The Society Descartes

*Created by: Garry Stahl 
*Appearance: Vista City Game 
*Number of Members: 300 - 500 
*Nature of Members: Wealthy members of the business class. 
*Organization: Club 
*Game Role: Yet another catspaw. 
*World Role: Help people of unusual ability hide 
*Relative Influence: As a club, minor. 
*Public or Secret?: Public as a club, but with a secret side. 
*Publicly Stated Goal: To drink wine and get all sophist on your ass. 
*Relative Wealth: Major. A popular club with B-C list wealthy types in Europe. or in the United States 
*Group advantages: About 10% of the club are telepaths. 
*Special Abilities: Telepathy, as mentioned, but only with the core. <BR>
*Group disadvantages: Hide in plain sight means you need to hide. They cannot openly use their abilities. 
*Special disadvantages: Discovery would be ruin. 
*Those who favor them: Themselves obviously. Those they have told to favor them. 
*Those opposed to them: Anyone that is anti secret or anti telepath, should they be discovered. 
*Area of Operation: Greater Europe. Southern United States 
*Headquarters Location: Descartes, Indre-et-Loire, France. the birthplace of Descartes. or New Orleans, Louisiana. 
*Public Face: Cogito ergo sum. A club of dilettante philosophers. 
*Notable Members: Benjamin Franklin -- Invited to be a part of the club during his long stay in France. He was not part of the inner circle.<P>Le Marquee Paul Francis Saille -- A nobleman that fled to the United States during the terror. He managed to get his money out.
*History of the Organization: Founded in 1720 by three telepaths that more or less encountered each other. They agreed that it was no crime to be rich, and no crime to push your fellow man to help you with that. If in return you helped your fellow man. They were certainly not the amoral assholes of The Specters.</P><P>To the end of helping themselves they founded the Society. They decided that Descartes was the perfect hero as he had said it best. Cogito ergo sum, they thought, and much more than mere thought so they existed. The outer shell of the organization was a shield to hide in plain sight. Surround yourself with those that cover the fact that you might do better than you might be expected to do.</P><P>The basic formula of the organization has never changed. A core of telepaths covered by an outer circle of rich would be philosophers. The telepaths have seldom if ever taken the helm of the club, but they do set the course.</P><P>It is well noted that club members were not among the nobles executed during the Reign of Terror. However during this time a branch of the organization was founded in the United States. They landed in New Orleans and spread from there. The American branch is considered a sister organization. Communication in the days before the trans-continental telegraph being slow and uncertain at best.</P><P>The two sister organization continue today as a dilettante semi-service organization among the trust fund set. They also continue with the task of hiding telepaths in plain sight.</P><P>There is a strong movement within the Society to out themselves with a growing awareness of Human metas and alien telepaths. There is trepidation however, witch burners are not history, and the move once made cannot be unmade.
Category:Groups
Category:Secrets
Category:Psionics
Category:Advocate