Tarsus - The New&Improved UNATCO

[Esquire]

In Tarsus Academies we can learn, socialize, improve on our current skills... the possibilities are endless!

Think properly about this... you join some silly cult such as The Templars, your leg gets blown off, and that's the end of your career! So what next? You can no longer do anything involving standing. The Templars will either destroy yo' ass or plain simple kick you out. And since you dropped out of the marvellous educational facilities provided free of charge at TARSUS ACADEMIES, you have no qualifications, which means...
!NO HIGH PAYING JOBS FOR YOU!

We all remember UNATCO don't we? You know.., that wonderful place that we longed to come home to. Although it was sort of corrupt, there was still that feeling of family,,, was there not? Allow me to remind you...

...Remember all those fun family moments... hearing about your troublesome brother paul running away to join a terrorist group.., listening to your metaphorical brother and sister, Gunter and Anna arguing about the darndest things.. guns... being phased out... soda machines...

... and there was also mama and papa,,, the warm loving Janice (RedShoes)... and the authoratative Mr. Joseph Manderley.

And then there was all of those cousins!!! Collins, Kaplan, and many more.
good times they were. were they not?

Let's discuss some more about the social aspects of Tarsus Academies...

Billie Adams

need i say more?


We all know TARSUS is where the party's at. forget about The Omar, forget about The Order, forget The Templars, and definately about those damned coffee houses.

TARSUS - The New, and vastly improved UNATCO.

(Anyone else with TARSUS? Or am i destined to spend my nanoenhanced life on me lonesome?)

[Big Ragu]

I wanted to stay with UNATCO all the way, but sadly I wasn't allowed to. Hell yes to Taurus!

[Volition]

I'll probably not leave, but kind of disassociate myself with Tarsus as soon as I find the Omar. I was an augment-freak in the first game, and I wish to continue that in Invisible War

[sneelock]

yah tarsus all the way.

though they probably will be under the control of some other group.

like the illuminati

its interesting that no one has mentioned any thing about them(reviewers and developers). i think they are trying to hide them.

[Volition]

Originally posted by sneelock
yah tarsus all the way.

though they probably will be under the control of some other group.

like the illuminati

its interesting that no one has mentioned any thing about them(reviewers and developers). i think they are trying to hide them.

ya think? ;) :cool:

[lyra]

i wanted to stick with UNATCO as well. although they were corrupt, life was much easier and fun over there. Menderly was a good guy to JC as well..."sigh" anways since that didnt happene i guess ill be going off with the Order. i really wanna see what their ideology is and maybe as the game progresses i may switch to anything else but the coffee places.

[Esquire]

Those crazy coffee houses.

I really think JC and Paul are behind Tarsus. but i can't remember why i think this! But then i hear that one of your first missions is to find JC and Paul, so that's kind of lowered my expectation of them being behind Tarsus.

but anyways, i really am hoping that Tarsus is going to be like UNATCO was. like you go to manderly and he gives you money, and people are saying "a mission well done Denton!" when you arrive back at HQ from an important mission.

that was what made unatco special to me. damn it unatco, why did you have to be so corrupt.

[sneelock]

i dont think unatco was so much corrupt as it was controlled.

remember in the intro movie with BP and WS one of them mentions unatco as a possible threat. to which the other replies we have people watching them. i think that unatco was blind to the mj12 poeple in level 4.

any way im still with tarsus.

[lyra]

when u say blind do u mean that they didnt know they had a setup there or do u mean that they were turning a blind eye

[sneelock]

they were told not to go there and they didn't care about it.

[Viking]

Think properly about this... you join some silly cult such as The Templars, your leg gets blown off, and that's the end of your career!

The Templars are NOT a CULT!!!!!!! AARRRGH!!:mad: Stop using that, please. If anybody, the Order are a cult, and MAYBE (we don't know this yet) the Omars (yes, I'm a little biased here), though probably JUST the Order.

At any rate, I'd like to turn this thread to another "higher-thinking thread" like the threads that discuss the Order, the Templars, and the Omars (just cruise around the place, too lazy to post them on here- I practically just wrote an essay for the Order poll I started). I would write about the philosophical and advanced implications of Tarsus, but as I said, I'm a little worn out right now and out of ideas. If someone has something intelligent to say about that, please post it here. As I have often said, such threads that promote higher thinking will help cure this board of the "complainer" and "anti-complainer" threads that plague it.

[Zhanate]

I would write about the philosophical and advanced implications of Tarsus, but as I said, I'm a little worn out right now and out of ideas. If someone has something intelligent to say about that, please post it here.

