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Post by Hand-E-Food on Aug 22, 2008 2:23:23 GMT
Hello peoples, If you were the head of a corporation in a lawless land, how would you control your employees/slaves? So far I've thought of: - Enforced drug dependancy. The drug is only manufactured by the corporation.
- Tracking system implant. Employees locations are known inside corporation buildings and by nearby bounty hunters.
- Kill switch implant. Higher ranked employees can cause lower ranked employees to have a heart attack through physical contact.
- Brainwashing. Employees have an overwhelming sense of compassion towards peers and senior employees. (Thank you, Michelle.)
I'm writing a dystopian CRPG. It's set in the future. Psionics are commonplace (about 50% of the population) and governments are unheard of. People either work for a corporation who provides the basic necessities of life in return for your servitude, or fend for themselves on the streets. The hero starts off escaping or being banished from his corporation. Life with the corporation has caused a permanent disability (as per the above ideas.) Another idea I've come up with is: - The corporation always maintains a super-sterilized environment. Employees have next-to-no immune system.
My wife suggested, based on the Khmer Rouge: - Remove communication and separate families and friends.
And right now I just thought of: - Radioactive experiments cause mutation.
I'm not sure how to translate those ideas into a permanent disability. How else can life with the corporation cripple you? |
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Post by Elliot Kane on Aug 22, 2008 2:57:34 GMT
Pseudo-religious induction. The head of the corporation is a 'living god' or the chosen prophet of such, so that acting against him is not just treason but also blasphemy. This can be further implemented by regular 'miracles' using tech unknown to the workers. A system of rewards for loyalty and punishments for disloyalty - including random testing for disloyalty by contacts with a non-existent 'rebel underground'. This also serves two more functions - fosters the idea that the corporation always knows when you are bad and helps to neutralise genuine malcontents by spotting them early. The issuing of breeding permits before anyone is allowed to mate/have children. Obviously these are only given to 'good' workers. All children are raised by the corporation with no contact with parents. This allows for tamper-free indoctrination and destroys family bonds as no-one knows who their relatives are. Result: sole loyalty to the corporation. The past is re-written. The Corporation has always existed and it tried to stop whatever cataclysm put the world into its current state. But those not of the corporation would not hear the words of the chairman and so the Earth has fallen to ruin. the only salvation lies with the Corporation. How's that?  |
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Post by Gray Lensman on Aug 22, 2008 3:44:29 GMT
There is one idea that struck me offhand...
Establish a secret "thought police" within the corporation that seeks out and eliminates anyone who thinks any thought that opposes the company line. The company's goal is 100% morale... which the company enforces by finding any negative thought and crushing it telepathically. If you are not a smiling, happy and unthinking corporate drone, either you receive "morale training" (meaning telepathic remodification of your mind) or you're "terminated from company employ" (meaning you're quietly killed by the thought police; this is reserved for the really dangerous troublemakers). Obviously, any employee who has been terminated will no longer exist as the company is concerned... all memory of the terminated employee will be erased from the minds of anyone who knew him.
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Post by Hand-E-Food on Aug 22, 2008 3:55:49 GMT
Cool! Lots of interesting ideas. It just occured to me that the corporations don't necessarily have to affect those that are banished. All the corporations can exist with their idiosyncrasies, and I'll simply restrict which corporations the hero can come from.
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Post by Elliot Kane on Aug 22, 2008 4:30:48 GMT
One thing you also need to address is: why would anyone be banished in such an absolutely totalitarian set up? Most crimes would surely carry the death penalty.
On the other hand, banishing petty minor criminals DOES give the corporations a great source of people to blame for any of those annoying errors or problems that crop up from time to time...
It also gives them an outside enemy to unite their own people against.
They don't have to admit they are banishing anyone, after all.... These people are arch-criminals who escaped from prison and killed numerous poor hard working guards! (cough, cough ;D)
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Post by Alrik on Aug 22, 2008 10:43:42 GMT
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Post by Hand-E-Food on Aug 25, 2008 0:39:59 GMT
Good point, Elliot. My first thought is that life outside a corporation is so brutal, most people would rather do what ever they keep their shelter and regular meals. It's like Cypher from The Matrix. He'd double-cross all of his friends so that he can reenter the safe and secure matrix rather than live in the brutal real world. Also, a banished person tends to walk elsewhere before dying, meaning they don't have to worry about dumping bodies so much. Some corporations would rather kill their insubordinate employees, such as those with the kill switch. In this case, the hero would have to escape. I like your ideas! I'm looking forward to reading your suggestions, Alrik, as well. Will do so shortly. Thanks! |
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Post by Elliot Kane on Aug 25, 2008 0:52:13 GMT
Glad some of my thoughts are useful |
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Post by The Sonar Chicken on Aug 25, 2008 2:10:23 GMT
Give them drugs and also, ensure that the drugs mess with certain thinking skills.
Confine everyone to various schools and other environments and never ever let them get into other parts of society. Keep them so busy they can't go out.
