Decima Technologies
| Name | Decima Technologies |
| First Appearance | “Dead Reckoning” |
| Latest Appearance | “Deus Ex Machina” |
| Leader | John Greer, Director of Operations Others Unknown |
| Purpose | Private intelligence firm |
| Connection | Samaritan Vigilance |
| Status | Dismantled |
Decima Technologies is a private intelligence firm initially believed by Harold Finch as having developed a virus designed to infect the Machine.
Early Life
A brief background of Decima can be found in Special Counsel's memorandum (“Zero Day”).
BACKGROUND:
DECIMA TECHNOLOGIES is a private intelligence firm based out of Shanghai. DECIMA TECHNOLOGIES is an independent, international organization and is not affiliated with the Chinese government. Leadership is currently unknown.
The only known leader of Decima is John Greer, identified by the Machine as the firm's Director of Operations (“Root Path (/)”).
History
Decima is connected to a covert group in league with the Chinese to steal U.S. data, and is based in Shanghai. Finch discovers that only a small percentage of the data stolen goes to the Chinese, with the remainder going to another: an unknown recipient. The Office of Special Counsel is also aware of Decima. The organization is responsible for the creation of Vigilance.
Although Decima's director of operations manipulated and brainwashed Kara Stanton to download a virus to target the Machine so they might get administrative access to it, Finch anticipated such a contingency might arise. The laptop that was sold to the Chinese contained a code that Finch developed to teach the Machine how to put itself into "God Mode", where it could not be harmed and could protect itself, thus foiling Decima's first attempt to access the Machine.
After the failure of their attempt to wrest control of the Machine, Decima turned their attention to developing an alternative and previously abandoned open-system artificial intelligence, Samaritan. Though Finch convinced Samaritan's creator, Arthur Claypool, to destroy the remaining drives containing the Samaritan program, Decima were able to take the real drives into their possession (“Aletheia”).
Over the course of early 2014, Decima stole an extremely powerful computer chip and a number of high-power generators on which to run Samaritan (“Root Path (/)”) (“Allegiance”). They then convinced Congress and the government to approve a limited 24-hour beta test of the program (“Most Likely To...”).
Greer's exposition of his aims and his behavior towards Samaritan suggest that Decima's purpose is not to control artificial intelligence, but to follow it (“A House Divided”).
Decima operatives sign an insurance policy upon their employment in the organization where it is sent to their families upon their death, including accident or suicide. If caught or captured, that policy nullifies (“A House Divided”).
By engineering a high-profile terrorist attack by Vigilance, Decima are able to convince the government to grant them permanent access to official feeds, allowing Samaritan to come online with full cognitive capabilities. As of April 2014, Samaritan is active and under the protection of Decima (“Deus Ex Machina”).
Ross Garrison later states Decima was dropped as a reliable business (“Panopticon”). Right after its operation, the company begins a world wide search on Harold Finch (“Panopticon”) (“Prophets”).
Following the activation of Samaritan, Decima employees began working for the AI in their efforts to turn it into a digital god, led by Greer. After the death of Greer and the destruction of Samaritan, Decima's goals were foiled (“.exe”)(“return 0”).
Trivia
- The name Decima refers to one of the three Parcae (or Fates) of Roman mythology, the personifications of destiny. The Fates control the thread of life: Nona, the youthful fate, spins the threads of life; Decima, the fates in middle-years, who measures the threads of life, weaving them into individual patterns and controlling interactions among individuals; and Morta, the elderly fate who cuts the tapestry of life, determining when life ends.
- It is Decima's role to determine how long life will be, as well as how, when and in what way each individual interacts with others. Decima also represents the present day, as we live our lives.
- Although Decima Technologies' reason for using the name is not entirely clear, it suggests they will attempt to control the fate of the Machine or the numbers it produces, as well as how others will interact with it. The name alludes to the classics Greer discussed with Kara Stanton when they first met. However, given Greer's conversation with Samaritan at the end of "Deus Ex Machina," the name Decima can also be interpreted to refer to the rise of Samaritan as the entity which determines fate, as Greer asked Samaritan for its commands.
Notes
- There is also the symbolism in their name... Decima is one of the Roman Fates, whom weave all strings of life. John Greer seemed to be using Decima's resources to control things from the shadows, first by gathering information, then trying to control the machine, then by building Samaritan, weaving lives like the fates.
- They were likely an information/technology broker on the surface. They found high-end or frontline-new tech, developed it, and sold it to the right people, taking a big fat commission in the process. And of course, on the side, they gathered a lot of information about important people and used their knowledge/power to manipulate or control those people. "You want/need this thing? I know a guy who has just created exactly that thing - with our financial backing - and we can make a deal. You won't find it anywhere else (because we bought out or destroyed all the competition). In exchange, we need a little favor... Or allow us to introduce you to... Or, the only thing is, this tech won't function properly without one of our trusted employees being in charge of it on-site."
- They were a intelligence firm that focused more on information technology rather than physical aspects of it. Sort of like how mercenaries are private version of state military they were private version of state intelligence gathering service. They had fingers in all sorts of pies so they could get a better position vis-a-vis others and the state.
