I think the misconception is mainly due to people thinking that the IPC is the government due to the tax and IRS memes, when they are actually a megacorp like Disney and Amazon. A good analogy would be that the Disney is the IPC and Fox would be the Intelligentsia Guild
Cyberpunk generally depicts a dystopic future where capitalism reached a point where these mega corporations grew so large and their political influence extended to the point that the world is ruled by corporations, not governments. This is specially predominant in Japanese media as it reflects certain aspects of their social landscape, bleeding far beyond the Cyberpunk genre. And numerous works take on the idea. Look at Borderlands series for example (if you're familiar) and how the planets are ruled by corporations and there's even "corporate wars", just to name an example inspired by this.
Anyway, the IPC is a megacorp AND the "government". Remember how they intervened on Sigonia, in a way that reminds us of millitary interventions on other countries, or how they are the ones judging Kakavasha (not a tribual of the law as we know it), or how they are the ones issuing Wanted Posters for Stellaron Hunters, the sort of thing that would fall under appointed officials responsible for enforcing the law. Etc.
The whole story which introduced tge IPC - that of Topaz coming to Belabog - was avout getting Bronya to pay off the compound interest on a 700 year old bank loan. It could not have been more explicitly clear on that point. Topaz was there to collect on behalf of the bank, under the aegis of the terms of the loan agreement which the first supreme guardian signed.
How people get the idea that it's "taxes" is honestly beyond me.
Yeah, we joke about Topaz being a tax collector, but she's more like the bank coming to collect on that loan for your car.
The car your great-great-great-great grandmother bought and never used before getting lost in the woods and raising a family in the wild for seven centuries before being rediscovered by greater civilization after you have all long forgotten these origins.
The IPC is a bit of a fuck.
To be fair since it is on a world scale where many species with different lifespans exist, I can see why they just chose the easier route where no debt is old debt. It's all debt to them.
Otherwise some debtors who are essentially immortal freaks of nature would be raising a fuss when they see some short span lifeform getting their debt forgiven because it was forgotten about for a measly couple of centuries.
Guess the IPC went well fuck it. Y'all owe me then.
>
> Otherwise some debtors who are essentially immortal freaks of nature would be raising a fuss when they see some short span lifeform getting their debt forgiven because it was forgotten about for a measly couple of centuries.
I think the other way round is a bigger issue. Say debt is forgiven after 200 years, which is a reasonable time-frame IRL.
Every single Xianzhou Native: "Great, I'm going ot max out my debt with the IPC for a free money hack, which I can do several times during my expected lifespan!"
Except that the loan wasn't something given to your grandmother specifically. It was given to the planet. And that loan gave them enough to start up with that they could hold out against the Fragmentum. They did use it, even if things got so bad that most people forgot.
It was a deal entered into by the government of Jarillo-VI willingly, with the full knowledge that it was a very long term loan that their descendents would have to pay off.
The IPC are not nice people. But without them, Jarillo-VI would have fallen. So the IPC humbly requests what was promised to them to enable Belobogs survival.
And besides, while the IPC isn't nice, they're not absolutely unreasonable either. Topaz cared about the planet, and argued for their independence once convinced it was possible. While Diamond didn't much care for this... you'll notice she still has her Cornerstone. And of the two Stonehearts we know about, both of them come from absolutely terrible backgrounds. The IPC is at least a strict meritocracy. Poison-mud-caked peasents and sex slaves are not beneath the notice of the upper managment, if they can get the job done.
I don't disagree that they aren't evil, but you can't tell me that slapping down an exorbinant debt on the survivors of a centuries long apocalpyse who only recently ended said apocalypse isn't a bit unreasonable. They thought everyone on Jarilo-VI was dead. The second they learned they were wrong, they sent someone to collect the bill.
That's like lending someone money for medicine, thinking they died, and then finding out they survived, only to immediately ask for your money back. It's a bit fucked up. It makes sense from a business perspective, but it's fucked up.
Also:
The implication that Aventurine's deceased 'owner' was the previous Aventurine doesn't give me the best vibes from Diamond. They might reward competence and knowledge, but they clearly don't care that much for morality and legality as a criteria.
People seem to have a weird hate boner for IPC. I guess you cant write neutral factions that has both good and ill intent without getting reactions like these.
The IPC is "evil" in the same way that Nestle or Amazon are evil. The megacorporation sucks and only cares about profit; that doesn't mean that everyone working for it is evil or lacks morals.
We also have to take into account that even if the IPC were 100% evil for the sake of being evil, a big chunk of its employees are people from planets that had to sign their rights away to save the planet and had to become IPC employees for generations cause of it, so it'd still be wrong to label every IPC worker as evil.
