Agent Kelso

Deus Ex: Hard Line by James Swallow

During M9: Checking Out the Men in Charge, if you take too long getting to Vega after searching Miller’s apartment, it triggers a unique interaction between Vega and Jensen.

Vega asks about being kept waiting, and Jensen says sth about his mother.

Vega: Do you have ghosts and demons, tho?

Saxon: The second secret to life is that fresh air, warm sun, and a cup of tea will make your problems small enough to start handling.

Kelso: The third secret to life is that violence sometimes really is the answer.

Jensen: ...

The Illuminati in the World of  Deus Ex

Since it seems that most people here on Tumblr only played the Adam-centric games of the series, I decided to write a little post about the Illuminati, its structure and key-members. This post is more like a little overview for you guys, since  HR/MD only offer little info about them, and I won’t go very deep into detail. (Edit to myself: I lied.)

Officially, the Illumanti were founded by Adam Weishaupt in 1776, his goal was to create a new society, a “New Order” that is lead by individuals that are called “The Enlightened” (Illuminati is the plural of the Latin word Illuminatus, meaning  “enlightened”). This might be a reference to either Plato’s concept of the “Just State”, a society that is ruled by all knowing “Philosopher Kings” who were born to full-fill this rule and reign over the others. Another possible reference might be Thomas Hobbes’ theory of the Leviathan, a state that is ruled by a chosen “Sovereign” that can be either a single individual or a group of people acting as one where the rest of the citizens have no right.

Those Individuals are defined as perfect beings, ahead of the rest of humanity and are in harmony with mind and body. To achieve this, there are certain requirements to be chosen as a suitable initiate, and every member has to go through certain ranks involving taking certain classes and undergoing tests. There is not much known about this besides the few references Stanton Dowd makes in Deus Ex 1, saying Bob Page never made it past the rank of “Master of Tyre” since did not participate in mandatory yoga lessons. In additions to this he mentions a special form of meditation that should lift the spirit and mind to a higher level.  

Furthermore, although the official foundation is dated to 1776, many patters and structures can be traced back to the Knight Templar during the Crusades (also stated by Dowd). So over the time, the Illuminati also “adopted” several other orders/organizations to their cause, utilizing them for special tasks. Besides the Templars, who function as the Order’s financial arm since they control most of the banks around the world, they also incorporated Majestic 12 in 1969, after the USAF closed down Project Blue Book and the organization was shut down as well. Since then, MJ12 operates as the Illumianti’s scientific and militaristic arm.

In general, you can say that the Illuminati don’t know any restrictions when it comes to achieving their goal, they are all about control, but ultimately they do one thing: They influence, they direct, they never act out directly and they think in very long term plans. They have boxes stacked into boxes, a machinery that works for them while keeping the puppet-masters in the shadows. They are not just a group of “evil rich people wanting to dominate the world”, they do not just simply beat up or kill people just because they want to. Everything they do is for the greater cause, and they don’t like loose ends. When someone is in their way, they make sure to completely destroy this person forever. Either through assassination (and they don’t back off from killing members of the Order for “The Greater Plan” as they wanted to assassinate Taggart to further fuel the Anti-Aug Debate) or through complete destruction of  one’s existence. They would never just leave a “warning” or harm someone out of fun or cruelty. The Illuminati are, in their core, completely finalistic and dedicated to their cause.

Now, after the fundamentals are clear, let’s take a short look at the members of the Council of Five, the ruling top with the highest ranked members of the order. The Philosophers Kings or the Sovereigns, if you want to see them that way.

Lucius DeBeers is the head of the Order, the only with the highest rank, the “Supreme Enlightened”. His background and true age are unknown since he keeps himself artificially alive, but it’s known he was already in charge back in the 1960s, as he ordered the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. So pretty much everything we know about the actions of the Illuminati can be traced back to him. It’s clear that he seems to be obsessed with power, he refuses to give up his position as leader to his protége Morgan Everett and seeks a way to achieve immortality. He seems himself as the perfect being Weishaupt was talking about. In 2052, he is in a somewhat frozen state to halt his ageing, but he is still kept conscious to able to advice Everett who assumed the position of the Leader after Lucius was put into this state. 

