Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
Evil Mastermind
Apr 28, 2008

Sorry about the long delay. Long chapter + busy means delays.

The storm has a name... - Let's Read TORG


Part 12c: Exciting new business opportunities!



Oops, turns out I was wrong last time; this is the longest chapter in the book. At least it's about the realm itself, where the PCs actually go. So that's something, anyway!

The most important thing you need to remember about the Nippon Tech realm is this: none of the good guys know it's there yet. Where the other High Lords came down with bridges made of trees or light or corpses dropping out of holes in the sky, 3327 drops his bridges inside specially hulled-out skyscrapers. The reality of Marketplace is so similar to that of Core Earth Japan that the only real outward sign of the change is that the economy is booming, businesses are doing better, technology is advancing a little faster, and 15-hour workdays are becoming the norm.

That's not to say it's been an easy ride to hide the realm's existence. The other High Lords know, of course, but so far it's not in their best interests to reveal his existence just yet, and besides it's not like they could hold a press conference or something. There's also the problem of the reality storms that exist around the borders of every realm; 3327 has reduced the possibility drain of his stelae to minimize the power of the storms as much as possible and blames what's left on the proximity of Orrorsh.

So far, it's working. The other governments of the world are too busy trying to deal with the obvious invaders to pay much attention to Japan, and on top of that Japan has had to step up as a world financial and technological power now that North America and most of Europe are out of commission. That's not to say people haven't noticed all these corporate mergers all over the place, or the rise of the Kanawa Corporation, but there's no hard evidence that Ryuchi Kanawa (3327's Core Earth identity) is doing anything really illegal. There's some suspicion that he's a High Lord sympathizer, but as of yet nobody suspects the truth.

(Just to skip ahead in the timeline, it'd be about three years before anyone realized that Nippon Tech was there and that Ryuchi Kanawa was a Possiblity Raider.)

The other sign of Marketplace's invasion is the thick fog that now hangs over the land, the side-effect of the low Magic and Spiritual axioms I talked about back in the first Nippon Tech post. The Kanawa Corporation has stated that this is a harmless side-effect of a process that derives power from sea water, and since the Kanawa Corporation controls all the major media and news outlets in Japan this is being heavily downplayed in the news.

The aftereffects of the invasion as a little harder to hush up. The higher technology brought over from Marketplace has given the Japanese manufactuing industry a shot in the arm, and has caused a sharp spike in most industries. When corporate expansion began to encroach onto Japan's already dwindling agricultural spaces, there were protests as land became scarce and food prices began to skyrocket.

quote:

The tremendous development of the countryside sparked some protests, all of which were ignored by Japanese officials, thanks to 3327's successful efforts at bribery and intimidation of various government officials. Pointing out the loss in employment and tax revenues Japan would suffer should his firms decide to relocate to another country, 3327 was able to win concessions from the government that virtually erased all the environmental regulations put in place over the last 20 years. Ministers who supported his positions were given either a monetary expression of gratitude or a stock tip they could benefit from. Those who resisted his entreaties often fell victim to what the Kanawa-controlled Tokyo Shimbum called "the rampant climate of lawlessness in our cities."

Of course, between the industrial expansion, higher technology, and overlaying reality, pollution has begun to rise sharply. Even outside the major cities, the air and water quality has gotten to the point where people don't go outside unless they have to. Of course, Kanawa subsidiares are taking advantage of this by selling air filter masks and new shop-from-home systems.

The arrival of the Laws of Profit and Intrigue has caused the crime and poverty rates in Japan to reach an all-time high. The widening gap between the haves and have-nots has caused an increase in the homeless population due to people losing their jobs or being unable to afford to live anywhere else. Not helping matters is 3327's attempts to stamp out Storm Knights in his territory, which leads to huge shootouts between the Knights and corporate security forces that result in a lot of property damage and innocent bloodshed. What's worse; the population is just getting used to this as "the way things are now".

Basically Japan is currently in a slow decline that's leading it to becoming just another "subsidiary" of Marketplace, but the decline is being maintained at such a slow, subtle pace, nobody's going to notice anything until it's too late.


The Nippon Tech realms, about three months after the initial invasion.

3327 has two bridges in play: one in Osaka as part of the initial invasion and one in Sacramento, California that he set up a few months later after Baruk Kaah was driven out of that part of America. He did try to drop a bridge in Hong Kong, but was stopped by a force of Storm Knights.

