The Panama Purchase

## Purchasing Power

In 2021 A.D., following The Fiscal Suicide of 2020 that set in motion the establishment of the K4 Universe, the world found itself struggling to claw its way out of the massive economic gaps left behind by the collapse of the world's national superpowers. The Fiscal Suicide led to the dissolution of an overwhelming majority of the world's governments, and resulted in a near-instantaneous shutdown of untold millions of factories across the globe.

In the year that followed the obliteration of the old global economy, the surviving governments and worldwide corporations continued to work their way into positions of autonomy and self-sufficiency. Scheming, buying, shoving, and bribing their way to the top, the world's new superpowers emerged from the rubble of debt and anarchy, stepping over anyone that put up a fight; of these rising factions, Kodian Enterprises acted as the largest by an overwhelming margin.

Faced with the consequences of their actions, Kodian Enterprises knew that it had to expand its influence across the globe and unify the disparate branches of its company. Launching their new advanced internet and communications networks were not enough for the megacorporation, who craved the logistical ability of the old economy. This, the company knew, could be achieved through only one way: Buy the territory of Panama and establish control of the canals, which would give Kodian Enterprises a strangle-hold on international trade.

### Ruthless Capitalism

Following The Fiscal Suicide, the nation of Panama did not officially exist. While local warlords, drug cartels, and other militias held territory within the region of Central and South America, no singular governing body could lay claim to the Canal. Groups of terrorists, gangsters, or remaining government troops would fight over the Canal constantly, littering the area with abandoned fortifications, undetonated ordinance, singed husks of vehicles, and the unburied corpses of fallen men and women. This, Kodian Enterprises knew, left the region unowned and therefore open for...corporate-sponsored development. Security Chief Drex Draconis was put in charge of the efforts.

A plan was drafted and accepted by February of 2021, and preparations for Operation: Panama Purchase concluded in mid-March. A fleet of advanced ships blockaded the abandoned Canal system and bombarded what little resistance refused to flee the site. Cargo planes dropped pamphlets and brochures advertising Kodian Enterprises products to the local civilians, promising them safety, employment, and the comforts of American life if they agreed to help the company build up and repair the region. Swarms of flying drones assaulted the nearby jungles and towns, obliterating the local militia groups and reducing their leadership to ashes. Specialized strike teams waded through the jungles and across the beaches, removing select targets and preventing larger drug cartels from establishing any further ties in the region. Boats of employees and supplies landed on the beaches within the week, a day ahead of schedule.

Construction efforts were incredibly slow, however. Pirates, drug smugglers, militias, and the difficult terrain caused untold damage to the company's supply lines. Workers would be kidnapped, blackmailed, or outright killed. Supplies would be lost, stolen, or illegally sold off to other buyers by corrupt KE executives. This did not intimidate or in any way worry Kodian Enterprises—they would get their international trade monopoly, even if they had to bulldoze the entirety of the isthmus to do it.

### In the Modern Age

Kodian Enterprises turned the Panama Canal into a massive blockade that stretches from Atlantic to Pacific in a series of cascading fortifications, towns and cities, surveillance drones, military outposts, emplacements and bunker systems, trenches, mine fields, and more. The common slang phrase "Built like Panama" is used to describe the durability and strength of something, and originates from the sheer amount of security used to protect the Canals. None of the peaceful local inhabitants were relocated following KE's absorption of the region, and were instead seamlessly integrated into the company as new employees; a significant presence of non-local employees is maintained at all times to direct international traffic, maintain international relations, and communicate with Ryanstown's main branch.

Kodian Enterprises also sponsored the expansion of all existing canals and the construction of half a dozen additional ones, all adjacent to one another, that allow for nearly a dozen of the corporation's massive automated barges and cargo ships to travel between Atlantic and Pacific at will. The time to go through the canals has decreased dramatically, and the region has been fully stabilized by KE's significant presence in the area. The site's importance to global trade and operations in 2099 A.D. makes it entirely invaluable to any and all that hold it, and is worth an unknown amount of money; many companies have attempted to purchase the land, but Kodian Enterprises has refused every offer.

Guerrilla warfare is still conducted by the drug smugglers and militias in the surrounding jungles that seek to remove Kodian Enterprises from their land, but the megacorporation assures the public that no groups pose a significant threat. In reality, these groups are allowed to continue operation only to act as test subjects for experimental weaponry and armor, bodies to test the region's ever-expanding layers of defenses, and easy combat experience for training KE security personnel.