Divide everyone into groups and play the groups against one another, either via policies, media, gossip, etc. The more suspicion and mistrust there is, the better. IF things happen to get out of hand, simply crush them by arresting everyone "connected" en masse and throw them into jail for a few months, followed by camps where they "re-educate" you.
If some individuals persist in running counter to the system, simply arrest and then, execute them. But make sure to tell the public that said individuals were "arrested and sent for re-education" and then, after certain assessments, released back into society because they were deemed unsuitable for said company.
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Post by Hand-E-Food on Aug 25, 2008 2:47:49 GMT
Interesting articles, Alrik. They get some ideas moving. Thanks!
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Post by Alrik on Aug 25, 2008 22:21:04 GMT
Another, very, very importanbt point:
Control all knowledge !
This could mean any knowledge that's within the company (so-called "trade secrets"), but also any knowledge that's going out.
Plus perhaps giving out "false" information without telling so.
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Post by Hand-E-Food on Aug 26, 2008 0:51:19 GMT
Nice ideas, Lucifel! I like extending the drug dependency to behavioural control. Also, scapegoating escaped employees will work well.
I'm envisioning each corporation to essentially be a series of communes. Each building contains all facilities needed to sustain life. The most that anybody can go outside is for relocation or transportation. Some corporations may allow their employees to go outside, if only to let them see how much "better" life is inside the corporation.
Knowledge control and media manipulation would have to happen among all corporations. If anyone knew how wide the social-economic gaps were, there'd be a riot! (And again, that opens up so many more ideas for plot development.) Also, there would be a lot of news about how "your corporation is performing so much better than all of the other corporations."
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Post by Elliot Kane on Aug 26, 2008 1:24:21 GMT
You're looking at small city-states really, then, HEF?
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Post by Hand-E-Food on Aug 26, 2008 2:23:07 GMT
Not sure. There wouldn't really be states as there's no government. It's more just people making use of the cities that already exist. My vision:
The game takes place in a massive city that has fallen into ruin. The land was heavily over-populated and descended into anarchy. The urban sprawl has consumed most natural and renewable resources. Water is recycled or desalinated and is heavily treated. Food comes from greenhouses and in rare cases from farms outside the city.
Some ruthless corporations have managed to fortify sections of the city and made use of the existing buildings, many of which were taken without the previous owner's consent. Possession is 100% of the law here. The directors of each corporation control through fear to maintain their comfortable and secure lifestyle.
Outside the corporate compounds, buildings are gradually falling into ruin. Gangs walk the streets trying to survive like anyone else. Working vehicles are a rare site, either being corporate transports or a beaten up vehicle. Vehicles generally raise the attention of violent, greedy gangs. Food is scarce on the streets and is mostly stolen from corporate farms and transports. Cannibalism is not uncommon. Street gangs are not without technology. They have stolen or salvaged enough equipment to help maintain and protect life. They simply don't have the numbers or organisation required to rival a corporation.
Technology has provided many advances since the present day. Nanites are commonly used for industrial and military purposes. Humans have discovered how to utilise psionics, a genetic feature prevalent in half the population. Cybernetic augmentation exists for many applications. Handheld and mounted energy weapons are common. There are further advances in computerisation, pharmaceuticals, genetic modification and space-flight.
Other parts of the world are not necessarily in as dire situation as where our story takes place, however they have certainly banned all trade and communication with them. The individual corporations will never be powerful enough to challenge a country militarily.
Hmmm... Some work is needed on the food aspect. How many people can survive outside of a corporation with the limited food supplies? I'm starting to think that humans are a bit more scarce on the streets. There are a few gangs which stay in hiding a lot of the time. Where could they get enough food from? Could the sewer system provide means to steal food and water, or even supply food and water? Could something else populate the streets (eg. wild animals?)
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Post by Hand-E-Food on Aug 26, 2008 2:23:41 GMT
Actually, what do you mean exactly by city-states, Elliot?
