{"data":{"id":17766,"title":"Portfolio: MaxOX","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/spectrum-dispatch\/17766-Portfolio-MaxOX","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/17766","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/17766","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"Portfolio","images":[{"id":6299,"name":"Maxox_sneak_peek.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/sfsj4chvg2clor\/source\/Maxox_sneak_peek.jpg","alt":"","size":1811487,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2017-08-30T00:46:52+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/6299","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/6299\/similar"},{"id":26463,"name":"source.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/media.robertsspaceindustries.com\/weozjmuuh3hwh\/source.jpg","alt":"","size":843046,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2019-09-19T15:49:32+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463\/similar"}],"images_count":7,"translations":{"en_EN":"This portfolio originally appeared in Jump Point 7.4.\nAlthough MaxOx has long been a distinguished manufacturer of energy weapons, the company\u2019s path to prestige was unusual and controversial.\n\nUltimately, the company\u2019s success can be credited to founder Burl Hitchens. Unlike many of his contemporaries in the business world, Hitchens preferred to let his work speak for itself and never got in the way of the assumptions of others. Many mistook his laconism as ignorance, including Messer-era scientist Derivia Borel, who called him a \u201cfrontier bumpkin,\u201d a term Hitchens wore with pride and even claimed saved his career and company. When asked about it, Hitchens said the most important lesson he ever learned was when to keep his mouth shut. \u201cIf you\u2019re boasting about being the smartest person in the room, odds are that you\u2019re probably not.\u201d\n\nThe Brilliant Bumpkin\nHitchens was born on Charon III in 2747. He lived on what he deemed \u201ca Dellin dirt farm,\u201d which downplayed his parents\u2019 sophisticated hydroponics operation. He spent his days fixing machinery and helping his parents manage the farm while studying at night. Hitchens\u2019 excellent Equivalency score landed him a full scholarship to the University of Rhetor.\n\nYet, the rigid structure of a formal education didn\u2019t suit Hitchens, who didn\u2019t care about grades and ditched classes that bored him. Instead, he obsessed over lasers, auditing advanced physics and engineering courses and spending hours experimenting in labs. His cavalier attitude eventually got him expelled after he failed to attend several disciplinary meetings.\n\nLuckily, an old physics professor recognized Hitchens\u2019 talent and secured him a job at a local research lab, where he distinguished himself with breakthrough theories on laser manufacturing. In an unexpected twist, his work proved so promising that the university that had previously expelled him offered him a research grant just years later. Hitchens would reject the offer and instead raise funds for a small staff and lab space on Reisse. Hitchens called the company MaxOx, a reference to a \u201cmaximum oxygen\u201d warning sensor that his refined production method had the habit of triggering due to the atmospheric conditions it required to work. After various scientific spectrum outlets reported the lab\u2019s opening, MaxOx went quiet.\n\nSix years later, Hitchens emerged with one of the most powerful and precise surgical lasers yet invented. The device won devotees for its sleek and simple design and multifaceted functionality. Demand outstripped supply almost immediately. Then, the UEE government came knocking and changed the company\u2019s course.\n\nDuty Cycle\nIn 2778, Hitchens met with government officials and was shocked when they asked for help on a classified project. The officials were impressed with the superior power and precision of MaxOx lasers and claimed they could benefit the Empire in other ways. Thanks to poorly veiled threats from the officials, Hitchens realized that not accepting their offer would result in MaxOx\u2019s patents being seized by the corrupt administration, effectively crippling the company. He reluctantly agreed to help.