The next section is about the Japanese Government, and is mostly factual information about how the government is set up because, again, this is the pre-Wikipedia era and it wasn't as easy to look up a simple summary.

The main reason we get a page of info on how the Japanese government is set up is because we need to know how 3327 is controlling it. He's doing it primarily through the Diet, first through bribing officials and eventually by putting his own operatives in office. Three months after the invasion, 3327 effectively controls about half of the House of Representatives and a little under half of the House of Councilors. It's not enough control to pass legislation whenever he wants, but it's enough to block any laws he doesn't like the sound of or push laws through to advance his agendas. The main examples of this are the removal of most environmental regulations, and the "Boom Law", which gave corporations sweeping tax cuts to spur growth and put the financial burden on social and civil programs.

Again, nothing like real life.

It should be pointed out that 3327 has (as of yet) not attempted to replace the current Prime Minister. He knows that would be to noticable a move, so this highest-placed Kanawa operative in the government is the Foreign Minister.

3327 has had little restraint when it comes to the judicial branch of government, though. He's been spreading money around, and the corruption rate among the regional magistrates has tripled in a little under a year. 3327 also has two supreme court justices under his thumb, and has MarSec agents infiltrating police forces throughout Hong Kong.

Technially speaking, the top level of government is Emperor Akihito, but the fact of the matter is that he's seen as more of a symbol than anything else. Still, he's realized that, even with the multiversal invasion going on, some strange things are happening in Japan. He's working with a group called the Rauru Block to try and sieze control of the Diet back from whoever's controlling it.

The next few sections are about the various locations controlled or directly threatened by 3327, and starts with Tokyo.

Tokyo is the largest city in Japan, and has been hit the hardest by 3327's arrival. The sudden industrial boom caused an influx of over 2 million people seeking work, which has caused a severe housing shortage (especially since 3327 has had most of the city's public housing torn down and has defunded social programs). Not only has this caused a marked increase in the homeless and crime rates, it also helps keep the blue-collar workers under the control of the corporations. After all, if you don't like your job there's literally thousands of people ready to replace you, and then it's you living on the street.



The current population of Tokyo is 11 million, but the unemployment rate currently stands at 44% and shows no sign of improving. Not that things are any better for the middle class; due to the surfeit of workers most employees are treated like replaceable cogs now more than ever. To quote from the Tokyo Citybook:

quote:

UPPER CLASS LIFESTYLE CASE STUDY: MR. KANEDA
Mr. Kaneda is the current CEO of Murano Trust Investment (located in Nihombashi). He is a relatively young chief executive, at 53. He nets a yearly salary of "350 million and supports a mansion in Meguro and a penthouse in Nihombashi. He also owns country houses in Karuizawa and Okutama.

His primary hobby is collecting rare art from foreign countries. Beneath his Meguro mansion is a large gallery of items purchased from France, England and the United States. He has also recently acquired (quite illegally) some Buddhist statues from India.

MIDDLE CLASS UFESTYLE CASE STUDY: MR. TAIRA
Hitoshi Taira is a 33 year old sarariman. He is the chief clerk in Sakai Bussan, one of the larger trading companies in Japan. His annual income is less than ¥l0 million and mostof it goes to support a small apartment in Chofu. He lives in the two bedroom apartment with his wife and two children. His wife was also a minor clerk at Sakai Bussan, but quit when she became a mother.

Every morning he goes to work by train, travelling with several other executives to Tokyo, almost two hours away. He must catch the train at 6:00 a.m. and he works from 8:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. After work, he usually remains in Tokyo, going to client receptions held in Ginza. He usually does not arrive back in Chofu until midnight or 1:00 a.m. Mr. Taira works between 300 and 350 hours a month.

LOWER CLASS LIFESTYLE CASE STUDY: TAIICHI UEMATSU
Every morning at dawn, Taiichi Uematsu goes to Vena Station. There, along with many others, he waits for executives to pass by. Taiichi has been out of work for over 18 months now and must beg to feed his wife and child.

Afterwards, he returns to the deserted Iki Warehouse where they live. In a typical day, he will receive just enough money to get two meals of rice.
Tokyo, more than any other city, has become a microcosm of Marketplace.

