Corporate warfare

Corporate warfare

"Alright, let's get you up to speed.

What you're about to read is a collection of intel we've been gathering on the real power players behind The Zone exploration. You see the PMCs and the other factions on the ground, but they're just puppets. The corporations are the ones pulling the strings, directing their proxies to achieve goals that have nothing to do with survival and everything to do with power and profit.

This document breaks down the backing corporations for Black Rift, Cerberus, and Grey Dynamics. It's more than just who they are, it's about their ideologies, their ruthless goals, and, most importantly, their alliances and rivalries. A friend of your backer could be an enemy of your rival's backer, and that kind of knowledge is the ultimate artifact in this place. Study it. Your life might depend on understanding who's playing what game."

Aegir NeuroSystems
Backs: Black Rift Security
Zone Stance: The Zone is a proving ground for next-gen neural weapons and human-machine interface technology.
Goal: To uncover psychic and anomalous energies for brain interface systems and cognitive dominance tools.
Method: Deep black projects and covert experiments on stalkers and captured SFA tech.

History: Evolving from a post-dot-com bubble startup, Aegir NeuroSystems began by developing brain-computer interfaces for medical and accessibility applications. Their breakthrough in neural signal processing caught the attention of defense contractors, who saw the potential to weaponize what Aegir saw as a tool for healing. The company's focus shifted, and with a flood of defense funding, they began to pioneer ethically ambiguous projects aimed at cognitive enhancement and mind-control. The Zone, with its unique psychic and anomalous energies, was not just a new market for them, but a literal laboratory to accelerate the development of their next-generation neural weapons, far from public scrutiny and traditional oversight.

Corporate Relations:

• Thorstein Group: (+2 Corporate Alliance – Joint ventures, tech exchanges, shared strategic goals.) - Partners in experimental cognitive tech programs tied to altered perception.

• Eidolon Defense Analytics: (+1 Favorable Cooperation – Mutually beneficial, low-friction collaboration.) - Provides AI support for Aegir's neural weaponry integration.

• Fenris Systems: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Clashes over ethics; Fenris views mind-tech as unreliable.

• Novex Strategic Solutions: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - No overlap in interests.

• Atlas Continental Defense: (-2 Hostile Conflict – Direct opposition, sabotage, history of proxy or legal warfare.) - Atlas attempted to reverse-engineer Aegir tech without consent.

• Svalbard Equity Partners: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - Aegir doesn’t trust unstable financial influence.

• Volantis International Holdings: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Believes Volantis leaks information for profit.

• Modular Insights Ltd: (+1 Favorable Cooperation – Mutually beneficial, low-friction collaboration.) - Interested in Modular’s psychometric pattern modeling.

Thorstein Group
Backs: Black Rift Security
Zone Stance: The Zone is a fracture in consensus reality — and a gate to exploiting altered consciousness states.
Goal: Develop military-grade perception warping and enhanced-reality overlay tech for psychological disruption.
Method: Secret observation programs, artifact reactivity studies, and applied metaphysics.

History: Initially operating as a clandestine intelligence front, the Thorstein Group has its roots in Cold War-era psychological warfare. They specialized in studying non-conventional methods of influence, from subliminal messaging to the use of hallucinogens in covert operations. With the advent of the internet and digital communication, their focus shifted to the more subtle manipulation of information and perception. When The Zone's reality-bending properties were discovered, Thorstein's deep-black projects, previously limited to theoretical physics and applied metaphysics, found a live testing ground. For them, The Zone is a unique opportunity to perfect military-grade perception warping and psychological disruption tools by studying the very nature of altered consciousness.

Corporate Relations:

• Aegir NeuroSystems: (+2 Corporate Alliance – Joint ventures, tech exchanges, shared strategic goals.) - Long-term co-developers of perception-based weapons.

• Eidolon Defense Analytics: (+1 Favorable Cooperation – Mutually beneficial, low-friction collaboration.) - Exchanges metaphysical datasets for simulation modeling.

• Fenris Systems: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Finds their brute force mentality primitive and dangerous.

• Novex Strategic Solutions: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Opposes Novex's PMC zoning ambitions.

• Atlas Continental Defense: (-2 Hostile Conflict – Direct opposition, sabotage, history of proxy or legal warfare.) - Views Atlas as imperialist zone colonizers.

• Svalbard Equity Partners: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - No direct interaction.

• Volantis International Holdings: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Disapproves of their artifact profiteering.

