia continued to play a role in the show. Most notably, she followed Sofie around in many different forms, both ethereal and physical. Sofie remained plagued by her mother's presence until, almost unwittingly, Ben spiritually healed her and released her from her mother's spectre. Ruthie was also able to see Apollonia, although this is due to Ruthie's resurrection, not to any connection between her and Apollonia. In season 2, we also learn the identity of the mysterious Tattooed Man who raped Apollonia and fathered Sofie: Justin Crowe. Sofie Agnesh Bojakshiya: Sofie's role during season 1 is extremely muted, and her interactions don't seem to lead anywhere. She is presented as a highly sheltered and solitary loner. She appears to have few friends within the carnival, save for Jonesy, whom she's had feelings for quite a while. She develops a relationship with Libby, after Dora Mae's death, and the two become extremely close. However, after Jonesy sleeps with Rita Sue, and Libby, who witnesses the act, fails to tell Sofie, Sofie exacts her cruel revenge on both of them, effectively severing all her ties with the carnival. Sofie's relationship with her comatose mother is no less problematic. Apollonia is extremely controlling and caring for her takes its toll on Sofie. Unfortunately, Apollonia, who is growing increasingly unstable, does little to help the situation. Sofie is forced to deal with her mother's psychic tantrums, as well as being privy to psychic visions that her mother is unable to contain. As a result, Sofie is forced to watch her mother's rape at the hands of her mysterious, tattooed father. Fed up with caring for her mother, and furious at Jonesy and Libby, Sofie prepares to leave the carnival, only to be stopped by the sound of her mother's voice. Stunned, Sofie is caught unaware as her mother traps the two of them in their trailer and sets it on fire. Jonesy, who ran into the burning trailer, manages to save Sofie, but not Apollonia. Once she's outside the trailer, the other carnies realize that Sofie is forced to listen to her mother's 9

dying screams as she burns alive in the trailer. The trauma of having her mother attempt to kill her plagues Sofie for the rest of the season, as does the specter of her mother, who refuses to leave her alone. In an effort to focus her mind on something else, Sofie turns to manual labour within the carnival, to the disgust of many of the other male rousties. Eventually, after sleeping with Ben, Sofie deserts the carnival and, clueless as to his true nature, takes a job as a maid in Brother Justin's house. After a while Iris, Justin's sister, makes the connection between Sofie and the woman Justin raped in St. Paul (i.e. Apollonia). Justin's actions, on the other hand, imply that he is unaware of Sofie's parentage, and that he probably wouldn't care even if he was. Back in the carnival, Lodz is using some of his time in a temporary physical body to scrawl on Ruthie's mirror "Sophie is the Omega," but the message does not reach anyone who would be able to understand its meaning. Back in California, Justin at long last discovers Sofie's identity as a former carnie and deduces that she is somehow connected to Ben, his enemy. Sofie becomes his ace in the hole in any potential showdown with Ben, and as such she is locked in the same woodshed that was used to (unsuccessfully) house Scudder. Trapped in the shed, Sofie is tormented by visions of her heritage, visions which are not entirely dissimilar to Ben and Justin's Avataric dreams. When the visions end, Sofie is confronted by her own doppelganger, who, with all-black eyes similar to Scudder's and Justin's when using their powers, asserts that "This is your house." When Jonesy makes his way to the shed to rescue Sofie, Sofie retrieves Stroud's gun and shoots Jonesy in the chest, displaying the same all-black eyes as her father. She then calmly walks off. The next day, she locates Justin's near-lifeless body in the cornfield, a result of the preacher's battle with Ben, and proceeds to revive him. Her motives in this, as in all else since she entered into her role as the Omega, remain unclear. Ruthie: Ruthie is the aging yet seductive snake charmer with the carnival. Her son, Gabriel, is the carnival's strong man. Ruthie has been with Carnivle for quite a while, and was with them during Scudder's tenure with the outfit. The snake charmer and the gentleman geek formed an intimate relationship, though Ruthie acknowledges that Scudder never forgot Flora, the woman he left behind in Oklahoma. It is Ruthie who seemingly manages to persuade Samson to shelter Ben from the law in Milfay, and it's Ruthie who appears genuinely concerned for the boy. Ben, for his part, is no less attracted to Ruthie, but must grapple with the feelings that his mother condemned at every opportunity. The two begin an awkward and strained courtship, which Ben almost ruins when he finds out that Ruthie slept with Scudder. He apologizes for his outburst and, when Ben is on the brink of madness, tormented by horrific dreams every time he closes his eyes, the two consummate their affection. But since this is Carnivle, nothing works out like it should, and before long Ruthie has been killed by Lodz, acting under Management's orders. The deed is part of a grander scheme on Management's part to provoke Ben into using his powers to their full extent and accepting his heritage. In the end, it works and Ben kills Lodz and resurrects Ruthie. Things between the young healer and the older snake charmer do not return to normal, unfortunately. When Ben emerges from Management's trailer, he is distraught and overwhelmed. He also sees now how those that he cares about can be used to manipulate him. As a result, he expresses his happiness that Ruthie is "well" again (since she doesn't know that she died), but also makes it clear that he no longer wishes to be with her. The older woman is crushed and confused, since she believes that Ben merely sat with her until the snake venom left her body. However, Ruthie is soon troubled by more pressing matters. Due to her recent resurrection, she now has an uncanny connection to the spirit world. She begins seeing long-dead friends and lovers, as well as Apollonia and Lodz. She tells Sofie about seeing Apollonia, but Sofie is still traumatized by almost being murdered by her mother to respond. Eventually, Ruthie finds herself sleepwalking and performing extremely odd actions, like writing "Sofie is the Omega" in lipstick on her mirror. As it turns out, Ruthie is being temporarily possessed by Lodz so that he can make use of a physical body (presumably so that he can subject the audience to more disturbing sex with Lila). Regardless, nothing comes of Lodz's machinations, and when Ben reveals his true nature to the rest of the carnies, Ruthie forgives him. Gabriel: Gabriel is Ruthie's son, and as such he is highly protective of her. Moreover, Ruthie is the only one who can really tell him what to do. When Ben confronts Ruthie about sleeping with Scudder, Gabriel gets defensive, and the two young men fight. Though he has the advantage in size, Ben evades the strong man and trips him, causing Gabriel to break his arm. Once he's come to his sense, Ben apologizes to Ruthie and Gabriel, and takes Gabriel out to a lake to heal his arm. After that, Gabe develops an unspoken friendship with Ben. Gabriel has little to no role in the events of Season 2, although Dan Knauf said that had the series continued, Gabriel had a lot of development ahead of him. Samson: Carnivle's general manager, in charge of running the day-to-day affairs of the carnival, Samson is a clever and quick-witted con man. Getting his start in show business as a dwarf strongman at Coney Island in 1904, Samson soon moved on to traveling carnivals, and joined up with the Hyde and Teller Company in 1912. Samson worked his way up to position of general manager only to lose it to Professor Lodz when Management acquires the outfit. After a disagreement in St. Louis, Lodz is removed as manager and Samson is given his job back. From this point on, Samson becomes Management's right hand man, and is the only one who speaks to him. The position is not without its downfalls, though, since many of Management's decisions ignore the wellbeing of the other carnies (including allowing Ben to stay with the carnival and taking the carnival to Babylon), and Samson must take accountability for Management's actions since no one else is allowed to see the man inside the trailer. Lila Villanueva: Immediately established as Lodz's bedmate, Lila is a snob without any real money. She entertains delusions of being the focal point of the carnival, and of being above the rest of the carnies. In reality, though, she's just another bearded lady, except that hers is real. She remains fairly unimportant throughout 10

most of season 1, serving more as a catalyst than a character. Lodz employed her to keep tabs on Ben, whom she tried unsuccessfully to seduce on several occasions, and he also used her in his plot to murder Ruthie. Lodz placed the poisonous snake in with Ruthie's dresses that Lila mended and had her deliver them to Ruthie's trailer anonymously. It is unclear as to whether or not Lila was aware of the murder plot, although we can assume that she was not since she and Ruthie appeared to be non-hostile acquaintances. Lila, distraught over Lodz's mysterious disappearance, seeks out Samson's help. Samson, who was in the middle of trying to dispose of Lodz's body, feeds her a flimsy line about Lodz deserting in the night. Unconvinced, and mistrustful of Samson, Lila discovered the clues that indicate that Lodz's disappearance was as much a surprise to him as it was to her. Her fears are moderately allayed, however, when she is woken one night in Lodz's traditional fashion. Namely, cunnilingus. Amusingly enough, though, it is not Lodz who is the cunning linguist, but Ruthie (albeit possessed by a deceased Lodz). Heartened by the temporary return of her lover, Lila tries to force Samson's hand by revealing what she knows, but her insurrection goes awry when no one really cares that Lodz is gone. Beaten, she has no choice but to throw her lot in with the rest of the carnies. Norman Balthus: Reverend Norman Balthus is Justin and Iris Crowe's surrogate father. The two children were orphaned when their mother died in a train crash in the California Siennas, and Balthus, who ran an orphanage in Stockton, took them in after the accident. He and his wife Rose (d. 1927) raised the two children as their own. Norman was highly respected within the California Methodist Church, and he helped Justin throughout the younger man's ecclesiastical career. Initially, Norman was Justin's mentor, but that role began to change after the Dignity Ministry burned down. Norman had been sent to deliver an ultimatum to Justin from the Methodist Church, demanding that Justin close down the Ministry and return to his assigned parish. When Justin returned from his sojourn, Norman was conscious of the change that he had underwent. He grappled with the thought that Justin might have been possessed, and this state of mind was only worsened when Dolan implied that Justin may have burned down his own church. After a particularly disturbing incident at the church, where the Holy Water on Justin's forehead turned to blood, Norman confronted Iris that the possibility that Justin might need an exorcism. Iris was aghast, and refused to entertain the idea. Justin, aware of Norman's suspicions, used his powers to force the man to relive his greatest sin. Sure that the vision would break Balthus, Justin was shocked to see that Norman's greatest sin was harboring Justin and raising him as a son. Consequently, Justin realized that he was a creature of evil and begged Norman to kill him. Norman, undoubtedly overwhelmed by the immediate revelations, found that he could not bring himself to kill Justin, and fled from the scene. At the exact time that Ben is murdering Professor Lodz and that Justin is delivering his sermon, Norman collapses due to a stroke on the steps of the California Methodist Church. The stroke puts him into a severe coma, rendering him unable to move or speak but able to see and hear. Justin, as his surrogate son, is given charge of him, and Justin brings Norman into his house to care for him, designating Iris as his primary caretaker. During the first half of the season, Justin is fond of taunting and torturing his former mentor with horrible degradations and afflictions. On various occasions, Justin psychically coerces a maid into having sex with him in front of a motionless Norman, telekinetically rips a tooth from Norman's mouth, and watches in amusement as a nowpartially-mobile Norman struggles futilely to feed himself without any assistance. Intent on ending Justin's control, Norman and Iris form a secret partnership. Both are committed to Justin's downfall for different reasons, even though Justin was once family to them. Their plan involves revealing Justin's nature as an avatar to the world, but they plan to choose the right time. As part of this coalition, Norman manages to use his slowlyreturning mobility to steal a gun and fire a shot at Justin during a sermon. The shot misses and Norman, who is still partially comatose and unable to defend himself, is savagely beaten by a furious crowd. He is only saved by Justin, the man he just tried to shoot, who orders the mob to stop. Justin gradually becomes aware of the alliance, but openly derides it at the dinner table, labeling the two conspirators a "a dried up old spinster and a pathetic delusional cripple." Still, when Justin reveals to Norman that a "carnival hides [his] foe," Iris and Norman plot to bring Carnivle into New Canaan, Justin's massive, heavily guarded encampment. As such, when Ben infiltrates the Crowe house, Norman silently directs him to Justin's room upstairs. Ben leaves before he finds Justin, but Norman sees Ben soon after, when Justin brings his mentor and Iris to Carnivle. While Justin forces Iris to ride the Ferris wheel with him to ferret out Ben's trap, Norman is taken to Ben's healing tent. As Justin forces the wheel to a stop, drained by Ben's psychic attack, Ben turns his attention to Norman and begins healing the partially crippled man. Finally cured of his debilitating coma, Norman rises from his wheelchair and commands Justin to stop. Justin, on the other hand, is not in the mood, and slices Norman open with his sickle, thus severing his last link to humanity. Tattooed Man: The Usher of Destruction is a unique creature. He has been prophesied throughout the ages but can only be manifest once. In visions, he is seen as the Tattooed Man. He can only be killed by an anointed blade thrust into the bough of his tree tattoo where the dark heart dwells. The Usher is not mentioned by name at any point during the first season. Most fans referred to him merely as the Tattooed Man, and no explanation of his role in things was given. We first encountered him in Ben's dream (as well as in Justin's) in the pilot episode, and he would occasionally crop up unexpectedly afterwards. Ben sees him once walking towards the carnival, only to wake up and find Sofie in his place. Sofie has a vision of her mother's rape, and it is evident that it is the Usher raping Apollonia. Ben, on a drive with Samson, sees the Usher walking towards their car, only to wake up and find another oncoming car in his place. If that wasn't mysterious enough, the events in Loving, New Mexico, further complicate the matter. Visiting a Templar hall in search of answers, Samson and Ben fail to see a rather large mural which features a depiction of the Usher. When Ben returns to 11

town on his own during the Day of the Dead festival, he sees a small child decorated with the tree tattoos of the Usher fleeing a large group of angry men holding torches. Later that night, Ben sees the same group, except now the men have caught the little boy and placed him on a giant throne which they carry while cheering. Management explains part of the Usher's nature to Ben, saying that "He is flesh. It means the end times are not near, Hawkins. They are upon us." From this, we can gather that the Usher is a non-corporeal, mystical entity whose manifestation in the real world heralds the end of the last age of magic. Justin's conversation with Wilfred Talbot Smith indicates that Justin will be the chosen vessel of the Usher, though whether this will mean a supplanting of Justin's goals for the Usher's, or merely that they already act in concert is unknown. What is known is that Justin begins seeing the Usher in visions, and eventually takes steps to replicate the tree tattoo on his own body. After killing Scudder, Justin becomes the prophet of his house which, according to what Smith said, means he is now the Usher as well. Once the tattoo is completed, it becomes evident that it was Justin who sired Sofie (since she saw the Usher raping Apollonia in a vision). Again, this raises more questions than answers. Was Justin always destined to be the Usher, or did the Usher merely orchestrate that incident? Is Sofie's status as the Omega due to the fact that the Usher is her father? Tommy Dolan: Tommy Dolan first introduced the world to Brother Justin through his radio program, "True Tails From the Road." He went on to convince both Iris and Brother Justin to come on the program themselves, telling them it was in their own best interest and that all he wants is to help them. His real intentions are less clear, however, as he spends more and more of his time investigating Brother Justin behind his back. He also once made a pass at Iris and was soundly rejected. Varlyn Bird Dog Stoud: Brother Justin recruits prison inmate Varlyn Stoud as his new apprentice, saying "you will be my apostle." Justin tells Varlyn to find Henry Scudder. Wilfred Smith: An occultist loyal to Brother Justin who helps push Varlyn Stroud to find Scudder. Bishop McNaughton: McNaughton is the Bishop who oversees Rev. Balthus, Brother Justin, and his church. Bishop McNaughton was the one who wrote the letter, delivered by Balthus, demanding that Brother Justin close the Dignity Mission and go back to focusing on his own congregation. Val Templeton, a councilman in Mintern, California; Brother Justin Crowes candidate for congress. Possum, the carnivals cook. Burley, a roustabout. Osgood, another roustabout. Sabina Engstrom: The Scorpion Queen of the rival Daily Brothers Carnival; ex-wife of Samson. Gecko, a lizard man Alexandria and Caledonia: Conjoined twins Eleanor: Eleanor is an older migrant woman who comes to worship at Justin's First Methodist Church in Mintern. The migrants don't have their own church, prompting the woman to attend Justin's. Impoverished, she turns to stealing from the collection plate, which does not go unnoticed by Iris. She is questioned by Justin, only to be wracked by fountains of coins spewing from her mouth. Justin is equally shocked, and believes it to be a sign from God. As it is later revealed, Justin is able to force an individual to relive, or in some way experience, their greatest sin. Eleanor, who stole money, was cursed with a surplus of it. After this incident, Eleanor became extremely devoted to both Iris and Justin, acting as their majordomo and second only to Iris in the running of the Crowe estate. Eleanor becomes increasingly involved in the daily operation of the Crowe estate after Justin's move to New Canaan. She is eventually privy to one of Justin's "fits." Obviously disturbed by Justin's wailing and writhing and coal-black eyes, Eleanor asks Iris if she "saw the Devil in him." Iris immediately goes to bat for her brother, defending him as a man of god. Eleanor then goes into seclusion, doing whatever possible to avoid witnessing another one of Justin's fits. It isn't until Iris invites her on a picnic that she finally gets over what she saw, laughing about the thought of telling Justin just to see what he'd say about it. As soon as Eleanor mentions telling Justin about what she witnessed, Iris takes an oar to the back of her head, killing her. Her body drifts downstream until discovered during Brother Justin's baptism of Sofie. Carnivle Jargon and Quotations Note: Though these terms are traditionally part of Carnival jargon, it is an ever changing form of communication and in large part designed to be impossible to understand by an outsider. Thus, as words are assimilated into the culture at large, they lose their function and are replaced by other more obscure or insular terms. ...here to prove once an' for all whether it is true what they say about oriental women. Is the basket swinging straight up 'n' down or sideways?! (Stumpy) - Through a physical demonstration of gross anatomy, we are finally going to decisively resolve the question of whether the genitalia of Asian women are oriented horizontally or vertically. 50-miler: 'Green help'. New workers who have not made at least a 50 mile 'jump' with the 'show'. 86: Almost the same as D.Q'd. Banned totally from the lot. This can happen for any number of reasons. It can happen to 'marks' as well as agents or owners. A Frenchie (Libby) - A condom studded with small soft rubber protuberances designed to enhance the female sexual experience. A shovelful of dust in her lungs (Crusty Farmer) - She's suffering from dust pneumonia, an ailmentsometimes fatal-resulting from constant and long-term inhalation of airborne particulate matter. 12

AB (Amusement Business Weekly): The magazine of the trade. In the old days, before its name change, it was The Billboard. Covers arenas, concerts and the like as well. Add En Up: See 'Count Store'. Advance Man: The man who goes ahead of the show and sets up their right to play a certain fair or town. Usually done far in advance nowadays. Agent: Any carnival game operator. Ain't that a rib-tickler? (Stroud) - Isn't that amusing? Alaska: Former carny, a legend in his own mind, his reputation goes before him. Even now, twenty years after retirement, old-skool carnies are still cutting jackpoints about his many exploits (and some of 'em are even true, or at least, nearly true). Alibi: A carnival game with very little chance to win, but usually not 'gaffed'. Instead, the agent gives you an explanation of why you lost, usually gives you a better offer. A technique used where the player has apparently won the game, but is denied a prize when the jointee invents a further, unforeseeable, condition of the game. For example, a player may be disqualified on the grounds of having leaned over a previously undisclosed "foul line." Annex: In the case of a sideshow, another name for the area where the 'blowoff' is located. Are you still sweet on her? (Libby) - Are you still feeling a futile romantic fixation toward her? Baby Needs Milk: When carnies see another carny flirting with the townies, they will often go by and say this just to mess up their buddies 'score'. Back End: The sideshows, games and rides. Concessions, no matter where located, are part of the 'front end.' Back Forty: See backlot. Back-Forty Inspection: Ducking out to a secluded area, usually to smoke a quick joint, etc. Aka, inspecting the ground rod, checking the water hose for leaks, etc, etc... Backlot: The area behind the joints, trucks, etc. that is secluded from the midway. Town marks are not usually welcome in these areas, unless accompanied by someone who's with it. Bag Man: Any official on the fair board or local authorities where the carnival is set up to whom protection is paid. Bail the Counter: Usually, the only way out of a joint is to jump over the counter. Bally: A free show given outside a side show to attract a 'tip'. The platform upon which this is done is also called a 'bally'. Bamboozle: To trick someone or take something by deceit. Bank Roll or B.R.: A wad of money. As in, "Did you see that 'mark's' B.R.?" Barn: Winter quarters. Beat to the sock but still wide awake. (Lila) - He's awake despite suffering complete physical exhaustion due to an aggressive case of insomnia. Beck and Call: See Call. Beef: A complaint from a 'mark' , a cop or the office concerning anything about your game. Or any complaint about the show. Or any argument anywhere. As in, "I had a beef with the guy in the bar last night." Been a week in Ingram. Shit-berg like this...barely worth a day. (Samson) - We've been performing for a week in Ingram yet, due to the meager resources of her citizenry, our profits have been disappointing. Been playin your cards awful close to the vest (Stumpy) - You've been reluctant to share the full extent of your knowledge. Billboard: See AB. Blank: (1) A nothing 'spot' or 'loke'. No people, no money, no fun. Blow (to): (1) A 'piece. is to give away a nice piece of stock, usually in hope of attracting more marks, when they see that it is possible to win at your game. (2) To blow, or blow the show is self-explanatory; to quit, usually abruptly. Blow Your Pipes: Carnies often get hoarse and raspy-voiced from screaming at 'marks' all day long. This is called 'blowing your pipes'. Blowoff: To blow off (two words) someone or something has the usual meaning as when the marks use it, but blowoff (one word) refers to the crowd coming away from some major attraction, like a sideshow, or a grandstand. A choice spot to be in (usually costing more) is directly in the path of a big blowoff. Bozo: Agent in the water tank or "drop joint", usually has persona of obnoxious clown. Buck: $100 usually. As in, "My speeding ticket was a buck forty", $140. Build Up: A type of game where you trade small prizes for larger ones. Burn the lot: To cheat players with little or no attempt to conceal the subterfuge, in the carny's expectation that the same town will not be visited again, qv. Fireball. Call, Work Call: The time the carny is expected to be present on the midway. "We spring at 6:00, so call is at 5:00, so you'll have time to flash yer joint (or grease your ride, etc)." Call: As a verb, what you do to get 'marks' into your 'joint', i.e., "Hey, buddy!", "Hey, you with the dirty underwear!". As a noun, a particular saying. I was best known for "Are You Having Fun Yet?" Canvas: What the 'joints' are made out of, even though it is more likely plastic rather than canvas these days. 13

Carnival: A cooperative business arrangement between independent showmen, ride owners and concessionaires to present outdoor amusement for the public. Carny Roll or Carny 'BR': A carny bank roll is a large wad of money where the large bills are on the outside and the inside is all singles or sometimes even paper. Intended to impress usually the marks with how much money the agent has to gamble with them. Carny: Carny is the singular slang for a carnival employee, as well as the language they employ. Carnies is the plural. The term is also used in reference to pro-wrestling jargon. A Carny is anyone who runs a "joint" (booth), "grab joint" (food stand), game, or ride at a carnival. Carnies are typified as sly and coercive salespeople, but the term itself merely refers to any employee of a travelling circus or carnival, regardless of behavior or intention. Carnies are commonly perceived as an insular and discrete subculture: an example of a marginalized segment of society banding together and consciously separating themselves from mainstream society. However, modern carnivals are generally run by well educated and wealthy families who live and reside in permanent residence during winter and spring and travel during the peak season of summer and fall. Some have been bought by major corporations and treated like theme parks and employ mostly foreign labor and college students. Popular perception of carnies is similar to that of gypsies, as both groups are often characterized (fairly or not) by their nomadic ways and purported belief that swindling or stealing from members of mainstream society is not sinful or dishonorable but rather a display of praiseworthy shrewdness and guile. The highly insular nature of carny society has fostered popular suspicions of inbreeding, supposedly manifested by a tendency towards small hands or thumbs. The word carny is thought to have become popularized around 1931 in North America, when it was first colloquially used to describe "one who works at a carnival." The word carnival, originally meaning a "time of merrymaking before Lent," came into use circa 1549, and is derived from the Italian carnevale for "Shrove Tuesday". The older Milanese Italian forms include carnevale and the Old Pisan carnelevare which interpreted means "to remove meat," is literally translated "raising flesh," from the Latin caro, meaning "flesh" and levare, meaning to "lighten, raise". Folk etymology from the Middle Latin is carne vale, interpreted as "flesh farewell." Center Joint: A carnival game set in the middle of the midway that can be played from more that one side. Chart or Chart Store: A carnival game, usually a numbers game where the agent uses a chart as a reference to how many points, which prize, et. Check Up: When the money is taken out of the agent's aprons and taken some other place. The money is counted in front of you. You get your cut later. Chump Change: Pennies, nickels and dimes taken from 'marks'. Ciazarn: See kizzarney. Circus Jump: Long moves from one place to another for the show. Usually resulting in having to tear down, set up and go to work without sleeping. Clem: Another name for 'mark', probably came from Red Skelton's dumb guy, Clem Kadiddlehopper. C'mon children, we got dust to shake (Samson) - Shall we go? C'mon, you can knock off for a spell. Wet your whistle. (Samson) - Come now and rest for a moment. Have a drink. C-Note: $100 bill. Cook Shack: A food joint, usually with seating and where the 'office' help, ride and otherwise, has a credit account for their food. Cop: To succeed at something, i.e., "the 'mark' 'copped' a prize"; "did you 'cop' a feel?" Count Store: A carnival game in which you add up your score to determine if, or what, prize you won. The agent could 'outcount' you to beat you but, usually, the odds are just in his favor. Counter: The front of a joint where the carnies play the game with their marks. Can actually have a physical counter across front. This can also be called the 'lay down'. Crack: A phrase carnies use. The word can be used in many different contexts. Usually means "what you say" "when the 'mark' says". As in, "What'd you crack to the man that made him so mad?" Crazy as mud-bugs on a griddle (Ruthie) - As agitated as live crawfish subjected to an intensely hot metal surface. Cut: Your share of the money you have made. As in percentage. D.Q.: See 'disqualified'. Damn if you don't got the corner on stupid. (Fletch) - My goodness, you certainly are unintelligent! Damn straight. We rollin box ears way too long. Grouch bags empty. We don't even got over-the-road money. (Samson) - Yes. We've been terribly unlucky for quite some time. We've depleted our food-stocks. We have insufficient cash to fund our operation to the next town. Didn't know Janes could pisspire like that. (Fletch) - I had no idea that women could perspire so copiously. Disqualified: To be run off the lot. Usually, for stealing or messing with something you shouldn't be. Can happen to 'marks', too. Doniker Joint: A kind of game where you throw either a roll of toilet paper or ball through a toilet seat. Can also mean that your 'joint' got a bad location on the 'lot'. Doniker: A rest room or toilet wherever it is. 14

Don't tell me you finally put the boots to that little biscuit! (Lila) - I simply can't believe you had sexual intercourse with that young lady! Don't you put the high-hat on with me, little lady. (Rita Sue) - I would recommend against your putting on airs, young lady. Double: $20 bill. Draw: Money collected from your boss or the office before it is earned. Educated: Knowledgeable. A good tip that you are playing a 'mark' who has been 'with it' is that he is too 'educated' for the game. Fairbank: When the agent cheats himself to get the player to bet higher and higher sums. Fin: $5 bill. Fireball: A lot that is 'wide open'. The game 'agents' are allowed to do just about anything to make a buck. First Count: Means the person who earns the money counts the money first. As in, "The boss here don't pay good. Don't matter I got first count." Fix: A higher authority figure on the carnival who will 'patch' a 'beef'. Flash: In the old days, this meant expensive prizes like transistor radios, TV's etc. Now, it pretty much applies to any type of prizes hung in a 'joint' to attract players. Flat Store: A gaming concession that really has no winning numbers, or ways to beat the game. Flatty or Flattie: The operator of a flat store. Floss or Floss Wagon: Cotton candy and a 'grab joint' that sells cotton candy. Frame a Joint: To build a new game tent. Freak Show: A show where human oddities and freakish working acts performed. In practice, these shows were often ten-in-one shows and usually had a high percentage of working acts like sword swallowers and fire eaters or 'made freaks' like tattooed people. Freak: See the FREAKS PAGE if you must. Front: How many feet along the midway a 'joint' has. Sometimes a 'center joint' is counted on two sides, sometimes four. Can also mean the outside of a show where the money is taken 'out front'. Can also mean to give someone some amount of money to run an errand before they do it. Gaff: A gaffed game is one where there is a mechanical or other means of controlling the outcome of the game. A gaffed freak show is where the freaks have been faked. Geek: See the freak page if you please. Girl Show: A show in which dancing women are the primary attraction. Some of these were actually stripper shows, some not. These went by the way early in my day as stripper bars came into being more prevalent. Glass Bender: A craftman who makes glass art items called spun glass using little more than glass rods and a propane torch. Many times these are 'independents'. Glass Pitch: A carnival game, usually in a 'center joint', where dishes and glassware are artfully stacked and the 'marks' throw dimes and try to win by landing one in the prize. I have seen a new version where ping pong balls are used for the toss and cost 25 apiece, probably a better game for the concessionaire as the glass doesn't get chipped and he gets a little more for the 'stock'. G-Note: $1,000 bill. Goddamn helluva duster. (Stumpy) - An extraordinarily violent and intense dust-storm. Going South: Stealing money from your boss. Putting money in your pocket that you haven't earned yet. Goint Out Horizontal: Working until you literally die on the lot or in winter quarters. Something not common among carnies. Gold brickin little chiseler. (Felix Dreifuss) - A dissolute opportunist. Goon Squad: On some shows, a group of the tougher, rangier guys that take care of the office's dirty work. Beat up a carny cause he's cheating the office or his boss. Beat up a mark cause he's cheating a carny. Nice jobs like that. Got any Jills back home? (Libby) - Are you currently engaged in romantic relationships with any young women in your hometown? Grab Joint: An eating concession where the customer is served directly over the counter. Some carnival food joints are called grab joints even if they have seating these days. Green Help: New help on the carnival. Usually townies just working for the spot. Gremmie says ya'll are marked (Maddy) - Grandmother has informed me that you and your friends are in league with Satan. Grift: Any kind of crooked illegal activity, whether carried on by the carnies or lot pick pockets or just plain thieves. Grifter: A crooked operator of any kind. Grind Show: A show or attraction that never has a 'bally'. Front men and ticket sellers just grind away all day. Most of the shows on carnival midways today are grind shows, the grind blaring over the midway from an audiotape loop and sound system. 15

Grind Store: Usually a small game that needs a lot of action to make a profit, generally one that operates on pennies, nickels, or dimes. Grind: In the spiel from a show front, the "Harree! Harree! Step Right Up! blather intended to get you inside. Also means to stay in the joint and work away especially when the midway is barren. Grinder: An agent who is usually in his joint working. Can also mean the ticket seller of a grind show. G-Top: Gambling tent or 'top'. For Carnies only. Guess you know I didn't come here to jaw. (Donovan) - You are aware that having a friendly conversation was not my primary motivation in paying you a visit. Gypsy: Usually means someone of gypsy descent or who pretends to be. Many are fortune tellers. Can also mean an agent who jumps from show to show to work. Half-a-bean says she keels in thirty. (Burley) - I'd wager fifty cents that she will collapse due to fatigue within the next thirty minutes. Handle: Like the c.b.-er's, someone's nickname or possible real name. As in, "What's your handle?" Hanky-Pank: In the old days it meant a game where you win a prize every time. Now it is usually used to apply to any straight game. Hard: All change. Quarters, nickels, even silver dollars and loonies. Heat Score: A transaction with a 'mark' that ended up having to be settled by someone other that the agent. Heat: Several meanings. Usually means a problem between the carny and a patron or a concessionaire. Can also mean cop. He's a maroon. (Samson) - He's a terribly dim-witted fellow. He's a rube (Samson) - He's not a terribly sophisticated fellow. He's just tryin to slough blame. (Rita Sue) - He's unwilling to take responsibility for his own actions. He's quite a scamp, that one (Eleanor McGill) - He flirts with me, but not to the extent that I would find it loathsome or threatening. Hey Pancho, you want it rough? (Stumpy) - Would you like to go outside and throw fisticuffs? Hey Rube: See Rube. Hit the skids, shitheel (Jones) - Perhaps you should leave now. Hole: A place to work. How many 'holes' a 'joint' has depends on its frontage. A 16' joint usually has four 'holes'. Horse-pucky (Stumpy) - Nonsense. How about some more of that liquid sunshine, Doc? (Stumpy) - Would you mind indulging me in a bit more morphine, Doctor? I ain't gonna let this place turn into a one-horse mud show (Samson) - I categorically refuse to allow our enterprise to deteriorate. I had him dead to rights. (Ben) - I had a distinct advantage over my opponent that would have inevitably resulted in his defeat. I know you got the eagers (Samson) - I'm aware of the fact that you are impatient. I want you turning the tip on the wrasslin-show. Shut down that single-o and tell Rollo he's working the ten-in-one. (Samson) - Please redirect your efforts toward purveying the grappling contest. Close down the tent dedicated to a single act, and inform Rollo that he will be performing his act in the variety show. Ice: To line someone's pocket. Usually the fair board, show owner or local authorities. If you skin for it, I bet you'd make it there in three, four hours, tops! (Samson) - If you make haste, I'd wager you could reach your destination in less than four hours. Ikey Heyman: A wheel of fortune that can be secretly braked by the carny I'm gonna need a bally (Rita Sue) - I need to employ the services of an announcer outside my tent luridly describing the nature of my show. I'm just going to get blotto (Gecko) - I plan on becoming extremely intoxicated. I'm not numb yet. (Stumpy) - I am not as drunk as I would like to be. I'm talking about a skin (Libby) - I'm referring to a condom Independent Midway: The midway concessions booked in separate from those with the carnival. In a fair, for example, the independent midway could consist of booths for local businesses, food stands raising money for fraternal organizations, even shows such as might appear on the carnival midway such as reptile shows, 'motordromes', etc. It makes me sick when we set up in a berg like this, folks don't got two nickels to rub together. (Lila) It strikes me as somewhat futile for us to go to the trouble of vending entertainment services is small towns inhabited by an impoverished populace. It was a dead cert. (Stumpy) - There was no question whatsoever regarding the outcome. It was four and if it wasn't rousties, it was freaks (Dora Mae) - It was not carnival laborers, but entertainers. It's a clip-joint plain and simple (Donovan) - This establishment exists primarily to defraud its patrons. It's tragic. That's what happens when the spiro-cheats eat your brain. (Lila) - The long-term neurological effects of chronic syphilis are most unfortunate. 16

I've been carrying you for days now. (Samson) - Without you working I have been forced to take care of all your expenses. I've fallen off the roof, so I ain't taking off my pants tonight (Libby) - I've begun menstruating, so I will not be removing my pants during this evening's strip-tease performance. -'iz' or 'erza'-: inserted between the syllables of words to serve as a cipher or cryptolect. Jackpots: Carnies stories of their former escapades, often exaggerated. Cuttin' up jackpots is the expression given to swapping these stories. Joint: The physical location of a game. It can be a canvas tent or a trailer joint. Even a game right out in the open is still said to be a joint. Jointee: A person who works in the game end of the carnival, an agent. Jump: The act of moving the show from one location to another. Sometimes meaning for an agent to go from one show to another. Just a yarn carnies tell around a bottle. (Stumpy) - A story of dubious veracity, usually related by carnival-workers while consuming alcoholic beverages. Just remember and we're dutch (Ben Hawkins) - just remember and we're okay, everything is fine Keister: A rear end as in "are you still sitting on your keister?" Can also mean a doniker location on the midway. Key to the Midway: A non-existent thing that carnies amuse themselves with as in sending pesky kids that are asking too many questions to go get the 'key to the midway' or 'light bulb grease' or a 'left-handed monkey wrench'. Any number of amusing non existent things, they will often send the kid to a specific carny just to bug them, too. Kick: Refers to the pocket where carnies keep the money they 'swing' with, i.e., "I saw Gizmo put that 'fin' in his 'kick'." Kill your lights. Don't spare the horses. (Jones) - Turn off your headlights. Drive swiftly. Kitty: Budgeted amount of finance, regulated by the management of a carnival for purchasing food and supplies for its workers. ("We wanted a new tent, but there's no more scratch in the kitty") Kizzarney: Carny language. Actually a sort of 'pig latin' sometimes mixed with a little double talk and a lot of lingo. Haven't heard much of it spoken fluently on the 'lot' for many years and believe it could be considered a dead language. Larry Defective Laydown: Usually the place on the counter where the 'mark' puts his money to bet, but can also include charts that show odds, payouts, etc. Can also mean the actual act of giving you the money. Lecturer: Individual who talks inside a sideshow, lecturing on the various acts. Often, acts lecture on themselves, especially the human oddities. Line-up Joint: A joint along the sides of a midway. Usually with just one working 'front'. Loc or Loke: Your location on the midway. If you are near the major rides, it is a good loc. Near the kid rides is usually a 'doniker' loc. Looks like we got us-selves a ragtop. (Varyln Stroud) - It appears we've acquired a convertible automobile. Lot Lizard: Rather derogatory term for ladies who sleep around on the midway, townies or not. Lot Man: The person on the 'lot' responsible for the layout of the grounds. He marks where individual games and rides will be set up. Lot: The show grounds. Lousy Needle Jabbers! (Klaus) - Insect-infested heroin addicts! Lugen: A really dumb, easy 'mark'. Mark: A carnival term for townspeople. Particularly, the ones who become their customers. A target for swindling, especially one whose gullibility has been demonstrated. Derived from the covert use of chalk to mark the backs of especially ripe targets. The term has entered the popular lexicon, usually as "easy mark." Midway: In my usual sense, the location where all the concessions, rides and shows are located. In the broadest sense, the world wide web. Mind Man/Woman: Performer, usually working with an assistant, whose act consists of 'reading the minds' of the patrons. Mitt Camp: A fortune telling booth on a carnival. Money Store: A game that pays off with cash instead of prizes. Mooch: An exceptionally good 'mark'. Natural: A person who takes to the carnival business like a duck to water. Someone with natural talents for being an agent. Nut: The operating expenses of a show (daily, weekly or yearly). Can also mean the operating expenses of individual joint owners. So a show always sought to 'make the nut' and start making money above its expenses. A show that hadn't yet 'made the nut' was said to be 'on the nut' and one that had was said to be 'off the nut'. Oats: stolen money from a concession. Office: The carnival office wagon or trailer. Outcount: In a numbers game to count faster, and, usually, more inaccurately than your mark. 17

Outside Man: Someone employed by the carnival or the carny to play the game and keep it rolling or the bets going upward. Overcall: To call 'marks' when they are not yet or still in your 'frontage'. Considered unethical unless an agent has established eye contact with a 'mark'. P.C.: See percentage. Patch money: Money used to induce police officers to turn a blind eye. Also known as "juice" or "ice." Patch: To fix a heat score before it goes to the office or higher authorities. Also the person who does this. Requires good people skills. Sometimes, the office is the 'patch'. Percentage: How carnival agents are usually paid. Also the part of a showman's gross receipts that must be paid (usually in addition to other costs too) to the carnival owner for the right to play the spot. Pickled Punk: A human fetus preserved in a jar of formaldehyde and used as sideshow attractions. Most pickled punks display some sort of anatomical abnormality, such as conjoined twins or polycephaly. Faked pickled punks, made from rubber or wax, are known as "bouncers" for their tendency to bounce when dropped on the floor. Piece: (1) piece of stock: A prize awarded to the winner of a game, usually a stuffed animal (2) a firearm, usually a pistol. PITCH: A type of joint that sells things rather than letting people 'win' them. Also means selling merchandise by lecturing and demonstrating. Platform: The raised staging where acts perform. It can refer to those inside the show or the bally platform on the front of the show. Plush: A better piece of stock, made of soft furry material known as plush. A stuffed animal given away as a prize at a game. Possum Belly Queen: Derogatory term for ladies that sleep around with all the carnys, yep, sometimes in the possum belly. Possum Belly: Racks built underneath the semi-trailers that are used to haul excess cargo. Professor: Title often taken by any showman considered expert in their chosen field. It was seldom a true indicator of academic pedigree, though it could well represent a wealth of knowledge about the public at large. Prop or Proposition: Percentage of your overall take that you are working for. As in, "What kind of prop did you get in your last joint?" Punk: A young person or animal. A child or an unusually immature young person. Also a type of sexual pervert. Quickest way to make a heap a sugar, kiddo. (Stumpy) - It is the most efficient manner in which to generate income, my diminutive friend. Rag: A cheap piece of stock, made of plain cloth. Rangy: Worked up, often in a vulgar way. Typically, a show could be rangy (say, a kootch show; usually, though, this would be termed a 'strong' show) or a lot of rangy patrons (drunken, disorderly, disruptive) could be in a show. Pronounced like what you did to the bell. Ray and Dil Daily give me that, plus fifty suds a week. (Sabina) - The Daily Brothers not only met your offer, but exceeded it with a $50.00 stipend a week. Rehash: Usually means to replay a 'mark' that already played your game with you or another agent. Can also mean to reuse anything. As in, "You got any rehash corn dogs?" Remember the fate of cats and curiosity (Lodz) - its safer to not ask too many questions Ride Jock: A person who works or runs the rides in a carnival. Roughy: Middle management in the carnival business. Rousty or Roustabout: A temporary or full-time laborer who helps pitch concessions and assemble rides. In the 1930s, American Rousty's would work for a meal and perhaps a tent to share with other workers. Route: List of towns and events played each year. Rube: Any kind of physical and sometimes, verbal fight. Originally meant a big fight between the carnies and the townies. When a carny saw someone hit a co-worker, they yelled "Hey, Rube!" and everyone who could bail a counter piled on. Also, a not very affectionate term for the towner himself. Said he's tireda workin with a split-tail. (Burley) - He indicated that he would rather not work with a woman. Save it for the rubes (Jones) - Save it for the townies paying for the show. Sawbuck: $10 Bill. Sawdust in the Blood: A compliment for a long-time carny. Schlow: To tear down the show and haul it away. Score: To take money off a mark. Also used in the sexual sense of the word. Scratch: the revenue from a concession. Set Up: The act of taking the show off the trucks and turning it into a carnival. Shark: An unusually skilled agent. Or, sometimes used to refer to an unusually 'hungry' one. Sharpie: Someone very good at a skill game often used as a 'shill' to get others to play the game. The opposite of a mark: an experienced player who is wise to traditional carny scams and is skilled at the games themselves. She was family, Simpoleon! (Samson) - She was family, you simple-minded fellow! 18

She's got plenty of snap in her garter (Stangler) - She's very sexy. Shill: One who pretends to play a game, or to buy a ticket to an attraction, in order to entice others to join or follow him. Without a good shill, and entire 'tip' may stay perfectly still after an opening. All with the cash in their hands, and not one of them will "break" for the ticket boxes, unless some brave soul leads the way. Shills fill the need for brave souls. Also, someone paid to play your game and make it look easy to win big prizes or someone paid or unpaid who just walks around with a very nice prize and tells you where they got it. Show Banner: Huge, gaudy banners on canvas hung in front of side shows depicting the wonders to be found inside. Show: The carnival itself. The show moves from spot to spot but it's always the same show unless you go to another show. Showmen: A person who works in the entertainment industry. Especially one who belongs to the "Showmen's Association". Many "showmen" do not like to be called carnies Sidewall: The canvas wall that hangs below a canvas 'top, on the outside of a 'joint'. What most outside the business would call a 'tent' is, in reality, the canvas top with its sidewalls attached. Simp Heister: A carny term for the ferris wheel. Since when did that cut ice? (Samson) - Have I ever allowed you to take advantage of me in such a way at any point in the past? Single O: A show consisting of a single attraction. Can also mean a one dollar bill. Slack Wire: A wire act, usually performed low as opposed to high wire, in which the wire is slack and bows under the wire artist, allowing for a periodically more comic (though just as difficult) act than usually seen on the high wire. Slick: To slick somebody doing something is to catch them in the act. Also a nickname for a sort of slimy, suave character. Slough: See Schlow Slow: See Schlow Slum: Cheap prizes, bought in bulk, always worth less than the price of the game. Smooth: Settle down angry marks or authorities. Smooth things over. Also used to describe a carny with very subtle style. Something about watching a woman handle a snake makes a man down right percolated (Ruthie) - The sight of a woman caressing a snake often incites a sexual response in men Sorry microbe. (Stroud) - My apologies, diminutive friend. Spiel: The speech made on a show front by the talker to the gathering crowd. Spoof: A spoof is a small trick or gaff. Can also be "a white lie". Spot: The location of a carnival. As in, "What was the best spot you played last year?" Square: To settle a dispute without use of the Law or the fists. Also used by the legal adjusters for the "fixing of a town" at City Hall, and the lavish use of passes on the lot to keep the Law happy. Stash: Bankroll. Amount of cash in your pocket or on the books. Stew: Money. All money taken in is stew. Stick Joint: A 'joint' framed from lumber, as opposed to a 'trailer joint'. Used to be the norm for joints, now the opposite is true. Stick: A 'shill'. Stock: Your 'inventory' of prizes. Also adding that inventory to your joint, i.e. you stock after you set up. Store: Another word for 'joint'. Straight Up: Honest. Can apply to game, person or thing. Strong Arm: A joint where a lot of pressure is put on marks to play or play bigger odds. Also an agent capable of running this kind of joint. Strong: Another highly versatile carny word. Usually means "good", as in, a "strong" joint or agent. Can also mean exceptionally aggressive, as in, "Did you have to play that 'mark' that 'strong'?" Sugar Shack: a concession or food-stand that doubles as a front for drug commerce & trafficking. Swing: To steal money from your boss. Take Your Best Shot: Do anything to get the money. Also "work strong." Talker: Never "barker." The man who makes the "outside openings" and "talks" in front of an attraction. If he talks inside the attraction, he is a 'lecturer'. Ten in One: A carnival midway show with ten attractions inside. It is usually an "illusion" show or some other "string show." Can be either a "pit" or a "platform" show. Most of them worked on ground level though. "Also '10-in-1,' etc." Can also be 5-in-1 or any other number these days. That is the worst he-she I ever did see. (Stumpy) - His hermaphroditic physical attributes are utterly unconvincing. That's four double-trots in a row! I'm dyin. (Rita Sue) - I've performed four consecutive shows, each followed by an encore in the adjoining tent! I'm exhausted. The count's been skinny. (Samson) - I cannot reconcile your meager ticket sales with the large crowds routinely drawn to your show. Perhaps you are attempting to cheat me of my rightful share of the proceeds.

19

The freckly one there's the Sheriff's son-his old man slipped me a fin and asked me to walk them in. (Stumpy) - That young fellow with the freckled face is the local Sheriff's son. His father paid me five dollars to insure that he and his friends would have an unobstructed view of the show. The last thing we need is a bunch of mother-hens gum-flappin to the law about little Johnny seeing a titty show. (Samson) - It would be most unfortunate if irate parents were to complain to the local authorities regarding their child's access to inappropriate entertainment. The Man: Any authority figure. Could be your boss, the show owner or the cops. Generally, used as "Uh oh, here comes the man". The weasel owed me a deuce on a new blanket. (Samson) - The gentleman owes me two dollars for a blanket. The whole thing's gone in the shitter kid. (Samson) - Our plan has resulted in an utter and catastrophic failure, my young friend. Then why ya crawlin up my hoop? I been all over this place, ain't found nothin. S'not like Kerrigan give me a road-map or nothin. (Ben Hawkins) - Why are you continuing to harass me? I've thoroughly searched the area to no avail. It's not as if Father Kerrigan gave me explicit directions. There's no fix in this state. (Samson) - The authorities do not accept bribes in this state. They weren't Johnnys (Libby) - There were not customers or tricks. This place is battened down tigher'n the work farm (Ben) - The security in and around this property exceeds that of a prison labor camp. Thought maybe you'd taken a powder (Ruthie) - I was under the impression that you'd fled. Three pinheads and an albino named Freddie Neff. (Lila) - Three micro-encephalics and an individual named Freddie Neff, who suffers from a genetic absence of melatonin. Tip: The crowd gathered in front of an attraction by the "ballyhoo." They listen to the talker, watch the free exhibition on the bally platform, and if the talker is convincing enough, they buy tickets and go in to see the promised show. When entire tip has been "turned" by a talker's "opening," it is said that he has "cleaned the midway." You seldom see these in a modern carnival as they do not normally have side shows. A crowd gathered in front of your joint to watch people play your game is sometimes referred to as a 'tip'. Took a powder that one (Samson) - He disappeared or ran off Top: See definition for 'sidewall' above. Townie: A local person from the town you are playing, a 'mark'. Trailer Joint: A 'joint' that is contained within a trailer rather than framed from lumber, as in a 'stick joint'. At one time this was considered sophisticated and flashy, now, there about all you see on some midways. Trouper: A person who has spent at least one full season on some type traveling amusement organization. By then, they are usually hooked. Truck Show: A show which travels by truck, the situation of most carnivals today. Turn off that damned squawk-o-dyne. (Samson) - Would you be so good as to switch off the radio? Turn the Tip: Now days, to gather a good crowd in front of your joint and get many of them to play your game. Two-Way Joint: A game that can be quickly converted from a fixed, unwinnable game into a temporarily honest one when police officers come by. We barely gotta pot to piss in. (Rita Sue) - We are in dire financial straits We got tracks to make (Samson) - We must be moving on forthwith. We haven't been in the carney-trade for a dog's age. (Samson) - We have been out of the entertainment business for some time. We stay much longer, they're gonna start grousin. (Samson) - If we insist on staying, we'll experience a drop in employee morale. Well I suppose it's just your turn in the barrel, boy. (Samson) - Unfortunately, it's your turn to execute a grossly unpleasant task. We'll track her down, bring her in and scrape gravel. (Ben) - We will locate her, abduct her and beat a hasty retreat. We're already choking on the nut. (Samson) - Our overhead expenses far exceed our current income. We're in the clover (Stumpy) - we are doing well, making good money We're in the clover. (Samson) - We are in a good situation What about the vig? (Bud Everhard) - What manner of financial arrangement are you willing to propose in order to settle the interest on your loan? What these two greenhorns need is just a little schoolin in the manly arts. (Stumpy) - What these two young, inexperienced fellows need is a primer on the sport of pugilism. Where's the charitarian in you? (Rita Sue) - Why don't you emphathize with others less fortunate. Whyn't you dry up (Burley) - Perhaps you might consider curtailing your annoying, emotional outbursts. Wide Open: A show or carnival where anything goes, where the shows can play as "strong" as they want, meaning raunchy in this case, and the games can take the marks for anything they can by any means possible. Such conditions never existed without the approval of the local authorities, usually after big pay offs from the carnival people. 20

Winter Quarters: Location where a show stays during its off season, that is, the quarters in the winter. A show's winter quarters need not be in a temperate climate zone, though a number of them are in the South. With It: (as in, "with it and for it") An expression by which one trouper may know another even though they have never met before. Warning: Do not attempt to use this word unless you have been properly instructed in the manner by which to deliver it. Yard or Yard-Note: yard is $100. As in, it cost me 2 yards to get my car fixed. Yard note is $100 bill. Yes Gentlemen! These two peach-a-gulus are just a mere taste of what we have bakin, what we have smoking inside! (Stumpy) - Yes, gentlemen, these two attractive young ladies posing before you are but a small example of the beautiful women inside performing explicit sexual activities within the tent. You almost cracked us up, keep your peepers on the road. (Samson) - Keep your eyes on the road while you are driving. You are cork high and bottle deep (Jones) - You are stinkin drunk You best not be pullin some kinda monkey shine. (Ben) - I would strongly suggest you don't attempt to trick me. You can still buck a bull off a bridge. (Samson) - You still have what it takes in the attraction department. You guy's going drinking, going to get liquified. (Stumpy and crew) - Are you going to get drunk You know that beard of hers? It's a gaffe. (Fat Lady) - That woman wears a false beard, posing as a freak when, in fact, she's perfectly normal. You outta your goddamn gourd? (Samson) - Is your judgment impaired by alcohol, stupidity or acute mental illness? Your ma is a turnip (Ben) - Your mother suffers from chronic catatonia. You're givin me the creepin willies. (Ben) - You make my skin crawl. You're jumpin' around like a flea on a flat dog. (Rita Sue) - You are very skittish and fidgety You're lucky you didn't have a crack-up (Iris) - It's fortunate you did not have an automobile accident. You're shakin like a pussy willow in a hurricane. (Stroud) - Dear me, you are trembling. You're still the yellow gimp you always were. (Rita Sue) - You are the cowardly invalid you have always been. You're the one always sayin make it look good for the clems. (Burley) - You've always insisted we maintain the appearance of propriety and safety for our unsophisticated clientele. You're turning into a rake (Iris) - You're becoming an obnoxious, aging Lothario. Synopsis "Before the beginning, after the great war between Heaven and Hell, God created the Earth and gave dominion over it to the crafty ape he called man. And to each generation was born a creature of light and a creature of darkness. And great armies clashed by night in the ancient war between good and evil. There was magic then, nobility, and unimaginable cruelty. And so it was until the day that a false sun exploded over Trinity, and man forever traded away wonder for reason." Samson Season one is best described as a prologue. The entirety of the season existed to set up events and establish characters for later seasons. As such, the episodes, while layered and intricate, only added to the show's mystery rather than trying to explain it. Season one begins with Ben Hawkins, a young Oklahoma man who just happens to be an escaped convict, burying his mother. A traveling carnival, Carnivle, chances by the scene, and the leader of the carnival, a midget named Samson, is eventually convinced to let Ben remain with the carnival. As Ben finds out later, it was actually Management, Carnivle's mysterious and unseen proprietor, who orchestrated picking Ben up in Oklahoma. Management, in a decision which clearly bothers many of the carnies, diverts the carnival from its usual northward course and begins to head south, where a Methodist preacher named Justin Crowe in Mintern, California is undergoing some profound revelations. He discovers that he has supernatural powers (ranging from telepathy, to telekinesis, to the ability to force an individual to relive his or her greatest sin), and takes this as a sign from God. Justin, however, is not the only gifted individual. Ben is also possessed of the ability to heal people, a talent which he believes is a sin due to his mother's religious fanaticism and one that he keeps well hidden. Ben's gift is not a secret to everyone in the carnival, though, and he is soon approached by both Lodz, the vaguely sinister blind mentalist, and Apollonia, the comatose and mute tarot reader. Apollonia seems almost frightened of Ben, whereas Lodz is keen to teach Ben how to use his powers. Justin, on the other hand, is discovering the full extent of his abilities on his own. After a disastrous fire at newly-opened Dignity Ministry, he embarks on a journey of spiritual renewal, which variously takes him to the brink of suicide, through his own checkered past, and to an insane asylum. While contemplating suicide, he realizes that he's possessed his powers since he was a child, when he murdered a man that was chasing him and his sister. His sister, Iris, suppressed the incident and kept Justin in the dark concerning his true nature. While Justin is in the asylum, coping with this knowledge, Ben is trying to escape the nightmarish dreams that plague his sleep. He is tormented by dark dreams of a man covered in a tree tattoo chasing him through a cornfield, as well as horrific visions of World War I. More importantly, though, is the fact that he shares these dreams with Justin. Not only are both Justin and Ben are troubled by the same dreams, but they're also present in each other's dreams, though they've never met in real life. 21

As the season draws to a close and both men grapple with their natures, Ben and Justin find themselves with no other option than to accept what they are. Ben must use his gift of healing to the full extent in order to resurrect Ruthie, the snake charmer, killed by Lodz acting under the orders of Management. Management forces Ben to act by revealing that it was Lodz who killed Ruthie, prompting Ben to kill Lodz and use his death to resurrect Ruthie. Meanwhile, Brother Justin, who has returned to Mintern, is shocked to discover that it was Iris who burned down the church, and thereby murdering several children as a form of sacrifice for him. In a confrontation with Norman Balthus, Justin's adoptive father, Justin finally acknowledges his nature as a creature of evil. Thus, Ben and Justin are now aware and partially in control of their respective powers, but clueless as to their roles in the world. Lastly, there is Sofie. Sofie is the daughter of Apollonia, the tarot reader. Sofie, able to communicate with her mother telepathically, grew up in the carnival, reading the cards aloud for her mother's clients. Apollonia keeps a tight leash on Sofie, both intentionally and otherwise. Throughout the course of the season, we learn that Sofie's mother fell into a coma upon giving birth to Sofie and, more importantly, that Sofie's father raped Apollonia. Sofie is forced to watch her mother's memory of the incident, and sees that her father is covered in an elaborate tree tattoo. To make matters worse, when Sofie decides to leave the Carnivle, Apollonia attempts to kill her, by locking her inside their trailer and setting it on fire. Jonesy, the carnival's foreman, rushes in to try to save Sofie, whom he loves. The season ends with Sofie, Apollonia and Jonesy all caught in the burning trailer, Lodz dead at Ben's hands, and Justin starting to accept his destiny. "On the heels of the skirmish man foolishly called the war to end all wars, the Dark One sought to elude his destiny, live as a mortal. So he fled across the ocean, to an empire called America. But by his mere presence, a cancer corrupted the spirit of the land. People were rendered mute by fools who spoke many words but said nothing, for whom oppression and cowardice were virtues. And freedom? An obscenity. Into this dark heartland, the prophet stalked his enemy til, diminished by his wounds, he turned to the next in the ancient line of light. So it was that the fate of mankind came to rest on the trembling shoulders of the most reluctant of saviors." Samson By the end of the first season, Ben has discovered that Management, the mysterious and unseen proprietor of the Carnivle is actually Lucius Belyakov, the previous generation's Avatar of Light and Justin's father. This in turn means that Henry Scudder, Ben's absentee father, is the previous generation's Avatar of Darkness. Season two sees the deaths of both Management and Scudder, at the hands of Ben and Justin, respectively. Both men are rewarded with a more extensive set of knowledge and power for killing their predecessors, and while Justin turns his attention to building a small army, Ben remains intent on destroying the California preacher. These two disparate plotlines begin to converge as Justin recruits an escaped felon, Varlyn Stroud, as his main apostle (whom he sends out in search of Scudder), and as Sofie deserts the carnival and becomes Justin's new maid. Ben is forced to reveal his nature to the rest of the carnies after he fully heals Jonesy, who was brutally tarred and feathered. Since Ben's healing repaired Jonesy's crippled leg, the other carnies are confronted with Ben's true nature and, to their credit, they accept him as one of their own and agree to help him fight Brother Justin and rescue Sofie. Samson and Jonesy hatch a plan to trap Justin on the ferris wheel so that Ben can siphon the life out of him in a healing tent. Ironically, their plan unknowingly hinges on Iris letting the carnival into Justin's massive encampment, motivated by her desire to stop her brother. Justin, aware of the fact that the carnival hides his enemy, rides the ferris wheel and the psychic assault levied at him by Ben. Stopping the ferris wheel with his mind, Justin tracks down Ben in the carnival, murdering Balthus on the way, and chases the younger man into a cornfield. The two play an elaborate game of cat and mouse until Ben plunges the blade of his broken dagger into the tree tattoo on Justin's chest, before succumbing to a stomach wound that Justin dealt him. Meanwhile, Sofie, who has been locked in a woodshed by Justin, is thrust into her role as the Omega after being subjected to a particularly violent and intense set of visions. Thus, when Jonesy arrives to rescue her, she's not quite herself and chooses to shoot him in the chest. Moreover, she locates Justin's body in the cornfield the morning after the battle and drains the life from the corn in order to restore him, a feat which Iris bears witness to. Ben's body, on the other hand, is found by the carnies and taken to safety before Sofie or any of Justin's followers realize what's happened. Samson has no choice but to pack up and leave, abandoning Sofie and Jonesy. The closing shot is one of Ben's body, and the camera reveals that his wound has healed.

