The Operative’s Biography
Ed note: Some of these chapters are very short.
Passports are only one component of a new identity/legend. The operative must develop an entire backstory and history. This is best done by basing the operative’s legend around the identity of the person who’s passport or identity he has stolen.
However, it must be done with caution and care. Don’t include facts that can be investigated and verified false. For example: stating you worked for an employer — and the employer not knowing who you are…or stating two people are your parents when they aren’t part of the operation and would thus deny knowing you.
The operative must also have a detailed understanding of the cities that he claims to have lived in. He must know the streets, attractions, stores, habits, customs, features, railway stations, etc just as a local would know them. Many early Soviet operatives where caught in the early years due to ill preparation.
The operative must actually know the trade that they claim to know. For example: a soviet agent crumbled under questioning by an interested woman striking up small talk when he claimed to be a furrier and the woman, who loved furs, asked about the prices and availabilities of various furs.
Continuing the above point, the operative must not just know his trade but must know his legend’s trade in the way that the person he’s pretending to be would know it. Accountants, for example, used Abacuses in Russia but in the US they used adding machines. The operative was caught when he asked for an Abacaus instead of an adding machine.