The Machines

Some time in the early 21st century, mankind created Artificial Intelligence (AI). Soon, the AIs had grown into an entire race of machines. They may not have started the war, but the machines are determined to finish it.

Agents hunt Free Minds in the Matrix and Sentinels hunt humans in the Real World. Harvesters pluck human "crops" from vast fields, take them to monolithic power plants, and connect them to the Matrix. Janitors maintain the power plants and dispose of "ruined crops." All of this and much more is overseen by a unnamed super-consciousness descended directly from the first AI.

In keeping with their hive-like organization, most machines are insectoid in design. Machine technology appears almost organic, though it is still electro-mechanical in function.

Very little is known about the machine society, if they can truly be said to possess one. Though created by humans, their manner of intelligence is very alien to our own. Most machines are built without true sentience; they are designed for a single function and equipped with just enough intelligence to carry out that function. Though capable of complex behavior and decision-making, they are not self-aware. They are not true AI. (These machines should have Major rating in their specific function and Minor ratings in anything else.)

Despite the way it may seem, the AIs don't necessarily hate humans. The original Matrix was designed as a Utopia, but most humans would not accept it... just as they would reject the current Matrix if exposed to too many "supernatural" things. Instead, the AIs constructed the best possible world from real human history. Not surprisingly, they defined this as the highest level of technological advancement that did not include themselves. The machines' intelligence sprang from our own and they still have much they can learn from studying us. They don't wish us harm, but it would be foolish to let any enemy run free.

In fact, some people speculate that the Oracle may be a rogue AI whose trying to help the humans free themselves. A few of the people who subscribe to this theory believe that Oracle cannot be fully trusted and object to the widespread practice of bring new Free Minds to see her. The truth is, no one knows for sure.

Agents	Gatekeepers of the virtual world.
Sentinels	Hunters of the Desert of the Real.
AgenTech	Away from prying eyes, Agents can use highly advanced technology.