Alinas Corporation

Promo Material

What can be more important in life than how you sustain life? The food you eat—the food you feed your children—the food you share with friends and family: it’s more than just energy for your body. Food is a family issue, a relational issue, an environmental issue, a spiritual issue. At Alinas, we strive to provide farmers with the tools they need to grow bigger and better harvests to feed our hungry world. We help augment production through safe and effective technologies in multiple sectors and a variety of goods to meet every need. And we are at the forefront of developing environmentally friendly products and processes that will carry us into the future.

Alinas: Hand in Hand with Nature.

Business Summary

* HQ: Memphis, TL (Tkele)
* Sector: Agribusiness
* Industries: Agricultural Machinery; Industrial Farming; Biotechnology

Alinas is the oldest and most respected corporation on Ptah. Primarily focused on agricultural tools and machinery the company now touches 70% of global food production and distribution resources at some point. Under the robust and energetic leadership of Anne Selket, Alinas has been aggressively redefining itself as a company aimed at the future and “pushing forward.” The Agricultural Machinery segment continues the Alinas’ tradition of producing farming machinery, including hydroponic systems, zero-G energetic growth manufactories, and “traditional” soil farming; this is now mostly for major industrial domains and Alinas corporate combines. The Industrial Farming segment oversees physical farming and plantation operations, producing the vast majority of the world’s foodstuffs. The segment also includes Alinas’ chemical division, producing herbicides, pesticides, synthetic fertilizer, and bio-diffusion fields. The Biotechnology segment engineers new and altered genetic strains of seed crop and livestock, as well as genomically synthesizing an increasing number of protective and generative organisms to increase food production: this segment’s product line includes Flaxane, Vertishield, and Aegis Maodou Breeds. Joint ventures between the segments have been experimenting with orbital hydroponics stations; this effort has seen growth in recent quarters thanks to increased interest in the Rain phenomenon.

History

Alinas is the oldest corporation on Ptah. Its roots most likely go back to the first theistic aggregate farming communities along the Huphr River—it was there that the concept of confederate crop cultivation first arose, the principles of which still form the basis of what is widely known as the “Alinas method” of management (in which the individual retains a degree of autonomy but overall risk is minimized). Despite its sectarian roots, Alinas transitioned smoothly into the secular corporate world, bringing sacerdotal and corporeal concerns together. Indeed, Alinas is the only openly ecclesiastic major corporation operating in the business sphere today. Though they do not tout their ecclesiastic standing, the Alinas cult has always been part and parcel of their business method. While the other major corporations have disassociated themselves from religion, Alinas keeps an air of mysticism about its operations. Many speculate that this increases corporate loyalty and raises public interest in the company.
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Alinas has taken a new direction under her current PCK, aggressively seeking to redefine itself as a company aimed at the future. Massive new R&D efforts in water filtration, desalinization, and even synthetic hydration substitutes are only a handful of the new technologies Alinas is pursuing in light of the astronomical events taking place. With these goals in mind, Selket believes the Rain to be a natural and self-evident opportunity in which Alinas should take a leading role. The PCK’s power is balanced by a conservative board who have a reputation for solid and careful planning—Alinas has traditionally taken the long view, and the new push for rapid change has made some of the shareholders nervous. Overall, though, investors have been pleased with Alinas’ new focus. Certainly, Selket’s personal celebrity and pop icon status have not hurt the company’s profit margins.

Clarifex

Promo Material

Since the beginning, the name Clarifex has meant quality. Our fashions have adorned princes and priests, celebrities and millionaires—and we have brought that luxury to everyone who wants to join with us in living the originality that is within us all. Now our inspiration is in the clothes you wear, the furnishings in your home, the accessories you choose, the vehicles you drive. Clarifex isn’t just a brand: it’s a vision of a more beautiful world. Whether in the mall or on the battlefield, Clarifex fabrics cover your every need.

Clarifex: Wear Your Spirit.

Business Summary

* HQ: East Canyon, CP (Cymea Panca)
* Sector: Fashion and Textiles
* Industries: Clothing and Fashion; Personal Accessories; Home Furnishings; Industrial Textiles

Clarifex is by far the largest manufacturer of clothing and other textiles on Ptah. It also designs and merchandizes a huge number of brands of personal and lifestyle accessories, sporting equipment, home furnishings, and cosmetics. The Clothing and Fashion segment produces the products for which Clarifex has been celebrated for centuries: nearly every type of clothing for all ages in a variety of social strata, specializing in high-end fashion and incorporating those design elements into lower-end offerings. Their most well-known and profitable product lines include Regality, Invocation Fashions, Adroit Glory, Ahankara Sport, Lila Linga, Enchantment, and Shibboleth Mode. The Personal Accessories segment offers jewelry, footwear, eyewear, leather goods, luggage, sports equipment, and personal electronics, including chronographs, cosmetic wetware, and personal graphic interface modules in a variety of styles under Elzbieta Grand Label, Telephoros, Duran-Ke, Sankalpa Ornamentals, Apogee, Howard’s Peerless, and Kubernetes brands . The Home Furnishings segment produces sundries such as linens, plumbing fixtures, wall décor, lighting, and furniture. The Industrial Textiles segment is the workhorse of the corporation (bringing in an estimated 47% of net profit); the segment manufactures silicon ether and photocrystal cilia weaves used in oceanic and space travel; aramid filament for aerospace and military applications; fullerene nano-fibers for a variety of industrial purposes; trilobal thermoplastic filaments for optics and various technical uses; and many others. Much of the segment’s profit stream comes from undisclosed sources which likely comprise private contracts with government and military clients.

DASA Corporation

Promo Material

A human is a collection of many parts, any one of which can suffer illness or injury. To separate one aspect of a person from the others is to create imbalance and, ultimately, a decreased quality of life. To be whole, you must nurture the body, the mind, and the spirit. You must have access to care that addresses each of these vital components, and it must be within your means, for without financial security, you cannot know peace.

DASA Corp. runs several thousand clinics and hospitals that cater to these deep-seated needs, and with the new MedSpot® station technology, your complete wholeness is never farther away than your mailbox. In addition to caring for you in your community, we invest heavily in non-profit humanitarian efforts like disaster relief, temporary free clinics, and trauma scene medical support. DASA Corp. has your whole person at heart.

Health. Wealth. Wholeness. DASA.

Business Summary

* HQ: Soundholm, DE (Darjere)
* Sector: Healthcare
* Industries: Hospital and Clinic Operation; Personal Healthcare and Therapeutics; Pharmaceuticals; Humanitarian Relief Efforts

