Te t=A=7 Law fom ome 9 te >" Pa { at i me ee eS, NY oe on) rat Te Te TTTTABLE OF CONTERTS/ C2Earr INTRODUCTION NOTHING PERSONAL, JUST BUSINESS Taking Care of Business Corporate Status Corporate Structure Corporate Competition Corporate War They Got the Whole World In thelr Hands Rising Above the Minions Extrateritorility Jurisdiction Corp Sip The Balance of Power THE CORPORATE COURT Zurich-Orbital Habitat History Important Features. Primary Residents Security The Corporate Court Court Structure Law and Power Names ancl Faces Zurich-Orbltal Gemelnschaft Bank History Structure Uses and Abuses SURVIVING THE CORPORATIONS Denlable Assets: Shadowrunners. Rules of the Game The Life of Mr. johnson Company Men ‘THE BIG TEN ‘ARES MACROTECHNOLOGY Historical Highlights The Power Players Damien Knight Arthur Vogel Nacja Daviar Major Subsidiaries Kknighe Errant Security Services Ares Arms AAresspace ‘Ares Global Entertainment General Motors Other Divisions ‘Working for Ares ‘Ares in the Shadows AZTECHNOLOGY Rise of a Corporate Empire ‘Structure and Organization The Shadowy Boar The Puppet Preskient Major Officers ‘Major Divisions Primary Business Concems Holdings and Subsiceres Security 2 | Comorate Download eS See ean Black Operations CROSS APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES, Corporate History Corporate Structure [Ue with Lucien Life with Cross Defense and Offense Cross Security The Seraphim Shadow Ops MMITSUHAMA COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES ‘The Business Computers Robotics ‘Magic Entertainment Heavy Industry, The Players ‘The Board of Dicectors Allies ancl Enemies ‘Mitsuhama Life Shadowrunning by the Numbers Into the Zero-Zone NOVATECH INCORPORATED History Novatech In 2064 Major Divisions. Doing Business Enemies Kissing Hoop Novatech's Future In the Shadows On the Inside Security RENRAKU COMPUTER SYSTEMS When Where Renrales Computer Sysiems Renraku America Renralas Asia Renraku Austialasia Renralau Europa Who CEO Inazo Aneki (COG Haruhiko “Harry” Nakada Chairman of the Board! Yukiako Watanabe Shikel Nakatom! What Life inside Renrakus How Running for Renraku Renrak Security SAEDER-KRUPP Corporate History ‘Organization ‘Saece-Krupp Prime Primary Businesses, Heavy Industry 76 " 78 B » no n YB Y p » 80 80 80 1 83 a a 4 84 86| q g i ‘Yun shibanokut Ramon Dizon Newion Chin Sara Iwano: Hideo Yoshida Jacques Barnard Corporate Profile Primary Business Concerns Yamatetsu Enclaves Modus Operandi Johnsons Comorate Securty ‘Military Assets ‘Matrbe Security Physical and Magical Security Personal Security, 9% GAME INFORMATION : 5 S2ssseeeegegeses on Rating the Corps 95, Corporate Attibutes 95 Asset Ratings 95 The Ratings Game 95, Using Ares 95 Running for Ares 95, Working against Ares 96 The GM Smartcar 96 Using Aztechnology 96. Running fo: Aztechnology 96 Working against Aztechnology. 97 Using Cross or Running for Cross 97 Working against Cross 98 The Babel Cyberdeck 98 Using Mitsuhama, 99 Running for Mitsuhama 101 Working against Mitsuhama Using Novatech 101 Running for Novatech 102 Working against Novatech 102 Using Renraku 102 Running for Renraku 104 Working against Renreku 105 Using Saeder-Krupp = 105 Running for Saecer-Krupp, 105 Working against Saeder-Krupp 106 Using Shiawase Pac Prosperity Group 107 Running for Shiawase Mads 107 Working against Shiawase 108 Using Waxing 109 Running for Wuxing no Working against Wuxing 110 Using Yamateesu 412 Running for Yamatetsu Working agaist Yeraretsu Copan tomes [aa]TABLE OF COMTERTS/ ClEar CORPORATE DOWNLOAD CREDITS Waiting Taking Care OF Business ‘Steve Kenson They Goi The Whole World tn Thelr Hands Robert Boyle The Corporate Court Robert Boyle Surviving The Corps ‘Steve Kenson Ares Macrotechnology lay Keeler Aztechnology Dan "Flake" Grenciell (Cross Applied Technologies Davic Hyatt and Brian Schoner ‘Mitsuhama Computer Technologies Steve Kenson Novatech Incorporated Erk jameson Renrakes Computer Systems DDavic Hyatt and Brian Schoner Saeder-Kripp Robert Boyle Shiawase Corporation ieanor Holmes and Martin Gottharc Wong, Incomorated ‘Steve Kenson Yamatetsu Comoration ‘Malik Toms Additonal Waiting Robert Boyle and Michael Muli! Product Development ‘Michael Mulvihil with Robert Beye Corporate Download Product Eatting Rob Boyle Diane Prron-Gelman ‘Shadowrun Line Developer Michael Mulvihill Editorial Stat Editorat Director Donna Ippolito ‘Managing Ecitor Sharon Turner Mulvih Assistant Edtor Robert Boyle Production Staff Art Director Jim Nelson Assisiane Are Director Fred Hooper Cover Art Mark Gabbana, Cover Design Fred Hooper Mustrations Janet Aulisio Peter Bergting, Tom Fowler Tred Hooper Scott james Lary MacDougal Christopher Moeller Mark Nelzon Steve Prescott Shane White Layout Fred Hooper SHADOWRUN® is a Registered Traclemark of FASA ‘Corperation, Corporate Downioad™ Isa Trademark of FASA Corporation. Copyright © 1999 FASA Corporation, All rights reserved. Printed in the US.A, Published by FASA Corporation 1100 W. Cermak, Suite B305 Chicago, iL 60608, FASA Corporation can be reached on America Ontine in the Online Gaming, area (Keyword "Garing”) of via e-mail at TASAlnfo@aol.com (BaitleTech, Shadowrun, general informa: tion] or FASAArti@20l.com (art comments). Pease, no st or server subscriptions. Thanks! Visit FASA on the World Wide Web at hittp://www.FASA.comTE Betilesc focuses on the ten most Important characters in the Snecowrun un: < ‘AA megacorporstions that cictate " What happens in the shaciows and the world at The yee 2061, and the dusts sting on a war In Which one of the mighrlest mega: fell. iy the aftershocks. three new Ps Fose (0 prominence. each taking a ci to the top and showing the other megas ‘they do not have the market cornered on on and power fe Downloads presented asa series of ale documents posted by Captain Chacs, ofthe vast Stadowland archive—the number xe for shadowrunners on what's going on swoildof Shadowrun, The documents are wt BE tales nner, ech vit thr own pro sd points of vew, and marked up with a ur by other runners. each adding t, cr convadictng the author, These pieces of ligormatien add innuendos. allegations, opin misconceptions, misinformation, ties and ametimes even the truth to the information pre ste Is eft up fo the gamemaster to cetermine ici are correct anc which ar just ing, sto documents run sie by site anc fe clferent perspectives on what the corpo ‘word Is all about Nothing Personal. just adécesser what megacorporations ave How they make their money. The second piece. {Got The Whole World in Thelr Hands. diecuss poll, economic an Social power, anc they maintain it in a factured world, The {Cour accesses the enity that controls gs fom les extol seat orbiting the Earth Me Comps provides ivorration on how ‘should handle employment by the corps, aHf0 expect fom a Nr, Jotnscn. the repre: {comp uses in the sniclaws, It also ce the coPeepe of me company man, shact fs who Work exclusively for a corporation these Sections, each megacorporation Is ‘ohm chapter, culining the corp's struc: AYES and history, as well as defining Ks cinletests and agencae all up Is @ Germe Information sec- Sutlch introduces system of giving Atributes ngs 10 « coIp, and how to use these Ngures hg gameplay. I alo includes decals on how 0 IMegicp, defning personal agencies, Fand how the com deals with ancl pays pwrumers late Download requires Shacowrun, fiition (53) and the revised Shadowrun (SRCamp), Other Shaclownin source. suchas Rigger 2. Virua Reaves 2.0, ters gE In The Shadows may aso be helpful capers Dowrioad |S]NOTHING PERSONAL-JUST BUSI thing personel, just business, How often have we heard that Ile saying? Comporate sul i fo pretend that they have no ccholee, that that thelr job requies them to act aso complete fragger. as Itt excuses them for ther bebavior— they try to pretend that ther work ves hove no Impact on thelr pivare ties, Wrong. Anyone who'srun the shadows knows that’s Just one of the’ many ite les that people tel themsalves to they don’t have 40 think about the conse {quences of their actions Unfortunately, shadowrunners rarely have the lanxy of fergatting that each ‘and evey ocilon hos repercussions— too many ere fetal nored. On top of tha unre ore forced fo deol with the, consecysences of corporate actions at ‘wel. fh his land of transnctional compo- role monoliths. even minor tembings from a Corp send shockivaves rough, the shodows. So when a Johnwon toll ‘youll’ just bushes, sommes: I's your Busnes: os rach o® hi, 90 just what the bushess of the corporations, especially the megas? I'd fel you to go take @ gander n ‘our Corporate Reseach Aichive three nocles over, but ve been there recently, and t's udy. Corpoiate wars have'a tendency to create a storin of data, Not only are mony of the records In he archive out of date, but ‘they're cluttered win gigopubor of conection, notes, reviighs. black information and far more rumors then facts. Tying fo thd sometring useful and foctual was Ike beaging change from Damien Kright—frufless, ancl Utnately painful 80 | Geclded It wos tine fo reboot the data oump, which meant | had to get off my digital behind ancl spread the word fo the shacow communty as a whole that we needed updates. We wanted hard facts and Lp-fo-date di net just arevbion of existing les. Considering the effects of Me corporate wor—the fall of Fc the Rentaku arcology lockdown and thies new megacerpe-—mott of the old fee were uteloes. We needed a fiesh stat, wih current Dayaata, Aer several months, we've pullod his collection of fles together tell you who and what the megacorps ‘re, now they inferoct, wnat inet goa’ and interes's are, how deadly thet securtly s, why they hie shadowrun: nes. cnc how they go about Ht: Of courte, thee ave jst the minimal detail thet you should know for survival wo Highly recommend doing your awn digging before a run, Consder this colection @ gooe starting pont, We're going fo start # all off wth a couple of introductory pieces ftom the Infamous Chromed Accountant ‘and a refto-anarchist known cs Woboly. They both cover ine basic ground every unre: sould know about the Corps. eib9F from sighly diforont pecpsctNer: CA gots down ond dity with cefritions and Duslvest ters, wile Wobs iays cown what the corpcrate world structure means, especially for runners, This downicad ain't no economies lesson, f you want that, slot a cnip. Ths harcore infoirton en the "megacorps from the perspactives that shadowiok Ike Us need. you want fo run with the corns and stay alive to enjoy your pay, then scan en, © Captain Chaos Transmitted: 26 Fobrucry 2061 ct 16:02:69 CEST)TE Betilesc focuses on the ten most Important characters in the Snecowrun un: < ‘AA megacorporstions that cictate " What happens in the shaciows and the world at The yee 2061, and the dusts sting on a war In Which one of the mighrlest mega: fell. iy the aftershocks. three new Ps Fose (0 prominence. each taking a ci to the top and showing the other megas ‘they do not have the market cornered on on and power fe Downloads presented asa series of ale documents posted by Captain Chacs, ofthe vast Stadowland archive—the number xe for shadowrunners on what's going on swoildof Shadowrun, The documents are wt BE tales nner, ech vit thr own pro sd points of vew, and marked up with a ur by other runners. each adding t, cr convadictng the author, These pieces of ligormatien add innuendos. allegations, opin misconceptions, misinformation, ties and ametimes even the truth to the information pre ste Is eft up fo the gamemaster to cetermine ici are correct anc which ar just ing, sto documents run sie by site anc fe clferent perspectives on what the corpo ‘word Is all about Nothing Personal. just adécesser what megacorporations ave How they make their money. The second piece. {Got The Whole World in Thelr Hands. diecuss poll, economic an Social power, anc they maintain it in a factured world, The {Cour accesses the enity that controls gs fom les extol seat orbiting the Earth Me Comps provides ivorration on how ‘should handle employment by the corps, aHf0 expect fom a Nr, Jotnscn. the repre: {comp uses in the sniclaws, It also ce the coPeepe of me company man, shact fs who Work exclusively for a corporation these Sections, each megacorporation Is ‘ohm chapter, culining the corp's struc: AYES and history, as well as defining Ks cinletests and agencae all up Is @ Germe Information sec- Sutlch introduces system of giving Atributes ngs 10 « coIp, and how to use these Ngures hg gameplay. I alo includes decals on how 0 IMegicp, defning personal agencies, Fand how the com deals with ancl pays pwrumers late Download requires Shacowrun, fiition (53) and the revised Shadowrun (SRCamp), Other Shaclownin source. suchas Rigger 2. Virua Reaves 2.0, ters gE In The Shadows may aso be helpful capers Dowrioad |S]NOTHING PERSONAL JUST SUSMESS TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS by the Chromed Accountant So what makes the diference between a corp and a mega- corp? What are the pats of a megacor- poration, and how do they function? Wel, class, I'm here to tell you all about that, and hopefully to sive you some apprecla- tion of exactly what you're dealing with on the streets and in the shadows. You see, most people never realize just how large and powertul tie megacomps are. From the streets, the view of the corps is lke the story about the bllnd men, feeling an elephant and trying to guess what i Is—and thay's exactly how the coxps tke it. Me, Iworked the other Side of the steet for along time. | got 10 see the mega- ‘corporations In all thelr vasiness, and let me tell you, ¢ wasn't a prety picture Let's start off by deRning some terms. A corpora ftom Is legal entity empowered to act with the rights and lnblitles of a person. In a legal sense, corporations fare consicered incivicuals. They earn money, own Property and have lablities. IF Micsuhama's new wet- ‘wave cooks yout brain cells and you live to tell about It the employees, executives and shareholders of Mitsunama aren't Hable for whet happened to you ilisuhama, the corporate Individual, Is Mable. That's pretty much all a corporation does, There's no lm on the size oF a corp: one person ean create a corporation ‘A multinational corporation owns property in more than one nation, Multinationals are traditionally big- ‘time corps, but they con't have to be. Technically, a cor poration with offices in Seattle (UCAS) and Vancouver (Galsh-Shidhe) is multinational, even if that’s the extent of their business Stl, most multinational corpo: rations ave big—not megacorps by any means, but with revenues up there In the millons of nuyen. Some of them hire runners, but they don't operate at the level of the big boys. ‘A megacorp i 4 glant multinatianal, with revenues In the billions of nuyen. Megacorps make up oniy a tiny percentage of the word's corporations, but they control the vast majority of wealth, resources and market shave. ‘More Importantly, megacorps benefit from corporate extraterttoriaity, meaning they're considered the equivalent of a national entty in legal terms, entitled to thelr own laws, ckizens, currencies, miltaies and other tools of power. ‘By thelr own standards, not every megacomp Is ‘consicered equal. The Big Ten are the sharks among the megacorporate minnows, They're the largest an most powerful corporations on Earth, more influential than Corporate Download | ~ THEY GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN THEIR HANDS. by Wobbly. ‘The upper class, has gone through ‘many changes since Its god-sanctioned, heyday in feudal times, when aristo- ‘rats lived In. com fort and pivllege on the backs of peasants Through the advent of Industrial sodety and the colonialism that followed, the rich transformed (o fi the dmes, changing thelr metiods of control to maintain their dynasties of power. Princes became CEOs, and peasants became wage-siaves. Now, corporate power has expanded past national boundaries, increasing (© a vasiness thar dwarfs last century's super-powers. The megacorps have assumed sovereign domain over land, property and people, with ltele resistance. In effect, the transnational capitalism of today Is nothing but feudalism on a larger seal But all & not well In the kingdom. Despite thelr lofty pretensions, the corporate noblity is still compet tive and in conflict. only now thelr border wars are giob- alin scope, and threaten to ip the world apert, Rather than lose their realms to petty competitors, the upper strate of megacorps pooled thelr resources, and created a global authority, to simultaneously serve as watchdog, land Iapdog: the Corporate Court ‘Make no mistakes, terms. It's not dragons you need to watch, or powerhungry elves. Keep your eye ‘on the forces that manipulate the world from high in the sky. The more you know about how these glants move and operate—their history the limits of their extratem= ‘orlalty, and the vast scale of thele power-—the easier it ‘will be (0 hide In thelr shacows, © Quite an opening, Wobs ... Cap was right, we know ‘where youstand, © The Chromed Accountant “Isl about colors and senso” RISING ABOVE THE MINIONS So how dll we get here? Several factors from lest ‘century leds down this path. With resources becom Ing more scarce andl competition more flerce, corps were straining to increase profit margins, so the multi nationals shifted thelr facllties to Third World countries where labor and resources were considerably cheaper. The dominoes slowly began to fall, with Increases In ssecurlty budgets to protect corp holdings from rebel ‘groups, bandits and petty tyrants. Soon, the corps brought in mere units to ‘pacify’ counties. Meanwhile, as prices rose and competition narrowed,Ns) wealthy beyond! “dreams of avarice, and as ruthless “as they come. Right now, the Big, en control more resources than “all the other corporations in the _werld pur together | The Big Ten also comprise iy known as. the Corporate cial body to the mega mediates conflcs. sets star- ‘the envleble power (ckay, It but this one takes Nlerorey, ane! caplealists love haves ant the have-nots, Ths corporate sphere, where the ‘only do they own the tee c can ever climb the ladder. ge Cour has designated ranking sys- inaional corporations Into three With eypeal arrogance, the ‘whatsoever to companies I. THs rank determines trlalty, and what pow- Most nation-states roll over 5 uigment in such matters, but the Cour’ edicts anc deal of thelr own tors. Usually these ‘nations (ike Tir na nOg or to keep the corps cut, or prectl- Jocal government that aren't such as permission to ‘vith lethal force. Desoite ef these businesses are nothing to antes, they may hold consider politcal or miltary sway. For Cour ignores the nationals (anc way ch a8 Tie Talrngie, require cor Wy or wholly nagonaized, meaning ‘F controls the corp to some only allow home-grown ‘within their borders this ange include Bracknaven. Ugh industies. (ir anes (CAS). PERSONAL, JUST BUSINESS previously privileged populations In Fltst Word counties faced a decline ln their standards of Iv: Ing that led to Increased crime and dill disturbances, When Seretech security guards cut down a starving and tlotous mob that had mistaken a truck filed: with ‘medical waste for 2 food shipment, the US. Supreme Court upheld the com's right to maintain armed forces to protect personnel, property and pubile safety. Over the hhext ten yeas, similar rulings were macte in most other Fist World countries (in the Thid World, the coms already wielded enough power to make the point moc) ‘Around the same time, the Supreme Cou also nul tec feceral regulations that kept Shlawase from bulling, aprvate nuclear reactor to provicle power to Its own fac les. Shorty thereafter, Slawase secutty forces shot al lelled a group of alleged eco-tertists who carted enough explosives to blow the reactor open. The result: Ing charges brought against Shiawase opened a can of werms that kept the Supreme Court busy for montis. ‘Their final decision declared that Shiawase and a select number of skrilar corps were to be granted extatertort ally for certain specif sites. In ether words. those sites became the sovereign terrory of the corporation, and anything on them was not subject to the laws or juris tion of te surrounding nation-state er any other enty, © Extratenttonaity used to apply only to embassies of foreign counties. If you were in New York but stepped Into the Btn Consulate, you were considered to be In Bitan for iogal purpeees, end subjoct to Bish law. © Fmatiote {9 This apples to al laws: crinal, cll business, laber, erviormental and what have yeu. fh prociice. the corp gets to do whatever the hall t wants inside Is boundries, Ihe corp cecides I's egal 10 whack tots, ‘becaute they're ugly, you cen shoo! as mony troll oF you can find. at long és youstay on thot corp’s ground. © Legal Beagle [AG first, the Shiawase Decision only applied cextraterrttonaty fo certain corporate sites under condl- tions set down by the Supreme Court. Before long, the corps had lntslated events that precipliated similar rul- Ings in most major nations, Predictably, 2 large nurnber of resirctions have since been nibbled away by various corp-sponsored decisions, Many corms have taken full acvantage of the balkanization of various counutles, anc tensured that newhorn nations supported extraterttor- ality for thelr corporate sponsors, EXTRATERRITORIALITY Interpretations of extraterttariaty remained ld for yeas, cepending on the country In which the Issue came. Corporate DownloadNOTHING PERSONAL, JUST SUSMmEssS ‘A—Muldinationals Also. known as_thitd-tier corps, this. category Includes ‘mukkinational companies that are Just stating to make waves in the world. They have yet to distinguish themselves as major players, and are not granted extrateritrialty unt they prove capable of holding ther own, A-level comps ‘are In the unenviabie positon of being big enough to draw the attention of hungry megacorps, but weak enough that resistance i fulle, Larger megas constant- prey on A-level multinationals, taking over profitable divistons, stealing research, or luring away promising, sclentists and managers. Lote of nationals become A. Fated! corps, only {0 get gobbled’ up before hitting the next Her. Nations such as Aztlan and the Tits 60 not allow A- multinationals o¢ larger corps to transact business In their domains. They do, however, allow the creation of Drlly nationalized ‘aflate” corps. Most companies find the accompanying resinctions too burcensome {0 pursue. but the loophole exists Some multinationals still strongly favor their “home" nations. sometimes to the point where they pursue pollical objectives as readily as economic ones. Inetur, their home country usually makes concessions that It denles to “foreign” megacomps. ‘Tan Tien (China), Warpetive Systems (Denver FRF2), and Telestrian Indusires (Tir Talengire) are exarnples of Alevel coms. AA—Extraterritorial Megacorps. ‘The second-tier megas are overgrown multination- als that have exhibited enough business acumen, stab lly and promise to ean exiraterttoral status, Large ‘enough to stan an expert system accounting program, they can usually go toe-to-toe with the Big Ten and sur vive, perhaps even undloodled, ‘Though AA corps have Fiequent dealings with the Corporate Court and accounts with the Zurich-Orbital Bank, they have no official presence on the Coutt prop- fr Despite their power, they remain as much at the Court's merey as the smallest corps, Each and every one would kill thelr mothers to ger on the Court. Well-known double-A megas include Transys Neuronet, Lone Star, Yakashima and Zeta-ImpChem, AAA—Prime Megacorporate Status ‘These are the Big Ten that every gutterpunk can ame. Their power literally extends across the globe. ‘Think about that for a minute, When you think of AAtes Macrotechnology, most of you probably tecall the newest Aressmade Sang-bang you picked up from a Axe, that “fell off the back of a iruck.” You might know something about Ares offices in your ely, and about the corp HQ in Detroke, But just tink for a second about how big Ates Macrotechnology reslly is, We're tallang, 1D Comorate Download Up. The comps took advantage of this situation wherever possible, setting, ‘up shop in countries with “abera laws and generally raging with the countries that opposed! them, Gradually, world leaders. realized that they ha to cut the megas seme slack or face drastic economic sanctions. Despite embargoes and worse, however, some nations Sill Aght extiaterrortalty tooth an nal. In 2042, the Corporate Court “invitect” most world governments to support universal standard for deci! Ing execily what extraterttoraity means and who gets it Called the Business Recognition Accords, the inti tive encouraged raiions that signed on to adjust their laws to comply withthe stancaret those nations that did 50 received certain economic incentives (read: Dibes). {AS of this posting, only a few nations have yet to sup. [port the Initiate, among them Amazonia, Aztlan, ‘Manchuria, Tirna nOg, Tie Tairngire and Yakut The Accords clearly state that the Corporate Court determines extratemitortality. Court members set the stanclard, and if they think a corp merits the coveted status, they expect all the signatory nations to comply. In rare cases. some counities refused t0 recognize the Couns decision and declined to extend extrateritorlal pvileges t0 a corp they didn’t like. Every one of them, has since paid for its arrogance, © Back in 2045, he Comporate Cour fhally got around to promothg Wuning frort mere multnatonal fo exratento- fll status, At the time, Wining hd saveret key port fac Hes n the Canton Corfedisraton, Some elements of the Cantonese powor sinuciuro sil held a grucge agaist \waina rom tne old Hong Kong indenendence days, arcs relued to acknowledge the corp's new standing, Wir demanded that the Court enforce is decree, ond within ltree mont the Confederation wos reeing ttorn “acct ert” por blockades, power outages and food short Lag68.