Omar

"The biomodified Omar share a group consciousness, but each member was once an ordinary human."

- Deus Ex: Invisible War description

The Omar Technosect or simply Omar (Rus. Oмар) is a global society of cyborgs in 2071 and a faction in Deus Ex: Invisible War. They are characterized by a post-human appearance, mindset, and organization - while some of their sympathizers and agents are (still) human, those who choose to join are radically surgically and nanotoechnologically augmented to an unprecedented degree. The ultimate modification is the replacement of frontal lobes by a cortical interface, that completely assimilates the subject into the collective mind. The Omar are believed by some to be the next step in human evolution, humanity's successors, if not replacement.

Background
"The Omar are a worldwide cult of cyborgs, openly dedicated to the idea of transcending human limitations through technology. Though many individuals outside the cult are biomodified, the cyborgs are the only group that explicitly promotes "posthumanism." Accustomed to procuring technology for themselves, the Omar have established a global black market for high-tech and weapons.

It is believed that the Omar initially emerged in postCollapse Russia, the culmination of desperate attempts by scientists to survive the famines and polluted environment."

- Deus Ex: Invisible War Official Strategy Guide by Prima

The Omar are the unlikely children of the darkness of the Collapse, when Russian science cities found themselves severed from the greater federation and left to fend for themselves. The resulting Russian Famine took a devastating toll on the population, especially in cities when the harsh winter came. The eventual underground cyborg society was first and foremost a desperate bid to survive, at any cost. The future Omar seized any resources they required and went to extreme lengths to guarantee their survival.

What emerged from these cities was a post-human collective, applying anagenetic evolution to rapid environmental change: Forcing adaptation by augmentation, not limited by any conventional morality or abstract laws. From the Omar perspective, by solving the problem of survival on a planet disrupted by warfare and self-perpetuating hazards, they solved other social problems, removing individual variance from the equation. While the problem was solved, it remains imperfect and the Omar are always on the lookout for ways to improve the collective, especially pre-Collapse transgenics, who were also created to endure a world of war and catastrophe. VersaLife remains a prized source of knowledge, as its abandoned laboratories provided much knowledge to the Omar.

Ultimately, the Omar plan to adapt to every climate and biohazard on Earth, with the potential to expand beyond the confines of the blue planet. The network believes the New Age cannot be prevented, though the presence of strong leaders and factions may delay its arrival and the Omar inheriting of the Earth.

Organization
The Omar are unlike any other human organization, state or otherwise, as all members of the collective share a group consciousness once augmented with the cortical interface. This consciousness facilitiates the actions of the collective across the world, including real-time reactions to outside actions against the group. The most noticeable of these is the near-instantaneous granting of preferred customer status to those who perform a service to the sect (typically an illegal act, such as theft or murder), entitling them to a 50% discount when purchasing from any trader. Of course, any hostile action results in immediate rescinding of this privilege.

This unprecedented degree of connectivity coupled with the absence of individual desires allowed the Omar to effectively corner the global black market, infiltrating even WTO enclaves to facilitate international trade. By 2072, any existing criminal element knows that their appearance means they have to either flee or strike a bargain with the Omar, as they are known to be utterly implacable. Any such alliance of necessity is brief, as the former competition is usually aware the Omar will dispose of them the moment they stop being necessary.

The same network makes it impossible to carry out a decapitation strike, since there's no discrete commander. The shared consciousness directs Omar actions, and coordinates operations, to the point where replacement Omar can arrive in a matter of hours. It also allows them to infiltrate almost any network, including biomodified humans, and using their infolink to remotely acquire data. They usually inform they will perform such an action, though they don't necessarily seek consent to continue using a person's augmentations in this manner.

Although borderline alien, the Omar's wealth makes them lucrative business partners, and implacable foes. They are also known to be very well paying employers, paying non-Omar protectors handsome sums (2000 credits per week and free biomods) for their work, as well as the option for more extreme modifications - a pathway to becoming one of them.

Augmentations
Although the Omar appear monstrous at a glance, likened to "horse-headed freaks" by their enemies, they are a walking advertisement for their expertise in the field of biomodification, and the black market they excel in is one of the only sources for non-Piezochem biomods. They are easily distinguished by the skin-tight environmental suits with a helmet enclosing their head, distinguishing between different types of Omar according to the eyepieces: Omar traders have red, narrowed lenses, while Omar Protectors have more open, yellow, goggle-like eyes. Traders have raspy voices, while protectors have more mechanical voices.

The Omar are confirmed to seek candidates for assimilation from among their contractors, although rumors of other methods persist. One holds that whenever the Omar lose a cyborg, they replace the loss by forcibly assimilating the person responsible for causing the loss. Another holds that they abduct homeless people and convert them into robots, with another stating the same, except the victims are black market rivals.