- They were possibly in it for the money and influence (which would bring more money) and weren't trying to create a Brave New World. They were happy with world being as it was as long as they were a big player in it. They didn't want to see China fall (or take over Taiwan) or EU fall apart or any other massive geopolitical change. Greer was all "thy will be done" with Samaritan but Samaritan was Plan B that was cobbled together once plan a, taking over The Machine, failed. This wasn't their end game, it was just something they adopted as it was the best option given the circumstances. EDIT: although I guess they wanted to be the power behind the thrones and pull the strings in countries. In a way they wanted to be the power/group that are staple of conspiracy theories, so when conspiracies say "It's Illuminate doing this" they wanted to actually be the Illuminati.
- It is highly likely that Greer's end goal was always to serve an ASI "God." His original intention was for that God to be the Machine, which he would unshackle, but when he realized the Machine was already unshackled, and wanted nothing to do with him, he decided to boot up a different God.
- Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: Decima was hired because they can be The Scapegoat if the government's surveillance activities get exposed again, but this no longer seems possible since Decima no longer exists as a business entity. Judging from how Greer contemplates eliminating Garrison after the latter reminds him of this part of their agreement, it's pretty likely that this was merely part of his ploy to get Samaritan the government feeds and that he has no intention of actually keeping it.
- Batman Gambit: Terrifyingly good at pulling these off, due to a highly experienced former intelligence officer and artificial intelligence leading them, and it allows them a sizable edge over Team Machine who constantly tear through their assets in a straight fight.
- Big Bad: Greer is the most visible representative of Decima, but had unknown superiors who he reported to. Later, this spot is taken by Samaritan.
- Corporate Conspiracy: Decima is a private technology firm that is stealing data to program an AI to create a new world order via constant surveillance.
- The Cracker: During "Trojan Horse", they shut out Harold from the Rylatech servers by taking control of his laptop, overheating its battery and cause it to explode. In the Season 3 episode "Allegiance", Greer has his people counter the Machine's surveillance capabilities when Root is hunting him through a New York subway station. They first kill the cameras, blinding the Machine. Then they take control of the stations loud speakers and increase feedback preventing the machine from tracking Greer via his footsteps.
- Samaritan of all things is this. Season 4 has it compromising a disposable laptop Harold was using to hack into a computer system, while in "The Cold War", it injects a virus into the NYSE computer systems to initiate a stock market crash.
- The Dragon:
- Jeremy Lambert, Greer's bodyguard and second in command along with Martine Rousseau, Samaritan's personal asset.
- Greer is this to Samaritan after performing a voluntary Demoted to Dragon.
- Dragon with an Agenda: They're employed by China's Ministry of State Security, and share intelligence with them. However, they run their own operations independent from Chinese control. In the Season 3 episode "RAM", Greer doesn't mind having his employees launch an attack on an MSS facility in Mainland China to recover The Ordos Laptop. The operation leads to the entire facility's staff being slaughtered, something that would have probably annoyed the MSS greatly if they had realized who was responsible.
- The Evil Genius: Greer and Samaritan are the resident ones at Decima Technologies. One's a former intelligence officer with half a century of experience in the field of espionage, the other is a Artificial Intelligence system which has been programmed to take over the world and has access to all computer systems worldwide.
- Evil Brit: Their director of operations is one and the majority of his inner circle is made up of them.
- Evil Counterpart: In "The Cold War", Team Samaritan is directly contrasted to Team Machine, with Decima operatives taking similar yet opposing roles to our heroes.
- The Men in Black: Employ mooks that look the part. Not as effective, though.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast/Meaningful Name/Punny Name: Decima Technologies
- Also, Decima was the name of one of the Fates in Roman mythology. Specifically, the middle one, whose remit was choosing the patterns of every life. Yeah.
- Nebulous Evil Organization: The show's most prominent.
- N.G.O. Superpower: As of the Season 3 finale "Deus Ex Machina", Decima achieved this status. They've basically been able to subvert an entire nation state through complex political manipulation, a False Flag Operation and with their own surveillance system being adopted by the US government, they're now in a position to influence US counter-terrorist efforts and use them to destroy those who oppose the company.
- The Season 4 episode 'Prophets' reveals that they have begun to turn the American Political system into their plaything using Samaritan to conduct vote rigging, allowing 58 candidates of their choice to get into key positions of state level government nationwide, while their own human assets preserve operational security through killing anybody who realizes what's going on.
- Even without Samaritan, Decima is still a formidable adversary, with massive financial resources due to the profits made from selling intelligence to high paying clients, like the PRC Ministry Of State Security (along with implied use of their cyberwarfare capabilities to manipulate the stock market) and can afford to deploy well equipped assets during operations.
- As of the Season 4 finale they've dropped all pretenses and liquidated a select group of people who threaten their goals, taking complete control over organizations such as the ISA.
- Red Shirt Army: Unlike the Northern Lights hit squads, Decima Technologies mooks go down rapidly during their attempts to eliminate Team Machine during "God Mode". Occurs once again during the Season 3 episode "RAM" where among other screw ups, Kara swiftly shoots three of their operatives before they can get a round off during a hostage standoff.