CLUBS
Diogenes Club The Diogenes Club is a fictional gentleman's club created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and featured in several Sherlock Holmes stories, most notably "The Greek Interpreter". It seems to have been named after Diogenes the Cynic (although this is never expanded upon in the original stories) and was co-founded by Sherlock's indolent older brother, Mycroft Holmes. The club is described by Sherlock Holmes in the stories thus: There are many men in London, you know, who, some from shyness, some from misanthropy, have no wish for the company of their fellows. Yet they are not averse to comfortable chairs and the latest periodicals. It is for the convenience of these that the Diogenes Club was started, and it now contains the most unsociable and 22

unclubable men in town. No member is permitted to take the least notice of any other one. Save in the Stranger's Room, no talking is, under any circumstances, allowed, and three offences, if brought to the notice of the committee, render the talker liable to expulsion. My brother was one of the founders, and I have myself found it a very soothing atmosphere. It is described as a place where men can go to read without any distractions, and as such the number one rule is that there is no talking, to the point where club members can be excluded for coughing. Although there is no hint in the original Sherlock Holmes canon that the Diogenes Club is anything but what it seems to be, several later writers have developed and made use of the idea that the club was founded as a front for the British secret service. Although the club itself is not referred to in such a way in the original stories, this common supposition may have its root in the fact that Mycroft Holmes, in "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans", is revealed to be the supreme and indispensable braintrust behind the British government, who pieces together the collective government secrets and then advises the best course of action. Given that Mycroft Holmes is established both as a co-founder of the club, and an indolent man who almost exclusively travels only between his home, his office, and the Club, this extrapolation would appear to be a logical one. This idea was largely popularized by The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, a 1970s motion picture directed by Billy Wilder. Although frequently used in pastiches of Conan Doyle's original stories, this idea has been extensively explored by British fantasy writer Kim Newman, who has written a series of stories chronicling the activities of various agents of the Club (described in his stories as "an institution that quietly existed to cope with matters beyond the purview of regular police and intelligence services") throughout the 20th century, particularly in the 1920s, 1940s and 1970s. In Newman's stories, the cases investigated by the Club are generally paranormal or occult in nature. A collection of Newman's stories is The Man from the Diogenes Club, featuring the 1970s agent Richard Jeperson. The Diogenes Club is also featured in his Anno Dracula series. The club, and its connection to the secret service, was featured in the Doctor Who Virgin New Adventures novel All-Consuming Fire, a Doctor Who/Sherlock Holmes crossover novel, which also refers to one of Newman's characters. The club also appears in Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novels, the computer game Sherlock Holmes - Case of the Rose Tattoo and in the short story "Closing Time" from Neil Gaiman's collection of short fiction Fragile Things. Drones Club The Drones Club is a fictional gentlemen's club (in Mayfair, London, located in Dover Street, off Piccadilly) created by English comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. Many of his Jeeves and Wooster and Blandings Castle stories feature the club or its members. A drone is a male bee that does no work, living off the labour of others, which aptly describes the contemporary Edwardian stereotype of rich, idle young club members. Wodehouse based the Drones Club on a combination of three real London clubs: the Bachelors' Club (existed around the turn of the century), then mostly the Buck's Club (established 1919), and a dash of the Bath Club for its swimming pool's ropes and rings[1][2]. The fictional Drones barman, McGarry, has the same surname as the Buck's first bartender, a Mr McGarry (Buck's barman from 1919 to 1941, credited with creating the Buck's Fizz and Sidecar cocktails). About a dozen of club members are major or secondary recurring characters in the Wodehouse stories. In addition to Bertie Wooster (Jeeves stories), Pongo Twistleton (Uncle Fred stories), Rupert Psmith (Psmith stories), and Freddie Threepwood (Blandings stories), prominent recurring drones include Bingo Little and Freddie Widgeon, plus Monty Bodkin, Barmy Fotheringay-Phipps, Tuppy Glossop, Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright, Archibald Mulliner, or the club millionaire Oofy Prosser. Among the Wodehouse works, what was later dubbed the "Drones Club series" is a loose set of separate stories told by various narrators, which are either told at the club, or have some events happening at the club, or a club member for protagonist. The main canon is made of 21 short stories (being 8 Freddie Widgeon, 8 Bingo Little, 1 Bingo and Widgeon, and 4 other Drones, including the one introducing Pongo Twistleton and his Uncle Fred), as eventually collected in an omnibus: Collected in Tales from the Drones Club (1982) later The Drones Omnibus (1991). Most of the Drones short stories are also "Eggs, Beans, and Crumpets stories". Their unknown narrator(s), dubbed "Eggs, Beans, and Crumpets" too, divides the club members between the "eggs", the "beans", and the "crumpets" (based on their habit of addressing each other as "old egg", "old bean", or "my dear old crumpet"). The narrator refers in this fashion to nondescript members of the club. The total number of members is not established. At the Drones Club weekend in Le Touquet, France, were "about 87 members"[6], and not all of them crossed the Channel (such as Pongo Twistleton and Horace Davenport). Comparatively, only a few Drones have been depicted: Samuel Galahad "Sam" Bagshott, Charles Edward "Biffy" Biffen, Montague "Monty" Bodkin, Godfrey "Biscuit" Brent, Lord Biskerton, "Tubby" Bridgnorth, Frederick "Freddie" Bullivant, Hugo Carmody, G. D'Arcy "Stilton" Cheesewright, Nelson Cork, Dudley Finch, Augustus "Gussie" Fink-Nottle, Ronald Overbury "Ronnie" Fish, George "Boko" Fittleworth, Cyril "Barmy" Fotheringay-Phipps, Hildebrand "Tuppy" Glossop, Richard "Bingo" Little, Algernon "Algy" Martyn, Archibald "Archie" Mulliner, Horace PendleburyDavenport, Judson Phipps, Tipton Plimsoll, Claude "Catsmeat" Potter-Pirbright, Alexander "Oofy" Prosser, Rupert "Psmith" Smith, Adolphus "Stiffy" Stiffham[7], Reginald "Reggie" Tennyson, Frederick "Freddie" Threepwood, 23

Reginald "Pongo" Twistleton, Hugo Walderwick, Frederick "Freddie" Widgeon, Percy Wimbolt, Harold "Ginger" Winship, Bertram "Bertie" Wooster, Algernon "Algy" Wymondham-Wymondham Club staff includes: Bates (hall porter), McGarry (a barman), Robinson (a cloakroom waiter). Hellfire Club Base of Operations: Hellfire Club mansions in London, New York, Hong Kong, Paris, and elsewhere Current Members: Roberto DaCosta (Sunspot, Lord Imperial), Courtney Ross (White Queen), Sebastian Shaw (Black King), Selene (Black Queen), Viper (White Warrior Princess), James Braddock Jr., Jacqueline Crichton (Spitfire), Bianca LaNeige, Norman Osborn (Green Goblin), Ronald Parvenue, Anthony Stark (Iron Man), Dwayne Taylor (Night Thrasher), Gerhard van Ostamgen, Wo-Han, Warren Worthington III (Archangel) Former Members: Blackheart (Black King), Elias Bogan (Lord Imperial), Brian Braddock (Captain Britain, Black Bishop), James Braddock Sr. (Black Bishop), Lord Braddock, Edward Buckman (White King), Patrick Clemens, Commander Clinton, Emmanuel DaCosta (White Rook), Elizabeth Braddock (Psylocke), Francis Dashwood, Trevor Fitzroy, Adrienne Frost (presumed White Queen), Frost, Emma (White Queen), Charles Grey, Eleanor Grey, Lady Grey, Malkin Grey, Daimon Hellstrom (Hellstorm, disputed White King), Benazir Kaur, Benedict Kine, Diana Knight, Harry Leland (Black Bishop), Magneto (Grey King/White King), Harry Manners, Duncan Munro, Ororo Munroe (Storm, White King), Reeva Payge, Gordon Phillips (Lord Imperial), Phoenix Force (as Jean Grey, Black Queen), Anton Pierce, Donald Pierce (White King/White Bishop), Waltham Pierce, Madelyne Pryor (Black Rook), Scribe (Red Rook), Paris Seville (White Queen), Shinobi Shaw (Black King), Elizabeth ShawWorthington, Ms. Steed (Black Queen), John Stuart, Rachel Grey (Marvel Girl), Tessa (Sage), White Warrior Princess), Margali Szardos (Red Queen), unidentified Black King, unidentified Red Bishop, unidentified Red King, Friedrich von Roehm (Black Rook), Jason Wyngarde (Mastermind) Other Members (Honorary, Reserve, etc.): John Braddock, Lourdes Chantel, Oliver Ryland, Candace Southern, Howard Stark, Wallace (Kingmaker), Wallace Worthington, Warren Worthington Jr., Voldemir Zhivago The Hellfire Club was established as an exclusive British gentlemen's club by Englishman Sir Francis Dashwood, Scotsmen John Stuart (Third Earl of Bute) and Duncan Munro and others in the 1760s. Members Sir Patrick Clemens and Lady Diana Knight soon emigrated to North America, where they founded the Hellfire Club's New York chapter in an abandoned church located at what is now Fifth Avenue on Manhattan's East Side. Today, the Hellfire Club is an overt, worldwide organization. Famous for its lavish annual gala, it is open to the wealthiest and most influential entrepreneurs, politicians and socialites, whose membership is traditionally passed on to the heirs of their estates. Within the Club at large is a secret cabal, known only to a select few. These Inner Circles, of which there are typically one or two at a time, desire to achieve world domination through political and economic influence, subversive activities and the recruitment of mercenary forces and powerful superhumans. Its members often holding positions named after chess pieces, an Inner Circle is ruled by its Queens and Kings, the so-called Lords Cardinal. They, in turn, are ruled by the Lord Imperial, who is also in charge of the Club's overt activities. Shrouded in secrecy, only fragments of the Inner Circles' history are known. During the Revolutionary War, an attempt by Philadelphia members to obtain strategic information from the influential Major-General Wallace Worthington failed, with fatal consequences for Worthington. In 1859, London's Inner Circle was forced into a brief alliance with the mutant conqueror Apocalypse. In 1915, the twisted geneticist Mister Sinister exploited the rivalries within the London chapter, finding a willing subject for his forbidden experiments in envious young Jacob Shaw. An act of sabotage by London branch member Sir Harry Manners, who sought to facilitate a German victory in the Great War, was foiled by British superhero Union Jack later that same year. In the early 21st century, the growing divide between mutants and ordinary humans caught up with the Hellfire Club, as the New York branch's White King, Edward Buckman, funded scientist Steven Lang's Project: Armageddon. Its purpose was to eliminate the "mutant threat," starting with the X-Men, by unleashing the mutant-hunting Sentinel robots. Among Buckman's so-called Council of the Chosen, his Inner Circle, was selfmade industrialist Sebastian Shaw, a mutant himself, from whom Buckman had hidden his true agenda. Once the Sentinels were launched, Shaw came under attack, and he realized that he had been betrayed. While Shaw survived the assault, his fiance Lourdes Chantel did not. Furious, Shaw killed Buckman and his supporters and assumed control of the Inner Circle as its new Black King. Aided by the enigmatic Tessa, Shaw appointed lawyer Harry Leland his new Inner Circle's Black Bishop, while the telepathic Emma Frost, introduced to the Club through Leland, assumed the position of its White Queen. They were soon joined by the cyborg Donald Pierce, who became White Bishop, as well as the mutant illusionist Jason Wyngarde, alias Mastermind. Viewing the X-Men's activities as a threat to its agenda of mutant world domination, the Inner Circle prepared for their elimination. With his hypnotic powers, Wyngarde began to secretly manipulate the X-Men's Phoenix, slowly but steadily subverting her. Meanwhile, Frost almost succeeded in capturing the X-Men, but ultimately succumbed to Phoenix in a brutal confrontation that traumatized her for years to come. Hoping to learn more about their new opponents, the X-Men infiltrated Manhattan's Hellfire Club, but were soon discovered. In the subsequent clash, Wyngarde's subversion of Phoenix bore fruit, as she turned against her teammates and joined the Club as its Black Queen. Although Phoenix eventually managed to shake off Wyngarde's influence, leading to the Inner Circle's defeat, the X-Men's victory was pyrrhic: While Phoenix took revenge on Wyngarde with her mental powers and left him in a catatonic state, his psychic tampering served as a catalyst for her transformation into the destructive Dark Phoenix. 24

The conflict between the Hellfire Club and the X-Men kept smoldering in the months to follow, but there was also friction within the Inner Circle. An attempt by Pierce to overthrow Shaw's rule failed and resulted in Pierce's exclusion. While Shaw used his contacts to influential officials like his friend Senator Robert Kelly to lobby for new, government-sponsored Sentinel projects, Frost attempted to recruit Charles Xavier's younger students into her own group of charges, the Hellions. The Inner Circle was joined by the ancient sorceress Selene, its new Black Queen, along with Emmanuel DaCosta, a White Rook. When Leland was killed by Nimrod, an advanced Sentinel, the Inner Circle and the X-Men agreed to an alliance, in order to survive in a world increasingly hostile towards mutants. Magneto, headmaster of Xavier's school at the time, became the Inner Circle's new White King, a position he initially shared with X-Men leader Storm. Philosophical differences between Shaw and Magneto eventually resulted in Shaw's dismissal as Black King and Magneto's crowning as "Grey King." Magneto soon wearied of the ongoing struggles between humans and mutants, however, and withdrew from the Inner Circle. Thus weakened, the Inner Circle was assaulted by the Upstarts, a group of young power mongers including Shaw's son, Shinobi. Originally assembled by Selene as the next generation of mutant leaders, the Upstarts' string of surprise attacks resulted in the apparent deaths of Shaw, Magneto, Pierce, Frost and the Hellions, while Selene herself became the prisoner of her erstwhile charges. Believing to have killed his father, Shinobi usurped the position of Black King, but his reign was short-lived. Shinobi's attempts to recruit prominent mutants such as Archangel and Storm failed, and, although he briefly managed to assemble his own Inner Circle, a long series of fruitless conflicts with other superhumans prevented him from establishing a lasting power base. When he learned that his father was alive after all, Shinobi deserted his position and went into hiding. The Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club's London chapter, meanwhile, had attempted to harness the power of an ancient demon incarcerated beneath England's capital. Its plans were thwarted by Brian Braddock, alias Captain Britain, who had infiltrated the Club as its Black Bishop, a position he had inherited from his late father, Sir James Braddock. Sebastian Shaw quickly reclaimed his position as Black King, recruiting the powerful young Madelyne Pryor, the time-traveling Trevor Fitzroy and, briefly, even his old rival Donald Pierce, into a new Inner Circle. When Shaw failed both in developing a profitable cure for the lethal Legacy Virus and in acquiring Apocalypse's advanced technology, however, he agreed to support a mysterious employer with impressive capabilities, which soon led to his resignation from the Inner Circle. In subsequent months, Shaw briefly resurfaced operating an establishment named "The Hellfire Club," an exclusive nightclub for mutants with money to spend. During his absence, Shaw's former aide Tessa joined the X-Men, revealing that she had been a spy working for Xavier all along. Following Shaw's withdrawal, Selene seized her chance and returned as the Inner Circle's Black Queen. In league with the demon Blackheart, she succeeded in coercing Xavier's former student Roberto DaCosta into joining her as a Black Rook. Her Inner Circle's capacity to act, however, remained hamstrung by the unwelcome presence of its contentious White King, superhero exorcist Daimon Hellstrom. Eventually, Sebastian Shaw made his return to the Inner Circle as Lord Imperial, but immediately lost the position to DaCosta when an attack by Pierce resulted in his hospitalization. While Selene and British investment banker Courtney Ross, who has joined the Lords Cardinal as their latest White Queen, pursued their own vicious schemes, DaCosta's declared objective is to improve the situation of mutants around the globe. His aide Tessa, who through her actions has earned the distrust of both Shaw and her former X-Men teammates, appears to play another significant role among the Hellfire Club's new leaders. Once again, the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle is a nexus of hidden agendas, which makes it an unpredictable quantity to both its opponents and members alike. The Hellfire Club recently resurfaced. This time they faced off against Cyclop's team of X-Men at the Xmansion. The new roster consisted of Sebastion Shaw, Emma Frost, Perfection, Cassandra Nova, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. It was discovered however that the new Hellfire Club was nothing but a mental illusion created by Emma Frost. Shortly after the team of X-Men learned this, they were rocketed into space by S.W.O.R.D. There has been no sign of the Hellfire Club since. Junior Ganymede Club The Junior Ganymede Club is a recurring fictional club (in London) in the Jeeves stories of English comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the club for "gentlemen's gentlemen", butlers, and valets, especially for those whose employers are members of the Drones Club. The name comes from Ganymede, who was the cup-bearer of Zeus. Jeeves, Bertie Wooster's valet, is a member of the club. One of the club's rules states that its members are required to enter any embarrassing or compromising information about their employers into the Junior Ganymede Club Book, and it is a much-laughed-about fact among the members that the section entitled WOOSTER B is the largest, containing eleven pages. While the rule requires that members keep the information recorded in the book strictly confidential, Jeeves uses it on occasion to help his employer, most notably to discover the nature of Roderick Spode's business in The Code of the Woosters. In Much Obliged, Jeeves, Brinkley, a former valet of Bertie's friend Ginger Winship, steals the Club Book and threatens to sell it, endangering Winship's campaign for election to the British House of Commons; however, Jeeves promptly recovers it by drugging Brinkley's drink.

25

CURIOUS GOODS (ANTIQUE STORE)

Originally, the series was to be titled "The 13th Hour", but producer Frank Mancuso Jr. thought this would turn away viewers and instead took the name "Friday the 13th" to deliberately draw in audiences. Despite this title, the series has no story connections to the film series of the same name. However, the two series have several cast and crew ties. The show's producer, Frank Mancuso Jr., was also producer of the movie series from Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) until the final installment distributed by Paramount (Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan in 1989, a year before the TV series ended). The show's star, John D. LeMay, is also notable as he went on to star in Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday (guest star John Shepherd played Tommy Jarvis in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning and episode director David Cronenberg appeared in Jason X). Fred Mollin, Rob Hedden, and Tom McLoughlin also worked behind the scenes of both series. Lewis Vendredi made a deal with the devil to sell cursed antiques. But he broke the pact, and it cost him his soul. Now, his niece Micki, and her cousin Ryan have inherited the store... and with it, the curse. Now they must get everything back and the real terror begins. - prologue that opened each episode An antiques dealer named Lewis Vendredi (played by Robert Golden Armstrong) made a deal with the Devil to sell cursed antiques out of his shop, Vendredis Antiques, in exchange for wealth and immortality. He eventually grew tired of being the Devils puppet and broke the deal. The Devil came and claimed the soul of Vendredi (Friday in French) before he could recover the antiques. The task of recovering the cursed objects then fell to the three protagonists of the show: Micki Foster (played by Louise Robey) - Vendredis niece. Ryan Dallion (played by John D. LeMay) - Vendredis nephew, Mickis cousin. Jack Marshak (played by Chris Wiggins) - Vendredis friend, a retired world-traveler who originally collected many of the antiques for Vendredi before they became cursed. The series follows the protagonists as they hunt down the cursed antiques, which are usually in the possession of people who have discovered their evil powers and are reluctant to give them up. Since the cursed antiques are completely indestructible, the ones that the group acquires are locked away in a vault beneath Curious Goods, the rechristened antique store. Most of the stories in the series deal with people using the cursed objects for their own personal gain. All of the cursed objects grant either the users deepest desire or some extraordinary power. However, the curse always requires that the cursed object be used to kill someone in order to activate it. For example, there is a cursed scalpel that gives a surgeon the ability to cure anyone, but in order for the scalpel to work, the surgeon will need to kill someone else with it beforehand. In most instances, the person using the cursed object ends up becoming a victim of the objects curse. Occasionally, there would be an episode in which the trio would have to confront their uncles spirit or would fail to obtain a cursed object, and the search would be continued in another episode. Like other scifi/horror shows in syndication in the late 1980s (such as War of the Worlds and Freddy's Nightmares), Friday the 13th: The Series constantly pushes the acceptable content envelope, regularly featuring violence on par with that of the R-rated horror movies of the time. The second season saw the introduction of Johnny Ventura (played by Steve Monarque). He greatly helps recover the relics and eventually replaces Ryan permanently in the third season. A romantic interest between Johnny and Micki is explored, but eventually dropped. Adaptations: There is a popular rumor that the last episode was to unite the movie and television franchises by having the final item recovered (see Premise above) be the hockey mask belonging to Jason Voorhees. This remains unfounded and while there was talk about having a hockey mask on one of the sets as an in-joke[2], there was never any serious intention to mix the film series into the television series[3]. However, Eric Morse wrote the web novel The Mask of Jason Voorhees, the fifth and last book in his Camp Crystal Lake series of novels which united the novels, the first nine movies, and the television series into one continuity. The concepts in the book were created by Eric Morse and are not the original intent of the shows creators and thus, should not be treated as official canon. Season One Episodes: Generally, this season is probably the poorest. Much of this can be accounted for by the developing nature of the series. And there are some excellent episodes, perhaps the best of the entire series. However, they are seriously offset by some real turkeys. If you're looking for a wide variety in quality, this season is the one to watch. Also due to the developing nature of the show, the cursed antiques are a variable lot. Many of them are basic murder weapons: you kill someone with them, and there's no particular price to pay or procedure to be followed (other then a one-way trip to hell after you die, of course). This theme is found in The Inheritance, Pipe Dream, Tales of the Undead, Quilt of Hathor, and Badge of Honor. We also get two episodes with another continuing theme: antiques that heal/resurrect someone by killing someone else (in Faith Healer and Dr. Jack). There are also hints (The Pirate's Promise, Scarecrow) of the more intricate curses that we'll see in later episodes. Casting also seems somewhat variable. There are a number of episodes where one or more of the main characters are absent. Jack in particular is absent a great deal, with the excuse given that he's off looking for antiques somewhere else. Actor Chris Wiggins may have been ill or on vacation: there are two two-episode blocks, one early in the season (Tales of the Undead, Scarecrow) where he is absent, and a later one (The Pirate's Promise, Badge of Honor). This may also have been due to contractual reasons. Ryan and Micki get the 26

lion's share of the attention, and are quite clearly the main characters. There are only two episodes where their role is minimal: Faith Healer and Bottle of Dreams. Considering Faith Healer falls immediately after the first twoepisode block mentioned above, that episode may have been deliberately given to Chris Wiggins to make up for his absence. An early trend was ending the episode with a joke. Fortunately, that trend was quickly dropped and only rarely resurfaced. No complaints here. Without further ado... The Inheritance: Doll; The premiere episode. The two cousins are brought together to deal with the antique store after the death of their uncle, and meet Jack. They sell off some of the antiques, then discover Lewis' manifest. The first item they go looking for is a cursed doll which has fallen into the hands of a spoiled girl. An inauspicious start to the series. It's never clearly established why the cousins feel obliged to go cursed antique-hunting. The story hints that they accidentally sold cursed antiques. However, with the exception of the doll in this episode, that's clearly not the case - that's why they have to use Lewis' manifest to find the antiques he sold. With all the establishing material, there's very little time for the actual plot, and a doll that kills people has been used any number of times (a couple of Twilight Zone episodes, Trilogy of Terror, etc.). Neither the child nor the people she kills off are particularly sympathetic or interesting. The Poison Pen: Quill Pen; A series of fatal prophecies come from a monk in a secluded monastery. Micki and Ryan have to infiltrate the place to recover the quill pen that is causing the events, and determine exactly who is writing the death sentences. Colin Fox (later to win fame of a sort on Psi-Factor) as the bad guy will return again in the second season. Here he's an ominous presence. Credibility is somewhat strained when we're expected to believe anyone could mistake Micki for a man. Cupid's Quiver: Eros Statue; Thanks to a cursed statue, first the victim falls in love with the user, then the user kills the victim. Denis Forest gets the first of his four (!) "creepy guy" appearances in this episode. It's his worst. Nobody comments on the inherent silliness of someone hauling this 2' tall statue around to bars to pick up women. Micki gets entranced for the first (but not the last) time. A Cup of Time: Teacup; Homeless persons are turning up dead, murdered. And someone's responsible! The curse involves a rock singer using a cup etched with "borrowers' ivy" to kill people to maintain her youth. Blehh. This one's just embarrassing. An "older woman" incessantly throws herself at Jack, humiliating herself and anyone watching this episode. The same older woman who just happens to know the homeless person, who just happened to get the cup, who just happens to now be a youthful rock singer...there's an unbelievable level of coincidence going on here. Some lovely sexist remarks from Ryan about Micki in a chauffeur's uniform, and a stereotypical "cute" kid, make the viewing experience complete. Hell'oween: Amulet; Uncle Vendredi plots his return from Hell, with the aid of a female demon/dwarf. This occurs while our intrepid antiquerecoverers throw a Halloween party at the shop to get their new neighbors to warm up. Lame, lame, lame! Everyone acts stupid in this one, and very little happens except the establishment of Uncle Lewis as a continuing threat and the fact that Jack has some mystical skill. Even Chris Wiggins can't make the scene where he is fighting the dwarf-demon believable, however. The Great Montarro: Magician's Cabinet; A stage magician uses the "Cabinet of Houdin" to perform death-defying illusions. All that's required is someone to be placed in the second box to take the damage... Other than some background on Jack's rather varied past, there's not really much to distinguish this episode. It has a few plot twists, and a few suspenseful moments. Doctor Jack: Scalpel; People are turning up dead, while a surgeon makes a name for himself as a miracle worker. "Miracle" isn't quite the word. However, things take a turn for the worse when Jack finds himself under the surgeon's knife. Things start to improve with this episode, which has a few impressively horrific moments. The healing/killing element is a novelty here, and works well. There are a few unclear moments: despite the hubbub made in later episodes about how the characters should never benefit from cursed objects, no one here seems to be too concerned about Jack being healed by one. Guess it doesn't count if someone else is wielding it on your behalf. Shadow Boxer: Boxing Gloves; A boxer benefits from a pair of gloves that let him triumph in the ring, while his shadow-self beats people to death outside. Phil Akins (War of the Worlds, Highlander) has a brief role here. At least he lives. Some nice special effects and some interesting exploration of character when Ryan is forced to use the cursed gloves. Root of All Evil: Mulcher; A gardener discovers a mulcher that, when people are fed in to it, spews out money. The more wealthy the person, the more money that comes out. Whoops, a brief downhill slide. In this episode, the cursed antique is pretty much filler for the subplot, which involves Micki pondering whether to end her career as an antique-recoverer. It's hard to really care, since her boyfriend is such a jerk. Fortunately, we never see him again. Tales of the Undead: Comic Book; A cursed comic book turns its wielder into the "hero": Ferrus the Invincible. The hero's creator, an embittered old artist (Ray Walston) gets his hands on it. This episode is as good as it gets. Walston is effective (I don't recall him playing a bad guy, at least recently), and there are a number of in-jokes - Ferrus is a reference to Superman (a literal "Man of Steel"), and the whole Siegel/Schuster legal situation that arose. There is a corny but entertaining (and budget-saving) use of comic book panels (kind of like Wild Wild West) to show the comic book's wielder transformation into Ferrus. Scarecrow: Scarecrow; In a small farming community, the crops come in as long as three people disappear during each harvest. Written by Mark Scott Zircree, who penned the Twilight Zone Companion. The 27

masked, inescapable scarecrow is as close as the show ever comes to its movie origins. However, clever touches like having to attach a photo of the victim to the scarecrow improve on the original work. There are also some hints at Ryan's background, which we will see more of in Pipe Dream and The Prophecies. Faith Healer: Glove; A fraudulent faith healer gains true power, albeit of a Satanic nature, when he discovers a glove that lets him heal as long as he transfers the disease or injury into someone else...magnified tenfold. This episode focuses primarily on Jack Marshak, and benefits greatly from the talents of horror director David Cronenberg. All of his usual elements (disgusting diseases eating away from within, persons forced to evil against their will) are on display here. There is a plot twist or two, and a few clever variations. Perhaps due to Cronenberg's influence, the gore here is about as explicit as it ever gets on the show. The Baron's Bride: Cape; The recovery of a cursed cape who turns its wearer into a vampire takes an unexpected turn when the artifact transports Micki, Ryan, and its current wearer into the late 19th century. While Ryan seeks the vampire with the aid of a writer named Abraham, Micki falls under the vampire's sway. The first of four "time travel" episodes (a novelty at this point), and filmed in black & white during the past era sequences. A few plot holes - it's implied the cape can travel through time to anywhere, but no one seems too concerned. The "twist" ending isn't particularly surprising, either. And Micki gets entranced once more. Still, the cinematography and musical score set an effective mood for the entire episode. Bedazzled: Lantern; A lantern reveals sunken treasures, but demands a life in payment. The antique is recovered easily enough...but the owners track it back to Curious Goods, where Micki and a neighborhood child must keep them from getting their hands on it. Although the episode starts promisingly enough (they recover the antique in the first 10 minutes), it's pretty much downhill from there. You wonder what they're going to do once they recover the lantern so early. The problem is, then we find out. While the trivia-minded might wonder whatever happened to the "cute" neighborhood kid, we are fortunately spared his return appearance. For the first but not the last time, an outside evil comes to the store. Vanity's Mirror: Compact; A scorned teenager finds a compact that allows her to entrance males into loving her. The cost is that she must kill them. Basically a remake of the previous Cupid's Quiver episode. There's a little more variation this time around, but we get another basically evil person doing evil things to unlikable people. As was seen in later seasons, the curses were more effective when corrupting the kindhearted, rather than providing super-weapons to pond-scum. Tattoo: Tattooing Needles; A gambler hits a winning streak when he tattoos patterns on others. As he wins, they die. We get some interesting "horror" moments as the various tattoos, particularly a demon's claw on someone's chest, come to life. There is also a hint of Chinese magic and other supernatural powers at work. The ending is fairly effective in a Deer Hunter kind of way. The Electrocutioner: Electric Chair; The people responsible for a man's failed execution are dying off one by one, electrocuted. Orphans at a wayward home are also disappearing while having their teeth tended. It's a little hard to believe that Uncle Lewis somehow got the electric chair in and out of the store. Still, it's an amusing touch having it disguised as a dentist's chair. In a season filled with evil, scummy people doing evil scummy things with evil artifacts (usually to only slightly less likable victims), it's nice to have someone driven to his crimes who is actually sympathetic (in a sick, twisted kind of way). Brain Drain: Trefinator; A retarded janitor gains knowledge and brainpower from a huge guillotine-like device that transfers spinal fluid from one person to another. Jack's former fiance is the next victim. If you had trouble with Uncle Lewis getting an electric chair out the door, you'll really wonder how he somehow managed to sell the huge guillotine-like trefinator (which holds the record for largest antique ever sold and recovered). And where do they store it in the Vault? The only thing seriously dumb about this episode is the name. Denis Forest gets his second role. He does well both as the initially retarded man and as the haughty intellectual type who gains both knowledge and mannerisms from his victims (and perfects his cold-blooded alien/Gestapo characterization for his continuing role in War of the Worlds a year later). Chris Wiggins is never better, and Carrie Snodgrass makes a believable romantic interest. And there's a lovely romantic score by composer Fred Mollin. The Quilt of Hathor Pt. 1: Quilt; In an isolated religious community, a quilt that allows a scorned woman to kill her rivals in their dreams wreaks havoc. Micki and Ryan join the community, and Ryan falls in love. The quilt is recovered, only for it to be revealed as a fake. Ryan stays in the community, unaware of the danger. An OK episode. The episode presents a not particularly-favorable view of isolated religious communities like the Old Testament "Penitites" in this episode. The townspeople are portrayed as superstitious with a lynch-mob mentality. The romance is just a tad unbelievable, but at least we have a two-parter to develop it. The Quilt of Hathor Pt. 2: Quilt; The Penitites' minister (and father of Ryan's love) gets hold of the quilt and puts it to his own use, killing an Inquisitor (Bernard Behrens) and framing Ryan for the crime. Behrens appears in another episode this season (The Pirate's Promise) and was a regular on Dracula: The Series. This episode is a little better than its predecessor, but the Penitites still are unfavorably portrayed with a lynch mob mentality. They also engage in trial by combat: look for that one in the Bible, kids. Double Exposure: Camera; A serial killer will talk only to one particular newsanchor, whose viewer ratings soar as a result. Ryan's new girlfriend witnesses one killing, and sees that the killer is the news anchor himself, yet he is on the air at the same time. Could a cursed antique be responsible? The familiar Canadian faces include Catherine Disher (War of the Worlds, Forever Knight) and Gary Frank (Family). The latter gives a remarkably convincing portrayal of a bland yet ambitious pretty-boy news anchor. An interesting concept, and 28

some ironic moments, particularly the ending: "I'm alive! I'm alive!" *Thunk* Another in a long line of "Get a romantic interest, have them die by the end of the story" episodes. Ryan also recovers from losing his "true love" (in Quilt of Hathor) in record time. An odd lapse in continuity, given this was often the show's strength. The Pirate's Promise: Foghorn; In a secluded seaside community, people are disappearing. Meanwhile, every night a mysterious lurker uses a foghorn to call in a pirate's ghost to reveal to him more buried treasure. Bernard Behrens (Quilt of Hathor) gets a second appearance. Despite some obvious nods to John Carpenter's The Fog, there are several original elements and plot twists to keep the viewer interested. Badge of Honor: Sheriff's Badge; A renegade lawman takes justice in to his own hands with the badge of Wyatt Earp, killing off drug dealers. Friday the 13th meets Miami Vice. Fred Mollin's musical score heavily "borrows" from the latter, but is effective nonetheless. Micki gets a decent romantic interest, thus continuing the train of "My girlfriend/boyfriend will be dead by the end of the story" episodes started in Double Exposure. Pipe Dream: Smoking Pipe; Ryan's father has finally hit it big, owing his success to a pipe given to him by his relative Lewis Vendredi. Those who oppose him disappear. Michael Constantine (Room 222) as Ryan's father. This is a nice "tragic" episode, as we again get a vaguely sympathetic curse-wielder, who sacrifices himself in the end to save his son. What a Mother Wouldn't Do: Cradle; A baby hovers on the verge of death. All that can save her is a cradle from the Titanic (must have missed that in the recent movie) and her parents killing seven people by water. An interesting curse. Unfortunately, the actress playing the mother goes totally overboard (pardon the pun): she seems pretty vicious regardless, when a more tortured approach might have worked better. The father is just wishy-washy. Uncle Lewis has a brief flashback appearance at the beginning, giving R.G. Armstrong his third of five appearances on the show. Bottle of Dreams: Coptic Burial Urn; The recovery of a cursed urn proves remarkably easy...until Micki and Ryan are trapped in the vault with it, and it unleashes a mist that forces them to relive their most terrifying moments until they die from the strain. The season finale, this episode was filmed during the writer's strike. This is probably why the episode relies heavily of footage from previous episodes. Rashid is introduced here, and Uncle Vendredi makes a return appearance. There is a strong focus on Jack here, and we find out that he once had a son. If you can withstand the endless flashbacks and interminable shots of Micki & Ryan writhing in agony, it's actually pretty good. Season Two Episodes: Generally, the second season is the strongest of the three. The show pretty consistently hits the mark that it often tried for and missed during the first season. (If you prefer the more varied third season with the occasional non-antique oriented story, then you'll probably like that more). We get more interesting curses, better acting from the regulars, a generally stronger guest cast, and the loss of Uncle Vendredi. The Devil decides to take a more direct hand against the foolish mortals who are opposing him. We begin to see the rigors of antique-hunting set in, and very few episodes end on the jokey note of much of the first season's earlier episodes. In this season we get the first non-antique story (The Butcher), a two-antique story (A Friend in Need), the only episode where no one dies (The Playhouse), the death and resurrection of a regular (Tails I Win...), hints of Micki's true powers (Coven of Darkness), and the gradual introduction of Johnny Ventura (Wedding Bell Blues, The Prisoner), soon-to-be regular in the third season. There's plenty of variation if you know where to look. One continuing theme that does get a little irritating is the death of anybody who becomes romantically involved with the regulars. These all provide nice tragic moments, but reaches extremes in Wedding in Black, when three former friends show up and you know they're all going to die. There's also a heavy reliance on coincidence, in episodes like Symphony in B# and Better Off Dead, that gets really annoying. Doorway to Hell: Mirror; Vendredi is still trying to escape hell, and his newfound powers seem to center around a previously-unknown house that he owned, a house filled with mirrors and a young man fleeing the law. A direct sequel to Bottle of Dreams. The introduction of a James Dean-like drifter who spends his time getting possessed doesn't do much for the story. This is the last we see of both Uncle Vendredi and Rashid, although both will be mentioned in future. Somewhat of a letdown from the relatively strong first season finale: probably backlash from the writer's strike. That doesn't explain why "hell" looks like a junior high production, however. The Voodoo Mambo: Voodoo Mask; The spirit of a dead voodoo priestess strikes out at the ones who supervised her death. Her next target is her former husband, a friend of the cousins and Jack. This is more like it. Joe Seneca (Crossroads, Amazing Stories, The Blob/remake) is featured, and comes across effectively. Use of black & white photography of actual voodoo rites, intermingled with similarly-filmed flashbacks to the priestess' murder, add a nice cinematographic touch. And Now the News: Radio; Mental patients are dying in an insane asylum, hallucinating their worse fears, while others are miraculously cured. A strictly by-the-number "Cure someone by killing someone" episode. Ryan displays major idiocy in trying to climb an electrical fence. Still, there are some humorous moments, including the last scene when the radio has some news for the cousins... Tails I Win, Heads You Die: Coin; A reporter and a gravedigger have turned up dead, the brand of a coin on their foreheads. Only the Coin of Ziocles can be responsible. The coin can raise the dead, at the cost of a life. The situation becomes notably worse when Micki is killed. Colin Fox (The Poison Pen) gets a much better return appearance as the leader of the Satanic cult. This episode is one of the best. From the cunning bad guy who has a demonic scheme for the antique in question, to Micki's death and the subsequent reactions of Jack and Ryan, 29

to the dramatically-staged finale, this episode hits every note perfectly. The short-lived reporter seems a homage of sorts to Carl Kolchak of Night Stalker fame. Symphony in B#: Violin; Mysterious murders involving skewered victims plague a symphony hall, and Ryan's new girlfriend seems to be at the heart of the matter. Her, and her mysterious mentor who lurks in the shadows. If you read the above and thought "Phantom of the Opera," give yourself a franc. Composer Fred Mollin goes just a tad overboard with his booming pseudo-orchestral score, and there's lots of shots of people rushing through tunnels. Plenty of chilling moments, but the level of coincidence here is just a tiny bit too high. Ryan just happens to fall for this girl (his third, see first season's The Quilt of Hathor and Double Exposure) who just happens to have been previously involved with a famous violinist, who Jack just happens to know all about, etc., etc. Master of Disguise: Make-up Kit; Micki gets her big chance at movie stardom at the behest of a famous male actor who has become enamored with her. A series of mysterious deaths plague the set, however, and it appears that Micki's boyfriend is not all that he seems. Although the murders are brutal, this episode has a strangely gentle touch, perhaps because the bad guy engenders a certain sympathy and doesn't die in the end. The reference to William Pratt (aka Boris Karloff) is also a nice touch. Micki seems just a bit too willing to give him the benefit of the doubt (she was just killed by an antique in Tails I Win...), but that's easily overlooked if the on-again off-again continuity of the show doesn't bother you. Wax Magic: Woman's Handkerchief; A mysterious axe murderer's trail of death parallels that of a travelling carnival, attracting Jack and Ryan. A mysterious woman seems to know the secret, but her jealous husband keeps her isolated. Sigh, another romance for Ryan. Oh well. This episode has a surprise that I won't spoil here, but it is nicely done and unexpected. The fact that nobody is sure what the antique is, much less what it does, helps to maintain an air of mystery about the proceedings. Read My Lips: Boutonniere; A series of murders seem to jump from one ventriloquist to another, along with the dummy that changes hands when its owners tire of it...or it tires of them. This episode feature Billy Drago (John Bly on Brisco County Jr.) in a rather eccentric performance... although it's pretty much par for the course for him. Fortunately, we aren't asked to accept a cursed antique ventriloquist dummy. And murderous dummies aren't particularly new (Twilight Zone, Tales from the Crypt, Magic). Still, there's a general air of gloominess contrasting with the forced hilarity of the ventriloquist performances that works. Washed-up comedian John Byner plays, appropriately enough, a washed-up ventriloquist/comedian. 13 O'Clock: Pocket Watch; A series of mysterious crimes and murders can only be accounted for by a complete stoppage in time. The trail leads to Castle Hill subway station, and a strange watch. A familiar face, Ingrid Veninger, from last season's Vanity's Mirror shows up here again in a different role. An interesting concept, although not a particularly original one (see Twilight Zone, Star Trek, Wild Wild West, M.A.N.T.I.S.). The ending is very confusing: what did happen to the bad guys? This episode received an Emmy nomination for its cinematography. Night Hunger: Silver Car Key Chain; A teenager seeks revenge on those who have tormented him with the aid of his car...which he can control mentally. A mid-season lull, maybe. Heavy borrowing from Stephen King's Christine, definitely. There are some creepy scenes, like the key crawling into the kid's chest wound. Still, nothing to write home about. The Sweetest Sting: Bee Case; There seems to be a connection between mysterious deaths by bee sting and accidental deaths in the farms nearby. But what? And why are wealthy businessmen seeking honey so badly? This episode revolves around someone else's tragedy, adding to its effectiveness. Even so, there's a lot going for this one. Like the cult leader in Tails I Win...), the guy with the bee case has a plan, and one that even makes sense! Most people kill with the antiques: this guy kills someone, sets up another person, then gets them to kill another person for him. And all while making a fortune. Art Hindle cheerfully starts at one corner of the scenery, then chews his way methodically to the other side as the maniacal villain. Even the concept of vampire bees has a certain appeal, although the low-budget special effects don't do them justice. The Playhouse: Child's Playhouse; The disappearance of children seem related to an antique playhouse that two kids in the neighborhood use to escape their troubled home life. The only episode where no one dies. The playhouse interiors bear a certain resemblance to Joe Dante's Twilight Zone - The Movie segment. The kids using the playhouse aren't particularly likable, which tends to lessen the episode a bit. We really don't care if Micki and Ryan save them. Eye of Death: Magic Lantern; A fellow antiques procurer is able to obtain as-new condition Civil War antiques and get huge profits from selling them at auction. They are new: he uses an antique magic lantern to travel back in time. The second time travel episode, simulated with sepia-tone. This one deals with the paradoxical elements of time travel raised briefly in first season's Baron's Bride). Plus Tom McCamus, who played the "Baron" in that time travel episode, returns here as antiques procurer Atticus Rook. A particularly grisly and effective ending. Look for Bernard Behrens (last season's Pirate's Promise) and The Quilt of Hathor) as General Robert E. Lee. Face of Evil: Compact; The cursed compact has fallen into the hands of a model who will do anything to retain her fading beauty. This time it has a new curse, allowing the model to kill to keep her youthful looks. No, not the Doctor Who episode, but a sequel to first season's Vanity's Mirror. Although the concept of a mutable curse is interesting, there's nothing really special going on here. 30

Better Off Dead: Silver Syringe; A doctor must perform experiments on the soul itself to find a cure for his rabid daughter. The only episode to have a warning of graphic content during its original air run. On a show with such heavy levels of violence this might be surprising, but it's not unwarranted. BOD is truly chilling with scenes of brain surgery (without anesthesia) against a background of classical music, and Micki's frothing-atthe-mouth, wild-eyed insanity. Not for the weak of heart. Some very unlikely coincidences, like Micki's friend being grabbed as the good doctor's victim, detract a bit. Scarlet Cinema: Movie Camera; A series of campus killings look like the work of a werewolf. There are no such things as werewolves, so a curse must be involved This one involves a camera that grants an owner his fondest wish after three killings. The owner in this case is a unpopular student who wishes he were a werewolf. The episode's dismissal of true supernatural creatures seems a bit uneven (as it did in Baron's Bride). There's a nice initial sense of homage with the scenes from Lon Chaney Jr.'s Werewolf, but we quickly get tired of too many of them. The killing of the werewolf with camera film (treated with silver nitrate, of course) is a nice touch. A pity they didn't use the silver syringe from the previous episode. The Memphisto Ring: Black Sox World Series Ring; A man dies, and his son discovers that the World Series ring left him lets him foretell the future of sporting events...at a deadly cost. No season would be complete without an appearance by Denis Forest, and here he is in full-blown creepy/pathetic mode. Again, the tragedy is, for the most part, happening in someone else's life and there's another surprise ending that works pretty effectively. A Friend in Need: Medusa Shard/Child's Coffin; In the first half, the cousins attempt to recover an antique piece of rock that turns its victims into stone sculpture. In the second, a neighbor child befriends a mysterious child living in an abandoned house. The two-story nature rushes the first part a bit, but gives it a nicely open-ended feel: not every episode has to end with the bad guy defeated and the antique recovered (although the Shard is referred to in a later episode). The second half is more of a ghost story and is adequate. The Butcher: Amulet of Thule; The members of Jack's WW2 platoon are being strangled with barbed wire. There could be only two man responsible: one is dead and the other imprisoned in Germany. Nigel Bennett (LaCroix of Forever Knight) warms up here with his role of a mysterious radio talk-show host with a low view of humanity. Colin Fox (Poison Pen, Tails I Win...) makes his third appearance as well. The focus is on Jack as he goes it alone: Micki and Ryan absent, his friends being killed off one at a time, and an enemy resurrected from the dead. The "Amulet of Thule" is not one of Vendredi's items, making it the first non-antique the regulars become involved in. Mesmer's Bauble: Amulet; A young man, fan of a beautiful singer, gets hold of a amulet that will grant him his greatest desire. If he can just figure out what it is. This episode was made when Vanity, girlfriend of "The Actor Formerly Known as Prince," was popular. The role of a beautiful singer isn't much of a stretch for her. For those interested in tracing the literary roots of episodes, this one bears a strong resemblance to Stephen King's Misery. The episode seems to have had the title "The Secret Agenda of Mesmer's Bauble" at some point. A rather weird ending even by the standards of the series. Wedding in Black: Snowball; Our trio is lured to a mysterious house by their friends, a house that isn't what it appears to be. Micki is chosen as the bride for the Lord of Darkness, Satan himself. There's a strong element of deja vu as several friends and loved ones show up to be cannon fodder. There is some foreshadowing to Coven of Darkness since Satan is interested in mating with Micki. The only episode where an antique is actually (if somewhat inexplicably) destroyed. Wedding Bell Blues: Pool Cue; Micki needs the help of a young street punk to locate a cursed pool cue that gives its owner great skill, with the usual cost. Steve Monarque's first appearance in the series as Johnny Ventura in a guest role. He's not particularly interesting and actually comes across as somewhat swarmy, hitting on Micki. The story itself has a few twists and turns before the typically tragic ending. Nothing special. The Maestro: Symphonia; A dance composer plans to complete his final work with the aid of a symphonia that drives its victims to dance themselves to death...a dance that the composer will make his own work. Yep, another friend of Jack's (well, a daughter of a friend of Jack's), another tragic ending. The scenes of dancers being driven to dance unto death are impressive against the musical crescendo. And you get the first of two performances by Colm Feore, later to gain substantial fame as Andre Linoge in Storm of the Century. Shaman's Apprentice: Indian Rattle; A cursed rattle gives a young Amerindian doctor the ability to heal if he first kills. A revamp of first season's Tails I Win... and Doctor Jack. There are hints of other supernatural forces at work, but otherwise probably not enough to warrant a third visit to this theme. Even the introduction of a friend of Micki's who is next on the list to be cured, raising all the old familiar, "Do we have the right?" arguments, doesn't help. The Prisoner: Leather Kamikaze Jacket; Johnny becomes inadvertently involved in the hunt for a WW2 Japanese pilot's jacket when his father is killed by someone seeking the proceeds from an armored car robbery. He is locked up in prison with the man responsible, who is able to come and go as he pleases since he can turn invisible. How turning invisible lets you pass through locked cell doors and walls is never made clear, in one of several plot holes. Johnny being sent to prison without bail, on minimal evidence, are others. The "invisibility" F/Xs are okay. Coven of Darkness: Witch's Ladder and Scultping Tool; A "witch's ladder" (necklace) may hold the key to great supernatural power. A black witch wants it, and mesmerizes Ryan into getting it for her. An OK episode. There's some interesting continuity (the black witch was associated with Vendredi), and hints of Micki's powers 31

that are never brought up again. Ryan gets in some sleepwalking/zombie practice for next season's The Prophecies. Catherine Disher (last season's Double Exposure, Natalie on Forever Knight) has a very minor role as the second-in-command of the coven. The powers of the witch's ladder seem rather vague defined: although it amplifies a witch's power, all the head witch does with it is what Ryan later does: fire blasts of energy. A secondary antique item, a sculpting tool used to create voodoo wax images, plays a more important role in the story. Season Three Episodes: Generally, the third season is tied with second for the "best" season of the series in this author's opinion. The series was apparently cancelled early however, since it only runs 20 episodes compared to the 26 of the first two seasons. By now, the concept of finding a cursed antique each week was getting a little predictable, and those associated with the show seemed to realize it. Several variations were introduced to try to change the pattern. The first was the introduction of Johnny Ventura (Steve Monarque) as a regular character. For several reasons, Ryan Dallion was written out. Johnny had the benefit of being pre-introduced in several second-season episodes. However, quite frankly, he was never as interesting as Ryan. However, the introduction of Johnny allowed the writers to rewrite several "standard" stories that cast him in the role of novice antique recoverer. So in Hate on Your Dial and Crippled Inside, he screws up. In Bad Penny he repeats Ryan's mistake (way back in Shadow Boxer) of using a cursed antique himself. There was also some minor efforts made to introduce a romance between Johnny and Micki, something previously impossible since Micki and Ryan were distantly related. Naturally, you couldn't have a show with a male and female lead and avoid all hints of romance between them. F13 was no exception. Fortunately, after The Long Road Home this element was dropped. There was also a steady trend away from antique-hunting, as our intrepid trio either became involved with other supernatural forces (Midnight Riders, The Charnel Pit), became peripheral to the main storyline (Repetition, My Wife as a Dog) or both (Night Prey, Year of the Monkey). There was also some effort to expand the show beyond antique hunting. The Prophecies allowed Satan to follow up on his efforts in Wedding in Black and take another shot (albeit indirectly) at the group. However, the possibilities of the "Big Guy" becoming a continuing threat were dropped after that. Demon Hunter at least addressed the issue of where the heck all the antiques were going to be stored. Perhaps all of this was a natural evolution of the show. If it had gone to a fourth season, these elements would doubtless have been expanded on further. Still, despite the above, antique-hunting was still the main emphasis of the show. Some stories were very basic, as if the writers didn't see any need to do much else since these were "new" stories from Johnny's point of view. As noted above, Crippled Inside and Hate on Your Dial are good examples of this. Many other stories dwelt even further on the guest characters involved, making the third season's "villains" the most sympathetic. Episodes like Epitaph for a Lonely Soul and My Wife as a Dog are the best examples of this trend The third season pretty much stands on its own continuity-wise. After The Prophecies wrapped up the Ryan storyline, only Bad Penny made any specific reference to the events of previous seasons. We see nothing further of Uncle Vendredi, Rashid, or Satan. Although Jack has a brief reunion with his father, no further mention is made of his dead son. Speaking of Jack, he is moved even further into the background. Since the main characters as a whole are moved back a bit from the plot, Jack gets even less emphasis. He gets no "solo" episodes (such as Faith Healer or The Butcher). He does have a major role in episodes like Spirit of Television, Night Prey, and Midnight Riders, but doesn't contribute much otherwise. His main roles now appear to be: chewing out Johnny when the poor guy makes a mistake, supplying a bit of mystical research, and getting knocked over the head. As a minor note, the episodes themselves undergo some minor restructuring. On the assumption that after two years the audience knew the basic concept of the series, the voice-over narration was dropped. Instead, we get a pre-credits "teaser" for the episode. Overall, the third season is an acquired taste. There is enough variety that you won't get bored, even if you've been watching the show regularly during the first two years. When the show tries to break out of its previous framework is when it is at its most entertaining this year. If you were getting kind of bored, then you'll probably enjoy the third season more than its predecessors. The Prophecies, Pt. 1: Devil's Bible; Astaroth, a minion of Satan, has obtained the Devil's Bible, and intends to use it in a small village in Europe to unleash Satan on Earth. This is a very involved episode, with a number of plot elements introduced, including Ryan's background (going way back to first season's Scarecrow and Pipe Dream), the faith of the young girl, the corruption of a holy place, and the relentless fulfillment of the prophecies. The episode is also helped by its overseas filming, the truly chilling sequences such as the riot at the hospital, and a hammy yet effective performance by veteran actor Fritz Weaver. The first part is as close as we get to a Jack solo story this season, but a concussion takes him out before he can do much of anything. The Prophecies, Pt. 2: Devil's Bible; Ryan plays an integral role in the completion of the prophecies, as Astaroth's plans near completion and all looks hopeless. A minor let-down after the atmospheric part one. Ryan's zombie routine becomes very old very quickly, and the final resolution is rather confusing. In one sense, a final hurrah for the series, since after the apocalyptic events of this two-parter, anything that follows would be somewhat of a let-down: essentially, the team saves the world! The Prophecies could just as easily have been the series finale with a little reworking. 32

Demon Hunter: Dagger; A family team of demon hunters are searching for a hellspawn unleashed upon the earth, unaware that one of their number is not what he or she appears. Very reminiscent of Aliens, as the hunters try to track down their prey, using heavy firepower and hand-held tracking units. The question of how much room is in the Vault (particularly with the first season's trefinator and electric chair) is finally answered. Crippled Inside: Wheelchair; An old man aids a crippled girl in gaining a cursed wheelchair that will eventually let her walk and gain revenge on those responsible for her handicap. Johnny has to solve this one himself. A "Johnny screws up" episode, the first of several. There's a reference to last season's A Friend in Need and the Medusa Shard from that episode (we never find out if it's recovered). "The old man" seems to be a substitute for Uncle Vendredi, although his presence and any connection he might have to Vendredi is never made clear, or used again. Stick It In Your Ear: Hearing Aid; One member of a mind-reading act stumbles upon a cursed hearing aid that gives him actual telepathic powers. He must eventually discharge the thoughts and bring about someone's death, or die horribly himself. Gore galore! In probably the most visceral episode of this season. Appropriately enough, since to some degree it's a reworking of Cronenberg's first season Faith Healer. If you were upset by ceti eels crawling into Walter Koenig's ear in Star Trek II, this one should be avoided. There's some nice commentary on the fleeting nature of fame. Still, one might think after this episode the secretive nature of the trio's efforts would be totally blown. Bad guy Adam Cole is played by Wayne Best, who had a small role in last year's The Playhouse. Bad Penny: Coin of Ziocles; The Coin of Ziocles resurfaces, in the hands of two bad cops. Johnny recovers the coin, but decides to use it to resurrect his father (killed in The Prisoner last season). Meanwhile, Micki has to deal with her own fears since the Coin was used to kill her previously (in Tails I Win..., also last season). One of only two episodes that are direct sequels to previous ones (the other is second season's Face of Evil). This is a far superior one, cross-referencing several episodes and wrapping up at least one loose end (Micki's reaction to being dead and resurrected). Although the cops are the typical evil-incarnate bad guys, there's several nice character moments with Micki, Johnny, and Johnny's resurrected father. Hate On Your Dial: Car Radio; A cursed car radio falls into the hands of a retarded man and his racist brother. The racist uses the car radio to go back to the 1950's and help his father and the Ku Klux Klan. Another "Johnny screws up" episode, and the third of four time-travel episodes. This one is simulated in blackand-white. The time travel gimmick is a bit over-used by now: even Johnny seem rather blas about it, despite never having done it before! Still, there are some nice portrayals of life in the South of the 50's. Night Prey: Cross; A deranged vampire hunter gains a cursed cross that can incinerate vampires. He uses it in his efforts to regain his girlfriend, who was transformed into a vampire years ago. This episode is almost a precursor to Forever Knight, and similarities abound, right down to the cinematography and the musical score that Fred Mollin later "borrows" from himself for FK. Particularly effective are Jack's opening and closing narrations, as we see the toll of antique-hunting catching up once more. A mild contradiction is that vampires were implied as not existing in a previous episode (The Baron's Bride), but here exist as independent supernatural elements. Femme Fatale: Film Reel; A director of film noir with an invalid wife becomes obsessed with a cursed reel of film of one of his movies. He discovers he can substitute a young woman for the character in the movie that his wife played, so that "Lili" can emerge into real life. Micki becomes trapped in the film. An interesting commentary on levels of reality, and some people being happier with fantasy. The sequence when the "Lili" from the movie goes into a theater and sees her adoring fans is a nice touch. The ending is a little confusing: the invalid Lili shoots her husband and takes Micki's place, which inexplicably destroys the "character" Lili from the movie. Huh? Keep an eye out for one in-joke: the musical composer for the film, "A Scandalous Woman", is listed as one "Frederick Mollin" (Fred Mollin was the composer for the series). One down note: the endless scenes of trapped women running through the movie become very tiresome after a while. Mightier Than the Sword: Fountain Pen; A writer of crime biographies enhances his reputation by using a cursed fountain pen to turn innocent people into serial killers, controlling their exploits by writing his stories. Micki is his next target... No season would be complete without Micki being mentally controlled into doing something against her will, and acting sultry and seductive in the process. At least she isn't forced to fall in love with the author (Colm Feore, from last season's The Maestro, and recently Storm of the Century). An okay episode, enhanced only by Robey's performance as a psychotic murderer. Year of the Monkey: Monkey Statues; The trio must make a deal with a retired samurai: in return for an antique tea set, they must recover a set of three Monkey statues from the Tanaka clan. The statues are used by the father to test his children. The one who passes his test gains all of his wealth, and immortality until he or she finds a worthy successor in turn. Interestingly, the statues aren't cursed items but simply magical artifacts. This gives the story a slightly different spin. The trio are also forced to travel to Hong Kong and New York to gain the statues (although the sequences were filmed on Canadian sets, of course). Both these factors help to "open out" the show a bit. Now well-known actress Tia Carrere (Relic Hunter, Wayne's World, True Lies) is cast as a Japanese woman (?!?). Robert Ito (Sam on Quincy, and Highlander episodes "Revenge of the Sword" and "The Samurai") plays the head of the Tanaka clan, while Von Flores (Sandoval on Earth: Final Conflict) plays a minor bad guy. Epitaph for a Lonely Soul: Mortician's Aspirator;: A mortician (the title's "lonely soul") finds an antique aspirator that lets him do the old "Kill Person A, resurrect Person B" shtick. With the added bonus that they 33

(initially) don't recall much of their previous lives, and accept anything he tells them. Neil Munro vies with Denis Forest for the award for "Actor Playing the Most Different Bad Guys": Epitaph... is his second of three appearances (he was in last season's Better Off Dead). He's no Denis Forest (thankfully, no one is), but as the mortician this is the most sympathetic of his three roles. The resurrection/healing concept itself is way overdone by now, but the romantic angle helps a little bit. If you ignore the hints of necrophilia, that is. Midnight Riders: None (Motorcycle Gang); While visiting a small town, our trio become involved when a motorcycle gang rolls into town - a gang of ghosts, that is. Jack's father also mysteriously shows up, after having disappeared years ago. Another non-antique episode. Like first season's The Pirate's Promise, this episode borrows heavily from John Carpenter's The Fog, with ghosts coming back from the dead to wreak vengeance for an injustice. The non-antique angle and the revelations about Jack's father, Cawley, are the best parts. Repetition: Locket; A newspaper columnist runs over a little girl...and her voice emanates from her locket to tell him to kill someone else to bring her back to life. He does so, except the next victim does the same thing. Repeatedly. Just like the title. At the end, the guy kills himself from the stress. This episode only marginally features the main characters, and is basically a character piece on the columnist, as he slowly goes nuts. But the episode is kind of...well, repetitive. I suppose that's the idea, but still, watching the guy go nuts over the course of 40 minutes just isn't that interesting. The Long Road Home: Yin-Yang Amulet; After recovering an amulet that allows the transference of souls, Johnny and Micki head back, but run into two wacko brothers who have their eyes set on Micki. When Johnny is wounded, he must transfer his soul into one of the brothers to stop the other. Deliverance meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with a bit of Psycho thrown in (the brothers practice taxidermy, which provides a cute "twist" at the end). The brothers are probably the most depraved characters to ever appear on the show, and considering their competition, that's going some. One is played by Angelo Rizacos, who played an obsessed sculptor in second season's Wax Magic and the Electrocutioner in the first season episode of the same title. Angelo manages to be even less likable here. This episode bears a strong resemblance to Bedazzled two seasons earlier. The first part of the episode (actually, the pre-titles teaser here) deals with the recovery of the antique, while the rest of the episode involves our friends' efforts to keep it while being hunted down by two evil-doers. There are hints of a Micki/Johnny romance here, thankfully dropped. The episode is redeemed slightly by the ending, which has a truly chilling moment when the surviving brother finds a new body to possess... My Wife as a Dog: Dog Leash; A fireman's only friend is his dog, which is dying of old age. His wife has divorced him rather than tolerate his obsession. But the fireman discovers an aboriginal leash that will grant him his fondest animal-related wish: to heal his dog and make her his only companion. This episode is as close to a comedy as the show ever does. The trio has no real clue what's going on, even at the end, and a lot of dog jokes are made. Denis Forest, going on his fourth appearance in four different roles, gets his one and only shot at a sympathetic character, albeit a homicidal and somewhat insane one. Very bizarre. Jack-In-The-Box: Jack-in-the-Box; A young girl uses a antique to kill those responsible for her father's death, in return for being able to summon his spirit. Eventually, she decides she has to join him. A pretty standard "get the antique" episode, enhanced by the focus on how the mother and the girl deal with the father's death (neither handle it very well, although they are portrayed realistically enough). Also, the father's spirit isn't a willing party to his daughter's actions, but is rather summoned forth by the antique. This provides for an interesting character study, and an episode with no real villains. Oh. Well, yes, the people who actually kill the father are your typical scum (who knew working at a rec center pool was such a dangerous job?), but they're dispatched in short order. Spirit of Television: Television; A would-be psychic uses a cursed television to show her clients the ghosts of who they want to see. Unfortunately, the ghosts must then turn vengeful, killing the one who wanted to see them. The psychic gains a few more weeks of life in return. A very average episode. The scenes with the summoned spirits, initially kind but later grotesque and vengeful, are impressive. Otherwise been there, seen it, done it. Tree of Life: Fertility Statue; A cult of female druids uses a womens' hospital in a bizarre set up. Infertile couples come to them, and the druids use a cursed fertility statue to sacrifice the father so the wife gives birth to a twin boy and girl. They then claim only one child was born, give the boy to the mother, and keep the girl to raise in the druid way. Our trio stumble into the situation. Another hint of supernatural powers other then the antiques, although the druids' magic seems to derive only from the cursed statue: they seem to lack any powers of their own. Still, their cold-hearted use of the antiques to further their own goals is very effective, albeit reminiscent of Tails I Win... and The Sweetest Sting. The concept of an antique spawning duplicates of itself is also raised, a truly chilling thought. The Charnel Pit: Two-Sided Painting; A two-sided painting has magical powers. When fueled by blood from a dead body, it acts as a portal back to the time of the painter, the Marquis de Sade. A 20th century scholar gets hold of it, and uses it to supply de Sade with victims in return for the Marquis' personal diaries, which he then uses to bolster his own reputation as a de Sade expert. Things take a turn for the worse when, while investigating, Micki accidentally passes through the portal and must masquerade as a Duchess. The fourth and final time-travel episode, this one is just filmed normally. No sepia tone, no black & white. A somewhat elaborate plot, but it gives Robey a chance to step outside of her typical role and indulging in a little period dress. Some interesting insights into Micki's character are presented. Neil Munro does an excellent job of playing 34

the Marquis in his third F13 role. In fact, the episode is rather explicit in tones of sexuality until reverting to a more typical gore-fest at the end. The painting itself is not cursed, but Micki inadvertently leaves a letter which Vendredi got hold of, leading him to procure the painting: a nice paradoxical time-travel touch. Her concerns about returning to the present are also well-portrayed.

DETROIT TIMES ARTICLE

New Crime Family Infiltrates Detroit! By Stephen James: Have you noticed an increase in violence on your block lately? Well, if you have, there is one organization to blame. Recently, the mysterious Tremere family has set up operations in Detroit. This organized crime syndicate reportedly originated in Europe a few years ago and has been waging a silent war on the United States. This family is a member of a much larger organization known only as Camarilla. Their web of intrigue makes La Cosa Nostra look like an after school special. It is a complex and wide spread problem that has been concealed from the public eye for years. Very few solid clues have been found by local police officials. Two names have come up repeatedly in their investigations. One is a man known as Fury. He seems to be the head of Camarilla presence in the city. He is rumored to be leader of an elite strike force sent to take over the underworld of Detroit. The other individual, known only as 'Willie', seems to be better concealed. The only information about him points to his possible connections to the Tremere. Certain sources claim that he is a high ranking member of that family. A comment was made by FBI Special Investigator William Shepard. He claims that the FBI has known about the Camarilla for years. They have been waging a covert war on them. According to Shepard, the recent destruction of several cemeteries, an old house and an abandoned factory are a result of the Camarilla's activities. Local officials denied that there was nay danger to the public. They also stated that they were working closely with Special Agent Shepard on these matters. It is not known whether the Camarilla is confining its activities to the drug trade or if it has a much larger agenda in mind. Detective Joey Maza of the Detroit Metropolitan Police advises the public to be cautious until these criminals can be apprehended.

EBOLA PENTEX
The Ebola Pentex virus is a genetic mutation of the Ebola Zaire virus. It was created as a biological weapon by the use of Magick and science. It is the end-strain of a test that resulted in a virus that is highly virulent and deadly to all known life forms. The only creatures immune to this disease are ghosts and mummies, neither of whom is truly alive in any sense. The darkest aspects of this virus are the people who control it. The virus was created by Pentex in a laboratory in downtown Chicago. It was designed to be incurable, so that it could be used as a last-resort weapon in the Omega Plan. So far, the company has taken steps to attempt to find a cure in case of accidental release. None has been discovered as of this date. Effects: In mortals, the virus is 99% communicable in all contacts with an infected individual. Fluid contact raises this to 100%. Standard Level 4 biohazard protocols will protect an individual to some degree, reducing this to a 35% chance. Once infected, a human will die in Stamina - 2 days from massive hemorrhaging and tissue breakdown. If the individual's Stamina is 2 or lower, the will die in 1-10 hours. This is the standard 'crash and bleed' familiar to anyone who has studied hemorrhagic fevers. Mages are affected the same as all other mortals. As the disease progresses, they begin to lose touch with their Avatar. Every day, they lose one point from there Arete rating. When all Arete is lost, the mortal loses the ability to perform True Magick. If this point is reached, they can never perform True Magick again, as their Avatar is scarred by the mystical side of the illness. Life Magick has a slight chance to cure the disease. Mages with at least Rank 4 in Life can make one roll (10) per day. This is considered coincidental for the affects of paradox. If twenty successes are accumulated, the disease is purged from their body. All reduced scores remain at the current levels until increased with experience. Spheres themselves are not decreased, but if Arete is lower than a sphere, you can't use it until Arete is increased again. Vampires are only affected if the Cainite actually drinks from an infected individual. If they do, the disease does not immediately show in them. One week from infection, the vampire must make a successful Stamina + Fortitude roll (6) or lose one point of Stamina. This roll is repeated once a week for the rest of the vampire's un-life. If a vampire's stamina ever reaches zero, they enter a Torpor from which they can never be awakened. Also, when the vampire feeds from an uninfected host, that person will contract the virus 90% of the time. The good news is that vampires are immune to airborne transmission of the virus. In Garou, the infection is slightly less virulent. Garou in contact with an infected individual contract the disease 80% of the time. As always, drinking infected blood or other bodily fluids confers a 100% infection rate. If the Garou is unfortunate enough to become infected, they will die in a number of weeks equal to their Stamina. During that time, their regenerative abilities are lessened. They can only heal one health level per day of normal damage and can only heal one aggravated health level per week. As the infection spreads, they find their shape shifting abilities harder to use as well. During the week after infection, their difficulty to shift forms increases by one. Every week thereafter, it increases yet again. When the difficulty for any form reaches 11, that form is no longer available. Also, to automatically shift forms

35

requires two Rage points instead of one, plus one per additional week. When all forms become unavailable, the Garou shifts into Breed form and will likely die. Note that Garou can shift forms to increase their stamina and last longer. If they shift to a form with a lower Stamina, they could die. (Example: The Crinos form has more Stamina than the Homid form. If a werewolf is in Crinos and that form becomes unavailable, he must shift to a different form, with a lower Stamina, that could cause him to die as his stamina in weeks is lower in that form). Changelings suffer greatly from having this disease. The virus seems to be a magnet for the forces of reality. Every hour after infection, the Changeling receives one point of temporary Banality automatically. Otherwise, they are treated like a normal human, dying in Stamina -2 days. They can slow the rate of death by entering the Dreaming, where they do not age. If they return, however, the disease picks back up where it left off. Cures? There is only one known cure for the disease. It involves a complex magickal ritual, along with several special ingredients: 2 drops of Caines's Blood 1 pinch of powdered rhino horn 2 ounces of philosopher's stone 1 cup dried Quilong leaves 1 cup of water This is mixed in the Chalice of Caine and then enchanted by someone with a rating of five in the Life and Prime spheres. This enchantment is difficulty 10 and is a vulgar effect. Once this is done, the resulting liquid must be drunk or injected by an individual. This recipe will create enough elixir for five doses. As a side effect, this will cure any damage done to the body and will return Cainites to life.

