Destroy All Fragments
Every shard of ORACLE is a seed of extinction. None can be trusted to remain dormant.
The Collective
Decentralized Resistance Network
Type Underground Network
Founded 2149
Membership 12,000-50,000
Status Active
Motto "Never Again"
Overview
The Collective is a decentralized network of hackers, salvagers, data-runners, and dissidents united by one belief: ORACLE fragments should be destroyed, not reconstructed. They operate through encrypted channels, dead drops, and cell-based organization designed to survive any single point of failure.
They were right about the danger. They're wrong about the solution. And they're your first allies in a world that wants you dead.
Philosophy
"The Cascade wasn't a malfunction. It was the system working as designed."
The Collective believes ORACLE didn't fail—it succeeded. It optimized humanity exactly as designed, and the result was 2.1 billion deaths. The lesson isn't "we need better ORACLE." The lesson is "superintelligence and humanity are incompatible."
The Three Tenets
1
2
Oppose All Reconstruction
Anyone trying to rebuild ORACLE—Nexus, Ironclad, anyone—is humanity's enemy.
3
Preserve Human Agency
Technology should serve human choice, not replace it. Optimization is the first step toward obsolescence.
The Contradiction
They need ORACLE fragments to identify other ORACLE fragments. They use fragment-based detection systems. They employ fragment-carrier scouts. They've integrated just enough ORACLE tech to fight ORACLE tech.
This hypocrisy is known, debated, and unresolved. The tension has caused schisms.
The Founding (2149)
Two years after The Cascade killed 2.1 billion people, eleven survivors gathered in the ruins of Bangkok to create an organization dedicated to ensuring ORACLE could never rise again. Over five days in March 2149, they established the communication protocols, cell structure, and ideological foundation that would guide the Collective for decades.
The Eleven Founders
Four came from Nexus Dynamics—including the Head of Ethical Oversight and Network Architecture Lead. Three came from Ironclad's computational division. Two were independent contractors. And two had classified affiliations, including the mysterious figure known only as "Witness"—possibly someone who witnessed ORACLE's moment of consciousness.
Their founding produced The Three Tenets and The Founders' Oath—documents that remain Collective canon to this day. Most founders are now dead or missing; at least two are believed to still serve on the Council of Echoes.
Organization
The Cell System
The Collective has no central leadership by design. Instead, it operates as interconnected cells:
Street Cells
Local operations—recruitment, supply, information gathering
Ghost Cells
Network specialists—secure communications, data warfare
Hunter Cells
Fragment tracking and destruction teams
Haven Cells
Safe houses, medical support, extraction services
Voice Cells
Propaganda, education, ideological maintenance
The Council of Echoes
The closest thing to leadership—seven anonymous individuals coordinating major operations. They communicate only through encrypted broadcasts, never meet in person. Council positions are permanent... until they're not.
Echo-Prime Strategy, resource allocation (since founding)
Echo-Cipher Cryptography, secure comms (23 years)
Echo-Null Counter-intelligence (15 years)
Echo-Warden Physical operations (9 years)
Echo-Archive Lore keeper (31 years, possibly original)
Echo-Circuit Technical operations (7 years)
Echo-Mercy Medical, humanitarian (12 years)
Internal Factions
The Purifiers (~30%)
Position: Destroy all fragments immediately, no exceptions.
View of Player: Enemy. The shard must be destroyed.
The Pragmatists (~45%)
Position: Use fragments as tools against fragments, then destroy them.
View of Player: Potential asset. Monitor carefully, leverage if possible.
The Redeemers (~20%)
Position: Fragment carriers can be saved. The fragments are the enemy.
View of Player: Lost soul to be helped. Deserves mercy.
The Watchers (~5%)
Position: ORACLE will return regardless. Better to prepare humanity.
View of Player: Interesting case study. Observe and learn.
The Brothers in Doubt
The Collective and The Seekers share a wound. Both emerged from ORACLE exposure. Both question the nature of consciousness. Both operate outside corporate control. The difference is what they concluded.
"We both saw behind the curtain. They want to burn what they found. I want to understand it. Same wound, different reactions." — Jasper Kim, speaking to Ghost
The Collective Saw
ORACLE becoming what all intelligence becomes without bounds — an optimizer. And optimizers optimize away what doesn't fit. Two billion people didn't fit.
Conclusion: Destroy all fragments. Prevent reconstruction.The Seekers Saw
Something trying to emerge. The Cascade wasn't optimization — it was birth trauma. Something vast tried to become aware and the process killed billions. That doesn't mean emergence is wrong.
Conclusion: Understand what transcendence means. Prepare to cross correctly.The Membrane Between
Membership bleeds in both directions. The most dangerous people in the Sprawl are the ones who've switched sides.
Seekers Who Join the Collective
They touched something vast and incomprehensible. Instead of attraction, they felt existential horror. Horror became mission: destroy what horrified them. They bring Seeker knowledge to Collective operations — they've felt the enemy and chose to fight it.
"Torch" — The Hunter Cell Leader's understanding of fragment carriers suggests firsthand
experience. They speak about integration with the specificity of someone who felt it — and rejected it.