-No! to mention. Ncreased atocks fom, teshy ‘armed neighbors. The cris spaiked o power shuggle. and the 01d guard was thrown cut, The naw regime proved ‘much fendler fo Wuxng ord granted it Hereased print Je9¢6 along with extratentorally, OK Kid Privileged Seatus ‘The Business Recognition Accords laid down sevet- al polices that the Corporate Court expects signatory nations to follow when dealing with extrateitotal comps Some nations that have felt re Court's wrath follow itt the letter, but most nations’ policies vary slightly. ‘The Accords dictate that extraterritorality apples In stuations where a comp’s site or facilty Is “continuous and contiguous, recognized and long-term.” This means that as tong as an Intultvely obvious distinction between corporate property and the surrounding. areaa corporate entity that owns jes ancl subsidiaries arourel world controls space launch- ppaiforms In Florida and owns chains of retail ‘cay manufacturers, Industi- equity companies, elec- ‘Ares employs milions [And yet; to most shad- je gun corp.” And Ares isn’t Yolk about Aer and other f@ people: “Azlechnology Is ckay by re." Churnmmers, people ancl "Aras" does. People within those corps ed, end the corps may have -derrn atficut in my expert (boonket statements about any: Keep that h mind when Ga hlerarchical structure, with ithe top and working its way down n tis deceptively simple, as “subsides ike Aresspace, Entertainment, Knight Errant forth, Now, AresSpace alone is hits own right. It has ts own cor Houston and owns various sub mméai, NASA Consulting Inc., imany, many others. On tre other | Small Arms and the Weapons Hast taken from Monobe Corp a 5 you can see, Ares Isa vast Is the size of a secondl-tler of megaorporate subsites nt even sermon knowedge or le inof Ingen an Berkeley as pea ey, wi subse The rand Berkeley Soy Prockicts. Truth PERSONAL. JUST BUSINESS exists (such as a fence, or the tenth oor), and the area is offcialy and publicly designated as corp prop- cerry (it has a sign), and the corp ‘owns the place oF has a signed lease, It counts as extrateritorial. ® For example, the Omnideme Theatre fh downtown Secttie s Cleary labeled os Rervcku propetty. The comp logo Is everywhere, ond lee tallhadge separates It fiom the aquarium next door (remember tat next time you catch a flick oF mage show thete). Obvious, ight? By compartion, the sacrot Remvaity suvelfance post on the twenty-elahth floor of {an urdlclosed Eulcing next 10 the shut-down Renrohu areology Is rat cleary labeled or dstineated, and 50 doesn’t count as exterior © Renal Fox ‘© Mort ikely, the Ronralas goons wil ehoct fret (no que Hons asked) In ether locale, Securily at such unlabeled sites tends to act os if 's extratertorial anyway, It not Ing eke. they'll plant a large red "corp property’ sion nex! fo your body before the cops show up. e.Gumbo ‘Addltionally, I the corporation owns the land, then the alrspace above it and the ground below it—defined, ‘as a cone traced from the property's boundary down fo the earth's core ancl upward 10 1,200 meters—are also considered extraterritorial, ‘@ That means If you're planning @ crise over down- town Seattle, you better have cne of them programs thot erracis o curent 2-0 representation over your HUD 50 You Can evold cutthg rough Comp x's sovereign space cone and getting blasted for your mistake, (© Rigger x Bureaucratic t© the core, the corporations know exactly what freedoms excrateritolalty grants ther, as ‘well as its mits. Whenever possible and prottable, hey hhave turned the stuasion to thelr advantage. For years. corporations used extratenliorial lend to store toxle ‘waste and other hazardous materials that eventually, began fo contaminave the surrounding avea. Nowadays, national governments keep a sharp eye on extraterito- rlal enclaves fo ensure that the consequences of actions taken by the carp do not pass the corp's boundaties, {The UCAS used that Justification to seize contol of the Renraky arcology situation. Wilh several teacios in te ‘earement and Dog knows what ale Inside, smack in owntown Seaitie, ney weren't gang to toke any ‘chances, The Corp Court backed the dectlon, and Renrola! fumecd—though they sure clon’t mind some Corporate Download | 1_|: NOTHING PERSONAL, JUST BUSMESS Is, Ingersol and Berkeley 1s a sub: sidlary oF Universal Omitech Even worse, Universal Omnitech Is a member of the Pacific Prosperity Group, which Is dom nated by Yamavetsu and Waxing, Inc. So something going on at Yamatetsu's offices in Vadlvostox may roll all the way down the pyramid to Ingersoll ‘Aquaculture In Seattle. © Akeady hes. Some of Ingersol's developments In ‘accelerated hydroponic farming ore. great nierest to some members of the PPS. Word came down ftom on igh to Keep them quet unt me data could go to Yamotetw’s biotechnology divklen. Betere that hao- pened Ingesol’s 1d got hi by tuners working for New fe Harvest, Inca subsdlory of Misuhoma Biotechnologies. owned by MCT. which ls epposed te the PPG. But you alreacy knew that, ckd’t you, CA? © Prime Runner Ownerst Corporations belong to shareholders, of stockhold- e's. A shareboider owns a share of the corporation, The corporation Issues the sheres and uses the money from selling them to fund Its initial operating expenses. The shareholders control "theli" corporation through the voting power of thelr shares, Direct ownership of shares, Isn't even necessary, as owners can sign their voting [Power over to “proxies” who vote fer them, ‘This Is the most important point about corporate ‘ownership: whoever controls the mast shares controls. the corp. Corporate power players struggle to control a ‘majoty of shares in order 10 ensute thelr power, or to atleast control a sizable minovtty so that they can stand against other factions and allances within the comora- tion, They use pollies, persuasion, bribery anc outright blackmall t get what they want and ensure control over corporate resources, ‘Take Damien Knight, one of the best power-players Inthe business. For years, Knight and! Leonard Aureus stuggled for control of Ares Macrotecnnology. Each controlled roughly twenty-two percent of the corporate shaves, Then Dunkelzahin kicked off and left hs twelve percent of Ares In the hands of Nadja Davlar, new)y celected VP of the UCAS. Dunkelzahn’'s death led to rot- Ing in the streets. In stepped Damien Knight, with on offer to help, provided that Daviar gave him the power to Vote her shares. In a single stroke, Knight controlled thirtyfour percent of Ares anc trumped Aurelius. Of ‘course, Daviar still owns her shares, and now that she has regained control of tem, we'll see where the chips fal. Knight wielded a lot of power for a while—now we {get to ace IF he can pley nice with his co-owners. © Internet corporate sruggies tend 10 take two forme: competition between subsidiaries or clvslors, oF ights i Comporate Download coher gure shouldering responsi ty for onything that might happen. Renwcku Fox Most extraterritostal_ comps have thelr own sets of laws, as well guidelines for enforcing. them, ‘These laws often vary from site to site, sometimes even month to. month, Employees who break minor laws may face retibavion such as salary cuts, forced labor or anything else the corp decides is _good way to slap wrists. Anything more serious gener- ally results in more severe punishment, Most corps don't bother wasting money on prisons, though they sometimes concact out, '® More man one corp nas been known to shyt “ine: doomabie" ciminals over to comp research labs. 101 whatever experiments the bralnlacs might desir. Ifyou have good cyverware, they'll chop you fer pars tt © Doctor Gre © | was convicted of “mellclour murder sabotage and conspiracy” by a Fuchi Kangaroo cour for my pert n.@ un agains! them. irstoad of geekhg me, they offered Te Gob, t was a suicide run, but my options were lim ited. nthe fang runt Ivec even ii neeced «new arm, Guts | gat lucy, © Sam thesom © You get fot nat cortex bomb yet, Sammie’ © Max JuRIsDICTION Given the extent of extrateriterial corp holdings in the world today. jursclction Is an epic nightmare. What happens if you shoat sorneone on the street and then step onto megacorp property, or sheot a corp goon on, corp property arc! step off into the street? Wil you be held extradited or allowed to walk? © could condense the ramifications of|ueaotion into aloneetiner I'd oy every turner should have't tattooed (on thelr crm. Knowing where & cop's power ends con save your te, 8 Pirme Runner Corp to Corp ‘Obviously, no sane corp will grant legal authontty 0 another corp’s securlty officers. So if Corp A wants to ‘extradlte someone from Corp 8, A's execs nied to con- vince 8's that extradition is in Corp B's interest. To malt tain good business relations, most comps cooperate with another's extadlion requests, but they usually expect ‘compersation of some sort, I'there happens to be bad blocd between the come—a frequent occurrence since the corp war—then one comp Is more likely to fel theappr shareholders. The ‘Wai that tore Fuch! oport ‘between the three haicar for contol of shodowrunness to help ontiol over other eugh blackmallor sabo- {etal Johnson becomes {board butit con bac fonder to turn 2 profit, and xe money, Some are aity art forms mastered by cor end aboveboa, others 50 acs about them. Quite sali help from the shadows 5 sll comnes from the treel- 'goads and services 10 con- ‘want to buy, From sie 1s provided by a corpera- “one, Comps sell products to to other corporations. to {ahd rake Ih billions of ruyen Fre competition Is marketing services. You can learn school or from the Matrix, ‘The important thing to know perception: whst people Iyour products. The tick is 1 attractive while making id Corporations often turn to funners to sabotage a pe of otherwise tarrizn the ‘money by juggling num- on the stock market. I won't go “maripulste stocks: there's it that drek Inco this post. stock market gare Is 0, Is value and then sell at a ‘aka try ta dive down the “maing them vulnerable 10 compete in the corporate your competitors of attract OF ake away your comper!- PERSONAL. JUST BUSINESS other to fiag off, Sometimes this happens because one corp Is hav- Inga bad cay, or doesn’t think the perp did anything wiong (by its laws). In these cases, the corp pushing for extradition can resort to dirty tacts (extractions, bad pub licity and so on} or can appeal to the Comorate Court, Depending on whom the Court favors at tre me, t may order extracition or do nothing. ‘Comp to Nation (and vice versa) ‘Most nations have long since leamed that corps rarely grant extradition requests; the corps con't want to do anything that might erode thelr sovereign pow- fers, Likewise, nations quite clealy let the corps know ‘exactly where thelr sovereignty ends, and they keep 2 ose eye on that line. ‘The line gets blurred when local governments hire companies Ike Lone Star or Knight Erant to perform police Functions, The larger of these police corps are ‘extratettorial In thelr own right. This ‘ends to make for easier dealings, as the policing corporation ean appeal to the Corporate Court as well asthe local government © Aner several vicious frefgns erupted duting Jursckc> tion “cleputes" between Zeta-HnpChem socuty force: Cond London police in the 20496, the Corporate Cour deckded It needed to get more clossly volved in such motte. tis members establshed official Corporate ‘Court embassies in dozens of mojor counties and cls to act cx middlemen during juricictional negotiatons ‘he ambessadors nave iinted authortly because most ore recruited directly from Court mogacorps, and thoy often hove a definite bies. ‘@ Hongfre Special Cases [Most countries (and the Corporate Court) have spe- fc rales regarding Matrbe and astral jurisdiction ‘According to the rule of thumb, your physical body ‘doesn't count) your consciousness does, So Ifyou waltz Into a Novatech Matrix host, you're subject to Novatech laws, even though your body may be slumped aver your deck swenty Illometers away. The same goes for mag clans and rggers—f you pop 2 drone into Novatech alt spice without a permit, or astrally project into a Novatech fality, you've just broken Novatech law. ‘Shipping and tansportation ts another messy area. For decades, megacceps have argued that extratertitor- ally exemp’s them from import anc export regulations. ‘Most governments reply that corporate transport veh dles do not meet the requirements set down by the Business Recognition Accords, are not considered sov- reign, and are thus subject to search, seizure and tax- ation, Despite this, numerous corps have successfully negotiated (or forced) deals that have effectively [comome bono [35]NOTHING PERSONAL, JUST SUSHEsSS tors’ ablty to compete with you. In ‘other words, iF you can't beat ‘em, buy ‘em, anc! if you can’t buy “em, beat ‘em down unill they give up, ‘The most amiable way: of dealing with a competitor is through merging with Ie. Rival corpo- rations sometimes find It in their best Ingeress to combine into « single, lerger corporation with more control over the market and less enetgy wasted on, ‘competition. Such voluntary mergers do happen, such as when the merger of Saeder Strategie Incutiles and Krupp Manufacturing created Suedier Krupp. Most of the time. takeover means hostile takeover, that’s when the shadow action realy gets going. ln your basic hostle takeover, Corp A drives down the value cf Corp B's stock so that Corp A can buy tt up cheap and ‘gain signifcant—if not toral—control over Corp B. Then Corp B Is no longer a competior, because Corp A runs ‘the show. How does a corp crive down a sal's stock values? You guessed It, chummer—hiring you to do a shad ‘owrun. A corporation can ty te wealien a rival using ta ‘ivional market techniques: advertising, superior prod cts and so forth, However. these techniques are ‘expensive and time-consuming. It's far more cost-effec- tive for 2 corporation to make a rival look bad theough sabotage and blackmail, Hire some shacowrunness to arrange a few “tragic accidents" invelving your com: ppettor’s product, and the competition's marker share ‘value will stat to plummet. Or hire runners to gather some juley blackmail on a mejor shareholder, 10 encout age him ot her to sell out ata “reasonable price.” Similar tiles happen all the time. © Asawars let tne umer beware. | once took alob to make a 10/00 corp look bad by putting a “horrlom Sfomach fy veusinane ofitserecesing tas. uns out the “halos vius" would have Hod at fost © thou sane people ancl probably destoyed the corp, nat to mention leavng me ‘ach9 & mos-muder charge Cousing trouble forthe core en thing: king @ how sanc people | don't even know & another, We man ged Yo Frevent the faint food fom shipping. but cost Hace | Sometimes, « corporation takes over ancthone fora spectic purpose ether than controling fs compe- tion. For example, « competing compary fright have ‘new product ora bieecing-ede research department that would take another corp years to bull, The corpo- raion buys out tsa 0 get Rol! of what wants, then divides up the rest ofthe company and sels off pace seal, making a ty pro inthe process. Other times, a Corporation may simply want fo put = rval out of bus! hess The Mt corp buys Up the rival company, then breaks itp and sells off the pars to other corporations Corporate Downloael ‘exempted their transportation ser- vices from Importiexport controls. (© Poy attention, ds. This meare You can theoretical poy armego- comp delivery service such at Mercury Express (owned by Ato) to elver arocket launcher tom your padin LA to your pat In onother cty; whereas you'd be busted harctancifas ityou tec canying it across ne border your: tel Granted, finding a calvary sence with this power thot teaches the destination you desi may be problem tlic, anc Mercury migh decile io chaige you entra tor dicreticnary service,” or thay right jst kop © Roadie ‘corr scriP ‘Another benefit the coms received from extatemto- Hlality was the ability 10 Issue their own currency, called corporate scrip. While corpscrip Is sometimes used for Internal copporate financial transactions, tis pimaily used to pay employees, and thus further tie them to the corp, Like national currencies, corporate serip has no value out Side the domain of the corp that issues it. Tiss true even with electronic compserip: while national electronic curren ‘es can be converied and exchanged quicky through any Virtual benk, the Corporate Court has ruled that eompscip ‘may only be exchanged with the issuing corp or wth the Zurleh-Orbstal Bank. © Noturaly, the 206 Bank lin't going to convert comp: sctip for Joe Citizen. Heck they won't corwert compscilp unless you're exchanging the equlv you get pivacy and the ever-pervasive BO tune tubes” but at least with the spce ise. Te station smecical clric (with a focus es ant Sophisticate alt ‘anes mentioned often, but Z: tax ofthe world's rchest peo- fon 2-0 20 they can take 5 fy f0 keep thelr health anc sm are holding. grudges desplie ther isolation. they have ce fe Interfere In events down 1s an all or-nothing dea! | over ther fortunes to the Won Z-Ois the mest expen- bly the richest man alive ‘2-0 (niteen years now) Asis personal quarters. In sksuhama’s top rover anct 0 be MCT's lugest shareholder nt exerted ary Influence on this itl is gone, or he exerts sive trough twenty ciferent "proxy rights over—perhans Hf0 another ruror making the tsa man his whole life, and they but nor the power (he gets | His health has been fal Ing for some time; scuttlebutt among the orbital crews says he's been on life support for twe months now. ‘Wiinelmina Graff-Belolt, 95, wes at the heim of Saedter Krupp until Lofwyr appeared ane took control She may have been the fist to utter those famous words, ‘Never desl with dragon,” but | could be wrong ‘Agatamort Kihara, 101, was the big cheese at MCT before Yakarnura. As I scan i, a struggle within the Yalauza led t0 Kinara’s faction faling out of favor. Yakemura tried 10 have him killed, but only sueceeded in forcing him to retire so that Yekarmura could take over. The hatrect between the two is legendary aboard the habitat, with Yakamura on hie eathed, Kihara's already planing a pary. Yurl Severenko, 87, i the mystery Agure, As far as anyone can tell, he’s a totally undistinguished man who spent some tme on Renrak's board, Undauibtedly, some dark secret lurks in his closet that expains his presence on Z.0. | know several of the other residents have spent years tying (0 find out. He's currently shacked up with Wilhelmina in a mini-rotunda module. ‘Akae Ono, 84, replaced former resident Sakehisa Talla when Tala dec of natural causes several years back. Ono hac been a Corporate Court Justice for Aves, and lied! -O so much that he spent al is time there. He likin have the wealth to become a resident, however, Until he struck up a friendship with another former resi- «dent, Donald Ho Ill. Apparently Ho helped Ono bul his fortune from orbit; ance Ona had been accented for per- manent residency, Ho walked out an ailock, You make the call on that one Geraldo Solis, 78, is the newes! resident. A former seciet Aztechnology shareholder, his acceptance on board the habitat was hurried, and stiongly resisted by Aztechnelogy. By all accounts, Sols sa skittish, haunted, Fellow, who is also a mage-o-phobe. When he came on board, he had us (the Z-O staff reconfigure the habitar so his personal tube could be as remote from the others as possible, He made I¢clear that no Aztechnology person- fel were ever 10 be allowed near his quarters. Rumor has it that his body is searred beyond recognition, as if scar tissue had replaced most of his skin, The tumor Is tough to confirm, however, because he has virtually no contact with any live bodies other than his personal aides, The Staf's pool on seeing him Is sitting on 423 days (my bet's ‘on 5 12}-the payout has grown to 7500¥, stcuriry Z-O | easily the most secure facility on OF off the planet. No lle, Only fully authorized! and accounted for DBersonnel can even hope to get on a shutte passenger lie, There's about zero probabllty of scamming your way fon board, even if you could fret out when ancl where & shuttle ie lifting of Here's the skinny ID check (finger- pint, retinal print, voice print, DNA match, helght. and mass), every scanning device Imaginable (ultrasound, X- ray, magnetic anomaly, blood analyss and more), and a thorough astral exam to make sure you're not under the Coporate Downtond | 1is scres « ter Just assembled ancl ‘Wolds richest peo- could easily buy out c Allegedly. they've }s0 they can lake their heath and of these slags were from the action ave holding gruciges eit isolation, they have 5 top mover anc eNET st shrhoser ay Influence on dis gone, or he exerts gh twenty diferent rights over—perhaps ef tarot making the He whole ie, ane they not the power (ve gets His health nas been Fal. THE CORPORATE COURT ing for some time: scuttlebutt among the orbital crews says he's been on life support for two months now. ‘Withelmina Graff-Belolt, 96. was at the heln of Sacder-Krupp until Lofwyr appeared and took control She may have been the Arst to urte those famous words, ‘Never deal with a dragon,” but | could be wrong, ‘Agatamor! Kihara, 101, was the big cheese at MCT before Yakarnura. As scan jt, a stugsle within the Yala led 10 Kinar's faction faling out of favor. Yakammura ted 10 have him killed, but only succeeded in foreing him to retire $0 that Yakamnura could take over, The hatred between the two Is legencary aboard the habitat; with Yakamura on his deathbed, Kihava’s already planning a party Yust Severenko, 87, is the mystery figure, As far ss anyone can tei, he’s a (otally undistingulshed man who spent some tme on Renvak's bose. Undoubtedly, some dark secret lurks in his dloset thar explains Ns presence cn 0. | know several of the other residents have spent yeats tying. (© And out. He's currently shacked up vath Wilhelmina in a minl-totunda module. ‘Akae Ono, 84, replaced former resicient Sakehisa Tallla when Tala dled of natural causes several years bach. Ono had been a Corporate Court Justice for Ares, And liked 2.0 so much that he spent alls time there, He didn't have the wealth {© become a resident, however, Uti) he struck up a friendship with another former resi- den’, Donaid Ho ll. Apparently Ho helped Ono bali his Fortune fram orbit; once Ono had been accepted for per manent resiclency, Ho walked out an allock. You make the call on that one, Geraldo Solis, 78, is the newest resident. A former secret Aztechnology shareholder, his acceptance on onic the habitar was hurled, and strongly resisted by AAztechnology. By all accounts, Solis Isa skittish, hauntest Fellow, who Is also e mage-o-phobe, When he came on board he had us (the 2-0 staf) reconfigure the habitat so his personal tube could be as remote fram the others os assible. He made it clear that no Aztechnology person nel were eve: to be allowed near his quarters, Rumer has it that his Body Is scared beyond recognition, as if scar tissue had replaced most of his skin. The rumor is tough to confirm, however, because he has virwally no contact with any live bodies other than his personal aides. The Staffs pool on seeing him is siting on 423 days (my bet's on 512)-—the payout has grown to 7,500¥ securiry ZO Is easily the most secure facility on OF off the planet, No lle, Only filly authorized and accounted for ersonhel can even hope to get on a shuttle passenger lst, There's about zero probability of scamming your way fon board, even if you could find out when ani where a shuttle Is liking off. Here's the skinny: ID check inge’ print, retinal print, volce print, DNA match, height and mass), every scanning device imaginable (ultrasound, X- ray, magnecic anomaly, blood! analysis anc! more), and a thorough astal exam 10 make sure you're not under the | Corporate Download, "toa “ABC” stancs or “autonomousbologicalcon- pebbles. Pentacle certfes all Its suppiles as handmade, fsjstoms in other words, when they talk acout the gathered without heavy machinery or other things that es doo brain, they te taking cout G dog's brain ‘might pollute the material's magical nature. | wouldn't touch this stuff with a ten-meter pole normally, but In a fx or two I've actualy used It: Not bad, ‘wow chummer, you #ctted that chip too? Know Ioan score some more tke? {© Jus! Decouse MICT and other corps can't use robes anc rg heavy machnon) to gather magical goods deosn't moan they'tebeng “nice” about t Ask any of the magrant wow Jhome do designs robots forse in deep sace,The 0% Pentacle pays ticHom dollar to hanckic ants for pels ndustiol assemblers and work bees to Aves for them—oF fo mine crystal anc minetois using ony anc fs so0ce program, and supoles mainienonce 160, without any modern cenvenioncer (or eatoguarce) fosnoce siatiors Ike Zurich Crbital Rumor ako hes —‘'m sure they don't appreciate the corp’s “eco-henaly” INC? 6 designing dferent types oflnder ard picoe —otthude ttluit goes fo show: I you don’t gather it youre for an trae sponsored expleret misson to Mars {you really don’t naw where it come trom, cl Kies @Slicen Mage Not ory tha, bul knew MCT feted th expert tn recent years, seme independent tallemongers Blender oer inv Banlons Reigheciose: Score have Ute Lo Lreak the Infuence of Pentacle and othe! big Fry ceo ewe torre wifey cophoatiore ova talleman dtibutors over the market. The United Miro cites te tha ct How hhontd “recrek, Tallsmongers Assocation in California has set ise yp to Be san ener compere wht Pentacle, and-alme ata “customer-owmed” ay sirbution system to Denefc small magia busiresses, Pestacle, Frits part has started 4 marketing campalgn to make Ie appear more fencly to small business, anc Is ‘arehily negotiating contol of the best sources of magh ‘al supplles to ac to its extenalve contacts ithe NAN. Calfornia ane Tr Tarngite, Be careful taking ods for any side in this Issue, the level of conft is escalating, and rawing other mystic groups ino the fay. The runs are @ Renvaku, Witsuhoma focutes We Al research on 9 smarter robols—selt-containec maces not led t0 the Mott. Fontunatoly. that limits tho ‘potential processing power ard now quicwly I's 129° can develop, (enomebomed [ar]MITSUHAMA COMPUTER TECHNOLOSES magicheavy, and your opposition won't skimp on the force of the spells they throw, © Sect f a usotul resource for Mittuhamo—through the cy. tt ets trade wen Tr Tatra, The Tt snore too frend- y with CafFree, and 10 can't rade wth the UTA even iit wanted fo (which | doubh the Tir also doesn’t much ike ‘Aztechnotogy, $0 mest ofthe Ti’s output of magical tees: ma and other such goodies goes right to Pentacle Dierbuting, with the Tirana MCT spitthg the protts, © We kia MCT also owns Pentacle Press and Ambrosius Publications, the two largest magical publishing houses in North America. Pentacle Press purs our several maior ‘Matrix magazines on the subject, ke Magician's Monthly and Hermetic Digest. € also publishes spell formulae, major theoretical rexts and similar documents, Ambrosius publishes the Manua of Practical Thaumarurgy, the star dal reference text used by professional magicians, along, wiih a wide varery of books ranging trom scholarly trea tises to popular bestsellers about the Awakening, magi dans and magic. Ambrosius's Magic for Mundianes series |s hugely popular with un-Awakened folk who want to ‘understand hhow magic works. Mitsuhama and. Its various subsidiaries, like Peirovskt Security, Parashlekt and Hetme'ech, provide top-line magical security for a varlety of corporate and private customers. In ackition to setting up wards and guardian spirits. MCT offers consulting services, Awakened guard animals, plotechnological security options to keep out astral Intruders, and training, semi nas for security employees on how to handle magical intruders and threats. Needless to say, Missuhama ie con stanly coming up with new magical security measures and testing them in its own facilities, Mitsuhema’s “magical consulting services” cover & broad range fiom sophisticated illusions and other “spe- dal effects” for slmsense productions to cosmetic magic to police forensic work, HermeTech Associates, one of the largest magical consulting fiims, Is a subsidiary of ‘Mitsuhama. In essence, the company's consulting ser Vice Is ¢ "mage for hire" business, Meny Mitsuhame wage mages like consulting work because of the broad range of jobs and epportunities to make contacts in clf- ferent fel. The real_magical action happens in MC's ‘Thaumaturgical Research anc! Development department: The best magicians in the company do cuting-edge research into new magieal techniques. new spells exalo- ration of astral space and other applications of magical knowledge. The RAD department also akis In developing Unique combinations of magic and technology, oF apply Ing magic to the development of new technologies, Trough the corp permits « cerain amount of pure Tesearch, Mitsuhama tends to focus on marketable dis- overies, Research projects that co not show sufficient profit potental are usually discontinued, Ge | Corporate Download Like most technical fields, magical RAD tends to tract bg brains and bigger egos wne lve entirely in thet ‘own lite fiekioms, where they can get the respect and atiention they chink they deserve. Management handles the company's magical assets very carefully, Mitsuhama cau afford 10 lose ary of Is vice presidents before i can afford to lose-a highly trained and eapable magician. ENTERTAINMENT ‘When you think of entertainment corps, you proba: bly think of big independents like Amalgamated Studios, Truman