[Aeon Covenant]

The Scanners/Highlander Players' Guide

By Peter Flanagan

Chapter One: Scanner Society

Scan together. Scan together and our minds begin to flow into each other. Until they become one. One self. One soul. One existence. Beautiful. Beautiful...and frightening.

-- The Gestalt, Scanners

Scanners are often solitary, but this is a condition of their rarity, not (usually) a choice made by them. When a psion finds others touched by the power, the resulting relationship is usually intense, like most things related to the psi world. Either the lone Scanner is quickly and heartily welcomed into the group (mind-reading aids trust tremendously) or ends up a bitter adversary, if not an outright enemy. Shortly thereafter, however, a differently aligned group will usually learn about the Scanner's newfound affiliations or troubles, and react accordingly. And so it goes, all things balance, except that in the end, the Scanner isn't alone any more.

The Factions

There aren't really enough Scanners to make for a lot of dueling organizations, and they rarely enter positions of power. Those that do, of course, are the most formidable of Scanner adversaries, but in general there are two primary psi organizations: the Aeon Covenant and the Reapers. One other group will be mentioned, however...

Aeon Covenant

"It is glory and majesty beyond comprehension. She has neither words nor conceptions to describe this transcendent moment, as she becomes a being of raw, pure energy...no more human than the stars burning in the sky. And she wonders if this is how her mother felt...when she became Phoenix?"

-- Chris Claremont, Uncanny X-Men 202

The purposes of the Aeon Covenant are simple: to protect the normal humans around them from unscrupulous Scanners and to learn more about themselves. They usually spent little time successfully doing either, more often than not unable to access the information that would tell them who and what they came from, and rarely crossing swords with the now-uncommon forces of the broken Scanner conspiracy. The Covenant primarily serves as a support group for now, finding Scanners and bringing those who aren't totally psychotic or corrupt into the fold, so they can learn to control their powers and function normally. They've been very successful in recent years, causing the number of "unexplained psi phenomena" reported to drop since their founding. Still, some groups within the Covenant remain vigilant against other Scanners and denizens of the World of Darkness.

Membership

Any psi who accepts the few restrictions placed on them by the Covenant may join. The Covenant actively seeks out Scanners but does not ask them to join the primary defensive teams -- those are strictly volunteer only. Most Scanners who join, in fact, merely give and receive aid in maintaining a facade of normality as they return to (or continue) their normal lives. At present, the Covenant believes it consists of about a third of the present psi population. In addition, any other paranormals may join the Covenant, so long as they abide by the code of conduct. Their numbers include a number of ex-Scanners who have Awakened into full Mages, as well as Orphans and Tradition Mages who have tired of the constant warring with the other three factions. A few Werewolves, primarily of the Children of Gaia, a handful of Kindred seeking Golconda, a Changeling or two and a surprising number of Immortals have also joined the Covenant.

Goals

As previously stated, the Covenant seeks to maintain the fragile peace that has risen from the Reapers' fall. Scanner members of Aeon Covenant have had a surprising amount of success controlling their powers, but this is through exercises designed to increase Willpower rather than more direct (some would say easy) cures or remedies. Also, the Immortals (who may well outnumber the Mages) are trying to learn how they came to be, and why "there can be only one" in the end. They are all under a sort of cease-fire with one another, and AC safehouses have been consecrated by religious Scanners, making them holy ground.

In addition to maintaining Scanner peace, AC Scanners are also expected, though not required, to protect normals from mundane threats such as muggers, accidents and drunk drivers. This request is more honored in the breach than in the practice, but it is becoming more popular as the new generation of Scanners begins to take an active role in society.

Initiation

If you're a Scanner, being "reborn" is a simple thing: get found by the Covenant and agree not to go around mindraping the normals. That's pretty much the only requirement, if you happen to be a psi. Other paranormals are not so readily permitted to join. First, the applicant's sincerity and judgment are checked, then a thorough background check is done (several unfriendly Technomancers, a few Nephandi, and a pair of dark Immortals have been uncovered in this fashion) to ensure that some telepathic trickery is not involved.

Resources

The largest resource Aeon Covenant has at the moment, other than its members, is Biocarbon Amalgamate, which is presently owned by Darryl Ruth. Through this company, Ephemerol is readily available to those Scanners who have not yet learned to control their powers. Also, research is done here, both public and clandestine, investigating the Scanner phenomenon. Also, Mr. Ruth is said to be favorably inclined toward Scanners, though no one is quite sure why.

Other assets available to the Aeon Covenant include: its ties to law enforcement, from the local use of psychometric "trackers" to the mysterious "Project PSI" itself (which may be the Covenant's link to the federal agencies), the growing Internet, through which they can find out more about themselves and, to a lesser extent, friendly Technomantic factions, including the Sons of Ether and the New World Order (both of which covet the psions' paradigm) as well as their "parents," the Progenitors.

Reapers

"I took his head, and raped his woman before his blood was even cold!"

-- The Kurgan, Highlander

Many think that the Scanner supremacy movement died with its mysterious leader.

That is the worst mistake a Scanner, or Hunter, could make.

The organization that was trying to breed a master race of Scanners isn't gone. The children of the conspiracy are entering their teens even now, and the survivors have new troops, a new plan, and a name: the Reapers.

Membership

"-- these Acolytes have pledged themselves to my service and my cause. I shall not abandon them."

