The MIB in Delta Green
MIB phenomena is interesting on several levels,
so many, in fact, that is is difficult to know where to begin. For
instance, on the surface it would appear that MIB is one of those very few
legends that can be traced to it's ultimate source, i.e. Bender. However,
a brief persual of human history suggests that this might not necessarily
be the case. A tradition of MIB-type entities, that is mysterious
dark-clothed individuals with sinister intentions, can be followed back to
ancient times and across virtually all cultures. At least as far back as
biblical times there has been a tradition in the Middle East of men
attired in black robes and turbans attempting to lure victims out into the
desert for unspecified sinister purposes. Likewise, in central and
Southern Europe during the middle ages there existed a genuine fear among
the inhabitants of those regions of black-clad beings who wandered the
countryside performing indiscriminate acts of vampirism on humans and
livestock alike. Fairy lore allows for otherwise human-looking fairies who
dress in black and delight in causing mischief in the human world. The
fact that MIB are often (in fact nearly always) described as having Asian features is interesting in light
of the fact that there is a long-standing myth in China, Tibet, and India
that a superior race of humans live beneath the
surface of the earth who occasionally send "agents" dressed in black to
the surface to surveil and or/manipulate human affairs. (This
is known as the "King of the World" myth.) Native Americans feared the
"Black Man" who supposedly lurked in the forests with malicious intent.
There are even what could be considered MIB-type undertones in Nathaniel
Hawthorne's 1835 short story, Young Goodman Brown. So there would
appear to be a general precedence, if not an archetype, for the beings
Bender described. However, Bender can be credited with giving these beings
a specific purpose, i.e. discouraging UFO percipients from discussing what
they have experienced. What is interesting is that not only did reports of
MIB encounters begin to filter in before Bender's book was published,
nearly all MIB encounters since have invlolved people who have never even
heard of the phenomenon, let alone Bender.
A "typical" MIB encounter goes something like this: Soon (usually
immediately) after witnessing some type of UFO phenomenon, the percipient
is visited by one or more strange men. These men often flash badges, give
names, and claim to be from one government agency or another. (Upon
subsequent investigation, the names givien are invariably absent from the
mentioned agency's records and often the agency itself is found not to
exist.) The "agents" usually display not only an uncanny knowledge of
exactly what the witness has seen, but intimate personal knowledge of the
witness as well. They collect all physical evidence of the encounter that
the witness may have, such as photographs or residue from a landing site.
Even in instances where they do not threaten the witness outright not to
speak of his or her experience, the MIB usually manage to make it clear
that doing so would not be a good idea. Other times, however, the MIB
claim to be insurance salesmen, portrait photographers, or something
equally unconnected with the subject of UFOs and never mention the UFO
event in question, yet somehow leave the impression that they are
associated with it none the less.
MIB tend to run the gamut as far as physical appearance is concerned,
however, some generalizations in this are can be made. While some MIB are
decidedly more human-looking than others, they have been fairly
consistently described as being olive-complected and having thin lips,
high cheekbones, and slanted (sometimes glowing)eyes. Their height can
range from very short to very tall. They often sport garish makeup and bad
wigs in a failed attempt to look more "normal." It is usually difficult to
estimate their age. Often they move in a "mechanical" fashion and their
voice has a machine-like quality. They frequently appear to have
respritory difficulties and seem to be drained of energy over short
periods of time. They are usually dressed, of course, in black; most often
in out of date suits that appear to be brand new and cut from some strange
type of fabric. MIB usually travel in packs of three, although doubles
and singles are not uncommon. They tend to drive large, black American
cars such as Cadillacs, Buicks, and Lincolns which are usually at least
twenty or thirty years old old, yet in mint condition. Often these cars display strange, unidentifiable
insignias. An unusual glow, as if from a vapor lamp or instrument panel on
some type of console, has often been reported as illuminating the interior
of the vehicle. License plate numbers are usually either
obscured or missing altogether, but in numerous instances, plate numbers
have been recorded and checked otu only to show that they had never been
issued.
