The ICC Contract

[_______________Davyn]

ooc: This is not, of course, the full contract, but was the exerpt that we had for a time, until Funcom redid their web site.

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The Case of Rubi-Ka

Rubi-Ka is becoming a planet with increasing influence in the intergalactic power struggle. This feature tries to explain Rubi-Ka's significance.

om the archives of TrueSpace Network (TSN)
by Peter S. Homer of TSN 29442

To explain how the politics of the ICC have been employed to balance a very delicate situation, let us examine Rubi-Ka.

The planet Rubi-Ka is a galactic power center, only because it is the sole source of Notum, the vital element in the Nano-Bot production, in the the entire Galaxy.

When Omni-Tek® secured itself the lease-ownership of the planet, it was before other corporations knew anything about the Golden Red Dust of the so far unattractive planet. When ICC realised the enormous hold Omni-Tek® would get of the Intergalactic (IG) market they started to sanction the hypercorporation.

Even a hypercorporation with the internal strength of Omni-Tek® still depends on access to markets on the planets owned by other companies. Under such pressure, the unwilling Omni-Tek® yielded to ICC, granting restrictions on what they could and could not do.

These were set down in a 6,730-page contract, but can basically be summed up in the following points (this was in the year 3563):

* Omni-Tek® gets a free extended lease of Rubi-Ka for 30,000 years.
* Omni-Tek® gets sole ownership and export-rights to the planet's Notum ore.
* Omni-Tek® will adhere to the Notum pricing standards set by the ICC.
* Omni-Tek® will not persecute inhabitants of Rubi-Ka, who normally would be a free people after 5,000 years. (The normal span of the ICC Solar System lease rights. This clause has led to the interesting rise of something called "The Clans".)
* Omni-Tek® will let other companies freely settle on the planet surface to conduct research.
* Omni-Tek® will let all Nano-Tek® patents be freely available for reproduction with the standard profit margin allotted to the company.

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Notes and Comment by Davyn:

ooc: There are a few problems with this document, based on the “Prophet Without Honor” (which should be considered the higher authority on history). That’s probably why this document was removed recently; in order to prevent confusion until new documentation could be posted.

Here are a couple of known problems with the above contract:

* Rubi-Ka was discovered by Omni-Tek in 28702. Meaning, the contract has NOT been in place for 30,000 years—more like 1000 (the current in-game year is 29475).
* That also means the ‘free people after 5000 years’ clause is likely bogus as well.

However, the spirit of the contract CAN be extrapolated from the posted data. The ICC roped Omni-Tek into this contract (it wasn’t Omni-Tek’s desire, but they did it because they had to.) Also, Omni-Tek cannot ‘persecute’ inhabitants of Rubi-Ka, according to the contract. If they could have, the clans never would have arisen to comprise half the planet’s population.

[______________Luxxan]

Actually, it sounds more to me that Omni-Tek pulled a fast one on the ICC. If the ICC had known the value of Rubi-Ka, it would have never ever been leased to Omni-Tek. The ICC no doubt forced a renegotiation of the lease after they realized that Omni was going to have a monopoly on the most valuable substance around. Preventing these sorts of things from happening is why the ICC is in existence.

[_________CaptFallout]

huh?

Omni-Tek was the only company to have the knowledge and resources to make use of Notum, and ICC isn't a company.

It's a massive organization created for dealings such as leasing out planets and human-rights and tons of other stuff we probably don't even know about.

ICC wouldn't, even if they knew how, mine notum and create nano-technology.

That isn't their business.

That is confusing though... Omni-Tek signed this in 3563?

"* Rubi-Ka was discovered by Omni-Tek in 28702. Meaning, the contract has NOT been in place for 30,000 years—more like 1000 (the current in-game year is 29475). "

How do you know RK was found in 28702?

IF this information you have found is true... Davy is right.


Clans have no rights to be here, and Omni-Tek has every right to remove them from the planet.


EDIT: Okay, this is confusing me. ICC is "employed" by Omni-Tek, but has the ability to place sanctions on Omni-Tek. It is the soverign body on Rubi-Ka, but Omni-Tek employed it?

It can't be a company and a political organization!

[Blyzzard]

Capt, one of the chapters in the book (A Prophet Without Honor - Anarchy Online Book 1) is of the explorers first landing on Rubi-Ka. The date of that chapter is given as 28702 AD.

This was confirmed to me by the author in an email. (if you would like to read the e-mail contact me, I'm not sure it was ment for wide distribution, or I'd post it here.)

So Rubi-Ka has been colonized and in the process of terriforming for about 700 years.

