FRIENDLY ENTITIES
GENIUS LOCI
Also: THE ORACLE
In many places in the world, people have been living uninterruptedly for centuries, sometimes even thousands of years. Who knows what collective memories are gradually accumulating in the Morphic Field, what longings, what dreams? What if, over time, all this condenses into a consciousness of its own, into the "soul" of a city?
It is said that in 1807 the then PANTHERION group succeeded in making visible the "soul" of Graz. Apparently one of the most successful works of the organization was to have personified this magical dimension of the city in an elaborate ritual and to have made it available for future communication. After a short time, this entity became known as THE ORACLE; this name has remained to this day.
For some reason the Oracle of Graz cannot speak, but can still be consulted as part of a ritual – its answers then appear to the team members as words floating in space like ghostly apparitions. It knows what is going on in the city and the subtle layers around it and is therefore also able to extrapolate the future to some extent. Only once a week it can be questioned; the rule is "one question, one answer", which means that each person present may only ask one question. To call THE ORACLE, a special sigil is also needed (see right).
In principle, THE ORACLE can be summoned at any place in the city ... but some places have been found which, according to experience, make its evocation easier (especially places with a historical significance). Furthermore, it obviously helps to use the skull of Archduke Johann, which is kept by PANTHERION in a special box.
TAREK AL-UBAIDI
Tarek Al-Ubaidi, the presenter of the fringe science talk radio show/podcast CROPfm, became aware of F.A.F.N.E.R. through his research on Mind Control.
In August 2008 he tracked down PANTHERION Primus Inter Pares Viktor Augenfeld, whom he knew from an archive photo, and interviewed him about his past.
After this first and brief encounter, they watched each other for a while. But finally Viktor was able to convince him not to belong to F.A.F.N.E.R. anymore and instead leaked some information about the existence of PANTHERION.
Although Tarek Al-Ubaidi did not let himself be recruited, he remained connected to the organization. Thus, his investigative work sometimes results in valuable contacts which he makes available to the team, and his research sometimes contributes a decisive piece of the mosaic to the solution of a case. In this way, he is still a helpful interface to inventors, UFO abduction victims and investigative journalists.
DR. NACHTSTROM
In the office of this journalist with magnificent research skills you can find a spray can with the inscription UBIK*, which already says a lot about him: The radio host, private scholar and conspiracy theorist not only knows his way around pop and subculture like no one else, but is also an expert on marginal topics such as: serial killers, cults, dead rock stars, mind control, pre-astronautics and instrumental transcommunication. He traces these and many other areas on his blogs (which of course are also a valuable source of information for PANTHERION members).One day he further developed his own device for connecting with the afterlife and built the IntersectionScan - an acoustic detection system capable of listening to and recording fragments of reality. Since then, a new obsession has joined his already diverse interests: The listening and archiving of mysterious events in Graz.
*Ubik (/ˈjuːbɪk/ YOO-bik) is a 1969 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. The story is set in a future 1992 where psychic powers are utilized in corporate espionage, while intricate technologies allow recently deceased people to be maintained in a lengthy state of hibernation. It follows Joe Chip, a technician at a psychic agency who, after an assassination attempt, begins to experience strange alterations in reality that can be temporarily reversed by a mysterious store-bought substance called Ubik. Ubik is one of Dick's most acclaimed novels. In 2009, it was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 greatest novels since 1923. In his review for Time, critic Lev Grossman described it as "a deeply unsettling existential horror story, a nightmare you'll never be sure you've woken up from". (wikipedia)
FRATER THOMAS OFM
Some books are dangerous. They change you. Frater Thomas can tell you a thing or two about that. Whenever his time allows, the learned Franciscan friar is engaged in the study of secret scriptures. Officially, he is considered an expert on Neoplatonism and the pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita; well-informed archivists and bibliophiles, however, know of his preference for far stranger works (accordingly, he is also under observation by the Vatican – a handful of heretical slips have become notorious).
Frater Thomas has a close personal history with PANTHERION core-member Alexander Freytag since his earliest childhood, making the friar a close confidant of PANTHERION and a valuable source of information for the organization when it comes to occult research.
In Graz, the friar is one of the few outside of PANTHERION who is aware of the existence of portals to other dimensions. But he will be careful not to pass this knowledge on to people who are not familiar with it.
Frater Thomas has a close personal history with PANTHERION core-member Alexander Freytag since his earliest childhood, making the friar a close confidant of PANTHERION and a valuable source of information for the organization when it comes to occult research.
In Graz, the friar is one of the few outside of PANTHERION who is aware of the existence of portals to other dimensions. But he will be careful not to pass this knowledge on to people who are not familiar with it.
Frater Thomas is not often photographed. On the right you can see one of the rare photos showing him in his study.