\n\nLeaving behind MaxOx\u2019s day-to-day operations, Hitchens and a few researchers relocated to a secret lab on Persei. Only then did military officials hand him the file for Project Vespa, a failed top-secret attempt to weaponize terraforming technology. Military officials wanted to repurpose MaxOx\u2019s tech to create the ultimate capital ship weapon for the Vanduul front \u2013 a Kingship killer. Multiple weapon manufacturers had already failed to achieve the desired results and the military hoped Hitchens\u2019 breakthrough laser tech might be the key.\n\nHaving grown up in Charon, Hitchens knew firsthand how the Messer government would do anything to stay in power and, once the weapon was developed, invariably turn it on those who opposed the regime. He pledged to make sure that couldn\u2019t happen. At great personal risk, Hitchens began a balancing act of keeping his team productive but not effective in achieving their goal, while also not angering Derivia Borel, the bureaucrat and Messer crony overseeing the operation.\n\nThankfully, Borel thought little of Hitchens. Having taught at the University of Rhetor when Hitchens was expelled, Borel frequently dismissed his work, regularly referring to him as a \u201cfrontier bumpkin.\u201d Hitchens played into this perception to explain project delays while presenting minor advancements to prevent his team from losing the project. After years of glacial progress and Hitchens\u2019 strategically inflated budgets, Borel cancelled MaxOx\u2019s government contract and hired a new team. Prepared for this eventuality, Hitchens left behind terabytes of data (much of it misleading, mislabeled, or completely fabricated) to impede any future progress.\n\nWhile Hitchens was relieved to be returning to the private sector, he soon faced a new challenge. As retribution for failing to deliver, the Messer government made good on their threat and revoked the patents associated with MaxOx\u2019s medical lasers. Hitchens would need a new product or face financial ruin.\n\nModulation Mode\nMaxOx quickly updated their medical equipment to distinguish themselves from the new field of lasers made from their formally-proprietary technology and maintained a brief advantage before competitors significantly cut into their bottom line. The company seemed on the verge of failing when they were thrown a lifeline: in 2792, the Messer government was overthrown.\n\nOnce again, Hitchens found himself at a crossroads. His team had spent years researching weaponized lasers for the government instead of researching new avenues. Making matters worse, now that their patents were public, other companies had begun weaponizing their technology. Hitchens believed the only way to save MaxOx was to make the very thing he\u2019d been avoiding. Months of intense R&D produced a prototype for the AA-1, the company\u2019s first energy-based ship weapon. MaxOx\u2019s energy weapons quickly found fans for their high-tech look and dependable performance. Under Hitchens\u2019 guidance, MaxOx declined every offer to sell weapons to the military; their weapons would be for the people to defend themselves. Eventually, their line expanded to specialty weapons, such as EMP burst generators and personal protection. Meanwhile, scientists, researchers, and healthcare professionals expressed disappointment at the originally-medical technology\u2019s weaponization. After Hitchens retired, MaxOx shuttered their medical and laboratory laser divisions due to low profit margins.\n\nToday, most know MaxOx only as a weapon manufacturer, but their legacy remains much more complicated. Eventually, after Hitchens\u2019 death, the executive board would reverse course and take government contracts for their products, yet many still associate their weapons with being the choice of private citizens. For better or worse, Hitchens always picked the survival of his company over everything else. Because of this, MaxOx still stands to this day.","de_DE":"Dieses Portfolio erschien urspr\u00fcnglich in Jump Point 7.4.