Defined Space: Ammonite Line Enterprises
Every child enrolled in ALE's compulsary 8 year Kids Akadamy knows that every ALE-ien has their role to play in the cycles of profit and loss that make up the lifeblood of the Ammonite Line, and that these cycles have a long and storied history going back to humanity's birthplace of Earth.
The star-spanning conglomerates that would come to be known as ALE started as corporations on Earth hundreds of years ago. Through means both overt and covert, these corporations eventually overthrew or subsumed several nations across the planet. Completely unchecked industry accelerated the already unavoidable climate collapse, prompting the leaders of the corpo-states to finally enact their plan of terraforming and settling Mars, leaving behind the remnants of the states that remained on Earth post the launching of the colony ships. They divided the red planet amongst themselves, and some used it as a stepping stone to the Jovian moons.
Eventually, though, the corporations were ousted from Mars by a proletarian uprising, and their borders dissolved to make way for a Unified Mars, the first of what would become known as the Solar Revolutions. These revolutions were long and bloody, slowly beating the corporations back towards Earth and the few satellite stations and underground facilities that remained under their control. The corporations lead economists came to a realization that even if they did turn the tide of war, the cost of doing so would be even more unprofitable than if they lost. Thus, they did what money-men do best: they struck a bargain. The first, amongst themselves, was to join as a conglomerate that would negotiate with the revolutionaries as one voice. The second and more costly one was with the revolutionaries themselves. They relinquished control of Earth and the system to the nascent Solar Unity, in exchange for the FTL drives Unity scientists had developed. Furthermore, the corporations would share their terraforming technology with the Unity in exchange for exclusive rights to colonize certain portions of the Orion and Perseus arms of the galaxy. The Unity agreed, and the corporations-and the workers who still lived in corporation-controlled territories- left for the region of space now dubbed the Ammonite Line.
Today, Ammonite Line Enterprises is comprised of a myriad of corporations that are at times fast allies and bitter enemies. acquisitions, mergers, and hostile takeovers occur both in the boardroom and on the battlefield. An incredibly byzantine system of legal disputes, labor laws, and territory rights means that it can be genuinely unclear who controls what at any given time. On a few occasions companies have even accidentally declared war on their own subsidiaries due to clerical errors. Nominally, the ALE Board of Directors is the ultimate governing body, but they often turn a blind eye to rule-bending as long as quotas are met and growth projections are surpassed. As long as the original terms of the ALE charter are met and no companies act outside of ALE space without the Board's permission, profit comes before all other concerns.
To be an employee-citizen in ALE is not an entirely joyless and miserable existence. However, it is one where nearly every aspect of existence is monetized and audited. Ownership is a luxury few can afford; even the most basic of goods are usually rented, with the calories you eat being recollected via labor. Some keep their heads down and chins up, desperately clinging to the believe that through sheer perseverance they can one day climb up the corporate ladder. Others lash out, trying to rebel against the corporations in the same way the revolutionaries of Mars once did. The vast majority simply live, maybe dreaming of a better life but dismissing those fantasies when they punch in for their shifts. It's no wonder, than, that the war against New Damascus was met with such popular support; even a new enemy is a welcome change of pace from everyday life. It's also no wonder that, being given a taste of true novelty and an idea of what life could be outside the control of ALE, that a great deal of people followed a charismatic leader out of the Ammonite Line and into the stars of Orion's Belt...