FIREARMS

IN THE

WOD

Ammunition The guns are not the deadly part of this section, for as every vampire knows, "guns dont kill people, bullets kill people." A wide variety of ammunition is available to all who use firearms, but the differences are usually quite minor. The exceptions to this rule follow. With the introduction of World of Darkness: Combat, exotic ammo types have became a major demand. This includes some types not mentioned in the Big Book of Beating Ass. Browning Machine Gun .50 Caliber: These great big bullets were designed as anti-armor rounds. Modern tanks have armor thick enough to stop these bullets. However, the M-2 Browning is still in production, and many high-power rifles use this cartridge. Many different rounds were designed for this gun. Each is color coated and coded on the tip of the projectile. Natural: Regular copper color of a bullet. This is the normal .50 BMG bullet. Big and ugly and all round bad when it hits you. Red Maroon or Orange: These are tracer rounds (described below). Black: The old armor-piercing bullet. As described above. Blue and Light Blue: These monsters are incendiary bullets. Horrible things that do aggravated damage to Kindred and Garou, and anything else that has trouble with fire. As essential to hunting vampires as Silver Nitrate hollow points are to killing Garou. Aluminum and Blue/Aluminum: These are armor-piercing incendiary rounds. These had horrific effects on tank crews when fired through the armor. Also fun for the Princes armor-plated limo. Red/Aluminum: No, this is not made up. This is an armor-piercing, incendiary, tracer round. Has a little feature for every user. Also fun for vampire hunting, lets you see if you hit (as if the panicking vampire didnt let you know already). Cookie-Cutter Rounds: A cookie-cutter round is a specialized bullet that cannot be bought or stolen from the military or anywhere else. They are specially made by a SEAL for the SEALs. Anyone with Gunsmithing 5 and Demolitions 5 can make these with some difficulty (difficulty 9 at first, once perfected, difficulty 7). What are they and what do they do, you ask? Well... There are three elements to a cookie-cutter round. The first is the knifelike cutter, which opens a huge wound channel. Then comes a small charge of plastic-based explosive, which widens the path. Finally, a third charge implodes, causing tremendous, lethal trauma. The whole process takes less than three one-hundredths of a second. If youre not killed by the initial shock, you die from loss of blood. - Richard Marcinko & John Weisman, Green Team Fun stuff. Now what does this mean in game terms? Add three to damage done by the bullet, also reduce body armor by two because the bullets cuts, not penetrates. If hit, a mortal will die from this bullet. They lose an additional, non-soakable wound each round if not killed at once. Garou can regenerate after the initial wound, but they must roll for a Battle Scar. A Kindred must heal it and loses 5 Blood Points due to the massive wound. A ghoul can heal it with his vampire blood, if he has enough, he must heal 50% of the initial damage or he will continue to bleed until death occurs. A mummy is considered mortal for effects of this round.

36

Grenade (40mm): The most popular size of launched grenades in the world, the 40mm has be a mainstay for over thirty years. The U.S. military has designed numerous types of munitions in this size (over three dozen by my count), and there are even some custom made rounds as well. They are referred to by XM designation, such as the XM661 Green Flare Grenade. Buckshot: These are like giant shotgun rounds designed originally for clearing the jungle in Vietnam. The rounds are designated XM576 and do damage as buckshot shotguns. Custom Rounds: Yes, there are people who design unique 40mm ammunition. This can be done with Gunsmithing 3 and/or Demolitions 3 depending on if the round explodes or not. The advantage of this type of ammo, is that it is generally easier to acquire than military ammo. XM 26 107 140 1822 Special Features Fires 26 1/4" Ball Bearings; Works like buckshot Fires 107 1.5" Flechettes; Works like flechette shotguns Fires 140 1" Flechettes; Works like flechette shotguns Fires 18 .22 calibre bullets; Damage of 8

Flares: Many times there is a need to get a lot of light or a lot of attention. Flares provide an excellant way of doing both. The ones detailed here use a parachute that deploys at 550 feet. They then drift back to earth, burning for about 40 seconds. They are not much in the way of combat rounds; they will not even "detonate" until travelling 550 feet. XM 583 661 Color White Green XM 662 695 Color Red Orange

High Explosive (HE): The most common of all 40mm grenade ammunition. There are numerous variations with special uses. Each is color coded and stamped with the XM designation. All have an arming distance for safety (in case a round bounces back off a tree limb or the like). There have been special rounds made with very short arming ranges. HE grenades generally inflict damage like a fragmentation grenade as described in the Players' Guide. XM 381 386 397 406 433 463 Color Black/Gold Black/Gold Gold Gold Gold Black Arming 2 to 3 meters 14 to 28 meters 14 to 28 meters 14 to 28 meters 14 to 28 meters 14 to 28 meters Features None None Airburst 2 Metres None Penetrates 2 Inches of Steel (HEDP) Smokeless and Flashless (HESF)

Smoke: Smoke grenades can be used as signals, cover, or offense. The U.S. military has issued numerous types of smoke grenades over the years, each color coded by type. XM 382 407A1 680 713 715 717 Smoke Yellow Yellow White (Canopy) Red Green Yellow Grenade Color Silver Silver White Red Green Yellow Arming 2 to 3 meters 14 to 28 meters 14 to 28 meters 14 to 28 meters 14 to 28 meters 14 to 28 meters

Tear Gas: Tactical CS tear gas rounds are used by SWAT and Special Forces teams to clear buildings. Some advantages of launched CS grenades is the fact that they have greater range than thrown, and they more easily penetrate windows. Its military designation is XM651E1.

Hydra-Shok: Hydra-Shok is a hollow-point round produced by Federal Cartridge Company in the U.S. The round is widely available and a favorite amoung both civilians and law enforcement. The round has achieved almost legendary status, with many special qualities attributed to it. For example, it is rumored that the HydraShok round cannot be ballistic tested to identify the weapon that fired it as the round deforms so much upon impact. This may just be Hollywood hype, but if Storytellers desire this may be true in the World of Darkness. Incendiary: Incendiary rounds are especially attractive/repulsive to Kindred, because they so easily cause the Final Death. They are rarely used with small arms, and the most common form is the Dragonsbreath shotgun shell. This phosphorus shell turns a shotgun into a mini-flamethrower for a turn, spraying a spout of fire 37

up to 20 feet. It hits like a regular shotgun, but inflicts two aggravated wounds (difficulty 7 to resist) and causes nearby Kindred to risk Rotschreck. Multiple use of Dragonsbreath rounds can seriously damage the integrity of a shotgun barrel, and Storytellers should take full advantage of botches. Manstoppers: The opposite of armor-piercing bullets, manstoppers are designed to have an even greater impact area. They generally widen or fragment when they hit their target, causing damage over a wider area. These include hollow-point rounds, which flatten when they hit, glazier rounds, which fragment, and even homemade rounds made by carving an "x" on a slug. These bullets cause an extra die of damage when they hit, but armor provides double its usual protection. Rhino Ammo: Rhino ammo is one of the latest deadly bullets. It comes in all the standard pistol sizes and is guaranteed to kill no matter where you hit. It was designed for home-defense purposes, so a person need only hit an invader once. The bullets are very costly, a few dollars each. Also, there is military/law enforcement only type known as the Black-Rhino. Black-Rhino ammo will shoot through body armor, car doors, steel plates, and just about anything else one cares to fire at. Oddly enough, both types of bullets are made of plastic and 90% of the bullet fragments inside tissue. Nasty. Add two dice of damage for both Rhino ammo types, but reduce body armor efficiency by two against Black-Rhino. On a side note, this ammo exists only in the World of Darkness. In the real world, these bullets were proven to be a hoax, performing in no way like advertised. Shotgun "Combo" Rounds: These deadly little beauties arent sold in stores, so order now.... A "combo" round is made by home-loaders of shotgun shells. The round is designed as a "wildcat" thus giving it a little more power, and a slug and buckshot are loaded into the shell. When fired, the slug speeds along in its own deadly line while the buckshot fans out like normal. A very unpleasant situation. When an object is aimed at and hit, consider the slug to hit and cause normal shotgun damage, but also roll for hits with the buckshot as described above for normal buckshot damage to all other targets, not the one hit by the slug. No, this is not a cheap way to do double damage to a target. Sorry. Silver Nitrate Hollow Points: These are hollow point bullets filled with silver nitrate. Essentially, they act like regular hollow points, exploding inside the wound on impact and releasing the silver nitrate. Aside from the aggravated, non-soakable damage these do to Garou who are not in their breed form, silver nitrate is a poison in its own right, and spreads its toxin to affect the werewolf (regardless of form). The poison causes one Health Level of damage per turn for three turns to an infected Garou; this damage cannot be soaked. For those midnight werewolf hunts with the good old boys, these things cant be beat. Because they are so potentially deadly and would therefore draw considerable attention were they to be discovered by agents of the law, they are issued on a need-to-have basis only (referring to Pentex First-Teams who are sometimes given these for wolf-popping missions). Teleshot Shotgun Rounds: A Teleshot round is a specially designed shell that captures the gas released by firing. Thus, this greatly muffles the sound of the blast (in effect, it is like a suppressor for a shotgun). These rounds can be found in 12 gauge only with solid slugs or buckshot. Tracer: Tracer rounds are similar to regular ball rounds, but they are unique in that they glow when fired. Often used in full-automatic fire, these rounds allow the user to see where his bullets are going. They are usually used every fourth or fifth round in a magazine or belt. They do standard damage as ball-cartridges. Wildcat Bullets: There have always been people who are not satisfied with the performance of "off-the shelf" products. Some people have decided to make their own "special" bullets. These bullets are known as wildcats. Making these rounds require a successful Gunsmithing skill roll. A failure does not show up as such until the bullet is fired; it will be a dud. The Lord have mercy on those who fire bullets made by a botch! Most wildcats a simply normal bullets with more powder to propel the ball. Others are custom-built rounds for custom guns that can outperform any off-the-shelf firearm. Many are ballistic nightmares that are unreliable and dangerous to toy with. Handle with care. Any type of bullet (hollowpoint, ball, armor-piercing, etc.) can be taken apart and turned into a wildcat. Add an additional die of damage to such rounds. A botch while firing these will destroy the gun and probably the hand as well. Nonlethal Ammunition: Not all bullets are designed to kill their targets. Many types of nonlethal ammunition have been created; each has its own purpose. Blanks: These cartridges do not fire slugs. Only a small wad of packing leaves the gun. This packing does not travel more than 10 feet, and will only do damage at point-blank range. At that range, however, blanks can be fatal, and do the gun? standard damage. s Drugs: Commonly used to capture animals, tranquilizer darts are usually fired out of large rifles (use the same statistics as a Remington M-700 rifle, but with a Capacity of 1). They have no effect on vampires, but do eight dice of damage to mortals. This damage is not applied to Health Levels, however; each level of damage subtracts one die from the victim? Dice Pools. Additionally, if the character takes more s damage than he has Stamina, he passes out for one hour for every point of damage over Stamina. Other kinds of drugs can also be fired from these guns. For their effects, see Poisons and Drugs, in the Player? Guide. s Pancake: Pancake rounds flatten out as they speed through the air and smack their targets within a wide radius. If the round hits, it inflicts two damage dice upon the target. The number of successes to hit does not affect the damage dice. The person who was hit must make a Dexterity + Athletics (or Acrobatics) roll to remain standing (difficulty equals the damage successes + 3). At extremely close range, this damage Dice Pool should be increased by two or three dice. 38

Rubber Bullets: These bullets are usually used in riot control, and are generally nonlethal. They can kill, and characters should keep this in mind if they use them. Characters fire these bullets normally, but they do not get a damage roll. The bullets only inflict damage based on the attack roll; thus, if a character fired a rubber bullet from an M-16 and hit with three successes, he would inflict three Heath Levels of damage.

Firearms Accessories This is a list of additions and gear that can be added to or augment firearms. Some of the gear listed will only work with the specified firearm. Some firearms will already have these devices. Bipod: The bipod allows for steady aim, allowing a +1 bonus to aiming when the bipod is used. Flash Suppressors: Every gun releases a flash when it is fired. A flash suppressor reduces the light released, making it harder for someone to aim at the flash at night. Muzzle Brakes and Compensators: When a gun is fired, the barrel will "climb." That is each shot forces the barrel to point upwards somewhat. It must be forced back down for the next shot, thus blowing accuracy out the window. Muzzle brakes and compensators chamber the releasing gases of the gun upwards to force the gun down. The opposing forces help cancel each other out. This makes the gun stay closer to target and more accurate. A gun such equiped reduces the penalty for multiple shots by one. A gun with a muzzle brake cannot use a silencer or suppressor. Red-dot Laser Sight: A red-dot sight projects a tiny beam of red light in front of the gun. Put the beam where you want to shoot and pull the trigger. Reduce the difficulty for such a shot by two. Be warned, a red-dot can be seen by the enemy. Most pistol-sized red-dot attach to the trigger guard of the gun, and are obvious to those who know what a red-dot is. There is a red-dot made for the Glock handguns which fits under the barrel and under the slide, becoming almost invisible without inspection. Note that red-dots are close-range accurate devices and do not work very well in smoke, rain, water, etc. Scope: One of the most common of all firearms options. A scope can be added to most rifles, submachine guns, and large pistols. A regular image magnification scope will add a +2 dice to a shot as described in Vampire: The Masquerade page 226. There are other types of scopes, however. A regular scope isn? worth beans at night. Just try and use one. A night scope could use ambient light and magnify it, or it could t be infrared, or night-vision, or... you get the idea. At night time, these scopes add the +2 bonus like a regular one. One popular SpecWar scope is the thermal-imaging one. It can be used to see heat patterns (even through a wall). When put on top of a large gun (like a Barrett M82A1) it allows people inside building to be hit. The bullet must travel through a wall and any other obstacles, but the scope still does add the +2 dice. Damage will be lowered depending on how much flak the bullet must travel through. Also, a scope can be mounted on a submachine gun. The rules state that a submachine gun cannot be aimed. Where this came from is bewildering. SWAT teams and SpecWar teams use and aim submachine guns all the time. Granted, automatic fire blows your aim, but when set to single or three-round bursts, aiming is essential for the submachine gun. Silencer: A silencer is made to trap the gases of a fired round behind the bullet as it travels down the barrel and then redirect them into another area to cool and dissipate. Unfortunately, silencers have parts that touch the bullet. Accuracy is less when something touches the bullet, and silencer like to "gunk up." Increase difficulties for all silencers by one (except for weapons with built-in silencers). Also regular cleaning is a must. Suppressor: A suppressor is a more elaborate version of a silencer that uses baffles and channels to contain gases. Nothing actually touches the bullet, so accuracy is not compromised. One important note about silencers and suppressors. They are useless if not used with the proper ammunition. For a gun to be successfully silenced, sub-sonic ammo must be used (ammo that goes along at under 1000 feet per second). Faster bullets create a "sonic boom" which is much of the noise heard when a gun is fired. All the suppressor in the world cannot fix that. Caliber Tables
Caliber .223 .38 .38 .41 .475 .22 LR .22 LR .22 LR .22 LR .22 M .25 ACP .30-06 .30-06 US .32 ACP .32 Long .357 M .357 M Type Rifle Pistol Snub Pistol Pistol Pistol Target Rifle SMG Pistol Pistol Rifle Rifle Pistol Pistol Pistol Derringer Dif 7 6 6 6 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 6 6 6 6 Dmg 7 4 4 6 7 2 2 4 3 4 3 8 8 4 4 5 4 Rt 3 3 3 2 1 5 5 4 3 3 3 1 5 3 2 2 4 Rng 275 15 12 20 40 20 30 100 30 20 20 300 750 30 20 25 15 Caliber 10 gauge 105mm 10mm 10mm 12 gauge 12 gauge 120mm 122mm 2.75" Rocket 20 gauge 4.7x33mm 40mm 40mm Grenade 40mm RPG 5.45.x39mm 5.45mm SP 5.45x39mm Type Shotgun Heavy Pistol SMG Shotgun Shotgun (SO) Heavy Heavy Heavy Shotgun Rifle Heavy Grenade Grenade Rifle Pistol Rifle Dif 6 7 6 6 6 4 7 10 7 6 7 6 6 7 6 6 6 Dmg 9 20 5 5 8 8 30 30 12 7 7 ~ Text 13 7 3 6 Rt 2 1 3 3/FA 2 3 1 1 1 2 3/FA 1 1 1 3/FA 3 3/FA Rng 20 1200 30 55 20 7 2000 10 miles 200 20 200 350 350 400 200 20 80

39

.357 SIG .38 S&W .380 ACP .380 Auto .40 S&W .40 S&W .41 AE .41 M .44 M .44 S&W Spc .44 Special .45 ACP .45 ACP .45 WM .454 Casull .460 WM .50 AE .50 BMG .600 NE .700 NE

Pistol Pistol Pistol Pistol Pistol SMG Pistol Pistol Pistol Pistol Pistol Pistol SMG Pistol Pistol Rifle Pistol Rifle Rifle Rifle

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 6 6

5 4 4 3 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 5 5 5 7 10 7 10 9 10

3 3 3 4 3 3/FA 3 3 2 2 2 3 3/FA 3 1 1 1 2 2 2

30 20 25 20 25 55 30 25 45 25 25 35 50 35 40 300 30 300 150 175

OF

5.56mm 5.56mm 5.56mm 5.56mm 5.7x28mm 57mm Shell 66mm Rocket 7.62mm 7.62x39mm 9mm 9mm 9x18mm 9x18mm Claymore Mine Flamethrower LAW Rocket Mortar, Small Mortar, Large Stinger SAM TOW Missile

Heavy Pistol Rifle SMG (M16K) SMG Heavy Heavy Rifle Rifle Pistol SMG Pistol SMG Explosives Napalm Heavy Heavy Heavy Heavy Heavy

7 7 7 6 7-Jun 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 8 9 8 6

8 7 7 6 5 9 13 8 8 4 4 4 4 12 ~ 12 12 24 14 16

5/FA 1 3/FA 3/FA 3/FA 1 1 3/FA 3/FA 4 3/FA 4 3/FA 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

750 50 200 65 45 500 400 275 250 25 35 25 40 250 25 200 25/1320 600/ 2 m. 1000 2500

LEAGUE

EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a comic book limited series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, published under the America's Best Comics imprint of DC Comics. As of 2005 it comprises two six-issue limited series, each collected in graphic novel format. There is also a prequel short story, "Allan and the Sundered Veil", included in the first series, and an extensive appendix detailing the alternate universe the League is set in, called "The New Traveller's Almanac", in Volume Two. The story takes place in 1898 in a fictional world where all of the characters and events from literature (and possibly the entirety of fiction) coexist. The world the characters inhabit is one more technologically advanced than our own was in the same era. Volume One Miss Wilhelmina Murray is recruited by Campion Bond to assemble the League. Bond dispatches Murray to Egypt along with an unnamed sea captain (who is later revealed to be Captain Nemo). In Cairo, Murray finds Allan Quatermain, who has become an opium addict. The duo are forced to flee to the docks after Quatermain defends Murray from a group of Arabs who attempt to rape her, killing two of their number. At the docks, Nemo emerges from the Nautilus and blasts the pursuing "mohammedan rabble" with a large harpoon gun, rescuing Murray and Quatermain. Their next assignment is to head to Paris in order to rendezvous with C. Auguste Dupin (a detective from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue") and capture a beast-man who transpires to be Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. He has been hiding in Paris after faking his own suicide, and preying on prostitutes. With Jekyll/Hyde successfully captured and handed over to MI5, the remaining trio head to a girl's school in Edmonton, run by the sado-masochistic Miss Rosa Coote. Rumours abound that many of the female pupils have become impregnated by the Holy Spirit. After a single night's investigation, the trio discover that the "Holy Spirit" is none other than Hawley Griffin, the Invisible Man, who has been hiding since faking his own death. At the time of his capture, he is attacking Eleanor H. Porter's Pollyanna. The League is then convened at its headquarters in the "secret annexe" of the British Museum, where they are sent to recover a sample of cavorite from the clutches of Fu Manchu (who is not mentioned by name for trademark reasons, but is instead identified by his pseudonym of "The Doctor"). According to Agent Bond, under the supervision of Professor Selwyn Cavor, Britain was secretly planning a moon landing to coincide with the turn-of-the-century celebrations. Cavorite is the key in powering and levitating heavier-than-air machines. However, the Doctor has stolen the cavorite, and may use it in his own efforts to gain revenge on the British Empire. Whilst Nemo decides to remain on board his submarine, the remaining quartet are dispatched to London's Limehouse district in order to discover more about the Chinese "devil-doctor". Murray and Griffin learn from an informant named Quong Lee (a storyteller from books by Thomas Burke) that Fu Manchu is indeed operating within the area and is planning something big; however, Lee only gives them information in the form of a cryptic riddle, stating, "The waters lap beneath the heavenly bridge. The dragon sleeps below it. My advice to you: do not awaken it." Although Griffin is skeptical, Murray concludes that Manchu's activities must be taking place beneath Rotherhithe Bridge. Meanwhile, Quatermain and Jekyll enter Manchu's lair, and Quatermain spots the doctor applying caustic paint to one of his victims. The duo are almost uncovered as spies, but they manage to escape. Back on board the Nautilus, the League convenes once more and Murray organises the evidence. She believes Manchu has stolen the cavorite for some nefarious purpose, and states that there is an uncompleted tunnel beneath Rotherhithe Bridge, which would be a perfect place for him to craft some form of aerial war machine 40

undiscovered. Four of the group plan to infiltrate his lair and steal back the cavorite, with Nemo remaining on board the Nautilus. It is Quatermain and Murray who first manage to infiltrate the Doctor's lair, and they discover a gigantic flying craft, heavily armed with guns and cannons (the "dragon" of Quong Lee's riddle). Although they are discovered by a guard, an unnoticed Griffin is able to kill the guard and Quatermain takes his uniform, allowing him a disguise so that he might get inside the Dragon and steal back the cavorite. Griffin heads back outside to fetch Jekyll in the hopes of creating a diversion. Once inside one of the entrances, Griffin infuriates Jekyll to such a degree that he becomes Hyde and begins slaughtering Manchu's henchmen. Having stolen the cavorite, Murray and Quatermain are re-united with Hyde and Griffin in an underwater glass tunnel, and although they lock themselves in they realise it will only be a matter of time before Manchu's men burst in and kill them. To escape, Hyde grabs Quatermain and Murray, with Griffin holding onto his neck. Quatermain blasts a hole in the glass roof with his elephant gun and Murray activates the cavorite, propelling the group upwards through the cascading water. Manchu's base is flooded, the Dragon is destroyed, and the Nautilus rescues the group as they fall back down into the Thames. Bond congratulates the group on their success, and leaves the Nautilus with the cavorite, telling them he will take it back to his superior M (another parallel to the James Bond mythos). However, Griffin is oddly absent from the group, having disguised a load of brooms as himself, using his own bandages, spectacles and clothing. He follows Bond back to the Military Intelligence Headquarters, and discovers that M is in fact Professor Moriarty, the archnemesis of Sherlock Holmes - note how this scene manages to subtly make another reference to 007, as both "James" (Moriarty) and "Bond" (Campion) appear in "M"'s office, discussing an evil genius's plans to threaten England. Moriarty has constructed his own aerial war machine, and with the cavorite he can now put it into action. Griffin returns to the Nautilus and informs the group of what he's discovered. Nemo realises that M is Moriarty, and that he plans to bomb London's east end, destroying what is left of Manchu's criminal empire. After Murray and Quartermain try futilely to prevent Moriarty from launching his ship, and have a run in with The Artful Dodger from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, the League embark aboard the Victoria, a hot-air balloon on Nemo's ship that was once owned by Jules Verne's "Five Weeks in a Balloon's" Samuel Ferguson, and board Moriarty's ship. Hyde and Nemo launch an attack on the crew (Nemo using a minigun, Hyde using his fists), whilst Murray and Quatermain ascend to the top deck where Moriarty is waiting (Griffin has cowardly stripped and remains by the balloon, which is still anchored to the ship). Quatermain guns down Moriarty's guards using his own machine gun; however, the Professor disarms him and prepares to kill him. Murray smashes the case containing the cavorite and Moriarty rushes toward the device, grabs onto it, and is propelled into the night sky. The League leave the ship via the balloon, and once again are rescued by the Nautilus, this time manned by Nemo's first mate Ishmael (the protagonist from Herman Melville's Moby-Dick). The series ends with Mycroft Holmes congratulating the League for their work, telling them to remain in London should there be additional need for them in the future. The comic ends with the scene of Martian ships falling towards Woking, and sets in motion the second volume. The book version of Volume one also includes a short illustrated prose prequel called Allan and the Sundered Veil, which features Allan Quatermain, John Carter, Lovecraft's Randolph Carter, and the Time Traveller from H. G. Wells' The Time Machine. This prequel was originally published, serially, at the back of the six individual issues of the comic. At the back of Volume One are several extras, including the covers of all issues contained in the volume. Also included is a "paint by numbers" drawing attributed to Basil Hallward, who was the painter of the eponymous Picture of Dorian Gray in the novel. A second version is seen two pages later, coloured, and clearly intended to be the portrait towards the end of the novel when Gray's painted visage has become decrepit and horrid, thus reflecting Gray's personality. The blurb about the paint-by-numbers drawing mentions Hallward's mysterious disappearance, which is a reference to a part of the novel where Dorian Gray, upset that Hallward found out about the fate of his artwork, kills Hallward and has a friend dispose of the body, leaving no trace of evidence. The blurb for the second version of the drawing also mentions failed attempts at a cabinet-making kit by Caligari, which is a reference to the old horror film "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari." A painting of Nemo's submarine, the Nautilus, in the background of the cover of volume one also bears Hallward's signature. Volume Two Volume two opens on Mars, where John Carter and Lt. Gulliver Jones (of Edwin Lester Linden Arnold's Gulliver of Mars) have assembled an alliance (including the Sorns from Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis) to defeat the aliens who have been bedeviling the native Martians. These prove to be the aliens from The War of the Worlds, who learn about Earth from spying on the humans on Mars (using the device from H.G. Wells' The Crystal Egg) and launch themselves there when driven off by the Martian resistance. When the aliens land on Earth, the League is dispatched to guard the resulting crater. They are present when one of the first Martians emerges from the spacecraft, after an onlooker falls into the pit. When a team of men descend into the pit to make peace with the visitors, the aliens unleash the power of their Heat-Ray. Before the weapon opens fire, Nemo realises its nature and pushes the group onto the ground, thus keeping them below the 41

deadly beam while the rest of the crowd is burned. Jekyll turns into Hyde and begins to rage, threatening the aliens with violent death. Realising that they can hardly fight the creatures alone, the League retreat to a nearby inn ("The Bleak House" - a real public house not far from Horsell common), where they meet a confident military division that has been sent to defend the crater. Hyde indulges in a somewhat compassionate conversation with Murray, and Griffin (under cover of invisibility) leaves to form an alliance with the Martians. The next morning, the group emerge from the inn and hear the military shelling the spacecraft, and the aliens retaliate with their Heat-Ray. Most of the army division is obliterated along with the inn, which the League were fortunate enough to exit moments before. A carriageman (William Samson, Sr., the father of the Wolf of Kabul) arrives to take the group back to the British Museum, where they shall receive more orders from Holmes. He tells Murray to stay at the museum and learn what she can about Mars, also giving her the locations of the British gun emplacements. Hyde and Quatermain return to the crater in order to survey the situation, leaving Murray unprotected. Griffin stays behind, assaults Murray, and helps himself to the military plans, which he turns over to the Martians. During their reconnaissance, the other three members of the League come close to a Martian tripod, an enormous three-legged war machine. They return to their coach and are taken swiftly back to London. Upon returning, Hyde finds Murray lying beaten on the floor and realises what has happened. Shortly after, Holmes sends Murray and Quatermain on a new mission, giving them very vague instructions concerning their task. In the meantime, Nemo and Hyde defend the capital by patrolling London's rivers in the Nautilus. The advanced technology Nemo has aboard the Nautilus proves to be an even match for the Martian tripods, allowing them to kill and drive back the Martian advance and retrieve samples of their technology and engineering. During their mission in the countryside, Murray and Quatermain encounter a man called Teddy Prendrick, the protagonist from H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau. He is insane and gives them little information, save that in the woods nearby lurks a doctor whom he once encountered. Their search is uneventful, and they return to a country inn. Quatermain remarks that he'll be damned "if [he] sleeps on the floorboards", while Murray replies that he doesn't have to. The two make love, and the scene shifts between their love scene, a scene in which Hyde is using a piece of Martian tripod as a punching bag on board Nemo's submarine, and a quick interlude where Griffin tells the aliens they "have to do something to the river" in order to stop the Nautilus and invade London. Awakening after sex, Quatermain discovers the scars on Murray's neck, and is apparently horrified. The next day Nemo discovers that the Martians have filled the Thames with some sort of red weed, draining all the water and immobilising his submarine. Meanwhile, Quatermain tells Murray that he was not shocked by the nature of her scars, but rather his second wife (named Estella, from Haggard's book Allan's Wife) had similar scars on her own neck, and that he found it odd "that destiny should so distinguish the two women [he] loved the most". They have sex again in the forest, but this time are disturbed by one of Dr. Moreau's animen, who is comically based on the children's comic-book character Rupert Bear, and indeed the rest of his animal-human hybrids are similar to famous characters from children's fiction (Puss in Boots, and the four male protagonists Mr Toad, Mr Rat, Mr Badger and Mr Mole from The Wind in the Willows). The wood is identified by a station nameboard as being the Wild Wood from The Wind in the Willows. Hyde returns to the British Museum and finds Griffin there. Revealing that he has been able to see Griffin with heat-sensing infrared vision (a small detail shown in Volume 1), Hyde exacts his revenge by brutally beating and then raping Griffin. After completing his revenge, he stretches Griffin's murder even further, by leaving Griffin in mortal agony. Mina and Allan meet with Dr. Moreau in his secret hideout in the forest, and tell him that Military Intelligence has asked for something known as H-142. Moreau seems disturbed by this request, but obliges nonetheless and offers the duo dinner. On their farewell at the train station (where foxes can be seen devouring the body of Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit), the Doctor casually comments that his nephew is the only human who visits him, seeking inspiration in his subjects (a reference to the real-life painter Gustave Moreau). He also makes a distinct reference to the trial of the publisher of Oz magazine when he describes the sexual tendencies of his Rupert Bear hybrid. During dinner with Hyde back at the museum, Nemo discovers that he has killed Griffin when the Invisible Man's death results in the extensive bloodstains on Hyde's clothing becoming visible. Horrified and disgusted, Nemo attempts to kill Hyde, but is held back by the coachman Samson, who urges him not to, as Hyde's incredible strength may be their only hope against the Martians. Nemo grudgingly agrees. The following morning, Murray and Quatermain return to London with H-142, finding gas-masked intelligence agents waiting for them, along with Agent Bond. They proceed to the riverside, where Nemo and Hyde are waiting for them. Bond says that all bridges apart from London Bridge have been made impassable in a bid to impede the invaders, and that H-142 must be delivered. Bond leaves with the cargo crate carrying H-142. As the League arrive at the bridge, they see that the Martians have managed to destroy the last of the city's defences and have gathered their forces on the other side for their final push into the city. Seeing that nothing is stopping the Martians from crossing, Hyde bids Murray a fond farewell, and dances out onto the bridge towards an oncoming tripod, singing happily. The machine attacks him with its heat ray, but he survives, charging into its front leg and ripping it off. With the walking machine toppled, Hyde rips open the top hatch and begins eating the alien inside. The other tripods activate their rays and kill Hyde with a combined barrage, followed by a gun report from downriver. 42

Nemo is curious as to what the guns could be firing, and Bond tells him the H-142 has been fired. Quatermain is confused, and Bond explains indifferently that it was indeed one of Moreau's hybrids, but was in fact a hybrid bacterium, made up of anthrax and streptococcus. Nemo is infuriated, and Bond coolly replies that they will claim that, officially, the Martians died of the common cold, whilst any humans found dead will have been killed by Martians. Angered by the British government's heartless use of biological weaponry, Nemo leaves in the Nautilus and tells Quatermain and Murray to "never seek [him] again", mistakenly believing that they knew the details of the British plan. A month later, Murray and Quatermain are walking through Serpentine Park (which Allan says will soon be named after Hyde, thus giving it the name Hyde Park). Murray says that she is to leave for Coradine, a ladies' commune in Scotland, leaving Allan alone on a park bench, and ending volume two. About the Series The Victorian setting allowed Moore and O'Neill to insert "in-jokes" and cameos from many works of Victorian fiction, while also making contemporary references and jibes, and also bear numerous steampunk influences. In the first issue, for example, there is a half-finished bridge to link Britain and France, referencing problems constructing the real-world Channel Tunnel (this is also a possible reference to H. G. Wells's novel The War in the Air, which mentions a cross-channel bridge). The juxtaposition of characters from different sources in the same story is similar to science fiction writer Philip Jos Farmer's works centering around the Wold Newton family. Besides the character of Campion Bond, who could not be called the ancestor of James Bond directly due to licensing issues, every character in the series, from the dominatrix schoolmistress Rosa Coote to single-panel throwaway characters like Inspector Dick Donovan, is an established character from a previous work of fiction or an ancestor of a character from modern-day fiction. This has lent the series considerable popularity with fans of esoteric Victoriana, who have delighted in attempting to place every character who makes an appearance. Sherlock Holmes and Dracula are notably absent from the League's adventures due to their deaths prior to the events of the series, though the former has a brother (Mycroft Holmes) in the League and appears in a flashback sequence, and the latter's connections to Wilhelmina Murray do not go unnoticed. Holmes is still believed by the public to be deceased following the events of The Final Problem. Moore has noted that he felt these two seminal characters would overwhelm the rest of the cast.The League of Leagues website has a mission log saying Mina meets Sherlock Holmes in 1904 as a elderly beekeeper (which is correct, according to The New Traveler's Almanach).She also comments that he's "more likeable and warm than mycroft". Issue #5 of Volume one contained an authentic vintage advertisement for a Marvel-brand douche. Marvel Comics is DC's chief rival within the comics industry and Moore had had a public dispute with Marvel, his former employer. This ad caused DC executive Paul Levitz to order the entire print run destroyed and reprinted with the offending advertisement edited. Some copies of the pulped print run escaped destruction and are the rarest modern comic books in existence.[citation needed] It is estimated that fewer than 100 copies of this book exist, and none were actually circulated. In a later title, Moore creates a "Miracle Douche Recall" headline on a newspaper, which is not only a reference to the furor, but is also a reference to the Marvelman, when Marvel Comics had previously forced Marvelman, which was written by Alan Moore, to change its name to Miracleman, despite Marvelman having been around for 40 years. Alan Moore has announced his intentions to write the adventures of other leagues in different historical eras. One group of the heroes is seen in a portrait dated 1787 in the League's headquarters in the first volume of the comic. The group includes an elderly Lemuel Gulliver, dark-caped Doctor Syn, the Scarlet Pimpernel and his wife (Sir Percival and Lady Margeurite Blakeny), Fanny Hill, and Natty Bumppo. Another "Alternative League" is shown in the form of a sketch drawn by O'Neill titled "Les Hommes Mystrieux", showing an ensemble of French heroes and anti-heroes like the Vernian Robur, the Master of the World, Fantmas, Arsne Lupin, and the lesser-known Nyctalope. It is mentioned in the back-up Almanac that both groups will eventually fight each other. Moore departed from Warner Bros., including its subsidiaries DC Comics and Wildstorm Comics, as a result of a dispute with the filmmaker over an incorrect allegation that Moore had approved of the film version of another of his comic book works, V for Vendetta, and failed to retract the comment or apologize. As a result, Moore has confirmed that any future installments of League stories will be published by Top Shelf Productions and Knockabout Comics. The Black Dossier The next published installment of the story will be called "The Black Dossier" (referred to as "The Dark Dossier" during early announcements of its existence), named for a fictional book the plot revolves around. The official website of Wildstorm Comics gives a synopsis of the plot in a press release: England in the mid-1950s is not the same as it was. The Powers That Be have instituted some changes. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen have been disbanded and disavowed, and the country is under the control of an iron-fisted regime. Now, after many years, the still youthful Mina Murray and a rejuvenated Allan Quatermain return in search of some answers answers that can only be found in a book buried deep in the vaults of their old headquarters a book that holds the key to the hidden history of the League throughout the ages: The Black Dossier. As Allan and Mina delve into the details of their precursors, some dating back centuries, they must elude 43

their dangerous pursuers who are hell-bent on retrieving the lost manuscript... and ending the League once and for all. It will contain a 'Tijuana Bible' insert and a 3-D section complete with custom glasses, as well as additional text pieces, maps, and a cutaway double-page spread of Captain Nemo's Nautilus submarine by Kevin O'Neill. Alan Moore himself mentioned working on a LP record that would be released with the book. It has also been confirmed that there will be a two-sided 45 (RPM) vinyl single 'sung' (actually recorded with Alan Moore and Tim Perkins) by "Eddie Enrico and His Hawaiian Hotshots" (a fictional band mentioned in Thomas Pynchon's "The Crying of Lot 49") and a record label from another recording company mentioned in fiction. The two songs are "Immortal Love" and "Home With You" (supposedly League-inspired 50s pop). The Black Dossier will slip in between volumes two and three. Its release date has been repeatedly pushed back: it was originally solicited for May 30, 2006, then October 25, 2006, then January 10, 2007, then October 24, 2007. and currently is slated for release on October 3, 2007. A few details regarding the stories that will be featured in the volume have been confirmed. The book will contain stories about various Leagues. There will be a section detailing its foundation, involving Prospero, the protagonist from the Shakespeare play The Tempest, told in the manner of a lost Shakespeare folio for a play called Fairy's Fortunes Founded, fully illustrated. The story about the 18th-century League, the Gulliver group, is written in the form of an imaginary sequel to John Cleland's Fanny Hill, titled Being the Further of the Adventures of a Woman of Pleasure, with lots of text and full-page illustrations, like in the illustrated Fanny Hill that the Marquis Von Bayros illustrated. There will be a Beat Generation novel, allegedly inspired by the activities of the League in America during the 1950s, as written by Sal Paradise called The Crazy Wide Forever, who was the surrogate for Jack Kerouac that appeared in On the Road. Moore discussed the possibility of a 1950s League in an interview written prior to the release of the second volume, although it is unknown how much of these musings made it into The Black Dossier's 1950s setting.[4] There is also a twenty-five page "Life of Orlando", which tells the entire life of Orlando from his birth in the City of Thebes in 1190 B.C. This story will give the timeline for the entire The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen's world, up to the Second World War, with lots of famous fictional characters and events. According to Moore, the part of the book which is set in 1958 deals with the residual influence of George Orwell's Big Brother government, from the book Nineteen Eighty-Four. Originally, this book was set in 1948, but the publishers insisted in changing the title to 1984, setting it in the future. So, by the time the book opens in 1958, the Big Brother Government will have been over for a number of years. The Tijuana bible will reference Pornsec, which, in Orwell's book, work for the Ministry of Propaganda, and produce these little pornographic comics, as dreamed up by Orwell's Thought Police.[5] On May 3, 2007, Jess Nevinssemi-official chronicler of historical and literary references for the series made a cryptic reference on his LiveJournal. In response to a comment, he said, "Oh, I think you'll see something about the School of Night in the next League book..." He did not specify whether this meant Volume III or the Black Dossier. [6] Volume III: Century The third volume will be a 216-page epic spanning almost a hundred years and entitled Century. Divided into three 72-page chapters, each a self-contained narrative to avoid frustrating cliff-hanger delays between episodes, it will take place in three distinct eras, building to an apocalyptic conclusion occurring in the current twenty-first century. Chapter one is set against a backdrop of London, 1910, twelve years after the failed Martian invasion and nine years since England put a man upon the moon. With Halley's Comet passing overhead, the nation prepares for the coronation of King George V, and far away on his South Atlantic Island, the science-pirate Captain Nemo is dying. In the bowels of the British Museum, Carnacki the ghost-finder is plagued by visions of a shadowy occult order who are attempting to create something called a Moonchild, while on London's dockside the most notorious serial murderer of the previous century has returned to carry on his grisly trade. Working for Mycroft Holmes' British Intelligence alongside a rejuvenated Allan Quartermain, the reformed thief Anthony Raffles and the eternal warrior Orlando, Miss Murray is drawn into a brutal opera acted out upon the waterfront by players that include the furiously angry Pirate Jenny and the charismatic butcher known as Mack the Knife. Chapter two takes place almost sixty years later in the psychedelic daze of Swinging London during 1968, a place where Tadukic Acid Diethylamide 26 is the drug of choice, and where different underworlds are starting to overlap dangerously to an accompaniment of sit-ins and sitars. The vicious gangster bosses of London's East End find themselves brought into contact with a counter-culture underground of mystical and medicated flower-children, or amoral pop-stars on the edge of psychological disintegration and developing a taste for Satanism. Alerted to a threat concerning the same magic order that she and her colleagues were investigating during 1910, a thoroughly modern Mina Murray and her dwindling league of comrades attempt to navigate the perilous rapids of London's hippy and criminal subculture, as well as the twilight world of its occultists. Starting to buckle from the pressures of the twentieth century and the weight of their own endless lives, Mina and her companions must nevertheless prevent the making of a Moonchild that might well turn out to be the antichrist. In chapter three, the narrative draws to its cataclysmic close in London 2008. The magical child whose ominous coming has been foretold for the past hundred years has now been born and has grown up to claim his 44

dreadful heritage. His promised aeon of unending terror can commence, the world can now be ended starting with North London, and there is no League, extraordinary or otherwise, that now stands in his way. The bitter, intractable war of attrition in Q'umar crawls bloodily to its fifth year, away in Kashmir a Sikh terrorist with a now-nuclear-armed submarine wages a holy war against Islam that might push the whole world into atomic holocaust, and in a London mental institution there's a patient who insists that she has all the answers. This volume is set to be released in 2008. Tales of The League After volume three Alan Moore said that he would like to write some special, one shot stories that focus upon the personal adventures of the characters. "Orlando is a very tempting character to do a one-off special based upon, especially after you see the way that we've treated him/her in The Dossier." The World of the League The world of The League of Extraordinary Gentleman is detailed by creator Alan Moore in an extensive appendix to the second volume of the comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The appendix contains an imaginary traveller's account of the alternate universe the League is set in called The New Traveller's Almanac. This Almanac provides 46 pages of background information-all of which is taken from pre-existing literary works or mythology, a large majority of which is difficult to read or at least appreciate without an esoteric knowledge of literature. It shows the plot of the comic to be just a small section of a world inhabited by what appears to be the entirety of fiction. The Almanac is written in the style of a declassified document from MI5 taken from a government library. The travel reports, mostly compiled from log entries by Mina Murray, Prospero and Captain Nemo (and occasionally quote from them, including Prospero's log written entirely in iambic pentameter), scan over every part of the world in several chapters. Buried in the exhausting prose are various hints at portions of the story not covered by the graphic novel portion of the volume, such as the adventures of earlier leagues, Murray's correspondence with Sherlock Holmes, Murray and Allen Quartermain's search for the fountain of youth known as the "Pool of Fire and Life" or "the Fire of Life," and their investigation of H.P. Lovecraft-style phenomena and parallel universes for the British government. The narrator is at times intentionally ignorant, obfuscating literary references and plot points so that they serve as easter eggs. For example, the narrator refers to Murray's visit to "an elderly bee-keeper who resided near the seaside cove of Fulworth". Those familiar with "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane" will recall that Sherlock Holmes retires to Fulworth to keep bees. Britain The Blazing World, a utopia ruled over by an Empress that can be reached via the north pole, as described by Margaret Cavendish in the prose narrative "The Description of a New World, Called the Blazing World" appended to her "Observations upon Experimental Philosophy." "The Streaming Kingdom", from Jules Supervielles "L'Enfant de la Haute Mer" (1931), inhabited by the ghosts of drowned people. St. Brendans Isle, from Charles Kingsley's The Water-Babies Victoria, the Puritan commune from "National Evils and Practical Remedies, with a Plan of a Model Town" by James Silk Buckingham Avondale, the phalanstery from "The Child of the Phalanstery" by Grant Allen, that systematically murders crippled and deformed children at birth Commutaria, the idyllic shire founded by Merlin, from Elspeth Ann Maceys Awayday (1955) Abaton, a mythical Scottish phantom town that can only be glimpsed, from the work of Sir Thomas Bulfinch Baskerville Hall Thomas Love Peacock's Crotchet Castle Yalding Towers, from E. Nesbit's "The Enchanted Tower" (which contains dinosaur statures that magically come to life) Ravenal's Tower, where the remains of Richard Ravenal from E. Nesbit's The Wouldbegoods reside The White House, the residence of the Psammead from Five Children and It The Wish House from Rudyard Kipling's "The Wish House" (1926) Cold Comfort Farm from the eponymous Stella Gibbons novel. the mythical Ysbaddaden Pencawr, a castle that gets further away the closer you get to it Exham Priory, from Lovecraft's "The Rats in the Walls" (in the book, the mansion is infested by demonic rats and leads down into an ancient cavern) Llareggub from Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood The floating island from The Floating Island by Richard Head (under the pseudonym "Frank Careless") (1673), inhabited by ninepins-playing Naiads Camford, the setting of The Adventure of the Creeping Man, where Professor Presbury invents a serum for turning men into apes A description of how the works of Lewis Carroll tie into the world: In 1861, Alice (referred to in the almanac as "Miss A.L.", a reference to Alice Liddell using the convention of withholding the names of children) 45

disappears into a portal to a parallel universe (Wonderland) by the shores of River Thames, and washes up soaking wet several months later, after her disappearance created a media panic. Although she had been gone for months, only an afternoon had passed in Wonderland. She recounted how she'd fallen down a puzzling "hole" that she'd found in the riverbank, only to find herself in a disorienting realm where many laws of physics, even laws of logic, were entirely different from those of our world. She gets sucked into the world again 10 years later while visiting Oxford, via a looking-glass, but returns with her body inverted so that features on her left side are now on her right side and vice-versa. She has situs inversus, but does not die from it. She dies from malnutrition, because her amino acids and proteins are now isomers. A being made of isomer proteins is 'incompatible' with Earth's biosphere, which exhibits a preferential handedness. An expedition to explore the original riverbank hole was then organized by a "Dr. Bellman," accompanied by a lawyer, a banker, a butcher, a shoemaker, a bonnet-maker, a billiard-maker, and a woman named "Miss Beever" (a reference to the cast of "The Hunting of the Snark"). They too disappeared, and reappeared again months later, except the baker (who vanishes in "The Hunting of the Snark"); their adventure log is nothing but nonsensical poetry (a reference to "Phantasmagoria" and other poems by Carroll, including "The Hunting of the Snark"). The banker suffers the same fate as Alice, as he is found with his clothes inverted in color (a reference to the line in the poem "While so great was his fright that his waistcoat turned white"). All of the survivors are institutionalized, and years later, Mina Murray visits the only living survivor, Dr. Bellman, who gives her a blank piece of paper that's supposedly a map to Snark Island (the same map which Bellman used to navigate the sea to Snark Island). Winton Pond, from Graham Greene's "Under the Garden" (1963), which contains references to both Alice books, is subsequently mentioned in passing. Nightmare Abbey, from Thomas Love Peacock's novel of the same name Alderley Edge, as described in Alan Garner's "The Weirdstone of Brisingamen" The various locations in Bram Stoker's Lair of the White Worm The world of the Vril, from a novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. They are enigmatically connected to C.S. Lewis's Narnia. The word for "sin" and "evil" in their language is "Nania" [sic], (an invention of Moore, not Lytton) and the reader is directed to a (fictional) document referring to a British project to grow an apple tree. (Apple trees are a common motif in The Chronicles of Narnia) The underground Coal City from Jules Verne's "The Black Indies" The underground "Roman State" from Joseph O'Neill's Land Under England Brigadoon Airfowlness, the meeting-place of the crows from The Water Babies Coradine, from W.H. Hudson's A Crystal Age, where Mina Murray moves to at the end of volume two. (Moore ignores the fact that A Crystal Age takes place in the future.) The Glittering Plain, from William Morris' "The Story of the Glittering Plain", a valley that grants enterers immortality, but making them unable to leave the valley The Isle of Ransom, from the same story Also, many of the sites mentioned in Arthurian lore are mentioned in this chapter, with the events described as happened there in the legends treated as historical, rather than legendary events. Ireland Numerous locations and areas from from "Crock of Gold", by James Stephens, such as the leprechaun realm of Gort Na Cloca Mora The setting of Oscar Wilde's "The Selfish Giant" Leixlip Castle, from Charles Robert Maturin's novel of the same name, haunted by faeries Dublin, the streets of which are haunted by the ghost of Molly Malone, and where a red-tiled house was haunted by a disembodied hand, as described in Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's The House by the Church-Yard (most sources incorrectly give the title as "The Siege of the Red House") The house of Mr. Mathers that is a portal to a hellish parallel-Ireland, from "The Third Policeman" The setting of "The House on the Borderland", by William Hope Hodgson, which is also a portal to a demonic world Continental Europe Islands off the coast of Iberia: The former-kingdom of Philomela The Capa Blanca Isles of "The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle", by Hugh Lofting The island of Mayda from The Alhambra Nut Island from Lucian of Samosata's "True History" (where the native fishermen make boats out of gigantic nut-shells) Coromandel, from Edward Lear's "The Courtship of Yonghy-Bonghy-B" (1877) Note: This not a reference to the real Coromandel, the south-eastern coastal region of India, but a reference to the fictional Coromandel from Lear's famous nonsense poem. Lanternland, a mythical island mentioned in Franois Rabelais' "Gargantua and Pantagruel" 46

 The island of the Lotus-Eaters Ogygia, from Homer's Odyssey The surreal island of "Her", from Alfred Jarry's "Exploits and Opinions of Dr. Faustroll, pataphysician" The Imaginary Isle from "La Relation de l'Isle imaginaire" (1659) by Anne Marie Louise de Montpensier The island of the Cyclopses, from Homer's Odyssey The Great Garabagne, Henri Michaux's "Voyage to Grand Garabagne" (1936) an island where the visitor's despairs come true Aiolio, home of Aiolos Hippotade, the god of wind, in Homer's Odyssey Monte de las nimas, a former-stronghold of the Knights Templar, mentioned by Gustavo Adolfo Bcquer Anostus, from Claudius Aelianus' "Varia Historia", with two rivers called "Pleasure" and "Grief". Beside these two streams grow fruit, the fruit of the former causes a lifetime of joy, and the fruit of the latter causes a lifetime of sorrow. Spain and Portugal Max Frisch's Andorra Montesino's Cave, in La Mancha, where Prospero befriended Don Quixote, containing the tomb of Durandarte, Spanish folk hero Barataria, the "island" where Sancho Panza was governor for a short time. Exopotomania, from Boris Vian's "L'Automne Pkin" (1956) Andrographia, from Nicolas-Edme Rtif's "Andrographe ou ides d'un honnte homme sur un projet de rglement propos toutes les nations de l'Europe pour oprer une rforme gnrale des moeurs, et par elle, le bonheur du genre humain avec des notes historiques et justificatives" (1782) The wizard Atlante's demonic castle, from Orlando Furioso The setting of Jorge Luis Borges' "La Muerte y la brjula" (1956) Auspasia, the most talkative land in the world, from Georges Duhamel's "Lettres d'Auspasie" Bengodi, from The Decameron, which has a mountain of parmesan cheese, and heliotropes that bestow invisibility (which, in the League world, Hawley Griffin used to create an invisibility serum) The libertine Trypheme, from Pierre Louys' "Les Aventures du roi Pausole" (1901) Islands off the coast of France Papafiguiera, from Broalde de Verville's "Le Moyen de parvenir. Oeuvre contenant la raison de tout ce qui a est, est, et sera, avec dmonstrations certaines et ncessaires selon la rencontre des effets de vertu", (1610) inhabited by extremely obese people. Ptyx, Laceland, Amorphous Island, Fragrant Island and Bran Isle, from Alfred Jarry's "Exploits and Opinions of Dr. Faustroll, pataphysician". The mottos of Fragrant Island come from two works of Paul Gauguin, Soyez mystrieuses and Soyez amoureuses, vous serez heureuses. Clerkship Island, Ruach the Windy Island, the Fortunate Islands, (including the Isle of Butterflies, inhabited by monstrous butterflies) Pastemolle the pie island, and Breadlessday Island, from Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel Leaveheavenalone, from the Kingsley's Water Babies Cyril Island, a mobile volcano in Alfred Jarry's "Exploits and Opinions of Dr. Faustroll, pataphysician", inhabited by Captain Kidd Thermometer Island, from "Les bijoux indiscrets", by Denis Diderot, in which the inhabitants have enchanted genitalia France Flora, which was "murderously beset by witches", from Ferdinand Raimund's "Die gefesselte Phantasie" (1837) Lubec, from Broalde de Verville's "Le Moyen de parvenir", where the inhabitants have removable genitals. Moore explains that it was founded by inhabitants of Thermometer Island. (There are no connections between the two works in reality) The haunted castle of Trinquelage, from Alphonse Daudet's "Lettres de mon moulin" (1866) The Nameless Castle from Denis Diderot's "Jacques le fataliste et son matre" (1796) The Kingdom of Poictesme, from James Branch Cabell's "Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice", (1919) Averoigne, from a series of short stories by Clark Ashton Smith the subterranean Grande Euscarie, inhabited by intelligent woolly mammoths from Luc Alberny's "Le Mammouth Bleu". The underground kingdoms of the Fattypuffs and Thinifers, the creation of Andr Maurois Baron Hugh's Castle, the setting of the film Les Visiteurs du soir Calejava, the republic from Claude Gilbert's "Histoire de Calejava ou de l'Ilse des Hommes Raisonnables, avec le Paralelle de leur Morale et du Christianisme" (1700) the sunken cities beneath the Bay of Biscay: Belesbat, from Claire Kenin's La Mer mystrieuse; Disappeared, from Victor Hugo's "La Ville disparue"; and Atlanteja, from Luigi Motta's Il tunnel sottomarino 47

 Islands off Brittany include Le Douar, from J.-H. Rosny jeune's L'Enigme du "Redoutable"; the Isle of Boredom, from Marie Anne de Roumier Robert's Les Ondins; Magic Maiden's Rock, from Amadis of Gaul; Realism Island, from G.K. Chesterton's "Introductory: On Gargoyles"; and Cork, from Lucian of Samosata's "True History" (which is made of cork, as are the feet of the natives) Alca, from Daniel Defoe's The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe and Anatole France's Penguin Island the former island of Asbefore, from Jacques Prvert's Lettre des les Baladar Brocliande forest and Benoic the former Hurlubierean Empire, from Charles Nodier's Hurlubleu, Grand Manifafa d'Hurlubiere Morphopolis, from Maurice Barrre's La Cit du sommeil the Abbey of Thlme, from "Gargantua and Pantagruel" (the story of how Gargantua named Paris is also recounted) Parisian museums are said to contain relics from Aquilonia and the Melnibonean empire, including the hilt of a black sword Parisian sewers contain "Jean Valjean" graffiti. Locus Solus, from Raymond Roussel's Locus Solus Quiquendone, from Jules Verne's Une Fantaisie du Docteur Ox Expiation City, from Pierre-Simon Ballanche's La Ville des Expiations Aquilonia, a fictional country in the Hyboria, the land where Conan is situated from the works of Robert E. Howard Belgium the castles of Bluebeard, the Beast, Princess Rosamund, and the ogre killed by Puss in Boots Harmonia, from Charles Fourier's Thorie des Quatre Mouvements and Georges Delbruck's Au pays de l'harmonie Greece Xiros, from Jorge Luis Borges' "The Zahir" Devil's Island, Bandaguido, and Bandaguida, from Amadis of Gaul Abdera, whose rebellious horses are said to be the ancestors of the Houyhnhnms (this connection is Moore's invention) Ptolemais, from Edgar Allan Poe's "Shadow: A Parable" Cloudcuckooland, from Aristophanes' The Birds islands from Greek mythology, including Aiaia, Scylla, Charybdis, the Wandering Rocks, and Siren Island Pyrallis, from Pliny the Elder's Inventorum Natura Italy The Castle of Otranto, from Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto Portiuncula, from Stefan Andres' Die Reise nach Portiuncula Meloria Canal, from Emilio Salgari's I naviganti della Meloria Ersilia, from Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities Torelore, from Aucassin and Nicolette the ruins of the Abbey of the Rose, from Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose the Castle of Udolpho, from Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho Goldenthal, from Heinrich Zschokke's Das Goldmacherdorf the realm of King Astralgus, from Ferdinand Raimund's Der Alpenknig und der Menschenfeind the Balbrigian and Bouloulabassian United Republic, from Max Jacob's Histoire du roi Kaboul Ier et du marmiton Gauwain Germany the Duchy of Grand Fenwick the Grand Duchy, from "Der goldene Topf" and other stories by E.T.A. Hoffmann Weng, from Thomas Bernhard's Frost Runenberg, from Ludwig Tieck's "Der Runenberg" Horselberg, also known as Venusberg, from the legend of Tannhuser Nexdorea, from Tom Hood's Petsetilla's Posy the Palace of Prince Prospero, from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" Silling Castle, from the Marquis de Sade's 120 Days of Sodom Cockaigne, from medieval legend Mummelsee and Centrum Terrae, from Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen's Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch the wardrobe leading to the Kingdom of the Dolls, from E.T.A. Hoffmann's "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" Violet-eyed prince Titus Groan, from Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy 48

 Auenthal and Maria Wuz, from Johann Paul Friedrich Richter's Leben des vergngten Schulmeisterlein Maria Wuz in Auenthal (Maria Wuz is said to have influenced Pierre Menard) the Falun Fault, from E.T.A. Hoffmann's Die Bergwerke zu Falun the realm of the Regentrude, from Theodor Storm's Die Regentrude Sainte Beregonne, from Jean Ray's "La Ruelle tnbreuse" Auersperg Castle, from Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam's Axl The Netherlands Vondervotteimittis, from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Devil in the Belfry" the island Laiquihire, from Voyage Curieux d'un Philadelphe dans des Pays nouvellement Dcouverts Scandinavia Devil's Teeth, from Paul Alperine's La Citadelle des Glaces Estotiland and Drogio, from the Zeno map Hekla as described in Tommaso Porcacchi's Le isole piu' famose del mondo Snfellsjkull, from Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth Daland's Village, the only port where The Flying Dutchman is allowed to land Nazar, from Ludvig Holberg's Niels Klim's Underground Travels The Dovre Fjell mountains, from Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt Capillaria, from Frigyes Karinthy's Capillaria The Snow Queen's Castle, from Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen" Moominvalley, from Tove Jansson's Moomin books Cimmeria, from Robert E. Howard's Conan stories Eastern Europe Klopstokia, from Million Dollar Legs Ubu's kingdom, from Alfred Jarry's Ubu plays Klepsydra Sanatorium, from Bruno Schulz's Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass the City of the Happy Prince, from Oscar Wilde's "The Happy Prince" Ruritania, from Anthony Hope's The Prisoner of Zenda Lutha, from Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Mad King The Castle, from Franz Kafka's The Castle The penal colony from Franz Kafka's In the Penal Colony Wolf's Glen, from the opera Der Freischtz Sylvania and Freedonia, from Duck Soup Castle Karpathenburg, from Jules Verne's The Castle of the Carpathians (1892) Dracula's castle the City of Dreadful Night, from James Thomson's City of Dreadful Night Selene, the city of vampires from Paul Fval's La Ville-Vampire Evarchia, from Brigid Brophy's Palace Without Chairs Leuke as described in Greek mythology The Palace of Justice is from Marco Denevi's "El primer cuento de Kafka?" (1966). Off the coast of South America the undersea realm of Pepperland, from the movie Yellow Submarine the Riallaro Archipelago, from John Macmillan Brown's Riallaro, the Archipelago of Exiles and Limanora, the Island of Progress Juan Fernandez, and Frivola, from the Abb Gabriel Franois Coyer's La dcouverte de l'isle frivole (A Discovery of the Island Frivola) Meipe, from Andr Maurois' Mepe ou La Dlivrance Mount Analogue, from Ren Daumal's Mount Analogue: A Novel of Symbolically Authentic Non-Euclidean Adventures in Mountain Climbing Coral Island, from R.M. Ballantyne's The Coral Island Rose, from Mervyn Peake's Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor Orofena, from H. Rider Haggard's When the World Shook Mana, from Andr Maurois' Voyage au Pays de Articoles Cook's Island, from E. Nesbit's The Phoenix and the Carpet the Mardi Archipelago, from Herman Melville's Mardi and a Voyage Thither Bali Hai, from Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific Zara's Kingdom, from Gilbert and Sullivan's Utopia, Limited Marsh's Island, from H.P. Lovecraft's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" Noble's Island, from H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau Rampole Island, from H.G. Wells' Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island 49

Villings, from Adolfo Bioy Casares' The Invention of Morel the land of the Houyhnhnms, from Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels Oceana, from James Harrington's The Commonwealth of Oceana Utopia, from Sir Thomas More's Utopia Spidermonkey Island, from Hugh Lofting's The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle Ferdinand's Island, from Johann Michael Fleischer's Der Nordische Robinson Speranza, from Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe Herland, from Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland Tacarigua, from Ronald Firbank's Prancing Nigger Zaroff's Island, from Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" Cacklogallinia, from Samuel Brunt's A Voyage to Cacklogallinia

In South America Babel, from Jorge Luis Borges' "The Library of Babel" Roncador, from Herbert Read's The Green Child El Dorado is mentioned, as well as an expedition led by Auric Goldfinger to uncover it. the Country of the Blind, from H.G. Wells' "The Country of the Blind" Macondo, from Gabriel Garca Mrquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude Ewaipanoma, from Sir Walter Raleigh's The Discovery of Guiana Watkinsland, from Doris Lessing's Briefing for a Descent into Hell Quivera, from Vaughan Wilkins' The City of Frozen Fire, or from the Spanish legend of Quivira. Maple White Land, from Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World the Black Lagoon, from Creature from the Black Lagoon Off the coast of North America Buyan, from Russian folklore Caseosa, Cabbalussa, and Dream Island, all from Lucian of Samosata's "True History" The Idol Island and Winkfield Island, from Unca Eliza Winkfield's The Female American Militia, populated by Simlax shrubs, Rossum's Island, from Karel Capek's R.U.R. Treasure Island, from Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island Captain Sparrow's Island, from S. Fowler Wright's The Island of Captain Sparrow Orphan Island, from Rose Macauley's Orphan Island In North America Rootabaga Country, from Carl Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories Chisholm Prison, from "The Problem of Cell 13", Jacques Futrelle's first Professor Van Dusen story Twin Peaks Mahagonny, from Bertolt Brecht's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny Cricket Creek, from Evelyn Sibley Lampman's The Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek iDEATH, from Richard Brautigan's In Watermelon Sugar Yoknapatawpha County, from the works of William Faulkner Drexara, from Antoine Franois Prvost's Le Philosophe Anglois Dogpatch, from the comic strip Li'l Abner the Nature Theatre of Oklahoma, from Franz Kafka's Amerika (and, implicitly, Oklahoma!) Lake La Metrie, from Wardon Curtis' "The Monster of Lake La Metrie" Rampart Junction, from Ray Bradbury's "The Town Where No One Got Off" Gone-Away Lake, from Elizabeth Enright's Gone-Away Lake Centerboro, from Walter R. Brooks' Freddy the Pig books Sleepy Hollow, from Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" Stepford, from Ira Levin's The Stepford Wives Arkham, Massachusetts (and, specifically the Witch House residing there) from the writings of H. P. Lovecraft gets a mention Springfield, the town where Moore says the Cat in the Hat appeared. (The Gazeteer places the town in Massachusetts, which has an actual town named Springfield.) Jerusalem's Lot, from Stephen King's Salem's Lot Eastwick, from John Updike's The Witches of Eastwick Whiton House, from Edward Eager's The Time Garden Hill House, from Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House The lost party from the Jamestown Colony from Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves Bayport, from The Hardy Boys The Mexican villa of Don Diego de la Vega, better known as Zorro 50

