POSTED BY: KORPKINDER
The utter chill of the street rep everything associ-ated with S-K manages to possess makes any as-sessment of a single aspect relatively moot. The corp is feared worldwide. They are seen as ruth-less and hyper-efficient, without a sense of hu-manity at all. Looking just at that overall view, one can only infer that Saeder-Krupp looks at orks and trolls the same way it looks at guns, steel, and cars:
as tools to better their bottom line by using them in the most efficient and effective way possible.
When you talk Big Ten, up until recently, the biggest of the group was Saeder-Krupp. One of the things that got Lofwyr’s corp to the top of the heap was an understanding of how to use resourc-es to their fullresourc-est potential. I’m not saying orks and trolls are simply resources, but in the eyes of Lof-wyr, everything and everyone in his corporation are resources. That attitude tends to flow down from the top, getting a bit thinner as you reach the corporate laymen, for whom bits of racial hostili-ty remain based on residual resentment left over from the formation of the Black Forest Troll King-dom (now Black Forest Troll Republic). The chop-ping off of such a large chunk of Bavaria left a bad taste in the mouths of other Germans. The attitude is stronger the closer to the German foundation of the corp you get, but it travels with the executives and workers around the world.
Most orks and trolls who work their way up into the higher ranks of the corp are from offices and subsidiaries not directly tied to Germany. But once they have proven themselves, they don’t catch flak for tusks or horns in the megacorporate headquar-ters. Lower in the ranks, orks and trolls deal with
more issues from people outside their corp than inside, even though they’re far enough down the corporate ladder that they struggle to get noticed by anyone else in the corp.
While not exactly politically correct, and not universal over the entire megacorp, there is a definite dislike or distrust of elves and dwarfs, which provides the orks and trolls of the compa-ny another advantage. It’s a common view that elves and dragons don’t get along, and while this issue is mainly the result of an elite few elves, the rest of the elven population is scrutinized for the possibility that they could be coordinating with that elite group.
The issue with dwarfs is a different one. Lof-wyr isn’t a huge fan of international networks leading out of his corporation, but he is also not keen on losing access to these same networks.
He just needs to control the flow of information.
Point is, elves and dwarfs are handicapped here, leaving orks and trolls to push forward and move up the SK ladder.
The social life of orks and trolls within SK is one of the best in the megacorporate world, and I don’t just say that because it’s my corp. The social soci-eties of SK are unmatched in corp and private cir-cles, especially for trolls. Part of this is in an effort to give trolls who stayed on as SK citizens, rather than moving to a nation of their own, a place to develop connections and feel at home. These societies have stuck around and grown over time. Other groups, including numerous ork-centered social organiza-tions, have followed suit and sprouted up all over the world. Other corps have similar groups, but un-like them, all we care about here is that orks and trolls have a place inside SK that makes them feel like more than just meat and muscle.
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SK has no special love for orks and trolls. They also haveno special love for anyone else other than drakes. Though if an ork or a troll were a drake, I guess they might get special treatment. My point is, the orks and trolls inside SK aren’t treated special. They’re treated like everyone else. The elves, dwarfs, humans, and other sapients inside the mega have social clubs, and opportunities to move up. Lofwyr wants the best, and the only way to push for everyone to be the best is to create competition and interaction.
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CosmoMoving away from more general statements, there are some areas of particular interest. The
aforementioned Black Forest Troll Republic is one of those. As I mentioned, there is some resentment within some parts of the corp, especially among old-timers, but the growing strength of the Republic has generated business possibilities that can’t be ignored. The question is what approach SK wants to use with regard to this nation. There is a vocal contingent within the corp—especially that older group—that wants to use SK’s might to crush the economic strength of the Republic. Find corps within the Republic who are doing well, use SK’s mass to undercut them on price and bury them. Some people say this won’t work, because the Republic is too restrictive in its trade policies and the citizens are too willing to make economic sacrifices in order to support home-grown corps.
They also argue that it is unwise. Why declare economic war on a nation that seems to be growing in strength and could become a strong partner if you play your cards right? These voices favor building stronger trade partnerships with the Republic, getting an in that other megacorps may lack and taking advantage of this increasingly powerful customer base. To some, that’s a bitter pill to swallow, because it acknowledges that the land won’t be coming back to the AGS anytime soon. Others, though, could care less about national borders, since everyone knows that’s not how power is determined in the Sixth World.
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There’s are a couple of trog-specific elements to this. First,of course, is the fact that SK must cater to a trog audience if they want to gain a foothold in the Republic. Second, they had better have some troll sales executives working on making the access happen, or they won’t get far. Are you a troll in SK looking for a career boost, or do you know such a troll? Find a way to get a position working on negotiations with the Republic.