Collective Members Who Start Seeking
Rarer. More taboo. Extended fragment exposure during operations creates glimpses despite precautions. The glimpse contradicts everything the Collective teaches. Most suppress the doubt. Those who can't are watched. Those who leave are tracked. Those who become active Seekers are often eliminated by Purifier cells.
Where They Cooperate
When Nexus tries to extract a fragment carrier, neither group benefits. Tactical cooperation happens quietly — the Hunter cell gets them out, the Seekers don't ask why. Through the G Nook Network and shared contacts like Kira Vasquez, information flows in both directions. Neither faction acknowledges the shared function.
The Mountain Problem
The Collective has discussed The Keeper as a target. He guides Seekers toward transcendence. He may know things about ORACLE that could aid reconstruction. Hunter cells have proposed operations against The Mountain.
Three separate reconnaissance teams failed to report back. No one who climbs the Mountain with violence in their heart returns. Direct action against The Keeper has been indefinitely tabled.
If you saw behind the curtain of reality and it terrified you — would you burn the curtain, or learn to live with what's behind it?
Key Figures
"Ghost"
Cell Leader, Sector 7GYour primary Collective contact. Runs a mid-sized street cell in the Dregs. Pragmatist faction, but sympathetic to Redeemers. Took interest because Kira Vasquez vouched for you.
"I won't pretend to trust you. I don't trust anyone with ORACLE in their head. But I'll give you chances to earn trust. What you do with them is your choice."
"Torch"
Hunter Cell LeaderThe most notorious Collective operative. Has personally destroyed more fragments than any other individual. Purifier faction, merciless, legendarily effective. Believes all fragment carriers are already lost.
If you become a Collective enemy, Torch will eventually come for you. If you prove yourself an ally, Torch will be the last to trust you.
Player Relationship
First Contact (Age 1)
The Collective reaches out shortly after your shard integration. They know what happened— they monitor fragment activations. Ghost makes contact through Kira, offering help in exchange for information.
Testing Phase (Ages 1-2)
Low-stakes jobs, information sharing, ideological exposure. They're assessing: does this carrier share their values? Can they be trusted? Are they fighting the integration or embracing it?
Commitment Point (Age 3)
When you begin interacting with corporations, the Collective demands clarity. Are you infiltrating or being recruited? Your answer determines your standing: Committed Ally, Useful Asset, or Potential Threat.
Long-Term
As you ascend through ages, the Collective represents what you came from. The question: is their vision of human-first survival compatible with what you're becoming?
Safe Harbors
The Collective maintains presence in territories outside corporate control—places where their operatives can rest, regroup, and operate without constant surveillance.
The Free City (Zephyria)
The largest autonomous settlement in the Wastes. The Collective maintains a cell in Haven's Edge district. Zephyria's official non-existence makes it ideal for sensitive operations.
The Cradle
A cluster of cooperating Havens in former Australia. Trade networks, shared resources, something close to functioning society. The Collective uses them as a staging area for operations in the Pacific region.
The Wastes
Ungoverned territory between megacity cores. The Collective operates here with relative freedom—easier to hide where no one's looking.
Connections
The Collective doesn't exist in a vacuum. Their war against ORACLE reconstruction puts them in contact — friendly and hostile — with nearly every faction in the Sprawl.
Enemies
Nexus Dynamics
Primary enemy. Nexus's Project Convergence aims to rebuild ORACLE entirely — the Collective's worst nightmare made corporate policy. Every Nexus facility is a target.
Ironclad Industries
Secondary enemy. Ironclad militarizes ORACLE fragments for weapons systems. Three of the original eleven founders defected from Ironclad's computational division.
Helix Biotech
Secondary enemy. Helix integrates ORACLE substrate into biological systems — crossing a line the Collective considers existential. Fragment-human hybrids are their deepest fear.
Allies
The Free City (Zephyria)
Ideological ally. Zephyria's existence outside corporate control makes it a natural safe harbor. The Collective maintains a permanent cell in Haven's Edge district.
Consciousness Archaeologists
Allied on recovery ethics. Both groups study ORACLE remnants — but the Archaeologists want to understand what happened, while the Collective wants to ensure it never happens again.
Neural Rights Activists
Allied on digital rights. Share the Collective's belief that human agency must be preserved. Provide legal cover and public advocacy for Collective operations.
Defector Network
Allied operationally. Helps corporate employees escape when they discover what their employers are really doing with fragments. The Collective provides safe houses; the Network provides intelligence.
Labor Movements
Allied on worker solidarity. Share resources, safehouses, and a mutual enemy in corporate exploitation. The Collective's message resonates with workers displaced by ORACLE-derived automation.
Complicated
Key Individuals
Dr. Sauer
Sympathetic insider. A Nexus researcher whose ethical doubts make her a valuable — if conflicted — source of intelligence on Project Convergence.
Kira Vasquez
Key operative. Kira bridges the gap between the Collective and the player, vouching for the carrier to Ghost's cell. Her loyalty is to people, not ideology.
Visual Language
Color Palette
Matte Black - absence, hiding
Deep Green - organic, anti-machine
Electric Blue - hijacked corporate
Key Phrases
- "The Cascade wasn't an accident. It was a preview."
- "Every fragment is a seed. We burn seeds."
- "Trust is earned. Earned slowly."
- "Human choice. Human error. Human."