GDIOnline Q4, 2056
Letter of Resignation - Director Jack Granger.
Director Jack Granger
It has been seven years since I first took office. For much of that time, we have rebuilt homes and hope for a future. I stepped into the role of director at the end of the war. With the intent to safeguard our victory and deal with the looming issues of our nations, and humanity's reconstruction. I am pleased to say, thanks to the hard work and brilliant efforts of GDI's best and brightest, at least one crisis can be said to be behind us.
However, the time has come for me to step back from the public eye and allow new blood to rise to the top. I was chosen to lead as a military figure, and while the future portends war once more, it is not to be my war. At the end of the next year, I will step down as director of the Initiative, making space for others to steer the ship of state.
I know that these years have been tumultuous ones, and many of you have disagreed with the policies of this administration, and with how the Initiative has chosen to face the challenges of the modern day. We had to prioritize the well-being of all the people in accordance with the oaths we swore, not just those that were already advantaged. However, such opposition is a key part of any well functioning democratic state. But it is equally important that we can both set aside our disagreements and work together towards a brighter tomorrow.
Yet, there are many threats remaining. First is the ever present threat of Tiberium. While it has been the focus of many of our efforts these years, it has not been the only threat. And yet, it is not a problem that we have solved, nor indeed is it likely to be solved within my lifetime, though of course we live on with hope. Second is the Brotherhood of Nod, Third is the threat from other worlds. We know aliens exist, and that at least some of them have attempted to invade. However, we cannot know what else is out there. It may be friendly, it may be an enemy, but we should be careful not to make enemies out of friends and burn bridges that we do not need to.
It is common wisdom that one should not change horses in the middle of a river. But the river has been wide, and the horse is tired. Looking back on the river that has been crossed, my administration has managed to leave our democracy and its institutions in a better state than the war left it in and I shall therefore be passing on the power and responsibilities of my role to a suitable successor from the next generation. May they build a better world for themselves, and for their own successors. As they step into the role of director, I shall endeavour to smooth the transition and grant them the benefit of what wisdom and experience I possess.
Now the time has come for the birth of new ideas. I have striven to be a safe pair of hands to shelter and protect our nation. That task is done. Someone new shall lead the Initiative, stepping boldly into the future and shaping it in ways I cannot imagine. Thank you for your time, and for the trust you placed in me. My time as Director is drawing to a close. Further announcements are to follow. To all GDI citizens, to everyone on this globe. Our military can and will defend you. But no longer should it lead you. I hope my successor will reflect that. But GDI will be there to defend our world as long as there is still strength in human arms.
Sincerely,
Jack Granger.
Now that the formalities are out of the way, I have a message for all of you. All the citizens, new and old, of this Initiative.
The Initiative was founded to be the end of history. It was founded to be the enforcement arm of a world order that is now extinct. But we found a new meaning and a new purpose. A warm light and a comforting hand for all mankind. Be true to that vision, and we can ensure that not only will we see an Earth free of Tiberium, but go on to see things that our ancestors believed were nothing more than the figments of a writer's imagination.
1TwoThr334our
First!
Da5id
#1TwoThr334our - You are why we can't have nice things.
And my respects to the Director - 8 years of herding bobcats is probably quite enough, and given we're not only recovering from a massive war, but actually doing better in some ways than we were before, I have to say he's done a great job. Congrats, and I hope you actually manage to figure out that "relaxation" thing. I've got free brews for him if he ever decides to stop by the Black Sun.
MikoNyan
And if he can't, I am sure there are plenty of nice safe people who can help with that.
FloatingWood
To be honest Director, I'll be glad to see you go. Not because I believe you have done a poor job. You haven't, for all my grousing about your administration, acted in any way other than with probity, honesty and care for GDI. I just think that if you continue you'll end up dead at the desk before 2060, pen in hand, and GDI facing a succession crisis.
And you deserve better than that.
Dr. Folinic
Thanks for the long and hard work Doctor! Without you the YZers life would probably be more miserable than under Boyle. To be honest, I expected just a few word of mouth to soothe the higher ups, but the amount of reconstruction alongside abatement on the Yellow Zones is way out of my expectations! Hope you find happiness after retiring as the GDI Secretary, best wishes for you.
ProfCollingsworth
Well, this isn't exactly expected, but is quite welcome. Stepping down now that the crisis is clearly over is probably a good thing, given the mess around his (completely justifiable, in my opinion) assumption of the position. He's not the first Director, but he is the first of what is looking like a new era for GDI, and there are far worse ways to go than with what is probably going to be compared by historians to George Washington's decision to not run for re-election. So: My thanks for your service, Director, and I hope your successor is as dedicated to the ideals you have expressed, as you are.
TopTierCitizens
Hopefully we can manage a return to when the Initiative was actually great instead of kowtowing to the people who were shooting our friends and family just a few years ago.
MajorMiner
Well, that's a thing. Looks like I lost the pool.
VictoryInLife
Damn… I don't know why I'm taking this so hard but I actually cried a bit at this announcement, things were so bad at the end of the last war, and the Director pulled us out of it. I can't imagine anyone else steering the ship. Real end of an Era kind of vibe, I just hope the next person has the same kind of fire and policies.
MistakesWhereMadeForTheUmpteenthTime (Cosmic Plaything)
Twenty four hours, they couldn't wait till at least twenty four hours had passed to start on the anti yellow zoner BS could they.
Oh well moving on I hope Granger enjoys his retirement considering the stress he must have been under since the war, you've got to feel sorry for whoever follows him though as the man left some pretty big shoes behind to fill.
Shaniqua492
Good! He got my boy killed in Italy! Maybe now someone will be in charge who doesn't waste soldiers' lives!
AccomplishingProvidence
This may shock some of you, but I'm not one to waste unnecessary words in a serious moment. Many of you have spoken the well-deserved praise for Director Granger already. I will simply add my voice as another saying: Thank you for your service, Director. I hope you're able to relax a bit once you have handed the burden over.
Akira Oda (Treasury, Office of the Vice Secretary)
In a few hours Vice Secretary Seo would soon address along with Secretary Granger on Director Granger's impending retirement and the changes that would soon be brought within the GDI government as well as the Treasury's plans in the post-Granger world. We are grateful to see an honorable exit of one of the world's most able statesmen in these trying times of emergency pushing for a sense of normalcy in the war torn landscapes during the beginning of his term. His contributions to both rebuilding and the restoration of our global democracy has proven unshakable in spite of the dangers lingering both within and without the Blue and Green Zones that would destroy us. Let us all keep working together in the inexhaustible march against the scourge of Tiberium.