Morgan Everett is the Second-In-Command and leader of Majestic 12. It is implied that he was born into the Illuminati, as he states he had close ties to the Templars in his childhood, saying “I once knelt in this chapel for communion, with two Rockefellers and a Rothschild. Since the time of the Crusades every leader in finance has prayed for the continued stability of Templar banks, founded on gold.”. During the events of Human Revolution and Mankind Divided, he is the CEO of the Picus Group, and thereby controlling the world’s media and news. He did not found it, it was Sir Martin Darrow (Hugh Darrow’s father) in 1985 -  it is unknown how Everett got into this position and what happened to Martin. Furthermore, Everett is in charge of various AI projects involving E.L.I.Z.A. and Morpheus (referred to as “M Initiative” in HR & MD)  together with his protégé Bob Page to control and monitor the public. In 2052, he took up the position as the Supreme Enlightened and controls the remnants of the Order after MJ12 nearly destroyed them during the 2030s. Although he is the acting leader, he keeps his former mentor in a state that allows him to still give advice and actively lying about the fact that Lucius could “be brought back to live” and using him as a tool. It is assumed that Morgan grew bitter about Lucius withholding him the possibility of becoming the Supreme Enlightened and now abuses his power over him. 

Stanton Dowd is the leader of the Knights Templar in 2029 and in control of most of the Illuminati’s finances and the world’s banks and therefore putting financial pressure on opposing parties. Although the Templar’s base is located in Paris, it is stated that Dowd is unable to leave New York City due to unknown reasons. According to Deus Ex 1, he was also born into the Order as his family had ties for generations. Little is known about the man, but it’s implied that he is a rather traditional man since he is the only one ever talking about the existing ranks and rituals and around the events of Mankind Divided, he led the Templar to a very powerful and controlling position. This concerns Beth DuClare who states she had to leave her home-town Paris because “Dowd’s Templar minions are the reason I stay away from Paris these days. I smell them on everything when I go back to the château. They act like they own  the city.” (quote from Black Light) and leading to the suspicion Dowd might try to overthrow Lucius and take over himself.  In 2052 Stanton is a poor man after MJ12 taking over the Knight Templars and destroying his finances and he is infected with the Grey Death. Besides his knowledge, he has nothing and is forced into hiding - powerless and defenceless.

Elizabeth DuClare, often only called “Beth”, is  millionaire philanthropist and leader of the World Health Organization in 2027 and 2029. Just like the previous members she was born into a very old and wealthy family tied to the Illuminati. This is why she claims it was her birthright to be “Queen of this World.” And again, little is known about the woman besides her public role. In 2027 she controls the distribution of the manipulated TYM chip that would later cause the Aug Incident, and in 2029 she works with DeBeers on several projects. Among them: Black Helix and The D Project. Her exact position/rank is unknown, but it is implied in Black Light that she might be the “true” Second-in-Command since she has a very close relationship with DeBeers and because of their collaborations. In addition to this it is implied that she is a highly skilled manipulator, especially regarding men, and it is implied she uses sex and “love” to achieve her goals. She groomed the carrier of  Philip Riley Mead, Florida’s Governor in 2027 and future President of the United States (2052), has a confirmed sexual relationship with Morgen Everett, is rumoured to be the mistress of the President of France Alain Bourges-Maunoury and talks derogatory about emotions like love and affection. She was assassinated by Majestic 12 prior to the events of Deus Ex 1. She has a daughter named Nicolette DuClaire whose father is unknown and it is suspected that Nicolette is in fact a cosmetically altered clone. 

There is little to say about Volkard Rand, since he is only appears in Mankind Divided and the only thing we know about him is that he is a member of the Council of Five in 2029 and that he puts pressure on the UN council to pass the Human Restoration act. A very popular fan-theory sees him as the elusive Janus, leader of the Juggernaut Collective that was somewhat confirmed by the “Prima Game Guide” by accident.  But this is all speculation.

Robert “Bob” Page is not directly a member of Council of Five during the events of HR and MD, but has a high enough position to participate in most of their meetings. He is the protégé of Morgan Everett, who recruited him at some point before 2016 and due to his influence the young man managed to have an unusual career and rise up faster than he should (stated by Stanton Dowd). Page is the CEO of VersaLife (founded 1975), a pharmaceutical giant he acquired in 2016 and a subordinate to his company Page Industries, a venture capital/tech firm. He is the second leader of MJ12 alongside his mentor and is in charge of the Tyrants in Human Revolution (Codename Black, also referred to as “Commander” in The Fall) and overthrows the Illuminati during the 2030s in a Coup d'état, and takes over completely. In 2052, he is the richest and most powerful man in the world while still having an extremely positive public image, as people see him as generous, a philanthropist and he pretends to donate to good causes. He tries to become the “true Supreme Enlightened” by merging with the AI Helios.