Intel Nod – Kane’s Fury
The Biography of Brother Marcion:
Once the guardian of the Nod’s religious beliefs and tasked with spreading Kane’s prophecies, Marcion found himself increasingly disillusioned with the Brotherhood of Nod and its leader as the Second Tiberium War drew to a close. Growing ever more outspoken, Marcion came as no surprise to many within the inner circle when he left Nod following its disastrous string of setbacks, accusing the late prophet of having been nothing more than a charlatan as he retreated into the Australian outback.
Marcion soon emerged from his seclusion, using his oratorical skills and ascetic lifestyle to rally numerous followers in what would become the Yellow Zones. A year after leaving Nod, Marcion already commanded a disciplined theocratic army: the ‘new’ Black Hand. This army, which preached “the truth and purity of the Tiberium prophecy”, was joined by other Nod dissidents.
Some rumours suggest that the GDI may have played a role in the rift between Marcion and Kane, but these are unfounded.
Excerpt from “Kane: Visionary or Madman?”, by Carlos Del Mar.
Extract from the private monologues of the Prophet Kane.
My departed brothers are probably looking down on me with contempt. Their prophecies have finally come to pass. I have become a powerless figure, an impostor, a failure; my entire existence is nothing but a parody of everything I know about goodness and truth. Yesterday a prophet, today a prisoner. Whilst I am here, trapped in this tube, in this human-like shell, the Brotherhood of Nod lies in tatters due to internal strife and the heresy of those who claim to speak in my name. My followers are now scattered to the four corners of the globe.
Such is the state of affairs.
So, today, everything I have fought for, everything I have sacrificed, is it all just dust?
That’s impossible...
... I must heal, I must survive, I must hold on and get out of here...
... so that, at last, my fury may be unleashed upon this pitiful world and my dear departed Brothers.
[Source kept secret].
Kane – A Spark:
Excerpt from the private monologues of the prophet Kane.
Cursed be this mask, cursed be this tube; even as my flesh heals, my mind continues to wander in the shadows. The isolation weighs heavily upon me. I must concentrate to prevent madness from taking hold of me.
I must prepare… plan ahead…
… and my thoughts return to CABAL, which was my creation and which, in a way, is part of what I have become. Ultimately, this AI has left behind nothing but an image of desolation and senseless destruction, adding fuel to the fire of the heretics who claim that I am nothing but a madman. Yet, within this artificial intelligence, in its very design, there is a spark, a glimmer, a sign.
There is something, something hidden, something… magnificent. I must focus on that.
[Source kept secret].
Kane – The Awakening
Excerpt from the private monologues of the prophet Kane.
... And the day will come when I shall free myself from these accursed devices to walk once more upon the planet Earth. My face is scarred, it is true, and I must hide it from those who seek me, but my hands, my eyes, my mind, obey only me now.
I have spent years, my body aching, wandering through every nook and cranny of my dark mind, and it is there that I have drawn my inspiration... I had a vision, a plan. It is time to bring this vision to life.
The world is slumbering, held hostage by its ignorance, and it does not know what lies in store for it...
[Source kept secret].
Kane – The Realisation:
Excerpt from the private monologues of the prophet Kane.
Blessed be he who preserved the fragments of Tacitus, for it is within them that the key lies to transforming the visions I had during my... seclusion...into reality. The road is still long, to be sure, but every day, every trial, brings me closer to my ultimate goal: creation!
[Source kept secret].
Kane – Creation
Excerpt from the private monologues of the prophet Kane.
I regret nothing – the isolation, the failures, the frustration, the agony of those years of alienation in a dilapidated pipe – absolutely nothing. For today, I have freed myself and brought something new into being, something no one has ever seen before, inspired by Tacitus, fashioned in my own image, created from a vision...
A purpose.
My personal creation goes far beyond anything we have ever seen: it is not artificial intelligence, nor even a clever ploy by CABAL, nor indeed some sort of genetic anomaly seeking to take over the Earth by virtue of its superiority over other species...
No, my creation is magnificent. It is… Legion.
“The Earth will tremble beneath its footsteps, then the world will be reborn”.
[Source kept secret].
Origins of the Black Hand:
The story of a splinter faction of Nod: the Black Hand.
