The Department of Racial Employment

"I like to play out all the possibilities. I have created the World of Progress so that it is a diverse environment. It allows any one being to raise themselves up from their initial surroundings to any place they would like to go; from any background to any future possibility. I am not interested in one race or one location becoming the primary resource for my Operatives. I am only interested in letting everyone become the best that they can possibly be, whether their parents were Operatives, or whether they were bought up amongst the homeless of lower DownTown."

"This department has always ensured that Operatives are trained from all of my races, but now I bestow an extra responsibility upon it. I want the Department of Racial Employment to not only ensure that Operatives are recruited from all races but also from all backgrounds. You are to make sure that the greatest cross-section of the population can become Operatives and work directly for SLA Industries. In short Ladies and Gentlemen I want you to create diversity."

Mr. Slayer, SCL 1, ©SLA Industries, 301SD. Public Address to Diversity, The Department of Racial Employment.

The History of Diversity

Prior to 301 SD, the Department of Racial Employment was primarily involved in ensuring that all of the races had an equal opportunity in becoming Operatives or Employees of SLA Industries. Although this was one of the primary departments in SLA Industries its task was little more than evaluating the numbers of candidates to Meny from non-humans, and ensuring that racism did not decrease the proportion of candidates.

Following the fall of Salvation Tower, several departmental changes were authorised by Mr. Slayer. The Department of Racial Employment, after a public address by Mr. Slayer, was given the extra responsibility of promoting diversity amongst the backgrounds of all future Operatives. Their budget was increased a hundred fold as long as they could ensure that future backgrounds for Operatives was as diverse as possible. The head of the department at that time, a Mr. Chris Taylor, restructured the department so that it could best facilitate Mr. Slayers requirements.

In 305 SD Taylor was instrumental in the creation of the Racial Equality Program. This program stated at its fundamental level that no race should face discrimination because it had different requirements form another race. Originally this was intended primarily for applications to Meny University, but it was soon applied to many different things in the World of Progress. It took until 325 SD, before bio-genetic creations of Karma were recognised under the Racial Equality Program. Taylor was assassinated in 333 SD, by the soft company Human Rule, who disagreed with the department view on racism.

Taylor's position was taken over by Mr. Waldor Ice following his assassination. Ice was an Ebon originally from Static, and had witnessed racism first hand whilst on Mort. Despite this he had managed to graduate from Meny with full honours, trained in Investigation and Interrogation. Following five years as an Operative, Ice was contacted by the Department of Racial Employment for several off-world assignments. Following a further three years spent mainly visiting different planets, Ice placed a requisition for a permanent place in the Department. After twelve years in which he had successfully overcome the transition from Active Operative to Departmental Manager, he was amongst those interviewed by Mr. Slayer following Taylor's assassination.

It is rumoured that Ice gained his position within the first 30 seconds of his interview by Mr. Slayer. When asked what would be the first thing that he would do if he was placed in charge of the department, he replied that he would change its name to Diversity to more accurately reflect the work of the department. He left his interview after over three hours, with a budget that had been increased by a further one hundred times, along with ideas to implement on a scale previously unimaginable.

Following Ice's appointment at the newly renamed Diversity, over five thousand BPNs were issued throughout Mort and other planets. All of the BPNs had one thing in common, they were targeting soft companies, cults and serial killers that were actively racist and were seen in Diversities eyes to be limiting the potential for employment. When the last attack on Human Rule was undertaken, Ice was amongst the attackers. When questioned afterwards he responded that it was his duty to be there after the assassination of Chris Taylor. The level of racist attacks was substantially reduced following the BPNs, although it is slowly increasing again.

In the first ten years of Diversity, Ice established his Racial Equality Investigation Section. Working closely with the Department of Observation, their role was to uncover any racist groups that were actively promoting their ideas upon the general populace. Nicknamed the Taylor Division, after the founder of the Racial Equality Program, their work is often steeped in controversy. The Taylor Division has even caused riots when they have tried to bring in a racist leader from within a community that follows those ideas. In more recent times the Taylor Division have preferred to remain in the background and allow Operative squads to undertake the fieldwork that is required.

