The Cooperative is one of those messy little things that happens when someone thinks they're 'over' a trauma, and have really just suppressed it. The Cooperative started with Jenna Hayward, former Renraku corporate citizen, and one of the 'Greens' that had been forced to serve the AI, Deus. For years after her release from the SCIRE, she had lived a normal life, working as a PAB control technician for a small mental health corporation. And then the whole world went crazy during the Emergence of Technomancers and AIs. When Jenna's soycaf maker 'woke up' one day, she had what a doctor would call a psychotic break. Memories of her time as a Green resurfaced. Memories of a time when she had been a part of something greater than herself. Thus was born the Cooperative.
Members of the Cooperative (known as 'nodes') are, in short, metahuman biodrones, their personality stripped away by PAB and chemical brainwashing, as well as personafix technology. Nodes are forcibly broken down and 'repurposed' to serve the needs of the Cooperative, implanted with cyberware to suit their new purpose. The twisted memories of the Prime Node (formerly Ms. Hayward) has designated that members of the cooperative are given cybereyes, and their colors match their function. Blues are 'soldiers' and physical laborers. Whites are technicians and maintenance workers. Greens are designated control units, directing subordinate units. Greens tend to have more autonomy and personality than the others.
The Cooperative functions as cells, with each cell reporting to the one above it in the hierarchy. The individual cells function as a hive mind under the influence of the Control Node. If the Control Node is disabled, the hive mind remains, but is unable to take more than pre-programmed actions, like a drone running autosofts on remote control.
It is unknown what the long-term purpose of the Cooperative is.
<OOC> Think Borg, except they haven't figured out how to make a true hive mind yet, and you're on the right path.
