Lore

Kintobor Incorporated

A dynastic company stretching for generations, Kintobor Incorporated is the de facto world leader of Mobius. Originally an agricultural company, the dynasty expanded into warfare after one of the many Human-Mobian conflicts decimated their farmlands in the small subset of kingdoms that would eventually become Megapolis. Over the course of 130 years – starting with Ivan Kintobor, the first scion of the family – Kintobor Incorporated transformed into the militaristic and energy powerhouse that it is today. Its current leader is Gerald Kintobor, who is both a calculating president and an ambitious scientist of great renown.

*Excerpts from “The Untold Story of Kintobor Incorporated” by Kirby, a historian.*

Realizing that Kintobor’s weapons and technology would better their lives, the people of Megapolis began to idolize the company and began valuing them more than their current leaders. Slowly but surely, Kintobor Inc. – with assurance from the people – began infiltrating other areas of governance, such as urban development, scientific research, public works, military and peace preservation until finally, the company assumed complete and total control of the city.

Once in power, Kintobor began building the elevated city. It would be suspended by a massive central pillar and eight smaller pillars each supporting a plate. Like pieces of a pie, the eight plates circled around the central complex, where Kintobor Inc’s new global headquarters would be located. Powering this new, upper city were massive Energen Reactors, numbered to represent each plate. Over time, a portion of the reactors would be converted to produce RINGTEK, further elevating the company’s status among the people. The reborn Megapolis promised prosperity between Mobians and Humans, something that was thought to be impossible after generations of strife between the two. The president and current family head, Gerald Kintobor, was hailed as a hero.

*Chapter 2: A Premonition has the remainder of the excerpt, read aloud by Cosmo*

The Great War

A war that started between Kintobor Incorporated and the Kingdom of Mobotropolis thirty years ago. Originally, Kintobor and the ruling monarchy headed by the House of Acorn were on good relations. Relations soured due to a political incident, resulting in Kintobor occupying South Island and sparking the flames of war.

Locations

Megapolis

*Excerpts from “The Untold Story of Kintobor Incorporated” by Kirby, a historian.*

The city of Megapolis is considered a marvel of architecture and engineering. What originally started as a small kingdom surrounded by eight villages became a metropolis that is the home of over two million Humans and a million and a half Mobians.

The size of the upper city is roughly 28 kilometers (~17.5 miles) in diameter and is raised 100 meters (~328 feet) above the ground. The thickness of the Plate, which houses the upper city, is roughly 25 meters (82 feet). Each of the eight sections of the upper city are supported by one massive concrete and steel pillar with several thousand smaller pillars positioned around for stability.

Each of the city’s eight segments are anchored to an enormous central structure that is approximately 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) wide in diameter. The central structure itself is buried almost a kilometer and a half below the ground.

The Kintobor Building is situated at the centre of Megapolis and serves as the global headquarters for Kintobor Incorporated. The egg-shaped building spans 70 stories and is approximately 530 meters (1,738 feet) tall at its highest point. Combined with it sitting on the 100 meter high central support column, the Kintobor Building reaches a total height of 630 meters (2,066 feet), making it the tallest, man-made structure on Mobius.

Residents of the upper plate have a generally high standard of living. Even residents at the lowest income percentiles can afford the luxuries and amenities available to them. However, a major barrier to living topside is the high cost of entry. Despite the supply being available, real estate costs are prohibitively expensive. Unless they have exorbitant amounts of mobium to spare, most residents start out in slums beneath the city.

The lower city is made up of the small villages and towns that existed prior to Megapolis’ construction. Upkeep of the lower city is dismal at best, with many dwellings being unfit for occupation. It’s been said that the Department of Urban Housing and Development had its budget continually cut in favour of technological advancement, but this author has no concrete evidence suggesting otherwise.

There are several additional fees levied against the Mobian population, given their supposed involvement in the Great War two decades ago. Kintobor argues that these fees do not exist, however evidence has been documented many times without any resolution from the current bureaucracy. It is likely due to the President’s prejudiced views about Mobians versus Humans, but the reasoning behind that view has not been disclosed. I propose several theories in a later chapter.

Facilitating the rapid development of the city was the discovery and use of Energen (see Chapter 5: Energen and the Rise to Power).

Elements

Energen

Energen is a wispy, liquid natural resource that sits deep within Mobius’s crust. Once processed, Energen has a power output ten times greater than other fossil fuels. Processing and refinement is done using an Energen Reactor. Once refined, Energen is then used as fuel to produce electricity for homes, businesses and the vast industrial complexes that surround the outer ring of the city.

The term “Energen” was to be a placeholder until Marketing could come up with another name. Over time, the name ended up sticking around until it was adopted as the primary descriptor of the energy source.

RINGTEK

*Excerpts from “The Untold Story of Kintobor Incorporated” by Kirby, a historian.*

Ring Technology – shortened to RINGTEK – was developed by Kintobor Power Incorporated as a type of advanced fuel cell. It was introduced after the war against Chun-nan, at around the same time as the Roboticizer.

Processed Energen is poured into molds containing a grey, conductive material and is then casted into a super-charged ring shaped battery. These can then be used to power various types of electronics and machinery; from everyday household items like tele-crates or refrigerators and personal handsets, to vehicles, medical equipment, heavy machinery and even weapons of war. When introduced to the public, Kintobor stated that the power capacity of RINGTEK was so efficient that one ring could theoretically run a pacemaker to keep someone alive for generations. The greatest advantage of RINGTEK was its eco-friendliness. Consuming Energen releases smog-like fumes into the air, which lowers the overall air quality in Megapolis. Conversely, RINGTEK does not release any pollutants into the air.

The creation of RINGTEK ushered in a golden age for Mobius. However, such change was not without consequences. For all of its advantages, RINGTEK batteries are non-rechargeable. This flaw results in used rings being discarded and replaced at an alarming rate due to the high power demand current technology requires. While the machines used to cast the rings have minimal power input requirements, the RINGTEK casting process requires large amounts of air and water which then results in polluted exhaust fumes and radioactive runoff being spewed and dumped carelessly into the slums below.

However, since RINGTEK was so cheap to produce, the majority of the population did not take notice that the land surrounding the city was gradually degrading into a wasteland due to the pollution; instead, they continued to consume without heed to the environment.

Roboticization

Roboticization is the process of transforming organic matter into an inorganic, metallic form. It was created after the Great War which felled the city of Mobotropolis and decimated the Acorn Royal Family. Originally slated to be used as a medical procedure to replace missing limbs, Kintobor has abused the technology and had captured Mobians en masse to create robotic slaves to do his bidding.

These Robians – Roboticized Mobians – were programmed for many duties, such as eliminating the Mutates that made their living in the wastes underneath the Plate or patrolling the interiors of the Energen Reactors. They are tasked to eliminate all visual targets on sight and do not discriminate between Mutate, Mobian or Human.