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The next few decades were a time
of almost constant crisis. Wars large and small occurred all over the
planet. Even the largest, wealthiest nation-states suffered internal
conflict. Meanwhile, the uncontrolled growth of industrial civilization
was disrupting the planet's ecological balance, leading to climate change and
the destruction of wild ecosystems everywhere. Eventually, the major
nations of Terra realized that their survival depended on closer
cooperation. The Treaty of New York (signed in -2499) placed much of the
military force of the most important nations under the direct control of the
United Nations. The UN had up to this point been a simple forum for for
international debate, with no real power of its own. Now, the "great
powers" of Terra granted it significant authority, and began to use it as a tool
for managing the conflicts and crises of the time.
(GURPS Traveller: Rim of
Fire page 39)
The first two decades of the 21st century were a
turbulent time. The Greater Depression had destroyed the world's economy,
environmental depredation had rendered large areas completely uninhabitable, and
wars raged all over the globe. The powers-that-be were extremely slow in
catching onto the cause of these problems, but when they did, they took steps to
rectify the situation.
The Treaty of New York was ostensibly ratified to
"manage conflicts and crises of the time" — and, on the surface that is
precisely what it did. However, a secret clause in the treaty established
an international pool of resources to combat the Dark Masters, now recognized to
be the menace behind the world's problems. Only a handful of the leaders
who signed the treaty knew of the existence of the secret clause, and none of
the legislative bodies that ratified the treaty were aware of the clause (which
begs the question of the legality of the document). The vast majority of
humanity remained blissfully ignorant of the existence of the Dark Ones or their
minions and the leadership of the UN felt it should be kept that way to avoid
"unnecessary complications."
Over the next few decades the UN, through the
offices of its Special Investigative Task Force went about secretly but
systematically hunting down Dark Minions and eradicating demonground — the
latter under the auspices of "environmental cleanup." By 2050, as mankind
established bases throughout the Solar System, this mission was wrapping
up. However, like all bureaucracies, SITF did not cease once its mission
was completed. Under the Terran Confederation it morphed into the Bureau
of Special Investigations, a title it retained under the Rule of Man.
During this period it investigated possible Dark Minion infiltrations and
maintained several secret Empathic research institutes to train minion
hunters.
BSI's budget was hidden in among various law
enforcement and "black" programs. For centuries it managed to maintain its
secret despite attempts by politicians, journalists and conspiracy theorists to
divine its existence. Its death knell finally came in -1776 (2742 CE) with the collapse of the Rule of Man. However, numerous local
minion-hunting organizations can trace their lineage directly from
BSI. |