
The release of atomic energy has not created a new problem.
It has merely made more urgent the necessity of solving an existing one.
- Albert Einstein

The I23 Construct has several sources of power to draw from. The first and most important source is the Node
it was built upon. Unknown to all but the most knowledgable of the Ivory Tower historians, the site of this
Construct was once occupied by one of the few castles the Knights Templar have built in Italy.
During the war of Piedmontese and Napoleonic troops against the Hapsburg Monarchy, the castle was razed in 1859
by Austrian soldiers after the battle of Solferino, the node has remained dormant since then.
How the modern NWO recovered the knowledge of the existence of this node remains a mystery.
Rumors about the lost knowledge of an equally lost 'Sixth Convention' come up every once in a while,
but nothing definite is ever revealed.
Officially the I23 Construct is supplied it's power through the Interlink Facility itself.
As a kind of 'contribution' for the provision of the Interlink's services, I23 collects Quintessence from all
the other Constructs it connects with eachother. This Quintessence flow is dynamically adjusted according to
the available supply from the other sites, and the energy is stored in electromagnetic field coils underground.
Should the Interlink be taken offline, the supply from the Node on-site would be enough to provide the Construct
with enough power for defense, even if research facilities would have to be shut down. Since the knowledge of
a Node existing on-site is classified information, the NWO leaders of Construct Control are convinced that they have
a trump stashed away for emergency scenarios: Should an attack shut down the Interlink in hope of crippling the Construct's
power supply, the attackers are in for a rally bad surprise.
Following the classification scheme introduced in The Book of Chantries, I23 is most certainly in it's Spring Phase.
The Construct has opened up quite recently and the relocation of the Symposium for Western & Central Europe
to this site has attracted a high number of qualified personnel. The Union is dedicated to make a new start
here and overcome the problems which have plagued several other Constructs - especially those which maintain facilities
for more than one Convention.
Most of the scientists working here have been recruited from the most prodigious programmes all over the world
and Construct Control decidedly focussed on young and/or innovative personnel as opposed to the established
pencil pushers and powermongers entrenched in their positions elsewhere.
This fact has lead to some scepticism among the higher ranks, though, and the reputation of the Construct has yet to
develop. Consequently the respective ratings are:
Status: 4
Reputation: 3
Outsiders
The I23 Construct is generally off limits to people outside the Technocratic Union.
Unlike many other terrestrial Constructs, it doesn't have an area dedicated to interaction with sleeper society.
Therefore security will turn away or even detain anybody coming near the Construct who is not authorized to do so.
The most common security problem are people going on hiking trips, or motorists taking the wrong turn down the road.
People like that are usually discouraged by clearly visible signs designating the area as private property.
Those signs are imprinted with permanent Mind effects to make sure people will turn around and leave the area.
Anybody who still heads on will be confronted by security personnel, telling them in a friendly yet
definite way to take their business elsewhere. Trespassers or burglars will be detained and transferred to police custody in Milan or Genoa.
Actual threats from outside are met with force quite quickly and efficiently.
Allies and Enemies
The various Constructs and sites connected by the Interlink can be considered the Construct's allies. Enemies within
the Union are rare but existent. An operation against certain elements within the London Syndicate have earned the I23
Construct a simmering grudge from that side. In addition to that, there is a number of major European Construct leaders who
do not appreciate the fact that they have been passed over as a location for the main Symposium for central and western Europe.
Enemies without include such illustrious people like an obscure Milanese banker's
widow by the name of Giovanni, a Coven of Verbena based in the same city and surrounding area, and a reputed Nephandi mage last
encountered working under the name Carlo Allevi.
Research Capacities
Considering the fact, that each Convention has at least some kind of laboratory on site, the research capacities of this Construct
are quite impressive. When compared to other facilities of the individual Conventions, the sub-constructs of I23 are
of course second rate to many of the major sites maintained by the Union, but the synergy of sharing one location between all
five Conventions definitely has it's merits. Additionally the researchers of I23 may call on the help of any allied Construct
within the Union.