Stream Link:
bit.gdi/vsssgtreasspeech
YellowZon3r
Between the retirement of the Director and the treasury secretary it's looking like a shakeup among GDI's top ranks. Will the replacements continue the work they've started or does this represent the start of a slide back to the status quo?
Terrence Lagunia Ret. (West Point Teaching Staff veteran of the 1-3 Tiberium Wars)
Hats off to you Director and thank you from this three war Vet. #Havoc We need to plan where we'll meet for the yearly meetup.
KryptosAdept
O7. I thank you for helping GDI get through some of it's darkest moments and helping it recover for a better future tomorrow. I hope that the successors will keep this trend up.
KropotkinsGhost
In all my decades on this blasted green ball, never have I seen someone more deserving of the title of Leader then I have with Granger. The policies he has put into place and the effort he has expended has forced me to give him nothing but the utmost respect. May he live comfortably for the rest of his days, the young whippersnapper has not even reached his 65th birthday yet. Hah!
Petition Organization: Railroad Reconstruction
Karys-Onasi
Going to commit some necromancy to say that apparently something we said in our position was enough to kick the Treasury into action. I have not seen any official statements yet, but outside my apartment there are construction crews right now laying track.
FloatingWood
They posted notices that they're going to close down the
entire Rotterdam-Ruhrgebiet line next month for what they're expecting will be most of a year. Any rail traffic that can't be replaced by trucks or riverships is going to be send over what's currently single track, heavily trafficked passenger line.
At night.
And again, they expect that it's going to take most of a year to make the final repairs and replacements for the worn down single track and emergency bridges that have been in place for the past half decade.
They're going to have somewhat decent service for three months, tops, and then NS is going to be cancelling all trains on a given track every day for emergency repairs.
LastLizard
Well, that sounds incredibly painful.
FloatingWood
#LastLizard, it is going to be. It's basically going to mean that the major East-West rail connection in the Netherlands is going to be unreliable at best, for at least a year. And knowing the department handling rail infrastructure, the thing they'll do after they finish up the freight train line is replace the now terminally abused single tracks that just bore all the passenger and freight traffic for a year section by section until that is double tracked too. It's going to be
another year of delays, if better managed ones.
I just hope the shaking caused by the freight moving past doesn't cause me to fall out of bed.
Ormonde2020
Uhhh, hey, GDI higher ups, if you're doing railroad reconstruction can I convince you to perchance consider times way before the war? The island of Ireland used to have heaps of train lines, but they were ripped up in exchange for cars. Quite frankly, the public transport system here tops out at 'okay' and that usually only applies when it comes to going from one city to another.
FloatingWood
#Ormonde2020, you can just place a call with the citizen services department for Ireland you know? It's not just complaints they handle.
Although I suppose 'the public transport system is crap and I want a better one' is a complaint.
LaserKiwi2000
Even a handful of trains in NZ would be a big improvement, we haven't had any major passenger trains in a long time, and it's a bit lame to still rely upon driving for now.
JamesandBonesy
Bonesy is excited about the new construction - he's making a lot of new friends.
Solan
Jeez could have told us that the rails are going to be refurbished soon. Some of the factories supplying the MARVs in Chicago were forced to wait for a skirmish because of transport woes. Then the supplies we need would have to wait for another quarter to fully finish. I hope they can finish the rails soon or at least give us supplies so we can go home.
Q4 2056 results
Resources: 615 + 0 in reserve (15 allocated to the Forgotten) (20 allocated to grants)
Political Support: 55
Free Dice: 6
Fusion Dice: 8 (+1 per turn)
Tiberium Spread
15.69 Blue Zone
27.51 Yellow Zone (87 points of mitigation)
56.80 Red Zone (60 points of mitigation)
Current Economic Issues:
Housing: Significant Surplus (+12) (28 population in low quality housing) (2 points of refugees)
Energy: Marginal Surpluses (+1) (+2 in reserve)
Logistics: Major Surpluses (+5)
Food: Major Surpluses (+11) (+6 in reserve (growing to +8)
Health: Substantially improved (+5) (2 consumed by emergency refugee healthcare)
Capital Goods: Marginal Surplus (+2)
Consumer Goods: Meeting Demand (+1)
Labor: Gargantuan Surpluses (+32)
Tiberium Processing Capacity (1265/1480)
Yellow Zone
Water: Limited Surpluses (+3)
Status of the Parties
(strong support, weak support, weak opposition, strong opposition)
Free Market Party: 125 seats (0; 5; 25; 95)
Market Socialist Party: 329 seats (150; 129; 35; 15)
Militarist: 237 seats (37; 160; 20; 20)
Initiative First: 178 seats (0; 0; 74; 104)
United Yellow List: 72 seats (57; 15; 0; 0)
Starbound Party: 153 seats (73; 80; 0; 0)
Socialist Party: 45 seats (30; 13; 2; 0)
Independents 12 seats
-Biodiversity Party (3 seats: Weak Support)
-Dominion Party (1 seat: Strong Opposition)
-Reclamation Party (5 seats: Weak Support)
-Homeland Party (3 seats: Weak Support)
Developmentalists: 649 seats (349; 210; 90; 0)
Military Confidence
Ground Forces : Decent
Air Force : Decent
Space Force : Decent
Steel Talons: Low
Navy: Low
ZOCOM: High
Plan Goals
Capital Goods: 9 points remaining
Food: 11 (7) points remaining
MARV Fleets: 1 remaining
GDI Income: 15 remaining
Politics
The politics of the Initiative Parliament are ever shifting, and while the Developmentalist party has continued to shake and groan, it has not been splintering as much as some pundits have predicted. At this time, no emergent faction, either left or right, is willing to commit to a break, or splinter off towards another party. While there are certainly some who are likely to move towards other parties, it is likely to come only after the reallocation, and even then, is likely not to be more than one to two hundred seats.
The other parties have, for the most part, stabilized. While the Starbound party has lost much of its steam, it is likely to retain at least a large share of its seats. Without surges in orbital population, however, it is likely to enter a slow death spiral over the next decades. Similarly, the Free Market Party's lack of noticeable results, and the successes of the Market Socialists have meant that ever more people are turning away from the Free Market Party.
Retirements
Director Granger, after seven long years of rebuilding the Initiative, has announced that he plans to retire at the end of the current plan. While he has left the Initiative in a much better place than he found it, there is still much work to be done. While there is not a clear successor, few in Granger's current cabinet or the chiefs of staff are actually interested in the job. Only three of the current staff have chosen to put their hats into the ring.
