Omar

The Omar Technosect or simply Omar (Rus. Oмар) is a global society of cyborgs in and a faction in Deus Ex: Invisible War. They are characterized by a post-human appearance, mindset, and organization - while some of their sympathizers and agents are (still) human, those who choose to join are radically surgically and nanotoechnologically augmented to an unprecedented degree. The ultimate modification is the replacement of frontal lobes by a cortical interface, that completely assimilates the subject into the collective mind.Alex D: "They've got you so scared you might as well already be wearing the cortical interface."Leo Jankowski: "You don't wear it. It replaces your frontal lobes." The Omar are believed by some to be the next step in human evolution, humanity's successors, if not replacement.Kurzec: "I wonder how long the Omar will need the human race."
==Background==
The Omar are the unlikely children of the darkness of the Collapse, when Russian science cities found themselves severed from the greater federation and left to fend for themselves. The resulting Russian Famine took a devastating toll on the population, especially in cities when the harsh winter came.Kevin O'Rourke: "I heard that the Omar began in Russia. Apparently some people went to extremes to survive the post-Collapse winters." The eventual underground cyborg society was first and foremost a desperate bid to survive,Deus Ex: Invisible War loading screen hints: "The Omar are an underground society comprised of cyborgs. They originated in Russian science labs in the years following the Collapse." at any cost. The future Omar seized any resources they required and went to extreme lengths to guarantee their survival.
What emerged from these cities was a post-human collective, applying anagenetic evolution to rapid environmental change: Forcing adaptation by augmentation, not limited by any conventional morality or abstract laws. From the Omar perspective, by solving the problem of survival on a planet disrupted by warfare and self-perpetuating hazards, they solved other social problems, removing individual variance from the equation. While the problem was solved, it remains imperfect and the Omar are always on the lookout for ways to improve the collective, especially pre-Collapse transgenics, who were also created to endure a world of war and catastrophe.Alex Denton: "What's the Omar's objective? Space exploration? What was that thing in the basement?"Omar Trader (Club Vox): "The Omar are an application of anagenetic evolution to rapid environmental change. In solving the problem of survival on a planet disrupted by wars and self-replicating hazards, we have solved other problems. The specimen you examined was a similar attempt to solve these problems." VersaLife remains a prized source of knowledge, as its abandoned laboratories provided much knowledge to the Omar.Alex Denton: "Who made it?"Omar Trader (Club Vox): "A failed corporation named VersaLife. The Omar have learned much from the VersaLife laboratories abandoned after the Collapse. Shall we conduct business?"
Ultimately, the Omar plan to adapt to every climate and biohazard on Earth, with the potential to expand beyond the confines of the blue planet.Omar Trader (Vox Club): "Omar adaptations will soon encompass every climate and biohazard on Earth -- and many more environments that may exist elsewhere. You have earned preferred customer status -- a fifty percent reduction in prices." The network believes the New Age cannot be prevented,Omar Protector: "The New Age cannot be prevented." though the presence of strong leaders and factions may delay its arrival and the Omar inheriting of the Earth.Omar: "A remarkable achievement. You do not even comprehend today's significance for the future of this planet, or whose interests you may have served, but you have our gratitude. A discount will be applied to all of your business transactions with our agents, anywhere in the world."
==Organization==
The Omar are unlike any other human organization, state or otherwise, as all members of the collective share a group consciousness once augmented with the cortical interface.Deus Ex: Invisible War loading screen hints: "The biomodified Omar share a group consciousness but each member was once an ordinary human." This consciousness facilitiates the actions of the collective across the world, including real-time reactions to outside actions against the group. The most noticeable of these is the near-instantaneous granting of preferred customer status to those who perform a service to the sect (typically an illegal act, such as theft or murder),Omar Trader (Vox Club): "The service you performed for the Omar is appreciated. Mr. O'Rourke, the smuggler in Emerald Suites apartment 2226, was a danger to the sect." entitling them to a 50% discount when purchasing from any trader. Of course, any hostile action results in immediate rescinding of this privilege.Deus Ex: Invisible War loading screen hints: "The shared Omar consciousness facilitates the delivery of rewards and penalties for a customer's actions toward the group."