• Modular Insights Ltd: (+1 Favorable Cooperation – Mutually beneficial, low-friction collaboration.) - Finds Modular’s modeling of psychic zones valuable.

Eidolon Defense Analytics
Backs: Black Rift Security
Zone Stance: The Zone represents a break in linear data patterns, a space for AI to evolve unbound.
Goal: Feed Zone data into predictive AI to gain an advantage in strategic simulations and warfare automation.
Method: Analysis of Zone event triggers, AI feedback loops, and integration with Noosphere-like constructs.

History: Founded by disillusioned data scientists from a major tech firm, Eidolon Defense Analytics was an early pioneer in using predictive AI to model complex, chaotic systems. They made their name during the 2010s by successfully forecasting everything from economic crashes to global supply chain disruptions. However, their models always struggled with human unpredictability. When The Zone appeared, it presented the ultimate challenge—a system where the rules of linear data didn't apply. Rather than viewing this as a failure, Eidolon saw it as an opportunity. They now use The Zone as a massive, real-time data input, feeding a new generation of AI designed to evolve and adapt to chaos, giving them an unparalleled edge in strategic simulations for future conflicts.

Corporate Relations:

• Aegir NeuroSystems: (+1 Favorable Cooperation – Mutually beneficial, low-friction collaboration.) - Sees mutual benefit in neuro-AI convergence.

• Thorstein Group: (+1 Favorable Cooperation – Mutually beneficial, low-friction collaboration.) - Receives symbolic logic datasets for AI behavior research.

• Fenris Systems: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - Sees them as irrelevant.

• Novex Strategic Solutions: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Opposes Novex’s desire to regulate the Zone.

• Atlas Continental Defense: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Atlas tried to hack Eidolon datasets.

• Svalbard Equity Partners: (-2 Hostile Conflict – Direct opposition, sabotage, history of proxy or legal warfare.) - Considers them destabilizers that corrupt data integrity.

• Volantis International Holdings: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - Neutral, occasional observation contracts.

• Modular Insights Ltd: (+2 Corporate Alliance – Joint ventures, tech exchanges, shared strategic goals.) - Strong partners in anomaly modeling and AI prediction.

Fenris Systems AB
Backs: Cerberus Operations
Zone Stance: The Zone is a hostile territory to be dominated — a hostile anomaly to be shaped into a weapon.
Goal: Develop modular Zone-born weapon systems for hardened battlefield use.
Method: Capture, reverse-engineer, and deploy artifact-based armaments with brute-force deployment.

History: Fenris Systems is an old-guard defense contractor with a reputation for building some of the most durable and powerful weapon systems in modern history. With a history stretching back to the late 20th century, they have always prioritized brute-force engineering and reliability over flashy, unproven technology. As the global defense market became saturated with high-tech gadgets, Fenris's profits began to wane. The discovery of The Zone, however, presented a new purpose. Fenris quickly pivoted, dedicating its massive R&D resources to capturing and reverse-engineering the Zone's materials and artifacts. They now see the chaotic area as a new frontier for developing rugged, modular, and deadly weapons, perfectly suited for the harsh realities of a Zone war.

Corporate Relations:

• Aegir NeuroSystems: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Disdains reliance on unreliable psychic tech.

• Thorstein Group: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Views them as ideologues, not warriors.

• Eidolon Defense Analytics: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - Irrelevant.

• Novex Strategic Solutions: (+2 Corporate Alliance – Joint ventures, tech exchanges, shared strategic goals.) - Jointly developing physical weapon systems from Zone materials.

• Atlas Continental Defense: (+1 Favorable Cooperation – Mutually beneficial, low-friction collaboration.) - Share interest in geostrategic weapons.

• Svalbard Equity Partners: (-2 Hostile Conflict – Direct opposition, sabotage, history of proxy or legal warfare.) - Blames them for supplying arms to stalkers.

• Volantis International Holdings: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - Wary of brokers, but not openly hostile.

• Modular Insights Ltd: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Finds their overreliance on math naive.

Novex Strategic Solutions
Backs: Cerberus Operations
Zone Stance: The Zone is a territory to be tamed and leased — a future conflict theater for PMC control.
Goal: Establish long-term military-industrial dominance by licensing Zone areas to client states.
Method: Permanent base-building, asset denial to rivals, and contract-based warfare using anomaly clearance.

