In the wake of global war, the majority of infrastructure had been sabotaged, destroyed, or eliminated in favour economical war-time production lines, munitions, vehicles, robotics and electronics had taken centre stage in a new kind of warfare. In the post-war years, the corporate systems of the protectorate nations were left to resume their work, re-establish trade relationships, and with new access provided by the easing of international boundaries for trade, transport, and taxation. Re-emerging industries in conquered territories came to be easy prey for hardier multi-national corporations with massive profits from arms production. The new market began to organize itself into the mega-corporation structure. Instead of being a focused and streamlined organization, designed to develop one line of profit, the new mega-corporations expanded their original product lines into massive portfolios of companies large and small. However, brand recognition came to be first and foremost, and so, the days of subsidiaries were gone. The mega-corporations stamped their logo on everything they owned and produced, and the company that did it for them would be the one relegated to the fine print.
Megacorporations come in the form of the big three. Although others exist, the globally recognized masters of industry remain the big three. Their near-monopoly in almost every corporate sphere mean that their only competition is with each other, and to keep protectorate governments out of their affairs, a project that costs them a great deal of money, though only a tiny percentage of their bottom line.
The Big ThreeMZ Global MZ Global formed out of the massive demand of the protectorate for robotic weaponry during the war. Combining Japanese firms with aerospace companies worldwide, MZ Global was the first true mega-corporation.
It was their expansion into automated cars that saw the mass-market spread of driverless cars. In the intervening years, MZ Global has sunk into the background as the least public of the big three, and tends to produce vehicles under the so-called 'old-fashioned' brand model, using familiar brands like Ford, GM, Toyota, to differentiate price points, vehicle styles, and production location. Ultimately, the vast majority cars now sold on the general market are MZ Global produced.
Along with their domination of the vehicle market, MZ Global also dominates aerospace engineering and production. In other words, if it moves faster than you can walk, MZ Global probably got paid for some, if not all, of its parts.
Tesla Enercom PG Developing out of the need for long-range high-capacity energy storage and transfer capability during the war, Tesla became the big name in what nobody saw. Every battery, every engine, suddenly needed to be a Tesla, and the resulting boom in the market never stopped. Electricity as a power-source became more economical than ever, could be stored longer and with far less waste, and Tesla both produced it, and stored it. Thanks to extremely optimistic spending by the Protectorate to develop new batteries, and new power-sources, Tesla acquired a great number of clean-energy and nuclear energy companies running the company into massive debt. The gamble ultimately paid off, when the debts were written off as war-expense, and Tesla surged to sudden profitability before the end of the war.
Tesla was quick to diversify, however. In the wake of the advancement of MZ Global, Tesla, with its market status assured by MZ Global's massive need for power, and the products used to make MZ Global's products fit in line with the new electric-only style of the population and infrastructure, Tesla once again bought aggressively. Tesla acquired the major names in personal computers, and home electronics, as well as moving in on telecommunications. Unlike MZ Global, however, Tesla was quick to brand itself into the public eye. Their distinctive logo took its place across every kind of technology. A keen marketing department ensured that Tesla was sold to companies first, and consumers second. If one were to look on any server, computer, or video screen in any of the high-rises reaching toward the clouds, Tesla would be there.
Atlas Dynamics
Atlas Dynamics is the model of the mega-corporation. Although it initial existence came in the form of a war-time arms company, selling precision small-arms to the protectorate, it is not thought to owe its origins to these humble beginnings. In truth, Atlas Dynamics was the result of the vision of AT Ryan, the CEO of the original Atlas Dynamics. Through the war, Atlas Dynamics made a name for itself in high-quality precision engineered weaponry. Furthermore, it did so with the use of mostly human labour. Despite being a relatively small company, it represented job growth in an otherwise stagnating war-time employment market. As such, AT Ryan took it upon himself to host a kind of summit, of the major names in his industry, and pitched to them the concept of a new kind of company. One which could make the profits of the multi-nationals, and the morals a home-town business, and a name that would come to mean quality. This vision, or rather the basic outline of it, became the expanded Atlas Dynamics. Relieved from the burden of competition, the corporations began to develop their own profit avenues, all while happily passing the business among themselves. Quality was to expected from Atlas Dynamics as a brand, while other companies could specialize in durability, or cost-effectiveness, or light-weight construction, but ensure that every contract went to the best division for the job. After the war, and the rise of MZ Global, and Tesla, Atlas Dynamics branched out, forming trade associations, and conglomerates, using their tried and true business model, a friendlier way to serve the customer, they called it.
With success, came competition. So, although Atlas Dynamics is considered one of the big three, it holds only about thirty-percent of its own market, the rest shared, though in smaller segments by most of the other mega-corporations. Atlas Dynamics manufactures, sells, and distributes just about everything. Food, clothing, music, movies, drugs, and most importantly, slaves. Atlas dynamics uses more slave labour than the other two of the big three combined, and handles more slaves as cargo or product than anyone else, including governments. Atlas has, according to expert analysis, contributed more to the rise of the permissive slavery culture than any other company, and provides services to the general public in line with this. Piercing, tattooing, surgery, and general aesthetics are industries dominated by Atlas, and its ilk. Atlas, and the class of mega-corporations it represents are closer to the average citizen than their own country. One orders of magnitude more likely to be able to name the CEO of the mega-corporation which serves most of their needs, than they are to name their government representative, or even national leader. It is safe to say the Atlas, and AT Ryan CEO for life, are household names.