This unprecedented degree of connectivity coupled with the absence of individual desires allowed the Omar to effectively corner the global black market, infiltrating even WTO enclaves to facilitate international trade.Alex Denton: "What's an Omar doing in the heart of Upper Seattle?"Omar Trader (Vox Club): "Without an Omar presence in WTO enclaves, the black market cannot operate internationally. Shall we conduct business?" By 2072, any existing criminal element knows that their appearance means they have to either flee or strike a bargain with the Omar,Kurzec: "The Omar moved into Trier a few months ago. I knew I had to adapt or get out of town. I'm a businessman. I know how to make tough decisions." as they are known to be utterly implacable.Kurzec: "When the Omar set their eyes on a particular market, they don't leave you much choice." Any such alliance of necessity is brief, as the former competition is usually aware the Omar will dispose of them the moment they stop being necessary.Kurzec: "It's an uneasy partnership. I know that they'll dump me as soon as I'm not needed."
The same network makes it impossible to carry out a decapitation strike, since there's no discrete commander. The shared consciousness directs Omar actions, and coordinates operations, to the point where replacement Omar can arrive in a matter of hours.Alex D: "I neutralized the Omar population in the medina. You can relax."Leo Jankowski: "You did? Well, it doesn't matter anyway. When a unit goes down, a replacement arrives within a couple of hours. I wouldn't make it ten miles into the desert. God, you're right, Alex -- what am I going to do?" It also allows them to infiltrate almost any network, including biomodified humans, and using their infolink to remotely acquire data. They usually inform they will perform such an action, though they don't necessarily seek consent to continue using a person's augmentations in this manner.Omar Trader (Club Vox): "Greetings. You are in close proximity to an entity of great interest to the Omar -- the cadaver of an unusual mutant. We are interested in the properties of the mutant's tissues. Please locate the biometric report. We will upload the data through your infolink interface. End of proposal."Omar Trader (Medina): "Locate the power-assault armor schematic in this hangar. We will be able to scan and upload it through your infolink once you find it. You will also find information about your counter-nanite in this hangar."
Although borderline alien, the Omar's wealth makes them lucrative business partners, and implacable foes. They are also known to be very well paying employers, paying non-Omar protectors handsome sums (2000 credits per week and free biomods) for their work, as well as the option for more extreme modifications - a pathway to becoming one of them.Leo Jankowski: "I'm protection to help them open shop in a scabland medina near New Cairo. Two thousand per week -- plus mods." 
===Augmentations===
Although the Omar appear monstrous at a glance, likened to "horse-headed freaks" by their enemies,Kevin O'Rourke: "Mark my words. The day is coming when it's going to be us versus them. Human beings versus the freaks. You didn't see horse-head cyborgs walking around ten years ago." they are a walking advertisement for their expertise in the field of biomodification, and the black market they excel in is one of the only sources for non-Piezochem biomods.Deus Ex: Invisible War loading screen hints: "Biomodification makes the Omar look monstrous, but they still run a thriving business in black market armaments." They are easily distinguished by the skin-tight environmental suits with a helmet enclosing their head, distinguishing between different types of Omar according to the eyepieces: Omar traders have red, narrowed lenses, while Omar Protectors have more open, yellow, goggle-like eyes. Traders have raspy voices, while protectors have more mechanical voices.Game appearance.
The Omar are confirmed to seek candidates for assimilation from among their contractors, although rumors of other methods persist. One holds that whenever the Omar lose a cyborg, they replace the loss by forcibly assimilating the person responsible for causing the loss.Vox bodyguard: "When they lose a cyborg, the Omar replace it with the person they blame for the death. It's called forced assimilation." Another holds that they abduct homeless people and convert them into robots,Kevin O'Rourke: "There are certain lines you shouldn't cross. I hear the Omar recruit members by kidnapping HOMELESS people. Turn down the wrong alley, and whack! You're a robot." with another stating the same, except the victims are black market rivals.Kurzec: "At least they haven't tried to suck out my brains and laminate my body with black Latex."
