Economy & Manufacturing
Megacorporations
Corporations and mega-corporations are spread and diversified throughout the
planets and empires. To deal with the massive distances and delays in
communications, they tend to have redundant data and power structures at multiple
locations. They will have guidelines and structures in place that allow each
company branch to work
independently toward common goals which may or may not be directly set
by the "head office". They are something in between a
classic business entity (in the production of products for sale for
profit), a government (in their political clout, power, and ability to
own planets and armies), and a race (in the common purpose of a huge
group of individuals).
The Success of Corporations
With the advent of cheap, nano-empowered molecular
manufacturing, a lot of business emphasis switched away from the
importance of building and assembly work by hands and machines.
The most important aspects of business became design,
innovation, distribution, marketing, and the creation of
desirable and personalized product. Through nano-technology and
biologically grown technology, bulk manufacturing
can be done simply, cheaply, and easily by small organizations
and even individuals. "Jobs" switched away from
mundane assembly to thought-driven, ingenuity-based tasks. The
cost of actual manufacture suddenly becomes much less
significant than the cost of maintaining and programming the
nano-assemblers and shipping the products to market. More
than ever, products must be manufactured in great bulk. They must be cheap and
plentiful or of exceptional quality and packed with features
targeted to a specific market. Fortunately, because
of the sheer number of living beings in the various empires,
even a small niche market can consist of billions of
individuals. A corporation's strategy and corporate
philosophy's become more important than ever. The ways in which
corporations deal with each other, local and galactic
governments, and their customer base becomes a critical factor
in their growth and success. A variety of successful models have
been utilized, from Azatlath's aggressive military-like spread
to Zyfinbek Mercantile's decentralized empowerment of her field
agents.
Corporate Espionage
It is not only critical
for corporations to design and manufacture an appropriate
product but it is critical for companies to maintain strict
control of their intellectual property, since there are no
protections in place between regions and empires to prevent the
outright stealing and copying of unguarded designs.
Espionage is widespread and any form of patent or intellectual
protection is unknown and unenforceable. It is almost impossible
to keep a technology from spreading and growing. The only special rights
and protections a corporation has are by virtue of the standing
army they maintain and their ability to disguise, hide, and booby-trap
their technologies against prying eyes.
Nano-manufacturing
Most resources are relatively plentiful. Minerals and metals
are available on planetary surfaces, on stellar
bodies like planets, moons, and asteroids. Because it is so
common to find large quantities of resources in a single
location, they are often processed on-site. Smaller quantities
can be loaded onto factory hauler ships that process the
resources on a scheduled route or on the way to the delivery
destination.
Processing of raw resources is
often a relatively compact process involving molecular
manipulation by nanites. Depending on available resources,
metals can be disassembled and rearranged on a molecular
level. Conversely, required materials can be assembled from
simple, plentiful molecules like hydrogen. Both processes,
though pretty much taken for granted, actually involve complex
programming and oversight by knowledgeable individuals. Large
amounts of energy are involved and there is a surprising
fatality rate among assembly nanites due to forces like
molecular friction and "gravity goo". Spent nanites must be
constantly replaced and the level of extraction nanites
required to remove assembler carcasses must be monitored and
tweaked. The process must be monitored closely throughout its
execution to eliminate the natural variations and
imperfections introduced. The skill and involvement of the
supervising nano-programmers critically affects the final
quality of the product.
Traditional Manufacturing
In spite of the obvious advantages of nano-manufacturing,
particularly to huge organizations, it has its disadvantages,
as well. High energy requirements, the absolute necessity for
excellent programmers, and the potential for catastrophic
failure on a molecular level make it impractical or
undesirable for smaller or less technologically advanced
environments. In these environments, the use of
assembly-oriented biots or robots and even traditional hand
assembly techniques are still in place. In some locales,
simpler nano-production techniques may be used to disassemble
and assemble basic materials which are then traditionally
fabricated into final goods. In other cases, materials may be
produced through traditional means, such as boring droids
being used in more uncontrollable mining environments to
extract materials which are subsequently shipped to stable
nano-production environments for conversion to products.
Manufacturing is very often affected greatly by the
environment it's conducted in and the resources available to
the manufacturer.
While nano-manufacturing tends
to supply vast, decentralized markets, more traditional
manufacturing techniques tend to be used to supply local
markets or to provide specialized exports.
Independent Shipping
For some corporations, the maintaining of a fleet of delivery ships
is undesirable or financially impractical. These corporations often
employ "independent shipping methodologies", while others, like the Flint-Grimaldi
corporation, specialize in it as a business almost exclusively.
Corporations or wealthy individuals will
purchase commercial vessels and hire independent Captains to run them
under the terms of a contract. Shorter, stable runs are generally paid
salary per run or daily or weekly wages. Longer or more dangerous runs
tend to be paid more generously on a commission basis or at a percentage of profit. Many
corporations give captains wide latitude, basically allowing them to run
their own business so long as a decent percent profit gets turned.
Operating budgets for fuel and repairs are handled per contract,
sometimes split, sometimes covered by captain or corporation. Larger
corporations will often maintain their own repair stations instead of
paying for repairs.
The longest, most dangerous, most
rewarding, bottom-of-the-barrel haulers are generally referred to as
"boon donkeys", as in "the dumb asses that work in the boonies".
Specifically, those who specialize in hauls on the edge of nowhere are
referred to as deepjobbers, outhandlers, and deep donkeys. Those who
initiate new or unusual runs, particularly through dangerous or unknown
territory, are called pointjobbers and pointhaulers. Farhandlers
specialize in long runs, of several months or more. "Hole donkeys" are
specialized technicians and pilots who deliver and set up remote wormhole generators.
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