THE FIFTH FREEDOM

Introduction
In 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave what became known as the “Four Freedoms” speech, laying out the quartet of fundamental liberties that people “everywhere in the world” should hold as a birthright. Those four, brought forth as the world struggled with unprecedented barbarity, were as follows:

i. Freedom of speech and expression

ii. Freedom of worship

iii. Freedom from want

iv. Freedom from fear

The Fifth Freedom
But it was recognized that as noble as the ideal of the Four Freedoms might be, there would be times when they would need to be defended: against oppression, against tyrants, and against terror. Thus was born the Fifth Freedom, the right and responsibility to do whatever it took to protect the other four. The bearer of the Fifth Freedom has a mandate go anywhere they need and do anything they must – kill, steal, or destroy – in the interest of the greater good. Only the President can authorize the Fifth Freedom, and only the most skilled and trustworthy operatives America has to offer have ever received it.

And until now, no man has ever received it twice.

Sam Fisher
Sam Fisher initially received the Fifth Freedom as the prototype for the new Splinter Cell program. At a time when the scope of information warfare was exploding, Third Echelon needed an agent who could combine cutting-edge technology with old-fashioned tradecraft. Using the Fifth Freedom judiciously, Fisher defended the United States against biological attack, against state-sponsored cyberwarfare, and against domestic terrorism – before walking away.

Now, however, the stakes have been raised. Terror has targeted the American heartland, and nowhere – and no one – is safe. At a time when the President cannot rely on anyone else to meet the new challenge of the Blacklist, Sam agrees to take up the burden – and the Fifth Freedom – once again.