Sector 4 of Area 51; a Seraphic/8X clearance-restricted facility.
The Majestic 12 security clearances are various ranks that members of Majestic 12 can acquire. These ranks allow the person access to a certain amount of classified information, with more information being disclosed to them as their rank increases.
Background[]
After Majestic 12 broke away from the Illuminati, Bob Page decided to replace the Illuminati's "Degrees of Illuminism" with a hierarchy of security clearances. While the Degrees of Illuminism were apparently based in mysticism and religious symbolism, and seemed to be modeled on the Allied Masonic Degrees of the Freemasons, Page implemented a standardized, secular system that could be used throughout MJ12. UNATCO, in particular, uses Majestic 12's security clearances, since the Coalition is effectively MJ12's military branch; most of its personnel are unaware of their true employer, or even that it exists.
Ironically, as Stanton Dowd comments, Page's names for these new, secular security clearances came from Christian theology. Specifically, MJ12's clearances correspond directly to the hierarchy of angels established by Thomas Aquinas, a personal icon to Page. The security clearances provide an incentive for MJ12 members to remain loyal to the organization. Recruits know that if they perform well, they will be rewarded with advancements "through the layers of secrecy".
Structure[]
Although it is clear that the names of the security clearances are based on Aquinas' angelic hierarchy, not all of the clearance levels are named in Deus Ex. The column on the left shows the ranks mentioned in the game, while the one on the right fills the unknown with speculation based on Aquinas' hierarchy and examples seen in-game.
| Ranking | Clearances appearing in Deus Ex | Full list of clearances |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Angel/0A | Angel/0A |
| Tier 2 | Archangel/1B | Archangel/1B |
| Tier 3 | Principal/2C | Principal/2C |
| Tier 4 | omitted | Power/3D |
| Tier 5 | omitted | Virtue/4E |
| Tier 6 | Domination/5F | Domination/5F |
| Tier 7 | Throne/6G | Throne/6G |
| Tier 8 | omitted | Cherubic/7H or Cherubic/7W |
| Tier 9 | Seraphic/8X | Seraphic/8X |
| Tier 10 | God | God |
Clearance-restricted information[]
The SH-187 taking off.
Knowledge of many projects carried out by MJ12, and by extension UNATCO, is strictly reserved to those with an appropriate security clearance. One such example of this is Project Dibbuk, which developed a stealth helicopter to be used during covert Majestic 12 operations. As outlined in the books on the project, it is restricted to those with Domination/5F clearance or higher. The end product of this project was the SH-187 stealth helicopter. Similarly, knowledge of the killswitches in mechanically augmented agents of UNATCO is divulged only to those with at least Throne/6G clearance. As Jaime Reyes does not have this clearance, he is promptly informed that he is not permitted access to information concerning the killswitch mechanism.
Data related to nano-augmentations is not widely distributed by MJ12; even JC Denton is refused information about his own augmentations as his clearance is not high enough. In the Liberty Island MJ12 lab, access to augmentation canisters is given only to authorized personnel with Domination/5F clearance. Knowledge of nano-augmented agents' killswitches, like those of their mechanically augmented colleagues, is also clearance-restricted. The existence of the killswitch is known by a very few people, including Joseph Manderley, Walton Simons and later, Jaime Reyes. According to Paul Denton, a person must have God clearance to know about the mechanism of the killswitch. However, it appears that Reyes is eventually granted knowledge of how it works as Simons asks him to evaluate the functionality of JC's killswitch.
A UC in Area 51.
Most MJ12 facilities are accessible only to those with a high enough clearance. These include the Majestic 12 facility in the sewers of Hell's Kitchen, the VersaLife labs in Hong Kong, and Area 51. Area 51, and more specifically, Sector 4, is described as a Seraphic/8X facility. This makes it the most exclusive MJ12 facility as far as security clearances are concerned. This isn't surprising, as Sector 4 houses some of Majestic 12's most secretive projects such as human cloning, Universal Constructors and the potentially extraterrestrial blue fusion devices.