Populace

Fear Populace, Respect Populace, never underestimate Populace. This is a good rule of thumb when dealing with this entity. One of the most powerful Meta beings on the planet, the actual upper limit of their power is unknown. They operate out of multiple population centers around the world and have made inroads of control and influence into almost all aspects of the world's power structure. Most world governments if aware of them have cut deals to try and appease them. This is the reality of this world. We are not all created equal, some are too great to understand.

History
There are many theories about the history of Populace, supposedly dating back to the early human migration out of Africa.

History in America
When Populace came to the American Continents is unknown, but it is well before European settlers. The main bulk of Populace in America moved into a valley in the Appalachian mountains, in what is now Unity, West Virginia. They settled here and mostly stayed isolated, trading and infiltrating other tribes but avoiding many conflicts. This was till Settlers from America started to move in and tried to force them out of their homes. First, they fought them off, often killing the settlers and replacing them and moving on further. Eventually, they recognized that it was a lost cause and adapted to the new American status of the area.

Power
Populace powers can fall into two separate functions, what one is more terrifying is up to the observer.

Duplication
They are able to create "duplicates" of themselves. These are not exact clones but can look however the Populace wishes, of any age, race, or gender. Seeming often clothed and ready to go, but seems limits on this aspect.

How many they can create is effectively unlimited, with examples of when under threat a single Populace in a blink of an eye spawning a hundred to swarm the threat.

While any individual entity of Populace is no more a threat than any regular human, but this also applies to having an endless wave of them.

Each of these top-level duplicates can behave and act completely independent not knowing that they are part of Populace, but at any point, they can be brought fully into the hive mind or become the head of the hive, and then with a blink return to their previous, sleeper, life.

Mass Murder
Tens of millions of people, if not many many more, are descendants of a Populace duplicate. This leads to a so far untraceable marker on their genetics. This allows the Populace hive mind to have control over these people to a level. While they can not take direct hive mind control of them, but able to have lower but threatening control. They can freeze them in their tracks, make them violently ill, or kill them by severing this marker.

There has been no way to stop this, and this is often the threat laid out against those who find themselves opposing Populace. They wait till descendants are in positions of power, or enough to make the leadership take a moral fear. This is a threat that can not be underestimated, entire family lines can be erased by the thought of an entity that has grown detached and perhaps insane over millennia.