A veritable cult within a cult, the Black Hand emerged shortly after the founding of Nod. Initially used as a religious police force intended to encourage adherence to Kane’s teachings, the Black Hand subsequently expanded its remit considerably. During the Second Tiberium War, the cult became Kane’s religious enterprise, through which he preached and spread his prophecies, whilst maintaining a certain spiritual discipline within the Brotherhood, by force if necessary.
The Black Hand forms an organisation parallel to the Brotherhood, with political, religious and military branches.
However, despite its power and influence, the Black Hand has remained surprisingly discreet until very recently, shrouding its rituals, beliefs and even its very existence in a veil of impenetrable mystery. Nevertheless, at the end of the Second Tiberium War, things changed. Following Kane’s ‘death’, Anton Slavik, a respected military officer, sought to take the reins of the Brotherhood of Nod, and itSlavik was a high-ranking member of
the Black Hand, raised in the ways of the cult.
Naturally, Slavik’s rise to power drew attention to the Black Hand, which did not sit well with everyone.
Unsurprisingly, certain voices within the Black Hand spoke out against the cult’s newfound public prominence, and a series of clashes soon ensued between Slavik’s followers and dissidents who believed that the leader of the Nod had distorted the Black Black Hand. Among the anti-Slavik ranks, one man quickly emerged to challenge him: a passionate and popular priest by the name of Brother Marcion. With both sides entrenched behind their respective leaders, what had initially been merely a doctrinal disagreement swiftly led to a schism, thereby threatening the very existence of the Nod.
Despite the inner circle’s desperate attempts to reconcile the two sides, the situation escalated, and Slavik was left for dead whilst Marcion and his followers were forced into exile in Australia. This cataclysm shattered the Brotherhood, and numerous sub-factions emerged, each claiming to follow the true word of the prophet. Marcion’s new Black Hand, ironically, was one of the last remnants directly descended from the Brotherhood.
Proclaiming himself a prophet and branding Kane a heretic and a charlatan, Marcion sought to leave his mark on the world.
Excerpt from ‘Marcion as I Know Him’ by Elbert Goldman.
The origins of the Steel Talons:
History of the GDI’s experimental combat division: the Steel Talons.
At the end of the Second Tiberium War, the collapse of Nod led the GDI to believe that this fanatical cult would no longer pose a threat to the population. That is why it chose, rather than continuing to fight a demobilised Nod, to reclaim the Tiberium-infested parts of the globe. A large portion of the research and development budget was reallocated to this mission, and the golden age of the GDI’s technological development seemed to be reborn after several decades ofhibernation.
Of course, this new directive did not please everyone in the military ranks, particularly General Joshua “Mitch” Mitchell, a decorated veteran of the Second Tiberium War, known for his youth, his passion and his tactical innovations.
In his view, even though Nod had been defeated, it would be suicidal to assume that no successor could emerge from the idle populations of a planet where Tiberium is constantly gaining ground. Mitchell therefore campaigned for renewed investment in the research and development of new combat technologies in order to anticipate any conflict, rather than focusing on the fight against Tiberium.
At the end of a long and gruelling meeting, Mitchell secured a partial victory. Whilst the GDI refused to allocate its entire research and development budget to him, it entrusted him with a new division specialising in experimental combat technology. Nicknamed “Steel Talons” by Mitchell’s admirers, including the famous war hero Nick “Havoc” Parker, these unconventional elite battalions quickly came to play a significant role in the skirmishes that followed the implosion of Nod, to the point of carving out a reputation for being as ruthless in battle as they are discreet the rest of the time.
Excerpt from “The GDI and the Future of War”, by Xavier Des Jardins.
Alexa Kovacs’s biography:
Biographical details on Father Kovacs, involved in the LEGION project.
Raised far from civilisation by Nod separatists settled near what would become the Central African Red Zone,
Alexa Kovacs was sadly orphaned at a very young age. After surviving for a year amongst the ashes of her family home, Alexa was found by a patrol of Nod looters, mute and starving.
Intelligent and pragmatic, she soon joined their patrols. Kovacs’s strong religious convictions and her innate gift for all things cybernetic and artificial intelligence did not fail to attract theattention within the Brotherhood, whose academy she soon attended.
Kovacs rose through the ranks at breakneck speed, carving out a reputation as a cold, reserved figure and a fanatical adherent to religious dogma, which tended to alienate her from her peers but intrigued Kane himself. Despite her young age, Alexa was promoted to the rank ofabbess and recruited for one of the NOD leader’s most secret projects: the development of LEGION, an experimental combat AI derived from CABAL.
