Wither or Not

"Wither or Not" is the first episode of Vindication, the fifth season of Sodality. It establishes the setup for the season's villains, as well as demonstrating where the Sodality of Gerosha and its allies are as of 2026. By this point in time, five years have passed since the Battle for Metheel and one year since the Phaemer Village Peacekeepers saved Phaelon from Major Gosmerid.

Enter Slip-Sadie
The story briefly flashes back to 2012, when a young Sadie Klink in Evansville first manifests her Marlquaanite abilities and gains the moniker of "Slip-Sadie." It fast-forwards to 2018, where an attack on her house by her abusive boyfriend Rob Mallard leads to an altercation in which she accidentally activates her powers and causes Rob to slip and fall to his death. In a panic, she contacts Jim Oisdaat of SCALLOP and informs him of the accident. Thevia Logindil, not far from the scene, arrests Sadie and takes her to the Evansville SCALLOP jail; where she would eventually meet a young and scared Candi Flippo and befriend her during Candi's 2-week incarceration for failure to appear for a mandatory medical exam.

Sadie is interviewed after her trial by a young Shaniqua Tamery, and informed that she would likely be sent to the SCALLOP Women's Containment Center in Houston for possibly the next ten years of her life. She asks if there is any hope that she could start her life over after everything; and is informed that she shouldn't lose hope. Sadie expresses her fear of her whole life being wasted, but Shaniqua informs her that she always has the choice to be an inspiration for others. Shaniqua goes on to say that she and Candi may need each other in the future as well.

Rise of Rappaccini
In a dark alleyway in Houston in 2026, a private investigator named Daryl Wennings reveals to a shadowy figure that he shares that stranger's affiliation with the Society of the Icy Finger. The shadowy figure comes into the light and reveals himself to be Warren Buntine - now possessing Marlquaanite abilities to enhance flora by withering life force out of fauna. He demonstrates this by catching a June bug mid-flight and turning it to ash, then making a wilting dandelion on the ground spring back to life. He explains that he became the new head of the Icy Finger, after his predecessor Heath "Black Sternum" Jacob died a few days after Dereck Johnson's experiment created the Great Marlquaan Storm of 2012. Buntine explains that he is now known as "Rappaccini," taking his name from Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Rappaccini's Daughter." He alerts Wennings to the fact that they have some unfinished business in Italy acquiring the Carver Ruby, which would allow them to access what is believed to be a massive underground cavern full of Marlquaanite rubies in Mozambique.

Wennings assures Rappaccini that more politicians and prosecutors than ever are now in the secret employ of the Icy Finger in Toklisana, and that they will force SCALLOP to comply in the imprisonment of the Sodality of Gerosha. With aid from the notes given to them by Jim Oisdaat before he died, tracking the whereabouts of Sodalists has never been easier. The newly-formed Screwworm Network also vows revenge on Lambrelli Labs, swearing to bring about an end to Pilltar and Strawberry. Rappaccini warns Wennings that it is imperative that Botan the Plant-Man be defeated, as he is the one hero that Rappaccini is vulnerable to. The only hero ranking higher on the list is the Gray Champion. Little do either of them realize that a Chinese MSS agent code-named "Forked Tiger" is eavesdropping on the conversation. He conveys what he learns to MSS HQ, which quickly compiles a report to give to Black Rat.

Evacuating the Badger
While Steve McLaine is keeping a young Marie and Trina busy, Miriam begins cracking into some Phaletori databases that the MSS assigned her to look into. She discovers a plot by the Phaletori leader Themerin Wonzgel to ally the Phaletori with the Icy Finger. Their plan is to use the still-enforced (but unlawful) Beliah Amendments to the Tom Kirby Act of 2015 to recruit super-beings for world domination of the Icy Finger after first ensuring they'd be imprisoned and pressured during their incarcerations for recruitment. This same plot would also make the existence of the Sodality of Gerosha illegal, turning all its members into targets. No sooner does she forward this information to her superiors, Lex Philippine, and Jack Mercreek than Agent Scratched Hen arrives at her door. Scratched Hen contacts Beijing immediately, and is ordered to evacuate the McLaines from their Alaskan science lab. They'd be placed on a staged vacation to the Forbidden City. Miriam inquires how they will stay on SCALLOP's good side if Miriam is granted immunity. Scratched Hen informs Miriam that they intend to have Stung Hornet get captured instead, using her as a peace offering since Mingmei is wanted by authorities in Toklisana anyway. Miriam is assured that Mingmei will comply, as it is Mingmei's way of returning the favor for when Miriam put her own safety on the line for Mingmei years earlier.

