|
||||||||||||||||||
Emerald City came out of its late-’80s and early-’90s economic slump by successfully transitioning to a high-technology center. Spurring this growth was the establishment of MarsTech, Inc. (MSTI on the New York Stock Exchange) by the flamboyant plutocrat and techno-wizard Romulus Titan. After MarsTech set up shop in Emerald and flourished, other high-tech companies followed it there, transforming the once-sleepy burgh into a leading center for information technology and other cutting edge businesses.
MarsTech specializes in computers, computer software, and various kinds of mobile and Internet technologies. What sets the company apart in a crowded field is how quickly its tech gadgets “learn” and adapt to its users’ needs. Customers have to come to rely on MarsTech products lasting through several upgrades, remaining state of the art for modest cost. Typically, a MarsTech device remains technologically viable three times longer than its competitors, and the company has built up a tremendous customer brand loyalty because of it.
This company hallmark is rooted in Maximillian Mars’ history as the Commander, his former supervillain guise. As the Commander, Mars employed alien technology he’d accidentally stumbled upon and reverse-engineered as a young man. Eventually concluding he could accrue at least as much power in the business arena minus the risk of being maimed, Mars orchestrated an exit from the super-criminal life.
Legally pardoned for his heroism during the Terminus Invasion, Mars started MarsTech, rapidly building it into a massive multinational business empire and the cornerstone of Emerald City’s economy. Few know of his supervillain past, and it’s an open question how many would actually begrudge the maker of everyone’s favorite laptop the Deimos and the popular Phobos operating system if they knew.
REDSHIFT ENERGIES
Redshift Energies is a local research company looking into
new and alternative sources of power. In recent years, Redshift
had been quite successful, most notably selling its
designs for use in some of the newer-model hybrid vehicles.
Unlike other concerns primarily engaged in research,
Redshift Energies enjoyed a safety net as a wholly owned
subsidiary of Paladyne Industries—a shell company owned
by MarsTech, Inc. With the firm backing of Emerald’s resident
plutocrat, Redshift’s future appeared bright.
Everything changed for the company on the day of the
Silver Storm. Despite the fact it was Tellax’s manipulations
and not Redshift that was responsible for the disaster,
the early revelation to a still-panicked city that the Storm
originated from a Redshift truck was enough to send the
company into veritable free-fall. The company continues
to exist, with new CEO Colin Trafford at the helm, but he
and the company are struggling.
Private Security Forces
Roxxon has its own army-like security task force, and has employed a number of special agents, many of whom it has given superhuman abilities.