The Omar induction is divided into two phases. Phase I is the most visually striking, as the candidate undergoes extensive augmentation, combining nanotech and mechanical augs. The hardware includes invasive installation of transskeletal supports and a full-body, form-fitting environmental suit capable of surviving in any environment (likened to black latex).Kurzec: "At least they haven't tried to suck out my brains and laminate my body with black Latex." Removal is impossible without involving surgeons specializing in augmentations,Leo Jankowski: "Yeah, you're right. This getup looks like a frogsuit. Either I take up scuba diving, or I find an implant surgeon who can remove it." and until removed or integrated into the collective, the Omar consciousness can shut its functions down remotely.Leo Jankowski: "I'm freezing my ass off out here. The Omar shut down my enviro-suit remotely. One good thing about this freakish weather, though: it makes for sharp thermals. Whatever's under UNATCO, we're not too late to keep them from finding it." Phase II is when the subject becomes a true Omar, with the installation of a cortical implant that replaces the individual's frontal lobes. The procedure effectively removes their individuality, making the subject think like an Omar - or rather, making them part of the global consciousness.Alex D: " I guess I don't have to ask whether you're still working for the Omar."Leo Jankowski: "I've completed Phase I of the Omar induction. They said I would have two months to decide whether to accept the cortical interface, which will make me a true Omar, but they are afraid the Templars will attack the medina. They want me to undergo Phase II immediately."Alex D: "Sounds like you're having second thoughts."Leo Jankowski: "There's no turning back after Phase II. I'd be almost invincible with cyborg hardware plus the Tarsus biomods, but... this stuff's not like a nanite infusion. I'm still sore from the transskeletal supports I already have."Alex D: "Just tell them you need time to think about it."Leo Jankowski: "They say I have chosen. They say they will find me when I'm asleep and complete the operation. Then I will think like an Omar. It will be too late for choices."Alex D: " Maybe you should leave town."Leo Jankowski: "No money. I'd have to go on foot. With thermal vision, they'd pick me out on the desert plain like a pilot beacon." The procedure is extremely painful and the Omar give prospective candidates two months to decide under normal circumstances, although may decide to force assimilation under certain circumstances. People exposed to the Omar collective report the Omar don't think in a conventional sense, at least in a way that can be understood by regular humans.Alex D: "Do the Omar think they're starting a utopia?"Leo Jankowski: "They don't think much at all, as far as I can tell. I just gotta stay awake -- that's why I came by Queequeg's. Phase II is supposed to be extremely painful. That's why they give you two months to prepare." 
It's possible that the individual consciousness continues to exist within the network, essentially transcending the flesh. Equally possible is the Omar network being able of simulating any individual that has been added to the network.Leo Jankowski (Omar): "I am watching from a spy satellite, Alex. I am an Omar now. It is good. I saw one of the leaders go down. They are weak and made of flesh. Forget their schemes. Wipe them all out and destroy the machine JC Denton built inside the Statue." Omar have been dissected by WTO researchers, revealing the cortical interface is the primary controller for any single unit, using the original software created by Russian scientists after the Collapse, including opcodes in Cyrillic. It is also considered to be the source of the apparent lack of personality among the Omar, and what led the Templar to believe that the Omar are actually a self-replicating machine that grows itself around human bodies. On the flip side, augmentation that makes the Omar interchangeable also makes them easy to upgrade: The collective consciousness can integrate new information and disseminate them instantly, providing improvements in Omar survivability within moments of receiving it.Omar Trader (Club Vox): "The transgenic tissue scan you recovered from the basement is already producing improvements in Omar survivability."
==Outside relations==
The Omar are not particularly popular across the world, even if they provide otherwise unavailable services. In all WTO areas, the Omar are banned and their entry or stay constitutes a violation of WTO laws (under Section 876, Transhuman Immigration Violation). It is considered a pragmatic policy, as the Omar prioritize their own survival ahead of any law,WTO Officer: "You will close Club Vox until further notice. Section 876, Transhuman Immigration Violation."
Club Vox owner: "He was a CUSTOMER. He came to the club for recreational purposes."
WTO Officer: "We're talking about an Omar cyborg."
Club Vox owner: "The gentleman agreed to abide by our rules. If there were any illegal dealings --"
WTO Officer: "These freaks came out of the Russian Famine. They put their own survival ahead of any set of laws..."
Club Vox owner: "That's just a xenophobic rumor."
WTO Officer: "... including the dictates of a nightclub owner." and the black market they operate exists outside WTO control. Most troopers are also extremely prejudiced against the Omar,Club Vox owner: "Your people exterminate these guys like they're a pack of greasels."WTO Officer: "At least greasels have some personality."
Club Vox owner: "You've probably never given an Omar a chance."WTO Officer: "That thing had you eating out of its hand, didn't it? Their brains have been dissected, you know -- nothing but Cyrillic opcodes. These cyborgs leech away resources from WTO enclaves as though they're still starving Russian researchers in post-Collapse science cities."
Club Vox owner: "I never turn a customer away. I think that's my prerogative as an entrepreneur."WTO Officer: "You better come clean. If we find out that you profited from the black market, I won't need a warrant to put you on the floor beside your club-hopping VIP." alongside many elites.Kevin O'Rourke: "The Omar spread like bacteria. Now they're infecting the WTO enclaves."