History: Novex Strategic Solutions was founded in the wake of the War on Terror, capitalizing on the growing trend of privatized security and nation-building contracts. Their expertise wasn't just in providing armed security, but in managing logistics, establishing secure zones, and building long-term infrastructure in unstable territories. They carved out a niche by offering comprehensive security-as-a-service packages to governments and multinational corporations operating in high-risk regions. The Zone, for them, is not a supernatural anomaly, but a new, unmanaged territory. Their ultimate goal is to establish a permanent PMC-governed security zone within it, which they can then lease to various client states and corporations, turning the chaos into a highly profitable, self-sustaining military-industrial enterprise.

Corporate Relations:

• Aegir NeuroSystems: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - No shared focus.

• Thorstein Group: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Conflicting views on Zone usage rights.

• Eidolon Defense Analytics: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Considers AI modeling a waste of combat resources.

• Fenris Systems: (+2 Corporate Alliance – Joint ventures, tech exchanges, shared strategic goals.) - Direct military-industrial collaborators.

• Atlas Continental Defense: (+1 Favorable Cooperation – Mutually beneficial, low-friction collaboration.) - Coordinate deployments in some contested zones.

• Svalbard Equity Partners: (-2 Hostile Conflict – Direct opposition, sabotage, history of proxy or legal warfare.) - Sabotaged an early Novex base expansion for profit.

• Volantis International Holdings: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Conflict over trade monopolies.

• Modular Insights Ltd: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - No strategic conflict yet.

Atlas Continental Defense
Backs: Cerberus Operations
Zone Stance: The Zone is a sovereign breach of security — it must be weaponized before others do.
Goal: Create “anomaly artillery” and offensive Area Denial systems using Zone topography and effects.
Method: Large-scale engineering projects inside the Zone, focusing on area manipulation and denial.

History: A legacy engineering and defense firm, Atlas Continental Defense has a history of executing massive, large-scale projects, from building impenetrable fortifications to designing long-range artillery systems for national governments. Their corporate ethos is about command and control, believing that any territory—no matter how hostile—can be brought to heel through superior engineering and overwhelming force. When The Zone emerged, they viewed it as a profound security breach on a continental scale, an uncontained threat that must be militarized before a rival power could. They are now pouring vast resources into large-scale projects within The Zone, aiming to create "anomaly artillery" and weaponize the very landscape itself to deny access to rivals and assert absolute dominance.

Corporate Relations:

• Aegir NeuroSystems: (-2 Hostile Conflict – Direct opposition, sabotage, history of proxy or legal warfare.) - Hostile due to stolen prototype allegations.

• Thorstein Group: (-2 Hostile Conflict – Direct opposition, sabotage, history of proxy or legal warfare.) - Opposing ideological extremes.

• Eidolon Defense Analytics: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - AI philosophy clashes with Atlas command doctrine.

• Fenris Systems: (+1 Favorable Cooperation – Mutually beneficial, low-friction collaboration.) - Coordinate heavily in combat testing.

• Novex Strategic Solutions: (+1 Favorable Cooperation – Mutually beneficial, low-friction collaboration.) - Share resupply routes and firebases.

• Svalbard Equity Partners: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Target of disinformation and bribery.

• Volantis International Holdings: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - Maintains diplomatic distance.

• Modular Insights Ltd: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - Occasional purchase of predictive intel.

Svalbard Equity Partners
Backs: Grey Dynamics
Zone Stance: The Zone is a disruptive economic bubble, volatile, unstable, and incredibly profitable.
Goal: Keep the Zone fragmented and chaotic to maximize investment turnover and artifact arbitrage.
Method: Fund and destabilize all sides, hedge influence across all factions, and control black market access.

History: Svalbard Equity Partners began as a hedge fund that made its fortune by short-selling and betting on market volatility. Their analysts became experts at finding and exploiting instability, whether it was a civil war in a developing country or a crisis in the global financial market. For Svalbard, chaos isn't a bug in the system; it's the core feature that they monetize. When The Zone appeared, it was the ultimate disruptive economic bubble. They don't want to control it or tame it; they want to keep it perpetually fragmented and chaotic. Their strategy is simple: fund all sides, arm the freelancers, and create a volatile environment where they can maximize investment turnover and control the lucrative black market for artifacts.

Corporate Relations:

• Aegir NeuroSystems: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - Avoids direct conflict.

• Thorstein Group: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - Ignores metaphysical projects.

• Eidolon Defense Analytics: (-2 Hostile Conflict – Direct opposition, sabotage, history of proxy or legal warfare.) - Wants to corrupt or destabilize Eidolon’s data assets.