Secretary of Education - Emelia Litvinov
Emelia Litvinov was born just shy of the chaotic auspices of the First Tiberium War, as one of the first emigres of the quickly deteriorating Russia onto the still pristine French metropole. Having graduated in ENA, she rose up through GDI ranks before finding herself embroiled in one of the tumultuous legal cases to rage within the halls of global institutions before the Third Tiberium War, the infamous 'Qalandar v. Perth'.
The legal case pertains Mehid Qalandar, the son of a then-famed Nod Warlord Samar Qalandar, denied education by the Education Board of Perth due to his family's chequered history. Mehid contended that despite having cut all ties with his father, he is discriminated against for factors of his birth and the sins of fathers, bringing light to several of GDI's ugly policies. In this, Livtinov had taken charge as one of the notable members of the GDI Administration to advocate for Mehid's case. The turning of the world was not kind, however, and the case was settled at a 8-5 result, giving the Education Board clear jurisdiction in the name of security. However, the sour end of the case has resulted in a political shift in the GDI consensus, with Litvinov chief among the bureaucrats levying her connections to improve education curriculum for those unfortunate enough by their birthright to be denied that. This dogged ambition landed her in the seat of Secretary of Education, giving her full support to Doctor Granger for his pursuit of a truly global initiative.
Known Traits:
Political Broker
Supportive of Treasury
Focused on Global Education Initiatives
Not Specifically Trained in Education Management
Secretary of Information - Arthur Hackett
Contrary to the clandestine reputation of the Intelligence Operations, Arthur Hackett is a man who is defined by a series of illustrious credentials. Born just shy before of the fall of the Berlin Wall, he climbed up the tracks of the nascent GDI military, acquitting himself in the aftermath of the First Tiberium War in the MENA theatre against General Hassan as a leader of a Commando Team, enjoying a spot of media fame and staying in field operations well into the chaos of the Second Tiberium War.
[FOR SECRETARY GRANGER'S EYES ONLY] The truth however, is more complicated. In a masterful case study of maskirovka ingenuity, Hackett became a hidden enforcer and hatchetman for General Hassan, who worked with the GDI in order to keep relative peace as Tiberium encroached upon the earth, killing dangerous elements of the Nod who would threaten the equilibrium. This gives Hackett a certain brand of maverick pragmatism, and as he stepped into InOps division shortly before General Hassan's demise and the re-emergence of Kane, he began his part in the secret war against the dreaded Fate Squads in the European theatre, saving numerous administrators and officials as he uses numerous HumInt assets to counter Nod threats.
In the wake of the Third Tiberium War, his celebrity-like credentials — and the gratitude of the bureaucrats he saved, having been mostly spared from the destruction of the
Philadelphia — allowed him his seat as the Secretary of Intelligence. The most notable of his work having been the one to forward the distress signal of the Qatari remnants to Doctor Granger, resulting in their sudden recruitment and massive contributions to the GDI in the war against Tiberium.
Known Traits:
Ruthlessly Pragmatic
Reputed War Hero
Human Intelligence Focus
Secretary of Archives and History - Julian Bennett
Julian Bennett is known, above all else, for the distinction of the youngest Secretary in the GDI Administration. Shy of entering his fourth decade, the Quebecois man became known for his advocacy for cultural preservation as a then-child prodigy during the interwar periods between the Second and Third Tiberium War. Attuned to the studies of culture, Bennett had long lamented the quick death of regional cultures all around the world, fomented by the precipitous drop of mankind to less than two billion souls. Being both gregarious and a talented mnemonist, Bennett spearheaded expeditions all over the world, ranging into Yellow and even Red Zones to archive what few anthropological knowledge. This dogged passion nearly ended his life, however, when Nod forces ambushed him and his expedition within the locales of Malaccan Red Zone. Though the security forces had fended off the ambush, his environment suit had become destroyed with himself injured, exposing him to Tiberium particulates and giving him a slow-onset Tiberium poisoning.
At the urging of the GDI Administration, fearing a PR coup and the instability that heralded the Third Tiberium War, Bennett was forbidden to spearhead the expeditions. Despite this, his passion continued to burn in the backline and with the decapitation strike on the
Philadelphia, he entered the shortlist for the Secretary of Archives and History, leveraging his connections with the Forgotten enclaves to become one of the architects of the Washington Conference.
Known Traits:
Gregarious Diplomat
Possesses Forgotten Ties
Sociological Focus
Contracted Chronic Tiberium Poisoning
Orbital Mines
With the Initiative having broken ground on orbital mining projects, there is significant interest in handling them separately from the normal Tiberium based extraction systems. As a means of encouraging the Treasury to continue investing, the Starbound Party has suggested that it be exempted from typical reallocation procedures, especially as the minerals from space are far less multi-purpose than Tiberium based extraction. While the bill has not passed through parliament quite yet, it is likely to be a fairly popular one, especially with the strength of the Starbound Party and the Developmentalists backing it.
Military
With Brotherhood resistance beginning to stiffen and the approaching reallocation of resources, GDI's military is looking towards moving into a more defensive stance in the coming months, and move resources towards recovery, training, and development. Stocks of many of the consumables have been severely depleted, especially shells and ablat. While there is certainly time for further offensives, winter weather has slowed combats across the north, as have Brotherhood counterattacks like what occurred in the Chicago Planned city.
Brotherhood Of Nod
The Brotherhood have shown few new weapons this quarter. Primarily this has been a series of new biomechanical weapons systems. Not only the Afanc but a series of others, mostly smaller and more agile weapons. Clearly derived from the Marked, but significantly less sophisticated, these biomechanical creatures bear marks that seem to be derived from Sanskrit in many cases, pointing to an origin in India or the Middle East. Otherwise, they have shown a significant increase in technical sophistication. The Centurion has been seen on battlefields around the world, as has the Salamander. The Barghest has continued to become more common, now being seen in full flights on every battlefield and in some cases actually attacking Initiative fighter sweeps in attempts to contest air superiority over the Yellow Zone battlefields.
However, the Brotherhood does seem to be having something of a crisis of faith. While warlords are often very reluctant to put down their weapons, a handful of smaller warlords have surrendered in the past quarter, apparently deciding that a retirement in the Initiative was better than service to another warlord.