DASA Corp’s primary mission is to facilitate better living for the citizens of Ptah through a wide variety of medical, psychological and spiritual means. DASA Corp runs several hundred hospitals, clinics, and counseling centers; in addition, they offer in-home medical services, hospice care, and disseminate health information via electronic networks. These industries are augmented by a robust chemical and biological research division responsible for producing the wide range of medications and therapies which form the core of DASA’s profits. The company also invests heavily in academic centers, funding programs and chairs at most major medical schools. The Hospital and Clinic segment oversees more than sixty major hospitals around the globe (the flagship of which is the Min Thsang Memorial Sanitarium in Soundholm, followed closely by the Seaforth Center for Health Sciences in Midport, TL) and several hundred smaller facilities including surgery centers, ambulatory care facilities, and rehabilitation cynosures; urban and rural clinics (many under the brand name of Whole Health Dispensaries); counseling centers and addiction recovery facilities (including Plenary Spirit Centers, Zephyr Restoration, and Ra’s Lighthouse); and hospice consortia. The Personal Healthcare segment offers a broad range of prescription and non-prescription medical devices ranging from first aid kits, crutches, and humidifiers to highly sophisticated self-diagnostic computers and monitoring wetware. The segment’s major income stream comes from personal health tracking devices, such as the Proxima Care line of non-invasive monitoring instruments, Musgir Embedded Technologies, and Wellspring Monitoring. This segment also oversees electronic health dissemination networks (principally under the VerdureLink electronic nexus) and the burgeoning MedSpot line of in-home medical analysis appliances, which provide body monitoring, first aid supply and non-prescription drug dispensaries, emergency alert capabilities, 24-hour access to medical personnel, and on some units cosmetic and minor surgery. The units range from the crate-sized MedSpot Iota to the room-sized MedSpot Eutegra Array suite). In addition to DASA Corp’s commercial efforts, the company invests heavily in non-profit humanitarian efforts such as disaster relief, temporary free clinics in depressed zones, and battlefield medical support. The Pharmaceuticals segment researches, produces, and markets an astounding variety of prescription and non-prescription medications; these are processed through chemical and bio-chemical processes. The most widely known drugs (and the conditions they treat) include Naxmas (heart disease), Horaclisus (palsy), Eradatan (diabetes),  Lumicor (dementia), Kinesolve (fibromyalgia), Symesinct (mania), and Carcibane (cancer), though their offerings number in the thousands. Though the Humanitarian Relief Efforts segment does not bring in much by way of profit to the company (though it does manage not to operate at a loss thanks to efforts to raise donations and cost compensation from government sources), its activities bring DASA a great deal of public adulation and enhance the company’s image in ways that its for-profit divisions cannot.

DDH Matsya Corporation

Promo Material

Look around you. DDH Matsya is part of your life. All across and above Ptah we maintain the largest fleet of ships, aircraft and sub-orbital shuttles ever assembled. That beverage dispenser? Delivered by DDH supercav. The coffee you’re drinking? Flown in from Antora by Sybina transport, then brought to your local store by Celeronus van. The cup you’re drinking from? The polymer was perfected in a DDH orbital science facility. Most likely, everything you see around you was moved from a manufacturer to your local retailer by DDH Matsya; everything from how you get around to the fuel you use to get there moves on DDH technology. The only thing greater than our dedication to serving you is the joy we take in doing the job.

DDH Matsya: We Move the World.

Business Summary

* HQ: Sorberg, NW (New Watrey)
* Sector: Transportation
* Industries: Shipping; Ground Vehicles; Aerospace; Shipbuilding

DDH Matsya develops and manufactures a vast array of vehicles for commercial, military, and private use; through its subsidiaries, the company also operates a web of shipping and transportation corridors via air, sea, rail, and road. The Shipping segment handles truck, maglev, tanker, and air freight through a network of logistics centers and terminals worldwide; the company operates a fleet consisting of more than 1,000 Sybina-class transport planes, over 700 oceanic container transports, and a ground fleet of thousands of tractor-trailers, cargo vans, and supercavitation transports. (DDH Matsya Celeronus vans and VTOLs are a constant sight in most metropolitan areas.) The corporation also supplies brokerage, logistics, planning, receiving, and warehousing/storage services. The Ground Vehicles segment designs, produces, and markets semi and personal trucks, automobiles, and air-cushion vehicles under multiple lines, including Vologero, Peracri, Sungem, Sesmet, Benson, and Ganapati brands. The Aerospace segment designs, creates, sells, and supports various aircraft, including commercial passenger and cargo craft (under the Zumsuras Skyworks brand), vector-thrust and lighter-than-air vehicles (the most famous of which is the ubiquitous Umbra Jaunt), space exploration vehicles (the newest of these, the Teivah Extra-Orbital Diametric Drive Craft, is expected to revolutionize the exploration of the Rain), military aircraft, and missile and rocket systems; the segment also provides aircraft support, maintains launch facilities and provides satellite-lift services. The Shipbuilding segment produces watercraft ranging from tankers and cargo ships (including the segment’s symbol, the Vaclar crude carrier) to yachts, runabouts, and hydrofoils, and is the world’s largest supplier of cruise ships. The segment also maintains various offshore work stations, as well as cargo transfer and docking facilities.

IDX

Promo Material

In the modern world of computers, spacecraft, and mag-lev vehicles, energy is everywhere. And in the world of energy production and transmission, nobody has done more to bring Ptah into the future than IDX.

IDX invented the water wheel and the wind turbine as well as the T-Field Torus technology that probably powers your home. From the battery in your chronograph to the Titan plant on the horizon, IDX is involved of more than two-thirds of all energy related activities worldwide – and for good reason. No company has done more to tap the limitless potential of our environment.

IDX: Always Advancing

Business Summary

* HQ: West Canyon, CD (Cymea Deru)
* Sector: Energy
* Industries: Power Plants; Mobile Energy Generation; Installed Generators

IDX generates and transmits energy through a network of transmission lines, satellite uplinks, and field-distributing torus sites. The company also manufactures fuel cells, batteries, and portable generators. The majority of this energy is generated through t-field turbines, though a significant number of nuclear fusion and fission plants, hydroelectric facilities, and fossil fuel sites also contribute. The Power Plants segment builds and maintains a variety of power generation stations across Ptah: the company’s patents on the massive tau generators (now known as Titan Generators) give them a virtual lock on market. The majority of the company’s resources go toward these facilities. Due to the intensive material, labor, and engineering requirements of building new facilities, the company keeps a slow but steady pace of producing additional plants which cannot keep up with demand. The segment is also in the initial phases of designing Sublimity Station, a huge t-field generator which would be built and positioned in orbit. The engineering challenges of such a station are enormous, but the benefits could be astounding. The Mobile Energy Generation segment designs and produces fuel cells and batteries for a vast array of devices from communications to lighting to mobile computing to weapons and field generation; these include chemical, argon, saline, and hydrogen fuels, as well as the smallest t-field generators used to power large mechanisms and stand-alone facilities. Most of these are sold under the Upsurge, Chashmal, Radiance Ultra, and Sibitti brands; the segment also produces a range of electronics which make use of these batteries. The Installed Generators segment produces and integrates power generators in appliances and devices which require dedicated energy production. The ubiquitous Kemke generators are a byword for reliability (possibly due to the famous advertising campaign, “A Kemke never quits!”), and Spira emergency generators are the standard back-up devices for many major facilities.

Mystery Alliance

Promo Material

Mystery Alliance is one of the oldest continuously running organizations in the history of Ptah. Starting back in the treasuries of the Esagila monasteries along the ancient pilgrim's route, we virtually invented the sectors of banking and international finance. That niche always has been, and always will be, our core enterprise.

Needless to say, it is a position that garners significant power and influence. Mystery Alliance has always felt that what is best for the world collectively is what is best for our clients individually. To that end Mystery Alliance has tirelessly worked to bring greater and greater freedom and anonymity to our clients around the world.

Prosperity Through Security.