• Fenris Systems: (-2 Hostile Conflict – Direct opposition, sabotage, history of proxy or legal warfare.) - Frequent sabotage to manipulate arms flow.

• Novex Strategic Solutions: (-2 Hostile Conflict – Direct opposition, sabotage, history of proxy or legal warfare.) - Interfered with expansion via proxy forces.

• Atlas Continental Defense: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Distrusts their hardline attitude.

• Volantis International Holdings: (+1 Favorable Cooperation – Mutually beneficial, low-friction collaboration.) - Aligns on artifact trade deregulation.

• Modular Insights Ltd: (+2 Corporate Alliance – Joint ventures, tech exchanges, shared strategic goals.) - Funds Modular’s data operations to profit from info chaos.

Volantis International Holdings
Backs: Grey Dynamics
Zone Stance: The Zone is a resource funnel — anomalies are capital, and information is currency.
Goal: Dominate artifact trade routes and intelligence pipelines by maintaining plausible neutrality.
Method: Bribe, negotiate, and data-harvest; build a monopoly on artifact valuation and logistics.

History: Volantis International Holdings emerged in the late 20th century as a shadowy logistics and information brokerage firm. They specialized in moving high-value, often grey-market goods and sensitive data across international borders. Their core business model was built on maintaining plausible neutrality and being a trusted, discreet intermediary for all parties. They weren't a military force or a government—they were a resource funnel and a data pipeline. When The Zone was discovered, their business model expanded exponentially. They now dominate the artifact trade routes and intelligence pipelines, viewing anomalies as capital and information as currency. Their goal is to maintain a monopoly on artifact valuation and logistics by bribing, negotiating, and harvesting data from every faction on the ground.

Corporate Relations:

• Aegir NeuroSystems: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Leaks their research for artifact value gain.

• Thorstein Group: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Opposes their secretive stance.

• Eidolon Defense Analytics: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - Contract-based neutrality.

• Fenris Systems: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - Rarely crosses paths.

• Novex Strategic Solutions: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Clashes on trade route control.

• Atlas Continental Defense: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - Sells intel anonymously.

• Svalbard Equity Partners: (+1 Favorable Cooperation – Mutually beneficial, low-friction collaboration.) - Mutually profit-driven.

• Modular Insights Ltd: (+2 Corporate Alliance – Joint ventures, tech exchanges, shared strategic goals.) - Feeds data into Modular's risk platforms.

Modular Insights Ltd
Backs: Grey Dynamics
Zone Stance: The Zone is an emerging network — a living system to be modeled, mapped, and sold.
Goal: Turn the Zone into an information substrate for predictive analytics, sold to militaries and insurers.
Method: Map anomalies, categorize risk matrices, and sell real-time Zone intelligence feeds.

History: Modular Insights was founded by a team of academics and data scientists who specialized in complex systems modeling. Their initial contracts were with insurance firms and climate organizations, mapping and predicting everything from natural disasters to public health crises. Their approach was methodical, categorizing risk matrices and selling predictive feeds. The Zone, however, presented a system more complex than any they had ever encountered. The company saw it not as a risk to be avoided, but as a living network to be modeled, mapped, and sold. They now work to turn the Zone into a unique information substrate for predictive analytics, selling real-time intelligence feeds to militaries and insurers who desperately want to understand its unpredictable nature.

Corporate Relations:

• Aegir NeuroSystems: (+1 Favorable Cooperation – Mutually beneficial, low-friction collaboration.) - Useful in psychometric mapping.

• Thorstein Group: (+1 Favorable Cooperation – Mutually beneficial, low-friction collaboration.) - Validates psychic anomaly models.

• Eidolon Defense Analytics: (+2 Corporate Alliance – Joint ventures, tech exchanges, shared strategic goals.) - AI and prediction tools are tightly integrated.

• Fenris Systems: (-1 Competitive Tension – Business rivals, minor espionage, regional overlap.) - Dismissive of Modular’s intel-first mindset.

• Novex Strategic Solutions: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - Neutral.

• Atlas Continental Defense: (0 Neutral – No active alignment or hostility. May observe each other.) - Low interaction.

• Svalbard Equity Partners: (+2 Corporate Alliance – Joint ventures, tech exchanges, shared strategic goals.) - Major investor and sponsor.

• Volantis International Holdings: (+2 Corporate Alliance – Joint ventures, tech exchanges, shared strategic goals.) - Share a data-for-profit ecosystem.