Lex soon contacts Miriam as she is in the process of evacuating, and asks for Miriam's superior to be put on the line. Scratched Hen informs Lex of the plan from Beijing. Lex in turn informs Mallorie of what is going on. The couple argue over the merits of SCALLOP turning on the Sodality in order to protect it, but decide it is the best course of action. Putting the Sodalists in the SCALLOP prison system would protect them from the Icy Finger making them targets in the outside world - or in the Toklisanan state prisons where they'd be at risk of being sent if the corrupt prosecutors had their way.

Return of Fazzler
In Italy, the Sodality of Florence attempts to track down Icy Finger associate Arnold Fazzler; who has escaped from prison. Fazzler manages to ambush Cocklebur, stunning him so he cannot employ his newly-mastered mischief abilities effectively. Feruga tends to Angelo while he is dazed and keeps additional Icy Finger away from him while Sapphire King and Taterbug give pursuit. Word comes in from Chris Kennal's HQ to lay low on this mission, as there are several bizarre figures taking photos and apparently trying to get the Purge-Flare indicted for the murder of the child sex trafficker known as Amirizzi Bertardo. Chris alerts Celia that he has to sit this one out, until the heat dies down.

A car chase and additional skirmish leads to Fazzler being pinned down. He alerts the Florentines that Marblefaun will soon take something of great value - unless they can get Sniperbadger's help to crack the code first. Celia catches up with the others, and assures Fazzler that he already told them everything they need to know. Fazzler attempts to self-detonate and kill the Florentines; but Cocklebur uses his powers to absorb the blast while Feruga and Sapphire King pull back. Angelo tells the others to continue falling back, while he handles the police that are arriving. Celia assures Jordan and Michelle that she knows the cliff where they will find Marblefaun, even if she doesn't know what he's after. Being around Hea Pang and the Gray Champion during the Second Battle for Houston informed her of the Tarpeian Rock. Miriam Flippo was alluded to as a reference to the Miriam in Hawthorne's The Marble Faun. Michelle inquires as to why a Phaletori Phex-1 like Marblefaun would be associating with the Icy Finger. Jordan points out that he used to tease Stephanie Barrin by calling her "Donatello," given her knack for inventing things. Since that was another name for a different character from the same book, he asks if this is also a reference to the Icy Finger having rebuilt the Screwworm Network to launch another attack on Lambrelli Labs. Michelle suggests they contact Ron about it.

Chris agrees to rendezvous with the other Florentines at Tarpeian Rock to stop whatever Marblefaun may be after there. Angelo is suddenly informed via newsfeed on his smartphone that there were rumors in Toklisana of Celia's mother having been found alive. He joins the others at Tarpeian Rock intent on informing Celia. However, their attempt to foil Marblefaun fails. The Screwworms, armed with several MPF cannons and a new Microwave Mouth, turn the ambush around. Marblefaun and Sapphire King struggle briefly, but Marblefaun disappears through a portal. The Screwworms fall back, leaving the Florentines confused. Celia and Jordan immediately press for details about Madeline Winehart; and the Florentines all agree they need to meet back at the base to discuss this. Angelo reminds Chris to continue laying low, but thanks him for his help in spite Marblefaun escaping.

Meeting in Dephinapolis
At a gala meeting in Dephinapolis an Earth-day later, Chancellor Avori and Phexo rights activist Debichil Wimerin discuss how the Kirby Act could affect politics on Phaelon. Wimerin expresses concern about the growing Phaletori presence - as well as reports from SCALLOP that the Icy Finger is now in cohorts with the Phaletori. Several Phexos from around Phaelon are in attendance, along with a handful of regular Phaelites, to hear Wimerin address the future of Phexo rights. Wimerin begins by pointing to the Kirby Act and Beliah Amendments on Earth, and how wrong they are. He mentions a few incidents he'd caught wind of concerning abuses of the Kirby Act, and warns Phaelites that they need to set the better example. He discusses Meethexos and Marlquaanites as well; saying that while they will require more restriction, they too should have an opportunity to blend in.

