While reading this article I had the following idea: The "ESP lab" is either a front set up by PISCES or is quietly supported by them. PISCES wants to maintain their near-monopoly on Talents (ie - people with real psychic abilities of some sort) while discrediting serious research into the paranormal, thus PISCES directly or indirectly supports both the nuttiest nuts (including Phenom-X) *and* well-known skeptics, debunkers, etc. (including Saucerwatch).

The lab director isn't just a nut. He is also "one of the world's foremost experts on jet propulsion". He has ties to the McDonnell Douglas corporation, which merged with Boeing - a big US defense contractor. He has further ties to NASA and the US Air Force via Princeton's respected "Electric Propulsion and Plasma Dynamics Lab" [EPPDyL], which develops high-powered plasma thrusters for spacecraft, and which he founded.

Further solidifying the PISCES connection would be ties to Severn Aerospace (a PISCES front organization specializing in advanced rocket booster and engines) via EPPDyL (visiting professors and researchers), Boeing (subcontracting gigs) and Princeton (student exchange programs, plus more visiting professors and researchers). Oh yes, and the Shan desire to escape Earth ASAP; Mars needs women, and the Shan need advanced rockets.

BACKGROUND & META-PLOT

Per DG:Countdown:

• PISCES is the sanctioned UK version of DG.

• PISCES has a much easier time operating globally than DG, especially in the US.

• PISCES has a history of collecting "Talents", ie - those with demonstratable psychic abilities, since WWII.

• PISCES leadership has been mostly taken over by the Shan, who are stranded on Earth until they can repair their temple/ship or use human technology to escape.

Premise A:

• The Shan keep running into resource limits (technology, money to quietly divert) in the UK.
• The Shan decide to "open a branch office" in the US, due to the far larger US economy (and huge military budget to skim from) and unusually advanced military technology.
• The Shan infiltrate Boeing; it's not the largest military contractor in the US (Lockheed Martin is), but it's a close second. Boeing *is* the largest aerospace corp in the world, and as a whole it generates much more revenue to skim from (as US military contractors have a history of wasting money) and it's more diverse in resources (ie - making civilian planes, ISS parts, etc. in addition to military stuff).

Premise B:

• Lockheed Martin, the #1 military contractor in the US, deals pretty much exclusively with the US DoD & other federal agencies, plus some foreign militaries.

• Therefore Lockheed Martin is probably greatly influenced or infiltrated by MJ-12.

• MJ-12 skims a lot of that "wasted contractor money", too.

• MJ-12 also has a few fingers in Boeing's pie.

Premise C: = Premise A: + Premise B:

• MJ-12 notices that a lot of the Boeing money & resources that they were going to skim & divert are already being skimmed and diverted by someone else; MJ-12 gets pissed.

• The US Shan start taking over Lockheed upper management; getting a hold in Lockheed gives the Shan even more money and resources to (ab)use.

• The US Shan and MJ-12 encounter each other. Unpleasant surprises all around, and general hilarity ensues.

Possible fallout:

• Members within MJ-12 realize that the Greys are lying to them.

• Perhaps this kicks off the civil war within MJ-12 and leads to the Mi-Go severing their ties with the US gov't; this has been hinted-at by one of the main Paganistas for a post-DG:Countdown timeline or possibly even sourcebook.

• If the Shan survive the conflicts and are still in control of PICSES, they might move into the vacuum left by MJ-12's self-destruction. The Shan would really beef up their presence in the US.

PC/GAMEPLAY OPTIONS
If PCs are not aware of the Shan controlling PICSES, or the Shan option is not used:

• PCs are PISCES agents working undercover in the US. The PCs search for new Talents. The PCs kill any Talents who can't be recruited, abducted or otherwise controlled by PISCES. The PCs discredit any serious work in the field of parapsychology. PCs don't know about the Shan or the Mythos. Other PC encounters - DG Agents, MJ-12, Phenom-X, Saucerwatch, the Fate. This becomes a UK-or-elsewhere-based campaign with minor tweaks.
  
  

•  PCs are new Talents on the run from the PISCES agents above, and possibly US law enforcement. PCs probably don't know anything about the Mythos. Other PC encounters - DG Agents, MJ-12, Phenom-X, Saucerwatch, the Fate. This becomes a UK-or-elsewhere-based campaign with minor tweaks.
  
  

• PCs are Delta Green agents investigating possible Mythos activity and encountering one or both of the above groups, whom they may assume are Mythos-corrupted entities. Other PC encounters are per the rulebooks.
  
  

• PCs are Phenom-X or Saucerwatch paranormal investigators. They are fed clues and/or disinfo by MJ-12, DG, PISCES and possibly even the Fate. The PCs initially know little to nothing about the Mythos, Talents, etc. Might be fun to run this option without telling the players it's a DG/CoC campaign, especially if they are unfamiliar with DG/CoC.

If you want the PCs to know about or become aware of the Shan controlling PISCES, add the following play options to the above, with the various groups all interacting with each other. Remember, some are aware of the Mythos, some aren't:

• PCs are PISCES agents and/or Talents who slowly become aware that something is very wrong up the chain of command. Do they run? Defect? (Defect to whom?) Turn on suspected members and start a witch hunt?
  
  

• PCs are DG: If the events hinted at in "Through a Glass Darkly" come to pass, PCs have the option of being typical agents who slowly realize that something is not right with A cell. Or they may become modern "Cowboy-era" renegades. A DG civil war, as well as one in MJ-12?
  
  

• PCs are MJ-12: Once they've gotten their hands on a few Talents and dissected them, AND cleaned up the mess caused by Talents who didn't wish to be dissected, the Greys are gonna have some splainin' to do. Especially WRT the Talents who are obviously *not* protomatter/Cookbook experiments. How will the Greys/Mi-Go react? Maybe run this as a conspiracy-oriented campaign if the players aren't familiar with CoC/DG/the Mythos?
  
  

• PCs as members of the Army of the Third Eye who turn up stateside: They are vile cultists practicing unspeakable rites, foreign terrorists, Talent killers and fellow Mythos hunters, depending on your point of view and what you know about them. Playing Third Eye PCs would be interesting, especially if they have mistaken a Talent or two for someone Shan possessed.
  
  

• PCs as members of the Fate: It wouldn't be surprising for Alzis & Co. to have (possibly unwilling) Talents on their payroll. Mythos magic & Miracles, just two sides of the same coin. The Fate will tell you everything you need to know about Talents, if you'll do them a little favor... The PCs could be Fate-controlled Talents who are trying to escape once they realize what they've gotten themselves into; you think you're joining Xavier's School for Gifted and find yourself in a William S. Burroughs novel instead.
  
  

Continued in Part. II