Rhodes Island - Locations

Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals Inc., commonly known as Rhodes Island (R.I.), is the protagonistic faction of Arknights. Made up almost exclusively of the Infected, R.I. legally operates as a pharmaceutical company that provides care and treatment to the Infected, but due to the wide variety of Operators in its employ with combat skills, they are more of a paramilitary organization who strives to fight for the betterment of the Infected.

Based on the eponymous landship, Rhodes Island dedicates themselves to develop treatments and a possible cure to Oripathy which has plagued Terra since the advent of Catastrophes. R.I. is also expert in dealing in matters and problems associated with Oripathy, notably the rampant social discriminations against the Infected, which is why R.I. possesses a paramilitary force to provide security for their personnel and patients, though R.I. can (and will) offer their service as a pseudo-PMC should the need arise. Such authority and abundant resources to deal with social issues worldwide are in fact a direct inheritance from its predecessor Babel, a militant organization of Kazdel that was meant to restore the nation's peace and the Sarkaz's livelihood. As a matter of fact, it is hard to say that whether R.I. is actually a non-state actor in the guise of a humanitarian organization, and many nations have been doubting R.I.'s supposed political neutrality.

Arknights is primarily focused on military conflicts involving Rhodes Island, with the medical aspect fairly secondary to the story, although nevertheless frequently acknowledged in many Operators' Archive files. Kal'tsit, head of the Medical department, also claims it to be its most important element, and, true to form, Kal'tsit appears to be the de facto leader of Rhodes Island, as she seems to be doing most of the management and organizational work that should befall the official leader, Amiya.

It is implied that R.I.'s main source of funding is their participation in the Contingency Contract program.[3] The rest likely comes from the patients themselves as donors, judging by the wealthy background of some of the personnel, such as Melantha, Perfumer, and Mousse as well as their business partners like the Silverash family. R.I. is neither a charity nor a non-profit. If patients are not able to financially afford R.I.'s treatment, they typically enter R.I.'s employ or provide volunteer work under the tutelage of higher-ranking personnel. R.I. accepts all Infected patients and employees regardless of their age, combat experience, and background with open arms, and most non-combatants provide logistical support. R.I. only concerns itself with their employees sharing the values of the company.

All Rhodes Island personnel are required to wear an Infection monitor bracelet, whether they are Infected or not, in order to monitor their body signals and track their Oripathy's progress.

Rhodes Island's paramilitary force utilizes standard Terran military equipment, mostly produced by Raythean, although their Elite Operators such as Blaze are authorized to use their own, custom weaponry. Other operators with their own weapon must undergo a "weapon reliability certification" wherein which two of Rhodes Island's five authorized craftsmen must examine the weapon and clear it for field use.[4] R.I. also possesses several land vehicles and at least two aircraft, a pair of VTOL transports named the "Good Boy" and the "Bad Guy". However, the paramilitary force is very small compared to R.I. as a whole, and its membership is voluntary. By the admission of R.I.'s own leadership, it is not apt to fight a war with a "real" country's military, and mainly excels at guerilla tactics and agility, something which a larger army cannot do.

When Rhodes Island is docked, R.I. personnel can freely travel around the local area so long as their activities do not interfere with R.I.'s interests. R.I. also has connections to many supply points around Terra, which periodically provide supplies for the organization essential to keeping Rhodes Island running.

Babel

Babel, also known as the Tower of Babel, is a now-defunct Terran organization which served as the predecessor of Rhodes Island.

Babel was founded by Theresa, the previous Sarkaz King of Kazdel, to further her vision of using her power and status to bring a better life for the Sarkaz and end the fragmentation of the nation. It consisted of both brilliant thinkers such as the Doctor, Kal'tsit, and Closure, and soldiers and mercenaries, such as Scout and Ace. Babel also possessed a mysterious, excavated landship from Rim Billiton which she christened Rhodes Island, thus becoming its mobile headquarters.

Throughout the most recent civil war in Kazdel, Babel was an active belligerent against Theresa's brother, Theresis, who had taken control over much of Kazdel. Meanwhile, Babel contracted a band of mercenaries which consisted of Hoederer, Ines, and W to escort the company through the Kazdel warzone. The convoys later ran into an ambush by Theresis' Sarkaz forces that forced Theresa and Kal'tsit to intervene and save the mercenaries, taking them into the Rhodes Island landship. While Hoederer and Ines chose not to maintain their service to Babel after a couple of years, W continued working for the organization.

Theresa was eventually killed in a "decapitation operation" during the autumn siege by Theresis' forces in the year 1094. It was said that the Doctor was involved in the incident and was responsible for the murder. Left leaderless, Babel was effectively disbanded, with most of its members becoming mercenaries or defecting to Theresis' side, while some managed to escape Kazdel with its mobile headquarters and reorganize itself into a pharmaceutical company named after the landship: Rhodes Island.

March 4th, 2023

Current History

After the Sarkaz King Theresa was killed in a "decapitation strike" in which the Doctor is implied to have played a part, most of the surviving Babel members, including Kal'tsit, commandeered Rhodes Island and escaped from Kazdel, then reorganized themselves into a pharmaceutical company named after her with a young Cautus named Amiya, implied to be Theresa's successor, as their leader. It also appears that Kal'tsit had purged R.I. of those responsible for the tragedy that took Theresa's life. This would also explain the existence of S.W.E.E.P., an internal counterintelligence task force formed to root out traitors.

During the three-year gap between their foundation and the start of Main Theme, R.I. managed to make a name for themselves as the leading experts in Oripathy treatment, as well as pro-Infected activism, saving many of the Infected and solving various crises related to tensions surrounding Oripathy while maintaining their neutrality, despite being surrounded by suspicion and mistrust.

Throughout the Main Theme, Rhodes Island endured a conflict with Reunion, a militant Infected movement whose actions threaten to undo what R.I. has accomplished, among other problems such as the Siestan affair, the uprising of Wolumonde, the crisis in the 24th Major season, and the Snowcap Incident before heading to Victoria in order to resolve the succession crisis in the mighty empire and deal with Theresis – an old issue since the times of Babel – once and for all.

March 4th, 2023