MaskedManiac's World Dump
Jun 16, 2016 21:46:38 GMT -5
Post by maskedmaniac on Jun 16, 2016 21:46:38 GMT -5
Here, have some worldbuilding practice/fails/wierdness from universes that failed to be.
Business Paradise, Part 1
Feel free to ask questions that expand upon this world or others that I may post!
Business Paradise, Part 1
Imagine Earth. Now imagine it if the population has grown drastically to the point where the planet cannot sustain itself. So people expanded to to other planets in the solar system.
Due to technological and resource limitations, there has been little innovation in ultra-long-range space travel. However, a sufficiently adept substitute has emerged - teleportation.
People no longer need to subject themselves to fatigue and disorienting time shifts from long-distance space travel-teleporter setups allow the general public to come and go as they please, comparable to public transportation. Corporate elites may have more advanced infrastructure to suit their whims, such as personal vehicles or private transportation lines.
Towards the end of the 24th century, several corporations were competing to become the one true ruler of the public. But as their usual legal battles unfolded, they realized that not only were they opposed by each other, but they were opposed by the millions of consumers that threatened to boycott their products if the merge occured. Now, while one could argue that a monopoly would need to fear no group, these mega-corporations could not afford a major profit loss- they would be outcompeted by one another. After tense meetings with accountants and spokespersons from different companies, they decided to incorporate into a meta-corporation. In that regard, they continued to function as several individual corporations of several businesses, without the leaders of a single corporation absorbing all the power.
The corporations were as follows:
-InfraTec - technology, energy generation
-AgriFluid - agriculture, water, remaining liquid/gas based fuels
-CONSUMR-LORD - consumer based products such as toiletries, clothing, insurance
-MiliGuard - military, law enforcement
Once this meta-corporation formed, regulations became incredibly lax. After clearing concerns about the meta-corporation's formation, they had no need to worry about boycotts or failure of all infrastructure, as each of the individual mega-corporations had solidly established themselves everywhere.
But how could the people fall into such a controlled environment? What happened to free will?
They did not, but with great power comes great PR. The Meta-Corporation implemented multiple systems to prevent rebellion. Individual businesses that would supposedly be 'competitors' would actually be owned by the same mega-corporation, providing the illusion of free enterprise. In fact, sometimes when staffing of the mega corporations began to fall short, mega-corporations would help people invest in smaller businesses, only to absorb those business owners into their own ranks and taking control of the market once more. Of course, these small businesses could be briefly advertised to inflate the populus's perception of these great and powerful corporations, but most people would forget about any inspiration after viewing the news on TV.
Of course, consumers managed to benefit as well! With many people, a readily available labor force was available for major services such as (ahem) power generation and store management.
(How can manual labor be fun?)
The population of Earth(and surrounding areas) as mentioned before, is enourmous. However, demands are quite minimal, due to the ever increasing population, in terms of housing, there's not much room to spend money on large furniture and other space-filling tasks(Of course, physical exercise is provided in various forms) Digital entertainment is at its peak, with multiplayer games emerging that have constantly growing audiences in relation to the increasing population. Digital entertainment also is not very space-consuming, requiring only a screen, a radio, or a console.
Of course, many people still find being healthy interesting, and of course, they have to earn their money from somewhere.
Enter power generation. People can choose a variety of methods to exercise themselves. The most basic is entering a power gym or a power mill. The gyms tend to be more dynamic, with various machines available for people to focus on their legs, abs, arms, whatever. When that fails, one can visit a power mill, to join their friends or family in operating a massive hand crank or pedal-based generator system. Sessions can range from 5 -15 minutes for younger children, and up to an hour for teens and adults. After attending and being active in a power gym or power mill, the workers are then paid in credits, where they can redeem at any business under the Meta-Corporation.
Due to technological and resource limitations, there has been little innovation in ultra-long-range space travel. However, a sufficiently adept substitute has emerged - teleportation.
People no longer need to subject themselves to fatigue and disorienting time shifts from long-distance space travel-teleporter setups allow the general public to come and go as they please, comparable to public transportation. Corporate elites may have more advanced infrastructure to suit their whims, such as personal vehicles or private transportation lines.
Towards the end of the 24th century, several corporations were competing to become the one true ruler of the public. But as their usual legal battles unfolded, they realized that not only were they opposed by each other, but they were opposed by the millions of consumers that threatened to boycott their products if the merge occured. Now, while one could argue that a monopoly would need to fear no group, these mega-corporations could not afford a major profit loss- they would be outcompeted by one another. After tense meetings with accountants and spokespersons from different companies, they decided to incorporate into a meta-corporation. In that regard, they continued to function as several individual corporations of several businesses, without the leaders of a single corporation absorbing all the power.
The corporations were as follows:
-InfraTec - technology, energy generation
-AgriFluid - agriculture, water, remaining liquid/gas based fuels
-CONSUMR-LORD - consumer based products such as toiletries, clothing, insurance
-MiliGuard - military, law enforcement
Once this meta-corporation formed, regulations became incredibly lax. After clearing concerns about the meta-corporation's formation, they had no need to worry about boycotts or failure of all infrastructure, as each of the individual mega-corporations had solidly established themselves everywhere.
But how could the people fall into such a controlled environment? What happened to free will?
They did not, but with great power comes great PR. The Meta-Corporation implemented multiple systems to prevent rebellion. Individual businesses that would supposedly be 'competitors' would actually be owned by the same mega-corporation, providing the illusion of free enterprise. In fact, sometimes when staffing of the mega corporations began to fall short, mega-corporations would help people invest in smaller businesses, only to absorb those business owners into their own ranks and taking control of the market once more. Of course, these small businesses could be briefly advertised to inflate the populus's perception of these great and powerful corporations, but most people would forget about any inspiration after viewing the news on TV.
Of course, consumers managed to benefit as well! With many people, a readily available labor force was available for major services such as (ahem) power generation and store management.
(How can manual labor be fun?)
The population of Earth(and surrounding areas) as mentioned before, is enourmous. However, demands are quite minimal, due to the ever increasing population, in terms of housing, there's not much room to spend money on large furniture and other space-filling tasks(Of course, physical exercise is provided in various forms) Digital entertainment is at its peak, with multiplayer games emerging that have constantly growing audiences in relation to the increasing population. Digital entertainment also is not very space-consuming, requiring only a screen, a radio, or a console.
Of course, many people still find being healthy interesting, and of course, they have to earn their money from somewhere.
Enter power generation. People can choose a variety of methods to exercise themselves. The most basic is entering a power gym or a power mill. The gyms tend to be more dynamic, with various machines available for people to focus on their legs, abs, arms, whatever. When that fails, one can visit a power mill, to join their friends or family in operating a massive hand crank or pedal-based generator system. Sessions can range from 5 -15 minutes for younger children, and up to an hour for teens and adults. After attending and being active in a power gym or power mill, the workers are then paid in credits, where they can redeem at any business under the Meta-Corporation.