\nObwohl MaxOx seit langem ein angesehener Hersteller von Energiewaffen ist, war der Weg des Unternehmens zu Prestige ungew\u00f6hnlich und umstritten.\n\nLetztendlich kann der Erfolg des Unternehmens dem Gr\u00fcnder Burl Hitchens zugeschrieben werden. Im Gegensatz zu vielen seiner Zeitgenossen in der Gesch\u00e4ftswelt zog es Hitchens vor, seine Arbeit f\u00fcr sich selbst sprechen zu lassen und stellte sich nie den Annahmen anderer in den Weg. Viele hielten seinen Lakonismus f\u00fcr Ignoranz, darunter auch die Wissenschaftlerin Derivia Borel aus der Messer-\u00c4ra, die ihn als \"Grenzt\u00f6lpel\" bezeichnete, einen Begriff, den Hitchens mit Stolz trug und sogar behauptete, er habe seine Karriere und sein Unternehmen gerettet. Auf die Frage danach sagte Hitchens, die wichtigste Lektion, die er je gelernt habe, sei, wann er den Mund zu halten habe. \"Wenn Sie sich damit br\u00fcsten, der kl\u00fcgste Mensch im Raum zu sein, sind Sie es wahrscheinlich nicht.\n\nDer brillante K\u00fcrbis\nHitchens wurde 2747 auf Charon III geboren. Er lebte auf einer, wie er es nannte, \"schmutzigen Dellin-Farm\", was den ausgekl\u00fcgelten Hydrokulturbetrieb seiner Eltern herunterspielte. Er verbrachte seine Tage damit, Maschinen zu reparieren und seinen Eltern bei der Verwaltung der Farm zu helfen, w\u00e4hrend er nachts lernte. Hitchens' ausgezeichnetes \u00c4quivalenz-Ergebnis bescherte ihm ein Vollstipendium f\u00fcr die Universit\u00e4t von Rhetor.\n\nDoch die starre Struktur einer formalen Ausbildung passte nicht zu Hitchens, der sich nicht um Noten k\u00fcmmerte und Klassen schw\u00e4nzte, die ihn langweilten. Stattdessen war er besessen von Lasern, der Pr\u00fcfung fortgeschrittener Physik- und Ingenieurskurse und dem stundenlangen Experimentieren in Labors. Seine unbek\u00fcmmerte Haltung brachte ihn schlie\u00dflich zum Schulverweis, nachdem er an mehreren Disziplinarverhandlungen nicht teilgenommen hatte.\n\nGl\u00fccklicherweise erkannte ein alter Physikprofessor Hitchens' Talent und sicherte ihm eine Stelle in einem \u00f6rtlichen Forschungslabor, wo er sich mit bahnbrechenden Theorien zur Laserherstellung auszeichnete. In einer unerwarteten Wendung erwies sich seine Arbeit als so vielversprechend, dass ihm die Universit\u00e4t, die ihn zuvor verwiesen hatte, nur Jahre sp\u00e4ter ein Forschungsstipendium anbot. Hitchens lehnte das Angebot ab und beschaffte stattdessen Mittel f\u00fcr ein kleines Personal und einen Laborraum auf Reisse. Hitchens nannte die Firma MaxOx, eine Anspielung auf einen Warnsensor f\u00fcr \"maximalen Sauerstoff\", den seine raffinierte Produktionsmethode aufgrund der atmosph\u00e4rischen Bedingungen, die sie zum Funktionieren ben\u00f6tigte, auszul\u00f6sen pflegte. Nachdem verschiedene wissenschaftliche Spektralbereiche von der Er\u00f6ffnung des Labors berichteten, wurde MaxOx still.\n\nSechs Jahre sp\u00e4ter tauchte Hitchens mit einem der leistungsst\u00e4rksten und pr\u00e4zisesten chirurgischen Laser auf, der je erfunden wurde. Das Ger\u00e4t \u00fcberzeugte die Liebhaber durch sein schlankes und einfaches Design und seine vielseitige Funktionalit\u00e4t. Fast sofort \u00fcberstieg die Nachfrage das Angebot. Dann klopfte die UEE-Regierung an und \u00e4nderte den Kurs des Unternehmens.\n\nEinschaltdauer\nIm Jahr 2778 traf Hitchens mit Regierungsbeamten zusammen und war schockiert, als diese um Hilfe bei einem geheimen Projekt baten. Die Beamten waren von der \u00fcberlegenen Leistung und Pr\u00e4zision der MaxOx-Laser beeindruckt und behaupteten, sie k\u00f6nnten dem Imperium auf andere Weise zugute kommen. Dank der schlecht verschleierten Drohungen der Beamten erkannte Hitchens, dass die Nichtannahme ihres Angebots dazu f\u00fchren w\u00fcrde, dass die Patente von MaxOx von der korrupten Verwaltung beschlagnahmt w\u00fcrden, was das Unternehmen effektiv lahm legen w\u00fcrde. Er willigte widerwillig ein, zu helfen.