Inquisition

"The inquisition only takes the talented. They look for children with potential, and then teach them… to look for openings."

- Andrey Stamatin in Pathologic 2

Inquisitor (governmental inquisitor)&mdash;in this case the word has nothing to do with the church. Inquisitors are people of a restricted group of specialists for whom The Powers That Be would assign tasks of extraordinary nature.

If an Inquisitor fails their mission they are to be punished severely, and likely executed.

Epidemic Involvement
In both Pathologic and Pathologic 2 Aglaya Lilich arrives to The Town on behalf of the Inquisition on the seventh day. She has been sent by The Powers That Be to solve the epidemic as it becomes clear that the Town cannot handle it on their own. It is down to Aglaya, and Aglaya alone, to solve the unsolvable epidemic. If the epidemic is solved by someone else (such as the Haruspex, as occurs in both Pathologic and Pathologic 2) her solution will be forfeited and she will still be executed.

It is implied that Aglaya was sent to the Town due to her previous strained relationship with the Powers That Be. Like other outsiders in the Town it seems that she was sent to the Town in order to fail.

Methods
"They're craftsmen, the inquisitors… crafting people. That's what they call their work process. "Crafting people.""

- Voronika in Pathologic 2

Inquisitors have a mysterious gift&mdash;they could solve a problem that appeared to have no solution. Unique knowledge, techniques and skills, as well as most profound erudition were accompanied by temporary autocracy that was granted to them by the Powers That Be. When on a mission, the inquisitor was never restricted by any laws except for the ones they made themselves. The Inquisitorial method primarily involves interrogation. Inquisitors are investigators and can cause individuals to confess their greatest sins with very little effort. The Inquisition often executes those it deems worthy of it. To the Inquisitor Aglaya Lilich the greatest (and only) crime is betrayal.

The Inquisition, and their unusual and unknown methods, are feared by the common folk.

Of Herman Orff's Methods of Investigation
"...This Herman Orff has a simple appearance. Quite small, baldish, lean&mdash;forty years of age, looks sixty. He has none of that arrogance that is usually a recognizable feature of all governmental inquisitors. They say he is not a man of great physical strength and that is quite a rarity for universal emissaries that are our inquisitors..."

"...Despite the tradition, Orff never used any methods of direct influence. He never hides and never pretends to be someone else. Always goes straight to the point. He restored the ancient methods, such as interrogation and preliminary investigation. No secret techniques, no tricks. It seems that he is purposefully breaking the rumors about inquisitors' inexplicable powers, which usually spread around a city and get in the way of investigation, no matter how right those rumors might be..."

"...Please pay special attention to Herman Orff’s methods. We are not speaking of a mission of delicate nature; we have a global crisis, which has included impressive masses of the population. Such crisis cannot be resolved by means of diversion, spying, psychological influence and diplomacy. To prevent a revolt before it even starts, so that the rebels find that the reasons for the uprise are no longer present before they can even make any steps – that is a political matter. Here we have to solve an equation with dozens of functions..."

As an opposition to Phylin or Mark Karminsky, whose methods of handling massive crises were also effective, Orff never took to useless cruelty. An inquisitor always causes fear. Obviously Orff was feared as well, but when playing a game Orff always set all his cards on the table and always won. He was the teacher of such radical inquisitors as Sagatka, Kurin and Aglaya Lilich. It is interesting to note that all of them were executed on the Committee's command, the reason for that being their inclination for display of initiative. Behind the directness of their methods they hid some game of their own, for their personal profit, which they had been playing without the knowledge of the Powers That Be.

Relationship With The Military
"They have bad blood from back in the days. Cats and dogs. The inquisition does everything its own way, interfering with the army's plans. They even countermand orders. The generals hate it."

- Pathologic 2

Though their goals are often aligned the methods of the Inquisition infuriate the Army who often have their order disturbed by the power of Inquisitors. The Inquisition is so hated by the Military that they have no hesitation in killing an Inquisitor should their duties require them to.

Notable Members
In total there are 19 Inquisitors, many of whom remain unnamed.

Inquisitors

 * Herman Orff (alias)
 * Mark Karminsky
 * Peter Kroy
 * Aglaya Lilich
 * Phylin
 * Kurin
 * Sagatka

Related Members

 * Yulia Lyuricheva (Previously)
 * Voronika, the daughter of an Inquisitor

Gallery
Pathologic 2=