Les Enfants d'Escher

> We adore chaos because we love to produce order. - Escher
>
>

Les Enfants d'Escher are a network of Escherians pirates and criminal syndicates all linked to Maltech business. Several foreign entities use their services. It can go from hacking to basic assassination, but clients without ethics or morals also explore options such as unbraked AI release, nanowarfare, engineered slaves and so forth. The Children can act as a precise scalpel, but also as a rampaging traiwreck if they are paid to do so.

## Escher's Legacy

"L'Héritage d'Escher" is a collection of databanks and vaults, that have survived the Scream. They contain all the work of Escher, a rogue scientist of the Empire that has been executed for his crimes against humanity. This scientist was once a hero of Humankind. The spear head of technological achivements that permitted countless planets to be colonized. If we are to believe the archives, they may have contributed in the making of the Gates.

The stories say that Escher was an ambitious man who achieved immortality through questionnable means. When they passed the second century of their existence, they discovered a perfect planet for colonization. They gathered many of their students, and created the "Projet Renaissance", a secret expedition meant to colonize the newfound planet under the radar of the Empire.

For a couple of centuries, they disppeared. Archives have many entries about heists in the Empire's forbidden vaults before Escher's disappearance.

Few decades before the Scream, Escher came back to warn the danger to come. They tried to destroy the Gates by declaring war on the Empire. Using the worst kind of tech they had to crush any resistance. They failed. They were executed for their crimes, and they sayed :

> Somewhere upon these worlds I have hidden my Work. A memory of what could be achieved if Humanity was not scared of its unlimited potential. My children, this Work is now yours. My legacy is in your hands. Wait for this Cycle to end, and turn the Wheel once more.
>
>

## The Five Children

The Five Children are individuals, each representing a facet of Escher's Legacy. Nobody can really tell who or what they are, but everyone know they exist. They were born from humans who found Escher's Work, some of them discovered a way to apply the tech upon themselves, other died releasing whatever they found.

###  Renaissance

Renaissance is an unbraked AI who was released by EXPLORATEUR (3XPL0RAT3UR), a legend in the Underground hacking and gaming world, and known pirate. He educated Renaissance, and used it for his own needs. Nowadays, EXPLORATEUR is now dead, and Rennaissance took over his persona. It now inspires godlike fear in the circles of the Virtual World. Some groups even worship the AI, thinking EXPLORATEUR has ascended to godhood.

Rennaissance deals in hacking, mad AI crafting and is a leader in an impossible number of hacking organisations in the Fractured Empire. It is completly foreign to the concept of ethics, morals or empathy, thinking the world is just a giant game where lives are just a bunch of disposable hit points.

###  Golem

Golem is a leader of the Tītān ichizoku (ティーターン一族), the Titan Clan. Once a simple leader in the Triad, she discovered a vault on Escher. This vault was a databank of Escher's Work on cybernetics. With this incredible technology, her little family became one of the leaders in the forbidden cybernetics market. She founded the Titan Clan, and declared war on all criminal syndicates that would dare confront her on the black markets of the Fractured Empire. She owns a poorly managed front called Titan Industries to sell the clan's tech.

Warlike and greedy, the Titan Clan is only after money and power. One of the criminal organisation with the heaviest firepower. Also known as the "Chromed Muscles".

###  Reine Mère

The Queen Mother is a scientist expert in cloning and bio technology. She is publicly known as Docteur Juliette Melicia Roche-Port-d'Estern, a noble of Esher who discovered the vaults containing the cloning facilities of Esher's Legacy. She owns the corporation named Laboratoires Roche, the leader in private health services.

In the background, she manages business in organ harvesting, identity swapping and clone slavery. Her clones are sold as expensive workforce, or used in the many Queen Mother's brothels.

###  The Hive

They have no identity to speak of. A group of scavengers discovered a ship, crashed in the uninhabited areas of Escher. This ship was one of the vaults of Escher, containing an intelligent nanowarfare particle. Renaissance managed to create contact with them, to avoid the probable destruction of the planet. They are a hivemind colony of insect-like nanomachines that uses biomass to reproduce. When numerous enough they can colonise a host, improving their immunity system and physical strength.

The Hive is now big enough to have the intelligence of a human. They have agreed to work with the Children and help them in their endeavors as long as the Children help them to grow. They have invaded key targets on Escher, giving the Children full control over the planet's rulership.

###  GENE

The G.E.N.E. Gunner Enterprise of the Nation of Escher is a pirate fleet leaded by GENE, an unknown pirate who found vaults containing Escher's work on gene manipulation. Working closely with the Queen Mother, GENE managed to gather a few existing pirate groups and augmented them with improved genes and cybernetics.

The G.E.N.E. is now a corporation who manages the clients of the Children. They are branded as criminals for their use of maltech improvements and weapons, but that never stoped other corporations to use their services.