\n\nHitchens und einige Forscher lie\u00dfen den t\u00e4glichen Betrieb von MaxOx hinter sich und zogen in ein geheimes Labor auf Persei um. Erst dann \u00fcbergaben ihm Milit\u00e4rbeamte die Akte zum Projekt Vespa, einem gescheiterten, streng geheimen Versuch, die Terraforming-Technologie zur Waffe zu machen. Milit\u00e4rbeamte wollten die Technologie von MaxOx wiederverwenden, um die ultimative Gro\u00dfkampfschiffwaffe f\u00fcr die Vanduul-Front zu schaffen - einen Kingship-Killer. Mehrere Waffenhersteller waren bereits gescheitert, um die gew\u00fcnschten Ergebnisse zu erzielen, und das Milit\u00e4r hoffte, Hitchens' bahnbrechende Lasertechnologie k\u00f6nnte der Schl\u00fcssel sein.\n\nDa Hitchens in Charon aufgewachsen war, wusste er aus erster Hand, wie die Messer-Regierung alles tun w\u00fcrde, um an der Macht zu bleiben, und sobald die Waffe entwickelt war, wandte sie sich ausnahmslos gegen diejenigen, die sich dem Regime widersetzten. Er versprach, daf\u00fcr zu sorgen, dass dies nicht geschehen konnte. Unter gro\u00dfem pers\u00f6nlichen Risiko begann Hitchens einen Balanceakt, um sein Team produktiv, aber nicht effektiv bei der Erreichung seines Ziels zu halten und gleichzeitig Derivia Borel, die B\u00fcrokratin und Messer-Kumpanin, die die Operation beaufsichtigte, nicht zu ver\u00e4rgern.\n\nGl\u00fccklicherweise hielt Borel wenig von Hitchens. Da er an der Universit\u00e4t von Rhetor lehrte, als Hitchens von der Schule verwiesen wurde, entlie\u00df Borel seine Arbeit h\u00e4ufig und bezeichnete ihn regelm\u00e4\u00dfig als \"Grenzg\u00e4nger\". Hitchens spielte in diese Wahrnehmung hinein, um Projektverz\u00f6gerungen zu erkl\u00e4ren und gleichzeitig kleinere Fortschritte zu pr\u00e4sentieren, um zu verhindern, dass sein Team das Projekt verliert. Nach Jahren eisiger Fortschritte und Hitchens' strategisch \u00fcberh\u00f6hten Budgets k\u00fcndigte Borel den Regierungsvertrag mit MaxOx und stellte ein neues Team ein. Auf diese Eventualit\u00e4t vorbereitet, hinterlie\u00df Hitchens Terabytes an Daten (viele davon irref\u00fchrend, falsch etikettiert oder vollst\u00e4ndig gef\u00e4lscht), um jeden zuk\u00fcnftigen Fortschritt zu behindern.\n\nW\u00e4hrend Hitchens erleichtert war, in den privaten Sektor zur\u00fcckzukehren, sah er sich bald einer neuen Herausforderung gegen\u00fcber. Als Vergeltung daf\u00fcr, dass er nicht liefern konnte, machte die Regierung von Messer ihre Drohung wahr und widerrief die Patente im Zusammenhang mit den medizinischen Lasern von MaxOx. Hitchens br\u00e4uchte ein neues Produkt oder st\u00fcnde vor dem finanziellen Ruin.\n\nModulations-Modus\nMaxOx aktualisierte seine medizinische Ausr\u00fcstung schnell, um sich von dem neuen Bereich der Laser zu unterscheiden, die aus seiner formell propriet\u00e4ren Technologie hergestellt werden, und behielt einen kurzen Vorsprung, bevor die Konkurrenten ihren Gewinn erheblich schm\u00e4lerten. Das Unternehmen schien am Rande des Scheiterns zu stehen, als man ihm eine Rettungsleine zuwarf: 2792 wurde die Regierung Messer gest\u00fcrzt.\n\nWieder einmal stand Hitchens an einem Scheideweg. Sein Team hatte Jahre damit verbracht, waffenf\u00e4hige Laser f\u00fcr die Regierung zu erforschen, anstatt neue Wege zu beschreiten. Erschwerend kam hinzu, dass nun, da ihre Patente \u00f6ffentlich zug\u00e4nglich waren, andere Unternehmen begonnen hatten, ihre Technologie zu bewaffnen. Hitchens glaubte, der einzige Weg, MaxOx zu retten, sei, genau das herzustellen, was er vermieden hatte. Nach monatelanger intensiver Forschung und Entwicklung entstand ein Prototyp f\u00fcr die AA-1, die erste energiebasierte Schiffswaffe des Unternehmens. Die Energiewaffen von MaxOx fanden aufgrund ihres High-Tech-Looks und ihrer zuverl\u00e4ssigen Leistung schnell Anh\u00e4nger. Unter Hitchens' Anleitung lehnte MaxOx jedes Angebot, Waffen an das Milit\u00e4r zu verkaufen, ab; ihre Waffen sollten dem Volk zur Selbstverteidigung dienen. Schlie\u00dflich erweiterte sich ihr Angebot auf Spezialwaffen, wie EMP-Burst-Generatoren und Personenschutz. W\u00e4hrenddessen dr\u00fcckten Wissenschaftler, Forscher und medizinische Fachkr\u00e4fte ihre Entt\u00e4uschung \u00fcber die Bewaffnung der urspr\u00fcnglich medizinischen Technologie aus. Nachdem Hitchens in den Ruhestand ging, schloss MaxOx aufgrund der geringen Gewinnspannen seine Medizin- und Laborlaser-Abteilungen.