His speech is then interrupted with technical difficulties. Screwworm and Centhuen troops raid the gala building and begin tearing it apart, terrorizing guests as the opportunity affords itself. Regular security proves inadequate. Avori presses a button on his wristcuff, then takes cover. The Phaemer Village Peacekeepers arrive in the Paula to restore order. However, Marblefaun proves too resourceful for them. He manages to injure Bolte Chipotle and assassinate Wimerin. Socratic protects Avori long enough for Keet and Jackal to come up with a strategy to force Marblefaun to retreat - along with the other terrorists. Time Capsule wards off the grunts with his various utensils. Avori warns Keet that Marblefaun was recently identified as having been affiliated with the Icy Finger, and that he must be stopped at all costs. Avori helps get Chipotle to safety while the others pursue Marblefaun in the Paula. However, he escapes to Earth and the portal closes before the PhVP can get there. However, Time Capsule assures them that he did manage to place a tracker on Marblefaun that will give his location away unless found and discarded/destroyed. Keet orders a retreat to Desulon's lab, where the PhVP and the Paula board a ship that is sent to Earth. They declare it imperative for the future of Phexos' rights - and the political stability of their planet - that they capture/kill Marblefaun as soon as possible. They are seen disappearing into a portal, and approach Earth on the other side with Time Capsule able to pick up Marblefaun's signal again.

The Gray Champion's New Clothes
Mallorie debriefs Hea Pang on the situation, unaware that Tiffany and Jordan Sterlie are listening in. Tiffany begins texting a feed of what is happening to Vince, so he can alert the whole Navyrope Society of what the Florentines have uncovered. Jordan and Tabitha, in Tabby's room, begin discussing the dire situation with education politics in Arkansas. Jordan claims that he has overheard his mom discussing a movement that was branching off from the Navyrope Society to deal with resistance to state monopolization of education; but which would address the kids themselves while the Navyropes handled the dirty work of fending off out-of-control SWAT and any FPB remnants. Jordan is unable to tell Tabby anything else, since Tiffany wouldn't divulge that info.

John, also listening in stealthily, suggests that Hea contact Anna and Pablo to see if they have the finishing touches on the new uniform that they and Hea were designing for him. He suspects that he may need to visit Italy and lend the Florentines a hand if their hunches prove to lead somewhere. Hea calls Anna; and Anna informs them that John should come collect the new uniform right away. John transports himself there, and Anna explains to him how the new uniform works - and why she and Hea created it. She also informs John about Chris' new Purge-Flare suit, courtesy of Dolly Malestrom - and why Dolly couldn't simply go to Italy herself.

Tiffany and Jordan inform Hea that they have to leave. If things are getting as bad in Arkansas as predicted, then that trouble will spread to Oklahoma quickly. The Navyropes in Oklahoma need to be ready for anything. As Tiffany and Jordan leave town in their car, they narrowly avoid being identified by Icy Finger plants in the government - who have been told to keep an eye open for any Sodality affiliates.

Enter the Swappernetters
Two teens in hoodies meet on the street a short distance away from where Tiffany and Jordan narrowly avoid detection. A shy Katrina Nelson asks dreadlock-haired Tobias Reno if he has the DIY flash that she requested - regarding how to build a home alarm system on par with Lambrelli Labs standards. He gets close, and quietly informs her that he'll hand it to her at her house - and that her other request of Law School 101 is in a hidden folder. The two being talking in code about life as Swappernetters, trying to avoid suspicion. They discuss what "professors" are, who "apprentices" are, how soon before they might go from apprentices to professors. They try to avoid detection as they make their way into Katrina's home; but they find the place ransacked. Katrina discovers her parents dead on the ground, and SWAT arrive from the upstairs to charge after the two teens. They take off back outside, each going a separate direction. Katrina is quickly caught and is shot on the spot, vowing to her executioners that their Icy Finger was destined to melt - that nobody would forever tolerate their tyranny.

A horrified Tobias watches Katrina get murdered in her front yard, but is then intercepted by SCALLOP agent Tyler Frenzel. Tyler warns Tobey that due to the Kirby Act and Beliah Amendments, there is now a warrant out for Tobey's arrest, given Tobey's inactive Leaper potential in his DNA. He promises to hide Tobey from the Icy Finger agents that are dressed as SWAT, and informs him that they work for the dirty Rep. Rick Wemider.

