Core Organizations

==Major Organizations==
The core is host to numerous major organizations, each with a catchy acronym.
===D.O.W.N.===
D.O.W.N. stands for the Department of Workplace Non-injury. While it is superficially similar to OSHA, D.O.W.N. Representatives are experienced in preventing spontaneous collapses of spacetime, correct handling of slime molds, or ways to quickly deal with minor Unfire incidents as well as installing safety rails, ensuring that as many areas as possible are accessible to all Mechanics or putting up informational posters. D.O.W.N. is a volunteer-run organization with a loose membership structure.
Overall, D.O.W.N. tends to take point on preventing potential hazards before they happen, something which is particularly important in the Core due to the risky nature of many of the projects that Mechanics undertake. As the Core lacks a strict hierarchical structure, D.O.W.N. technically has no authority to outright ban Mechanics from doing things - and overall the culture of the organization tends to lean away from restrictions and towards guidance. 
As an example, if a Mechanic were working on a flame thrower the response wouldn’t be to prevent them from building one but instead might encourage them to ensure that they test it only in safe, non flammable, Unfire-free locations and advise non fire resistant Core denizens to keep their distance. They might also suggest modifying the flamethrower to detect heat signals and so to shut off if pointed at a living being, or see if the Mechanic was interested in experimenting with trying to find some way to reduce the heat energy output of the fire to a level that couldn’t harm people.
D.O.W.N.'s goals include but are not limited to:
*Helping mechanics who are overworking themselves take breaks
*Creating safety posters and PSAs about infinite shrimp or other potentially dangerous topics
*Building guard railings in the dead of night
*Replacing broken glass with stronger transparent materials such as biodegradable plastics or transparent wood
*Installing ramps and lifts in place of stairs
*Encouraging mechanics to think through the consequences before jumping into a project
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===B.A.C.K.===
====Purpose:====
B.A.C.K. stands for Bureau of Archive Collection and Knowledge. It is a loosely connected group of researchers and academics, with a focus on gathering and preserving information. This includes copies of as much of the Manual as they can reasonably gather, records on known activities of the inhabitants of the Core, Core life and accumulated information on the Core, copies of research by Core inhabitants both related to the Core and not, as well as as much information produced outside the Core as they can reasonably copy and access.
The Archives are a vast, sprawling network of shelves and temperature-controlled rooms and greenhouses and harddrives and as many information repositories as possible. B.A.C.K. puts a lot of work into preserving as much digital media and internet culture as possible, and spends a lot of time researching ways to preserve information efficiently and with as little information decay as possible.
====Headquarters:====
The B.A.C.K. Archives in DownTown.
====Unique Equipment/Skills:====
Throughout the Core are sticky notes, books and text files written on all sorts of mediums. B.A.C.K attempts to find all sorts of information left by other mechanics to ensure no knowledge is destroyed.
====Relationships with Other Orgs:====
B.A.C.K collaborates with most of the organizations and they often tag along on exploration missions to ensure all data and notes are promptly and safely archived.
====Known Members:====
Merriment Blockwall
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===F.R.O.N.T.===
====Purpose:====
F.R.O.N.T. stands for Field Research Of Native Terrestrials and hosts biologists and ecologists that seek to categorize forms of life and life-adjacent entities of the Core. Many of these are categorized in the Core Bestiary. F.R.O.N.T. scouts find their inspiration in the great unknowns of the Core. They’re dedicated to discovery and finding new life forms, as well as researching previously discovered lifeforms and their habits, lifecycles and evolution..
====Headquarters:====
No central hub, but have several laboratories in DownTown as well as outposts in the further out parts of the Core.
====Unique Equipment/Skills:====
Instead of having a standardized suit, they have standardized fabrics and materials and shield generators as well as a base jacket template that each member uses to build their own protective clothes. F.R.O.N.T. scouts also tend to connect the most with animals and bring them along as valuable companions on expeditions.