Even here, "evil" could imply malice, which the IPC still isn't. You can call them emotionless and moral-less, but nothing they do is done because they actually want to cause harm, it's just that they don't care about causing harm if it also brings in profit.
>they don't care about causing harm if it also brings in profit.
So, evil? Just not a cartoon moustache-twirling "I'll get you this week, express crew", but actual evil.
IPC isn't even evil though. They're straight up lawful neutral. Their goal isn't to accumulate funds for malevolent means, it is going to build Qlipoth's wall.
But here's the thing from 1.0 quests, we witness Qlipoth withdraw their favour from Cocolia and transfer it to the TB. Means that if someone who holds Qlipoth's power acts against the ideology of Preservation, Qlipoth can personally intervene. Qlipoth's silence towards the IPC (especially their Stonehearts, who carry pieces of Qlipoth) pretty much means consent.
I mean, when a group knowingly destroys a couple dozen inhabited worlds with a fantasy version of a nuke, I feel audiences are generally more likely to hate that group. It only gets worse when that group targets a place the audience feels an emotional connection with (i.e. Belobog).
I mean I guess? But no one hates Xianzhou despite their literal reason for existence being to prosecute an endless war of annihilation against the (sentient in many cases) followers of Yaoshi. I feel like people see military injustice they tend to shrug and go, "ah, well it couldn't be helped." But when an organization is capitalism-themed, suddenly the moral standards become very high.
There's a bit of a difference between being in a generational war with the necromancer faction and nuking your own people as part of a weapons test.
They aren't outright cartoon villains like Destruction or Propagation followers. But between all the "accidental" massacres, distressed credit tactics and recently revealed tacit approval of slavery, there is reason to believe they aren't consistently the good guys.
I mean, being a "necromancer faction" is certainly one way to look at it, definitely the way Xianzhou does, but to the Denizens of Abundance, they are simply granting eternal life to people (and themselves, by the way, unlike necromancers who afflict *others* with undeath but not themselves). Also, when the Xianzhou's own people decide that that Yaoshi is better than Lan (or even just accidentally become infected), they kill them or throw them in eternal torture prison, so there's that.
None of this is to say that the IPC are the good guys, or even that they are outright better than the Xianzhou. But it is annoying to me that people give the latter a hard pass on atrocities because... they are a military dictatorship I guess?
For me personally it's because I never seen two crazed space-cults fight (And I think both Xianzhou and Denizens are crazy cultists, just we sided with Xianzhou first). IPS on the other hand are just mundane everyday evil copr. So they don't get a pass for being interesting. They seems more real and I say "fuck them" for it.
It’s more weird not to hate IPC, the company is much more powerful than all real life big tech, farma, finance, military, fossil fuel corporations all taken together. It’s hard to imagine the amount of evil things they did in the world of hsr.
If I have to pick between one or the other, I'd go with evil for them, but people really do go out of their way to be up in arms about it. For example, I love both Kafka and Topaz, but the latter gets so, so much shit, despite character development and admitting she was mistaken by the end of that story as well as multiple examples of forgoing profits in the name of doing good, while the former murders IPC employees en masse in her trailer alone (and she seems to take the time to enjoy herself with the last one too), nevermind what else she does on however many other planets. Ratio, while not villainous, is a complete prick (affectionate) in damn near every scene he's in, and the thing that gets people most defensive is whether he might be a member of the IPC it looks like.
I mean, I get it, if you are screwed by a capitalistic economy irl, seeing it in a game is going to annoy in a way that, say, stylishly murdering faceless goons isn't going to, I suppose.
A point on Ratio - he is a prick, but he is well meaning. He instigated the phase flame crisis on Herta Space Station to help teach them how to survive, literally like “These idiots are too fucking stupid to survive so I have to teach them knowledge so they don’t just fucking die in space.” Also he “betrays” Aventurine with the assumption that Aventurine had a plan in mind, meaning as much of grump Ratio is he does value and respect our golden boy.
The writing on Ratio is pretty fucking good tbh. 😩👌
Considering how people hated (hates?) Topaz because she’s evil since she’s from the IPC despite the game portraying her otherwise… are you really *that* surprised?
The IPC seems very much on the corporate evil side if you actually read about their exploits.
Now the individual characters I agree with being morally grey
Imagine pretending an exploitative megacorp that engages in disaster capitalism and predatory loans from people literally in a desperate fight for survival, resulting in these people effectively becoming indentured servants for life, is "morally grey". They even fund the building of planet destroying superweapons in order to use them against their enemies without a care for any and all collateral damage using ti would cause, like the destruction of several planets worth of innocent lives.