The Knights Templar are unsurprisingly the most rabid foes of the Omar, considering them to be not a human organization, but the aforementioned self-replicating machine that needs to be pruned constantly, until the entire network can be defeated at once. While the WTO does not go out of its way to target them, the Templars perform regular raids and pogroms to wipe them out,Recruiting Kiosk Templar 1: "And they know to search every building?"Recruiting Kiosk Templar 2: "Not one Omar will escape. This will be the end of their presence in Cairo."Recruiting Kiosk Templar 1: "If only you were right, but I think you make them too human in your imagination. A cyborg doesn't get discouraged."Recruiting Kiosk Templar 2: "They must have commanders, though. Soon they'll see that their kind won't be tolerated."Recruiting Kiosk Templar 1: "The Omar is not a human organization. It's a self-replicating machine that grows itself around human bodies. All we can do is buy time until we have a weapon to defeat the entire network." which include crucifying captured cyborgs as a public demonstration of their enmity.QueeQuegs manager: "The Regional Director will think that my shop had a hand in the decision. Let me give you a look at those weapon mods I mentioned. I have an Ammo Scavenger, a Fragmentary Rounds Mod, and a Glass Destabilizer. I got them off an Omar who was crucified at the end of the street. Gruesome scene. The work of Templars, I'm sure." Omar are classified as a higher threat than even biomodified agents with cutting-edge biomods.Templar report: "Tarsus Tracking Report 1351 -- Leo Jankowski. Last seen in Cairo, among the Omar, before he was neutralized. Appears to be a simple mercenary, but the Omar will have studied his biomod technology. Recommend upgrade to Omar threat classification."
To JC Denton and ApostleCorp, the Omar are a comparable posthuman civilization, with one major difference: The Omar assimilate individuals into their network, melding them together into a huge construct. The Helios network that would form the backbone of their posthuman society would instead communicate, allowing for global governance and pure democracy, thanks to instant communication at any moment, constantly linked to the greater collective. Unlike the Omar, which remove individuals from the equation, Helios would be able to account for each individual's needs and knowledge, obviating the need for conventional government.Alex D: "Tell me more about this "posthuman civilization.""
JC Denton: "Before the... disruptions, Helios and I had many months of productive thought. Up to now, all free societies have started with one premise: human nature is cruel, unjust -- a force to be controlled."Alex D: "I follow you so far."
JC Denton: "The separation of powers -- from Aristotle to Montesquieu -- is designed purely to thwart the ambitions of individuals. How comical, the West's pride in its vast tangle of agencies, jurisdictions, arcane procedures..."Alex D: "What's the alternative?"
JC Denton: "Address the flaws in human nature. Make all beings truly equal in both body and mind. If you start with minds that are lucid, knowledgable, and emotionally sound, the needs of government change dramatically."Alex D: "How do you control human emotions? Antidepressants? Is that freedom?"
JC Denton: "Is it freedom when one child is born to poverty, a chance combination of organic materials, while the wealthy child is shaped every day of his life, enhanced genetically, trained, educated, often augmented nanotechnologically?"Alex D: "Why not get rid of nanotech and genetic engineering, the technologies that make people different from each other?"
JC Denton: "Then you go down the path of intolerance, as your friend Billie did. Is human nature perfect? No. Therefore, improvements are to be welcomed, not annihilated in Templar pogroms. As enhanced beings, we can establish a pure democracy that runs on instantaneous input from the electorate."Alex D: "What would this "pure democracy" look like?"
JC Denton: "The Helios AI has the processing power to handle all governmental functions worldwide, legislative, executive, and judicial. Once every mind has been enhanced and can merge with the AI, attitudes toward major legislation can be processed on a daily or even more frequent basis."Alex D: "You want everyone to be like the Omar and meld themselves together into one huge AI construct?"
JC Denton: "Helios will communicate, not assimilate. Life will go on as usual."
Alex D: "Helios is starting to sound like an enlightened despot."
JC Denton: "All governments have power. The benefit of giving this power to a synthetic intellect is that human affairs would no longer need to be ruled by generalities. Helios will have a deep understanding of every person's life and opinions."Alex D: "What if I don't want someone peeking into my mind?"
JC Denton: "Upon consideration, you'll see that this arrangement is for the best. "General ideas are no proof of the strength, but rather of the insufficiency of the human intellect." The words of Alexis de Tocqueville, an observer of the birth of modern democracy. Though general ideas allow human minds to make judgments quickly, they are necessarily incomplete."Alex D: "So?"
