Majestic 12 (Deus Ex)
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The story of Deus Ex revolves around the themes of conspiracy, deceit, and manipulation. As a result, many implications are made, but outright facts are rare. Because of this, plot information within this article may include speculation. The reader is encouraged to draw his or her own conclusions.
Majestic 12 is a fictional organization within the video game Deus Ex.
In Deus Ex, Majestic 12 (also known as MJ-12 and officially as The Majestic Council of the Twelve) is a splinter organization of the Illuminati, and lead by the former Illuminati member, Bob Page. While the Illuminati prefers to control by assimilating persons of intellect into a grand conspiracy, Majestic 12 plans to control the world in secret through the production of the "Gray Death nanovirus" and the virus's vaccine, Ambrosia.
The organisation's public fronts include Page Industries, which controls the global banking system and is run by Bob Page, VersaLife, a division of Page Industries, responsible for MJ-12's forays into weapons and genetic technology, and UNATCO, which practically polices the globe on their behalf. Also, Bob Page's partner Walton Simons runs FEMA and Majestic 12 has many contacts (e.g. Maggie Chow) across the globe penetrating (and almost always destroying and/or corrupting) organisations which otherwise would not be directly involved with the conspiracy.
Majestic 12's plans of world domination involve using VersaLife to secretly manufacture the Gray Death virus (using Universal Constructors) while also simultaneously manufacturing the vaccine, known as Ambrosia. The virus is then spread to the public, (Though MJ12 tries to minimise infection among politicians, as this could endanger the extortion scheme or even the conspiracy itself.) and the subsequent worry of the area's politicians allows MJ12 to extort assets or influence under the guise of the VersaLife pharmaceutical company. UNATCO and FEMA are then used to control the supply of the vaccine. It is provided in limited quantities, and the list of people to be vaccinated is limited to employees and conspirators of MJ12, as well as employees of MJ12 fronts, and to those for whom politicians request it, so long as they co-operate with MJ12. For example, Bob Page mentions in a dialogue sequence to Walton Simons that he has successfully blackmailed at least one previously unco-operative senator into appointing Simons as Director of FEMA via his control of the Ambrosia vaccine. The operation is not at all unlike an extortion racket--government officials and other persons of influence must co-operate with the conspiracy (This is analogous to paying "protection" money to a crime syndicate.) or else the vaccine will be denied to them and anyone else that may offer leverage, putting the victim (Or anyone significant to the victim.) in danger.
Majestic 12 also uses complex information-processing systems, including artificial intelligence, at least two systems of which are prominent elements in the game's story, these being Daedalus and Icarus. Daedalus and Icarus are the results of previous efforts of the Illuminati to create an omnipresent surveillance tool to not only monitor, but evaluate world events and even individual lives. Before the events in the game, Page initiated the Aquinas Protocol, allowing MJ-12 to monitor and selectively censor all global communications.
VersaLife may operate as a pharmaceutical company, but specialises in established and theoretical applications of nanotechnology, especially in conjunction with living creatures. It also experiments with synthetic creatures, known as transgenics, and— with the aid of nanotechnology — genetically engineers organisms, presumably as a result of experimentation, or for use in experiments, or possibly both or neither. Some of these include: Greasels, Grays, and Karkians. In addition to these creatures, Bob Page claims that VersaLife created the protagonist, JC Denton, and his "brother," Paul Denton. Certain Majestic 12 conspirators and/or employees imply that other members of the Denton "family" have come and gone before. Neither any one nor any thing disputes these claims, with the sole exception that JC and Paul remember being raised as the children of their "parents." However, JC and Paul are certain that they were lied to, and have always suspected that they are artificial. Within the MJ12 facility, JC may examine a chamber which he was apparently stored in at some point, or perhaps created in. Another chamber, containing a male synthetic human, is marked "Alex Denton." These chambers support the theory that the Dentons are artificial, as the personal information on the chambers refers to "Assigned birth name" and "Assigned birth date." It should also be noted that "Alex Denton's" chamber contains an adult male, seemingly in stasis, and that the chambers of JC and Paul are large enough to contain adults. This is strange because JC, Paul, and Alex all seem to remember their childhoods. It is not known how the Dentons were created, or how much interference was made in the selection of their genes, so they may or may not be transgenics, synthetic