Watchdog

Watchdog, sometimes called WEDGDG, is a PRT sub-group focused primarily on preventing economic and political disruption by parahumans.

Description

Watchdog is based primarily in San Francisco (with offices elsewhere) and employs groups of Thinkers to sift through large quantities of date using their individual talents, covering one another's weaknesses and expanding on their leads.<ref>As there’s myriad types & conventions of, say, invincibility, there’s a number of subcategories and focuses of precognition or clairvoyance. Tattletale, for example, could theoretically be classified as a subtype of clairvoyance.

So I’d recommend one not jump to any conclusions about what the thinkers out there could do to monitor the use of powers in relation to economic manipulation.

That said, it’s noted in this chapter that precogs tend to be somewhat unreliable. I don’t think it would be too ridiculous a notion to imagine them working in small groups, supporting one another’s weaknesses and expanding on one another’s leads. All it takes is for one to notice an anomaly and then the others can expand on that. - Interlude 14.5 (Bonus Interlude), comment by wildbow.</ref> They essentially work a simple nine-to-five job (depending on their needs and power), either performing detective work with a focus on financial, political, legal, international, and big-picture shenanigans, or work to back up the PRT and general law enforcement by resolving tickets by priority.

Watchdog also employs non-parahuman staff, who are tasked with gathering information for the Thinkers to analyze.

That said, Watchdog does not function optimally: In 2011 Watchdog was the subject of internal testing and investigation and the results suggested embezzlement, international spying and insider trading on the part of PRT employees. Many precognitives, clairvoyants and empaths fled the group or the country around the time there were any hints of an investigation.<ref>America News - Watchdogs biting the hands that feed

Leaked reports suggest that PRT sub-organization WEDGDG, commonly referred to as ‘Watchdog’, was the subject of internal testing and investigation, and it came far from passing those checks. Two months ago, the President of the United States of America promised stricter checks and balances for the oversight committees, primarily for WEDGDG, the PRT-centered organization of capes and civilians charged with targeting and identifying economic and political malfeasance. No sooner were the first checks performed than red flags began popping up, suggesting embezzlement, international spying and insider trading on the part of PRT employees. It remains to be seen how the revelation will be handled, as well as the long-term, worldwide consequences that follow.

Perhaps more interesting are the events that preceded the investigation. Many precognitives, clairvoyants and empaths fled the group and/or the country, around the time there were any hints of an investigation. Already, criticisms have been raised, suggesting that many of the individuals who left may find their way to villainous organizations… - PRT: Department Sixty Four, thread II [Worm Quest] - Page 21</ref>

Other tasks

While Watchdog's primary goal is preventing economic or political disruption, it also performs other tasks:

Functions as a sort of internal affairs within the PRT, regularly launching investigations or sending out individuals, either covert or overt.
Provides Thinkers for the outtake process of the Madison quarantine zone, following from the D.D.I.D. law.
Monitors major problem sites, such as the Ellisburg quarantine zone.

Members

Name	Description
Accord
Appraiser
Katelyn Carver
Eleventh Hour
Hunch
Nutcracker

References