Osaka is the second-largest city in Japan, and is where 3327 dropped his initial bridge. 3327 now effectively owns most of the city, and his financial takeover was predicated through the use of corporate ninjas sent to Core Earth on dimthreads. The one thing standing in the way of his total control is a group of monks operating out of Shitennō-ji, the first Buddhist temple in Japan and Core Earth hardpoint.

The city of Sapporo is probably the most overtly affected city in the realm. Before the invasion, it was one of the least industrialized cities in Japan. Of course 3327 couldn't be having none of that, and opened a major munitions company in the city and set up tons of factories. The residents aren't too happy about their rural areas turning into bomb factories, and as a result priests of Palan have gotten a pretty good foothold among the people. Interestingly, there's also a lot of ninja training grounds here.

Outside of Japan, 3327 has started running into some problems. The biggest one so far has been South Korea, due to corporate espionage. 3327 attempted to buy out South Korean land through a front company named "Pusan Land Development", but thanks to some Core Earth corporate interests, the fact that PLD was a front from the Kanawa Corporation was leaked to the public. Given that South Korea is still a little mad at Japan from WWII, this sparked major protests. For the first time in the invasion, 3327 had to use military force to enforce his agenda. He sent in MarSec agentsKanawa security police to support the South Korean riot police. Unlike the real cops, the Kanawa forces used lethal ammo on the protestors.


Leave the Bronx!

Of course, not even 3327 can act against an opponent without being a little sneaky. He sent ninjas to plant evidence that one of the main protest leaders was linked to North Korea, at which point Kanawa's propaganda machine kicked into action. Between the discrediting of the movement leaders and the fact that the riot cops are capping people in the head, active South Korean resistance to the corporate influx has dropped off sharply. 3327 has still managed to spin this all in his favor, by selling arms to the South Korean military.

3327 is taking a slower advance into mainland China. He's focused more on pushing consumer goods in the country than his higher-profile options. It's still rough going because of the racism the Chinese people have towards Japan, plus the fact that many Chinese officials are trying to stonewall his land aquisition. For his part, 3327 sees China as a large exploitable resource, and since Orrorsh (to the south) doesn't seem interested in expanding he's trying to get in there before the Gaunt Man makes a play. Interestingly, the Chinese government has suspisions that there's a High Lord operating out of Japan, but are too busy dealing with the overt threat of Orrorsh to worry about it.

Taiwan took a huge hit from everything happening in Japan and China. Without the financial backing of the two countries, the Taiwanese stock market dropped by a whopping 80% before 3327 came in to sweep up the pieces. The financial situation is improving, but the crime and unemployment rates are still through the roof. As it stands, the Taiwanese government is convinced that the Kanawa Corporation will save the country.

Outside of Asia, 3327 has made a huge step and dropped a single bridge in California. What makes this particularly ballsy is that he did this by uprooting Baruk Kaah's stelae around the city of Sacramento, which also just happened to contain Kaah's western maelstrom bridge. The loss of the stelae caused the area to revert back to Core Earth axioms, which ended up destroying the bridge. 3327 then immediately pulled another drop-a-bridge-inside-a-skyscraper, and now Sacremento is a Nippon Tech pure zone surrounded by mixed Nippon Tech/Living Land areas. Although most people think it's odd that all these Japanese corporations are moving into California, the "win" over Kaah has gotten more attention.

The western bridge was Kaah's main supply line back to his home cosm, so now Baruk Kaah has taken one of his first big hits, and this is the beginning of Kaah being the metaplot's bitch. Kaah wants 3327 dead now, because while the rest of his territory in the western U.S. is still there, he has no way of keeping it supported. Why he doesn't just drop another bridge is beyond me, apart from "Kaah is pretty stupid".

3327 is now planning on expanding throughout California, supported by the remants of the U.S. government. The edenios have been driven away from the major port cities, he's moved into Los Angeles and is eyeing San Fransisco, but it's his taking of Hollywood that has the best long-term dividents. Since he controls one of the largest entertainment-producing cities in America, he's tied it to his propaganda machine to start seizing hearts and minds.


And that covers the broad strokes of Kanawa-controlled territory. Since this is a huge chapter, we'll continue talking about the Kanawa Corporation itself...


NEXT TIME: Corporate megastructures!