Espacios naturales protegidos (incluida Red Natura)

At the forefront of the Information Age is one of Pentex’s larger subsidiaries, Sunburst Computers. The turn of the twenty-first century was very good to Sunburst: as computers became ubiquitous, the company grew with the wave of development. Improvements in technology allowed Sunburst to produce its cheap computers in even greater numbers. The company continued to thrive dur- ing the same financial crises that crippled so many other businesses. Indeed, the recessions only fueled Sunburst’s growth, since computers were in high demand and many wanted them as cheaply as possible. The production of

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these computers furthers the Wyrm’s cause by utilizing dangerously underpaid Third World laborers toiling in an environment full of toxic chemicals. While Sunburst is famous for being one of the world’s greenest manufacturers, in truth their products contain just as many pollutants and toxins as those of the most notorious companies.

Sunburst is also a leader in outsourced tech support, which causes no end of frustration among its customers. Their products reach the market with technical issues that erase entire hard drives full of family pictures or important financial documents, and the backups — also produced by Sunburst — regularly fail. These problems combine with frustrating support and the lingering resonance of misery from the people in developing countries who build the hardware. This miasma of despair allows the Third World spiritual corruption to poison the First World one byte at a time. The Garou can do little to slow down this form of taint, because it is so subtle yet incredibly pervasive. The Garou Nation as a whole still deals little with the advanced technology of the twenty-first century, although some septs and Tribes seek mastery of this new battleground. Even if the Glass Walkers and their allies increased tenfold overnight, they would still pale in comparison to Sunburst’s user base alone, to say nothing of the many affiliated and unaffiliated companies who produce hardware peripherals and software that all contain traces of Wyrm-taint.

Sunburst’s biggest sellers in the modern market are tablets and smartphones, both of which have taken the world by storm. Tablets put the power of a PC at a user’s fingertips and on the go. Sunburst offers the world’s fastest tablets, including the incredibly popular SunPad. The SunPad is a two-hundred-dollar marvel of cutting-edge information technology. It also secretly records every- thing the user does, even with “private browsing” active. When the time is right, it reveals that information to the worst possible people, including friends, family, and the authorities — wherever the data will cause the most harm. While the company produces apps for many other platforms, Sunburst also offers its own smartphone line: the Solaris phones. Designed with both form and function in mind, the Solaris is easily the best-looking smartphone available. Built to exacting specifications, expensive to buy, and imported exclusively from the Third World factories where workers will never see the light of day again. Because of the importance of the line, fomori overseers viciously punish workers who make the slightest mistake. That evil infects the circuit boards of the Solaris, adding yet another trickle to the flow of Wyrm-taint that passes through the Information Age.

The slow corruption of what was once the Weaver’s domain mirrors that of the larger conflict between the two cosmic forces, and it is not a problem that force can overcome. The Glass Walkers are too few, and have too

little aid from their Gaian brethren. Those Weaver-spirits still loyal to their queen refuse to give the werewolves overt aid, serving as enemies and obstacles just as often as impromptu allies.

Incognito

Unfortunately, Sunburst is not alone in its efforts. One of their most chaotic and dangerous allies is the cyber-society of hackers called Incognito. The group is the largest of its kind, home to the world’s most skilled anonymous hackers. Like Sunburst and other computer- based organizations, Incognito has grown and thrived, as humanity has grown more dependent on computers. Their power and maliciousness makes them prime targets for Wyrm corruption. Even those who think they are only trolling the deserving view others with condescension, developing fans among the hacker community and fall- ing victim to the concomitant sense of celebrity pride. Incognito hackers foster anarchy wherever possible, making them tenuous allies at best to Pentex — though Beast-of-War feasts on the results of their actions. They seek to tear down systems and cause chaos through the Internet, though their primary targets are usually individuals. Many of the viruses that infect computers, Sunburst’s or otherwise, originate from the devious minds of Incognito members. Identity and data theft are just some of their methods for sowing this chaos, using the information they steal to victimize homeowners, sexual predators and teens seeking naughty videos alike. More and more people are online every day, many using the cheapest Internet provider they can find. A number of these ISPs trace back to Sunburst or other Pentex com- panies, and their built-in pop-ups and Spiral custom web browsers strain the eyes and the spirits of users.

