eli5: How do ‘Sleeper Agents” work?
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A great real-world example would be Russia’s [Illegals Program](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegals_Program) (Which the show *The Americans* is based on, although somewhat more sensationalized. Very few of those types of intelligence assets would be action-movie types. Their main job is to develop sources and gather intel, having a lot of time and leeway to be able to do so.
Now, not exactly spies per se, but there have historically been people who are “activated” by trigger events or orders. At the peak of the Cold War the concept of [“Stay Behind Forces”](https://www.fayobserver.com/story/news/military/2017/06/24/secrets-of-special-forces-unit-operating-in-cold-war-berlin/20416750007/) was quite common. These were typically Soldiers, but we could safely imagine a wide range applies to who makes that cut. Their job, if an area was captured by the Soviets, was to “stay behind” to organize resistance, carry out sabotage and demolition operations, and gather and send intelligence on enemy forces.
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