Portfolio: MaxOX

This portfolio originally appeared in Jump Point 7.4.
Although MaxOx has long been a distinguished manufacturer of energy weapons, the company’s path to prestige was unusual and controversial.

Ultimately, the company’s 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 “frontier bumpkin,” 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. “If you’re boasting about being the smartest person in the room, odds are that you’re probably not.”

The Brilliant Bumpkin
Hitchens was born on Charon III in 2747. He lived on what he deemed “a Dellin dirt farm,” which downplayed his parents’ sophisticated hydroponics operation. He spent his days fixing machinery and helping his parents manage the farm while studying at night. Hitchens’ excellent Equivalency score landed him a full scholarship to the University of Rhetor.

Yet, the rigid structure of a formal education didn’t suit Hitchens, who didn’t 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.

Luckily, an old physics professor recognized Hitchens’ 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 “maximum oxygen” 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’s opening, MaxOx went quiet.

Six 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’s course.

Duty Cycle
In 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’s patents being seized by the corrupt administration, effectively crippling the company. He reluctantly agreed to help.

Leaving behind MaxOx’s 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’s tech to create the ultimate capital ship weapon for the Vanduul front – a Kingship killer. Multiple weapon manufacturers had already failed to achieve the desired results and the military hoped Hitchens’ breakthrough laser tech might be the key.

Having 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’t 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.

Thankfully, 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 “frontier bumpkin.” 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’ strategically inflated budgets, Borel cancelled MaxOx’s 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.

While 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’s medical lasers. Hitchens would need a new product or face financial ruin.

Modulation Mode
MaxOx 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.

Once 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’d been avoiding. Months of intense R&D produced a prototype for the AA-1, the company’s first energy-based ship weapon. MaxOx’s energy weapons quickly found fans for their high-tech look and dependable performance. Under Hitchens’ 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’s weaponization. After Hitchens retired, MaxOx shuttered their medical and laboratory laser divisions due to low profit margins.

Today, most know MaxOx only as a weapon manufacturer, but their legacy remains much more complicated. Eventually, after Hitchens’ 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.

Dieses Portfolio erschien ursprünglich in Jump Point 7.4.
Obwohl MaxOx seit langem ein angesehener Hersteller von Energiewaffen ist, war der Weg des Unternehmens zu Prestige ungewöhnlich und umstritten.

Letztendlich kann der Erfolg des Unternehmens dem Gründer Burl Hitchens zugeschrieben werden. Im Gegensatz zu vielen seiner Zeitgenossen in der Geschäftswelt zog es Hitchens vor, seine Arbeit für sich selbst sprechen zu lassen und stellte sich nie den Annahmen anderer in den Weg. Viele hielten seinen Lakonismus für Ignoranz, darunter auch die Wissenschaftlerin Derivia Borel aus der Messer-Ära, die ihn als "Grenztölpel" 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 brüsten, der klügste Mensch im Raum zu sein, sind Sie es wahrscheinlich nicht.

Der brillante Kürbis
Hitchens wurde 2747 auf Charon III geboren. Er lebte auf einer, wie er es nannte, "schmutzigen Dellin-Farm", was den ausgeklügelten Hydrokulturbetrieb seiner Eltern herunterspielte. Er verbrachte seine Tage damit, Maschinen zu reparieren und seinen Eltern bei der Verwaltung der Farm zu helfen, während er nachts lernte. Hitchens' ausgezeichnetes Äquivalenz-Ergebnis bescherte ihm ein Vollstipendium für die Universität von Rhetor.

Doch die starre Struktur einer formalen Ausbildung passte nicht zu Hitchens, der sich nicht um Noten kümmerte und Klassen schwänzte, die ihn langweilten. Stattdessen war er besessen von Lasern, der Prüfung fortgeschrittener Physik- und Ingenieurskurse und dem stundenlangen Experimentieren in Labors. Seine unbekümmerte Haltung brachte ihn schließlich zum Schulverweis, nachdem er an mehreren Disziplinarverhandlungen nicht teilgenommen hatte.