The Caravanserai
As a consequence of organizing the Mecca planned city, InOps has discovered the Caravanserai. While chiefly an organization of Arabian Warlords, the Caravanserai has tasked itself with ferrying Hajj pilgrims from all around Nod-controlled or contested areas around the world. Though previously known as a consortium of Warlords invested in the protection of Mecca, the truth– as forged camaraderie and loose lips would spill– is more than that. Though the Meccan Warlords acted as the main, if somewhat fractious, stewards of the Al-Mukarramah, they levy a considerable soft power throughout Nod spaces with varying Nod factions considering them in different light. More than not, however, their importance was considered to be that of the Red Cross in pre-Tiberium years. NOD Warlords often chip in funds and materials for Mecca in various trickles. In exchange, they are given a set quota of pilgrims per year– departing from two corners of the world as two Commanders of the Pilgrims (Umara' Al-Hajj) start their journey from both the western corner of Africa and south-eastern corner of Indonesia for a four-month trip to Mecca and back. They do this in small disparate convoys that take the pilgrims through perilous lands and landscapes, forcing them to take a slow route as the convoy picks up momentum and to ensure that the pilgrims, a great portion among them infirm or sick, are taken care of.
The extent of the Caravanserai's operations, the publicly known ones thus far, have been enlightening. Though what it will mean to the decisions of the GDI leaders remain, for now, uncertain. One thing is certain, however: GDI's attempt to influence the Caravanserai has been noted– and though most NOD Warlords outside of Mecca are liable to take a 'live and let live' attitude so long as their quota systems are kept in place- others will take a forceful stance on it.
Markets
While still effectively limited to the service sector, the markets have begun moving towards capital formation. While never likely to be more than a sliver, if that, of Initiative budgets, there may be production of skills and assets that the Initiative does not in some way pay for.
[ ] Blue Zone Arcologies (Stage 2)
Investing in constructing new arcologies reflects a major and ongoing investment in providing not only liveable environments, but genuinely pleasant ones. These facilities are not just about comfort, however. If needed, these are the hardest structures politically feasible to build in the blue zones, and the most resistant to the spread of Tiberium.
(Progress 35/600: 15 Resources per Die) (++++ Housing, +++ Consumer Goods, -- Energy) (High Priority)
With Arcologies, location is effectively all important. Not only does the ground have to be firm enough to support the massive weight of the building, but it has to be close enough to municipal water networks, primary electrical lines, sewage, and over twenty other factors. The end result is that ground has not yet been broken on any of the potential arcologies this quarter, as it has been entirely taken up by surveys and development work, with most of the proposed locations being rejected for one reason or another. Most notably, other projects have contested many of the sites as they are in some of the best locations for not only arcologies, but also major industrial developments. For example, in the north of Boston, one of the proposed arcology sites intersected with what was intended to be an expansion of the chip fabricator there. Additionally, politics has raised its head once more, as Developmentalists have lobbied to reject a number of locations in Initiative First strongholds. In light of this, a further infusion of funds is required to not only locate good locations, but also break ground.
[ ] Rail Link Reconstruction (Phase 3)
A final phase of reconstructing the rail links, double tracking much of the system, will ensure that the Initiative's rail system can sustain much larger amounts of rolling stock, and can route around damage without major delays.
(Progress 143/300: 15 Resources per die) (+++ Logistics) (high priority)
The Initiative, in the immediate postwar years, cut many corners during the reconstruction of the rail links, especially within the Blue Zones. While the long lines had their place, most of the construction in this case has been focused on these urban and suburban lines. For many of these, a simple reopening was considered "good enough" at the time. However, as travel, and more importantly the food and consumer goods networks have picked up steam, these lines are currently straining under the load.This means that closing the lines is actually a severe problem, as the Initiative does not have enough other means to move supplies in acceptable times at acceptable costs. The Initiative has chosen to bite the bullet and close a series of critically overloaded lines, creating multiple delays across the blue zones. While at this time military resources are not being affected, surging resources to ensure that this is a transitory problem is likely to be critical, as the military lines will need to be closed for work at some point soon.
[ ] Mecca/Jeddah Planned City (Phase 2)
While the initial phase of construction has begun, and the region has at least the pretences of military security, bringing birds from the bush into hand, and expanding reconstruction work into Mecca itself will bring both political and practical benefits.
(Can spend mixed Tiberium and Infrastructure dice, at least 1 die must be Tiberium)
(Progress 375/320: 20 resources per die) (--- Labor) (5 Political Support) (+1 Red Zone Abatement, +1 Yellow Zone Abatement, +60 Processing Capacity)
(Progress 55/640: 20 resources per die) (-- Labor, - Logistics) (10 Political Support) (+2 Red Zone Abatement, +2 Yellow Zone Abatement, +5 RpT, +120 Processing Capacity)
*many results unknown*
GDI's construction work has shifted towards Mecca proper this quarter. With the pipes run, there is now fresh, clean water available for a meaningful population. Continuing the waterworks, the Zamzam Well, one of the holy subsites of the region has been renovated, with a modern water purification system being installed. Similarly, the whole area has been enclosed in a transparent geodesic dome, rated to withstand the worst that sand and ion storms can throw at it.
However, more practically, a coordination center and conference area, slung low in a single story to not dominate the environment, has become a nerve center for the entire project. Not only built to take care of guests from the warlords and welcome visitors, Initiative, Brotherhood, and Independent alike for the Hajj. Around the Kaaba, three broad separations have occurred, with a northern, eastern, and southern split. In the southern arc lies the Initiative's sector, controlling the water supply and the conference area. In the north lies the Brotherhood's. While constructed using Initiative labor, it has since been turned over to a group of regional warlords to operate collectively. In the east lies the smallest of the three sectors, given over to the Independents. While they are far less suspicious of GDI than the Brotherhood, so far the limits of the arrangement are becoming clear, especially when coordinating allocations to ensure that everyone has fair access to the site. As a further measure of good faith, every Friday, in Masjidil Haram, an imam, approved by representatives from every faction in the city, is invited to speak to all Muslims. While the Initiative so far has made sure that it has a plurality, if not an outright majority in the city, it has not been a problem as neither of the other sides have put forward one of the radicals who would attempt to use it as a pulpit to call for war on one of the factions.
One of the problems has been finding and moving enough Muslims to operate the site. While Jeddah could be conducted using standard mixed Initiative work crews, going back before the formation of Saudi Arabia, non-Muslims were banned from the city, and the Initiative has tried to respect that. However, doing so has required finding qualified individuals from across the Initiative and forming them into new teams. While it has led to a number of incidents of miscommunication, that is a small price to pay in an as culturally sensitive region such as this.
'We were not allowed in the City proper, but then– we hadn't expected that. The people here are proud and kept to their traditions. They had to be, to be willing to toil the arid lands in hardship with work gear unsuited to a land that is at the precipice of the Red Zone. They say that some here are descendants of the tribesmen who had followed the Prophet to establish Islam here.
