Keepers of the Lie

Shortly after the end of The Gap, a group of Vesk soldiers and researchers on the icy wastelands of Vesk-8 uncovered a being encased in the ice. Though it couldn’t move, the entity telepathically informed the vesk they were being lied to, their entire existences simple contrivances, as the universe had been created from whole cloth after the Gap. From that seed grew an organized crime empire, now called the Keepers of the Lie, that has since spread throughout The Veskarium. The call to throw off the bonds of race, family, religion, and past continues to draw the disaffected to their ranks. Along with gaining a new family in the Liars, as these street-level members are often called, they also learn the ways of smuggling, extortion, and slavery. But within that vast enterprise, the story told by the mysterious frozen entity remains the driving force of the False Witnesses, the organization’s innermost circle. Structure

Members

Still centered in the Veskarium, the Liars draw most of their members from races found in that system. Vesk are naturally the most numerous, closely followed by Pahtra of Vesk-6. After an introductory mission, often symbolically chosen to help the initiate sever their connection with the past, the new Liar is given a new name and assigned to a gang. The gangs intentionally include members of as many races and backgrounds as possible, working to break down old ties to make way for new ones.

Leaders

The False Witnesses are the central council for the criminal network, with one member representing each world on which the Liars have a substantial presence. One last seat, representing Vesk-8 despite its desolation, is held by the form they cut from the ice centuries ago. Still frozen, now through mechanical means for its own safety, the shadowy form rarely speaks—but when it whispers, the council inevitably accepts its judgment. Even the creature itself does not know its own story. It awoke from the Gap knowing that it was once the herald of a god but had been cast down. Without knowing the reason for its dismissal or even which god it had followed, it seeks a new truth for itself just as much as any of its followers.

Enemies

The Keepers of the Lie consider the followers of Lao Shu Po to be their greatest enemy. A Ysoki representative on the council was revealed to be a spy for Grandmother Rat’s church, beginning a vicious series of purges and reprisals that have soured relations to this day. The Veskarium’s official Division of Disloyal Organizations was originally founded to help prevent the spread of the Keepers of the Lie, and later expanded its mission to control similar organizations. Some believe the division has itself been infiltrated by the organization, as it seems far more effective against other factions than it is against the Keepers of the Lie. The true mission of the central council sets the cult in opposition to the Starfinder Society, but the groups haven’t engaged in any sort of open conflict yet. However, as the council recently appointed a member to represent Absalom Station, that seems likely to change.

Public Agenda

Although street-level members are mostly concerned with daily criminal operations and burying their own pasts, the inner circles of the organization use the resources at their disposal to destroy the “lie” of the Gap. Smuggled artifacts are destroyed, historical buildings are demolished, and databases containing pre-Gap information are targeted for deletion. Long-lived beings who recall times prior to the Gap are seen as tools of the gods’ control to be discredited or even killed. Naturally, the False Witnesses do not currently have the means required to wipe the slate clean, and so the organization is always on the lookout for new opportunities, legal or not, to gather more resources.