# Cybersun Industries ### Humanity's *Second* Largest Megacorporation > "From my father I inherited a rusted sword. My efforts have polished it to a shining edge. And yet, it should be so much more." - Goro Ichikawa Insofar as any of the Syndicate's many factions can be called the "head" of the organisation, Cybersun Industries has a better claim to that title than most- as the primary source of funding for the Syndicate, as well as the largest corporation within its ranks by far, and the lynchpin that has brought most of the other factions together (and keeps them that way, by carrot or stick), Cybersun has the commanding role within the Syndicate. ## Origins and History During the 1800s, Japan underwent a significant period of modernisation and "westernisation", spearheaded by the Meiji emperorship. In this new world of economic and social evolution, the zaibatsu model emerged- similar in many ways to the western corporation, these private enterprises would exert significant influence over the direction Japan would take over the next century or so. One of these zaibatsus was the Ichikawa Group- opening initially as an engineworks in the city of Osaka, scientific advancement would cause them to shift into the automotive industry. Mining and aerospace would soon follow, with the company receiving extensive funding from the Japanese government to provide equipment for Japan's increasing militarisation. And then, WW2 happened. To describe the effects of the war as anything but devastating for Japan would be putting it mildly. In the turmoil, many of the Ichikawa Group's assets were nationalised. In the wake of the war, the occupation by the Americans targeted the zaibatsus for dissolution, and this order included Ichikawa. However, the order was not seen through to completion, as America did not want a weakened Japan to fall to communist influence. And so, the Ichikawa Group was saved. Indeed, they emerged from this period of strife stronger than ever- as they found new allies in criminal elements in Japan. Throughout the 20th century, Ichikawa would become a household name in a new, exciting field of industry- electronics and computing. The resulting flow of cash allowed the group to expand, taking on a number of smaller entities across a wide range of industrial sectors. During the 1980s, a push for a new brand identity lead the company to officially rename itself to Saibasan Sangyo, often anglicised to Cybersun Industries. Cybersun would continue to experience incredible economic growth, propelling it to become one of Earth's "big three" megacorps, alongside the American Nanotrasen and the European Waffle Corporation. During the 2400s, seeking greater economic freedom, the company would move its headquarters to the TID (TerraGov International District) of Hong Kong and Macau, and would promptly set about turning the city into their own personal playground. Today, very few corporations operate within Hong Kong besides Cybersun, knowing that the city is their de facto territory. Indeed, much of East Asia is the same- Cybersun stands alone as East Asia's singular megacorporation, with regional headquarters in nearly every major city across Japan, China and Korea, and extensive holdings across Indochina and Maritime South-East Asia. Those other companies that operate here are generally too small for Cybersun to care about, or find themselves subjected to the Iron Shogun's align-or-die policy if they threaten Cybersun's influence. Cybersun was heavily involved in the Corporate Colonial Rush from the very beginning; many of Mars' largest cities trace their heritage to Cybersun's original colonial stakes (including New Osaka itself, which started out as Cybersun's Izumi Colony), and its holdings in and around the core from this period make it one of the top five largest single landholders in human space. Out into the rim, Cybersun slowed down their expansion, focusing mostly on resource-rich worlds that could be exploited to bring materials back to the core. As might also be expected of a megacorp of its size and provenance, Cybersun has had rocky relationships with the other megacorporations on the block. Chief amongst its rivals is its American counterpart, Nanotrasen, with whom it has been, depending on the time, tense allies or hated enemies. The two collaborated on the Chinese Partition, where both stood to benefit, but the alliance was never particularly well-founded; it fell apart with the peace agreements. Much more often, the two were at each other's throats, throwing their influence around in political avenues whereever possible to hurt each other. It was this animosity, as well as the growing gap between Nanotrasen and the rest of its corporate rivals, and the corporate genius that is Goro Ichikawa, that spurred the creation of the Syndicate. ## The Syndicate The Syndicate came into being in a shady backroom in a Hong Kong bar with handshakes made over thousand dollar sake. Representatives from a few corporate entities (and otherwise), namely Cybersun, Biosustain, Donk Co, Interdyne, and what remained of Waffle Corporation, made an agreement; Nanotrasen had to be stopped, for the sake of the balance of power. While each party involved had little reason to be friends with the others, their conflicts had to be set aside until the influence of the New Colossus could be put to heel. From that day forward, the Syndicate would act as a collective group when needed to counter Nanotrasen's influence in all fields. The first major test of this relationship came with the discovery of Indecipheres' vast plasma supplies; such wealth stands to make the gap between Nanotrasen and its rivals not only large, but insurmountable, and TerraGov's growing relationship with the SSC means that, sooner or later, the region will fall under Manhattan's control, and set the ownership of that stake in stone, virtually unchallengeable. This forced the organisation to take direct action; no longer would they just maneuver politically, instead they would bring arms to bear in the Spinward Sector, seeking to expel Nanotrasen from the region and take over themselves (in Cybersun's favour). ## Enterprise As might be expected from humanity's second largest corporation, Cybersun has stakes in almost every sector under the sun, via a mind-boggling number of subsidiaries. However, few will know Cybersun as the one making their car, or the medication they take, or the video games they sit down to play. Indeed, if you asked the average Terran citizen what Cybersun does, you'd get two responses- makes robots, and mines plasma. These are Cybersun's key sectors- the ones that make them the most money overall, and the ones that they are best known for. On the robotics side, Cybersun is humanity's biggest producer of virtual and artificial intelligence systems. This