Glücklicherweise erkannte ein alter Physikprofessor Hitchens' Talent und sicherte ihm eine Stelle in einem örtlichen Forschungslabor, wo er sich mit bahnbrechenden Theorien zur Laserherstellung auszeichnete. In einer unerwarteten Wendung erwies sich seine Arbeit als so vielversprechend, dass ihm die Universität, die ihn zuvor verwiesen hatte, nur Jahre später ein Forschungsstipendium anbot. Hitchens lehnte das Angebot ab und beschaffte stattdessen Mittel für ein kleines Personal und einen Laborraum auf Reisse. Hitchens nannte die Firma MaxOx, eine Anspielung auf einen Warnsensor für "maximalen Sauerstoff", den seine raffinierte Produktionsmethode aufgrund der atmosphärischen Bedingungen, die sie zum Funktionieren benötigte, auszulösen pflegte. Nachdem verschiedene wissenschaftliche Spektralbereiche von der Eröffnung des Labors berichteten, wurde MaxOx still.

Sechs Jahre später tauchte Hitchens mit einem der leistungsstärksten und präzisesten chirurgischen Laser auf, der je erfunden wurde. Das Gerät überzeugte die Liebhaber durch sein schlankes und einfaches Design und seine vielseitige Funktionalität. Fast sofort überstieg die Nachfrage das Angebot. Dann klopfte die UEE-Regierung an und änderte den Kurs des Unternehmens.

Einschaltdauer
Im Jahr 2778 traf Hitchens mit Regierungsbeamten zusammen und war schockiert, als diese um Hilfe bei einem geheimen Projekt baten. Die Beamten waren von der überlegenen Leistung und Präzision der MaxOx-Laser beeindruckt und behaupteten, sie könnten dem Imperium auf andere Weise zugute kommen. Dank der schlecht verschleierten Drohungen der Beamten erkannte Hitchens, dass die Nichtannahme ihres Angebots dazu führen würde, dass die Patente von MaxOx von der korrupten Verwaltung beschlagnahmt würden, was das Unternehmen effektiv lahm legen würde. Er willigte widerwillig ein, zu helfen.

Hitchens und einige Forscher ließen den täglichen Betrieb von MaxOx hinter sich und zogen in ein geheimes Labor auf Persei um. Erst dann übergaben ihm Militärbeamte die Akte zum Projekt Vespa, einem gescheiterten, streng geheimen Versuch, die Terraforming-Technologie zur Waffe zu machen. Militärbeamte wollten die Technologie von MaxOx wiederverwenden, um die ultimative Großkampfschiffwaffe für die Vanduul-Front zu schaffen - einen Kingship-Killer. Mehrere Waffenhersteller waren bereits gescheitert, um die gewünschten Ergebnisse zu erzielen, und das Militär hoffte, Hitchens' bahnbrechende Lasertechnologie könnte der Schlüssel sein.

Da Hitchens in Charon aufgewachsen war, wusste er aus erster Hand, wie die Messer-Regierung alles tun würde, 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, dafür zu sorgen, dass dies nicht geschehen konnte. Unter großem persönlichen Risiko begann Hitchens einen Balanceakt, um sein Team produktiv, aber nicht effektiv bei der Erreichung seines Ziels zu halten und gleichzeitig Derivia Borel, die Bürokratin und Messer-Kumpanin, die die Operation beaufsichtigte, nicht zu verärgern.

Glücklicherweise hielt Borel wenig von Hitchens. Da er an der Universität von Rhetor lehrte, als Hitchens von der Schule verwiesen wurde, entließ Borel seine Arbeit häufig und bezeichnete ihn regelmäßig als "Grenzgänger". Hitchens spielte in diese Wahrnehmung hinein, um Projektverzögerungen zu erklären und gleichzeitig kleinere Fortschritte zu präsentieren, um zu verhindern, dass sein Team das Projekt verliert. Nach Jahren eisiger Fortschritte und Hitchens' strategisch überhöhten Budgets kündigte Borel den Regierungsvertrag mit MaxOx und stellte ein neues Team ein. Auf diese Eventualität vorbereitet, hinterließ Hitchens Terabytes an Daten (viele davon irreführend, falsch etikettiert oder vollständig gefälscht), um jeden zukünftigen Fortschritt zu behindern.

Während Hitchens erleichtert war, in den privaten Sektor zurückzukehren, sah er sich bald einer neuen Herausforderung gegenüber. Als Vergeltung dafür, 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 bräuchte ein neues Produkt oder stünde vor dem finanziellen Ruin.

