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The First Sons are a secret society dedicated to the advancement of humanity by transhuman means. To this end, they have researched how to grant or enhance abilities such as telekinesis, electrokinesis, and various other enhancements of the human body. They are lead by the mysterious Kessler, who seized power after a coup against former leader Richard Tate. The size and scope of the operation is unknown, with Empire City and New Marais being their only known bases of operations. The First Sons have been operated secretly inside Empire City for decades before the blast, but afterwards operated openly, claiming control over the Historic District.
History
Pictures documenting the the First Sons. It is possible that Richard Tate is in the group photo.
The history and records of the First Sons dates back to Medieval Europe, where they were seen by the public as either witches or in league with the devil. Due to this distrust, the First Sons were forced to flee to the New World in the 17th century. Once the organization had settled a sizable operation in America, the group continued their meetings and experiments, focusing on telekinesis, precognition and channeling.
Although the source is doubtful, a number of current members claim responsibility for the Salem witch trials and burning and use events similar to that to validate their mentalist abilities. The organization experienced a large growth in membership and size after the Civil War, but it was the arrival of Richard Tate in 1892 that elevated the First Sons from fringe outcasts to the Illuminati-like power it is today.
Tate’s primary goal was to use available technology unlock the “true” power of mentalists. Tate firmly believed emerging technology, particularly the work of Edison, could be used to enhance the groups mental powers.
The Leadership Shift
After the death of Richard Tate, his young son, Alden Tate was assigned to become the heir of the group. However, Kessler siezed conrol of the First Sons in a coup, tossing Alden onto the streets as a homeless child. After his rise to power, Kessler took control of the First Sons' current projects, before ensuring that any achievements made by Richard Tate was removed from the records. Kessler accelerated the progress on power-based technology, applying technology from the future to create the Ray Sphere.
NSA Infiltration and Kessler's Relationship Fallout
With the speeding growth of the First Sons, the organization was seen by the United States as a threat to national security. The NSA sent John White and Lucy Kuo to infiltrate the First Sons, primarily because they both had the conduit gene.
Sometime during the development of the Ray Sphere, John White, was able to infiltrate their order by falsely informing the First Sons that he was a low level mentalist. Over the course of the following months, John was beaten and tortured to encourage the growth of his abilities.
One notable powerful figure working for the First Sons after Kessler's take over was Sasha, a powerful mentalist who worked on the organization's more covert projects. Sasha was instantly attracted to Kessler, sensing his power. Unfortunately, the relationship proved unstable and Sasha was forced to leave after she attacked Kessler in a fit of rage. Sasha's departure didn't seem to halt the First Sons progress.
Some time after entering the organization, John entered Kessler's inner circle and was entrusted with several important missions. These included removing Sasha from organization headquarters and holding the Ray Sphere while Kessler performed tests upon it.
Development of the Ray Sphere and The Blast
The First Sons' research and Kessler's knowledge led to the development of the Ray Sphere. The organization then contacted the young Cole MacGrath and paid him to deliver the Ray Sphere to the Historic District of Empire City. During the delivery, Kessler called Cole and told him to open the box. When Cole touched the Ray Sphere, it detonated, destroying 6 city blocks and killing thousands of people.
After the blast, Kessler assembled his followers and took control of the Historic District. From this vantage point, he was able to see both Alden's and Sasha's movements and watch as Cole accepted his duty to become either the city's savior or destroyer.
After defeating Kessler's troops and securing the Ray Sphere, Kessler and Cole fight a grueling duel at Ground Zero, where Kessler is finally defeated.
New Marais Chapter
The First Sons had a chapter that existed in New Marais, led by Bertrand. Sometime after the completion of the Ray Sphere in Empire City, Bertrand forced Wolfe, a scientist involved in the development of the Ray Sphere. to make a second Ray Sphere using the technology and resources afforded to him by the First Sons.
He later activated it in the swamp, sacrificing a large number of people that he felt weren't needed to do so. The activation of the Ray Sphere also unlocked Nix 's conduit abilities. After Bertrand becomes a conduit, he is immediately displeased by his lack of control over his monstrous form. Beleiving himself nothing more than a monster, he assigned Wolfe to create a way to reverse the process.
After the death of Kessler, Betrand uses the militia to sieze as much technology and resources from the First Sons as possible.
Weapons and Gadgets
Assault rifles: The First Sons have the most advanced types of weaponry all around. The Assault rifles used can deal the most damage and have the longest range of those used by the enemy groups. These rifles resemble FAMAS G2s, or the Chinese QBZ-95, the rifles have scopes attachment to it.
First Sons soldiers with assault rifles.
Modified Shotguns: Carried by both the standard units and Cloaking conduits, besides the size of the weapon, the shotguns, which the Cloaking conduits carry, are generally the same as their smaller counterparts. The First shotguns have a wide barrel that carries a bigger punch than any other shotguns in the game and can easily knock Cole off his feet. Like all shotguns, it penetrates Cole's Polarity Wall.
Mini guns: Carried by the Heavy Weaponry Members. As much hassle as the Miniguns are, they are only used by the sewers patrols. They function the same as the mini guns held by the other factions of Empire city, a good way to defend yourself from these deadly weapons is to use the Polarity Wall ability.
