TREASON ON NARAKA

By TalkFast

Will Deewon: Corporate Candidate or Zigany Sellout?

The earthquake-prone planet Naraka may see other troubling tremors soon, in the form of an ugly political shakeup. The Naraka Board of Directors is due to hold a new election soon, and a new dark horse candidate, Will Deewon of Kandel Ceramics, is rapidly gaining favor amongst the Board Members, but what does the public really know about this gladhanding hopeful?

Current Chairman Lei Cha Vong of Orpheon has reportedly turned away Zigany diplomats who approached him looking to establish a permanent Zigany envoy on the planet. As reported previously by the FNF, these alien clones have designs on taking over Fringe planets and stealing our children.

Deewon, however has been spotted meeting in secret with Zigany diplomats, undoubtedly promising them Fringer children to experiment on if they will help him win the election! He has publicly expressed interest in more official negotiations with Zigany should he win the upcoming election.

Deewon was also previously a lawyer for the Canto Group, who were connected to the Cadix “Zombie Virus” outbreak on Eclipse a few years ago. Who knows what Zigany scientists could cook up between advanced mutations and the Cadix virus? Perhaps they are planning to create a zombie mutant army to put at the Zigany’s disposal to fight the Empire?

Deewon’s office was not available for comment to journalists.

NAUTICAL ODDITY or CURSED SEAS?

By TalkFast

Freak Storms, Vanishing Ships Plague Vajra. Do mysterious malevolent forces haunt the seas?

Sailors and merchants alike in the Varja city of Voreko are worried. This place is home to the most skilled boatsmen in the Galaxy, and it’s said that no storm truly frightens them, but recent events have even the most hardened captains talking of curses and uncanny events.

Over a dozen vessels have disappeared without a trace in strange storms, and the few who survived say this is not natural weather, even for storm-wracked Varja. The surviving crew of the Argon, whose sister ship the Meanar was lost recently, claimed to have seen brilliant lightning flashes and felt terrible waves of fear before the Meanar disappeared into the storm. One crewman commented “Something was not right. This was no boating accident.”

Even more strange are the events witnessed by Liam McKarn, captain of the Ossam Star, the most recent ship to be caught in a storm on Vajra.
He spoke to one of our reporters over drinks at a Voreko bar.

“We were sure we were a’gonna go under! I’d n’er seen waves this ‘uge before! I’d been ‘earing rumors about tha other lost ships, sayin’ they were taken by ghosts an’ tha like.”

McKarn’s strong callused hands shaking slightly as he clutched a pint Nogg’s Grog and told his chilling tale.

“ Well, a terrible fear gripped me ‘eart an’ I could swear I saw dark shapes movin’ about me crew, we were all so terrified, an’ all me hollerin’ at them to man their posts ‘ad nae effect. Then, an’ I swears by Tane this be true, in tha clouds I swear I saw a terrible fight. A great beasty of a man all wrapped in shadows was fightin’ this woman in swirly garb. Now, with tha lightening an’ tha thunder I could nae see much, but I swear twas the Empress! I think she was fightin’ with Nidrigg in tha skies! An’ then there was an awful scream an’ tha storm dissipated like it was never there! I tell ye, I went and drowned my fears when we made port, by Tane’s light I shore did!”

MEURLAIN CONTROL OF IMPERIAL STOCK MARKET EXPOSED!

By Edgar Nyse, guest columnist

In my short life I had thought I had seen it all. I was a believer that the stock market finds the best price of a stock pending all of the information that is presently known. Now I stand in disgust after listening to Juras Huron explain how he, and many other hedge fund operators, move the market on a daily basis. However What I found most interesting is how he made it so clear that the talking heads on financial vids and web burst transmissions are in bed with Meurlain hedge fund managers. I have always questioned some of the Meurlain who sit and talk the market up and down on a near daily basis but until now, I did not understand the reason. But when you hear it from Juras’ mouth that hedge fund managers literally call up the Meurlain to show them some evidence of a market movement that the Meurlain himself has created - that was the final straw.

As can be seen by the most recent brain scans of the typical Imperial Hedge Fund Manager (subjects name anonymous to protect source) the frontal cortex and impulse areas have been affected by chemicals responding directly neuron dampening chemicals.

What does this all mean? First a brief explanation on Corporations and Hedge Funds. Sociologist, author, and financial journalist Alfred W. Kree is credited with the creation of the first hedge fund approximately 120 years ago. Kree believed that changes in asset prices can be attributed partly to factors specific to the asset in question and partly to trends in the market as a whole. To neutralize the effect of overall market movement, he balanced his portfolio by buying assets whose price he expected to increase in the future, relative to the overall performance of the market, and selling short assets whose price he expected to decrease. He saw that price movements due to the overall market would balance out because, if the overall market rose, the loss on shorted assets would be cancelled by the additional gain on longed assets and vice-versa. By taking this approach his investment strategy was market neutral, as returns depended only on him picking the right stock, not on whether the stock market went up or down. Kree referred to his fund as being "hedged" to describe how the fund managed risk exposure from overall market movement. This type of portfolio became known as a hedge fund.