The hallmarks of the "classic" MIB visitations are incompetence and
bizarre behavior on the part of the MIB. Seemingly mystified by human
ways, they are extremely poor taskmasters in the area of imitation. For
instance, they often express amazement at the most mundane objects, such
as bowls of jello or ball-point pens, and have been known to ask
inappropriate and downright rude questions
MIB encounters, as one might expect, are actually quite rare, roughly
forty cases in all have been "documented." Encounters that have the
slightest credibility are rarer still.
AUTHORIZED DELTA GREEN CELL-LEADERS ONLY
The Truth
In truth, the so-called "Men in Black" are agents of the blue-litten subterrenean realm of Kn'Yan (as described by Zelia Bishop and H.P. Lovecraft in the short story, "The Mound").
The inhabitants of Kn'Yan are diammetrically opposed to the machinations of the alien Mi-Go, whom they call "the Sky-Devils". The Kn'Yan, heretofore referred to as the MIB's, work to upset or undo Mi-Go efforts and activities on Earth. Through the use of advanced technology, mental powers, and human agents (in the form of the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign), the MIB seek to eventually rid the Earth of the Mi-Go and hasten the emancipation/awakening of their deities Hastur, Tulu, Yig, and Tsathoggua.
The History
The Mi-Go came to Earth 150 million years ago. They came to mine Earth of specific resources not found elsewhere. Over time, humans began to evolve. These humans were psychically aware and were very susceptible to the dream-sendings of the hibernating Gods called the Great Old Ones. The Mi-Go recognized in this species the capacity to release the Great Old Ones, thus ending their extended mining operations. Therefore the Mi-Go began to genetically manipulate the human species in order to suppress the psychic aptitude and abilities, therefore lowering humanity's connection with the Great Old Ones and extending their stay. One group of highly evolved humans recognized the Mi-Go's machinations and removed themselves to deep under the Earth. They were known as the Kn'Yan, and they built great cities in large caverns deep in the crust. The caverns are lit by an eerie electric blue gas, whether this phenomena is natural or artificial is unknown.
From their secret realm, the Kn'Yani developed their technology to the point where they had mastered atomic power, genetics, and other mysterious powers. They had atomic lances that could disintegrate matter, medical technology that allowed virtual immortality, and psychic powers that allowed them to communicate telepathically and pass through solid stone (very handy in an underground world).
Eventually, their civilization turned decadent with stagnation and boredom. They used ritualized torture and unspeakable religious acts. They kidnapped surface dwellers, tortured and killed them for pleasure, then used their corpses, animated through advanced medicine and psychic powers, as menial slaves and workers. The surface dwellers eventually came to view the Kn'Yani as Earth spirits, faries, and ghosts, able to materialize and dematerialize at will.
In the 1545, a Spanish explorer named Panfilo de Zamacona, one of Coronado's men, discovered their world. Although he was amicably accepted as a member of their culture, Zamacona was forbidden from ever leaving and was indeed killed attempting to escape. A record of Zamacona's discovery was uncovered in the 1928 by an American archeaologist excavating mysterious Native America mounds in Caddo County, Oklahoma. He lost his tenure and standing in the Archeaological community when he tried to publish his findings.
Though the Kn'Yani have always wished to live in secret, they have maintained a relationship with the outside world through the use of a cult of surface-humans (whom they consider to be impure and inferior) known as "The Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign". "The Brotherhood" serves to further the goals of the Kn'Yani on the surface. "The Brotherhood's" activities usually include working to upset the machinations of the Mi-Go and to otherwise hasten the emancipation/awakening of their deities.
In 1948, the Mi-Go, through a genetically created proxy-race called "The Greys", established official, albeit secret, contact with the U.S. Government in the hopes of maintaining their goal of the continued inactivity of The Great Old Ones. This raised the stakes for the Kn'Yani. The "Brotherhood" was proving to be ineffective in the face of covert government affiliation with the enemy. It was decided that several Kn'Yani would leave their subterranean realm and act directly against Mi-Go activities. Though they had superior technology and abilities to bring to bear, they had to maintain secrecy lest their realm be discovered. Therefore they took on the guises of "ordinary and respected" members of the surface society.
