Ogma Institute of Technology

The Ogma Institute of Technology is a scientific research and development organisation founded in the early 70’s and based in Southern Ireland, The Institute’s main HQ was based within and underneath Cork University Collage, but with growing international campuses, known for developing new forms of technology and supposedly researching into lost and even supposedly ‘alien’ forms of tech. While somewhat secretive, the organisation has a public face and was friendly to various superhero organisations that aided the study of technology developed by supervillains in hopes of finding counter-tech and tactical advantages, but preferred to stay out of superhuman conflicts and government operations, especially when against rival groups or individuals from different nations. They claim to be an impartial organisation of knowledge and wisdom for the bigger scientific community, but were known to collaborate on supposed non-lethal weapons systems with Bailey Industries and Augustine Arms (though later stopped work with Augustine in 1995 out of reformed principles and new ethical guidelines after the raid by The Ire) but also aid groups such as VALER and Starforce.

The institute was likely named after Ogma, the inventor of the Ogham writing system, who was also considered a deity of knowledge, speech and language.

### **History**

Founded in 1972 by several academics of Cork University, who were both interested in historic and ancient technology considered unusually advanced, the institute grew into a much boarder range of technological research, often studying Greek, Roman and Egyptian artefacts and references to technological achievements long before their actual invention; in particular the institute were fascinated with the concept of "lost technology".

in 1979 the Institute was called to the site of an explosion on a farm in Cornwall by local police, that may have been an old Black Labs front, finding the bodies of animals that had undergone advanced (but then destroyed) cybernetic enhancements, including foxes, badgers, cats, birds such as a white-tailed Sea Eagle (that at the time was practically extinct in the area) and a dog. Several of the animals were shot near a town but whoever destroyed the farm, left in a extreme hurry, finding only enough time to blow up the farm's barn. Closer research concluded that the barn held an array of unusual equipment and a medical facility, but had been almost utterly gutted as if evidence was intended to be destroyed of whatever was going on here. Further inspection of the site concluded that the charges had been well-placed, likely long in advance, and whoever was conducting their strange experiments here, had long-term plans to destroy the evidence.

No exact trace of who preformed the experiments was ever found, but the Institute took a lot of the technology away to study back at their institute. Their presence there spread the word and throughout the 80's were called to multiple sites across the world, one site even revealing weaponised human/machine examples of charred corpses. Soon Ogma agreed to set up smaller campuses in the US.

In 1981 Skyren and Emerald visited the institute in Cork with the suggestion that the mysterious 'Black Labs' organisation may be behind the cases, and that the Labs, being several steps ahead, might try to block, or worse, kidnap and/or kill researchers of the Institute who get too involved; However considering that it had been collecting these strange cybernetic parts and studying the bodies of the deceased for years, Emerald suggested that it may in fact be a very clever and complex distraction, although from what, was neither ever revealed nor discovered.

In the spring of 1991 several Institute investigators were sent to a UFO crash site in the highlands of Scotland, believed to be a plane, the wreckage did not match any kind of technology; while some of the materials and several burned parts were recovered, the investigation was quickly overtook by a supposed government-agency, (likely in fact Agents of Black) that secured the area 'interviewed' some of the investigation team; curiously those investigated didn't remember what questions were asked, and a few days later all traces of the event were gone. Only one scientist managed to safely take away a small chunk of what looked like a heavy burned computer system and some unusual dark metal that was imbedded with nano-silicate channels and composed of an alloy, 32-percent carbon fibre variant, 10% iron, and the rest unknown, a small percentage of the 'unknown' is now known to be kinzium.

In 1993 the Cork Institute was raided by a small, unknown militia that used advanced technology. They took several artefacts, but left without a trace; Many believe they were after the parts of the UFO that crashed in Scotland, but the wreckage was extremely well hidden in a secret compound.

In 1995 The Ire somehow got the word that the University was hording this advanced weaponised cybernetic technology, and with a want to spread this tech around the criminal underground and not least for themselves, the Ire invaded and deleted data that may have let several groups and governments stop them, before blowing up the labs and setting blaze to the university. By this time, however an Illinois branch of Ogma was newly founded and they managed to save some data via limited internet speeds of the time.

The site sat in ruins for years until in 2004 the Irish supergroup Laoch de Éire help fund, rebuild and patrol the university site and the Institute.

In 2005 Ogma asked the newly-founded Vogel Labs to act as a research assistant and aid in the top-secret study of recovered Danu technologies to keep them out of the hands of Black Labs.

In 2007 Wildstar began working for various organisations that attempted to rescue animals from situations around the world and aided Ogma's own investigations alongside her own, eventually she began investigating a trail that led to her to an organisation known as System-12, a collection of 12 rogue scientists linked to a one Alistair Crowe, likely as fall-guys to keep Black Labs and law enforcement off his trail whilst he built the Free-Science Foundation, however System-12 became notoriously harder to catch and they became enemies of The Wildforce.

In 2018 a review of the incidents with VALER and Starforce suggested that The Ire were still active, and possibly developing and selling what appeared to be exoskeletal prototypes to organisations such as The Federal Minutemen and Imperia Dominus.