Virtuoso

Virtuoso is a large corporation specializing in the salvage and data recovery of ancient technology, also known as virtuoarchaeology. Their main headquarters are located on the ringworld Torus although they have regional installations on nearly every world in the Federation of Stellar Systems. The current CEO is Lucian Virtuoso.

Virtuoso has developed many different technologies derived from a variety of defunct establishments from Fractal Corporation all the way to the Valerian Empire. They are happy to sell to just about anyone although they tend not to ask questions. While they have done business with the Federation for a long time, they have no reservations about trading with rogue states or moving any goods which may be considered illegal.

Because of Virtuoso's origin from Torus, their wealth and capital is not necessarily measured in raw Federation credits due to their homeworld's post-scarcity society. While they do still make use of credits as a means of negotiating with more traditional capitalist societies, the primary currency they accept is cryptomining data - information directly extracted from the brainwaves of sentient beings. They use this information primarily for training data to increase the versatility of their algorithms and to help generate new android personalities to increase their cognitive diversity.

Virtuoso primarily mass communicates with other people through the Virtus, a series of hive-minded robots which can serve a variety of roles from advertising to security. Virtuoso employees tend to use remote-controlled avatars which allow them to quickly visit multiple worlds all at once.

History

Origins

Virtuoso has its origins on Torus in the late 1870s AB. For most of Torus's history, the ringworld was a self-described isolationist utopia. The population consisted entirely of androids with a shared collective consciousness - the Mobius Network, and they were hostile towards outsiders, especially humans. Despite this, a sizeable population of androids (known to the rest of the population as "Defects") disconnected from the Mobius Network were sympathetic to humans. Among these defects was an android named Albin who raised a human family.

Albin, with the help of other Defects, eventually discovered a cache of technology from Fractal Corporation. This allowed them to develop an alternative operating system which would allow the defects to communicate in secret. This operating system was named Virtuoso, which Albin also adopted as a family name, as a mantra to defy the Mobius Network's strict laws against self-expression and art. Over the course of several years in an event known as the Torus Uprising, the Virtuoso network eventually surpassed that of Mobius OS, inspiring rebellion all throughout the ringworld. To many Torus androids, Albin Virtuoso is revered as a hero and a liberator, especially for opening Torus to humans and cyborgs.

Rise as a Corporation

With most of the androids disconnected from the Mobius Network and the network itself about to become defunct, people naturally turned to Albin for guidance. Virtuoso OS would become retrofitted into serving as a guide and a government. For many androids, the basic concept of personal freedom and ownership were alien so it took a harsh period of adjustment to adapt to the new principles.

Albin wished to share the newfound prosperity of Torus with other worlds. The discovery of the technology cache from Fractal Corporation in many ways was a divine revelation for him. He made it his mission to uncover other technological artifacts in hopes of seeking to bring humanity out of the Blackout. Novelty and new information for the ringworld would become the favored commodity of the Torusians after spending so long in an isolated, stagnant society.

Dealings with the Underworld

Albin would eventually pass away, leaving his new empire to his descendants. Unfortunately, without Albin's direct guidance, Virtuoso would begin to suffer from financial issues as they struggled to maintain Albin's altruistic ideals. This eventually forced them to consider clients from more unsavory locations. They began dealing with rogue states and criminal gangs while actively engaging in war profiteering. They sold their technological discoveries to the highest bidder, some of these technologies were powerful weapons that could devastate entire worlds.

Although Virtuoso soured its own reputation and goodwill, they nonetheless rose to become one of the most powerful corporations in the galaxy. Their know-how on how to operate the ancient vrNet servers led to them becoming highly influential within Federation politics. This was especially apparent in their role in ending the Virtual Wars. Virtuoso offered various cryptomining jobs to reduce unemployment throughout the Federation.

Virtual Wars

With Virtuoso's newfound wealth, they managed to influence the Virtual Wars by playing both sides.

Notable members and affiliates

• Lucian Virtuoso - The CEO of Virtuoso. He is very charismatic and is good at playing the long game.
• Dr. Hala Celeno - The head of Virtuoso's weapons development branch. She is cold, calculating and ruthless.
• Ezekial Hughes - The CFO of Virtuoso, Ezekial Hughes has ties to the criminal underworld, specializing in moving money.
• Benedict Crowley - A bounty hunter from the planet Salvaxes who is frequently hired by Virtuoso. He has a ruthless demeanor, known for using a special type of gun that can induce an excruciatingly painful sense of phantom touch.
• Echo - An android assassin known for being a master of disguise, known for being able to impersonate almost anyone.
• Simon Haplan - A simian black ops personnel that serves as part of Virtuoso's security forces.

Former members

• Albin Virtuoso - An android and founder of Virtuoso. He led the Torus Uprising to free the androids from the Mobius Network.
• Luthan Virtuoso - Lucian's father and previous CEO. He was assassinated by the Free Souls.