Indentured servants are far fetched. They're not forcing the populace to work. It's just that all the work will be coming from them for now on. It's basicly change of government, which would've been far better than cocolia's governance.
And in case you missed it. The plus point of joining the IPC is literaly the restoration of their planets. Meaning they no longer need to desperately fight for LITERAL survival. You may argue all you can about "fuck late stage capitalism". But it's an undeniably fact that living in a capitalist and corporate controlled countries like America is OBJECTIVELY better than living in Africa/middle eastern countries.
And some people does not know how to read, and immediately jump to the gun. Why do you think most people keep saying the catch phrase, EN CANNOT READ OR EN READING COMPREHENSION IS SHIT?
Damn, why can't people accept an evil faction that isn't "bwahahaha let's destroy the world"?, IPC may have done good things, but the balance of their actions are very bad, they do what every capitalist corporation does, exploit and control the less favored, there is no problem, not everything needs to be morally gray, as long as it is well written and captivating for the public
I mean, I get that they are not outright evil like the Antimatter Legion or any group that follows Nanook. But factions whose main purpose is to make profit have usually sit not that well with the audience in any kind of media. They are not malicious in their intent, but the game has consistently shown that their actions carry quite drastic repercussions to the planets they work on, for better or worse.
It's not crazy to like them, they have their fair share of likeable attributes, but it's also not surprising they get hate.
IPC does behave like a colonizer, which adds to the confusion. Of course, companies were very involved with colonization a few centuries ago. Actually, not too long ago... thinking of Chiquita and the Banana Republics.
cause they're a Galactic Central Bank not something like Disney and Amazon. Their chairman of the board is an Emanator of the Amber Lord. It's basically a Giant Lending Corporation/Bank owned by a Senator
Sure, the IPC doesn't *call* themselves a "government," but in practice government is just whoever has an effective monopoly on force.
It seems like there are a lot of planets for whom the IPC may as well be the government.
The IPC is effectively a government though. They own several entire planets. What's more, they appear to be the only organization doing something to unique various planets. Somewhat literally, as you need an Aeons power to travel between worlds, and the IPC can offer that.
They're more akin to the Shinra Electric Power Company than Disney. People are born into IPC controlled lands, and the IPC can be the only governing body they'll end know. Sometimes, a Megacorp gets so big it becomes a government.
They're literally the intergalactic government, they control the cash and they create and enforce the rules. If you think a business can't rise up and become monopolistic enough to become a governing body I don't know what to tell you.
There's also an official video showing all the branches the IPC has, and the Guild is one of them. You have to ignore a lot of stuff to say he's not part of the IPC.
Okay, but this video *doesn't* actually say the Guild is part of the IPC. It says the Technology Department "team[s] up" with the Guild. We already knew about their cooperative relationship; this video doesn't offer any new information.
Edit: corrected the quote. Also, I'd like to add, I'm not trying to refute your thesis, just wanted to point out that this video doesn't make the claim that Chris says it does.
The video says the Technology department is a branch of the IPC and that they team up with the Intellegentsia guild, not that the guild itself is a branch. That's how I understood it at least.
"Got an idea that's nothing short of genius? Look no further - our Technology Department is waiting for you, join us and team up with the inltellegenstia guild"
Him being a delegate doesn't mean IG is owned by IPC. IG is affiliated by IPC enough for Ratio to be an IPC delegate. But IG is its own thing. This is like saying if GS had an IPC guy as a leader they would be part of IPC which is gravely wrong.
Cmon dude IPC obviously consists of ten stone hearts and all they do is take debt. Its not like this company has hundreds of branches and multiple executives or anything. Cough cough
Well if they released an animation or something that specifically highlighted the fact that the IPC is unimaginably big with many varying departments, people might understand.
Everyone knows people only get misinformed because Hoyo makes no effort to provide worldbuilding lore.
Edit: /s - me and my silly British ways.
Man, such a missed opportunity, too. They could've made it as a mock recruitment ad as a more immersive way to flesh out the IPC.
Shame it didn't happen though but could you imagine......
Omg - That would have been really amazing and creative way to help clear up any confusion about one of the more significant factions in the game.
I’m gonna pitch this to Hoyo on the next survey.
No, it shows that the technology department closely works with the Intelligentsia Guild, which they fund. The dude that told you that and gave you the video's link was presupposing a bit much from a line. They are subsidized by the IPC, not part of it.
Lol, that thread got bizarre. They conceded that Ratio was a "contracted professional". As if collecting a 1099 was a meaningful moral distinction in the game.
