Veritas Society

From Smallville Wiki

Veritas was a society who looked to the skies for coming life, most especially "The Traveler", The Last Son of Krypton.

The prophecy of the Traveler was the basis of the group's formation and its main subject. Forged by Dr. Virgil Swann around 1987, the Traveler theory told of a being that would come to Earth and then would need protecting before he was able to save the planet from destruction. Dr. Swann founded a secret society called Veritas; its members were all from powerful families.

Contents 1 Known Members 2 The Traveler 3 The Veritas keys 4 The Veritas Cryptograph 5 Notes

[edit] Known Members

The original members of the group included: Virgil Swann, his associate Bridgette Crosby, Lionel Luthor, Edward and Genevieve Teague, and Robert and Laura Queen. The group would meet every summer at the Swann Mansion for secret meetings while their children were off in other rooms. The group's symbol had a star alignment on them that occurred on October 7, 1989, around the day of the first meteor shower. ^{[citation needed]}

Unlike Laura Queen and Genevieve Teague, Lillian Luthor was not part of the group. Lionel attempted to keep his dealings with the group secret, but eventually Lillian at one point broke into Lionel's briefcase and demanded answers.

Swann used his own satellite company to detect possible invasions. He proposed that Lionel Luthor use LuthorCorp's budding Level 3 project to help humans gain phenomenal powers to fight against a possible invasion, but Lionel disagreed that this plan would succeed. The Teagues' role was to track down and decipher mysterious symbols and artifacts that had appeared all over the globe.[1]

Lionel Luthor believed that they should not only protect the Traveler, but control him as well. Dr. Swann proposed a way to control Lionel's thirst for power but also preserve the group's original intention to protect him as well. He locked an important component, the cryptograph, in a safety deposit box and gave one of the keys to Robert Queen, and kept the other one to himself.

The last member, Edward Teague, was killed in his private jet as it started crumbling to pieces.

[edit] The Traveler

Dr. Swann himself eventually became a recluse and individually devoted his life to understanding communication from the stars. By 2002, he had translated a message and located the Traveler, a 15-year-old adopted boy from Kansas, named Clark Kent. Presumably, Veritas was disbanded by this time, because Dr. Swann upheld his promise to keep Clark Kent's identity a secret, instead of informing the living members, the Teagues and Lionel, of his find. Genevieve Teague reconnected with Lionel Luthor in 2004, but neither of them expressed that they knew of the Traveler's identity. Genevieve's son Jason Teague even coached Clark on the high school football team. However, Clark's close relationship with Lex Luthor eventually caused Lionel to realize that Clark was the Traveler in 2006, almost a year after Swann's death. Lionel's past intentions to control the Traveler were never realized because ironically, he became the emissary for Jor-El, Clark's biological father, and carried out the group's original intention to protect the Traveler.

In 2008, Lionel Luthor received threatening letters with wax seals of the Veritas symbol. They were from Patricia Swann, who was trying to get the Traveler from Lionel. She hinted to Lex at what the society was, and told Lionel that she knew he killed Edward Teague, Laura and Robert Queen, and probably Virgil Swann. She claimed to have evidence linking him to the murders. Lionel agreed to let Patricia meet the Traveler if she turned over the evidence. To protect him from Patricia, Lionel had Clark kidnapped and held in a kryptonite-lined cage. He hired Pierce to oversee Clark's capture, but Pierce instead tortured Clark. Patricia arrived at the facility and stated that she intended to take Clark with her, but Lionel knocked her unconscious and took the evidence. He tried to return Clark back to his farm, but Pierce knocked him unconscious and tried to kill Clark.

Patricia gave Clark her father's diary, which told of the change the Traveler would bring.

When Gina found out that Clark was the Traveler, the last remaining member of Veritas fulfilled the prophecy of protecting the Traveler by poisoning her so that she couldn't reveal Clark to Lex. He was revealed to be Edward Teague, who thought it was his calling to capture the Traveler and sacrifice him to prevent him from taking over the planet. He lured Clark to the St. Christopher Cathedral in Montreal and tried to perform the ritual, but Clark was saved by Chloe Sullivan. Teague then tried to kill Lex Luthor for interfering, but Clark interrupted the battle.

