Department for Exophysics
The Department for Exophysics (DfE) is a non-ministerial government department of the Thames Republic concerning exophysics, including anomalies. It is known for its unorthodox methods, which have been labelled as dangerous by Raven, but are highly effective in practice. It operates on a small scale with much lesser funding, but sports a highly competent and efficient workforce, and is primarily scoped to the Thames Republic and the neighbouring European Union.
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| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 7 November 2052 |
| Jurisdiction |  Thames Republic |
| Headquarters | Thames National Laboratories Complex, Walthamstow, London |
| Motto | Learning & Protecting |
| Employees | 112,000 (Jun 2273) |
| Annual budget |  U€113 trillion; FY 2273 |
| Secretary of State responsible |
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| Department executives |
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| Website | dfe |
Reasons why Raven has avoided invading the Republic and shutting down the DfE include their successful surveillance operation, the professionalism of DfE staff, the small scale of the DfE's operation, valuable scientific knowledge collected from surveillance operations, the political optics of an invasion, and the Thames Republic's unwillingness to build a bridge laboratory on their own soil. Raven's own doctrine would force them to invade should they ever construct one.
History
Originally named the Department for Esoterics, the DfE has its roots in the esoterica community dating back to the mid-19th century, investigating superstition and the perceived notions of "magic" alongside organisations like the French Council of Exotic Artefact Affairs (CEAA). The original DfE did not formally exist, and was far less organised than its modern counterpart. It began to take more of an active role during Nevrin's interest in what it perceived to be esoterica in the late-20th century, with the company's discovery of galraite. The DfE began to investigate Nevrin's activities at the Girvan Offshore Science Facility; however, this was cut short by the disaster at the facility and the company's collapse.
As corporate interest in exophysics grew over the course of the 21st century, the British government increased the DfE's funding. However, it faced significant competition; not only from the CEAA, but also by esoterica organisations of foreign powers. Ultimately, while it provided concrete intelligence to the government about the growing risks posed by the scientific community, its concerns fell on deaf ears as a number of ministers dismissed its advice as fantasy, and those who did listen were unable to bring about change due to corporate pressure. Because of this, the DfE gradually became frustrated with the government, and its concerns began to drift out of alignment to focus on actually protecting people.
As tensions rose in London and it acquired intelligence that the Helios Corporation might be in possession of an exophysical weapon, the DfE formally sided with the Blackbird insurgency, cutting its ties to the British government. The DfE experienced its first major call to action during the London Revolution, when retreating Helios Private Military Corps forces detonated entropic flashover bombs (EFBs) north of London, creating the Southern Exclusion Zone. It worked to spearhead civil defense and disaster cleanup efforts in London, and the new government of the Thames Republic formalised the organisation as the Department for Exophysics, designating it as the defence organisation for exophysics.
Security
Unlike Raven, most of the DfE's scientific knowledge is not classified. Only knowledge which has the potential to result in the construction of weapons or threaten the stability of reality is. The open nature of the DfE's knowledge sharing in the past has had the side effect of making Raven furious, as it views information surrounding substratics in particular to be highly sensitive.
The DfE vetting system is based on standard government security vetting in the Thames Republic. All DfE employees require Developed Vetting (DV) clearance, which is carried out by the State Defence Section (SDS). Some positions require eDV. Once a positive recommendation is made to the DfE by the SDS, the DfE carries out its own set of internal checks. Unlike Raven, which uses a memory scanning system to ensure personnel integrity, the DfE utilises psionic psychologists with the ability to mind-read intent and assess truths from lies.
DfE and Raven
The Thames Republic, as a non-signatory to the Dimensional Security Accords, is under the jurisdiction of the DfE, rather than Raven. However, the real competency of the DfE, combined with its small scale and the valuable scientific knowledge Raven collects from partnering with it in secret backchannels and conducting surveillance has meant that Raven considers it more as an asset than a threat to its operational activities. Because of the Republic's existing policy of declining to construct bridge laboratories within its borders, Raven also does not need to worry about the country creating a dimensional incursion. The disastrous optics of mounting an invasion of the Thames Republic also safeguards the DfE against any potential military action. Raven and the Thames Republic routinely conduct intelligence operations against each other via the Strategic Intelligence Office and the State Defence Section respectively, which both organisations understand.