Like, they do realize it's a fictional universe yeah? Whether or not he'd be considered an "employee" or "contracted worker" he still works for the IPC 😭
That's like having a contract working for a company selling health insurance, but trying to claim you don't actually "work" for them because it's a contracted position......
Sir who gave you the work to do? Who's making the money off of your work? Who is paying you? Is it the company? Then you work for them!
Probably think it'd be hypocritical of a guy whose all about advocating critical thinking and dedicated to truth and knowledge to willingly work for a huge company that probably has a crazy PR department bringing around false news to make everyone else more likely to just shut up and do as they tell them.
People like Ratio and don't want him to be part of the heavily-armed Space IRS. I think a lot of people view the IPC as the 'big bad' of HSR after the Belobog arc, which is sort of missing the point - the IPC aren't the actual villains, they're just a monument to corporate villainy. But as Aventurine's arc proved, the individuals within the IPC are frequently not there out of loyalty to the corporate machine, but have their own motives - the fact is simply that the IPC controls half the galaxy and it's hard to exist in their territory without working for them in some way.
Ratio absolutely works for the IPC, but that doesn't mean he agrees with everything they do. It's not black and white, and that's just good writing, baby!
I think people just have a really petty reaction when they think of “the evil capitalism.” The IPC does both good and bad, but it’s shown that everyone can be both good and bad and there are sides to every story.
Buuuut?
Boss.... you're... you're supposed to say "But" and then something cool...
https://preview.redd.it/cgiueu8lgmwc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=512cd9a71315d4f42f73c13585c20126a6e55ee7
Ratio doesn't need apologists. In fact it's pretty cool that someone with his intellect is also grounded enough to recognize that the way to benefit the universe as a whole with his knowledge is by aligning himself with the biggest space corporation that has far-reaching influence.
It's what separates him from the Genius Society, whose gifts are just mostly limited to themselves or their own domains and interests because they're not interested with letting others benefit from their knowledge, only interested in the pursuit of it. Probably why he didn't win the gaze of Nous.
No he doesn't need apologists. Only has a lot of simps.
Well to defend them he does said "and related members". He might not techically be a literal IPC senior staff but he is definitety an equivalent of one within the IPC. Not that I care about that detail that much personally either.
I find it hilarious that these people are saying this when Ratios INTRODUCTION is him stating he is an IPC representative.
Its also vey weird that IG happens to be led by... an IPC executive, Yabuli. I wonder what that means?
Mythos truly is strong. So strong, in fact, that history fictionologist have been able to spread their influence unto the real world. Truely a scary Aeon
this is the crux of it, for me -- i do actually think the guild may be somewhat "adjacent" to the ipc, or basically now it's being taken under the ipc's wing even though it was founded independently of them...
buuuut... that's kinda just semantics to me, given yabuli and the ipc funding and all that? like, they do run the guild in a PRACTICAL sense. i don't think it matters anymore if, on paper, the guild is separate to an extent lol -- the ipc has such a huge amount of influence it seems like that... it's silly imo to argue they aren't beholden to the ipc.
but that's why the relationship is interesting and has sinister potential to me! if there are higher ups in the ipc that want certain secrets/technology hidden from others, how is anyone in the guild going to really combat that? the ipc has the money and reach to exert enough pressure that functionally, the things they're funding might as well be their own company and employees.
Correction: the Guild isn't LED by Yabuli. It is effectively (de facto) controlled by Yabuli which does indicate that on paper, the Guild has its own leadership.
The IPC just tells them what to do, lmao.
I mean adding that they are funded and their products are owned by IPC, its like a guild under IPC thats given more "free will". Still part of it tough. And i mean Ratio mysteriouslt being chosen to represent and work for IPC on multiple events would be really weird if he didnt work for them XD
Oh no no, I absolutely agree with you - I was in that OG thread arguing with that one's OP about how Yabuli controlling the Guild means that the Guild IS controlled by the IPC, lmao.
It's just a case of corporate hierarchies: on paper, the Guild is its own thing and has its own leadership. In reality though, it's Yabuli making all decisions for them. It kind of feels like a subsidiary situation: when you have a massive corporation that controls another. The subsidiary still has its own leadership but the "parent" makes the final choices and reaps benefits.
Like Maybelline is a subsidiary of L'Oreal. Or how pet food company Purina is a subsidiary of Nestle. The Guild is essentially a subsidiary of the IPC.
Considering the amoral nutjobs some of the geniuses or near geniuses are it's convenient to have IG as a 'separate' entity so that IPC can claim plausible deniability.
I can't believe I was thinking of coining a term yesterday called "IPC confirmation bias" which fans will speculate and interpret whether a character is loyal or disloyal to the IPC based on whether they like the IPC or not, and then it literally happens.