Business Summary

* HQ: Mystery, TL (Tkele)
* Sector: Banking
* Industries: Brokerage; Wealth Management; Investments; Consumer Banking

Mystery Alliance is a financial services holding corporation. The company offers personal and business banking, consumer lending, asset management, and brokerage services. The Brokerage segment handles stock trading (on the ARTHA, Ummanu, Delanus Market, Freehold, and all other major exchanges) in both executionary and discretionary capacities, as well as providing financial advising; both over-the-counter and open exchange options trading (the Munizari is the largest options trading house on Ptah); and commodities brokerage on a labyrinthine array of agricultural, industrial, technological, and financial derivatives, primarily through the Mercantile Finance Group (MFG). The Wealth Management segment offers portfolio management and financial planning services to corporate clients, governmental financial agencies, and private individuals (primarily through the labels Tertigio Resources, Quaestuary Abetment Securities, and Orjan & Paramonos Investments, respectively). The Investments segment focuses almost exclusively on lending, offering marketing packages for corporate funding and government asset backing. The Consumer Banking segment has been the most robust in recent years, as the consumer lending, credit, and retail asset management sectors have received heavy investment by the company. The number of outlets for these services is too long to list here, but major labels include Chamberlain, Ais Banking, Landon Bank & Trust, Mystery Alliance Trust Company, Kesef Credit Trust, and Steele Citizen Credit.

New World Incorporated

Promo Material

Information. Quite literally, the world could not function without it. But in a world as complex as ours, it can seem impossible to find the information you need. Our modern society teems with unimaginable amounts of it, and it can sometimes feel that you are drowning in a sea of unformed data.

We here at NWI specialize in finding out what you need to know, separating the wheat from the chaff, and helping to shape your decisions based on real information and expert interpretation. We advise companies and kings, universities and celebrities, and our list of satisfied clients is second to none. We know what really matters and how to use it to best serve those who rely on us.

Don’t be afraid of the sea—let us tame it for you.

New World Incorporated: Bringing Chaos to Order.

Business Summary

* HQ: Bhalanas, CP (Cymea Panca)
* Sector: Think Tank
* Industries: Research; Advising

New World Incorporated (NWI) is a think tank dedicated to conducting research on social, political, financial, and other areas of interest to various parties, either on their own initiative or, more commonly, at the request of clients. The company then issues recommendations and advice to paying customers as to courses of action tailored to the customer. The Research segment is the single largest clearinghouse of information on Ptah, conducting polls, scientific studies, direct field observation, and expert analysis of information from nearly every source imaginable. For the most part, NWI performs this service for national and local governments, as well as corporate entities; they also innovate their own research into areas they consider may be promising fields in the future. These studies are conducted by a plethora of internal divisions devoted to specific issues, including the Iphyn Geopolitical Group, the Abgall Cultural Studies Foundation, the Mantalku Sciences Institute, the Trenton Chung Trusteeship, and the Chandler Society for Spirituality and Ethics, among many others. The Advising segment uses the information gathered by these groups to inform clients of courses of action and guide decision making; it also uses expert guidance to collate, interpret, and translate data gathered by clients. NWI for the most part simply collects, provides, and interprets the data; however, some complex contracts with high-level clients may include clauses obligating the client to act on the information provided within certain pre-established parameters. All data collected is kept private by NWI (and, under some contracts, destroyed after it is gathered); all information and advising dispensed are protected by iron-clad non-disclosure policies. Those few clients who have broken these have invariably been bankrupted in the courts of Ptah.

Panis Global Corporation

Promotional Material

War has been described as simply diplomacy conducted by other means. In the final analysis there is no more definitive way to conduct business than to stop your competitor's breathing. Panis Global is in the war business and we've built a reputation for efficiency, cost effectiveness, and reliable results on the blood and sweat of our highly-trained legions of veteran warriors, on our tested technology, and on our unmatched preparation and training.

Some say, 'Violence is not the answer,' but we all know that it is very often the only answer that ever really sticks. We encourage you to use other, less dramatic means when possible, but when push comes to shove—be sure to shove hard.

Panis Global: Our Guns, Your Glory.

Business Summary

* HQ: New Taya, SR (Soretira)
* Sector: Military
* Industries: Private Security; Tactical Training; Security Consulting; Sporting Goods and Personal Protection

Panis Global provides arms, armaments, military vehicles, and troops by contract for a wide variety of military applications. In addition, the company has extensive expertise and facilities for outside security training; provides tactical and military advising to private security forces, law enforcement agencies, and national entities; and produces an array of products for the sporting and personal security markets. The Private Security segment offers a multitude of products and personnel for military operations. These include personal arms (everything from the Berus 14 bantam chemthrower to the ATRA ionic anti-armor weapon), the most famous of which is certainly the Dardus multi-projector rifle which fires jacketless rounds using a tau-torsion accelerator. Though not the first iteration of this weapon, the Dardus has become by far the most ubiquitous. Also included are a host of air, land, and sea craft for use in military situations, from fighter aircraft (such as the Aethon scramjet) to amphibious transport to mobile artillery units (most famously the Eresh ACV). Panis troops run the gamut from Eta light security personnel to the highly trained Tau troops so common on battlefields across Ptah to the shadowy elite Phi operatives; the segment also offers other specialized personnel services, such as bodyguarding (under the Sefet Securities label), combat engineering, and tactical specialists services. The Tactical Training segment offers both courses and regimens at Panis’ Aegis Fields compound, as well as training by computer module and battlefield consultation. Panis operatives regularly are brought in to train elite troops in strategy, planning, reconnaissance, and strategy integration. The Security Consulting segment offers services in operations inspections, security systems, personnel analysis, force deployment, and protection consultation. The Sporting Goods and Personal Protection segment manufactures a wide array of products, including pistols and rifles, hunting gear, protective clothing, and ammunition for hunting, shooting, and related sports (mostly under the DeWulf label). It also produces tasers, chemical sprays, sonic inhibitors, and other devices for self defense. (Scathless, Vestorious, and Fullshield are the most popular brands in this line.)

Purus Corporation

Promotional Material

Bridges. Towers. Monuments. All around us is the story of civilization writ in stone and steel and concrete. The legacy that lasts is the one that is built by strong hands, tractors, and trowels. Whether it’s municipal infrastructure projects or the massive temples to Osiris and Sobek, civilization is measured by its buildings.

Purus has built many of the most notable structures on Ptah. From the awe-inspiring Alinas Temple to the gravity-defying Causeway of Ra, from the Moberot Arena to London Arts Center, Purus has both the skill and the resources to bring the grandest vision to fruition.

Purus: Building Tomorrow.

Business Summary

* HQ: London, DS (Delanus Soveriegnty)
* Sector: Construction
* Industries: Civil Infrastructure; Housing; Industrial; Facilities Management

Purus Corporation provides construction and facilities management services to large-scale investors and clients. Purus contracts with government and corporate agencies to design, build, and maintain structures ranging from skyscrapers and business offices to recreational and public facilities to mass housing to infrastructural facilities such as airports, maglev stations, water and waste treatment plants, and transportation corridors to industrial warehouses, factories, and power plants. The Civil Infrastructure division oversees the planning and creation of key structural elements within the integrated social services provided to the citizenry. Key contracts are normally drawn from governmental sources, and the division is responsible for creating and maintaining, among other systems, water treatment, desalination, dispersal, delivery, and reclamation projects; waste disposal and recycling facilities; air purification centers; prisons and rehabilitation centers; road, bridge, and rail complexes and transport corridor maintenance, including dredging and landscaping services; and power plant construction, including petrochemical, hydroelectric, solar, orbital beaming station, nuclear, and tau-generator sites. The Housing segment designs and erects habitation projects for a variety of purposes, from low-cost urban housing (most recognized in the well-known Quanjia Project in Tkin Keyah and then reproduced in many metropolitan areas), to military and civilian law-enforcement and other government housing, to high-end luxury condominiums. The segment also offers homebuilding services for wealthy clients under the Khesed brand of contractors and homebuilders. The division also works with the Civil Infrastructure segment to produce venues such as museums, sports arenas, parks, shopping districts and malls, schools, hospitals, and historical preservation sites. The Industrial segment is the most lucrative arm of the company and designs and constructs factory models for a huge variety of manufacturing needs, warehousing and transportation facilities, dock and cargo transfer sites, and service buildings for vocational use. The Facilities Management segment provides advising, as well as complete staffing and specialists, for security, operations administration, cleaning, maintenance, and safety management for large facilities, whether Purus-constructed or not. Hartley Staffing, Makheru Management, and OCL Services are the most well-known brands in the segment.