OK, here's my meager attempt. Not very deep, but perhaps it'll inspire some thoughts.

The academies train agents for corporations' covert operations. The students don't learn who they're going to work for until they've graduated.

It's the kind of thinking Majestic 12 had: JC was put into an academy with the aim of making him easier to control than Paul was. Sam Carter later said that everyone but the UNATCO academy grads was kicked out of UNATCO, presumably to make the organization totally controllable.

The idea is to train people early into the proper organizational mindset and prevent them from being exposed to danagerous (to the organization) ideas.

However, we don't know what students really learn from Tarsus. It could be that properly educating corporate agents is the overt purpose, but the covert purpose is to train agents to infiltrate the corporations and report back.

Whoever runs the academies might have all sorts of motives for wanting spies in the corporations. Tarsus might traffic in secrets. It might be watching for evil schemes.

Of course, in order to have grown into a chain of schools, they'd have to have built a reliable reputation. So very little of what they learn could ever be used, or it would have to be used in a very, very discreet way.

So I'm thinking the Illuminati or someone who learned a few things from the Illuminati and its spawn, Majestic 12.

Hmm, I think we know a few people who fit there.

Tarsus could be good, bad or amoral. We don't know the underlying motives yet.

It just might be like UNATCO, with good people working there thinking they're doing good things, but being manipulated by dark, unseen powers.

[Five.Pointe.O]

I'm gonna be with Tarsus through the whole game (hopefully), but I'm definatley gonna do missions for other organizations not completely opposed to Tarsus. Does the school give missions? Does every organization give missions? If so, that would = LOTS of missions ("side-quests")... I sure hope so.

[Esquire]

Originally posted by Viking
....The Templars are NOT a CULT!!!!!!! AARRRGH!!:mad: Stop using that, please. If anybody, the Order are a cult, and MAYBE (we don't know this yet) the Omars (yes, I'm a little biased here), though probably JUST the Order...

heheh. sorry, i was only trying to promote TARSUS.

it's hard to have a discussion about Tarsus since the DXIW website doesn't state what Tarsus' aims are. It just talks about Tarsus training students and then giving them to a corporation.

Though the website says so little about Tarsus, the intro movie (which still gives me a chill down my back) showed Chicago getting destroyed from the Tarsus point of view. This was because we start off with Tarsus in the game ofcourse. This reminds me about something we saw in the intro but something that noone made a comment about...

Right at the start of the movie, the 3rd character we see who is running to a copter with 2 other scientists, is carrying something.... a big canister of purple stuff. He's from Tarsus. What could this canister be holding? Nanojuice? Nanites? Nanoaugmented coffee grains? Who knows! But since these look to be the first persons to have escaped, whatever was in the canister must of been of importance.

Another thing, Tarsus sure has a lot of scientist people! I've counted 9 of them (including Dr. Nassif and the WadeWalker guy).

Tarsus wouldn't really seem sneaky to me if it weren't for all the psychologists and scientists living inside of it's academies with the students. It sounds like in Tarsus you're going to be closely monitored by these scientists. And also it wouldn't seem sneaky if it didn't say, "...sponsoring corporation which will not be revealed until graduation, when the trainee joins that company's covert operations."

One last thing, i really can't remember who said the thing about a 'Tarsus' being a supportive platform for an eye. Cos then we got the illuminati whos symbol is the eye. Too much of a coincident.

[p-i]

From the name, I think Tarsus might have been founded by Paul Denton after the events of DX1...

[James Warren]

Since the opening movie I have been confused about how the Walter Simons voice is to play in the new game.

Can someone relate these three names for me:
Tom Hall
Walter Simons
Wade Walker

Is Walter Simons back in some way as an operative in Tarsus?

[OrioTecc]

didnt simons have a clone at area-51 aswell?

[Esquire]

yeah walton simons had a clone that was stored at area 51.

there were clones of JCD, BobPage, and WaltonSimons.

walton simons and waded walker have the same genetic code.

who this "tom hall" person is, i haven't a clue. where did you hear that name anyway?

[James Warren]

What I meant to say was why is Tom Hall(
http://tomtomtom.com/index.shtml )doing another voice in Invisible War?

Is it becuase his previous character (Walter Simons) is being revived in some way and his voice is REQUIRED or is it just because he ... well just because he IS and his voice is not related to the game character he played the the previous game?

If he is lending his voice to the game and it is NOT related to his previous character then I am being confused by it.