[edit] The Veritas keys

The Veritas keys are two separate keys that were hidden away in two separate lockets. Together, they unlock a safe deposit box in a bank in Zürich, which contains a clue about how to control the Traveler. Lionel believed that controlling the Traveler would give them ultimate power, but Dr. Swann realized that Lionel's thirst for power was dangerous, so the Society agreed to separate and guard the keys. Dr. Swann gave one of the keys to his close friend and fellow Veritas member, Robert Queen. Lionel had Robert Queen's plane crashed and recovered the necklace which he kept at all times around his neck.

When Dr. Swann died, he gave his necklace to his only daughter, Patricia Swann, and told her to wear it at all times. She didn't know what it was for, but came to Metropolis to confront and question Lionel about the Traveler and Veritas. Patricia also visited Lex Luthor, who was also becoming increasingly intrigued with Veritas. As she was leaving town, Lex had Patricia killed and stole her locket. He prepared to go to Zürich, but discovered that he needed two keys.

When Lionel realized that something terrible was coming, he attempted to give his key to Clark for safekeeping. But Clark was angry with Lionel for kidnapping him, so he ignored him. Lionel then tried to give it to Chloe Sullivan, but she too would not listen. He left the key in Chloe's desk drawer at the Daily Planet in an envelope bearing the Kryptonian symbol for the House of El on it.

Shortly afterward, Lex's childhood memories made him realize that his father had the locket containing the other key. He confronted Lionel and demanded the locket, then killed him by pushing him out of the window of LuthorCorp Plaza. When he realized the locket was empty, he began to retrace his father's footsteps to retrieve the key.

Chloe quickly found the key. She tried to hide it from an approaching Lex, but he discovered it and fired her for lying.

Lex eventually made it to Zürich with both keys and unlocked the box.

[edit] The Veritas Cryptograph

The Cryptograph is an important component to controlling the "Traveler" a.k.a. Clark Kent. It was kept in a safety deposit box in a Zürich bank, by the Veritas Society.

Lionel Luthor tried to convince the other Veritas members to control the Traveler for obtaining absolute power. But they disagreed with him and all decided to keep it hidden in the safe deposit box, needing two separate keys to open it.

After Lex obtained both keys, killing Patricia Swann and Lionel Luthor, he flew to the bank in Zürich and opened the safety deposit box. Inside was the cryptograph, hidden in a false bottom, with two numbers inscribed onto it: 86 and 23. Shortly after Lex discovered the map, he was almost strangled by a bank guard who said Lex was not "one of them."

Lex had one of North America’s greatest cryptographers examine it. He learned a German watch maker made it to be inserted into a clock, which Virgil Swann placed in St. Christopher's Cathedral in Montreal. Putting the map in it, the clock began to play a melody, "The Birks of Saint Kilda," a Scottish folk song. However, during an altercation between Lex and Edward Teague, the map and the clock were destroyed by Clark, attempting to stop the fight.

Lex recognized the melody and thought it was directing him to Scotland, but then learned that it pointed to a castle, the very one that Lionel moved to Smallville brick-by-brick, and that Lex had, in fact, been living in for the last seven years. He returned to the mansion where the cryptograph and clock led him to a holographic device hidden in the mantle.

[edit] Notes

• Veritas is mentioned in Fracture, seen in the Justice & Doom web series, explored in Traveler, Veritas, Descent and Quest.
• Before Season 4 began, a planned story arc revolved around the "Seers". This group included all of the members of the now-called Veritas society and Bridgette Crosby and Genevieve Teague. Due to Christopher Reeve's death, the arc was not possible, and it was abolished, although hints of it continued, and were around even in the first episode. ^{[citation needed]}
• Veritas was introduced last year in an online game tied to the Justice and Doom comic. Players completed "missions" to receive clues about the society, such as meeting notes and diary pages.