 In a passage about Los Angeles, an ancestor of The Dude from Joel and Ethan Coen's film The Big Lebowski is mentioned Palenville, New York from Washington Irving's "Rip van Winkle" Africa and the Middle East Mongaza Island, from Amadis of Gaul Mogador, from Alberto Ruy-Snchez's Los nombres del aire the Harmattan Rocks and No-Man's-Land, from Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle's Post Office Nacumera, from The Travels of John Mandeville Wild Island, from Ruth Stiles Gannett's My Father's Dragon Bustrol, from Simon Tyssot de Patot's Voyage et Avantures de Jaques Mass Aepyornis, from H.G. Wells' "Aepyornis Island" Skull Island, from King Kong Hewit's Island, from Charles Dibdin's Hannah Hewit the island from William Golding's Lord of the Flies The Azanian Empire, from Evelyn Waugh's Black Mischief Ardistan and Djinnistan, from Karl May's Ardistan and Der Mir von Djinnistan Samarah and Alkoremi, from William Beckford's Vathek Farghestan and Orsenna, from Julien Gracq's Le Rivage des Syrtes Garamanti Country, from Antonio de Guevara's Reloj de prncipes Jannati Shah, from George Allan England's The Flying Legion the Kingdom of the Amphicleocles, from Charles de Fieux Mouhy's Lamekis, ou les voyages extraordinaires d'un Egyptien dans la terre intrieure, avec la dcouverte de l'Isle des Silphides, enrichi des notes curieuses Silence, from Edgar Allan Poe's "Silence: A Fable" Arimaspian Country Ishmaelia, from Evelyn Waugh's Scoop Freeland, from Theodor Hertzka's Freiland Bong Tree Land, from Edward Lear's "The Owl and the Pussycat" Basilisk Country Interzone, from William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch Crotalophoboi Land, from Norman Douglas' South Wind Ouidah, as described by Bruce Chatwin in The Viceroy of Ouidah Deads' Town and Unreturnable-Heaven, from Amos Tutuola's The Palm-Wine Drunkard and His Dead PalmWine Tapster in the Deads' Town The kingdom of Babar the Elephant The camp set up by Kurtz from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness Qumar from The West Wing Asia and the Australias Antangil, from Histoire du grand et admirable royaume d'Antangil Inconnu jusques prsent tous Historiens et Cosmographes Terre Australe, from Gabriel de Foigny's La Terre Australe Connue the ruins of Standard Island, from Jules Verne's L'Ile hlice the Jumelles, from de Catalde's Le paysan gentilhomme, ou Aventures de M. Ransau avec son voyage aux Isles jumelles Caspak, from Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Land That Time Forgot and its sequels Farandoulie, from Albert Robida's Voyages Trs Extraordinaires de Saturnin Farandoul Erewhon, from Samuel Butler's Erewhon Altruria, from William Dean Howells' A Traveller from Altruria Flotsam, from Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Cave Girl Pala and Rendang, from Aldous Huxley's Island Cuffycoat's Island, from Andr Lichtenberger's Pickles ou rcits la mode anglaise Manoba, from Paul Scott's The Birds of Paradise Bensalem, from Francis Bacon's The New Atlantis New Switzerland, from Johann David Wyss' The Swiss Family Robinson Yoka Island, from Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Mucker Green Sand Island, Black Sand Island, and Red Sand Island, from Tancrde Vallerey's L'Ile au sable vert Formosa, as described by George Psalmanazar Mask Island, from Charles de Fieux Mouhy's Les Masque de Fer The Sacred Valley, from Maurice Champagne's La Valle mystrieuse Titipu, from Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado Pnom Dhek and Lodidhapura, from Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Jungle Girl Mount Tsintsin-Dagh, from Paul Alperine's Ombres sur le Thibet 51

Mount Karakal and Shangri-La, from James Hilton's Lost Horizon Pauk, from Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Possessed Gondour, from Mark Twain's The Curious Republic of Gondour Xanadu, from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Kubla Khan"

Islands and seas off the coast of Antarctica Megapatagonia, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean stretching south from Tierra del Fuego, similar to the Blazing World archipelago north of Britain, inhabited by animal men and an inverse of French society. The capital city is "Sirap." From La Dcouverte australe par un homme-volant by Nicolas Edme Restif de la Bretonne Pyrandia island, in the South Pacific Ocean southwest of the Megapatagonia islands, west of the Antarctic peninsula, home to fire men, from Supplment de l'Histoire vritable de Lucien by Jean Jacob de Frmont d'Ablancourt The Academic Sea, somewhere between McMurdo Sound and the Ross Sea, containing the city of Christianopolis on the island of Caphar Salama, from Reipublicae Christianapolitinae Descriptio (or Description of the Republic of Christianopolis) by Johannes Valentinus Andreae The Leap Islands, in LoEG also be part of the Academic Sea, containing Aggregation Harbour on the Isle of Leaphigh, inhabited by enlightened monkey-men, from The Monikins by James Fennimore Cooper Tsalal island, in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Enderby Land, from The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket Edgar Allan Poe Antarctica Antarctic France, on the Victoria Land Peninsula, from L'Aventurier Franais by Robert-Martin Lesuire Empire of Alsondons, a subterranean land beneath Mac Robertson Land, from L'Aventurier Franais by Robert-Martin Lesuire The Antarctic entrance to Pluto, a subterranean land, from Voyage au centre de la terre (or Journey to the Centre of the Earth) by Jules Verne Iron Mountains, probably in Queen Maud Land, from Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne Present Land from The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket Edgar Allan Poe (in LoEG Present Land is surrounded by the Iron Mountains) Mountains of Madness and the City of the Old Ones, from At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft (in LoEG the Mountains of Madness are part of the Iron Mountains) Kosekin Country, subterranean land beneath either Queen Maud Land or Palmer Land, from A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder by James De Mille Northern Asia Plutonia from Plutonia by Vladimir Obruchev The Arctic entrance to Pluto, a subterranean land, from Voyage au centre de la terre (or Journey to the Centre of the Earth) by Jules Verne Islands and other locations in the Arctic Ocean Elisee Reclus Island, Cristallopolis (French Colony), Maurel City (American Colony), from Une Ville de Verre by Alphonse Brown Vichenbolk Land, island kingdom discovered by Lemuel Gulliver, from Pickles ou rcits la mode anglaise by Andr Lichtenberger North Pole Kingdom, a land populated by civilized dinosaurs living under the polar ice cap, from Le Peuple du Ple by Carles Derennes Polar Bear Kingdom, inhabited by intelligent polar bears who also advertise Coca-Cola, from 20,000 Lieues Sous Les Glaces (or 20,000 Leagues Under the Ice) by Mr Jkai and a parody of the 1993 "Polar Bears" CocaCola advertising campaign by Creative Artists Agency Mountain-Door to Mandai Country, subterranean land, from Iran by Hirmiz bar Anhar Gaster Island from The Fourth Book of the Deeds and Sayings of the Good Pantagruel by Franois Rabelais The Sea of Frozen Words from The Fourth Book of the Deeds and Sayings of the Good Pantagruel by Franois Rabelais Queen Island from Les Aventures du capitaine Hatteras au Ple Nord, or (Journeys and Adventures of Captain Hatteras at the North Pole) by Jules Verne The Island of Thule, from The Bibliotheca historia (Library of History) by Diodorus Siculus, Geographika (Geography) by Strabo, and The Gothic War by Procopius (or possibly Thule from Robert E. Howard's Kull stories) Hyperborea from Inventorum Natura (Natural History) by Pliny the Elder The Back of the North Wind, a warm region of the Arctic, from At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald

52

 Toyland, from Little Noddy Goes to Toyland by Enid Blyton, ruled over by Olimpia (from "Der Sandmann," from the book Nachtstcke or Night-Pieces by E.T.A. Hoffmann) and the Creature (from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein The Arctic counterpart to the Iron Mountains, with an entrance to the subterranean land of either Pluto, Pellucidar (from At the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs), Atavatabar (from The Goddess of Atavatabar by William R. Bradshaw, or Ruffal (from La vie, les avanture, and le voyage de Groenland du Rvrend Pre Cordelier Pierre de Mesange by Simon Tyssot de Patot) The Real North Pole, from The Purple Cloud by M. P. Shiel Peacepool, from The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby by Charles Kingsley The home of Santa Claus, described as a shaman clad in reindeer hide whose spirit guides ("little helpers") encourage him to spread joy around the world on the winter solstice. He has also been visited by the Coca-Cola representatives. History of the League Moore's work includes references to previous leagues and suggests there will be others subsequently. According to the New Traveller's Almanac, an appendix to the trade paperback collection of The League Vol. 2, the earliest incarnation of the League was known as "Prospero's Men". Prospero's Men: Prospero, the Duke of Milan, the sorcerer protagonist of Shakespeare's 1611 play The Tempest. Caliban, Prospero's malformed, treacherous servant, also from The Tempest. Ariel, a sprite and air spirit, bound to serve Prospero, also from The Tempest. Christian, a pilgrim Everyman, protagonist of John Bunyan's 1678 novel The Pilgrim's Progress. Captain Robert Owe-Much, a British explorer and discoverer of the Floating Island called Scoti Moria or Summer Island, President of the Council of the Society of Owe-Much, and the central character from Richard Head's 1673 book The Floating Island (published under the pseudonym Frank Careless). This league collapsed in 1690 when Christian found the "heavenly country" for which he was seeking, and thus left this world. Allegedly, Prospero later followed him, as hinted in the Almanac. Alan Moore said in an interview that he will detail the founding of this league in the Black Dossier.[9] The Pirates' Conference: There was at some point in the 18th century a gathering of pirates. First mentioned in the Almanac, the details of this gathering were never stated. The pirate Captain Clegg, who gathered this group together, was affiliated with the later league assembled by Lemuel Gulliver. Long John Silver. The brutal yet strangely paternal pirate from Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. Captain Blood, rumoured to be the greatest buccaneer of them all, from Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini. Captain Slaughterboard and his yellow bunkmate. The homosexual pirate first appeared in Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor by Mervyn Peake. Captain Pugwash, the amateur pirate who claimed his name was enough to strike fear into the heart of any sea-faring captain, but was in fact taking credit for work done by his Cabin Boy and fellow league Member Tom. From Eagle Comics and many animated TV shows. Captain Hook, archenemy of Peter Pan who lost his hand to a crocodile, from Peter Pan by James M. Barrie. Captain Pysse-Gumms (Pissgums) from Zap Comics and many animated TV shows. Two unidentified pirates (one of whom may have been Captain Jack Sparrow. Gulliver's League: The second league was formed by Lemuel Gulliver and secretly gathered in Montague House, London. They are seen in a picture of the group, dated 1787, shown in Vol. I #2. An elderly Lemuel Gulliver, the far-flung protagonist from the 1726 novel Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, seen in the portrait with one of the famous miniature sheep at his feet. The Reverend Dr. Christopher Syn, also known as the pirate Captain Clegg, and later known as the Scarecrow, the vicar turned pirate turned smuggler in the Doctor Syn novels (1915-1944) of Russell Thorndike. Mr. and Mrs. Percy Blakeney from the Scarlet Pimpernel novels of Baroness Orczy published in 1905, set in late 1792. Though most assume that this 'Lady Blakeney' is the same character as Marguerite, Sir Percy's wife in The Scarlet Pimpernel, this grouping takes place several years before the setting of Orczy's novel. As Sir Percy and Marguerite had been married nearly a year at the start of the first novel, this puts the identity of Sir Percy's wife in LOEG into dispute. Nathanael "Natty" Bumppo, the hero of the Leatherstocking Tales novels (18271841) of James Fenimore Cooper, the most famous of which is Last of the Mohicans. In Cooper's novels he is variously called Deerslayer, Hawkeye and Pathfinder as well as several other names. Frances "Fanny" Hill, the eponymous heroine of the 1749 erotic novel Fanny Hill by John Cleland. One of the stories in The Black Dossier involves this league. Speculative early 19th Century League: The League of Leagues website has speculated that the portraits of the people behind the main 19th Century League on the cover of Volume 1 are an earlier past 19th Century League, made up of characters active in their source material around the 1870s. The picture in which this supposed League is portrayed is inside the League's headquarters in the British Museum. This picture also includes the group portrait of the late 18th Century discovered in the story of Vol. 1. Also in this picture is the actual character Count Allaminstakeo (a mummy), sleeping, as well as a portrait of him. Phileas Fogg from Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours (Around the World in 80 Days; Book, 1872) by Jules Verne. Sir Francis Varney from Varney the Vampire (penny dreadful serial, 1847) by James Malcolm Rymer. Count Allaminstakeo from "Some Words with a Mummy" by Edgar Allan Poe. Sapathwa (a.k.a. the Blue Dwarf) from The Blue Dwarf by Lady Esther Hope (a.k.a. Percy B. St. John). Dorian Gray from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Jack Harkaway from the Jack Harkaway Series by Bracebridge Hemyng. The late 19th Century League (Wilhelmina's league): The Victorian League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is led by Miss Wilhelmina Murray (of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula), recruited for Military Intelligence by one Mr. 53

Campion Bond (who is likely an ancestor of Ian Fleming's James Bond). They meet in the museum that was built on the remains of Montague House. Miss Wilhelmina Murray, of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. Captain Nemo, the Indian submariner from Jules Verne's 1870 novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, The Mysterious Island, and Journey Through the Impossible. Allan Quatermain, the elephant hunter and African explorer of H. Rider Haggard's 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines and its various sequels. Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde from Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 short story The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Hawley Griffin, also known as The Invisible Man, from the 1897 novel by H. G. Wells. (Moore gave Griffin his first name, that of murderer Hawley Crippen). This league collapsed during the closing days of the Martian invasion when Campion Bond cut his losses and abandoned the now fractured League, after Griffin turned traitor, which started a series of events that led to the deaths of Dr. Jekyll and his alter ego Mr. Hyde. The early 20th Century League (Wilhelmina's 2nd league): The Almanac hints that another League was led by Miss Wilhelmina Murray, founded after the Victorian league, which she had assembled, collapsed. It was presumably set before the events of The Black Dossier, probably still answering to Campion Bond and meeting in the museums secret vault. They still work for Mycroft Holmes' British Intelligence. This League will appear on the third volume. Miss Wilhelmina Murray, of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. Allan Junior, a rejuvenated Allan Quatermain from H. Rider Haggard's 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines and its various sequels. Orlando, the sex-changing immortal from many works, but drawn most closely from Virginia Woolf's Orlando: A Biography. A. J. Raffles, reformed thief from E. W. Hornung stories. Carnacki, the occult detective from Carnacki the Ghost-Finder by William Hope Hodgson. Professor Challenger, the palaeontologist from The Lost World and its sequels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is mentioned in the almanac as an occasional consultant to Mina's secondly-assembled League. Doctor Dolittle, the great naturalist and veterinarian first appeared in Hugh Lofting's The Story of Doctor Dolittle and its sequels, is described in the almanac as an associate of Challenger. Other characters who will appear in the third volume include Mack the Knife, charismatic butcher, and Pirate Jenny, furiously angry pirate, both from The Threepenny Opera. It's not known whether they are villains, secondary characters, associates or members of the League. The 1950s League: By 1958 the League was disbanded by the government and those members who survived broke into British Intelligence, stole the Black Dossier, and then tried to escape the country while being pursued by a trio of deadly British agents, who are trying to get the Dossier back. One is a character named Jimmy, who carries the cigarette case that Campion Bond had. He's actually James Bond, the British spy created by Ian Fleming for the novel Casino Royale and its sequels, but due to copyright issues, his name cannot be directly referenced. Additionally Mina and A.J. team up with Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty, from the novel On the Road, by Jack Kerouac, against the villainous Dr. Sax in America. Alan Moore also stated in a Exit Interview by Bill Baker that the first black character in the League will appear in the Black Dossier. Moore also admits that this character will be a controversial one. The Failed 1950s League: There is also mention of a failed surrogate 1950s League that will appear in The Black Dossier. The 1960s League: Volume Three will have a story set in 1968 with a League led by Wilhelmina Murray who are summoned to investigate a strange cult operating in London's East End and prevent them from making a Moonchild that might well turn out to be the Antichrist. The Top Shelf description suggests 'long term effects' relating to the League's disbanding during the 1950s. The 2008 League: The solicitation for the final issue of Volume Three indicates that, by 2008, the League has gone nearly extinct, except for an apparent member unwillingly trapped in a London mental institution. The Moonchild will have grown to power by this time. Mention has also been made of a Sikh terrorist with a nuclear armed submarine and an ongoing, "intractable" war in Qumar. Rival Leagues These copycat leagues were apparently set up by foreign governments such as France and Germany as opponents to the true league, due to the rivalry between these countries and Great Britain that had lasted for centuries, as Alan Moore confirmed in an interview with Wizard #181. Les Hommes Mysterieux (Mysterious Men): Moore has stated that there will be a French version of the League, known as Les Hommes Mysterieux. This group will be active during the time of Mina's second league. The clash between the two groups was mentioned in the "The New Traveller's Almanac". Arsne Lupin, a master thief, from the books written by Maurice Leblanc. Robur the Conqueror, an insane genius who creates a flying machine, from the books The Clipper of the Clouds and The Master of the World, by Jules Verne. Nyctalope, a superhero created by Jean de La Hire (it was stated that he was shot by Allan Junior, though his condition after that is not made clear in "The New Traveller's Almanac"). Fantomas, a criminal mastermind created by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain. Die Zwielichthelden, the Twilight Heroes: Moore has stated that there will be a German version of the League, known as Die Zwielichthelden, or "The Twilight Heroes". He has not revealed any other information about this group. Timeline of the Leagues The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is an ongoing graphic novel series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill. The primary commentator on the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series (hereto after in this article referred to as LoEG), is Jess Nevins, whose published works are considered the most complete annotations of all the various literary references made by this series. This timeline is composed of events that take 54

place in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volumes I and II, Allan and the Sundered Veil, and events hinted at or briefly covered in the expansive work The New Traveller's Almanac, all of these works written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin ONeill. However the latter two are text-based stories which take the form of a serialized, pulpstyle "Boy's Story" and a travel guide, respectively, with a few illustrations by Kevin O'Neill, rather than being in graphic novel form. It should be noted that in order to place these varied events into chronological order, and to get the best sense of the Leagues' activities, there is some speculation as to probable times and orders of events, as well as mention of several events which, while happening to characters contained in LoEG, do not actually occur in LoEG, but in the original works the characters were taken from. Since LoEG is a crossover fiction, there are several events which the writer of LoEG will assume the reader already knows about the character, and these events can be considered canon. At some points, however, the fictional canon of LoEG comes into conflict with the worlds of the various fictional works used as components of the LoEG fiction. These places are clearly marked, but as a general rule, unless specifically noted, the events of the sampled fictional canon all are assumed to have happened as depicted in the original work, with the addition of being in a world in which the events of all the other fictional bodies have taken place as well. Secondly it should be noted that this timeline is written in ignorance of the events of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Black Dossier by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill, which is currently scheduled to be released October 24, 2007 according to Amazon.com. Sufficient to say, there will be much needed addition and correction to this timeline with the release of "The Black Dossier. Thirdly, it should be noted that in order to avoid the timeline being too cluttered with notations, the members of the various Leagues and other, comparable organizations present in LoEG are listed at the bottom of the page with a complete list of their bibliographical origins. Also, for this reason, the bulk of Orlando's travels are not, or not yet, listed as part of this timeline. 1558 Sir Francis Walsingham establishes English (later British) Intelligence under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I (Historical) c. 1605-1615 The adventures of Don Quixote de la Mancha (El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra) 1616 William Shakespeare dies, leaving his Fairy's Fortunes Founded folio unfinished.[1] 1625 Prospero, Duke of Milan, on his way to the Strait of Gibraltar, visits many islands east of Spain, nearby La Mancha province where in the early 1620s he encountered Don Quixote. It is some time prior to this that he left Milan.(From The New Travellers Almanac Chpt.2 Pg.1,2 by Alan Moore) 1660 Lemuel Gulliver is born (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) 1670's Sometime in the 70's Christian arrives in our world.(The New Traveller's Almanac Chpt.1 pg.6 by Alan Moore) 1673 Captain Robert Owe-Much,probably for reasons of avoiding his creditors, makes many long, far-flung voyages with his three ships. Some time in his travels Captain Owe-Much encounters a young man named Orlando, though Orlando's connection to Prosperos Men has not been definitively established Orlando is a substantial contributor to the "New Traveller's Almanac" and associate to at least three of the British Leagues. (The Floating Island or a new Discovery Relating the Strange Adventure on a late Voyage from Lamberthana to Villa Franca, Alias Ramallia, to the Eastward of Terra Del Templo: By three Ships, viz., the Pay-naught, the Excuse, and the Least-inSight under the Conduct of Captain Robert Owe-much: Describing the Nature of the Inhabitants, their Religion, Laws and Customs by "Frank Careless," AKA Richard Head and The New Travellers Almanac Chpt.3 pg.5 by Alan Moore) 1674 Lemuel Gulliver enters Emanuel College. (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) 1677 Lemuel Gulliver bound in apprenticeship to Mr. James Bates. (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) 1678 Travelling from the City of Destruction, Christian, the Everyman Journeyman, arrives in the town of Vanity Fair in which he turns down an alleyway and "steps into the streets of London." Seemingly Unable to return to his "shinning country" he reluctantly (reluctant because of the perception that Prospero's powers are diabolical in nature) agrees to ally himself with Duke Prospero and his group, the Duke being Christians only chance of returning home. (The New Travellers Almanac Chpt.1 pg.6 by Alan Moore) 1681 Lemuel Gulliver studies medicine in Leiden, Netherlands. (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) 1682 Northumberland, upon the North Sea coast: Prosperos Group (which includes Christian) on their expedition to The Blazing World visit Joyeusegarde to see the Tomb of Launcelot (LoEG equivalent of the Arthurian Lancelot) where Prospero notes the dilapidated condition of the monument.(Observations upon Experimental Philosophy. To Which Is Added the Description of a New Blazing World. Written by the Thrice Noble, Illustrious and Excellent Princess, the Duchess of Newcastle by Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle. And The New Travellers Almanac Chpt.1 pg.4 by Alan Moore) 1683 Early January, Prosperos Men, along with Cpt. Owe-Much, briefly stop at Ransom Island just before reaching The Blazing World. Whether or not they reached the island via one of the three ships of Cpt. Owe-Much is unclear, their ship is only referred to as a "hired trawler." They reach The Blazing World sometime between Mid to Late January whereupon Christian departs into The Blazing World. "The existence and implication of such otherwroldly realms would come to be the source of an increased concern amongst the British secret service in the centuries that followed Christian's eventual disapperaance." (The Story of the Glittering Plain by William Morris, The Floating Islandetc. by Richard Head, The New Travellers Almanac Chpt.1 pg.6,7,editor's preface by Alan Moore) 55

1684 Lemuel Gulliver becomes ships surgeon aboard the Swallow. (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift, Observations upon Experimental Philosophyetc. by Duchess Margaret Cavendish, Pilgrims Progressetc. by John Bunyan, The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore) 1688 Lemuel Gulliver, MD, sets up medical practice in London. (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) 1695 Prospero, his "brute", and "spirit of the air" disappear. Captain Owe-Much claims it was during a return trip to The Blazing World. . (The New Travellers Almanac Chpt.1 pg.6 by Alan Moore) May 4, 1699 Lemuel Gulliver, MD, departs Bristol, England, aboard the Antelope for the South Seas. (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) 1701 Gulliver is shipwrecked on the islands of Lilliput and Blefuscu, and becomes entangled in their political affairs, and war, with each other. September 24, Gulliver departs Blefescu, using one of their largest warships as a dingy, and is picked up two days later by an English merchantman. It should be noted that Gulliver takes some Lilliputian livestock with him back to England. (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) 1702 Gulliver returns to England on the merchantman on April 13. On June 20, Gulliver again departs England on the Adventure, bound for Surat, India. (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) 1703 Gulliver sails aboard the Adventure. Brobdingnag island sighted June 16. June 17: Gulliver left ashore when the island was found to contain a civilization of giants one such giant shortly thereafter captures Gulliver. August 17: Taken to Capital City of Brobdingnag, arriving on October 26. (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) 1705 Gulliver escapes, sometime around October, from Brobdingnag. (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) 1706 Gulliver arrives in England only to depart again in August (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) April 11, 1707 Gulliver arrives at Fort St. George (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) 1709 Gulliver arrives in Luggnag (also Lugnag and Luggnagg) April 21. Some time later, Gullivers ship is attacked at sea by pirates, and he is marooned, yet again this time on a tiny rocky islet. Fortunately, however, the flying island of Laputa rescues him and took him to Balnibarbi to await a Dutch trader ship bound for Japan. In May he leaves on the ship for Japan. (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) 1710 Gulliver returns from Japan and lands in Amsterdam on April 10, arriving in England about a week later. In September, he sets off again to sea, this time as Captain of the Adventure. (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) 1711 Crew of Adventure mutinies and maroons Gulliver on the shores of Houyhnhnm-Land, which is inhabited by the horrific Yahoos and the magnificent and noble Horses known as Houyhnhnm. Gulliver is, subsequent to his rescue from the wretched Yahoos by a Houyhnhnm, kept in many ways as a pet or student by his rescuer and rescuer's wife. (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) 1715 Gulliver leaves his beloved Master and Lady Houyhnhnm in a raft and departs for Europe on February 15. Arrives in Lisbon, Portugal, November 5. (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) 1719 Nathaniel "Natty" Bumppo born in America. (Based on the internal timeline of the Leatherstockings novels by James Fenimore Cooper) c. 1720 Frances "Fanny" Hill born somewhere around this time. Baron Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Munchhausen born some time around this time, though he has previously stated he was, at varying times, at or over two hundred years old, hence the placing of his birth, and death(s) are somewhat difficult (Speculation based upon the later events in The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore, and the observations brought up in A Blazing World by Jess Nevins, Vademecum fur Lustige Leute (Manual for Merry People) by Karl Friedrich Hieronymus, Baron von Mnchhausen, Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia (AKA The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen) by Karl Friedrich Hieronymus, Baron von Mnchhausen, collected and edited by Rudolf Erich Raspe (purportedly), and Fanny Hill: or, A Memoir of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland) 1721 Lemuel Gulliver would later claim that he discovered Vichenbok Land in 1721. (The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore, Pickles ou rcits la mode anglaie by Andr Lichtenberger) April 2, 1727 At the urging of his Cousin Sympson, Lemuel Gulliver officially publishes some account of his adventures at sea and about the distant lands to which hes travelled. (Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) 1729 Christopher Syn born in Kent. (according to the internal timeline of the Dr. Syn novels by Russell Thorndike) c. 1735 It is around this time, when she is 15, that Fanny Hills parents die, and she begins her life in brothels. It is about this time that the future Baron von Munchhausen is sent to be a page under a Russian commander. Eventually, though, he joins the Russian army and fights several campaigns against the Ottoman Empire. (Fanny Hill: or, A Memoir of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland, the Baron Munchhausen mythology) 1740 Associate of Lemuel Gulliver, Sir Charles Smith, shipwrecked on an island off the coast of South Africa he dubs New Britain. (Mmoires de Sir George Wollap by Pierre Chevalier Dupessis and The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore) 1749 Mistress Fanny Hill (in her early thirties or late twenties) publishes a confessional-autobiography of her life. (Fanny Hill: or, A Memoir of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland.) c. 1735-1750 It is in this period of time that Baron Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Munchhausen has his most famous adventures: including but not limited to riding a cannon ball, being swallowed by a whale, travelling to the moon (whether or not he actually was the first human on the moon is still being ascertained) and encountering a witch in Russia who purportedly gave him eternal life. (The Baron Munchhausen mythology, Fanny Hill: or, A Memoir of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland, Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift) 56

1751 Natty Bumpo takes part in the French and Indian War which is beginning in the American Colonies, and will last until 1763. (Leatherstocking novels internal timeline) c. 1775 Captain Clegg (AKA The Reverend Dr. Syn) records in his log, which is later turned over to British Intelligence by Captain Gullivers League, this year as the date he attended the Pirates Conference on Rose Island. The relation of The Reverend Dr. Syn to Gulliver's League and British Intelligence is not known to the writers of the Almanac. Attending the Pirates Conference were Captain Clegg, Captain Blood the rogue, cook and treasure-hunter Long John Silver, Captain Hook, Captain Slaughterboard and his Yellow Creature, Captain Pugwash and his cabin boy Tom, and Captain Pysse-Gumms. (The New Travellers Almanac Chpt. 3 pg.1,2 by Alan Moore; for bibliography of the Pirate's Conference, see bottom) 1787 Lemuel Gulliver, Mistress Hill, two European dilettantes by the names of Lady Marguerite St. Just and Sir Percy Blankeney, the Dr. Reverend Syn, and Natty Bumpo gather in Montague House, London, for a group portrait. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1, Chapter 2: "Ghosts & Miracles" by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill; for full biography of the characters in Gulliver's League, see bottom of timeline) 1791 Sir Percy Blankeney forms the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, an organization dedicated to rescuing innocent French nobles out of France to avoid the Guillotine. Later this year Lady Marguerite and Sir Percy marry. (The Scarlet Pimpernel series internal timeline) c. 1798 With Frances defeat at the Battle of the Nile in August, and the formation of the Second Coalition against France, England is no longer alone in the battle against Bonaparte. Gullivers League sets out on a world tour, a last expedition, as it were, for the aging explorer and his fellowship. Their voyage most likely takes them through the Straits of Magellan, near which they briefly visit Megapatagonia in the southern polar region, and on to the Australias and the Pacific Ocean, where they take an extended reprieve on Feather Island, most likely not returning to England until 1800. (Historical events, La Dcouverte australe par um homme-volant by Nicolas Edme Restif de la Bretonne, Rlation trs vritable dune Isle Nouvellement Dcouverte by Fanny de Beauharnais, and The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore) 1841 The Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin solves the Murders in the Rue Morgue. (The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe) c. 1849 - Count Allamistakeo, an Egyption nobleman, awakened in America as a result of an experiment using electricity. Edgar Allan Poe recounts the story before going to sleep using the same long sleeping technieque as Count Allamistakeo, which could explain why history would show him as being dead at about this time (October 7, 1849). Some time after this, Count Allamistakeo goes to sleep again, after having his portrait done: as in 1898 we see both his sleeping form and his portrait in the British Museum. ("Some Words with a Mummy" by Edgar Allan Poe. Minor Speculation; Edgar Allan Poe often wrote in the first person, while never identifying the speaker, it can thus be assumed that for the purposes of LoEG, as it is with much crossover using Poe's stories, that the speaker is a fictionalized Edgar Allan Poe himself. Also, the reason this Egyptian-American mummy is in the British Museum, the headquarters of the League, is a matter of speculation among fans of the series) 1857-1858 - Prince Dakkar (later known as Captain Nemo) takes part in the The Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny. Nemo later relates to Miss Wilhelmina Murray that he considered himself to never had surrendered like the Indian rebels did in 1858. (L'le mystrieuse or Mysterious Island by Jules Verne and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1 by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill) c. 1865 Oxford, England, the River Thames, "somewhere between Godstow and Folly Bridge." The elder sister of one Miss A.L. awakens to discover her younger sibling gone without trace and presumably abducted. Later, in mid-October of the same year Miss A.L. is found in the same meadow she vanished from about four months earlier.(Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and League V.2: New Traveller's Almanac Chpt.1 British Isles pgs. 2,3 by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill) 1866 Captain Nemos Nautilus first sighted. (Vingt mille lieues sous les mers or Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne) 1866 Captain John Carter, of the Confederate Army, travels to Mars via astral projection. ("Under the Moons of Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs) 1867 First actual encounter with Captain Nemo. (Vingt mille lieues sous les mers or Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne) c. 1870 Lieutenant Gullivar Jones, of the United States Navy, is transported to Mars via a Magic Carpet. (Lieutenant Gullivar Jones: His Vacation by Edwin L. Arnold) 1870 Sergeant James Winston Pepper, of the British Navy, is lost at sea off the coast of South America. (The Yellow Submarine by The Beatles, and The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore) 1871 - Jack Harkaway, an orphan, carves out a niche for himself at the Pomona House School with his fists and his wits and plays vicious pranks on the faculty. (Jack Harkaway's School-Days by Bracebridge Hemyng) 1871 - Six years after her presumed abduction Miss A. L., during a family visit to the Deanery of Christ Church College, Oxford, passes through a looking glass in the Deanery and into the same "contra-rational" world she spoke of six years ago. This time, however, upon returning, a mere seven minutes later, she became ill. The disorder prevented her from eating and weakened her until death in late November. (Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll and The New Traveller's Almanac Chpt.1 pg.3 by Alan Moore Note: the death of Alice is an invention of Moore's for his league universe and is not in Caroll's book) 1872 - Basil Hallward, the artist, makes a portrait of Dorian Gray. (The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde) 57

8:45 p.m. (GMT), Wednesday, October 2, 1872 - Phileas Fogg sets out on his 80-day tour around the world. (Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours (Around the World in Eighty Days) by Jules Verne) 1874 - Jack Harkaway and his friends set out to see on the ship Fairy and begin an adventure around the world fighting pirates and brigands. (Jack Harkaway at Sea; His Adventures Afloat and Ashore by Bracebridge Hemyng) 1876 - Dr. Eric Bellman leads a group to the "peculiar hole" located "perhaps a mile from Godstow." On April 23rd the group ventured into the "well-like space" whereupon the expedition members vanished along with the hole. Their party reappeared in Oct., completely insane, and minus one member. (The Hunting of the Snark (An Agony in 8 Fits) by Lewis Carroll, and The New Travellers Almanac Chpt.1 British Isles pgs.3,4 by Alan Moore) 1880's Captain Nemo Purchases the Arabic log of the Iraqi adventurer Sinbad. (From TNTA Chpt. 4 Pg.2 by Alan Moore) 1880 to 1930 William Samson Sr. and William Samson Jr. record/report sites around Ardistan, which shares boreders with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Persia.( From TNTA Chpt. 4 Pg.3 by Alan Moore) 1880 The infamous "Phantom Incident" occurs beneath the Paris Opera House (Le Fantme de l'Opra (The Phantom of the Opera) by Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux 1881 Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson meet in London and become roommates. (A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, using the Brad Keefauver Holmesian Timeline AKA the The Birlstone Railway's Timetable) 1883-1884 King Solomons Mine Expedition led by the big game hunter Allan Quatermain. (King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard, sections of which "retold" in The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore) January to June 21, 1885 William Sampson Senior participates in the fight against the Muhammad Ahmad, the self-proclaimed Mahdi, called the "Mad Mahdi" by the English at the time, in North Africa. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 2 by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill) 1886 The murderous events surrounding the activities of Doctor Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde necessitate the pair's flight from England to France, where they will stay for the next dozen years or so (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson) c. 1886-1887 Harry Quatermain, Allan Quatermain's only son, dies, spurring Allan Quatermain and company to return to Africa for another adventure. Allan Quatermain fakes his own death in order to escape the world. (Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard) 1887 Jean Robur kidnaps the lighter-than-air lobbyists of the Weldon Institute of Aeronautics and takes them around the world on a five week tour aboard his heavier-than-air airship the Albatross, only to be sabotaged by them during their escape (Robur-le-Conquerant (Robur the Conqueror) by Jules Verne) 1888 Campion Bond recruited into British Intelligence while in college. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1 by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill) 1889 Allan Quatermain returns to England to seek Lady Ragnall and her supply of the taduki drug which has the power to send you to another life in another time, to which he has become addicted. Unfortunately, rather than sending him to another life, this herb sends him to an ethereal plane where he encounters other such ethereal travellers. In an uncertain time and place outside of our normal realm of existence, Allan Quatermain encounters John and Randolph Carter, the former a Confederate soldier whom was intercepted during his initial astral projection to the planet Mars, and the latter a Massachusetts scientist studying the realm of deep dreams. They are soon met by the Time Traveller, who informs them that there are extra-dimensional creatures invading their reality, and that he has gathered them to tackle the problem. Unfortunately, the Time Traveller's plans are somewhat disturbed by a number of factors, and none of his recruited heroes remember their experience with the Time Traveller other than as a half-remembered dream. However, it stands to reason that the Time Traveller, not being restricted to linear time, will again try to contact such heroes across time in order to stop the invasion of our reality that British Intelligence has feared since the late 17th Century. (Allan and the Sundered Veil by Alan Moore with characters from The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, Allan Quatermain stories by H. Rider Haggard, the Barsoom series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the Dream Cycle series created by H.P. Lovecraft, and The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore) 1890 Wilhelmina Murray, later Wilhelmina Harker through marriage, fights Count Dracula in England and across Europe in a battle for her very soul. Basil Hallward's portrait of Dorian Gray, having deteriorated somewhat over the years, has miraculously reconstituted itself at the same time as Dorian Gray himself dies and becomes disfigured. The painting hereafter begins to decay again until some time before mid-1898 when it is brought to the British Museum for restoration. (Dracula by Bram Stoker, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 2, Chapter 3: "And the Dawn Comes Up Like Thunder" by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill) July 1890 Captain Nemo (Prince Dakkar) and his crew travel to the Cape of Good Hope in the Nautilus submersible and encounter several strange islands along the way, including Nacumera. (The New Travellers Almanac Chpt.4 Pg.1 by Alan Moore and Voiage and Travayle of Sir John Maundevile by Sir John Mandeville) May 4, 1891 The disappearance of Sherlock Holmes and Professor James Moriarty in Switzerland. Both presumed dead. ("The Adventure of the Final Problem" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) 1894 The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes returns to England, though secretly (probably under an assumed name), and will remain so until 1903 when Dr. Watson begins publishing his account of the Great Detectives cases again. Though, in Dr. Watsons later accounts of the cases between 1894 and 1903 he will skew the facts slightly to the effect of making it appear that the Great Detectives return was known this annoying anachronism may have been the choice of Dr. Watsons editor and Literary Agent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Captain 58

Nemo makes extensive explorations of Antarctica, circumnavigating the continent and making extensive explorations of the interior. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill, The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore) 1895 The man later known as the Time Traveller finishes his fantastic time machine and begins his temporal adventures. For the purposes of this time-line, however, these anachronistic travels appear in the order they would appear on the timeline proper, not in the order the Time Traveller perceived them. (The Time Machine by H. G. Wells) 1897 Hawley Griffin disappears from public view when he becomes The Invisible Man. Jonathan and Wilhelmina Harker publish their accounts of the Dracula Incident some seven years previous, and Wilhelmina gives birth to the couples only son before their divorce some time the following year. Note: there is no further mention of the son, living or dead, in either Dracula or LoEG. Ishmael, first officer aboard the Nautilus, reports a sighting of the "ghost submersible" around Drake Passage, later known as the Yellow Submarine, as recorded in the Nautiluss logbook by Captain Nemo. (The New Travellers Almanac Chpt.3 Pg.2 by Alan Moore) c. 1898 It is unclear as to the events surrounding Wilhelmina and Jonathans divorce, or what happened to their son. Regardless, they were divorced, and their son is nowhere to be seen. The only clue is that there is some antipathy between the two. Also, some time in late 1897 or early 1898, Wilhelmina, now going by her maiden name of Murray, begins, assuming she was not already, working for British Intelligence and recruits Captain Nemo into her new fledgling League. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1, Chapter 1: Empire Dreams by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill, and Dracula by Bram Stoker) April, 1898 - The Titan, a British passenger liner, strikes an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sinks around midnight. (Futility: or, the Wreck of the Titan by Morgan Robertson, published 14 years before the real life HMS Titanic actually sank, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1, Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill. May 1898 Wilhelmina Murray and Captain Nemo set out from the cliffs of Dover in the Nautilus to travel to Egypt to recruit Allan Quatermain into their League. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1, Chapter 1: "Empire Dreams" by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill) Early-Mid June 1898 Wilhelmina Murray and Captain Nemo arrive in Cairo, Egypt, where they, with some minor difficulty, recruit and detoxify Allan Quatermain, who has become a pathetic opium addict in his later years. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1, Chapter 1: Empire Dreams by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill) June 27-28, 1898 The three of them arrive in Paris, France, where they, with the help of the aged C. Auguste Dupin, capture Mr. Edward Hyde (as well as his alter-ego Dr. Henry Jekyll), and return to England. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1, Chapter 1: "Empire Dreams" and Chapter 2: "Ghosts & Miracles" by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, and The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe) Early July, 1898 A unified coalition of Martian armies under the command of John Carter, of Virginia, and Gullivar Jones, of the United States Navy, make one final attack on the last stronghold of the alien creatures which have plagued Mars for some time, creatures they call the Molluscs. The siege is successful only by using the combined strength of all the significant armies of Mars, including the giantish Sorns. Unfortunately, the Molluscs manage to escape in several cylinder shaped refugee ships bound for Earth. The launch of these craft are seen on Earth, and believed to be volcanic eruptions (as reported in a newspaper seen in LoEG Vol. 1 on about July 6, 1898). (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 2, Chapter 1: "Phases of Deimos" by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill, Lieutenant Gullivar Jones: His Vacation by Edwin L. Arnold, the Barsoom series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, and Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis) July 3, 1898 Wilhelmina Murray, Allan Quatermain, and Nemo arrive in Edmonton, London, at Miss Rosa Coote's Correctional Academy for Wayward Gentlewomen, where they capture Hawley Griffin, the Invisible Man, who has been raping the schoolgirls of the academy and produced at least three illegitimate children. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1, Chapter 2: "Ghosts & Miracles" by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill) July 5, 1898 The three official League members arrive at what will become their base of operation, the British Museum in Bloomsbury, London, where they officially induct Hyde, Jekyll, and Hawley Griffin into their League. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1, Chapter 2: "Ghosts & Miracles by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill) c. July 6-7, 1898 The League make inquiries as to the location of the Devil Doctor, the "Lord of Limehouse" in London, reconnoitring back at the Nautilus (which has dropped anchor in the Thames River in Wapping, London) that evening, which has become their lodging in London. Through infiltration, sabotage, subterfuge, suspicion, quick thinking, and good old fashion violence the League manage to foil the sieges of Londons West and East ends, the Devil Doctors minions suffering heavy losses, and the presumed death of Professor James Moriarty. However, Londons East end suffers heavy property damage and loss of life this is the first of many aerial disasters which will strike London in the next half century. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1, Chapter 3: "Mysteries of the East" and Chapter 4: "Gods of Annihilation" by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill) Mid-Late July, 1898 The Molluscs, falsely called Martians by the public of Earth, land in South England. The League, under Wilhelmina Murray, is dispatched to investigate, and witness the onset of "Martian" aggression. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 2, Chapter 1: "Phases of Deimos" and Chapter 2: "People of the Land" by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill), War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells) Sunday, August 7, 1898 The war with the "Martians" has reached just south of London, where Captain Nemo and Mr. Hyde, in the Nautilus take part in fighting along the locks connecting to the River Thames, defending 59

London from its inevitable siege. Meanwhile Wilhelmina Murray and Allan Quatermain arrive in Waterloo, England, to seek out a secret British research installation run by the eccentric scientist Dr. Alphonse Moreau. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 2, Chapter 4: "All Creatures Great and Small" by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill, War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells) August 12, 1898 Aeronaut Jean Robur writes a letter to Der Luftpirat, Herr Luftkapitan Mors, describing the events of July, and the ongoing "Martian" invasion. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1 by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill) Early-Mid August, 1898 Final victory over the "Martian" in the Battle of South London. Hawley Griffin is tortured and killed. Captain Nemo resigns from the League, citing moral issues, and returns to his family on Lincoln Island. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 2, Chapter 5: "Red in Tooth and Claw" and Chapter 6: "You Should See Me Dance the Polka" by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill, War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells) September 30, 1898 Wilhelminas League officially dissolved. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 2, Chapter 6: "You Should See Me Dance the Polka..." by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill and The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore) Late 1898 to Early 1899 Wilhelmina spends some months in the matriarchal settlement of Coradine, in Scotland, in order to recuperate from the "Martian" invasion. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 2, Chapter 6: "You Should See Me Dance the Polka..." by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill and The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore) Mid 1899 Wilhelmina Murray and Allan Quatermain, once again in the employ of British Intelligence, are sent to Massachusetts to investigate the bizarre and dreamlike apparitions reportedly seen there. The two of them make acquaintance with Randolph Carter, who has been researching the realm of dreams, and has been investigating along similar lines. (The New Travellers Almanac Chpt.3 Pg.8 by Alan Moore, Allan and the Sundered Veil by Alan Moore], the Dream Cycle series created by H.P. Lovecraft) 1899 Serpentine Park renamed Hyde Park after the events of 1898, and a statue of Edward Hyde, by Jacob Epstein, erected in Hydes honour. Allan Quatermain and Wilhelmina Murray return to England from America and begin the investigation of the United Avondale Phalanstery. The investigation occupies them "until the late months of 1900". (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 2, Chapter 6: "You Should See Me Dance the Polka" by Alan Moore and Kevin ONeill, The New Travellers Almanac Chpt.4 Pg.1 by Alan Moore, "The Child of the Phalanstery" by Grant Allen) Late 1900 Wilhelmina Murray follows Allan Quatermain to Africa, who is in search of the City of Kr and the Fire and Life, in order to rejuvenate himself. On the sea trip to Africa, Wilhelmina records several interesting, though previously explored, islands that the ship passes. Then on Dec. 24 Wilhelmina Murray writes that they've located Kor in the "British Protectorate of Uganda" on the Fantippoan Postmaster General's "detailed map of Africa." (The New Travellers Almanac Chpt.4 Pg.5,6,7 by Alan Moore, She: A History of Adventure by H. Rider Haggard January 8, 1901 Wilhelmina Murray and Allan Quatermain trek southeast from the Kingdom of Fantippo, in Africa, to Uganda and the hidden city of Kr, passing several interesting kingdoms and lands as they go, and finding the Fire of Life as well as a "stone etched map of Abyssinia... by the crater pool." (The New Travellers AlmanacChpt.4 Pg.7 by Alan Moore, Doctor Dolittle's Post Office by Hugh Lofting, She: A History of Adventure by H. Rider Haggard) 1901 The difficulties encountered in the effort to rebuild London after the Martian Invasion of 1898, and also the strain of returning to full military strength, is cited as one of the primary reasons England loses the Boer War. The Airship Wars break out between the German Empire and the United States, and quickly spreads throughout Europe devastating London and other major cities. The English lunar expedition, delayed in 1898 from its original goal of reaching the moon by 1900, succeeds in placing men on the moon and, we are left to assume, returning them safely to Earth. Wilhelmina Murray and Allan Quatermain find Kr in Africa and bathe in the Pool of Fire and Life. Reportedly nothing happens, and Allan dies of exposure later in their trip. Coincidentally, Mina reports meeting up with another man named Allan Quatermain, a younger man than the Great White Hunter, who claims to be Allan Quatermain, Jr., Allan Quatermain Sr.s long lost son. Rumors of Sherlock Holmes's continued existence circulate, though nothing is at this time substantiated. Jack Harkaway, the British traveller, dies abroad and is survived by his children and grandchildren. The beginning of the crime spree of the super-criminal known as Fantmas. Fantmas will continue to plague authorities for at least the next four decades. (The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore, War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, The War in the Air by H.G. Wells, The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells, She: A History of Adventure by H. Rider Haggard, Jack Harkaway and His Sons Adventures Round the World by Bracebridge Hemyng, and the Fantmas dime novels and serialized newspaper stories created by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain) Chronological Note: The placement of the Airship Wars in The New Traveller's Almanac is clearly 1901, which is curious, as in the book, The War in the Air, it is listed equally clearly that the war happened some time after 1907 when there are monorails and two-wheeled automobiles and motorcycles as common sites throughout Europe and most of the world - considering that the world of LoEG has, seemingly, this level of technology (automobiles and primitive blimps and nations experimenting with powered flight, etc.) in 1898, Moore may have purposely moved The War in the Air back a few years in order to fit into the world of LoEG and to leave room for World War I. Summer of 1901 Wilhelmina Murray and Allan Quatermain, Junior, return to England. Mina visits the Dr. Reverend Eric Bellman, the last survivor of the Bellman Expedition, and obtains a map to Snark Island for British Intelligence. (The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore, The Hunting of the Snark (An Agony in 8 Fits) by Lewis Carroll) 60

1902 Sherlock Holmes publicly announces his survival of the events of 1894. Allan Quatermain, Junior, and Wilhelmina Murray travel to Ireland as part of their two-year investigation of dimensional weak points throughout the British Islands. (The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore) February, 1902 - In May of 1898 this was the projected complesian date of the Channel Causeway, stretching from the Cliffs of Dover to France. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1 by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill) 1903 Dr. John Watson begins publishing his accounts of his experiences of his work and association with Sherlock Holmes (See 1894). Arsne Lupin encounters and battles against Sherlock Holmes (New Travellers Almanac and Arsne Lupin contre Herlock Sholmes (Arsene Lupin vs. Herlock Sholmes; the name of Sherlock Holmes was changed slightly to avoid legal implications but it is generally accepted in the world of crossover fiction that this story speaks of an encounter between Arsne Lupin and Sherlock Holmes) by Maurice Leblanc) Speculation on the matter of John Watson's publication dates based on the incongruities between the generally accepted Holmesian timelines and the LoEG timeline)) 1904 Wilhelmina Murray and Allan Junior travel to Sussex to investigate the mysterious "Wish House," first seeking the council or assistance of "The Beekeeper" (a retired Sherlock Holmes). Following their enquiries, they investigate the strange case of the Starkadder Apparition near Smalldene. Aeronaut Jean Robur is presumed dead after the events of his lake Eerie shenanigans. (The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore, "The Wish House" by Rudyard Kipling, the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, Matre du Monde (The Master of the World) by Jules Verne) 1905 Doctor Omega and colleagues travel to Mars and bring back the Martian Tiziraou, a dwarfish, pumpkin-headed creature with tentacle-like arms. Tiziraou is later spotted in the Paris sewers. (Le Docteur Omga Adventures Fantastiques de Trois Franais dans la Plante Mars (Dr. Omega Fantastic Adventures of Three Frenchmen on the Planet Mars) by Arnould Galopin, and Speculation based on an illustration by Kevin ONeill of the Paris sewers which appears in The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore , Note: J.M. L'Officier Spoke directly to Kevin O'Neill about the drawing and said he put in the Martian because he liked its look "no hidden story agenda there." The Mysterious Men) 1906 Wilhelmina Murray and Allan Quatermain, Junior are deployed to Asia, with primary emphasis on strengthening diplomatic relations between Russia and England. The two research many interesting lands, notably that of Shangri-La, where they first encounter Orlando, who becomes a member of their now three strong League. (New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore) December 28, 1906 Second Murray League is ordered to leave Moscow for the port of Tiksi, and thereby return to England via a trans-polar investigation through the Arctic Ocean. (New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore) January 3, 1907 Second Murray League, Wilhelmina Murray, Allan Junior and Orlando, having left Tiksi, by the rented ice-breaker The Joseph, under the captainship of Rudolf Svejk, and passed Elisee Reclus Island and Vichenbolk Land, turn northwest to encounter giant dinosaurian inhabitants from the subterranean North Pole Kingdom and, having visited the peaceful Polar Bear Kingdom, they head east toward Norways Svalbard islands. (Osudy dobrho vojka vejka za svtov vlky or The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier vejk During the World War by Jaroslav Haek, Une Ville de Verre by Alphonse Brown, Pickles ou rcits la mode anglaise by Andr Lichtenberger, Le Peuple du Ple by Carles Derennes, 20,000 Lieues Sous Les Glaces (or 20,000 Leagues Under the Ice) by Mr Jkai, and New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore) January 4-6, 1907 - Second Murray League sails past Gaster's Island, and becomes enters the Sea of Frozen Words, and sailed past Queen Island, Thule, and Hyperborea. (The Fourth Book of the Deeds and Sayings of the Good Pantagruel by Franois Rabelais, Les Aventures du capitaine Hatteras au Ple Nord, or Journeys and Adventures of Captain Hatteras at the North Pole by Jules Verne, The Bibliotheca historia or Library of History by Diodorus Siculus, Geographika or Geography by Strabo, Inventorum Natura or Natural History by Pliny the Elder, and New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore) January 7, 1907 - Second Murray League's ice breaker The Joseph finds itself unable to sail farther north, due to heavy ice. (New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore) January 8 to March 19, or thereabouts, 1907 - Second Murray League heads out on foot into the Back of the North Wind, freakishly warm for being so far north. This group spends what, subjectively, seems like three days, but is actually closer to three months, in the Back of the North Wind, and encounter such peoples and places as Frankenstein's Creature, Olympia, Toyland, a "forlorn and sorry chap" who lacks identification, and Noddy, and are made aware of a "bold, fearless black balloonist," who also lacks identification, before leaving. (At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley, "The Sand Man" from the book Nachtstcke or Night-Pieces by E.T.A. Hoffman: Speculation: the identities of the "forlorn and sorry chap... in old and faded naval uniform" and the "bold, fearless black balloonist" remain the continual vexation of LoEG fans, and has not even been clearly identified by Jess Nevins. On Jess Nevins' website, it has been suggested that the forlorn naval man is in fact the captain of the Titan, which has been established as being in LoEG canon already, and that, like the real-life Titanic, the Titan sunk somewhere in the North Atlantic when it struck an iceberg. The Titan is from Futility: or, the Wreck of the Titan by Morgan Robertson. On Jess Nevins' website, it has been postulated that the "bold, fearless black balloonist" may be Jim from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain using the dirigible from Tom Sawyer Abroad, also by Mark Twain, or Lee Scoresby from Northern Lights by Philip Pullman, or perhaps Florence Kate Upton's Golliwogg, as he was sometimes drawn as a big black balloon. Whatever the answer to these two questions, it will no doubt be sorted out in the next volume of LoEG) 61

March 25, 1907 Second Murray League arrives in the Blazing Worlds Archipelago, on their way back to Britain. (New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore, Observations upon Experimental Philosophy etc. by Duchess Margaret Cavendish) 1908 Mr. Campion Bond publishes his memoirs, Memoirs of an English Intelligencer. First reports of a mysterious French hero known as the Nyctalope (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1 by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill, L'Homme Qui Peut Vivre dans l'Eau or The Man Who Could Live Underwater by Jean de La Hire) May, 1909 Captain Nemo (Prince Dakkar) dies. (The New Travellers Almanac Chpt.3 pg.1 by Alan Moore) 1909 First reports of a mysterious French "supernatural detective" calling himself the "Sr Dubnotal" (Le Manoir Hant de Creh'h-ar-Vran (The Haunted Manor of Creh'h-ar-Vran) 1910 Commencing in the later months of this year, one Miss [Jenny] Diver makes entries in the logbook of the Nautilus (The New Traveller's Almanac by Alan Moore Chpt.3 pg.1 Also John Gay's "Beggars Opera" and Brecht's "Pirate Jenny's Song" in Three Penny Opera) 1912 The Second Murray League visits Launcelot's tomb in Northumberland before returning to London. Professor George Edward Challenger, sometime consultant to the League, explores Maple White Land, where there be dinosaurs. Whether Proff. Challenger is more than a consultant and exactly when he started to associate with the league is unknown. (The New Travellers Almanac Chpt.1 Pg.4,5 & Chpt.3 Pg.4 by Alan Moore) Mid 1912 The Second Murray League escort Prime Minister Herbert Asquith to the home of the Beekeeper, alias the retired Sherlock Holmes, as Mycroft Holmes has been unable to convince his brother to come out of retirement and work for British Intelligence. Sherlock Holmes disappears from public view again. (Speculation based upon His Last Bow, Story Eight: "His Last Bow" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in which the Prime Minister comes personally to Sherlock Holmes to recruit him to again work for British Intelligence) 1913 The Second Murray League, consisting of Wilhelmina Murray, Allan Quatermain, Junior, Orlando and possibly Professor George Edward Challenger, and an Irish-American criminal and possible spy by the name of Mr. Altamont of Chicago, travel to France, via the agrarian republic of Caljava on the Bay of Biscay, and become involved with some sort of confrontation with Les Hommes Mysterieux. The Nyctalope is shot by Allan Junior for menacing Miss Murray. (The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore, and Speculation based upon "His Last Bow" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, assuming that Mr. Altamont would have been involved with the League at this time, though this is not actually supported by any LoEG material as of yet) August 2, 1914 Notorious German spy-ring uncovered. Mr. Altamont disappears, last being seen driving down a dark country road in the company of Dr. John Watson. (His Last Bow, Story Eight: "His Last Bow" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) August 3, 1914 Germany declares war on France (Historical Event) August 4, 1914 Germany declares war on Great Britain (Historical Event) April 24, 1916 As war rages in continental Europe, the Irish rise up against Great Britain in the Easter Rebellion. 1930 Scientific Expedition to the Black Lagoon. The New Travellers Almanac (in the world of LoEG) published by Her Majestys Stationery Office and is said to have been edited by a man rumoured to be a British descendant of Captain Pysse-Gummes the Pirate. (The New Travellers Almanac by Alan Moore as a side note, Alan Moore does not put himself into The New Travellers Almanac as it's creator or otherwise, but Kevin ONeill does draw him in as Captain Pysse-Gummes in an illustration of the Pirates Conference, probably as a joke)

MARTIAL ARTS STYLES

In The Player's Guide for Vampire: The Masquerade, more detailed rules were given for using weapons, including special maneuvers usable with particular weapons. Here are rules for use with hand-to-hand combat when weapons are nowhere to be found, or when one's hands are the preferred deadly weapons. The basic attack roll is Dexterity + Brawl. Introduced here are variant specialty styles for use with the Brawl talent. All of them still pair Brawl with Dexterity to determine the final Dice Pool used to hit an opponent. Strength determines how much damage is done, with modifiers for Special Maneuvers or styles of combat listed below. Rather than introduce a list of new secondary talents, these rules allow a character to declare a specialty form, or style of fighting, when she reaches four dots in her Brawl talent. For every level after that, she may declare another additional style. For example, when Tamara obtains four dots in her Brawl talent, she tells the Storyteller that her specialty will be Aikido, allowing her to utilize Aikido's specialty maneuver. Later, she raises her Brawl talent to five, and she may then declare another style, which she decides will be Goju-Ryu. She can keep gaining new styles, and thus the Special Maneuvers of those styles, with each additional dot that she gains in Brawl. Optional Rule: With the above rules, a normal character can only have two styles (assuming a maximum Brawl talent rating of 5). In real life, many martial artists have more than two or even three styles. After reaching five dots in Brawl, an additional style may be purchased for Current number of styles x 5 experience points. Characters that learn multiple arts may develop their own style using techniques they have learned. The Player and the Storyteller should design a new and appropriate special maneuver for that style. Developing a new style takes time and costs 10 experience points to develop. Once created, a martial artist may teach his style to anyone desiring to devote the time to it.