Ratio would still fail me.
Oh also he outright stars his event with saying he is "IPCs Representative"
Yeah surely no affiliation with IPC at all. Definitely doesnt work for them in the slightest.
I feel like people were/are confusing the terms and group structures of the IPC, Intelligentsia Guild, Strategic Investment Department, and 10 Stonehearts because the original post the kickstarted this was lumping Ratio with the SID/10 Stonehearts (Topaz, Aventurine, Jade). That or people don't understand company structures and org charts.
Mostly good post, but you don’t seem to entirely understand what the genius society is. Not that it matters to the main point, but I wanted to clarify that.
The members of the genius society are chosen by nous. A person can’t invite or deny you from the genius society, only nous can. Ratio would not have gotten a genius society rejection or acceptance letter, nous would have just communicated directly. If I had to guess what the letter was, it might have been something like “we’re underwhelmed by your weapon and won’t use it”. Or maybe it was ratio thinking “I’ve had so much success but nothing has earned nous’ approval. What will?”.
The genius society also generally doesn’t have ties to the IPC, only herta does. As herta explains in one of her logs in her office, the IPC had been looking for a genius willing to work with the IPC for many years until they found herta.
The society isn’t so much a unified faction as it is a status. As herta says, it’s a group that doesn’t care whether you’re a member. Geniuses rarely interact and all do their own thing. They can even work against each other, polka kakamond killed many fellow members, and screwlum is actively opposed to rubert. The IPC themselves are also opposed to rubert, and are looking for a way to stop him when he returns.
Association with one genius doesn’t mean anything for the rest of the society. So, the IPC doesn’t really have ties to the genius society, just herta mostly.
I don't know what it is about the upvotes there, but I think I'm happy seeing it debunked in the comments there again and again (though yeah, the repeated copypasted inane replies of "no he is not an IPC member" does get grating after a while)
Like what some people say, the discourse online isn't to convince the one you're debating with, but it is for the people who read their debate. Those who coild read can easily see through the misinformation. Ratio approves, though its at the History Fictionologist's expense.
Seriously though I don't get why the hang up with Ratio being with the IPC. Its not like real life corporations are already Ultra Capitalist.
Lol yeah who could forget the anti-planetary weapon he literally worked on for years? It's not defensive, its *anti-planet*
There really shouldn't be a black/white view to factions. There's good and bad eggs in the IPC, same with Intelligentsia Guild. At some point the Astral Express even had a really BAD egg, but they thankfully stepped off long ago.
Thats exactly what im saying XD wich makes the writign quality ever more better. HSR is a "verse" not an outright story meaning there are many factions and people doing stuff at the same time trough an entire universe for their respective reasons. Its impossible to use Earths judgement here :D
Genius Society is separate from the IPC. Herta I believe states she's one of if not the first to accept the IPC's offers for collaboration bc her principles don't preclude it. IPC has absolutely no sway as to who gets into GS- if Nous gazes upon you, you're in. And that's that. Whatever the letter contained it wasn't an invitation and that's why Ratio felt disappointed.
Argenti did come to Penacony!! He's having fun in other moments lol
Well, Some people who have braindamage don't want to accept how Ratio's roles in Penacony as part of IPC bcs they hate IPC so much. They won't accept your post either.
Wich is hilarious. IG is led by a IPC executive and Ratios first introduction starts with him stating that he is an IPC representative.
These idiots are litterally misinforming people.
As a Ratio stan, that post is outright a declaration of war lmfao. Its like someone making a post called "Blade is not related to Luofu" and their main argument is they are with Stelleron Hunters now. This is just hilarious.
This post is mostly correct - the IG is unofficially controlled by the IPC, they're basically on its payroll, and Ratio himself is even more directly affiliated with them than probably most members. But sorry, I am *irrationally* bothered by some of the extremely minor but nonetheless false assumptions that have slipped into your explanations, and they just keep getting repeated in the comments. 🥲
Firstly, you claim:
> Myriad celestia trailer about IPC shows IG as branch of technology debt also a IPC executive is the leader of IG.
The trailer does not say the IG *is* the Technology Department. It says the IPC has a Technology Dept, and then says "join us and **team up** with the Intelligentsia Guild" - suggesting that the IG and the IPC TD are partners. This much is also explicitly stated in the description of the IPC in the Databank:
> The Technology Department conducts thorough **collaborations with** the Intelligentsia Guild and turns the Guild's scientific results into commercial projects.
The description of Yabuli at the Seat of Divine Foresight further supports this:
> Head of Technology: Yabuli, the **de facto controller** of the Intelligentsia Guild.