Relationships with Other Orgs:
F.R.O.N.T. often collaborates with R.I.G.H.T. on threats which relate to native Core wildlife, as well as working with D.O.W.N. to make informative posters on how to interact with animals. There tends to be at least one F.R.O.N.T. scout on any C.E.N.T.E.R.-led exploratory mission.
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===C.E.N.T.E.R.===
====Purpose:====
C.E.N.T.E.R. stands for Core Exploration Navigation Tracking E_____ Reconnaissance and is responsible for the exploration of dangerous or unexplored regions of the Core. C.E.N.T.E.R. is one of the oldest major departments within the Core, as the shifting spatial topology requires constant exploration. 
They are highly trained, outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment and tools in order to navigate unknown and potentially hazardous areas. While their goal is exploration, their primary focus is 'clearing' paths through the unknown in order for other departments to follow up on. No one knows what the E in their acronym stands for, having been forgotten and left redacted for all of recorded Core history.
====Headquarters:====
Central - a hub in DownTown where C.E.N.T.E.R. members can undergo rigorous training, as well as receive and repair equipment and coordinate on exploratory missions.
====Unique Equipment/Skills:====
Their signature equipment is the Mk5 Pattern Sealed Environmental Suit, a heavily padded and armored hardsuit that is designed to protect the wearer from a variety of possible hazards, as well as being outfitted with a sophisticated sensor suite and movement system. While each suit is customized to the wearer, they do have some standardization to ensure a level of protection across the team. C.E.N.T.E.R. members also carry temporal compasses, in case they get trapped in time pockets.
Relationships with Other Orgs:
C.E.N.T.E.R. tends to work closely with F.R.O.N.T. and B.A.C.K., and have a lot of members who are also members of those organizations. They often take members of F.R.O.N.T. and B.A.C.K. on missions. 
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===L.E.F.T.===
====Purpose:====
L.E.F.T. stands for Literally Everyone Fights Tyrants and represents the inner drive of every denizen of the Core to contest injustice.
====Headquarters:====
Everywhere.
====Unique Equipment/Skills:====
Righteous anger
====Relationships with Other Orgs:====
Literally EVERYONE Fights Tyrants.
===R.I.G.H.T.===
====Purpose:====
R.I.G.H.T. stands for Regular Investigation of Gargantuan High-tier Threats. They are in charge of responding to dangers to life within the Core, tracking active potential threats, and protecting urban centers. While the vast majority of entities and near-entities, as well as non-entity dangers, are not actively hostile, many of them can accidentally or coincidentally cause vast amounts of destruction. R.I.G.H.T. always attempts to find solutions which do not involve destroying threats, as it’s impossible to know what is vital to the overarching mechanisms of the Core - instead they tend to try to steer them away from populated regions, quickly evacuate populations, or work to come up with forms of protection for urban centers.
====Headquarters:====
A large building usually just referred to as H.Q.. It serves as a base for R.I.G.H.T. coordination, and always has a dedicated team helping monitor events across the Core.
====Unique Equipment/Skills:====
Their signature equipment is a jump pack and long-fall boots, designed to rapidly transverse across the terrain in both Downwell and Null-G environments
====Relationships with Other Orgs:====
R.I.G.H.T. frequently collaborate with D.O.W.N. to get out information about ways to avoid threats as well as helping D.O.W.N. know what they have to guard against. They also work with U.P., as U.P. research is usually the first way they hear about a new danger. F.R.O.N.T. also often provide advice on how to handle threats from Core wildlife.
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===U.P.===
====Purpose:====
U.P. stands for Unexplained Phenomena. They oversee active research and study of anomalous objects and phenomena in the Core, mostly those where other departments have no idea how to begin safely researching them. These might include extra-dimensional pockets trapped within the Core, new lifeforms which seem to evade F.R.O.N.T. containment, or a mysterious gear embedded within the wall of a tunnel slowly turning without any powersource and not connected to any clear mechanism - and yet if it’s forcibly stopped the lighting in that section of the Core suddenly becomes hot pink. 
