The four megacorporations and the slums (need to know)
May 16, 2014 0:27:23 GMT -5
Post by Saber on May 16, 2014 0:27:23 GMT -5
(Information may be subject to change)
The mysterious megacorporations, giant, worldwide business superpowers that try to monopolize major businesses ventures. Their research and development process relies heavily on the unregistered inhabitants, or 'ghosts', residing within the slums. Every few weeks, a collection scout group will invade the slums, abduct a small group of ghost residents (age, gender, race, it doesn't matter to them), and bring them back to a hidden R&D department that is heavily secured by cameras and patrol guards in disguise, to make sure no one will attempt to break in and find out what is happening. However, most people that find themselves in these buildings, are not likely to be heard from again, and files regarding individuals not well known in society are kept as future test subjects, or shipped to a company that would use them as a good test subject.
These companies are each more powerful in financial influence to that of Donald Trump in our time, and thanks to the abuse of many loopholes in the legal system are practically untouchable. They gain their business through smaller, dummy companies run by 'former members of the megacorps, that sell products developed by the megacorporations, and the majority of the profits are sent to the megacorps, leaving enough credit for the dummy companies to keep running efficiently.
Should a business threat rise to power, the megacorps will attempt to buy them out through legal means, to try and hook the business into working for them through a legit contract and clever reasoning. Should that fail, the megacorps will attempt to use bribery and blackmail tactics to pressure these new companies into being bought out. Should that attempt fail, the megacorps will use their smaller, dummy companies to hire mercenaries or street gangs from the slums or the shadier areas of town to sabotage the competing businesses and push them so far into debt with repair fees and replacement costs that they will have no choice but to sell to the megacorps. This is how the big 4 have maintained their monopoly for decades.
Chiron: The leading company that focuses on cybernetics, prosthetics, and bio-engineering. Their goal is to replace that which the unfortunate have lost and augment what people already have through technological and biological means. They use human test subjects. This company was around during the police massacre several years back.
SPHYNX: The leading developer in security systems. This includes video surveillance, fast response intruder countermeasures, and top of the line anti-aircraft turrets. They use few human test subjects, mainly saving that tactic for testing VR defenses. This company was around during the police massacre several years back.
SecuriRex: The leading development company for armaments and weaponized vehicles of all kinds. They use the conflicts between gangs in the slums to test their latest weapons, armor, and other combat systems. This company was around during the police massacre several years back.
PariahTech: The newest of the megacorporations and the leading developer of online security and program development. They use avatar test subjects. This company is newly recognized as a megacorporation, so it wasn't around during the police massacre several years back.
The slums
The slums can be best described as a criminal haven for the destitute. Street gangs, muggers, prostitutes, this part of the city has very poor reception, and connection to the internet is very unstable even for wireless users. Because of political intervention, the slums are a red zone for all departments of law enforcement, and entering this red zone is a violation of government issued jurisdiction borders. Anyone walking in this area during a Chiron scout sweep may also find themselves caught and shipped to their testing facilities, if they aren't careful to keep themselves hidden.
Ghouls
Ghouls are the result of a failed experiment performed jointly by Chiron and SecuriRex. Their goal was to create a supersoldier. What they got were feral monstrosities that resembled Gollum from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, grown to human size with growth hormones, filled full of steroids, and with cybernetics replacing at least a third of their bodies. These creatures are instinct driven, and often prefer to run in packs ranging from three to thirty. They are subterranean, relying on the abandoned sewer and subway systems to keep them hidden from megacorp security forces. When they grow hungry, they emerge and and hunt on the streets for food, mainly the ghosts that were lucky enough to not end up like them, or stray animals (PETA beware!). They rely heavily on sound to help them find prey in urban enviornments, as the clustered buildings leave eyesight of limited use.
The mysterious megacorporations, giant, worldwide business superpowers that try to monopolize major businesses ventures. Their research and development process relies heavily on the unregistered inhabitants, or 'ghosts', residing within the slums. Every few weeks, a collection scout group will invade the slums, abduct a small group of ghost residents (age, gender, race, it doesn't matter to them), and bring them back to a hidden R&D department that is heavily secured by cameras and patrol guards in disguise, to make sure no one will attempt to break in and find out what is happening. However, most people that find themselves in these buildings, are not likely to be heard from again, and files regarding individuals not well known in society are kept as future test subjects, or shipped to a company that would use them as a good test subject.
These companies are each more powerful in financial influence to that of Donald Trump in our time, and thanks to the abuse of many loopholes in the legal system are practically untouchable. They gain their business through smaller, dummy companies run by 'former members of the megacorps, that sell products developed by the megacorporations, and the majority of the profits are sent to the megacorps, leaving enough credit for the dummy companies to keep running efficiently.
Should a business threat rise to power, the megacorps will attempt to buy them out through legal means, to try and hook the business into working for them through a legit contract and clever reasoning. Should that fail, the megacorps will attempt to use bribery and blackmail tactics to pressure these new companies into being bought out. Should that attempt fail, the megacorps will use their smaller, dummy companies to hire mercenaries or street gangs from the slums or the shadier areas of town to sabotage the competing businesses and push them so far into debt with repair fees and replacement costs that they will have no choice but to sell to the megacorps. This is how the big 4 have maintained their monopoly for decades.
Chiron: The leading company that focuses on cybernetics, prosthetics, and bio-engineering. Their goal is to replace that which the unfortunate have lost and augment what people already have through technological and biological means. They use human test subjects. This company was around during the police massacre several years back.
SPHYNX: The leading developer in security systems. This includes video surveillance, fast response intruder countermeasures, and top of the line anti-aircraft turrets. They use few human test subjects, mainly saving that tactic for testing VR defenses. This company was around during the police massacre several years back.
SecuriRex: The leading development company for armaments and weaponized vehicles of all kinds. They use the conflicts between gangs in the slums to test their latest weapons, armor, and other combat systems. This company was around during the police massacre several years back.
PariahTech: The newest of the megacorporations and the leading developer of online security and program development. They use avatar test subjects. This company is newly recognized as a megacorporation, so it wasn't around during the police massacre several years back.
The slums
The slums can be best described as a criminal haven for the destitute. Street gangs, muggers, prostitutes, this part of the city has very poor reception, and connection to the internet is very unstable even for wireless users. Because of political intervention, the slums are a red zone for all departments of law enforcement, and entering this red zone is a violation of government issued jurisdiction borders. Anyone walking in this area during a Chiron scout sweep may also find themselves caught and shipped to their testing facilities, if they aren't careful to keep themselves hidden.
Ghouls
Ghouls are the result of a failed experiment performed jointly by Chiron and SecuriRex. Their goal was to create a supersoldier. What they got were feral monstrosities that resembled Gollum from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, grown to human size with growth hormones, filled full of steroids, and with cybernetics replacing at least a third of their bodies. These creatures are instinct driven, and often prefer to run in packs ranging from three to thirty. They are subterranean, relying on the abandoned sewer and subway systems to keep them hidden from megacorp security forces. When they grow hungry, they emerge and and hunt on the streets for food, mainly the ghosts that were lucky enough to not end up like them, or stray animals (PETA beware!). They rely heavily on sound to help them find prey in urban enviornments, as the clustered buildings leave eyesight of limited use.