This translated to a large group of private investors from the major houses investing money in their own and other house corporations. This was seen as a good thing since this should have stimulated all the houses to ensure the success of all houses. What occurred shortly after, was the understanding that in selling high amounts of another corporation’s stocks could cause a ripple effect that would weaken the stock price of a corporation. The innate greed of most high level House investors has off set this, even in times of inter-house feuding. But a survey of past investments shows an abnormal amount of good grace among Hedge Fund managers.

The truth has finally been revealed, with each house having a cadre of Meurlain in their “employee” the role of the guide becomes blurred. It has been proven that Meurlain have used mental psionic as well as hypno-therapy and outright drug control methods to influence these hedge fund managers, thus controlling the stock prices, and thus controlling the corporations. As you can see from the analysis below, even with overall movement in the market, all trends remain within stabilized forecasts, a virtual impossibility without outside manipulation. It is no wonder the Meurlain need no standing army, they have the entire Imperial Banking and Commerce system in the palm of their hands (or test tubes).

Symbol	Last Close	Volume	Engine Rating	Momentum (%)	Momentum Ranking	Multi-Year Forecast (%)
WMDTC	73.34	893,721,398	4	22.31	3	3.45
BLKSTR	82.22	8,789,473	3	31.111	1	2.42
SKVW	32.64	497,324,987	2	8.71	5	-1.98
IMPWAN	10.33	939,847,293	2	-10.75	8	5.48
JNTCHI	65.77	37,472,975	4	6.54	6	1.22
BLULIT	98.76	4,897,398	3	28.91	2	9.75
HALOID	34.26	784,972,399	4	-2.441	7	2.05
HRNARM	72.90	7,329,339	3	18.769	4	8.91

How long have the Murelain held such a tight control over the finances of the Imperium? What have they been doing with these funds? How long will this control continue? How dependent are the Imperials on these psionic drugs?

These are questions beyond the scope of this article. One thing is certain, no one has seen the end of this.

IMPERIAL CRACKDOWN! - Story Update

The Fringe Newsfeed previously reported widespread Imperial persecution of mutants and thuggish efforts to root out any suspected mutants in their communities.

The INN has finally "reported" on this situation, but their only official mention is the following:

Imperial forces have been put on high alert and are working to eliminate any Zigany spies within Imperial space. All travelers are now required to submit to advanced medical scanning upon arrival within Imperial Space.

It seems pretty clear that the Zigani threat is being used as an excuse for mutant persecution. Shame on you, INN editors! Tell us the truth!

MUTANT/CYBORG HYBRIDS?

By Doctor Carlyle La’Broche, guest columnist

Shocking Experiments Revealed!

The line between mutant and cybernetic has finally broken down. It has been suspected, that the Empire has long used mutants to test their cybernetic enhancements, but now, they have crossed the line. It has been reported that 400 or more Fringers were recently taken captive. The only thing they had in common was they were mutants. Unable to defend themselves, they have been shipped off to the secret chop shops never to be seen again.

I, Doctor Carlyle La’Broche have been working with several underground Imperial sources. My previous job was to find a way for cybernetics to detect mutations. When that became an obvious failure the Empire decided to invest all its resources into what it calls “population reconfiguration.”

While I may not be advocating the use of some sort of “mindless cybernetic drone” I will say, that one of the key aspects of the cybernetics the Empire was looking for, was a “cerebral null switch.” This would ensure that, from a safe distance, any cybernetics could be deactivated as well as paralyzing the subject.

There was also, in development, micro plastic cells that would actually explode with an effective kill range or 25 feet. This would obviously eliminate the subject as well, but could do significant collateral
damage.

The process behind this, is to take the bio-chemistry inherent in every mutant and utilize it to the up-tenth degree. There by increasing the abilities of a cyborg by a factor of at least 10. At this point, no one has been able to identify why these mutations actually take place, nor can anything biologically be determined to segregate mutants from non-mutants. It has been proven (by 3 independent research studies) that mutations are not strictly a “genetic” disease. There are plenty of parents who, with no mutations in their biological past, have children who present mutations. Also, parents who are mutant do not show any exceptional chance of their own offspring from developing mutations. Even the royal family has been shown to be susceptible to bearing mutant offspring. The current working hypothesis is that mutations are either:

+ 3% variance from readers polled

It should be noted, that the vast majority of mutations result in death. While the Empire may be working hard to establish safe procedures for dealing with the growing crisis, novice attempts should be reported immediately. A reward has been offered for any confirmed reports on black market activities in regards to mutational transplants and/or the incorporation of cybernetics with mutations.

