Cairo Exploration Museum

## Description:

The Cairo Exploration Museum is a disreputable "academic" organization based out of Egypt and the Sahara Desert dedicated to the rediscovery of lost Egyptian histories, artifacts, sites, etc.; the organization's focus on the supernatural also places the Museum as a Magic College. The CEM is closely tied to the British Museum and several other Magic Colleges around the world; unofficially, the CEM has ties to the Egyptian Blue Market and organizations associated therein, including House Set, the Fourth Reich, several cults (e.g. [REDACTED]), etc.

The world is very aware of the Cairo Exploration Museum; the organization frequently makes international news, either for their impressive contributions to Egyptian archeology or for some large-scale scandal. The organization is frequently placed under scrutiny by similar groups and international authorities for its internal corruption, unspoken affiliation with criminal groups, its lack of respect for the artifacts it discovers, its lack of respect for the Egyptian people and their culture, and the lack of security set to protect the ancient and powerful artifacts contained within the Museum's sizable collection.

### Organization:

#### Capital: Cairo Exploration Museum, Cairo, Egypt

The Cairo Exploration Museum is led by Director [REDACTED], who oversees the organization's international operations and makes the decisions; a large amount of internal authority does also come from the Museum's group of powerful investors and donators, almost all of whom are incredibly wealthy, influential, and deeply rooted in the international supernatural community. Below the Director sits the Headmaster of each individual branch of the organization who handles local affairs and manages the academic aspects. The Curator, on the other hand, acts as manager for the exhibits and artifacts, is responsible for allocating resources and sending out expeditions, and handling the buying/selling of the Museum's collected artifacts. Each museum within the larger CEM also has several departments, including collection management, public relations, exhibit management, etc. Expeditions sent by the Exploration Museum are usually comprised of a small team of academic faculty accompanied by a large contingent of manual laborers and local contractors; expeditions at very high risk of attack are provided with mundane security personnel usually hired from the local populace, although defense contractors are not entirely unheard-of.

The CEM recruits from a variety of sources; primarily, foreign academics from Europe or North America are employed as full-time staff, brought onboard from other affiliate Magic Colleges or organizations. Additionally, faculty are drawn from Egyptian schools. Most notably, however, is the Museum's prolific use and exploitation of the Egyptian working class; laborers and associated contractors are treated terribly, their lives often thrown away without consideration and payment often negligible. The Museum has faced many criticisms related to their mistreatment of employees.

The Cairo Exploration Museum's resources are dedicated almost solely to the discovery, study, and collection of Egyptian artifacts, primarily those with Magical or anomalous properties. The CEM leads expeditions into the desert to seek out the artifacts, many of which will be sold via auctions; the best artifacts are stored in the Museum and collected, put on display for all to see and study. A depressingly small percentage of the Museum's resources goes to security measures or protection measures for employees and the artifacts, which leaves the collection and the faculty open to robbery or attack. The Cairo Exploration Museum operates primarily in northeastern Africa, but is known to have operated throughout the Middle East prior to its transformation into the Medio Inferno.

The Cairo Exploration Museum maintains a very uneasy and tense relationship with the JPCU and similar organizations like the GOC; the CEM is frequently investigated for corruption and criminal negligence, and faces constant scrutiny for its mistreatment of the locals, their beliefs and cultures, and the artifacts. The Museum's pawning of powerful magical artifacts has also gotten the Museum in trouble more than once.

### Equipment:

The CEM has no set uniform, although its faculty are required to dress in a professional manner at all times.

The Museum maintains an early-modern level of technology, often due to the prohibitive costs associated with importing more advanced technology; the Museum is forced to rely on local resources for their work, which limits their efficiency but keeps costs low. Firearms are commonplace, even among the academic faculty of the CEM, and the use of automobiles is very common.

The Museum's primary source of equipment comes from its access to Magic; being a registered Magic College, the CEM is able to teach its employees and students in the arts of the Arcane, which enables them to compensate for their lack of technology. The third-party contractors and manual laborers are an exception to this rule; similarly, an estimated ninety percent (90%) of the Museum's security are untrained in Magic.