Key Corporation
From Ars Arcanum Wiki
The Key Corporation is a group of magical supremacists, leading one side in the War. Although they still make use of technology, their primary focus is magic, and they seek to limit technological and scientific development so that magic has more room to flourish.
Characters with Upright cards are, by default, working for the Key Corporation.
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Philosophy
The Key Corporation believes that people have the potential to be special. With study, dedication, and natural talent, people can change the world through will alone. People who have that kind of power also have a responsibility to use it wisely, and for the benefit of their fellow humans.
Technology, while not evil in itself, is problematic because of the effects it has on people -- it makes life easier, yes, but it also serves to stifle imagination and prevent those who have the potential to be truly exceptional magi from fully developing their powers. In a world filled with blinking, flashing, beeping distractions, very few people are able to dedicate themselves to a thorough study of the esoteric arts.
With that in mind, the Key Corporation has worked tirelessly to establish schools of magic, and offers thousands of scholarships all over the world for promising students. Likewise, they offer financial and social support to indigenous societies with established magical traditions, encouraging them to resist the influence of colonialism and preserve the old ways of their people.
The Key Corporation is proudly multicultural, drawing from countless traditions and welcoming employees of all colors and creeds.
In addition to the many charitable works the Key Corporation concerns itself with, there's a strong focus on magical research. Researchers and magi work around the clock to push the boundaries of human understanding and human power.
Additionally, the Key Corporation serves as the keeper of a vital historical record -- while technologists may insist the witch-hunting craze was merely an example of class politics gone wrong, the magical practitioners of the world know better. Out of the 100,000 people that died as a result of witch trials, at least 90% possessed above-average magical ability.
The Key Corporation has devoted itself to keeping the memory of the past alive, and ensuring that the magically-gifted few never again face such persecution.
Benefits
People on the Upright side have access to magical techniques and information which will help them fully utilize their tarot cards more quickly than those on the Reversed side. Likewise, women, people of color, and more atypical sorts will find that their opinions are respected and taken into account.
The Dark Side
Although on the surface, the Key Corporation seems friendly and open, they have a much darker agenda. No, they don't discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender presentation, or country of origin. Instead, they discriminate based on magical ability.
The average person has little to no magical ability -- perhaps they can light a candle, or summon their keys. Nothing terribly spectacular, and nothing the Key Corporation is interested in. They're the descendants of the witches and wizards of old, who held absolute dominion over the terrified masses... And they'd like to see the old days return.
Yes, the witch trials took a terrible toll on the magical community, but what always gets left out of the story is this: power corrupts. Only half of those killed in the trials could be said to be truly innocent of wrongdoing. 50,000 innocent lives is still a terrible toll, but it must be remembered that the mass hysteria of the trials was sparked, not by jealousy or persecution, but by scared people banding together to stop their abuse at the hands of someone infinitely more powerful than they were.
More recently, rumors have been spreading of magical experiments that could quite literally tear the world apart, researchers driven mad, and things neither entirely human nor wholly animal escaping from Key Corporation facilities.
Facilities
Headquarters
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Hierarchy
President: Naomi Baldwin
Major Projects
SEALED RECORD
We're sorry, but you're not yet enlightened enough to be granted this knowledge.
