Megacorps

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Megacorps

Culture and Society > Economics > Megacorps

Image from Bernd Helfert

Vast meta-organisations that once shaped all of Terragen life. Some academics trace their nascent origins back to the fifth century b.t., citing such organisations as the East India Company as sharing many of the attributes of later megacorps. Consensus however suggests true megacorps evolved out of powerful and wealthy mercantile conglomerates in the Interplanetary Age. These would develop into interstellar powers that drove commerce and economics throughout the known worlds.

To sophonts from empires in which megacorp presence has waned or was never there to begin with it is common to view them as simply large commercial entities. This is an understandable mistake, whilst megacorps do operate large commercial arms the majority of groups within the megacorp have little to do with trade. Megacorps have often been called "meta-organisations" as they are most often groups of all kinds united together into one organisation for the purposes of mutual aid, regulation, protection and influence. Commercial, political, religious, scientific and cultural groups are amongst the most common of megacorp membership. Whether the group in question is a system wide government or a local neogen hobby team megacorps welcome any that can help further the goals of the entire organisation. Eminent megacorpologist Chadder Wren once described membership as "opening up a world of connections from which resources and favours can be drawn, and offered."

Whilst the internal structure of megacorps has varied greatly a key trend has always been to control vast commercial interests at the behest of organisation stakeholders. Often megacorps have been compared to the nation-states they superseded, especially in cases where they own and operate territory. However megacorps are largely supra-national, they operate in as many polities as they can and utilise commercial, political and memetic means to further their goals.

Today the megacorps are largely limited to the NoCoZo, various Free Zones, the Outer Volumes and along some of the Deeper Covenant trade routes. Most Sephirotic Empires have little use for megacorps.

Once, they shaped all of Terragen life. Unimaginably powerful and wealthy mercantile corporations, they spanned star-systems and drove commerce and economics throughout the known worlds. They manipulated entire polities and even worlds with ease, waging a never-ending battle of memetic subversion, a war to win the hearts and minds and pockets of their potential customers.