Excerpt from ‘The NOD After Kane’, by Dr Ficus Quartermaine.
Origins of the Mark of Kane:
History of Nod’s Cyborg cult: the Mark of Kane.
Towards the end of the First Tiberium War, persistent and disturbing rumours began to emerge from the wastelands of Central Asia and the Russian steppes. Nomads and separatist Nod settlements spoke of underground pillboxes and laboratories where vile rituals were being performed on the bodies of Brotherhood of Nod members who had fallen in battle. The aim was to bring the dead back to life.
Of course, the Nod has always vigorously denied any knowledge of such practices, and the Brotherhood’s followers believe these stories to be nothing more than lies spread by frightened parasites. In fact, the truth is even more disturbing. Following its first defeat at the hands of the GDI, Kane spent long days trying to understand why Nod had been defeated.
He reached a single conclusion: the humanity of his Soldiers had been their downfall. So, according to the prophet himself, he could only win at the head of an army devoid of free will, love, hate, fear and regret, conscience and sensitivity – a legion that would obey his every command.
That is why Kane initiated the development of an army of cybernetic warriors as unfeeling as they were malleable, entirely devoted to his cause. As he suspected that this programme might attract critics within the ranks of the existing army, the prophet decided to confine his research facilities to the remote regions of Russia and China, where virtually no one could uncover his project or fuel any rumours.
The path was long and winding and, apart from a few promising developments (the most famous of which remains CABAL’s Cyborg army), results were slow in coming. Finally, at the end of the Second Tiberium War, the Marked of Kane emerged. Unfortunately, it was too late to save Nod, and the Marked of Kane were consigned to oblivion and slumber, underground, awaiting a call from their Mastermind...
[Source kept secret].
Origins of ZOCOM:
History of the GDI’s Tiberium Eradication Division: ZOCOM.
The GDI Council, whose objective has shifted from the extermination of Nod to the reduction, or even elimination, of Tiberium, naturally deployed a military force to oversee and carry out this task: the Command for Operations in Tiberium-Contaminated Areas (ZOCOM). Its mission is threefold: to optimise the GDI’s military capabilities in areas heavily infested with Tiberium, to establish Outposts in these areas in order to prepare for the recapture of territories, and to protect ongoing operations from potential terrorist or mutant attacks.
Command has been entrusted to a war heroine: the eminent C. Elena Renteria, one of the first women to rise to the rank of General within the GDI. Beyond her abilities as a relentless strategist in combat, it is Renteria’s entire life story that speaks for her. The daughter of Mexican nationals, she spent her childhood in the lands of Central Africa left at the mercy of Tiberium. Her parents, researchers working for the GDI, sought to understand and stem the spread of the crystal. Renteria witnessed the disastrous effects of Tiberium on the African populations, which is why she decided to devote her life to eradicating this accursed green crystal, first by helping to dismantle the Brotherhood of Nod, and then through ZOCOM.
justify;">Everyone agrees that serving as an Officer in the red zones is undoubtedly the toughest task for a GDI agent. Very few Soldiers can expose themselves to such a high concentration of Tiberium for several weeks without suffering serious physical and psychological damage. There are, however, a few exceptions-individuals who regard living in a hostile environment that must be fought as a stimulating experience. These people were born to be part of ZOCOM, and none of them would want to be anywhere else.Excerpt from “C. Elena Renteria: My Life” by C. Elena Renteria.
Origins of Reaper-17:
History of the Scrins’ Cult of Vengeance.
In the many worlds neighbouring our own, few organisations have inspired as much fear and fascination as the Cult of Vengeance, a mysterious and profoundly violent caste of Scrins, which does not hesitate to brutally exterminate any form of life foolish enough to hinder its advance. The Cult, which is said to have once been a leading force for peacekeeping, has since turned to religion. Its members regard the ridding of planets of all potentially dangerous life forms as a divine right, and this definition has been almost entirely established within the Cult itself.
Even amongst the members of the Cult of Vengeance, the 17th Sect stands out as genetically violent, responsible for unspeakable acts of barbarism that some Scrins would rather not know about. The Scrins are particularly horrified by the excessive penchant of Reaper-17 members forTiberium infusion, which goes far beyond what the species needs to survive. This form of self-mutilation, a mark of religious fanaticism, has granted immeasurable power to the majority of its members, whilst at the same time maiming them horribly. Rejected by their own societies, the members of Reaper-17 continue to follow their bloody path… which will soon lead them to the planet Earth.