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Post by The Sonar Chicken on Aug 26, 2008 2:37:49 GMT
Nice ideas, Lucifel! I like extending the drug dependency to behavioural control. Also, scapegoating escaped employees will work well. Well, I'd also have the drugs induce certain conditions(like "color blindness, selective memory loss," or even affect part of your motor skills or other neurological areas) thus causing dependency on other drugs. Oh btw, some of my ideas are from manga... lol. They really think of some creepy stuff in there. Hmmm... sounds interesting. Also, how about having some corporations being large enough to be an entire city or state by itself. Everyone and everything is tracked by your SSN(Social security number). So, here're some more ideas... many of which are derived from my country's system: Also, another idea: pairing up people and couples based on their "racial as well as blood profiling". And also the system of belief in the country or corporation. I'd prefer having some "liberal" traits in the system so that they can claim to have freedom and human rights for all people. And a system of housing: - which goes along with the "group ideology" like only a certain number of a lesser/minor race may live with the majority race, in an estate. - have the corporation build most of the housing... which are at a highly reasonable cost. The trade? You surrender many to most of your rights to the corporation. Your right to vote, your right to have a say in issues that affect the people, your entitlement to select the kinda schooling you and your children will receive and so forth. Also elitism: Ensure that your policies revolve around the theory of elitism and use mass media, education, etc. to convince the masses that in order to survive, you will need an "elite" force. Use this to justify limited wages, the ability to treat the people like cattle, "ruthless but methodical crackdowns", "racial theories", etc. "Train" the people into being cattle. At the beginning, give people some freedom and some hope and promise. After which, periodically, crush their hopes and dreams and apologise for it repeatedly. At the same time, "train" them into forgetting they ever suffered under you. "Enforce" physical punishment: Induce people into using physical punishment against one another. Instill fear, horror, sadness, anger and all things negative in children. Since many adults are incapable of completely controlling the intensity of the discipline, a number of the children will likely grow up, craving sadism and masochism either via physical/psychological pain or via other methods. Select the cream of the crop into serving as important members of the system. Teach the people to accept things - Teach them to accept tyranny, abuse, etc. and teach them how to turn it on one another. The corporations btw must be "awful" and "dreadful": - from time to time, they will accept and welcome individuals accused of deeds like genocide, mass deportation of certain groups, etc. And they will justify it by elitism, citing certain "needs", etc. - they will form their own laws and run their own private jail system The punishments must be harsh. For example: anyone caught with chewing gum(except for prescription-based gum) will be sentenced to $10, 000 fine and/or a few months in jail. Anyone caught voicing opinions about the state of the laws, political system, etc. will be jailed and caned. Yes and this applies to even teenagers(age be damned). - Have an OB marker aka "out of bounds marker". More on this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OB_markerThese markers will determine which topics can or cannot be discussed. However, they will be invisible and will change on the whims of the corporation/government. If well... anyone dares to test the "crocodiled waters", good luck to them! ;D - Place selective groups as targets for the public's anger and other negative emotions To deal with any and all negative emotions of the public, turn certain groups like handicapped people or GLBT people into scapegoats. After all, since the public has been conditioned into accepting genocide, things like these are "easy as ABC". Occasionally, round up individuals from these groups and throw them into jail for the fun of it. Police brutality is permitted 'cos these people cannot be recognised as humans and it doesn't matter if said individual is a pregnant woman or a man who's suffering severe emotional issues. Yup... sounds good. |
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Post by Elliot Kane on Aug 26, 2008 3:11:17 GMT
HEF...
I was thinking kind of like 1984 meets Ancient Greece. Each power block has its own traditions and values, but none has the power to overthrow all the others without an Alexander (Or at least a Phillip) - and there's no Alexander in sight...
Sometimes they co-operate, other times they skirmish (and all use the unaffiliated gangs as pawns - buying their loyalty for a while with food or other stuff), but each is in essence a state unto itself, ruled by its corporate head. They may not claim to be small states with their own govts, but in essence that is what they are.
***
People on the streets could survive in many ways - rat farming, mushroom growing - there's a lot of subsistence level stuff. Insects are big on protein too, don't forget...
Their diet might not be wonderful, but respectable numbers might survive, especially with raiding and trading taken nto account.
Throw in cannibalism, and any successful raid on a food convoy does double duty...
There's also psionics. A strong telepath could find food animals no matter how well they hide; a strong telekinetic might purify water by straining out the impurities with his mind...
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rhiian
Chaosite
One person making something up is a liar, but a bunch of people doing it is Government.
Posts: 661
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Post by rhiian on Aug 26, 2008 10:50:26 GMT
Am I the only one who read this and thought "Abe's Oddworld"? (that may sound mean but its not intended to be)  All the bald guys controlled the factory and made meat products then they wanna turn Abe and his friends in lolly pops. So Abe escapes and tries to take as many friends with him and you go on a magical adventure as he attempts to return home. Oh thinking of that reminded me of the slogs that try guard the place and try and stop you escaping so some sort of guard is essential. ... further reflection also makes me think the storylines aren't exact but are rather similar... and another thought where would the character be escaping to if the corporations control everything? and going back to two points i picked up on, the virtually no immune system would surely mean if they leave the factory then they'd soon die but if they've been in a nuclear testing thing that could have improved their immune system. it could also be a key point as to why the people are being kept prisoner then they know as soon as they leave the factory they die or become extremely ill. and the disability could be the result of a previous escape attempt. anyway feel free to cast my thoughts aside as i'm only a young un who doesnt know much about computer games other than how to play them ;D |
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Post by Alrik on Aug 27, 2008 11:09:44 GMT
Am I the only one who read this and thought "Abe's Oddworld"? I was rather thinking of Blade Runner and of TLJ. |
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Post by Elliot Kane on Aug 27, 2008 13:59:59 GMT
Mad Max meets Cyberpunk |
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