humans, or products of artificial insimination. It is implied in Deus Ex that the Dentons' genetic selection is meant, at the very least, to optimise their bodies for nanoaugmentation. MJ12 also wishes to know why the Dentons are immune to the Gray Death. Majestic 12's true goals behind the Dentons' creation, along with the explanation for their Gray Death immunity, is a mystery. The cost to Majestic 12 of the Denton "experiments" is apparently very steep; Simons comments that the cost of creating JC Denton alone was approximately "fifty billion dollars." Simons is also one character who refers to the Dentons as "experiments. "Experiment," in this context may or may not be used properly; perhaps it is a euphemism. (Within in-game texts and dialogue subtitles, the word in this context does not consistently appear with or without quotation marks.) If the word is being used properly, then the hypothesis behind the experiment is a mystery, though theories exist. MJ12's power over VersaLife could make mass nanoaugmentation very possible--though "unpredictable behaviour" of nanoaugmented agents is considered to be the main problem with it. Perhaps the Dentons were attempts at eliminating this problem. One other type of augmented agent is known as a "Series P" agent, with P standing for "physiopharmaceutical." This information would be thought to shed light on the nature of the series P agents, but unfortunately, physiopharmaceutical is not a real word. However, educated speculation on the intended meaning is possible, though physiopharmaceutical can not be presumed to describe the agents or their creation process, as it may simply a nonsense codeword. Regardless of the word's bearing, if any, on the Series P Agents (Also known as Men in Black, or MiBs.) it would appear to be a combination of the prefix physio-, which may refer to nature or the body, and the adjective pharmaceutical, which may refer to medicinal treatment or simply to drugs used in such treatment. The possible meanings of this word, if it has a meaning at all, are numerous and determining which, if any, applies is impossible without some other context. Although an MiB is estimated to be 78% more effective than an unaugmented agent, there are serious disadvantages. The creation process of an MiB is not capable of yielding aesthetic diversity. Not only are the agents identical to others of the same sex, but the identical appearances are bizarre enough for one agent; the appearance is exponentially unnerving when multiple agents must share such strange physical traits: remarkably pale skin, jet black hair, an unnervingly deep and monotonous voice, unnatural manner of speech, and eyes which are never seen in game because they are constantly hidden behind sunglasses. A datacube regarding physiopharmaceutical augmentation describes MiBs as having "albino traits" and explains that the dark clothing and sunglasses are meant to offset them. Additionally, devices implanted within MiBs' nervous systems called "killswitches" cause MiBs to violently explode, either by will or reflex, after a mission objective is failed or the agent is mortally wounded, thereby killing or severely injuring nearby friend and foe upon death, and eliminating the potentially compromising evidence of the agent's existance. Perhaps because their physical and volatile traits do not favour the public, MiBs are used only for special assignments, mainly as security teams in top-secret areas, as bodyguards for MJ12 VIPs, and far less commonly, top-priority special operations in the open. For unconfirmed reasons, possibly involving complications of augmentation process like cost or time, or because the almost inhuman traits demand attention that presents a threat to the agents' missions and the greater Majestic 12 mission, or because their volatile self-termination devices make conventional combat service impractical, mechanised augmentation is still favoured, in terms of conventional combat and military and para-military special operations. In addition, VersaLife also manufactures several non-sentient weapons, including the nanotech Dragon's Tooth Sword. They also seem to have been responsible for the creation of the Plasma Rifle.
Apart from use of the Gray Death/Ambrosia manipulation, sophisticated military technologies and advanced surveillance networks, MJ-12 is also not averse to using divide and conquer methods, weakening their enemies and turning them against one another (this is seen when Maggie Chow orchestrates a war between the two Triad groups in Hong Kong). The organisation also holds no apparent qualms about using other types of psychological tactics as they wage war on the world's government. One example of this is the exploitation of the bizarre traits of MiBs to intimidate or unnerve dissidents and coerce them in to submission, and to deter would-be assassins or spies when serving as bodyguards and security forces.
Majestic 12 is based in Area 51 and has two submerged Ocean Labs and also concealed bases in UNATCO headquarters, in the sewage system beneath New York and Versalife Headquarters, not to mention the possibility of many other secret bases all over the world.