Origins of Traveler-59
History of the Scrin Domination Sect.
Whilst Reaper-17 embodies the darkest tendencies of the Scrin, the Domination Sect proves far more insidious. Trained from birth in the art of subterfuge, the members of Traveler-59 specialise in infiltrating, destabilising and subjugating entire species. Whereas the Cult of Vengeance seeks to gain the upper hand by force, even at the cost of bloodshed, Traveler-59 favours discretion and installs Blink Packs in hostile territories, from which prodigies (a sort of mitre contaminated with Tiberium and possessing superior mental faculties), who bring the local populations under Scrin control within a matter of days.
The followers of Traveler-59 are the latest recruits to carry out this mission, but their combat capabilities have yet to be tested. Recently attached to the Scrins’ mining fleet stationed on the far side of Pluto, this unit has activated long-range radar technology to locate the first planet to host it. Furthermore, it is now equipped with a new form of mind control: an enhanced version of ‘Prodigy’, capable of being implanted directly into the cerebral cortex of any life form. Its victims acquire limited mind-control abilities... In exchange for total subjugation.
Earth will serve as a laboratory...
The corruption of Brother Marcion:
GDI transmission intercepted.
[radio interference]
... Park at GDI Central Command, are you...
[radio interference]
... The mission is proceeding as planned. The first objective was a resounding success. Marcion now regards Agent Park as an orthodox Nod fanatic in his own image. The target is proving very receptive to messages of mistrust towards Kane. Let’s move on to the second objective: preparing for ‘Slavik’s abduction’.
[radio interference]
The seeds have been sown.
[radio interference]
Park complete.
intercepted and decoded by Brother Othus Qatar.
The mysterious attacks continue:
Archived report on the massacre of Nod separatists.
For the third time this year, a Central African separatist settlement in Nod has been brutally attacked. According to preliminary findings from the investigation, the victims are believed to be the leading expert on prophecy, Caleb Kovacs, his wife Llena, his daughter Alexa, and an as yet unknown number of domestic staff.
Whilst the majority of the media persist in blaming mutant fundamentalists, the Prophet’s Arm is in a position to reveal that these attacks may be the work of far more pernicious forces-forces from within the Brotherhood itself. We have gained access to certain evidence found at the scene (which, according to our sources, was subsequently deliberately destroyed on the direct orders of Anton Slavik).
Analysis of this evidence shows that the attack was not carried out by mutants but by Cyborgs, under the control of the renegade CABAL. The Armed Wing is concerned about CABAL’s stability and the influence this soulless machine has exerted on the Brotherhood in the past, but, despite the overwhelming evidence, Slavik refuses to face the truth, and the Prophet’s most devoted followers are now paying the price for his stubbornness.
Excerpt from: “The Prophet’s Armed Wing”, a new separatist faction of the Nod.
Another explosion at the lab:
Transmission intercepted regarding secret research being carried out by the GDI in Australia.
To Dr James De Groot, President of the GDI Tiberium Research Institute, (location kept secret). Australia
From: Eliot Smith-Johnson, Director of the secret Research and Development department, Washington DC, United States.
Jack, I’m running out of excuses. One more ‘accident’ like this and the Board will have my head… and your budget. You lost nearly twenty-five staff members last year and, as you know, these aren’t just any old people: they are eminent researchers in the field of Tiberium, renowned scientists, who are very difficult to replace! Jack, you must understand that nobody wants to work for you anymore because of what’s happened, no matter how many zeros are lined up at the bottom of the payslip.
I know you’re pinning a lot of hope on liquid Tiberium and I admire your tenacity, but I also agree with the members of the Board who remain sceptical about the millions of dollars and lives swallowed up for results that are still a long time coming.
Jack, there’s nothing more I can do. You’d better sort it out and finally produce some conclusive results, or we’ll be forced to shut up shop.
– Eliot
Intercepted by the Black Hand prelate, Lucius Bika.
A Tiberium explosion devastates Australia:
Extract from Channel 273’s evening news, presented by Darius Wong.
Good evening, I’m Darius Wong.
There are reports of a Desolator Tiberium explosion in central Australia, the long-term consequences of which could be dramatic for the environment of the southern hemisphere, and indeed the entire planet.
We’ll now go to Leanne Downing, live from Hobart, Tasmania.
Leanne...
Darius.