U.P. is a decentralized organization with many substructures. They maintain labs around the Core both within the confines of DownTown and other urban centers and out in the wider Core. While they are careful to avoid actively endangering other Core inhabitants, they are often willing to use and share objects that have been studied extensively and not had any dangerous effects (or have predictable, avoidable dangerous effects) even if the mechanism behind them isn't fully understood yet.
====Headquarters:====
The Red Moat
====Unique Equipment/Skills:====
UP personnel have no standardized equipment, but often will carry lots of field analysis tools with them such as spectrographs, household microscopes, tuning forks, spare geologists' tongues, cameras, and notepads to doodle and write things down with.
====Relationships with Other Orgs:====
U.P. frequently collaborate with all of the other research focused organizations. B.A.C.K. hold a useful repository of information on things that have already been encountered and what they were, which can be applicable to ongoing investigations. C.E.N.T.E.R. are likely to be the first to run into things which require U.P. attention, F.R.O.N.T., likewise, often flag things for study but also are a useful resource when it comes to information on and the handling of unusual lifeforms. U.P. frequently work with R.I.G.H.T. to alert them of possible dangers as well as providing them with tools to mitigate those threats.
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===C.O.R.N.E.R.S.===
====Purpose:====
C.O.R.N.E.R.S. stands for Couriers On Route Non-Euclidean Receivers and Scouts and maintains the mobility of packages of products and data throughout the Core. C.O.R.N.E.R.S. specializes in moving around populated regions of the Core, delivering all sorts of packages, parcels, and letters no matter the location or deadline. Furthermore, they may also follow C.E.N.T.E.R. and F.R.O.N.T. teams in the field, bringing supplies on long-term expeditions.
====Headquarters:====
The Post Office - a central hub in DownTown which helps assign couriers to deliveries, as a point to ask about packages which haven’t reached their destination, and the coolest hangout space in DownTown.
====Unique Equipment/Skills:====
They are adept at using spatial-warping and time-travel technologies, occasionally in breach of D.O.W.N. guidance. 
C.O.R.N.E.R.S. members use specialized vehicles with a single wheel, capable of utilizing train tracks, moving up vertical walls, and with an iconic sharp point on the front which serves as the focus for their spatial-warping. They have no fixed uniform, though members often wear eye protection due to the high velocity at which they travel.
C.O.R.N.E.R.S. logo features a green and brown braided diamond design, representing the way that C.O.R.N.E.R.S. binds the community together. The brown represents the journey and the green the destination. Couriers often carry green and brown ropes or other braids to indicate their affiliation.
====Relationships with Other Orgs:====
They work with other organizations in the field and often handle logistics and supply generally.
====Known Members:====
Jasper Ji-Eun
==Other Organizations==
The core is host to numerous other organizations, each with a catchy acronym.
===S.H.A.D.O.W.S.===
====Purpose:====
S.H.A.D.O.W.S. is the name given to the Core Mechanics Blaseball team Shadows or reserve team. They help facilitate the playing of the splort in the Core, by helping keep renovations working, maintaining the pitch, offering (usually ignored) tribute to the umpires, filling in paperwork, and trying to keep Core weirdness and Blaseball weirdness from overlapping too explosively - though some argue that they are one and the same. 
It is the only organization where membership is not strictly optional - all members of the Shadows team are tied to S.H.A.D.O.W.S. even if they don’t participate in the work of the organization. 
====Headquarters:====
S.H.A.D.O.W.S. Warehouse, 0i, DownTown. This is a large warehouse located at the bottom of the Core Pillar Center, the stadium of the Blaseball team. It is difficult to access without the ability to phase through solid matter. It is notable for its poor lighting - there are a few areas randomly lit by harsh white lights, but other than that the warehouse is dark. It has been observed that light does not travel as far as it would be expected to in normal air, though due to the access issues the investigation into why this is the case is ongoing.
