Bureau of Superheroes

The United Nations Bureau of Superheroes

By Mojo Rover

History

Up until the year 2000, superpowered fursons all over the world performed their heroic duties in a very unorganized and haphazard fashion. Although the world's population appreciated their heroic activities, the large amount of unintended collateral property damage they caused produced a financial strain on cities and insurance companies. Legal action against these superfurs was impossible unless their secret identities were discovered. The United Nations studied this situation for nearly a decade before hammering out the Superhero Relations Act of 2000. This international treaty signed by nearly every world government (with the noted exception of most Arab nations, Cuba and North Korea initially, but later they did sign on when concessions were made) placed guidelines and restrictions on all superpowered individuals. It's most controversial provision was the clause requiring all superpowered fursons to register with their nation's Bureau of Superheroes Agency. Many of the world's superheroes chose to retire or go underground rather than to register. The SRA made it illegal for anyone to perform heroic acts without Bureau registration. Because of the popularity of many unregistered superheroes (particularly those in Colmaton California), this provision of the SRA remains generally not enforced in regions such as North America and Europe. This remains a point of contention between registered and unregistered superheroes. The only exception to this provision is for female superfurs designated as National Heroines. The authority of their respective nation's military and/or government govern national Heroines so they are NOT required to register with the Bureau.

In 2008, after an incident known as the Major Panzer Crisis, an agreement that has become known as the Colmaton Truce was signed between Western U.S. Division Director Dyno-Donkey/Dunston Howe and Lady Liberty/Gloria Summers representing the unregistered superheroes of Colmaton, California. This Truce came about as a result of the city wide chaos the death of long time German Bureau operative Major Panzer in Colmaton. Lady Liberty was initially charged with the crime but later was proven innocent. Due to the cooperation between registered and non-registered superheroes in restoring order to Colmaton, Dyno-Donkey offered an official truce. This truce is essentially a 'non-aggression' pact that protects non-registered superfurs in the city from Bureau capture PROVIDED they perform no illegal acts/crimes. North America Region Director Morningstar pushed ratification of the Colmaton Truce through the U.N. Ruling Council of seven by a four to three vote. Since then, many in the BOS hierarchy have been watching events in Colmaton to see how well the truce is working and how well Bureau and non-Bureau superfurs function together. (This event is NOT found in any current Bureau fanfics or stories.  All this occurred in the Furry Super Yahoo RP Group but is considered 'canon' to the plot structure of all subsequent Colmaton/Bureau stories)

Administrative Structure

The SRA also established the bureaucratic structure of the U.N.B.O.S.   The Bureau divides the world into Regions:  North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, Russia and Oceania. Each of these regions are further divided into a number self governing Divisions, usually on national boundaries. In larger nations (such as the United States) those divisions are subdivided even further into districts, many encompassing major cities (also called Metro Districts). A number of concessions were made to the major world powers in order to get them to sign the SRA in 2000. For example, Russia insisted on being it's own Region. Although China's B.O.S. is within the Asia region, it reserved the right to directly supervise itself, North Korea and Vietnam (non-signatories of the SRA treaty). The United States insisted on having a Western and Eastern division under the authority of a larger American Division still subject to the North American Region. The European Union, though considered a part of the Europe Region, is also considered an overlapping Division within it. Most individual European nations are Divisional structures under the E.U. "umbrella". Each Region, Division and Metro District has a central office and other facilities. Divisions are free to organize themselves further: by city, area, island or island chain. The Central Office for the U.N.B.O.S. is located in Geneva, Switzerland. The Ruling Council of the B.O.S. consists of the seven Regional Directors and is the final and absolute authority of the entire organization.

There are a number of smaller nations who have few (or just one) B.O.S. registered superheroes in them. These national superheroes are basically considered 'free agents' with little supervision within the U.N.B.O.S. structure. One example of this situation is New Zealand's Super Collie who operates 'on her own' in the Oceania Region.

Theoretically, since the Bureau of Superheroes is a United Nations linked organization, all 192 nations in the UN would be eligible for BOS activity. Currently, there are three world nations that are NOT members of the UN:  Vatican City, Kosovo and Taiwan. Many member nations have special circumstances which the Bureau abides by in relation to its operations within their borders:

China:  The People's Republic of China has only one recognized superhero (Tigress Titan) that also serves as China's National Heroine as well as the Regional Director of the Asia BOS Region. The 'official' government position on superpowered individuals is that China 'has no other superpowered people except for Tigress Titan.'  China's worst kept secret is that all other superpowered individuals in the nation are automatically drafted into service in the People's Army and trained in secret as virtual prisoners of the state. As part of the special arrangement, North Korea and Vietnam are considered under the direct protection of China's National Heroine and no outside operatives are allowed in those countries without direct permission of the Chinese Government.

(update) - As of Summer 2015 (thanks to the events of "China's Super Dilemma" http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17596123/ ) China has now 'officially' recognized that it indeed has thousands of superpowered fursons. Now they've been registered with the UNBOS AND have expanded BOS bases and operations within China.

Russia:  The Russian Federation has its own autonomous BOS Region. No outside operatives are permitted on Russian soil without government permission. Any who enter without said permission are considered trespassers and are subject to imprisonment and summary execution.

Muslim nations:  All predominately Muslim nations (with the exceptions of Turkey and Egypt) allow only MALE BOS agents in their territories. NO Israeli BOS operatives are allowed in these nations under ANY circumstances. There is an overlapping Middle East District that comprises the Muslim nations of Northern Africa and Western Asia which is jointly administered by the BOS Regional Directors of Africa and Asia.

