The Shin Ra Corp
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This article deals with the Shin Ra Corporation as NationStates nation. For the Final Fantasy 7 company, please read the Wikipedia article on the subject.
The Shinra Electric Power Company or simply the Shin Ra Corporation is a nation-owning corporation based upon the ShinRa Corporation from Final Fantasy 7. The Shin Ra Corporation was founded in the North Pacific and, after a brief period in a now-unknown and propably deceased right-wing region, moved to the Final Fantasy 7 region, where it met a great number of other ShinRa-inspired nations. The corporation once held a minor position in the now-deceased Men In Black region. Shortly before the end of said region, the region's founder, The Free Lands Of Alaska Northern Light, ejected the Shin Ra with orders to relocate to the PARADISE CITY region to refound. However, the Shin Ra spent a lengthy time in The Rejected Realms before instead relocating to Final Fantasy Plains, a region that was about to die. In fact, the last other remaining nation in the region, The Fire burning lands of Vivi of The oprah, ceased to exists some days later, leaving the Shin Ra as sole inhabitant and ruler of Final Fantasy Plains. The MIB emblem the Shin Ra had designed back in the days of the Men In Black region can still be seen on the nation's flag, although there are no connections anymore. It is named after the family that runs the corporation. In Japanese, the company is often called "Shin-Ra", though this name has not appeared in any English localizations to date.
Contents
Overview
Originally a small arms trade company, Shinra grew into a multi-conglomerate and recognizable regional power when mako power was developed. Mako Energy is created through the process of extracting a green etheral substance called "Spirit Energy" from the Lifestream and out of the Planet via mako reactors where it is then condensed into a liquid and processed into a source of fuel and electrical energy.
The Shin Ra Corporation never took part in any of the invasion operations of the MIB, due to the fact that the corporation's leader where to busy with RL affairs to be present at the relevant dates. It did, though, during it's time in Final Fantasy 7, take influence on the internal struggles in the nation of Schultler, which finally led to the transformation of the country into a puppet of the Leninist Dynasty, controlled by High Commander Martinovikh. The corporation once built an embassy in Tocrowkia. The corporation also once bought a Paris gun from Military Arms, Inc., which propably became, after severe modifications, the Junon cannon.
Recently, the Shin Ra Corporation has been involved in internation arms trade, attempting to buy military equipment at least from Ezaltian Arms, Inc., propably for German Rebells and SchwarzKreuz Of Poland, both Leninist Dynasty nations.
Despite being classifed as a corporation, its operations resemble more those of a government than those of a typical company, as it has a standing military with various specialized operatives, and local politicians — such as Domino, the mayor of Midgar — are housed as employees within the Shinra headquarters.
Shinra is comprised of several departments: Urban Development (headed by Reeve Tuesti); Public Safety Maintenance (headed by Heidegger); Weapons Development (headed by Scarlet); Science (headed by Professor Hojo); and Space Exploration (headed by Palmer).
Shinra owns and operates the infrastructure of Midgar, the Junon military base, the rebuilt town of Nibelheim and the various mako reactors scattered around the world of Final Fantasy VII. They also financed the building and operation of the Gold Saucer, a combined amusement park-casino entertainment complex. The mako reactors that appear in the game's story are the 8 mako reactors around Midgar, the Mt. Nibel reactor, the Corel reactor, the Gongaga reactor, the undersea reactor at Junon and the Fort Condor reactor. The Fort Condor reactor is no longer in operation by the time the story begins, and the Gongaga reactor suffered a meltdown sometime prior to the beginning of the game, suspending operations there. During the story, reactors 1 and 5 in Midgar are destroyed by AVALANCHE, but are later repaired.<ref name="reactors">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="gongagareactor">Gongaga resident: "It's been a while since the explosion, but you can still find pieces of it left all over town. Shinra built the reactor, without even thinking about the town's safety. And, this is the result. One day, there was a huge explosion. Many townspeople died in it..."(Final Fantasy VII)</ref> Shinra Corp. and AVALANCHE also reluctantly joined forces when it was discovered that Sephiroth's destruction of the world through Meteor was iminent.