Not that it can be proven conclusively anymore. Far too much has been lost for these people, who stayed behind– be it from their own volition or otherwise. But they have not lost all, nor did it mean they did not gain anything. Before this posting, I was prepared to skirmish with the NOD Militias, or defuse altercations between them and the neutrals. But none such outcomes made themselves manifest. They called this place, this pocket of truce, 'Darussalam'
. I thought it a fancy– propaganda as much as it is an attempt at keeping an ideal. But no. It doesn't matter the insignia emblazoned on our outfit. Eagle or Scorpion or, as the Neutrals would have it, a waxing crescent in white, the purpose is the same.
To keep the peace. And in that, we
have succeeded. ...Enough perhaps, to make a cynic feel something else.
– Letter excerpt from Staff Sergeant Petraeus Simanjuntak
[ ] Synchronized Cycle Fusion Plants
The next wave of fusion hardware is a series of synchronized cycle plants. Running either four or six fusion reactors in a synchronized cycle is a serious developmental step towards producing clean, universal power solutions, ones that will provide energy for the Initiative for decades to come.
(Progress 314/350: 20 Resources per Die) (++++ Energy) (High Priority)
Work has continued on the prototype fusion plants, with testing having been planned for completion this quarter. However, first wave initiation tests have shown that the reactors as built have two notable flaws. First, the safety bypasses are too easy to engage, potentially leading to the plasma vents not opening in an emergency shutdown. More critical is that the reactors during the testing cycle actually melted a number of secondary and tertiary components. This has required the entire program to go through and double-check the installation, finding that one of the technical drawings had mislabeled the orientation of the parts, which had been added since the peaker plant design. None of the problems so far have been particularly difficult fixes, mostly a combination of problems in the installations, miscommunications, and general workplace safety oversights. Fixing these has taken most of the quarter. A further infusion of funding will be required to finish the construction and testing efforts.
[ ] North Boston Chip Fabricator (Phase 4)
A Fourth stage of North Boston will be substantially more costly than the previous three stages combined. A massive new complex adjacent to the existing one will produce even more chips, and even more dedicated computing hardware, ranging from single integrated systems for extreme miniaturization, to single purpose microcontrollers and multicore processors. While expensive, this will bring with it a substantial surplus in some forms of capital goods, allowing for substantial investments in future projects.
(Progress 340/1200: 15 resources per die) ( +++++ Capital Goods ++++ Consumer Goods -- Labor --- Energy)
A new surge of heavy-duty construction drones have been allocated to the construction of the North Boston complex. Work has primarily been aimed towards the construction of a massive wave of new buildings. While the Initiative certainly has many other chip fabricators of this scale, the North Boston complex is nearing the complexity of pre-war fabricators.
Beyond the buildings themselves, a backlog of orders has been placed around the world, for everything from lights and air scrubbers to vacuum chambers and robotic assembly arms. However, so far the delivery estimates are highly variable, and production schedules at this point mean that the complex will need two to three years to receive the full allocation of supplies.
[ ] Superconductor Foundries
GDI has methods of producing standard temperature and pressure superconductors, and makes substantial use of them, for example in the Guardian APC. However, it is not typically used in infrastructure products, due to the widespread use of silver in the wiring systems and the expense of production. Building additional manufacturing capacity should allow it to be used more broadly, and increase energy efficiency in critical areas.
(Progress 171/200: 30 resources per die) (++ Capital Goods, +++ Energy) (High Priority)
Nearly any material is at least somewhat resistant to the flow of electricity. Even the silver/copper alloys that GDI uses across its electrical systems are somewhat resistant. This results in a recursive loss system, as the material heats up, reducing its ability to carry a current. Superconductors are a countermeasure to that. When chilled below a certain temperature, they expel magnetic fields and resistance drops to zero. GDI's standard units are able to do this at 288 K (15 °C). While this does require active cooling, especially in the field, it is a far cry from the very earliest superconductors. First discovered in 1911 by Heike Onnes, the first superconductor was solid mercury, cooled all the way down to 4.2 kKelvin using liquid hydrogen. Before Tiberium, the best available was a nitrogen cooled ceramic of mercury, barium, calcium, copper and oxygen, which exhibited superconductivity at ranges of 133-138 degrees kelvin. Since then however, the easy availability of highly complex chemical structures has made it possible to test millions of combinations, pushing technology forward significantly.
[ ] Johannesburg Myomer Macrospinner (Phase 3)
With initial production already starting, the macrospinner needs to be severely scaled up in the coming quarters, as current production is far from enough for any serious attempt to use myomers across the broad swathes of Initiative industrial and military needs.
(Progress 325/360: 20 resources per die) (++ Capital Goods, + Energy) (Reduces cost of mech projects) (High Priority)
This quarter, Johannesburg had a major infection scare. A local science teacher, Jaan Jolidee Makhubo, had begun a series of demonstrations on the process of creating myomer for the children at his local school, beginning with culturing the fungus necessary. However, in late October, all his cultures began to show signs of contamination with a grey mold and he called the factory to ask if they had experienced such a problem. While they had not, the warning was enough to require a massive and thorough sweep of not only the growth media production facilities but also the intermediate steps before the fungus is sealed in. So far, while Makhubo had followed all decontamination steps to the best of his ability, it seems like something slipped through. However, if the Brotherhood can poison or infect the bundles, it could well be the end of Initiative use of the material.
Beyond the inherent delays with double-checking the materials, the ropeworks have been erected but not yet fully calibrated. Especially with the longer ropeworks, it is not simply a matter of reusing the same settings, but a careful process of dialing in, getting right to the edges of the material's tolerances, in order to maximize production speed and minimise wastage.
[ ] Entari Deployment
With Entari ready to deploy, an investment into expanding seed crop production, and a beginning of rollouts across GDI's agricultural system. While this will require some modification to the bays, and some improvements in the water systems, it will also increase the efficiency of the food system as a whole.
(progress 228/200: 20 resources per die) (++++ Food, Increases efficiency of agriculture systems)
This quarter, Entari has begun making its way onto shelves and into pantries. Combined with a large-scale marketing campaign, the fruit has been met with general incomprehension, but a distinct willingness to experiment. While the Initiative had published an array of articles on how to properly cook it, the forums are abuzz with more experimental recipes.
However, outside the world of people interested in new and exciting food, consumption has been low, and is likely to remain that way for some time, until it is more thoroughly integrated into the Initiative's food supply, especially in the bulk food preparation that characterizes on average two thirds of daily consumption.
