Landon Corp

Philip and Charles Landon, media moguls, are fairly new on the Talinz construction scene, but their company has dabbled in the field for years. Originally a media company, running a few more popular news outlets and more than a few entertainment and sports channels, Landon Corp’s first involvement came when they were the first network to ever consider airing a Talinz fight, back in the early days of the sport. The viewing figures were not as amazing as projected, but Landon Corp almost saw this as a challenge. They pushed harder, advertising campaigns, outside funding and sponsorship campaigns were ploughed into the sport in response, and it is the actions of these investors that have made Talinz fighting the juggernaut it is today, not to mention the sponsorship goldmine.

Philip and Charles, however, are somewhat more thoughtful than the pioneers’ generations before. They have consolidated the gains, and made some interesting expansions. They snapped up a few popular social media sites, used them for additional advertising revenue. The corporation ate a few popular matchmaking sites, too. It seemed fairly innocent, typical dabbling in other fields. But using algorithms from matchmaking sites and compiling data from social media posts, Landon Corp’s R&D department were fervently calculating new ways to exploit Talinz for more and more money.

They came up with an algorithm, a very simple thing, really, that could compile an individual’s interactions with social media, and that of their friends, to effectively compile the perfect friend, or theoretically the perfect partner. Same tastes, opinions, beliefs. When they released it on the market, the controversy was almost as high as the sales. A moral panic swept nations. How much information were individuals comfortable with sharing with Landon Corp’s grand servers? The company certainly didn’t want to release the algorithm to a place where another could bootleg it. If they were comfortable, was it right to have a fake friend, constructed in such a way? Highly extreme cases of identity theft and recluses refusing to socialise with ‘real people’ blanketed the headlines. Landon Corp reacted with their wallet. It was all too easy to criticise larger rival news corporations, who were clearly trying to hurt the respectability of the Landon Corp name. Smaller ones that shouted too loudly were silenced with elegantly executed buyouts.

Regardless, the algorithm was massively popular. So popular, in fact, that Landon Corp opened their first factory. Almost fully automated, the Landon model Talinz frames could come with a ready installed disposition to the user, together with thoughts and opinions suggested by the customer and nuanced based on their social media interactions with Landon Corp-affiliated sites. The other technical specifications of the machines were fairly basic, and for the most part, they are not the best looking machines when bought stock. But the real service Landon are offering is cheap and easy access to their algorithm, an important factor for many purchasers, especially considering the wide availability of additional modular parts to customise the Talinz after purchase.

This technology has not been applied in Landon Corp domicile frames only. An experiment with ace Talinz pilot (and all around good clean American boy) Jonas Samson and his new Landon Corp frame – appropriately named Eagle – showed a drastically elevated level of synchronisation between pilot and frame. This is especially notable considering the airborne capabilities of Eagle, which is already a mental tax on the pilot that can often harm response times. Landon Corp press and PR were happy to report this as a triumph of the algorithm, which had created Eagle to be a perfect complement to Jonas in personality, fighting style and priority. Some rival teams have suggested it may just be bluster, and many requests have been filed to look at the hardware specifications of the model, which Landon Corp have been reluctant to release.  Some robopsychologists and Talinz experts have cautioned usage of these algorithms in synchronisation if they can cause such immense boosts, warning of repeats to the Sonia Bah incident.

Charles Landon
High Concept: Ruthless media manipulator
Aspect: It’s Landon Corp, or it can be broken.
Skills: Great (+4) Economics, Good (+3) Resources, Fair (+2) Insightful, Average (+1) Willpower
Stunts: All about green: To Charles, money is everything. Whenever he intimidates another individual using capital, he may use Economics for the roll.

Philip Landon
High Concept:  Silent market observer
Aspect: It’s Landon Corp, or it should be.
Skills: Great (+4) Resources, Good (+3) Contacts, Fair (+2) Zeitgeist, Average (+1) Empathy
Stunts: Watch and wait: Unlike Charles, Philip keeps his head at all times, and uses a network of contacts to keep an eye on the market. He may use Contacts in place of Economics when assessing the health of a business rival or Landon Corp.

Jonas Samson
High Concept: All American Talinz Pilot
Aspect: Local lad done good
Skills: Great (+4) Talinz piloting, Good (+3) Physique, Fair (+2) Rapport, Average (+1) Firearms
Stunts: Sure of himself: Jonas has been brought up from a very early age to know that any mental conflict, no matter how complicated, can often be solved by escalating to physical conflict. The world has, unfortunately, yet to prove him wrong on this fact. He may use his Physique to defend against attempts to intimidate or provoke him, in place of Willpower.