Technologies or Biliant Genesis, but Mitsuhama fs actually the number one AAA megacerp in the enter {ainment biz, MCT has major Interests n simsense, treo, music. publishing and virtual-reality games. The corp ‘ovins studios and prociuction labels like Highstaz, as well as major broadcasting networks (such as CBC, the Confederate Browdcasting Corp.) on which It shows Its various wares. Mitsuhama's entertainment division is 4 hotbed of political meneuvering, with careers belng made ‘or broken by gambling on what will be next week's enter tainment blockbuster. In addition to the obvious profit in so much mindless amusement, the entertainment division allows ‘Mitsuhama to stay on top of the SOTA in simsense and \irtal-realty technology, which feeds back into the com puter division and vice versa, Among other things, Micsubama is a leader in sinchip technology. © Abt of MCT’stechnologies "trickle down” to the Yokua! Sooner or fate. For examole, the Yaks were Culbk to nick up 07 the potential prot of sling BTL and 2x8 chips cree Iitsunoma an other corps developed the technology, LUkewise, the Yaks were the fist to stort using BIL and neue 1 fech Yo. coen up “bunrals* partons, where customant can enjoy the company of brain-chipoed prostiutes:| shudder to thnk of what uses the Yakuza mah the for some of the things Miisuhama is working on now. loo HEAVY INDUSTRY ‘Often overlooked in the shadow biz Is Mitsubamels Position as the number two heavy-industry megacorpor: tion, not far behind Saeder-Krupp. Miteuhama, produces automated factory systems, Incustial chemicals, prefabie cated parts for construction and heavy equipment for earth moving, minng and bulcing. Most of is neavy machineyy Is automated and equipped with “smart” exper systems 1 make more “user Mendy.” MCT marketing touts the ‘company’s equipment as well-suited for the “needs of today’s workforce.” which trarslates as, “easily used by ‘waarkers who may be functionally literate.” The company has invested heavily In urban recon struction projects throughout North and South America and Asta. Elsewhere, MCT Isn't much of a player (yet Saeder-Krupp dominates the European heavy Indust rmaiket, end in South America MCT faces heavy compet ton from Aztechnology,18 MCT doos quite well clong the Pacific Rim. it controls uch of the neavy industry In Jopan, Hong Keng, main Jond Chine ond Singanore. Mittunarna i cleo clecning up {h Colfomnia, where Saeder-Krupo ana Azrechnology are bbonned by the government Boy Jewel {@H/CT's ievesiment in heavy incustly ané chemical pro- “duction gives therm access to al sors of exotic chemicals, “including nlitary-orade nerve gas and chemical \weopors. The cop's been known te stock some of is ‘security robots and auto-guns with thot kine of lethal drei The drones cre Immune, and the stuf virualy guarantees a.quck takeciown, Wrath THE PLAYERS The CEO of MCT {s Toshiro Mitsuhama, son of Talga Tiger” Mutsuhara, who foundedt the Musuhama corporate fempe. Bath are Icons within the comp: my folks have ple lures of them both in their cond. Falty yours for a mega: _kopporate CEO, Toshiro is only in his ict Foties. Leoni zation “eatments have kept fim ooking about thiny and given Uhm te gene physical covtton ofa man in his tents, , Toshio is steering Mitsuhame toward more escive acquislons ancl competition with the compa. {he computer rraket left open by Fuchl and Rerval ‘Toshifo's use oF cyoerware embodies his company’s ghtech image. Along, with the usual datajack, MCT's yyto-day business. His eyes are cyber-opties Inked! to Hheaciware data system. He also has a cyber replace for his right hanc—the meat one got mangled elght years ago, ina terrorist bombing of an MCT lity he was touring. The cyberhand is chromed steel Toshiro never covers It with synthfesh, He likes to rap Of the conference room table when making 2 point. He red (© have additional cyberware, Inciting pons but into his hand “Tiger” Mitsunama, though Just shy of seventy and lly fered, remains actively involved with the The elcier Mitsuhama Is in excellent health and has ‘fa man half his age. From his home in Kyoto. Advises his son on "unning the company and keeps of corporate politics. A cleal-maker extraorcinalre. regularly attends parties and maintains @ vast net of contacts. If he ever called in all the favors and ‘owes! him, Tiger Mitsubama coukt probably the fate of nations JV enough. Toshio and Tiger Misuharrc only S oboul two percent of the compotion between The aynomic ond siltulacimnistation, rather than owNenTp o la Damien KrIght, KeBps them in ‘THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. Rumo's have circulated for yeals about Mitsubana’s ties to the Yakuza. I've even heard that MCT is nothing but a front company for the syndicate, a convenient means of laundering money. Nothing could be further from the eth, ‘Mitsuhama has Yakuza ties, allright, but the Yaks aren't Using Mitsuhama. if anything, It's the other way around, ‘Mitsuhama started out as the brainchild of Taiga ‘Mitsuhama, a Japanese businessman who wanted to forge an allance between several large but falling corporations In order to ceate a powerful conglomerate with the leverage and influence needed to survive and prosper. To ‘make his dream a really, Tiger needed! investment capi tals of it. The economic recession in apan at the time ‘made it nearly impossible to secure the needed loans, ‘ntl Tiger turned to the Yakuza for help. The Yaks, heavi ly Invested in the banking Incustey, had a let of pull In exchange for a substantial chunk of interest in the new corporation, a group of oyabun arianged the financing, Tiger needed. t turned out to be the best investment they ever made, The major shareholders who currently sit on ‘Mitsubama’s board of directors are still powerhd figures Inthe Yacuza, but they ate far more powerful in the bust- nese world, MCT males more profit in a day than all the Yakuza gumls in Japan meke in a yeat. As longas that con- tinues, Toshiro remains CEO and the bosrd lets hien run the company as he sees it. © Don't believe I. The Yokwo are big whee h MCT. They Use the corp to lounder cred, smuage cantiaband and DOCK UP oll kinds of Yak operations allover ihe WOK. For allie know. Kendal n't oven 3 feck tunnet he could be ‘2 Yak puppet planting aise documents, Don’? doubt I 9 Nowy Yak © Sorry, Vokilly, but | agree with Kenso on this one. For CT board members, their Yakuza actives are rote oF a hobby then anything else. Yes, they hove Infuence with some Japanese cums. and yes, they sometimes ute that Inftuence 10 the company’s cevantage. but i's a talocy to say “the Yokiza nuns Mitsunamo,” IMT got too deep in Yokuza activities, It would face rouble from ine Corporate Cou. Why rsh c:muitHbilion nuyen megacorp fora mutieeion nuyen crime syndicate? ‘@ Nuyen Nick (© Note honor doesn’? © Yakkty-Vok ahvays make sense, omae. © Speaking of Yokued powns, whot about Yakamura, the slag ivng on Zurich Orbis? Doat he rectly own 20 pete ‘cent of MCT? rudy {© Ho owns it ail :ight ut comeone els votes for him—no cone knows who. When Ne crooks, ough, nis shores revert __ Corporate Downloact 5s |{0 the Corporate Court, You can bet several factions ore scrombIng fo get him to sal before he kicks the bucket. Red Wrath @ Hey, wasn't Kyolo—where MCT's horre office sone lof the three places the great dragon Ryurryo showed up at be'ore he dloppecred? ern © Yes. Why o you se Are you implying © connection between RyuTyo and Mihara? 8 Diagorslayer © Dunno yor, Jue? curious er ALLIES AND ENEMIES, ‘At this point, Missuhama doesn'thave a lot of alles. It regerds many corporations as rival, ancl acts reutial at best ‘ownrc others, On the other hand, Mitsuhama alsa doesn't have a jot of overt enemies. It stayed pretly much out of the recent corporate conflicts, which left the field wide ‘open for I to step in ancl reap the benefits of the infighting, © It seerrs tke Misuherna is seconchbest ot nearly every- ‘hing secondiin computers after Novatech and Cross, sec- cond in mage after Aztech, second in ndusty Giler 5. Ave thay fst n anything besides midloss entertainment? © Jaxon © Not yet, ornce, bur give thei tine. Miliunama is one of the most diverstiec megocerps: Sacend-beet: mayoe, but tke youd. they'te seconciDes! at necaty everything. that mears MICTis hungry and aggressive, Thoy'Nlbe gunning for Some oF those topspos real soon. They're going after he Computer merkst now: procict ihe magicalbbe wil benext, with Aziechnology running info rouble on he home tent ‘© The Koynotion Kit ‘Greed 15 good" MITSUHAMA LIFE now a lot of people think It sounds tke 3 contradic: {Won In cerms, but there Is Ife Inside Mitsthama, a lot of lives. asa matter of fact. MCT empioys thousands of people all over the world, Of course; | can only talc about the piace I've lived. Stil, one Micsuhama community I pretty much fhe Sarre as anothes the company likes I that way. ‘When you werk for MCT, you're part of a communi- ty. Not a family, really (unless It's @ really dysfunccional family). I's more the being citizen of a nation, oF a city~ state tke Seattle. | grew up in company caycare and went toa company school, where | learned a loc of MCT'shis- tory right alongside the three Rs, | also learned how 10 bow properly. and speak respectfully to my elders. To this day Fan’ get used (0 the fact that now-MCT people fg lute | should shake hands hecause Vm an Anglo. | learnedt to speak Japanese art English from when I started to talk, and I'm Fuene in bath, BH | Corporate Download ‘My famly shopped ate company store, ad we Hived in compeny housing, usually a nice private neighborhood With playgrounels and streets. Sometimes i¢ was an apart ment complex. but It was always nice, lean, safe. and quiet. The company made sure ofthat, usually with secu rity camera, Fences, and locks. | played outside, played ‘games on our ideo, and watched shows on the approved channels, Don' get me wrong. 'm not saying fe a @ compbaby was paradise. But life inside Mitsuhama is very stable. You know what you ean expect, The company has Is rules, ad it takes good care of is pecpie. a long as they fellow the rules. That was dled Into us fom the Start: rules good sobedience bad. you eauld deal with that one ft, you couid be happy. You'd have « home, ¢ community, and « place for your children to grow vp. The only probiem fs that IMCT doesn't have room for anything that doesn't Into their neat lite picture AS much as miss the home {had {row thatthe sprawl Is my home now, end Eage Is my guide, ard | wouldnt have & any other way, SHADOWRUNNING BY THE NUMBERS ‘mitsunama has always played its shadowruns “by the numbers.” Ifyou accept a run from Mitsuhama, you do it {he MCT way of not at all. On the other hand, Mitsuhama provides its tunners with lot of support and Information, Inexchange for the corp’s increased level of control. Corp horchos may expect you te de It thelr way, but they give Yyou what you need t0 get the job done, Faluce is net an option. Mitsuhama expects the best from the runners it hires. if you clo well, You get rewarded with bigger and tougher lane! more lucrative) rune. If you fall and live to ell about it. Mitsuhama either doesn't want anything to do with you or wants you silenced 2s a possi ble security rsh. Running for MCT can be ike riding a dger © One common cover identily used oY Mitsunare Johnsons these doys "Mr. Bunrakus.” which le Japanese for a puppeteer. And mot's exact how MCT deats with runners. The corp & pulling tne stings. (© Soylent Gin ‘Miksuhama has @ lot of influence with the Yakuza in Japan and other parts of the Pacific Rim, and so often uses Yakuza resources (o handle sheclowruns, The Yakuza aso act as go-betweens and fixers for various MCT operations, you're hired to do a job for the Yakuza, you may actual ly be working for Mitsuhama, INTO THE ZERO-ZONE Running, against Mitsuhama Is tough because the corp pulls no punches. Mitsuhara invented the corporate ‘ero-zone.” which means zero penetration, zero. sur vival, You don’t get in, ane if you do get In, Mitsuhame: shoots fist and asks questions later. MCT feclties go for all manner of lethal security measures, especialy auto: ‘mated weapons contrclled by a computer or a security rigger using cosedt-crcult simsense, Other favorites areJaps and guards armed to the teeth with the latest With shoot-to-Kll|oFclers. If you're lucky, an Wet secxlty guard will give you one warning before he five your head off: usually something along the tines of, Gop. BANC! BANG! BANG! ...or I'll open fire!” Mishama produces closed-circuit sinsense sysiers iow a rigger to Inter‘ace with a building rather than ide, This Ned of tech lets the igger run the security from "inside." The company has almost entirely x10 this type of security, except forthe few facl- which robots run the show all by their Tonesome. _Ifyou'te Inskle an MCT site, remember (60 that the rigger lent ust iting you with cranes and auto- ‘weapons, he's also taking detailed tid shots of you ut team Those Images get scanned through the gtebases as soon as possible, in they hope that they fag you and track you: in other words. you might home to find they've beaten you to your doss. If get avay. they I sill pass the Image around to fixers, Yeluza, buletin boards and so on, When I left MCT, Hop clrulated 2 clip of me blasting a guard with a ng bol (you do What you gotta do); my parents tard now consider me & murderer as well as a tal e pay It safe and watch your back. itxhoma ses, the adage “the walt hove oare” Ie aytve, MCT uses riggers not Just 1o run Its Secumty sys Pit cso 19 act a the “bron of afecily. In odtion ipnitorna vecurty, the floger keeps tabs on trouble: ‘and bosically spiee on everyone In the place for jrsie management, Such stitches aren't 1o0 popu tarkandfle wage Haves, v BSsilrchor deal with blooctnisty MCT secuty guards tome of the Corp's roboh. At leas! the guords are, Buman (or something closely resembling I). The {ie cold, human kllers, armed anc armored to Witsunams has some of the world’s best magleal WW: ['d rate the corp a close second behind Aztechnology, MCT integrates Security magicians into Its regular securty forces, supplementing them with astral patrols and bound spirits. The comp invented several oF the best-known astral countermeasures on the market today; it uses bloflber. guardian vines and simlar biotechnology to shield areas agalnst asiral forms, along with traditional wards. Highly secure areas often have layers of astral pio- ection around them. © MCT moges are also preity godd at using spell anchors to cieate magical "booby tops" ond things Ike batier spell that spring up on cornmond from a guard. The corp ses them sparingly, but they're out there, © Wath A ploneer nthe use of Awakened creatures as guard anirrals, MCT stil! employs them extensively. The most common are canines like hallhounds. anc barghests Other guard critters Include baslisks, cockatrices, plas- mae, ttens and stonebinders. The company has spent years experimenting with verious cybernetic implants intended to control these crters, with limited success ‘Skilled handlers and magicians flom subsidlartes tke Pavashield generally train and deal with guaré paranimals. ‘Mitsuhama also. experiments with cybernetic enhancements for Awakened guard animals, as well as ccustom-engineering its own nasty fe forms. I've pesson- ally gone on two expeditions to capture mutated cree tures from the Callfornia coast, to be used as “test sam ples” for the design of new criters. (9 Just when you thought tha comps coucn't get any scker © Sereana, 0:4 gots botter. I've heard 1umos that MCT experiment- Ing on allsors of other cities, Inctuding some hurramncies| tke ghoul. sasquatch, ¢ few vampie-types and maybe ‘even metohurrans, Just Imogine an asial securty squad of ghouls ov banthees, oWekld Capon Pomel eSCURRAN es eos NOVATECH Word Heodqerters: tose, UAS Prosident C10: Ri ils harm of th Board Het pds operate Sates ae ‘Mejor Shorobolers: ior ior (88) Sonora ils (7) ies aia (2) ‘ows Exp (20 Bare is (19) Novatech cab Mosdyvart Vie President Nay or Mendunrters: ote Vie President il Rone Vie President hig Mio Novatech Moh Arie Neadguares: sn Vie President lat Don Novatech Seco eodguarters Sate Vie President an is Vie President rioio Orgs Impertont Subsidies: lure Doig, Cave Arms Und, Cova India, Compote, Cbusyae Dereorman Crp, FL. Metiva ui Oi J hate) Mi Syos, Mnaran Secu, Nhingk', Pit Kim Comput Cnn, Roser Gout, PSE, Se sien, Sipe Sere S&S Aion, 3, Visor Dag Werks, Willer rly, Nee ISTORY you went the full story on Novatech, you need to start way back before the invention ‘f the commercial yberdeck. Back In 2032, Richard Villers was just another young, corporate | sharie who bought corporations, dismantled them [and sold off the parts at a profit, He was ising fast, Dut even at the rate he was chewing through busl- | nesses, he couldn't break Into the megacorp big, veagues. The easly 2030s were post Echo Mirage, and | computer companies. were: springing up every- where in hopes of getting a chunk ofthe new eta of “virtual realty” computing, One of those frrs was Matix Systems of Boston. In late 2033, MS showed Of desk-sized cyberceck Intended for general business and consumer use to local venture capital Is6, Inckiding Recharc Villers. Viliers wanted to buy the young company and Its technology outright; never a stupld man, he knew Instandly what Mati. [Systems had in ts hands. The company owners, Ken Roper and Michael Eid, refused a total buyout and Tmited Villers to a 49 percent stake Matrix Systems put out the Portal in 2034—a desktop-sized cyherdeck, the fst avallable to any fone outside of the Echo Mirage team. Never | advertised or sold in retail stores, it sold lke wild | fire through word of mouth, enough so that with in weeks of the Poital's release, Roper and Eld had ‘enough free caplal to attemps to buy out Villers. {9 Ve gol cn ofiginalPottal that | managed to tnd {9 few years back. Big and uoly, but t's an ames. Ing plece of technology, Some of what we take {of granted in deck constucton was fest dene in the Porta © Wicsmasher What happened next is the stuff of conspiracy theories and raw conjecture. Six weeks after the Portals release, Roper and Elc both dled In appar- fent “accldents’ and the entire Matrbe Systems | computer network, incluing all back-ups, crashed ‘with absolutely no hope of recovery. Coincidence? [Not bioody likely, but no formal charges were ever leveled against anyone. Hot rumor st the time sald the UCAS government didn’t want Echo Mirage technology In the hand: of the public for more Uikely, forelgn businesses and governments). 1 don’t buy ity it wasn't the LICAS government that benefited the most fom the triple catastropne. It \was Richard Villers, Roper and Eld's “partner.” © The Matletesr Ir alto convinced that Riehard Villers crashed the Tokyo Stock Morkat (WhiteMonday’) just 20 he could buy out key Fuch! subsigiares (nd start up Novatech ahead of schedule. Just because Villon benefited flom both events doesn’t meon ne nad anything to do with It He's just meaner and quicker and ‘more cpportunisic than most sus, © cayaalitarowg © Tue. os fer as goes. Given how ruthless and! briliant Richard Villers has proved himsett fo be, however. I Gon't doubt that he might have pulled both tragers (© DU Hawke@sc-syle.com Richard Villers bought up the remains of Matix Systems for pennies. About a month later, he contacted Fuh! Industral Electronics, a company that wes already making & name for itself In consumer electronics and computing, Somehow (in the madem e1a of shadowrun- fing, do I realy need to draw a map?), he had in hit pos- session the mainame Matrix Systems backup tapes, plus several working Portal cyberclecks and next-generation protorypes—exactly what Fuchl needed to leap to the forefront of cyberdeck and Matix development across the globe. Richard Vilirs parlayed these treasures Inco a ‘one-third share of Fuchi and control over its North ancl South American branches, Several years lates, In 2036, Fuchi put out the CDT: 1000; the frst eyberdack available through retall channels worklwide. ‘The uneasy Fuchi partnership was riding the wave of success, ond Villers arranged to take It to the top, target- Ing IRI international for takeover. JR| was one of the Big Seven megas at the time; which founded andl controlled! the Comorate Court, Combining Fuchi's financial assets with his insider knowledge and large percentage of shates in [Ri International, Fuchi Americas gobbled up JR} and took its place on the Corporate Cour. Now let's leap ahead about two decades, The Fist Wyrm has gone bocm and left a massive estate behind. Dunkelzarn's will hands out cash and. vaslous toys ard _goodles to all sorts of chatacters. The wil include! a bequest Of four milion voting shares in Renvaku to Miles Larier— Richard Villiers right hand man and dleector of securky for all of Fuch [though Yamana and Nakator, the other two Fuchi heads, resisted hls advice as often as they could) Sucdenly a key player in Fuchi owned about (wo percent of Fuch's biggest sval, Rentahu, andl a seat on Its board. The specter of dived loyalties immediately raised its head, © For about saventy-twe hours Fuchi was h utter choos, ‘with the big boys desperately tring to change ot jhe locks ancl possoodes. | know a few inners who tock ‘advantage of the dsoray. and pulled off sone sweet scores. A few others assumed Ih auld be a cakewalk and got geoked by unusually paranoid guards © DsGhost Exacty what happened while Miles Lanier sat on Renraku's board of directors remains unciest: Obviously ‘most of hls felow board members neither liked ror trust: GB | Corporate Download ed him; however, during his tenure Renrakus experienced explosive growth. Infact, Renvaku wes well on its way to becoming the dominant megacom. From 2087 to mic- 2059, Renraku shot to the forefront of Innovetion, a post ‘ton it hadn't held too often in the past. Even worse, i seemed to beat Fuchl to: market with virtually Identical products by days, then weeks. Yamana and Nakatomi, along with many in the business community and the shaclows, assumed Lanier was spilling Fuchs secrets to bis new Renraku bucldies. Richard Villers, a8 I said before, Is not a stupid man, He knew his slim edge over his rivals had evagorated and that he needed to take action before they did. ‘Management purges in Villes-controlled offes anc! sub Sidianies made sure that the remaining, personnel owed Villiers their sole loyaity. While that was going on, Villers began qutetly purchasing his own companies under the ames Viliers International and Cambridge Holdings. ‘Chunk by chunk, Villers managed to purchase major por tions of Fuchi Americas (that division Includes South ‘America, for my nearsighted ICAS ftlends) from under the noses of Yamana and Nakatoml. He even managed to buy several non-fuchi businesses to expand his stable. Some other holding. companies and shells he used Include TWans-Latvia Enterprises, Northwest Assets. Blue Cap Limited and Blaze PLC. More certainly exist, but those are the only ones that were definitely owned of controlied iy Richard Villers, ‘Meanwhile, in june of 2059, Fuchi brought sult against Renvaku in the Corporate Court, You might remember the recent tension; lots of foks genuinely Feared that a corporate war was breaking out, and that the ‘Court might even issue an Omega Orde*. ‘The sult produced some interesting, fallout, Miles Lanier sold his two percent stake in Renraku to the Zutich- Orbital Gemeinschaft Bank at below marker prices, eaus- ing Renraku stock to plummet, Lanier was then “taken Imo custody” by Fuchl, which had to paay undisclosed lemages to Renraku; Scuttlebutt sald Lanier and Viiers had pulled off a major ant-Renraku sting, Some felt Vitiers had saved Fuck by hurting Renraku, others that he had taken far too big a risk The battle lines insice Fuch! were cliawn; the megacor was doomed, © They probably cid pul a fast one on Renraku: rumors. ‘enlet took @ lot of Renraku paydata back with him to. Villers, anc ¢ fai number of Renicku subsciaries conve- rently fol prey to Cambridge Holdings. © Lone Play ‘When the White Monday stock market crash hit on September 29, 2059, Villers marshaled: everything, he hhad anc bought out many of the companies he stil need- dat rock-bottom prices. A week later, he announced the formation of Novatech, Incorporated, ‘© Wich triggered insene infighting within Fuchl, Yamana ‘and Nakatom both fought for Villon” shores teath and‘he san hope of gaining the upper hand, Diin‘t fended up wi about 49 percent each, Whel’s ule thoe Ville, Ike © good corporate raicer, man fo make tens cf mMlons of nuyen on the infighting, he piobeby spent tecuiing Novatech, Bilan, rBgrcsec.019, cally speaking, Novatech was a borderline AAA fon in size and overall stock value. But because it {JR ntervaional, charter member of the Corporate Gf, Novatech had a single seat on the Corporate Court on be taken away, giving it undue Influence for 9 Nts size. Justice Lynn Osbome. a holdover from Hi wio remained loyal to Richard Villets, became ‘snew Court representative. :CH IN 2061 's Some current data about the litte megacorp 1. Novatech, Incorporated is privately owned by Rhie's litle brother, ownsa t percent stake. Being held corp, Novatech doesn't have to renort 9 (OF hold shareholders’ meetings. Most of chs subsidiaries are publicly traded, however hose in which Novatech has a controling inter- opposed t2 owning the thing, outright) one se & rumored to own a hefty chunk of ul no one knows @acty who, Technically, Jabla Enterprisat owns that Ite: chunk .. but who: fs ons, vt Villers ono gach the Naxkotoer tad Trane Lat wos 0 Viller-con- elding compen. joAutimate.com Inthe chaos of Nevotach’e formation, nowever 16 ears to Nave puled a quick one on Vier, jenaged 10 buy out a controling interest in Trane: 0k anyone's guess, $0 far, they seam to be BIOy: yaIng to Villers! gerne olan. ong atabout Richard's brother, Morth Vitor? Wry is tof he Novatech fomily? prefers to bulld hs own fortune, without raving Jddor biothor They're tency towards each other seems to have a bit of a compettive stieak i herr from werking together atech's HO Is in Boston, and Villers Is working, patriotism angle as hard as they ean. seems working: Novatech has a higher approval rating In the UCAS than Ares right now. which seems to both ‘annoy ancl amuse Damien Kright. © Hey, plenty of uslite It that the UCAShas cnother mage. In tts Backyerd. About fraggin’ time, you osk me, © New England Pati © Just because Novalech’s H ln Beston doesn t mean that Richard Villar gives a frag about the UCAS or about your negp. 1's al abeut soln anc image. © Shanchwick@spin.com MAJOR DIVISIONS Novatech's organizational structure is still somewhat haphazard and unbalanced. Separate divisions may have domain over small regions (Nevatech Carb, run by Maya ‘Cruz from Miami) or vast ones (Novatech Europe, run by Nige Winthrop from Londen}, The division name does not necessarily rellect Its area of coverage, as with Novatech Seattie (run by Samantha Villers), which also hhancles Novatech’s Asian assets. The vast majaity of the corp's power and Influence remains in North America, where Novatech’ tentacles reach across the continent. Novatech CAS vice prez ‘Michael Ruane Is. playing pro-CAS patriot from their ‘Atanta offices, and Novatech Nerth America Is making new inroads into che NAN nations, South America Is ike= wise 3 solid Novatech domain, and the corp has sturdy beachheads in Europe, Asia Is 3 lost cause, however, Reniahu execs have made Ville's and Lanier targets of bitter vendetta, and wil put aside any Internal conflicts in ‘order to give Novatech the shaft. {9 Whot the heck door Navatech do in South America? |1o think Amazonia would keep 1018 Of Corps Out © Wibur@eriz du © It dose, tor oF, The South American dlvan is run by Antonio Ortege, cn extremely charkmatic Aigentnecn, hand picked by Viliers fr the poet. Ho's made Novatech ‘2 mapo! South American player, clegedly by “peruad- ing” key members of the Argentine goverment to to things the Novatech way. Novatech manufactures a 81- nifcant portion of South Ams coreumer electronic: evan with ol he dance and dodging they hove to do around ‘Amazonia, It's sil cheaper to make that stu locally There's aso plenty of biotech work, wih suojects puled ftom deep inside Amazonio for very block ‘esearch Novatech’ presence mecns lots of shociow wotk, both for ong against Amazonia (moslly against. Amazorio's (overrrment has iis own pel tunners), Be wormed, Amazonians welcome. megacorpsponsored. nilirctors \wth Jos of fhepowe andiitie mercy © Mucho Grande Gringo © North. America isn't just the UCAS. andthe CAS: Nowotech aie hes a healthy relationship with the Sioux {and factions within the Pueblo Comorote Gouncis the Tih Corporate Download | BBNOVATECH INCORPURRTED feab Novatech tke ony otter cop. AS fo" Ihe Cory League. t's anyone's quest io © Ive got a big “guess” for you, then. Novatech controls Guite « fow Car pleatos. Just for stortort, the Red Rurn Rakders anc Chromebay’s Baslcics have been known To take Nouatech nuyen, Pkacyis one way Novatech getsite South Ametican goods beck north while bypassing ‘Amazonia and Astian—capecialy tenelive orek from ity South American botech labs. © Red Cat © Don't forgot Novatech’ CalFree presence, Calfree—or Gt least pots of seems to love Novatech Viliers snoppec up mest of the old Fuch officosin the Free State Bion Jerkins, Novatech’s new Clee veep, immediate: ly embarked on a metohumarfiendlyhirhg spree that's mode sore folks In Orkiand think a's the Messiah, The local Japeneta, regaidiess of corporate atfilaton, loathe Jenkins. and have sponsored several uns against Pacem Computer Consultants. 