Israel:  Due to political circumstances, Israel has been placed in the European BOS Region rather than the Asian. Israeli BOS operatives are prohibited from all Palestinian controlled areas with the exception of extreme emergencies.

There are a few UN member nations that have prohibited ALL Bureau activity in their borders:  Cuba, Cyprus, Venezuela, Nepal, Bhutan and Mongolia. Although they are signatories of the UN Superhero Act Charter, they have enacted their right of refusal.

There is a single BOS substation in Antarctica, but it is under the direct supervision of the BOS Ruling Council in Geneva. It is a small station HQ near the South Pole and is currently manned by Paladin Penguin, Super Walrus and Snow Wolf.

The vast majority of the unregistered superheroes live in the United States, but there are many in other countries. The Registration Act is most strictly enforced in Russia, the Middle East District and Africa.

Rules Regarding B.O.S. Operatives

Although all superpowered individuals are required to REGISTAR with the U.N. Bureau of Superhero Relations, they are NOT required to JOIN. Anyone who feels they are superhero material can apply to become an official Bureau superhero, but only those who successfully pass both the physical and written tests will be considered for Bureau membership.

All Bureau of Superheroes operatives (except for middle and upper management and staff) are unpaid (but covered by the Bureau's medical, liability and property damage insurance) and therefore required to have outside employment or sources of income. All operatives are required to be 'on call' at all times so long as this does not jeopardize an operative's secret identity. Their respective Divisional Directors must approve any outside employment.

Bureau operatives serving on missions outside of their home countries will be subject to the governing authorities of the nations they travel in. This includes any and all additional local customs designated by that nation's B.O.S. or governments (in the case of missions to non-SRA signatory nations). For example, female operatives are forbidden in Muslim nations (except Turkey and Egypt) and operatives visiting Japan are subject to their Visiting Superheroes regulations.

All Bureau operatives are forbidden from profiting from their superhero identities except for purposes of raising money for charitable causes with prior approval of their respective Divisional Director. All public appearances must also have prior approval.

The BOS is a non-military group of operatives/agents that prohibits ANY Bureau agent from active participation in the Armed Forces of their home countries. The lone exception to this rule is the American BOS operative Ranger/Kuwanna Moore who is (in her secret identity) active U.S. Army but is restricted to non-combat functions by her Army superiors.

Bureau operatives receive training, akin to Basic Training in Army lingo, which is required of all potential members. Not everyone that applies for BOS membership gets in. Each operative is issued an ID card (specially coded so its unreadable/unusable if stolen or lost) and an ID badge to wear when at HQ.

Operatives who leave the BOS are handled by a 'case by case' basis. Those who are considered dangerous are subject to depowering and mind-wiping. Since the BOS is a relatively NEW organization (established in 2000), there haven't been many retirements yet. Any BOS agent who wants to retire would be offered two options:  (1) placement on the Retired/Reverse List and be subject to call-up and reactivation at the will of the Agency or (2) voluntary depowering and/or mind-wipe. I believe the vast majority of retiring BOS agents will choose (1) over (2). As for duty schedule, most District Directors and Shift Managers have a lot of flexibility when it comes to scheduling during NORMAL, NON-EMERGENCY circumstances.

Facilities

In each city that has a MAJOR Bureau presence, there are two structures that serve as Headquarters. There is an above ground building (usually a tall structure) that serves as the 'public face' of the BOS as well as a large, secret, underground base that contains the main Bureau HQ operations (arsenal, vehicles, air hanger, sea access for those HQ near a major body of water, etc). The above ground HQ has NO DIRECT ACCESS to the secret underground base nor any mention of it in any of their records (in case the building is captured or compromised by villains). This HQ is where fursons would contact the Bureau for assistance or to register (if they have superpowers) or apply to JOIN the Bureau of Superheroes. One can be REGISTERED as a furson with superpowers and NOT join the Bureau of Superheroes. The above ground HQ also has facilities to temporarily hold supervillains to ready them for transport to more permanent super detention places such as Galatap Prison or Bastile Island Prison in Colmaton. The underground secret Bureau bases have multiple, discreet and secret entrances and exits. Sometimes, these entrances are located in 'storefront' businesses such as the Fur For All Salon in Colmaton and Muldoon's Gym in Philadelphia. Each of these secret entrances have advanced retina scan security technology to prevent unauthorized entry of Non- Bureau personnel. The Bureau underground bases are also accessible by means of magic, teleportation and those with dimensional powers (such as the Bureau agent Vortex).

In select cities (such as Colmaton, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Montreal, etc), there are a number of Forward Bases. Forward Bases are small 'safe house' facilities that serve as secret local remote bases. Most are restaurants (such as the Dixie Diner in Colmaton and the Liberty Cafe in Philadelphia) where secretly actual Bureau agents work their 'day jobs' but each of the buildings secretly contain safe rooms and small warehouse space for storage. Like the above ground 'public' BOS buildings, the Forward Bases have NO DIRECT connections to their city's secret underground base. The Forward Base concept was invented by Western USA District Director Dunston Howe/Dyno-Donkey who experimented with the idea of purchasing a restaurant and fixing it up as a Forward Base. The restaurant was not only a successful secret outpost in Colmaton, but it turned a great profit as well, making the Forward Base financially self sufficient. The Forward Base concept proved so successful that Bureau HQ's in other cities have or are adapting the idea for their towns.