Shadows of Shen Zhou:The Auspicious Ministry of Harmonious Communication
Destiny Cost: 3
Study difficulty: 20
Whether you're a zine publisher or someone talking in a chatroom, you're subject to the oversight of The Auspicious Ministry of Harmonious communication, or Harmony.
Harmony's remit is that nothing insulting to the Emperor is said, nor any information detrimental to the social order is allowed to propagate. They have a lot of lattitude in interpreting this line and if a few people get vanished for one too many innocuous comments then well, it'll just make the rest more careful.
Harmony is a purely data-gathering organisation. They rely on the other ministries of the Forbidden City to carry out their sanction - usually the Imperial Magistrates but in extremis it's been rumoured that the White Ghost Killers have been dispatched to squelch particularly dangerous secrets.
Due to the fear of the Imperial magistrates banging down one's door in the night, public dissent is all but absent in the official media. But while it's a very real threat, Harmony has many troubles.
The first is size. The sheer volume of communications they monitor means they can only sample a fraction, relying on tip-offs and heuristic searches for the rest. For this reason they tend to concentrate on outlets that are known to be suspicious; infiltrating or closing down darknets or self-published zines.
The second is the twin evils that touch every aspect of Shen Zhou's government: politics and corruption. Whichever faction has a hold over Harmony can control what media agenda is allowed to spread, and stifle that of its rivals. Bribery is endemic at the higher levels of Harmony, along with the threat of assasination if the bribee is too obstinate or takes up the wrong offer.
Lastly is the censored information itself. By its nature its often seditious or scandalous (whether true or not). Operatives in Harmony often become persuaded by the very things they're trying to suppress: they are constantly monitored by their own organisation for signs of anti-establishment leanings. And woe betide the poor fool who comes across something genuinely secret; "promotion" to an unmarked grave is their usual reward.
Due to all this, existence within Harmony is one of hideous paranoia, and it has the highest turnover of any branch of the Forbidden City. Those that live long enough to reach its upper echelons are only the most hardy and treacherous.
Discounts on related lore
-1 The Net
-1 The Media
Secrets of Destiny
3 Secret: The operatives within Harmony are privy to a lot of information, and there's even more in their archives. You have a contact who may be willing to share some of it with you, for a price. Be careful what you ask for! that price may be a bounty on your head.
2 Victory: You manage to publish dangerous information under Harmony's nose. Depending on how much of a fuss it causes they will notice sooner or later, but may not track it back to you.
5 Hunted: You are a known dissident, or are known to posses dangerous information. Harmony has issued a write for your surveillance, arrest or elimination (depending on the level of the disadvantage) (-5 if this is your first or second disadvantage)