Majestic 12 military personnel bear the insignia XII, which is twelve in Roman numerals. Other symbols used include a hand menacing a globe (of which a gigantic statue is present at the VersaLife Headquarters in Hong Kong). This symbol appears on in-game computers connected to MJ12 security networks, and is only displayed in the open by the VersaLife Corporation. From the position in which the hand is poised, it could apparently seize the globe with little effort. This may very well be indicative of Majestic 12's ambitions of global domination. It is important to note, however, that the hand is not depicted as actually taking any action, and the hand's position could also be interpreted as releasing the globe, or perhaps even shielding it. Such interpretations would not be characteristic of Majestic 12, but the fact that it can be interpreted in more ways than the obvious is consistant with the fact that the protagonist must make a choice to determine the freedom, or lack of freedom, of the planet, and such fateful decisions (And resulting "alternate endings") are iconic of the Deus Ex series. The symbol may have been designed with such ambiguity in mind or it may simply be coincidence.
It is hinted, though never explicitly confirmed, that MJ12 had been a government agency under the control of Lucius DeBeers' Illuminati all through the 20th century.
The motto of Majestic 12 is: "IPSA SCIENTIA POTESTAS EST" — Latin for "Knowledge Her/Itself Is Power."
MJ12's plan to seize control of the United States by using FEMA to declare a national emergency is similar to the Syndicate's plan in the conspiracy series The X-Files, which is also concerned with aliens, Men in Black , the idea of a shadow government and various conspiracy theories, such as a version of the secret society theory which popularly features The Illuminati.
Majestic 12 NPCs
- MJ12 Trooper
MJ12 troopers (similar to UNATCO troopers) are clad entirely in black, except for the red logo on their helmets. They are human NPCs and have equal hit points to UNATCO troopers and soldiers. Most MJ12 troopers carry assault rifles as their primary weapon and a combat knife as their backup melee weapon. This being said, MJ12 troopers can be found to carry a range of weapons, such as pistols, mini-crossbows, and rocket launchers. As noted by an in-game conversation, troops can be promoted to Commando status if they show enough strength in the field.
- MJ12 Commando
The more advanced MJ12 commando, along with being significantly larger and more muscular than human NPCs, is mechanically augmented. Their faces are masked so that human features cannot be seen. They are armed with machine guns and rocket launchers attached to their arms. With higher hit points than human soldiers, they are much more difficult to destroy, and are therefore encountered later in the game.
- MIB (Men in Black)
Like the stereotypical Men In Black, they are mysterious men and women clad in black business suits, ties, and sunglasses, with contrasting sheet white shirts. MiBs serve as special agents for MJ12. Each agent has a tattoo of an eye on the back of their necks. Male MIB are extremely tall, taller than the player and resemble typical FBI agents; female MIB called WIB (Women in Black) are shorter, about as tall as the player and are similarly dressed to their male counterparts — but wear skirts with heeled shoes. They all share cropped black hair and inhuman mechanised voices, and all wear sunglasses and dark clothing to conceal or mute their solid-colored eyes and albino skin. They are the series of augmented humans that follows the series the player belongs to; series P (for physiopharmaceutical) coming after series N (for nanotech). They are much tougher than MJ12 Troopers but, depending on armaments, can be less dangerous to deal with than Commandos who use rocket launchers. They are armed with mainly shotguns or assault rifles, and usually carry Dragon's Tooth Swords. Their most dangerous feature is killswitch, which causes them to self-destruct after death damaging or killing the player in melee forcing ranged combat. This feature can be used tactically against enemies. The aforementioned tattoo present on an an MIB or WIB represents a pressure point where, if successfully struck by the player using a melee weapon, will result in instant death of the enemy.
Prominent Majestic 12 fronts
Majestic 12 has various fronts posing as legitimate companies. Some include:
Page Industries
Page Industries is a huge multinational corporation. It is owned by Bob Page, and is involved in several industries including robotics manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, construction, computer hardware and software manufacturing and defense.
VersaLife
A subsidary of Page Industries, VersaLife is itself a commerical behemoth. It specialises in nanotechnology, making several products which use nanites, from nanoaugmentations, to nanotech swords, to the nanite-composed vaccine for the Gray Death. In secret, and in accordance with Majestic 12's plans for world domination, it also produces the fatal Gray Death virus. As the source of both the virus and the only working vaccine, anyone susceptible to the virus is effectively at Majestic 12's mercy.
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