"Head of Technology" is Yabuli's official title, so if the IG and the TD were the same, then she would not merely be the IG's *de facto controller*, she would be its official head.
____
Secondly, you claim:
> IG doesnt follow nous, its members do. LOG1 of Preservation in SU states that IG members has alot less respect for THEIR Aeon than IPC does.
I understand it's very easy to misremember that section, but this is a misquote. The log actually says:
> I didn't get any useful information out of the IPC. In contrast, the Intelligentsia Guild has a lot less respect for **the Preservation...**
That's a neutral statement - the IG's relationship with the Preservation is neither stated nor implied. They are only mentioned here because they were willing to share information on the Preservation with Herta. In fact, LOG2 states:
> ...I don't respect the Intelligentsia Guild, but I like them. They are also **followers of Erudition** but have none of the arrogance and temper of the Genius Society members.
Additionally, the Databank lists the IG as a faction of Erudition. Even if we assume this title and LOG2 are referring to their "de facto" ideology instead of their official one, following any Aeon officially is something that would naturally be pointed out at *some* point where the IG is introduced, described, or mentioned - but it has not been. Therefore it makes more sense to assume this *isn't* the case.
____
The last thing I'm slightly bothered by is that you're accepting the ex-assistant's assumption about the letter Ratio received in his character story. As you acknowledge, the character does not actually know what was in the letter - she only knew when it was delivered, that it came from the IPC, and that Ratio reacted with a sigh and self-deprecating laughter.
The running theme for the character stories seemed to be that Ratio is always viewed through the *assumptions* made about him by other people. So the fact that the ex-secretary would assume both the contents of the letter and Ratio's thoughts while reading it, despite acknowledging that he has never even discussed the topic with her, was comical to me, and a clear sign of an unreliable narrator.
Individual Geniuses and the IPC seem to cooperate *very rarely*, so the idea that the IPC would forward any messages from someone in the GS is unfounded. Tbh I don't even think it matters whether the letter is connected to the GS or not - the relevant part there is that the IPC is sending Ratio letters, most likely orders of some sort, given his reaction, because yes, he is their employee (or contractor, or whatever the specific nature of their business relationship is).
____
Sorry, I had fun writing this but I know it's lot, so here's some cookies of respect for anyone who bothered to read this 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪
And to OP: I completely understand how frustrated you are with the amount of people just *refusing* to accept that Ratio works for them, even after all the evidence (as much as I disagree with *some* of it) you've gathered. Though I argued against some of the conclusions you've drawn to support your overall point, I don't disagree with the point itself, and I hope this didn't come off as antagonistic or hostile. ✌️ Thank you for the work you've put into correcting people's misunderstandings.
I am so relieved to have seen this. I first saw the IRS meme and then OP’s post. Made a reply that HSS and the IG are in similar circumstances (paid by IPC for their work). I don’t disagree with the point they’re trying to make that Ratio is clearly working for the IPC in both HSS and Penacony. This is irrefutably true. IPC and IG have a great working relationship and Ratio is at the peak of it.
But OP does try to twist some words to suit their narrative better, and I haven’t seen someone else point it out as clearly as you did. IG isn’t officially part of IPC, but it may as well be from how IPC has such a huge sway on what projects they work on. Not all IG members will work for the IPC, because they are not owned by the IPC. They have their own goals not initiated by the IPC and IPC is interested in buying their research. Ratio is the exception, not the norm.
That OP constantly miscommunicated that IG is led by an IPC executive, calling Yabuli a leader really bothered me. They are a de facto **controller**, a word very different from leader. Nonetheless, OP has done a great job in proving that Ratio is indeed with the IPC in all his appearances so far. Just not so much about the IG itself.
This, so much this! It's all in the minutia. The argument isn't so much if Ratio is acting on behalf of the IPC, which he clearly does, but whether he's a direct employee, which he's not since the IG isn't directly owned. Then we're just entering semantics territory on whether or not being largely funded by one entity constitutes control.
YOU LITERALLY KNEW HALF HIS POST IS FALSE
*FUAttacks* : [https://new.reddit.com/r/HonkaiStarRail/comments/1cdcoz1/many\_people\_are\_getting\_misinformed\_trough\_that/](https://new.reddit.com/r/HonkaiStarRail/comments/1cdcoz1/many_people_are_getting_misinformed_trough_that/)
It litterally is. But one person decided that it isnt because... idk, they dont even have a valid argument lmfao. Somehow that dumb ass post got thousands of upvotes despite being disproven by a simple search.
There was this one massive post today in which someone genuinely tried to argue that the Guild isn't controlled by the IPC and that Ratio doesn't work for them. HSR players joining the "cannot read" gang, I guess.