Entari and How to Cook It: The new recipes thread.
C.Proto
So Entari. I am starting with the savory version. Grilled Entari with fungus gravy.
To make
- 1 Package fungus bar.
- 500 grams fresh unripened entari
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small onion
- Flour
- Oil
- Chicken stock or chicken bouillon
Start by combining the flour and oil over heat to make a golden roux. Finely grate the fungus bar, and add it to the roux and fry for one to two minutes. Grate in onion and garlic. For the entari, take out another pan and some more oil. Sear over high heat for two to three minutes on each side, flipping occasionally. At the same time, add the chicken stock, stirring vigorously until combined in the gravy. Then transfer the entari into the gravy, and simmer for one minute. Serve over any side you want.
I found it to be quite good, a bit salty, but at the same time a big flavor punch.
CrystalWizard
No need to be so complicated. Just cut the unripe entari into thin rings and roast them with a little oil at high temperatures on both sides, add some salt and you are done. Add to rice or potatoes as needed, might experiment a little with ripe entari next.
Born2Mine
Had some raw when it's ripe with some salt on it, flavors strong enough on its own without it so the salt is really not needed. Grilled while ripe it comes out lovely. Tried simmering it out on hitch in a protein shake we get given out in the field with a hot plate. I regret things.
FrenchLaundress
Here are some concepts I want to try out. I haven't gotten to test all of them though.
-Entari Ceviche: Dress unripe Entari pieces with a sour dressing made from the mature fruit and citrus, spiced with chili peppers.
-Entariage: Take unripened Entari cut into 1 cm thick cutlets and bread with egg and panko, then fry it until golden brown.
-Entari PB&J: I hear it has seeds? I haven't seen them in the market, but I have hopes that they can be processed like peanuts, almonds or cashews. I've already started making jams from the mature fruit, it's high sugar content makes that part easy.
Akira Oda (Office of the Vice Secretary, Treasury)
Entari has become something of a staple in the Treasury canteen in Manchester thanks to all the people who keep on supporting this as well as being the guinea pigs for this new crop. Not all that bad and now the chefs here are collating for new recipes so hope this is all good our meals are on the line. Also Agri has to suffer our pain too since they gave us the budget request.
I've been hearing they're also station food now. I hope they like it up there.
KryptosAdept
Has anyone here tried using raw Entari as a meat substitute for Poke bowls? I have and it works out pretty well. The biggest attraction of using Entari is that you don't need to store it like normal meat or take the same precautions thanks to the fact that Entari is actually a fruit.
KropotkinsGhost
I'm still absolutely amazed that a fruit tastes like chicken. You know that used to be a giant joke before tiberium that everything tastes like chicken. But now my fruit actually tastes like it and I just have to stand up and applaud the scientists in the GDI everytime I eat some of it.
AgathaH
I've tried the ripe entari in a salad, and that went pretty well. I have a friend who says she's trying to make kimchi with it, sliced slightly thicker than she would for a radish… I am dubious.
[ ] Large Strategic Food Stockpile
With a major allocation towards increasing food stockpiles and forward deploying caches of long-lasting food, GDI can ensure that even in the case of major disruptions in the food supplies people can eat for months.
(+++ Food Stockpile -- Food)
With the expansion of the food stockpiles, GDI has restarted Project Citadel. A series of major caches intended to be the final hardpoints of the Initiative, they were stripped bare during the war as refugees and soldiers needed feeding. While in the immediate postwar years, the military reconsidered the Citadel project, due to the Brotherhood actually overrunning some of the North American fortresses, it has come back around to the program, especially now as the Initiative has significant strategic depth, and is actually in the process of taking more territory. While so far only the food has been stockpiled, over the coming years, the military will begin supplying the bases with equipment.
[ ] Tiberium Inhibitor Development
The Scrin, during their invasion, deployed a number of Tiberium Growth Accelerators. By constructing a version of the hardware essentially running in reverse, the Initiative can slow the growth of Tiberium in a relatively small area. While not able to stop the growth of Tiberium, it should provide a significant boost in overall abatement potential.
(Progress 116/60: 30 resources per die)
The Tiberium Inhibitors have proven to be a relatively simple development process, iterating backwards from captured Scrin hardware, replacing piece by piece with human manufactured technologies. However, the technologies are still poorly understood and distinctly alien. Jacketed by an outwardly ordinary casing, but constructed using alloys of transuranic materials, the core resonator elements of an inhibitor node convert extravagant amounts of energy into harmonic pulses that are subsequently channelled along subsurface veins and above ground glaciers of a contiguous mass of Tiberium, retarding its growth and spread. The origins of this technology are being kept quiet, due to sensationalist rumors that still-active accelerators have been driving the expansion of global Tiberium. Field tests have suggested that siting is critical, as effects appear to be a fixed percentage, regardless of the size of the contiguous mass.
One of the key challenges has been the development of stable Transuranic materials. With this, one of the keystones of Scrin technology, alongside gravitic manipulation, has been uncovered. While the door is not yet cracked open, especially as manufacturing of this technology requires APK or APK derived processes in order to make such materials in the required quantities.
This has resulted in a unit that can be emplaced on a Tiberium outcropping on the surface. Once there, it will slow growth on the entire network by a small but noticeable amount. The current development model can slow growth by some ten to fifteen percent in a localized network. While they can be relatively easily deployed across the Blue Zones, their use across the rest of the world will rely on the MARV hubs, as those are some of the only sufficiently developed locations that can support the energy requirements of the Inhibitor networks.
[ ] Yellow Zone Tiberium Harvesting (Phase 5)
With the Initiative on the attack, and beginning to push heavily into NOD territory, harvesting operations must continue. While it will become increasingly expensive, this is a small price to pay for seriously pressuring the Brotherhood.
(Progress 226/350: 20 resources per die) (small additional income trickle [5-10 Resources]) (3 points of Yellow Zone Mitigation) (High Priority)
Around the world, the Brotherhood has found itself compelled to give battle again and again this quarter. While in some places they have found tactical victories, they found themselves pushed back, and hundred of thousands of square kilometers have been secured by the initiative. While shellfire remains a major shortage, it has been more than sufficient to dislodge Nod. Similarly, Ablat has been consumed at a prodigious rate, with roughly two thirds of commands reporting 100 percent consumption close to the end of the quarter. However, despite the problems, it is a significant victory for the Initiative, and while the Blue Zones may be small, it has reached its highest point in terms of land area controlled since the formation of the zone system.