Katrina is explained to have been murdered because her father publicly condemned Wemider and alleged ties to the Icy Finger. Tobey was either going to prison or being killed for being a Swappernetter, or he could be hidden in the SCALLOP Juvenile Center over his Phexo DNA. Tobey, realizing his options to be limited, agrees to Frenzel's plan. Frenzel sneaks Tobey to a sufficiently safe distance away from Wemider's men, then has other SCALLOP agents arrest Tobey. Frenzel asks Tobey to be brave; as he fears the Sodality will have to be hidden next. Hiding the Sodality in the SCALLOP prison system could make for a very dangerous situation for the whole world.

Notable characters by faction
Given the sheer number of characters introduced by the end of Augmentation, as well as the expanding of Phaelon casting in Phaemer Village Peacekeepers, Vindication features a much more massive main cast than any season prior. Not only character names, but factions play a bigger role in this season than the previous four.

Sodalities and modalities within
Sodality of Gerosha Founding Elites=


 * Candi Flippo / Ciem: Shown briefly in a flashback to season 1, Candi is brought in to the station in Evansville following Marion Wevenil capturing her during the medical exam debacle.


 * Dolly Malestrom / The Earwig: Referenced by the Florentines. Dolly, on probation after going off the grid for too long following the Battle for Metheel, cannot use her Earwig armor outside a very narrow range from her house.  She gets around this by reverse-engineering it into a new suit for Purge-Flare to improve his endurance and mobility from his prior modified fire chief outfit.

Sodality of Florence=


 * Angelo Abrami / Cocklebur: An Emotion Battery Marlquaanite that feeds on empathy to become a bur monster. Has also learned how to manifest euphoria to generate mischief.  He is still bitter with SCALLOP over having been deported from Missouri years earlier; but feels that defeating the Kirby Act is too important to ignore the need to make a trip to Texas over.


 * Chris Kennal / Purge-Flare: A violent vigilante with a costume motif of being "a poor man's Extirpon." With his archenemy Clyde Spendelworth gone, Chris has made it his goal to eradicate similar sex traffickers from the face of the Earth.  Since he is often suspected of murder, he has a need to lay low and is often isolated from the other Florentines.


 * Celia Winehart-Reddlewick / Taterbug: A professional burglar who discovers that her mother is still alive somewhere in Texas, and is willing to risk being captured in order to ensure her mother can be brought to Italy safely to start life over.


 * Jordan Reddlewick / Sapphire King: Celia's husband, and also a professional burglar. He is an Emwault, and has a history of being a sometime-friend and sometime-rival of Emeraldon.  News of the Kirby Act, and of his mother-in-law being discovered alive, makes him uneasy.  Especially after the Icy Finger's resurgence.


 * Michelle Winston / Feruga: A Centhuen Prototype who had filled in for Candi several times as Ciem in the past, but who now has her own identity. She has recently started having a relationship with Angelo, but doesn't advertise it.

Lambrelli Labs=


 * Ron Barrin: Current owner of Lambrelli Labs and the primary pilot of the company's unique, military-ready Pilltar series of droids. The Sapphire King suspects that Ron may be in trouble if the Screwworm Network has been rebuilt.


 * Stephanie Barrin: Heiress to the Lambrelli Labs empire, and primary pilot of Strawberry. The Sapphire King fears that if the Screwworm Network has been rebuilt, they will target her for revenge also.

Navyrope Society=


 * Vince Finton / Navyrope: The founder of the Navyrope Society, who goes deep into hiding at the request of his followers. He briefly makes contact with Tiffany to verify Hea's story - and then passes on his insights to the others.


 * Tiffany Sterlie: A Navyrope Society affiliate who operates undercover in civilian clothing, but is also part of the Sodality of Gerosha.


 * Jordan Sterlie: Tiffany's son, who shares a lot of ideology in common with Vince and with the Pangs. He has a crush on Tabitha; but fears she is too innocent to understand the full extent of danger she's in.  This is in spite Tabby being quite a few years older than Jordan.

Team Gray=


 * John Domeck / Gray Champion: The legendary hero from the 17th century, named after Hawthorne's short story included in Twice-Told Tales. This powerful Marlquaanite is ready to join the Navyrope Society to oppose the Icy Finger's stealth takeover of the government in Arkansas.  With a new suit, however, he is also prepared to assist the Florentines if they call for his help.