The Empire has itself refused to confirm the various facilities in which their own experiments are taking place. Whether this is kept confidential to preserve the safety of the research personal or the privacy of the mutants is unclear. The Empire has made no attempt to hide their hunt for mutants.

Confidential informants have reported, “…It is only a matter of time before such mutated-cyborgs are combat ready!” This would also serve the purpose of either eradicating or at the very least controlling the rampant growth of mutants in the Empire. Some estimates, based on extensive medical surveys place conservative estimates at 32% of the human population in Imperial controlled space.

ALIEN INVASION?

By TalkFast


Peaceful Ambassadors, or a Move to Infiltratre Fringe Space?

Zigani ambassadors have been seen exiting the Gates on Fringe worlds bearing white flags of parlay. They speak cheerfully and politely to locals and when asked about Gymir said it had been "peacefully accepted into the glorious Ahramni Empire!"

Needless to say, not all Fringe worlds have welcomed these visitors.

Their previous Zygani attack on Tokpela shocked Fringer and Imperial alike (see previous FNF article “Alien Abduction”) and there has been no news from Ahramni-occupied Gymir at all and attempts to reach the cold planet via webway have met with failure. The only thing that webguides have reported back is that there is still a functioning Gate at the end of the path, it simply won't open.

An eyewitness in the Taranis capital said that the “ambassadors” fled with Rama's voice booming "AND STAY OUT!!!" after them. On the jungle planet Erlik they had a curt discussion with Warlord Gunn Verdan, before being escorted back to the gate by armed Aeshma. The Zygani representatives who traveled to Naraka spent a week meeting with various heads of corporations, but no word yet on how those discussions progressed.

On the Fringe planets Vaitarani, Vrita and Vajra the Zygani were allowed to visit townships within a day’s travel of the Gates and speak with various functionaries. Opinions of them on those worlds seem to be altering as the Imperium renews its venom against mutants and the various Tribe worlds begin to arm. (see previous FNF article “Imperial Crackdown”)

The Zigani diplomats have all offered the same thing: protection, inclusion in the Ahramni Empire, technology designed for mutants, a culture that accepts and glorifies advanced mutation and safety from other invading forces. As one of our sources commented: “All at the small small price of freedom.”

IMPERIAL CRACKDOWN!

By TalkFast and Freelance Sources

Mutants and Suspected Mutants Flee

Refugees fleeing Imperial worlds first came as a trickle, then a stream and lately a great deluge through Fringer webgates with wild stories of assassination squads, door to door searches and even DNA scans in children's classes. Sorting through the panicked stories is difficult, but so far most of the fleeing Imperials appear to be coming from Akier. All mutants amongst the Imperials are encouraged to flee to a safe haven in Fringe space if possible.

One traveler arriving from Tiaowa was interviewed by FNF, but asked to remain anonymous. She said that she personally witnessed door to door sweeps and increased security around the gate. She added, "I was one of the lucky ones to get out before being found out. There are so many others that will not make it out. My heart breaks for them."

King Rama of Taranis issued a formal statement to all Imperial mutants:
"The Imperials have declared all mutants within their borders are allied to the Zigany and must be eliminated. To all our Imperial kin, Taranis is a safe haven for you and our doors will always be open, do not be afraid to come here for if you stay within Imperial space you only to face certain death. We will find shelter for you and your loved ones."

There is no official word yet on how Rama plans to feed and house the refugees.

Renowned Taranis psychic and metaphysician Dr. Aaron Preston has predicted that the refugees will have among them "a person of great importance who will one day save Taranis." He did not elaborate on this statement and his office has not returned our calls before this article went out. Other sources have claimed that Empress Gheverie of the Imperium of Man is among the refugees (see FNF article "Empress Fakes Her Death?") and that she herself is secretly a mutant, but those outlandish claims have not been backed up with any evidence.

There are rumors that various undercover squads of Fringers have made it onto Imperial worlds to help smuggle out threatened mutants. The FNF has been unable to confirm the existence of such groups.

FNF UPDATE, 3/21/11
INN's only official mention of this is the following:

Imperial forces have been put on high alert and are working to eliminate any Zigany spies within Imperial space. All travelers are now required to submit to advanced medical scanning upon arrival within Imperial Space.

It seems pretty clear that the Zigani threat is being used as an excuse for mutant persecution. Shame on you, INN editors!