OUBLIETTE

While home to heroes and villains alike, the world of OUBLIETTE is also home to many people who straddle the fence. At times they are allies to the heroes and to the world they protect and at others they are set against the champions. These groups, these clandestine agencies are neutral to the objectives of the heroes and their malicious counterparts.

The Department of SPB Affairs

In 1974, the public was growing increasingly afraid as more and more Neo-Sapien terrorists were appearing. Miss Multiple’s assault on a high school in Chicago marked not only the formation of a new team of Vindicators but also pushed the United Nations to take initiative.

The United Nations Security Council is the organ of the United Nations charged with maintaining peace and security amongst nations. Under the United Nations Charter, the UNSC possesses the power to make decisions member nations must carry out. Exercising this power, the UNSC established Resolution 348- the formation of the Department of SPB Affairs, a branch of the Security Council exclusively dealing with any situation involving super-powered beings and member nations.

The resolution was passed on May 17, 1974, with a vote of fourteen to zero (China did not participate in the voting). The resolution established the office and saw General Hampton Sidell placed in the top position as director.

The Vindicators IV (and all subsequent teams) were forced to operate under the Department, which dispatches the team on the behest of UN member nations and on peace-keeping missions were SPBs are involved. For many, the Department of SPB Affairs is what gives some measure of credibility to the Vindicators. Others fail to see the Department as an authority SPBs must answer to but something to hide behind for the time being. Regardless of public opinion where the Vindicators are concerned, opinions of the Department are relatively high.

In 2001, the Department felt pressured to make some changes, given that a Neo-Sapien had been found responsible for the events of 9/11 and the Vindicators had chosen to disband just days before. Many cited a total lack of preparation on the Department’s fault; the events that led to formation of the Vindicators VII displayed a similar incompetence. As a result, then-director Doctor Marcus Hill was removed from office and Colonel John “Crowbar” Sidell- son of General Sidell -replaced him. Under pressure from member nations, Colonel Crowbar submitted the Vindication Charter.

Under the charter, member nations would begin to train young Neo-Sapiens for the purpose of deployment in the event of a crisis such as those that occurred at the beginning and end of the Vindicators VII’s legend. It also made it unlawful for SPBs to operate outside of the direction of the Department. During this Time Without Heroes, the Department tapped many individuals (most untrained) to undertake missions that would have otherwise been granted to a team of Vindicators.

In 2006 the Vindication Charter was rescinded with the reformation of a new team of Vindicators. Today, the invasive directions taken are a thing of a past- the Department’s only deeds being overseeing the direction of the Vindicators as well as acting as a liaison to the various New Vindicators Academies dotting the globe.

O.S.I.R.

In the 1950s and 1960s, many believe came to believe they had witnessed a UFO. It was not uncommon for these people to later describe being met by men in black suits who would harass and intimidate witnesses into silence. Society dubbed these men the Men in Black and have concocted many explanations for their existence.

Some believe them to be psychological- mere figments of the mind. Others believe them to be aliens or demons, walking amongst mankind to silence humanity as they tread precariously closer to the truth. Some even claim to be the agents in question and debunk conspiracy theories as a hoax.

The truth is that with the revelations brought about by Johann Meinstein in 1945, the United States government could not deny the existence of Neo-Sapiens- or SPBs. Johann was not a Neo-Sapien himself- though he was the son of one. The Fuhrer of the Fourth Reich was a psion- a human with a hyper-developed mind that allowed him to influence the actions of others.

Seeking to harness such a power, while also building a defense against future psionic assaults, the United States government commissioned the Office of Scientific Investigation and Research (O.S.I.R.) to covertly deal with the oddities mankind suddenly found themselves facing.

In a sense, O.S.I.R. was a precursory to the Department of SPB Affairs- albeit directly under the control of the United States government and shrouded in secrecy. Few within the government know of the existence of the agency and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Today, the Office of Scientific Investigation and Research is an agency which conducts scientific investigation, research and experimentation in all fields of science; from astronomy to geology, from biology to psychology, from physics to zoology. In addition, the organization has a “Phenomenology Division” which focuses entirely on the investigation and research of anomalous phenomena dealing with paranormal, supernatural, parapsychological and metaphysical phenomena. As such, they have a propensity for clashing with the Illuminati’s missions from time to time. Despite all of their best efforts they have yet been unable to track the Illuminati back to their home base- a good thing considering what O.S.I.R. would do if they know about the Book of the Grigori and the trove of Hyperborean artifacts the Aurelius has stored within the Vault.

The group operates out of the Aerie- a mobile sky fortress typically cloaked above Pinewood, West Virginia. Their main mode of dispatching agents to the earth, single-manned, narrow, silver jets known as “cigars” is responsible for the escalated number of UFO sightings across the globe.