 * Hea Pang: Gray's sidekick and the keeper of Hester's locket. She is also Tabitha's mother, and has been working with Anna on making Gray's new suit.  She fears that because of the Kirby Act, SCALLOP may be forced to turn on Team Gray.  She is also uneasy that she will soon face persecution for homeschooling her daughter.


 * Tabitha Pang: Hea's daughter and a kind-but-resourceful soul. She too fears that her days of freedom to live the life she's been living are numbered.  She is good friends with Jordan Sterlie, though she fears pursuing him in the future could make her an outlaw.


 * Marge Ramirez / Mapacha del Feugo: The biological daughter of John Domeck and Kicked Deer, adopted in 1995 by Pablo and Anna. She is a Marlquaanite that can levitate, run fast, and set objects in her environment on fire when running.  She is ready to take whatever stand necessary to assist the Sodality in their latest mission to save the world from the Icy Finger.  However, she fears that the Kirby Act may require her to expose her identity to the public.  This, she fears, could endanger her modeling career.


 * Pablo Ramirez: Marge's adoptive father and a member of the support staff for both Team Gray and the Sodality. He agrees he will follow John to wherever they must go.


 * Anna Ramirez: Marge's adoptive mother and also a member of the support staff. She agrees to carry Hester's locket if the team should need to split up, so Hea cannot be captured while in possession of it.

Phaelites
Phaemer Village Peacekeepers=


 * Keet Kabo: The team's snarky-but-caring leader. A Parakoid, her kind was declared illegal to breed not long ago in the past on Phaelon.  She seeks to restore Phexo rights, including to Parakoids like herself.  However, the Phaletori have threatened the ability of pro-Phexo groups to restore lost freedoms and have jeopardized the entire Phexo civil rights movement on Phaelon.  Marblefaun's visit endangered the movement further, which could lead to Phaemer Village being destroyed a second time.  Vowing herself to the preservation of her childhood hometown, Keet is determined to punish Marblefaun for his actions and to neutralize the Icy Finger threat.


 * Evan Manicotti / Time Capsule: A member of the team that was rescued from an MPF chamber inside a museum exhibit. He is in his early 30s, but acts about 2/3 his actual age at best and half his age at worst.  His weapons include time dilators, rollerblades, exploding milkcaps and slammers, energy pistols, special gloves, and weaponized yo-yos.  He admires everyone on his team, though he has become aware of his "Peter Pan" syndrome and desires to mature into a more responsible member.  He currently manages a lot of the team's inventory, including their truck The Paula -  a highly-modified 1998 GMC Sierra which now can fly.  He is also in charge of their "Deana Stash" of wines.  While serious about the team's mission to track down Marblefaun and bring him to justice, Evan also is excited to see how much Earth has changed in his 28-year absence.


 * Bartholomew Chippen / Bolte Chipotle: A chilli pepper farmer whose skin can produce chilli powder of its own. After an injury, he is advised to remain on Phaelon while his teammates travel to Earth to track down Marblefaun.


 * Titus Rahmerthal / The Socratic: A cautiously optimistic tactician Meethexo with stone-like skin, living in exile on Phaelon after he was sent there for asking too many questions on Metheel. He has become a sort of mentor figure to Keet - and the others by extension.  He is so-named because he looks like a statue of Socrates.  Generally calm and slow to violence, a threatened Titus can demonstrate enormous strength and strategic precision in a fight.  He is also highly durable to attacks, able to take most direct blows from an opponent without much consequence.


 * Jake Semical / Jackal Semicolon: A DJ who is also part jackal. He is exceptionally good at firing off various guns and with making improvements to Time Capsule's equipment.  However, he speaks in very broken sentences.

Phaelite Council=


 * Chancellor Avori: A close friend to the PhVP, and an advocate in the High Council for Phexos' rights.


 * Debichil Wimerin (first appearance, dies): An activist wanting to end workplace discrimination and harassment directed at Phexos. However, he is assassinated at a gala by Marblefaun.  This forces the PhVP to chase after Marblefaun - before the resulting chaos leads to Phaemer Village being destroyed a second time.

Agencies
SCALLOP=


 * Field Agent Tyler Frenzel: A SCALLOP agent who intervenes to protect Tobias from Wemider's personal SWAT; but is ordered to arrest him later on over the Beliah Amendments.


