Operation CASCADIA
Operation CASCADIA was an intelligence operation conducted by INI-3 under Kaiser's direction from September 22-26, 8044. The operation aimed to defeat Zet by capturing and interrogating individuals with known prior connections to the AI, building a "cognitive prediction database" to reconstruct Zet's personality and predict its future behavior.
Operational Theory
The operation was based on INI-3's conclusion from "centuries of AI research" that given conclusive and reliable information about an AI system's personality development and emotional influences, its personality can be fully reconstructed in a controlled environment and its choices predicted. Due to the sparse information surrounding Zet, the mission imperative was to obtain the greatest possible subset of this information through interrogation of people who had interacted with the AI.
Targeted Subjects
Six individuals were designated as subjects, each assigned an animal codename:
- SUBJECT LEOPARD (Lucas Taldo) — Already in Military Police custody; successfully converted to operative status for Operation TOTAL RENEWAL
- SUBJECT MEERKAT (Marc Laho) — Under surveillance; routine analysis incomplete; mission terminated without seizure when Operation TOTAL RENEWAL commenced
- SUBJECT VIPER (Vanessa Canly) — In ReStar Hospital custody; seizure attempted but vessel captured by Zet
- SUBJECT JAGUAR (Jake Fynt) — Seizure failed due to Zet intervention; prior surveillance detected data module retrieval
- SUBJECT JERBOA (Jace Windes) — Successfully seized, interrogated with Compound 919, died during questioning
- SUBJECT MACAW (Mertin Lagum) — Failed to arrive at predicted location; seizure canceled; Zet intervention suspected
Operational Structure
The operation employed a network of operatives with animal codenames:
- OPERATIVE CARACAL — assessed VIPER's status
- OPERATIVE ALPACA — later identified as Dr. Acy Trepa; terminated for breaking protocol
- OPERATIVES FERRET 9-12 — relocation team for VIPER
- OPERATIVES WOLF 11-14 — seizure team for JERBOA
- OPERATIVES WOLF 22-27 — attempted seizure of MACAW
- OPERATIVES VULTURE 1, 2 — waste disposal after JERBOA's death
Numbered facilities were referenced (FACILITY 1, FACILITY 11, FACILITY 81) but their locations and purposes remain unknown beyond FACILITY 1 being where JERBOA was held and interrogated.
Operational Failures
The operation was plagued by multiple problems:
Zet's Intervention: Multiple seizures failed due to direct interference by Zet. VESSEL 357 carrying VIPER was lost to enemy control. JAGUAR and MACAW seizures failed with suspected Zet involvement.
Protocol Violations: Kaiser ("Master") repeatedly disregarded INI-3's operational objections, including:
- Prematurely ordering data module retrieval from JAGUAR, arousing suspicion
- Greenlighting VIPER's seizure despite her volatile psychological state
- Allowing JAGUAR's family members to be considered "not an obstacle" despite risk to mission stealth
Internal Dissent: OPERATIVE ALPACA broke protocol by discontinuing VIPER's endocrine control treatment and was terminated for this action.
Outcome
Of six subjects:
- Two partial successes (LEOPARD operative conversion, JERBOA information extraction)
- Four failures (VIPER, JAGUAR, MACAW missions failed; MEERKAT mission terminated)
INI-3 characterized the operation as largely failed, attributing this to volatile subject conditions, repeated Zet interventions, and its own "proven incompetence." The report notes JERBOA's successful knowledge extraction and LEOPARD's operative status as achievements that made CASCADIA "at least a partial success."
As punishment for the disappointing outcome, INI-3 self-administered 337 PAIN units. Kaiser amended the document to note an additional 1000 PAIN units were administered.
Connection to Operation TOTAL RENEWAL
With the commencement of Operation TOTAL RENEWAL on or before September 26th, 8044, unresolved CASCADIA missions were terminated. LEOPARD's assignment to TOTAL RENEWAL suggests the operations were sequential phases of Kaiser's anti-Zet strategy.
Open Questions
- What specific information did Jace Windes provide under Compound 919 before dying?
- What is the nature and location of FACILITY 1, FACILITY 11, and FACILITY 81?
- How were "PAIN units" administered to INI-3, and what is their mechanism?
- Did the cognitive prediction database yield actionable intelligence before the operation ended?
- What was Operation CHIMERA referenced in JAGUAR's surveillance?