The Omar induction is divided into two phases. Phase I is the most visually striking, as the candidate undergoes extensive augmentation, combining nanotech and mechanical augs. The hardware includes invasive installation of transskeletal supports and a full-body, form-fitting environmental suit capable of surviving in any environment (likened to black latex). Removal is impossible without involving surgeons specializing in augmentations, and until removed or integrated into the collective, the Omar consciousness can shut its functions down remotely. Phase II is when the subject becomes a true Omar, with the installation of a cortical implant that replaces the individual's frontal lobes. The procedure effectively removes their individuality, making the subject think like an Omar - or rather, making them part of the global consciousness. The procedure is extremely painful and the Omar give prospective candidates two months to decide under normal circumstances, although may decide to force assimilation under certain circumstances. People exposed to the Omar collective report the Omar don't think in a conventional sense, at least in a way that can be understood by regular humans.

It's possible that the individual consciousness continues to exist within the network, essentially transcending the flesh. Equally possible is the Omar network being able of simulating any individual that has been added to the network. Omar have been dissected by WTO researchers, revealing the cortical interface is the primary controller for any single unit, using the original software created by Russian scientists after the Collapse, including opcodes in Cyrillic. It is also considered to be the source of the apparent lack of personality among the Omar, and what led the Templar to believe that the Omar are actually a self-replicating machine that grows itself around human bodies. On the flip side, augmentation that makes the Omar interchangeable also makes them easy to upgrade: The collective consciousness can integrate new information and disseminate them instantly, providing improvements in Omar survivability within moments of receiving it.

Outside relations
The Omar are not particularly popular across the world, even if they provide otherwise unavailable services. In all WTO areas, the Omar are banned and their entry or stay constitutes a violation of WTO laws (under Section 876, Transhuman Immigration Violation). It is considered a pragmatic policy, as the Omar prioritize their own survival ahead of any law, and the black market they operate exists outside WTO control. Most troopers are also extremely prejudiced against the Omar, alongside many elites.

The Knights Templar are unsurprisingly the most rabid foes of the Omar, considering them to be not a human organization, but the aforementioned self-replicating machine that needs to be pruned constantly, until the entire network can be defeated at once. While the WTO does not go out of its way to target them, the Templars perform regular raids and pogroms to wipe them out, which include crucifying captured cyborgs as a public demonstration of their enmity. Omar are classified as a higher threat than even biomodified agents with cutting-edge biomods.

To JC Denton and ApostleCorp, the Omar are a comparable posthuman civilization, with one major difference: The Omar assimilate individuals into their network, melding them together into a huge construct. The Helios network that would form the backbone of their posthuman society would instead communicate, allowing for global governance and pure democracy, thanks to instant communication at any moment, constantly linked to the greater collective. Unlike the Omar, which remove individuals from the equation, Helios would be able to account for each individual's needs and knowledge, obviating the need for conventional government. Alex D: "Tell me more about this "posthuman civilization."" JC Denton: "Before the... disruptions, Helios and I had many months of productive thought. Up to now, all free societies have started with one premise: human nature is cruel, unjust -- a force to be controlled." Alex D: "I follow you so far." JC Denton: "The separation of powers -- from Aristotle to Montesquieu -- is designed purely to thwart the ambitions of individuals. How comical, the West's pride in its vast tangle of agencies, jurisdictions, arcane procedures..." Alex D: "What's the alternative?" JC Denton: "Address the flaws in human nature. Make all beings truly equal in both body and mind.  If you start with minds that are lucid, knowledgable, and emotionally sound, the needs of government change dramatically." Alex D: "How do you control human emotions?  Antidepressants?  Is that freedom?" JC Denton: "Is it freedom when one child is born to poverty, a chance combination of organic materials, while the wealthy child is shaped every day of his life, enhanced genetically, trained, educated, often augmented nanotechnologically?" Alex D: "Why not get rid of nanotech and genetic engineering, the technologies that make people different from each other?" JC Denton: "Then you go down the path of intolerance, as your friend Billie did. Is human nature perfect?  No.  Therefore, improvements are to be welcomed, not annihilated in Templar pogroms.  As enhanced beings, we can establish a pure democracy that runs on instantaneous input from the electorate." Alex D: "What would this "pure democracy" look like?" JC Denton: "The Helios AI has the processing power to handle all governmental functions worldwide, legislative, executive, and judicial. Once every mind has been enhanced and can merge with the AI, attitudes toward major legislation can be processed on a daily or even more frequent basis." Alex D: "You want everyone to be like the Omar and meld themselves together into one huge AI construct?" JC Denton: "Helios will communicate, not assimilate. Life will go on as usual." Alex D: "Helios is starting to sound like an enlightened despot." JC Denton: "All governments have power. The benefit of giving this power to a synthetic intellect is that human affairs would no longer need to be ruled by generalities.  Helios will have a deep understanding of every person's life and opinions." Alex D: "What if I don't want someone peeking into my mind?" JC Denton: "Upon consideration, you'll see that this arrangement is for the best. "General ideas are no proof of the strength, but rather of the insufficiency of the human intellect."  The words of Alexis de Tocqueville, an observer of the birth of modern democracy.  Though general ideas allow human minds to make judgments quickly, they are necessarily incomplete." Alex D: "So?" JC Denton: "So de Tocqueville noted that an all-knowing mind -- the mind of God, as he conceived it -- would have no need for general ideas. It would understand every individual in detail and at a glance.  Incomplete applications of law or justice would be impossible for such a mind."

