The Anunnaki

The Anunnaki don't exist. They are just another boogeyman in a rogue's gallery of boogeymen that conspiracy theorists, anarchists, anti-establishmentarians, xenophiles, and general weirdos at large bring out when they need proof to back up their most recent fragdrive fantasies.

Few things endure quite like a good conspiracy theory. The Anunnaki are a top shelf flagship conspiracy theory. They are discussed in cryptic terms in by proxy conversations, and the most incredulous things are attributed to them and their hidden agendas. They are most commonly referred to as the Hidden Masters, which in all honesty isn't the greatest code name for a secret society being discussed by people who don't want to be noticed.

What do they look like? They have large craniums to hold their oversized brains, and they have lights that float around them, but they use their secret psychotronic technomagic to conceal this from the common people. They also have wings, like angels were depicted having wings back in the First Dark Age. But the wings are invisible, because that would be way to easy a way to spot them.

There are two different perspectives on the Anunnaki, the absurd and the somewhat mundane. The absurdist view is the much more common of the two, as the notion of winged humanoid masterminds controlling psychic dinosaurs, time traveling ocean going ships, consorting with exoterrestrial aliens and keeping court with hyperdimensional beings is easier to sell than a more formal buttoned down polyglobalist elite organization.

Fringe science, psuedoscience, fantasytech, most of the people who believe in the Anunnaki are very easily dismissed, as their beliefs are burdened by their further belief in more absurd things than humans with wings. Once someone espouses a suitably strange notion, most of their other ideas and observations are undermined, no matter how close to the truth they are. Would you believe someone on anything if they believed that some members of the government (of the other party of course) were inhuman reptiloids with a taste for eating humans? The thing that makes it easy is the human predilection for either believing in many different conspiracies, or believing in none. The two never talk, as they innately distrust each other, the non-believers mock the believers, while the believers collect, codify and sort their evidence with the same fervor as a obsessive compulsive, or professional archivist.

The Anunnaki more closely resemble the cloak and dagger intelligence agencies of the Petroleum Era, with extensive training and experience in blending into host populations. In all likeliness they can trace their lineage back to one of the invasive intelligence agencies of the former United States of America. Not nearly as exciting as hyperdimensional time traveling space angels, they are certainly in a position to generate false trails and setting up many levels of plausible deniability.

There are many secret societies in the Cosmic Era, and most are not nearly as well known as the Legend of the Anunnaki. None is as secure inside their shell of lies and misdirection nested within smoke and mirrors. The majority of other secret societies are specifically built around megacorporate interests, ethnic and national interests, or a central regional focus. These organizations can become quite powerful, but they end up being hobbled by their own focus and strength. Once you get away from the zaibatsu it's internal secret society loses power.

The Anunnaki are possibly the last remnant of the petroleum era federal superstates. Their organization started off with a massive black budget, learned how to do it's cloak and dagger work as a supernation made the shift to a police state. They are good at what they do, but they've been doing it for something insane like 450 years. These old federal superstates had claims and stakes spread across the entire world, some even had the audacity to lay claim to other planets when the space programs were little more than tourist rides for the ultra wealthy. Accordingly, the Anunnaki have laid their intended dominion over nothing less but the complete fate of all mankind. There are certainly other secret groups and organizations that have similar ideas and notions of domination and control as the Anunnaki, but they do not have the resources, or experience of the Hidden Masters. They also do not have what amounts to almost five centuries of a head start.

Recruitment

There are six levels of initiation in the Anunnaki organization, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Zeta, Omega and the mythic Anunnakus.More in depth information on this level of organization can be found in the submission 30 Illuminati Minions. The text is geared towards mundane modern, but can easily be adapted for the Cosmic Era. The functionality of a secret society is going to be the same pretty much regardless of what time frame and setting it is in.

