The Heart - Eternity

Hidden Agendas

Alpha

These creatures are small and weak. Their defeat, inevitable. - Alpha

Not much is known about Alpha before the Enos arrived on Earth. In fact, it's still unclear exactly when the Enos arrived, although it is speculated that their arrival was some twenty years earlier than the formation of Bone Script. A relatively small contingent of a hundred or so insectoids, creatures resembling the ants we are more familiar with, was surely not enough for a full-scale invasion. Despite her well-documented impatience (see chapters 3, 4, 10-15), it is clear Alpha had been waiting for quite a while. From her extended period of stasis to reach Earth in the first place, to her formation of the predecessor to Bone Script, and the gradual move to crush the MCR experimental power plant in Arizona with Dawn's Light, a small group of carefully manipulated hacktivist radicals, it was clear that she was playing the long game.

What would have happened if she had succeeded? It is hard to say, although witnesses from timelines far less lucky than ours claim that the main invasion force would have emerged through a rip in space and time, claiming Earth as their own in a terrible, bloody invasion. But her plans were interrupted: the attack on Parliament by Bone Script stopped in its tracks; Alpha herself eventually crushed by an elite force of freedom fighters.

Her son, Beta, raised entirely on Earth and without much of a taste for invasion, revenge, or violence for the sake of violence, picked up the scattered bones of Bone Script after his mother's death. Invasion, however, was something he left behind, much like the few remaining Enos who met their ends at the hands of time traveller Drifter and cleaning robot Jeeves 9000. Without Alpha's drive, it is little surprise that Prime managed to manipulate him, and the alternative criminal organisation Red Shift were the more preferable option for more rigorous jobs. Beta, it seems, mainly wanted company; and, perhaps, some friends to ”…Go criming with”.

- Extract from “Visitors Great and Small” by Nelson Cavieri

One

Why do I do it? Because, at the end of the day, it's far, far too much fun to cause chaos. The real question is, why would I not? - One

Once a maths teacher, referred to by most of his students simply as Mr. R, One had modest beginnings in the criminal underworld. Indeed, records at the time indicate that he was most likely the last of the three original bosses in the Heart of Crime to actually join the fray with large-scale criminal activities. Instead, his criminal activities were more personal: finding an outlet for his creativity in his semi-frequent serial killings. When exactly he found the large tome he carried is unclear, but the change was immediate. With the magic granted to him by the book, he was not so much a man possessed as a man on a mission. And that mission involved leaving home and his young son Lars (one day to become the criminal Trillion) to cause chaos on a large scale, sacrifice people, and generally leave destruction in his wake. Other individuals similarly dedicated to chaos joined him. Their unpredictability caused a great deal of trouble for both Alpha and Prime up intil the eventual formation of the Heart of Crime.

Over time, One's dedication to the book's cause took over, pushing him further and further from most in the Promptuary. His sacrifices, at first subtle or well-blended into other crimes, became events in their own right. Even One's own men were not exempt. These sacrifices, part of a ritual to bring what experts speculate to be more entities similar to that of the book (a dark entity formed from equally dark magic), ultimately came to naught. Brought down just as the ritual was complete, we may never know what the true meaning behind the ritual was. The book was removed from the scene. No further records of it remain.

The Promptuary was quickly taken over by Prime, who sent the ever-loyal Duo to act as its leader. One's son, now a fully realised Trillion, rose through the ranks to continue his father's legacy.

- Extract from “Influential Mages of the 21st Century” by Harper Ledger

Prime

They say “Knowledge is power.” We don't know who this mysterious “They” is, but we're working on it. I think. Whatever the case, they have a point. Sure the odd heist is fun now and then, but information's where it's really at. Maybe once I know everything, I'll retire. Maybe. - Prime

As one of the Heart's most reclusive members, it comes as little surprise that there's little information available on him. What little exists in the way of character witnesses paint him as anything from a level headed and progressive leader to a madman with the Devil's luck flying by the seat of his pants. Or possibly both at once.

What we do know is that not just anyone can simultaneously hold leadership positions in both the Heart of Crime and the self-styled “Heroes of Justice” Garuda and not be discovered until long after his death. Playing both sides for everything it's worth as Prime and Sparrow, as well as acting as Garuda's liaison to SPEAR during the Crisis, speculation has it that he was perhaps the single best informed individual during that period of time.

Of course, any member of a criminal organisation so dedicated to keeping a low profile has to be up to something, and Prime was no exception. His master-stroke came in his clearly premeditated takeover of the Heart, which had previously been held together by a delicate balance of power, in a little over a week.

Reports indicate that he directed various members of both Heart and Garuda to assassinate Alpha and One, then promptly proceeded to take over with Senary forces armed with weaponry stolen from under the Bone Script's nose over a month prior. By the time the next Summit rolled around, he was well and truly ingrained as the overall leader of a previously fractured organisation.

Genius, madman or a little bit of both? We may never know.

-An extract from “Living in the Shadows: Criminals of the '70s and '80s” by Amanda Holden.

The Next Step - A Heart Unbroken

After the deaths of two of its leaders, the Heart of Crime defied expectation by remaining a relatively coherent organisation. Its numbers had dropped, its leaders were gone, but Prime remained; Prime, with his prize already in his grasp. It is generally assumed that he already had agents in place in both the Promptuary and Bone Script, ready to stop chaos breaking out and everything falling apart when he grabbed for power. Indeed, after Prime's takeover, the Heart of Crime became a more coherent organisation. United at last under a single leadership, it was no longer an organisation at odds with itself, quietly fighting and backstabbing rather than moving on to bigger and better crimes.

Duo's leadership, despite being more coherent and organised than One's, was at odds with what much of the Promptuary was used to. Thanks to support from Trillion, then a low-ranking member of the Promptuary, she managed to retain control. However, without Trillion's knack for chaos and interactions with many low-ranking Promptuary members, it is hard to tell how long this control would have lasted. It is little surprise that Trillion spent much of his life as Duo's right hand.

Bone Script, a shadow of its former self, was left with Beta as more or less a figurehead. Prime offered suggestions from time to time, essentially pushing Bone Script to perform tasks that he wanted performed. However, it never quite recovered. Instead, the external organisation Red Shift, headed by Nicasius Drake, with notable members including Bliss, Diana Medusa (defected from Senary), Grimm, Storm Meyrick/the Shadow, and a large security force originally part of Capital City's, took over some of Bone Script's old duties from time to time. Nicasius himself remained immensely unpopular in the Heart of Crime, but Red Shift remained a useful ally despite this friction. When Beta was eventually killed by the Enos hunters Drifter and Jeeves 9000, the day-to-day activities of Bone Script were barely affected, thanks in part to Red Shift's presence.

And Senary remained as it had always been: quiet, behind the scenes, leaving the others to fight outright. Despite his work with Red Shift, Storm Meyrick/the Shadow continued to stay loyal to Prime, proving himself time and again as a master thief. Given his dual loyalty and well-proven skills, it is little surprise that Meyrick eventually became Prime's right hand; a worthy replacement for Duo.

Time has passed and many are now dead. But the Heart of Crime and its legacy remain an active force in the criminal underworld; a force to be reckoned with.

- Extract from “Criminality: Organised Crime in the 22nd Century” by Charles Don

eternity/the_heart.txt · Last modified: 2015/06/23 22:31 by gm_cameron
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