| The Laundry | |
|---|---|
 ' | |
|
Also Known As |
Q Division, SOE, Capital Laundry Services |
|
Location |
Headquarters in London, United Kingdom - Dansey House and New Annexe |
|
Management |
|
|
Notable Individuals |
Angleton, Bob Howard, Doctor Dominique "Mo" O'Brien, Gerald Lockhart |
The Laundry is the code-name for HM Government's occult and paranormal investigatory, research, containment and clean-up agency. Established during World War II, but with a precedent running back to Sir John Dee - court astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I - The Laundry is Britain's first line of defence against extradimensional incursions. The name 'laundry' comes from its old location above a Chinese laundry shop.
History[]
Occasional references are made to the Invisible College, an organisation within the United Kingdom involved with magic and the occult. John Dee (1567 - 1609), court astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, is credited with being involved from a very early stage.
The modern incarnation of The Laundry began as a wartime agency under the Special Operations Executive in the Forties. It is at this time, the genesis of the computer age, that humanity discovers magic is merely a variant of advanced mathematics, and sufficiently advanced calculations can warp reality or summon entities from other universes.
Alan Turing, cryptanalyst and pioneering computer theoretician, made some of the first efforts into combining mathematics and magic. His experiences are classified and little is known of them, except that The Laundry at the time considered his research so dangerous they elected to terminate him.
This has been considered a major error, depriving The Laundry of a vital asset very early in humanity's understanding of arcane mathematics. Ever since, the agency has operated a radical policy of 'conscripting' anyone who shows an understanding of, or even survives an experience with, the occult. They are assigned positions within the agency - the vast majority moving into the bureaucratic procedural work that comprises much of a standard British Civil Service department. A select few, with the right skills and aptitude, may find themselves on field duty, seconded to OpExec or External Assets.
Purpose[]
The Laundry is defensive instead of offensive (contrast with USA's Black Chamber). Its main focus is identifying and containing the threat covertly, or if needed escalating to request army support in the form of the SAS (later replaced by SRR) who appear in an OCCULUS van.
The Laundry has several notable partnerships: SAS/SRR (see above), No. 666 Squadron RAF (carriers of the white elephants), Transhuman Police Coordination Force (superhero cops), the Cabinet Office (when needed), Army HQ Andover (for the contingency of CASE NIGHTMARE RED) within the UK; several European counterparts (most of whom appear trustworthy but sometimes less competent); their USA counterparts in the Black Chamber (definitely untrustworthy); BLUE HADES (our sea-dwelling 'friends') and certain magical beings.
The Laundry is officially led by its senior management Mahogany Row, previously known as the Invisible Academy. Mahogany Row includes the Auditors, who are responsible for ensuring the compliant running of Laundry operations. The Senior Auditor reports to the Board of Directors, who are responsible for overall Laundry strategy.
Hierarchy[]
Departments[]
The Laundry is, despite its esoteric mission, also a government department and security agency, which means it has a variety of sub-departments, teams, divisions, etc. Some of those seen so far in the series include:
- Accounting
- Arcana Analysis
- Auditors
- Audit Office
- Oversight
- Plumbers
- Security
- The Stacks
- Occult Forensics