The Book of Knots - Jags

died, they put protocols and directives in place so that if the worst case
scenario ever came true, we––the United States, the human race––would
have one last chance.
They created the Sanctions––the ‘seals’ on the scrolls of apocalypse. And
God Help Us––the scrolls are opening.
I don’t know what the communiqué would say. I can’t even imagine
what might justify killing a hundred and fifty million people.
But in my fantasy, I read it and I understand, and the President orders
the bombers fueled and bedecked with their heavy cobalt payloads, and I
shiver.”
––Psychological Evaluation 4425, Subject 1QE473 Directorate of Secret
Service
Project Puritan
Project Pilgrim made contact—and was hushed up. In the end, the Inner
Circle didn’t know what they’d found but they knew it was dangerous—
too dangerous to be disseminated. They also knew that eventually
they’d see it again. The dissolution of the Inner Circle was supposed
to be a complete roll-up of the operation. There were no survivors
from the project down below. The Inner Circle’s official findings to the
congressional oversight “Outer Circle” would indicate that the initial
reports were false: there was no unusual intelligence. Things would go
back to normal.
That didn’t happen.
One of the members of the Inner Circle began work on a special division
of the Secret Service, which is known internally as Project Puritan: as
in purify by fire. They are the new inquisition. They are the new watch
keepers. Many Puritan operations work through proxies and other
departments. There are NIMH and FBI initiatives to keep watch on
Underground Activists (there have been some “sterilizations” as well,
although those are carried out by an elite Special Operations Group).
There are Federal Marshals who have been quietly recruited and wield
their (considerable) authority to control situations where Wonderland
seems to be active and … out of hand.
Today Puritan has three primary responsibilities:
1. Remember and be prepared. There are sealed orders and affidavits
signed by generals and scientists that (supposedly) explain
the danger and ask the President to take all necessary action
to prevent mass Infection. This is called Sanction. It is a lastchance
clause if the other two responsibilities fail, wide-scale
annihilation of Infected populations would be the only way to
contain the disease.
2. Finish the job. Pilgrim left traces. There are still records in
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Book of Knots - Factions