JC Denton: "So de Tocqueville noted that an all-knowing mind -- the mind of God, as he conceived it -- would have no need for general ideas. It would understand every individual in detail and at a glance. Incomplete applications of law or justice would be impossible for such a mind."
==Interactions with the player==
The Omar lurk in the shadows and appear infrequently. If fought, Omar are immune to fire, radiation, stun attacks and toxins as well as sub-zero temperatures. Punching an Omar in the head with Baton will inflict no damage to him and will not change his affiliation to player. However, they are vulnerable to EMP attacks.
The interactions with them start as early as the Seattle WTO enclave, at Club Vox, where Alex D has the opportunity to meet an Omar Trader and purchase wares, as well as earn their first 50% discount by acquiring a tissue scan from a transgenic alien in the basement of Club Vox. The available wares are a silencer, a black market biomod, and a submachine gun. The trader throws in another black market biomod on top of the discount for acquiring the tissue scan. Another trader is found in Lower Seattle, offering another black market biomod, three energy cells and two EMP grenades.
The next encounter with the Omar is in Old Cairo, in north medina. The trader offers two black market biomods and three concussion prox mines, as well as a mission to acquire Templar power armor schematics from the Arcology air terminal, which will either reinstate or confer the preferred customer discount. Leo Jankowski will also be present, giving the player another mission to eavesdrop on the Templar at the recruiting booth on level 108, to learn when the Templar raid on the Omar will take place (telling the truth will earn a portion of his pay and a discount; lying will cause the Omar to rescind the preferred customer bonus).
In Trier, the Omar require some work to get to appear. First, the player has to talk to David Kurzec to arrange a meeting at the Nine Worlds Tavern, in the Bleeding Raven curio shop (Der Blutende Rabe). The Omar will offer a black market biomod, as usual, with the difference that it has to be retrieved from a dead drop at Black Gate, three scrambler grenades, and five multitools. There's no mission to (re)gain Omar favor.
The final encounter is on the second visit to Cairo, when the Omar offer a black-market biomod canister, three gas grenades, and an universal ammo clip. Leo Jankowski also appears during this vision, apparently on the run from his former employers after undergoing Phase I augmentation. Alex D can either give him money to help him get a ride out of Cairo (he states he won't make it ten miles on foot without being spotted) or leave him to his fate. 
In the former case, Leo can later appear at Liberty Island to assist Alex and suggest killing everyone to set humanity free. In the latter, he will be gone, until Alex kills the first faction leader, which will cause him to contact them from a spy satellite and encourage the killing of everyone. It's unclear if Leo is genuinely on the run from the Omar or if he has been assimilated and his actions are a ruse to manipulate Alex into eliminating all obstacles to Omar supremacy.The Official Prima Guide leaves no doubts: "Whether or not he believed what he was telling you, Leo was being manipulated by the Omar the whole time. They begin a world-wide pogrom to stamp out all other power groups and impose their personal brand of militaristic Darwinian capitalism on the world, combined with a program of universal biomodification and shared consciousness. When the human race has been toughened enough, they start to look to the stars ..."
==Behind the scenes==
* Omar Traders are voiced by Ricardo Bare, while Protectors by Robert Kraft.
*The Omar may be inspired by a concept introduced by science fiction author Bruce Sterling in a short story called "Cicada Queen", where he introduces the idea of cyborgs, called "Lobsters", which are humans who modify themselves with powered exoskeletons. The Russian word for lobster is Омар (pronounced as "omar"), which itself is a borrowing from French homard, pronounced the same way.
*The word appears in multiple languages: In Arabic the word Omar meaning "flourishing" or "long-lived". In Hebrew the word Omar means "eloquent" or "gifted speaker".
* It is possible that Omar retain their physical appearance within the suit, as Leo Jankowski still has his face with the suit attached, as shown in infolink message screens, while in person he has the full suit.
*In Deus Ex, in-game e-mails and documents indicate that a large amount of Russian nanotechnology research took place at a Biopreparat facility in the Russian city of Sverdlovsk (which was the name of Yekaterinburg during the Soviet era).
==Gallery==
OmarProtector.png|Omar protector
OmarTrader.png|Omar trader
OmarTrader2.png
==References==
pl:Omar
ru:Омары
Category:Deus Ex: Invisible War organizations
Category:Factions