“They’ve developed a technology
that lets them contain the virus so
that anyone infected doesn’t become
completely alien, which they think
will allow humanity to become better
than itself. The downside is that a lot
of these experiments fail, causing a
lot of death and suffering. But people
join them because their leader, the
Exalted, is highly charismatic.
She’s a mutant herself and has
these powers, showing people
what they could become.”
And then there’s the
Synedrion, a highly ecological,
anarchistic alliance. The have a
technology that allows them to
repel the virus, and believe they
can reclaim the land—even if the
seas are still infected—and rebuild
society. “They want a society built on
freedom, democracy, and other ideals
they think have been neglected by
previous civilizations. They think
trying to completely defeat the alienthe story will be revealed through the
research system—as it was, in fact, in
X-COM. And there are the factions,
who have different ideas about how
to save the world.”
New Jericho is a faction led by a
powerful leader named Tobias West.
He was, before the outbreak, the
CEO of a major arms manufacturer
and private mercenary group, and has
created a militaristic society where
soldiers have high status. If combat’s
your thing, side with them.
“Everybody is expected to serve in
West’s personal army, and their
approach to the Pandora virus is that
it has to be eliminated by eternal
vigilance,” says Gollop. “So they’re
very strict about killing infected
people, and any trace of the infection
they detect is dealt with without
prejudice. Tobias West is firmly
against any kind of corruption of the
human genome.”
CULT HIT
Very much opposed to New Jericho
is the creepy, cultlike Disciples of
Anu, a religious order which believes
that an alien godlike figure has come
to save the Earth in the form of the
Pandora virus and its mutations.
“They think that if they embrace
it, they’ll evolve with it,” says Gollop.
“WE’VE SPENT A
LOT OF TIME
BUILDING THE WORLD”
Combat is vital, but
there are other
ways to solve
problems too.