Rocket-Propelled Grenade Launchers(RPGs): The First Sons RPGs may have gone through some slight modifications. These RPGs are slightly more powerful than those held by the other groups. The RPGs are also held by the Heavy Weaponry Members.
Grenades: The Grenades the First Sons are equipped with have a the same radius, but deals a bigger damage than the Grenades used by the other factions.
Blast Shields: The shields used by the First Sons are most likely developed by the organization itself, although they can withstand a lot of damage. However, Cole at this point of the story makes their blast shields seem almost powerless due to how powerful he is at that point.
Kamikaze Drones: The kamikaze drones replace the suicide bombers from the other groups, due to the reason that the First Sons organization does not consist of humans under the influence of mind control, or insane transients. The kamikaze drones are aerial drones that seek out their targets and explode when they are close enough to deal damage. The drones make a lot less noise than that of the battle cries from the human suicide bombers, the drones also have the ability to cloak themselves, making them far harder to spot, making these drones a foe to be reckoned with.
A Grenade launching sentry drone near ground zero
Grenade Launching Drones: The grenade drones are used as an all purpose back up units for the First Sons. They are aerial drones and have the same cloaking device as that of the kamikaze drones, but these drones can withstand more damage. They fly in random patterns and will dodge when they are taking damage. They launch multiple grenades at their targets to increase their chances of damaging the target. An easy way for Cole to take down these drones is using Precision, or alternately, if Cole is in good Karma, he can fire an upgraded Megawatt Hammer rocket into the air and zap the drone with a single Lightning Bolt, it would lock on onto the drone and assure it's distraction.
Mines: The First Sons deployed the mines on various roof tops over the Historic District. The mines make beeping noises and flash red, so they are easy to spot. To destroy them, Cole needs to zap them from a safe distance. Cole will earn the "Destroyed mine" action for XP.
Turrets: The First Sons sets up turrets to guard locations, though at this point of the game, Cole could simply run up to them with the Polarity Wall power or use the Lightning storm attack to quickly eliminate the threat.
Turret Trucks: Quite conveniently, the First Sons didn't send Turret Trucks until after Cole learned the Lightning storm ability. The trucks can be quickly taken down by the Lightning storm attack.
Appearance And Ranks
The members of the First Sons
First Sons Field Operating Members: The First Sons, in general, are the most powerful faction Cole will encounter in Empire City, and their troops are outfitted to reflect this. The standard First Sons members wear brown trench coat looking outfits, with waistcoats and neckties underneath their coats, they are all equipped with wrist devices, gas tanks and gas masks. Some members are equipped with helmets that resemble diving helmets. The First sons are equipped with modern assault rifles. They can take and dish out more damage than the Reapers or Dust Men.
First Sons Heavy Weaponry Members: The heavy weaponry Members are designed to handle RPGs and Miniguns, as well as take heavy damage from any incoming fire. These members are equipped with heavy layers of bullet proof vests and helmets. They can withstand several head shocks. The First Sons heavy weaponry members are possibly the strongest non-conduit type enemy that Cole will face throughout the entire game. They are deployed en masse through out empire city roof tops during the mission The Hunt For The Ray Sphere.
An Aura Conduit in his normal form
Cole up against an Aura Conduit.
The First Sons conduits are almost three times as large than an average human being, possibly due to genetic engineering though the real reasons are unknown. This variant of Conduits have the ability to project an aura around them that makes them appear to grow to roughly twenty feet in height, giving them phenomenal strength and the ability to go toe-to-toe with Golem Conduits. These conduits have only one attack, they walk up to their enemies and make a punching or stomping move, which creates a large blast. They have no real defensive ability, since the aura they create cannot absorb attacks and do not carry any sort of weapon to defend themselves, unlike other conduits in the game. Cole must aim for the Conduit's physical body suspended in the torso area of the aura. The aura flashes red whenever they take damage. Ironically, despite being statistically the most powerful Conduits, these are arguably the easiest type to actually defeat; after taking a certain amount of damage, the aura will falter and the Conduit will fall to the ground, get up, and attempt to extend the aura again. It is a simple matter for Cole to run up to them before they create their aura fields again and finish them off. Cole can Arc Restraint or Bio Leech them during the period where their auras are deactivated.
A Cloaking Conduit
This type of Conduit dresses in a similar uniform and is of the same physical size as the Aura Conduit, even though their abilities are extremely different from one another. These Conduits have the ability to create a cloaking field around them, making them appear almost invisible, making it difficult for Cole to find and attack them. As this is their only ability, it is the fact that they are armed with shotguns that makes them dangerous to Cole. They can walk right up to him and fire without him being able to see anything except a vague shimmer in the air.
The shotgun makes Cole stagger, rendering him helpless for a short moment. Although they can turn invisible, they are not invincible. They are still vulnerable to attacks, so it is possible to kill them while they're cloaked. Cole cannot mark their location using the mini map to tell their location with Radar Pulse.
Trivia
- Their logo kind of resembles the popularly-held logo of the the Bavarian Illuminati due to the all seeing eye of the logo. The First Sons are also similar to popular perceptions of the Illuminati due to their conspiratorial methodology and goals.
Gallery
