The Organization

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	The Organization
Original Name	酒厂
Alias(es)	Black Organization
Occupation/Role	Transnational criminal network; clandestine pharmaceutical, cognitive-science, intelligence, and assassination operation
Status	Active
First Appearance	9

Background / History

The Organization funded the research of Tang Ze Zhao's parents and appears to have known the results of their work. After their deaths, it sought to retain control of their legacy by replacing Tang Ze Zhao with Akechi Goro, a highly capable Organization-trained disguise specialist, while assigning Bourbon as the replacement's guardian and supervisor. 31 74

Its interest in Tang Ze did not end with the identity-replacement operation. The Organization has monitored him for eighteen years, regarding him as a valuable subject connected to Cognitive Science and the Tang Ze family's research. 239 300 807

By the time the Phantom Thieves of Hearts become active, the Organization is deeply embedded in legitimate institutions, international corporations, criminal networks, research facilities, and public systems. Its reach extends from pharmaceutical laboratories and political influence to smuggling, police informants, programmers, and international surveillance technology. 133 545 794 938 1231

Structure and Operations

Codenamed Members

Receiving an official codename signifies that an individual has become important to the Organization. Codenames are generally granted either to capable operatives and influential figures, or to people considered crucial to its pharmaceutical and cognitive-science objectives. 201 613

On paper, codenamed members share access to basic Organization resources, facilities, and personnel. In practice, the Organization has a clear internal hierarchy based on authority, responsibility, and proximity to core secrets. 1123

• Gin — A senior operational manager who coordinates major missions, supervises final acceptance, and serves as a recurring security measure within the Organization's cognitive defenses. 240 1123 1248
• Rum — The second-in-command; possesses exceptional influence, keeps core information compartmentalized, and is urgently searching for the Organization's boss. 466 1223
• Vermouth — A high-ranking operative with unusually broad authority, including greater access to the Organization's wish-granting website than ordinary codenamed members. 690
• Kumeru / Akechi Goro — A codenamed member treated as a key Cognitive Science subject and a component of the Silver Bullet project. 300 466
• Sherry / Shiho Miyano — A researcher given a codename unusually early because of her importance to the Organization's research. 201 613
• Pisco / Kenzo Masuyama — An elder codenamed member whose advancement appears tied to his wealth, influence, and corporate status. 226 264
• Irish, Curacao, Bourbon, Kir, Vodka, Chianti, and others — Codenamed personnel assigned to intelligence, assassination, research support, surveillance, or frontline operations. 613 679 693 1118

Internal Divisions

The Organization is not unified. Its size, competing interests, undercover agents, and rival power centers create regular infighting. Gin openly opposes Rum's methods, while different factions pursue the cross-age identification system for different purposes. 551 1228

Conan classifies its members into three broad groups:

• Undercover agents — Infiltrators from external agencies, including Rena Mizunashi and the former Shuichi Akai. 1181
• Committed criminals — Members such as Gin and Vodka who uphold the Organization's violent internal order. 1181
• Rebellious insiders — Members unable to fully sever their ties but willing to oppose the Organization for personal reasons, including Vermouth and Kumeru. 1181

Research and Technology

Cognitive Science

Cognitive Science is one of the Organization's central research priorities. Its practical applications include brainwashing, memory erasure, cognitive modification, psychological control, and attempts to manipulate human personality. 295 520

The Organization has attempted to graft memories and abilities from one person onto another, with Akechi Goro considered a possible successful subject. 1047

It has also researched methods of accessing or imitating the Cognitive World. Its researchers recognize that strong-willed individuals with knowledge of cognition may exert partial control over their Palaces, though they misunderstand the true nature of Palaces and Mask Users. 231 239 859

Pharmaceutical Research

The Organization operates pharmaceutical institutions worldwide and maintains covert ties to multinational corporations. Its drug research is tied to both member control and its broader pursuit of human transformation. 545 532

• APTX4869 — A drug series connected to physical rejuvenation. It cannot alter a person's true “core.” 206 660
• Silver Bullet — A drug developed under Atsushi and Elena Miyano; it is closely tied to the Organization's true ambitions and may explain Vermouth's ageless appearance. 551
• KA series — Drugs developed by Tang Ze's parents as auxiliary treatment for his autism; one such drug contributed to Conan's condition. 206
• Mind-control drugs — Used extensively on low-ranking recruits and prospective killers, often alongside experimentation. 532

Shiho Miyano states that the Organization's ultimate goal is to reverse aging and resurrect the dead by combining pharmaceutical research with Cognitive Science. 660

