Machination
The Machination is a highly-secretive organisation whose origins and purposes have come to light only very slowly; even now, little is currently known. We know for certain that it is comprised of human beings, is apparently well-financed, and that its members are aware of the existence and activities of the Transformers on Earth. We also know that they are willing to destroy their own facilities, perhaps even kill, to protect their secrecy
In fact, their knowledge of the Transformers, although incomplete, is disturbingly thorough. They possess weapons that are very effective weapons at disabling Transformers, as demonstrated by their attack on Sunstreaker and their evasive tactics employed against Jazz and Wheeljack. Their facilities employ devices capable of detecting the presence of holomatter avatars.
What exactly the Machination wants is also unknown. Based on the speech of Mister Jolly (couched in corporate euphemisms), the Machination appears interested in securing one or more of the giant robots for their own purposes - yet later issues reveal that they may already have a Transformer, or at least part of one, in their possession...
Organization
In charge of the Machination is Mister Dante, a large figure who, based on his dress, is presumably a Texan. Below him are Miss Svenson and Mister Jolly, presumably executives in the organisation.
The Machination operates behind at least one front company, Epsilon Holdings, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It presumably has people from all walks of life on an under-the-table payroll for providing information and doing small favours; an example is the Arizona police officer who informed the organization that Stoker's body had been found.
There appears to be at least one additional level of heirarchy within the Machination. Dante himself reports to a mysterious being within one of Episolon Holdings' facilities - a creature that, while yet unseen, appears to be the remains of a Decepticon...
Field operatives
Two field operatives have been identified in the Infiltration storyline thus far:
- Stoker: This man, travelling under the alias "Finklerock", was investigating the Transformers' activities and uncovered the existence of the Decepticons' Nebraska command bunker. Unfortunately, he paid for the information with his life; he was intercepted outside Phoenix, Arizona and killed by the Decepticons Runamuck and Runabout. By this time, however, Verity Carlo had already stolen the SM-40 palmtop PC that Stoker had stored his evidence on.
- Drake: Drake was brought in after the Decepticons began eliminating the evidence leading to their activities in Nebraska. He has worked for the Machination several times in the past, usually with a four-man team which has been re-assembled for Mister Jolly's so-called "appropriation". This team has been expanded in order to successfully accomplish Mister Jolly's "appropriation", and so far includes:
- Mister Creel.
- Mister Weiss.
- Mister Kamen.
- Mister Goss.
- Mister Schmidt (possibly dead as of Escalation #2).