\n\nHeute kennen die meisten MaxOx nur noch als Waffenhersteller, aber ihr Verm\u00e4chtnis bleibt viel komplizierter. Irgendwann, nach Hitchens' Tod, kehrte der Vorstand den Kurs um und nahm Regierungsvertr\u00e4ge f\u00fcr ihre Produkte an, doch viele verbinden ihre Waffen immer noch damit, dass sie die Wahl von Privatpersonen sind. Auf Gedeih und Verderb hat Hitchens immer das \u00dcberleben seines Unternehmens \u00fcber alles andere gestellt. Aus diesem Grund steht MaxOx bis zum heutigen Tag.","zh_CN":"This portfolio originally appeared in Jump Point 7.4.\nAlthough MaxOx has long been a distinguished manufacturer of energy weapons, the company\u2019s path to prestige was unusual and controversial.\n\nUltimately, the company\u2019s success can be credited to founder Burl Hitchens. Unlike many of his contemporaries in the business world, Hitchens preferred to let his work speak for itself and never got in the way of the assumptions of others. Many mistook his laconism as ignorance, including Messer-era scientist Derivia Borel, who called him a \u201cfrontier bumpkin,\u201d a term Hitchens wore with pride and even claimed saved his career and company. When asked about it, Hitchens said the most important lesson he ever learned was when to keep his mouth shut. \u201cIf you\u2019re boasting about being the smartest person in the room, odds are that you\u2019re probably not.\u201d\n\nThe Brilliant Bumpkin\nHitchens was born on Charon III in 2747. He lived on what he deemed \u201ca Dellin dirt farm,\u201d which downplayed his parents\u2019 sophisticated hydroponics operation. He spent his days fixing machinery and helping his parents manage the farm while studying at night. Hitchens\u2019 excellent Equivalency score landed him a full scholarship to the University of Rhetor.\n\nYet, the rigid structure of a formal education didn\u2019t suit Hitchens, who didn\u2019t care about grades and ditched classes that bored him. Instead, he obsessed over lasers, auditing advanced physics and engineering courses and spending hours experimenting in labs. His cavalier attitude eventually got him expelled after he failed to attend several disciplinary meetings.\n\nLuckily, an old physics professor recognized Hitchens\u2019 talent and secured him a job at a local research lab, where he distinguished himself with breakthrough theories on laser manufacturing. In an unexpected twist, his work proved so promising that the university that had previously expelled him offered him a research grant just years later. Hitchens would reject the offer and instead raise funds for a small staff and lab space on Reisse. Hitchens called the company MaxOx, a reference to a \u201cmaximum oxygen\u201d warning sensor that his refined production method had the habit of triggering due to the atmospheric conditions it required to work. After various scientific spectrum outlets reported the lab\u2019s opening, MaxOx went quiet.\n\nSix years later, Hitchens emerged with one of the most powerful and precise surgical lasers yet invented. The device won devotees for its sleek and simple design and multifaceted functionality. Demand outstripped supply almost immediately. Then, the UEE government came knocking and changed the company\u2019s course.\n\nDuty Cycle\nIn 2778, Hitchens met with government officials and was shocked when they asked for help on a classified project. The officials were impressed with the superior power and precision of MaxOx lasers and claimed they could benefit the Empire in other ways. Thanks to poorly veiled threats from the officials, Hitchens realized that not accepting their offer would result in MaxOx\u2019s patents being seized by the corrupt administration, effectively crippling the company. He reluctantly agreed to help.