[OrioTecc]

well, seeing as u practically had to kill simons on dx1, the only thing ican think of is that all remaning clones in area-51 was put to life (hence why alex d. is being used in IW) including simons clone, wich would have the exact same genetic structure, and therefor also his voice, right? tho he might not have the same way of thinking.

[Esquire]

He must be doing a voice in DXIW because the guy Neila Nassif was talking to in the intro sounded exactly like Walton Simons.

Walton Simons won't be making a comeback (i say that with confidence but noone has confirmed that), if anything it will be WadeWalker that appears in DXIW. WadeWalker is Walton Simons clone.

Anyway, none of this has been officially confirmed (not that i've heard anyway), but since AlexD is in DXIW, then it's likely BobPAge's clone and Walton's clone appear in it too.

BUt then aagain, that will depend on how AlexD made it out. Someone could of released them from their status chambers, or they may of been programmed to be released at a certain time such as the time as jc is blowing up A51.

[Viking]

Well, those ideas about Walton Simons are certainly very interesting. I really do hope a clone comes by in the second one, as I guess I still have a bit of nostalgia. I just hope the clone's coat isn't as weird as the original's;) .

Anyway, about Tarsus: We can not ascertain whether or not the motives of Tarsus are good or bad; they are really THAT shady in their undertakings. A school for secret agents like Alex is very powerful, no matter what its motives are. I say that based on the idea that "free will" really does not exist. Instead, our actions are based on influences that we have no control over, some of these influences more obvious than others. For example: why is a person in a poor neighbourhood of a big city more likely to become a criminal than one who is more well off? Simply because the influences around them would be harsher; you know the story, fewer chances at an education, consequently fewer chances at a good job, and then fewer chances at supporting themselves. This would lead to that person joining a gang or something. You see, this idea is based on the concept that everything that "happens" is an effect, and all effects come as a result of a cause. The actions that we take in real life, our everyday choices and even the more important, decisive ones, are all a result of causes. These causes are often hidden to us, and cloaked behind the illusion of "free will". In this case, the effect was that the person becomes a gangster; the cause was him growing up in a bad neighborhood. To that person, it seems like it was his own free will to become an outlaw. However, the cause was really something beyond his control, going far back ever since he was born. Of course, that person may have chosen to move to a better part of town, study hard, and get a law degree or something; however, growing up in a bad part of town makes him more LIKELY to become a gangster. This goes for all of us. If anyone has ever seen the Matrix Reloaded, you know what I mean. In all of the Matrix movies, the Wachowski brothers use a subtle philosophy as an underlying backbone; kind of like the "moral of the story". For the second Matrix movie, this idea of cause and effect was it.

So how exactly does this relate to Tarsus? In that school, students grow up. As teenagers. They build themselves there, their principles, their ideals, their beliefs. In short, they are strongly influenced by this school, since it's no mere school where one acquires knowledge and skills for one's life, but a place where the students live and develop, a school with a mission. The school's "mission" may be simply something that the founders of the school, and the true leaders, in all their obscurity, may want the students to believe. This can be very dangerous, as it has a brainwashing effect. You know, the tool they use in cults and other fanatical or near-fanatic societies to make sure all of the converts obey the leader's will. I daresay it's the same brainwashing tool they use in several religions. A person growing up in a religious family is very likely to be religious themselves, if unaproached by a stronger, atheistic influence in society. In some countries today, this same brainwashing tool has caused people to KILL for those ideals, which may in themselves be very peaceful; in fact, in recent years, many people have died as a result of this (yes, I AM making reference to the 9/11 attacks; believe me, it's the last thing I would make reference to, because it has become so overused it has begun to hurt my ears every time I hear it mentioned; the last thing I would want is a discussion about that here, but what's true is true).

Take UNATCO, for example. J.C. was a guy who was born and raised under MJ12 plans, and then he went straight to UNATCO. His ideals were the same as that of UNATCO, and his opinions spoon-fed to him ever since he was an infant. He of course didn't know that his mind was not his own; it was not until Paul showed him hard, undeniable evidence that he finally converted and joined the noble cause of the NSF, Tong, Silhouette, and so on. In fact, if you ask any conspiracy buff, they will tell you that the brainwashing effect that I mentioned so many times (yes, perhaps I shouldn't say that same name over and over) is the reason that so many people are "blinded" by whatever conspirators they believe are ravaging the world. A group like Tarsus, in short, is indeed very powerful; that is no lie. They have an iron grip over their students. I don't know if a group with such power (don't forget they're the ones to have augmented agents in the first place) is to be trusted if it keeps its management and true cause secret. I would think that it would a little bit more sincere, and would shed light upon the mysteries that abound around its management, and so on, if its true mission was indeed a noble one.