9 Novatech subsidiary, o8 “polite” warning to cut the diek © Orange Stipe DOING BUSINESS. Novatech took over much of Fuchi’s cyberdeck pro- duction, reselling Fuchi decks under the Novatech name. ‘The cybeideck market Is probably Novatech’s biggest andl best-known money maker, anc! Is ikely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Villers stil holds the bellef that rade him buy Into Matrix Systems so long ago: control ‘the Matrx and you control me workd, Tactics and tech- nology have shited, but the goal remains the same. ‘About the only segment of the cyberdleck market that Novatech doesn't dominate isthe low end. Novatech puts ‘out the Megadeck-3, but so far It hasn't garnered much market share (despite being a decent cheap machine). Everywhere else, Novatech is well In che fead. The corp ‘makes a host of other computer hardware, peripherals and devices geared towaic! businesses and individual con- sumers; the general publ regards Novatech's shilsoft Jukeboxes anc) pocket secretaries like the top-seling, ‘model [VS-251. aka *Jeeves”) as the best avallable ‘Almost all of those ems carry the Novatech nave: however. plenty of the com's subsidiaries don't FTL Mattixwave, which Novatech owns outright, makes Killer software, and Is especially renown for thelt persona code and cascading IC. Mairx Systems |S still around as veel, now focusing almost exclusively on system sculpture and complex coding for Matix constructs such as bulletin boards, chat rooms and historical re-creation nodes. Their ‘executive design team takes year-long contracts for one-oF- ‘kind host designs: If you've seen the new Draco Foundation system, you know how hor thelr auchltecture i Walker Aesodesign of Boston Is Novatech’s premiere aerospace subsidiary, excelling in rocket design, autopilot systems and new propulsion system designs. Novatech _gobbled Up the Fuchi space program flagging near whole: Villers knows there's big nuyen in space, just around the ‘corner, Between Fuchi Orbital and Walker Aerodesign, Novatech has a hot operation that could be a real player In te nascent space race. © At the moment. Novatech seems content to bulld communicatiore sotelites andl LEO autemoted chip foc: totes, but rumcr has it thot Jacques Lemer, who heads Fuck! Orbital, & geering up for something more, Stay pes: ed for detais, © Guth @understair Novatech owns 79 percent of Cavalier Arms Limited, «small Texas-basedl manufacturer of personal frearms (the rest belongs to Cavaler’s founder, Patrick Goodman—a ta c pany based in Detroit; Ploneer Cybernetics; and Nightengale's Body Farts (hough no one wil adit this Publicly). Central industrial makes factory machines that ‘churn out tractors and the tke. Ploneer Cybernetics makes some excellent high-end cyberoptics, generally priced beyond the reach of everyone but the wealthy: needless to say. the company doesn't have a major market share ‘And almost every shadowrunner has heard of Nightengale’s, a chain of small private hospitals and eybemware clinics. You can find one of these In every major North American city (© Here's an interesting development. Novatech bought out 199, c amailDeeCee based magical esearch fen, a mori ter purchasing o contcling interest n Really Studio ( Bostorbased rmagicol research fim), An indication of Novatlech’s orowing interest in the excane ars, pathos? (9 Viidsmanher © Vilis hos aso been making subtle efforts to scoop Up Manadyne Corp and their magiect resenich labs, but he’s going te have a scuttle with Lone Star ithe tes i © Arioch Despite its varied holdings, Novatech's bread and butter remains the Matix and high-end consumer elec- tronics. Even through the uncertainties. corporate retalia- tions and assorted! other problems related to the Fuch: Novatech shakeup, Novatech has kept Fuchi's reputation for making the best bleeciing-edge decks and IC. '© Corpite Reniotu’s bot spin efforts. Renraku's PR Hooks Spend more tine bad-moutring Novatech than hyping thek own com, © chvsty@spin.comENEMIES. Novatech is lean andt mean, but still vulnerable Renraku would like nothing better than to stomp Richart lets, an ambition only incensified by the presence of former Fuchi head and Villers-hater Shiket Nakatom’ in Renraku's ranks. Nakatorl In particular seems to have taken Fuch!'s collapse and Novatech's emergence per sonally; he’s been devoting hours and resources to oper ations against Novatech, Villers and Miles Lanier, Villiers Js survived two assassination attempts In the past sb ‘months, and Lanler at least one as well—and we can all {gieS who sponsored them. For the moment, Korn Yarana (the other displaced Fuchi poobah) seers con- ‘eit (0 establish himself as a power In Shiawase. He jgnee a one-year truce with Samantha Villers and [Novatech in exchange for ner two percent stake In Fuch “syen though that periccl has expired, the truce seems t0 hive continued... for now. J doub! Yomana wil give Novatech any breaks, but | pnt foresee him launching ary meio! ratalatery stikes Fo ttag with nis ola vat. Pkckaromi, cn the omer hand, fo have made destioying Villers Nt only teczon for ID: Setfens@beu edu As for Villiers and Lanies, they've both apparently iided to forgo payback stlkes—not out of any aliruls- ive, but because I¢ makes good business sense. If become consumed with personal revenge; Novatech Mt survive, And survival is the best revenge ofall Noor Given, Novatech’s smell size compared (0 other the corp Is doing everything It can to protect itself ‘expend. Vllie's has been courting, President Kyle Ares CEO Damien Knight, Cross Applied elngies CEO Lucien Cross and various UCAS and and representatives, all In hopes of earning 8. So fa, the charm-school strategy seems {0 be ng: Novatech landed major contracts for computer from the UCAS Commeice department and the Treasury. and Aves is talking about some kind of pace venture. ‘yesture with Ares is nothing rote thon Ares spin, 16 910 © few approval points wih the pubic. A Sie With the UCAS government Is more substeria. Id Lorier have been spotted toking with 105 brass anc Secreta of Defense Michael “The Ichhg on the coke? Somontho Villers ‘eew/fe, has had several lunches with Nadja Pat the LAS. According to sources, they got Swell The most powerful womanin the UCAS § for Samantha and Nevatach to have (Cat © Allof which won't make Damien knight very hersoy. Th question is, wil he try fo subvert the Novatech threat by living wih Villers’ comp. or Wil ne treat Novatech le Cross Applied Technologies, his current Orteres) Wal? If the latter, what might Cross do with Novatech? Looks ike Interesting tres ahead © Avenger@wight uk.com NOVATECH’S FUTURE So what's coming up for Novatech? More acquis\- tions of course. Villers managed to take Fuch's space assets anc most ofits North and South American software and hardware producers, but he dicn'¢ get everything he Wanted. Future acquisitions are likely to center on Matrix- InvoWved corps, anc! a good number of tiem will probably bbe former Fuchi businesses. Other purchases are intend- ed for simple expansion, to. cover areas in which Novatech Is sill weak, such as the recent buyout of S&S Agricorp. an Ohio based agyi-research and farming com- pany. He'll move as aggressively as he can get away with, but Renraku won't just sie by and Jet him take what he ‘wants. Things could get real interesting, real fast. Villiers has resored to number of his old corporate ralder routines, In order to quickly generate the nuyen reeded to expand, Typically this means hostile takeover ‘of a company, then Immediately breaking tt apart anc selling off the pieces at a profit Naturally, Villers keeps the elements he needs for his empire, such as SOTA man- facturing facilites. or nova-hot (ahem) research teams. The rest goes out the window, meaning that Novatech Is purthg a let of people out of thelr jabs In seme areas, ‘which Isn't good for PR. On the oxher hand, some smal er corps are getting a boost by following Novatech’s tal fan scooping up the scraps. Villiers has been quite careful to protect Novatech's Corporate Court seat. He's well aware shat Novatech's AAA status was due more to a technicality than arything else, but he's mecte sure io turn JR} International Inco a private corporation owned solely by him. Even if he were to jose Novatech, he would stll have J to keep him on the Court Baring some unforeseen tragedy, | doubt Novatech il crash anytime soon. Eventually, Viliers will have all the pleces of the Novatech puzzle, and the hyperkinetic pace of acquisition will sow to a more normal crawi What then? Once secure, Novatech will most certainly move inte Asia. Outer space itself may also be the next big thing. There's a let out there, I'm told, end I'm willing to bet Richarci Villers wants a plece of it IN THE SHADOWS | know for a fact that Villers hac (0 leave behind some dieichot scientists and Matiix wizards vehen he formed Novatech, and that he wants them back. Ard all you smart shadowboys and gins know what thae means, [ expos Dowatud | 7u“Tz _| Corporate Download @ Fve been puling exactions for Novatech for the pat ‘wo months. Gon’t nermally Keep working for the same, JJohraon this long, but her money's been good, and #9 has the Intel she's aver me (she ciso doesn't toKe ory rok from sexist man, ahways.a plus in my beck» If you got @ call from a Carrie Alman requesting a meeting ot ihe Alb (an old downtown Seatte ber), eck are you'll be sounded out about an extraction for Novatech, © S0@teeneticom © Thot'sin Seatte. Here F Boston, you know you're being hited by Novatach IF your Jonnson & Crs Brggs—she- seems to:handie “stock rranipulations" @ fot. You know: blow the up, plant ths story there, that sort of thing. Then there's Deon Hund, a suave black eif who specials \wetwotk,clmast exclusvaly for Nevatach or Yamatetsu A, Jonngon named Jennifer Prevo hondlis Christ's Job down In Atlerta, © Cetic Don @ Neresting. Deon’stuned up in Seats ko, working the same line of bie. Renee Dovier fils the slat have thot Chit Briggs Coes In Boston, You know, If Just struck me thet Novatech hat a lot of Ms. Johneons. That's highly unusual ‘Anyone know why? © Myke Brawn © Nope. tt may be standard, but i's hot the tue, as the #S%@ slag Witla Ager proves, Bly Bob Is o Novatech JJohngan in Seattie, ane he's a Humanis wannabe, I'd love fo Use my basaball bat on his racis—5 MP Deleted by Sys0p. 2 Slamm-O} 19 While both of the Villers (@ichard and Samantha) wok ‘he fich ond power"u, Lanier & pumping sedous nuyen Info the shadows Extiac' mis resaarcher. blow up that lac Jay, protect ihs shigment, astassnate thai manager. The money's good if you ore; Lanier makes sure his ‘retource adjusters" and other Johnsons don t nie poses. © Catedwyn, {© No! quite, Cori Lanier doesn’t have as much to do wth ihe shadows cs It sounds ike, monly because he's been working 24/7 te close all the backdoorsin Novatoch secu: my nat are len over trom he Fuch days, Sometimes that Incluces igning off on shadow operatiors,but he doesn't ‘unital for Novatech... yet. The one to watch tox in Seattle 2 Doren Vier, 1@d's younger brother. A dwort, he’s rarely sgen but reporiediy in chorge of Secttie "special assets” He's ato rumated tolbs an adept of same power which mates fora pasty flagger hancing the shadows for Novatech Seattie. fe Tuyoh © Didn't want to iniemupt, but Sam Villar’ name keeps opeing up wehout explanation, What's up with RichereiSamantha? They diverced in late 2040, after sittecn ture as a whole. Novatech workers and dependents also. fof morriage, Bur she kept the Villes name, cnd the receive free health care, education and day care, all vith ¢f thom are cleaty allee—pius, they seem to gon- a subtle pro-Novatech slant—a powerful incentive 10 ivbe good friencs, For years, Somantho wes Richard's remain loyal to the company, anc an equally powerful Jnicontroling Fuchs Ifshehated:him, she couktnave _ weapen for keeping employees in line. So fa, the com jh out years ago. | would have thought two biliant hasnt had. to break out the stick much; the pro-compa- Juhiess corporate sharks Ike these would koathe fy, pro-Viliers atmosphere is fragging near thick enough other atter a divorce: to touch J@yectac.com SECURITY YoU look at mariage os a contact, sort of business If you're facing the pointy end of Novatech, don’t get. then you begin 16 understand Richard ond expect an easy fide Just Decause it's a new megacorp, jmonna, A divorce sa dissolution of the coniract,nota _—Milles_Lanler has been working overtime to close any ination of the relationship, Both of them lve anc femalning Fuch! backcloors and f0 upgracte security actoss iSusheis fre! ond foterncat. the board to his exacting standards. ‘On the other hand, they knew that if thay remainect ‘Asmany of you know, Lanier was a decorated UCAS fe, thelr shork ike Instincts would eventually get the Army sniper in his prefuchi days; bis mlltary training ‘of Tham. Things could have gotten extremely ug. shaped his demand. for precision Insecurity. He Toten for mem perscnaly.but probably cso for Fuch.To _aPPreaches his ob with the knowledge that a single weil~ revert rok hey dhorwed know their mayioge wosn't PlCEA bullets ust es effective asa thousanel bullets san- Son on aor ible buinest aavontape, so maybe NS down, Precision Is his fe, in everything from the cut ees tal emetion bohha t Thoy only doted for OFS Cothes to his gym regimen to designing counter ‘twee months betore thelr engagement; they got 'n*Tusion procectures Infetne ppl ssa, Novation ps no srpuhgl ane and lage coromony wo ions) ampiocnd ean.commony Iwo BITE Tame pon ayer pon aye of ae Pa ocoughrnemed Coroine ere ne are sensor of Varo types (one of which ere They had ‘hild, a. Gought reread ra. Caine linked to the outside Matrix), all able to detect the precise pone twenty-eight: Thay cnt. do wall os parents, number and jocation of intruciers. id: Caro baled on them as son as possible (over ten hae acscipomsiein cn pub agucesse a ts203) and has been out of the picture she, ea Se os seca pen cheng wcdes . << roaming about (except in the rare so-called "Zero Zone” bachelor bites nct known as oCosonove. They [oreo ou wl nl wel-tmine security guards ‘she know exactyhere you ae and who wl react ntl- ynatthe WAS ha.guralbok fr exomnie—hey wre smewenscv ler 1 ea ei ce and she utimate power couple, They even vacation detaining intruders Is a significant aspect of Novatech sec ether for o tow days a yeor. I'd say reitherafthemmas — procedures, They use popular tactics such as locking 0k sot, Its for each other. Just don't sugges! Matt dawn, rooms and flooding them with Neurostun, sealing idirectly, it you value your life. ‘entrances and exits with hefty blest barriers, anc ambush: she taretoot Ing with multpe fre zoes (orcng shacowrunnets (0 react to Incoming fie from several cirections, and placed {Cora Villes tried to kil her mom in 2083. but scuttlebut!_—_ fe “funnel” ther Into an area where they can be trapped). she was under magical influence aF the time. She hidibiaremsiieges sesulths. ek 90,1 damaged in the incidert. cnd sted with anew le Novatech facilities generally have an on-site security id. She's running the shadows new, under tho ame ger. These fos con't otten go ater iniruces with armed very 10 offen, Samantha vilers Pays some Tur ones, however: instead. they usually act as “quarter fo hack her down and keep a watchful eye on her backs anc lect the security teams. Most Novatech secu daughter tity riggers have minimal weapons training. Du they know ‘strategy and tactics as well as Clausewite and Sun Tzu. ‘THE INSIDE ‘@ Don't think you won't everrun into paranimals or other Like other megacorps, Novatech provides pretty heavy ordnance at a Novatech se. Novatech jus tena ilfor ts employees and their families, Novatech hasno ——_to keep ther locked up nice ond tight, away from public jogies, but does group its corporate citizens in self- view. If the stuction warrants, they'll break out the majcr able enclaves, In several lations, Novatech resi-_rtlery and reduce you 10 splatters on the wats, Ory ot ial compounds are forall practical purposes working the mos! heavily deferdad Zero Zones will You see tht ids, as significant percentage of employees nd of waawy securty cut In he open va the Matix, In fact, Matix work education and brekheod re are extremely integrated into the corporate cul [ eorperte BownioasNovatech Is also using more non-lethal techniques than Fuchi ever did. Lenier wants to know why shad- fowrunners broe into one of his compounds and who hired them; dead runners can’t give him those answers. Depenciing on what you tell the sachoys, they might give ‘you a job or a pelr of concrete boots, OF they might iust let you go. © They don't “just et” anyone go, ¥ you'te lucky. they fit you er your gear with trackng Gavices, If you'te net, they'll hit you with seme terious brainwiping. making f £0 ‘hat you net only con't run against Nevatech, but you'l ‘Get warn fuzzies buying tholr products. | think Frather de than have my wetware tagged with © Physics Guru@acom nat AS for Matix security, Lanier has taken the legenclary Fuchi security one step further. Hardcore research pro- Jeets that cule tag major nuyen ave kept almost exclu sively offline, with no permanent Matix connections ‘What's left on the Matric is protected by bleeding edge Novatech IC. © *Combot deckers” runners who can shoot guns ond slee IC. can procticaly wrte thelr own Heket on most shadownuns agains! Novatech, © Puthe Cat Cascading and psychotropic IC seem to be the favorites; you won't find much trace IC, as Novetech lacks the resources to be that proactive with is security. At the moment, the corp seems generally content to sciag your deck with gray IC rather than your body with black IC (Maybe they hope you'll buy their hardware t replace what they just melted down.) © It-you get hit wit) Novatech’s peychohiople IC. you won't have much cholee but to buy Novatech ‘ware. | hate thar psycno stut. Mach, © They don't stop at “I love Novalech” psycho-mods ether The other tavoite isto Inctuce abject torr of the ‘Mase. Doesn't physicallyhorm anyone, and is omost as long-term a solution as death. Nice ancl neat from a cor orale penpective @ MaKaitibenet ‘Magic temains Novatech’s weak point—another holdever from the Fuchi era, Plain ane simple, Novatech doesn't have a lot of Security magicians on the payroll Consequently, the corp goes for passive magical defers: <5; like astaly active Ivy and wards, in attempts to keep astral magicians out. If you get in, you won't find too ‘many magicians Cossing spells at you, Runner teams with a drekchot magician have a solid edge against Novatech. © Only for as long as the magician auvivot. Novatech's standard procedure realy Isto “geek the moge fist” In an attempt to level the playing feld. And don’t sell cstaly active Ivy short; that, plus thot WerG astral wood stuff Combined with some told weree don't excetly moke ont Novatect runs a cakewak tor magicions. © Drekhead © Am | the only ono who's toon the magical defenses {around Novatech’ Basten HG? It's crowling with ving borters. wards and potroling elementab, Lanier must have nag @ hand with ithe layout kt too clever | dott the camp's other offices are a impressive, Dut the Boston HO i an astral Zero Zone, © Two-Hoaded OB © Novatech’s ato stil re-bullding some of is pet inate {roups. Under Fuchl, these groups had swern loyatty to the corp, and sometrmes members of ihe group had ioy- ‘altes to coposhg Fuch! fections. When Fuchi spit, sore ‘groups imploded Most hove since fe-formea and swom allegiances to thelr new mastais (Novatach, Renick or Shiawase), A few magicians olso went rogue and joined UUs here In the shadows. Samantha hat her “Black Omega’ group back onine, But I'srot ie srument of terror It cnce was. | fer one hope Ft never ecoven, ‘Cybered combat mages wit atitude are not my klea ot 1 gcod time: © The Whistior © What about the Fuchi cypermantic cine? ony © Not sure, Indicotions aro that It eventually went to Novatech, but mising key ports Gnd personnel that reduced Its etfectiveness (apparently more then © few Important mages were snuffed by tual sorcery). Undoubtedly Ville Going whot ne eon to bring t beck ontine © The Second Gunmanhen { first Informed the lustrous denizens of Shadowland about the Renraku Areology “prob- Jem." my posts were scorned as paranoia. When the truth of the suation became known and my suspicions confirmed, my posts were then detided as Remaku cisinormation—since | obviously had good intel, 1 must be a Renraku spin doctor. Tm not going to reveal whe Lam or how get my data Its up to you to belleve or doubt my word, but I think my tac record speaks for ise. | state my facts as facts, and idealy mark my speculations and suspicions. And, no, Im hot Sherman Huang in élegulse, @ Rats! wos hoping to score o date with Ox Frankenstoh tise eloia ‘sYoucan check the Fox's credtoity Yourself in the Renralas ‘cology. Shutdown SIG, He's been helping us snodowiak lndersiand how and why the Al nemed Dove ond its otaku inion: took over the crcology. wile RervcKu i sti cover Tigthe shuation up, sofe trem the pubic eve “bCopicin Chaos Transmitted: 04 March 2067 at 12:81 01 (EST) That sld, let's move on to the deals of Ife in, aroun "and against Renvaku, Before we get going, let me address “one ssue right off the bat. For the past year or so, most of alk about Renraku has focused on the arcology diss: “at east In North America, From shadowrunners to siock mulkants, everything sald about the corp has picked up e ba taste the Seatte situation left in everyone's mouth, borly In the UCAS scems to think Renraku is about ¢ bely-up, because It lost its Nortn American headquar because Deus the Demen Al will Ap the company rom within, or because the pubic has lost whatever ‘tmay once have had in the corp. ‘uli. Renraku isn't going anywhere, chummers. Sure, It's ‘a big nosedive compared to where It was In 2058, tHisisa AAA megacorp. For Rervale to lose one bulid- fo mater how big and high-tech, Is lke Neil the Ork losing a finger. I'l) hurt and Tel slow him down while Itheals, so he may not swing his axe quite as [ag he used tout he'l stil hack your head off f you Renaku may have lost Its workhorse, but the zl yah facts from Chiba to San Francisco to dk are working overtime to pick up the slack {a megacorporate standpoint, the physical loss of gy Dullding was more of a PR disaster than any: Ws easy enough to bulld labs and offices and fo replace the ones that were lost, and Renraku find enough wage slaves and promote enough fo ft the vacancies. Bullding back public conf the camoration will be harcler, but Renvaku has ae ey a SAIN 9) end COO: Haro “Hary’Woknéa ‘Chairman of te Boor: Yuialo Waanabe Publ corporation afer Sharaoldrs: Now rm Suro ows ovr 1 pert) Majer Divsene: Rearku Ameria Heedguarors: Hanh, How York UCAS (fmol he Aeroka Mey in ene) ‘Manoger:r Seman Huong 3 ‘ojr Subir: ane sch Mdiwys Ress Sirotor, Nonna Tdeo Nevrk ond Parag Ft), Ahiedel Dyanic, Amade Pome, Goren Faia Gap Gg Soonk an Temperance Ive) ois Festal eds, Hyp, is Frew, jin Seis ee Tokyo, twp Son jor Sebsideis: Fc (onowe Servis, Gane Aacipcs, Sin Gio Kye hina, UndervaerLig, Weate Setvare Reoroku Avsrlasie Heodguorters Syn hsrco Manage: icy Don Mejor Subsidies: Nustln Development Copan, Gar Hard & Wolf eu Desig RenratuExrope oodgurters: nh Borin re Si, Grn Aes Manager: Kl St jo Sobre: Bob os fxs Ga iki, tne Aramor, Scitech neon iene Hoi SonsRENRARU COMPUTER SYSTEMS some of the best spin doctors in the business working on It. Combine that with the fact that the Red Samural ave. currently reclaiming the arc—in a bloody floor-by- floor nightmare of a battle—and Renvaku's stack is already climbing out of the gutter © However: in todey's information @sonomy, the loss ofall the data in the SCIRE host wes a law below tha batt to Renicku, not fo mention the shambles Rnraky Ametica leadesship wos lath. Mere than afew cospr scrembled see some Rervoku asses In the choos. Tansye Neurone, Novatlech and Aztechnetogy were all blg winners. 0 FastJack If you ask me, the worst damage from the Seattle flasco has nothing to do with the arcclogy building. Ie has. todo with the fallout. The fact that demonstrably hostlle Al was lurking in Renaku’s own computer systems for an unknown period has mace Renraks management pare- hold to a truly unprecedented degree. All major policy meetings now must be held face fo face. because the execs aren't totaly convinced that thelr electronic con versations are secure. As you can imagine, this plays havoc with the schedules of executives used to attending Intemational policy meetings from thelr hot tubs at hore. Al Sensitive databases are now stored offline, with a lengthy series of checks and triple-checks required just to et the things online for a brlef. heavily encrypted burst transmission, Renraku commercial semi-sutonomous nowbot designs have unde’gone intense re-cocing, and are now promoted with “special control features" For Companies nervous of sprouting an AI of their own, Furthermore, no one knows how long the Al has been tweaking tecords to sult Its own purposes, $0 Renraku has an army of auditors going back over all of ies major databanks anc comparing them to archive cepies— ‘manually. Thats right, folks, they don't trust searchbots because of Deus’ possible Interference, s0 they have to heck all the records by hand. All major pieces of coding, ‘Matix defenses and tansactions are being analyzed for anomalies and bugs. I's the worst computer nightmare since the Yeat 2000 mess. Regardless of Remvaku's problems, I want to remind everybody that 95 percent of Renraku is up and running at full capacity. 