Money, money, money… That’s what the Syndicate is all about. But it’s not a matter of greed. It’s all about value. Keefer emulates those economic truths with his pursuit not of wealth, but of what constitutes wealth and what it means to be wealthy. Thus, his scientific methods tend toward practical financial systems and guiding society to a deeper respect of what it means to value…anything that has value.
While it’s true that Syndicate beliefs are much loftier than what many agents actually practice, Keefer is still an idealist. As a lawyer, even a corporate lawyer and glorified accountant, he crusades to teach society more about commodity. Trust is vital, and a society cannot trust its own laws if they’re too easily exploited. It’s vital someone with purpose, not just greed, point out those loopholes.
Like all Syndicate agents, Keefer approaches his Enlightened Science with a subtle circumspect and light touch. His Adjustments barely register as applied super-economic philosophy (psychological tricks) and external hyper-cybertech (computer software). Primal Energy is almost an alien concept to this Financier, though he understands it as an inherent advantage Enlightened Science can tap with virtual elbow grease and willpower. Conversely, Paradox is purely an agent’s own fault. Keefer knows he should never bring on Paradox, as subtle as his style is. When it happens, it’s the pushback of the Masses influencing whatever market he’s trying to influence. That market might be the stock market or the value of friendship and favor trading.
For Correspondence, Keefer employs the ultimate medium of the Sphere’s namesake: the computer. Any computer will do so long as it has high-speed Internet connection, because Keefer’s techniques tap into the infinite cyberverse of the Web. With such immense connections, Keefer can arrange for the exchange of data or halt it outright, and eventually he knows he’ll be able to do the same with actual travel. Instantaneous “teleporting” is pretty much out of the question. All he does is connect with a major airline, arrange for a private charter jet, and the flight is far faster than usual, because the FAA received a “VIP clear skies” order, too. Of course, in an emergency, Keefer would be able to substitute the PDC for the FAA, in case he really wanted that instantaneous teleportation…
Entropy is a measure of economic determinism and free market causality. How people react to the changes in value of things is predictable, and therefore it can be controlled. Keefer pushes speculators of all sorts the way he wants with legal precedent. After all, without laws to protect society and the money it accrues, wealth becomes meaningless. That legal precedent re-establishes cause, and the reaction is the Effect.
Meanwhile, a key to Keefer’s entire purpose within the Union is the Sphere of Mind. Like the New World Order, he believes the Masses must be guided and shepherded, often unwittingly, toward enlightenment. He just knows the Masses won’t give a rat’s ass about morality and social responsibility if there isn’t a buck to be made in it. Persuading the Masses is just that. With expert argumentation that takes sophistry beyond simple debate, Keefer presents the convincing truths of super-economics and apex philosophy in a way no one can dispute.
Genius
A long, broad wall symbolizes Keefer’s entire line of thinking, his Genius and inspiration in the Syndicated arts of wealth and power. The Financier sees that wall as the only thing keeping society from collapsing into barbarism. Sadly, it’s full of pocks and holes. Keefer sees himself as instrumental in pointing out those holes so that they can be plugged. He can’t do it himself. Even if he had the influence to change laws, it wouldn’t make a difference. Society itself must change, in how it thinks and acts, and that is best accomplished by shifting laws de facto through judicial imposition. After all, look at what happened to segregation in America. How many changes Keefer will affect, and if they will be positive and beneficial in the long run, is a mystery to the young Financer. But he’s a go-getter!
Resonance
Static (Tailoring)
Keefer is a man who makes his own success. And he’s a man who at least appears to care about others, too. He’s a man that understands the systems, and especially the systems’ flaws. Somehow he gets around them. Somehow he finds the loopholes, and makes the system work for him. He tailors society to fit his needs. Socially, he gains a –3 difficulty on rolls that involve subversion and manipulation of legal systems. However, he suffers a +3 difficulty on any rolls that require him to play it straight with the social system -– that is, whenever there are no legal loopholes to exploit.
When it comes to Adjustments, Keefer gains a –1 difficulty on Enlightenment rolls made to alter a Pattern to fit his personal tastes and subversive style, such as a Life Effect to alter his appearance or a Correspondence Effect to create a cyberware “ghost trap” for wily coyote Virtual Adept snoops. He accepts a +1 difficulty in return on any Adjustments designed to reinforce a thing’s design that is not his style or tastes (such as using Matter to make his suit jacket as tough as a Kevlar vest instead of sabotaging his enemy’s firearm).
The Diagnostician's Study (Laboratory)
~In his modest 2-bedroom apartment, Keefer converted the spare bedroom into his cloistering study. He further worked it to his professional necessity and preference with finer wall and ceiling paneling, and a luxuriously soft carpet. A stately and old-fashioned wooden bureau serves as his computer desk. Bookshelves line those walls, with tasteful decorations in between, many of which celebrate the legacy of the successful African-American -- from iron manacles to silver cuff links. Despite Keefer's affection for the many academic and legal tomes, the power centers in his custom-designed home computer sitting upon that fine desk.~
