# SAFETYNET Overview

**Official Designation:** Security and Field-Engagement Technology Yielding National Emergency Taskforce
**Known As:** SAFETYNET
**Classification:** Covert Counter-Espionage Organisation
**Founded:** [Classified] (Estimated late 1990s during the early internet boom)
**Headquarters:** [Classified] (Players see glimpses in cutscene intros)

## Mission Statement

SAFETYNET exists to counter threats to digital infrastructure, protect national security interests, and neutralise the operations of hostile organisations—primarily ENTROPY. Our agents operate in the shadows, conducting offensive security operations authorised under [REDACTED] protocols.

## The Shadow War

SAFETYNET operates in a unique grey area of legality and morality. While their mission is ostensibly defensive—protecting critical infrastructure and national interests—their methods are decidedly offensive. They engage in:

- Pre-emptive infiltration of organisations suspected of ENTROPY ties
- Offensive cyber operations against foreign and domestic targets
- Physical infiltration under false pretenses
- Intelligence gathering that would make privacy advocates weep

The organisation exists in a perpetual state of "plausible deniability." If an operation goes wrong, the agent was a rogue actor. If it succeeds, SAFETYNET quietly takes credit in classified briefings to parliamentary committees who can't talk about what they've heard.

## Organisational Structure

### Command Hierarchy

The organisation operates on a strict need-to-know basis, with information compartmentalised to an almost paranoid degree:

- **Director Level**: Unknown individuals who set strategic priorities (players never see or hear from them)
- **Operations Command**: Coordinate multiple field operations across regions
- **Field Handlers**: Direct interface for field agents, provide briefings and support
- **Field Agents**: The boots on the ground (or fingers on keyboards)
- **Technical Support**: The unsung heroes who keep the infrastructure running

### Relationship with Governments

SAFETYNET's relationship with official government structures is deliberately murky:

- **Official Status**: Doesn't officially exist in any public government documentation
- **Funding**: Allocated through black budgets buried in defense and intelligence spending
- **Oversight**: Minimal and carefully controlled; only select committee members know of their existence
- **Legal Authority**: Operates under classified executive orders and emergency powers acts
- **International Operations**: Technically unauthorised, practically unstoppable

### Funding and Resources

How does a non-existent organisation fund its operations?

- **Black Budget Allocations**: Buried in legitimate defence spending under innocuous line items
- **Asset Forfeiture**: Quietly seizing ENTROPY resources and cryptocurrencies
- **Private Sector "Donations"**: Corporations that benefit from SAFETYNET protection contribute through complex financial arrangements
- **Intelligence Trading**: Sharing information with allied agencies in exchange for resources

The result: SAFETYNET agents rarely want for equipment, but the budget office still complains about expense reports filed three days late.

## Recruitment and Selection

SAFETYNET doesn't advertise job openings. They find you.

Potential agents are identified through:
- Academic performance in computer science and security programs
- Participation in capture-the-flag competitions and bug bounty programs
- Unusual talent demonstrated in "legitimate" penetration testing roles
- Occasionally, reformed hackers who've demonstrated both skill and judgment

The recruitment process involves:
1. Subtle observation and vetting (candidates don't know they're being evaluated)
2. A seemingly random job offer from a legitimate security consultancy (a SAFETYNET front)
3. Progressive exposure to the true nature of the work
4. Formal recruitment once the candidate has proven trustworthy
5. Realisation that you can't actually refuse because you know too much

## Operational Philosophy

SAFETYNET follows several core principles:

### "The Best Defense is a Pre-emptive Offense"
Don't wait for ENTROPY to strike—find them first, infiltrate their operations, and neutralise threats before they materialise.

### "Plausible Deniability is Your Shield"
Every operation must have a legitimate cover story. If caught, you're a rogue actor, not a government agent.

### "Information is Victory"
The goal isn't always to stop ENTROPY immediately—sometimes gathering intelligence on their methods, contacts, and objectives is more valuable.

### "Adapt or Fail"
Every mission goes sideways. Field agents must think on their feet and improvise within the bounds of their cover.

### "Leave No Trace (Except When You Should)"
Sometimes letting ENTROPY know they've been compromised is the point. Other times, they should never know you were there.

## Cultural Notes

SAFETYNET has developed its own internal culture:

- **Humour as Pressure Valve**: The inherent absurdity of their situation breeds dark humour and jokes about bureaucratic contradictions
- **Professional Paranoia**: Trust, but verify. Then verify again. Then assume the verification was compromised.
- **The Handbook Cult**: The Field Operations Handbook is simultaneously revered and mocked—agents quote contradictory sections to justify almost any action
- **Cover Story Competition**: Agents share and critique each other's cover stories, with prizes for "most believable" and "most ridiculous that actually worked"

## Cross-References

- **Agent Classification**: See [agent_classification.md](./agent_classification.md) for details on agent designations and career progression
- **Cover Operations**: See [cover_operations.md](./cover_operations.md) for how agents maintain their covers
- **Rules of Engagement**: See [rules_of_engagement.md](./rules_of_engagement.md) for the Field Operations Handbook
- **Technology & Resources**: See [technology_resources.md](./technology_resources.md) for equipment and support
- **ENTROPY**: See [../entropy/overview.md](../entropy/overview.md) for information on SAFETYNET's primary adversary

## For Scenario Designers

### Using SAFETYNET in Your Scenarios

**Narrative Role**: SAFETYNET provides the player's motivation and framework for each mission. They are:
- The reason the player has access to tools and information
- The source of mission objectives and constraints
- The explanation for why infiltration is "authorised"

**Handler Characterisation**: When writing handler dialogue:
- Keep it professional but allow personality to show through
- Handlers can express frustration with bureaucracy or unexpected complications
- They should provide useful information but not solve puzzles for the player
- Occasional reference to "the Handbook" adds flavour

**Mission Briefings**: Structure briefings to include:
- The cover story (what the player's official reason for being there is)
- The actual objective (what SAFETYNET really wants)
- Available resources and support
- Rules of engagement (what's off-limits)
- Extraction protocol (how the mission ends)

**Maintaining Immersion**:
- Players are SAFETYNET agents, not criminals—frame objectives as legitimate security operations
- The tension between "legal" cover and illegal reality creates interesting moral ambiguity
- SAFETYNET's competence varies by plot necessity (they can provide good intel or miss obvious things)

**Balancing Support and Challenge**:
- SAFETYNET provides tools and information but shouldn't hand-hold
- Handlers can offer hints if players are stuck but should avoid explicit solutions
- Technical support can fail at dramatically appropriate moments
- The intelligence database might have gaps or outdated information

### Common Pitfalls to Avoid

- **Over-explaining**: SAFETYNET's exact legal status and history should remain somewhat mysterious
- **Making them villains**: They're morally grey but fundamentally trying to protect people
- **Perfect competence**: Intelligence agencies make mistakes; use this for plot complications
- **Ignoring the cover story**: The player's cover should matter and create constraints
