Let There Be Light – Creating Worlds Part 4

“I Owe My Soul To The Company Store”

All the ideas that I post here are not my original ideas in anyway shape or form. I simply share what I have taken inspiration from, and, how I would use it to create a setting to justify a battle with figures I want to use, taking place.

This idea harks back to 1980’s/90’s America when everyone thought the big Japanese companies were taking over like Honda, Toyota, Sony, Nintendo.

This idea takes that one step closer and combines it with debt peonage in a near or far future setting – whatever suits what you want to do with it.

Everyone who is born is born into a corporation, a space corporation. From the moment of your conception, you are owned by the corporation your parent are born into, and it is extremely unlikely you will ever be free. Those who rise up through the ranks to become powerful and rich, don’t want or need, to be free.

Some people are born outside a corporation, on backwater old space stations, moons, and even planets, that the corporations have no interest in at all. These people are called the Untouchables by the corporations and those born into one of the corporations are raised to despise the untouchables. They are seen as diseased, backwards people that cannot be trusted, or even tolerated.

The Untouchables call themselves the Freeborn. They pity those born into corporations, forever owned as a tiny expendable asset by an un-caring, cold, faceless corporation. All that matters are bottom lines, profits, and anyone in the way of that will be neutralized as quickly and quietly, and inexpensively as possible.

All out war between the competing corporations is almost un-heard of. In total war, only their competitors not involved in the war can win. Total war is extremely un-profitable.

However, there are regular skirmishes, sabotage missions, and surface battles, limited to the orbit, and surface of either a satellite, or planet, or even an asteroid belt. These limited battles for resources and profits happen regularly, but all the corporations have a vested interest in trying to minimise the extent of military engagements and the fruitless loss of assets, be that machines, or organic assets.

 However, where the freeborn are in the way, a corporation will seek to wipe them out completely and will stop at nothing to achieve this. The freeborn, obviously, don’t sit idle in the face of this genocide.

This type of setting will allow to use all sorts of figures and create all sorts of scenarios.

I would definitely consider using GZG’s Japanese for a corporation type force.

The corporation’s forces would be small high-tech forces. The freeborn would-be lower tech but can use captured weapons and equipment with more of them, especially if they face extermination on a home base.

Below: GZG 15mm Stargrunt - Japanese Corporate Ashigaru Rifles & Command

https://shop.groundzerogames.co.uk/15mm-stargrunt/infantry/japanese.html