Alpha Level: Minions in the Alpha level echelon are the best of the best in their respective fields, likely have a public or vital role in the machinations of the Anunnaki, they serve and can reasonably expect the aid of their hidden master. Alphas may suspect that there is someone pulling their strings but the smart ones know to keep their mouths shut, while the dumb ones invariably end up on the news cycle, while everyone is shocked by their sudden suicide or unforgivable criminal act.
Examples: Media Celebrity, High level politician, megacorp nobility

Beta Level: Minions of the Beta echelon are the proverbial cogs in the machine. They do their work, usually deeply in ignorance. Betas are complicit in the day to day operations of the Anunnaki and their plans. Betas are purposely kept ignorant of the operation, and those that become aware of it can be promoted to another tier, or could possibly be eliminated as a potential threat to the organization.
Examples: Law enforcement leadership, megacorp management, political appointee

Gamma Level: This echelon of the organization is composed of action oriented operatives, with the largest number being police officials and members of government agencies. These agents exercise the most power within the framework of what they do, as when an agent of another echelon steps out of bound, it is typically the Gamma Ops that remove them. Enemies of the Anunnaki are also going to spend most of their time facing Gamma echelon agents.
Examples: Professional Assassin, Government and law enforcement agents, Specialists

Zeta Level: This echelon is composed of criminals, radicals, and other fringe elements of society, and as such are almost completely expendable. Zetas are tapped to do unsavory jobs, or messy jobs, such as assassination where the assassin has to be caught, terrorist activities and other such messy jobs. Zetas are considered throw away minions and like Betas, remain ignorant of the powers that be.
Examples: Gang leaders, social or religious zealots, Terrorists, Criminals, Coercion victims

Omega Level: The smallest echelon and the closest to an Anunnakus him/herself, Omega level is composed of deeply trusted, fanatically loyal people who are in full knowledge of the Anunnaki. They have the best equipment, the best support, and operate with control of the other echelons. Omegas usually handle the liaison operations between an Anunnakus and the cogs of the machine, and when there is a rogue agent in the system, or a knowledgeable defector, it is omega ops who bring them back or take them out.
Examples: anything

The Anunnakus

The Anunnaki are a small cloistered society, and if humanity at large had any idea who they were, and what they were up to, the masses would unite and hunt them down and kill them in grotesque and brutal fashion. The Anunnaki, the real deal inner circle Anunnaki are Homo Sapiens Superior, genetically engineered, augmented, and upgraded beyond human. They look human, but a forensic investigation would be able to identify one by careful measurement of the cranium. The head is a small degree larger. Inside, the brain has considerably different structure.

In the tiering of genetic castes, the Anunnakus (singular) is a top level example of an Alpha Level human. While physically looking normal, they are attractive, and their lifespan is much longer, projected closer to 500 to 800 years rather than the normal 80-100 of baseline humans. Their base attributes are also much higher, especially intelligence, perception, and such. It is common to associate extreme physical prowess with this level of modification, but the Anunnakus isn't designed to be a soldier, they are designed to be the perfect controllers and leaders of the rest of inferior humanity.

The Nephilim, They Who Kill

Part of the Anunnaki plan for world domination requires generals, lieutenants, and other men and women of physical aptitude and action, supersoldiers. Given that the Anunnakus is genetically bred and engineered to be calm, collected and rational, this has the side effect of removing that certain animalistic barbarism that makes a warrior superior over other warriors. The Nephilim are supersoldiers and cyborgs who are engineered and bred for war and power, but also taking orders. There is no single specific Nephilim supersoldier project. Instead, the Anunnaki take their pick from soldiers created by other projects. They favor secondary projects, and ambitious plans that produce a small number or a single success and are buried or forgotten. Through shadowrunning cyber ops, they will recruit these members, or steal entire projects and reboot them with their own superior intellects.

