Centaur Operations
Centaur Operations (CentOps) refers to influence campaigns that negatively use technologies like Peared to influence real-world events. Events such as riots and protests where surrogates would attend real-world protests and riots but would be controlled by users who wanted them to revolt on purpose so that they could shape public opinion. This was initially an idea that Paolo Soto had but was negatively used by Kendra Godfrey as a way to earn more money while supporting Peared's technology. Kendra Godfrey's partner, Malcolm Dubour brought projects.
Monica also played a key role in these operations.
In order to maintain distance from the jobs, Paolo Soto made sure he used proper measures so that he wouldn't get caught up in the job. All the payments were made from burner phones using crypto. None of his interactions on Peared registered on the live network. The use of Peared 's God Mode was useful because it didn't log data. Mack was the only person he directly interacted with, and that was unavoidable.
City of Lagos
The first client CentOps project was a stadium that was meant to be built in the City of Lagos. The client had land there, which it wanted to use to build a hotel and marina on, but the city was going ahead with a plan for a stadium to be built on that land. The influence job here would be to get officials to see that the local population didn't support the objective and revolted, which would cancel the plans to build a stadium and would allow the client to proceed with building their hotel and marina.
LA Incident
In July of 2024, a protest was expected of 100,000 protestors and 5,000 police offers in downtown LA. Paolo Soto and Monica were tasked to make things go more violent. They controlled 7 agents who were suppose to make the chaotic environment worse by firing blanks in the air. During this process, one person unexpectedly dies.
SpaceRace Exploration
As Malcolm Dubour was a key member of the Centaur Operations team, he was always on the lookout for new opportunities for CentOps. One day, he received a message from an old contact who worked at SpaceRace Exploration, a private space company that was looking to secure contracts to develop shuttles and other infrastructure for outer space exploration.
The public had been largely against the idea of private companies getting involved in space exploration, and SpaceRace was struggling to gain support for their plans. Seeing an opportunity, Malcolm approached his associates, Paolo Soto and Kendra Godfrey, with a proposal to use CentOps to shape public opinion in favor of SpaceRace.
Kendra was immediately on board with the plan. She saw the potential for significant financial rewards if they could help SpaceRace secure contracts, and she was eager to put their technology to work in support of the company's goals. Paolo, on the other hand, was hesitant. He was uncomfortable with the idea of using their technology to manipulate public opinion, and he was worried about the potential consequences of their actions.
Despite Paolo's reservations, Kendra and Malcolm were able to convince him to go along with the plan. Using their VR and AR technology, they created a network of surrogates who would attend public meetings and other events where SpaceRace's plans were being discussed. These surrogates were equipped with AR glasses that allowed them to interact with virtual elements in the real world, such as holographic projections or virtual displays.
Users in safe locations would use VR headsets to control the surrogates and make them appear enthusiastic and supportive of SpaceRace's plans. These users could also create false news stories or social media posts to amplify the voices of the surrogates and make it appear as though there was widespread support for private companies getting involved in space exploration.
The campaign was a success. As the surrogates attended public meetings and other events, they were able to effectively silence critics of SpaceRace's plans. The public began to see a strong show of support for the company, and many people began to change their minds about the idea of private companies participating in space exploration.
Thanks to the efforts of CentOps, SpaceRace was able to secure contracts to develop shuttles and other infrastructure for outer space exploration. Kendra was thrilled, as the company's success meant significant financial rewards for her and her partners. Paolo, however, was left with a sense of unease. He couldn't shake the feeling that they had done something unethical, and he was unsure if the rewards were worth the cost.
Here is a memo Malcolm had sent his team about this opportunity.
Imran Malik
After the sale of NAM, Kendra Godfrey, Monica, Paolo Soto, and Malcolm Dubour resume their activities. This time to help a Pakistani politician, Imran Malik. Their client wanted Paolo Soto to act as a controller of the Peared network so that Imran Malik could march from his party’s storefront headquarters in Clifton to a rally in the Defense neighborhood. Malik was a rising star who lacked the resources and infrastructure of the entrenched PQP party. Overseas organizers wanted to pair with Hands on the ground to bolster their confidence, give them the courage to march, and get Malik to his destination. However, this seemingly simple job goes south when an explosion happens and Imran Malik is killed.