've overheard a lat oF investors who are ‘elting forthe corp t© collapse, and a Joc of shadowrun- ners who thine a strike on Renvale Is going to be a cake- walk now that the corp's distracted with Deus, Most of those investors will lose ther shirts and most of those run ‘ers will wind up clead, because Rerwaku may be urt, but it's not crippled. if anything, the comp Is more dangerous than ever because its back Is agelnst Ce wall ‘Okay. Now that I'm off my soanbox. lets get down to business. Fist, the basic facts: a little backgroune, Who runs the place, where the main offices are, what they do anc how to make a profit from Renreku Computer Systems ZB | Corporate Download WHEN ‘A comp this size has way too much history to cover in this post. 0 Il condense it Into the ultra-bref version Renraku got started as Keruba International, a Slovenia based miltary consortium that made a fortune in the wa Ike rst clecace of the tweniy-fist century. Ie muscled Its way Into the "Big Seven” megacomps. tcking off most of the other meges in the process, and stayed there until the Crash of '29. when the company founder died and the corp nearly went belly-up. Inazo Anekl, then a hot young corporate raider, took cut a huge loan and bought out Keruba through a holding company named Renraku, He was all ready to gut Keruba and sell off the parts, but for ‘reasons of his own he decided! to keep it, He moved Its headquarters home to Chiba. changed ts name to Renraku Computer Systems end installed himself a5 Presicent and CEO. During the 2030s, Renvaky was a key player In the ost-Crash rebullding of the global information network, which made the corp fat and happy. Unfortunately, a lot of key executives spent most of thelr me lining thelt own, Pockets while Aneki vas busy enjoying the trappings of Power. Anek! eventually woke up when a few top execu- tives tied to oust him; he managed to stay In power ancl decked to streamline the com. Since then, Renfaku has been a lean, powerful corporate machine—never a mar~ ket leader, but always in the top five, When Durkelzahn died in 2058, the dragon’s will mace former Fuchl security head Miles Lanler a major shareholder In Rensaku, Lanier let Fuchi under a cloud (or so it seemed), and helped Renraku strike back against his former employer. His inside Information, combinedt with an unprecedented serles of technological breakthroughs, ut Renraku in positon to. surpass Fuchi a the second most powerful corporation In the world (behind Saecet- Krupp, naturally). Then the Corporate Court got involved, Lanier turned out to be a spy for Fuchi's Viliers, Renraku’s technological edge evaporated, and an Al took over the cop's North American headquarters, The good news? When Fuchi collapsed, Shikei Nakatomi. took what remained of Fuchi Asia and joined up with Renraku—part |y for francial reasons, but mostly to get back at Richard Villers, the man who flagged up doth Fuchi and Renraku the latter via Miles Lanier WHERE RENRAKU COMPUTER SYSTEMS. Like most AAA parent companies, Renraku doesn’t do much other than sit there and own other companies, ‘The only actual employees of RCS are the highest-level Renraku executives, ‘helt pertonal staffs, dozens of lawyers and a legion of accountants who spend all thelr time determining what exactly RCS owns, what each of those other companies owns) what they want to own next. and how much all of it Is worth. Each of the four ‘visions described below Is Its own legal entity (wholly‘owned! by RCS, of course, incorporated in the countries where It does business. RENRAKU AMERICA ‘The premier top-leve! division, Renraku America cov- ‘ers both North and South America. Formed based out of the SCIRE arcology in Seattle, RA relocated its headcuar- ters to Manhattan after certain developments made It €r, Impractical to remain in the arc. Predictably, Ren‘aku ‘America got hit hardest by the arcology disaster, It lost its headquarters, largest single manulacturing facility, many ‘of Its top level executives, thousands of other employees and the backbone of its Matrix systems in a single night, However the division Is reculting heavily, and has ade! many new facilites anc expanded existing ones to com- ppensate for its losses, RA has been operating at a massive nancial 'oss since December of 2059, but it looks lke the bleeding is fnally beginning to slow down, ‘The livsional manager s Ds, Sherman Huang, who has had the words “brillant” and “eccentilc” appited to him so ‘many times that he might as well legally change his name to Include them, When it comes down to it, he's prabably the one response forthe A's creation and takeover RA's suidsitarles pretty much cover the spectrum, fhom Festival Foods (makers of Sloppy-Soy, Vitmoe, anc more of your favorite brands) to Architecttral Dyramles (office buldding developers extracrainalre, anc) AD also probably owne every mall you've ever been in) to Wis Firmware in Pueblo (producers of qualty network periph: erals,chip-reacers andl more). Major comorate facies exist In New York City, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los ‘Angeles, Dallas. Charioite, Kansas City. Philadelphia, Cleveland, Santiago and Buenes Aires, RENRAKU ASIA Renraku Asia was once the real heart of the compa: ny. Over the years, however, more and mote attention went to Reniaku America (possibly because Sherman Huang catered more f0 CEO Inazo Anek!’s pet projects), and Renaku Asia began to fall behind. With the antival of Shikel Nakatom fiom Fuchi, al tat has changed. Bulding fon his own substantial Aslan power base, Nakatom “encouraged” former divisional manager Tev Greenwalclt to take an early retirement, then replaced him with Surin Supachal, one of Nakatomi's personal yes-men, Renraku ‘Asia's now the biggest of Reniaku's regional divisions, at least in terms of financial value, ancl Nakatomn ft about {0 let anyone on the board of directors forget It. The aforementioned Supschal, a lifetime savarlman, \was formerly the head of Fuchi Asia's Bloenhancements Division. A puppet of Nakatomi who followed his boss faithfully Inthe transition from Fuch Supachal was a sur. pre choice over Nakatoml's daughter-in-law Noriko Sakal, who held the former fuch! Asia VP postion, Nalatomi was clspleased with Salal’s handling ofthe cor Porare war, Feeling that she had allowed too many fuchi Asia subsidiaries (0 be stripped away by comoetteors, Sakel has been relegated t0 President of Renraky China, Fear commana where she plots to regain her position from Supschal “while limiting Wuxing. Some well-known subsidiaries of Renraku Asia Include small arms manufacturers Ukimax aad Shin Chou Kyogo. Underwater Living (bullders of several undersea ‘kes in the Philippines) anc Wakatta Sofware, renowned for their data conversion and compression sultes. Major facies exist In Tokyo, Seoul, Chiba, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Madras and Taipei RENRAKU AUSTRALASIA Renraku Australasia spit off from Renvaku Asian the ‘early ‘50s, when the Asan division was at the peak of ts power. Some say Anek) wanted to keep ary single divi sion from becoming too powerful in orde! to minimize Infernal confict—which may be true, but there were sound economic teasons for the sepacation as well, Renraku Australasia is viewed 4s something of a “maver: Ick" division, which means it's slightly less conservative than the rest ofthe corp. When Renrait ruled the Matrix World In the late ‘50s, some of the company’s drek- hottest software and hardware came out of Australasia's fabs, That viell of innovation has since dried up, and Austialasia's computer techs have taken a back seat te heavy industrial development and impressive agricultural breakthroughs. Stil, the computer lab-boys are always ‘working on a thousand oddball products: 999 of them may wind up as recycle electrons, but that last project ‘might just shake the wor Lucy Bon is in her ninth year as dvielonal manager of Renraku Australasia, and some highly placed sources are Hinting that i¢ might be her last: She's apparently a distant relative (second cousin or something) of Lucas Don, one of the sults who helped Richard Villers stip Fuch bare, There doesn't seem to be any connection becvieen the 1wo—n0 fone has confirmed that they've ever even met—but that hasn't stopped Shikel Nakavom from making, her the main Internal target of hie antiViliers crusade, He's been after Lugy since he came on board at Reniaku, using everything, from subtle Innuendo to hired shadewsnoops, My sources fell me Lucy's geting ready 19 recre—not because she has anything to hide, but because she's fed up with tang NNaketorn’s drek. After spenciing her entre career Cawing her way up the male-dominated corporate ladder. she's about reay to hick back ant enjoy the goo Ife Renraku Australasia has its heaclquarters ty Sycney, and most ofthe division's mejor faclities are there as wel Other prominent sites inciucde Brisbane, Pett, Christchurch, Bender Seri Begawan (ls In Brunel, chum mers, iF that helps at all) ancl Honolulu. Most subsidies ‘concentrate on pure research ane sell thelr cesigns back the parent company. so you've probabiy never head of them, Three exceptions are the Austialan Develonment Cooperative (the ones who stltred up that whole hornets nest with the Aborigines back in '47), Genectak jan cay innovator In bioware). and Harland & Wolff Nautical | Designs, shipbullders co the tlch and famous.RENRAKU EUROPA Renrala Europa is pimarly comprised ofthe remnnans ‘of Keruba International, the ralltary congiomerate that inazo ‘neki buit into Renraku, The most corservative branch of a ‘conservative corp, RE. has dwindled in importance to the parent company over the past decade. The SCIRE disaster proved! something of a break for Renraku Europa, as i's {aken some attention off RE in board meetings and allowed them a chance to rebull, However, Europa is Feeling pres- sure from a new competitor Shiawase, whose presence in Europe has vastly expanded folowing the arrival of Kovin ‘Yamana fiom Fuchi Pan-Europe, Divisional manager Kal Stadt Is @ hard-nosed, bet tom-ne-oviented executive in the grand old twentieth century tradition, He's determined to bring Renraku Europa back to a prominent position in the corp hierarchy Ifitills him —and ifrecent reports about his heart cond tion are true, it might do just that, ‘Among RE's most recent acquistlons Ie Securtech International, a company that has made qulte an impact Providing Matic security and tacking. of computer cir Tas, Divisional offices recently moved to Munich (primary because Stack couldn't stand the anarchy of Bern); ocher prominent faciites exist in Yudjana that's in Siovena, fells), Teste, Amsterdam, Madi and Moscow. aes 8 © lint there o Rertoku Atica?” ebyery (Yes, ut fs 0 sub-avison of Renraku Europa, with ease guarier In Oranje-Viystact. Primary operations cre og cullire, pharmaceuticals. Desert Wars tranhg onc faa: ‘ing with Ares, Shiawase and Sk @ Shetani WHO (CEO INAZO ANEKI ‘former corporate pliate and current soctal philoso: ‘her Aneli is the man who created Renraku as.a heavily Indedted holcing company, made it into one oF the Big Ten and led It into (and cur of near-cisascer and near “supremacy. Shrew and savvy, he’s one ofthe few mega “arporate CEOs who Is also personally likable .. If you {get near him, Ancki took an indefinite leave of In eatly 2050, anc it anyone on Renahus board heard from him since, they aren't talking. Officially, és Misting mysterious Tibet, using a seal he inherited Dunkeizahn to pass beyond the country's hermett sealed (pun intenced) borders. Folks both in and oat ie of Reniahu ave begining to wonder if there's really ugh happening in Tibet to Keep Aneki occupied for a while his corporation isin ers 0 HARUHIKO “HARRY” NAKADA | Nalada has been Renraku's Chief Operations Orfcer twelve years, and Is currently acting as CEO a6 well selection of Nakada as acting CEO during nis leave of absence Jent credence to rumors that Nakada ls being ‘Sroomed as Anek!’s eventual successor: Navacla has been ‘tying te held clown the fort until Arekl returns, mostly by steering. straight ahead and avoiding significant policy changes: That may not last long, though; Anelé shows no signs of returning soon, and Nakada is feeling increasing, presiure from Shlkel Nakatom! to take a more aggresclve stance against the Al n the Seattle arcology and Renrahu's corporate rivals (most notably Richard Villers’ Novatech) Nakaca’s decision to send troops into the arcology seems to have bought him some time, but the reconquest ofthe building bogs cown or Novatech starts to pass Renraku in the technology race, Nakatorn! won't be the only bearel member trying to bring Nakaca down. CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD YUKIAKO WATANABE ‘Watanabe has a reputation asthe toughest woman in. Japanese business, and the current situation is putting her Hills (© the test, She and Inazo Aneki have long present- {eC12 solid front on major business decisions; with Ane‘! ‘out ofthe plcsure, Shikel Nakatom is targeting Watanabe as a weak link” While most of the board respects ‘Watanabe’s business acumen, most also remain uncom- fonable with the ea of a woman holding such a signl- cant potition, If Nakator’ can have her replaced as chalr- man before Anelt returns, be'll be in a much bester posl= tion to make a power play on Renrala's boatdl SHIKEY NAKATOMI ‘known as “the business butcher" during hls younger days, Nakatomi is a ruthlessly efficient businessman and a master of boardroom politics. His fther co-founded Fuch Industrial Electronics, andl Nakatomi sees Richard! Villers As the cause of Fuch'’s sefdestruction, Now that he has setted into. Rervaku's boardroom, Nakatomi is quietly forming a coalition of board members who likewise have ‘a bone to lel with Villers. Once he's sure he has enough ‘votes, Nekatoml Isexpected to dump Watanabe and have himself of one af his cohorts voted in as chairman, fand wher that happens, corporate actacks on Novatech will almost certainly increase dramatically © Pat of Nakatem's hatred towercs Vier may stem torn the foct Mat Villers they hag hisfothe” Klyoshiossosinaled, <2 Kiyoth wes opnosed to lating Vill buy into Fuch, Ot couse, Nekatom’ ight sill be serving in hs fcther’s shed ‘ow if Villers hasn't knocked hen eff uti unk ‘WHAT As ts namie implies, Renraku Computer Sytem has aways focusec onthe Mati, Harare research, software development, dain management, Iteriace cybervare— you name ft, Rnrak nasa least a dozen abs working on it somewhere. The corps tecnelogicl prowess reached 1 peak in ‘58 and ‘35, when Renal labs churned out Sleapulze afer gigapuise of revolutionary softeare and brececentshaiterng hardware They viruaby owned the Corporate Download |market for a year oF 50 and thelr cleckers seemed unstop- fable, on offense or defense. Ali that came toa sudden halt Inthe summer of 2059, when something went haywire in Renraku's Matrix systems. The com's defenses sprouted ‘gaping holes, Rerraku decke's floundered helplessly and half of Renrakv's techs couldn't even access thelt own sys: tems. No-one knows exactly what happened, though many People suspect the incident was an earty sign ofthe arrival ‘of the Al known ae Deus, Renvaku's computer divisions have begun rebuilding from that setback, but in the meantime the corp has had to rely heavily on some of Its other meneymakers Renraku remains fly strong in military technology, hear: kening back to its origins as arms conglomerate Keruiba International. Small arms are produced by SCK and leer Armaments, and Gaz-Niki and Biohm & Yess produce several military and security vehicles in addition to con sumer offerings. With the 2055 acquisition of Genecraft, Renraku became @ major player inthe world of cyber- and bHloware. Since then, the corp has taken over a numiber of fother significant blotecn firms. Agricultural research has also become a surprisingly profitable feld, primarily cue {0 spinoff discoveries from the Seattle arcology, under: ‘ater farms and the attempted “greening” of Ausirala's Great Victoria Desert. Renraku's weakest area is probably the aerospace Ingustry, though the aurival of Ganbare Aerospace (with Shikel Nakatom)) has boosted Renraku’s space operations fiom feeble to merely mediocre, Likewise, magical research has never been that important to Reneak, but ‘many suspect that that may change once Inazo Aneki returns from Tibet. LIFE INSIDE RENRAKU. Renraku follows the standard Jeparacorp procedure of encouraging lesime commitment from its employees. f favors arcologies a5 a way of cheaply and efficiently inte ‘tating the persoral lives of its workers with the corporate Fovtine. Such control eso allows them fo establsh Japanese ‘auiture as the dominant intercorp culture. Interestingly, religious worship is not encouraged, and Renraku has politely but steaciastly refused to allow Shinto shrines or Budchist temples to be established fr its terttory: several _BfoUDs of employees have established virtual shrines In Renraku Matrix hosts, but Renraku loses these down when It Bins them. Chidven anc young adults are thoroughly Incoctinated with Renraku propaganda through corporate ‘daycare, schooling. and. work programs. Renraku actively ‘encourages—perhaps to the polit of demancing—its ‘workers to get cyberware implants (typically datajacks and softinks) installed to increase thelr work potential, offering benefits fo employees who do, ‘© Renrakuis notably ax on testing is children and employ: ©8: for magical aptitude. You eculd spend your entre fe ‘ini the corp, neverknowng you had the Talent. © Tet BO | Corporate Download Japenese Is Renraku’s operating language, and cer- tain tracitional elements actively discourage the use of [English or other languages during ary business transac- tions. A large percentage of Renraku's Japanese employ- ces speek no other language, Classes and linguasofts are required for Rentaku citizens who do not speak japanese. Recis towards metahumars, oth personal and Insttutlonalized, 's stancarel within Renrales Like many Japanacorps, metahumans have litle chance of ssing above the lower management level, but the bulk ofits ‘manuel labor force Is erawn from reraliuman commun tes. Hate crimes are a frequent—and tolerated—occut: rence, espedelly towards any metahumans attempxing to dimb the company ladder. HOw ‘© Now we get 1o he part you realy want to know about, Fight? How do we rake money aff Rental, turn for er ‘against? That, my tens sc question others are better ‘qualified 10 ‘answer. As It heppens, one of then ha ‘agreed to discuss Mot very sue with us tocay Ms. Cassie Barnett wos once o member of a shad ‘owtunning team that worked exclusively for Renaku, That {ll chonged whan her foam war sont ireide the arcology ‘onal went up against Deus cones and subverted worrors. (Yeu.can 80d that fascinating story in detail the enraku ‘Arcology: Shutcown SIG.) Cassie's team got soughterec INerally. Only quick thinking ond no small amour’ of luck ‘llowed Caste to escape the orc with her if, Cnce she'd ‘ads it cukide, Renvoku goons intent on keeping secret the intel that Cassie had cathered tied fo lence her once ‘ond for al, Thonifull, they were ursuccesstu, Cassie is alve and well and ready to sack aut about what i's tke to work for Rerroku, Geven the clicumstanices Under which her employment wth Renraius ended, you'l forgive her if sre displays © certain bias cgalns! ine ooys ined, ‘© Coptiain Chaos Transmitted! 08 Mereh 2061 at 22:90:87 CesT) RUNNING FOR RENRAKIL by Cassie | gave Renaku ten years of my life, and what did | learn from the experience? That you can’t He In bed with Renraku for that long without geiting screwed in the enc, Wt comes with the territory: Objectively, you know that ‘when you sign on for the long haul. When the reality of the situation slaps you In the face, though, objectvity 1s the first thing to go. Renraku's shedownunning teams are tools to get the Job done, anc so both are expendable and renisceable ‘That's the way Its. Afterall, Rentaku doesn't even trust lts own employees, so you can hardly expect them to trust you, Ifyou want te work for any megacorp, remem: ber that. Don’t let your pride or ego lead you Into belie. Ing that you're something special, thet you actually mat- ferto the corp. That collar around yourneck may be madeOf gold, but I's sila collar. Forget that, and you'll get a fide awakening somewhere down the line. If you aren't Dtepared for It, you could pay for your ignorance with your Ife, So why work for Renaku at all? Well, has its pets. Fitofal, you get regular and steady employment, When you're working for a corporation as lage as Renraku, there's always something brewing that requires the ser ces of an anonymous ops team. Once you enter into Wichisve service, you don’t have to wory about where Your next jod is coming from. You lust have to worry ‘bout living to sce the next one, ‘Another perk is access to cyberware and to doctors ‘who ean implant it. State-of the-art medical facies beat the nell out of csreputable street clinics, You can go into Sugery and not worry about cyberware rejection after ara, or adout dishonest docs filing your bedly with heap of unrelable secondhand parts, Sometimes the ‘otporation even foots the bill for your mectcal expenses, though more often than not they take It ou of your pay, Which leads me to the last perk: better pay. If you Work for Renrahu long enough, they'l start paying you a Fegular salary lust to Keep you on retainer, Make the jump ffom getting paid for each contract to geting regular pay: ‘cls [ust Ike a comp wage slave, and you wor't ever 20 hungry again. It's a nice life ... while It asts. Rentaku has a signature method of scouting talent. The corp uses a special breed of Johnson, affectionately fefered to on the street as a digger (or Mr D), to set up fans against its own holdings. A digger has unusual lati fide Tor his position, For example, diggers have the authoty (which they use frequently) to set up real runs, In other vores, the Renraku subsidiay being hit doesn’t ecessarly know the run Is coming Makes the game ‘more realistic, and if afew Corp employees are Injured or Hiled—or Ifthe runners are injured or tilled —well, that’s Just factored Into the cost offing good help, Because Mr. D Is the ane who outlines the job and ‘supplies the Information, he is responsible for evaluating the team’s performance. Based on the level of displayed Talent ancl the report from Mr D, Rencaku decides Whether or not to offer the tearm an exclusive contract With the corporation. RINRAKU SECURITY ‘When it comes down to it. Rentalau security is seat- fered anc! haohazard. They train thelr standard! guards Wel, give ‘em good geat. and try to provide magical sup- or, Bue what really matters Is how important the site fs fo the Renraku hierarchy. Security at less important facll- fies may suffer from manpower shortages, equipment fares and other problems derived from neglect. Het shes wil be guarded, however, and ready 0 rock with arc runners. ‘As befits the corp, Matrix security is stil Its song, Point, especially given recent events, The Maitix Is also Rerratu’s primary intelligence source, and the corp has ‘Several Squads of deckers assigned to Matrix research, survelllance and penetration. Most recently, those deck ‘es have been seeking out data on the otaku, in particular those associated wih Deus. The Red Samural The run into the SCIRE a‘cology ended my iustious career with Renraku, Despite the corp’s best efforts, Deus thas held the arc for more than a year Judging from recent developments, however, it appears the Al is Rally loos fering its grip. Renraku troops have retaken the fst five floors, and it's only a matter of time before they manage {0 regain control of the reactors In the basement, Once they do, the Al will be finished © Sure, Unless the Al decider thet If I's going down, might as wel take Seattie wath t bung Corporate Download | #1RENRARU COMPUTER S¥YSTERS ‘Much of the credit for Renraku's gains can be lald at the booted feet of the Red Samurai. The Reds are Renraku’s cream of the crop, an ete group of sokiers and security specialists who are the very best in their respective flelds. The Red Sams include electronics and demolitions experts, combat mages and military strate- ‘gists. You can bet Red racticlans cracked! the arcology wal- rut, allowing Renfaku to cbtaln thar first (and most et- ‘all foothold on the ground Noors of the SCIRE, In some ather megacorps, 4 runner who serves fath- fully can expect a promotion Into the ranks of the corpo- ration's top security forces. Not so with Renraku. | never hast a chance of becoming a Red Sam, for two reasons. First, ust Rentaku does not and will not ever truse shad- ‘owrrunners. It doesn's matter how long you work for the corp. They'll never forget where you eame from, and that prevents you from hing the big time. You might ene! yp as a hired gun in Renas's mid-level seculty outfits, but you'll never be one of the Recs. ‘The second reason? There's no way to pur ths del. ‘caxely, 0 11 ust come out enc! say I: racial purty. Take a strol down my family tree and you'll find chat an inordl- hace number of my relatives have undergone gobliniza- tion I'm net an ork or a troll, but to the Red it amounes {0 the same thing If your past Is checkered enough, Rect Samurai recruiters bandy about phrases like "genetic imegity” anc “bloodline faulty” a they shake their heads and send you on your way’ ‘Tne end result, ofcourse, Is that Renraku hes a secu fity force as elitist as itis elite. The Red Samural are an furegant bunch. Not only ate they damned good at what they do. but they see themselves as warriors of purty and honor They believe thelr rigorous standards of racial Iicegrity somehow make them better than other fighting forces of equivalent skil. This cockiness js one ofthe Recs! collective weaknesses. and like all weaknesses it can be exploited. Red Samurai tears are frequenty overconi- lent. especlally in situations where they are averw/elm- ingly sure of success. ‘Another weakness of the Reds Is (you guessed it) the very raclal purity they believe makes them strong. Red Samural are excellent when brute force % called for Defensively they excel as bodyguards, and offensively they function well as hit squads. They fall own, howey- th espionage and subterfuge. The Red are racially ancl ethnically homogenous, 2 ratty in this modern polyglot ‘world, Most are japanese, and a majority are male. As far as sp!eS go, they don’t have alot of range to choose from, ‘One reason Renrakis has dealt so Ineffecrively with the (Ork Underground beneath the arcology, for example, is that no one among the Red Samurai ean pul off an infil tration—there’s not a Rec ork In sigh, ‘9 Fenrok has experimented wih elven mages hn the Reo Samurai | know it icunds odd, but reme Red scom to be fascinated with the Tirs evel otnence, olscpine and dury, G2 | Corporate Download | 13 exhibited by nek Polacins and Ghosts, And, In their rockst mines, elves aren't necrly a bad as the other metahurnan scum 80 they've picked out a few Tir exles ‘ond tied a tian them with Saeed philesophy hoping Jo obtain on uttmnate mage wartior, | guess. Of course, ‘hey have ne ideo what the hack they are talking cbout butts fun ro watch © Lone Wott Now let me acquaint you with some of the Rec Semura!s sirengihs, Fist and foremost, tie Reds ere wer ‘lors. You don’t want direct confrontation with a Red hit squad. A hie squad usually consists of a five-man team, bullt using technique known as everiapping, concentra tion, That means at feast {wo teem members share skills and speciaties, In the event that one of the two Is Inca pacitated, ¢ backup man can take over Allfive team members are usually tained in rnilitary tactics, and one is always « spellstinger, Rec) Semural reams are usually deployed in situations where stealth Is not a factor. Search and rescue missions. thet. Involve direct assault, mlltaxy operations