Rosetta North Corporation

Promotional Material

Since the advent of language, mankind has sought to extend the reach of his communication. Smoke signals allowed early peoples to speak far beyond the sound of the human voice; cave paintings allowed communication with the tribe even when the creator was not present. Now, the one who sent smoke signals from mountaintop to mountaintop bounces digital signals from satellite to satellite; the cave painter is showing her art through optical networks to an audience of millions scattered across four continents.

Rosetta North has continued innovating within the very area that elevated Man above the beasts: communication. Today’s world is made up of information, and the key to unlocking it all is communication. Speech. Data. Art. Music. Video. We bring all these to you… securely.

Your Voice Is Our Passion.

Business Summary

* HQ: Druhyus, CP (Cymea Panca)
* Sector: Communication
* Industries: Advertising; Publishing; Mass Media; Communications

Rosetta North is a communications company that builds and maintains communications equipment as well as provides data transmission services across an array of media and produces media content of their own. They also specialize in image consultation and advertising services. The Advertising segment provides services in corporate branding, multi-frequency marketing, public relations, reputation management, image consultation, and packaging and marketing design. Pshent Marketing, Proclamation, and the Meishu Media Group are the three most recognized brands in the segment. The Publishing arm of the corporation oversees publication in electronic form and hard copy of newspapers (the most widely known being Merketeum, the Ahnasozi Decree, Tzelem, The West Canyon Intelligencer, and the Roquemore Manifesto), magazines (including Gestinnana, Firgenstram Exemplified, Commerce Today, Adept, Éclat, and Work and Play), books (mainly though Noblesse, Tiaru, Hasulfa Imprints, and the Scrolls of Thoth brands), and a multitude of other publishing vectors, as well as producing software and biosynch chipware. The Mass Media segment oversees creation and transmission of information and programming in radio, fiber optic, digital, optical wireless, and other broadcast vectors. Operating plexus hubs featuring news, sports, movies, serials, and social media (with Robertson’s, Ludatore, Radiant Viewing, Dionysus Air, and Sheridan hubs being the most widely recognized), the division reaches well over a billion end users. The Communications division oversees production and maintenance of communication networks, broadcast towers and facilities, and data housing. It also produces personal communication devices (from the basic Menat line of hand-held voice communicators to the omnipresent Ingana data tablets to Passus Gold aural implants) and operational software, as well as providing systems integration services.

Annubis

Planet

Annubis is the smallest body in the system and orbits Bast at a distance of only 19.5 planetary radii. With an exceptionally low albedo, Annubis is almost inviisble toi the naked eye except durring tansits of Bast. The satellite is named after the traditional deity Annubis, the guardian of the Emon, the source and origin of life.

Because it has no atmosphere to retain heat, Annubis's surface experiences the greatest temperature variation of any body in the System, ranging from 100 K at night to 500 K during the day at some equatorial regions. The poles are constantly below 180 K. Annubis's co-orbit with Bast and Ptah displays less than a 0.02 eccentricity. Its orbir brings it regularly between Bast and Ptah and this constant tidal pull causes its orbital plane to wobble by 10-30 degrees.

Highkly active geologicaly the surface of Annubis is constantly being refreshed and the volcanic action is occasionally visible from Ptah when an eclipse of Bast and a transit cooincide.

Sturctural Abnormalities

Regular and shifting gravitational abnormalities indicate the interior of Annubis remains unstable and shifting. It's high density, the densist of the terrestiral planets, suggests a high iron to silicate ratio while the strong, but unstable magnetosphere are suggestive of a shifting, non-spherical core of iron and nickel.

Exploration

The extreme orbital speed of Annubis has made close-in exploration difficult where orbiting opeations are very difficult and landing almsot impossible.

Bast

Planet

Bast is a terrestial planetpoid and natural satellite of Ptah, adn the second smallest body in the System, after Anubis. Named after the traditional goddess of joy, protection, and love, it is traditionally thought of as the original home of humanity. Often referred to as the "Blushing Bride", Bast's reddish appearance is due to the iron oxide prevalent on its surface. Bast is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, having surface features reminiscent of dry lake beds and ocens, suggfesting that Bast did indeed once contain a significant amount of liquid water.

The rotational period and seasonal cycles of Bast are likewise similar to those of Ptah, as is the tilt that produces the seasons. Bast is almsot tidally locked with Ptah, it revolves around Ptah every 40 days but rotates only twice a year. Bast is the site of Jabal Manu, the largest volcano and second-highest known mountain in the System, and of Basten Shor, the largest canyon in the System and particular associated with Bast's mythic connection to female sexuality.

Until the first successful Bast flyby in 2809, many speculated about the presence of liquid water on the planet's surface. This was based on observed periodic variations in light and dark patches, particularly in the polar latitudes, which appeared to be seas and continents; long, dark striations were interpreted by some as irrigation channels for liquid water. These straight line features were later explained as optical illusions, though geological evidence gathered by unmanned missions suggests that Bast once had large-scale water coverage on its surface at some earlier stage of its life. Later SDER data confirmed the presence of large quantities of water ice at the poles and at mid-latitudes.

By far the most common target for extra-planetary exploration, it ios often said that Bast is 'cursed' or more poetically that the planet rejects the overturtes of Ptah on account of past human sins. Superstition aside, less than 5% of Bast-bound misions complete their work succesfully. Mechanical and electronic failures occur at a rate eight times that of other targets and regardless of the reasons many extra-govenrmnetal corporations have given up exploration on account of actuarial cost-benefit analysis. As a result, surprisingly litlte is known of our closest neighbor in the sky.

Bast can easily be seen from Ptah with the naked eye, as can its reddish coloring. Its apparent magnitude reaches −0.9 and is the brightest object in the night sky.

Isis

Planet

Isis is the fifth planet from the Star and the second largest in the system, after Osiris. It is a gas giant with an average radius roughly eight times that of Ptah. Although only one-eighth the average density of Ptah, with its larger volume Isis is just over 80 times more massive. Isis is named after the traditional god of nature and magic and culturally represnts maternity and nurturing.

Isis' interior is primarily composed of a core of iron–nickel and rock (silicon and oxygen compounds) with a significant commitment of thorium. This core is surrounded by a deep layer of metallic hydrogen, an intermediate layer of liquid hydrogen and liquid helium, and finally a gaseous outer layer. Isis has a pale green-yellow hue due to ionized ammonia crystals in its upper atmosphere. Electrical current within the metallic hydrogen layer is thought to give rise to Isis' planetary magnetic field, which is weaker than Ptah's, but has a magnetic moment 580 times greater due to her larger size. Isis' magnetic field strength is around one-twentieth the strength of Osiris'. The outer atmosphere is generally bland and lacking in contrast, although long-lived features can appear. Wind speeds on Isis can reach 1,800 kDr/h (500 Dr/s).

