The Special Media Group (SMG)

Operating in and around MIT, the Special Media Group (or the SMG for short) is considered a “rogue” cabal, operating completely outside the auspices of the local Consilium. For the most part, though, neither side bothers much with the other. The SMG is beneath the Nemean’s notice, and the SMG takes especial care not to tread on any toes. Of course, given the cabal’s particular focus, it is perhaps unsurprising that the SMG has more than its fair share of discretion. While using magic to fleece casinos elsewhere in the country isn’t strictly illegal, it is the sort of thing that can get a person killed, even by Sleepers who don’t know the half of why the house lost most of those last few big hands.

The SMG does more than gamble, however. Its members are also devoted to the idea of reducing the universe and all its variables into predictable strings of code. After all, if SMG can master the nuances of cosmic motion, free will and destiny, then nothing, absolutely nothing, is beyond their power. While that exalted goal is a long ways off (not that the SMG readily admit as much), they have managed to integrate the use of computers into their magic in ways that no one else in the area has seen before.

Sanctum: The Fortress

Sanctum Size •••; Security •••; Hallow ••• The SMG’s sanctum, called the Fortress, is located in a small brownstone near MIT’s campus. The cabal uses the top two floors for living space, the ground floor for parties and the expansive basement as offices to coordinate their moneymaking operations. Despite the foreboding name, the Fortress is comfortable and well appointed. Each member of the cabal decorates his or her private quarters according to taste, but the common areas are all furnished in an elegant, minimalist fashion with vaguely Asian overtones.

The sanctum’s Hallow is located at the top of the stairwell leading to the roof. Light sources, natural or otherwise, grow dim there, taking on a faint reddish tinge, causing the spiderwebs in the upper recesses of the stairwell to sparkle like thin strands of rust-colored pearl. The webbing, harvested, boiled, dried and then crushed into powder, yields up tass (a 3-dot shared Hallow). The SMG’s Library is contained almost completely on CD-ROM and covers the following topics: Casino Operating Procedures, Chaos Theory, Computer Coding, Computer Engineering and Mathematics.