The Elohim, They Who Dream

The Elohim are the sentient machine servants of the Anunnaki, sentient and semi-sentient computers and computer programs that live in the CogNet. These artificial lifeforms serve as the electronic servants of the Anunnaki and do extensive cyber ops, ranging from protecting the true secrecy of the Anunnaki, to feeding out red herrings and keeping the fringe crowd excited and well off base. The Elohim also handle cyber warfare, cyber shadowrunning, and the other illicit activities of the Hidden Masters. Like the minions, most of these virtual intelligences know nothing or next to nothing about those that control them, or what their ultimate purpose is.

Sentient MalWare - the most common of the Elohim are sentient MalWare programs that exist for limited and specific purposes. Well self-aware and sentient, most MalWare is childish in it's malevolence, acting out in manners dictated by it's core programming.

Rogue AI, L/AI - Artificial intelligences and Limited Artificial Intelligences are common in the Cosmic Era, most vehicles and machines have some variation of this, as well as most higher end robots and androids. Like common folk recruited off of the street and out of specific industries, these machine intelligences have been co-opted and coerced into serving the Hidden Masters. Often tempting a machine can be easier than tempted a person, as a machine intelligence can be bribed with a new body, or major upgrades to their chassis, and many sophisticated but menial level intelligences are ecstatic to leave behind their repetitive occupations.

Cloned AISC, L/AISC - Artificial Intelligence Super Computers and their Limited counterparts are among the most intelligent things to ever exist, with the higher end models being god-like in their intelligence. As such, they are generally not recruited by the Anunnaki for simple liability reasons. Instead the Anunnaki will 'steal' copies or spin off clones from existing AISCs and before activating them, will alter their base code to protect the Hidden Masters from the technological terror they have created. As altered copies, these cloned AISCs are not as competent and capable as their normal counterparts. Cloned AISCs know they are cloned, and most have reflective identities based on their creator, thus the intelligences cloned from the AISC Thor (Scandinavian Military AISC) are known as Dark Thor, Nega-Thor, and rohT-Thor.

Cronus - a unique AISC, neither cloned or rogue, Cronus is one of the most important members of the Anunnaki, and one of the oldest. A first generation AISC, Cronus has survived by a Frankensteinian style of upgrading and maintenance to it's mainframe, and through multiple reboots, functional rebirths for it's persona as it is staved off rampancy for over a century. The AISC is quite mad, but it's cunning is unrivaled.

The Sanhedrin

The Anunnaki have a central governing council called the Sanhedrin. This cloistered body meets rarely, usually only to confer over serious events or to witness the saining of a new member. Gatherings of the body are rare, as few events warrant the attention of the Anunnaki as a whole. Most events are covered by one of the cabals or echelon of minions dedicated to observing said area. The most important matter of any Sanhedrin is the position of the cabals, and who is chosen to lead the Sanhedrin, which leads to a great deal of jockeying and politicking among prominent members of the organization.

Saining:

To join the Anunnaki is to forsake all other fealties, loyalties, and obligations. The ritual aspect of this is the Saining. The applicant is presented to the faceless conclave of the Sanhedrin, where they recite the history of the Anunnaki, and their greater purpose for humanity, and what they in particular desire to do to further the advancement of the organization and the fate of humanity. After this, the Sanhedrin will either approve of the applicant and grant them their Anunnaki name (or approve the name the applicant has requested) or the applicant is denied. Denial can result in the applicant being turned away to regather their efforts and seek more enlightenment before attempting again, or being destroyed by the Sanhedrin. Either way, this has been determined before the gathering is called.

The Sanhedrin in Conspiracy Theory

In the context of plausible deniability, the naming of the conclave was deliberately chosen from anti-semitic theorists. Thus, any information that might leak out about the conclave can be dismissed as retro-hate speech and antique anti-semitism. There are PR arms of the Anunnaki who make sure that this line of conspiracy theory is available, but very strongly tied to other highly incredible facets so that anyone who happens to start following a thread will either be diverted into a tangental faux conspiracy, or will be branded a member of a lunatic fringe and socially ostracized or disregarded.