North pole hexagonal cloud pattern

A persisting hexagonal wave pattern around the north polar vortex in the atmosphere at about 78°N was first noted by astronomers in 2922 while searching for hyperdimmensional distorions within strong gravity wells.

The sides of the hexagon are each about 13,800 kDr long, which is longer than the diameter of Ammu. The entire structure rotates with a period of 10h 39m 24s (the same period as that of the planet's radio emissions) which is assumed to be equal to the period of rotation of Isis' core. The hexagonal feature does not shift in longitude like the other clouds in the visible atmosphere.

The pattern's origin is a matter of much speculation. Most astronomers believe it was caused by some standing-wave pattern in the atmosphere. Polygonal shapes have been replicated in the laboratory through differential rotation of fluids.

South pole vortex

HST imaging of the south polar region indicates the presence of a jet stream, but no strong polar vortex nor any hexagonal standing wave. Relay kits have reported "hurricane-like" storms locked to the south pole that have clearly defined eyewalls. Eyewall clouds had not previously been seen on any planet other than Ptah. For example, images from the Pyhtos spacecraft did not show an eyewall in the Great Red Eye of Osiris.

The south pole storm may have been present for billions of years. This vortex is comparable to the size of Ammen, and it has winds of 550 kDr/hr.

Nut

Planet

Nut is the sixth planet from the Star. It has the third-largest planetary radius and fourth-largest planetary mass in the System. Nut is somewhat similar in composition to Isis and Anubis but is glassified as a "frost giant" as opposed to a "gas giant" due to the pahse composition of its atmosphere.

Nut's atmosphere, although similar to Osiris' and Isis' in its primary composition of hydrogen and helium, contains more "ices", such as water, ammonia, and methane, along with traces of other hydrocarbons. It is the coldest planetary atmosphere in the System, with a minimum temperature of 49 K, and has a complex, layered cloud structure, with water thought to make up the lowest clouds, and methane the uppermost layer of clouds. The interior of Nut is mainly composed of ices and rock.

Nut is named after the traditional goddess of the outer sky where Onuris was the god of the inner sky. However, in the oldest legends the planet was associated with Sobek and Lilth - the “Devourers of the First.”

Nut is only barely visible from Ptah but through an occulo it is revealed as a richly azure, but almost featureless sphere. Its distance from Ra means it receives very little thermal energy, reasonably explaining the homogenous cloud cover with almost no activity in the visible spectrum. In the infrared, however, Nut has shown remarkable and unexplained turbulence in the form of sub-etheric eruptions and energy discharges similar in appearance to lightning sprites.

Nut remains largely unexplored but a joint mission between Clarifex and New World Incorporated intend to perform a slow flyby of Nut on its path to search for signs of an as-yet undiscovered body far beyond Nut's orbit.

Onuris

Planet

Onuris is the second planet from the Star. It is named after the traditional god of war and the bearer of the inner sky. As the planet closest to Ra the asocaition was seen as appropriate. Behind Bast and Osiris, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.9, bright enough to cast faint shadows. Because Onuris is an inferior planet from Ptah, it never appears to venture far from the Star.

Onuris is a terrestrial planet and very similar in size and density to Ammen, sometimes being called the younger of Ptah's "little twin brothers." Because of their similar size, mass, proximity to the Star an bulk composition. That said, both planets are radically different from Ptah in environmental respects. It has the densest atmosphere of the terrestrial planets, consisting of more than 96% carbon dioxide. The atmospheric pressure at the planet's surface is over 90 times that of Ptah's. With a mean surface temperature of 735 K, Onuris is by far the hottest planet in the system. Onuris has no carbon cycle that puts carbon into rock, nor does it seem to have any organic life to absorb carbon in biomass. Onuris is shrouded by an opaque layer of highly reflective clouds of sulfuric acid, preventing its surface from being seen from space in visible light. It may have had oceans in the past, but these would have vaporized as the temperature rose due to a runaway greenhouse effect. The water has most probably photodissociated, and, because of the lack of a planetary magnetic field, the free hydrogen has been swept into interplanetary space by the solar wind. Onuris's surface is a dry desertscape interspersed with slab-like rocks and periodically refreshed by volcanism.

Orbit and rotation

Onuris orbits the Star at an average distance of about 108 million kDr and completes an orbit every 224.65 days. Onuris is the first planet from the Star and orbits approximately 3 times in every Ptah year. Onuris orbits the Star at an average distance of about 108,000,000 kDr. Although all planetary orbits are elliptical, Onuris's orbit is the closest to circular, with an eccentricity of less than 0.05.

Osiris

Planet

Osiris is the fouth planet from the Star and the largest planet in the system. It is a giant planet with a mass roughly one-thousandth of Ra, but is over two times that of all the other planets combined. Osiris is a gas giant, along with Isis. Osiris was known to astronomers of ancient times who it after the god of teh dead, Osiris. When viewed from Ptah, Osiris can reach an apparent magnitude of −1.4, bright enough to cast shadows, and making it on average the second-brightest object in the night sky after Bast.

Osiris is primarily composed of hydrogen with a quarter of its mass being helium, although helium only comprises about a tenth of the number of molecules. It may also have a rocky core of heavier elements, but like the other giant planets, Osiris lacks a well-defined solid surface. Because of its rapid rotation, the planet's shape is that of an oblate spheroid (it has a slight but noticeable bulge around the equator). The outer atmosphere is visibly segregated into several bands at different latitudes, resulting in turbulence and storms along their interacting boundaries. A prominent result is the Great Eye, a giant storm that is known to have existed since at least 1508 when it was first seen by telescope. Surrounding Osiris is a powerful magnetosphere.

Osiris has been explored on several occasions by robotic spacecraft, most notably by IDX probes seeking a lightning collection power source. Several of these stations remain in the upper atmosphere of Osis, bouyed by the thick gas but power collection has proved inefficient and the proejct is now abandoned.

Great Red Eye

The best known and most obviou feature of Osiris is the Great Red Eye, a persistent anticyclonic storm that is larger than Ammen, located 19.5° south of the equator. It is known to have been in existence since at least 1508, and possibly much longer. The storm is large enough to be visible through Ptah-based telescopes and unaided from Bast when at apehelion. Mathematical models suggest that the storm is stable and may be a permanent feature of the planet.

The oval object rotates counterclockwise, with a period of about six days. The Great Red Eye's dimensions are 24–40,000 kDr × 12–14,000 kDr. It is large enough to contain roughly two planets of Ptah's diameter. The maximum altitude of this storm is about 8 kDr above the surrounding cloudtops.

Ptah

Planet

Ptah is the third planet from the Star and the home of humanity. It is named after the traditional god of knowledge - the educator of mankind. Ptah is the outermost “rocky” planet and orbits midway between Ammen and Osiris. Ptah’s mass, compared to its size, approach the boundary at which solid-surface worlds can form and indeed its interior is composed primarily of phase-locked liquids. Ptah has one natural satellite, Bast which has its own satellite, Annubis.

Ptah’s atmosphere is primarily nitrogen (75%) and oxygen (23%) with the remainder of Carbon dioxide, Hydrogen and other compounds. It is the only planet in the system known to have abundant liquid water and, of course, to harbor life.

Orbit and rotation

Ptah orbits the Star at an average distance of about 218 million kDr and completes an orbit every 360.39.