Despite military victories, the actual harvesting effort has lagged behind for a multitude of reasons. First and foremost has been the Brotherhood engaging in nearly round the clock stealth bomber raids on their positions. Second is that nearly every warlord, to one extent or another, has been systematically destroying what Tiberium spikes remain, meaning that redevelopment has been slow and painstaking. Beyond that, the infrastructure in the region is in ruins. With the millions of tons of supplies needing to be shipped across it, the development crews often had to be passed over to ensure that shells, fuel and food made its way to the front.
At this point, Green Zone has gone from being a joke to an actually significant part of the earth's surface. When the zone system was established, it was a term of contamination, not political lines. However, by the late 2030s, it had become a separation. Blue Zones were GDI, Yellow Nod. With large areas of the Yellow Zones now under GDI control, a proposal to officially separate green and yellow zones has been put forward in Parliament. While it is still under consideration, all signs point towards passage in the coming months, both as a further thumb in the eye of the Initiative First party, and an attempt to reduce what discrimination exists against Yellow Zones in the Initiative.
[ ] Gravitic Drive Development
The Scrin gravitic drives have proven to be particularly interesting. Rather than being reaction drives, keyed off of mass, they seem to be volumetric and geometric, with the positions of drive nodes being the critical factor. However, they have reached a point where a development push is required to bring them to being something of science fact, rather than science fiction
(Progress 94/60: 30 resources per die)
After a series of failed tests, GDI has finally managed a first successful flight using a gravitic drive system. The probe, looking somewhat like a spike bulged at each end, made a first independent orbital transfer between the Philadelphia and the Enterprise, and returned. From there, further testing has been pushing the envelope. Jaunts as far as the L2 and L5 LaGrange points have proven that the system actually works reliably and can maneuver under constant acceleration. Closer in, they have been testing the effects of the gravitic fields on remaining space junk, using clouds of particulate to trace the edges and curvature of the field.
As a shorthand for the volumetric displacements, the crews working on the design have standardized on the displacement ton as a unit of measurement. The volume of a ton of liquid hydrogen, or 14.3 cubic meters, is a useful baseline, especially as the fuel for the whole system is the hydrogen.
The next step is to scale up the design. Work has already begun on sketching out GDIS Pathfinder. Very similar to the existing drone model, only built to be 300 dtons instead of the sub 100 dton drone system. Three hundred is considered to be the minimum for a usable amount of cargo, especially for the long range transits where the gravitic drives show their greatest advantage.
[ ] Lunar Regolith Harvesting (Phase 1)
The Silicate compounds in the Moon's crust contain extractable levels of iron, titanium, and aluminum, making them incredibly useful as a source of bulk materials. While processing will require massive amounts of energy in some cases, it is also a useful beginning point for developing the solar system.
(Progress 83/350: 30 resources per die) (+15 Resources per turn) (Fusion)
While the process of regolith mining is going to be entirely automated in terms of the hard work, it will require a small number of people to be actually on the moon. Primarily they will be operating in a supervisory role, and serving as on-site troubleshooters. This will be for two primary reasons. First, while the moon is only two light seconds away, that is significant in terms of remote operation. Second, robots designed for lunar conditions are themselves very new, and are certainly not without fault.
Utilizing the SCED's work on lunar habitation, the first wave of settlements will be a series of sealed fabric inflatable shelters within a metal shell that is then covered in regolith. While far from a perfect design, the pattern will be typically good enough until an improved and more permanent version can be built. The actual processing areas however will be completely unpressurised, and worked by a series of wheeled robots.
Currently, all construction work has been on Earth. A construction line for the robots has broken ground in Philadelphia, while in Leeds, efforts have begun to manufacture enough of the fabric, metal foils, and sheeting to construct the facilities and supply enough material for the inevitable patches and repairs.
[ ] Mental Healthcare Training Programs
Despite trauma being a near universal constant in GDI's population, mental healthcare has often been a secondary priority in a world where Tiberium, violence, disaster and disease have run rampant. However, with GDI's stabilizing situation, moving resources from these primary sectors to improving the general mental health of the population is a necessity, as caring for trauma is something that requires a skilled hand at the best of times.
(Progress 91/200: 10 resources per die)
The most critical problem in setting up the training programs has actually been finding enough people with mental health qualifications. The field has been typically one of the first "non-luxury" areas to face budget cuts and reallocations whenever GDI has run into problems supplying the medical system as a whole. When the already underfunded and overstressed late 20th century mental health system then had nearly fifty years of chronic neglect, it is no surprise that there is a short supply of doctors who are both qualified and can teach the subject well.
While it has not been a constant stream of doom and gloom, especially during the brighter moments, many have either died or gone into retirement.The project has begun attempting to bring them out of retirement in the hopes of using them to bolster the teaching staff.
[ ] Long Range Sensor System Deployment (phase 1)
With the first wave of long range sensor systems prepared, it remains to refit them across the Initiative's fleet. With mobile assets receiving priority, the Initiative needs as many of these as it can get, as soon as possible.
(Progress 171/200: 25 Resources per die) (Very High Priority)
Work on the Long Range Sensor System began with a series of refits. Existing factories with skilled workforces already produce an array of sensor systems, many of which can be converted either wholesale and simply switching over the programming, or making small changes in the manufacturing process. With much of the work done in the last quarter, the lines are not quite yet restarted. A key problem in this is ensuring calibrations are correct. With each sensor, they have to be precisely calibrated, and critically, the spectrums that the new models specifically look for are marginally smaller than the tolerances that the sensors had previously been built and tested to.
Current plans are to work through existing stockpiles of sensor systems and build up a stockpile of the new devices. While there will not be enough of them to make more than a tactical difference in all likelihood, a rapid surge in capabilities should allow the Initiative to win a series of tactical and operational victories before Brotherhood stealth development can get off the ground in any serious manner, and many more before they can roll out a countermeasure. While this is not going to apply to all of the Initiative's uses, primarily headed towards front line offensive forces, it will at least ensure that they are well protected. However, before that can occur, more funding is required for a series of tests on the existing plants.
[ ] Reclamator Fleet RZ-7 North
Wth the hub completed, there are two good options for the fleet.
-[ ] Super MARVs
An improved model, conceptualized after examining the destruction of MARVS before and during the Third Tiberium War, the Super MARV is substantially more expensive, but offers equally improved rewards
(progress 167/210: 20 resources per die) (3 Points Red Zone Mitigation, 25 RpT)
This quarter, the cargo ships intended for the Chicago MARV fleet were pre-empted by military supply convoys as the battle of Chicago had nearly exhausted available supplies, and reconstruction efforts required nearly all hands on deck due to a number of effectively unharried Vertigo squadrons getting through the defensive perimeter and conducting strikes on the planned city.
