Rossum Universal Industries

Organization Type/Specialties: iotech, Pharmaceuticals, Neural Interfaces, Computer Hardware, Correctional Services
Assets: $335B
Monthly Net Revenue: $5.56B
Employees/Members: 550,000

Societal Position: Dominant, Large Resources, Special Assets (Neural Tech)
Rank: Corporate, 5/Level, Max 8
Rivals: Enyogeni, Umbra Corporation, Mordecai-Yeltsin International

Corporate Rank Table
Rank	Title	Cost
0	Worker, Associate	0
1	Team Leader	5
2	Supervisor	10
3	Local Division Manager	15
4	District Manager	20
5	Division Manager, Director	25
6	Vice President	30
7	Corporate Officer, Member of the Board	35
8	Executive Chairman of the Board	40

Janissary Corps Rank Table
Rank	Title	Cost
0	Tiro	0
1	Cemaat	5
2	Beylik	10
3	Archos	15
4	Bostandji	20
5	Praefect	25
6	Stratigos	30

Important Facilities

Vancouver, British Columbia, Republic of Canada: Rossum Universal Industries Corporate Headquarters
Cascade City, Cascade: Rossum Reeducation North American Regional Headquarters
Citadel Free City: RMAX Maximum Security Penitentiary

BAD Modifiers

Security: 4
Digital Security: 6
Competence: 2
Knowledge: 4

Description

Rossum Universal Industries was formed during the socialization of Canada in 2018, when the young Republic of Canada seized control of all large business activities within the nation. Rossum Universal was formed as a conglomeration of the assets and employees of numerous biotech, pharmaceutical, and computer hardware corporations. Since its formation, Rossum Universal has operated both within and outside of the Canadian States, and it is even freely traded on the global stock market, though the Republic of Canada maintains a 51% controlling interest.

Since 2023, Rossum Universal has been on the leading-edge of neural interface research, demonstrating the first full-sensory neural interface in April of that year. They were the first to market the full-immersion neural interface in 2035, and have built up a reputation for providing excellent products. A major section of the company is dedicated to supporting their neural interface and computer implantation technology, and they are a leader in designing computer hardware and the inner workings of the brain.

Rossum Universal does have a dark side, however. In the early 2020s, the Republic of Canada began experiencing difficulty with housing and securing their prison population. Their solution was to have Rossum Universal develop the first Chaperone Implant, an implanted GPS and communications system hooked up to the convict’s own sensory nerves, able to relay anything and everything the convict sees and hears back to a remote server equipped with a rudimentary AI capable of flagging suspicious activity and relaying the convict’s actions to the appropriate authorities. This implant was enthusiastically accepted by the Canadian government, and they began mass-implanting any nonviolent offender and releasing them into the wild. Those convicts who chose to break the law after their implantation were routinely caught swiftly and easily, putting a big damper on recidivism. This procedure only became more effective as time went on and the implants and AIs became more effective; nowadays, the Chaperone Implant is a full computer implant with a limited agent AI capable of quickly and accurately determining a convict’s mood and whether he intends to break his parole, and the capability to activate a convict’s pain centers if he doesn’t comply with instructions. As a result of the success of the Chaperone Implant, Rossum Universal is the name in correctional services, and it has made the vast majority of prisons extinct.

While the Chaperone Implant is highly succesfull at handling low-level crime, more serious felonies and those stupid enough to be repeat offenders deserve a more serious punishment. At the urging of the Republic of Canada, Rossum Universal developed a method of memory- and personality-erasure in late 2028, making use of their experimental total immersion neural interface technology. This ‘mind wipe’ technology is able to create a ‘blank slate’, a person with no mind, no memory, and no personality. When coupled with a form of direct mental stimulation that Rossum developed known as ‘deep learning’, this blank slate can be given a brand-new personality, complete with memories, skills, and personality quirks. Since 2030, Rossum has marketed this technology as a ‘humane’ alternative to execution, with Rossum paying to perform the process – but then retaining ownership of the ‘corpse’. ‘Death of Personality’ took over ‘traditional’ capital punishment in executions-per-year in 2034; nowadays, over five hundred executions occur every day. Those executed in this manner are legally deceased and their bodies are no longer considered ‘human’ and are, instead, treated as private property. Officially called ‘Slates’, but more commonly ‘Gols’ or ‘Golems’, these blank minds are trained with deep learning over a period of months to years to perform a particular function and then contracted out or sold to interested third parties for significant amounts of money. Some have likened the practice to the old ‘convict lease’ programs in the US, while others say that Rossum has revived the slave trade.

Judging by what their ‘legions’ of Slates are contracted to do, the latter is probably closer to the mark.

(Note: Rossum Universal was not named after the Rossum Corporation from the TV series ‘Dollhouse’; rather, it was named after the early 20th century play that introduced the word ‘Robot’ to the English language, R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots). Both RUI and the Rossum Corporation were named after the play for similar reasons, and have similar themes, but this is primarily coincidence)