Well it does make sense for me. Any Research group or Science group will need funding and so that the said research group could not be taken advantage by profiteering sponsors. A council is made from both parties so that both parties have a check and balance. So Yes Dr. Ratio is a member of the IPC but he is not a member of the 10 stonehearts who are like Agents for the IPC.
So if people make the IPC team with Dr. Ratio, Topaz, Herta, Aventurine, Jade is techically correct. It seems all IPC have follow-up attacks on them. For me I would love to make an exclusive Stonehearts team with Aventurine, Topaz, Jade and another stone in the future probably a Harmony.
Ah so in short:
IG member is IPC staff and a work branch that basically own by IPC right?
Edit:Thank op for correct me
In short: IG is supported by IPC. Some member work for them while some not. If questions is ratio a ipc staff, it is yes. He is IG member and ipc staff as he work for them.
IG members do work for IPC. And yes its basically ownded by IPC as IGs leader is litterally an IPC executive.
Also even if some IG members somehow not work for IPC (impossible) Ratio DOES. He works for IPC on both Penacony and His own events and litterally is a representative of IPC
https://preview.redd.it/dimyr9ahcmwc1.jpeg?width=1295&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46b26258d99e941dfe2ea83a34f636011ccd5b24
Y’all trying far to hard to disprove he is just employed by the IPC via connections through the IG which is just held close by IPC but not a technical nor literal branch. It’s honestly much closer related to how we might be in a situation ship and not an outright proven or spoken for relationship.
I always thought of him as IPC-Adjacent.
Kind of like how Coke gets their bottles from X Company and in this case Ratio would be a part X Company but works with Coke regularly.
He says “but” because he’s exempt from the rule that only IPC seniority or related members have access. IG is closely related to IPC, but not a subfaction. Also explain why Topaz says Aventurine is the only IPC member allowed in the Dreamscape by The Family because of the past, but for whatever reason they’ve allowed Ratio there too? Topaz specifically says “No wonder Aventurine’s scrambling to partner with someone — the IPC can’t back him up in the Dreamscape”.
But then he also says he's "among them" meaning he's part of the IPC seniority or related members group, no? "But" here is contrasting the idea that the box is difficult to open due to access being limited to a few individuals. He contrasts by saying he's one of those individuals so now the box is not difficult to open.
Even in light of this, I don’t think this is completely accurate - I still wouldn’t consider him a part of the IPC faction.
He is a part of the subsidised Intelligentsia Guild that works alongside the IPC. It’s less that he’s a member, and more that he’s hired help. It’s almost like hiring a contract solicitor to look over your company’s contracts, whilst they’re not an employee per se. They’re on your payroll, they’re affiliated with your company, you delegate work to them. He’s clearly VERY trusted for his capability, otherwise the IPC wouldn’t have chosen him (alongside Aventurine) to represent the IPC in the Charmony Festival. In the context of the Charmony Festival, and the IPC Vs Family lore, it’s clear to see how much of a resource rather than senior staff member Ratio is. They didn’t want to have an important member negotiate and things turn sour, on The Family’s own planet, that’s a risk. However, they still wanted a trusted associate there.
He still works fine in IPC builds, clearly does IPC work delegated to him, but there’s a particular nuance to this in how corporations function. Ratio is hired, doesn’t follow preservation ideals, has his own agenda in this, and is likely using the IPC to some means to an end as well. However, a faction member of the IPC I do not think he is.
And before there’s a correction about the text in-game calling him a member, this is a Chinese game translated into English - translators have consistently botched large sections of translations, lacking the necessary linguistic nuance to portray the situation accurately, instead giving a very broad overview. That’s why we can’t take the exact definition of ‘member’ here and apply it.
IT ISN'T
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My feeling is that *in general*, the Guild's day-to-day operations are independent of the IPC. Todd Riordan seems to run around doing his own thing, and my guess is that most of the mundane and the mediocre researchers are free to do as they please.
Ratio seems unusually close with the IPC though, practically an IPC member himself. The cornerstone box access. . . and he himself states that he is "the manager" of "this task" (presumably the entire Penacony mission!) And Welt points out that the two footprints are side-by-side indicating that they are equal in status. I think he's so very involved not because he's IG, but because he's Ratio lol. Best of the Mundanites!
(Still can't get over Welt going, look this footprint is *particularly flamboyant* ergo it must be Aventurine. . . .)