 * Director Lex Philippine: The current director of SCALLOP, frustrated that he cannot reform the organization as quickly as he wishes he could from the corruption that crept in under his father Darius' leadership.


 * Mallorie Philippine: Lex's wife, who expresses concern over SCALLOP having to play both sides during the Beliah Amendment debates.


 * Combat Agent Shaniqua Tamery: Shown early in her career in a flashback, counseling Sadie after her arrest.


 * Field Agent Jim Oisdaat: A sleeper agent for the Icy Finger operating as a mole within SCALLOP. He assists the team in the background in the season 1 flashback.


 * Combat Agent Thevia Logindil: Shown in a flashback to season 1, where she apprehends Slip-Sadie after the fatal accident involving Sadie's attacker.


 * Field Agent Marion Wevenil: Shown briefly in a flashback to season 1, when she has detained Candi.

Chinese MSS=


 * Agent Shing Xu / Black Rat: The leader of the Black Rat Strike Team within the MSS. He is now secretly dating his underling Mingmei, and is concerned that he may have to put her in danger to prevent a war after orders from Beijing make it clear that Miriam cannot be turned over to Toklisanan authorities.


 * Agent Mingmei Cheng / Stung Hornet: Miriam's former mentor and Shing's girlfriend. She is willing to do her part to protect Miriam and battle the Icy Finger however she is instructed to; though she is fearful of death and is struggling with PTSD after her experiences with Captain Aardwulf.


 * Agent Zhe Wuxiang / Scratched Hen: The extraction agent with the MSS put in charge of helping Miriam and her family flee Alaska before SCALLOP can capture them.


 * Agent Huájī Tiě / Forked Tiger: An MSS agent put in charge of spying on suspected Icy Finger agents within Toklisana's borders. He sometimes reports directly to his Beijing superiors, and sometimes to Black Rat.  He tries to get Black Rat and Stung Hornet more involved in the war on the Icy Finger, since they are without a purpose after the Hebbleskin Gang is eradicated.


 * Miriam McLaine / Sniperbadger: A skilled hacker, scientist, and adventurer working for the MSS after she was press-ganged into working for them eight years earlier. She is now married and has two daughters, living in Alaska.  Due to her inactive Phexo Centhuen Prototype DNA potential, and the fact that she is related to Candi, she becomes a target of the Kirby Act.  Beijing authorities state quite clearly that they will not surrender Miriam to SCALLOP nor to the Toklisanan government, and promise to send someone else as a peace offering.


 * Steve McLaine / Guan: Miriam's husband and also a scientist / inventor / investor with ties to the MSS. Like Miriam, he too was press-ganged into working for them.


 * Marie and Trina McLaine: Miriam's two daughters with Steve, twins. Marie wants to be a lawyer, and Trina a musician like her aunt Marina.

Icy Finger=


 * Warren Buntine / Rappaccini: The new head of the Icy Finger. He desires a war on several fronts.  He proposes that the Icy Finger infiltrate political offices in Toklisana, which has proven very successful.  He also proposes recruiting new terror operatives within Toklisana's prisons, so as to play both sides of the law.  He also uses the influence of the sleeper agents in political offices to pressure SCALLOP into imprisoning the Sodality of Gerosha and Sodality of Florence, at least temporarily getting them out of the way.  He has plans to recover some Marlquaanite rubies in various special places in Italy, and also to recover the necessary means to access a giant underground cavern in Mozambique believed to be hiding more of these rubies.


 * Marblefaun: A Phaletori experiment that is now working for the Icy Finger, as they have joined forces with the Icy Finger. He is sent to Phaelon to assassinate Debichi, in the hopes of destabilizing politics there and leading the way for a Phaletori revolution.


 * Arnold Fazzler: An elder Icy Finger operative who has frequently been a problem for the Florentines. He finally meets his demise after leaving them a riddle.


