Project Clockwork (Intelligence)

Project Clockwock is a group that features in Intelligence.

History
Through Cyber Command, it became part of one of the core pieces of United State's technological infrastructure. (Episode: Athens) Around ten years ago, a classified report called "The Potential of Clockwork" was presented to the United States Military and presented by Dr. Shenandoah Cassidy. (Episode: The Event Horizon)

A critical discovery came when Dr. Shenandoah Cassidy discovered a gene mutation that allowed a human being to be compatible with the microchip technology that connected them to information networks. After its creation, it was believed that the list was destroyed though in fact Director Strand had actually kept it secured in the facility on a separate machine unconnected to the main server. This was because the United States Department of Defense desired for the Athens List of candidates to be maintained and forced Lillian Strand to keep it secured. There were at least three soldiers that volunteered for the implantation of the microchip implant but died in the process. (Episode: Athens)

Jin Cong later staged a massive attack against Cyber Command and Project Clockwork which first saw the detonation of an EMP device that shorted the facility's systems whilst a breaching attempt was made on its systems. This forced the facility to cut the hardlines and thus preventing an external attack on their servers but being left in the dark allowed Jin Cong to storm the base. He quickly managed to get everything he wanted on the microchip and the Clockwork program during a search for the Athens List. This was stopped when the amnesiac Gabriel turned against Jin Cong and assisted Clockwork in stopping the attempted data theft. (Episode: Athens)

Afterwards, several key personnel including a former military intelligence officer and even the Deputy Director of the FBI were killed within the United States with evidence linking Gabriel Vaughn to the act. This led to his arrest as it was believed either he turned traitor or the chip had been hacked as he had experienced missing time. As a result, Vaughn fled in order to hunt for clues to his innocence and saw Director Strand being removed from her position with DCI Jeffrey Tetazoo becoming acting head of CyberComm. This saw a manhunt being made for both Gabriel Vaughn and Riley Neal. In reality, this was part of a much larger conspiracy crafted by "the Flood" who were a sleeper program crafted by Iran after 1979 with the goal of creating agents within America. The existence of such a group was considered a myth but they were discovered by the intelligence agent who was assassinated. The Flood was also responsible for an attempt on Vaughn's life just as he was bringing in Mei Chen who had framed Gabriel for the initial act. (Episode: The Event Horizon) Gabriel managed to prove his innocence and reveal the conspiracy orchestrated by the Flood and reveal that Director Weatherley was actually a member of the organization. Vaughn and his allies would succeed in stopping Weatherly before he could assassinate Governor Cameron who intended to run for President. (Episode: Being Human)

Overview
It was situated at the United States Cyber Command facility located in Angel's Bluff in Virginia. The Department of Defense would investigate the Cyber Command facility if there was no contact within a 45 minute window. (Episode: Athens) Due to its nature, the Clockwork program was always vulnerable because the science was frightening, the power was breathtaking and the budget was astronomical. This made it a target for several people within the government who were threatened by it. (Episode: The Event Horizon) The reason the project was called Clockwork stemmed from a 19th century story called "The Ablest man in the World". In this story, there was a man with a simple mind who met a mad doctor who designed for him a clockwork brain that was superior to a normal human brain. However, after being fitted with this brain, the formerly simple person was no longer human and only a machine thus he was always marginalized and ostracized thus dooming him to a life where he was always alone. (Episode Being Human)

Among the classified information that the organization kept off its networks was the Athens List. This contained a list of children that had the Athens-4U7R gene mutation that made them prospective hosts for the microchip technology that allowed an individual to access all global data within their minds. This was a closely held secret with only a few aware of its existence as it was claimed that the list was to be destroyed following its creation as it was a danger to those present on it. The information containing this list was within a machine not connected to the network and thus not seemingly present on the internal servers. Access to this hidden room was only achieved through a hand scan of the director of the facility. (Episode: Athens)

Clockwork's facility was shielded that protected it from prying eyes which prevented cellular or satellite data from being accessed. The only method to access the world information grid was through the internal network of the facility. Part of the information grid for the project involved around 1 to 10 tiers of security with a gateway firewall serving as part of the security device which protected the wan interface. Any hacking attempt that broke through these barriers that managed to breach tier 10 allowed the perpetrator access to the most classified sensitive information in the country. To prevent such breaches, the Orion Protocol was initiated that was an act of last resort designed to cut the main lines as well as power grid to completely prevent the intruder from breaking through the security entirely. This involved cutting the incoming optic lines trunk which cut any form of access outside the facility. Without the hardline, there was no connection to the wider world with only the internal servers being operational following the cut of the main trunk. (Episode: Athens)

A critical component for the microchip was the Athens-4U7R gene mutation that was required for a it to function with a host as it was not compatible with every human being. Those that were compatible with the implant had the capacity to have their minds to be augmented. For the chip to process data organically, it needed to be connected to the host's hippocampus. (Episode: Athens) The chip was located in HDAC-5 that was the genetic nucleus that regulated emotion. (Episode: Cain and Gabriel) Any EMP attack that disrupted the nerve endings of the host with the chip vulnerable to such an onslaught thus temporarily wiping the long term memory of the host creating short term amnesia. A multi-path algorithm was later incorporated in the implant to prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future. In an unsecured environment, the user untrained with the chip could suffer from sensory overload as they were bombarded with data transmitted to the implant. The only way for the host to manage it was to focus on a particular piece of information and block the others out. (Episode: Athens)

The chip made use of advanced optogenetics to convert computer code to brain signals and back again meant that there was always the risk that a malicious hack could enable an dissociative cerebral action. This essentially meant that in theory that a host to the chip would be hacked and remotely operated. Hallucinations whereby signals were blocked from certain areas of the brain of the conscious mind was part of this dissociative cerebral action. A robust firewall was created to prevent such a breach though there was always the possibility for such an action to succeed and was why the chip technology was still in the beta test phase. It possible to drop the different firewalls thus making the chip more vulnerable to hacking. Through the chip connections, users were able to enter into the mind of one another where they entered cyber-rendered virtual worlds. (Episode: The Event Horizon)

Members

 * Lillian Strand :
 * Shenandoah Cassidy :
 * Gabriel Vaughn :

Appearances

 * Intelligence: "Athens"