Protean Union

Gametrailers has posted a new interview with RT from GamesCom 2011. It's a broad interview but includes some good details and clarifications, centering around factions and PvP.

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We also got answers to our 10 questions from thedarkplaces on Twitter:

What is the primary objective of the Phoenicians ?

We aren't quite sure, and this is what our group is trying to uncover. The Phoenicians are traders and merchants by heart and tradition, and they've been happy building their fortunes across the world, but we believe they're also sick and tired of being treated as the ugly duckling by the Big Three. They want to become a swan — figuratively speaking. Aside from that assumption, we know very little about them.

What EXACTLY happened the last time the voice of the Phoenicians wasn't heard?

We don't know exactly, but we do know that the Council of Venice was broken and disbanded in the late 1930s, as the world was on the cusp of
war. Sources say that the Phoenicians were thrown off the Council just before it broke apart, but there are absolutely no written records from that period — as far as we know. The truth has been buried.

Why are the Phoenicians barred from the battlefields of the Secret War?

Again, it has to do with what happened in the 1930s and early 40s. The Phoenicians may have made some bad choices, but that's just theory. The Council has kept no records from that time, and no one is willing to talk about it. Yet.

Who is really responsible for the intrusions into CoV servers ?

Look, if we knew that, we wouldn't be out there searching for the truth. You're asking a lot of the same questions that we're asking — we just don't have the answers. Rumours were circulating that it was the Phoenicians themselves, which obviously lead to the debacle inside the Council. We received those emails from a trusted source. We haven't heard anything more at this point, although we expect we will.

To what extent was the Council of Venice compromised during the last intrusion ?

No idea. Someone shut down their global network, we know that, and they lost their fibre and satellite links with the designated war zones and battlefields across the world, necessitating a shut-down of all activities — their so-called 'gentlemen's war'.

What are the exact goals of the Council of Venice ?

Officially? To keep the cabals in check, and to protect civilians from their activities. They're really serious about that bit; it's in their charter. I mean, the cabals themselves created the Council — primarily the Templars, Illuminati and the Phoenicians; you'll have a hard time getting the Dragon to make an official statement or decision on anything, and the other cabals are too small and fragmented to really make an impact, unless they band together. Which they never do. And the cabals first and foremost wanted someone to police the other cabals, to make sure that everyone played by the same rules. But as the Council became autonomous, it began to focus more and more on protecting the outside world from the secret world, collaborating with governments and corporations to ensure that any leaks or events were quickly covered up, and to create its own army of peacekeepers to actually go into troubled areas and take action.

What can we do in order to help the Council of Venice?

Awareness is the most important thing. The Council is, at heart, a positive force, but it's also influenced by the ambassadors on the Council — and that can be problematic.

Where can we find new information about the Council of Venice and the 4th?

You can't. At least not yet. We're digging, and we always need help. If we know we can trust you, we'll call on you.

In what ways is the Council of Venice deceiving us ?

I don't know if they are. That's what we trying to find out. The Council isn't, at least not intentionally, but the members of the Council are definitely into deception. It's what they do. It's what they've always done. So of course that rubs off.

Who are you ?

I'm a friend! Okay, I know that's a loaded word, and I'm sorry for the confusion. MY name is Farah, but there are more of us. We're not one. We're many. Well — a bunch. I used to work in a coffee shop and study computer science. That's obviously no longer the case. I guess I'm an internet archaeologist at this point: I dig for the truth, I assemble the little pieces, and I try to find the patterns and the answers. Why? I'm not going to tell you that, it's personal. It's personal for all of us. And why are we so cryptic? Good question. Some of us are more cryptic than others; we deal in the unknown and unknowable, so it's easy to get carried away sometimes. Also, we have to be careful. We don't mess with you because we want to mess with you: we play it safe and we test. Sometimes we go too far, but hey. It comes with the job.

(And no, I don’t run the Twitter bit. We coordinate, but we split responsibilities. My responsibility right now is to answer questions for the group. I’m not good at testing anyone.)