Articles

Adams Helium - Text by Anders Sandberg
Megacorp, later House, of gas giant miners in the Beta Virginis system
AgentNet - Text by Anders Sandberg (slightly modified by M. Alan Kazlev)
A well known interfacing firm through which one may hire a team to undertake something quasi-legal without revealing one's own identity.
Altair Knowledge Designs (AKD) - Text by Anders Sandberg
The first hypersentient alife species to evolve.
Ancillary Corporations - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Corporations and megacorporations which provide goods and services for other corporations and megacorporations. An important component of enterprise type corporate polities. The vast majority of corporations in the Inner Sphere are ancillary.
Arcadian Biotopics - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Arcadian megacorp; created the weem and many other popular neogens.
Ares Heavy Lifting - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Ares Heavy Lifting Inc. was one of the big megacorps to develop on Mars during the Interplanetary Age.
Baltic League - Text by Steve Bowers
Exploration/colonisation megacorp founded by exiles from the continent of Europe after the Great Expulsion.
Big Five - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
The five main interstellar development megacorporations of the first Federation period - Truth-Santaya Networks, TakiCorb, Terranova Foundation, K4H, and SecureSpace. In the colonies they were very often a law unto themselves. They eventually merged to become the NoCoZo.
Birnam Ecotech - Text by Anders Sandberg
One of the major environment design and terraforming consultancy firms of the First Federation. It eventually merged with the Conver Ambi, adding its expertise to the ruthless ambition and economic power of the corporation/religion/empire.
Ceres Astrospace - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
First Federation ship design and building megacorp.
Company-Owned World - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A planet controlled by a company or corporation and run for profit. This system was very common during the later Interplanetary and the first Federation eras, and has remained common throughout many sparsely settled regions in the outer volumes where there is little government or policing regulation.
Contelligence - Text by Anders Sandberg
Clade of aioid business beings, descended from the first federation era New Mars think tank Contelligence.
Corporate Dirty Data - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Confidential financial information about a megacorporation that can be sold on the black market.
Corporate Religions - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
See Philosophy of Abundance.
Corporate Transcension - Text by Anders Sandberg, Todd Drashner, and Stephen Inniss
The transcension of an entire megacorp. Sometimes called transruptcy, since like bankruptcy it typically means the effective dissolution of the original organization.
Cryoinvest - Text by Anders Sandberg
Cryoinvest became the largest Novan cryonics investment firm during the First Federation era. Now specialises in nanostasis time-shifting investment opportunities.
Dauntless Incorporated - Text by Chris Shaeffer
Private Defense Agency
Eä Mulsystems - Text by Anders Sandberg
First Federation megacorporation. Eä Mulsystems emerged from the merger of Graphos Habeng and Kbelt Aitronics in 1107 AT. It soon became a major development of integrated AI solutions, controlled environments and habitat infrastructure. Although it had no interstellar traffic on its own, it constructed starship habitats and space networks in other solar systems for many other megacorporations.
Ergod Munts - Text by Anders Sandberg
Chaos control arms dealers of Fons Luminis; widespread in the 6400's but apparently imploded economically in 6583. The corporation-intelligence (the employees were all linked into an AI-culture constructed by The Church of the Resurrected Ea) announced its withdrawal and dissolution, and disbanded in an ordered manner.
Eschatronics Unlimited - Text by Anders Sandberg
Sterilization corporation/clade from the MPA, handling the dangerous but profitable work of cleaning up after uncontrolled transcendence events. It is notable for employing baselines and baseline-equivalent nearbaselines in some positions.
Exa Energy - Text by Anders Sandberg
Interplanetary Era energy megacorporation.
Galactic Information Bank - Text by John B
The most profitable of several NoCoZo megacorps which maps, makes easily searchable, and caches large sections of the Known Net for its subscribers.
GeneTEK - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
An important Interplanetary Age biotech megacorporation, GeneTEK incorporated into the "biopunk" Genetekker culture/clade. It was one of the few corps to survive the Technocalypse, and went on to dominate the First Federation biotech industry, and survives in ossified form as House Genen. Some small hyperturing-run neo-GeneTEK type biocorporations can still be found flourishing in the Zoeific Biopolity to this day.
Hidalgo Emergent Order - Text by Anders Sandberg
Hidalgo Emergent Order was a very expansive tweak-cyborg clade/corp that flourished during the late Federation and Expansion ages, setting up asteroid-based societies in the region between Capella and Pollux and becoming an important regional superpower. Using aggressive in vitro techniques they cloned large populations, but were unable to prevent Conver Ambi from gaining a monopoly on vital nanodesign objects, giving them an ever stronger hold on the Order. Eventually most of the Order joined the Conver Ambi, with the exception of a number of habitats that committed collective suicide.
Hosoko Posthegemonic Management Network - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Megacorp-Polity that developed out of the Hopomane Empire. The Network rebuilt the links to the region and set itself up as the rulers. It is something between a megacorp and an empire, and thanks to its increasing profitability the owner worlds are reaping great benefits. The inhabitants of Hopomane are not as enthusiastic.
Hyperion Corporation - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
One of the ten top megacorps of the First Federation and Expansion age eras, Hyperion actually predates the First Federation, being one of the few megacorps to survive the nanotech swarms. But the failure to win the Stargate development race was a blow to the prestige of the corporation.
Industrial Upgradation Incorporated - Text by Basu
Transap Megacorp dedicated to upgrading modosophont societies with transapient technology.
Intralaunch - Text by Anders Sandberg
First Federation Era Megacorporation.
Jupiter Transystems - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
First Federation period interstellar development megacorporation
Jurassic Enterprises - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Interplanetary Age biotech megacorporation specialising in the lazurogenics and sale of extinct organisms.
Jurassic Orbitals - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