First there was this immense green blaze, so enormous that it could even be seen as far away as Auckland, in New Zealand. The residents, gripped by panic, are now trying to flee what appears to be the greatest environmental disaster since the Tiberium incident. Several questions arise: who could have done such a thing? And why?
justify;">Some are quick to openly accuse the Brotherhood of Nod, which was thought to have been defeated once and for all. According to several senior GDI officials, this explosion may have been caused by an accident at a top-secret GDI research laboratory located in the Australian outback.Millions of people have been forced to flee their homes on a continent plunged into chaos by the green crystal. We are therefore entitled to ask how the GDI could have plunged us into such a state of chaos. What is it REALLY doing to protect us?
Nod Archives.
GDI Treasury hit by a mysterious attack
Intercepted transmission relating to the attack on the GDI Treasury headquarters.
To Redmond Boyle, Director of the Treasury,
Washington DC.
From: Ramon Vicente, member of the Security Council at GDI Treasury headquarters, West Virginia.
Mr Boyle,
I know you don’t want me to disturb you whilst you’re on holiday, especially when you’re spending some time with Lance, but I have information of the utmost importance. To be honest, things are going badly, very badly, very, very badly. Last night, an unidentified entity breached our defences, disabled our systems and triggered an explosion at Treasury headquarters.
The extent of the damage is still unknown, but according to initial estimates, the losses could run into the billions. We do not know how we are going to defend ourselves before the Council as we have no leads or suspects, although initial evidence suggests that the culprits are likely to be the ‘Sons of Umagon’, a mutant separatist faction.
We need you, Mr Boyle, as a matter of urgency.
Thank you,
Ramon
Nod Archives.
Initial reports of Cyborg activity in Central Asia
News and sport on QVCX with Mike Vanderhaven.
Good evening, I’m Mike Vanderhaven,
Nearly 20 years have passed since CABAL’s armies of Cyborgs vanished from our terrified and devastated planet. Whilst the world appears to be at peace, unofficial reports suggest that a similar biomechanical threat may be emerging from Central Asia and the Russian steppes.
[images of a terrified local]
“The ground… it split open and… and… all these things came out. Half-human, half-robot, they… I hid… They didn’t see me… but my village…
[back to Mike]
The GDI has declined to comment, but a well-informed source has told QVCX that the rumours are being taken very seriously, and numerous investigation teams are reportedly on their way right now to find out more.
We will, of course, keep you informed.
Without further ado, here is E.J. Brody to talk to us about sport...
Transcript, from the QVCX archives.
The Tacitus destabilised?
Intercepted transmission regarding the GDI’s secret research into the Tacitus.
Recipient: Dr Johan Hannes-Schmidt, Director of Tacitus Research, (location kept secret).
Sender: Theodore M. Bynes, Director of the Secret Research and Development Department,
Washington DC, United States.
Johan,
First of all, I would like to express my utmost respect for the expertise and professionalism of your entire team. You are the finest Seekers in the country, if not the world. That said, I am very concerned about your latest actions. Indeed, your reports regarding the stability of the Tacitus are a cause of great concern to the Council and myself.
absolutely clear: if any action, whatever it may be, jeopardises the stability of the Tacitus, you must PUT A STOP TO IT
immediately.
Sorry to take such a radical stance, but the Tacitus comes first and foremost. Too many people have died to recover it, and we don’t know what the consequences of its destruction would be, especially as it is irreplaceable. Basically, losing the Tacitus would mean writing off years of work.
I’ll be with you on Monday to discuss this. In the meantime, don’t do anything rash.
See you on Monday,
Theo
Nod Archives.
The Tacitus
Intercepted GDI intelligence notes.
An alien archive dating from an unknown era, the Tacitus is the key to the prophecies of the Ascension, the mythology upon which Kane built the Brotherhod of Nod. Whilst the Tacitus has been safe within the fortified complex on Cheyenne Mountain since the GDIseized it from Nod two years ago, all the evidence suggests that Kane had previously managed to extract information from it. This data disappeared along with Nod at the end of the Second Tiberium War, and no one is able to say what the so-called prophet intended to achieve with the Tacitus.
Given Nod’s limited activity over the past three years, one can only assume that it failed.
Despite Dr Boudreau’s breakthroughs in the early 2030s, our research into the Tacitus remains fruitless. What information does it contain? And how much value did Kane place on this information? These questions continue to haunt us.
Intercepted by Nod intelligence; date kept secret.
