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The Initiative was a fictional secret government organization in the fictional television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.
Origins
The Initiative program was known to exist in the 1940s, when it employed Angel's talents to capture a German submarine during World War II. It was originally known as the "Demon Research Initiative." The Angel episode "Why We Fight" explained that the Third Reich had a similar program and investigated the possible use of vampires in the war effort with three vampire captives -- Spike, Nostroyev and the so-called Prince of Lies. The Nazis had lured the trio to a supposed virgin-blood party in Madrid. This revelation seems to cast the Initiative in the same light as other WWII era projects, such as the nuclear weapons of the Manhattan Project.
Sunnydale
In 1999, part of 'the Initiative' was located below the University of California at Sunnydale and commanded by psychology professor Maggie Walsh. Under her direction, military commandos captured werewolves, demons, vampires and other supernatural creatures for the covert U.S. government operation. Scientists studied these subjects, ostensibly to negate the threat that such entities posed to human beings. Some believed that the organization in fact intended to hybridize superpowered soldiers. Among the Initiative's captives were the werewolf Oz and the vampire Spike, the latter of whom was implanted with a chip that caused him to experience extreme pain whenever he attacked a human being.
Buffy's boyfriend Riley Finn was a member, as were other soldiers posing as UC Sunnydale students, including Forrest and Graham. Riley did not know that Professor Walsh was experimenting on him, causing life-threatening performance enhancements (a metaphor for steroid use).
Professor Walsh's secret project eventually created Adam, a humanoid creature consisting of machinery, human and demon parts. Adam possessed a strength far superior to Buffy's, and only through a spell cast by Willow, Xander and Giles was she able to defeat him. The victory came only after Adam had killed a young boy, Professor Walsh, Doctor Angleman and Forrest, and presumably numerous others not mentioned.
Closure
The Initiative operation was officially closed down by the government and deemed a failure. The army did maintain operations in hunting demons and ended up transferring many of the staff, including Riley Finn. They have since been known to hunt down demon nests in certain foreign countries.
See also
"The Initiative (Buffyverse)"