In an alternate universe far from here lies an Earth much like our own. In this universe the existence of super powers is a fact of life. On this Earth the myths and legends of ancient times such as the Egyptian, Greco-Roman and Norse gods are based on true stories of Humans with special abilities and skills. Historical events in this world have gone more or less the same path as they have in our world with a few alterations. Up until the First World War supernormals were few and far between.
After the First World War a variety of programs were started by several of the world's nations to try to increase the number of individuals with super powers in each country. Breeding was encouraged and even rewarded in those with special abilities. Individuals with special gifts in biology were recruited to crack DNA in order to put together new breeds of humans with animal abilities or simply to create clones of existing supernormals. Of course all of these clones and transgenic hybrids were babies. So it was many years before they would grow up.
Because of this intentional interbreeding and genetic manipulation the number of supernormals in modern times is quite high. one out of a hundred in the Human population of Earth have some aspect that could be considered extraordinary compared to Human beings in the real world. Most of the time these aspects are simple such as keen hearing, blue hair or having no ears lobes. However, around one in a thousand in the population have what might be considered super powers and one in ten thousand have truly strong game changing abilities such as strong psychokinesis, super strength or speed.
Some individuals have access to overtechnology. That is technology above an beyond the regular everyday stuff that's available to the public. Generally this is because of supernormals with incredible intelligence using their abilities to design items that are far too advanced for their time. This can take a variety of forms. Some specialize in things like LASERS, Force-fields and Holograms, some in Cybernetics repairs and upgrades, some in Artificial Intelligence and some in Artificial Gravity and Wormholes. It really depends on the individual what sort of wonders they can produce. Overtechnology tends to become extremely unstable when not directly supervised by the one who made it.
Humans are not the only sentient beings in this world. There exists a minority of self aware artificial intelligences as well as a variety of altered Humans. The most common types of altered Humans are the animal transgenic hybrids and cybernetic Humans. There are also afflicted Humans; doppelgangers, vampires, werewolves and mindless zombies which have been around for centuries.
Men and women of every race fighting side by side in the largest war ever known did a lot for equality among the allied countries, Unfortunately it had the unintended side-effect of creating a new prejudice du-jour; supernormal superiority. After World War II the earth was left with a multitude of supernormals with no more war to fight. So they began to turn their abilities to other areas. Business, crime, or law enforcement. Once the super-villain and super-hero trend got started battles in public became common-place. With all these extraordinary people causing untold collateral damage to people and property the common folk wanted a solution. They demanded the relaxation of the restrictions on guns and other weapons so that they could defend themselves. The United States Government eventually relented. Between the pressures of the cold war and the wording of the constitution it felt almost inevitable.
At the end of the Cold War in the 1990s the Department of Supernormal Enforcement (AKA the DSE) was formed from the remains of top secret organizations and became an official government agency. The DSE was put in charge of the confidential registry of individuals with supernormal abilities. (The names in the registry are what is secret not the existence of the registry.) Anyone committing a crime with dangerous supernormal abilities is registered in the same way that fingerprints are taken. You can also register voluntarily if you so desire. The DSE also makes a point of hiring supernormal agents to deal with supernormal criminals.
In the 1840s an eclectic group of investigators were put together by the British crown to officially pursue extraordinary matters. This Ministry of the Extraordinary was populated by a wide variety of extraordinary individuals from all around the British empire and later the United Kingdom. In times of war the Ministry was charged with supplying the royal military with extraordinary soldiers. In the 1990s Parliament decided to adopt the same policy in the United Kingdom as was being used in the United States. The Primary differences being that those licensed with the Ministry do not pay for their damage and medical insurance but it is instead paid for by taxes as good faith for the work done on behalf of the nation. This difference is often debated.
There are of course many who resent the registry and choose to keep their identity a secret in order to perform vigilante actions without being entered into a registry. This is considered illegal vigilantism but the DSE and the Ministry of the Extraordinary are prone to ignore these offenders unless they become a major problem. There is an organization known as the League of Masks who help provide a support network for these illegal vigilantes. They also provide lawyers if they get caught. Masks who are not members of the League rarely last long.