Ra

Star

Ra is the star at the center of the System and is by far the most important source of energy for life on Ptah. It is a nearly perfect spherical ball of hot plasma, with internal convective motion that generates a magnetic field via a dynamo process.[14] Its diameter is about 109 times that of Earth, and it has a mass about 330,000 times that of Earth, accounting for about 99.86% of the total mass of the Solar System.[15] Chemically, about three quarters of the Sun's mass consists of hydrogen, whereas the rest is mostly helium, and much smaller quantities of heavier elements, including oxygen, carbon, neon and iron.[16]

The Sun is a G-type main-sequence star (G2V) based on spectral class and it is informally referred to as a yellow dwarf. It formed approximately 4.567 billion[b][17] years ago from the gravitational collapse of matter within a region of a large molecular cloud. Most of this matter gathered in the center, whereas the rest flattened into an orbiting disk that became the Solar System. The central mass became increasingly hot and dense, eventually initiating thermonuclear fusion in its core. It is thought that almost all stars form by this process. The Sun is roughly middle age and has not changed dramatically for four billion[b] years, and will remain fairly stable for four billion more. However, after hydrogen fusion in its core has stopped, the Sun will undergo severe changes and become a red giant. It is calculated that the Sun will become sufficiently large to engulf the current orbits of Mercury, Venus, and possibly Earth.

The enormous effect of the Sun on the Earth has been recognized since prehistoric times, and the Sun has been regarded by some cultures as a deity. Earth's movement around the Sun is the basis of the solar calendar, which is the predominant calendar in use today.

Michael Anu

Clarifex PCK

Clarifex has gone through a number of changes in recent years, but few have affected it so profoundly as the appointment of Michael Anu as PCK. A creative genius who was placed in the top position through a complex flurry of accidents and business maneuvering, Anu was a relative unknown in the corporate world (having risen in the design arm of the company) but has become the "golden child" of Clarifex. Anu began at a very early age in the design segment and gained a name on the runways of Memphis and Beltaus. Managing a personal label, Anu was canny about the department's finances and reputation, but none expected the upstart to ever sit in the chairman's seat.

In the twelve years since Anu's appointment, Clarifex has experienced a renaissance of creativity, rocketing beyond its previous market share to take a spot amongst the most powerful corporations on Ptah. Anu self-identifies as a "warrior-poet"; colleagues and friends describe a kind of whirlwind of creative endeavor: sometimes unpredictable and terrifying but always fascinating. Some say Anu's real genius lies in delegating day-to-day operations (which Anu has publicly declared to be ‘dull and uninteresting') to highly competent underlings, but none can deny that it is a very personal vision that has reinvigorated the company. Any has initiated dozens of major new projects, and though some of these are not successful, for every failure (such as the much reviled Espial line of rigid, semi-opaque fashion), there have been a handful of stunning successes (like the "Eye of Osiris" brand of optics). A recent issue of Adept magazine called Anu, "a mad, visionary wizard, a virtuoso who, rather than symphonies, plays monofilament silk and profit margins."

Though the eccentric designer has shown little interest in the industrial textile segment of the company, Anu is smart enough to know that the major revenue stream of the corporation now comes from that division and so ensures it is well funded. (This also keeps the board and investors satisfied.) Some openly wondered why a design and textile house, even one as powerful as Clarifex, showed any interest in the coming Rain (other than as an opportunity to increase sales of materials used in the exploration). Anu sees the Rain as a kind of sign, a challenge to be overcome and an anointing of the creative spirit. More than anything, the ‘warrior-poet' finds the unprecedented cosmic event romantic, a mythic inspiration to awaken the world to beauty and wonder. Wherever the muse chooses to take the company, though, the public has shown that they adore this artist and will follow Anu's exploits with interest (and market share).

Moshe Bergenfield

Rosetta North PCK

In a company all about image, image is what Moshe Bergenfield is all about. Bergenfield embodies what the average citizen thinks of when the words "corporate PCK" are mentioned. A middle-aged man with the keen good looks of a newscaster, Bergenfield is almost never seen without his well-pressed suit and carefully coiffed hair. His voice is a well-modulated tenor and his words are always careful and precise. He is formal enough to keep the respect of older investors and business managers while being just suave enough to avoid the disrespect of the young up-and-comers. Indeed, more than one analyst has suggested that Bergenfield's demeanor and appearance are crafted exactly to meet what one would expect in a PCK. No doubt the company has reams of market research from NWI to tell them what would sell best, and Bergenfield is the sort of man who would follow such directives to the letter. When Zap! Brigade plays a satirical sketch about corporate stupidity (on Rosetta's own Ludatore network), you can bet the PCK will be a parody of Bergenfield; when Pshent Marketing wants an image of a businessman who radiates competence and vision, their artists will invariably come up with a facsimile of Bergenfield.

Personally, Bergenfield is well liked and trusted, though he has a reputation for being rather careful and cautious, always seeking to gather as many opinions as he can before forming his own. He is fond of mental exercises and games of strategy, and is exceedingly good at them. (It is said that he and New World Incorporated PCK Edward Chandler play a game of Senet each season which factors into their fee rates that quarter; who wins more often is a matter of much speculation.) There is also rumor that he can have a bit of a temper when faced with what he sees as incompetence or insubordination. Still, his sense of what sells and what the public wants to see is impeccable, and his knack for identifying trends is uncanny. One of the few PCKs to have obvious wetware, Bergenfield normally wears a bronzed dataglove and is known to use an oculus when in business meetings.

Rosetta North is, like the other major corporations, fielding a fleet to explore the Rain. If there is information to be gathered from the phenomenon, Bergenfield wants to be the first to find it. The company has also cited some unusual "signals" coming from the Rain: the "noise" coming across many different bands of the spectrum has scientists across Ptah puzzled, and if there is one thing Bergenfield does not like, it is a puzzle—or, rather, a puzzle that is solved by anyone other than Bergenfield.

Illya Bhrigus

IDX PCK

Illya Bhrigus is a direct descendant of the ancient clan of tundra barbarians that populate hundreds of the oldest stories on the planet. The Torgum were incredibly tough and hearty people who were able to keep empires ten times their strength on their heels by the force of their boundless tenacity, and that peculiar Torgum trait, among others, is especially apparent in Mrs. Bhrigus.

With a settled conviction that one must fight for what one wants, Bhrigus approaches every aspect of her life and business as a battle. This has occasionally led to unnecessary conflict (famously, Colier Wulfsheim, great-great-great-grandson of Xavier Wulfsheim—one of the founders of the corporation—resigned his seat and formed Cyclotor Technologies after a particularly bitter disagreement with the PCK; in his autobiography, Stone by Stone, he places full blame for his departure on Bhrigus' inflexibility), but it has meant she has never been surprised or betrayed. While many find her attitude personally offensive, there is no argument with her results. Under her leadership, IDX has doubled its market share and technologies deliberately designed to exclude competitors' systems has meant IDX power supplies and sub-systems are placed in 75% of every device currently made.

Bhrigus is often characterized as the least creative and most moribund of the major PCKs on Ptah; her stodgy personal appearance and flat affect do not help improve her image. Scuttlebutt has it that the image managers and advertising executives of her own company (and even so reticent a manager as Moshe Bergenfield of Rosetta North) have begged her to take some thought as to her appearance and demeanor, but Bhrigus stubbornly insists that only the bottom line matters. "We don't go in for pretty," she once said on Cymea Nationwide (during one of her vanishingly rare media appearances). "We go in for quality. You want pretty—paint the generators purple for all we care."

