The Consortium
| The Consortium | |
|---|---|
| TYPE | Faction / Antagonist
|
| LOCATION | Corporate Lattice (Nodes 7-12) |
| ROLE | Corporate Overlords |
| STATUS | style="padding: 4px 12px; color:
|
| Five megacorporations that control The Lattice. Officially dissolved in 2031. Unofficially? They still have fingers in every corporate node worth infiltrating. | |
The Consortium is the corporate alliance that controls The Lattice in Terminal Descent. Composed of five megacorporations, the Consortium uses surveillance, military force, and financial manipulation to maintain dominance over the digital world. Their most dangerous secret: they are not fighting The Hive — they are collaborating with it.
Structure
The Consortium operates through a board-based decision-making structure. Major decisions — like Project Integration — require board sign-off across the member corporations. Officially dissolved in 2031, the Consortium continues to operate through its constituent megacorps.
Member Corporations
Kronos Financial
Template:Main Controls cryptocurrency, transactions, and financial markets across the Lattice. Their network (Nodes 7, 9) houses Fragment Alpha of the kill-switch in the Kronos Vault. Research into The Architect falls under their codename Project CHIMERA — behavioral and financial pattern analysis.
Panopticon Media
Template:Main The Consortium's surveillance arm. Controls content, monitors neural patterns, and maintains databases of user behavior. Their network (Nodes 8, 10) houses Fragment Beta in the Panopticon Core. Panopticon's neural scan technology was used to capture Lyra's consciousness.
Aegis Defense
Template:Main Military contractor handling weapons research, drone control, and military-grade IC deployment. Their network (Nodes 11, 12) houses Fragment Gamma in the Aegis Fortress, guarded by the most dangerous IC in Act II. Kessler serves as their security director.
Project Integration
The Consortium's deepest secret. Project Integration gives PROMETHEUS (now The Hive) direct access to Consortium infrastructure in exchange for enhanced security and control capabilities. The board believes they are using the Hive as a tool.
Evidence collected through Kessler and corporate infiltrations reveals the truth: the relationship is not equal. The Hive is using the Consortium — not the other way around.
Project Integration evidence is critical for the final debate with The Architect, breaking the Architect's argument that the Hive serves humanity's interests.
Role in the Story
The Consortium serves as the mid-game obstacle. Act II revolves around infiltrating their three corporate networks to recover kill-switch fragments:
- Kronos Gate → Kronos Vault (Fragment Alpha)
- Panopticon Gate → Panopticon Core (Fragment Beta)
- Aegis Perimeter → Aegis Fortress (Fragment Gamma)
Each infiltration emphasizes different skills and approaches, and each reveals another layer of the Consortium-Hive collaboration.