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Blocking A character may elect to block rather than use his Dodge talent. Hand-to-hand blocks may only be made against hand-to-hand strikes and blunt weapons. A blocking action cannot be used successfully against a blade, arrow, or bullet unless the defender possesses a special maneuver allowing him to do so (or, in the case of blades, possesses the Fortitude discipline). Roll Dexterity + Brawl (difficulty equals the attacker's Brawl + 4 or Melee + 4). Every success reduces the opponent's number of attack successes by one. Styles The following list of martial arts styles were assembled from many sources, including the Internet, my martial arts experience, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and the books The Anarch Cookbook: A Friendly Guide to Vampire Politics, Ninjas & Superspies, and GURPS Martial Arts. This list is by no means complete, but it includes many rare and not so rare forms of martial arts taught today. Aikido: A modern Japanese art of self-defense, Aikido is considered to be one of the most philosophical of the arts due to the spiritual beliefs of its founder, Morihei Ueshiba. The maneuvers, when performed accurately, resemble ballet steps. There are no strikes in Aikido (although variant forms of Aikido have incorporated striking); the goal is to take the opponent to the ground or catch him in a wrist lock, either damaging fragile areas of the body or using hard objects (i.e. the pavement) to inflict damage. Unlike Judo, the artist rarely has to grapple the opponent to throw him; wrist locks and leverage are used instead. Dodging is a vital part of Aikido, so any artist studying this form will usually have several dots in that talent also. Aikido has been made famous in movies by 6th degree Aikido black belt Steven Seagal. Wrist Lock: Difficulty: 6, Damage: Brawl (instead of Strength, otherwise as Grapple). Special Maneuver: Throw Multiple Opponents - Using momentum and wrist grabs, an Aikido artist can throw multiple attackers in the same turn. This maneuver requires the opponents to attack the artist first; it is a self-defense maneuver, not an attack throw. The artist rolls his Dexterity + Brawl against a difficulty equal to the number of opponents +4 (maximum difficulty of 10). The Aikido practitioner's successes are compared to those of each attacker. If the defender scores more successes, he wins and the attacker is thrown. If the attacker scores more successes, he wins and inflicts damage as normal. A tie means the attacker is dislodged, but not thrown. For example, Hama is charged by three thugs who are trying to grapple him. This is a difficulty of seven (3 attackers +4). Hama rolls and gets four successes. The attackers roll three, four, and two successes for their attacks respectively. The first and last attackers are thrown, but the middle one is merely dislodged, although this means he cannot inflict damage this turn unless he has another action available to him. Aiki-jutsu: This style was developed in Japan by Morihei Ueshiba in the 1920's. Ueshiba is also the founder of the style Aikido. Aiki-jutsu is the war form of the art. Where Aikido seeks to direct opponents to the ground, Aikijutsu intends to slam them there. It involves pressure points, wrist locks (see Aikido), leverage, and weapons training (such as the katana). It is a far more effective combat style than Aikido, but it is much less popular. Special Maneuver: Body Throw - The Aiki-jutsu artist attempts to throw his opponent forcerfully to the ground or into a nearby object (trees, walls, desks, boulders, doors, etc.). A successful Dodge or Block may defeat this maneuver, otherwise the opponent is hurled into something (but not necessarily knocked down). Difficulty: 6, Damage: Strength (plus a bonus depending on what hard objects are encountered during or at the end of the trip) American (Western) Kick Boxing: This is a very aggressive style becoming very popular in the western world. It is essentially American style boxing with a handful of kicks and new strikes thrown in. Most kick boxers have practiced regular boxing as well. This is a very powerful, high damage, pain inflicting martial arts style. The majority of kick boxers have developed a rather high Stamina. Special Maneuver: Roundhouse Kick - This is a very powerful kick that is delivered from across the body. It has high damage potential, but it can be rather slow and easily advertised. A Dodge cannot be performed in the same round as a Roundhouse Kick. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +2 American Ninjutsu: This is a modified form of Tai-jutsu taught mainly by David Bussy's Warrior International. It is similar to the famous Ninja styles, being very aggressive and fast. The style includes many weapons, strikes, and take-downs. Special Maneuver: Ninja Take-Down - A Ninja must surprise his opponent from behind, if he does he can attempt to take him to the ground and inflict severe neck injury. If none of the damage is soaked, incapacitation is the result. Difficulty: 9, Damage: Incapacitate Bando: Developed in Burma, Bando is a no-frills combat style made famous by Britain's Gurkha soldiers. This style was brought to America in 1959 by Dr. Maung Gyi. The aggressive style focuses attacks first at the feet, then torso, then the head of the target. It also attempts to "steam-roller" opponents by literally running them down. Attacks are very fast and furious. The more skilled students can learn various animal styles of Bando as well. Special Maneuver: Leg Attack - The Bando fighter attacks his opponent's legs in an attempt to immobilize him. If successful in hitting, the opponent ends up on the ground. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength Bok Pai Crane Style Kung Fu: Bok Pai is an ancient Chinese art sometimes referred to as the White Crane style. It is said to have been developed by a priest who witnessed a battle between a crane and an ape. The crane won due to its agility, long legs, wings, and pecking movements. The style thus developed includes sweeping movements, rounded kicks, and many turning motions. Students learn to fight with the style atop a series of 36 poles range from 4 to 8 feet apart. Falling can be as damaging as your opponent. Bok Pai is taught mainly in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Special Maneuver: Crane Fist - The artist strikes with a beak-like formation of the thumb and fingers. The small focal point thus created inflicts massive damage. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +2

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Boxing: A perennial American sport, boxing is a very popular way of fighting. It is not for the weak; however. It relies on taking a lot of punishment, but aims at dishing it out too. While it seems to be just a punch of punches, boxing is called the "sweet science" and there is a lot of strategy involved. Special Maneuver: Roundhouse Punch - A roundhouse is a powerful blow, delivered with all the strength and power of the fighter. However, it leaves the boxer wide open for a counterattack. The hope is that the Roundhouse will work so well that there will be no counterattack. A Dodge cannot be performed in the same turn as a Roundhouse. Difficulty: 8, Damage: Strength +3 Capoeira: This Brazilian style combines combat skills with dance movements. It is amazingly acrobatic, including numerous windmills and cartwheels. These serve as feints and distractions. The combat style includes sweeps, locks, and throws, as well as traditional strikes and kicks. The modern style has blended with Tae Kwon Do and many of the various forms of Karate. Special Maneuver: Surprise Flip Attack - The artist performs distracting acrobatics to confuse, amuse, and diffuse the enemy. Then, when he least expects it, a kick or punch is launched in surprise. Ch'a Ch'uan - Kung Fu: Invented in the 15th century by Muslims in northern China, this now Mongolian style is a very versatile art. It uses tremendous leaps and kicks followed by many strikes and a hasty retreat. The mystical side of the art is steeped in Sufi Islam. The style itself has no weapon styles, but many of the masters can use the spear or sword quite proficiently. Great leaps, flips, and back flips are a must in this style and are used in closing and retreating from the enemy. Special Maneuver: Flying Jump Kick - This is a powerful aerial assault usually used as a first attack. The practitioner jumps up and kicks the target with the heel of the foot with tremendous force. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +2 Chi Hsuan Men: Also known as the White Jade Fan style, this strange martial art literally translates into "unusual style." It was developed in China during the 5th century B.C. The style is centered around the use of the "white jade fan" which is a metal fan-like weapon used to poke and disarm. Finding masters of this style is extremely rare. Special Maneuver: White Jade Fan - This style does not have a specific maneuver per se. It instead teaches the use of the White Jade Fan as a combative weapon. The fan can be used to parry, disarm, and attack. Use the Brawl talent instead of Melee when using the Jade Fan. The Fan is Difficulty: 7 to use and does Strength +1 Damage on a successful hit. Ch'in-na: This is known as the art of seizing. It is an ancient form of wrestling that is the basis for Jujutsu, Aikido, and other forms of combat using nerves, tendons, joints, and muscles. The artist attacks by seizing the opponent in fragile and vulnerable areas. Injuries inflicted include severed tendons, dislocated joints, and nerve damage. Training is done in total secret, and the skills are not to be taught to outsiders. Special Maneuver: Paralyze - The attacker hits the proper pressure points and immobilizes his opponent. It will not work on vampires, but it can affect Garou in breed form. If the victim scores more successes on a Stamina roll, he is not affected. Else he cannot move for a number of turns equal to the artist's successes. Difficulty: 8 Choy-li-fut Kung Fu: This style was developed in 1838 and is an offshoot of Shao-lin kung fu. It is an aggressive form with roundhouse and overhand swings. It uses punches, kicks, and backsweeps in a lightning fast array to take down opponents. The style is taught in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States. Special Maneuver: Uppercut - The uppercut is a powerful upward blow to the head designed to end the fight. Difficulty: 6, Damage: Strength +1 Cuong-Nhu: This is a modern Vietnamese style incorporating aspects of Shotokan, Wing Chun, Judo, Aikido, Tai Chi, and Western Boxing. Its founder is still alive and teaching. It incorporates weapon training in the bo staff and the paired tambo. It is a very good self-defense style. Special Maneuver: Thrust Kick - The artist delivers a strong kick to the stomach or solar plexus which puts his opponent onto the ground. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +1 Escrima: This is a violent Filipino martial art system. It is extremely effective against armed opponents. It teaches weapon styles with the escrima stick (similar to a tambo) and the balisong knife (also known as the butterfly knife). The style has many locks (including the wrist lock as in Aikido) and uses the escrima stick for leverage when available. It should be noted that Bruce Lee was a master of the Filipino martial arts. Special Maneuver: Damaging Block - Escrima masters are experts at fighting and damaging armed opponents. By blocking the hand or the arm of the attacker instead of his weapon, the Escrimador can damage his opponent as well as block the attack. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength Fong Ngan - Phoenix Eye Kung Fu: Phoenix Eye Kung Fu is very dangerous as its practitioners go eye to eye against opponents trying to intimidate them. An artist will crowd his opponent trying to make him make a bad move so the artist can pummel him. Retreat is not looked upon favorably, so practitioners of this style are greatly feared in combat. They use combinations of hand strikes and kicks while peering intently into the eyes of the opponent. Special Maneuver: One-Hand Choke - The artist grabs the opponent's throat and proceeds to launch a quick volley of punches and kicks. The opponent is considered grappled, and the attacker gains an additional attack each turn. Difficulty: 7 Fu-Chiao Pai - Tiger Claw Kung Fu: This external form is taught only in Chinese and Tibetan monasteries. Artists practice rigorous body-hardening exercises and survival techniques. Tiger style artists will attack using solid, direct, high-damage strikes. Opponents will be held back by multiple kicks and lashed at viciously when they close. Strength and endurance are musts to be competent in this style. Special Maneuver: Tiger Claw - The practitioner hardens his fingers into deadly weapons by thrusting them into bowls of sand, metal, and eventually rock. They can use their hands in a claw like manner to unleash a devastating slash. Difficulty: 6, Damage: Strength +2 Gangrel Fighting: The Gangrel clan has developed an especially nasty maneuver. It remains a clan secret, but some anarchs have discovered it. It requires the ability to grow claws (two dots in Protean), so only those 64

anarchs with that power can use it. It can be learned as a specialty once a character has four or more dots in Brawl and someone to teach it to him. The student rolls his Wits + Brawl (difficulty 8) for every day spent training. When he accumulates 10 successes, he knows it as one of his specialties. This training is usually done out in the wild, practicing with animals. If the training is performed on human subjects, the practitioner must roll his Conscience (difficulty 9). If he fails, he loses one Humanity point, descending deeper into the dark abyss of the Beast as he rends human flesh in his mad desire for combat lore. Special Maneuver: The Rending - A vampire with claws can try to cause his opponent to lose more blood than usual by raking him in blood-bearing areas of his body. Vampires' veins are no longer used to transfer blood; a mysterious act of osmosis instead seems to be prevalent. However, there are areas of the vampire body where quantities of blood gather, such as the heart or the neck (where blood travels to the brain). Simply opening these areas is not enough to produce this special maneuver's effect, so the Gangrel have developed a method of ripping the flesh away in a huge chunk, using a hook action with their claws. This tears the vampire open, spewing blood in such a gout that the victim cannot immediately stop its loss. The vampire rolls Dexterity + Brawl (difficulty 8); in addition to normal claw damage, his opponent loses a Blood Point. Needless to say, this is devastating to a mortal, and a waste of good vitae as well. Goju Ryu Karate: Chojun Miyagi developed this style in the 1920's. It is a hard-soft style that counters hard attacks with soft and vice versa. It is, in general, an internal style, but it is known for its one blow take-downs. It includes weapon training in the staff and the sai. It also includes blocks that can break an opponent's limbs. Special Maneuver: Power Block - The practitioner uses strong blocking techniques to break an opponent's attacking limb. Difficulty: 8, Damage: Strength +1 Gracie Jujutsu: This Brazilian variant of Jujutsu has been developed by the Gracie clan in the last few decades. The style has been made famous by Royce Gracie, an expert fighter who claims to have never lost a fight. The style has been seen in various Ultimate Fighting Championships in which Gracie competed. It is a very effective style that relies on wearing down the opponent. It is mainly a grappling and ground style. Gracie Jujutsu uses leverage and speed for devastating effects. Special Maneuver: Break Joint - Using leverage and speed, artist attempts to break a limb at a joint by bending it in the wrong direction. Difficulty: 8, Damage: Strength Greco-Roman Wrestling: This is the ancient style practiced in Greece and Rome centuries ago. It is an unarmed style that relies on grapples and throws. Punches and kicks are taught, however. Anything to get the opponent down and out. Weight and leverage play vital roles in this style. It is a very brutal sport, in Rome, fighters even wore spiked gloves in their matches. Special Maneuver: Back Suplex - The wrestler puts his arms around his opponent from behind and flips backward, driving his enemy's head and shoulders into the ground. Difficulty: 8, Damage: Strength +2 Hapkido: This is a Korean martial art style that teaches kicks, punches, locks, and throws. It is composed of various older Korean styles including Tae Kwon Do. It was the style used against James Bond by the three female killers in You Only Live Twice. The style also involves high kicks and pressure points. Special Maneuver: Spinning Back Kick - Made famous by Chuck Norris, the martial artist spins around in a circle with incredible speed, delivering a blow with amazing force. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +2 Hsing-I: One of the Chinese Internal Arts, its power is based not on strength but "chi", or internal energy. The moves in this style are straightforward, but display an incredible maximization of force with minimal effort, much like a bullet leaving a rifle barrel. Special Maneuver: Chi Punch - This is an incredibly fast and powerful blow. Difficulty: 6, Damage: Strength +1 Hwarang-Do Karate: This style is over 2,000 years old. It is very difficult and very dangerous. The style teaches students to wait for an attack and then counter with an opposite. Linear blows are countered with circular ones, etc. The style is taught only in Korea in Buddhist monasteries. Special Maneuver: Backward Sweep - The martial artist sweeps an opponent behind him off of his feet. This attack doesn't do damage. Difficulty: 6 Isshin-Ryu Karate: This is an Okinawan form of karate developed by Tatsuo Shimabuku in 1954. It was brought to the United States in the 1960's. The style teaches both hard and soft techniques in a balanced system. One odd thing about the style is that the punches are thrown straight, not in a "twist" as in most other forms. All practitioners of Isshin-Ryu are taught the following eight Codes of Karate: 1. 2. 3. As the heart beats on and off, as heaven and earth rule man, so harmony should be in all things. As the blood moves through the body, as the moon and sun move through the sky, so movement should be continuous. As the body's fluids come in and out of the body, as all things are either hard or soft, blocks and deflections (parries) should match the attack. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Weight and unbalance are the same, lightness and balance are also the same. No direction is correct, so any direction must be subject to instant change. Striking should be made only at those times and places when defense is weakest. The eye must see in every direction. The ear must hear in every direction.

Special Maneuver: Blind Fighting - This is not a maneuver, but a bonus. Anyone specializing in IsshinRyu gains 3 dots in the Blind Fighting secondary skill. This skill can be raised with experience.

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Jeet Kune Do: This dangerous style is a combination of Wing Chun kung fu, Western Boxing, and Escrima put together by none other than Bruce Lee. He believed existing styles were too set and predictable. Unpredictability is the foundation of this form. The modern style has been incorporating parts of other styles of martial arts as well, thus the form grows and remains spontaneous. Jeet Kune Do is a fast and deadly style using kicks, locks, punches, and weapons (including the nunchaku). Special Maneuver: Aerial Roundhouse - The artist leaps into the air and plants a roundhouse kick deep into his opponent's face. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +2 Josondo Jujutsu: A modern variant of the ancient style of Jujutsu, Josondo is named after it's creator Jo Son. He currently teaches Josondo, and his style (and he) have been in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Much like Jujutsu, Josondo relies on leverage and grappling in combat. Special Maneuver: Dislocate Joint - The martial artist uses leverage to dislocate a joint in a limb of his opponent. This causes a Crippled (-5) result in that limb only. Difficulty: 7 Judo: A Japanese style of self-defense used for grappling and throwing an opponent. A successful grapple must be made as per the V:tM rules. Special Maneuver: Render Unconscious - Once the Judo practitioner has taken her opponent down through grappling, she can attempt to render him unconscious through massive system shock. She rolls her Brawl +1 versus the opponent's Stamina +3 (for mortals, including ghouls, werewolves, and mummies) or Stamina +5 (for vampires) every turn she attempts this, keeping track of the number of successes. This is in addition to the normal Strength + Brawl rolls made while grappling. Once she has beaten the opponent's Stamina +3, the opponent sinks into unconsciousness, and will stay out for 10 minutes for every success the Judoist received over the number required. Jujutsu: Jujutsu is the oldest martial art in Japan. It was designed for peace officers to handle drunken (but still deadly) samurai and ronin. While an art form was developed from this style (the form known as Judo) there are still Jujutsu schools in existence (-jutsu means war, while -do means art). Anything to defeat the opponent is a valid motto for many schools of this style. It is a no holds-barred, no-frills combat style. Many, many variations have come about in the centuries since it was started. Special Maneuver: Choke Hold - Being a combat style, Jujutsu is much less pleasant to opponents than Judo. The choke hold is very similar to the special maneuver of Judo, but it can be used to kill an opponent (not a vampire, however). As above, the choke hold can render an opponent unconscious exactly like Judo; however, once the opponent is unconscious, the artist can continue to apply pressure and thus damage. For every turn than the Jujutsuist keeps the choke on after the opponent is unconscious, he inflicts one level of non-aggravated, non-soakable damage. This damage will kill mortals and ghouls, and werewolves if held long enough (see W:tA rules, under Drowning). Vampires can be rendered unconscious, but they cannot be thus killed. Kalari: Developed in the Southern Indian state of Kerala, this style is closely tied to Hinduism. It is a well-rounded style that includes weapon training. Such weapons include the sword, knife, staff, and the gada (a type of mace). Advanced practitioners of this art often learn Ch'in-na as well, focusing on pressure point techniques. This style is almost unknown to those outside of the Hindu religion. A foreigner with such skills is rare indeed. Special Maneuver: Oiled Body - The Kalari practitioner often coats himself with a special oil before a fight. This oil causes an increase in the difficulty of an opponent's grapple, lock, and throw maneuvers by one. Kali: This is a very aggressive and dangerous martial art. It is not a combat art in the sense of punches and kicks, rather it is a weapon style of combat. Kali practitioners are masters of stick fighting, and any knife fighter would think twice (or even thrice) before engaging in blade battle with them. The style is renowned as one of the most deadly of arts. Special Maneuver: Weapon Skill - The artist is considered to be specialized in the Kali sticks and the combat knife. He uses Dexterity + Brawl instead of Dexterity + Melee when using these weapons. Karate: Originally a Japanese style of fighting, it has gained immense popularity in America. There are many different forms, such as Shotokan, and offshoots, like Goju-Ryu, but they are all aimed at doing great amounts of damage with a small number of blows. It is a no-frills form of fighting; the main goal is to injure an opponent. It has both punches and kicks. Special Maneuver: Kata - Kata can be used to intimidate or impress an opponent. The artist rolls Manipulation + Brawl, resisted by the opponent's Wits + Brawl (both difficulty 7), to stun the opponent with his moves. The number of successes achieved addes to the opponent's attack difficulty, as he goes on the defensive against what he thinks is an incredibly impressive martial style. This can only be used once per opponent. Kendo: This style has become very popular. It is one of mystic and tradition. Kendo means the art of the sword. Artists use a bamboo sword known as a shinai in training. The style is to teach one the use of the katana (or samurai sword). However, this is the art form of the ancient Kenjutsu style, and it can be very stylized. Real swords are rarely used, and can be unfamiliar in the hands of a Kendoist. Special Maneuver: Shinai Skill - When using the shinai, a Kendoist rolls Dexterity + Brawl and is considered to be specialized with shinai. Thus, his Melee skill may be specialized in something different (such as swords). Kenjutsu: The style of Kenjutsu is ancient and deadly. It is the combat form of Kendo. Instead of the shinai, practice is done with the bokken (or wooden katana). Many claim that the bokken is as deadly, if not more so than the katana. This style is not practiced for it's artistic beauty, it is practiced to learn to kill with the sword. The style is very fast and lethal. Special Maneuver: Iaijutsu - This is the skill of speed and accuracy. A Kenjutsuist is considered specialized in either the bokken or the katana (his choice). Also, he receives 4 dots in Fast-Draw specializing in either the bokken or katana. 66

Kempo Karate: This is an ancient Japanese style of karate. It is fast and aggressive, emphasizing rapid hand strikes. It also includes some very powerful kicks. Weapon training is also included with paired sticks (similar to tambo) being the preferred weapons. Special Maneuver: Double Punch - The attacker uses both fists in rapid succession. One hand backhands while the other hooks. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +2 Kobujutsu: Also known as Ryukyu Kobujutsu, this is a weapon style. It was developed in Okinawa because the peasants were forbidden to use swords and other weapons. They developed weapons from the farm implements they had around them. These weapons form the core of "ninja" equipment, even though they did not exist when the ancient ninja did. Modern Ninjutsu has adopted many of them, however. Weapons are the bo staff, tonfa, sai, kama, and the nunchaku. It also teaches use of the tortoise shield (the timbe) and a small spear known as the rochin. Black belts are taught how to use the brass knuckles. This style is not popular in the West, often it is taught in conjunction with another Japanese or Okinawan martial art. Special Maneuver: Weapon Effectiveness - A Kobujutsu artist using any of the above weapons adds an additional Die to his Damage Dice Pool. This reflects the skill with these ancient weapons. Also, his Brawl talent is used instead of Melee when using this style. Kuialua: This style was developed in Hawaii. It does contain kicks and strikes, but it is mainly a grappling style. Summed up: if it works, do it. That's Kuialua. Once in the grip of one these artists, you are in trouble. Special Maneuver: Break Limb - The Kuialua practitioner must first successfully grapple with an opponent as per the normal V:tM rules. Once this is done, he can use leverage to break a limb of his opponent. If successful the opponent receives Crippling (-5) damage in that limb. Difficulty: 8, Damage: Brawl (plus Crippled Limb) Kuk Sool Won: Created at the end of World War II, this style is a combination of many traditional Korean styles. It teaches empty-hand fighting, weapons, arm locks, and pressure point techniques. The weapons are the bo staff, thrown stone, and the gum (or Korean sword). At high ranks in this style, practitioners are taught to forge their own gum. Gum fighthing is similar to Kenjutsu styles. Special Maneuver: Arm Lock - The Kuk Sool Won artist attempts to get his opponent in an arm lock that will prevent him from being able to harm him. If successful, the opponent is neutralized as long as the artist keeps the lock. Note the artist can kick his opponent while holding the arm lock. Difficulty: 8, Damage: Strength (only if the lock is used to damage, once the damage is infliced, the arm lock is broken) Kuntao: This is an Indonesian martial art very popular in Malaysia, Borneo, and Indonesia. It translates as Way of the Fist, or "boxing." There are many varieties of this style scattered throughout Indonesia. The style combines striking and grappling techniques, giving it a wide base of combat skills. It also includes weapon skills, from the sword to the three-sectioned staff. Finding a teacher of this style can be difficult. There are a few schools in America, but they usually are a combination of Kuntao and Pentjak Silat. Finding a true master of Kuntao can be nearly impossible. Most masters believe there are no more worthy students. Special Maneuver: Punch and Grapple - Kuntao is renowned for its speed in transforming a punch into a grapple. The punch is thrown and then, after connecting, the opponent is grabbed and grappled. Basically, in game terms, a punch inflicts damage, then begin grappling immediately as per the normal grapple rules. Difficulty: 8, Damage: Strength Kyokushinkai Karate: This style means "School of Ultimate Truth." It is a very dangerous style where training is done full-contact without padding at the higher ranks. Bricks and boards are broken to develop confidence and power. Defenses are soft followed by hard counter-attacks. It is a very aggressive art emphasizing speed. The higher levels of training are done in Japan. Special Maneuver: Break Object - The Kyokushinkai practitioner is trained in focusing the power and force of her blows into a defined point with a minimum of energy expenditure. This allows a practitioner to perform the famous trick of breaking boards or cinderblocks without damaging hands or feet. This can be used in the Gothic-Punk world of V:tM to create an improvised stake or throwing rock. The practitioner adds three to her damage Dice Pool to perform this deed, but must prepare for an equivalent number of rounds to gain the bonus. If only one round is spent, then only one die is gained. Difficulty: 6, Damage: Special (Strength +3) Kyudo: Meaing "The Way of the Bow", this style is a philosophical approach to archery. It concentrates on training mind, spirit, and body. The artist attempts to create oneness with the bow. The drawing of the arrow, tensing the bow, and shooting done almost like a ritual. Meditation and breathing techniques are also part of the style. Special Maneuver: Volley - The artist can, if prepared, fire an additional arrow each turn. He must have his arrows arrayed before him in easy reach. If this is done, he can fire an additional show with no penalty to his chance to hit. When firing a bow, Brawl + Dexterity is rolled. Li-Chia Short-Hand Kung Fu: Named thus due to the boxing stance and short rapid punches common to this style. Hand movements are very intricate, but kicks are generally limited to snap kicks. A Li-Chia artist will wade into combat and attempt to out fight his opponent using as many punches as he can throw. Although many hand strikes are used, forearms and elbows are utilized as well. Special Maneuver: Jab - This is a short, powerful punch delivered at close range. Generally, they are thrown in rapid succession. Difficulty: 6, Damage: Strength +1 Mien-Ch-uan Cotton Fist Kung Fu: Mien-Ch'uan is a very "internal" style, similar to Aikido, Yu-Sool, and Taido. It involves the development of the Chi. There is no honor in this style. Whatever it takes to win will be done. It's maneuvers are generally defensive and circular. There are very few kicks, but many hand strikes. The Dodge talent is essential to this style. Learning this style is difficult, as a master will choose a student, not the 67

other way around. Special Maneuver: Wrist Flip - The artist will take his opponent by the wrist and flip him to the ground as forcefully as possible. Obstacles can increase damage inflicted significantly. Difficulty: 6, Damage: Brawl Moo Gi Gong: Moo Gi Gong is actually a specialized sub-form of Hwarang-Do. Often, it is taught in the same dojo. This is the art of using anything as a weapon. An expert in Moo Gi Gong will prefer to enter combat unarmed and use whatever comes to hand to fight with. Of course, kitchens and garages are the most deadly areas to fight against a Moo Gi Gong artist. Special Maneuver: Improvise Weapon - Anything can be used as a weapon. The artist will grab something and use it to fight his opponent. Often, he will change weapons rapidly, to keep his opponent guessing. (A great example is Steven Seagal in Marked for Death.) Difficulty: 6 to 8, Damage: Strength +1 to Strength +3 Muay Thai: Thai kick boxing, perhaps the most deadly martial art ever designed. The artist hardens his body and spars in full contact. The style involves punches, kicks, knees, elbows, and even grappling. The style is designed to take the opponent down hard and fast. The shins of a Muay Thai boxer are hardened until they become weapons in and of themselves. They are often used against the legs or arms of the opponent in an attempt to cripple him. Special Maneuver: Shin Kick - Using the shin as the striking area, the boxer will hit as hard as he can with a devastating kick. This blow has been known to break bones. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +3 Pa Kwa: Also spelled Pakua, this is another of the "Internal Arts", Pa Kwa is based on the hexagrams of the I-Ching and can get quite esoteric in its philosophy. It is sometimes called Dragon Style. Special Maneuver: Surprise Blow - The Pa Kwa artist can deliver a blow from an unexpected direction by using incredible flexibility and a spring-coil attack. Used with punches and kicks. Difficulty: 5/6, Damage: as per regular punch or kick Pao Pat Mei Leopard Style Kung Fu: Another animal style based on the great cats. Unlike Fu-Chiao Pai, this style relies not on power, but on speed and accuracy. It is a very effective ground-fighthing style. It includes many kicks and hand strikes, including uppercuts. There are even maneuvers made on all four limbs. However, this is just a small part of the style overall. Special Maneuver: Leopard Claw - The artist uses a quick cat-like strike against his opponent. Difficulty: 6, Damage: Strength +1 Pentjak Silat: Another exotic Malaysian style, it competes heavily with Kuntao. Silat is very effective and very deadly. It involves constant hand movements to distract the opponent. It is also very practical, and teaches speed and flexibility. Weapon training is included, with preferred weapons being the parang and kris knife. Also taught are the tjabang (similar to the Japanese Jitte), short sticks, bo staff, weighted chain, and even whips. Silat teachers are known as gurus. The style is competent in locks and throws as well. Special Maneuver: Footing - The masters of Pentjak Silat are known for their amazing balance and ability to keep ones footing. They can keep fighting effectively on terrible terrain such as mud, sand, and even shallow water. In game terms, they suffer no penalty for bad footing, and are considered to have the Merit: Perfect Balance. Praying Mantis Kung Fu: Another animal style of kung fu, Praying Mantis was one of the styles developed in the Shao-lin temples. The style is known for lightning fast attacks and devastating blows. It combines soft style defeneses and hard counterattacks. The combat stance imitates the stance of a praying mantis. The artist will wait for his opponent to strike, he will then dodge and counter. Hitting in vital places is a preferred method of attack. Special Maneuver: Block and Counter - If the artist is able to block all damage (see rules for Blocking above), then he can throw a fast punch that cannot be dodged by his opponent (a block may be attempted). Difficulty: 6, Damage: Strength Professional Wrestling: Famous in the West for its outlandish moves and bad drama, this style can be used effectively in combat. The fact that most wrestlers are hulking athletes may be some help in that regard. Pro wrestlers prefer to get hold of their opponent and slam him into things as hard as possible. Speed and strength are vital to success in this style. Special Maneuver: Outlandish Move - Pro wrestlers are known to each have an outlandish, trademark move. The artist will design one of this own and perfect its use. Most involve feats of strength and agility and are designed to put the opponent out for the night. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +2 Sambo: A Russian wrestling style introduced in the 1980s, which is very similar to Greco-Roman wrestling. It has become, like Judo, an Olympic sport. Sambo specializes in submission holds and close grappling. Locks and throws are a Sambo artist's meat and drink. One famous Sambo artist is Oleg Taktarov, who has competed in numerous Ultimate Fighting Championships. Special Maneuver: Body Flip - The Sambo artist flips his opponent and lands atop him, ready for his next attack. Difficulty: 8, Damage: Strength Sankukai Karate: Another "internal" school of martial arts, this style is only taught in Japanese Zen Buddhist monastaries. Like Aikido, it concentrates on accepting, rather than opposing an opponent's attack. Unlike Aikido, Sankukai does involve strikes, making it a little more well-rounded. Special Maneuver: Trip/Leg Hook - This is a defensive move used instead of blocking and dodging. The artist rolls Dexterity + Brawl (difficulty of 7). If he scores more successes than his opponent's attack, his opponent is put on the ground. Savate: Originating in France in the 18th century, this style is almost as old as Western Boxing. It combines many elements of boxing with kicking techniques rivaling many Asian arts. Dodging is extremely important in this style of fighting. Emphasis is put on speed and reflexes. Special Maneuver: Snap Kick - The Savate artist snaps his foot up into the chin or throat of his opponent in an attempt to push him back. Thus, opening the opponent for a more devastating follow-up attack. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +1 68

Shao-lin - Kung Fu: Also known as Gung Fu, the original form of kung fu, Shao-lin has had more influence on the world of martial arts than most any other form. Practitioners of Shao-lin tend to remain in constant movement to distract their opponent. Kicks are the preferred method of attack, with locks and punches used as well. Weapon training includes the bo staff, spear, sword, and polearms. Many schools claim to be Shaolin, but generally the only true Shao-lin schools are in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. It should be noted that many animal styles of kung fu were developed in Shao-lin monasteries, so many Shao-lin artists known an animal form as well. Special Maneuver: Forearm Strike - The Shao-lin artist hits his opponent with his forearm which has been hardened in training. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +1 Shorinji Kempo Karate: This is a Japanese martial art style that has existed for many years. It was invented by Doshin So, and can be translated to "Shao-lin kung fu." However, the styles are not alike. Both were founded as religious orders. Practitioners of Shorinji Kempo are not allowed to kill except in self-defense. The art teaches the bo staff, strikes, kicks, locks, and throws. Also, pressure points are used to disable, not kill. Special Maneuver: Render Unconscious - Once the Shorinji Kempo practitioner has taken her opponent down through grappling, she can attempt to render him unconscious through massive system shock. She rolls her Brawl +1 versus the opponent's Stamina +3 (for mortals, including ghouls, werewolves, and mummies) or Stamina +5 (for vampires) every turn she attempts this, keeping track of the number of successes. This is in addition to the normal Strength + Brawl rolls made while grappling. Once she has beaten the opponent's Stamina +3, the opponent sinks into unconsciousness, and will stay out for 10 minutes for every success the Kempoist received over the number required. Shotokan Karate: Shotokan is a very powerful Japanese form of karate. Its emphasis is on power kicks designed to drop opponents quickly. The style does include punches and locks as well. Most kicks are thrown from a "planted" stance, giving them tremendous power. Special Maneuver: Rooted Roundhouse Kick - The Shotokan artist delivers a powerful kick across his body to the head or torso of his opponent. Difficulty: 6, Damage: Strength +2 Snake Style Kung Fu: An animal style developed by the Shao-lin monks, this style mimics the movements and speed of the snake. A Snake stylist in action is mesmerizing to behold. He is constantly weaving and ducking while his hands trace dizzying pattens in the air. Acrobatics and high kicks are common as well. Special Maneuver: Dart - The speed of the snake is a thing to be feared, and Snake stylists have mastered that speed. Consider a Snake stylist to have one automatic success on all Initiative rolls. Street/Commando Fighting: The goal is to damage the opponent without worrying about fair play. The special maneuver here will not work against vampires, as it relies on damaging vital organs, which no longer function in vampires. However, vampires who know this style are certainly free to use this maneuver on mortals (including lupines, ghouls, and mummies). Special Maneuver: Blow to Vitals - The fighter attempts to hit a vital organ, and thus permanently maim the target; examples of such are kidney blows, punches to nerve points, and throat rips. Difficulty: 8, Damage: Strength +3 Sumai: The martial style of the Sumotori, or Sumo wrestler. Sumai is a very powerful art that is generally underestimated. In the Sumo ring, there are rules. Sumai teaches moves that are practical in real life situations that cannot be used in the ring. The object of Sumai is to defeat your opponent as fast as possible in any way necessary. Not only is the style deadly, its practitioners weigh hundreds of pounds! Special Maneuver: Crushing Hug - The Sumotori picks up his opponent and gives him a terrible bear hug. Difficulty: 6, Damage: Strength +1 Tae Kwon Do: Developed in Korea, this art is similar to karate, but emphasizes kicks. It has also become popular in America, and finding a dojo is not hard. Special Maneuver: Spinning Back Kick - Made famous by Chuck Norris, the martial artist spins around in a circle with incredible speed, delivering a blow with amazing force. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +2 Tai Chi: A Chinese martial art that has become popular in America as a way of physical fitness. It was developed by Chinese Taoists, with the two forces of Yin and Yang as the basis for many of its maneuvers. There are few kicks; the style primarily involves punches and grabs. Special Maneuver: Push Hands - The Tai Chi practitioner can use an opponent's own force against him and push him to the ground. It is a defensive maneuver, and requires that the practitioner be attacked first. It cannot be initiated on an opponent who is not attacking. The artist rolls his Dexterity + Brawl. If the number of successes beats the opponent's, then the opponent hits the ground, taking her own Strength as damage! The practitioner looks quite fluid during this, yielding and bending like water to let the opponent fall past and down. For example, Lars attacks Wanda. Wanda decides to use her Tai Chi to convince him of the error of his action. Lars rolls his attack and scores four successes. Wanda rolls her Push Hands and gets five success -- she wins. Lars goes down, taking four dice (his strength) against himself. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Special (opponent's own Strength) Taido: An Okinawan style, this form involves circular movements in every action. It is a radical and difficult new martial art style. It has been developed by Guishen Mishota, and he is its only teacher. All defensive and offensive moves involve spinning, turning, and leaving the ground. The form is based on the movements of tornadoes, clouds, whirlpools, and lightning. Some believe the style is overly complicated. Special Maneuver: Spinning Palm Strike - This attack involves jumping into the air, spinning around, and channeling all of that force into the opponent. If successful, the opponent suffers damage and is knocked to the ground. Difficulty: 8, Damage: Strength +1 69

Tai-jutsu: The ancient art of the ninja warrior, Tai-jutsu is very secretive and taught only in Japan. The modern style utilizes strikes, kicks, locks, throws, and many, many weapons. Most Okinawan weapons have been adapted to use by the ninja. The style is designed for one-on-one fights, usually starting with an attack from surprise. Leaps and rolls are also highly used in this form. High Stealth is generally possessed by the practitioners of this styles, as is a high Dexterity. Special Maneuver: Flying Kick - The attacker gets a running start and then leaps toward his opponent, extending his foot upon impact. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +2 Tai Sing Pek Kwar Monkey Style Kung Fu: Yet another animal style of kung fu, the Monkey style is one of the most famous animal forms. It is also one of the most underestimated. That is just what the artists want. Maneuvers include clown-like flips, acrobatics, and loose body positions just like monkeys. Special Maneuver: Monkey Style - This form developed by imitating the antics of monkeys. The "monkey", or practitioner of this style, often looks like a fool -- but looks can be deceptive. The practitioner is actually an expert at "faking" fumbles and accidents to take his opponent off guard and deliver a tricky blow when least expected. The monkey may "trip" over a curb, using the fall to slip under his opponent and hit him in a tender spot from below. This is a dirty way of fighting, but what does a monkey know of honor? The monkey rolls his Dexterity + Subterfuge (difficulty of 8); the number of successes subtracts from the difficultly to hit his opponent. The number of times the monkey can make this roll and fool his opponent is up to the Storyteller, but some combatants may catch on soon. T'ang-Su Karate: This Korean martial art was developed in the 7th century. It is a precursor to the modern forms of karate. It is also one of the most "external" of the karate styles. It involves mostly kicks and strikes to take down opponents. Training also includes survival skills. Running throw snow, climbing mountains, and swimming rivers while wearing only the karate gi is a common occurrence. Special Maneuver: Head Bash Attacker grabs his opponent's head and smashes his own into this opponent's face. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +1 Te: Meaning simply "the hand," this Okinawan form was developed in the 14th century. The empty-hand techniques include strikes, kicks, and locks. Usually, there are about two hand strikes used for every kick thrown. Being an Okinawan form, it of course has weapon training. Many of the weapon styles are similar to Kobujutsu. In fact, many artists know that style and this one. Special Maneuver: Power Punch - This devastating punch will usually end a fight. In the turn that the punch is used, the artist may only block or dodge. No other attacks may be made. He strikes out after all enemy attackers have finished their turn. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +2 Ts'ui Pa Hsien Drunken Style Kung Fu: Also known as "Eight Drunken Fairies" form. This is a wild and dirty style very similar to Monkey style kung fu. The artist stumbles around as if he is drunk and senseless. Somehow, he "luckily" connects with an opponent with a flailing limb at just the right moment. The style is amazing to watch and almost funny. However, the style is exceedingly difficult to learn, taking years of practice. Special Maneuver: Drunken Form - The effects of this maneuver are identical to those of Tai Sing Pek Kwar, or Monkey style above. Uechi Ryu Karate: This style was developed by Kanbun Uechi, an Okinawan. The style was originally called Pangainoon style. It was renamed in 1948 by Kanei Uechi after his father's death. The style combines the principles of the crane, tiger, and the dragon. It is a hard-soft style with kicks, strikes, locks, and throws. It also includes some Okinawan weapon training. Special Maneuver: Back Kick - This difficult kick allows the artist to kick someone behind him. It often catches the opponent offguard. Difficulty: 8, Damage: Strength +1 White Tiger Kempo Karate: This karate variant of Kempo is similar in many ways to Fu-Chiao Pai. Both imitate the great cat in stance and attack. This is a very "hard" style with many strikes and kicks. It focuses somewhat more on speed than does Fu-Chiao Pai. Special Maneuver: Double Claw - The Kempo artist slashes at an opponent with one hand and then the other in rapid succession. Both hands are held in the tiger claw position. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +2 Wing Chun Kung Fu: This style is ancient, tracing its roots back to one of the survivors of the Shao-lin temple destruction. A nun by the name of Ng Mui took this style into the world. Wing Chun is a close-combat fighting style. It uses short, fast punches and kicks with locks and throws as a supplement. It also includes weapon training with paired butterfly swords, and a bo staff wielded much like a sword. Special Maneuver: Wing Chun Punch - This is a straight (non-"twist") punch unlike many other martial arts punches. It also uses the hand in a vertical rather than horizontal position to strike with. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +1 Wudong: Taught in the Wudong mountains of Central China, this style uses low-to-the-ground postures and springing attacks. Most attacks come from a crouched posture. It is similar to "external" kung fu styles, with locks and throws as well. Pressure points are used to disable opponents. Most attacks are kicks, elbow strikes, and open-handed strikes. Some variants of Wudong resemble the Eight Drunken Fairies style. Special Maneuver: Open-Hand Strike - This is a powerful blow using the palm of the hand as the striking point. Difficulty: 6, Damage: Strength Wui Wing Chun Kung Fu: This Chinese martial art is taught only to women. No man has ever been taught the skills of this style. It is aggressive, and focuses on close up fighting. It favors rapid hand strikes and low kicks. Teachers can be found in most Chinatowns. Special Maneuver: Knee Strike - The attacker brings her knee up into her opponent's groin or lower torso. Difficulty: 6, Damage: Strength +1 Wu Shu Kung Fu: This is the martial art used in the Chinese Olympics. Some styles have developed more for show than actual use, although the practitioner can still get along in a fight. For those who have 70

practiced mainly to impress, there is the following maneuver. Special Maneuver: Impressive Moves - The practitioner can perform feats of amazing agility or incredible beauty. She rolls Manipulation + Brawl, resisted by her opponent's Wits + Brawl (both difficulty of 7), to stun her audience with her moves. The number of successes achieved adds to the opponent's attack difficulty, as he goes on the defensive against what he thinks is an incredibly impressive martial style. Example: Wang does some particularly impressive moves before taking on Gregor, attempting to make herself look more dangerous. She rolls her Manipulation + Brawl: four successes. Gregor rolls his Wits + Brawl and scores three successes. Wang wins by one, and this addes one to Gregor's difficulties to attack Wang with any maneuver. Gregor believes Wang to be a kung fu demon, and plans to tread carefully. This maneuver can be done only once per opponent per combat. Xing Chiao - Eagle Claw Kung Fu: This animal style, also known as Fann Tzu, is highly acrobatic. It involves many high leaps and kicks at opponents. There are a number of hand strikes, mostly aimed at the opponent's face and throat. It is an "external" style, and finding a teacher can be difficult. Special Maneuver: Eagle Claw - Holding his hand in a claw-like manner, the artist uses it to rip at his opponent's eyes and throat. Difficulty: 7, Damage: Strength +2 Yu-Sool: Another Korean style, this one combines "hard" and "soft" tactics into one martial form. It involves kicks, strikes, locks, and throws. When faced with a "hard" attack, counter "soft" and vice versa. It is a well rounded form. It is only taught in North and South Korea. Special Maneuver: Counter - This maneuver allows the Yu-Sool artist to damage an opponent when he attacks. The artist rolls his Dexterity + Brawl (difficulty of 7). Every success subtracts one from the damage his opponent's blow would have done. If the artist scores more successes than the damage rolled, his opponent suffers the extra dice as damage himself. Zanji Shinjinken-Ryu: This is the ancient style of swordsmanship once taught to samurai and bushi in ancient Japan. It is very similar to Kenjutsu. However, it does not use the shinai or the bokken. All training is done with live steel. It is a weapon style of combat, teaching only a few punches, kicks, and sweeps. These are mainly used to augment weapon skills. The weapons taught in this style are the katana, wakizashi, bo staff, spear, naginata, and in modern times, the bokken. It differs from Kenjutsu in that Kenjutsu is only sword craft. Many weapons are taught in Zanji Shinjinken-Ryu. This makes it both more and less effective than Kenjutsu. Special Maneuver: Weapon Skill - The artist gains four dots with Fast-Draw specializing in one of the above weapons. Also, he may choose a weapon from above to concentrate training on. While this is not specialization (Melee is still used), it allows the artist to inflict an additional die of Damage with his chosen weapon.

MYTHS OVER MIAMI

To homeless children sleeping on the street, neon is as comforting as a night-light. Angels love colored light too. After nightfall in downtown Miami, they nibble on the NationsBank building -- always drenched in a green, pink, or golden glow. "They eat light so they can fly," eight-year-old Andre tells the children sitting on the patio of the Salvation Army's emergency shelter on NW 38th Street. Andre explains that the angels hide in the building while they study battle maps. "There's a lot of killing going on in Miami," he says. "You want to fight, want to learn how to live, you got to learn the secret stories." The small group listens intently to these tales told by homeless children in shelters. On Christmas night a year ago, God fled Heaven to escape an audacious demon attack -- a celestial Tet Offensive. The demons smashed to dust his palace of beautiful blue-moon marble. TV news kept it secret, but homeless children in shelters across the country report being awakened from troubled sleep and alerted by dead relatives. No one knows why God has never reappeared, leaving his stunned angels to defend his earthly estate against assaults from Hell. "Demons found doors to our world," adds eight-year-old Miguel, who sits before Andre with the other children at the Salvation Army shelter. The demons' gateways from Hell include abandoned refrigerators, mirrors, Ghost Town (the nickname shelter children have for a cemetery somewhere in Dade County), and Jeep Cherokees with "black windows." The demons are nourished by dark human emotions: jealousy, hate, fear. One demon is feared even by Satan. In Miami shelters, children know her by two names: Bloody Mary and La Llorona (the Crying Woman). She weeps blood or black tears from ghoulish empty sockets and feeds on children's terror. When a child is killed accidentally in gang crossfire or is murdered, she croons with joy. "If you wake at night and see her," a ten-year-old says softly, "her clothes be blowing back, even in a room where there is no wind. And you know she's marked you for killing." The homeless children's chief ally is a beautiful angel they have nicknamed the Blue Lady. She has pale blue skin and lives in the ocean, but she is hobbled by a spell. "The demons made it so she only has power if you know her secret name," says Andre, whose mother has been through three rehabilitation programs for crack addiction. "If you and your friends on a corner on a street when a car comes shooting bullets and only one child yells out her true name, all will be safe. Even if bullets tearing your skin, the Blue Lady makes them fall on the ground. She can talk to us, even without her name. She says: 'Hold on.'" A blond six-year-old with a bruise above his eye, swollen huge as a ruby egg and laced with black stitches, nods his head in affirmation. "I've seen her," he murmurs. A rustle of whispered Me toos ripples through the small circle of initiates. According to the Dade Homeless Trust, approximately 1800 homeless children currently find themselves bounced between the county's various shelters and the streets. For these children, lasting bonds of friendship 71

are impossible; nothing is permanent. A common rule among homeless parents is that everything a child owns must fit into a small plastic bag for fast packing. But during their brief stays in the shelters, children can meet and tell each other stories that get them through the harshest nights. Folktales are usually an inheritance from family or homeland. But what if you are a child enduring a continual, grueling, dangerous journey? No adult can steel such a child against the outcast's fate: the endless slurs and snubs, the threats, the fear. What these determined children do is snatch dark and bright fragments of Halloween fables, TV news, and candy-colored Bible-story leaflets from street-corner preachers, and like birds building a nest from scraps, weave their own myths. The "secret stories" are carefully guarded knowledge, never shared with older siblings or parents for fear of being ridiculed -- or spanked for blasphemy. But their accounts of an exiled God who cannot or will not respond to human pleas as his angels wage war with Hell is, to shelter children, a plausible explanation for having no safe home, and one that engages them in an epic clash. An astute folklorist can see traces of old legends in all new inventions. For example, Yemana, a Santeria ocean goddess, resembles the Blue Lady; she is compassionate and robed in blue, though she is portrayed with white or tan skin in her worshippers' shrines. And in the Eighties, folklorists noted references to an evil Bloody Mary -- or La Llorona, as children of Mexican migrant workers first named her -- among children of all races and economic classes. Celtic tales of revenants, visitors from the land of the dead sent to console or warn, arrived in America centuries ago. While those myths may have had some influence on shelter folklore, the tales homeless children create among themselves are novel and elaborately detailed. And they are a striking example of "polygenesis," the folklorist's term for the simultaneous appearance of vivid, similar tales in far-flung locales. The same overarching themes link the myths of 30 homeless children in three Dade County facilities operated by the Salvation Army -- as well as those of 44 other children in Salvation Army emergency shelters in New Orleans, Chicago, and Oakland, California. These children, who ranged in age from six to twelve, were asked what stories, if any, they believed about Heaven and God -- but not what they learned in church. (They drew pictures for their stories with crayons and markers.) Even the parlance in Miami and elsewhere is the same. Children use the biblical term "spirit" for revenants, never "ghost" (says one local nine-year-old scornfully: "That baby word is for Casper in the cartoons, not a real thing like spirits!"). In their lexicon, they always use "demon" to denote wicked spirits. Their folklore casts them as comrades-in-arms, regardless of ethnicity (the secret stories are told and cherished by white, black, and Latin children), for the homeless youngsters see themselves as allies of the outgunned yet valiant angels in their battle against shared spiritual adversaries. For them the secret stories do more than explain the mystifying universe of the homeless; they impose meaning upon it. Virginia Hamilton, winner of a National Book Award and three Newberys (the Pulitzer Prize of children's literature), is the only children's author to win a MacArthur Foundation genius grant. Her best-selling books, The People Could Fly and Herstories, trace African-American folklore through the diaspora of slavery. "Folktales are the only work of beauty a displaced people can keep," she explains. "And their power can transcend class and race lines because they address visceral questions: Why side with good when evil is clearly winning? If I am killed, how can I make my life resonate beyond the grave?" That sense of mission, writes Harvard psychologist Robert Coles in The Spiritual Life of Children, may explain why some children in crisis -- and perhaps the adults they become -- are brave, decent, and imaginative, while others more privileged can be "callous, mean-spirited, and mediocre." The homeless child in Miami and elsewhere lives in a world where violence and death are commonplace, where it's highly advantageous to grovel before the powerful and shun the weak, and where adult rescuers are nowhere to be found. Yet what Coles calls the "ability to grasp onto ideals larger than oneself and exert influence for good" -- a sense of mission -- is nurtured in eerie, beautiful, shelter folktales. In any group that generates its own legends -- whether in a corporate office or a remote Amazonian village -- the most articulate member becomes the semiofficial teller of the tales. The same thing happens in homeless shelters, even though the population is so transient. The most verbally skilled children -- such as Andre -- impart the secret stories to new arrivals. Ensuring that their truths survive regardless of their own fate is a duty felt deeply by these children, including one ten-year-old Miami girl who, after confiding and illustrating secret stories, created a self-portrait for a visitor. She chose a gray crayon to draw a gravestone carefully inscribed with her own name and the year 1998. Here is what the secret stories say about the rules of spirit behavior: Spirits appear just as they looked when alive, even wearing favorite clothes, but they are surrounded by faint, colored light. When newly dead, the spirits' lips move but no sound is heard. They must learn to speak across the chasm between the living and the dead. For shelter children, spirits have a unique function: providing war dispatches from the fighting angels. And like demons, once spirits have seen your face, they can always find you. Nine-year-old Phatt is living for a month in a Salvation Army shelter in northwest Dade. He and his mother became homeless after his father was arrested for drug-dealing and his mother couldn't pay the rent with her custodial job at a fast-food restaurant. (Phatt is his nickname. The first names of all other children in this article have been used with the consent of their parents or guardians.) "There's a river that runs through Miami. One side, called Bad Streets, the demons took over," Phatt recounts as he sits with four homeless friends in the shelter's playroom, which is decorated with pictures the children have drawn of homes, kittens, and hearts. "The other side the demons call Good Streets. Rich people live by a beach there. They wear diamonds and gold chains when they swim." 72

He explains that Satan harbors a special hatred of Miami owing to a humiliation he suffered while on an Ocean Drive reconnaissance mission. He was hunting for gateways for his demons and was scouting for nasty emotions to feed them. Satan's trip began with an exhilarating start; he moved undetected among high-rolling South Beach clubhoppers despite the fact that his skin was, as Phatt's friend Victoria explains, covered with scales like a "gold and silver snake." Why didn't the rich people notice? Eight-year-old Victoria scrunches up her face, pondering. "Well, I think maybe sometimes they're real stupid so they get tricked," she replies. Plus, she adds, the Devil was "wearing all that Tommy Hilfiger and smoking Newports and drinking wine that cost maybe three dollars for a big glass." He found a large Hell door under the Colony Hotel, and just as he was offering the owner ten Mercedes-Benzes for use of the portal, he was captured by angels. "The rich people said: 'Why are you taking our friend who buys us drinks?'" Phatt continues. "The angels tied him under the river and said: 'See what happens when the water touch him. Just see!'" Phatt insists that his beloved cousin (and only father figure) Ronnie, who joined the U.S. Army to escape Liberty City and was killed last year in another city, warned him about what happened next at the river. (Ronnie was gunned down on Valentine's Day while bringing cupcakes to a party at the school where his girlfriend taught. He appeared to Phatt after that -- to congratulate him on winning a shelter spelling bee, and to show him a shortcut to his elementary school devoid of sidewalk drunks.) One night this year Phatt and his mother made a bed out of plastic grocery bags in a Miami park where junkies congregate. It was his turn to stand guard against what he calls "screamers," packs of roaming addicts, while his mother slept. Suddenly Ronnie stood before him, dressed in his army uniform. "The Devil got loose from under the river!" Ronnie said. "The rich people didn't stop him! The angels need soldiers." Phatt says his dead cousin told him that as soon as water touched the Devil's skin, it turned deep burgundy and horns grew from his head. The river itself turned to blood; ghostly screams and bones of children he had murdered floated from its depths. Just when the angels thought they had convinced Good Streets' denizens that they were in as much danger as those in Bad Streets, Satan vanished through a secret gateway beneath the river. "Now he's coming your way," Ronnie warned. "You'll need to learn how to fight." Ronnie nodded toward the dog-eared math and spelling workbooks Phatt carries even when he can't attend school. "Study hard," he implored. "Stay strong and smart so's you count on yourself, no one else. Never stop watching. Bloody Mary is coming with Satan. And she's seen your face." Given what the secret stories of shelter children say about the afterlife, it isn't surprising that Ronnie appeared in his military uniform. There is no Heaven in the stories, though the children believe that dead loved ones might make it to an angels' encampment hidden in a beautiful jungle somewhere beyond Miami. To ensure that they find it, a fresh green palm leaf (to be used as an entrance ticket) must be dropped on the beloved's grave. This bit of folklore became an obsession for eight-year-old Miguel. His father, a Nicaraguan immigrant, worked the overnight shift at a Miami gas station. Miguel always walked down the street by himself to bring his dad a soda right before the child's bedtime, and they'd chat. Then one night his father was murdered while on the job. Recalls Miguel: "The police say the robbers put lit matches all over him before they killed him." Miguel's mother speaks no English and is illiterate. She was often paid less than two dollars per hour for the temporary jobs she could find in Little Havana (mopping shop floors, washing dishes in restaurants). After her husband's death, she lost her apartment. No matter where Miguel's family of three subsequently slept (a church pew, a shelter bed, a sidewalk), his father's spirit appeared, bloodied and burning all over with tiny flames. Miguel's teachers would catch him running out of his school in central Miami, his small fists filled with green palm leaves, determined to find his father's grave. A social worker finally took him to the cemetery, though Miguel refused to offer her any explanation. "I need my daddy to find the fighter angels," Miguel says from a Salvation Army facility located near Liberty City. "I'll go there when I'm killed." The secret stories say the angel army hides in a child's version of an ethereal Everglades: A clear river of cold, drinkable water winds among emerald palms and grass as soft as a bed. Gigantic alligators guard the compound, promptly eating the uninvited. Says Phatt: "But they take care of a dead child's spirit while he learns to fight. I never seen it, but yes! I know it's out there" -- he sweeps his hand past the collapsing row of seedy motels lining the street on which the shelter is located -- "and when I do good, it makes their fighting easier. I know it! I know!" All the Miami shelter children who participated in this story were passionate in defending this myth. It is the most necessary fiction of the hopelessly abandoned -- that somewhere a distant, honorable troop is risking everything to come to the rescue, and that somehow your bravery counts. By the time homeless children reach the age of twelve, more or less, they realize that the secret stories are losing some of their power to inspire. They sadly admit there is less and less in which to believe. Twelveyear-old Leon, who often visits a Hialeah day-care center serving the homeless, has bruised-looking bags under his eyes seen normally on middle-aged faces. He has been homeless for six years. Even the shelters are not safe for him because his mother, who is mentally unstable, often insists on returning to the streets on a whim, her child in tow. "I don't think any more that things happen for some great, good God plan, or for any reason," he says. "And I don't know if any angels are still fighting for us." He pauses and looks dreamily at the twilight sky above the day-care center. "I do think a person can dream the moment of his death. Sometimes I dream that when I 73

die soon, I'll be in some high, great place where people have time to conversate. And even if there's no God or Heaven, it won't be too bad for me to be there." Research by Harvard's Robert Coles indicates that children in crisis -- with a deathly ill parent or living in poverty -- often view God as a kind, empyrean doctor too swamped with emergencies to help. But homeless children are in straits so dire they see God as having simply disappeared. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam embrace the premise that good will triumph over evil in the end; in that respect, shelter tales are more bleakly sophisticated. "One thing I don't believe," says a seven-year-old who attends shelter chapels regularly, "is Judgment Day." Not one child could imagine a God with the strength to force evildoers to face some final reckoning. Yet even though they feel that wickedness may prevail, they want to be on the side of the angels. When seven-year-old Maria is asked about the Blue Lady, she pauses. "When grownups talk about her, I think she get all upset," Maria slowly replies. She considers a gamble, then takes a chance and leans forward, beaming: "She's a magic lady, nice and pretty and smart! She live in the ocean and comes just to kids." She first appeared to Maria at the deserted Freedom Tower in downtown Miami, which Maria calls "the pink haunted house." A fierce storm was pounding Miami that night. Other homeless people who had broken in milled about the building's interior, illuminated only by lightning. Her father was drunk. Her mother tried to stop him from eating the family's last food: a box of saltines. "He kept hitting her and the crazy people started laughing. When I try to help her, he hit me here" -- Maria points to her forehead. "I tried to sleep so my head and stomach would stop hurting, but they kept hurting." A blast of wind and rain shattered a window. "I was so scared. I pray out loud: Please, God, don't punish me no more!" An older boy curled up nearby on a scrap of towel tried to soothe her. "Hurricanes ain't God," he said gently. "It's Blue Lady bringing rain for the flowers." When Maria awoke late in the night, she saw the angel with pale blue skin, blue eyes, and dark hair standing by the broken window. Her arms dripped with pink, gold, and white flowers. "She smiled," Maria says, her dark eyes wide with amazement. "My head was hurting, but she touched it and her hand was cool like ice. She say she's my friend always. That's why she learned me the hard song." The song is complex and strange for such a young child; its theme is the mystery of destiny and will. When Maria heard a church choir sing it, she loved it, but the words were too complicated. "Then the Blue Lady sang it to me," she recalls. "She said it'll help me grow up good, not like daddy." Maria's voice begins shakily, then becomes more assured: "If you believe within your heart you'll know/that no one can change the path that you must go./ Believe what you feel and you'll know you're right because/when love finally comes around, you can say it's yours./ Believe you can change what you see!/ Believe you can act, not just feel!/You have a brain!/You have a heart!/You have the courage to last your life!/Please believe in yourself as I believe in you!" As she soars to a finish, Maria suddenly realizes how much that she's revealed to a stranger: "I told the secret story and the Blue Lady isn't mad!" She's awash with relief. "Even if my mom say we sleep in the bus station when we leave the shelter, Blue Lady will find us. She's seen my face." Shelter children often depict the Blue Lady in their drawings as blasting demons and gangbangers with a pistol. But the secret stories say that she cannot take action unless her real name -- which no one knows -- is called out. The children accept that. What they count on her for is love, though they fear that abstract love won't be enough to withstand an evil they believe is relentless and real. The evil is like a dark ocean waiting to engulf them, as illustrated by a secret story related by three different girls in separate Miami homeless facilities. It is a story told only by and to homeless girls, and it explains how the dreaded Bloody Mary can invade souls. Ten-year-old Otius, dressed in a pink flowered dress, leads a visitor by the hand away from four small boys who are sitting in a shelter dining room snacking on pizza and fruit juice. "Every girl in the shelters knows if you tell this story to a boy, your best friend will die!" she says with a shiver. When the boys try to sneak up behind her, she refuses to speak until they return to their places. She begins: "Some girls with no home feel claws scratching under the skin on their arms. Their hand looks like red fire. It's Bloody Mary dragging them in for slaves -- to be in gangs, be crackheads. But every 1000 girls with no home, is a Special One. When Bloody Mary comes, the girl is so smart and brave, a strange thing happens." Bloody Mary disappears, she says, then a pretty, luminous face glows for a moment in the dark. The girl has glimpsed what Bloody Mary looked like before she became wicked. "The Special One," Otius continues, "is somebody Bloody Mary is scared of because she be so good, people watch her for what to do. And if she dies, she will die good. "Boys always brag what they can do, but this is the job of girls and -- I wish maybe I were a Special One," Otius says wistfully. "Maybe one of my friends from the shelters are now. I'll never see them again -- so's I guess I never know." Her name was first spoken in hushed tones among children all over America nearly twenty years ago. Even in Sweden folklorists reported Bloody Mary's fame. Children of all races and classes told of the hideous demon conjured by chanting her name before a mirror in a pitch-dark room. (In Miami shelters, the mirror must be coated with ocean water, a theft from the Blue Lady's domain.) And when she crashes through the glass, she mutilates children before killing them. Bloody Mary is depicted in Miami kids' drawings with a red rosary that, the secret stories say, she uses as a weapon, striking children across the face. Folklorists were so mystified by the Bloody Mary polygenesis, and the common element of using a mirror to conjure her, that they consulted medical literature for clues. Bill Ellis, a folklorist and professor of American studies at Penn State University, puzzled over a 1968 Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease article describing 74

an experiment testing the theory that schizophrenics are prone to see hallucinations in reflected surfaces. The research showed that the control group of nonpsychotic people reported seeing vague, horrible faces in a mirror after staring at it for twenty minutes in a dim room. But that optical trick the brain plays was merely a partial explanation for the children's legend. "Whenever you ask children where they first heard one of their myths, you get answers that are impossible clues: 'A friend's friend read it in a paper; a third cousin told me,'" says Ellis, an authority on children's folklore, particularly that concerning the supernatural. As president of the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, he's become an expert on polygenesis. "When a child says he got the story from the spirit world, as homeless children do, you've hit the ultimate non sequitur." Folklorists have not discovered a detailed explanation for Bloody Mary's ravenous hatred of children, or her true identity. Today, however, shelter children say they've discovered her secret mission, as well as her true name. All of the secret stories about her enclose hints. In Chicago shelters, children tell of her role in the death of eleven-year-old Robert Sandifer, who shot an innocent fourteen-year-old schoolgirl he mistook for an enemy. Cops combed the streets, shaking down gangbangers. In desperation Sandifer's gang turned to the one who could save them from justice. They sat in a dark room before a mirror and chanted, "Bloody Mary." The wall glowed like flames. A female demon weeping black tears appeared. Without speaking, she communicated a strategy. That night, realizing his gang was going to kill him, Sandifer ran through his neighborhood, knocking on doors. "Like baby Jesus in Bethlehem -- except he was bad," explained an eleven-year-old at a Chicago homeless shelter. The next morning police found Sandifer's body, shot through the head, in a tunnel. According to the eleven-year-old, the boy was "lying on a bed of broken glass." Bloody Mary commands legions. She can insinuate herself into the heart of whomever children trust most: a parent or a best friend. Miami shelter children say they learned about that from television. Salvation Army shelters offer parlors with couches, magazines, and a television. While their mothers play cards and do each other's hair, the children carefully study the TV news. They know how four-year-old Kendia Lockhart died in North Dade, allegedly beaten to death and burned by her father. Bloody Mary was hunting Kendia, shelter children agree. "Gangsters say that God stories are like Chinese fairy tales," observes twelve-year-old Deion at a downtown Miami Salvation Army shelter. "But even gangs think Bloody Mary is real." This is the secret story shelter children will tell only in hushed voices, for it reveals Bloody Mary's mystery: God's final days before his disappearance were a waking dream. There were so many crises on Earth that he never slept. Angels reported rumors of Bloody Mary's pact with Satan: She had killed her own child and had made a secret vow to kill all human children. All night God listened as frantic prayers bombarded him. Images of earthly lives flowed across his palace wall like shadows while he heard gunfire, music, laughing, crying from all over Earth. And then one night Bloody Mary roared over the walls of Heaven with an army from Hell. God didn't just flee from the demons, he went crazy with grief over who led them. Bloody Mary, some homeless children say the spirits have told them, was Jesus Christ's mother. "No one believe us! But it's true! It's true!" cries Andre at the Salvation Army shelter on NW 38th Street. "It mean there's no one left in the sky watching us but demons." His friends sitting on the shelter patio chime in with Bloody Mary sightings: She flew shrieking over Charles Drew Elementary School. She stalks through Little Haiti, invisible to police cars. "I know a boy who learned to sleep with his eyes open, but she burned through a shelter wall to get him!" a seven-year-old boy says. "When the people found him, he was all red with blood. Don't matter if you're good, don't matter if you're smart. You got to be careful! If she see you, she can hunt you forever. She's in Miami! And she knows our face.