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ThornAnother area of interest is Bogotá. Saeder-Krupp was poised to rebuild the city even before the Az-Am War ended, and their efforts have borne fruit. Fifty-five percent of the electricity in the city is now supplied by SK plants, and they pretty much have a monopoly on bridge and road construction. Some parts of Aztechnology have expressed irritation at these facts, but the efficiency of SK’s services have helped keep those mutters relatively quiet.
So what does this have to do with trogs?
Aztechnology, especially this close to the
homeland, is generally pretty neutral when it comes to trogs. But that’s only half the equation. Their opponent in the war, Amazonia, is widely known as a haven for metahumans, and orks and trolls have been implicated in a number of insurgency operations since the war ended. That means a certain portion of the populace is suspicious of orks and trolls in any capacity, despite what larger Aztechnology culture might have to say about it.
With power installations and other infrastructure items being targets to insurrectionists, the sight of any ork or troll working in those areas sends some residents into a panic. Saeder-Krupp does not want to mess up a good thing, so they ship people out rather than cause a problem.
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KropKinder is not a runner, so he’s not going to connectthese dots for you, but I will: What this means for us is that if you want to cast suspicion on a certain group or get people angry at SK, put an ork or troll in the wrong place and watch the nerves kick in.
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Marcos>
I’d complain that using prejudice like that only deepensand extends it, but I’ve used the unreasonable fear people have of orks or trolls in my favor a number of times, so I can’t complain too loudly.
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2XL>
I’d never find it unreasonable to get a little nervous aboutsomeone who can punch through cinder blocks.
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NephrineWUXING
POSTED BY: WUXINGWATCHER
Every megacorp has a reputation on the street.
The funny thing about Wuxing is, some people think it’s a little bland. Not that they aren’t into the same myriad of dirty deeds and dark backroom deals as all the other megacorps. They hire run-ners and do horrible things just like all the rest. But unlike some of the more high-profile megas, they manage to keep it quiet from the rest of the world by seeming like they aren’t up to anything major.
They are, of course, doing some major things, but as soon as Matrix chatter seems to be turning to-ward open discussion of it, whoops, here’s a flurry of news about the Wu quints! And the issue fades, and people keep thinking Wuxing is less than it is.
What this means for orks and trolls is that they can be hidden behind this same veil of
common-ness. The streets don’t usually give Wuxing a bad rap, or give the megacorp a rap of any kind, and that’s the way they like it.
Let me tell you how things are behind the veil.
Someone tossed me a message and asked me to tell them what life is like as a Wuxing trog. They used that exact word, and while I felt that little tinge of anger since I didn’t know the sender, I still put some-thing together because I thought it was an interest-ing question, and a topic a lot of people don’t know anything about. I’m sure everyone gets all sorts of information about the Japanacorps and their less-than-civil treatment of trogs, but across the East Chi-na Sea, we take a different view. The world should know the difference, even though at times they tend to lump “Asians” all into one category thanks to their ignorance. Sorry. Touchy subject. But let’s talk trogs.
Wuxing knows the value of people. In the eyes of Wuxing, orks and trolls are people. Different people have different strengths and weaknesses.
They have different forces flowing through and around them. Orks and trolls are strong in earth, balanced in fire and water, and weak in air.
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You talk to a person from Wuxing, you’re gonna get someWuxing woo. Just roll with it.
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Sounder>
Dismissal is always easier than understanding.>
Man-for-Many-NamesThe forces that saturate and flow around them guide the corporation to what positions they are best directed. These strengths and weaknesses, levels of energy, and proximity to lines of power give executives, guided by powers we rarely un-derstand, a direction to help orks and trolls find their place in the corporate hierarchy.
Strong in earth, they are a foundation to build upon. Sometimes that’s literal, which means orks and trolls are used as construction forces. But more often it’s a figurative concept, meaning they need to be involved in the planning and initialization of proj-ects. The precepts of Wuxing don’t hinder the pro-gression of orks and trolls; they simply guide them to the places they are needed, as they do with every citizen of Wuxing. The nature of their energy is what creates their limitations. Those who can alter their natural focus to become more balanced, or who can shift toward another element, gain access to more variety in their positioning and placement inside the flow of Wuxing at the cost of their original strengths.
The orks and trolls themselves, those who are not in tune with their exact nature, find Wuxing to be a place where the design of your physical form is not what guides you. Certainly there are those within the corporation who cannot understand an ork being aligned with the sky. But it happens, and Wuxing helps guide them in the way that makes the best use of their energy, no matter the expect-ed alignments that others see.