First Federation theme park in CisLunar orbit. Featured a number of reconstructed and lazurogened dinosaurs and other extinct fauna and flora, many built with genome in storage from Jurassic Enterprises. Among several dinosaur splices and provolves, the derived Dorrahsa - a race of sapient Troodontids, later became well established throughout the galaxy.
K4H - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
One of the five main interstellar development megacorporations (or Big Five) of the first Federation period. The others were Truth-Santaya Networks, TakiCorb, Terranova Foundation, and SecureSpace. In the colonies they were very often a law unto themselves. They eventually merged to become the NoCoZo.
Lee Interorbital - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Interplanetary Age megacorp.
LinnEnt (Linnaeus Enterprises) - Text by Steve Bowers
A commercial empire in the First Federation era and beyond, dedicated to colonising new systems using Engenerator technology.
LungFusion - Text by Anders Sandberg with some notes by M. Alan Kazlev
First Federation era Penglaiese megacorp. Lung Fusion was for a long time the largest Penglaiese energy corporation, specialising in atmospheric converters, power plants and energy networks. During the imperial period it was aggressively expansionist, using profitable deals with various government factions as well as opportunistic alliances with various hyperturing guanxis to further its growth and become an interstellar megacorp. The corp was made a Conver Ambi subsidiary, and disappeared even before the start of the Second Empires War.
Marketer Fleet, The - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Marketing cult and para-religion.
Megacorporations, The History of - Text by M. Alan Kazlev and Anders Sandberg; updated by Ryan B and Todd Drashner
A brief history of the megacorps.
Naso Corporation - Text by James Ramsey
Maker and distributer of various nanite based cleansing agents.
Neuropoll Inc. - Text by Anders Sandberg
Neuropoll Inc. is a polling firm that dates back to the Second Federation, often exploiting advanced psychological and neurological methods to extract as much data they can. They were most known for the neuropollsters, when in the early 6300s, 20,000 citizens of New Emerton (Smith sector, NoCoZo) were wired with a system making it possible for Neuropoll to measure their reactions to a variety of products, everyday phenomena and their desires; this data is then mined to find trends, mood estimates and fashion vectors.
Philosophy of Abundance, The - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
The Corporate Religions of the later First Federation period.
Pi Hermes - Text by Anders Sandberg
Among the more interesting organisations, the original Pi Hermes began during the early Federation period as a detective agency with an unique concept: they recorded virch immersives based on their cases, exciting real-life documentaries about the work of investigators, in which the vircher actually became the detective working on a real (not a fictional or simulated) case as it happens. So successful was this concept that every so often a Pi Hermes media clone is established. At the present stardate there are several thousand pihermes throughout the Inner Sphere (mostly on NoCoZo worlds).
Sakawa Corporation - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Among the most diversified of the triple-A Interplanetary Age orbital megacorporations. The corporation itself did not survive the Technocalypse but the associated hyperturing core, including partial uploads of some Sakawa family members, had a long and influential subsequent career.
Sargeant Garruf - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Pseudo-military Corporate Cannibal food chain, early Separate Empires period to today; one of many CrustClown King imitators.
SecureSpace - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
One of the five main interstellar development megacorporations (or Big Five) of the First Federation period. The others were Truth-Santaya Networks, TakiCorb, Terranova Foundation, and K4H. They eventually merged to become the NoCoZo.
TakiCorb - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
The largest and most important of five interstellar development megacorporations (or Big Five) of the first Federation period. The others were Truth-Santaya Networks, Terranova Foundation, K4H, and SecureSpace. In the colonies they were very often a law unto themselves. They eventually merged to become the NoCoZo.
Technologies For Worship - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Sophic League megacorp that provides technology useful for to modosophont religions.
Terranova Foundation - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
One of the five main interstellar development megacorporations (or Big Five) of the First Federation period.
Trade Federation - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Under this system of government, each member polity rules itself and has its own laws, but all polities have signed a trade agreement. This agreement promises not only free trade between all the member polities but also serves as a mutual peace treaty. The different polities avoid interfering with each other's internal affairs. In some cases, if one polity is attacked, the others will join it to fight the common enemy.
Tragon - Text by Anders Sandberg
Exploration corporation/house of the STC, active across accessible space. Named after the mythical "searching robot lizard" of Kolmorian mythology, the organization has been active since the 7000s. It has invested heavily in the Carina Rush and in a recent series of expansion stargates deep into the Sagittarius arm.
Transfinity - Text by Anders Sandberg; amended by Stephen Inniss
Nanofacturing subsidiary to Vollmark, an Interplanetary Era home microtronics corporation, from 433 to 525 AT (2402-2494 c.e.). Considered by some to have been a major contributor to the Technocalypse through careless design of its products.
Transruptcy - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
The aftermath of corporate transcension.
Trillicon Arms - Text by Anders Sandberg
NoCoZo megacorp based on Atlantis, famous for selling weapons of all kinds, mostly to ordinary sophonts.
Truth-Santaya Networks - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
One of the five main interstellar development megacorporations (or Big Five) of the First Federation period. The others were TakiCorb, Terranova Foundation, K4H, and SecureSpace. In the colonies they were very often a law unto themselves. They eventually merged to become the NoCoZo.
Uservere Affair, The - Text by Anders Sandberg
MPA megacorp which collapsed, causing a major crisis in the hypereconomy of the Sephirotic Empires.
World-disk Software - Text by Ernst Stavro Blofeld
London (Old Earth) -based, Information Age corporation; World-disk Software was one of the first companies to introduce neural-networked file system compression.
Xweak - Text by Anders Sandberg
Disinformation corporation, based in Cyberia.
Yasamura Artificial Environments Corporation - Text by Aaron Hamilton
The most successful of the Sakawa hyperturing subsidiaries of the Federation period, Yasamura Artificial Environments Corporation was one of the first corporations that developed standard terraforming equipment and procedures; including nanites and large bioreactors.