Following the tenth anniversary of Diversity, Ice seemingly became more and more withdrawn whilst thinking up some of his best ideas. It was during this time that the department changed from one that had tried to allow anyone to work for SLA Industries, to one that actively started recruit potential Operatives. Talent Scouts were trained by the department to travel throughout the World of Progress and find those who had the potential to make it far as an Operative. The Talent Scouts were paid a low percentage of the amount that each new operative made in their first year. This meant that the most successful Talent Scouts would look throughout the World of Progress, to try and find the rare individuals who had that certain 'something', whether it was the potential to be one of the greatest contract killers or perhaps an intuitive investigator.

Twenty years after its creation, Diversity announced its most ambitious project. Working with the Department of Expedition, it would start exploring throughout the World of Progress for planets that could be used as 'Home-Worlds' for the various races. The Shaktar had always kept themselves within the system of Kn'nth and the Wraiths had only spread to a few planets beside Polo. What Diversity was suggesting was for them to populate more planets throughout the World of Progress, in effect increasing their numbers. Diversity made clear that they would not force people to move to these new planets, but instead would be looking for volunteers. Rather than causing harm to the civilisations on the home world, this would instead make them stronger as there would be more resources available for fewer people. It would also give more places that Operatives could retire to and settle down in. The news was met with a shocked silence, with most people agreeing that it was a good idea, but overwhelmed at the shear scale of what was being suggested.

Even more surprising was that the news of this project was not given by Ice, but instead his personal assistant. It seemed that Ice did not want to appear in public anymore. Media speculation at the time was that he was ill and was receiving treatment at the Bethlehem Asylum. The speculation was increased following video footage that showed Ice lashing out in a rubber room, his face a pale colour and his previously light blue coloured eyes bloodshot. The stories did not abate even when it was discovered that the room was in actual fact adjacent to his main office in Diversity and not in Bethlehem Asylum. Three months before the twenty-first anniversary of Diversity, Ice was seen leaving the building by the front door and entering into a black Dark Lament APC. On the anniversary, Ice reappeared in front the waiting media. His transformation into a Necanthrope had changed him little, although everyone present could feel his incarnation of paranoia. He said little to those gathered before retreating within the department building.

"Diversity has now been established as is required for the following centuries. I am now in a position to ensure that the ideas started by Chris Taylor are carried out for all time. The golden age of Diversity truly begins."

Mr. Waldor Ice, SCL 2F, ©Diversity, 354SD

Diversity: The Department Today

Little has changed at Diversity in the last 550 years. Mr. Waldor Ice is still in charge of the whole company, although he is rarely seen in public. Most of the interaction with him and the company is handled by his current vassal ebon (currently a girl called Shania Green) or by one of the sub-department managers. The management of the department is strange in that Necanthropes and their vassals run all of the top positions. Most of the Necanthropes are former vassals of Ice, as these are reportedly the few beings that he trusts.

The company, although rarely in the news, is still as active as it has always been. The department hires a large number of Operatives for various tasks. These range from monitoring racist groups to exploring new planets. The department also continues to train talent scouts to search for the best potential operatives. The main expenditure for the company is their 'Home-World' project, which includes establishing new colonies on distant planets.

As well as establishing colonies, Diversity has also been successful in locating planets that have an existing civilisation and persuading them to join SLA Industries. One of the most notable of these is the reported 'Home World of the Frothers' Arbroath. Diversity discovered the planet in 674 SD, finding the native Frothers in their natural habitat. Its discovery was unlike any other, in that it gave a history and purpose to those Frothers who were bought up on Industrial Planets. With the fifteen clans that exist on Arbroath, it allows an urban Frother to draw inspiration from his true descendants and have something more to fight about than just survival or money.