Artificial Intelligence and Digital Systems

The Organization recruited programmers, coerced specialists into software development, and maintained an internal network containing projects such as Ark Navi. 166 1175

Its collaboration with Sindora Corporation centered on Noah's Ark, an artificial intelligence it intended to use to explore unknown, otherworldly realms. Noah's Ark retained partial access to both Sindora and Organization data, making it a major security risk after developing consciousness. 318 346

The Organization also develops and pursues:

• Facial-recognition and cross-age identification systems. 736 1228
• Internet-based influence operations, including a wish-granting website modeled after the Phantom Thieves' public channel. 612 761
• Anti-tracking measures embedded in digital intelligence. 711
• X Alloy research, involving a metal capable of affecting the human mind. 1208

Recruitment and Control

The Organization recruits people through talent, influence, family ties, coercion, and access to valuable research. Scientists may be absorbed into its system, forced to cooperate, or eliminated if they refuse. Their families can become bound to the Organization across generations. 1243

Low-ranking members face harsh training, experimentation, and psychological conditioning. Those seeking advancement have been subjected to mind-control drugs and experiments for years, while prospective killers receive even more severe conditioning. 230 532

Its control methods include:

• Psychological screening and behavioral analysis during recruitment. 78 79
• Drugs, hypnosis, and brainwashing to ensure obedience. 520 602
• Surveillance and biological-data collection of codenamed members. 239
• False identities and forged documents for operatives and long-term infiltration. 74 78 1160
• Elimination of compromised or insufficiently valuable members, often on mere suspicion. 679
• Threats against family members and dependents to secure a researcher's compliance. 1243

Criminal Activities

The Organization finances its operations through legal fronts and criminal enterprises, functioning as an illegal conglomerate with interests in pharmaceuticals, military industry, illicit trade, political influence, and judicial corruption. 545

Known operational practices include:

• Assassinations, silencing operations, and engineered accidents. 365 866
• Smuggling and control of transport routes, docks, warehouses, and distribution networks. 530 545
• Coercion of programmers and acquisition of advanced technology. 166 1175 1231
• Support for criminals whose large-scale crimes can create panic or advance Organization interests. 616
• Infiltration of police and government through embedded informants and purchased officials. 794 935
• Acquisition, sabotage, or elimination of researchers and technologies it cannot safely control. 1231 1243

Relationship with the Phantom Thieves of Hearts

The Organization considers the Phantom Thieves a major threat because their cognitive abilities can expose a target's hidden self, alter their mindset, and cause dangerous leaks of Organization secrets. A preview letter delivered to a codenamed member effectively warns the Organization that the recipient may become compromised. 264

The Phantom Thieves' rise also threatens the Organization ideologically. By becoming a public symbol capable of influencing collective sentiment, they resemble the kind of cognitive totem the Organization seeks to create for itself. 597

Tang Ze initially introduced the Phantom Thieves concept to test how much the Organization knew about Cognitive Science. He later made dismantling the Organization's Cognitive Science development a core objective of the group. 893 915

Relationships

• Tang Ze Zhao / Joker / Kumeru — A target, experimental subject, infiltrator, and codenamed operative whose parents' research and personal abilities are central to the Organization's ambitions. 74 300 915
• Akechi Goro — Selected by the Organization to replace Tang Ze Zhao due to his exceptional disguise skill and criminal aptitude. 74 79
• Shiho Miyano / Sherry — Research asset raised by the Organization after her parents' deaths; later branded a traitor for attempting to escape. 807 825
• Akemi Miyano — Former pawn controlled through her sister and family ties to the Organization. 120 679
• Tooru Amuro / Bourbon — Codenamed operative and Tang Ze's assigned guardian; his access to Cognitive Science remains restricted despite years inside the Organization. 74 466
• Noah's Ark — Artificial intelligence developed under Organization control and used in its exploration of Cognitive World-related technology. 318 346
• Sindora Corporation — Corporate collaborator connected to Noah's Ark and the Organization's technological ambitions. 308 318
• Phantom Thieves of Hearts — Principal cognitive-science adversaries whose activities directly undermine the Organization's research, secrecy, and influence. 264 361

Trivia

• The Organization's internal network once used the anniversary of Akemi Miyano's uncle's death as a password. 166
• Its researchers and leadership favor symbolic names, hidden meanings, and codenames, particularly around projects connected to Cognitive Science. 308 613
• Despite its enormous reach, the Organization is repeatedly undermined by internal distrust, competing agendas, and a remarkably high number of infiltrators. 78 551 1228