Modulations-Modus
MaxOx aktualisierte seine medizinische Ausrüstung schnell, um sich von dem neuen Bereich der Laser zu unterscheiden, die aus seiner formell proprietären Technologie hergestellt werden, und behielt einen kurzen Vorsprung, bevor die Konkurrenten ihren Gewinn erheblich schmälerten. Das Unternehmen schien am Rande des Scheiterns zu stehen, als man ihm eine Rettungsleine zuwarf: 2792 wurde die Regierung Messer gestürzt.

Wieder einmal stand Hitchens an einem Scheideweg. Sein Team hatte Jahre damit verbracht, waffenfähige Laser für die Regierung zu erforschen, anstatt neue Wege zu beschreiten. Erschwerend kam hinzu, dass nun, da ihre Patente öffentlich zugänglich 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 für die AA-1, die erste energiebasierte Schiffswaffe des Unternehmens. Die Energiewaffen von MaxOx fanden aufgrund ihres High-Tech-Looks und ihrer zuverlässigen Leistung schnell Anhänger. Unter Hitchens' Anleitung lehnte MaxOx jedes Angebot, Waffen an das Militär zu verkaufen, ab; ihre Waffen sollten dem Volk zur Selbstverteidigung dienen. Schließlich erweiterte sich ihr Angebot auf Spezialwaffen, wie EMP-Burst-Generatoren und Personenschutz. Währenddessen drückten Wissenschaftler, Forscher und medizinische Fachkräfte ihre Enttäuschung über die Bewaffnung der ursprünglich medizinischen Technologie aus. Nachdem Hitchens in den Ruhestand ging, schloss MaxOx aufgrund der geringen Gewinnspannen seine Medizin- und Laborlaser-Abteilungen.

Heute kennen die meisten MaxOx nur noch als Waffenhersteller, aber ihr Vermächtnis bleibt viel komplizierter. Irgendwann, nach Hitchens' Tod, kehrte der Vorstand den Kurs um und nahm Regierungsverträge für 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 Überleben seines Unternehmens über alles andere gestellt. Aus diesem Grund steht MaxOx bis zum heutigen Tag.

This portfolio originally appeared in Jump Point 7.4.
Although MaxOx has long been a distinguished manufacturer of energy weapons, the company’s path to prestige was unusual and controversial.

Ultimately, the company’s 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 “frontier bumpkin,” 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. “If you’re boasting about being the smartest person in the room, odds are that you’re probably not.”

The Brilliant Bumpkin
Hitchens was born on Charon III in 2747. He lived on what he deemed “a Dellin dirt farm,” which downplayed his parents’ sophisticated hydroponics operation. He spent his days fixing machinery and helping his parents manage the farm while studying at night. Hitchens’ excellent Equivalency score landed him a full scholarship to the University of Rhetor.

Yet, the rigid structure of a formal education didn’t suit Hitchens, who didn’t 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.

Luckily, an old physics professor recognized Hitchens’ 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 “maximum oxygen” 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’s opening, MaxOx went quiet.

Six 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’s course.

Duty Cycle
In 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’s patents being seized by the corrupt administration, effectively crippling the company. He reluctantly agreed to help.

Leaving behind MaxOx’s 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’s tech to create the ultimate capital ship weapon for the Vanduul front – a Kingship killer. Multiple weapon manufacturers had already failed to achieve the desired results and the military hoped Hitchens’ breakthrough laser tech might be the key.

Having 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’t 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.

Thankfully, 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 “frontier bumpkin.” 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’ strategically inflated budgets, Borel cancelled MaxOx’s 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.

While 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’s medical lasers. Hitchens would need a new product or face financial ruin.

Modulation Mode
MaxOx 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.

Once 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’d been avoiding. Months of intense R&D produced a prototype for the AA-1, the company’s first energy-based ship weapon. MaxOx’s energy weapons quickly found fans for their high-tech look and dependable performance. Under Hitchens’ 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’s weaponization. After Hitchens retired, MaxOx shuttered their medical and laboratory laser divisions due to low profit margins.

Today, most know MaxOx only as a weapon manufacturer, but their legacy remains much more complicated. Eventually, after Hitchens’ 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.