Unfortunately, even though the Kn'Yani had dealings with surface dwellers, the contact was limited. Surface social customs and technology was foreign and unknown to the Kn'Yani. But they did their best. They adopted uniform black suits to avoid the necessity of keeping up to date with changing styles. Hats and glasses were required to disguise their unique physical features (hairless, albino or olive skinned, mixed-race features, etc.). Finally, they converted surface-technology to to their own, adopting surface conveyances for transportation (their riding beasts, the Gyaa-Yothn would be too obvious).
Their initial dealings with Humanity were awkward and, although attempts were made to psychically erase the memories of those they came in contact with, early attempts resulted in partial failures leaving vague half-memories of strange people and bizarre behavior. Over time, their activities became more practiced. In the 1950's and 60's, there were several instances of strange visitations of "Men in Black" (hence the term), examples of unsuccessful erasures. Since that time, reportings of such incidents have dwindled to near non-existence. Though they still act amongst us, their activities are now much more covert and their traces are more thouroughly eliminated.
Appearance
Inhabitants of Kn'Yan can be either olive-skinned or albino, having evolved deep underground. Their eyes are deep-set and coal-black, necessitating dark eyewear while operating on the surface during the day. They are completely hairless, lacking eyebrows or even light body-hair. Zamacona described them as resembling the Native American peoples of the area. This is likely inaccurate. The inhabitants of Kn'Yan display Asian features mixed with some Native features. Zamacona was probably unfamiliar with Asians and therefore would therefore see more similarities with the Natives of the area, which would explain his error.
When operating on the surface, they wear a black suit and tie with a white shirt. They wear a black fedora hat and black patent-leather shoes. Not accustomed to moving in the open areas of the surface, MIB often move in a jerky robotic fashion. Their manners are strange since they are unfamiliar with surface customs, though this has changed in more recent times. Kn'Yani, being a scientific people, are very curious about seemingly mundane surface items and customs. Often, MIB will ask contactees about common behavior or customs, or everyday items such as plastic bowls or carpet, expressing great fascination with these concepts.
Activities on the Surface
The ultimate goal of the MIB is the awakening and release of their Gods. Since the immediate goal of the alien Mi-Go is the supression of these Gods, the MIB work to undo the work of the aliens. To this end, the MIB will often question recent alien contactees in an effor to determine the extent of the Mi-Go's efforts. Contactees are then discouraged from further contact with the Mi-Go/Greys and or promotion of their agenda. Any memory of the contact or MIB visitation is subsequently erased psychicallyby the MIB's, though such erasures are not always successful.
Though the MIB lack official contact with any government, they work through their agents in "the Brotherhood". The MIB are aware of the government/Grey consipiracy and work against it with their own conspiracies, though not with the same success as the Greys. "The Brotherhood" and it's ultimate goal of self-destruction are a hard sell to anyone except those few psychically sensitive minds whom have already received dream-contact from the Great Old Ones. Thus the numbuers of "The Brotherhood" are low, much lower than the government/Grey conspiracy, "Majestic-12".
Oftentimes, agents of Delta Green will come into contact and even temporary alliance with either members of "The Brotherhood" or the MIB's themselves. Though these alliances are often useful to stop MJ-12/Grey activities, they are ultimately more detrimental considering the MIB's ultimate goals. Therefore, Delta Green agents are warned not to interact or ally with either MIB or members of "The Brotherhood".
Kn'Yani, The Men In Black
| Characteristics | Rolls | Average |
| STR | 3d6 | 10-11 |
| CON | 3d6 | 10-11 |
| SIZ | 3d6 | 10-11 |
| INT | 4d6 | 14 |
| POW | 4d6 | 14 |
| DEX | 2d6+3 | 10-11 |
| APP | 2d6+3 | 10-11 |
Move:2
Average Damage Bonus: None
Weapons: Disintegrator Ray (35%, 2d10)
Armor: None
Spells: 2d6 Spells
SAN Loss: 0/1d6 for Recognizing an MIB
For more information on the MIB and the Mythos, refer to A Tale of Terror: Men in Black by Pagan Publishing.