\n\nLeaving behind MaxOx\u2019s day-to-day operations, Hitchens and a few researchers relocated to a secret lab on Persei. Only then did military officials hand him the file for Project Vespa, a failed top-secret attempt to weaponize terraforming technology. Military officials wanted to repurpose MaxOx\u2019s tech to create the ultimate capital ship weapon for the Vanduul front \u2013 a Kingship killer. Multiple weapon manufacturers had already failed to achieve the desired results and the military hoped Hitchens\u2019 breakthrough laser tech might be the key.\n\nHaving grown up in Charon, Hitchens knew firsthand how the Messer government would do anything to stay in power and, once the weapon was developed, invariably turn it on those who opposed the regime. He pledged to make sure that couldn\u2019t happen. At great personal risk, Hitchens began a balancing act of keeping his team productive but not effective in achieving their goal, while also not angering Derivia Borel, the bureaucrat and Messer crony overseeing the operation.\n\nThankfully, Borel thought little of Hitchens. Having taught at the University of Rhetor when Hitchens was expelled, Borel frequently dismissed his work, regularly referring to him as a \u201cfrontier bumpkin.\u201d Hitchens played into this perception to explain project delays while presenting minor advancements to prevent his team from losing the project. After years of glacial progress and Hitchens\u2019 strategically inflated budgets, Borel cancelled MaxOx\u2019s government contract and hired a new team. Prepared for this eventuality, Hitchens left behind terabytes of data (much of it misleading, mislabeled, or completely fabricated) to impede any future progress.\n\nWhile Hitchens was relieved to be returning to the private sector, he soon faced a new challenge. As retribution for failing to deliver, the Messer government made good on their threat and revoked the patents associated with MaxOx\u2019s medical lasers. Hitchens would need a new product or face financial ruin.\n\nModulation Mode\nMaxOx quickly updated their medical equipment to distinguish themselves from the new field of lasers made from their formally-proprietary technology and maintained a brief advantage before competitors significantly cut into their bottom line. The company seemed on the verge of failing when they were thrown a lifeline: in 2792, the Messer government was overthrown.\n\nOnce again, Hitchens found himself at a crossroads. His team had spent years researching weaponized lasers for the government instead of researching new avenues. Making matters worse, now that their patents were public, other companies had begun weaponizing their technology. Hitchens believed the only way to save MaxOx was to make the very thing he\u2019d been avoiding. Months of intense R&D produced a prototype for the AA-1, the company\u2019s first energy-based ship weapon. MaxOx\u2019s energy weapons quickly found fans for their high-tech look and dependable performance. Under Hitchens\u2019 guidance, MaxOx declined every offer to sell weapons to the military; their weapons would be for the people to defend themselves. Eventually, their line expanded to specialty weapons, such as EMP burst generators and personal protection. Meanwhile, scientists, researchers, and healthcare professionals expressed disappointment at the originally-medical technology\u2019s weaponization. After Hitchens retired, MaxOx shuttered their medical and laboratory laser divisions due to low profit margins.\n\nToday, most know MaxOx only as a weapon manufacturer, but their legacy remains much more complicated. Eventually, after Hitchens\u2019 death, the executive board would reverse course and take government contracts for their products, yet many still associate their weapons with being the choice of private citizens. For better or worse, Hitchens always picked the survival of his company over everything else. Because of this, MaxOx still stands to this day."},"links_count":0,"comment_count":11,"created_at":"2020-09-09T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"5 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-15 03:38:25","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":17765,"next_id":17768}}