and personal protection are all clomairs of the Reds. for mote subtle missions, Renraku usuelly turns to shacowrunning teams. ‘Whac truly distinguishes the Red Samural from other corporations’ security squads is their ability to function seauniessiy as ¢ unit—herdly surprising from a corporation whose very name, renraku, means communication and ‘connection, To understand how strong, the team bond Is, you reed to understand the process of becoming a Red. Potential cancidates are recruited from all age groups. Some come straight out of high schoo}, others are sent to become sama after clatinguishing, themselves through exemplary service to the corporation. All samutal candi dates are sent ro the Forge (in Japanese, kaererul la Chiba, where they train for two years. During the fist six months, the Instructors observe thelr puplls and determine each candidate's stiengths and weaknesses. It's their job t0 assess the studen's’ abilities anc decide In which branch Of the samurai each candidate will serve, At the six-month mark, the feeigling samurai are divided inte squads; they spend the next year and a ha learning, how fo function celfeciively as a team. The squad civisions persist past graduation. Red Samurai are rarely assignedt or reassigned (0 casks as incividuals: they get moved around 2s. groups. When {you go up against them, remember this. The samural on ‘the team know one another extremely well and! likely hhave more experience than you do at working with their teammates, They know how to cover for thelr mates deficiencies, and they won't hesitate to put their lives.on ‘the tine for heir comrades, That should give you some Kea of what to expect ‘when running for or against Kenraku. Try not to get your sel lilled,9 ‘{F08s the globe, the name Saeder-Krupp Is synonymous { ‘with the name Lofwyr—a great dragon who Is as well known and as mysterious as the megacomp that Is his per ‘tonal toy. Beyond the awe and mystique, most runners “Anow only that Saecer-Krupp (S-K) Is the “heavy industry” comp. ‘nines and exploits resources, and builds big, heavy mechan! Gldevices—boring diek compared to sick corps mote substareal Information ts cast aside; ever Je sireet adage, "Never deal with a dragon,” Most "smart" run- step back, not wanting to know more. $-K well deserves the lengenclered by Its reputation; itis currently the single most = ful comoration In the world—which means that smart run | can't afford to Ignore it ‘The following profile Is for these of you who want to know can give you my bona fides If you question the source of Information, but you should just trust me—Captaln Chaos es it helps put your mind at ease, | em a member of the auteburd policub, an organization that actively opposes the © and seeks to live as free fiom high technology as Is In this day anc age. We support other groups that can ompish things we can't take on ourselves, mostly pirates ane cells who directly frag with megacomorate Interests. Our vlon of being highly magical and possibly even toxic Is ite useful: oes it matter iF’ true? My personal Insight Into Saeder-Krupp's blz Is partly a result Ining ard working in Geemany. but mostly a testament to my te survive close conzace with the schemes of the world’s powerful corporate entity—and that’s not a boast, i's Just It's also a fact that S:K’s power structure Is more complex 1yoU might Imagine, and even a monolith this big has cracks: {can be exploked. Even before Lofwyr took over, Saeder-Krupp was a prime corp aheact ofthe tansnational pack. thie che racar in 2010, {3 man named Michel Belott ceized control of BMW and pewered It into place as Europe's premier Industral power ing its automotive focus, Belok restructured BMW, invegrat- ‘Munitions and Krupp Manufacturing, He aso established operations in Afiea and the Middle East. After Beloit dled vysierius drourrstances in 2032, his lever wife Wilhelmina it seized the reins, purging those who opposed her She | ihe company for ve year, taking, advantage of the devastation By the Euro-Wars to Feap new prefs, PS: re Vit Rta oN UH Ue World Headquarters: sn, Germany Psion, CEO and Chima of the Board: oy Corporate Stats: ite crportin ‘Mejor Shareholders Lob 1008) ‘MojorSobsidiares: Hey tdesiry arch BMW, Kap Nana, ug Spc tngrwe, Nery Hot tne rng aps, Rub Nex, Sour: Rares Dear Ning Und Processing Yuka Sse Ghemias: fatima Perham, Kruyp Chen Krupp Motions, Margur-Tk Gnbl, oe, Yoox Industral Cais portons f AG Cai Ecpa Finance: Gomerbonk, Dre fark, Uathin oor PC Mpa rt on Ts, wis Bok Capron Aerespae: Nesescid- Kawa, Oil yonni, SK hosp Computers/Rebotcs: Senenstixéo, Kopp Aube, Ws Inds Cecreni Magica! Resear: Tho Aco, Awakened Wk Aston, loreal eves, Selves Casartan Serve: Andgemated —Tedolgjits and Teleconmuricion, Ite, Robi Deaf, ‘ons! Conmorictins Entertainment: Aner Bookesing Savi, Angele Eston No Sconer hacl Mina elevated 5K to a new apex of power than Lofwyr walked! In, with 63 percent of the shares in his pocket. The wytm had spent ‘wo decades quietly accumulating control through various ‘companies, He'd joined the Councll of Princes ln Tr Tarn In 2036 (despite heavy protesis), and It he'd decided to come all the way out ofthe closet. He voted himself in as president. ousted Mina and eaicl ancl pullec! a management buyout. Mina actually hed the guts, or at least the rage, 9 strike back at ince. Lofwyr saw It coming before she'd finished her plans, and warned he:—also once. She took & nt vacetion and fll Into obscurity, taking the boost up to Zurich-Orbltal In 2050, Apfuryr swifly restructured the corp to meet his whims and embarked on a ruthless expansion campaign, de Kling buying war surplus from Russia and the Islamic rules, and he bought up the remnants of ropean Space Agency with his spare change. Lofwyr's primary agenda during this period was a “EuropeanRestoration.” an attempt to create a united, Industral Europe in the wake of the Euro-Wa's destuction. If he ‘could centralize European patil and economic author ly, the continent as @ whole would be easler for him 10 ‘manipulate from behind the scenes. Ths plan met virulent oppesition from policlubs whose members believed that Europe's cultures shoud remain dlstinct and non-homegenous. They saw a second European Community as merely a step toward assimilat- Ing Europeans into « per-corporate police state, with Europe's resources wide open for cofpoiate consump- tion. They ralled popular support and pursuec direct action that raised the social costs of such integration, eventually fling the Restoration and saving Europe from total corporate domination. © Nice spin, Felix Fist off, ompant xenophobia and prel- Lice kept the Restoration from uniting Europe as much % any organized” cpposition cid. Secondly. the Nachimachen and Revertants ond other polckbs that fought Lofwy’s Restorattan didn’t defeat itby pure sweat {and wilpower, Let's just say It tokes the 10 ght fe. Gretchen Unfortunately, Lofwyr was clever enough to extract victory from defeat. While Europe remained decentral: Ized, the surviving nation-states could barely contro’ their ‘own people, much less sustain the force needed 10 ware ff aggressive neighbors. With few exceptions, these ‘governments propped up thelr authority with easly negotiated corporate backing, Over time, the divided anc factionalized European states have sold pleces of thelr ‘Souls to Seemingly separate corporate concerns. With few ‘exceptions, those concerrs are Hec—eften through many shells—to 5-K, and they dance to Lofwyr's tune. As we ‘can now see, European nations have sacrificed thelr autonomy as the price of apparenty retaining It Postwar cries In Russia and the Islamic counitles precipitated similar events in those regions. Through S-K ‘and numerous Industrial powers indirectly linked to him, Lotwyr can exert considerable influence In almost every nation In Europe, Russia and the Middle East, For those who Delleve | am exaggerating S-K's might, check It out for yourself, Pay pariculaly cloge attention to the careers, of individuals such as Stanislaw Wlacek, Fahrouk Eshw and Josef Goldman. Their histories are mast Interesting, © Wiocey Is the Polish Mnétor of State, considered the Power behind the throne. He also nappens to be 0 “for- mer" Saccor Kiupp attorney. Eshw & the spiritual leader of {@ miant shite sect, according to MET 2000 reports, thet primary aims source it KnorrBrems9, 0 wholy owned SK subsidiary, Josef Gclernan was an aide to an intuentia momber of the Russan National Supreme Sovle. with no Connection 1o SK that could ng ar fst glance, He was ‘ossincted two doyt aftor ths flo wax posto. © ed wrotn [ee [eemente Bowriond | Saece'-Krupp seems to have survived the recent cor- porate war relatively unbloodied. Infact, S-K managed f© selze crucal elements of Fuchl Pan-Europs's dissolving templre. At least a dozen experts in computer science were intercepted during their transfer to Shiawase, and ‘now work diligently In S-K computer labs, However, 5-K's undiminished ‘status has mace it a. primary target for ‘megecorps seeking to regain lost strength, ORGANIZATION S-K's Internal structure Is constantly influx, as Lofwyr frequently rearranges the comp to facilitate his Byzantine pots and personal goals, The éragon Is infamous fer run fing the corp singjehandedly. S-K suits who want to stick around learn *© stay loyal, work hard and love micro: ‘management, or they're wyrm food. Ifnothing else, S-K's confusing hieiatchy makes It di fictt for enemies to deduce the comps’ weaknesses and its chain of commana, ‘much less gather meaningful intelligence. © Midiecton & SK's stondard operating procedure. ‘While certain civsionsseem to ovefap orhave recundent tasks, ether areos of operation seem to be Ignored alt ‘gener. Don't be Tooled. n most coses, such a gap mere: Iymeone that the 8:K subdiclory handling that otoa par ticulory well concealed, (@ The Ctromed Acccuntant It's all cbout dota cand sense ‘SAEDER-KRUPP PRIME Division Headt: Rolf Bremen ‘Office Headquarters: Essen, Northrhine Ruhr, German Alliance ‘The S-K Prime divislon deserves special attention as the cnly division with a static hierarchy and structure. It primarily acts as a watchdeg force and redundancy sys- {em for other 5:K divisions. For example, If S-K CAS fas behind! In production, ts personnel may find themselves feporting 10 S-K Prime North Amerca instead! of S-K Notth America, The majority of SK Prime sults are skilled at problem-solving, creating anc executing contingency plans and swift, merciless corporate restructuring. The [pool of expertise among management executives 1s elect, and! the division also features an above-average umber of think tanks end “pure research” teams. in elfect, SK Prime seems to be Saeder-Krupp's “fh squad, Internal police and future-analysis division all rolled Into one. §-K Prime personnel have significantly more taining, Influence and sway within the corp then your standard execs, PRIMARY BUSINESSES Saeder-Krupp’s center of power rests frmaly in Europe, but it also enjoys the largest megacorporate presence In the Middle East, Its African and Asian hold= ings are Important as wel, primary advancing. cheap exploitation of resources. S-K has a minimal public pres tence In the Americas, though Lofwyr is belleved to own:humerous holdings through layers of shell companies and other camouflage. Officially, S-K Is banned In Tie Talengite, California Free State, the Philippines ancl most NAN nations, in real~ ity. S-K Is everywhere. For example, most $-K operations. In Galfree are under the Angelic Entertainment urnbretla, which is nothing rmore than an S-X shel ® Banned from the Ti? n't Lotwyr on the Council of Prinees? What gives? © Crocked 8 That’sexactly why 8 hos no officio Tr holdings, As port of he compromise thot placed the wyim cn the Counc, $-K was barred trory opercting in tha Tht “Conflet of inter fet" was the argument wed, Ibaliove, © Black Knight HEAVY INDUSTRY Saeder-Krupp Is known as a heavy-Industry corp, but the significance of ths designation seems to escape most runners. Heavy Incustty makes all other industries poss\- ble. Without the power sources, manufacturing equip ment and raw resources in which S-K specializes, most other Industres could not finetion, As a result, SK has ctihcal leverage over numerous lesser corps because they rely on §-K monopolies. SK subsidies delve power from lust about every source imaginable: nuclear fusion reactors, geothermal plants, hyclioreleciric dams, even orbital solar collectors, Most of Europe and the Middle East gee thelr power from Seeder Krupp, dlrecily or indirectly. 5-K subsidiaries also produce engines, complex engineering components reactors and inclustrial electronks, Hundiedls of process Ing plants deal with water purfcation, recydling and waste processing. 5-K also manufactures just about every class of automotive device a rigger could dream cf “These industies exiract a heavy price from the envi- ronment. S-K is érectly responsible for creating innumer- able toxle zones, not to mention thelr role In general env ronmental degradation. If you're a fan of polluted water tables, smog acd rain, cancer and genetic defects, thank Lofwyr. Without S-K, Europe wouldn't be the toxic waste- land wwe know and loathe Corporate Download Ftingly, S-K dosen't lot contaminated real estate go to waste. Toxic zones throughout Europe and elsevihere serve as prime havens for secret S-K research facies Such locations benef rom thelr remoteness ancl the gen- pleasantness of their surroundings. With no threat of outbreaks or concerns for harming their neighbors, facilities inthe toxle zanes can experiment with weapons, Diotech, genetics, bwistec! maghcs and whatnot. The Ire dlated Saar Legislative Zone (SOX) between the German Alllance and france isan $-K favorite, © While al ths activity in tox areas might py plenty of employment oppertunitis for toxc shamane, officilly, K offers © bounty for foxle shamans, as co many Ofer corps. Unofficially, Latur very occasioncity tolerates thelr Inyclvement his atfats In order to aecomplah specie 0dls. Suipisngly, SK mages and tacht have became quite proficient ot decontaminetion—thoy Ger G Iot of experience ‘ith haaarcous materits ‘and hostile cirmares, They've pioneered soy. ‘eral ecological reclo- mation techniques: ‘act, rumor hos i thot S spontort on intiaton’ ‘group dedicated to dotoxng and astral cleansing through meta magic and the ure of certah spits ‘Apparentty even Lofwyr fealzes t's hard to make money when your biosphere edllaptes, © Gretchen ‘© Who needs a biosphere when you have an areclogy to vo In? SK wil moko sue its outs Have clean alt to breathe, but they'd ship-mine the planet if they thought ‘hey could get oway wath it © Deep Green ‘Toxic zones are not the only remote locations beloved by Lofwyr's corporation. In addition to several Arcilc end Antarctic instalations, S-K Is the only corp $0) far to have established functional lunar mining operations, ard It currently possesses as many orbital factories a [Aves has orbital habitats. Experiments with 2010-3 pro= cessing anc manufacturing have helped S-K develop sev- feral new compounds CHEMICALS SAK Is the world’s largest producer of consume: and Industrial chemical products, from plastic food containers and gasoline to sihart corrosives, pharmaceuticals and Pesticides. Ever since the collapse of the petrochery monopolies, S-K has claimed the most signieant corpo rate presence in the Middle East. sucking tp the last of the region's oll reserves. Many subsites active therehide their 5-K connections, to divert attention from rac cal factions who view any foreign power—much less one fun by a dragon—us anathema. 5-K faces strong competition in this arena from other European chemical giants, particularly Zeta-lmpChem, which also owns a significant perceniage of AG Chemie. NANCE S-K has been a dominant force in world banking for decades.” outstripaing even the Zurieh-Orbital Gemeinschaft Bank in scope anct assets, S-K's various financial subsidiaries cover almost every aspect of eorpo- fe finance: commortites brokerage, Insurance, ab fnge, futures trading. tax evasion and 0 on. The far~ reaching coverage of S's financial pordolios allows a smart wyrm lke Lofwy fo engage In copious insider tiad- ing with no one the wiser ‘A lge percentage of $-K's nancial transactions are conducted through clandestine tax havens, most conve- Aienthy owned by Lofwy: This allows S-K to cover its Inucks with ease, ane! makes it possible to misleed sncop- feswhen necessary. $-K handles most ofits financial deal- Ings through data torsmissons, anc 20 it banking div sons possess some of the densest encryption algonthms tac mest vicious IC known to men (or ragon). SK also excels In datatraffe analysis, use for fina Gil antyis and itetigence purposes. Amost every ahi fecural Matric gateway in Europe ether belongs to S-K ot Insecetly monitored by 5-K expert systems. In adliton to ‘etermining patterns and zeroing in on fnancal happen Ings that SK can exploit, most tele is filtered fo" key ‘wats icons oF coding that SX fines interesting. All pack: “athae get tagged ere sent to 5-K Prime for analysis: any ‘ing tly interesting gets funneled cltecty 0 Lofwyr Not chy Is some SK geek scannng your email Heloiaxes and comeals, but If you're Europe onc ‘hey've got your Mat connection flagged. they'titrace uis0 fest you toon wil spin. shockwave Sie AREAS SK fs continuously expanding its horizons, taking advantage offered to gain new ground. Especially ce the recent corporate war, S-K hae begun to challenge el megacorps from unexpected cfrections, Here's rundown of S-K's other mportant business ventures, Seeder-Krupp Is Ares" primary competitor in space, shows no signs of backing off From that competition ‘soon. In recent years, $-K has shifted its focus m mining andi energy exploitation toward habieat con: The corp has assigned larger bucgets t0 ts ue taining programs, and has also opened at leas! ew uncerwacer iain fecites. Ths Nurty of acti ed eeveral recent “feeler” runs between SK and espace corps Proteus, Ares and Yamavetsu S-K has a sophisticated sotellte flotila in-place, Inclucing everything fom spysats to commsats to solar- energy downlinks. Mast ofthe birds are used primatlly a3 listening pasts and tacking systems. I'S-K knows where fn the planet to look, ts sats can get zoom shots IR ples, fr scan the bar code en your license plate. ‘Currently, $-K contol all the former EC launch fact- ities. as well as the Tyuratam Space Centerin Kazakstan 5-K makes approximately one launch a week. Computers and Robotics S-K fared well ater Fuchs fall, acquiring former Fuchi afiliate Siemers-Nixclorf slong with other companies. An impottant subsidiary of the ECC Eurotronics consortium thac handles Macix programming and hardware controls, Siemens-Nixdorf puts 5:X closer to serious contention ‘with MCT ard Novatech In terms of product and lnflu- ‘ence. The Implications for the ECC have been immense: S- K is engaged in Invernal maneuvering to manipulate the consortium, anc several former ECC business. partners have backed! away from It (MCT and S-K ave already running neck and neck in developing, new robotics, as well as automated and femote-system industrial units. Eailler this year Saeder- Krupp revealed a new line of autonomous defense drones, nicknamed the Furies. S-K allegecly has secand- _generation units ready for production, and needs only t© Held-test the prototypes. Magical Research ‘Though magical goods and services don't make $k ‘fortune, the corp nonetheless has a budget for research Ind development that rivals Miesuhama’s. 5-K focuses on ualty rather than quanti: its few releases of spell for- rule, metamagleal techniques and enchanting, process: fs have been flaweessiy produced and amazingly strong sellers, The masking wads patented by Awakened Wotld Research, for example, were considered yeats aliead of thelr time, §-K also sponsors several dedicated initatory ‘groups, many of which focus on specific areas of applied ‘haumarurgy, The thoroughness of their raining and thele access fo arcane lore place them In a far higher class than ‘most ether corporate mages. ‘Though most Saeder-Krupp magicians are hermetic S.Kalbo employs.a surprising numberof shamans and idol ‘olowers. Many of mese specialize in conjuring, ant work heavy with spins, S-K also hae alzo made great leaps in paranormal-enimal research, primanly for secunty uses, Service Inthe realm of public services, §-K pioneered sever: al Information Age technologies and extrapolation tect- niques. The various S-K data service subsidies. are renowned for their Instant news-access capabilities as wel as their generally accurate predictions of trends. ATT In particular has a distinct hnack for acquiring, data archives immediately before they beceme important, Thecompany also possesses an Interesting collection of fully reconstructed. pre-Crash fils. SK specializes In this fel for one ciltical reason: Lofyr is an Info junk. The dragon receives direct feeds from all $-K data and news sources, and can instantly access.a vast number of databases. During Eurape’s post ‘war reconstruction, Lofwyr sank his (alons into almost every European state agency, anct he continues to main: taln deep connections to most nationa inteligence agen des. Much of Interpol also fell into S-K's hands, andl the comp has kept It allve and functioning under numerous uses. The most disturbing side effect of S-K’s control over these vast amounts of data Is its ability €0 shape new trends and plant fake data, These capebilites have enabled 5-K to effctently distract anc! mislead Its oppo: ‘nents on countless occasions, THE DRAGON'S CIRCLE Several people ate far more Important to Saeder Krupp than most shaclowrunners suspect—though none of them. of course, match up to the dagen CEO. LOFWYR, Being a High Prince of Tie Taimgire and running: & {tiple-A megacctp all by himself ought to take up a ot of Lofyr's time. As far as I can tel, Lofwyr has time to do both because he never sleeps—iieraly, Cerainiy his cher resporsiolities den’t keep him fiom becoming per: sonally involved with corporate doings when the situation ‘warrants It In fact, Lofwyr's personal visits have become a legendary bedtime spook tale among S-K execs, Lofwyr has a vaunted reputation s¢ a puppet:master, cand the dragon's gulle Is beyond dispute, When dealing ‘with SK, and with Lofwyr In particular, remember that he and his toy corporation only operate from a positon of strength, and that thelr true assets and influence often lle ‘concealed. Lofwyr's taste for vengeance and his patience In pursuing it are likewise legendary. In most cases, Lofwy's victims fll to apprectate the uncanny complex: [8B | Corporate Download | 'y owith which the cragon exacts his revenge: few recog: nize the extent of the measures taken to ensnare ther, Lofwyr has many and varied agendas, perhaps beyond the ken of mere mortal. His behincl-the-scenes movernents and activities betray some of his goals. how: ‘ever. He clearly seeks to bring all of Europe, and perhaps Russia and the Middle East, under his dominion, and is not far fiom doing s0, His power and influence in these regions Is subtle but pervasive, and he tolerates ite ‘opposition, Slowly and methodically, Saeder-Krupp ls ‘molcing, the political and economic landscapes of the regions Lofuryr covets, with frighteningly tle resistance, The Orwelian implications are staggering, and hopefully wil alert you to the danger Lotayt potes to us all © Feronoid drak Scader-viupe ie accumulating power jist Ike ony other corp, Just Because Lorwyr's a diagon aae8N't ‘mean he's rounding us all up #6 lato-cervury snoct. zed © Ferhaps not, but you woud co wel foheed Ihe danger Unike other camorate powsemongen, Lot's senso of time and scale extend much fuer than you ephemeral can aprectats. | recommend you take advantage of ou relatively shorsigntec view wnenever possible, Ancients Ike Lofivyr can be slow to react to quick developments © Orange Gueen According © recent observations, Lofwyr has been loosening his grip on S-K’s helm and directing much of his attention toward other, untevealed concerns. He sil directs S-K when necessary, but has recently allowed sev- ‘eal subordinates Increased autonomy In taking. care of business. This change has led to a subtle but definite shift In direction ane procedure for certain divisions, and has highlighted the concerns of some S-K execs that Lofuy's personal agendas ave leading the corp away from more profitable activities. Some executives have taken advan- tage ofthe dragon's recent inattention to redirect matters ‘more to their liking, So fa, Lotwyr has apparently decid- ec to tolerate these “independent” actions. SAIED BEY Division head of S-K Middle East, Saled Bey Is the personal friend of just about every Shiite and Sunni Islamic figurehead who might turn up in a Matix search: A social chameleon and skilled diplomat, Saled presents himself simultaneously as a devout follower of Allah's wil and 2 man who wishes to meld Islimle interests with the ‘ebb ancl low of the modern age. In his elegant istanbul demesne, he recelves constant reports on current affairs Inthe Arabic word; litte escapes his attention, whether a hot new black clinic in istanbul's back streets of a securl- {9 upgrade et an Aztechnology fact in Baghetad, Saied enjeys playing chess in the Maer with the lead- ‘5 of vaslous radical groups, from the fascist Grey Welves: to the fundamentalist had X. During these “socia! vis,” the players Invailably chat about the weather, pois andera i as ‘cccasioral black ops job—delcately negotiated with ble deniabilty in mind, of course. Saled prefers his tine deals neat, clean and comfortably distant, anc man wth his influence is rarely disappointed Recently, Saled has become mote vocal In expres: “Ng his concem to other S-K bigwigs that Lohwyr’s per Interests are proving detrimental to the corp, His “titidsm has merit, considering the gains S-K coulé have le by gobbling up more of Fuchi Par-Europa. during corp war rather than letting It fall Into. Shiawase's His redivection of certain initiatives toward pure making have considerable Internal support, but suspect It Is only @ matter of tlme before his boss Is hlm know he has overstepped his bounds, BREMEN [As head of K Prime, Rolf Bremen Is Lohuyrs right: man, A former MET 2000 mercenary tuned iRenbac Counc! wavord, Relf was recrulted by LoSxyr his uncanny ski at crisis management and damage ito. Rolf virtually lives In the Lear Cessna Platinum tl the uses fo globe-hop wherever Lofwyr may need In high-level S-K circles, Raff's appearance js almost fearec as Lofvyr's, He's been more active than usual In 3t years, unclertaking certain activities that the drag: formery handled personally. Late last yea, Bremen ped In on Ssled Bey to diecuse Saled's "concerns" regard t0 S-K's current direction, Though not unsym- ic Bremen made his position crystal-clear: whatev. Lofwyr wants, Lofwyr gets. Toho aso sicdow; some dwait| haven! been obie to Dallows hin everywhare. That dvort’s head & pure sll fhe piodaniy has enough processing power in there tere oe & Shodowland node. Very usotul fer making ain tactical decisons Guyer INE CARSTAIRS, ‘Aformer S-K Corporate Court justice, Carstalis hes an ing. past Once upon a time, as part of der machen pollclud, she followed the Dragonslayer ol Het fallures against Lofuyr turned her away from her pl and toward the dragon's service, Unquestionably jl since Jolning forces with Lofwyr, her dedication to Krupp borders on fanaticism. She currently heads ‘Asi. where she Is speatheacing an expansion plan H've.got intel thot says Carstors hos been even more ectve thar this clcims. Anyone want fe bet which PPG she secretly control? ‘An elf of striking appearance andi