includes everything from digital assistants and medical VI units to warship predictive targeting systems and full-scale station control AIs, and everything inbetween. Cybersun-made systems enrich the lives of almost every human across the galaxy everyday, whether they know it or not. And it is for this reason that Cybersun is particularly annoyed with Nanotrasen making inroads into AI tech, and indeed showing promise of surpassing them- it threatens Cybersun's near monopoly, and could result in the loss of a *lot* of business. From a mining perspective, Cybersun made significant strides in creating a strong material business with their cornering of the Martian plasma market and Venusian sulfur market. These are only its biggest successes- they also hold significant stake in humanity's supply of a number of important metals and minerals across the entirety of human space- but, in recent years, this has been threatened by Nanotrasen's expansion of NTHI, and particularly by the discovery of Indecipheres' incredible mineral wealth. This was the final straw to break the back of the tenuous corporate peace between humanity's megacorporations, and lead the Cybersun CEO, Goro Ichikawa, to put into practice a plan that Cybersun had been brewing for years- the formation of a bloc to oppose Nanotrasen by any means necessary, otherwise known as the Syndicate, for which membership would be "extended" (willingly or not) to a number of important organisations and corporations across human space and beyond. ## Subsidiaries The largest and most prosperous of Cybersun's subsidiary branches is Ichikawa-Exagon, formed from the merger of Ichikawa Mining and Exagon Extractions. This company handles Cybersun's vast mineral extraction empire, including their plasma mines. Under the I-E brand, Cybersun has cornered the Martian plasma market, the Venusian sulfur market, and beyond. Next in size is the Ichikawa Banking Group- headquartered in Taipei and with branches the galaxy over, it comprises a number of smaller banks and investment firms under the Ichikawa umbrella. This generates a considerable cashflow for the rest of the company, as well as giving Cybersun a critical ability to influence and subsume other corporations via financial means. Edo-Ka Medical Devices is another Cybersun subsidiary, being a general brand under which the company distributes a number of medical devices, from hospital equipment such as MRIs or chemsleepers, to medical cyberware in cooperation with Cybersun Robotics. Cybersun Securities and Military Development is a twin-headed beast, being comprised of Cybersun's military manufacturing sector on one side, and Cybersun's private military company holdings on the other. Since the foundation of the Syndicate, the private military side of CSMD has been partially integrated with the Gorlex Marauders. This gives a professional backbone to the undisciplined Marauders in an attempt to increase their combat effectiveness against Nanotrasen. The operatives Cybersun fields are ruthlessly efficient, taking cues from their heritage; the company makes wide use of assassins where they can get away with it, in addition to corporate hitsquads and their own deathsquads on the rim, away from TerraGov's watchful eye over the core. Additionally, Cybersun has a massive number of smaller subsidiaries, covering a wide range of industries and services. # Goro Ichikawa ### The Iron Shōgun Born in 2460, Goro Ichikawa, the Iron Shōgun, was never meant to achieve greatness. Third in line to the Cybersun throne, Goro was granted control of Ichikawa-Exagon, and set to spend a life in the shadow of his brothers. However, two advantages presented themselves to the young prince; his father's weak will, and a series of connections Goro made in his youth while operating the mining business. As his father became distracted by other business, Goro clinched the noose: having his two senior brothers killed, and sending his father into a coma mandating cryosleep such that he could rule in his stead: becoming shōgun to the emperor, as it were. At 34, he "temporarily" took the throne of Cybersun Industries in his father's stead, and set about correcting what he viewed as his mistakes: no more would Cybersun be content to live alongside the other megacorporations; it would claim hegemony, or collapse trying. Early efforts included scaleups of Ichikawa-Exagon and CSMD, with the intention of gaining a functional monopoly on plasma mining, and creating a private army capable of enforcing the Shōgun's will across the galaxy. He also sought a policy of "alignment or death"- to either bring competing corporations on side, or to eliminate them and bring them into the fold via hostile means. Throughout his 69 year reign as CEO, he's overseen this process dozens of times, with Waffle Corporation being the largest that he's brought down in this way; but all pale in comparison to his largest enemy, Nanotrasen. For decades now, Goro has dedicated his efforts to this singular target, seeking to foster bonds and connections that would allow him to harpoon his white whale and claim hegemonic status over humanity's corporate world, but none have yet borne fruit. In his personal life, Goro is a polymath. His business acumen is incredible, but it's only one part of the wider man: he also pursues archery and golf with the same cold calculation, and enjoys watching baseball (being an ardent supporter of the Hong Kong Lions). As for mental pursuits, he enjoys creative work, especially painting and writing. At the age of 103, the shōgun maintains good health, due to Cybersun's excellent medical care; and yet, he is starting to slow down. While his mind remains sharp, his body is beginning to falter; he no longer has the ability to jet around the galaxy, instead remaining close to Cybersun's top class medical suites in the family estate in Osaka. He has been forced to start giving up his more athletic hobbies, instead focusing his attention towards matters of the mind and soul; his calligraphy, his painting, his writing. His children know all too well what this means, and have drawn rough battle lines across Cybersun, attempting to curry favour with smaller subdivisions and entice key personnel to support them for the top spot after the shōgun's eventual departure. Goro's father, Daizō, still remains in cryosleep in Cybersun's head offices in Hong Kong, with strict orders from the shōgun to not allow anyone but him and his doctors to see him. Each week, the emperor's health is reported as "stable, but unimproved" to the rest of the company, something that has been the case for 70 years straight. Goro is known to frequently visit the cryovault while he's present in Hong Kong, where he gloats at his father's cryocasket about his successes.
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