We are all metahuman, though, and jealousy is a fiery emotion that can taint the coolest heads at times. Seeing someone supplant you in a way you do not expect is not easy. The trogs of Wuxing face issues along those lines on a regular, but not rampant, basis. Being so firmly grounded certainly helps, but their opposition is often air, a force that does not often exert its efforts directly. Thus, the conflict is often far more mental than physical. It tends to play out as frustration on the part of the trogs as they find pathways that should be open to them blocked, along with frustration on their opposition’s part as the trogs frequently barrel through with little notice. Earth is hard to stop.
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Thing about Wuxing is, they didn’t have the same ork andtroll numbers that other corps and regions had. So they don’t consider it an issue.
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Dr. Spin>
They don’t have the numbers because, like most regionalcultures, they had very little problem abandoning their unwanted children. Traditionally that meant girl children, but as soon as the Awakening hit, metahumans, especially orks and trolls, joined the list.
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Lei Kung>
Except trolls and orks expressed through Goblinization,so it wasn’t as simple as leaving your baby at a church or in a river. Instead it became a generation of forgotten children, forced out into the world.
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Mihoshi Oni>
There are quite a few gangs in the previous Chinesenations that are almost completely composed of metahumans. They started back when the first children were shunned and cast out. Their names are always related to these events: the Shunned, the Outcasts, the Forsaken, etc.
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Lei KungAs I’m sure many of you are aware, the foundation of Wuxing has shifted and grown in recent times. The tumult among the Big Ten and
beyond has led to many seeking emergency financing, and often that support comes from Wuxing. The interest in that financing has led to significant gains; assets acquired after defaults are perhaps greater. There are mutters that Wuxing is using much of its heft in the shadows to make sure some loans default, as they would rather foreclose than just collect cash. They say that in many ways, the emergency financing program has really become a hostile takeover program, and Wuxing is very much in a buying mood.
What does this change mean for orks and trolls?
First, it means many are being brought into Wuxing from other backgrounds, entirely unfamiliar with our way of working, and sometimes unfamiliar with the potential inside them. The culture adjustment can cause problems, but we all know the world we live in. We adjust, because there are few options to do otherwise. Second, the type of expansion Wuxing is embarking upon does not happen without planning. Ork and troll executives are finding new advancement opportunities opening up, and their power is growing within the corp. How this will affect the overall shape of the corp, including whether C-suite-level and board demographics will change, is written on the flow of the world’s energies.
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One of the funny, but not ha-ha funny, things about theworld is how people who used to seem open-minded and tolerant suddenly find their tolerance drying up when they start competing for scarce resources. So some execs who welcomed orks and trolls in various capacities may find themselves wanting to limit their roles if it looks like trogs might start competing for their jobs. Never forget that banding together against things that are different is a basic human instinct.
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2XLAs far as I know, shadowrunner orks and trolls are treated much like ork and troll employees—
that is to say, they will fit where they are needed.
Perhaps the most significant difficulty is that while employees have a decent understanding of the Wuxing way of thought, outside runners may not. This means that when Mr. Johnson attempts to explain how diviners have perceived the roles of certain runners, it may vary from their own self-perception. This can cause confusion, or even hostility. Fortunately, most Wuxing Mr.
Johnsons are socially skilled enough to make such observations in ways that don’t give offense, or to not make them at all and simply deploy
runners as they see fit, regardless of the runners’
understanding of what they do best.
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Which still causes some confusion. I know a troll whospecializes in combat magic who did multiple jobs for Wuxing that kept putting her in a support position, where someone with manipulation, healing, or illusion skills would function better. She finally asked Mr. Johnson why he kept hiring her if he didn’t want her to do her thing, and he gave her the smug smile that people always can deploy and said he was simply happy that her perception of her skills didn’t affect her actual performance.
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Elijah>
So as she kept taking jobs from him?>
Pistons>
Yes. After all, nuyen’s nuyen. And her illusion spells havebecome fairly creative and potent.
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Elijah>
As always, the path eventually reveals itself.>
AreteNEONET (HA HA)
POSTED BY: ERIC WILLIAMS
I’m only doing this mess because we haven’t seen where everything will fall from this collaps-ing house of cards. Whatever happens, it was a shame to lose NeoNET. They played fair with us trogs, and it wasn’t bad spending time on their payroll. The streets saw them as such a resilient firm that the view spread to all levels of their existence. Everything about NeoNET was about building and rebuilding from the street’s stand-point. At this point, many people think it’s not over, especially those low in the corp who don’t have much choice in where they go. There are quite a few orks and trolls in that pool, so the streets are seeing the fall of NeoNET as a flood-gate of trogs slipping into the pool of SINless and streeters. There’s a lot of worry about what comes next, and that a lot of trogs may end in the wrong place.
I’m a realist. My world is coming apart. The corporation that I spent my adult life believing in
I’m a realist. My world is coming apart. The corporation that I spent my adult life believing in