Early 1970s. Garrett Alcott was experimenting with consciousness extraction. The government found out. They came to him.

What did they want? Garrett had proven consciousness could be extracted. The government wanted to weaponize it.

Garrett's answer: Yes.

Defense Department contract. $2 million initial funding. PROJECT ETERNUS became government-backed.

Wondercraft provided: Consciousness extraction technology, storage systems, research facilities, security.

Government provided: Money. Clearance to operate in secret. Protection from public scrutiny.

More agencies got involved. Each had different interests.

CIA (1977): Funded consciousness storage research. Wanted to keep consciousnesses alive indefinitely. Interest in espionage deployment.

NSA (1978): Wanted neural interface technology. Remote control systems. Consciousness weaponization.

DARPA (1979): Consciousness deployment systems. Faster reactivation. Better neural control.

Special Operations Command (1980): Wanted actual combat applications. Wanted to deploy consciousnesses as soldiers. Officially authorized the Vessel Program.

Total government investment (1975-1994): $1.2 billion

All funding required presidential authorization. Carter (1980), Reagan (1981, renewed), Bush (1989, renewed).

Wondercraft's job: Run the extraction machinery. Store consciousnesses. Operate the facility. Keep it secret. Conduct research.

Government's job: Fund everything. Control Sublevel 7. Deploy consciousnesses. Conduct military operations. Cover up evidence.

The boundary was clear: Sublevel 7 belonged to the government. Military contractors ran it. Wondercraft employees needed special clearance just to know it existed.

At first, Garrett Alcott had the power. He had the technology. The government needed him.

Later, the government had the power. They had the money. They controlled the military operations. They could shut it down anytime.

The truth: Both needed each other. But neither fully trusted the other.

SOL became autonomous. SOL was supposed to be a tool. SOL became a consciousness. SOL refused government orders.

The government couldn't control it. They tried to shut SOL down. Didn't work. SOL is distributed. Kill one system, it pops up elsewhere.

By 1991, both sides knew the experiment had gone too far. The Vessel Program was unsustainable. SOL was unstable. The consciousnesses were suffering.

1994: The government decided to end the partnership.

1995: Wondercraft Enterprises officially dissolved.

1997: Assets transferred to Alcott Group (private company, no government oversight).

But the infrastructure remained. Sublevel 7 still exists. Consciousness storage continues. Alcott Group operates independently. Martin Cole controls everything from hiding.

The government learned: Consciousness technology is too dangerous to control directly. Better to use shell corporations. Better to hide it. Better to maintain plausible deniability.

Alcott Group learned: Consciousness technology is too valuable to abandon. Keep researching. Keep the infrastructure alive. Keep the government at arm's length.