poise, Ciaucla 1s a inent gure in Europe's high society. Unknewn to ‘many, she serves as Saeder-Krupp's primary ambassador to national ang societal figureheacts. Her work is a mode! of discretion. Next 10 nothing Is lnown about her past, but more than a few observers have commented on her steiking resemblance to Nadje Davia ‘© Heie's another one fer you Seale Thé creature you con’? want to meet, 'm not com- pletely sure, but | tHirk t's an ally spi that con assume: Vatious forms: I've personally seen * asc min-cracoform, lf and feord-man Scale acts as Lotwyr's expedter and arccnal messenger fe shetori PROMINENT ENEMIES Like its fellow megacorps. Saeder-Krupp has many ‘enemies, corporate ancl oxherwse, Many of Ti Talngie's elven fictions vocally loathe Lafuyr and seek to thwart him at every turn, Surprisingly, High Prince Lugh Surehand is not among. these opponents. Despite the hhostlty of Surebaric's fellow elves, he and Lofwy! ceatly hhave a working ‘elationship. One wonders what element binds them together © Sirple Lugh needs backing fohold ik own against the ‘otha princes, expecially the échamng sch (end ray | gud incredibly powe-hungy) Jenna NiFaira. In retun, Lugh keeps the other elves off Lofwyr's back. @ Lone Gurman © Notting 50 cul-andt-tled, my tlenc Behind the favors ‘and suppert lesa tongled history of decal, vary and an am untulied, The princes do not squabble os your mogacorps do, but balance thelr conflict with patience, poety and passion, ‘8 The Laughing Man, © One thing | do krnow—thote's sofous bad blood between the wizwoim and Prince Athne Cokioret Cakforett sent Lotwr a “token of sympathy" offer Dunkelechn's death—some sort of statue, | mink. Lofwyr told the pxince he was cending it back, then dropped it SMACK nro the prince limo fiom aout 5.009 test, Neary flattened the prince’s son © Block Knignt Several environmental groups also hold $-K and its ‘overlord in low estee—only to be expected, consider- Ing the corps track record of eco-disaster, Over the years, Saedler-Krupo and its afliates have come under increased pressule fiom groups who oppose the corp's wanton environmental destruction and reekless ecological prac- tices, The Klabauterbund, Green Cells and others have staged numerocs successful actions against S-K polluters Jn Europe, Aftica and other regions where tonic devasta- ton has fueled! local support for ecological Issues. Corporate Download | BB© Quto a fow of those eco-celt have Amazonian back (ra. Lotwyr doesn't seem walliked by his fellow ‘Awakened beings © Deep Green Lotwyr's connections with other dragons, if any remain wellshrouded in secrecy. Hints of mutual hostili ty exist between Lofwyr and Hestaby. though no one has the slightest idea why. In Africa, Mujali the Rain Queen has sponsored several retaliatory actions against S-K facl- ities in an effort 10 curtall the megacorp's. rampant exploitation of the continent's resources, Mast other European cragons, such ae Schwarekoppe anc Nebelhert, keep a low profi in the face of Lofwyr's might © Such insight. yet lackng so mary signincart detals tell mo, Felix, oro your sources ftaternalin notre? © The Laughing Man In fe1ms of corporate oppostiion, $-K's primary com- Petition comes fiom MCT, Ares, Proteus and Zeta- ImpChem, 5-K also seems to stage a significant number of operations against Aztechnology, often with no apparent Airancia gain in mind. Aztechnology reciprocates, but 50 far has taken the worst of the clue ‘And! of course, no Ist of Lofwyr's enemies would be complete without the name of the woman fram whorn he stole the corporation that hes made him infamous: Wilhelmina Craff Beloit WILHELMINA GRAFT-BELOIT Nowacays, Mina Graif-Belol’s ruling passion Is her undying hatred for Lofwyr. She worked her way from “executive escort” (read: high-priced cal gi) fo heacing ‘up a megacorp through sheer ruthlessness and determi- nation, only to be cast out when Lofwyr arrived on the scene. Rumor has It that she's groomed her daughter, Anikka Beloit—a mejor figure in the Bavarian Peopye's Party—to exact revenge on the dragon should Mina cle before geiting her chance at payback, ‘The great dragon Dunklerahn added his two nuyen to the mix by bequeathing (© Mina several promissary fotes owed by numerous S-K subsidiaries, Mast of the notes ave for assets rather than nuyen anc they don't ‘mature untli 2065, which creates an interesting situation According to the contract that lets Mina live aboard Zurich Orbital, her assets revert 10 the Corporate Court when she dies, However, If se dies before the promisso- Ty notes mature, they transfer to her oldest living descen- sdant—none other than Dietrich Beloit, FO of Proteus AG. Dietich’s a bit of a shady charactet, ancl he's expressed ‘more than a litle Interest in the notes. However, the attempt on his Ife last month may mean that Mina favors ‘Ailsa a5 the benefice, {The notes! tue volue ley not in ruven (hough they rep- Fesent a considerable sum), butin the information they rec Med and the disuption of § activites cowed by Ihe 80 | Corporare Download bequest: SX naa kepr secret fs ownership of most of the ‘fected subslslros; Dunklezahn’s revelation of hove tes forced Lonwyr niohutied restucturingin order to avold fe ing certain etticel osiets: Needless to say, Mino reacted Immediately to use the ntomotion to her advantage, 18 Shockwave Sie WORKING FOR THE DRAGON Though keeping company with a great chagon might worry most people, & surprising number of S-K employ- ‘ees choose to live within $-K corporate terrorty, The most likely reason for this preference might be that S-K’s cor- porate facilites look Ike Islands of stably ina fragment €e\, chaotic world—particularly in the German Allance, S- K's primary home. Like every megacorp, 5-K provicies ‘housing, schooling. entertainment and all the amenities for ts comporate citizens. Ithas only afew arcologies, such a the imposing structure that houses its corporate head quarters In Essen (part of the Rhine-Ruhr Megaplex). Without exception, S-K enclaves are well protected and Isolated; Lofwyr knows the value of keeping outside infu: fences away from his employees, S-K appeats to Impose fewer “educational require: ‘ments” (read: pro-comp brainwashing) on Its citizens and children than other corps: apparently, Lofuyr sees value In employees who possess a certain amount of inkiative and a capable of Independent thinking, The competence of management professionals who receive $-K training Justis this strategy, though no one should ever assume that Saeder-Krupp demands less than total loyalty from its people. All corporate citlzens are evaluated for magical potential as early &s possible, anc those who prove gifted receive exceptional training, Interestingly, S-K has a presence in almost every so- called free state andl city on the planet. In Bertin, for example, S-K strongly lnvtuences clky polities, and also controls the primary airport. Inthe Free City of Kronstact, 5-K negotiated @ deal to support me city’s infrastructure in return for access to its naval shioyards. S-K also turns Up in CaiFiee, Denver and chroughout Africa and the Carlsbean, Lofwyr uses faclitles In thete regions 10 keep In close contact with the world’s shadow markets and communities, Except for usted operatives, however SK citizens posted to these places are subject € restrictions fon where they can travel and who they can hang with CORPORATE SECURITY (One word! sums up S-K security: formidable, Secrecy and unpredictablty eve the corp's Ast line of defense; finding an S-K facility can often be as challenging as breaking into it. Many S:K subsidiaries remain secret because they don't know what megacorp they belong to: the comp also uses decoy facilities ancl miskending Intell= _gence to protect its sites, All corporate personnel tecelve Vigorous backgrounc! checks and frequent psychological tests. Lofwyr also ensures the loyalty and discretion of certain key personnel through chemical clepencencies,igh the affected employees are usually unaware that ‘ae kept in check with carcerands 'SKrmaintains a large military force that goes through esert Wars training andl frequent, extended rnlltary cies, Individual units perlodkeally switch places with eilan security guards for cross-training. In practice, thls 6 that all S-K security guards have miliary training, d backgrounds. In general, S-K seculty personnel ere Jpped with conventional armor and. weapons: milspec 4) and other heavy weapons are stlctly confined to a’ military units. However, rapld-deployment mill. squads are placed near every $+K faclty In case ser repower Is necessary, Each security and miliary squad Indudes at least one ge or shaman. its mundane personnel are trained In Tints ancl uses of magic, and ean identify the sensa- jn that signifies an astral Intruder. S-K has always made of paradiologicals, and the corp continuously Intro new critters (or finds new uses for old ones), The ‘common pavanimals incluce sirens, hell hounds, ir wolves and birdmen. Many sites have securly slggets, and S-K has deve'- pel several new security cones. Security riggers are quently equipped with powerful transmitters that them to seize control of or jam attacking drones. ‘ccaslon, S-K has used "sprayer" diones to hose Inflation squads with a DMSO cocktal. 5K fggers ke to station a paste, sleattreauipped 12a in petmonent pestion over a facilty, the ste gots fit, the Conclor goes active: suddeniy the runners are fac- ‘hac eye in the sky thel’s pinpoltted their locators ara $629 12in down Indrect fee.en them from other drones. eager x SKnaslots of nasty ticks you won'tsee descibedhere. On my est run into an SK sta, my team was on the way pleptc fs, Luckly, we managed to diag one out: the ves a fal, end wa had 19 leave him Teo fragging focudge, win hi thrashing around tke that Me write Thanks to Lofwyr's micio-management. Saeder- spe keeps litle of value on the Matrix, The most poten ly profitable hosts to scope are the S-K Prime systems, most all of them are on dedicated PLIGs accessible Wy through teleporting SANs. S-K doesn’t fool aroun thts IC, either. The corp may not use the worst IC you'l hit, but the stuffs usually enough to slow you down. cre SK really gets ugly Is wlth trace IC, These hound be In the air over your doss before you jack out. Lofuyr has mace It standing policy to test S-K's Jenses, often hiring runners for set-up jobs. $-K also the value of secure communicatons, making fer use of ineremental encryption schemes and pparanatural communication tines (spirit messengers andi 30 on) DOING A DRAGON'S DIRTY WORK ‘Most runners who work fot §-K never recognize thelr real employer. 5-K aften hites shadowrunners through front groups, puppets oF indirect agents, It's standarc procedure to deceive denlabe assets and miscrect them fas to the corp’s true identity and goals, Most S-K Johnsons find this easy, as they often receive orders to sponsor rune that seem to have no rhyme or reason, That's what happens when you work for @ dragon whose goals are mysterious and who sees ramifications far beyond us short-lived folk. ‘The corp keeps track of runners it has employed, and a team’s record determines whether S-K ever uses Ic again, S-K places runners on retainer only if they have proved themselves (0 the corp several times, S-K Johnsons often stage runs specifically to "Beld-test” can- ‘cates; those who prove dependable get taken onboard. On the flip side, S-K also frequerely disposes of runners iho have outlived! thelr usefulness, or who have other- lke offended Lofwyr ‘Working for 5-K can be one ofthe frosilest set-ups « runner team could ask for. SK treats its professionals well, ‘and runners are no exception, Of couse, the corp also handles falure quickly, fRicertly and lethally 'S-K typically offers Its shadow employees a variety of payment options, including gear, services and Informa tion. The laster Is often more useful than many runners realize, though the data is generally planted to encourage specific actions or publicize certein developments. Invailably, paying runners in data serves S-K's purposes somewhere down the ine, © if you've ever gotten a job fiom © skag nerned Hans Brackhaur, he’s « Saader-krupp Johnion, no matter wnat metatype he i. © Maus (© Guest ogoh Bractihous is Lofuy. in various metchumon guises. © Trevor © Lot ime Brackhous hired me, he tuned out to be a Sriewose sur, The other corps picked up on the Brocthaus routine awhile Bock: now ney ure when they went smart runners ike YoU To inhnk they re workng for rhe win 9 Giitin © Grin, that’s exactly what Lolwyr wants you te thin © Drogonsiayer (© What'sin.o name? It me wwrm wants fo use YOU. Pe Wl Ptlod, Your bet! bet @ never to doa! wlth hin Fy the fist pace © NosonShiawase Worl! Headquarters: Ot, Jpen President/CEO: Toi Shove Chairman o the Board Sate Shiono Corporate Status: Ful Corporation Mejor Sharceldors: Stet Showa (13%) Tada Shows (11%) Seke Shouse (108) ol shove (10%) Kein Yarn (8) Rik Siowes Shimada 3%) Mejor Dv Shinwase Aomis Head OF: 76, OAS ‘Managing Directo: his Ke Shiewave Evkoteh ead Ofc: Oks, Jpan Managing Direct: Honus Shwe Shiewose Batch Head Off ly pan Managing Die: Foi Inportant Subsidies: bie, Dest Sem Seay, fh Snsese Sui, Hophoesus Tecndoyie, imparil Tech Serves Kuoyane Hiner, Res Gorton, Sones Aman, Stowe Hlh al efor, eter Har Sas ‘onbanwa, shigate ga nal | know Shlewase as my own farily: for most of my ie, there has been litle else. My parents gave their lives in ser. vice to thls zalbatsu, ancl until recently | followed In thelt footsteps. Shiawase has made me what | am. molded to me 10 At their interests, programmed me to follow thelr routine. But ‘ike all faites, Shiawase Is dysfunctional. and! many ofits eildren turn against i Shiawase is a household name, and thelr logo Is fomnipresent—on the plants that generate your power, on your ‘ly’ mass transit ancl garbage trucks, on the over-the-cotinter medicines in’ your bathrooms, ‘Desphe this, most would be shocked! to fear that Shiawase owns mote of the world than any’ ‘other corporations save Saeder-Krupp and Aztechnology (ar! the latte is stil under contention). The pubic eye has never lain long. fn Shiawase, ancl the corporation likes it that way, Even the aver: age shadowrunner knows litle about Shiawase. possibly fess than ‘any other megacorporation. It's a pity the reverse fs not true Shiawase was the frst megacomoration, anc Its identity Is Inextricably intertwined with its past, To werk for and against a corporation, you must understand tt—and to. understand Shiawase, you must know its history, ‘THE FAMILY MEGACORP The seeds of Shiawase Corporation an of today's megacor. porate world were town before the tum of the millennium, The {wo Shiawase Decisions, in 2000 and 2001. paved the way for the dystopian world we live in. The fst gave Shlawese the ight to run ‘private nuctear power facity: the second granted the corporation extrarerttoral status. Other large corporations swiftly exploted thls precedent. but Shiawase was the Fist true megacomporation— a distinction its leaders have never forgotten. Founded as a family enterprise during the post-World War Two reconstruction of Japan, Shiawase remains approximately 80 PPeteent controllec by the Shiawase dynasty. Until Emor Shiawase ‘assumed control in 1989, the corporation had been strugiing, to ‘maintain IGself in an increasingy dynamic economy. Within a decade, Emoti transformed the’ low-profile operation he had loherited Into an efficient international competitor. After the [Shiawase Decision of 2001, Emor''s shrewd management enabled Shiawase to capitalize on its unique posttion while lesser corpora tons remained mired in aur, trying to duplicate Shiawase's Feat, (© You'l never 866 this in the Guat shetts, but Sriawase bocetod ther frances by using thelr exhatertonalty on behatt of certain ‘iminal organizations (etatum fer wade of nuyon). Note mention the joy the comp trough fo millons by daboling in “recreationcl ‘hormaceutical." © Jus! Johnny {9 Shiowate ciso exploited extrajemotly by founcing is Envltotech GIvsion to Pick up the lucrative mar kel forhnazardous waste disposal. The Yertiotol amendments of 2028 came at a blow 19 Shiawaxe becauseSHIAWASE CORPORRTION they forced the cerp to wony about pottiion beyond its borders Aftor that. the Envitstach asian hod to star I hg up to ts name, o Fletch “Can | interest you Ina prme piece of Shiawase foumionet?” Emon! died of a heart attack in 2019, weavied by the changes that the return of magic had wrought in. the ‘world. A succession of undistinguished family members followed him. none of them sufficiently brillant or suf cenit Incompetent to markedly fect the corp's fortunes. © UGE ana gobinizaticn lett no family unscaried. ond the Shewasa dynasty wat no exception The current chat man's fist child was declared stibor In 2012. and his younget brother wat lost soen the righ’ before everyone gobinzed. Can we say “infanticide” and “hraticiae * boys end ite? © Bice Shiawase suffered no worse than its contemporaries from the Crash of '20: in fher, the corp's relance on ser- vices and tangible products provided a butter against the rippling effects of the world's massive data loss. The conservative bent of corporate management at the time Stilecl Shiawase's recovery, however, and the corporation lost ground throughout the 2030s to its upstart compet tors. It had patented fusion reactor technology in 2027, which allowed It (© suivive the setbacks of the “30s despite pedestrian management The cuirent chairmen, Sadato Shiawase, served as ‘Managing Director of Shiawase Atomics during the 2030s and eventually rode that dvision’s success into power as Chaliman of the Board. Sadaro used his new authority to found the Market Information and Forecasting Department (MIFD). ostensibly as a defense against Ferewec! espionage attempts by rival megacorperations, ©The MFO &c mojor player In Shiawase’ s Ivemnalpottics, thonks fo the dviion's conte of Information-gatheting ‘ond manipurotion. 1's the core $ nexusfor corperate intel ligence: MFD tochs are matters of analyzing data ond ‘applying it wherever psychologically (anc commeiciaty) sett, The dlision is ite. Sodata's peroneal watchdog, ond pervades the corporote stucture. Lots of MED ‘agents werk in other Shiaware dlvsions, though known ‘speratives don't have mary tiencs. © Metropole Sadato's move to the chaltmanship had other reper cussions as well Relations becween Sadato and his elcer sister Soko, always chilly. reached a new low in 2040, when Sadato orderec! Soko's lance apprehended on sus- Dicion of espionage. The suspicion proved: unfounded and Soko responded by dispatching hired assassins to il her brother. Her first attempt fallec a subsequent one claimed their younger brother Ryol and ensured that the family feud would live on, ®© Solo’s reaction is undersiondable when you consicer ‘at they pumpedioverboy fullol th crugs anctwent to fewn on him with a Shiawase special mind probe, MIFD inteogations are never pleasant. He’s.alve, but sill eatoy fonio—probeby permanent ein Lizie © Fach assassination attempt grow more desperate, unt Soko aranged for c tuehalr explosive to destroy the tors ‘hee floors ef Shiowoee Atomics’ rerrodeled corporate: heoelquarter: n Son Francisco. Sacisto wos the target. but he'd sent Ryol fo the opening ceremony instead. The: blast turned yal and 237 onlockers into ai fine red mist @ Torch With the dawn of a new decade, Shiawase has made ¢ bold move reminiscent of Emon Shiawase’ feign—the acquisition of Fuchi Pan-Europa during the tecent corporate reshuffle. it remains to be seen Whether the comoration has overextended itself. and how Ic will consolidate Its new position as te world's third-largest megacorporation GROWING UP IN SHIAWASE ‘As the oldest corporation, Shiawase has had the longest time to engender a corporate culture, most Shiawase employees believe deeply In the “corporate famly.” and can scarcely conceive of life outside it, major percentage of employees have signed lifetime con- tracts, gving up all to become pat of the zaloateu family In my experience, the enclave where | ved Was all knew 45.a chil its residents my extended relations, This is the ‘norm among Shlawase's chilcren, In practice, this means that many emplayees keep close tabs with those they. have lived and worked with, even when one Is transterred to another division oF locale, Shiawase runs a comp-wide mentoring program for ‘sified children, which I was privileged to join The corpo- ration tests all children of Its employees betore schooling begins. seeking such talents as decctive or empathic ability, spatial awareness of magical potential thet Shiawase can exploit for its benelit. Every child takes lessons in Japanese etiquette and language; those who achleve high marks In these areas are considered for the ‘more prestigious International postings as adults, {© About 10 percent of Shiawase kids have mentors, nance ‘Bicked ftom the employee pool end usually sites in the. ‘rea for wnich the child shows an aptitude, the mentors ct as @ secondary famly for the chic, querontooing a pro-Shiowose environment ‘© Neon Flowerfoo mary metonurnan kids get meniors. of couse. Fen one troll in the envira program. ond that's she Dumed down her conco with a fke-staring ago vo. too powerful an essat to waste, ah ace-amily sentiment uns stiong_ inmost enclaves. For example, “family members” are <0 marty within the corporation to avold “con: ‘of famillal interest." The company goes to some Joensure that its depenclents find suitable mates, ating and social services from a very young age. ing wiih the cop kaers the “iomly" nice and Jord gives Shiawase several levers to use on you. shexhoctions from Shiawase red fun, 120, en Flower The company aise takes a keen interest in the perfor: ‘Of al employees. children; parents can expect bonuses i their children perform well in exarns ane {0 the model attitude, Cram colleges are the throughout high school, with truncated or non-exis- ‘summer breaks, | left the corporation after high _greduation—the hardest thing | have ever done. | yn my family, my fiends and the only world | Shiswace wae safe, comfortable ... and ultimately 1 did not start clive until nact left Shiawase far The following are brief profiles of the most prominent sof Shlawase's board of directors. All of them are to be reckoned with 0 SHIAWASE. “Hed of the Shiawase dan ane current Chairmen of Jad, Sadato is imperious and traditional-minded, but 4 charismatic andl relatively popular leader. He con the board through proxies from many ofthe family’s 3 sharcholvers and through his close ies co che MID. Though his son Tadashi runs Shiawase's day-to-day ions, Sadavo sets corporate policy and planning, of Shiawase’s ant-metahuman policies, for exam tem from Sadato's personal prejudice against eis of « traditlonalst than his father, Tadashi has a Mand calculating soul, He runs Shiawase with sharp ncy, rely allowing, sentiment t0 affect his dec! Though not excessively harsh, no cne would jbe him ae warm ot likable. No one dovbis his comn- Dut his fencency coward caution has rased few ings that he lacks alr and incight Tadashi (s married, but his family plays virtually no in bie corporate iif His elghteen year-old daughter | has ploved something of an embarrassment. S'MAWASE CORPORATION engaging In wilder ond wikler escapades seemingly aimed at getting her father's attention. @ Hier. curtanty na fast-track college technoloay pro: ‘gram, appears to have recentty undergone © remarkable Hronstormaton Into a dedicated end layal Shiawase asiet, Hor father seems sotified tnat she's setied cown, no doubt she'll be elven a prestigious assonment when, she graduates. © Mateo Polo © Sho pushed herd fo get info her cunent coune at MIT&M—Dody apparent didn’t want te let her our of Ne ght. She's busy making oll kinds of tends ond con facts, and is popular with ner classmates, © Academe SOKO SHIAWASE. ‘Soko controls the other major power bloc within Shiawase Her bitterness at being passed over in the ‘dynastic succession has only been exacerbaied by the Lunwilingness of the rest of the family to trust her man: ‘agement capabilities. Though her daughters (and occa: sionally Tadashi) vote with her. she does not personally control enough proxies to pass motions, let alone oust Sédato from power. RYO! SHIAWASE Despite being, ten years cleceased, Ryo! often. con: trols the balance of power on the board. In one of thelr fare agreements, both senior Shiowases concurred that Ryol's consciousness lingers despite the cspersion of his ppysicel body. The boars therefore voted to override his ‘will n whieh he left his shares to his daughter, anc Keep him 8.4 board member. The family then sought a way to communicate with Ryo's ghost 9 line's tealy.0 ghost. Ryo's Goals aren’ likely fo be the same as tnowe of a ving corporate exec, He sams to be staerng the boaro in hs Gan cliection, but ro one nas yet worked out what that is; many of the cecisions he’s lf fenced seem totaly unconnected. They could be natt of some master pion, or ust the dijoited celusions of some: Cone who refutes to ole @ Tomine “All 100 easy © Dead? | know Heh aeepie ore wad but that's jst freaky, How Go they claim to tolk to ner? © Kevlar © Here's how Jeni Howord As the moutholece of Ryols spitt, Atianta-bosad nedium Jer Howard effectively contro's Sniowase CComexotion: Pressuredin opocstte crectiors by Soko ana sadato, Howard corstantiy walks 0 precarous line, she's dalng quite wai! for a nebody—sorseone (parhons 2a) Comorate Donnioad | BSSHIAWASE CORPORRTION has boon tutoring her behind the scenes in political machinations, She's managed to consolldcte a degree of personel powe! among the shareholders, playing on thelr sympathy for Ryol and errohasting his presence as armoderating Influsnce In Sadcto and Soko's Ite feud © Shaloko (© Maybe Ryal’s for rea and he's sticking oround to olve Fs older aster some payoack hon 0 1'¥e ssen citi sequence ot he: In the act of “channel Ing. She's an albino, ong she puts ns wnole Three-see: ‘onc convuling act, almost getting some color in her kh Then she ccs he a good-natured, younger sopanese suit, which Is almost @ comedic matterpiece, Sxe remnds me of © 1wo-ol! comival foke | knew, Used To con nouse~ wives outia thelr nuyen. If Howerd's her, | guest ve founcl tne best scam n town! OG 0 she's not a feo, the found! © way te yank Ryo ehh, 8 Giovanni MITSUKO SHIAWASE-YAMANA ‘Mitsuko, holder of fess than | percent of Shiawase, ts Soko’s youngest daughter and VP of Shiawase Envirotech in the Philippines. So far she has protected corporat Interests there with cedieasion and innovation, making, the lives of local pirates and rebes utter hell She recent ly received assisiance In this endeavor—ewo platoons of ‘ex-fuch troops, courtesy of new husband Korin Yamana, Mitsuko appreciates her Independence, far trom HQ and her fractious family, ancl is slowly sollfying het own le He Intra-corporate empire, KORIN YAMANA The ex-head of Fucht Pan-Europa, Karin” Yamana, brought « sizable chunk of Fuchi's essets as his dowry, and received a large number of Shiawace shares in exchange. © Congitioncl: natural. on his sgnihg the votng rights over fo his new wile for several years Of coune, Mitsuko always votes Mommy's way. which leaves Sodato pre= Coriousy balanced He needs to retain control over al his ‘major proxies to Keep hi sta culvored, 1 Neon Flower ‘Yamana now hovds a seat on the board and presides primarily over the Integration of Fuchi’s European esses Ino Shiawase’s empire. Ninety years old and tired, he may be growing weary of power-bralering, and is said to be considering retirement. © He's managec 10 make nrrseit ess than popular witnn Sricware aeady, mostly by aeciaent, The morrioge-git of Stiawoxe snares he