Jesse Faden is the current Director of the FBC.
| “ | So much is expected from the Director. The responsibility. The privilege. To steer the Bureau into dangerous waters and safely out again. To inspire and lead its people, to protect them. The Board is there to advise you, but they want things in return. | ” |
The Director of the Federal Bureau of Control is the head of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), an agency tasked with studying and gaining control over paranatural phenomena.
Description[]
Beginning with Director Northmoor, the role of Director is assigned through the Service Weapon, an Object of Power; the Board uses the Service Weapon to test potential candidates for Director. If an individual passes a ritual performed in the Astral Plane involving the Service Weapon, they are designated by the Board to become the new Director of the FBC.[1] After this "selection ritual", the Bureau's executive leadership and senior staff are expected to brief the Director on the specific classified information and procedures necessary for the role. After the death of the Service Weapon's previous wielder, Zachariah Trench, during the Hiss invasion, the role of Director was passed down to Jesse Faden. This is the only known occurrence of a "field promotion" during a time of crisis, something which has no precedent in Bureau guidelines.[2]
In order to ensure that the seat of Director would be granted to only those most capable of handling the responsibilities of Director, the Prime Candidate Program was launched in an effort to identify and observe potentially powerful parautilitarians to assume the position of Director in the event of the previous Director's retirement or death. When Director Northmoor stepped down, there were no candidates available, and Zachariah Trench was promoted from the ranks of the Bureau instead.[3] During his time as Director, due to his increasing paranoia and growing concern over the overwhelming responsibility of the position of Director, Trench redoubled the Bureau's efforts to identify notable parautilitarians and was able to designate and observe at least seven such candidates.[4] Though Jesse is listed among the candidates under consideration, her acceptance into the position is considered to be due to forces outside of Trench's knowledge and beyond his control.
List of Directors[]
Based on the portraits displayed on the rear wall of the Board Room in the Executive Sector, the FBC has had a total of 14 Directors since its founding, including Jesse Faden. The directors in the 10 portraits that precede Theodore Ash, Sr. are not identified. Their portraits can be found in the gallery below this table.
| Image | Name | Tenure | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Theodore Ash, Sr. | ? — July 1964 | The father of Theodore Ash, Jr., former Head of Research. Ash Sr. died of unknown causes one week before the discovery of the Oldest House. |
|
Broderick Northmoor | August 1964 — ? | The first Director of the FBC to wield the Service Weapon and communicate with the Board, beginning a new age of the FBC in the Oldest House. He was a powerful parautilitarian, but eventually lost control of his powers and was contained in the Northmoor Sarcophagus Container, becoming the power source of the Oldest House. |
|
Zachariah Trench | ? — October 29, 2019 | A former Bureau agent under Northmoor's command, promoted to Director in the power vacuum following Northmoor's deposition. Presumably committed suicide, potentially coerced to do so, after unleashing the Hiss upon the Oldest House. |
|
Jesse Faden | October 29, 2019 — present | A civilian from Ordinary with past experience in paranatural phenomena. Became Director during the Hiss invasion while seeking out her brother in the Oldest House. |
Trivia[]
- Notably, the Director portraits in the Board Room are not displayed in any order corresponding to their internal file numbering.
- Three of the portraits are not internally numbered and instead have a name in their file description. These portraits appear to be modelled after Remedy Entertainment employees who worked on Control, namely Stuart Macdonald, Paul Ehreth, and (possibly) Leonardo Calamati.
- When Jesse became Director, portraits of Zachariah Trench located throughout the Oldest House immediately transformed to depict her. How this occurred is unknown.
- Although the portraits are updated all throughout the Oldest House, the nameplate in the Director's Office does not update to read "Jesse Faden" until after the Hiss situation is contained and Jesse accepts her role as Director.
Gallery[]
