Bedlam Society

The Bedlam Society is a bizarre and mysterious organization believed to be as old as the Zetylian race itself, if not older. It has followed their species well into the First Cluster War and beyond, becoming an integral part of the Coalition of Intelligent Organisms and its complex governing system.

History
The origins of the Bedlam Society are a mystery, even to the most prestigious Zetylians of the old Zetylian Hegemony. It has been hypothesized that it started out as an extension of the Hegemony's primary government, formed by several powerful political figures to act as a sort of "backup government" that could keep the Zetylians safe in the event of an emergency. When the primary Hegemony government was caught up in the First Cluster War, the Society is believed to have been silently preserving Zetylian history and technology, suspecting that the ongoing war would leave their civilization in a state of disrepair that they could never recover from without extensive amounts of archived knowledge. Unlike the primary Hegemony government (and, more or less, the rest of the Hegemony itself) the Bedlam Society never lost much of its power or influence as the war progressed. It managed to create deep, lasting connections with the entire Zetylian population that outlived even the Hegemony itself. This was evident even hundreds of thousands of years afterward when the Coalition discovered small pockets of surviving Zetylians on distant planets, who, though they had regressed extensively, still recognized the Bedlam Society's characteristic insignia and its importance.

After the war was unofficially concluded, the Bedlam Society found its new home among the Humans who were inhabiting Earth. Using advanced Zetylian technology they had held onto, the few Zetylians that were still maintaining the Society disguised themselves as Humans to infiltrate terrestrial governments throughout the ages. The Human race remained largely ignorant about the Bedlam Society and their actions during their recorded history on Earth, and though speculation arose (particularly during the 21st and 22nd centuries) about the existence of a hypothetical "New World Order," no definitive proof ever emerged thanks to the Society's careful manipulation of world politics, allowing them to stay in the dark and continue pursuing their goals. The Bedlam Society was very successful in manipulating the Human race to suit their interests, pushing them to start the Upheaval Conflict near the beginning of the 22nd century so they would achieve spaceflight. The Bedlam Society helped coordinate diplomacy with the Vecuuri, as well, effectively becoming the catalyst that created the Coalition of Intelligent Organisms.

The Bedlam Society existed alongside the Coalition for its entire history, guiding its actions just as it had done for the old nation-states of the Human race. Near the end of the First Coalition Golden Age, the Bedlam Society used its influence over two major organizations, KONAR and the Ardent Sliver private military, to form the Blue Hand, a privately funded and privately owned espionage force that the Society controlled every aspect of. The Blue Hand helped the Bedlam Society keep their control even during the Coalition's frequent periods of expansion, acting as their eyes and ears. Since they were responsible for directly dealing with the upper levels of the Coalition government, many powerful Coalition citizens knew of the existence of the Blue Hand, though their exact motivations and connections to the Bedlam Society were kept hidden. The general Coalition public, of course, never knew of their existence. With the help of the Blue Hand, the Bedlam Society swayed the decision making of countless Coalition politicians, making them responsible for several major (and often controversial) decisions over the course of Coalition history.

When the Galactic Assembly was destroyed in the Second Vuokra Invasion (and the Coalition along with it), the state of the Bedlam Society became even more obscure. It is commonly accepted that it managed to persist through the short but brutal war, but whatever power it had was severely diminished. If the Society really was continuing to guide the actions of the few survivor groups, it was only in very small amounts, barely enough to matter. At this point, the Society had mostly lost all of their power, but the fact that they had survived this long was an achievement all on its own.

Structure
Like all of its other aspects, the way the Bedlam Society is structured and how it operates has always remained a mystery. Its members are selected through heredity, so only the child of a member of the Bedlam Society may become a member themselves (outside of some very specific circumstances). They are led by a central figure known as the Prime Hegemon, a member of the old Zetylian government that is suspected to be immortal. The Prime Hegemon coordinates all actions between members of the Bedlam Society, hosting meetings and managing the extremely advanced Zetylian technology the Society uses to gain and keep control. Most of the time, members of the Society blend in among the populations they are trying to control, silently relaying information back to the Prime Hegemon that they can use to increase their power. The Bedlam Society has practically unlimited resources since it has always controlled the economies of any civilizations it has had influence over.

Since the Bedlam Society has existed for so long, it has always maintained a very large amount of members, which it inevitably spread out across all of The Cluster after it drove humanity off of Earth and into space. As the technology of its puppet nations increased, the Society became larger and more powerful, establishing connections with major corporations and governing bodies to keep up with its expanding sphere of influence. Bedlam Society members can easily identify each other by reciting a special phrase in ancient Zetylic, a language they are the only speakers of following the death of the Zetylian Hegemony.

Major Actions

 * Exiling Seveem Anvuo from the Zetylian Hegemony.
 * Coveting the data collected from the Ouroboros Mainframe
 * Instigating the First Cluster War
 * Instigating the Upheaval Conflict
 * Encouraging the production of the first interstellar Human exploration vessel
 * Making the Coalition side with the Scientific Republic of Sylux during the Zoxian-Syluxian War
 * Coveting The Last Avatar
 * Coveting the Lapidus Weapon Templates
 * Encouraging the production (and launch) of the Upsurge Prototype
 * Encouraging the production (and launch) of the Spartacus Prototype
 * Covering up information concerning Myren, Nevermind and Castleform
 * Instigating the Second Cluster War
 * Initiating Project DEEPBLUE