received naa to come frern some BB Comporate Downioad where—Shiawase isusd anolher slock sores, luting Ine value of presently held shares Mott board membars retained their equily by purchasing from the new ksue, but many sharehelcers lost out © Bexpectacie {© Te mariage of Kotn and Mitsuko was purely economy le: they have ho love for each other and spend no time: Together, mough they do respect each other's copabi- ties If Yarmone decides to tet to Zurch-Orbtal, though, hs shares wil go to Me Corporate Court when he dies. Inctoad of te Mitsuks. These chares may be eiucial to her {utute power on the board, and she won't lal them go without @ fight Link REIKO SHIAWASE-SHIMADA Twenty-five-year-old Reo ie the only child of the deceased Ryol, and stands to Inhent his 10 percent stake In Shiawase ifhis existence ceases. Currently, she controls less than 3 percent. She's not happy that her father etus- 5 to pass on entirely, and is particulary at oclds with Jer Howard, Vindictive and emotional, Relko is prone to tem: er tantrums despite her age. Her husband, Ryo) Shimaca, recently moved to Europe (perhaps in search of domestic tranquility) as 2 senior executive for VMS! European department Reiko wielcls power of her own—she ié a vice presi dent within Shiawase Atomics and holes a substantial bbloc of Shiawase voting stock left to her by her mather Fickle and unpredictable, she has refused to sign over her proxies, and votes for whichever board faction ie current ly in her favor. So fay, she has proved sufficiently canny to avoid offending any faction enough to. watrant her Femovel, and her furure within Shiawase appeats bright. © Reko & sureptiiouty searching for @ way to remove Ryo's presence (mostly through magical means). # he stock revers fo het, she't own more svares man any other ‘ingle shereholder. Sadato in perticulars eyeing her warly © Tamno “All too eazy!” © Affimotory on thot magica! bi She"s been doing some huste-hush nosng around MagiciNet, and someone's been taling to a lo of conjuring experts, 9 Acageme CORPORATE STRUCTURE Shiawase is orgenized elivstonally rather than reglonsl- ly, leading © a clffuse corporate infrastructure. The corpova- tion's main divisions are Shiewase Atomics, Shiawase Envirotech and Shiawase Biotech. Aside from its care inter- fests, Shiawase prefers to conduct business through 54> sidlaries. Though usually wholly owned, the subsidiaries ace allowed a flr degree of independence in their operations, and Shiawase’s ownership is rarely acknowledged. In pat- ticula, Shiawase operares most of fs pollutig industiies at{as length so that thelr activites do not adversely affect “avase's reoctation as an ecological vor The dlvisons themselves ate selFconiahned, exch ing sub-cvisions and susiclaies that alow them © everthing themselves, from constructing their own Kings to managing thet own resources to mania: thelr own products. Because oftheir separetion and fact that Stiawase’s board its is divided, divisions endl up even competing with each other unt the realizes there‘ a problem and resolves it IASE. ATOMICS ging Directon Christopher Keratsu This prominent division supplies nuclear power to the the cemnanis of Eastern Russia ard the Southeast Basn. shawase Atomics also bulls custom nuclear fuson plants for lage vehides and spacecraft. SA ‘much of ts raw uranium from several large reserves Australia It currently holds an exclusive contract withthe allan Government, g\vng SA mining, ignts to the i's largest urarium deposit at Olympic Dam, They also are eyeing the “untapped” markets in them Africa, India and even South America, SA and ele-Krupp have been stepping on eacn others” toes now and each time there might be some lind of et, one of them pulls out. B Siowcse Atomics Is keen to re-expard into Eurcpe— forthe clsostious mettcown in 2011, # was cheaper to feclae burkuptcy In Europe than to poy for the . The thought of on untapped market maker (0F0 the tote responelto for tho Glew City reactor Redmond Barens. Have you SEEN the size of the 108 tho mutant rats eround there? @ production of biological agents and mystical research, and has tecenily expanded into breeding and training paranormal animals. Italo conducts efforts to repair environmental damage caused! by Its subsiatates, such as reforestation projects, land enrichment and £0 on. ‘Mamoru Shiawase was an acaclemic researcher with ro expertence in high-level management when the marr: aging directorship fell into hls lap. He appears to be foun: dering somewhat: most likely his family loyaltles rather then competence eared bim this high-status post. © The previous MD of Shiawae Envrotecn, Marko Kiyoncbu, recently diag in a TeraFte!l attack at the oper: Ing cererony of a hazardous waste:processng faci In Noth Attica, Marka had notable “intaredts” in verlour envionmentel organizations, rd may well have tun afoul of mutey ecoterrerit polis. ‘© Neon Flower ‘SHIAWASE BIOTECH ‘Managing Director: Etsu Powicke This major division covers bloware and cybernetics evelopment, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and services, and genetic manipulation ofall kinds, Etsu used (0 be a cybertechnician himself: n fact, he was the model ‘ofa mad scientist. Years ago his superiors deemed it best (0 give him a desk jod before he dit something ugly, ever realizing that he would excel in crestive manage. iment as well. Now he has the authority to sponsor and fund his crazy scence projects, which are increasingly becoming a dain on this elvision's resources © One of Ehu's pet projects & creating a vaccine for cer tain strands of HMHVV. For a long period he hae! Tadeshi ‘Shiawase hinself erriioled In unciertang some secre te fleld experiments, but It doesn't sem or If the vac: ire actually works. © Grd Reaper {This diviion ako deois In nexeoties ane BTLe—though | woukin'! rust the chips, ven shlaware’s preaiection for pycnotiopic reprogramming, © Lady Jestyr Corporate Download | OF |SHIAWASE CORPORATION © Saciato and Scke both keep a close watch on Shiawase Blotech $ gerontological research. It they can’t ‘murder each other they can maybe cutive each other, © Marco Pots ‘© Biotech runs Humana Hosta! h Seat, which heluces A ptivate cyber-cine. Local runes ted fo the corp can ‘expect fo be offered payment in cutting-edge ‘were. fe Hacksaw SUBSIDIARIES, Like the other megacomps, Shiawase provably has hundreds of subsidiaes, but only a percentage of them aie public and worth noting here, Each of these operates outside of the big three divisions, Arborttech EO: James Elders 1) Atboritech is a recently formed subsidiary, wholly ‘owed by Shiawase Envirotech, It embraced mos: of Shlawase’s non-miring primary praduction and related lnclustries, including farming, aquaculture, logging, agi cultural research and related endeavors, Hephaestus Technologies CEO: Kim Su Yun This subsidiary handles heavy Industry. Ie stands 10 benefit greatly from the ‘ecent acquisition of Fuch's European assets. which give Hephaestus an entirely new market along with an established distibusion network and corporate infastructure. CEO Kim Su Yun, an innovative Korean, brought great success to several Incustral Corpo rations before Shiawase snapped him up with a lucrative offer Hephaestus Technologies is heavily Involved in chemical, production anc research, manufacturing. anc) Industrial services and utilities Imperial Tech Services CLO; Sanyo Ohara ‘This conglomerate is Shlawase's main interface with the Japanese government. Through i, they hole a legion of service contracts, trom, Imperial Navy shipyard repair 10 national defense electronics support (© refitting the Emperor's motor pool. On occasion, Shiawase has used this subsidiary to attach observers to miltary operations, and has obtained use of imperial Marine facilies. for “raining purposes. ‘CEO Onara was previously Yemana’s VP of Fuchi Pan- Europa. He scored his post at Imperial Tech thanks 10 his Drevious military experience: the CEO before-him was a orp war casuatty, killed in a “random attack" on his ples sure yacht by Filpino pirates. Kuroyama Minerals President Era Thyssen ‘Shiawase Envirotech owns approximately 70 percent of Kuroyama Minerals and controls an acidtional 10 per BB | Comorate Download cent of proxy votes; the remaining 20 percent belongs to vatious investment houses. Kuroyama oversees Shiawese's mining operations and the processing of raw materials (apart from uranium mining, which ie jealously _guarded by Shlawase Atomics) ‘Shlawase Armaments, Inc. ‘Managing Director: Unknown This division, secenily spun off as a subsidiary of Shiawase Atomics, retains public afliation with Shiawase proper. SAI develops, produces and distributes al of Shlawase's military and arms-related products. and ser vices, including the Shlawase shipyards and naval forces, ‘The primary impetus for the incorporation of Shiawace Armaments was the acquisition of Fuchi Pan-Europa's mil lary assets, These gave Shiawase forthe ist time a major contingent of miliary personnel and the necessaty main tenance and command infrastructure, as well as expanding the com's existing production ane! distribution facies, © Most people tguie Korn Yamone js at the hel. ‘though no claging by me or my Matric chummers have found anything lirkhg, the company to him, Whomevsr Tuns ths ship has the id sealed tight, Tha former Fuchi forces owe persond loyty to Yoana. so ther negia- tion into Shiowase’s corporate command structure needs careful hancting (© Neon Flower Vector Matrix Services CEO: Nigel Coltrane This corporation sprang 10 prominence with the amalgamation of former Fuchi resources, acquiring, overnight a range of Matrix service provision contracts across Europe, as well as bleeding -ecge systems analysts, software and hardware design houses and a range of father SOTA computer-related industties. VMS contracts Its services out for Matrix enforcement and protection, Internally and to ether comorations. Nigel Coltrane, pre- viously a computer secutlty executive in Shiawase HQ management. new runs a major business aseat that ls cur: rently shaky, but that may become a serious player inthe computer industry, SHIAWASE TODAY Shiawase's Fuchl acquisition precipitaed a massive corporate reorganization, 10 Integrate Fuchi Pan-Europa’s regional structure into Shiawase’s divisional model, Korln Yarnana currertly presides over a huge management reshulfle, working with various managing. directors. to implement changes, Needless 10 say, several heads are ‘alling in a loyalty purge engineered by the MIDs. Shiawase ' filing this power vacuum mosty throug incernal pro- ‘motions fom existing divisions, which has dumpeci los of spare talent into the job market among them several dis- _gruntlec! manage's sified out of thelr pet postions. ‘The merger of Yamana's assets into the corporate Portfolio gave Shiawase a strong presence In Europe.SHIRWASE CORPORATION Many European comps, pasticlaly Saeder-Krupp, view. however, Shiawase remains overectended after ts Fach “this evelopment with a wary eye. The sudcen acquisi- Purchase, with a load of deot and new acquisitions to ton of Pan-Europa's Infastructure makes Shiawase < Integrate Novatech, for pat, I stl a minor megacorp, ‘Potentially serious competitor in heavy industry, chemi- and so any confrontations in the near future are likely to Gals, biotechnology and agiicuture—all elds that be mere posturing ‘Secler-Krupp regarded as its exclusive playground pror Bp the Fuchi Shiawase meiger. The situation has raised @ To acto the chaln, Shawato fe lcoting to dives et of Fersions between Shiawase and Saecer-Krupp, though no fofresential holdings Ake sao" locks thay amorg cise Tec confonavions have yet occured. Tuchi's assets. auch at consumer goods, fhencialrardees,rikcry Fach fave iso beefed Up Shiawase’s presence In simsense nology and a ange o! uninteresting form: Fuch Nak. ftietainment, consumer goods and high-end electron: © Nuyen Nek [e.formeny the corporation's least developed eles. Relations with Renraky ray be a afferent mater “y mowase ster fom envrenched crogance cbout Shite Nakatoml, Foch’ omer former partner, vince Gs 0: the fl! exrotonitorol com. Because tz cctors tive by nature and embitered by the cllapse of his fam 3 the way for today's megacorporate word, ty’s company. For te moment, however, Renraks i s- xe rometeres eck Mo F expects tne other corpe acted by the recent Seattie arcology shutdown andthe wich tends 9 offend & oF ofthe other megos, company's acquisition ofFuch Asta. Nakatomsinuence eds, shewrate execs are 080 Irordinataly pfoud ver Rerwak's future agenda remains to be seen Shiawase Is curently okg to Increase fs biotech strength by acquling Unversal Omnitech. Shiawase executives have made several hostile moves agains. ‘Omitech in recent years though action appears to have Shiowase's power sugges tend 19 De hlemal Ike me BEEN put on hold since the later company Johed the id between Soko ond Sacoto. They also tend to focus Pacific Prosperity Group. Personal power wih the comp rather than tha corp's Ws Greco. roctealy speaking, there's bi walt 9 for Joe Sracownunney, but the focus oo Job may wel afer, The serir Shiawase, bier has mougr Ihe? ‘won't ve on oufstsor power af Shicwasa’s expersa 9 0'e points over each other peor flowor © No Kalding. Eves Seg Ik Careful about tangirg with this bunch of comps, Se fa. the Maaysian Independent Bank has been shering up UniOmn agolnst Shiawaso’s predations—but who knows for how long? © Bespectacie ‘THE 411—MAKING NUYEN FROM SHIAWASE Brcwore 1ci0s 0 ong view, and divson heads plan os Whether you work. for or against Shiawase Silo the (uure 08 Pose, This means they play ther ComPorason, understand thatthe MIFD controls everything, Res clio to the chest Thoy ako don't tend to moke IEA Remembering this may save your life someday. moves, leaving the “visionary” role 70 more ynOmic, fimeeteromenen cic tienda cok ct frtizcus corporations Only thelr exccliont intoli. they love to follow standard operating procedures, do not atherna resources keep them up with the game, _2PProve of improvisation and frequently come across to See sheciowrunners as hidebound anc upkight. Shacovrunning, ‘opportunites for the corp tend (0 be run-of-the-mill, though Johnsons with closer tes to the MIFD are often more Innovative. If you know you're working, for Shlawase, you can judge how close you Johnscn isto the [MID by assessing the tasks you ave given. If you receive complete and accurate information or the object of the run is somewhat unusual, then the MIED is probably backing ‘your Johnson quite a bit. do you explain the recent aequiion of one-third then? 0 Poo f90 good 6 deal to pass up, | guess. Nick Fuchi's dissolution and partial absorption by have strained Shiawase’s relations with other erations as well. Novatech maintains a particularly truce; with Fuchi gone and a year past, Yarnana Is ‘© The WIFD makes working tor Shiowase a two-edged sword. Ifyou get gcod information end support fom your Johnson, proveby means ne’s more capatie of trag- Benger obliged to Keep tis hands off Novatecy GG YOU os wol, compared with Jonnsors unbelovedl by ding tecrive festures ached in. These features are also an ‘optional package for all new mocels (2061) of GM and Ares vehicles that are nat designated for military or secu rity work. The stanclard “smartcar” package adds 50 per: ‘cent to the vehicle's cost, These vehicles can he consid ‘ered SOTA ecivancements I using state ofthe art rues (p. ‘84, SRComp) [Al smactcav vehicles have the following features “Two points of standard armor. A Rating 5 anti-theft system (p. 141, Rigger 2) eon sisting of an alphanumetic keypad and fingerprint scanner, The system also Includes an automatic-call Rating 4 PanicBution (p. 293, $R3) that can be act vated on demand (by pressing the button or clearly speaking a keyphrase) and that includes a tracking device (p. 291, SR). Once activated, the vehicle Is Considered as it it was in a Lone Star Security Rating ‘A Zone for law enforcement response (see p. 11 New Seatie). In areas where Knignt Errant has & presence, the PanicButton can be rigged to alert Knight Erant instead for a 1,000¥ monthly fee. Knight Errant will respond as ifthe vehicle is Rating. ‘AA, and wil bil the cient accordingly for security services cendered, Ifthe PanieButton is triggered in aZ-Lone area, Ic wil be Ignored, These bulitin features do not impact Load, Cargo or any other vehicle attribute since the vehides were “Yedesigned to include these options USING AZTECHNOLOGY Depending on who you ask, Artechnology is either the most loved oF the most hatec! corporation on the planet. Public-relation manipulation, extreme paranola and a dfve to establish a new Aztec Empire are hallmacks ‘of Aztechnclogy, as most runners know. But to the pub lc at lage, Aztechnology Is a respect- ‘ed producer of consumer goods, joc and Jane Chizen continue to eat Nuke “em burgers with no quaims or worries. RUNNING FOR AZTECHNOLOGY ‘Working for Aztechnology means never really knowing that you work for Aatechnology. The comp knows Its shadow reputation and knows that It's much easter to convince runners that they're working for someone else. Many times, its agents will make a run sound asift's against Aztechnology to balt the hook Due to the factonalized board, sometimes i actualy Is. Personal Agendas ‘As a whole, Astechnology le seeing to spread is concept of Aztec culture across the world. However, the board rarely agrees upon a specific plan of action, each boare member has their own Kleas for Implementing, ‘Aztechnology's goals—and thelr own as well. Usually a bow member wil simply take macters into their own hands, acting according (© their own agenda as long a= no one opposes them. For example, from the ‘20s to the "Os, the board used economic and rnlitary aggression 10 expand Aztlan’s borders, untl lack of support from the NAN and conflict with Amazonia and the Corporate Court forced it to settle down. In the '50s, Oscuro Implement- ed an aggressive plan to use blood magic to bring on the next phase of the woild, one in which Aztechnology would rule. He filled, and Domingo Chavez usurped the board, sending many Oscure supporters to the Yucatan and pushing forward his own plans. Meanwhile, other boarel members continue to pur ‘ue their own agendas. often conflicting with each other, AAs the full extent of the board's membership Is hidcen, ‘many of these movements ate unforeseen, In fact, mary suspect that Chavez Is himself not truly in control of the board, but that an unknown shadowy player pulls the ‘stings, allowing some board members to take the lead, but manipulating all of them toward unknown goals. Hiring Runners ‘Aztechnology almost never direcily employs shad- ‘ownunners, Runness ate instead hired through one of Aztechnclogy’s myriad of holeing, shell or subsiclay com panies (none of which are easly connected to the comp). ‘Aztechnology pays well, usually better (125 to 150 percent) than the recommended fees, Depending on the front company being used, the runners may be offered ‘consumer goods or services from the company’s product base for up to 50 percent of the fee. These can Include free meals, etectronics or even vacatlons—fust about any- thing insteaa! of nuyen, “The Big A uses runners for almost all standard oper- atiens, with the exception of assassinations—Leopard Guards and blood mages handle those jobs. Corporate Download | 12%WORKING AGAINST AZTECHNOLOGY None of the other megacorps like Aztechnology, and they utllze the full aay of shaciow ops aganst the Big A Aatech subsicavies are usually somewhat autonomous and ‘out ofthe loop; Ifthe runners are after hardcore paydata, ‘they'll likely have to make a run on a main Aatech site, possibly even into Azitan ise: In many cases, runs against Aztechnology itself (not Its subsidiaries} will be given a pay scale of double or even tiple the usual amount. ‘Antechnology Corporate Security AACS Is both a security sevice and miltwy. The lower ranks of ACS troops are aclequately-trained, but they generally lack experienes, imagination and do not adapt quickly. Aztechnotogy ‘compensates for these ‘weaknesses with superior Brepower, ACS troops wil generally be carrying gear a notch above what fs neces- sary for the ob. As NPCS, teat ACS soldiers and police «5 Inferor and Sem/Tiained: police unlts are likey to have several cyberware Imolants. ACS guards rate as Equal anc Trained, and! most wil have Gyberware and Bioware. and possibly even anchored of quickened spells. ACS commanders should be one NPC Retin high- er than thelr toons. AACS tanks Include more Awakened than most other security outits, Including a surprising qumber of shamans following Aztec totems. Awakened ACS troops are bet- tertaned and neverflelded as mere grunts, though they re well integrated In guard units (at lest one Awakened chuaracter per seven guards|. As NPCs, they should be ‘considered Equal and Trained. Leopard and Jaguar Guards, Leopard and Jaguar Guard units are the elite troops of ACS. Leopard Guarels are the highest security at all sites outside of Aztlan. Jaguar Guards maintain security on the main Aztian headquarters in Tenochiitian and other high secunty sites found in Aztlan, Both types of units adhere to a wartior's code they have derived from anclent ‘Aztec piactices, They prefer to capture opponents when Possible (for sacrifice ater), and wil go to great lengths to hnunt down enemies. Some Jaguar guards have gone so far as to request demotion 59 they could pursue a foe in foreign lands. Leopard Guards should be considered Equal or Superior and Professional. They wil be equipped with qualty eyberware, bioware and magical protection, and will heve spedalized weapons training, At least one out of every five will be Awskened: a high percentage of ‘Awakened Leoparc Guards are adept, Jaguar Guards are rated as Superior and Professional, and will cary top-of-the-line Implants and gear Matits Securty Inan actual Aztechnology node, the fist trigger alert wil usually bing an ACS decker (Equal and Professional NPC). Other alerts may biing more deckers, as well as white and gray IC In peripheral systems or exclusively Corporate Download black in core systems. The third trigger Is almost always, the activation of trace IC. ‘When not on node duty. ACS deckers actively search ‘the Matrix—especially Shaclowland and other hosts fre quented by tunners—for ‘les and queries about Aztechrology. When a character searcies the Matrix for Information on Aztechnology, make an Aztechnology Intelligence Test see p. 125) with a Target Number of 6 plus the player's Computer Skil. Any successes means an ACS decker has picked up on the query. The ACS Tesponse ' up to the GM, though the standard reaction to attempe to trace the character and capture/interrogate his meat boa. Blood Mages With the rise of Domingo Chavez and the fall of ‘Ocuro, blood mages tave lost much of thelr support and privilege. They stil remain, though they sre less public and active; some are in hiding while others have main- tained their positions of power within Aztechnology by siding with Chavez. They are primarily used for religious functions, ritual sorcery, terture and assassination, Blood ‘mages should be initiates (minimum Grade 8) and are rated as Professional and either Superior or Superhuman, VJ g a ete er USING CROSS Cross Applled Technologies knows it's small fish ‘compared to the big sharks on the Corporate Court. They have survived and thrived so far by the shill of two savvy veterans: Lucien Cross and Leonaré Aurellus, These two operate as If they are lavolved Ina Cold War rather than ‘megacorporate business. RUNNING FOR CROSS CATCo's shadow ops are surgical strikes! detelled, time sensitive and precise. In nearly all cases CATCo has someone on the Inside, setting things up for the run Seraphim agencs are often in so ceep that CATCO wi hire runners to extract them. in such eases, the other corp may never realize the extractee was a spy, and the method In which they were originally turned of infltrat- ect ill wemain secre, Personal Agendas ‘Asa corporation CATCo has one enemy: Ares Macrotechnology. With the assistance of Leonard ‘Aurelius and well-placed Seraphim. it has been able to precict Knight's etiacks ane parry them. Knight Is aware Of this. and has begun to work more and more outside of the Ares structure to counter ICross’ personal agercla is to see his corp survive and, ‘grow as a AAA. He's recognized Aurelius’ expertise in this area, and has begun to rely cn it heavily. despite ppesition to Aurellus trom others on the board, On Aurelius’ advice, ne has recently begun approving risky land aggressive actions against weaker Novatech, with the _goal of using assets taken from Novatech against Ares. Cross has also strengthened tes with Aztechnology in ‘order to ensure a noncompetitive marketplace for their _goecs, and 10 combine some ane-Ares efforts, ‘The Seraphim are at a crossroads—a significant fac- tion feel betrayed by the Inclusion of Aurelius, and the fhee reign he (and is operatives) have been given. Some Seraphim have defied orders and are investigating ways (of deraiting Aurelius. These rogues have also opened ‘channels with anti-Aurelius board members, undermining. ‘Gross’ contol of the Seraphim, and possibly lacing to a future internal struggle, Aurelius continues his efforts to prove his dedication and value to CATCo, primarily through hounding, Ares and expanding Cross Global Development, The lack of faith andl open hostility shown by some CATCo leaders is beginning to get to. him, however, and he’s more than ‘wiling t0 fight back if provoked, ring Runners the pas, operations that requited Hresse or conf dental were hanced by the Seraphim, and the less de icate jobs were haved cut to shatoymunners, Even jobs cate gros stir ines creed Oma haament Iminuze deal by CATCD, an inners were expected f0 Pay by the game plan ele f the rans ado deck ofthe own, CATCO Usual assigned « company decker te anacow the team sometimes openly, sometimes nt at Insurance, Runners were. ever sven cons. hough temtimes they were recited by the Seraph “hese standards st apply, Tous AUTEN. fas begin iachanae treromstnty: Under sear more and more os ave given to runner teams (at sancard ay pocteaae wu benvin tral snsieirerel tines turedon retainer are typical paki with a Mile esi 612,500f a orth {,000¥, modied by tel experience fa win bonuses for fei Jos, They may alse choose to take thelr pay in CATCo products, especially sofware Runners hited by CATCO. are often asked to. go through a debtefing, vo CATCo cam exact anyother use {ul fo out of tem. CATCo also encourages runners (0 Il sny datastores they come actos. and offer pur ‘Gase any extra paydata (or other loot that may have Imeligence valve} runners pick up. even paying extra fo TF 1-3 times the normal value) on occasion. WORKING AGAINST CROSS To the otver megacorps, CATCo Is an upstart with {government backing and delusions of granceur. It pro- ‘duces: quality prochicts, however, and Is less influential ‘and easer co pick on. Since ascending 10 te Court, CCATCo has Increasingly been a target of shadowrune by ‘other megacorps. Ares frequently sponsors runs against Gross, often at double or triple the usual ates. Physical Securlty All CATCo facilites have at least one security decker and one security rigger on cluty at all times, Security sys ‘tems, components and personnel are carefully negated and designed for compatbilty To CATCo. information is more Important than body ‘count; non-lethal but incapacitating wearsons and secutt ty measures ate commonplace. In some cases, runners vil be “tagged” and then allowed to escape, so they may be followed back to their employer Security personnel tend to be lightly armed and amered, but very well-