There have also been reports of unusual space and time phenomena, with events looping and things shifting. While there is no concrete proof, most of the stories correlate with one another. An exit from the warehouse directly to The Street of Old Knowledge has been shown to exist, though this cannot be used as an entrance. Members of S.H.A.D.O.W.S. have claimed to see glimpses of incinerated Mechanics like Hands Scoresburg or Ruffian Applesauce, though no one has stated that they have been able to approach or speak to them.
====Unique Equipment/Skills:====
Members of S.H.A.D.O.W.S. are all capable of becoming incorporeal. While they can do this at any point voluntarily, if they spend extended periods of time without visiting the warehouse they can lose their ability to interact with physical reality until they return. This can also happen in bright light, especially daylight. Usually spending time in the proximity of other members of the Blaseball team, especially other members of S.H.A.D.O.W.S. helps stabilize them.
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===A.T.C.O.A.===
====Purpose:====
A.T.C.O.A. stands for At The Cost Of All. They are in charge of handling all situations which other organizations are unable to handle for whatever reason - whether it be lack of ability or desire. A.T.C.O.A. will always ensure the safety of the Core, no matter what the threat is.
Members of A.T.C.O.A. work with all other organizations to ensure the happy and safe continuation of Core life. Due to the complexity of the situations handled by A.T.C.O.A., they may not be at liberty to disclose their affiliation. Sometimes they may appear confused or unclear on what A.T.C.O.A. is - they are simply very dedicated to their work, and there is no need to push them any further on the subject.
A.T.C.O.A. have dealt with many dangers to the Core. They work efficiently and effectively, and don’t ask for praise or recognition. They handle many dangerous technologies at great personal risk to agents to ensure that the Core is safe and that inhabitants can rest safely. 
====Headquarters:====
This cannot be disclosed, for the safety of A.T.C.O.A. agents. A.T.C.O.A. headquarters is always on duty, keeping in contact with all the other organizations and ready to mobilize as soon as they are needed. They also produce wonderful A.T.C.O.A. branded office equipment and t-shirts, which you can wear to show your support for A.T.C.O.A.
====Unique Equipment/Skills:====
All A.T.C.O.A. members are carefully handpicked for their ability to make the best possible decisions for the safety of the Core in highly stressful situations. They are given all the equipment they need to do the dangerous work that they do, and other organizations are incredibly happy to let them access whatever they need. A.T.C.O.A. agents are calm and capable of interfacing with and changing the behaviour of the Core with their remarkable levels of self control.
====Relationships with Other Orgs:====
A.T.C.O.A. works closely with all the other organizations, and is happy to support them when they fail to do what needs to be done.
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===C.R.I.M.E.S.===
====Purpose:====
'C.R.I.M.E.S.' stands for Core Residents Illegally Making Everything Sweeter. It is a sub organization of L.E.F.T that operates on the surface, usually doing the titular crimes. They specialize in things which improve overall quality of life - practical wealth redistribution, removing wheel clamps, destroying or disrupting anti homeless architecture, helping people set up squats, setting up safe injection sites, offering basic healthcare and first aid training among many other things. They also teach people how to repair and modify their own technology.
They often take point on finding things which have been disposed of which provide materials and supplies for Core inhabitants and which can be repaired, made into something new, or used to repair something else. Often this means illegally ‘stealing’ from dumpsters, scrap yards, junkyards and similar places.
====Headquarters:====
N/A
====Unique Equipment/Skills:====
General toolkits, building supplies, bridge hammocks, hard drives full of educational e-books and videos, sex-ed and HRT supplies, gum.
====Relationships with Other Orgs:====
Sub-organization of L.E.F.T.
==Fan Works==
File:DOWN gridCIPHER.png|DOWN Logo in gridCIPHER by 
File:UP gridCIPHER.png|UP Logo in gridCIPHER by 
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Category:Core Organizations
Category:Core
Category:Core Mechanics