Chadius: TOA manual

Introduction

Welcome to The Other Agency, Agent _______. This booklet should help introduce you to the ins and outs of the Agency.

Our mission at TOA is to make the world safe for people of all races. No matter what you are, you should feel comfortable living here.

...I'm terrible at introductions.

-Chief Zii

Foreword

A reminder: History is very mutable. Things that we call "facts" can change instantly.

When enough people believe in something, it becomes true. We do not understand the mechanics fully, but it is in heavy effect. Please understand this issue.

History

The Other Agency's origins are a bit unstable. The earliest story we have recorded says TOA was founded about 500 years ago by Marcus Drake. He was an anthropologist who first encountered Others and decided to help them.

TOA has gone through several revisions, base moves, and major resructurings. The Agency has been in several large-scale conflicts and public-awareness drives.

Basic duties

Here are your basic duties in the Agency. This list is not complete, but should get your basic duties out of the way. And I don't want to bury you in jargon, anyway.

Dealing with the Public

It is vital that the public, humans especially, do not know about the existence of Others. If people learned of Others without learning how to tolerate them, a mass panic could perversely alter history. It could eliminate Others, alter cultures permanently, or outright destroy the world. This is why it's important to convince people that Others do not exist.

People are susceptible to false truths. They don't want to believe in the incredible. Make something up. A shopping cart flew by. She was 'really' pretty. Rocks fell. Something, anything! Most will believe you.

Keep the Peace

Not everyone is hunky-dory, you know. Some like to abuse their powers. Some don't like to play fair. And others think it's their right to step on everyone else. That's where you come in. Shut them down, cut off their funding, arrest them, whatever. Just remember to tell the cops that you're special. (and flash your false CIA ID, of course.)

Races

This is a list of the many major races in the world. This list is by no way complete, and there are certainly races we don't know about.

Humans

Humans are the majority race on this planet. Relatively short lifespans and an amazingly fast learning curve allow them to learn a flurry of techniques and practices.

Humans are also very capable at altering history. A single human's potential is stronger than almost all Others. Add their vast number and they have the single biggest impact on history. Many major events have involved mass human historic influence at some point.

Luckily, most humans are unaware of their powers, and don't know of their potential. Let's keep it that way until they are ready to accept Others, alright?

Fate Weavers

Fate Weavers are the only race to have more history-changing properties than humans. Many of them have decided not to, however.

Fate Weavers can locally alter an area's outcome. The stronger they are, the larger an area they can affect. We have ways of tracking alterations, mind you, but we'd rather not have things affected in the first place. If you ever feel that things are a bit different, please come to TOA HQ and we'll see what we can do.

Most Fate Weavers have agreed not to tamper with history; heck, some even work with us to hunt those who do alter history. Why do they do this? I don't know. Many have moral beliefs about altering someone's future. Some are religious, and it goes against their code. And some talk about an alternate history here or there that had disastrous results and yadda yadda yadda, I just smile and nod. The point is: they don't alter history, that's good.

Science

I need to explain basic ideas and how this world works.

Magic vs Technology

Energy is energy, no matter how you generate it. Doesn't matter if you put a magnet through a coil or you tap the essence of lightning, electricity is electricity.