Parsu Carnake

Mystery Alliance PCK

Parsu Carnake is, perhaps not unpredictably, the most cautious and careful of the current crop of major corporate PCKs. Known for a brilliant mathematical mind, Carnake runs banking by the tried and true rules: borrow at 1/2, lend at 2, go home at 3. Other observers, however, think that the stolid, precise image Carnake presents the world is just what the world wants to see in a banker; underneath, he's rumored to be a calculating mind and, possibly, one with avaricious habits that would put a sybarite to shame. Certainly under his watch Mystery Alliance has expanded its profit base exponentially: where once it was a solid and reputable firm, now it dominates the financial sphere in everything from investment banking to personal credit to mortgages and other loans.

Carnake is in his late fifties, with touches of gray hair at his temples. He is always business-like and careful about his image, though he has been known to let a temper come through if pushed to it or surprised. He is exactly what the board was looking for when they needed a new head for MA after the disgrace and firing of Augustin Rice, the previous office holder. Rice was indicted by the high court of Tkele for a dozen counts of securities fraud. Rice has and continues to protest his innocence, but after being arrested and publicly dragged out of company headquarters, the board requested that he step down. Without other options, he did so (mainly to preserve a sizable bonus).

With the ensuing black mark and public distrust, the board needed someone of sterling reputation and sober policy to replace their flamboyant former PCK, and they needed someone who was not in an officer position who could be tied to Rice. Carnake was an operations head in Falhaven at the time, and being plucked from there to the top seat was quite a promotion. But he had a reputation for his careful approach and business acumen, and so he got the position.

The board has been most pleased with their choice. Not only did Carnake provide the dependable image they needed, but he turned out to be a financial wizard the likes of which has rarely been seen in upper management. Under his watch Mystery Alliance has expanded its client base in astonishing ways, and the Consumer Banking segment has more than doubled in size. Where the company was the first among giants, it now towers over the rest of the industry. They had always had the premier position as the lender to the other big companies, but it was Carnake who pushed the company to reach out to the "average man." Personal lending being seen as somewhat beneath such an august institution in the past, Carnake's move was looked at askance, but the resulting landslide of credit and soaring of profits quickly changed opinions.

Edward Chandler III

New World Incorporated PCK

Edward Chandler I, founder of New World Incorporated, was famous for his charisma and cunning, and it was through his force of personality that the company prospered for several decades. His son, Edward Chandler II, was brought up in his father's image—his father was well known to take the boy off on his own, and the younger Edward later said that he rarely saw his own mother. He was nearly as charming as his father (though while the old man lived, many said that he was merely imitating his sire; later, this would endear him to many who knew his father).

Edward Chandler III inherited his forebears' brilliance (indeed, some say his intellect is quite uncanny) but none of their charm. Few know anything of the current PCK's youth, though it is known he was very ill for most of his early life and there are few public records of his accomplishments. What information is available suggests that the youngest Chandler excelled in his studies under private tutors, entering Ashton University at the age of 16 and earning two degrees by the time he was 20. When he started working beside his father at 23, he was a pale, serious young man. When Edward II died suddenly, his son stepped in immediately and continued the company's work—he did not even take time off to mourn, but showed up in the office one day and issued the curt memo, "We mourn the passing of Edward Chandler II. We know he will be missed and would wish us to carry on business as usual."

In public, Chandler III can often lose the press through complex verbiage and archaic erudition; he seems to have little concern about whether he is understood. He rarely answers questions and when he does so, his responses are short and direct. He prefers to do his work out of the limelight, suggesting that his personality is not an issue: only the company's performance matters. He is known to travel a great deal and to spend most of his rather limited free time reading. NWI under his leadership has continued its tradition of charitable giving, so most forgive him his personal lapses and suspect he is simply a very private individual.

Cyrus Mak

Purus PCK

Cyrus Mak is widely considered the most down-to-earth and approachable of the major PCKs. Mak routinely dresses in casual clothing and carries a datapad at all times, usually reading or making notes for himself as he goes. An earnest face, reading glasses, and a hairstyle that always appears to be just short of a bird's nest cap off the impression of an unassuming and earnest fellow worker rather than one of the most powerful men in the world. Mak is plainspoken and often has an expression locked in serious concentration when he is at work or in a wistful half-smile when interacting with others. Workers continually rate him very high as a leader; polls suggest Mak is viewed as approachable, friendly, and competent.

All this might make the casual observer underestimate Cyrus Mak's talent for management at all levels. The Purus corporation is a sprawling giant with a hand in a vast number of projects, and assigning resources to ensure that all of them are well managed is a Herculean task. Mak has hired very talented executives during his tenure (notably snapping up Dr. Padma Lauritsen from her post at Ygauzes University), but he seems always to know about every aspect of the company when called upon.

Mak's training is in architecture and design, but he showed strong skills in administration early on in his career, and he rose quickly and steadily through the ranks into upper management. His ability to get along with people at all levels of his organization has made him a humble hero to the working men and women. His devotion to his workers has not always endeared him to his shareholders; more than once he has made decisions to maintain or improve the standards for his employees rather than bow to the pressures of the market. Though this occasionally has caused friction with the board and affected Purus stock prices, in the end such maneuvers have provided long-term employee satisfaction and, in return, workers give their all for the company.

Mak has put some considerable company resources into exploring the Rain, though mainly in the areas of providing lift-off and support facilities for space exploration. Purus is consulting on DDH Matsaya's Kalpana space platform, and there has been some rumor that Purus is considering building (or may already be covertly building) its own rival platform. Like all the major corporate players on Ptah, Purus is building ships in privately held factories and launching from specialized facilities; thanks to existing infrastructure, Purus may be better positioned to field a fleet than any company other than DDH itself.

Anne Selket

Alinas PCK

Anne Selket was groomed from a very early age to take over her role as the head of Alinas, just as all the previous PCKs of the corporation; she has proven to be all that the corporation hoped for and more. Selket excelled in her academic courses and proved a blazing star on the social scene—in fact, most people know her more for her roles in the Marcellete Eunomia series of films or her famous portrayal of Salmaht at the Ukelo Festival in 6254 than as a corporate head. Universally hailed as the most beautiful woman alive, Selket garners attention whether announcing Alinas' corporate programs, posing for fan photos, or just walking down the street. As the 148th High Priestess of the Alinas cultus, she also generates a good deal of interest (though Selket has always downplayed this aspect of her position). Her public persona is one of brilliant grace and witty charm.

Privately, Selket is known for her unbending will and razor-sharp mind. Those who walk into a meeting with her expecting only a well-spoken corporate figurehead often walk out looking rather stunned and now bound in a complex Alinas contract. She is also known in business circles for an iron will and little to no tolerance for failure. Selket is intent on pushing Alinas to the forefront of technology, not content to rest on one of the most well-respected corporate names on Ptah. She has poured a great deal of Alinas' capital into new business segments and has invested herself personally into dozens of new projects.

Echo Tellurian

DDH Matsya PCK

You can't go a week on Ptah without seeing Echo Tellurian grinning at you from the cover of Modern Syndicate or Éclat on newsstands or sidewalk oculets. Whether he's opening a new docking facility, test flying a Hierofalco suborbital ramjet, or taking his model girlfriend Hermine out to a midnight wine tasting at Priya, whatever he does, the press want to be there, covering the planet's most entertaining billionaire.

Echo is a consummate playboy: he sails, he hunts, he gets into wild political debates on television, he gives million-rik donations to charities, he parties with movie stars. All agree that he's charming, savvy, and plays the media like a fiddle. His business sense is not always the most sound—no one will soon forget the spectacular failure of the Kingu Gravity Lift on Anshel Island and the resultant financial loss—but he has daring and panache in spades. He's also smart enough to choose brilliant and loyal underlings. His genius is in the vision, not in management.

