Chapter 23: The Puppetmasters
Information was power—and Mikhail intended to wield it.
The Phantom Cadre’s investigation into the Korean blackout revealed more than sabotage. They uncovered encrypted ledgers, private communication hubs, and an underground server room funded by anonymous Swiss accounts.
[System Insight: Multinational Shadow Finance Network Detected]
Behind the uprisings, behind the Continental Concord—was something older than nations:
The Consortium.
A clandestine cabal of transnational financiers, aristocrats, and industrialists who saw national movements as temporary tools. They had funded revolutions, toppled monarchies, and manipulated currencies for over two centuries.
[Threat Level: Critical | Influence: Global | Objectives: Decentralization, Profiteering, Status Quo Maintenance]
Mikhail stared at a decrypted document listing transactions:
French coal shipments redirected to insurgents.