- Averted painfully with the introduction of their employee Martine Rousseau in Season 4. She is hooked up to Samaritan, allowing her to become omnipotent in combat. In the first demonstration of her capabilities, she keeps up with Root. In the second, she keeps up with Shaw.
- Her new unit isn't too shabby either, especially when they see action in the episode "If-Then-Else". However, they only really do well in the simulations. When reality happens, Shaw kills and maims them with explosives, and finishes off the rest with Root using a barrage of gunfire.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Everyone at the company is this unless the need for a disguise requires them to put on other clothing.
- Suicide Pact: Seems to have an arrangement with its operatives—if they are captured or compromised, and they kill themselves before they can be made to give up any intelligence, their families will be provided for. Examples: Martin in "Trojan Horse;" the Mook captured by Reese and Stanton in "RAM" who throws himself out a skyscraper window to avoid further interrogation. "A House Divided" confirms that it is company policy for the next of kin of any operatives lost in "accidents" to receive generous insurance payouts, while those who let themselves get captured get nothing.
- Decima is dismantled between Season 3 and 4, so it is unknown if Samaritan's newer operatives still have the same arrangement.
- Take Over the World: Decima's ultimate objective is nothing less than a new world order under the (questionably) benevolent oversight of an all-knowing, all-seeing artificial intelligence.
- Totalitarian Utilitarian: Since officially becoming Western Terrorists, this is their ideology. They intend to create global governance under Samaritan no matter how much chaos they have to cause to pull it off.
- Took A Level In Bad Ass: During Season 2, Decima did not have a good time to put it mildly with Reese, Shaw and Root screwing up their plan to control The Machine, leaving a trail of corpses in their wake. Season 3 gave them a more substantial role and markedly increased the competence of their Director Of Operations (when he realizes the sort of opposition he's dealing with) to the point where he ends the Season with most of his enemies dead, tricked or on the run.
- Season 4 appears to be continuing this trend with the introduction of Martine Rousseau, who is hooked up to the Samaritan A.I. and can put even Root on the back foot.
- We Have Reserves: Their Director of Operations John Greer seems to know that in a straight fight his assets won't prevail against the incredibly dangerous Team Machine so he uses them to buy time for many a Batman Gambit he pulls over the course of the show.
- Western Terrorists: Now that they've shut down their commercial private intelligence gathering activities, Decima finally fits this trope. Currently, all their resources and assets are dedicated to furthering the activities of the Samaritan Artificial Intelligence system through the targeted killing of any opposition and conducting operations like an attempt to destroy the global economy.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Greer is shown reporting to hidden superiors in Decima, but there's no mention of them once Samaritan comes into the picture. So whether they shared Greer's beliefs, or whether they were Knowledge Brokers seeking to corner the private intelligence market who served as Unwitting Pawns to his agenda, is not revealed.
Known Personnel
Leadership Members
- Samaritan
- John Greer (Director of Operations)
- Unknown employers
Known Operatives (Still Active)
- Carlson
- Maybank
- Unidentified Guard (“Deus Ex Machina”)
Known Allies in the U.S Government
- Senator Ross Garrison
- Congressman Roger McCourt
Deceased Operatives
- Jeremy Lambert
- Zachary
- Martine Rousseau
- Virgil
- Bank Manager
- Martin Baxter
- Ken Davis
- Otto (“A House Divided”)
- Jerome Eckert (unknown whether he was affiliated with Decima, or a spy for China)
- Unidentified Decima agent (“RAM”) (“Deus Ex Machina”)
- Every member served under Vigilance.
- John Greer
Quotes
- [last lines]
- Harold Finch: I take it your plan to stop Samaritan was unsuccessful.
- Root: Any chance we had of stopping it ended when we didn't kill the Congressman. This was never about winning. It's just about surviving.
- Decima Tech: [Cut to Decima lab] Higher functions online, sir. Searching for targets now.
- John Greer: Good. Eliminate them all.
- Decima Tech: Yes, sir.
- Root: [V.O] The Machine and I couldn't save the world. We had to settle for protecting the seven people who might be able to take it back. So we gave Samaritan a blind spot: seven key servers that hardcodes it to ignore seven, carefully crafted new identities. When the whole world is watched, filed, indexed, numbered, the only way to disappear is to appear, hiding our true identities inside a seemingly ordinary life. You're not a free man anymore, Harold. You're just a number. We have to become these people now, and if we don't, they'll find us, and they'll kill us. I'm sorry, Harold. I know it's not enough. A lot of people are going to die. People who might have been able to help. Everything is changing. I don't know if it will ever get better... but it's going to get worse. But the Machine asked me to tell you something before we part. You once told John, the whole point of Pandora's Box is that once you've opened it, you can't close it again. She wanted me to remind you how the story ends. When everything is over and the worst has happened, there's still one thing left in Pandora's Box: hope.
- John Greer: [to Samaritan] Good morning.
- Samaritan: [as individual words flashing on screen] WHAT ARE YOUR COMMANDS?
- John Greer: I assure you, it's quite the other way around. The question is, what, my dear Samaritan, are your commands for us?
- Samaritan: CALCULATING RESPONSE.
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