Omar

"The Omar are a worldwide cult of cyborgs, openly dedicated to the proposition of transcending human limitations through technology. Though many individuals outside the cult are biomodified, these 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 post-Collapse Russia, the culmination of desperate attempts by scientists to survive the famines and polluted environment."

- Description of the Omar, 2072

The Omar are a global society of radically nano-augmented humans, nicknamed cyborgs in Deus Ex: Invisible War.

History
They originated from Russian nanotechnology researchers in the Russian city of Sverdlovsk after 2052, during a period of terrible Post-Collapse famine throughout most of Russia. Their original creation was in an attempt to survive the massive Russian famines following the Collapse. In 2072, the Omar have spread around the globe, their extensive nano-augmentation earning them the ire of the Knights Templar, an organization that hates and detests augmentation, and fear from others.

Notorious for the extent of their special nano-augmentation, the Omar are not fully individuals, rather, each Omar is part of a merged collective consciousness, achieved through the replacement of their frontal lobes with a wireless cortical interface. Thus, if something happens to an Omar, then all Omar will know about it and react accordingly. The Omar expand their ranks through covert recruitment of humans, both augmented and not, it's unclear how voluntary this recruitment normally is. Several people state that homeless people are the primary targets of this recruitment, but the validity of this is uncertain.

To finance themselves, the Omar quickly found a niche dealing in nano-augmentation (especially illegal biological canister), weapon modifications, and information on the black market all over the world. They are rapidly dominating the field, often by aggressively squeezing out their competition whenever they move into a new area, either through assassination or assimilation. They often use non-augmented agents as fronts and intermediaries while conducting their business for their personal safety. However, the Omar also sell their wares directly, normally outside of policed areas. They are almost always accompanied by one or two armed Omar, called Protectors, who act as bodyguards for the Traders.

They are constantly in search of new technologies to improve their special augmentation. Though many individuals outside the group are augmented, the Omar are the only post-Collapse group to openly espouse "Posthumanism", their ultimate goal is to become capable of surviving in any environment, no matter how harsh, so that they may eventually inherit the Earth through natural selection. Like the Illuminati, a secret society which wishes to regulate and control nanotechnology on a global scale, and the Knights Templar, who wish that nanotechnology be destroyed completely, the Omar are opposed to ApostleCorp but they lack the resources to mount an effective opposition.

The Omar collective are utilitarian realists. To them, the Knights Templar are hazardously puerile neo-luddites, the Illuminati's New World Order theories of control are an outmoded and backward waste of resources, and the views of ApostleCorp regarding "perfect democracy" are an archaic oxymoron when technology exists allowing all such delimited ideologies to be disposed of.

One Tarsus Academy student, Leo Jankowski, becomes a bodyguard for the Omar after the attack of the Seattle Tarsus Academy by the Order Church, and by the time Alex Denton return in Cairo, he has begun the early stages of Omar augmentation.

After 2072, several futures are possible for the Omar. In the Helios ending, the Omar are likely still alive but are obsolete because of the Helios mass consciousness being present in all humans. In the Knights Templar ending, they are probably all murdered by knights during the holy war on all augmented and transgenics beings. Although presumed dead in the Illuminati ending, this is not confirmed. In the 4th ending where Alex Denton kills all 3 parties, eventually culminating in a nuclear war that kills all life except the Omar, who are suggested to leave earth.

Behind the scenes

 * The Omar are 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 a powered exoskeletons. The Russian word for lobster is Омар (pronounced as "omar").

Gallery
Omar