CYBERTRONIC: THE REAL STORY
When the Cybertronic Investment Corporation stock scheme came to a head and the newest megacorp was born, rumors flew wildly about it being a Heretic scheme to fully infiltrate society. The nascent corporation needed to get rid of the media attention, and quickly; media is bad for business. The more scrutiny a corporation is under, the less it can get away with.
The Cybertronic executives released minor information about their operations, including letting some reporters visit their two largest asteroid colonies, Ceres and Dembovska. Those reporters beamed out a report showing fanatically loyal troops, controlled by brainwashing and genegineered drugs. And while the general public was outraged (especially given the slant put on reports by the other corporations) no one was particularly surprised. For Cybertronic to have pulled off the scheme they did, they had to have been cheating somehow. And drugs and brainwashing made so much sense. Everyone assumed Cybertronic's retribution against the other corps was delayed by their attempts to spin doctor the incident.
But the Cybertronic executives were not upset with the media reports. Because that is what they wanted everyone to believe. It was all a show.
Cybertronic does use brainwashing and drug treatments on its rank and file troops, of course. Converts could be spies. But exemplary soldiers would only be hindered by removing their free will. Once a low-ranking member starts showing initiative and drive, and passes sufficient loyalty tests, the Corporation pulls them from the ranks of the People's Volunteers, and begins indoctrinating them into their real operations.
Free from the Cardinal's intense scrutiny, Cybertronic got the secrecy it required to continue its research into cybernetics and artificial intelligence.
And that was the real secret edge that Cybertronic had discovered, the one that let them pull off their stock scheme. Artificially intelligent computers were the only things with the computational power to make the massive plot work without a hitch. Only hyper-advanced technology let them jump into the ranks of the megacorporations, not careful planning.
Cybertronic's deception, however, has not been without repercussions. While they now receive no more attention from the Cardinal than any other corporation, they still have been running a fine line between their false fronts and their true discoveries and goals. This tense situation is driving their research deeper and deeper into the forbidden. Cyborging. Artificial intelligences. No one knows what their real goal is. No one except the Nineteenth Executive, that is.