Perhaps the most infamous policlub in Seattle, and possibly the world, is the Humanis movement, which has been around in one form or another since the early days of the Awakening, although it really got going following Goblinization Day and the dramatic appearance of the first orks and trolls. Right from the start, the Humanis position was simple: somebody has got to stand up for the rights of “ordinary” human beings, which is to say Homo sapiens sapiens, and bring to the public’s attention the “dangers” posed by metahumans and, to an extent, the Awakening as a whole.
Seattle’s chapter of the Humanis Policlub is, unfortunately, one of the oldest and largest in North America.
Goblinization Day gave the Humanis a huge boost: if the Awakening scared people, then G-Day terrified them as one person in ten transformed into a “freak” or “monster.” It was Humanis who organized “citizen watch groups” who were little more than lynch mobs to keep the “contagion” from spreading. Even the idea that the government would protect these freaks stoked the fires of hate, until they exploded.
What became the Night of Rage was supposed to be the Humanis Policlub’s greatest achievement. Their power was so widespread in those days you didn’t even know who was a hard-core member or just a sympathizer, because nearly everybody was, or was at least willing to look the other way. Still, when the fires burned on the Seattle waterfront, a lot of people suddenly said, “What the fuck are we doing? What are we allowing to happen?” It was the wake-up call that slowed the rampant growth of the Humanis movement and showed metahumans as people who suffered and died.
The generation born and raised with the Night of Rage as part of their history has a different view of metahumans. The past thirty or so years have forced the Humanis movement to change, too, but not for the better. They’ve gone from an organized lynch mob to an entrenched political interest group. In particular, they’ve focused a lot on “community service,” in a way that would make the Yakuza proud: that is, they sponsor schools, free clinics, youth sports teams, even their own trid and net-cast channels. They’ve embedded the idea that being “for humanity” is a civil right and piss and moan about how metahumans are just whiny victims trying to steal their rights with their demands for “special treatment.” It apparently works, too, because a lot of people vote in sympathy with the Humanis agenda, whether they are official members or not. The policlub’s endorsement of Governor Brackhaven should have been a scandal, but instead it probably helped him secure the Republican nomination and the election. Why not, when the vast majority of voters are humans?
It’s noteworthy that Governor Brackhaven is not an official member of the Humanis Policlub, although his ties to it are quite clear: his uncle Karl was the head of the organization for most of the younger Brackhaven’s life.
> Kay St. Irregular
Behind the scenes, of course, the Humanis Policlub serves as the public face of a network of hate groups like Alamos 20,000, Troll Killers, Human Nation, and the infamous Hand of Five in Seattle, the group believed responsible for the Night of Rage. They funnel money, information, and resources, and serve as a recruitment center where the hard-core radical groups can find new martyrs for their cause.