Some of Incognito’s factions maintain a pretense of being revolutionaries striking at the heart of a world of fools and idiots. They wage campaigns of harassment and cyber-terror, often against companies whose actions serve the Wyrm. Yet the Incognito hackers are no he- roes; their own pride and anger leaves them hopelessly mired in Wyrm-taint. Any good they do for the world is undone every time they crash the website of a struggling business or charity.

Incognito’s unpredictability creates friction with the other heads of the Hydra. Just as often as hackers bring down someone undeserving, they also target one another and have no qualms about attacking Pentex companies. In fact, their overinflated sense of pride often brings them into conflict with the heads of other subsidiar- ies, because the latter seek to put themselves above all others and Incognito hackers brook no rivals. Nothing gives Incognito more satisfaction than taking down the people who think they own the world.

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Tellus

Another high-tech subsidiary, Tellus enjoys world- wide recognition as a leading videogame developer. Tellus gained popularity during the videogame boom of the late 1980s, both for the debut of their proprietary console, the Typhoon, and their games, always at the forefront of technological achievement and graphic content. In 2013, the videogame industry is one of the most lucra- tive in the world, dwarfing even Hollywood, and Tellus is one of the leading developers. Financial crises that sank other companies barely touched Tellus, even if their profits dropped by thirty percent, Tellus would still make enough to fund other companies for decades.

Today, Tellus owns the most popular game series in the world, including their latest installment of the venerable Biological Warfare series, which reached one billion dollars in sales in a record time of less than two weeks. The game exemplifies what Tellus does best: it appeals to the hardcore subculture of gamers by pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with graphics and con- tent. Tellus designs their games to be highly addictive, something that developers actively exploit.

Tellus also owns the immensely popular MMO Eden

Online, a game about settlers seeking new worlds to

colonize in a future where pollution and warfare have ruined the Earth. Of course, building and mining these new worlds for resources often begins players down the same path that ruined Eden’s Earth, but the avid fan- base doesn’t care one whit for the unspoiled beauty of the worlds they colonize. Eden Online is another highly addictive game, responsible for the forming of many “Gamers Anonymous” meetings and more than a few deaths from rabid fans playing marathons without food and water — or even leaving their seats to go to the bathroom. Tellus charges nearly twice as much as other MMOs for Eden, but Eden offers more of content than any game in history. With Tellus’ 3D monitors and glasses and high-powered sound systems made by Sunburst, the full Eden Online experience is as close to virtual reality as anyone can experience.

Tellus uses subtle methods to spread taint among hardcore gamers, making it more difficult for werewolves to throw a wrench in the works of a booming industry. Playing any one of Tellus’ wide catalog of violent games might not instantly corrupt an impressionable gamer’s mind, but a child who grows up playing games that de- sensitize him to violence and destruction of the natural

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world is just as profitable for the Wyrm. The seeds of taint grow within him, stunting his emotional growth and empathy for others, and there are millions like him. His interactions with the world at large only bring misery, derision, and abuse to everyone. The slow route works well for Tellus, because they affect millions at a time, both young and old.

The sharp upswing in computer use has brought Tellus a completely new audience of casual gamers, and they’ve been quick to capitalize on what they’ve found.

The Clones is an open-ended sandbox where players can build houses and entire towns, shaping the population of clones. The game’s AI reflects the Wyrm’s warped view of humanity in the simulated world, creating abu- sive relationships and sudden outbreaks of disease and disaster to keep players on their toes. A steady stream of downloadable content keeps money rolling in even when the actual content is almost worthless. Despite it being an ostensibly modern game with no combat, players still pay real money for electronic horse armor and wildly elaborate guns.

Tellus recently launched Clones Online, a free-to- play spinoff of The Clones. Ruthlessly designed, Clones

Online targets the addiction mechanisms of the human brain, creating a psychological dependency much like being addicted to cigarettes. The game doesn’t actually deliver Wyrm-taint; instead, players become used to the game’s dysfunctional social situations and end up making their own lives reflect that of their clones.