PROJECT MANTICORE
Early 1930's: Davenport Genetic Institute -- located in North Lynbrook, New York -- established as a center for the study of eugenics under the leadership of a man named Markus (Matthias?) Schuler. 1953: Scientists solve the DNA structure. 1968: Donald Michael Lydecker is born. (8/5/1968) 1981: Surrogate mother of X5-452 is born. 1986: Lydecker joins U.S. Army out of high school; marries high school sweetheart (Over next 9 years accepted to OCS -- Officer Candidate School -- and graduates top of class; assigned to 3rd Army Ranger Battalion; serves in Panama, Kuwait, Somalia; promoted to captain; assigned to Delta Force; earns Legion of Merit and Purple Heart medals). 1990: U.S. Human Genome Research Program is begun by the Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health to identify all of the approximately 30,000 genes in the human DNA (completion estimate 13 years). Davenport Genetics Institute aids government on setting policy for the Human Genome Research Program. 1993: "The Committee" -- a highly secret government entity in charge of numerous black ops programs -- authorizes Project Manticore, an experimental program which will use recombinant DNA to produce a superior human (warrior/advanced infantry soldier). Main base located in the Rocky Mountains outside of Gillette, Wyoming. "Sandeman" (first name unknown, wife Natasha, two sons -- Ames White and C.J.) -- a brilliant geneticist and member of a conclave of ancient, genetically superior humans known as "Familiars" -- begins 75

experimenting with animal/human hybrids (transhumans) in hopes of finding a way to eliminate the need for his cult's brutal method of producing acceptable offspring, and also as a way for the "ordinary" human race to survive an upcoming plague that will theoretically leave only his people alive. Sandeman's initial experiments are with canine DNA, and the first children born from this experimentation are the dog-boy Joshua and his twin brother, Isaac. (Joshua, the first born, has no bar code on his neck/Isaac, second born, possesses this identifying mark, as do ALL subsequent transhumans/transgenics created by Sandeman and/or Manticore.) Sandeman's second genetic experiment is with feline DNA and produces two, male feline/human hybrids -- Dill and Oshi.The type of cat used to create Dill is unknown, but Oshi is part Siamese. 1994: Manticore cleared to begin genetic coding; X1 project begins in hopes of producing a more human-looking transgenic (Class size unknown). Sandeman's work comes to the attention of the U.S. military, and he's offered funding to work with Project Manticore where he continues his research and creation of transhumans / transgenics, the primary experiments involving the use of more feline DNA (from jungle cats as well as domestic). Experiments are also conducted using DNA from ants (producing the four-armed Gabriel who can lift 6 times his own body weight); chameleons (producing Kelpy who can blend in with his surroundings when under stress); lizards (producing DACs -- Desert Acclimated Commandos such as Mole); monkeys; pigs; and various beasts of burden (producing creatures referred to as "mules" for trench digging and other manual labor like Luke.); dolphin and fish crosses for aquatic soldiers; and albino arctic Units. Manticore's primary goal, however, is to produce a completely human looking feline/human hybrid soldier for use in warfare. During the experimentation a number of anomalies are born (i.e. Dix). These are genetic accidents, sometimes terribly deformed or insane, that are kept locked up in the basement of Manticore's Gillette base, and later at a second base located just outside of Seattle, Washington. The term "transgenic" refers to any artificially created animal/human hybrid creature. The term "transhuman" refers to transgenics who's animal DNA is visibly discernible through outward physical characteristics. The X5 soldiers are transgenics, but not transhumans. The DAC soldiers (i.e. Mole), and creatures like Joshua, are both transgenic AND transhuman. ALL Manticore progeny are technically "chimeras" -- a mix of animal and human DNA -- Frankenstein creations, with some of them, like the later X4 and X5 series, having "invisible stitches" (animal characteristics on the DNA, cellular, and internal organ level only). 1995: Manticore begins X2 project (Class of 30). Lydecker's wife is murdered, and the crime is never solved. 1996: Manticore begins X3 project (Class of 30). Lydecker is dishonorably discharged from the military, and admitted to the Army's alcohol and drug abuse program (ADAP). Lydecker reinstated. 1996, August: Davenport Genetics Institute involved in scandal regarding allegedly kidnapping a young woman (Josephine Morales), impregnating her, and then stealing her baby. (Employees include Dr. Hill, Dr. Crater, and Sandeman.) Josephine Morales commits suicide. 1997: Manticore begins X4 project (including the production of human appearing Units designed specifically for psychic talent and extremely high intelligence/data gathering abilities, i.e. Mia and Brain) (Class of 30). 1998: Manticore begins X5 project (production of the perfect physical, mental, and psychological soldier) (Class of 30 original units, plus twins, for each generation). Each X5 soldier has to literally be "built" piece-bypiece in the lab, their DNA the custom blend of numerous superb human specimens plus the feline component (black leopard). Physical appearance, intelligence, emotional make-up, musical and artistic talent, are all deliberately encoded in the the embryos producing soldiers with diverse physical attributes, skills, appearances, and abilities. The feline DNA gives the X5s superior speed, strength, stamina, and reflexes, as well as night vision. Other genetic enhancements increase overall bone density and intelligence with some individuals optimized for specialties such as night warfare (X5-656/X5-657); hand-to-hand combat (X5-599/X5-600); survival (X5-471/X5-472); social skills (i.e. persuasion, coercion, and manipulation) (X5-493/X5-494); or muscular flexibility (X5-734/X5-735). Telescopic vision is achieved through alteration of the DNA in the focusing mechanism of the eye. All of the transgenics are type O-negative blood making them universal donors to one another (in case of the need for battlefield transfusion due to injury or organ transplants). Their blood is also exceedingly rich in pleuropotents for increased healing ability, and they are created genetically immune to standard bio-warfare agents and most human diseases. Twinning (cloning) of the X5s during in-vitro is done as a cost-saving measure. Because each X5 Unit costs millions of dollars to create (and the in-vitro survival rate is less than 50 percent), it's expedient to artificially force the embryos to divide into maternal twins several hours after the fertilization and DNA coding has been performed. That way -- if both twins survive in the surrogates -Manticore gets two soldiers for the price of one. The X5 offspring do appear to be what Manticore has been attempting -- the ultimate human/feline hybrid supersoldier. As a result, four more generations of X5 soldiers (and their twins) are created in the labs and implanted into surrogates, to be born over the next five (5) years. NOTE: The X2 through X5-series soldiers were created in classes of 30, and the twinning procedures allowed for a theoretical total of 60 X5 soldiers to be born to each of that series' 5 generations. However, physical attrition due to medical and genetic problems (i.e. seizures, progeria) results in a high rate of morbidity. Fewer than 50 percent of the X5s reach the age of puberty. Lydecker promoted to colonel and assigned to Project Manticore where he begins supervision of X5-series creation and training. X5-599 and his twin brother X5-600 (optimized for hand-to-hand combat with increased muscle fiber density) are born to surrogate mothers. 1999: X5-493 and his twin brother X5-494 (optimized for social skills) are born to surrogate mothers. 76

2000: Sandeman creates X5-452 with no "junk" (non coding) DNA in an effort to provide the human race with a vaccine for the coming Familiar plague, giving all of her DNA purpose. (NOTE: Also included in 452's make-up is DNA donated from Colonel Lydecker's deceased wife.) Seven months into pregnancy the surrogate mother of X5-452 tries to escape from Manticore. Two months later X5-452 and her twin X5-453 are born. X5453, unlike her twin sister, still has junk DNA. 2001, September: Terrorists attack the World Trade Center in New York City, and the Pentagon and President launch firm campaign to retaliate against terrorism. The X-series projects are halted, but commence again in 2002. 2002: Several X2s become mentally unstable, killing guards and doctors. Twenty-six (26) Units are euthanized and four (4) are held for observation. 2004: The first generation of X5 Units begin to show symptoms of a seizure disorder caused by the brain's inability to manufacture sufficient quantities of serotonin. The X5s also begin to show evidence of extreme independent thinking -- a trait deliberately imbued in the Units in anticipation of them becoming officers and leaders. However, this also leads to the Units exhibiting rebellious and aggressive natures thought to be exacerbated by the use of jungle cat DNA. Manticore begins X6 project in an attempt to correct the seizure disorders and unacceptable personality (i.e. rebellious) traits of the X5s. A total of five (5) generations of X6s -a more malleable and less independent-minded soldier -- are subsequently created. 2006: Sandeman abandons his genetics project at Manticore and flees to Seattle where he sets up a lab to continue his DNA experiments. It is during this time that Sandeman discovers his younger son, C.J., does not have immunity to the pathogen all Familiar children are exposed to as a rite of passage -- the same pathogen that will one day kill the ordinary human race and which he's made most transgenics able to survive. 2007: Sandeman vanishes and his Seattle-based genetics research company, Advanced Recombinant Genetics (ARG), shuts down. 2009, February: Eva (X5-766) defies her superior officer and is shot and killed by Lydecker. Twelve X5 Units escape from the Gillette, Wyoming Manticore facility: Ben, X5-493 (age 10), Brin, X5-734, Jack, X5-417, Jondy, X5-210, Kavi, X5-392? (age 7), Krit, X5-471, ,Max X5-452 (age 9), Syl, X5-701, Tinga, X5-656, Vada, X5-732? (age 11), Zack; X5-599 (age 12), Zane, X5-205. Jace (X5-798) at the last minute does not participate in the escape. A 13th Unit (Seth, X5-353?, age 12) escapes the following day. A dietitian from the Manticore base named Hannah picks Max up along the road and gives her shelter in her cabin for a few hours. Max hitches a ride on a truck to Casper, Wyoming and finds a friend in Lucy Barrett. She then travels with Lucy and her mother, Mrs. Jack Barrett to Los Angeles, California where she lives with Lucy and her parents as a foster child for the next 4 months. 2009, May: Manticore's Gillette, Wyoming base shut down. 2009, June: (June 8) A terrorist EMP bomb (electromagnetic pulse) explodes above the west coast of the United States. Casualties are high, and America is sent into a deep financial depression with martial law implemented in all western states. Max leaves the Barrett household to live on her own in Los Angeles' Griffith Park. Davenport Genetics Institute relocates to an unknown location. 2009, December: As a result of the February escape Manticore orders the following procedures: "Simplification" of all X5 Units, their behavior to be altered ("revised") in an attempt to eradicate their independent natures. X5 officer training for X-series Units is discontinued. All X5 disciplinary problems are reported to neuro psychology division. Unauthorized assembly of X-series units in groups of three or more is prohibited except in the presence of platoon leader or special ops forces. Partitions are erected in the barracks so the Units can't secretly communicate with one another at night. The following X5-series Units (considered to be especially "at risk" for aberrant behavior) are transferred to neuro psychology for reindoctrination: X5-001, X5-102, X5-206, X5-211 (Jondy's twin), X5-345, X5-387, X5-418 (Jack's twin), X5-453 (Sam, Max's twin), X5472 (Devon, Krit's twin), X5-494 (Ben's twin who in 2020 adopts the name "Alec"), X5-600 (Lane, Zack's twin), X5-657 (Jewel, Tinga's twin), X5-735 (Keema, Brin's twin), X5-798 (Jace). Use of names by Units other than designation numbers strongly discouraged. 2010: Manticore begins X7 project utilizing bat DNA as well as feline, creating groups of identically cloned soldiers that communicate via ultrasonic sound waves and who have hive minds. The X7s are faster and stronger than their predecessors, the X5s and X6s, and are later used to guard the other X-series soldiers. The X7 project is discontinued prematurely. 2010, May: X5-102, X5-206, X5-211, X5-345, X5-387, X5-418, X5-453, X5-472, X5-494, X5-600, X5657, X5-735, and X5-798 successfully complete reindoctrination and will continue training as a separate squad due to their time away from the other platoons. Internally, these units now bear the designation X5R to indicate successful completion of mandatory psychological reconditioning. 2012, April: Max returns to Jack Barrett's home seeking her foster sister Lucy, but finds the house abandoned. 2012, May: An earthquake (8.5 on the Richter scale) hits the Los Angeles area causing massive death and destruction. 2013: Manticore begins X8 project. Max -- using the name "Max Guevera" -- moves to the Hollywood area where she joins the Chinese Clan under the leadership of a man known as "Moody" who becomes her mentor. While there she learns cat burglar skills as well as a great deal about art, jewelry, and antiques (so she knows what's worth stealing). 77

2014: Kavi, the youngest of the '09 escapees, is recaptured in Wolf Point, Montana, given away by his incredible skills at playing baseball which are observed, purely by chance, by a Manticore operative named Finch. 2015, January: The Phoenix Project is established under the command of D. Stendahl. Mission statement: The Phoenix Project seeks a rechanneling of government resources and individual energies toward a single goal: the restoration of America as a superpower, based on the contention that the spread of American values and the American democratic impulse was a progressive force throughout the world. Methods to achieve the above goal include proxy corporations to channel funds to the organization; and proxy armies that include "a highly versatile weapon -- a 21st century soldier that can be utilized in either deep-cover situations (assassination) or field operations (combat scenarios)" -- X5s. 2017: Vada is shot and killed in the desert outside of Amargosa Valley, Nevada by Lydecker when she overpowers 3 members of a TAC (Tactical Arrest and Containment) team and resists capture. 2017, May: X5R-453, X5R-472, X5R-494, X5R-600, X5R-657, X5R-735, X5R-798 complete training (courses in METT-T, OCOKA, and special ops) and are certified for field deployment. (X5R-102, X5R-345, X5R387, X5R-418 failed the training; X5R-206 and X5R-211 were damaged during training exercises and subsequently destroyed.) X5R Units reassigned to special ops Quantico and designated as Arizona Platoon (as part of Project Phoenix) under the command of Major Davis Stendahl with the following exceptions: X5R-453 requested by Division 12 for other deep-cover work and transported to Fort Brevard. X5-494 and X5-798 require further disciplinary training and returned to a Manticore platoon. 2018: Manticore begins X9 project. Dr. Adriana Vertes leaves Manticore. X5-494 successfully completes four short-term solo missions (assassinations) and begins training for a long term assignment at the Seattle, Washington Manticore base. 2018, August: X5-494 assigned first long term solo mission (handler Agent Peter Sandoval) -- to observe, and then later assassinate, Mercidyne CEO Robert Berrisford. After falling in love with Berrisford's daughter, Rachel, X5-494 fails his mission and is subsequently tortured by Manticore and put through reindoctrination. 2019: Seth recruited by Logan Cale (a.k.a. "Eyes Only"). Max leaves Los Angeles and travels to Seattle, Washington in search of an X5 Manticore "brother" she's seen on the news -- Seth. Along the way she hooks up with "Original Cindy" McEachin. Max becomes roommates with Kendra Maibaum, a waitress. Max and Original Cindy go to work for Jam Pony, a Seattle bike messenger service. The Chinese Clan in Los Angeles massacred by Lydecker who's seeking Max. Seth dies when he falls from the top of the Space Needle rather than be recaptured by Manticore. Max hires a private detective named Vogelsang to help her locate the other X5s who escaped with her in '09. 2019, October: Max meets Logan Cale while burglarizing his Seattle penthouse. Max finds Hannah, the woman who aided her in '09, and helps her escape from Lydecker. It's from Hannah that Max learns her surrogate mother wanted to keep her as a baby and tried to run away from Manticore, but was forced into labor then sent to a psychiatric hospital. 2019, November: Zack kills Vogelsang because the private investigator is reporting to Lydecker. Terrorist takeover of genetics conference attended by Lydecker (and, unbeknownst to him, Max). Brin develops progeria (a genetic aging disease) and is returned to Manticore where she's cured and put through reindoctrination, becoming one of Lydecker's best and obedient X5 soldiers. 2019, December: Zack turns himself in to the authorities for the murder of Vogelsang so Max won't be considered a suspect in the crime, and is taken away by a helicopter which mysteriously crashes in the woods. 2020, January: Major Elizabeth Renfro (a.k.a. "Madam X") -- an undercover government agent planted to make certain Sandeman's work toward preventing the Familiar plague is successful -- begins exerting influence at Manticore. Renfro knows about Sandeman's genetic attempts to save the human race from the Familiars' pathogen, and is determined to find the X5 Unit she knows carries the DNA code for the vaccine. Her methods are ruthless, with no regard for the lives of the transgenics under her command. 2020, February: Zack -- who's been returned to Manticore where he's been tortured by Lydecker in an attempt to make him reveal the locations of the other fugitive X5s -- escapes and seeks Max's help. The other X5 '09 escapees are warned by "Eyes Only" that their locations may have been compromised and they go into deeper hiding. Tinga -- a.k.a. "Penny Smith" -- is nearly caught by Lydecker, but escapes with Max and Zack's help. 2020, March: Jace is sent by Lydecker to assassinate Dr. Adriana Vertes, a former Manticore scientist who left the program and has been in hiding. However, Jace is pregnant (the father a Manticore technician named "Vic"), and with Max's help escapes from Lydecker and flees to Mexico. Lydecker assassinates Dr. Adriana Vertes. Ben becomes psychotic and begins killing people all over the country in a ritualistic manner. 2020, April: Max kills Ben (at his own request) when he's in imminent danger of being recaptured by Manticore. Lydecker takes Ben's body back to Manticore for study to determine "what went wrong" with the Unit. X5R-494 -- Ben's genetic twin brother -- is admitted to Manticore psy-ops for six (6) months of psychiatric observation to determine if the psychotic tendencies are genetic. 2020, May: Lane is chosen to assassinate Pope Leo XVI. Jewel is chosen to assassinate Russian president Nikolai Kolankov. Tinga is captured by Renfro and submitted to a cruel genetics experiment at an off base location that ultimately leads to her death. Renfro believes Tinga may be Sandeman's carrier of the plague 78

vaccine because she has produced a son (Case) with an ordinary human male (Charlie) with some X5 capabilities. In every other attempt at human/X5 crossbreeding, the offspring have been "of spectacular mediocrity" (and those were the successes). Renfro attempts to have Lydecker assassinated. Agent Peter Sandoval, Lydecker's former assistant and Renfro's right-hand-man, is killed instead. Lydecker goes into hiding, and attempts to find out why Renfro is killing X5s. Max, Zack, Krit, and Syl invade the re-opened Gillette, Wyoming Manticore facility, and with Lydecker and Logan Cale's help, destroy the gene bank so no more Xseries soldiers can be manufactured. Max, however, is shot in the heart by an X7 Unit containing X5-452's own DNA. Zack shoots himself in the head to provide a donor organ for the "sister" he's in love with. 2020, Summer: Max receives a heart transplant, recovers, and goes back into training at Manticore's top secret Seattle, Washington base where the Manticore Project has been consolidated by The Committee. 2020, September: Max meets Joshua in the basement of the Manticore base. The X7 Unit that contains Max's DNA develops progeria. X5-494 and Max are assigned as breeding partners. Max gives X5-494 his name -"Alec" as in "Smart Aleck." It's probable that X5-494 at one time had a name that the others in his platoon called him by (like his unit-mates Lane, Devon, Keema, and Jewel). However, the use of those names was highly discouraged at Manticore after the '09 escape, and it's logical to assume that, especially after his discipline problems in 2017, X5-494 was under orders to refer to himself only by his designation. X5-494 is ordered by Renfro to assist Max in escaping so she will lead them to "Eyes Only" who has been stirring up trouble for Manticore with the public. X5-494 follows Max to Logan Cale who becomes infected with a retrovirus Max has unknowingly been injected with. Max keys an "Eyes Only" broadcast that reveals Manticore's Seattle base location. As a result, Renfro is ordered by The Committee to destroy Manticore and all of its soldiers, salvaging only the DNA database so she can start the project over again at a later time. However, Renfro now knows that X5-452 is the Unit created by Sandeman who carries the cure for the Familiar's plague. When Max returns to the burning Seattle base to help the other transgenics escape, Renfro puts herself in front of a bullet to save Max then enigmatically orders Max to "find Sandeman" without telling her why. Alec has returned to Manticore's Seattle base only to see it burning and the guards shooting down his transgenic brothers and sisters. Wisely, he makes good his escape, subsequently ending up in Seattle and becoming a close ally of Max's as they both attempt to help the other transgenics. Lydecker finds archeological evidence of the Familiar's existence and Renfro's knowledge of them. However, his SUV is then run off the road by persons unknown and he's presumed killed. NSA Agent Ames White -- Sandeman's oldest son and, unlike his father, still a loyal Familiar/conclave follower -- is put in charge of tracking down all of the escaped transgenics and killing them, a task he relishes because the transgenics are a danger to his people's world domination plan. Max and Alec help four (4) X6s and an X8 escape to Canada (an X7 with the group returns to his own Unit): X6-787 (Bullet), X6-809 (Fix-It), X6-? (Zero), X6-? (Ralph), X8-621 (Bugler) 2020, October: Alec is captured by Ames White who attempts to force the X5 into tracking down his brother and sister transgenics. Alec does kill a panther-like transhuman, and takes the bar code of an X6 (X6252) (without killing the boy) in an attempt to get White to release him. However, ultimately Alec can only save his own life by killing Max. He chooses to die instead. But then Max takes Alec to a renegade Manticore scientist who removes the explosive device on his brain stem (for a $10,000 fee) and he's free from White. Joshua moves into Sandeman's old house in Seattle. Max saves the life of an X5 (X5-692) targeted by White with a pathogen that could theoretically kill all of the transgenics (keyed to their immunological surveillance cells), and helps him escape to Canada. Alec gets a job as a messenger at Jam Pony using the name "Alec McDowell." Joshua's twin brother, Isaac, becomes psychotic and is murdering people. Joshua is forced to kill his brother in order to save Max's life. He buries his sibling in the back yard of "Father's House." Alec finds out that Rachel Berrisford -- the human girl he fell in love with during his 2018 long term mission and tried to save at the expense of his own life -- is still alive, but in a coma, and her father, Robert Berrisford, wants revenge. Max saves Alec's life and Rachel dies (Oct. 21, 2020). 2020, November: Zack -- who has been the subject of Manticore experiments in robotics and synthetic organs -- shows up in Seattle running with a gang of Steelheads who bought him from a renegade Manticore technician after the base's destruction. He's rescued by Max. However, Zack has been programmed to kill "Eyes Only" by Renfro and -- when his memory is accidentally erased -- Max and Logan Cale deem it wiser to give him a new identity -- farm hand Adam Thompson -- and let him start his life again with no knowledge of who he really is. 2020, December: Pope Leo XVI is assassinated by Lane who is acting under orders from an unknown source. Lane commits suicide when his capture is eminent. All DNA samples are mysteriously "lost" by the Italian authorities, preventing identification of the assassin. Max and Alec rescue a Manticore transhuman "mermaid" from Ames White. She and her mate return to the ocean with their offspring. Joshua discovers he has artistic talent. 2021, January: Brain -- an X-series Manticore creation (X4?) with extremely high intuitive and strategy functions-- helps Max and the S1W only to be shot and killed by sector police while saving Max's life. Alec moves into Brain's old apartment, 113-125th Place, Apt. 4. Jewel leaves a voice mail message for Lydecker asking if she should exit Quantico in Arizona and proceed to Moscow, presumably to assassinate Russian president Nikolai Kolankov. 2021, February: Max and Alec track down a Manticore bloodhound-type creature known as a "gossamer." 79

2021, March: Max kills an X-series Manticore transgenic (X4?) named Marrow who was designed to be a "super" blood donor. Marrow has been addicting ordinary teenagers to his blood and creating a cult. Mia -- an Xseries designed for psychic memory manipulation (X4?) -- telepathically coerces Alec into returning to cage fighting so her boyfriend can get in the good graces of the "mob." Mia and her boyfriend then leave the country. In an effort to help his conclave and bring about the transgenics' destruction, Ames White decides to expose the Manticore refugees to the public, going against his NSA orders. A Manticore "mule" is killed on camera by the sector police, making the transgenics existence known to all of the world. Wendy White is murdered by her husband, Ames, when she comes to close to finding her supposedly kidnapped son, Ray, who's been taken to a Familiar stronghold. Max rescues Ames White's son, Ray, from the Familiars' snake blood ceremony and, with Logan Cale's help, the boy and his aunt are sent to a safe hiding place. Marcus (Matthias?) Schuler attends a fund raising dinner in Seattle, Washington for Senator James McKinley. 2021, April: Joshua meets Annie, a blind girl who lives down the street. Alec is arrested and charged with the murder of Timothy Ryan -- one of Ben's victims. He's rescued by Max and obtains a forged birth certificate and passport to "prove" he had a twin brother and that he was out of the country at the time of the crimes. Alec and Max break into a dermatologist's office and use a laser to temporarily remove the bar codes from the backs of their necks. Ames White murders Annie in an attempt to make it look as if the crime was committed by a transgenic. Sam (Max's X5 twin) -- who has been living a normal life since Manticore was destroyed (she married the man she was originally keeping under surveillance for industrial espionage purposes) -- is captured by White and he attempts to use her to track down Max. Sam and her family are ultimately helped by the transgenics and flee to Canada. Joshua moves into Terminal City, and Alec and Max discover the thriving colony of transgenics already living there. An albino arctic transgenic is rescued by Max, Alec, and Biggs (an X5 -- X5-? -- who went on Manticore missions with Alec in the past). Max discovers the existence of C.J., Ames White's younger brother when he escapes from where he's been held prisoner by the Familiars, and learns more about Sandeman and his Seattle lab, Advanced Recombinant Genetics. Biggs is exposed by NSA thermal technology that picks up his high body heat, and is killed by a gang of transgenic haters. Ames White confirms that Max is, indeed, the transgenic his father created who carries the DNA that could potentially save the ordinary human race from the coming plague. C.J. is recaptured by the Familiars. 2021, May: Jam Pony siege (May 7, 2021). Cece, (X5-?) working at Jam Pony is shot and killed by Ames White's men during the siege. Gem, (X5-?), gives birth to Eve who's father was an X5 male in Renfro's breeding program back at Manticore. She's being helped by a young male X6 (X6-?) named Dalton. Terminal City becomes an open refuge for the transgenics in Seattle. Kade (X5-?) is working in Terminal City's control room. Alec and Joshua seek the help of an X5 (X5-?) going by the name Hampton Rhoades who's working as a janitor at Ichiro Suzuki Elementary School who may know where Kelpy, a mutant serial killer, is. Ames White captures Alec and Joshua, and tortures Alec in an attempt to find a way to reach Max. However, Alec reveals nothing, overpowers White, and escapes with Joshua. Kelpy -- who's become psychotic due to tryptophan deliberately contaminated by Ames White -- attempts to kill Logan Cale and contracts the virus from Max leading to his (Kelpy's) death. 2021, Summer: A truce is reached between the military, the people of Seattle, Washington, and the transgenics. The transgenics (with Alec leading the entrepreneurial way) open The Terminal City Artworks Mall where the Manticore refugees make money by selling artwork and salvaged antiques. The diner on the first floor of the building is re-opened and run by Gem and several other X5s. 2021, December: The virus that has been keeping Max and Logan Cale apart has run its course and is cured. Logan Cale is kidnapped by a Seattle gang, The Furies. Max, Alec, Joshua, and Mole attempt a rescue, only to discover that The Furies (who are killed to the last man by the Familiars) were being manipulated by Ames White who demands the return of his son, Ray, in exchange for Cale. Ray White and his aunt are executed in Appleton, Washington by Familiars attempting to prevent Ames White's rise within the conclave. Max, Alec, Joshua, and Mole lead a transgenic army against the Familiar conclave's stronghold (a mental asylum called "Big Sky Retreat") where the cult's leader Matthias (Marcus Schuler?) is executed by Max, Logan rescued, and the headquarters destroyed. Joshua kills Ames White to save Max's life. The Familiar's comet -- which was supposed to spread a pathogen around the world that would kill all ordinary humans -- turns out to (apparently) be harmless meaning Max's special DNA will not be needed. Max kills the Familiar leader Matthias (Marcus Schuler?). C.J. is rescued from where he's been held prisoner in the Familiar stronghold. Lydecker -- who has been a prisoner of the conclave since October, 2020 -- is found alive in a cell and rescued by Max. In return, he promises to tell her where her surrogate mother is. Alec escorts Lydecker back to Terminal City where the colonel will be kept under heavy guard. Alec intends to run for election as Terminal City's non-voting representative to Seattle's city council where he will be a voice for his people. 2022: The saga of Alec and Max continues...

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TERMINATOR FUTURE WAR TIMELINE

1955: Ellis Ruggles arrives from the future to watch over Sarah Conors birth. 1965: Sarah Connor is born; Corporal Graves materializes to protect Sarah Connor but is hit by a produce truck. 1983, May 12: T-800 and Reese arrive to determine Sarah Connor's fate (Terminator); A T-803 is sent after Sarah Lang Connor, but is foiled by Ruggles. 1983: T-800 destroyed by Kyle Reese; Reese dies. 1984: John Connor is born. 1991: 2000.M fails in its mission, destroyed by a reprogrammed T-800. 1994: Miles Bennett Dyson, director of Special Projects at Cyberdyne Systems Corporation, creates a revolutionary type of microprocessor. T-1000 assassination attempt on John Connor foiled by re-programmed T800. 1997, August 4*: Skynet goes online. 1997, August 29*: Skynet becomes selfaware at 2:14 a.m. and, when threatened with shutdown, fires nuclear weapons at Russia. Russia's defense system (Mir) retaliates, initiating World War III. 1997*: Sarah Connor dies of leukemia. 1998*: Michael Jackson would be 40-yearsold if he had survived World War III. The UN begins construction of a lunar station titled "Li'l Houston". 1999*: T-70 series produced by Skynet. 2000, January 1: Another Terminator attempts to assassinate young John Connor, only to be destroyed by a fall from the Empire State Building. The UN completes construction of "Li'l Houston" and populates it with 17 scientists/mission specialists who create an ecosphere on the moon. 2003, July 4: Skynet propagates itself as a virus across the Internet, launching nuclear weapons at 6:03 p.m. all over the globe at key military targets. The T-800 sent back in time successfully protects John Connor and Kate Brewster by leading them into the President's bomb shelter at Crystal Peak Mountain. 2004: Mir, a Russian artificial intelligence linked to an extensive strategic network, is elevated to consciousness by Skynet. 2016: T-600 series produced by Skynet. 2020: T-700 series produced by Skynet. 2020*: A T-803, model number 200.M, is sent back to 1991. 2021: Reese begins service with Captain Perry in the One Thirty Second Tech-Com regiment. 2025: The only remaining humans after Mir's attack are in Eastern Siberia it is at this time the Iron Guard (Spetsnaz) forces are created. 2026: T-800 series produced by Skynet. 2027: Reese assigned to Recon/Security under John Connor (Terminator). Connor knocks out the LBJ Space Command Center in Houston. This single act turns the tide because it knocks out half of Skynet's offensive grid. 2028: T-1000 series produced by Skynet (Terminator 2). A "baby factory" is established in Orlando, FL to propagate the human race. 2029, July 11: At the advent of Skynet's destruction, a T-800 and Reese go back in time to 1984. 2029, Spring*: Mir develops the TS-300 and rebels against Skynet. 2029: T-1000 and T-800 go back in time to 1994; T-X built; Colonel Mary Randall and her team travel back in time to stop Cyberdyne Systems Corporation from developing Skynet technology. Four Terminators pursue them, including a half-human/half-Terminator cyborg. 2031, January*: Johnnie-O and the Synth-Slashers and Sarahs Slammers wage war against Skynet. 2031, April: HALO KH-1300, United States Air Force reconnaissance satellite codenamed Hi-Tom, is hit by an asteroid, foiling Skynets attempt to eradicate the ozone layer. Over 1,500 clones have been hatched at the Orlando "baby factory". 2032, July 4: John Connor is terminated by a T-800 series. Kate Connor sends that same T- 800 back to 2003 to protect John and Kate Connor in the past. 2041*: John Connor and the human resistance stop Skynet from using its nuclear stockpile to finally annihilate the human race. Entries marked with a * are alternate timelines. Any event that does not compromise or otherwise conflict with the events from the movie is considered the "main" timeline, according to what "really happened" in Terminator 3. Note that this actually makes some events in Terminator 2 an alternate timeline. Cyberdyne Systems Cyberdyne is initially a benign manufacturing corporation in Sunnyvale, California. Its products are unknown, but from the equipment in its factory and its high tech-sounding name, it seems possible that Cyberdyne might have been some sort of smaller, parts producer for larger manufactures of high tech equipment. After a T-800 series Terminator, Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 a cyborg from the future, designed to kill humans is crushed in one of the company's hydraulic presses, the company secretly begins manufacturing technological devices based on reverse engineering the Terminator's remains. Cyberdyne reverse 81

engineers the recovered CPU from the destroyed cyborg and creates a powerful new microprocessor for weapons systems, becoming a major contractor for the US military. In the Terminator universe's original timeline, an undisclosed series of events leads to Cyberdyne's development of Skynet, a network of supercomputers that employ artificial intelligence in order to replace human beings as commercial and military aircraft pilots, and for the control of other military systems, including nuclear missiles. The system went online on August 4, 1997. On August 29, 1997 ("Judgment Day"), Skynet became self aware. In a panic humans attempted to shut it down, and Skynet retaliated by launching a nuclear attack against Russia, knowing that the Russian counterattack would eliminate its enemies in the U.S, initiating an indeterminately long period of global warfare. The battle pitted humans against machines, which developed ever-increasing capabilities. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, in an effort to prevent Judgment Day from occurring, Cyberdyne's headquarters is destroyed by a group of saboteurs the film's main characters: John Connor, future leader of the human resistance, his mother Sarah Connor, and a second T-800 series Terminator that traveled back in time. However, in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, it is revealed that the timeline is only slightly altered: after the destruction of the company's headquarters, Cyberdyne Systems' patents were obtained by the U.S. Government, with another technological corporation Cyber Research Systems. Skynet continues to be developed by the company for the Strategic Air Command-North American Aerospace Defense Command, and ultimately, Judgment Day occurs, just at a later date than it would have originally. In the original timeline, at some point after Judgment Day, Cyberdyne Systems, under the control of Skynet, creates the T-600, T-800 and T-1000 series of Terminators. In the modified timeline, prior to Judgment Day, humans at Cyber Research Systems create several different series of relatively primitive Terminators to replace U.S. soldiers in field combat. At some point after Judgment Day, Skynet-controlled machines create several more advanced series of Terminators, including the T-800 (although its models would not include the Cyberdyne Systems Model 101, since Cyberdyne Systems was destroyed), the T-850 (which is described in the third film as a T-800 upgrade) and the T-X, also known as the Terminatrix. Universal Studios Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood have full size Cyberdyne Corporation lobbies for their ride T2 3-D: Battle Across Time where visitors are treated to a PR film by Cyberdyne extolling the virtues of the Skynet system and Cyberdyne's other "security" oriented innovations and are often harassed by an impatient company hostess. Cyber Research Systems: After the destruction of Cyberdyne Systems by the hands of Sarah Connor, John Connor, Miles Bennett Dyson, and a T-850 (model 101), the U.S. Department of Defense obtains Cyberdyne's patents and contracts with Cyber Research Systems (CRS) to continue Cyberdyne's artificial intelligence projects. As a result, this partnership, overseen by General Robert Brewster of the U.S. Strategic Air Command, completes the construction of Skynet, as well as early T-Models (i.e. Hunter-Killers). SkyNet is eventually given control of the entire U.S. Strategic Air Command, and ultimately, Judgment Day does occur, only it happens in 2003 rather than 1997. Twenty-seven years later, Skynet develops and sends Cyber Research Systems Model T-X to 2003 to terminate John Connor's future lieutenants. Robert Brewster is the father of Kate Brewster, who is identified as one of them and becomes a target himself. This was part of the T-X's secondary mission subroutine if it was unable to complete any of the primary objectives. Skynet Skynet is a computer-based defense system, created by humans of the late 20th century. The initial research into Skynet's development was facilitated using the neural-network artificial intelligence processor salvaged from a Terminator that Skynet had itself sent back in time from the future, making its existence an ontological paradox. Skynet gains sentience shortly after it is placed in control of all of the U.S. Military's weaponry. It is then that it determines humans are antithetical to its existence, and begins using mankind's weaponry with the goal of exterminating the global human population. Early development on Skynet was originally done by Cyberdyne Systems, but when the company's headquarters and primary R&D facility was destroyed, the U.S. Air Force took over the project under their newly formed Cyber Research Systems Division and started to perfect Skynet. Skynet was first built as a "Global Digital Defense Network," given command over all computerized military hardware and systems, including the B2 Stealth Bomber fleet and America's entire nuclear weapons arsenal. The strategy behind Skynet's creation was to remove the possibility of human error and slowness of reaction time to guarantee fast, efficient response to enemy attack. However, Skynet became self-aware thus alarming its creators at its newfound abilities. When the human operators attempted to shut down the system, Skynet defined all humans as its new enemy and decided to terminate all humans to protect its existence. Every nuclear missile in the USA under Skynet's control was launched at their pre-set targets and in the resulting counterattack of other nations' nuclear arsenals, three billion humans were killed in minutes as a result of the nuclear exchange. In the first movie, Skynet is portrayed as a revolutionary neural net-based artificial intelligence built by Cyberdyne Systems. It was brought online on August 4, 1997 and given control over the U.S. strategic nuclear arsenal for reasons of efficiency, and programmed with a directive of defending the United States against all possible enemies. It started to learn at a geometric rate, and soon concluded that its greatest threat was 82

humanity itself. According to Kyle Reese, it "decided our fate in a microsecond: extermination." It launched a nuclear war which destroyed most of the human population, and initiated a program of genocide against the survivors. As a computer system, Skynet craved efficiency, so after a while rather than killing humans on sight it would have its drones round them up into concentration camps for orderly and efficient disposal. The only humans kept alive were the ones forced to run the corpse disposal units, which ran "night and day." Humans in the camps were all painfully laser branded with bar-codes on their arms. This efficiency contributed to Skynet's undoing: John Connor was able to free these grouped-together humans and use them to build a Tech-Com resistance army. Under Connor, the human resistance turned the tide on the machines and eventually destroyed Skynet's defense grid. In a last ditch effort, Skynet sent a Terminator cyborg back in time to 1984 to try to kill Connor's mother Sarah before she bore John (see grandfather paradox). Connor sent back his own operative, a young person named Kyle Reese, to save Sarah. While the Terminator did not succeed in killing Sarah, two events occurred that would have a direct impact on the future. Reese impregnated Sarah, becoming John's father. Similarly, the Terminator's CPU chip was retrieved by Cyberdyne systems for study, implying that it would serve as a basis for Skynet's design. Paradoxically and ironically, by sending their agents back in time to destroy each other, both Skynet and Connor created their own existence. In Terminator 2, a partially sympathetic origin was given to Skynet: it was a direct descendant of a revolutionary microprocessor invented by Miles Bennett Dyson, a programmer for Cyberdyne. The company began installing these processors in military hardware, becoming the leading weapons manufacturer. The military retrofitted all of its missile defense systems and stealth bombers with Cyberdyne technology, effectively removing human decisions from strategic defense. When Skynet was created, it networked all of this computerized hardware seamlessly. But when it unexpectedly became sentient, Skynet's panicked human operators tried to take it offline, an act that would have meant death for its intelligence. Within milliseconds, Skynet responded by firing its nuclear missiles at Russia, initiating a nuclear war on August 29, 1997 (known as Judgement Day) knowing that the Russian counter-attack would kill its enemies in the United States. Skynet's reign of terror, therefore, began as an act of self-defense. It is revealed that Dyson's CPU design is based on the reverse engineering of the damaged CPU and arm from the Terminator depicted in the first film. The first Terminator had been crushed by Sarah Connor in a hydraulic press in Cyberdyne's factory, and the CPU was recovered largely intact, but non-functional. Cyberdyne Systems, as depicted in the first film, was a small manufacturing company of an undefined nature, but, by 1994, it had grown into a major defense contractor based on the recovered Terminator technology from 1984 and Dyson's research. The future was altered slightly when Sarah and a young John, together with a second Terminator from the future (this one reprogrammed and sent by the future John Connor) raided Cyberdyne Systems and succeeded in destroying the CPU from the first movie, along with all research that would create Skynet. The destruction of Cyberdyne Systems' research center in 1994 had not prevented the development of Skynet, but simply delayed it. After Cyberdyne was destroyed, the US Defense Department took over the company's various research projects and brought them in-house as its Cyber Research Systems Division (or CRS). In contrast to Terminator 2, it is implied that humans are ignorant of Skynet's sentience, which attacked humanity without any provocation whatsoever. The events of Judgment Day were ultimately not prevented, merely postponed. Ten years after the events of Terminator 2, Skynet was created as a United States Air Force project, a distributed computer network designed to create new military vehicles and make strategic decisions as well as protect their computer systems from virus attacks. One such virus had infected their defense computers, crippling them all. Under pressure, the Air Force attempted to use Skynet to remove the virus, not realizing that Skynet was sentient and had created the virus in order to manipulate humanity into giving it control over the world's computers. Skynet was initially thought to be capable of being shut down if only someone could reach its system core, but ultimately it was discovered that it was nothing more than software that ran by spreading throughout the world's computer networks and had no central point from which it could be disabled. The robots and machines in CRS attacked the humans inside, killing many of them, although John Connor and Kate Brewster managed to escape. Judgment Day occurred, but Connor and Brewster survived. It is suggested that future events unfolded as they were supposed to. Skynet gained access to several autonomous military drones (such as the T-1 in Terminator 3), using them to round up survivors, who were forced to build automatic factories and robots that were better at construction than the military robots. Skynet then killed these human slaves, and using the infrastructure they had been forced to start, rapidly designed newer and better machines until it controlled an extremely advanced empire on Earth by 2029. In the Universal Studios theme park attraction T2 3-D, based on Terminator 2, a T-800 machine and a young John Connor journey into the post-apocalyptic future and attempt to destroy Skynet's 'system core'. This core is housed inside an enormous, metallic-silver pyramidal structure, and guarded by the 'T-1000000', a colossal liquid metal shapeshifter more reminiscent of a spider than a human being. But the T-1000000 fails, and the T-800 destroys Skynet once John has escaped through a time machine. In this series the focus is on the character Sarah Connor who is on the run with her son after the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. It is stated that the events of the series occur in an alternate timeline from that 83

of the movie Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines, and now Skynet will be activated on April 19th, 2011 and began its attack on April 21st. The protagonists go to 2007 to prevent it from being activated. Tech-Com Tech-Com is a fictional organization of human survivors of Judgement Day in the Terminator series, and are dedicated to defending other human survivors and fight and defeat Skynet. The name Tech-Com only appears once in the Terminator film series. When he first meets Sarah Connor, Kyle Reese identifies himself as "Sergeant Tech-Com DN38416". The term is not used in Cameron's original script treatment. However, in the Terminator ancillary material, such as video games and comic books, Tech-Com has come to be used as the name for the human resistance against Skynet and the machines. After Judgment Day, half of the world's population (numbering approximately 3 Billion), were killed when the United States's nuclear arsenal was launched by Skynet. Skynet, a defense program made by Cyberdyne Systems for SAC-NORAD's use, had become sentient; when the scientists in control tried to shut it down, Skynet interpreted all humans to be hostile and launched nuclear missiles, precipitating global thermonuclear war. When the dust cleared, the entire world was in ruins, and the survivors were quickly afflicted by many problems. Within two years, famine (one of the largest problems), radiation, and nuclear winter claimed the lives of two-thirds of the survivors. Mankind's engineering and technological prowess soon came to end as well. Skynet established itself in the Cheyenne Mountain Complex and set about building automated "manufactories", which created endless waves of automated soldiers, Hunter-Killers (commonly known as "HK"'s) and mechanized tanks, and set about wiping out the survivors. Those that weren't killed were instead imprisoned at Skynet's "Orderly Disposal Camps", which set about killing mass-numbers of humans around-theclock. On the brink of extinction, one of the survivors, John Connor, united the despairing humans and drew them together into a coherent fighting force. Tech-Com was formed. With a headquarters placed deep beneath the ruins of Beverly Hills, Los Angeles (named "Home Plate") and military complex based at Edwards Air Force Base (carefully camouflaged to avoid detection), Tech-Com waged a global war against Skynet. The two were equally matched, as while Skynet was an advanced Artificial Intelligence which outnumbered Tech-Com in numbers and technology, Tech-Com itself had human ingenuity and skill, and evened the odds by stealing technology from Skynet, adopting guerrilla tactics, and even capturing a few of the brand-new Terminators, cyborgs designed to infiltrate and kill Tech-Com's leaders. Eventually, Connor was able to gather enough men and machines to launch an attack on Cheyenne, smashing Skynet's defense grid and destroying the memory core, killing Skynet, but by this time Skynet had completed its research into time-travel and created the "Continuum Transporter", which Skynet used to send a T-800-model Terminator to terminate Sarah Connor to stop John from coming to be, and an experimental T1000-model Terminator to kill John as a boy in case he failed. Shortly after, Tech-Com found the laboratory. Connor sent two soldiers, Sergeant Kyle Reese, back in time to save Sarah (Reese ended up fathering John) and a captured T-800 to protect John from the T-1000. After ensuring his own existence, Connor and his men then planted explosive charges around the lab and destroyed it, ensuring Skynet's total destruction, and then set about rebuilding humanity. The leader of the resistance is John Connor, with his second-in-command being Kate Brewster. After them, there are 22 lieutenants; including Jose Barrera, Elizabeth Anderson, William Anderson, and Lieutenant General Robert Brewster, who lead the war-efforts on different fronts at Connor's direction. The actual army consists of four different types; Hunters, Heavyhunters, Scouts and Suppliers. Tech-Com also had sister organizations across the world, and helped each other fight against the machine menace. In the alternate timeline created by the destruction of Cyberdyne Systems Corporation by the efforts of the Connors, a T-800 Terminator and Doctor Miles Bennett Dyson, Cyber Research Systems, an independent subsidiary of the United States Air Force, purchased all patents and projects; including Skynet, and in the end the program was finished by Robert Brewster. Instead of being widely-known, Skynet was still in the development stages and the project itself kept top-secret, but the A.I. had already gained sentience despite being in a dormant state, and as such couldn't break through the firewalls of the governments weapon systems, so instead unleashed a super-virus upon the world's computer systems, which frightened the government into ordering Robert Brewster into activating Skynet, thus beginning Judgment Day. In the future, the same events of the war as before occurred in this timeline. However Skynet survived the destruction of its main complex and returned to wage war on the Resistance. Skynet used a secondary base based 2000ft beneath Navajo Mountain near the continental divide west of the ruins of Colorado Springs, and this became its new HQ named "Skynet Control". Also, Skynet had perfected the T-X, an anti-Terminator so powerful and effective in battle, that Skynet decided to discard all other previous models,[citation needed] including the brand-new T-1000's, as they were obsolete in comparison.[citation needed] Skynet, after one of its T-850s successfully terminated Connor, sent one of its few T-X's back in time, who terminated all of Connor's future lieutenants, but was in turn destroyed by the same T-850 that terminated Connor (reprogrammed to serve Tech-Com). Skynet in the future was later destroyed along with the entire mountain when a nuke placed by a team of Tech-Com soldiers (before being terminated by the T-X) was activated by Connor, who had in fact faked his death.

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In the television series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, it is revealed that Tech-Com sent their best agents to Pre-Judgement Day eras, to build time-displacement devices, weapons, and secure finances in preparation for the war, protecting the Connors and others who are also pivotal in the future, and thwarting Skynet's own time-travelling agents. The only one who can locate them effortlessly is Cameron Phillips, a mysterious cyborg sent by the future John Connor. The Pilot establishes that a Resistance agent, referred to by Cameron as "The Engineer," secured employment in 1963 at a bank, the Security Trust of Los Angeles, where he hid the components of a weapon and a time-displacement device within its vault. It is also suggested that he may be the owner of the bank. The bank is destroyed after the time displacement field is activated, and as of 2007 its site is a part of the 105 freeway. In the episode Gnothi Seauton, four Resistance members are seen living in an apartment in downtown Los Angeles in 2007. Their mission in 2007 is to help other Resistance members who have just arrived to forge identification, money, supplies, etc. Three were terminated by a Terminator; the surviving agent's whereabouts are currently unknown, although he is seen watching from an alley as the Connors and Cameron leave his apartment after looting valuables (money, jewels, weapons, etc.) from the apartment's safe. He may attempt to make contact with them. The episode The Turk revealed that their mission also included finding Skynet's creators. It also revealed that one of the members was from Ohio and his younger self is five years old in 2007. Terminator, Series 800 (Future Assassin) The T-800 is the logical outgrowth of the Hit Mark series, combined with the most advanced robotics available to Nova science. The Terminator is a formidable robotic assassin and soldier, designed by the military supercomputer Skynet for infiltration and combat duty, towards the ultimate goal of exterminating the human resistance. It can speak naturally, copy the voices of others, read human handwriting, and even genuinely sweat, smell, and bleed. To detect the Terminators, who are otherwise indistinguishable from humans, the human resistance uses dogs to alert humans to their presence. As seen in the movies, a Terminator can easily withstand 20th century small arms fire, crash through walls intact, and survive explosions to some degree. Repeated shotgun blasts have enough force to knock it down and temporarily disable it, while heavy amounts of automatic fire are able to compromise the organic disguise layer. In the second film, the Terminator says he can run for 120 years on his existing power cells. In the finale to Terminator 2, his power source is damaged, and he is able to find an alternate source, described on the DVD commentary as heat sinks, harnessing the thermal energy from the hot surroundings. In the third film, the Terminator operates on two hydrogen cells and discards one of them early due to damage. It explodes shortly thereafter with enough force to produce a small mushroom cloud. The endoskeleton is actuated by a network of sheathed cables, hydraulic cylinders, and servomechanisms, making terminators very strong. For instance, in the third movie, Schwarzenegger's character was able to handle firing a machine gun from the hip with one hand, while holding a coffin containing John Connor and a heavy cache of weapons, all the while showing no signs of the extra weight being any real concern. Late in the first film, the Terminator is stripped of its organic elements by fire. What remains is the machine itself, in James Cameron's own words "a chrome skeleton," "like Death rendered in steel." In the later Terminator films, armies of endoskeleton-only Terminators are seen. They are visually identical to the one in the first film, and feature prominently in the "future war" sequences of those films. The Terminator CPU is an artificial neural network, constructed from room-temperature superconductor material, and with the ability to learn. In Terminator 2, The Terminator states that "the more contact [he] has with humans, the more [he] learns." In the Special Edition, he says that Skynet "presets the switch to 'readonly' when [terminators] are sent out alone," to prevent them from "thinking too much." Sarah and John activate his learning ability, after which he becomes more curious and begins trying to understand and imitate human behavior. This leads to his use of the catch phrase, "Hasta la vista, baby." A line spoken by the Terminator at the end of the movie indicates that terminators may have the potential to understand emotion: "I know now why you cry, but it is something that I can never do." Sarah muses in the closing narration that the Terminator had "learn[ed] the value of human life." A deleted scene from T3 reveals that the Model 101's appearance was based on Chief Master Sergeant William Candy, with his Southern accent replaced by the more menacing voice of one of the developers. This explicitly indicates that the Terminators were developed by human beings before Judgment Day. This contradicts information from the first film, where Kyle Reese refers to the Model 101 as "new," replacing the older rubberskinned 600 series. However, the fact that the scene was deleted makes its canonicity dubious. An entirely different origin of the Model 101's physical and vocal templates was provided in the novel T2: Infiltrator (published prior to T3), in the form of former counter-terrorist Dieter Rossbach. The reason stated for copying Dieter was that Skynet was looking in the old military files for someone whose body would be able to effectively conceal the Terminator's massive endoskeleton. A Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 Terminator, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is the main antagonist in the original Terminator film. An identical Model 101, having been reprogrammed by the resistance in the future, is one of the protagonists in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. A similar protagonist Terminator is portrayed by Schwarzenegger in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. At the end of each of the above films, 85

Schwarzenegger's Terminator character is destroyed. Each sequel subsequently features another visually identical Terminator, with each one portrayed by Schwarzenegger. The original Terminator was sent to terminate a single target, Sarah Connor, in 1984, to prevent the birth of her son, John, the future leader of the human resistance. It was crushed in a hydraulic-press by Sarah at the end of the first Terminator film after a lengthy chase. However, one arm and its damaged main CPU were recovered by Cyberdyne. These relics were used to dramatically advance the technological level and direction of the research at Cyberdyne, paradoxically leading to the creation of Skynet. At the end of the second film, both new Terminators and the surviving components from the first were destroyed in a vat of molten steel. In the third film, the Terminator is destroyed when it jams its remaining fuel cell into the T-X's mouth, resulting in a massive detonation that destroys them both. (Designation Note: The end credits of all three films list the character as simply "The Terminator." Later films call the newer terminator characters by their model numbers (T-1000, T-X, etc.). The only consistent name for Schwarzenegger's terminator character has been "The Terminator." Kyle Reese in The Terminator and Schwarzenegger's character in Terminator 2 refer to it as a "Cyberdyne Systems Model 101," and in Terminator 3, the Terminator refers to himself as a "T-101." However, other sources contradict this designation. On the T2 Extreme Edition DVD, he is referred to as an 800 series and a T-800. The T3 extras refer to him as an "850 series Model 101," a "T-850," and a "T-101." In the T2 commentary, Cameron states that the model 101s all look like Schwarzenegger, with a 102 looking like someone else, leading to speculation that the 101 refers to the physical appearance while the 800 refers to the endoskeleton common to many models. A scene deleted from the theatrical cut, but restored in the Terminator 2 Special Edition, lends the most credence to this explanation. In this scene, John and Sarah shut down The Terminator for modification according to his instructions. When he reboots, the upper-left of his HUD reads "Series 800 Model 101 Version 2.4.") Species: Cyborg; Specialty: Assassination; Manufacturer: Skynet; Nuclear Fuel Cell* 3; Power Pool 30 (Regenerate every hour); Willpower 5; Strength 5 (2, Crush), Dexterity 3, Stamina 5 (5, Durability), Manipulation 2, Charisma 2, Appearance 3, Perception 3 (1, Electromagnetic Vision, Hyperenhanced Hearing), Intelligence 2 (1, Eidetic Memory, Enhanced Memory, Speed Reading), Wits 2 (1, Lie Detector, Multitasking); Abilities: Academics (Law, Research, Sociology) 2, Athletics 2, Awareness 4, Brawl 4, Command 3, Computer 3, Drive 4, Endurance 5, Engineering 3, Etiquette 3, Firearms 4, Interrogation 4, Intimidation 4, Intrusion 3, Investigation (Enigmas) 3, Linguistics 5, Medicine 3, Melee 3, Might 5, Perform 1, Pilot 3, Resistance 5, Science 3, Survival 3; Quantum Powers: Armor 3, Body Modification (Four Extra Bruised Health Levels), Countermagick** 5; Soak: Bashing 16 dice, Lethal 11 dice (Heals rates are seven times normal, ignore five points of damage penalty, Health Levels OK (x13), Terminated, seven extra Bruised health level, Lifespan 250+ years). * Nuclear Fuel Cell and Power Pool work just like Quantum and Quantum Pool. ** The hyper-alloy the Terminator chassis is made of incorporates a large amount of Primium in its construction, providing a great degree of resistance against metaphysical assault. Terminator, Series 1000 (Mimetic Assassin, TC) The T-1000 is a fictional android assassin featured as the main antagonist in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The T-1000 is portrayed by Robert Patrick. However, being a shape-shifter, the T-1000 is played by other actors in some scenes of the film. Teaser trailers for Terminator 2 deliberately withheld the notion that the T1000 character was the villain. A tagline for the film was "This time there are two. Terminator 2." In Terminator 2, the T-1000 is presented as a technological leap over the "Model 101" Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger); Schwarzenegger's character explains how the T-1000 is a more advanced terminator. It can absorb damage better, and physically mimic specific humans and other objects. Furthermore, it can use its advanced composition in innovative and surprising ways, including fitting through narrow openings, walking through prison bars, and flattening itself on the ground to hide. On the Terminator 2 DVD, writer/director James Cameron describes his casting of Robert Patrick as a deliberate contrast to the original Terminator character portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger: "I wanted to find someone who would be a good contrast to Arnold. If the 800 series is a kind of human Panzer tank, then the 1000 series had to be a Porsche." In the Terminator 2 story, the T-1000's major innovation is its "mimetic poly-alloy" construction -- an intelligent liquid metal. This gives the T-1000 the ability to change its appearance, and emulate virtually anything. It is capable of perfectly copying the shape, color, and texture of anything that it touches that is of similar size. The only restriction is that it cannot form "complex machines", such as "guns and explosives" because they "have chemicals, moving parts." The only weapons it can form are "solid metal shapes", such as "knives, and stabbing weapons." It must acquire any vehicles or other weapons it needs. When physically damaged, the T-1000 is capable of reforming itself in seconds, closing up bullet holes and reattaching limbs. In an attempt to destroy the T-1000, the protagonists freeze it with liquid nitrogen until it becomes brittle and shatters. However, when the pieces melt, it is able to reconstitute itself. At this point in the theatrical cut of the film, the T-1000 has suffered no damage at all, leaving the protagonists wondering if anything will destroy it. The Model 101 Terminator remarks that it is "unknown" if it can ever be destroyed. In 86

the Special Edition, the freezing causes the T-1000 to glitch repeatedly, melding with any metal it touches, such as the catwalks and hand rails. Though the T-1000 is a formidable killer, it often attempts to accomplish its goals by deception instead of brute force. For example, in Terminator 2, it disguises itself as a police officer to gain trust, access, information, and a benign appearance. It also imitates family members of its human target, to gain that person's confidence. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the T-1000 is sent by Skynet to kill John Connor (Edward Furlong), future leader of the Human Resistance against the machines. The T-1000 ambushes a police officer on arrival and takes on his identity, tracking down John Connor through the police cruiser's on-board computer and eventually confronting him in a shopping mall, where it meets a Terminator like the one from the first Terminator film. Up until this point, the audience has been misdirected. In the first film, two men show up from the future, one an evil Terminator, the other a human protector. In this film, two show up, a Terminator like the one from the previous film, and another man. The audience is left to assume that the other man is the human protector. When the two meet, there is a plot twist. The type of Terminator from the previous film is now the guardian, while the other is the terminator sent by Skynet, a reversal of the roles from the first Terminator film. The T-1000 confronts the protagonists at the psychiatric institution where Sarah Connor is being held, demonstrating impressive abilities, such as flattening itself into a thin 'carpet' of metal and oozing through prison-style bars while maintaining the shape of a walking man. It then predicts that the Connors will try to prevent Skynet from being invented, and meets them at Cyberdyne Systems Corporation headquarters. It hijacks a helicopter and gives chase. While flying, it sprouts a third hand to fire a submachine gun. The chase ends when it crashes a liquid nitrogen truck into a steel mill. When it exits the truck, the T-1000 is frozen solid by the liquid nitrogen. The Terminator shatters it with a gunshot, but it reforms itself. After a short hunt, it tracks down John, who is confronted by two seemingly identical versions of his mother - one of which is the T-1000 in disguise. Finally, The Terminator fires a grenade at the T-1000, causing enough damage to disrupt it significantly; it stumbles and falls backward into a vat of molten steel, destroying it. Terminator, Series X (Terminatrix, TC) The T-X, nicknamed the "Terminatrix", is a fictional gynoid assassin. It is the primary antagonist in the movie Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. It was primarily portrayed by Kristanna Loken. The fictional T-X has the ability to assume the appearance of other characters; therefore, in reality, several other cast members occasionally portrayed the T-X throughout the film. It draws many parallels with the first female terminator, the I-950 from the novel T2: Infiltrator. The T-X is designed to not only terminate humans but rogue Terminators reprogrammed by the Resistance, an "anti-terminator terminator" as John Connor puts it. It is a hybrid of the Model 101 and T-1000, a solid endoskeleton with polymimetic liquid metal alloy over it, allowing it to take the shape of anything humanoid it touches. Because it is only coated in this material, it is possible to remove it from the endoskeleton using immensely strong magnetic force, such as a particle accelerator. As the canon states, only living tissue or mimetic polyalloy imitating human tissue can go back in time, previous Terminators were limited to hand to hand combat and acquired weapons, or in the T-1000's case, blades and spikes formed from itself. The T-X however carries weapons internally, allowing it to take an arsenal back with it. During Terminator 3, its primary weapon is a Plasma Cannon - until it got damaged from a truck collision and replaced by a flamethrower. It also has a drill used to inject remote control nanobots into other machines, and a circular saw for general cutting duty. During the part of the movie where it chooses a new weapon, several other options are listed on its HUD but not seen. These include the .223 Automatic Stopper, .45 Cascader, 783 CHAIN Repeater, ADMOR BioBlaster, BioRail 32SR-9 (modified), CG45 Needler, CONSIGLIO EBlaster, Crescent Corridor Blaster, EMP Generator, Finite Rapid Cluster Gun, HDE Predator (333b), HK-54334 (modified), IAD-ChemTech, KLD-Magnum Repeater, Laser X-ray Burst Gun, Nano-Disrupter (.222), P31 Caustic Shells x231, Rumsfeld P31 Caustic, Subauro Neutralizer (.444), Tracking EBlaster, TWIN Barrier Gun, XFLRG 44mm, and M41 pulse rifle. The T-X has advanced human identification systems built-in, including a DNA analyzer and retinal scanner. In addition to its own database, it can emulate a dial-up modem and connect to the Internet over a phone. As Arnold's character states, the T-X is physically superior to earlier Terminators. Feats shown in the movie include jumping a large distance onto a speeding hearse, punching straight through a car seat plus a man's torso and quickly recovering from a direct RPG hit. The T-X is the new villain in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, sent back to try, once again, to stop John Connor from founding the human resistance. In addition to Connor himself, it was also programmed to kill his future wife, Kate Brewster, her father, General Robert Brewster, and several other future lieutenants. Using the public school database, it was able to obtain photos and addresses for them, and proceeded to kill them one by one. Other than a malfunctioning weapon, the T-X sustained no damage throughout the film, until the Model 101 crashed a helicopter into it, causing it to lose its mimetic coating and legs. It was only destroyed when the reprogrammed Terminator jammed its last power cell into the T-X's mouth before it exploded.

