Introduction
In the year 2187, humanity has fully recovered from the turbulence and trauma
of the Century of Catastrophes. The nation-states and political movements that
have caused so much misery and suffering throughout human history have been
replaced with a more efficient system. Human society does not need government,
it merely needs supervision. The old names of countries are part of history,
and only a few diehards still cluster according to bloodlines and ethnic identities:
to all intents and purposes humanity en masse is in the ownership of the three
great self-sufficient conglomerates: Tagaro, NEO and Mammon Inc.
Each conglomerate is strongly hierarchized, with the lower levels knowing and
caring little of what goes on higher up. In Mammon Inc, these levels are called
Merits, as they are awarded to those who perform well for the business. People
on Merits 1 to 10 (which are further subdivided into decimals) are Subs - short
for subunits, as they are the smallest unit of Mammon Inc's resources - and
are provided with their physical requirements,, habitation, entertainment and
other necessities of life, including the spiritual. Subs form the vast majority
of the world's population. They have a wide range of skills, training and capabilities,
and provide staff for the service arms of the conglomerates - those tasks which
are still deemed to require humans, such as staffing call centres, acting, supervising
algae farms, medicine, reception and so on. In general these tasks are well
performed, and everyone seems happy and competent in their job. Subs have few
responsibilities - turning up for work and performing their duties to the best
of their abilities is about the measure of it - and they are free to move from
one conglomerate to another if they wish, by asking their desired employer to
buy them out of Mammon Inc. In fact, competition between the conglomerates for
Subs is rather fierce; although, because of the very similar incentive packages
offered by the three, changes are infrequent.
The next set of Merits, 11 to 20, are broadly described as junior managers,
and it is here that we find the player characters - all of whom must start the
game with a Merit rating in this range. Many people in these middle ranks will
be managers of one of the myriad operating companies which together make up
Mammon Inc. For example, your character might run a computer software company,
or a chemistry research lab, or a high-atmosphere salvage operation, or a theatre,
or a transport company, or… In general you will be exercising personal
control over a discrete chunk of Mammon Inc's resources, including human resources.
Most of these operating companies were once independent business entities, and
many have long and interesting histories, but once the tide of conglomeration
became irresistible their owners saw it was best to be swept along rather than
swept away: and now they are as loyal an asset of Mammon Inc as any other.
Not all player characters will be managers, though, because Mammon Inc also
has other responsible roles which it rewards well. Talented researchers, performers
and artists, the true stars, are given enhanced Merit status. Commanders of
security units - internal and external - are of course rewarded for their dedication
to Mammon Inc's preservation, as are agents of the conglomerate's intelligence
services. Pioneering pilots, relied on by the orbital stations to react swiftly
and effectively to the risks of space, are likewise recognized. Assets of this
great value to Mammon Inc, of course, cannot freely change employer in the same
way that Subs can: a mind or memory wipe would be the most likely procedure
in such a rare eventuality.
One thing is for sure, though: although you may not realize it in character,
the reason that you have been instructed to attend the Special Merit Award Briefing
which will start off Turn 1 of the game is because you have been carefully selected
by the Mammon Inc personnel computers. You have the potential in you, they believe,
to one day lead and direct the conglomerate itself, from the giddiest of senior
Merits - currently occupied by persons whose bare existence you currently only
just have reason to deduce. But if you are to achieve such giddy heights, while
continuing to shine in your current post, you will have to prove yourself -
as a leader, and as a team player - as a brilliant originator, and as a dedicated
striver - as an individual visionary, and as a servant of the greater good of
your fellows, of Mammon Inc, and of humanity as a whole. And you will have competitors…
Deadline
We'd like characters in by midnight on January 10th, please, so that we can
run Turn 1 that week. After that, deadlines will be every four weeks. Playing
the game costs £4.00 per turn to receive results by email, or £4.50
to receive them by post - you can send in your orders by whichever medium you
prefer. See the end of this rulebook for the appropriate addresses etc.
Discussion list
We've set up an email discussion list, on which we'll be making announcements
about Mammon Inc, and answering players' questions. We strongly advise that
anyone who's got email access should sign up to it. If you don't have email
access, don't worry, you won't miss out on any of the information, but it will
take longer to get to you. If the similar list we ran for Inferno is anything
to go by, traffic won't be too heavy most of the time, although there will probably
be a few busy days near the beginning especially.