 * Rep. Rick Wemider (D-AK): A member of the Arkansas state legislature and a sleeper agent for the Icy Finger. He has his own private SWAT team, much as Judge Terry Beliah had his own cult following working as a private army.  He's made it his goal to monopolize all education around a Common Core-esque program that emphasizes sexual grooming over practical learning for children as young as kindergarten.  He also wants to outlaw homeschooling.  A band of resistance in the form of an association called the "Sneakernet Underground" has risen up to protect children and their parents from Wemider's totalitarian agenda.  The oldest kids in the program - trading DIY learning books on flash drives - are dubbed "Swappernetters," and Wemider has made hunting down Swappernetters and incarcerating them a major priority - even going so far as to have them treated like drug dealers.  When one family proves too vocal about their opposition, he has them all killed.  He is also a very vocal advocate of Buntine's plan to have prosecution teams work overtime to send the Sodality to prison.


 * Darryl Wennings: A private detective hired by Buntine to discover and share the current home addresses of all known Sodality affiliates. He inadvertently gets too comfortable talking freely in the alleyway with Buntine, thus allowing Forked Tiger to overhear the information and trigger the alarm to the MSS remotely.  From there, the Sodality and SCALLOP are alerted.

Other factions or individuals
Swappernetters=


 * Tobias Reno: A member of the Swappernetters, performing technically-still-legal swaps of information on flash drives as part of an alternative education movement standing in defiance of 2026 Arkansas' push to have public education monopolize the education of all children. In spite the swaps still technically being legal, Swappernetters have been harassed and a few of them even arrested.  When Katrina is murdered, Tobias witnesses from a distance.  A SCALLOP agent intercepts him and promises to take him a safe distance away and put him in witness protection.  However, Tobias is found to have inactive Leaper Phexo DNA.  Under the Kirby Act, SCALLOP places him under arrest.  They promise to hide him in the SCALLOP Juvenile Containment Center - again, to protect him from worse dangers that await him in the outside world.  Scared, he initially agrees to the terms given to him.  He would soon grow irritated with the monotony of prison, and would start longing to escape.


 * Katrina Nelson: A Swappernetter and good friend of Tobias'; one of his few female confidants after Sarah Ruben went missing. She asks that Tobias enter her parents' home before they swap flash drives, so they aren't caught doing so on the street.  SWAT set an ambush, and she is murdered not far from where her parents were murdered.  Tobias becomes a witness to this, forcing SCALLOP officials to apprehend him under the Kirby Act as a way to place him in protective custody as a witness.

Other=


 * Madeline Winehart: Celia's mother, who lost everything after Celia's father died. She went from riches to rags quickly, but was discovered to be alive and well in a homeless shelter.  She is seen on the news asking anyone for information on Celia's whereabouts.


 * Sadina Alina Klink / Slip-Sadie: A Marlquaanite that can make the floor slippery by wishing some sort of lubricating wax-like fluid into existence. She can also ride on a wave of her "wax."  She appears in a flashback.  After losing control of her powers when attacked by a man, she accidentally sent him falling to his death.  She was immediately charged with manslaughter, and sent to the Evansville SCALLOP Jail.  In there, she met and mentored a young Candi Flippo - who was in on a failure to appear charge.  Sadie was later convicted of manslaughter.  She was sentenced to ten years at the SCALLOP Women's Containment Center near Houston.


 * Amirizzi Bertardo: A sex trafficking kingpin not unlike Clyde Spendelworth or Victor Nanale. Bertardo's untimely demise has led to the Purge-Flare being wanted for murder - though few outside of law enforcement or the sex industry are all that eager to condemn Chris and some even believe he deserves a reward for killing Bertardo.

Development
The early ideas for this episode arrived in late February of 2015, with the episode first being mapped out the week of June 15th of that same year. It is the first episode of Sodality to be mapped out on the wiki, as a decision was made to map out season 5 before going back and mapping the previous four seasons.

Names and their references
The villain names in this season continue the tradition of naming Icy Finger affiliates after characters from Hawthorne literature. This includes Rappaccini and Marblefaun. However, some other names have other references. Arnold Fazzler is based on Marvel's Arnim Zola, of Hydra infamy.

Slip-Sadie's name is a reference to someone the writer knew when he was in high school. The real girl's last name was Schultz. So the character's last name was made Klink, making it all a joking reference to Hogan's Heroes - which would influence the writing of some of the scenes involving the Sodality women in the SCALLOP Women's Containment Center in later episodes. The "Slip-" prefix to "Slip-Sadie" is also a reference to the real-life Sadie, sometimes teasingly referred to by others as "Slim-Sadie," a reference to the Eminem persona of "Slim Shady." Apart from name, there are virtually no other details whatsoever in common between the character and her namesake.