From the introduction:
The Preservation Society is a group that has become widespread in the late days of the outbreak. They adhere to their mission statement unwaveringly - the cultivation and preservation of human knowledge. There are many conflicting views as to the origins of the group, but generally it is believed that sometime after the foundations of civilization began to crumble a marginal band of survivors decided that they would take it upon themselves to carry this burden. Over time and periodic interactions with other groups over the coming days their numbers would grow. Associations within the Society are loose at best with no true central hub, rather consisting as a conglomeration of disparate groups which may or may not have good means of communicating with others who share their banner. It also means one group claiming membership to The Preservation Society may behave and interact with other survivors in very different ways leaving them spoken about like some disjointed myth that one might actually encounter. If someone could step up and begin working to unite these various sub-groups then they might well be able to start actually making some real headway into
preserving human knowledge on a large scale.