RenrakuRenraku Computer Systems Renraku, already reeling from the Seattle Arcology debacle, didn’t fare too well following the Crash — due to the machinations of former Renraku America division manager Sherman Huang (now rotting in some Renraku jail cell, assuming he’s still alive at all), the corp lost a big chunk of money and, much more importantly, the opportunity to get the jump on the emerging augmented-reality market. In the world of megacorps, second best is the first loser, and Renraku didn’t even make second best. That’s not to say that the Big R is hurting that bad, though — as their name implies (it means “communication” in Japanese), they’re still the world’s largest data repository and they own a substantial piece of Asia’s telecom grids, so they’re not without their bargaining chips. After all, when nobody knows what kind of useful or potentially incriminating information you’ve got squirreled away in your databanks, it’s going to take some strong motivation to risk messing with you. That’s what Renraku is counting on as it rebuilds and reinvents itself. |