Leadership
Shinra's leadership changes at several points in the plot of Final Fantasy VII. The first leader seen is President Shinra who ruled through money control, but after being murdered by Sephiroth, he is succeeded by his son Rufus, who had served as vice-president until that time, as President, Rufus was even more ruthless, preferring to rule through fear rather than money. Rufus himself is then seemingly killed late in the story, engulfed in an explosion at the Shinra headquarters. Temporarily without a leader to control the company, the other executives attempt seizing control, in some cases turning on each other to gain momentary power. However, it was revealed in the CGI film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children that Rufus survived his ordeal and has the intentions of restoring his company and undoing the damage it caused to the Planet. He is still followed by four members of the Turks (Reno, Rude, Elena, and Tseng), all of which are very loyal to him. It is also possible some former SOLDIERs follow him, too, though this is highly unlikely.
Military
Shinra maintains its own military (officially referred to as "The Department of Public Safety Maintenance"), which consists of units of various ranks, as well as the specially trained and elite SOLDIERs. Other notable aspects of Shinra's everyday military forces include widespread usage of advanced robotics and hover technology.
Shinra also employs their Turks operatives (officially entitled as "The Investigation Division of the General Affairs Department"), whose duties include the scouting of potential SOLDIER recruits, assassinations, espionage and serving as bodyguards for the company's executives.
Mako creations and uses
Mako serves as Shinra's main source of profit, as well as the basis for many of their weapons and inventions.
Mako Reactor
One of the primary uses of mako within Shinra, the Mako Reactor condenses mako energy into liquid form for use as a fuel and as a source of electrical power, and by the time of the game have made fossil fuels such as oil and coal obsolete. Shinra used the growing dependence of the planet's population on mako energy as a way of gaining and strengthening their control of the world. Thirteen Mako reactors appear in the game - the eight in Midgar, the Mt. Nibel reactor, the Corel reactor, the Gongaga reactor, the undersea reactor at Junon, and the Fort Condor reactor. At the time of the game, the Fort Condor reactor is no longer in operation, and the Gongaga reactor had suffered a meltdown. Midgar Reactors 1 and 5 are destroyed by AVALANCHE early in the game, but number 5 is repaired in time to be used to power the Sister Ray along with the remaining six.
Junon Cannon/Sister Ray
The Shinra naval base over the fishing town of Junon was equipped with an enormous artillery cannon (which was longer than the town itself) aimed out over the sea. It fired massive mako-enhanced artillery shells of extraordinary range and destructive power, as seen when the cannon destroys the Sapphire WEAPON with a single shot, when the WEAPON attacks Junon. After the destruction of the Sapphire WEAPON, it was rendered useless by the removal of Junon's huge materia, and was moved to Midgar, where it could be powered by the combined output of the city's eight mako reactors.
In its new form, the cannon was fired only once in attempt to destroy the energy barrier Sephiroth had erected around the Northern Crater, the recoil from the blast was strong enough to break all of the windows in the Shinra Tower, and the blast itself was strong enough to destroy both the Diamond WEAPON (which the beam passed through as if it weren't there) and the energy barrier that was its target. Later, AVALANCHE infiltrated Midgar and disabled the Sister Ray to prevent an overload incited by Professor Hojo, Head of Shinra's Science Department, that could have destroyed the entire city.
In Advent Children, set two years after the end of Final Fantasy VII, the Sister Ray still stands, though it has fallen into decay along with the rest of the city.
The matter of the cannon's name has led to some confusion. Though Scarlet 'names' the cannon the Sister Ray after it is transferred to Midgar, it is nevertheless seen to already bear this name on its barrel before the move. This may possibly be an error within the original script, or a result of one of many mistranslations present in the game (or she may have "suggested" the name to Rufus after already taking the liberty of naming it such). The likely cause is, however, simply that the creators of the graphics and script were not working on the same page as is true quite often with games. Never in the script is it referred to as the Sister Ray, previously, but only in the graphical depictions of it.
Other uses
Mako was one of the two main components in enhancing members of SOLDIER (examples of individuals enhanced with mako include Zack, Cloud Strife and Sephiroth), and its by-product, materia, was a valuable source of income for Shinra, as well as a powerful source of weaponry, used by both the Turks and SOLDIER. It was also used in a series of horrific experiments by Professors Gast and Hojo on living people. For additional uses of Mako, see the page on Materia.
