The Electric Archipelago (WIP)

Appendix B: The Megacorporations

The New Way

Sometime around the turn of the century the capitalist part of the world found itself in a situation where a few corporations controlled the vast majority of business. Over the years, mergers, bankruptcies, anti-trust actions, and rebranding changed the names of the megacorporations. But it seems that it is the natural state of things that the economy is whittled down to a handful of companies.

The modern iteration of this condition is constructed around a piece of legislation. This was the law that would confirm the legality of corporate social credit programs. The new law was passed as a response to a court case that ruled against a corporation that had been sued for implementing one of these programs.

During a board meeting one CEO would famously answer the objections of his PR head, "This is the new way, get used to it."

This new way would create an entirely new dynamic between the consumer and the business. In the past, the customer was always right. Now, the company would dictate to the customer what behavior was and wasn't acceptable. The corporation would act as a kind of secondary government.

The new way's defenders would point out that people respond to incentives; they were merely using incentives to help people make positive choices. Corporations had been doing that sort of thing for a long time now, this really wasn't anything new. And besides, people needed to be controlled, wasn't it better that a company do it in a soft manner, rather than a government use force?

The problem with this line of thinking is that each corporation has a different and often completely incompatible worldview. How can they say that they are helping people act right when they can't agree on how they should go about acting right?

Regardless of the logic, morality, or practicality of the new way, it is universal. When given the right to implement a system of control the megacorporations took full advantage of the opportunity. Numerus polls and studies have shown that there is a demand for a company that lacks a social credit system; it is estimated that as much as thirty percent of the population would switch to such a service. In spite of this fact, there are currently no exceptions to the new way.

Alpha Prime

The origins of this corporation may very well be the strangest out of the bunch. This is especially true when we look at what the business has evolved into.

A social media star created his own fashion line aimed at male youth, called Young Alpha. This venture was widely mocked when it first launched. It was still mocked when the star reached his thirtieth birthday, but it out of pure jealousy, Young Alpha was now a major clothing manufacture.

The star cut his detractors off at the pass. A few weeks before his thirtieth he made an announcement, "I may not be so Young anymore, but I'm still an Alpha Prime," this was immediately followed by the news that the corporation had changed its name.

Over the next few years the company would expand into other areas. The founder would tragically pass away before hitting forty. He was killed while helping to move injured sailors from a damaged navy destroyer onto his private yacht.

Alpha Prime refused to die with its creator. The company continued to grow until it found itself at the top.

During the 20s the university system would come close to completely collapsing. A variety of reform initiatives were tried. One such effort was the rejection of Critical Theory aka Social Justice. One major university would go so far as to embrace traditionalism, Alpha Prime would recruit very heavily from this institution. Many of these hires would go on to reach the very top of the company's ranks.

The standards of behavior for an Alpha Prime member are traditional and conservative. Homosexuality is strictly forbidden. Masturbation and sex outside of marriage will result in a loss of social credit. Promotion of traditional values and conservative ideals will earn the member social credit. The company is against extreme body modifications. People that were gestated in artificial wombs are forbidden from joining.