[______________Treble]

Just to clarify for you, CaptFallout, the ICC is an organization that was established to set boundries upon Omni-Tek and other hyper corporations to prevent monopolization of the marketplace. Hence, they are in no way employed by Omni-Tek.

They are essentially supposed to be an impartial governing body who's prime directive is to keep the galaxy a free marketplace.

I trust that this clears up your confusion.

Toshiko "Treble" Western
Director of ICM
Titan Mining, LLC

[______________Luxxan]

Actually, in the novel paradigm, the ICC was formed shortly after Omni-Tek specifically to counteract the growing power Omni-Tek had over the new forming government on Earth. There were other corporations, but Omni-Tek was by far the most powerful, due to various underhanded reasons.

And so, as the story goes, some 15,000 years later, Omni-Tek suddenly makes an explorative bee-line for Rubi-Ka, which is a lifeless world on the edge of nowhere. Nobody can figure out why, because it was supposedly a completely unexplored portion of the galaxy. In any case, the reason why is obvious now; the question is how Omni-Tek knew in the first place.

[Blyzzard]

Very True, Lux, perhapse Omni had a truedreamer on the staff who saw where Rubi-Ka was, and needed Omni - Tek to get there.

That would explane how they knew it was there.

Then the question becomes why did the true dreamer need for it to be found?

[______________Luxxan]

As far as I know, there hasn't been anyone that gifted with seysense since David Marlin. And I somehow doubt our champion of freedom and liberty would work for Omni-Tek.

[Blyzzard]

There hasn't been anyone "documented" with the gift. You think Omni would let a prize like that get swiped by headhunters? SOL Banking would have loved to get their hand on one, and so would every other Corp, Mega Corp, and Hyper Corp in the galaxy.

At the end of the Emancipation war Seyers were fairly numerous. Did they just breed out of existence?

What others don’t know you have can’t be stolen.

[______________Luxxan]

Even the other seyers after the Emancipation Wars were nowhere near the talents of Marlin. If Omni-Tek had a prize like that, it would be quite valuable indeed.

[Blyzzard]

There were also rumors around the time of President Marlin's disappearance, of him boarding an experimental Omni-Tek relativity drive spaceship.

If you are a conspiracy buff you could imagine that he was heading to Rubi-Ka to fulfill Ancient True dreamer prophecy, and Omni-Tek just had a tracker onboard. They then charted its path and then using State of the Art FTL drive ships, jumped ahead to get to Rubi-Ka.

Seems a bit far-fetched to me. More likely Omni-Tek has undisclosed assets. (Now there would be a shocker huh?)

[___________Manchilde]

ooc

sorry to ask, but who is David Marlin? Just curious if he is a character in "Prophets w/o Honor" book....havent had a chance to read it yet myself

[______________Luxxan]

David Marlin is the person who lead the revolt against the Omega, who had enslaved the Solitus for thousands of years. He was also responsible for the founding of the post-Omega World Council, which later became the ICC. He is an icon of freedom and the fight for liberation throughout the inhabited portions of the universe.

[Blyzzard]

/ IC: David Marlin was the Liberator of all humanity from the slavery of the Omega (a race of immortal humans). Rabble and malcontents often usurp him as a symbol of what can be accomplished by underdog forces.

There is a difference between the Emancipation War and the Omni/Clan conflict.

1) The Omega while immortal, were unable to reproduce. They were / are sterile. The Solitus out breed them then overwhelmed by force of numbers. The clans do not have the ability to out number Omni-Tek to be able to overcome OT’s superior firepower.
2) The Solitus were truly slaves to the Omega. The Clan are just disgruntled former employees. The Solitus could not leave earth for a better place. Former employees can get on a space ship if they choose.
3) There could be no peace with the Omega. Peace can be worked out on Rubi-Ka.

[Nyadach]

Originally posted by CaptFallout
That is confusing though... Omni-Tek signed this in 3563?

"* Rubi-Ka was discovered by Omni-Tek in 28702. Meaning, the contract has NOT been in place for 30,000 years—more like 1000 (the current in-game year is 29475). "

How do you know RK was found in 28702?

IF this information you have found is true... Davy is right.

Reading my history pads of Rubi-Ka the planet was landed upon by Omni-Tek scout parties in 28702...yet no one knows when it was discovered as this landing was very "suspect" in that unlike all the other planets that Omni was discovering at this time, non of them had names just numbers. Yet one did....Rubi-ka!
Also strange was that even by the times of the landing colonists where already en-route. So call me su****ious, but if this history proves true (which it is) someone in Omni-Tek knew a long time before the lands about Rubi-ka, and its value.