-- Magneto, X-Men 2

The one virtue extolled by the Reapers is loyalty. Do what you will with the humans; destroy the enemy by any means necessary, but betray your own and die horribly.

Anything else goes.

All a Scanner has to do is take the oath (and Telepathy, again, ensures honesty, or else) and the Scanner is no longer a psychic, but a Reaper. It has been compared by one Nephandus-hunter to walking the Labyrinth -- the Scanner sells a piece of the soul for power and moral laxity. Scanners are quick to reply that the soul has nothing to do with it; Reapers are not trapped by their allegiance, they just take an easy out. Either way, the Reapers are the Villains, as far as the Traditions and the Covenant are concerned.

And, as always, the truth is not that simple.

Not all Reapers rape virgins and slaughter babies; most, in fact, only fight their enemies. The majority see themselves as the champions of a new species, outnumbered and outgunned, and taking the best steps possible to remedy the situation. And if the occasional human gets put through the grinder; well, it's us or them. And it's bloody well not going to be "us." Scanners (and don't call me "psychic," Aeon-boy!) are here to stay.

Some Reapers, however, do indulge themselves, and as long as they're discreet (no mindblind copsicles or overly-moral AC brats showing up) none of the others really care. Some rather unpleasant incidents of this type have turned the rivalry between the two psi groups back into the war it had been when Revok was in charge.

Goals

The methods may have changed, but the intent remains the same: make more Scanners and take over the world.

It's not as far-fetched as it sounds, either.

They have no intention of starting an armed revolution. Once they have enough telepaths, key officials will be mindraped or transferred out of their bodies, and voila, the Reapers are in charge. The Kindred won't be a problem (so they think) with their access to pyrokinesis and telepathy.

The Reapers have not yet run afoul of the Technocracy. This may well be a good thing; the New World Order and the Syndicate would both be far more likely to recruit the psis than kill them.

As for creating more Scanners, they may have lost access to BA's Ephemerol, but they have their sources, and they put it in anything they can. It's not enough to affect the psis who come across it, but unborn infants are being affected.

And even without the efforts of the Reapers, new Scanners are born every year...

Initiation

Surprisingly, it is the Reapers rather than Aeon Covenant that has a ritual for bringing new Scanners into the fold. The prospective Reaper is ordered to perform (by normal standards) distasteful acts, but is informed in advance how they will aid the cause. Once these acts are completed, the Scanner is jumped (combat test) and brought back to the local hideout, and given one final task: extract information from a normal, via mindrape or other psi power as necessary. Once the normal stops screaming, a wild party is thrown in the new Reaper's honor, and often the group goes "wilding."

Resources

Thankfully, not many at present. They have connections to the Sabbat and the underworld in general, but their two largest assets are the "forgotten," homeless people they can take as puppets, and the one ally they don't quite understand: Pentex.

Pentex

The megacorporation that is the worst enemy of the Werewolves also employs more Scanners than any other single entity in the world. This may not sound impressive, given its size; however:

1) They know what their Scanners are, if not where they come from.

2) Their psis work almost exclusively with the First Teams.

This has had the rather annoying effect of getting almost every Garou in the world to really hate Scanners.

As far as Pentex is concerned, this is a good thing. The more werewolves hate Scanners, the better chance of recruiting the psis into a First Team. As always, the best way to fight the werewolves is to turn them against themselves...

They recruit from the "higher" echelon of Scanners, trying to get as many of the educated ones as possible. When forced to settle for the drudges that normally comprise their shock troops, they attempt to educate the psi themselves. Often this results in a very loyal, intelligent First Team Scanner; equally often the Scanner realizes what they want her to do and rebels. Occasionally the psi refuses to learn and is only useful for cannon fodder.

Regardless, Pentex gives its Scanners a lot of leeway; after an encounter with a pissed Garou, a rebellious psi is likely to return (on his knees) and beg for a second chance...assuming that the psi survives. Aeon Covenant is not happy with the situation, but is as yet unaware that these psionic "monster-hunters" are actually working for Pentex and turning a potential ally against them.

On the other hand, Pentex is unaware, except in the most nebulous way, of Aeon Covenant. If it were, engineering an all-out Garou/Scanner war would be all too easy, and there is no guarantee that the Garou would win. As it stands, only the rarity of contact keeps the peace between the Garou leadership and Aeon Covenant.

Immortals and Societies

As mentioned in Highlander: the Gathering, Immortals rarely work together for a number of reasons. Primarily, since "there can be only one," an Immortal may well be forced to kill a friend someday. This makes alliances rare. Usually, Immortals join with another faction in the World of Darkness.

Aeon Covenant is becoming a popular choice.

The Covenant provides a number of things valuable to an Immortal. One is a safe haven -- even those places which are not holy ground are staffed by mindreaders, always valuable allies. Another is companionship, especially with beings who can relate to the Immortal experience; like Immortals, Scanners are separated from humanity by a cosmic accident, but are still very human, and through biofeedback, can halt aging. But most important to an Immortal is something that could very well keep them alive through the centuries: a sense of purpose. The most common cause of death among Immortals is a loss of the will to live. Without that hunger to survive, the deadliest swordsman will fall through a simple lack of interest.

Besides, the Immortals and Scanners seem to have a common bond; their powers seem to be related.