Origins/Major Influence: Crash Priority (PARANOIA mission pack)
Description: According to official propaganda given to their spies, Potemkin is the original model of "Alpha Complex", by which all other Alpha Complexes were based on. The copies of Alpha Complex were defective, all having major and minor flaws, but this original Alpha Complex remained relatively pure. Thanks to a well-functioning Computer and bureaucracy, even the INFRAREDs live in an era of relative prosperity, having (in the words of "Crash Priority") "unimaginable luxuries, real food and fulfulling jobs". With their own citizens content, Potemkin began to look at the other Alpha Complexes to figure out (1) what went wrong, and (2) how to fix it. To accomplish both goals, Potemkin establishes an elaborate spy network, working from the inside to create new utopias. Because Potemkin is always interested in expanding its spy network, it recruit "natives" from Alpha Complex by taking them to Potemkin so they know what an actual utopia looks like, and then promising these "natives" high security clearances if they just do their assigned duty to Potemkin.
In reality, Potemkin is a lie. All "native" agents are taken to a fake village, purposely constructed to fool outsiders. Potemkin may very well be a front for another Alpha Complex (one less ideal than Potemkin), but it could also be a false front by a variety of groups (most likely a Program Group that has the wealth necessary to build such fake villages). The most interesting rumor is that Potemkin itself is a "sting operation" by Friend Computer, to entrap potential dissenters.
Spy From Another Alpha Complex: Missions tend to serve the purpose of whoever actually runs Potemkin, and are generally justified under the rubric of "determining what's wrong" and "repairing the Complex". Gathering information about the Armed Forces and all the weak points can be justified as "developing a Plan B in case your Alpha Complex proves impossible to fix".