The Cybernetic Consciousness

This seems to have morphed into an examination of the factions as a whole, rather than just the leaders. Ah, well.

Aki Zeta-Five
For stats, the following changes should probably be made: Drop Military Rank 3, and replace it with Status 7 (leader of a major faction) (Actually, all the faction leaders should probably get Status 6 or 7, depending on their faction's importance. Apparently, none of them have it in the Alpha Centauri book. Grr.) Also, give her Administrative Rank 6, since she's the official leader of her faction, not just the most respected person in it. (Incidently, we should decide who's actually got Administrative Rank in the factions and who's just got the high Status). Also, add Multimillionarie 2.
For Disadvantages, drop Odious Personal Habit (poor grooming) and Low Empathy, and add Greed.
For Skills, add Administration (Business) 21 (IQ+5).

Aki's biography is, like Miriam's, unchanged before Planetfall. During the Unity crisis, she ended up with Morgan's group, and once Planetfall was achieved, her unique advantages aided her quick rise within the new Morgan Industries. Within 40 years of the founding of the company, she became the head of Morgan Cybernetics. Unfortunately for Morgan, Aki had bigger dreams then a simple division head. For 50 mission years, she consolidated her position, increasing both her personal fortune and the loyalty of her subordinates within Morgan Cybernetics. in M.Y. 2190, Aki Zeta-Five staged a hostile takeover of her own subdivision. Using sophisticated computer programs (and, it is rumored, a fair number of hacks), Aki was able to buy a controlling interest in Morgan Cybernetics away from Morgan himself. Morgan, naturally, was furious, since his personal stocks in the company were supposed to be unsellable. Nevertheless, Aki pulled off her coup, and immediately began to compete with Morgan. In the process of her buyout, she also gained controlling shares in several of Morgan's other high-tech divisions, leaving her with a significant research base.
Morgan Cybernetics, now renamed to the Cybernetic Consciousness Company (C Cubed for short), quickly took advantage of several new breakthroughs that had been made in its labs just before the buyout, introducing the first practical nerve-grafted bionic implants. C Cubed also led the ethical debate over the role of computers in society (in game terms, both Neural Grafting and Cyberethics were first developed by C^3).

C^3 has few bases of its own. Most faction facilities are within other faction bases, where they act as marketplaces for C^3's products and services. C^3 only has 3 bases that belong to it alone. These bases serve as research centers for the most sensitve projects, as other facilities are too easy to infiltrate. It is also rumored that the bases serve as testbeds for less-than-ethical projects, such as cyborg soldier design, probe team software development, and social-control implant testing.

C^3 is basically a democratic faction, though the democracy is structured around the corporate model, with those who own more stock in the company having more say. Like Morgan Industries, C^3 tends to run facilities and bases as subsiduary companies, and tends to offer stock options to its employees in addition to normal wages, so almost all employees have at least some say in the company. Of course, Aki Zeta-Five has a large majority of the stocks of the overall company, so her word is ultimately law. However, she recognizes that companies run smoother when all the stockholders are happy, so she tries to use diplomacy, rather than force her own views, whenever possible.
Economy-wise, C^3 is fairly centralized. Unlike Morgan Industries, Aki does not encourage faction members to found their own companies. She believes that business is better managed by a central organization, rather then relying on fractious and not-nessecarily cooperative freelancers to handle services. As a result, C^3 is heavily structured, with almost all decisions being subject to review by superiors.
The primary goal of C^3 is, of course, the accquisition of wealth. The company is always after the main profit, and most faction members eagerly look for opportunities for gain.
C^3 has the greatest integration of computers and neural implants of any faction. They tend to release their innovations to their employees before anyone else, and they have the most experience integrating computers into their society. The Consciousness is already considering the impact of artificial intelligence, if it ever appears, on its institutions.

Individual members of C^3 are often personally weathly. The company is extremely successful, and this translates to well-off employees. Very few members are poor, and the richest are very rich indeed.
C^3 is reasonably efficient. Although centralized planning is not nessecarily as efficient as the free market, the company deploys state-of-the-art software analysis and highly trained business analysts to make sure that inefficiency and waste are minimized. Although most decisions have to be referred to superiors before being confirmed, good communication and organization mean that such requests are handled quickly, without a great deal of hassle. However, the faction still has some degree of red tape to deal with, although this steadily decreases as they
C^3 is a fairly expansionist faction. It constantly looks for new opportunities for growth, and it is always willing to accept new employees who meet the qualifications. Members of other factions often join C^3 to raise their standard of living.
The company is also fairly productive. It has several industrial plants, and its computer management techniques insure that the facilities are efficient and well run. As a result, C^3 is usually able to offer its products at a significant discount. Of course, its primary focus is cybernetic implants and software, so buyers looking for other types of commodities would be advised to look elsewhere.
Due to its focus on profit and peaceful expansion, the Consciousness Co. has few military forces. Most employees consider military service to be not worth the risk. Even large hazard pay bonuses fail to induce many to join the military divisions of the company.
Consciousness bases are about average in their treatment of Planet ecosystems, neither going out of their way to significantly coddle them, nor inflicting signifcant damage. As a result, mind worms and fungus have only a mildly hostile reaction to C^3 bases and facilities. The Consciousness is experimenting with applying neural grafting techniques to native life, however, and this, combined with their infrastructure's efficiency improvement as more and more automation is brought online, may eventually lead to an improvement in their relationship to Planet.
C^3 has an averagely restrictive government, with numerous laws serving the state and fairly significant taxes (although these are usually couched as "service fees" for the use of equipment and facilities). Employees are not generally permitted to carry weapons, or items such as drugs or high-powered computer equipment without company permission, and employee communication is often monitored. As C^3 increasingly integrates computer survielance and analysis of behavior into its systems, however, this restrictive attitude is beginning to lift, as troublemakers can be weeded out before they become a problem, leaving non-disruptive elements free to use the items they want.
Unfortunately, the corporate mentality of C^3 does not impose a strong degree of loyalty on its members. Although most would not sell out the company at the drop of a hat, few would die for it. C^3 also has trouble recruiting dedicated probe teams, much like the trouble they have gathering military forces. However, the probe teams they do have are equipped with the best intrusion software available, which compensates for not-nessecarily-stellar human talent.
In researching new technology, C^3 is a strong contender in the fields of software, computer hardware, and neural interfaces. Their research teams are dedicated, and talented. However, their research in other areas sometimes lags, and their corporate strategies sometimes restrict free investigation of all avenues. C^3 employees are generally willing to embrace new technology.
As mentioned above, C^3 has little in the way of standing military forces. Only about 2% of the company's people are involved directly in the military. In fact, on the rare occasions that C^3 becomes involved in military matters, it often finds it nessecary to hire mercenaries to bolster its regular forces.