Millennium Group

The Millennium Group is a secret society dedicated to the identification, study and containment of paranormal incidents and the supernatural. Under the guise of being merely a private intelligence and criminal investigative consulting group, it is made up of a diverse mixture of personnel, drawn from ex-law enforcement and religious backgrounds. The organization dates back to ancient times, and grew out of a millenniallist Christian sect that was eventually co-opted by elements within the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Overview
It is an ancient group that has survived through the centuries. Their main role is to be guardians of humanity, keeping knowledge best left secret until the time is right to share it. Through the years they have been a group of determined and at times desperate people trying to find clues in the "events" of our history, looking for moments when the human and the inhuman have crossed paths, studying whatever possible clues they can find, and attempting to piece together the future. They are trying to find the appropriate branch of the future to take, the branch which will shift the control from these inhuman elements and into their hands.

These objectives have forced them to ignore conventional ethics governing individuals in exchange for the responsibility of ensuring the survival of mankind. Some junior members of the organization are unaware of this agenda, having not yet been initiated into full membership.

The Group is lead by the Elder with the Old Man acting as a type of spiritual leader. The symbol, for the Millennium Group is the ouroboros, a snake biting its own tail. Time, life continuity, the endless cycle of life, completion, the repetition of history, the self-sufficiency of nature and the rebirth of the Earth can all be seen within the circular boundaries of the ouroboros. The Group chose it as their symbol out of respect for the beginning and the end of all.

History
The Millennium Group was founded in the year 100 CE by a group of Roman Christians avoiding persecution. Then known as "Sodalitatem Millennium", the Group was formed to defend the world against the forces of Satan as the years draw closer to the next Millennium...and beyond. Throughout their history, the Millennium Group had access to scientific breakthroughs, that were banned, or withheld, by those in power at the time. Examples include the work of Copernicus, Galileo, and the German physicists. This enabled the Group to leap generations ahead of mainstream research.

Also throughout its history, the Group has changed its primary location and cover identity more than once. By the late 18th Century, the Group was still based in the Italian Peninsula and known as "Il Millennio Gruppo." However, shortly after the Napoleonic invasion of Italy in 1796, the Group moved to Britain and officially took the name, "The Millennium Group." Finally in 1915, during World War I, the Group moved its base of operations to the United States.

In September of 1949, shortly after the Soviet Union tested its first nuclear weapon, the two top agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover, and Clyde Tolson, concluded that the world was on the verge of nuclear Armageddon and decided that there needed to be an independent group that could go above the law. A group that could do what the government and law enforcement couldn't.

Hoover, who was already a member of the original Millennium Group, Tolson, and their assistant Lily Unser decided to create their Group. Hoover adopted the ouroboros insignia of the Millennium Group, claiming that he discovered the symbol from a scientist named Kekule. However, he was really creating his own version of the Millennium Group.

Hoover and Tolson began to recruit members for their Group straight from the FBI. Eventually, however, Hoover's Millennium Group merged with the descendants of the original Millennium Group to form a larger, more diverse Group mixed with ex-law enforcement personnel and scientists.

Now, in modern times, the Millennium Group appears at first glance to be a private intelligence firm of primarily former FBI agents who offer investigative services to the private sector and criminal investigative analysis services to police departments and other law enforcement agencies for cases involving serial crimes or the occult. However, this is only a fraction of what the Group does. In reality, the Millennium Group comprises many different experts in the law enforcement, legal, technology, medical, and scientific fields. Their true function as paranormal investigators is kept secret and known by only a handful.

This is who we are
The mysterious phrase, "This is who we are", is often uttered by Group members to one another. In Latin it's said as "Hoc est qui sumus." It holds a meaning that only members truly know. Such a seemingly simple phrase. Almost nonsense, when you think about it. Who else would they be? And yet, it stands for something much deeper. A code, symbolic of the ourobouros. The inner circle, that's who we are. The Millennium Group separates itself in that way. This is who we are, on the inside of the circle, the gifted ones, the ones who know the dangers, and the evil, and the terror of the Millennium; this is who they are, on the outside, unwitting peasants, oblivious to a greater struggle. Never to know of the peril their lives are in.

Millennialism
The Millennium Group comprises a number of extremely intelligent individuals who want to save the world. They see Armageddon in specifically religious terms. That is, they believe that the world is facing the eschaton foretold in the Book of Revelation, threats and disaster of biblical prediction and proportion. They believe that this end will come from something beyond the understanding of man. No one really knows what this threat is, but it will likely be directly related to the influence of Satan and the wrath of God. In this understanding the Millennium Group's role is to offer guidance for a struggling humanity.

Membership
Membership in the Millennium Group is determined not by social standing, but by a more spiritual, mystical means. Members come from all walks of life, but share one thing in common - a belief and a recognition of a world beyond that seen by our normal senses, and a pressing desire to explore that world. Some members have an overriding family lineage in the Millennium Group which stretches countless generations, others are newcomers who have been recognized as having a legitimate ability to help the Group. All share a desire to explore the supernatural boundaries of our physical world - uncovering both the exquisite and wondrous, as well as the dangerous and evil.

The Structure of the Group
In the Group, one wise man is chosen to be the spiritual leader. This chosen one is dubbed the "Old Man" (usually because it is an old man who is chosen). The Old Man has a number of tasks which include (but not limited to) initiating candidates, providing moral guidance, making predictions, and providing any high priority consultation. The Old Man commands the utmost respect in all Group members, and his say is prime over all others.

The Elder is essentially the leader of the Group. The Elder makes decisions, approves the acceptance of Group candidates, gives orders, and is the head of the Millennium Group Board of Directors. All Group actions must have the Elder's approval. The Elder may consult the Old Man at his discretion.

The Inquisitor is the judge of a candidate's merit. He is the chairman of a review board that reviews the candidate's progress and achievements.

Patrons are special Group members who are assigned to recruit consultants to the Group, then guide and educate them in the ways of the Group when the consultant is accepted as a candidate. Some Group members will spend many years as a patron.

After being introduced to the Group by a Patron, one can begin to work for the Group as a consultant. Consultants have limited access to the Group's resources and know nothing of the Group's origin, although they are led to believe that they have full access and knowledge. After an unspecified period of time, and once the consultant has unknowingly proved himself "worthy," the consultant will then become a candidate for membership into the Group. At this phase, the candidate's Patron will gradually and carefully reveal the Group's origin and wider purpose. Candidates will be given a higher access to the Group's resources. A candidate will be sent to meet the Old Man. Then, he/she will go through unspecified "tests" at determining what "evil" is as well as election sessions in which a small handful of Group members will interview the candidate and assess his or her candidacy and loyalty to the Group. If the candidate passes the elections and the tests and has the Old Man's approval, the candidate will now be accepted as a full member and all the Group's resources and secrets will become available.

The interest in evil
The Group struggles to understand evil, in both biblical and scientific contexts. Biblically, they research cases where a supernatural evil is assumed present to understand true evil. Scientifically, they promote the study of the minds of serial killers, even going so far as to recreate some. The Group continues to fund research into bio-genetic science that may someday allow a lifeform to be physically separated into "good" and "evil" entities.