///From the author: this is a brief blog post, which I may expand upon down the road, that details the major megacorporations in existence during the future depicted in The Spacers Saga. These massive non-governmental entities have, in many cases, about the same influence and power as state governments in their own right, and are certainly powerful enough to sway elections, buy off politicians, and in general to be a nuisance to the everyday people of Solar Space. The entities are major players in Solar history, and as such they are an important background actor in most if not all stories set in the Spacers Saga lore
Interplanetary Dynamics (IPD)
[Corporate emblem, displayed in factories and on produced hardware]
Details:
Founded in 2122 during the so-called Golden Age of Space (2097-2157) by a trio of wealthy space mining magnates, IPD was intended to utilize the technology of plasmadyne magnetic sailing to establish an interplanetary trade network for the Interplanetary Cooperative Administration (ICA). The plasma magnet sail leverages the dynamics between a magnetic plasma field and the solar wind to sail between the many worlds of the outer solar system in only weeks or months, allowing for economical spaceflight.
This technology allowed IPD to corner the market on interplanetary shipping, and from the first flight of Magellan I, their first plasma sailcraft, on through the mid-23rd century the company’s wealth and power rose meteorically. Throughout much of the Golden Age and beyond, the company performed its duties with a high degree of efficiency and was a major contributor to the development of interplanetary society.
By the 24th century, however, IPD had evolved into a major defense contractor for the IDC (Spacer Corps), and had amassed such wealth and power that its leaders owned and operated the Port of Europa as a sort of corporate fiefdom, in spite of the ongoing agitation of the Draconists. With this enormous influence, it is rumored that they even sway elections on worlds in other sectors throughout the outer solar system.
As of 2389, the company operated a fleet of approximately three thousand plasma sailcraft in its capacity as the IDC’s primary Mobility Assurance Organization (MAO). Some pundits have compared them to early 21st century shipping giant Amazon, although IPD’s power has certainly cemented much more so than that organization thanks to its integral function within the 24th century ICA military machine. There are even rumors that some of IPD’s board members have sought to generate conflict for the sake of profit.
[Find out more in The Europa Goodbye, publishing NOW on the Divided by Zero blog]
Statistics:
Founded: 3 May 2122 by Gregory Hallahan, Dirk Takamatsu, and Iain Pruitt
Business type: defense contractor, affiliated primarily with the IDC
Headquarters: Central Control Terminal offices, Port Midas, Europa
FY 2389 Revenue: $3.1 trillion (share of GDP - approximately 2.3%)
Percentage of Solar defense market owned: approximately 47%
Current CEO:Â Andrew W. Hillenbeck (appointed 16 October 2384)
Number of employees: approximately 5.94 million (2386 estimate)
Commercial shipping fleet size: 3,768 vessels (main operational fleet)
Example advertisement:
[Ad created circa 2351 as part of the "Get the Boys There on Time" campaign]
The Purimar Organization
[Corporate emblem, displayed on official stationary, spacecraft, and uniforms]
Details:
Purimar merging during the late 21st century boom in interplanetary commerce that followed the adoption of the Brookenden Accords in 2061, and was originally just another competitor in the rapidly-expanding field of deep space water distribution. As the Golden Age of Space (2097-2157) continued and humanity expanded its presence through the rest of the solar system, Purimar grew to fill the new niche opened up by the necessity for clean drinking water, as well as water for use in the field of rocket fuel production.
Throughout the 22nd and 23rd centuries, Purimar's revenue stream grew like clockwork, as its corporate leaders bought up controlling interests in almost every new ice mining or hauling venture to kick off in the mid- or outer system. By 2250, it had a corporate office in virtually every settlement beyond Earth, and ruled the space lanes with as much influence over water transport as Interplanetary Dynamics had over standard shipping.
By the mid-24th century, Purimar has established a monopoly, which it maintains by deploying enforcers to harass water license holders and protect the Org's grip on H²0 resources. These bag men are given free reign to abuse the populations of non-paying settlements until such time as they become paying once more.
As of 2359, one of these mercenary fix-it agents is a former IDC commando named Moira Halleck, who is about to head to the Uranus sector to enforce a permit regulation on a helium mining platform which let its water payments lapse and has been out of contact with Purimar contact center agents on Ceres for nearly two months. What she discovers there, however, will prove much worse than a simple case of delinquent payment...
[Find out more in Last One Out, Hit the Lights, coming soon to the Divided by Zero blog]
Statistics:
Founded: 16 February 2134 by Petr Gorla and Daniyal Tamerin
Industry: Resource management, focusing primarily on H²0
Headquarters: Purimar Central Corporate Offices, Nereida, Ceres
FY 2389 Revenue: $947 billion (share of GDP - approximately 0.7%)
Percentage of Solar H²0 resources owned: approximately 53%
Current CEO: Regina Luisa Krieger (appointed 23 June 2377)
Number of employees: approximately 2.12 million (2387 estimate)
Number of Enforcement Agents: unknown (estimate - 12,314)
More to come, when it's ready...