Echo famously dropped out of college to make his fortune, helping to build and find sponsors for the reknown Ammun's Hammer, which won the Heliodorus Invitational three years running. The Tellurian family has long been in the engineering game (Echo's father, Nicholas "Dad" Tellurian, was for years the head of aerospace at DDH Matsya, and though he's now retired, he still retains a seat on the board), but Echo was a black sheep, refusing to settle down and seriously tackle the job of design. He has great skill with a spanner and an analyzer (indeed, rumors fly that when the mood takes him, Echo will throw on a clean suit and spend a few hours in the research and development labs of DDH, cobbling together something it will take the engineering department weeks to work out), but he lacks the focus to stick with any single project for long.

No one even asks why Echo would be pouring DDH Matsya resources into exploring the Rain: as the most powerful aerospace company on the planet, DDH is involved with most exploration attempts. Even more than this, though, the world would have been shocked if Tellurian hadn't set his sights on being the first to plumb the depths of the phenomenon—he has vowed that, as soon as a permanent DDH Matsya exploratory space platform Kalpana is operational, he will personally pay it a visit.

Hiouen Thsang

DASA Corp PCK

Hiouen Thsang is sometimes called "The Serene Master" by his employees and the popular press, and it is a sobriquet most agree is well deserved. Hiouen is the calm center of DASA Corp., seeming to embody their ideal of the balance of mind, body, and spirit. A trim and athletic man, Hiouen begins every day with exercise and meditation, and only then turns his thoughts to matters of business—he claims this keeps his spirit clear and his thoughts unclouded. He listens more than he speaks, but is also known for his unwavering resolve. His sagacious leadership has helped DASA continue to dominate the healthcare industry even in the face of many challenges.

All of this is somewhat ironic, as forty years ago Hiouen was ousted from the same director's chair he currently occupies for being too reckless and indiscreet.

Hiouen was the youngest PCK in corporate history when he took the head office of DASA Corp. at the age of 24. He was groomed for the spot by his predecessor and aunt, Min Thsang. At the time he was known for his keen business acumen and his audacious approach, and many within the company objected, both because of his youth and his impulsiveness. Hiouen did make some dramatic changes, closing some divisions and initiating research into some fields then considered too esoteric to be pursued (including a proposal to create a distance-delivery vector which eventually became DASA's famous MedSpot technology). The board complained loudly that he ignored their advice and ran the company as his personal kingdom.

Only a year into his tenure came the Therecia Incident. In 2253, DASA's bio-reclamation plant in Therecia, Qilon, suffered a catastrophic containment failure. With the risk of potentially deadly viral and bacterial contamination of the surrounding area (and a special risk of contaminants making their way into the water table and from there down the Adon River to the coast), Hiouen took several dramatic steps that shocked the company. He immediately halted most of DASA's operations (save for humanitarian relief and front-end healthcare) and ordered the resources to the site. The leaders of all the surrounding countries were alerted to the threat and asked to send what assistance they could. Most damning for Hiouen, he personally called the PCKs of Purus, DDH Matsya, and Panis Global, asking them to lend whatever aid they could to containing the outbreak and protecting the public, and promising to foot the bill for their expenses in doing so.

The Therecia Incident became the most famous potential man-made disaster in Ptah's history. Though the threat was contained (only a handful of DASA's first responders died or suffered grave illness, and no one outside the company was affected), DASA's stock prices plummeted and, following the incident, politicians enacted far more stringent safety laws and demanded more thorough and transparent containment protocols from any company handling hazardous materials, costing the corporation billions of riks. (In popular parlance, hazardous materials regulations are still sometimes called "DASA laws.")

Within the company, the board and executives were outraged at Hiouen's actions. They asked why he had not waited for fuller disclosure of the threat, why he had not demanded further analysis by their own science officers and security before bringing in outsiders, and why he would risk DASA's good name by alerting the world to the problem so publicly. Had Hiouen not had the support of his aunt and the company not been so fiercely dedicated to protecting the Thsang name, the PCK might have been ousted entirely. Instead, he was forced from his position and given "extended leave."

Few know exactly where Hiouen went during his three-year hiatus, bur rumors abound. (Conspiracy theorists say he was actually doing secret work for the company in areas that DASA had not yet penetrated; the more generously inclined suggest he may have been seeking spiritual solace.) Whatever the case, the Hiouen Thsang who returned to head a minor division of the Personal Healthcare segment was not the same man who had been unceremoniously forced out earlier.

The next ten years vindicated Hiouen. As more and more was uncovered about the Therecia Incident, the true scope of the potential disaster became clear. Had there been hesitation—had Purus not constructed the series of concentric containment grids that still stand today at what is now called the Hole, or Panis' Tau detachments and Matsya transports not evacuated the surrounding areas—most researchers now agree that the effects might have been pandemic. DASA might not have suffered a financial loss: it might have collapsed, and its executives would most likely have been left open to criminal as well as civil charges.

Hiouen, meanwhile, worked his way back up through the ranks a second time until the board was happy to welcome him back to his former position. The Hiouen Thsang who occupies the PCK's office now is quite different from the man who sat in it four decades ago, but he has not lost his shrewd mind or his determination to do what he must to make DASA Corp. great.

Rachel Towns

Panis Global PCK

Unlike most of the PCK's of Ptah's major corporations, Rachel Towns worked her way up ranks—quite literally, given Panis Global's military hierarchy. Starting with the company straight out of high school, Towns established herself as an impulsive but crafty cadet. She took advantage of Panis' educational incentives and completed a degree in administration which served her well as she was promoted quickly in the tactical division. Towns is known for decisiveness in a crisis and a talent for strategic thinking, but she has also been chastised by the board for her rashness, and once she has made a decision, it can take vast effort to convince her to change it. Some have cited this as a fault in her leadership, but her subordinates have routinely reported that Towns listens to expert advice and considers all her options before making up her mind—they claim she simply does this more rapidly than the average corporate head and doesn't make apologies for doing so. Nevertheless, she carries a reputation as a brash leader and an uneven PCK. Still, it would take a colossal disaster to dent Panis' market share, so firmly entrenched is the company in its sphere.

Towns is widely regarded in the business community as being more interested in market tactics than fiscal policy. Akilesh VanCamp, in her article "Storming the Markets" in Adept, characterized Towns' approach: "Panis Global's PCK seems convinced that the purpose of business is to outwit your competitors—and your customers." Few wish to contest with Towns on the purely business front; if she has a weakness, it's a lack of concern about public relations and corporate image. It is not the case that Towns disregards such concerns, but her attitude could be characterized as mercenary. VanCamp quotes Towns in her article as likening advertising to "psychological warfare," which seems rather blunt to more sophisticated analysts. Some have attributed this earthy demeanor to clever self-promotion rather than lack of sophistication.

* G: The gravitational constant and namesake of this game.

* The Rain: A mysterious cloud of dust, gas, and ice many times the size of our solar system.

* SDER: (Sub Dimensional Etheric Reflection) An sensor technology which can identify distance and vector information of objects in 3D space. It also can discern compositional information about objects within its range.

* Ptah: Pronounced 'tah', it is the 3rd planet from Ra, the sun, and the home of humanity.

* Bast: Ptah's moon, one of only two natural satellite in the solar system. Bast is too cold and dry to sustain life. The boon in resources, especially water, from The Rain may make the long-held dream of colonizing her possible.

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