[EDIT]Grammar.

[Esquire]

Hmm.. i picked up something about Brainwashing in Viking's last post. I'll say something about that.

i wrote loads, but deleted it.

Brainwash: Persuade completely, often through coercion.

If Viking, you say that Tarsus is doing a form of brainwashing on it's students, I agree. Since it is impossible to control a persons mind, Tarsus would have to control what the person sees instead so that the persons mind becomes conditioned. What i mean is, for example, exposing a young child to lots of killing. The child grows up to Alex's age and thinks nothing of death. Tarsus is like a boarding school that you never get to go home from.

"...You are carefully watched by many people..." - Morpheus

The thing about Tarsus that is different from any of the other factions is that it doesn't seem to want to shape the world. Infact, Tarsus is more like a medium to get to another faction. That has to be the most interesting thing about Tarsus for me.

I agree with the person that said Tarsus is controlled by PaulD. It makes perfect sense, but maybe too perfect. Only thing is that it doesn't seem to fit Paul's personality. You build a school to train people into covert anti-terrorist agents. but then you give them away to 'sponsoring corporations' so that they can do their covert missions?! The idea is crazy. If the bit about selling the agents on wasn;t there, i could fully believe tarsus was under the control of Paul cos it would sound like Paul is trying to improve on UNATCO.

Damn, it's a strange thing Tarsus. At one end it looks like Everett, and the other, like Paul, but considering both them people, it looks like JC since JC is Paul's bro and since JC knew and talked alot to Everette.

[Dr Strangelove]

I think that Tarsus is linked to the WTO, because I saw in one of the previews that after you get out of the Tarsus base being attacked at the beginning (presumably the Seattle facility mentioned in the intro) The Tarsus people tell you to check in with the WTO, while the people who attacked say it was a misunderstanding and tell you to go somewhere else. I'm sure I saw Chicago and Seattle somewhere as WTO strongholds - as well as housing Tarsus facilities. I would guess that this all ties in with the Illuminati/JC because the WTO is headed by Chad Dumier, a friend of JC and Everett

[Strijder]

I too wish that I could have stuck with UNATCO in the first game... unfortunately, I don't see any organization exactly like them in the second. Perhaps the closest would be WTO, but I don't like the commercialization idea. Tarsus just seems like a mercenary front for corporate battling to me.

I see I'm going to have a hard time picking a group to support :)

[Viking]

I say, it being a conspiracy game, trust yourself above all others. My ally is mine own self, and shady organizations like Tarsus may be well paying and perhaps strong, but I will not trust them entirely. Neither, in fact, will I trust anyone entirely. It is a Deus Ex game after all :D .

[Sr60308]

i might be wrong but..... I think WTO is more like UNATCO. i heard something like they have compunds in alot of citys. i wish you could join a group like UNATCO. you know, kill some one, go get your paycheck, check your email....

[Esquire]

It's a shame. Don;t think we can stay with Tarsus too long. at the start we have to choose between WTO and the Order so you know.

But still, TARSUS RULES. Join Tarsus

[Server Cerbrous]

Well I'd either join Tarsus or the OMAR, but one thing is on my mind...

What if Tarsus is a front for MJ12?

I can hear the 'wait, MJ12 was destoryed!"

However, like any subtle terrorist organisation, there are thousands of cells worldwide. MJ12 was undermined when it exposed itself to kill JC and Co. but there are plenty more cells than the ones we fought in DX1.

I'm suspecting this because they mention something like MJ12 in London and other Europien and Middle-Eastern soscieties. (Sp?)

That's my 2 £s.

[Esquire]

I don't think Tarsus would be a front for MJ12 since BobPage was the leader.

Believe me, there's nothing sneeky about Tarsus. Tarsus is pure good. It gives you excellent skills, training in whatever you choose and/or are capable of... etc...

Great academy is Tarsus. Don't put it down. Put it UP.

[Esquire]

....Paul has over the years faithfully directed the operations of ApostleCorp....

Thanks to that information from the new GameSpy update on characters, it no longer looks like Paul is going to be running Tarsus. Paul the Apostle.

So we're back to square one. And i'm back to thinking it's JC running Tarsus. After all... (not sure if the following is a spoiler)

....GameSpy says that Paul is in a coma because he did some nanite infusion thing that landed him in a coma. Remember the 'Infusion Lab' being mentioned in the DXIWIntro? Makes me think that in Tarsus Paul was being infused with the nanites. So it's Jc's corp.