The Gift- This one is really important to know obviously. The Gift was originally artificially inserted into humans, but the Gift carried on to the children of the experiments. A Gifted is usually identified by a strange hair or eye color that comes from the Gift. There are several different types of Gifts. Which are listed below. For simplicity sake, peoples of other races are counted as Gifted. They don't necessarily have the Gift, though some vampires do, but they are still a bane that the government wants to put down.
Types of Gift:
- Elemental- Control over a certain thing like metal or fire.
Psychic- Any gift that involves the brain. This is stuff like telepathy, mind reading and possession.
Supportive- These are Gifts that merely enhance the bearer. This is stuff like heightened senses or replacement of lost senses. Like blind Gifted being able to echo locate. This would also include healing.
Defensive- Gifts that aid to defend the user, but not necessarily used to attack. Self healing can also fall into this category. Another one in this category is a Gift that only works when the user is in peril.
Offensive- Gifts of a destructive nature meant to help attack. This is a broad category that can even include some of the above. One that is also listed in here is explosion powers and what not.
Shape shifting- This is a broad scope as well. A Gifted with retractable wings can also be classified as a shape shifter. This does not include werewolves because they are naturally occurring shape shifters. A human that turns into a wolf is a different story.
Race- This is self explanatory. These are creatures with their own powers that were not artificially given.
Technopathy- Gifts that involve machines.
Other- Any Gift that does not fit in the above list. This includes hybrid types and participants in some of the newer government projects where there is currently no classification for their Gift yet.
The Sword- The Sword is a weapon made by the First Gifted to resist the government with. It hides the subject from any Gifted detector. The blade is also made of the bearer’s Gift. I.E. If a fire user had it, it would be made of flames.
The Staff- The Staff is the companion to The Sword and also masks the user from detectors. It also suppresses uncontrollable Gifts and acts as a focus for them.
Nano Machines- Nanos are tiny machines that are used in many of Government devices. They are hard to work with and the Government doesn’t have too many people that can do so for a reasonable price.
Serum- A drug that is still in the testing process that is used to control the Gifted. It is very addictive and seems to create alter egos in subjects. Another recipe for the serum is being proposed now. One that doesn’t have as many side effects and merely erases the Gift.
Collars- Collars are the predecessors of the serum. They are made from nanos and easily suppress a Gift, but they don’t completely erase the Gift. It also can’t eliminate free will. Some are used as shock collars though to try to control the Gifted.
The Mask- The mask is another control device. It eliminates freewill and allows for use of the Gift. Production on it was banned though after a serious accident that nearly killed several operatives.
Project Tracer- Project Tracer is one of the oldest projects in the government. It has slowly been evolving over the years. The whole point of project tracer is to use an unknowing Gifted to route out nests of its fellows. This was originally done by tagging the Gifted and letting them loose much like what wildlife scientists do. But tags, if found, can be removed. The latest advancement in the project is to inject a new Gift into the Gifted. The Gift is worthless and can't help the Gifted at all and sometimes they don't know it is there. The Gift is sending out a high frequency sound that can be traced for miles. This allows it to be sensed on a non-Gifted frequency and makes it hard to block. There are two known Gifted that are products of Project Tracer, Ecco and Retto.
Serial Numbers- For labeling purposes, the Government uses serial numbers to organize captured Gifted, agents, and special projects. The serial used for Gifted is NTSxxx. NTS stands for “New Test Subject.” The agents do not have letters before their serials. Maria is the only person with an IM (Iron Maiden) serial number because she was part of an experiment at the Britain branch before coming to America. Don’t worry; we don’t use them too much here. Just a fun fact to know.
Agency Hierarchy- This isn't a key term, but it is still good to know just in case.
- Head of the Government - unknown figure. It seems that he doesn't give orders. Oversees all branches. Currently, there is the Manhattan-American Branch and the Providence-American Branch. There is also a Branch in Oxford, but it doesn't come into play much. Caligdula is this faceless person.
Superiors/supervisors/directors- The three names refers to the same position. It really depends who is talking. The Manhattan Branch has three supervisors working as a council together. Each superior looks over a different branch of the agency. And the workers within it. Nero is one of them. Masato was another, but he quit, and there is one more that is not played by anyone. Nero has been doing all the work. At the the Providence Branch, the head supervisor is Claudius, Nero's little brother. There are currently no other known supervisors for his branch. Caligdula is publicly Oxford's director, but she does more field work than the other two.
Junior Supervisors- These see the to the subdivisions of each branch that Superiors oversee. (None being played)
Agents, Engineers, Scientists, Maintenance staff - Biggest section. Self explanatory.
Test Subjects, Captured Gifted
A note on vampires:
There are two different types of vampires in the world of the Gifted. One feeds on blood and the other feeds on emotions. The street slang for these two breeds are obviously Bloods and Emotionals. This is not what the vampires originally called themselves, but this is what humans refer to them as.
The Beasts - the Beasts are an elite group of assassins who usually don't favor sides. They are located worldwide and communicate with each other. The are all known as the Beast as their professional assassin names to keep the real Beast, Ana, hidden. They have their own code names when communicating with each other for confidentiality purposes. It is rare if any of them ever meet because it would be deemed bad luck.
Known Beast Code names:
- The Beast - Ana
Dragon - Imerius (not full assassin but an information gatherer)
Blood Eyes - Fallon
