Fern

The Fern is the head of the Legal Department and a member of the third iteration of the Board of Department Heads. Unlike most department heads, the Fern is almost never seen; it makes personal appearances only on very rare occasions, and handles almost all communications through console.

History
Very little is known about the Fern's personal history. As a sentient Flower, it has its origins either on Origin or in Room One. At some point it founded the Legal Department, and in its capacity as head of Legal has taken responsibility for not only the mundane legal affairs the PPC must deal with, but the laws of reality itself, such as the Narrative Laws that plague agents daily. The Fern is dedicated to maintaining the order of the multiverse, and uses its position to enforce multiversal laws without bias, fearing the instability breaking this neutrality could cause – this is a position the Fern is only willing to waver on in cases of extreme emergency, such as the invasions of HQ in 2006, and even when it takes a side it chooses to do so only through minor alterations of probability. It apparently feels no particular attachment to the PPC, and has suggested it would be willing to move on and continue its business elsewhere should the organisation be destroyed; it is possible its actions in 2006 were motivated partly by feeling personally threatened, as it mentioned how one of its agents had almost been murdered the last time the invaders were in charge.

After the Clover's murder in 2012, the Fern was given a place on the Board of Department Heads. However, it very rarely attends meetings; instead, the empty 'ninth chair' is either used as a sort of conscience by the rest of the Board, or filled on a temporary basis by a Flower with some connection to the subject of the meeting.