Optional Exposition

(This isn’t really needed to understand the rest of the story, since the basics are explained in the main intro and it gets sort of explained during the story, but I figured someone would be interested in the nitty gritty of how the whole system works in this universe, so here it is. Also, it’s written like an inter-agency memo/email/whatever for a generic intelligence agency for immersion and because I can’t come up with another framing device.)

Greetings, agent.

Three months ago, the governments of the world gathered together to discuss a new, international system of laws that would change the way intelligence agencies interact with both each other and terror groups. No more information was known to the rest of us, until today.

It has been announced that the new system of laws would grant agents situational legal ownership and thus full control over other agents from any intelligence agency, terrorists, arms dealers, civilians, and everyone else other than anyone higher ranking than them in any intelligence agency. The only condition for this ownership is having directly saved this individual in one way or another. This can be saving their life, saving them from significant harm or threat, pulling them out of financial trouble, or anything of the like.

Any agents that have acquired any ‘slaves’ can also be owned themselves, through the same process. In those situations, the theoretical enslaved agent would still hold direct ownership over whoever they were in legal control of before being enslaved and would still be able to acquire new legal slaves. However, in any situation where they and their owner disagree on commands for said lower-ranked slaves, the higher owner’s command would be the final word.

This ownership can be relinquished at any time, simply by signing it away and returning their rights and freedom. The ownership of an individual can also be given over to someone else, so long as they’re not being given over to someone of lower rank than themselves. The only way that one could free themselves from ownership would be to gain a higher rank than the individual who owns them.

These laws were created to detur terror efforts and ensure compliance with other agencies, as their whole **** could be dismantled by a coordinated effort to put in danger and then save most, if not all, of their agents. It is unknown how well this will work.

This message will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck.

(Little note- this means that, under certain circumstances in certain paths, you can gain ownership over certain characters!)