CLIQUES
Though Firewall proxies follow stringent guidelines to ensure the organization is not subverted from within or turned into a powerful organization under the thumb of a few individuals with their own personal agendas, the nature of transhumanity ensures that various factions and tendencies exist within the group. Termed cliques, these circles exert influence to sway proxies towards their particular agendas. Their interactions and conflicts are something with which most Firewall personnel are familiar. Some of these cliques are grounded in transhumanity’s existing factions, while others are rooted in philosophical differences regarding the approach Firewall should be taking.
Backups: The backup clique believes that transhumanity’s best chance for survival is to deploy numerous redundant backup measures as soon as possible. These include creating as many extrasolar colonies as possible, both via Pandora gates and through more traditional means, such as ark ships and infomorph/nanofabricator seed ships.
Conservatives: This clique takes an overcautious, nuke-it-from-orbit approach to most x-risks. They believed excessive force is justified, and it’s far better to be safe than extinct. This clique is also opposed to the use of alien or TITAN artifacts and psi and tends to be xenophobic/isolationist regarding the Factors and Pandora gates.
Mavericks: The mavericks disdain Firewall’s collective and bureaucratic tendencies, taking a more individualistic approach to their work. They are known to sometimes circumvent Firewall procedures, taking risks and allocating resources without approval from other proxies.
Pragmatists: The pragmatists believe in using any and all tools at their disposal to counter existential risks. They are in favor of deploying xenoartifacts, asyncs, and anything else that will save transhumanity.
Structuralists: This clique advocates for a stronger structure and centralized authority within Firewall, countering the group’s autonomist-dominated tendencies. Many also advocate for going legitimate, taking Firewall into the public eye and making above-board connections with other official organizations, arguing that this could bring more resources to Firewall’s disposal.