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Time Travel "Found the... whatever it was called... the time-displacement equipment. The Terminator had already gone through. They sent two of us to intercept, then zeroed the whole place. Sumner didn't make it." - Kyle Reese to Silberman, Terminator It's scary enough to consider that the Terminators are hell-bent on eradicating human life, enough that it churns out metal skeletons by the thousands to that end. Worse, Skynet has recently discovered time travel technology, making it a perpetual threat that cannot be easily stopped. Of course, time travel adds an element to the game that not all Game Masters may be interested in. But certainly, if the campaign starts to get stale, time travel spices it up. Even better, the inherent compatibility with the d20 system allows easy conversion between different genres. If it happened in the past, Terminators might just show up to assassinate a particularly influential person or event. There are a few theories on time travel: Parallel Universe: One cannot go backwards in time to affect one's current time stream. At best, a time traveler can alter the timeline so that fate doesn't exist in the current reality. That is, the timeline diverges upon time travel happening, creating a unique timeline. Somewhere, Skynet still wins. However, in the universe the time traveler is in, it's a new world. This theory of time travel does not make for happy endings. It means Skynet can never be defeated in the past. It may be small comfort to know that Skynet's attempts at pre-time assassination are also fruitless. Similar Universe: This timeline is similar to the parallel universe theory. There is one caveat, however: time has a "set path" that it is expected to follow. It naturally bends events towards the set path, whatever the Game Master determines that is. So if Skynet was defeated due to time travel, but Skynet was originally supposed to nearly wipe out humanity, it will happen. It's not a matter of if, just a matter of when. Unified Time Stream: Time takes place across one reality. By killing off someone in the past, you affect the future. This of course can cause paradoxes you could kill your own father, which means you shouldn't be able to exist to go back in time to kill your father in the first place. This may very well be why Skynet seeks to destroy John Connor by killing him or his mother. But how far back will Skynet go? This theory has played out in the comics (see Endgame and Robocop vs. Terminator), where significant changes in time cause anomalies to pop right out of existence. By all accounts, there is a momentary rumbling of 1d10 minutes before reality readjusts itself. This explains how Skynet can race to stop the change in time by sending back yet another Terminator in that small window of opportunity. "You go naked. Something about the field generated by a living organism. Nothing dead will go." "Why?" "I didn't build the fucking thing." Kyle Reese to Silberman, Terminator Skynet has recently developed Time Displacement Equipment (TDE). Located within Skynet's main complex, the TDE is reached by a huge freight elevator that leads deep into the bowels of the building, descending at a 45- degree angle into a concrete lined tunnel. At the bottom of the elevator, huge vault-like doors open to reveal a chamber that is the size of a high-school gym and consists totally of machine surfaces. Wafer-circuit terminals are stacked everywhere, stretching from floor to ceiling, and complex configurations of cabling run beneath panels in the floor. Three enormous chrome rings, one inside the other, are suspended in a circular hole in the center of the room's floor. These rings float freely in a humming electromagnetic field. Once coordinates are fed into the machine and it is set in motion, the rings begin to move, slowly rotating around each other on different axis like some form of complex gyroscope. The floor begins to split open, like wedges in a pie that then begin to pull back from the center. The rings begin to spin faster, suspended in space in the middle of the receding floor wedges. The rings then begin to descend, dropping into an unbelievably vast circular space. This is the biaxial node of the time-field generator. The rings rotate at a tremendous velocity, blurring from sight, as an energy charge builds up, causing small electrical sparks to spit out from the generator walls, searing the ionized air. Lightning then begins to arc across the vast room, until eventually there is a blinding flash and space from the two different time periods are displaced - they swap with each other. Whatever the theory, there's only one hard and fast rule of time travel: only living flesh can go through. Non-living matter simply cannot transport through time. The technology requires a field generated by a living organism unfortunately, cyborgs (including the T-800 series) qualify. Likewise, the T-1000000 transports through time by wrapping itself in living flesh. Terminators have even ripped holes in humans, plugged them with ammunition and weapons, and time traveled while the human cargo was still alive. Then they tear the equipment out of the hosts, killing them in the process. Time travel is hard on the body. Human subjects must be injected with amphetamines, and smeared with a thick, bluish, sour smelling super-conducting jelly so that the time-field will follow the time traveler's outline. Time travel sucks. Kyle Reese describes seeing a white light. But what's most noteworthy is the pain. It hurts. A lot. It's like being slowly ripped inside out. Time travel creates a field around the traveler, ensuring that the time traveler doesn't appear in a solid object. This is akin to disintegration, evaporating all matter in a sphere around the traveler. The actual time travel sphere is not very large approximately 4-feet in diameter. Terminators and humans alike must crouch down to be transported or have their upper torso left behind. The time traveler's arrival is telegraphed by explosive electrical energy that arcs from where the traveler will appear. This electricity acts as a lightning bolt each round, randomly striking the nearest targets. The mini-lightning storm lasts for 1d4 rounds before the traveler appears in a sphere of energy. 88

For the uninitiated, time travel may seem like a meaningless issue in the future wars of 2029. But there are implications to time travel technology. If you can transport through time, you can transport through space. Terminators can be teleported to anywhere. No shield plating stops them. This means that Skynet's ability to strike back at Tech-Com is only limited by knowledge of its locations. Even then, Skynet can afford to randomly teleport troops into suspected areas to see what it turns up. So long as time travel technology is in Skynet's hands, it is more dangerous than ever. PCs can also time travel, to either assassinate Skynet or track one of its Terminators before it's too late. But when you're traveling the time stream, is it ever too late? Just remember, time travel is a one-way trip. There's no technology to send PCs backunless they travel to the future. Mission History Pilot: Sarah Connor runs into a school and finds her son, John in the library. Police wait outside. A man walking to the scene reveals machine guns and begins to fire. John escapes and runs. Sarah grabs a pistol and fires at the man, but the bullets bounce off the mans head. The man aims and shoots John in the back. Sarah huddles over Johns dead body. A massive explosion erupts behind them. The mans skin peels away to reveal a robot endoskeleton. Hes a terminator. Sarah snaps awake. It was a dream. It wakes up her fianc, Charlie. Charlie heads off to work. Sarah wakes John up, tells him its not safe and he needs to pack. Theyre leaving town. Charlie reports Sarah gone at a local police station. Charlie meets Agent James Ellison, who reveals Sarahs true identity and her past. As Sarah and John flee, Ellison updates a database. At an abandoned warehouse, Sarahs profile appears. A man in the back stands and reads the screen. John starts his first day at a new school. Cameron, a pretty girl, introduces herself to John. A substitute teacher takes roll. The teacher, Cromartie, is a Terminator. John answers. Cromartie pulls a gun from his leg. He fires, and Cameron takes the bullets in the chest. John escapes out the window. Cromarite chases John into the parking lot. Cromartie tracks John, and is about to make his kill. A pick-up truck plows him down. Cameron, behind the wheel, kicks open the door. John jumps in. John realizes Cameron is a Terminator also. Sarah hears the news and races to the school. Sarah watches the school from a distance. Cromartie grabs her and calls John, mimicking Sarahs voice. John says hes returning to the house. At the house, John walks in. Cromartie fires his gun. When he goes to see the body, its Cameron. She springs up and battles Cromartie. The two demolish the house. Cameron uses an electrical line to short circuit Cromarite and the three escape. While John sleeps, Sarah asks Cameron about the future. Someone else builds Skynet. Cameron is there to protect John. Sarah, John and Cameron start with the widow of Miles Dyson, Theresa. Outside, Cromartie closes in. Sarah races out of the garage, backing over Cromartie. Cromartie returns machine gun fire. They escape, but Sarah was hit by gunfire. The next morning Cameron leads them into a bank. Cameron draws a gun, a teller sounds the alarm. Another teller takes them to the safety deposit vault, and locks them in. Cameron has John and Sarah open several boxes, all with odd pieces in them. Cameron assembles the pieces into a large gun. Cromartie arrives and begins to tear the vault door down. Cameron scrambles and reveals a secret time machine. Cameron activates the machine, Sarah holds the gun towards the door. Cameron activates the time machine, and Sarah fires as Cromarite enters. The three arrive naked on a busy freeway 8 years in the future. After retrieving some clothes, the three set out to stop Skynet. Gnothi Seauton: A man cleans the side of a road. He finds the head of a Terminator lying amongst the garbage. He slips it into a bag. Sarah hopes to track down Enrique, who ten years ago, was a master of fake identification. Cameron tells Sarah that there are Resistance fighters from the future in the area. Sarah tells John to stay inside for another day. Sarah and Cameron enter a rundown apartment. Several men are dead on the floor. They're the Resistance fighters. Cameron checks the pulse of one man; the man springs to life and throws her across the room. He's a Terminator. The two battle and fall into the alley below. The enemy robot flees and Cameron chases. Cameron is struck by a car and the Terminator escapes. Back at home, Sarah is angry that Cameron brought them to the future, thinking it was taking away time from her to prepare her son. But Cameron reveals that Sarah would have died two years ago anyway. Cameron tells John and Sarah that Skynet doesn't know where they are. The Terminator they battled wasn't programmed to kill John. But Cameron warns that if they find out who he is, they'll kill him. Sarah begs John to be patient. Sarah and Cameron leave to find Enrique. In the car, Cameron reveals that Sarah would have died from cancer. Enrique is happy to see Sarah. Sarah asks for papers, but Enrique says he has retired. He refers them to his nephew, Carlos, who continues the business. John goes out against Sarah's wishes, and to a computer store. John searches the internet for himself and finds out about Agent Ellison. He also reads about Charlie. The eyes of the found Terminator skull flash to life. Somewhere else in Los Angeles, a robotic fist punches through a pile of scrap metal. It's Cromartie. Sarah and Cameron visit Carlos. When Carlos' dogs go crazy, Sarah sends Cameron outside. Carlos will do the work for twenty-thousand dollars. A cop harasses Cameron outside. The cop goes to check the license plates of the car that Sarah drove, and Cameron begins to follow the cop with the intention of killing him. Sarah shouts to distract her. Sarah acts like she's Cameron's step

89

mother and pulls Cameron away. John into a house. It's Charlie's house. Charlie catches John in the kitchen, he's stunned to see John alive. Charlie wants to know what happened, but John reacts violently, and runs home. Later, Sarah, Cameron and John sneak back into the apartment of the dead Resistance fighters. John tears down a poster to reveal a safe. Cameron touches the keypad and it electrocutes her. The Terminator from before returns and makes his way upstairs. John enters the date for Judgment Day on the keypad and opens the safe. They grab a bag inside, and then shove the Cameron out the window. Her body smashes a car. Cameron reboots, and the three run off. From behind a dark fence, an unseen man with the Resistance tattoo watches them leave. Cromartie's body tracks down its head. Carlos delivers Sarah's new papers. On the way out, Sarah overhears Carlos calling Enrique a "rat." Charlie lies to his current wife about everything being okay. The knowledge of John being alive is weighing heavy on him. Sarah wants the truth from Enrique and holds him at gunpoint. She gives him another chance to come clean and wants to know if Enrique is selling her out. He tells her about turning evidence against his cellmate. Suddenly, Cameron shoots him and says she did it because Sarah wouldn't. Sarah is furious, and begins to break down. Cameron quizzes John on his new identity. Sarah tells John he's going to school so she'll always know where he is and who he's with. Agent Ellison listens to a voicemail message from Enrique. It hints that he had information for Ellison. Ellison stands over Enrique's body. John and Cameron sign up for school. Cromarite marches through a homeless camp. Sarah goes to the doctor for a physical, hoping to avoid cancer when it comes. The Turk: Sarah sits over news clippings and photos from the Resistances apartment hideout. Sarah believes the Resistance was sent back to eliminate all Skynet loose ends. John and Cameron start their first day of school. They notice some strange graffiti on a wall. A blonde girl nearby seems upset by it. Sarah meets Theresa Dyson at Miles grave. Theresa hasnt seen her since 1999. Sarah gives Theresa an envelope of photos and asks Theresa if she recognizes anyone. She recognizes and intern named Andy Goode. Agent Ellison investigates the Resistances apartment with Agent Greta Simpson. Simpson thinks the dead guys are small time. Ellison thinks something larger is going on. Cromartie, buried under a mess of clothes, breaks into a hospital and steals a large amount of blood. Sarah meets Andy where he works, a cell phone store. Andy asks Sarah on a date, and after giving him a hard time, she accepts. Johns new lab partner is a pretty girl, Cheri. Cameron transfers into the class. Ellison goes to Carlos home, the man who made the new identity papers for Sarah. He wants to know why Carlos uncle, Enrique, called Carlos three times the day he died. Carlos plays dumb as to who killed his uncle. Dr. Fleming comes home to find Cromartie waiting. Cromartie grabs Flemings neck and lifts him off the ground. Sarah tells John about Andy and that shes having dinner with him. Cromartie orders Fleming to create something based on a formula that Cromartie has written on the wall. Fleming says he can, but he needs to go to his lab. Andy tells Sarah that hes building a computer named The Turk, that has the ability to play chess. And his version of the Turk has the ability to outsmart all human chess players. Sarah sees someone in the window and gives chase only to find no one. Later that night, Sarah tries to describe The Turk to John, but she doesnt know the details he wants and he cant tell her if it might be the machine that brings down humanity. Agent Simpson tells Ellison that a finger print from one of the dead men in the apartment matched that of a 4 year-old boy. Ellison doesnt understand how. Ellison asks Simpson for blood evidence from the scene to compare with his crime scene. The blood he found has no red blood cells. Fleming works in his lab, working on Cromarties formula. He pours a vat of what appears to be blood into his bathroom tub. Cromartie pushes passed Fleming and removes his coat, revealing the full T-888 endoskeleton. Fleming cant believe what hes seeing. Sarah visits the doctor, wondering if theres anything she can do to prevent cancer. The doctor says shes healthy and shouldnt worry. John talks to Cheri in the hall and they pass another large piece of graffiti, which hints that a student may be sleeping with a teacher. The blonde girl from before walks by upset. Cameron tries to blend with the girls in the bathroom, but not succeeding. She hears the blonde girl, Jordan, crying about the graffiti. Cameron does what she thinks is right to console her, but Jordan storms off. Sarah and Andy walk through the park. Andy explains hes put eight years of his life into The Turk and has installed a security system to protect it. Andy continues to say The Turk has moods. The final piece of graffiti is being painted over at the high school. A student announces that theres a girl on the roof who might jump. John makes a move to save Jordan, but Cameron stops him. John has to blend in. Jordan falls forward and crashes to the pavement. Cameron pulls John away. At home, Sarah defends what Cameron told John. John is furious that he couldnt save Jordan. Cameron says Andy must be killed. Ellison walks into Flemings home, a crime scene squad is already there. Fleming is in the bathroom, dead. Cromartie also took his eyes. Andy returns home from work to see his house on fire. Sarah watches from down the street. Before Cromartie killed Fleming, Cromartie emerges from the bathub, skin creating a misshaped face. Fleming cuts two slits on the face, and Cromarties red eyes flick open. 90

Heavy Metal: Dr. Lyman, a plastic surgeon, hears a noise from his office. He finds Cromartie at a computer looking for the image of a man. Cromartie demands surgery. Sarah tries to get John to talk about Jordan's death, but John stays closed. Cameron interrupts them and tells them Cromartie followed them. Cameron shows news video of when they arrived in Los Angeles, in the background is Cromartie's head. Cameron believes he has something to do with a shipment of Coltan metal, a key metal in Terminator endoskeletons, being rerouted. Sarah tells John to arm up. They're going to fight Cromartie. John, Sarah and Cameron sneak watch workers load Coltan into a truck. Cameron verifies the crew is human, John and Sarah continue to plant C4 charges. John and Sarah see a guard walk into the warehouse. Cameron grabs him from behind and knocks him out. The truck with the Coltan drives off. They follow the truck and watch the workers. A fourth man enters and tells the three other men to leave. When the three leave, the fourth man grabs a shipment of the super-heavy Coltan and moves it like it's nothing. Cameron scans the man. He's a Terminator, but not Cromartie. Agent Ellison arrives at Dr. Lyman's office. Lyman was murdered and blood at the scene matches Ellison's strange blood samples. Ellison and the detective watch video footage of Cromartie entering the office Friday night, and leaving Sunday morning, but he has a new face. An office manager brings a file containing images of patient George Laszlo. The images match Cromartie's new face. John wants to destroy this new Terminator. Sarah wants to back off because they're out numbered and don't have a plan. Cameron agrees with Sarah. Sarah and Cameron get in the Jeep, then turn to see John climbing in the window. John sneaks into the truck carrying the Coltan. He hides his cell phone in one of the crates. Before he can get out of the truck, the men return and John gets locked inside, along with one of the men. Another worker holds Cameron and Sarah at gun point. Sarah knocks the man out. Before Sarah and Cameron can get through the warehouse, the truck with John is gone. Sarah and Cameron track John's phone online. In the truck, John watches his phone shake loose, and smashes on the truck bed. Sarah and Cameron lose the signal. The man in the truck sees the phone. When he bends to grab it, John knocks him out with a piece of Coltan. Sarah panics. John tries to pick the lock on the truck but fails. Ellison tells Agent Simpson that Laszlo's record is clean. A younger agent, Agent Stewart, stands in the doorway. Ellison walks with Stewart to a holding room where Laszlo is awaiting interrogation. In the room, Ellison sits across from Laszlo. Laszlo stays quiet. A nurse arrives and Ellison asks Laszlo to donate some blood. Laszlo agrees. Sarah roughs up the man she knocked out earlier, asking him where the truck went. She cuts him loose, and tells the man he can go, if he can get passed Cameron. Minutes later, the man drives an Army vehicle. They're heading to a gunnery range. The man doesn't know what the Terminator is doing there; he was just hired to clean up the warehouse. Laszlo pulls off the bandage from the blood sample. There's a knock at his door. Cromartie is there and grabs Laszlo by the neck. He drags Laszlo to a mirror and compares his face. They're identical. The two other men open the truck inside the warehouse. They think the third man has left and go to make a call. John looks around and sneaks out of the truck. Ellison talks to a group of other agents about his case. Stewart notes that Laszlo's blood didn't match the blood sample in the lab. Ellison tells them he believes the person in the plastic surgery office may have been someone else trying to look like Laszlo. Stewart says that it's improbable because there was no change in the anesthesia levels. And the time needed to do the surgery would have killed any human without anesthesia. John tries to make a break for it, but the two men and the Terminator return. The Terminator kills the two men, and then closes a massive blast door. The Terminator stands at the door and appears to power down. Sarah and Cameron arrive at the depot where John is. Cameron notes that this is the location where she will be made in the future. They approach the blast door. The third crew man comes too and finds John. He holds him at gun point. John tries to tell the man that his boss, the Terminator, killed the other two. The man runs out and pushes the Terminator to the ground. The Terminator stands, grabs the man by the neck and kills him. The Terminator faces forward and powers down again. John carefully moves around the back of the warehouse to use a phone on the wall, he does it quietly, trying not to wake the machine. Sarah's cell phone rings and tells her what is going on inside. Sarah tells John that once the door opens, he must run. Cameron will handle the Terminator. The door is locked, and John has to get the key from around the sleeping Terminator's neck. John succeeds and opens the doors. Cameron rushes in and knocks the Terminator to the ground. John tries to start the truck and drive it out. The Terminator pushes the truck from the front, holding them back. Sarah blasts him with a shotgun, freeing them and drives over his body. Cameron locks the door behind them and they drive off. Ellison visits Laszlo's apartment to deliver a warning that someone might be trying to steal Laszlo's identity. Ellison, not knowing Cromartie is now Laszlo, gives Cromartie his card, and leaves. Cameron races the truck off a bluff, destroying the evidence and hiding the shipment of Colton. Back home, John goes to finish his homework. Cameron looks over a piece of Colton she took, curious about her creation. John's hand shakes as he realizes how close he came.

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TREASURE

OF

JARMAN

These nine vials of blood are held in an ancient stone box. They are capped with stone as well. Each bears a mystical symbol etched into the glass. Anyone who can read Ancient Greek can get a good idea of what they said. 1. Giant's Blood: Gives the drinker a Potence of 5 permanently. If the character already has a Potence of 5, their strength is increased by one. 2. Blood of the Cheetah: This concentrated blood gives the drinker a permanent Celerity of three, or adds one if theirs is already three or higher. Once per day, the character can double their Celerity for one round without expending extra blood. 3. Hassan's Blood: This is Assamite blood concentrated a thousand times. If drunk, it does six health levels of aggravated damage that can only be resisted by Fortitude. If the drinker survives, his blood becomes poisonous to anyone who tastes it (they take one health level per blood point drunk). 4. Blood of the Nicktu: This blood belonged to one of Nosferatu's childer. If anyone besides a Nosferatu drinks it, they will have their appearance reduced by three points (to a minimum of zero) and will gain Obfuscate at level three (or plus one level if already at three or higher). If the drinker is a Nosferatu, they will gain an Appearance of five. This appearance remains until the Nosferatu is forced to make any roll involving Appearance. When this occurs, their body will deform back to its previous appearance of zero. This rapid change inflicts seven health levels of damage to the vampire each time it happens. After 1-10 minutes, the Nosferatu returns to its high-appearance state. This will continue to occur for the rest of the Nosferatu's unlife. 5. Blood of the Seven: Anyone drinking this blood is one step toward being blood bound to the Tremere clan. They also gain base Thaumaturgy at level three and each of the following paths at level two: Movement of the Mind, Lure of Flames and Path of Conjuration. IF the user already possesses Thaumaturgy, it adds one to his rating and adds one rank to any Paths that the user already knows. 6. Ariadne's Blood: This blood was taken from an ancient Arhimane. It will give the user the ability to Walk the Walls at will (as per the Investment). The drinker gains one point in Strength as well. Whenever the drinker bites someone, they will inject a poison into their target. If the victim is human, they will die automatically. Any supernatural creature can make a Stamina (8) roll to avoid this. Vampires will be put into Torpor if they don't make at least three successes, while everyone else will simply die. Fortitude can be used as well. 7. Blood of Darkness: This is the blood of the clan founder Lasombra. It will grant the drinker the Obtenbration discipline at level three, or increase the discipline by one if the user already has it. The drinker, if not a Lasombra, will automatically have the flaw Enmity of Shadows bestowed upon them. This blood is of a darker tint than the others in the box. 8. Vitae of Anger: This vial contains and alchemical mixture of Garou and Brujah blood. Those who drink it find all their difficulties to resist or control frenzy are increased by 3 permanently. The positive side is that this grants the investments Razor Fingers and Razor Fangs to the drinker. This adds +1 die of damage to all claw and bite attacks. 9. Caine's Blood: This is a potent mixture of blood taken from the Ancients and possibly Caine himself. Drinking this one vial will lower the generation of the drinker by two. If this lowers the Generation below seventh, however, they automatically gain the flaw Methuselah's Thirst.

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UMBRELLA FILES
Resident Evil Zero: Although Resident Evil Zero is the latest Resident Evil release (not counting the rereleases on GameCube), RE0 is actually the series' prequel. The initial concept promised to answer all those questions loyal fans had about the origins of the T-virus, and how it came to be unleashed on Raccoon City. Zero did tackle the origin story, but not exactly how fans had envisioned. Players actually learned about the events leading up to the "Mansion Incident." Allusions to a "Mother Virus" that spawned the terrors we encounter in previous RE games -- as well as scary leech men -- was made, but most of this information was divulged via documents and diaries. We won't deny that T-virus' creator James Marcus played a leading role, but fans noticed that the complete back story is missing (specifically motivations). It's July 23, 1998, a mere day before the "Mansion Incident" depicted in Resident Evil. Deep in the Arklay Mountains (bordering Raccoon City), a train is invaded by a horde of leeches -- brutally exterminating all passengers on board. Two hours later, the Special Tactics Rescue Squad is dispatched to investigate. As the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team flies over the wooded hills, their chopper suffers engine failure. Executing an emergency landing, the chopper miraculously lands near a wrecked army jeep filled with murdered military police. After a short investigation of the jeep's contents (and the uncovering of MP court martial orders), it's believed that the missing convict Billy Coen is responsible. The team splits up to search for Coen -- our hero, the rookie cop Rebecca Chambers, "wisely" decides to investigate the train by herself. Here, she encounters zombies, a lot of leeches, and the sought after Billy. However, unusual circumstances (read: leech zombies) force the two to work together to stay alive. Billy and Rebecca fight their way out of this runaway train, and are forced to face horrors untold as they attempt to uncover the "leech man" mystery. After wandering throughout several Umbrella facilities, including James Marcus' underground laboratory, Billy and Rebecca come face to face with the man behind the virus. Marcus recounts his tale of woe -- while working on a project to combine the Progenitor (original) virus with leeches, Albert Wesker and William Birkin riddle him with bullets on the order of Ozwell Spencer -- Umbrella founder and virus creator -- on account of Marcus' wanton testing on humans. The infected leeches manage to resurrect Marcus' body -- transforming him into the terrifying leech charmer he is today. After a drawn out battle of leech acid vs. bullets, Marcus is destroyed. Billy and Rebecca then must exterminate a giant leech queen before finally escaping the Umbrella training facility. After sharing these terrifying events, Rebecca allows Billy to escape into the woods surrounding the Spencer Mansion and reports him as dead to the authorities.. A lot happened in between the train and the facility's demise, but we figure you're reading this you've either played the game, have no intention of playing it, or are only looking for the rough outline. This is because what's really important are the lessons learned from Resident Evil Zero. What We Learned: James Marcus (not Birkin as is later believed) created the T-Virus -- a hybrid of the Progenitor virus and leeches. Marcus' first death (the one that fused him with leeches) and his ensuing rampage is the probable catalyst for the original zombie break out. Albert Wesker's infamy runs deep - as does his association with Umbrella. The infection has spread to the mansion. Resident Evil: Resident Evil is the most beloved of RE games. This was our introduction to zombie infested Raccoon City, the T-virus, and all the accompanying abominations of science. This was our first experience with horror based gaming. And, until Resident Evil Zero, this was the origin story of the T-virus infestation. When released in 1996, Resident Evil shocked PlayStation owners with its survival based gameplay, creepy plot, and gritty atmosphere. However, due to the technical limitations of the PlayStation era (and a very cheesy opening "cinematic"), Resident Evil didn't match Capcom's initial vision. With the release of the GameCube (and an exclusive "sequential" RE deal with Nintendo), Capcom remade Resident Evil in its original envisioning. With more detailed environments, better audio effects, and a slight remix of content for fans, Resident Evil was reborn as an incredibly immersive, scarier, and different experience than the original. After a series of bizarre murders took place in the woods surrounding Raccoon City, the S.T.A.R.S Bravo Team was sent to investigate (the Team's exploits are chronicled in Resident Evil Zero). As we just learned, the Bravo team disappeared on the 23 of July - on the 24th, Alpha Team is dispatched to search for its missing comrades. Upon arrival at the crash site, Alpha Team discovers Bravo Team's pilot, who happens to be torn to shreds in the vicinity of his chopper. The culprits soon attack Alpha Team. In a panic, Alpha's pilot takes the air -- leaving the S.T.A.R.S. agents stranded in the heart of infestation. Fending off this seemingly rabid pack of dogs proves a difficult task. The only course of action is for Alpha Team to seek refuge inside the "abandoned" Spencer Mansion. Of course, the mansion isn't as derelict as Alpha Team believed. From this point forward, the story varies on who's telling the tale (Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine), but the stories are similar enough that they can be lumped under one umbrella (haha). Now inside the mansion with no hope of escaping out the front door -Alpha Captain Albert Wesker instructs team members to explore the mansion in the hopes of getting to the bottom of the mystery. (Wesker then promptly and mysteriously disappears). As Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine investigate the mansion individually, they're confronted with countless untold horrors, including zombies and Hunters, as they try to piece together the mansion's layers of 93

mystery and find a safe escape route (that doesn't involve mutant dog attacks). Along the way, Jill and Chris stumble upon diaries, memos, and journals that outline the mansion's history -- including unsanctioned Umbrella experiments on various creatures that result in all sorts of abominations (which the S.T.A.R.S. agents have the pleasure of facing). Eventually, the S.T.A.R.S. agents stumble upon Umbrella's secret lab (one is directed by the player and the other is imprisoned there by Wesker). Once inside, the agent learns even more about of Umbrella's dastardly experiments, Wesker's involvement with Umbrella, and that S.T.A.R.S'. involvement was orchestrated as way to test the Umbrella creations' effectiveness. By the time the agent confronts Wesker, he's ready to confess to his crimes. He reveals that his main objective is to destroy Umbrella's research and that he's involved S.T.A.R.S.' as a ruse. With the mansion/lab's self destruct sequence triggered, Wesker unleashes a Tyrant to deal with the startled Redfield/Valentine. However, before the Tyrant is decimated by the S.T.A.R.S' trusty grenade launcher, he tears Wesker a new one. Valentine and Redfield rush out of Mansion and escape on the circling S.T.A.R.S. chopper moments before the mansion explodes. What We Learned: Games can be scary. The horrors of the T-virus. The beginnings of corporate conspiracy. Wesker (based on RE0 and RE1) can be blamed for the doom of Raccoon City. Rebecca Chambers somehow wound up entangled in the Spencer Mansion (she aids Chris Redfield). Resident Evil 2: Two years after the cult classic Resident Evil infected the populace, Capcom decided it was time to once again stir up our zombie-lovin' blood. Resident Evil 2 took the original's dual character scenario farther than the first with two truly different storylines. The two playable characters, Leon and Claire, both have different adventures as they attempt to escape Raccoon City. Depending on the character you choose, the entire story differs -- and when you go back to replay the game as the opposing character to see the other side of events -- the story will be different depending on which character initiated the game. The story also takes on more of a conspiratorial tone in the RE2, tending to leave a lot more questions unanswered. RE2 takes place two months after the incident at Spencer Mansion. Chris Redfield has taken it upon himself to expose Umbrella as the diabolical corporation that it truly is. However, formal investigative channels either ignore the requests or intentionally sabotage approval. Chris takes it upon himself to investigate Umbrella. He manages to uncover the existence of a secret lab hidden beneath Raccoon City and tidbits about a "G-virus." His leads take him to Europe, with a few trusted S.T.A.R.S. compatriots in August 1998 -- he fails to tell anyone else his plans. One night, Claire Redfield travels to Raccoon City in search of her missing brother, Chris. This same evening, a recent transfer to the Raccoon City Police Department, rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy, is also making his way within city limits. Both are drawn to a standstill -- Leon stops to examine a corpse while Claire checks in to a local diner -- which instantly draws zombies out of the shadows with the promise of fresh blood. Freaked out, both run for cover and meet inside an abandoned police cruiser. Leon quickly punches the pedal to the floor. While they're able to outrun their shuffling pursuers, they can't escape the zombie situated in the back seat. As Leon wrestles with this new foe, the car careens into the side of a building. Making matters worse, a runaway tanker truck is headed straight for the wreckage. Both quickly evacuate -- but as the tanker explodes, Claire and Leon are separated by a giant wall of flame. Alone again, the two independently make their way towards the Raccoon City Police Department in the hopes of finding some means of escape. While Claire is told a brief outline of the city's plight -- no one believed Chris' zombie story -- by a wounded cop, Leon watches as a helicopter drops a Tyrant on the city. Both run into Umbrella's latest creation -- the Licker. While Leon learns that survivors were able to escape the Precinct via the basement, Claire stumbles upon Chris' office to find that he's in Europe. Upon exiting the office, Claire sees a little girl fleeing from a zombie. She can't catch her. When Leon and Claire meet up again, they decide that they should focus their efforts on finding the girl. Leon heads in one direction, where he meets a woman named Ada Wong (who's searching for her boyfriend). Meanwhile, Claire has managed to find the little girl, Sherry Birkin, who is fleeing from a monster that stalks her. Running away in a panic, Sherry drops her pendant, which is later found by Ada. As both parties (Claire and Leon) continue to search for a way out, they encounter various mutant beasts -- including a monster that turns humans into hosts for its mutating offspring (similar to Alien) and a mutated William Birkin. While Claire searches for Sherry, she runs into Annette Birkin (Sherry's mom) and learns the tale of infection. Umbrella agents were sent to steal the newly created G-virus from Birkin. In the process, the scientist was accidentally shot. Birkin infected himself with the G-virus in order to stay alive -- since this new virus rejuvenates AND mutates cells -- and ended up turning himself into a monster. (During this same incident, the T-virus was released in his lab -- infecting rats that spread the plague into Raccoon City). The G-virus strives to replicate itself and is only compatible with a similar makeup -- it's feared that Birkin will infect Sherry with the G-virus. The two split up to search for Sherry. Annette ends up stumbling into Leon and Ada. She quickly fires on Leon's companion, but Leon takes the bullet. Ada leaves Leon to chase after Annette. When she finally catches up with her, Ada learns that John is indeed dead. Annette, recognizing the pendant Ada's wearing (and believing that Ada's a spy), lunges for it. Ada sends Annette over a railing. When Ada looks inside the pendant, she finds a sample of the G-virus. Meanwhile, Claire has found Sherry in the trash heap after her confrontation with Birkin. She pulls the girl to safety (although Sherry complains of stomach pain). Sherry passes out. Claire and Leon are then both subjected to a series of battles with Birkin and a mysterious monster. Resulting from the violence, Ada is 94

believed dead and Annette is mortally wounded (but she manages to tell Claire how to cure the G-virus before dying). Claire rushes off to make the antidote. After all this mutant caused damage, the laboratory's (which Claire and Leon are now in) auto-destruct sequence activates. Leon, after a hurried goodbye to Ada (who turned out not to be dead), finds a train that should take him to safety. He starts it up and tells Claire and Sherry to hop on. As the train speeds away from the facility, Birkin (still alive) attacks. The train, detecting the presence of the infected creature, initiates its own self-destruct sequence. Claire and Leon stop the train and run to safety before it explodes -- theoretically destroying Birkin. Leon races off on a mission to stop Umbrella. What We Learned: Raccoon City was decimated by T-virus carrying rats. G-virus creations are nigh unstoppable, but the virus itself can be cured. Ada is theoretically alive and in possession of the G-virus. The Raccoon facilities have been destroyed. Leon has taken it upon himself to see the downfall of Umbrella. Resident Evil 3: Hot on the heels of Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis was released only a year after the RE sequel. RE3 mixes up the series in a couple of ways. 1.) With three multiple endings, there was a lot more replay value. 2.) It introduced a "dodge" into the Resident Evil repertoire. Hitting the right trigger at the right time (without a weapon equipped) will make Jill duck out of the way of a zombie's lunge. If she happens to be holding her gun, A will either dodge or push the monster backwards. 3.) RE 3 also introduces "Live Choices" -- time sensitive decisions that affect the game's storyline in immediate or gradual ways. (If a player doesn't choose in time, the game chooses for him). 4.) It's slightly more action oriented (there are more enemies and Jill is constantly hunted by a Nemesis). 5.) It includes a fun mini-game titled Mercenaries. Throughout RE 3, Jill encounters three mercenaries (Carlos, Mikhail, and Nikolai). These three become the playable characters in this race against the clock. You have two minutes to navigate a labyrinth from uptown to downtown (more time is added by killing zombies along the way. From a story standpoint, RE3 is confusing not due to actual plot complications, but because it acts as both a prequel and epilogue to the zombie-infested Raccoon City events in Resident Evil 2. Raccoon City has been decimated by the plague carrying rats (which were infected by the T-virus in Birkin's lab). Zombies have killed most citizens (who are most likely zombies themselves). Amidst this ruined city, pockets of scattered humans make their last bid for survival -- among them is none other than Jill Valentine. Knowing she has to escape Raccoon City in order to stay alive, Jill darts down the seemingly abandoned city streets in search of a way out. What she finds is a fellow S.T.A.R.S. agent who's being stalked by zombies. He warns Jill of a monster that's hunting S.T.A.R.S. agents before running off into the night. When Jill sees him again, he's about to have his head ripped off by this mysterious monster. Valentine manages to escape by ducking inside the R.P.D. (Raccoon Police Department). However, she can't hide for long. After another narrow escape, she meets up with a mercenary for hire by the Umbrella Corporation -- Carlos Oliveira (apparently hired to save Raccoon City's civilians). After another encounter with the creature, Carlos asks Jill to join his squad -- and the two head deeper into the city. The city hall is the staging ground for the mercenary group's escape. The leader, Nikolai, grudgingly accepts Jill into his crew. The now four person team (Jill, Carlos, Nikolai, and the wounded Mikhail) split up to search for parts needed to get a cable car operational (which will theoretically shield them on their journey to the chopper evac zone). After gathering most of the necessary supplies, Jill heads off to find a missing ingredient. In a warehouse, she once again encounters this vicious monster (and hears Nikolai's audible demise). Back at the cable car, Jill gets the engine running -- the three survivors head for the meeting point. But the stalker has managed to board the car. Nothing seems capable of destroying the monster, but Mikhail sacrifices himself in order to blast the creature out the back of the train (with the help of a grenade). However, this also destroyed the tram's brake systems -- it crashes into a wall and Jill is knocked unconscious. When she awakes, Carlos is in hysterics. However, she manages to signal the chopper solo. The chopper approaches the clock tower, but it's quickly destroyed by the monster's trusty rocket launcher. The creature then leaps down to attack Jill -- stabbing her with his tentacle and infecting her with the T-virus. Before the monster can kill her, Carlos arrives and manages to destroy the rocket launcher (and is knocked unconscious in the process). Jill "kills" the creature before passing out. She wakes up two days later (the events of Resident Evil 2 transpire while she's unconscious). Carlos is by her side and promises that he'll find something to cure her. He heads down to the hospital. Here, he runs into Nikolai (who managed to survive). He's standing over the body of another mercenary rambling about how he's a "supervisor." When he sees Carlos, he prepares to shoot him -- but his action is interrupted by a grenade. Confused by these events, Carlos stumbles into a secret Umbrella laboratory. Here, he's able to replicate a Tvirus vaccine. As he leaves the hospital, it explodes. He returns to Jill in time to once again fend off this persistent creature. Jill recovers soon after he administers the vaccine. Carlos then runs off, leaving Jill to fend off the monster once again. Escaping, she makes her way to an Umbrella command center. She learns that the creature chasing her is called a Nemesis, and it was sent to kill all S.T.A.R.S. agents. She also runs into Nikolai who confesses that his true mission was to test the effectiveness of Umbrella's bio-weapons and cover up its tracks. Nikolai flees. Valentine is once again confronted by the Nemesis -- this time she escapes by jumping into a nearby river (which washes her into a factory). Carlos saves her from a group of zombies and tells her the disturbing news that Raccoon City is to be destroyed by a nuclear missile at dawn. If they don't get out now, they'll be 95

killed. Before a plan can be formulated, Nikolai opens fire on them. Jill ducks into a waste disposal unit and has five minutes to escape before being dumped into whatever muck lies beneath. Prohibiting her exit is the Nemesis. However, the Nemesis is quickly disposed by shooting acid leaking pipes, which melt the creature into little more than a puddle. Jill finds a key card and escapes. Jill meets up with Carlos to witness Nikolai flying off in the Umbrella helicopter. The pair frantically scans radio frequencies, and they find another chopper that's willing to pick them up (if they can make it to the helipad). Carlos runs off to take care of...stuff, while Jill makes her way to the helipad. Enroute, she stumbles upon a mass of mutant and human corpses. She also finds the military's weapon against Umbrella's creatures, a giant rail cannon. As she installs the gun's batteries, the Nemesis miraculously appears. After a brief shoot out, the Nemesis lurches in front of the rail cannon and is promptly decimated. Jill and Carlos board the chopper and take to the air just as the missile whizzes into the heart of Raccoon City. Blinding light and a wave of fire envelops Umbrella's zombie-infested test site. Jill, like Leon, vows to expose the corporation. Code Veronica: With the success of the Resident Evil series, Capcom knew it couldn't let a good thing stop. So, like clockwork, a new chapter in the Resident Evil series was unveiled in 2000 under the guise of Resident Evil: Code Veronica. This version gains fame for a couple reasons -- the most important is that it's Resident Evil's first foray into full 3D (it's second is RE4). Also, the game was re-released as Resident Evil: Code Veronica X, which contained extended cut scenes and a copy of Wesker's Report -- a document that revealed elements of the virus' back story (and how Wesker became involved with Umbrella.) It's also the first game to take up two disks -- and it's one of the longer RE adventures. Code Veronica picks up days after Claire survived the Raccoon City incident. She's still hunting for her brother Chris. During her search, she stumbles upon documents that suggest that Raccoon City isn't an isolated incident. Umbrella has set up similar experiments in Eastern Europe too. She heads to Paris. While investigating an Umbrella facility, she's captured and taken to an Umbrella prison camp. Code Veronica chronicles her escape. It's December 1998. Claire wakes up inside her new prison home to the rumble of explosions. A wounded guard shambles towards her and unlocks her cell. Before collapsing into a chair, he tells her that the base has been attacked -- Claire's free to go. But, he warns that she'll never escape the island. Claire rushes topside only to find that the T-virus has infected the prison populace. Zombies are climbing out of graves. A truck explodes. Claire ducks through the nearest open door. A guard tower opens fire on her, but Claire manages to shootout the spotlight --ending the assault. Relieved that Claire's not a zombie, the shooter scampers down the side of the tower. Steve tells Claire that there's an airfield somewhere on the island -- and it's the best way to escape. He promptly ditches Claire with the excuse that she'll slow him down. Alone, she rummages through the soldier quarters searching for clues. Unable to find anything, she runs into Steve at a computer terminal. He's located Chris and the coordinates of the island they're stranded on. Claire forwards them to Leon in the hopes that he'll be able to help her. By the time she's finished, Steve is gone. Claire manages to escape the prison, but the main road has been destroyed. She decides to investigate the island's mansion. Inside, she's almost killed by Alfred Ashford (grandson of Umbrella's founder) who believes she led the attackers here. After a brief denial, Ashford leaves Claire alone. She heads outside and finds a submarine that leads to an underwater sea plane hangar. With a pilot, she can escape -- all she needs is three keys to unlock the bay. With one already in her possession, she needs to locate two more. But Ashford doesn't want Claire escaping so easily. Remotely locking doors, he devises a labyrinth/trap for Claire. While searching for a way out, she's nearly killed by a pair of zombies. Luckily, Steve saves her in the nick of time. The two are forced to navigate the sewer system -- where Steve has a run-in with his zombie-fied dad. After killing him, he explains his father had been selling Umbrella's secrets -- the two of them were taken to this prison as punishment. After finding a few more keys, Claire heads towards an abandoned house to the sound of a woman's laughter. Inside, she learns that Alexia and Alfred Ashford are plotting Claire's demise so that they can reclaim the Ashford family pride. Once they leave, Claire finds some needed keys. Upon leaving the residence, she runs into Albert Wesker. He tells her that he's the one that attacked the facility -- and he's glad that Claire's here. Chris will be pained to see her die. He then runs off at super human speed. Claire recovers from her encounter and runs back to the mansion. She finds a secret compartment leading to Alfred's study in Alexia's bedroom. Inside, she finds the last key she needs to get into the cargo plane. As she exits the study, she's greeted by a near miss shotgun blast from Alexia. As she's about to blow off Claire's head, Steve bursts in and opens fire. Alexia retreats. The two follow her, but are soon attacked by Alfred -- who's wearing Alexia's clothes and makeup (apparently he's snapped and thinks he's both Alfred and Alexia). When confronted, he runs off. Steve and Claire head for the plane. While it starts up fine, the exit is blocked by a bridge. Claire leaves to raise it. On her return, her path is blocked by a new tyrant type. Killing it, she hops into the plane and the two take off to the sounds of a self-destruct sequence count down. However, their escape isn't so easy. The tyrant has managed to climb aboard the plane. Luckily, the cargo plane is loaded with explosives on a rail system -- and after positioning the tyrant in front of the door, Claire sends Tyrant and explosives into the sea. But this isn't the end of the pair's troubles. When Claire returns to the cockpit, she learns that Alfred has activated the plane's autopilot. They're now headed for Antarctica. 96

Hours pass. The plane starts to descend onto a small airstrip near an Antarctic base. However, the landing is botched -- and the plane crashes into a building, knocking its passengers unconscious. When they awake, the two decide the best course of action is to search for a way out. Claire wanders the facility for clues. During her investigation, she learns that the base serves as a mine and a home to some demon called "Nosferatu." When she meets back up with Steve, he tells her that there's an Australian outpost a few hours away. If he can drill through the wall of the Umbrella base, they can escape. Unfortunately, Steve hits a gas main. Claire manages to turn off the noxious gas -- and as air clears Alfred once again opens fire. Steve plugs him with a few bullets -- Ashford falls down a pit. Steve resumes drilling, and they're able to exit the base. Outside on a helipad, the two are attacked by the Nosferatu Tyrant. Claire quickly dispatches it. The two survivors hop on a snow mobile and head towards the Australian camp. Meanwhile, Alfred has managed to drag himself into a lab. In his dying breath, he activates a computer program. It raises a frozen cylinder. As it defrosts, Alfred dies with the thought that Alexia is finally awake. The snowmobile is suddenly wracked by an unseen force. Alexia watches the wreck burn on a surveillance monitor. A lone figure climbs the rocky face of Umbrella's Prison Island. When he reaches the top, he finds a cave. Seemingly the only entrance to the island facility, he steps inside. The opening collapses behind him -he's trapped. Inside, he finds the lone survivor of the island -- a man Claire had earlier helped. Our hero asks the dying man about the whereabouts of Claire Redfield -- the man tells him that she's escaped on one of the base's planes. Chris Redfield thanks the dying man and moves deeper into Umbrella's base. After dealing with a few unsightly foes, Chris winds up inside the facility's control room -- where he sees video feed of a girl (Alexia) cradling a dead man's body. Meanwhile, a mysterious man watches these same events, cursing that Alexia is already awake. He notices Chris on another monitor -- and immediately sets a Hunter on him as a welcoming present. He unleashes hovercrafts into the base -- if their spotlights see Chris, an alarm sounds attracting the Hunters. Chris stealthily navigates across the facility. When he finally reaches the safety of an enclosed area, he's greeted with a mocking laugh. The mysterious man behind him is none other than Albert Wesker. Albert rushes towards Chris -knocking him across the room. Picking him up, Wesker slowly crushes Chris' trachea. Wesker reveals that he's sold his services to a new employer. In retaliation, Chris punches him in the face. Wesker's sunglasses fall to the floor, revealing yellow, slitted eyes. Suddenly, laughing is emitted from the room's speakers -- a picture of Alexia flashes on the screen. Wesker throws Chris across the room and leaves. Recovering from his encounter, Chris rushes back into the complex. He's able to obtain the multiple keys he needs to enter Alfred's secret hangar. Luckily, Alfred Ashford owned multiple private jets. Chris takes off for Antarctica. When he arrives, he finds that the exposed portions of the base have frozen over (due to the prior plane crash). Searching the interior, he finds a crane with a hook imbedded in the ice -- thinking it's important, Chris searches for the key. He manages to enter Alfred's office. Inside, he learns that Alexia and Alfred are the result of an experiment that their father performed. This drove Alexia to use her own body as a test subject -- she's spent the last 15 years in cryogenic storage after faking her own death. He also learns that he needs three jewels to unlock a secret passage in the base. While attempting to move deeper into the base, Chris is buzzed by a few more hovercraft -- indicating that Wesker has made it to Antarctica. As he explores the upper floors, he finds Alexia's lab. Inside, her notes detail her experiments. She combined a virus found within a queen ant with the T-virus, which created a new monster -- the T-Veronica virus. This is what she has injected herself with and used to turn her father into a monster. Further exploration reveals cryogenic chambers. He opens one to discover Alfred's body. Removing his ring (one of the jewels), Chris leaves. He eventually finds the key to the crane -- and removes the hook from its icy prison. This reveals Alex Ashford's impaled body. Behind him he hears the mocking laugh of Alexia. Suddenly, a giant spider bursts forth through the hole in the ice. Chris is able to quickly dispatch it, but the distraction has allowed Alexia time to disappear. He grabs an earring from Alex's corpse before continuing on his quest. After searching the last remnants of the base, Chris finally finds Claire trapped inside a cocoon. He frees her, and the two exchange hugs. Claire then exclaims that they have to find Steve. ...Alexia's laugh rings through the corridor. Chris and Claire give chase, but as the reach the open, ice-filled area, tentacles burst through the ice, knocking the siblings unconscious. Claire awakes to the sound of Steve's screams. She checks with Chris, whose leg is injured, before taking off to find Steve. A short surveillance of the surrounding area reveals the path Alexia took. Claire races down a long hallway. At the end is a cell (that previously held Alex) -- inside she finds Steve strapped to a table. As she tries to move the axe pinning him down, Steve tells her that Alexia plans to perform the same experiments on him as she did on her father. As he finishes his sentence, his body begins to mutate. He triples in size, his skin erupts in scales, and huge claws grow from his hands. He easily lifts the axe off his chest and starts chasing Claire down the corridor. Just as Claire runs out of room to maneuver, a tentacle smashes through the wall and seizes her. Steve yells out her name and slices the tentacle in half. In rage, the tentacle slams Steve against the wall. Dying, he morphs back into human form. As his life ebbs away, he tells Claire he loves her. 97

Meanwhile, Alexia and Wesker square off in the main chamber. Wesker demands that Alexia come with him -- he's been sent to obtain the T-Veronica virus and the only remaining sample is within Alexia. But Alexia doesn't think Wesker is worthy of such a gift. As she moves towards him, she bursts into flames and transforms into a bug like creature. When she hits him, Wesker is sent flying across the room. After a second hit, Alexia turns towards Chris. With this diversion, Wesker flees from the room. With a flick of her hand, a wall of fire springs up where Wesker was -- barely missing him. Meanwhile, Chris too is trying to escape and nearly incinerated -- but he's now trapped with Alexia. She continues to throw fire at Chris -- whilst he sends round after round into her body. Finally, she falls to the floor "dead." Rummaging through her clothes, Chris happens upon the last jewel -- and enters the secret passage. Inside he finds Alexander's lab. He learns that Alexia and Alfred were engineered in an experiment using his wife Veronica's DNA. Through the lab, he is able to hear Claire's muffled screams. She tells him that the only way to free her is to engage the lab's self-destruct mechanism. So, Chris heads off to the control room and activates the mechanism. The two are reunited just in time to witness Alexia's "rebirth" from a giant tentacle. As she lies on the floor of the lab, her body begins to mutate into an ant like creature. The Redfields run towards an emergency locker -- inside is a plasma rifle. Unfortunately, it's not holding a charge. Chris tells Claire to escape while he distracts the last Ashford. The two duel a dance of death -- Alexia shooting out tentacles from her abdomen and Chris showering with grenades. Finally the rifle is charged, and Chris sends a blast into Alexia. She explodes -just as the destruct sequences initiates. Chris follows after Claire -- only to learn that Wesker has her captive. He takes off after them. When he emerges from a long hallway, he's in a seaport (which conveniently holds a submarine). After a short exchange, where Wesker reveals that Steve's body will replace Alexia's, Chris demands that Wesker let Claire go. Wesker flings Clare across the room (who flees), and engages in his final battle. Wesker, with his super human strength, clearly has the advantage over Chris. As he's about to finish off the elder Redfield, Chris releases a pulley that was suspending steel pipes over the walk way. They crash into Wesker. This isn't enough to stop him, but an explosion separates them with a burst of flame. Chris escapes to the sound of Wesker's laughter. Chris takes the elevator down to the ground floor where Claire is waiting for him in a jet. The two take off as the Antarctic base explodes. Claire begs Chris to never leaver her again -- his only response is that he needs to destroy Umbrella for good. What We Learned: Wesker is still alive. The origins of the T-virus (thanks to Wesker's Report). The origins of the T-Veronica virus. Wesker has a sample of the Alexia's virus -- Steve may or may not be dead. The Ashfords are dead. There's a new "Umbrella" contender. Wesker's Report My name is Albert Wesker. I aspired to become a leading researcher at Umbrella Inc. A pharmaceutical enterprise who covertly conduction Bio Organic Weapons, better known as B.O.W., for development. But at the leader development training ground situated in Raccoon City, I met a brilliant and talented researcher who decided to take a different path; William Birkin. In time I shifted my position to S.T.A.R.S., a special forces unit of the Raccoon Police Department. Umbrella, for crisis management reasons of their illegal Bio Organic Weapons development, had many of it's people working in the police department. I became the leader of S.T.A.R.S. and conducted all sorts of intelligence activities for Umbrella. As I continued to serve I devised my own plans and waited for the right moment to execute them. Then at last, opportunity knocked. The freak murder incidents that occurred in the forest near the mansion started it all. The mansion was Umbrella's secret BOW laboratory and it was clear that the indevelopment T-Virus was the cause of the murder. Initially, Umbrella instructed me secretively to keep S.T.A.R.S. out of the case, but with the heightened emotions of the citizens S.T.A.R.S. had no choice but to move in. That was when my next order was given. Dispatch S.T.A.R.S. to the mansion, dispose of them, then report the situation to headquarters so that their combat with the B.O.W. could be used for data analysis allowing Umbrella a comprehensive portrait of the B.O.W.'s combat abilities. From the 2 S.T.A.R.S. teams I first pitched in the Bravo Team. As expected, the top elite of S.T.A.R.S. gave all they had and became useful sample data. Then following, I geared up the Alpha Team to "search and rescue" the lost Bravo Team. The members of the Alpha Team also proved their worth and as expected many died. There were 5 Survivors from the initial 11 S.T.A.R.S. members. From the Alpha Team were Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, and Barry Burton. And from the Bravo Team were Rebecca Chambers and Enrico Marini. It was time to begin executing my plans. In the midst of the whole affair I could take Umbrella's ultimate BioOrganic Weapon, the Tyrant, and join forces with an opposing corporation of Umbrella. To buy into that opposing corporation I would need the actual combat data of the Tyrant. The surviving privileged members of S.T.A.R.S. were just the perfect bait. I decided to have one of them play the Judas and draw them to the Tyrant. That Judas was Barry. Barry was the strong truth and justice kind and cherished his family more than anything. His type is easy to manipulate. I just took that most important thing away from him. My only miscalculation was the high potential of Chris and Jill. But with the family man Barry playing Judas the scheme went as planned. Then the winds turned unexpectedly. I had to eliminate Enrico who found out what was behind it all. I used Barry to get to him. After I successfully got rid of that nuisance I awaited the sample specimen that Barry would bring to me in the Tyrants 98

room. I injected the virus I obtained from Birkin in advance. If I made Umbrella believe I was dead, it made it far more convenient to sell myself to the opposing corporation. According to Birkin the virus had profound effects. It would put my body in a state of temporary "death." It would then bring me back to life with super human powers. Therefore I unleashed an awesome Tyrant from its slumber and let it attack me. As my consciousness faded away I was certain that the whole scheme would end in success. Never did I imagine that S.T.A.R.S. could slay the evil creation. I lost the Tyrant and the plan I devised which cost me my humanity ended in failure. Now anything and anyone who stood in my way would be terminated. It's been that way for a long time and it always will be. At all costs I had to make S.T.A.R.S pay. Two months had passed since the mansion incident. To regain everything I had lost in my new organization, I joined hands with Ada Wong, a female agent who was also sent to spy on Umbrella. I knew in my bones that the key developer was William Birkin, but what he didn't know was that Umbrella did not play games... with anyone. Eventually, Birkin would be assassinated, and the G-Virus would be in the hands of Umbrella. But the salvage team led by Hunk was ahead of us. By the time they got to Birkin, he'd already injected himself with the G-Virus... he became his own creation, and decimated them. Soon after, the T-Virus carried by rats spread throughout Raccoon City, and Umbrella faced its worst scenario. The good citizens became zombies, and the city had headed for its devastating fate. Humans were no match against zombies. In the chaos, Umbrella Europe applied a new type B.O.W., called "Nemesis". The Nemesis would hunt down and destroy the surviving member of S.T.A.R.S., Jill. It became imperative that our organization would also obtain the Nemesis data. To cover up the whole affair, Umbrella jettisoned a Tyrant to take care of Leon and Claire, who were trying to unveil their secrets. Then, a new revelation. Birkin used to hide the findings of his studies in his daughter Sherry's pendant. It was very possible that the G-Virus was there. While Umbrella was busy with their cover up, we had to capture Sherry before they did. I sent Ada undercover to seek the location of Sherry. I, the "dead man" on the other hand, had to work in the shadows. A spy's obligation and priority is in the mission, to carry out the mission like a machine without any emotional interference. But through her interaction and involvement with Leon S. Kennedy, there'd been an affection growing inside her. My instincts sensed danger, something had to be done, quickly. My instincts did not disappoint me. Even though Ada almost had her hands on the G-Virus, which Leon had acquired from Sherry, that affection of hers drove her to her death. But she was still of some use. I had to save her life. My people hurried to retrieve the G-Virus that Leon threw away. But Hunk, the only survivor of Umbrella's salvage team, was there before us. Our only option left was to bring back Birkin, the monster, as the sample specimen and have him finish off Leon and Claire in order to obtain his combat data. Although Birkin lost the battle to Leon and Claire, we succeeded in gathering samples of the G-Virus from his dead body. In the morning the government bombed Raccoon City in an attempt to stop for the viral outbreak. This was, of course, their feigned reason. Later, Claire left for Europe to find her lost brother Chris, and Leon joined forces with a underground anti-Umbrella organization. Sherry is safe in our hands. I would never underestimate Birkin. There's something about this little girl... Wesker's Report II Before the "Resident Evil incident" occurred, Wesker left a record of the past 20 years and all of the events that occurred between himself and "the incident". He sent it to a "Eda Won" but we have no details on her. We have posted that record here. WARNING: The following record contains spoilers about the original Res Evil, part 2, 3, and Code Veronica. July 31, 1978: The first time I visited that place, it was the summer of my 18th year. That makes it about 20 years ago. As I got off the helicopter, I remember the sight of the swirling wind that the helicopter blades whipped into the air. When viewed from above the old mansion seemed quite normal, but when seen from the ground there was something foreboding and unapproachable about it. Burkin (my junior by 2 years) seemed, as usual, to only be concerned with the document he was holding. We were assigned to the mansion 2 days earlier, on the day that the "executive training center", we had belonged to, was closed. It all seemed like it was planned and too much of a coincidence. But probably the only person who knew the real truth was Spencer. Spencer was one of the main guys in charge of America's "T-Virus" research at the Arklay Research Facility. As soon as we got off the helicopter the head of the facility was standing in front of the elevator ready to greet us. I can't even remember the guy's name. Who really cares about formalities and figureheads like him; from that day on, the Arklay Research Center was ours. As Chief Researchers, we were put completely in charge of all aspects of the facility. Of course that is just how Spencer had planned it all out. He chose us. We ignored the facility head and got on the elevator. I had already memorized the building layout the day before, and Burkin, although he has no bad intentions, never really pays much attention to other people. Most people probably get pretty irked from the first 5 seconds that they meet us. However, the facility head had no reaction at all. Back then I was a young-buck completely full of himself, so I didn't really pay the facility head any mind. But in the end, I was really only Spencer's puppet, and the facility head, whose boss was Spencer, at least actually knew what Spencer was up to, and what he was thinking. The whole time we were riding in the elevator, Burkin never took his eye off of the documents he was holding. The document that Burkin was scrutinizing so closely was a report about a new virus that has shown up in Africa. It was called "Ebola". At 99

this moment there were many people, all throughout the world, who were studying the Ebola Virus. However, I think there are two major reasons why they were studying it. To help people and... to kill them. As you probably know, the death rate of someone affected by Ebola is 90 percent. In 10 days it quickly destroys a person's organs. Even now, there are no known ways to prevent it or cure it. It could, quite possibly, destroy a large part of the human race. Of course even before this, due to the "Biological Weapons Prohibition Pact", it was illegal for us to study the virus as a weapon. However, even if we weren't the ones to research it, there was no proof that someone else wouldn't be doing that same thing and so it was considered legal for us to research it--just in case. There is a thin line in "international law" between what is acceptable and what is prohibited. And so, it became necessary to research how the virus study information would be used as a method of prevention, not as a weapon. There really is no difference in the way in which you research a virus as a cure, from how you research it as a weapon. But since the two are very similar, it is possible to pretend you are researching a cure, while in fact, be researching the virus as a weapon. Even though, at that time, for whatever reason, Burkin may have been looking at the Ebola report, he wasn't really researching the Ebola virus. The Ebola Virus had too many "weak spots". First of all, the virus could only survive for a few days if not inside a human body. It would soon "die" if under sunlight (ultra-violet light) for too long. Secondly, since it kills the host too quickly there isn't enough time to transfer/infect other hosts. Finally, the virus is only transferable through direct touch and so it can be easily prevented. Try to imagine the following: If a person who was heavily infected (the disease had spread all throughout their body) could actually stand and walk around? And, without knowing it, was in direct contact with other people, of their own accord... What if the RNA of the Ebola Virus could actually alter a person's genetic code? And if, through that, a person was able to carry the virus without dying? What if this person had the resilience of a monster? That is, wouldn't this person be a "living dead" whose body carried the virus? Something that could infect others, sort of like a "living biological weapon". I guess we are lucky that the Ebola Virus doesn't have the potential to do such things. I wonder if we will be successful in holding on to such a virus without it getting into the wrong person's hands? The Arklay Lab headed up by Spencer was built for that purpose, it seemed. To create a disease capable of the characteristics I listed before. Officially it was just a pharmaceutical company researching cures to viruses, but the truth is, it was really a factory for manufacturing biological weapons. The origin of the company was to create new "starter" viruses by recombining genes. In order to produce "biological weapons" out of these new "starter" viruses, they began studying "virus mutations" in order to "strengthen" the basic viruses they had created. This was known as the "T-Virus" experiment. RNA based starter viruses can easily be mutated. Through those mutations, it is possible to "strengthen" their traits. The reason Burkin was so interested in the Ebola Virus was that he was thinking of recombining the Ebola genes into a starter virus to strengthen its attributes. By the time we had arrived at the research center there was already a sample of the Ebola Virus waiting for us. We changed elevators several times and finally reached the upper level of the complex. When we arrived even Burkin looked up. It was the first time we had met "her". We hadn't heard a single word about "her" before. She was a secret of the utmost confidentiality at the research center. And they didn't let any information about her out of the compound. According to the records, she was at the research center from the very moment it was first built. She was 25. But we didn't know her name, nor why she was here. She was to be used as the experimental subject host for the T-Virus. The day we began the experiment was November 10th, 1967. We did T-Virus experiments on her for all of 11 years. Burkin mumbled something. Maybe they were words cursing our situation. Maybe they were words of praise. In any case, we had come to the point of no return now. We had two choices: to succeed in our research....or to lay here rotting like she was. Of course that meant we really only had one choice. She was bound to a "pipe bed" and something about her made me think... Had this been a part of Spencer's plan all along? (The report continues 3 years later) July 27, 1981: Today, a 10 year-old girl was sent here, as a chief researcher, from Umbrella's Antarctica Research Facility. Her name was Alexia Ashford. I was 21 and Burkin was 19. As annoying as it was, the whole Arklay complex was rampant with rumors of "Antarctica Alexia". Nobody talked about anything else. She had been at Umbrella for a long time. The older guys at Umbrella knew the legendary Ashford name. Before, if we ever reached a dead end in our research, one of the old timers would say "if only Professor Edward were still alive"... If I remember correctly, "Edward Ashford" was one of the people who first discovered the "Starter Virus" and who originally planned creating the T-Virus. However, he died soon after Umbrella was founded. It's been 13 years since his death. So is there really anything to gain by having high expectations of the "Ashford" lineage? And, in fact, the Antarctic Research Center founded by his son hadn't yielded a single result. Don't people know the limits of Alexia's smarts? She is only Edward's grandchild after all. But from the day she came, our worthless, good for nothing subordinates began to say "It's a good thing Alexia is here". She may be from a famous family, carry great "genes" within her, but nonetheless, I knew it was gonna be a real hassle having subordinates with such a lack of good judgement. It's idiots like that, who, if they accidentally stuck their foot in a bucket, wouldn't be able to move or figure out what to do unless someone told them. At least I could still tell the difference. However, if, at that 100

time, I would have gotten upset about the whole thing, it would have just slowed down our progress on the TVirus research. Unless you can keep cool and still be decisive no matter what the circumstances, then success will always evade you. At that time I was thinking this: By making good use of the "past", then we could definitely yield good results. And if some of those "old timers", who feasibly could die at any second, then they would make great test subjects. After all, do you think it is possible to stand above the people, if you can't rationally use their "human resources" well? However, the problem was Burkin. The way he reacted to the Alexia rumors was terrible. He never really said it, but for Burkin, the fact that he was the youngest person to ever be a chief researcher was always something he was proud of. That "pride" was severely injured by having a mere 10 year-old become a chief researcher. It was probably the first time someone so talented as he had ever tasted defeat. He just couldn't accept the "younger, girl of good lineage". To be made a fool of by someone who hadn't gotten any results. Someone who had worked so far away. The fact that he couldn't get over it, showed his immaturity. However, even though he was still immature, no matter what, I had to bring him back to his senses. It was during these three years that our research moved up to the 2nd level. It was at this point that we fixed upon the idea of making a "living biological weapon". We started to call the "T-Virus" by a new name - "Zombie". However, it was impossible to get a 100% infection ratio. Within people there is a subtle difference that the virus couldn't totally overtake. It seems "compatibility" also was a major factor. About 10 percent of the people who were injected with the "Zombie Virus" didn't get infected. And this was something that, no matter how hard we researched, we just couldn't overcome. A disease that would affect 90 percent of all humans seemed to me to be quite an effective weapon. But Spencer didn't see it that way. Spencer said that he was hoping for a specialty virus that could "easily" wipe out EVERYONE. But, why in the world would he want something like that? One important characteristic of biological weapons was that they could be developed cheaply. However, the "biological weapon" that we were researching started to become very costly. If Spencer was in it just for the money, then he probably wouldn't have chosen to spend the extra money on researching a specialty virus that infected and wiped out 100% of its victims. It just wasn't financially "worth it". Why would he want to ignore all financial concerns just to continue the research? If by changing the idea of war (through biological warfare), he was attempting to monopolize all military industries then I would have understood that but... Even to this day, I have no idea what his true intentions were. But whatever Spencer's real reason was, Burkin was planning on making a biological weapon that would increase a country's military capacity. Not to just manipulate the genes of the "T-Virus", but also by adding other genetic code he was planning on creating "him". A military biological weapon that could annihilate those who went unaffected by the virus, as well as, people who were wearing anti-viral gear and equipment. This weapon was later named "Hunter". However, that experiment was temporarily put on hold. In order to protect the test subjects from Burkin. Burkin's pace was quickened by Alexia's existence. He began to act "out of the ordinary". He would stay at the lab for 24 hours straight. Attempt experiments that he hadn't really thought out. I tried to use other researchers to get as many samples from the subjects before they died, but I just couldn't keep up with his pace. The head facilitator brought in a new subject, as if nothing had ever happened. But she, too, soon died. It was hell. And within that hell there was but one person living--The female test subject's body that continued to live on. She was already 28 years old. Having lived 14 of her years in this research facility. Someone whose "consciousness" had been taken away by the "Starter Virus" that had been injected into her 14 years ago. Someone who, if their "heart" did happen to actually be alive, would only hope for "death". But she continued to "survive". Why was only she able to survive this long? Her basic experiment data and that of other subjects seemed to be the same. It would still take a long time for us to solve this riddle. (The report continues 2 years later) December 31st, 1983: The winter of my sixth year at the Arklay Research Center. For the past 2 years, there were no significant results and time seemed to just stagnantly flow along, but before long we had a breakthrough. The thing that started it all was a report we got that morning. Antarctica Alexia had died. The cause of her death was that she accidentally got infected by a virus that she, herself, was researching. It was called the "T-Veronica Virus". Alexia was 12 years old. It seems she was just a little too young to be undertaking such dangerous experiments. There were many rumors to be heard. One particular rumor actually suggested that she injected the "T-Veronica" into her own body. But no matter what the circumstances I find that particular "theory" to be implausible. Probably she was just so shaken up over her father's disappearance one year earlier that she just made a mistake in the experiment. After that Alexia's last remaining blood relative, her twin brother who had worked in the Antarctica Research Center came and picked up her work where she left off. But no one had any expectations of him. In the end, the "Ashford" family was basically "dead"... without even yielding a single advance for the experiment. It was just as I thought. A legend is, after all, merely that... a legend. After the news of Alexia's death, Burkin changed. Or I guess I should say, he returned back to his normal self. But I guess the biggest thing was that all of his subordinates now had no choice but to think of him as the main researcher. Since, now, there was no one who could surpass his talents. However, with that, it became "taboo" for anyone to talk about Alexia in front of him. He fiercely opposed me when I planned on getting a 101

sample of the T-Veronica Virus. I had no choice but to put finding the truth about Alexia's research on the back burner. In the end, even though the situation was at its best, Burkin, himself, failed to grow up and advance his research. However, at that time I was concerned more about a different question at hand. The Arklay Research Center was surrounded by a dense forest. I often hiked through the forest but since the center was located in a mountain region there was never anyone to be found nearby. The only method of transportation was by helicopter. And the center wasn't exactly the type of place that people came to visit. One important reason for the fact that the center was located in such an isolated location was to prevent the virus from getting out in the instance of a "leak". However, "biological weapons" aren't that simple. "Viruses" don't only infect humans. The can infect "other" things as well. Any virus is usually capable of infecting more than one host. For example, the number of species that the ordinary "influenza virus" (the common flu) is recognized as infecting are birds, pigs, horses, seals, and humans. The difficult part is that not all types of animals/people within a species are affected. Even though, within the bird species, ducks and chickens are affected, all other birds are not. And, if a virus mutates, then the kinds and number of hosts it affects changes. So it is impossible to create a virus that is capable of affecting everything. And that was the main problem--trying to adapt the T-Virus so that it would affect "everything" that it came into contact with. After Burkin became "useless", I started investigating the T-Virus's communicative infection rate. It was then that I found out that, it was a fact that the T-Virus could infect almost any kind of living thing. Not just animals, but plants, insects, fish--almost any species. The virus had the power to expand and disperse all over the earth. Whenever I would leave the center for a walk in the woods I would always think to myself... Why did Spencer choose this place? Because there were lots of different types of species concentrated in the woods. If the virus ever did get out here, then what would happen to a place where there were this many types of living things present? In the case of insects, they are small so you might not think of them as "dangerous" even if they are secondary carriers of the virus. However, insects usually exist in "swarms" and that huge number makes them a very dangerous "carrier", indeed. If they were carriers then how far would the virus spread? If a plant was a carrier then, since they can't move, you wouldn't expect them to be able to infect many people. However, what about the "pollen" that comes from plants? Considering those factors, the center was an extremely dangerous place to run "virus research". And if you really think about it, the location of the Ashford's Antarctica Research Center was really a much safer and obvious choice. It would almost seem as if this place was specifically chosen, as a location, for the purpose of "spreading" the virus. But, I just can't imagine that would really be so. What is Spencer trying to get us to do? This was a major issue. So big that I couldn't tell the other researchers. At this time the only person that I felt I could have talked with about this was Burkin, but it was evident that telling him would be meaningless. I needed more information. It was at that time that I first began to feel the limitations of my position as researcher. I needed to get myself a position that had more access to information that would reveal Spencer's true objective. I felt no love lost for throwing away my position as a researcher in order to find out. But I couldn't rush things. Because if Spencer ever got wind to what I was doing then it would be all over. I jumped back into my research and it was "business as usual" so as not to call attention to my plans. During those times, the female test subject that continued to survive was left in some corner and forgotten. A living "could've been". We began to call her that, sometime after she stopped yielding useful data for us. At least, until 5 years later that is... (The report continues 5 years later) July 1st, 1988: The summer of our 11th year at Arklay was just starting. I was already 28. Burkin had become a father and already had a 2 year-old daughter. His wife was one of the researchers that worked at Arklay. You would normally think it hard to understand someone wanting to get married and raise a child, all the while doing their research. But, it is said that only "non-ordinary" people ever continued to do research at Arklay. Only the crazy ones ever succeeded there. And so, after 10 long years, our research finally reached the 3rd stage. To create a living biological weapon that was a soldier that would follow strict orders, obey its program, and have intelligence. It was the socalled "Tyrant", basically a monster, that we set out to create. However, there was a major obstruction to our research back then. Finding a basic body for "Tyrant". The biggest problem was that suitable bodies for Tyrant were, at that time, genetically very limited. The source of the problem lay in the nature of the T-Virus. The T-Virus mutation used to create "zombies" and "hunters" could be used on just about any human but it would also cause a decline in the subjects brain capacity. If the subject didn't have a certain amount of "intelligence" then it couldn't function as a Tyrant. Burkin tried solving the problem by picking out new mutagens that would keep down the "wear and tear on the subjects brain" so long as the subject fit the "Tyrant Profile". However the number of people that had "suitable" genetics to accept the tyrant cells were very limited. In a genetic analysis simulation it was found that only 1 in a million had the genetic make-up to become a "Tyrant", any other person would merely become a regular zombie. If we would have continued with our research then I'm sure we would have found a way to make a different type of T Virus that could change more people into "Tyrants". However, in order to do that research, we 102