After the First World War a variety of programs were started by several of the world's nations to try to increase the number of individuals with super powers in each country. Breeding was encouraged and even rewarded in those with special abilities. Individuals with special gifts in biology were recruited to crack DNA in order to put together new breeds of humans with animal abilities or simply to create clones of existing supernormals. Of course all of these clones and transgenic hybrids were babies. So it was many years before they would grow up.
Because of this intentional interbreeding and genetic manipulation the number of supernormals in modern times is quite high. one out of a hundred in the Human population of Earth have some aspect that could be considered extraordinary compared to Human beings in the real world. Most of the time these aspects are simple such as keen hearing, blue hair or having no ears lobes. However, around one in a thousand in the population have what might be considered super powers and one in ten thousand have truly strong game changing abilities such as strong psychokinesis, super strength or speed.
Some individuals have access to overtechnology. That is technology above an beyond the regular everyday stuff that's available to the public. Generally this is because of supernormals with incredible intelligence using their abilities to design items that are far too advanced for their time. This can take a variety of forms. Some specialize in things like LASERS, Force-fields and Holograms, some in Cybernetics repairs and upgrades, some in Artificial Intelligence and some in Artificial Gravity and Wormholes. It really depends on the individual what sort of wonders they can produce. Overtechnology tends to become extremely unstable when not directly supervised by the one who made it.
Humans are not the only sentient beings in this world. There exists a minority of self aware artificial intelligences as well as a variety of altered Humans. The most common types of altered Humans are the animal transgenic hybrids and cybernetic Humans. There are also afflicted Humans; doppelgangers, vampires, werewolves and mindless zombies which have been around for centuries.
Men and women of every race fighting side by side in the largest war ever known did a lot for equality among the allied countries, Unfortunately it had the unintended side-effect of creating a new prejudice du-jour; supernormal superiority. After World War II the earth was left with a multitude of supernormals with no more war to fight. So they began to turn their abilities to other areas. Business, crime, or law enforcement. Once the super-villain and super-hero trend got started battles in public became common-place. With all these extraordinary people causing untold collateral damage to people and property the common folk wanted a solution. They demanded the relaxation of the restrictions on guns and other weapons so that they could defend themselves. The United States Government eventually relented. Between the pressures of the cold war and the wording of the constitution it felt almost inevitable.
At the end of the Cold War in the 1990s the Department of Supernormal Enforcement (AKA the DSE) was formed from the remains of top secret organizations and became an official government agency. The DSE was put in charge of the confidential registry of individuals with supernormal abilities. (The names in the registry are what is secret not the existence of the registry.) Anyone committing a crime with dangerous supernormal abilities is registered in the same way that fingerprints are taken. You can also register voluntarily if you so desire. The DSE also makes a point of hiring supernormal agents to deal with supernormal criminals.
In the 1840s an eclectic group of investigators were put together by the British crown to officially pursue extraordinary matters. This Ministry of the Extraordinary was populated by a wide variety of extraordinary individuals from all around the British empire and later the United Kingdom. In times of war the Ministry was charged with supplying the royal military with extraordinary soldiers. In the 1990s Parliament decided to adopt the same policy in the United Kingdom as was being used in the United States. The Primary differences being that those licensed with the Ministry do not pay for their damage and medical insurance but it is instead paid for by taxes as good faith for the work done on behalf of the nation. This difference is often debated.
There are of course many who resent the registry and choose to keep their identity a secret in order to perform vigilante actions without being entered into a registry. This is considered illegal vigilantism but the DSE and the Ministry of the Extraordinary are prone to ignore these offenders unless they become a major problem. There is an organization known as the League of Masks who help provide a support network for these illegal vigilantes. They also provide lawyers if they get caught. Masks who are not members of the League rarely last long.