Interactions with the player
The Omar lurk in the shadows and appear infrequently. If fought, Omar are immune to fire, radiation, stun attacks and toxins as well as sub-zero temperatures. Punching an Omar in the head with Baton will inflict no damage to him and will not change his affiliation to player. However, they are vulnerable to EMP attacks.

The interactions with them start as early as the Seattle WTO enclave, at Club Vox, where Alex D has the opportunity to meet an Omar Trader and purchase wares, as well as earn their first 50% discount by acquiring a tissue scan from a transgenic alien in the basement of Club Vox. The available wares are a silencer, a black market biomod, and a submachine gun. The trader throws in another black market biomod on top of the discount for acquiring the tissue scan. Another trader is found in Lower Seattle, offering another black market biomod, three energy cells and two EMP grenades.

The next encounter with the Omar is in Old Cairo, in north medina. The trader offers two black market biomods and three concussion prox mines, as well as a mission to acquire Templar power armor schematics from the Arcology air terminal, which will either reinstate or confer the preferred customer discount. Leo Jankowski will also be present, giving the player another mission to eavesdrop on the Templar at the recruiting booth on level 108, to learn when the Templar raid on the Omar will take place (telling the truth will earn a portion of his pay and a discount; lying will cause the Omar to rescind the preferred customer bonus).

In Trier, the Omar require some work to get to appear. First, the player has to talk to David Kurzec to arrange a meeting at the Nine Worlds Tavern, in the Bleeding Raven curio shop (Der Blutende Rabe). The Omar will offer a black market biomod, as usual, with the difference that it has to be retrieved from a dead drop at Black Gate, three scrambler grenades, and five multitools. There's no mission to (re)gain Omar favor.

The final encounter is on the second visit to Cairo, when the Omar offer a black-market biomod canister, three gas grenades, and an universal ammo clip. Leo Jankowski also appears during this vision, apparently on the run from his former employers after undergoing Phase I augmentation. Alex D can either give him money to help him get a ride out of Cairo (he states he won't make it ten miles on foot without being spotted) or leave him to his fate.

In the former case, Leo can later appear at Liberty Island to assist Alex and suggest killing everyone to set humanity free. In the latter, he will be gone, until Alex kills the first faction leader, which will cause him to contact them from a spy satellite and encourage the killing of everyone. It's unclear if Leo is genuinely on the run from the Omar or if he has been assimilated and his actions are a ruse to manipulate Alex into eliminating all obstacles to Omar supremacy.

Behind the scenes
"Diametrically opposed to the Templars are the Omar cyborgs. They have embraced biomodification to such a degree that they barely look human anymore. Having cornered the global black market, they lurk in the alleyways and abandoned buildings of every major city, crosslinked into one massive consciousness. They are waiting, recruiting more members every day (sometimes by force), improving their superhuman abilities ... all the while waiting, silent behind their glass eyes, waiting for the turning point they know will come. Ultimately, your actions for or against the other factions may well be what tips the balance toward a future that is very hospitable to the Omar."

- Prima Strategy Guide


 * Omar Traders are voiced by Ricardo Bare, while Protectors by Robert Kraft.
 * The Omar may be inspired by a concept introduced by science fiction author Bruce Sterling in a short story called "Cicada Queen", where he introduces the idea of cyborgs, called "Lobsters", which are humans who modify themselves with powered exoskeletons. The Russian word for lobster is Омар (pronounced as "omar"), which itself is a borrowing from French homard, pronounced the same way.
 * The word appears in multiple languages: In Arabic the word Omar meaning "flourishing" or "long-lived". In Hebrew the word Omar means "eloquent" or "gifted speaker".
 * It is possible that Omar retain their physical appearance within the suit, as Leo Jankowski still has his face with the suit attached, as shown in infolink message screens, while in person he has the full suit.
 * In Deus Ex, in-game e-mails and documents indicate that a large amount of Russian nanotechnology research took place at a Biopreparat facility in the Russian city of Sverdlovsk (which was the name of Yekaterinburg during the Soviet era).