The air battle was a confusion of stealthed and unstealthed aircraft. Barghests, Armageddons, Venoms, and Vertigos all made appearances. Without the Quick Manuver missiles, the existing squadrons of Firehawks and Apollos had their hands full attempting to conduct their own operations, and were unable to catch all the leakers.
Even so, some small amounts of progress have been made towards the completion of the MARV fleet. They have managed to install nearly half of the missile systems. However, with the emergency re-routing much of the supplies and funding, a further infusion is required for any further work towards the MARV fleet to be undertaken.
[ ] Remote Weapons System Deployment Predator
With the new laser point defense system, GDI's ground forces are out of patience. Survivability upgrades for the Predator tank are no longer a matter of convenience, but a matter of necessity. While likely one of the last major block upgrades the Predator will see over the course of its life cycle, that does not make it particularly less vital, especially as the Predator will likely serve until at least the mid 2070s in second and third line roles.
(Progress 151/350: 10 Resources Per die) (-5 Political Support every quarter progress is not made on this project)
The long delayed remote weapons system has finally begun making progress towards field use. While most of the components on the system are already in production and only need to be reallocated, one of the exceptions has been the lasing rods and the housings.
These have a significant number of problems. First, they are notably fragile, meaning that the housing needs to be stabilized and isolated from the motion of the vehicle. Second, they need to be cooled, requiring bulky systems, even with the advances undertaken to make cooling more efficient. Third and finally, they have to be very accurate, as the beam is only a millimeter across and has to intersect the missile. Combined, these incur severe costs, especially on a mount as high as the one currently being built, which can rock significantly, even when crossing level ground, let alone when maneuvering over terrain.
Current production methods require growing the crystals, a slow process that can take weeks to complete a single unit. Flaws and imperfections can require as much as two thirds of any given batch be discarded, pushing up the costs substantially. From there, they are set into a graphene frame with coolant ports, and sealed in their package. For current laser systems, this is not a user serviceable part, beyond cleaning of the exposed crystal section at the tip of the laser.
While the Brotherhood typically has used red lasers, due to their ease of manufacture, GDI has chosen a blue/green color for its crystal beam lasers, one more way to reduce friendly fire.
[ ] Governor Class Cruiser Shipyards
Rebuilding some of GDI's battleship docks into half sized cruiser sections will save on resources, however they will require major investments in capital goods. These yards will take some significant time to begin major developments however, with a cruiser taking months to construct, and longer to fit out for service. (Very High Priority)
- [ ] Vladivostok (Progress 243/200: 20 resources per die) (- Capital Goods, -- Energy, - Labor) (nat 100)
In Vladivostok, the Treasury had surged resources and construction teams towards the shipyard. After six months of no shipyards being completed, a gap in work ups had begun to emerge, where the Initiative will have a notable drop in cruiser availability. However, between the two shipyards completed this quarter, that drop will be a momentary blip compared to the rapid outflow of ships that will come afterward. With half the program having finished initial construction, the Initiative will be able to have fifteen cruisers patrolling the seaways at any given time. However, this will be in some years time, as the cruisers will still need to be actually completed and worked up.
The yard has also been the site of a major breakthrough in shipbuilding technology. Testing a new cable laying robot from the New Moscow Robotics facility, they found that it was significantly faster and more efficient than the older designs. With any modern naval ship, tens of kilometers of wiring is a bare minimum, between needing to supply power to all of the rooms, life support, sensors, and a thousand other needs. Typically, this needs to be done in a labor-intensive process, feeding it along a series of maintenance tubes and the corridors of the ship. With the new units, it is fast and simple, with swarms of small robots covering the ship to install the circuitry.
- [ ] Durban (Progress 200/200: 20 resources per die) (- Capital Goods, -- Energy, - Labor)
While work in Vladivostok surged ahead this quarter, Durban has been plagued by chronic inefficiency, mismanagement, and paranoia. The leader of the operation, Simon Havershal, had been shaken by Brotherhood attacks and insisted on not only excessive security detachments, but also the construction of a series of bunker complexes across the projects he was responsible for. While a project lead usually has broad authority in light of the often-changing situation on the ground, Havershal's actions were directly inhibiting work efficiency, so he was removed from the position and an emergency project coordinator was rushed to replace him. Under new leadership, the project was refocused and by the end of the quarter, had reached an initial operational state. Although there is still more work to be done across the Durban facilities, full funding has been allocated and all that remains can be done under more local authority.
[ ] Security Reviews
GDI has often faced problems with infiltration by the Brotherhood of Nod. A full security review of one department of operations can mitigate or discover infiltration, however it will take a significant amount of effort. (DC 55 + 1 operations die) (Infrastructure) (180)
Partly in a bid to secure evermore clout and attempt to salvage some reputational loss from the failure to intercept the attack on Chicago, Hackett directed the attention of the InOps inward. Here, aided with meticulous record keeping and the full suite of surveillance systems, they found that the Infrastructure Department had been breached in key pockets. While areas deemed high priority like Chicago or Johannesburg remained clean due to institutional paranoia, developments in far-flung areas of GDI's control such as the Penzhin Bay Tidal Plants and the dotted townships claimed in the push against NOD proved the opposite. Several of the newly added citizenry of the GDI had been accustomed to the realities of the world outside of it, with opportunistic attempts to accrue some form of compensation on the side. They have talked to people who've been marked as active NOD infiltrators, revealing potential weak points and their locations. While the task of clearing them out would've been simple, being expedient and burning the Department in a purge would serve no one but NOD, especially with punishment intents that are not inherently punitive. So the purge is a slow burn one, aiming to contain and replace.
[ ] Security Reviews
GDI has often faced problems with infiltration by the Brotherhood of Nod. A full security review of one department of operations can mitigate or discover infiltration, however it will take a significant amount of effort. (DC 55 + 1 operations die) (Agriculture) (109)
In contrast, Investigations into the agriculture department have found effectively no problems in the grouping. While the department has often been a source of corruption, it has apparently cleaned up its act. Part seems to have been a result of the Initiative beginning to supply plentiful goods, pushing grey market prices down, and in some parts of the Initiative the grey market in food has died out entirely as there are simply no profits to be made. Outside of the market for food however, there is still a distinct grey market across much of the world. Primarily, at this point, this seems to be a trade in older goods, items like car parts, and similar products that the Initiative has not restarted production of.