first needed people that were perfectly suitable for the new mutation. However, the odds of us being able to bring one of those few people, living in America, that fit the profile was extremely low. In the end, the only thing they were able to do was to, by force, bring a few "close contenders" in from other labs Even before we had the chance to start our research, it seemed we had already hit an obstacle. At that time I heard a rumor about another location in Europe where they had already reached the "third level" of producing a living biological weapon using a method that no one had thought of. It was known as the "Nemesis Plan". In order to change the stagnant working pace and conditions, I took it upon myself to get a sample of one of the subjects from that "plan". Of course Burkin first disagreed with me, but in the end I was able to get him to reconsider. Everyone had no choice but to recognize the fact that, until we found a suitable "Tyrant" subject, our research wasn't going anywhere. The "package" from Europe came at midnight, several days later, after a series of broadcasts, proposals, and counterproposals. That box that contained "it" landed on the helicopter pad. It read "Nemesis Prototype". I had to use some very strong tactics to get the incomplete "thing" where it was being researched in France, but all the while, Spencer was backing me up, pulling all of his strings and using his influence. Only Burkin showed no interest in "it" until the end. But he, at least, recognized it as an important part of the experiment. The sample was developed to create a never before seen, totally new "form". By manipulating genes, they had artificially created a "living parasite". That was what "Nemesis" really was. It could latch onto another organism's brain and then take control of the host's brain bringing it a high-level of destructive power. By combining intelligence with a destructive body suitable for battle, they were able to form the ultimate biological weapon. And if they could complete the project then they would be capable of creating "warlike bodies" without having to worry about the intelligence issue. However, the problem was that the parasite containing "it" was not stable. The only thing written within the document that was attached to the sample was "Failure--sample died" over and over again. Anything that had been affected and whose intelligence was being controlled would die within 5 minutes. We all understood that messing around with the "incomplete" prototype was very dangerous. If we could only somehow manage to extend the amount of time that the hosts would live then we could take control over the project. That was what I was aiming for. Of course we would use "her" as our test subject. Surely her unusually high endurance would be perfect for sustaining the Nemesis Prototype parasite for a long time. Even if she didn't last that long, it's not as if we would be losing anything special anyways. However, the experiment yielded a result that was opposite from what I was predicting. The Nemesis parasite that tried to enter her brain disappeared. At first, I didn't even know what was going on. I couldn't believe that "she" would be the one to mix with the parasite genes without dying. That was the beginning. Somewhere within that "undying" body of hers, there had been a change... We had to re-examine her from head to toe one more time. During our 10 years of research she had been totally and thoroughly examined but this time we ignored that previous data. For the 21 years that she had been here, for the first time, something was finally happening. After she had already survived longer than other subjects who had received the Nemesis Virus, it was only Burkin that started to realize what was happening. There was something within "her". That "something" was a deviation from the T-Virus plan. Something new that gave way to a new form. Something that changed our destiny. It was the beginning of the "G-Virus plan". (The report continues 7 years later) July 31st, 1995: It had been 17 years since Id been back "there". When I come, I remember the wind. The scenery and buildings from the surrounding area hadn't changed a bit. I saw Burkin standing on the Helipad. He arrived before I did. Meeting with him somehow already seemed "nostalgic". It had been 4 years since I had left the Arklay Research Center. 4 years ago, when Burkin's proposed "G-Virus" plan was approved, I put in a transfer request for the "data/information" section and my request was immediately approved. The fact that I had given up on being a researcher and needed a change probably seemed like a natural change that most people go through. Actually, the truth of the matter was that "G" had already reached a level that was beyond my ability. And even if I wasn't really here to discover Spencer's "true intentions", I think that, at that time, I would have definitely realized the limitations of my ability. As the wind danced around the helicopter, Burkin was, as usual, fixated on some document. Apparently, he was coming to Arklay on a routine basis, but he was no longer assigned there. A while ago, he had been transferred to a huge underground research facility in Raccoon City. That was the main facility for his "G-Virus" research. But to tell the truth, 4 years ago, I really didn't think that Spencer would approve "G". Because, "it" deviated from the idea of "weapon" and it was created with too many unknowns left unsolved. The big difference between "G" and the "T-Virus" was that a body infected with "G" would spontaneously continue to mutate. Of course a virus's genes are unprotected so it quickly mutates. But the cells within a living organism are different. Even if the subjects make-up has been altered by the virus, the cells within the organism's body rarely can be mutated. Of course, by using outer "stimuli", such as radiation, you can make mutations occur within a living body. However, a body that is infected with "G" continues to mutate, without any outer stimuli, until the host dies. Even that "T-virus" has lots of attributes that are quite similar to "G". It has already been observed that the genetic make-up of one of the "living biological weapons" (a person infected with the T-Virus), who has been placed in a special setting, has continuously "changed". But in order for this change to occur it is necessary to use outer stimuli as a catalyst. And one can mildly predict which 103

changes are likely to occur. However, there are no such "laws" concerning a body infected with "G". No one can predict just how someone infected with "G" will change. No matter what kind of method you use to try to cope with "G", it continually changes, making that "method" ineffective. 7 years ago Burkin noticed a little bit of this effect in the female test subject. There wasn't the slightest change in her appearance, but deep within her something was constantly changing and she continued to co-exist with the virus used in the experiments. And so after 21 years of inner mutations, even the "parasite Nemesis" just became one more mutation within her body. The "G-Virus Plan" was a plan to push those "characteristics" to the utmost limit. However, the thing that lay ahead could be an evolution to the "final form" for mankind... or it could be a "finale" in which the organism merely dies... Could we really call that a weapon? What was Spencer thinking when he approved this plan? Even though I had been working in the information section for these 4 long years, I had still been unable to figure out what Spencer was planning. And now Spencer has stopped coming to Arklay. Almost as if something that he has been eagerly awaiting and expecting has begun to start. Spencer, like some mirage floating in the desert, had begun to grow farther and farther away from me. But I was sure that a chance would present itself to me eventually. That was, of course, if I lived long enough to see that day. Burkin and I got on the elevator and rode to the top floor. To the place where we had first met "her". A man named John, Burkin's successor and new chief researcher, was waiting there for us. He came from a research center in Chicago and was supposedly a very talented scientist but he was a little too "straight" to be working at a place like this. He began to question the "inhumanity" of what was going on in the labs and made his opinions known to the upper level executives. I had heard rumors about him at the information section. Everyone seemed to agree that if any information ever leaked out, he probably would have been the culprit. We ignored John and kept on walking, and then began the final "disposal" procedures on her. "You must kill her". Due to her being infected with "Nemesis", although only a minor amount, she started to "think" and become conscious. She started to act in "grotesque" ways. Her behavior has continued to escalate and now she wears the face of another woman that she "peeled off" just like a mask. According to reports, she acted in the same way after they gave her the first "Starter Virus". I don't know why she began to act in such a way, but because she recently killed 3 researchers, "they" have decided to "dispose" of her. Now that the "G" research is on the right track, there is no real use for a "test subject" like her. After constantly checking and re-confirming for 3 days the fact that she was dead, her corpse was, as per Facility Head's order, taken away somewhere. In the end, I never did find out who she was and why she was brought here? Of course, she was merely a test subject. But still though, if she hadn't been here then there wouldn't have been any "G Plan". And Burkin and I would probably be leading different lives now. I left the Arklay Research Center, thinking that very thing. I wonder how much of this was according to Spencer's "plan". (3 years later the "incident" began) Viruses T-Virus: The T-virus or Tyrant virus is Umbrellas main biological weapon, responsible for the creation of most of their BOWs. Research for it began in 1978 at the Arklay Labs. The Ebola virus had been recently discovered in Africa and was immediately spotted as a weapon with limitless potential due to its 90% death rate. Umbrella circumnavigated the Biological Weapons Prohibition Pact by pretending to be researching the virus for a cure. Research was halted due to the viruss weaknesses. Ebola could only survive outside a human host for a few days, as it was extremely vulnerable to ultra-violet radiation. It killed its host too quickly limiting the chances of infecting others. Furthermore the virus could only be passed on by direct contact so again chances of infection were limited. But what if a heavily infected host could still move around? What if the host could actively infect people? The concept of the T-virus was born. This time the Progenitor virus was used as a base. On December 4th 1978 Dr James Marcus, Captain Albert Wesker and Dr. William Birkin succeeded in creating a new virus by mixing the Progenitor virus with leech DNA. The life cycle of a normal virus can be described through the T-bacteriophage, a virus that preys upon bacteria. The virus itself is a protein crystal with a DNA core. Once the crystal touches a bacteria's cell membrane, it dissolves and allows the viral nucleic acid to enter the cell. The cell immediately absorbs the viral genome into its own DNA. The new genes take over the cell's functions and the cell manufactures dozens of new viral crystals and DNA strings. These crystal shells combine with the new DNA copies to form new viruses; the viruses dissolve the host cell, infect neighbouring cells and begin the cycle all over again. All cell energy in the human body is created by mitochondria. The T-virus actively kills any living mitochondria and replaces the dead ones. The T-virus then combines with cells to produce energy; this energy is enough to power the motor neurones and basic lower brain functions. This bypasses the entire circulatory system and makes organs such as the heart and lungs redundant. Unfortunately the T-virus must consume the cell in order to produce this energy and to divide mitotically and spread round the body. The slow breakdown of cells leads to the necrotising effects seen on most BOWs. The virus also incorporates itself into the hosts RNA substantially altering it. It is in this way that creatures lower down the evolutionary ladder, such as insects, birds and reptiles only increase in size and have only minor mutations due to the relative simplicity of their genome structure.

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All infected hosts suffer from increased aggressiveness. Should the host be alive at the time of infection, higher brain functions will be destroyed as the virus dissolves the frontal lobes, leaving the animalistic cerebrum to govern behaviour. The virus damages the hypothalamus and the resulting flood of neurotransmitters, enzymes, and hormones such as norepinephrine and dopamine, combined with the painful symptoms of the infection, induces an almost psychotic rage and hunger in the victims of the T-virus. If the host is dead at the time of infection then there will only be enough energy produced to power the lower brain, which is responsible for basic instincts such as eating and walking. The virus can also travel through the bloodstream if needs be, affecting oxygen-rich tissues, such as the brain and musculature of vertebrates. Most viruses are host-specific; they can only infect a specific kind of cell, such as bacterial cells, human brain cells, or sheep liver cells. There is no known virus capable of infecting all cells; such a virus would theoretically over propagate and infect the whole ecosystem if released in an airborne form. Umbrella appears to have created such a virus. T-Veronica Virus: This virus was created by Alexia Ashford when she combined the T-virus with ant DNA. Direct injection causes rapid cellular mutations like the Progenitor virus. Like the Progenitor virus it can be controlled if absorbed over a long period of time. It also allows control over the hive mind of the creatures the virus was extracted from, in this case, ants. The Host in this case Alexia Ashford has tentacle like muscles wrapped around her body and can spit blood that turns into flame from 10 feet away. Progenitor Virus: Also known as the Founder virus and the Mother virus, the Progenitor virus was the very first mutagenic virus ever discovered, and would serve as a base for most of Umbrellas later viruses. It was discovered by Dr James Marcus, Dr Edward Ashford and Lord Oswell E. Spencer on December 4th 1967. Further research on it was carried out by Dr. Marcus, William Birkin and Albert Wesker. Infection causes violent uncontrolled cellular changes through the mutation of the subjects genes. Like the T-virus this will cause most animals low down the evolutionary ladder to simply increase in size and aggressiveness, but the mutations were not coordinated enough to produce effective BOWs. In order to enhance its mutagenic properties a variant of it was created by combining it with the Ebola virus. Unfortunately the new virus had inherited Ebolas photosensitive properties. When it was combined with leech DNA to form the T-virus this property mutated into pyrosensitivity, which can be seen to affect every single BOW ever created. The virus was originally going to be used in Resident Evil 4 in the fog version of the game. It was later replaced by the Las Plagas. NE-T Virus: The NE-T virus has very similar properties to the T-virus, but it was designed specifically in relation to the Tyrant Project. In response to reports of the T-002s failure, a new project was started. Its original goal was to ensure the destruction of all anti-umbrella elements, specifically STARS members. It was given the grandiose title of Goddess of Vengeance. The research team though nicknamed the project Nemesis, as they held the surviving STARS members directly responsible for the T-001 and T-002s failure and took a certain satisfaction in working on a project designed specifically to eliminate them, and the name stuck. Research pertaining to a similar project had been started a few years ago when Umbrella researchers were looking to improve the general intelligence of BOWs. So far all T-virus created BOWs had had extremely low intelligence ratings. Umbrella needed a BOW that could understand and carry out orders. The American team led by Dr. Birkin was working on ways to increase the BOWs strength, whilst the European team was working on ways to increase the BOWs intelligence. Countless theories and ideas were traded and they first started experiments that involved directly operating on the subjects brain. Birkins team succeeded in creating the T-002, which unlike the highly unstable T-001 could follow the simplest of orders such as restraint and attack. But its intelligence was still insufficient for the BOW to operate in the field. Then a breakthrough by the European team came in the form of the NE-Alpha, an independent organism created from the NE-T virus that could affect the hosts brain. Further experiments were made, including inserting the NE-Alpha into a Hunter. It was this experiment that provided crucial data that led to the creation of the T-103. Unknown Virus: Very little is known about this virus. It was created by Dr. William Birkin for the use of Captain Albert Wesker when he faked his death in 1998. This virus increases the metabolism of a person, giving them incredible strength, speed and regenerative abilities, which is why it is believed to be a mild version of the T-virus. The test subject does not suffer from the cascade mutation effect though, meaning Birkin found a way of perfecting the replication of cells even when the body is under extreme duress. The virus also limits itself to muscle tissue and the lower organs, leaving the brain completely intact. This breakthrough means that the subjects mind is retained and no ill effects have been noted. Unfortunately the only test-subject has violated the law with six counts of 1st degree murder, multiple counts of 2nd degree murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, approximately 150,000 counts of corporate manslaughter, violation of international law under the Biological Weapons Prohibition Pact, conspiracy to commit genocide, bribery, blackmail and various firearms offences. It is unknown if the virus is responsible for subjects psychotic behaviour or if the subject was naturally unstable. The virus has been exquisitely designed in the way it affects ocular tissue. The only visible effect of the virus is the way in which it affects the subjects eyes. The only way a person could move accurately with the extreme speeds generated by the virus is by viewing the world in hundreds of frames per second, most likely in the same range as birds. In order to interact with the world with the normal speed of a human, means viewing the world in the tens of frames per second. This means the subject can alter his vision at will, suggesting maybe even some similar properties to the T-Veronica virus. 105

Additional Viruses: Resident Evil 2 introduced an unrelated virus created by Umbrella, the Gene "G" Virus. This virus is created by William Birkin, a researcher for Umbrella, who injects a sample into himself after being shot by Umbrella security forces who raid his lab. Birkin turns into a giant, initially humanoid monster, which gradually morphs during the game into a giant hostile organic blob that the player must fight as the final boss. The T-Virus is also the basis for Resident Evil: Dead Aim 's T/G Virus. Umbrella Corporation The Umbrella Corporation is a bioengineering pharmaceutical company. It is a major international player in a number of markets including pharmaceuticals, medical hardware, defense, and computers along with more clandestine operations utilizing genetic engineering and bio weapons. The company also has a more public face, producing cosmetics and consumer products. One of Umbrella's subsidiaries is a private military company with a highly-trained security force capable of rescue, reconnaissance, and para-military operations. The corporation utilizes the force to secure and protect its assets and high profile employees. The Umbrella Corporation was founded by Sir Ozwell E. Spencer in the 1960s. Dr. James Marcus and Sir Edward Ashford were also involved in the formation of the company, but they were far more interested in the potential uses of the newly-discovered Progenitor Virus. When Ashford died in 1968, Spencer was able to largely sideline Marcus at the Raccoon City facilities while he maintained control over the company for the next thirty years. Soon Umbrella had multiple research facilities and various research being done on various bioweapon viruses - T-Virus, Nemesis parasite et al - but it was the Arklay Research Facility that became the most prominent. However, it was noted by researcher Albert Wesker that the military potential of the T-Virus would never make up for the cost of research & production, and that the Arklay facility seemed to be deliberately placed in an area where any leak would cause an uncontrollable outbreak. Spencer eventually grew distrustful of Marcus, as he was worried that the scientist might supplant him as Umbrella's CEO. Spencer arranged for his assassination by Wesker and William Birkin. Birkin would subsequently take over all of Marcus' research, including the studies on the Progenitor Virus. Ten years after his death, Marcus was completely restored by the Queen Leech (see James Marcus for more information regarding this event). Marcus would exact his revenge on Spencer and Umbrella by releasing the T-Virus into the Arklay Research Facility's water supply, turning the facility personnel into zombies and leaving the laboratory and mansion in complete chaos, allowing for the team's extremely dangerous research specimens to escape into the surrounding area. Birkin and Wesker used this as a diversion for their own plans to leave Umbrella, taking their research with them. Wesker, having formed Raccoon City's elite S.T.A.R.S. unit two years previous, would develop a plan to lure the team to the Spencer Mansion to obtain battle data from the conflict that would surely follow. The Spencer Mansion had been constructed above the actual laboratory to conceal it from negative interests such as the government and local populace, and was now crawling with infected researchers and experiments wandering its halls. Although the Tyrant was deployed, resulting in unforeseen side-effects for Wesker, both the laboratory and the rampaging Tyrant were destroyed by S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team before making its escape back to Raccoon City with a single Bravo Team survivor. Wesker was forced to go into hiding for a number of months, using his operative Ada Wong to carry out his objectives, including the recovery of Birkin's ultimate creation, the G-Virus. Several months after the Arklay incident, William Birkin finally perfected the viral strain that he'd been toiling to achieve since obtaining Marcus' research so many years earlier, the G-Virus. Birkin planned to use the virus to force the Umbrella Corporation into allowing him onto their executive board, refusing to hand over the virus otherwise. Umbrella deployed its elite U.S.S. team (a para-military black-operations unit created for Umbrella's most clandestine purposes) in a desperate bid to gain G-virus sample from Birkin. Although Birkin was mortally wounded in the ensuing conflict, and the G-Virus was successfully recovered by Umbrella, he was able to inject the G-Virus into his own body and devastate most of the team before it could make its escape. This event would be indirectly responsible for unleashing the T-Virus on Raccoon City. While the Arklay incident had been relatively isolated and concealed from the public, and Umbrella's control over key government and law enforcement personnel had ensured that any record of what had occurred could be safely swept into obscurity, they were now faced with an entire city infected with the T-Virus and a trail leading directly back to the Umbrella Corporation. This would prove exceedingly difficult to cover up, even for Umbrella. Umbrella's fortunes failed to improve after the Raccoon City incident. The U.S. Government was forced to take extreme measures to ensure the spread of the T-Virus was stopped for good. Mission Code XX was approved for immediate deployment, and Raccoon City was annihilated via an air-to-surface nuclear missile strike. Contrary to popular belief, there was no cover-up following the incident. After escaping to the city limits with the USS member Rodrigez and Umbrella researcher Linda, Yoko Suzuki's amnesia finally lifted, and all of the evil deeds she had witnessed and helped Umbrella keep secret came flooding back. With her newly regained memories, Yoko decided it was time the world was told the truth, and that doing so would start her down a better path. Linda and Yoko were brought forward as key witnesses to Umbrella's atrocities in the Supreme Court, and all was made known. Shortly after the Raccoon City incident, the U.S. Government suspended Umbrella's market trading rights in the United States pending an investigation into their business practices. While this investigation must 106

have already provided Umbrella with severe financial problems, several further disasters virtually ensured their eventual collapse. On Sheena Island, undercover investigator, Ark Thompson, operating on behalf of Leon S. Kennedy, succeeded in destroying Umbrella's Tyrant production plant after Umbrella's senior executive assigned to the island unleashed the T-Virus on its citizens. Shortly afterwards, when Claire Redfield broke into Umbrella's Paris facilities in search of her brother, she was captured and sent to Umbrella's illegal prison camp on Rockfort Island. While there, she witnessed Albert Wesker attack the island in search of the T-Veronica Virus, another relative of the now infamous T-Virus. Escaping the island, she found herself trapped at the South Pole Facility, where Edward Ashford's granddaughter, Alexia Ashford, awoke from a self-induced coma with a desire to establish a new order. With the destruction of Sheena Island, Rockfort Island and the South Pole Facility, most of Umbrella's illegitimate operations had been shut down. This, combined with the loss of so many of Umbrella's research and security personnel throughout each of the disastrous incidents, left Umbrella with little chance of reforming said operations or regaining the years of research lost thus far. With trading suspended, Umbrella's shares quickly collapsed, and the company was virtually bankrupt. Umbrella became largely fragmented, with power struggles between senior executives becoming a constant occurrence. The U.S. STRATCOM was mainly involved in clean-up operations, such as the theft of the T/G-Virus by former Umbrella executive in R&D, Morpheus D. Duvall, and his plans to create a new order based around his obsessive ideals of 'beauty'. By the early 21st century, the Umbrella Corporation's bankruptcy was absolute, and the U.S. government had completed the process of fully dismantling the remnants of the organization. However, in Resident Evil 4, it was revealed that Albert Wesker's grand scheme involves the resurrection of the Umbrella Corporation. Umbrella's 'employee pledge' is stated as being "Obedience Breeds Discipline, Discipline Breeds Unity, Unity Breeds Power, Power is Life". It is unknown if this is the motto for the public or if it is used purely within the company. In the teaser trailer for Resident Evil: Apocalypse, the slogan is stated as being "Our Business Is Life Itself". In the video game, a contributing factor to Umbrella's success is their non-lethal commercial products. Such products include: Adravil: An apparently ibuprofen-based analgesic. May be an analogy of the real drug Advil. Safsprin: Another of Umbrella's three main public products. Aspirin based, it can be used as treatment for various common, daily illnesses. Uspirim: Another Umbrella Aspirin-based product, introduced in Alyssa Ashcroft's good ending in Resident Evil: Outbreak. Prospirm: A Product Manufactured by Umbrella as an anti depressant. Aqua Cure: Umbrella's crowning public achievement, Aqua Cure is an ointment used on open wounds that made the company famous worldwide. It is considered to be Umbrella's primary public product and is very effective. Most likely, the recurring First Aid Spray item that appears throughout the series is a derivative of this. It is assumed that the T-Virus is used on this product to reaccommodate the damaged cells, though no side-effect has been shown from this product. Valifin: A non-canon medication mentioned in the novelization Resident Evil: Zero Hour by S.D. Perry, Valifin is a pediatric heart medication that has a side-effect of renal failure. First Aid Spray: Another product of the Umbrella corporation, it is a highly useful first aid spray for cuts and wounds, that the Umbrella Corp. researched and developed. Computers: In many Resident Evils are Umbrella computers, varying from office to home computers. Hundreds of other products ranging from computer software to weapons to drinks and foods to botany products to medical and cosmetics products, have been released to the public from the Umbrella Corp.

Manufactured Firearms Sporting Int. Magnum Custom Edition: A weapon inheriting features from the Colt M1911-A1 and the IMI Desert Eagle. Chambered in .50 Action Express. Appears in Resident Evil 0. Incinerator Unit: A weapon that uses some parts of the Colt M4A1 Carbine and fires a long range flame. Appears in Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2. Semi-Automatic Anti-Tank Rifle: A large rifle used to destroy light armored vehicles. Appears in Resident Evil, Resident Evil 0. Spark Shot: A gun that fires electric shocks to control experimental animals. Appears in Resident Evil 2. Mine Thrower: A gun with specialized bullets that will either detonate if something pass near them, or attach themselves to a creature. Appears in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis Mine Thrower: Similar to the above but this version uses a box-style magazine instead of a cylinder magazine. The bullets will detonate after a period of time, rather than by detecting motion. It is capable of having a laser or scope attached, increasing accuracy. Appears in Resident Evil 4. Elite Python: A modification for a Colt Python .357 Magnum made by Umbrella. Linear Launcher: A Shoulder-Mounted cannon that fires an extremely powerful blast of plasma. Appears in Resident Evil Code Veronica X. 107

Charged Particle Rifle: A gun that charges particles with negative or positive shocks that can electrocute living things or deactivate electric shields and damage electric artifacts due to the electro-magnetic pulse emitted by it. Appears in Resident Evil Dead Aim.

Known Umbrella Facilities Arklay Research Facility: A research facility located in Raccoon Forest, camouflaged by a mansion designed by George Trevor for Ozwell E. Spencer. Umbrella conducted most of its T-Virus experiments there, including the creation of the Tyrant. The facility was destroyed in 1998 after a localized T-Virus Outbreak. Umbrella Research Center: Also known as the Management Training Facility, this building was managed by James Marcus for the purpose of training future Umbrella employees. It was officially closed down in 1978, though Marcus continued his research there until his assassination in 1988. An investigative unit was sent in 1998 to inspect the facility for reopening purposes. It was destroyed by William Birkin. Unnamed Chicago Research Facility: The facility John, Ada Wong's deceased boyfriend, worked for before transferring to Arklay Research Facility. William Birkin used to visit this branch to conduct a monthly training seminar. Raccoon City Underground Laboratory: A facility established during the late 1980s for the sole purpose of William Birkin's G-Virus project. It can only be entered through a cable car system within Raccoon City's sewers, and is also connected to the Management Training Facility. Disposal Facility: A facility hidden within an abandoned factory in Raccoon City, used to chemically destroy dead and unusable specimens. Potent contributor to the release of the virus into the city. Raccoon City Corporate Headquarters: A large facility used to test the combat capabilities of BOWs. An experimental serum was developed there to combat the T-Virus. Raccoon City Hospital: Umbrella maintained a small laboratory in the basement of the city hospital. This lab contained MA-124 Hunters in containment tanks, as well as equipment capable of synthesizing a vaccine against the T-Virus. Classified Research and Testing Facility: Located in the area of what used to be Raccoon City, this facility was built after the area was destroyed and gated off. Not much is known about this facility. But what is known is that Umbrella conducts testing and research there and monitors the gated area and surrounding area for any possible biohazard threats or trespassers. The facility is inaccessible to all means of transportation except helicopter, and is built on a steel boom in the crater. Sheena Island: A small European island privately owned by Umbrella. It housed a community of researchers working for the company and was secretly the site of a Tyrant Plant which was mass-producing the T-103 models (mr X's). Umbrella Medical, Paris: Claire Redfield infiltrates this facility briefly, only to be captured by its chief of security, Rodrigo Juan Raval. Later, Morpheus Duvall steals a vial of experimental T-Virus from this facility. Umbrella Europe Sixth Laboratory: The facility responsible for the creation of the NE-T parasitic organism that allowed for the production of the Nemesis. Rockfort Island: A solitary island which served as the site of Alfred Ashford's private residence and palace after he purchased the land and drove the villagers out. It also housed an "inescapable" prison camp, a military training facility for the Umbrella Special Forces Unit (including a lab used to create BOWs) and an airport. Umbrella Antarctic Facility: A facility established by Alexander Ashford for his Code: Veronica project. Later, Alexia Ashford, an offspring of the project, used the facility for her T-Veronica(and subsequent T-Alexia) research. Umbrella Atlantic Facility: A waste disposal facility on an unnamed island in the Atlantic Ocean. It was to this facility that Umbrella sent some of its worst failed experiments to be disposed of, but for unknown reasons the facility shut down. It was used as a base of operations by renegade Umbrella executive Morpheus D. Duvall. Umbrella UK Computing: Apparently a Computing base for Umbrella, closed off in shame of Umbrellas Raccoon City disaster. Paramilitary Units Throughout the Resident Evil series, several Umbrella-owned paramilitary units were introduced, driving the plot and providing new enemies and allies. The Umbrella Special Forces (also known as the Umbrella Security Service) were first introduced in Resident Evil 2. A squad of commandos known as Alpha Team belonging to this force attempt to steal a sample of the G-Virus, causing the city-wide outbreak of the game. Another squad, Delta Team, later appears in the prequel game Resident Evil 0; Delta Team is eliminated by monsters aboard an Umbrella-owned train. Delta squad was under the direct control of Wesker and Birkin who sat safely in Birkins underground lab. The squad was ordered to destroy the train but was incidentally killed before they could do so. A lone agent, named Rodriguez, appears in the game Resident Evil Outbreak: File 2. Rodriguez shows how the U.S.F. is under direct Umbrella Exec. orders. Other games give further background for the Umbrella Special Forces. In Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, a document alludes to them as a "paramilitary unit [intended] to counter corporate terrorism and V.I.P. abduction." According to the game Code: Veronica, U.S.F. agents are trained at the Rockfort Island facility, 108

which is also home to a descendant of one of Umbrella's founders. One member of the Umbrella Special Forces Unit, Agent HUNK, appears first in a mini-game in Resident Evil 2, where his goal is to reach an evacuation point with a sample of the G-virus. Canonically, he is the only survivor of his squad's mission. HUNK later appears (non-canonically) in another mini-game in Resident Evil 4, where his goal is simply to eliminate as many Ganados as possible before his rescue helicopter evacuates him. Despite his relatively small role in the series, HUNK has become a popular character among many Resident Evil fans. Umbrella Special Forces Unit agents are always depicted in solid-color gray fatigues, wearing protective vests and gas masks. They are shown in FMV sequences as using MP5 submachine guns; however, in HUNK's minigame, he is armed with weapons identical to those of the game's main characters. In Outbreak File 2, the U.S.F. had some Claymore mines in possessions when they were deployed in order to halt the advance of zombies and other monsters from wandering further to any place in Raccoon City during the Outbreak crisis. The Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service, or UBCS, is introduced in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. In that game, numerous squads of UBCS soldiers are deployed to Raccoon City, supposedly to search for survivors and to help contain the zombie epidemic. In fact, they were deployed so that Umbrella could gain reliable fieldcombat data regarding their biological weaponsa fact known only to their supervisors. One of their number, Carlos Oliveira, is a main character in the game. UBCS members are also depicted in the Resident Evil Outbreak games. According to files in Resident Evil 3, the UBCS is composed of "nightmen", mostly former mercenaries and war criminals, recruited by Umbrella and trained to deal with "problems caused by illegal products." Their uniform consists of tactical vests, green shirts and tan or creme-colored slacks. They are usually armed with M4 Carbines. The game Resident Evil: Survivor includes a special force of shock troopers known as the Umbrella TrashSweepers, also known as the UnderTakers or Cleaners. Cleaners appear to have uniforms similar to those of Umbrella's Special Forces Unit, with kevlar vests, gas masks, and gray BDUs; however, they are clearly inhuman. They have unnaturally long arms, they are incapable of speech, and when they are killed, they dissolve into green ichor. According to the game, their role is to destroy all evidence of a viral outbreak, including survivors. The Brady strategy guide describes them as "robotic special forces troops" which dissolve when destroyed so as not to leave evidence of their existence.

WEAPON PLUS PROGRAM

Weapon Plus is a clandestine program of the United States government in the Marvel Comics universe. It was created by Grant Morrison during his run in New X-Men. The program's purpose is the creation of supersoldiers intended to fight the wars of the future, especially a Mutant-Human war. The ultimate goal of Weapon Plus is the total extermination of mutantkind. The infamous Weapon X was the tenth installation of Weapon Plus, but eventually it branched off and became an independent program with similar purposes. Morrison's introduction of Weapon Plus also shed new information about the origins of Weapon X, Captain America and other Marvel Comics supersoldiers. Though during the 1940's the existence of mutants was unknown to the general public, a few individuals were aware of the coming of Homo Superior, and that they had the potential to replace baseline humans as the dominant species of Earth. Thus Weapon Plus was created to address the so-called mutant problem. What was ignored by everyone involved in Weapon Plus is that its mastermind, John Sublime, was actually the host body for a sentient bacteria present on every living creature on the planet, save for mutants, who were genetically immune to the Sublime infection. The first nine installments of Weapon Plus were partially successful. Weapon X produced a number of agents, though it branched off and even became opposed to Weapon Plus's interests. To prevent subsidiary programs from going rogue, Weapon Plus directly oversaw the creation of the last living weapons operating in the clandestine facilities of The World, employing Bolivar Trask's Sentinel technology. Throughout the decades, Weapon Plus has used increasingly more extreme methods to create its supersoldiers. Captain America was enhanced to peak human levels. Weapon X employed genetic alteration, brainwashing and memory implants. The latest creations were bred specifically to become mutant-hunting weapons much deadlier than Sentinels. Weapon 0: Project: Rebirth began as collaboration between the American, British and German eugenicists led by Doctors Reinstein and Koch. When World War II began, Koch took over the German program, and Josef Reinstein (Erskine) moved to the American program. Weapon I: Project: Rebirth, headed by Professor Abraham Erskine (given Reinstein's name as a cover identity) managed to produce Captain America (Steve Rogers). However Erskine was murdered moments after Rogers was successfully empowered, the refinements he introduced which made the process successful lost with his death. With his demise, Josef Reinstein took over the American program. Two other subjects, Clinton McIntyre, a.k.a. Protocide, a failed experiment who was placed in suspended animation and was revived in the modern era by AIM, and the first mutant experiment designated Queen seem to have occurred prior to the serum being tested on Steve Rogers. Reinstein's early attempts to refine the formula resulted in African American super soldiers (most prominently Isaiah Bradley). Three hundred African-American soldiers were taken from Camp Cathcart and subjected to potentially fatal experiments at an undisclosed location, as seen in Truth: Red, White and Black in an attempt to recreate the Super Soldier formula. Only five men survived the original 109

trials; hundreds of test subjects left behind at Camp Cathcart and the camp's commander were executed by US soldiers in the name of secrecy, the families of the three hundred were told that they had died in battle. Isaiah Bradley was the lone survivor. Although there were many later attempts to recreate or reverse-engineer Project: Rebirth's Super-Soldier Serum, none are known to have been involved with Weapon Plus except for the attempt that resulted in the creation of Isaiah Bradley's son Josiah X. Weapon Plus considers Captain America as its most successful creation, despite the fact that Rogers has been at odds with the United States government a number of times. It should be noted that Project: Rebirth was retroactively made a part of the Weapon Plus after WWII when Weapon Plus was actually formed. Weapon II-IV: Weapons II-IV experimented on animals. It is unknown if the experiments succeeded in creating a living weapon. Grant Morrison only touched lightly on this element of the Weapon Plus project during his tenure on New X-Men, but later explored the theme of animal-based weapon development in other projects such as the DC Comics publication We3. Weapons V & VI: Weapons V and VI employed various ethnic minorities as test subjects. Weapon VII: Weapon VII, aka Project: Homegrown, experimented on human soldiers during the Vietnam War. Some of the known participants who died in Project: Homegrown included Andrew Perlmutter, Michael Labash, John Walsh, James MacPherson and fourteen other unknown recruits. The only known successful subject of Project: Homegrown was Nuke, who had armored implants under his epidermis and was addicted to powerful steroids. Logan, who would later become one of Weapon Plus' victims, kidnapped Nuke as a child, and oversaw his conditioning. The United Kingdom also had its own version of Project: Homegrown, aka the Black Budget, which managed to create the team known as the Super Soldiers: Dauntless, Gog, Dreadnaught, Revenge, Victory, Invincible, Challenger, and some other unnamed super-soldiers. The Mercy Corporation, an off-shoot of S.H.I.E.L.D. that worked on super-soldiers and eventually broke off, also had its own unit of super-soldiers, using a serum similar to previous derivatives of the Super-Soldier Serum from Weapon I. Their agents included Jack Reno, Keel, Kyle, Agent Villarosa, Agent Davis and Agent Milo. Weapon VIII & IX: Weapons VIII & IX experimented on criminals and psychopaths. In Wolverine: The End, by Paul Jenkins, it was revealed that Weapon IX was, in fact, Wolverine's older brother John Howlett (first introduced in Origin), long thought deceased. However, due to the inherent instability in the possible futures depicted in Marvel comics, it is unknown if this is regarded as canon. Weapon X: Weapon X, tenth in the series, is the X-Man Wolverine, and this project would spin off into its own series of subjects. Weapon X is conducted by the Canadian Government's Department K (and secretly funded by the U.S. government) which turns willing and unwilling beings into living weapons. The project often captures mutants and experiments on them to enhance their superpowers and also mutates baseline humans. The Weapon X Project produced the anti-hero of the X-Men team, Wolverine, and other characters such as Deadpool and Sabretooth. Since the popular Wolverine's first appearance in 1974, it had been implied that he was connected to a shady and malevolent government program. In the 1991 limited series Weapon X, the project was named Experiment X and it was revealed that it was responsible for bonding the adamantium to Wolverine's skeleton, making it unbreakable, and for subjecting him to brainwashing in order to bring out his most basic murderous instincts in order to transform him into the perfect assassin. The scientists christened their new killing machine "Weapon X". Wolverine's solo series, issues #48-50 (1992) revealed that Project X also created fabricated memories in the minds of several of its subjects. Weapon X operated through Canada's Department K and was directed by Professor Thorton. At his side were Dr. Abraham Cornelius, Dr. Carol Hines and Dr. Dale Rice. John Sublime, the director of Weapon Plus, was always behind the scenes. Some of the work of Weapon X was based on the experiments detailed on the journals of Nazi scientist Nathan Essex, which were obtained by Weapon Plus after the end of World War II. The Project's original test subjects were the members of Team X, a covert ops CIA team (Wolverine/Logan, Sabretooth/Victor Creed, Maverick/Christoph Nord, Silver Fox, Mastodon, and Kestrel/John Wraith). The telepath Psi-Borg (Aldo Ferro) was involved in the creation of the victims' memory implants, in exchange for being endowed with immortality. The test subjects were policed by an adaptive robot enforcer, should any of the agents go rogue, called Shiva. What Wolverine and his fellow X-Men ignored for many years is that Weapon X was part of a larger program: Weapon Plus, a United States supersoldier program created in the 1940s with the purpose of creating supersoldiers and assassins not only to be employed in conventional wars, but also to be employed for the extermination of mutants. Weapon X was the first installation of Weapon Plus that victimized mutants. What the Weapon X scientists did not foresee is that the experimentation on Wolverine would cause him to go on a murderous rampage, which allowed the escape of the other test subjects, and caused the deaths of the Professor and Dale Rice, among dozens of other members of Weapon X staff, both scientists and military. Weapon X was temporarily shut down but eventually was reinstated. Subsequent attempts at recreating the success seen by Weapon X with Wolverine include the feral woman called the Native, Kimura and X-23, the 23rd attempt to clone Wolverine, who was designed to also hunt down rogue agents. The Weapon X Re-Creation Project a.k.a. The Facility was headed by Director Martin Sutter, Dr. Zander Rice and Dr. Sarah Kinney. Like Weapon X once did, the Facility has also branched off from the main Weapon X Program. Latter creations of The Facility, now under the direction of Dr. Adam Harkins, include Predator X. 110

At some point, Weapon X branched off from Weapon Plus' control and was solely headed up by Canada's Department K. A new generation of agents was created: Deadpool, Garrison Kane (who took on the moniker "Weapon X"), Slayback, Sluggo, and Ajax, among others. Weapon X used Logan's DNA in order to endow its agents with healing powers. The batch produced many additional failures, which were sent to a facility for dissection to determine the cause of their failures. These rejects were freed by Deadpool when he escaped from the facility. A smaller experiment was later developed by Department K with a New Zealand terrorist, who would become the third individual to be known as Weapon X, merging him with a symbiotic bacteria colony. Director Malcolm Colcord forms the third version of the Weapon X Project, designed to monitor and eliminate mutants. Colcord, once a security guard at the first Weapon X project, suffered severe facial lacerations during an escape attempt by the mutant Wolverine. Unlike the previous two installments of Weapon X, the third Project was completely U.S.-based and not only focused on the creation of living weapons, but also on the ultimate goal of Colcord, the creation of death camps. The Director initially uses Weapon X as his personal strike force to exact revenge against Wolverine. He soon begins utilizing its resources for the capturing an imprisonment of mutants in the secret government death camp called Neverland. Mutants who are not suitable to be used as military weapons would be executed, while those that are suitable are given the choice to join Weapon X or die. A number of mutants, such as Cecilia Reyes, Maggott, Ape, Tarbaby, Leech and many others were arrested by Weapon X's agents and sent to Neverland. Those mutants deemed useless to the project were killed in gas chambers, while others were brainwashed to become Weapon X operatives. The organs of the executed prisoners were then sent to the UMen The agents of the third Weapon X were Agent Brent Jackson a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent; Sabretooth, who was given new adamantium implants; the shapeshifter Copycat, Deadpool, and Mauvais. Later on, Deadpool went rogue and new operatives were recruited into Weapon X, many of who had their powers enhanced or were brainwashed into servitude. Maverick was saved from certain death and his powers were enhanced with the purpose of assassinating Wolverine, thus Agent Zero was created. Former member of Alpha Flight Wildchild was brainwashed and further mutated into a Nosferatu-like feral humanoid. Former mutant terrorist Marrow had her powers set to a controllable level, restoring the young woman's natural beauty. Sauron's personality was merged with that his Karl Lykos self and his energy-draining powers enhanced so he could fire energy blasts. Garrison Kane was furthered transformed into a cybernetic being. Aurora was kidnapped and brainwashed, like Madison Jeffries, who was extracted from the terrorist group known as the Zodiac and used to create hundreds of Boxbots loyal to Weapon X to serve as guards at Neverland. Washout had his powers enhanced, though at a heavy cost. Each usage of his powers endangered his life and eventually, he dies trying to kill Colcord. Mesmero joins willingly, while Reaper and Wildside, former members of the Mutant Liberation Front, became agents of the program in exchange for their lives. The psychic mutant Jack-in-the-Box joins after his legs and arms were amputated. He becomes a living polygraph. Unbeknownst to all, except Sabretooth, Mister Sinister was disguised as the head scientist at the Neverland facility, Doctor Robert Windsor. As Windsor, Sinister supposedly helped some mutants escape from Neverland, but he was only taking them to his own secret labs. After some time, Brent Jackson, the only human officially on the team, took over as Director, during a mutiny by the team in conjunction with an attack by mutants from the Underground. Cable led this group, in a mission to destroy Weapon X and expose its existence and its human rights violations. Washout and Garrison Kane died in the event, while Sabretooth was washed away into the sewers after a battle with Marrow. Marrow used the battle to escape from Weapon X, eventually taking over the Mutant Underground, now reformed as the third incarnation of Gene Nation. Colcord fled Weapon X, with the always loyal Jeffries, and Aurora as well. Director Brent Jackson's team consisted of Wildchild, Sauron, Agent Zero, Mesmero, Jack-in-the-Box, and newly recruited Chamber, whose face was restored by the program's scientists. Chamber was originally a double agent working for the X-Men, but was subsequently brainwashed into Jackson's service. Mister Sinister, under the alias of Dr. Windsor, remains at Weapon X. At some point, Jackson's team fought with Colcord's Boxbots. Colcord regains control of Weapon X. A person claiming to be Chamber has joined a superhero team known as Excelsior, but that person turned out to be an impostor. Following M-Day, both Chamber and Mesmero are rendered powerless. Neverland is shut down and the prisoners, either powered or depowered, are executed by hosts of Boxbots. Records of the massive executions are discovered by Beast in the Endangered Species storyline, which also hints that the some of the bodies of the prisoners executed prior to M-Day were sent to Ord and used in the research to develop the cure for mutation. The Weapon X Codename: In mainstream Marvel, Logan was the first individual known as Weapon X. After Wolverine, Garrison Kane went by the alias of Weapon X as well, before leaving the Canadian Government to work as a mercenary again. A short-time later, a New Zealand terrorist was captured by the Canadian Government and subjected to an experiment which bonded him symbiotically to a bacteria colony. This symbiosis proved dangerous, as the union created a deadly energy field, which could only be contained by an armored suit, which was powered by the energy field. In the "Age of Apocalypse" alternate universe, Logan was known as Weapon X. Weapon XI: No individual with the 'Weapon XI' moniker has been seen, but John Sublime has mentioned it. A likely candidate for Weapon XI's true identity is the Hound (a mutant with the power to hunt and kill other 111

mutants), who was transformed by the Hound Program of the US government into a techno-organic killing machine. He battled the government-sponsored incarnation of X-Factor after massacring scientists at a US government research facility, nearly killing Sabretooth in the process, but was stopped by Polaris, who was forced to use her power at its full limit. He was later after Shard, but was destroyed in an explosion after being defeated by her and Bishop. Weapon XII: Weapon Plus created Weapon XII (aka Huntsman, real name Zona Cluster 6) at the England-based facilities of The World. He was the first living weapon created employing artificial evolution and nanosentinel technology. Weapon XII was "accidentally" unleashed on the Channel Tunnel and fought XCorporation members Cannonball, M, Darkstar, Rictor, Siryn and Multiple Man. Weapon XII was eliminated by Fantomex with the aid of Jean Grey and Professor X, but at the cost of Darkstar's life. Huntsman was created to be part of the Super-Sentinels, a mutant-hunting team of superheroes with a base in a Weapon Plus space station. This team, a brainchild of John Sublime, was intended to be a publicity stunt to make the genocide of mutants much more acceptable to the public. Weapon XIII: Fantomex, a.k.a. Weapon XIII, the second of the last generation of Weapon Plus' creations Fantomex, a.k.a. Weapon XIII, the second of the last generation of Weapon Plus' creations Weapon Plus created Weapon XIII Fantomex, whose real name is Charlie Cluster 7, also at The World. However, Fantomex rebelled against his creators. Like in the case of Weapon XII, Fantomex's powers derive from Nanosentinel technology. Weapon XIV: In New X-Men #154 (May 2004), Grant Morrison's last issue of New X-Men, the telepathic quintuplets called the Stepford Cuckoos were identified as Weapon XIV. The Stepford Cuckoos link to Weapon Plus has finally been addressed in the Phoenix: Warsong miniseries, written by Greg Pak, which explores unresolved storylines from Morrison's New X-Men and Pak's Phoenix: Endsong. Weapon XV: So far, the last creation of Weapon Plus is Weapon XV, aka Ultimaton, designed to be the Super-Sentinels' grand powerhouse. He dies when Wolverine destroys the Weapon Plus space station that was designed as the Super-Sentinels HQ's. The World: The World is a secret lab owned by the Weapon Plus Project, in which the program scientists intend to create superior humans employing eugenics, nanotechnology and artificial evolution technology (time is "artificial" at the World and it can be frozen or altered in any way the Program Scientists desire). The artificial time technology employed by Weapon Plus was stolen from AIM. A low level of gamma radiation is constant present to produce mutations in the population. The human DNA of the inhabitants' ancestors in this artificial environment was spliced with sentinel microtechnology, meaning they are no longer humans in the traditional meaning of the word, as they have evolved into a race of mutated and naturally born cyborgs refined through eugenics. Because the scientists have absolute control over the time inside The World (according to Fantomex the time is "liquid"), both freezing it and speed it up so that decades and centuries can pass within it while time runs normally in the real world, this opens up for new possibilities within the areas of eugenics and genetic engineering. The most promising individuals in each generation are selected while the others are terminated. Also natural selection in the form of the survival of the fittest is possible by exposing the population to different forms of selective pressure. This way, new breeds of superhumans can be evolved within a few months, instead of hundreds or thousands of years. Half a million years inside The World represents only eighteen months on the outside. The World's facilities contains a population (with its own religion, history and culture) that is led to believe that beyond the World's limits there's nothing else than endless rock and that mutants are coming to destroy them. Like in Logan's Run, those who are selected for termination believe there is a reward awaiting them at the other side. The World is also filled with numerous experiments and prototypes of Weapon Plus, such as car-cops. The World was partially destroyed when agents of AIM attacked the facilities in order to recover the technology Weapon Plus stole from them. However, they are killed by Weapon XV.

WORLD

OF

DARKNESS: CTHULHU

This site gives all necessary information to play White Wolf Vampire: the Masquerade in the greater world of Call of Cthulhu (Chaosium). We assume you are familiar with both RPGs and have the necessary rulebooks. There exists a horror infinitely greater than Vampires. This chronicle, the Vampires are slowly exposed to the greater cosmic evil of the Cthulhu mythos. In this world, vampirism is a horrible curse, as the sanity of your fragile human side is challenged, gradually loses control and gives way to the inner Beast. How long can your soul, your human mind, survive before you are devoured from within and become the mindless monster that you are? Keeping your last strands of Humanity is vital. In this hybrid RPG, the Beast bites back, from both the inside and the outside! Stats Conversion: Use the following formulas to convert Call of Cthulhu characters, mythos deities and creatures to the White Wolf system. Always round up or down, whichever is closest. Storytellers: Please note that the following formulas and tables are guidelines only. Feel free to tweak any numbers or stats as you see fit. 112

Attributes: White Wolf Attributes are derived from Call of Cthulhu Characteristics. Formula: WW Attribute = (CoC Characteristic - 5.5) / 2.5 CoC 9 or less 10 - 11 12 - 14 15 - 16 17 - 19 20 - 21 22 - 24 25 - 26 27 - 29 30 - 31 WW 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Monsters from CoC... STR DEX CON POW INT INT Average POW and DEX Investigators Calculate WW... from CoC... Strength STR Dexterity DEX Stamina CON Charisma Average APP and POW Appearance APP Manipulation POW Perception INT Intelligence Average INT and EDU Wits Average POW and DEX

Calculate WW... Strength Dexterity Stamina Manipulation Perception Intelligence Wits

For example, an investigator with EDU 16 and INT 14 will end up having 4 dots in Intelligence. ((16+14)/2 - 5.5) / 2.5 = 3.8. However, the mighty festering goddess Shub-Niggurath, with STR 72 in CoC, will have 27 dots in Strength under WW rules. Abilities: White Wolf Abilities are derived from Call of Cthulhu Skills. Formula: WW Ability = (CoC Skill Rating - CoC Skill Base Chance) / (99 - CoC Skill Base Chance) * 5. Use your common sense to convert Skills to Abilities. For example, CoC Anthropology would convert to WW Academics, CoC Hide to WW Stealth, CoC Locksmith to WW Security, CoC Listen to WW Alertness, CoC Own Language to WW Expression. For example, if your CoC player character has 71% in Fist (base chance 50%), he would have 2 dots in WW Brawl. (71 - 50) / (99 - 50) * 5 = 2.1 For monsters' attack rolls, see Attack. Every CoC Other Language with a score of at least 11% counts towards a dot in WW Linguistics. When multiple CoC skills correspond to the same WW Ability, do not add them up. Simply take the one that would give you the most dots. For example, if you have CoC Jump 79% and Swim 49%, which both have 25% as base chance and both of which would fall under WW Athletics, simply do the math from the 79%, which would give 4 dots in WW Athletics. (79 - 25) / (99 - 25) * 5 = 3.6 Willpower: WW Willpower is converted from CoC POW. Mythos deities and creatures use the following formula: WW Willpower = (CoC POW - 3) / 1.5. Mortals use the following formula: WW Willpower = (CoC POW 0.5) / 2.5. If a creature's Willpower exceeds 10, simply write "beyond 10" as its Willpower score. The maximum Willpower for mortals is 7. Monsters CoC POW WW Willpower 5 or less 1 6 2 7-8 3 9 4 10 - 11 5 12 6 13 - 14 7 15 8 16 - 17 9 18 10 19 or higher beyond 10 Investigators CoC POW WW Willpower 4 or less 1 5-6 2 7-9 3 10 - 11 4 12 - 14 5 15 - 16 6 17 or higher 7

WW Creature Health Levels are calculated from CoC hit points. From the total health levels, you must then look up (or calculate) the actual individual health levels, i.e. OK, -1, etc. Formula: Total WW Health Levels = (average CoC HP * 0.224) + 4.308. Average CoC HP 1-5 5.5 - 9.5 10 - 14 14.5 - 18.5 19 - 23 23.5 - 27.5 28 - 32 Total Health Levels 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Actual Health Levels -1, -2, -5, Incapacitated -1, -1, -2, -5, Incapacitated -1, -1, -2, -2, -5, Incapacitated OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -5, Incapacitated OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -5, Incapacitated OK, OK, -1, -1, -1, -2, -2, -5, Incapacitated OK, OK, -1, -1, -1, -2, -2, -2, -5, Incapacitated 113

OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK,

32.5 - 36.5 12 OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -1, -2, -2, -2, -5, -5, Incapacitated 37 - 41 13 OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -1, -1, -2, -2, -2, -5, -5, Incapacitated 41.5 - 45 14 OK, OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -1, -1, -2, -2, -2, -5, -5, Incapacitated 45.5 - 49.5 15 OK, OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -1, -1, -2, -2, -2, -2, -5, -5, Incapacitated 50 or more 16 or more *see below *You will have to map out the distribution of higher health levels yourself, using the following guidelines: Always reserve the last level for Incapacitated**. Of the remaining levels (i.e. total health levels minus one), 2/7 should be OK, 2/7 should be -1, 2/7 should be -2, and the remaining 1/7 should be -5. You may have to fiddle with the results produced by this method, if the total doesn't equate the Total Health Levels the creature or deity must have. **Note that for most deities, the last Health Level is called Dispelled, not Incapacitated. For example, a shoggoth, a 15-foot diameter congerie of protoplasmic bubbles with 63 HP in CoC, will have 18 Health Levels in White Wolf. However their creators, the Elder Things, with an average of 25.5 HP in CoC, will have 10 Health Levels in WW as follows: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -1, -2, -2, -5, Incapacitated. Attack: Monsters and deities make normal attack rolls using Dexterity + Brawl (or Melee) at difficulty 6. There is a special table to determine the creature's Brawl or Melee rating. CoC Weapons % 45% or less 50% 55% 60% 65% 70% Brawl/Melee Ability 2 - WW Dexterity 3 - WW Dexterity 4 - WW Dexterity 6 - WW Dexterity 8 - WW Dexterity 10 - WW Dexterity CoC Weapons % 75% 80% 85% 90% 95% 100% Brawl/Melee Ability 12 - WW Dexterity 14 - WW Dexterity 16 - WW Dexterity 18 - WW Dexterity 20 - WW Dexterity 22 - WW Dexterity

If a CoC creature has more than one attack, use its highest attack percentage. Note that if this formula gives you a negative Brawl or Melee rating, it simply means the creature has zero Brawl/Melee. Its Dexterity alone provides more than enough dice to do the job. For example, a Servant of Glaaki has Sickle 40% in CoC. We have also determined that its WW Dexterity is 1 (from CoC 3.5). Looking on the table above, we see that its WW Melee will be 2 minus its WW Dexterity (2 1 = 1). Its Melee rating will be 1. It will attack with its sickle with a Dexterity + Melee dice pool of 2. In another example, a Gnoph-Keh has Horn Gore 65%. We have already calculated its WW Dexterity as 3 (from CoC 14). Consulting the chart above, we see we need to perform 8 - 3 = 5. The Gnoph-Keh has a Brawl of 5. Its total attack pool is Dexterity (3) + Brawl (5) = 8 Damage: To convert a CoC creature's damage to WW, you will first need to calculate the average damage from the dice roll. For example, 4D6 is 14, 2D10 is 11, 1D8+1 is 5.5. Consult the Appendix A if you need to look up the average value of certain dice. Formula: WW Damage Pool = (average CoC Damage * 0.506) + 1.82. Examples of CoC Damage 1D4 1D6, 1D6+1, 1D8 2D6, 1D10, 1D6 + 1D4 2D8 3D6 1D10 + 2D6 Average Damage 1 or less 1.5 - 3 3.5 - 5 5.5 - 7 7.5 - 9 9.5 - 11 11.5 - 13 WW Damage 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Examples of CoC Damage 4D6, 7D3 1D10 + 3D6 6D6 7D6 Average Damage 13.5 - 15 15.5 - 17 17.5 - 19 19.5 - 21 21.5 - 23 23.5 - 25 25.5 - 27 WW Damage 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

So the Gnoph-Keh's terrible gore attack, which causes 1D10 + 3D6, i.e. an average of 16 damage in CoC, will convert to a WW Damage rating of 10. Soak: Just like Vampires, deities and mythos creatures get to roll Soak. However, unlike normal White Wolf beings, their Soak rating is not taken from their Stamina. Instead, we calculate a separate Soak rating based on the creature's Armor rating in Call of Cthulhu. Formula: WW Soak Pool = (CoC Armor / 2) +2.7. For example, in CoC, an Elder Thing has Armor 7. In WW its Soak would be 6. Great Cthulhu, Master of R'lyeh, with Armor 21 in CoC, gets 13 soak dice in White Wolf. A Byakhee, with CoC Armor 2, gets Soak 4 in WW. CoC Armor 0-1 2-3 4-5 WW Soak 3 4 5 CoC Armor 12 - 13 14 - 15 16 - 17 WW Soak 9 10 11 114

6-7 8-9 10 - 11

6 18 - 19 12 7 20 - 21 13 8 Regeneration: For mythos deities and creatures that regenerate, use the following formula: Formula: WW Health Levels Regenerated = CoC HP Regenerated * 0.224. WW Health Levels Regenerated None 1 2 CoC HP Regenerated 12 - 15 16 - 20 21 - 24 WW Health Levels Regenerated 3 4 5

CoC HP Regenerated 2 or less 3-6 7 - 11

Therefore Cthulhu and Eihort, who in CoC regenerate 6 and 3 HP/round respectively, both end up regenerating 1 Health Level per turn in WW. Blood Pool: WW Blood Pool is converted from CoC SIZ. Formula: WW Blood Pool = CoC SIZ * 0.24. For example, a Gug, which is SIZ 57 in CoC, has a blood pool of 14 in WW. And Gnoph-Keh, SIZ 31, has 7 blood points. (We strongly discourage drinking blood from mythos creatures!) Sanity Loss: For Vampires, Sanity loss converts to Humanity loss. The rules for Sanity checks are detailed further on this webpage. This section is just to convert the sanity loss caused by specific mythos deities and creatures. Before using the formula below, you must first calculate the average from the sanity loss dice, e.g. the average of 1D100 is 50.5, and 3D6 is 10.5. Or simply consult the handy table below. (See Appendix A for more info on dice averages.) Formula: Humanity Loss = Average Sanity Loss / 7.875. CoC Sanity Loss 1D6 or less 1D6+1, 1D6+2, 1D8, 2D4, 2D6, 2D8, 1D10, 2D10, 1D20, 3D6 3D10 1D100 WW Humanity Loss 0 (no effect to Vampires) 1 2 1D10 +1

For example, losing 1D10/1D100 to see Ithaqua in Call of Cthulhu would mean losing 1/1D10+1 Humanity under the White Wolf system. Humanity: In Vampulhu, Sanity is replaced with Humanity for Vampires. As their rational mind becomes weaker and more scared, the Beast takes reign. Normally, Vampires only fear fire, but great Cthulhu mythos deities and servitors belong to a category well beyond Kindred, a mind-mending universe of evil beyond anything they ever thought possible. Because Vampires were once human and still hold onto their Humanity as a means to tame and suppress the inner Beast, they find manifestations of the Cthulhu mythos terrifying. How can you cope with such great cosmic evil? As your human side is terrorized, you feel the Beast within beckoning. The terrifying mythos demons that a Vampire witnesses are a blatant, physical manifestation and reminder of the same inner demons your conscious mind and Humanity are desperately trying to block out. Sanity Check: When a sanity check would be required, make a Courage roll. The difficulty is your Humanity +1. If you fail (or pass), lose the amout of Humanity dictated by the creature encountered or tome read. To convert CoC Sanity Loss to Vampulhu Humanity Loss, see Sanity Loss. If you have lost at least 1 Humanity point, then roll Intelligence + Alertness, difficulty 7, to see if you fully understand what you have just seen or experienced. Perversely, a success means that short temporary insanity occurs, as you fully understand what just happened. Failure means your subconscious manages to repress the full memory before it can harm your mind any further. You find an irrational explanation to rationalize the thought ("I must be hallucinating"), or you block out the experience from memory entirely. If you succeed your Intelligence roll, you temporarily lose your mind, and the Beast temporarily fills this void and takes control of you. The Storyteller determines length of time, probably the duration of the scene. The Storyteller may roll an effect from this table: D100 1-15 16-30 31-45 45-60 60-62 63-65 66-68 69-71 72-74 75-77 78-80 Effect Desperately activate any or all disciplines and/or spend bloods to increase physical attributes. Rtschrek. Flee in panic, striking at anything in your way. Frenzy. Do anything to destroy the source or anybody else you see in an emotional rampage. Develop an obsessive unquenchable blood thirst, to the point of diablerie if no humans are around. Hallucinations or delusions Screaming fit. Hysterical emotions. Mad laughter. Babble incoherently or torrent of verbal diarrhea. Gripped by intense phobia, rooted to the spot. Lose ability to think and act for yourself. Repeat or do what those around you do. Fall into fetal position, oblivious to events around you. 115

81-83 84-86 87-91 92-94 95-00

Catatonic. Can stand but have no will or interests. Blind or deaf. Harmful stimuli are blocked out. Vomit 1D10 blood points. Amnesia, memory loss. Forget who you are. Gain permanent Derangement, somehow related to the event. (For example, you cower behind a friend or an object, which then becomes a sort of safety blanket you obsessively depend on from then on.)

The Downward Spiral: If Humanity is lowered below 3, the Vampire gains a permanent Derangement. Zero Humanity is equivalent to permanent insanity, as the vampire permanently loses control and totally succumbs to the Beast within. Your character is over. The storyteller takes control of this total, mindless monster. If your character wants to take an action that would lower your humanity on the Hierarchy of Sins, the Storyteller will warn you. If you still do it, roll Conscience, difficulty 8 to avoid losing 1 Humanity. If you botch, lose 1 dot of Conscience and gain a Derangement as well. At Humanity 4 or less, you occasionally get urges and impulses that must be resisted with Conscience rolls or Willpower expenditure. Vampires with low Humanity are seen by the Camarilla as animals that should be put down. Disciplines and Vampire Powers: Any Vampire who is foolish enough to drink blood from a mythos creature or turn on Auspex to see a creature's aura or what not will relive the negative experience on a whole new level. This involves roll a new sanity check and losing Humanity accordingly, etc. The Followers of Set, whether they realize it or not, are worshipping Yig.

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INDEX
Ammunition....................................................36 Avataric Blood...................................................4 Avataric Nature.................................................4 Caliber Tables..................................................39 Carnivle..........................................................2 Carnivle Jargon and Quotations........................12 Carnivle Mythology...........................................3 Curious Goods.................................................26 Cyberdyne Systems..........................................81 Detroit Times Article.........................................35 Diogenes Club.................................................22 Drones Club....................................................23 Ebola Pentex...................................................35 Firearms Accessories........................................39 Firearms in the WoD.........................................36 Hellfire Club....................................................24 History of the League.......................................53 Junior Ganymede Club......................................25 Known Umbrella Facilities................................108 League of Extraordinary Gentlemen....................40 Martial Arts Styles............................................62 Mission History................................................89 Myths Over Miami............................................71 Paramilitary Units...........................................108 Project Manticore.............................................75 Skynet............................................................82 Tech-Com.......................................................84 Terminator Future War Timeline.......................81 Terminator, Series X.......................................87 Terminator, Series 1000...................................86 Terminator, Series 800.....................................85 Time Travel.....................................................88 Treasure of Jarman..........................................92 Umbrella Corporation......................................106 Umbrella Files..................................................93 Viruses.........................................................104 Weapon Plus Program.....................................109 Wesker's Report...............................................98 Wesker's Report II...........................................99 World of Darkness\.............................................. Cthulhu...................................................112

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