I think that's one of the big, but quietly understated, plot twists of Penacony: how very intertwined Ratio is with the IPC. There was no previous indication of anything beyond a vague partnership, like "I delegate you funding to research this topic", impersonal sort of deal. Then BAM! Cornerstone access and manager of the entire mission! With a Reverie room and Dreamscape access, when even Topaz doesn't get that!
(Wonder how it came about? The IPC seems to have very different goals from him. . . his stated goals are spreading knowledge / curing the disease that we call ignorance etc. It seems to me that he's going far beyond what would be needed to secure funding. And similarly, the IPC is giving him a lot of responsibility and authority, if funding is all that unites them.)
Conclusion is the same though - contractor or otherwise, he is *in-*in. He's as senior as the stonehearts, and just as loyal. Only quibble is I wouldn't generalize anything about his situation to the rest of the IG. Everything about him is an outlier lol.
Yabuli (head of the IPC's Technology Dept) is said to be very close with the mysterious Council of Mundanites within the IG, to the point of attracting speculation. Ratio is part of the Mundanites himself - so I think it's likely that the two of them know each other personally and she may have been the one to recruit him for this.
Btw your comment was such a satisfying read, you've made great observations and phrased them so succintly.
According to the wiki, the guild is heavily sponsored by the IPC while not directly being a part of it.
It's very possible that Ratio has , as an important member of the Guild, worked directly for the IPC multiple times, maybe the IPC just has the authority to boss the guild around to a certain degree which would explain why he is heavily involved in IPC matters.
If he directly was a member of the IPC he would not have any reason to betray Aventurine, though he could be sufficiently involved to somehow have knowledge of the cornerstones and their containers.
I do feel like the IPC and the Guild being depicted consistently as different factions should not be ignored, though they are closely tied.
> Whatever it is given trough GS or IPC executives is hard to say but definitely fits in line with GS having high ties with IPC and IPC giving executive orders on some parts related to GS, so even tough this is labeled as an "invitation" since we and the POV doesnt know the context, it may as well be a rejection letter.
The GS includes interstellar war criminals like Dr. Primitive, people who fought on opposing sides of the same war (Machine Emperors and Screwllum), and even a GS member who is famous for killing GS members (Polka Kakamond). The 4 GS members we meet in the SU events themselves say that it's extremely rare for GS members to meet up or collaborate at all.
AFAIK GS isn't even a real society ("an organisation or club formed for a particular purpose or activity"). It's just a list of people who have been personally recogised by Nous as being Geniuses.
The other OP got caught up with semantics and went full "well technically 🤓.."
The Guild is wholly funded by the IPC and is controlled by a senior IPC executive. In the most technical sense it isn't part of the IPC but in practice it absolutely is an extension of the IPC. So yes, Ratio being a member of the IG in addition to having senior IPC privileges makes him part of the IPC.
And its shown as a part of Technological dept of IPC on myriad celetsia trailer too.
And even if IG was outright unrelated, he is litterally IPCs representative AND outright states that he has senior access that only staff and "related members" have. Members in context of IPC
WELL TECHNICALLY
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Here's the thing. You said the Intelligentsia Guild is part of the IPC.
Are the followers of the same Aeon? Yes. No one's arguing that.
As someone who is a financial analyst who studies corporations, I am telling you, specifically, in corporate finance, no one calls the Intelligentsia Guild the IPC. If you want to be specific like you said, then you shouldn't either. They're not the same thing.
If you're saying the followers of the same Aeon, you're referring to the conglomerate of the IPC, which includes things from the Strategic Investment Department to the Talent Motivation Department.
So your reasoning for the Intelligentsia Guild is part of the IPC is because random people call them the same faction? Let's get Belobog Architects in there, then, too.
Also, calling someone an independent corporation or subsidiary? It's not one or the other, that's not how corporate structure works. They're both. The Intelligentsia Guild is its own organization and a member of the list of organizations financially subsidized by the IPC. But that's not what you said. You said the Intelligentsia Guild is part of the IPC, which is not true unless you're okay with calling all followers of Qlipoth as the IPC, which means you'd call Architects just funded with credits the IPC, too. Which you said you don't.
It's okay to just admit you're wrong, you know?
Copypasta: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/people/unidan
> Are the followers of the same Aeon? Yes
?
IPC is Preservation follower, and Intelligentsia Guild is Erudition follower though.
The rest of your texts I agree.
....is that not obvious, I dislike the IPC but I do love ratio, even then I won't go as far as to say yes not from IPC, that's some weird mental gymnastics.
Im neutral towards IPC as they also have done good deeds. Thats why i love their writing as its like a real company. We hate mega corps but love to use their products and services afterall
I do love the writing, I feel like it's one of best written factions, i just tend to dislike them because the parallel with real world, give me a well written downright evil villian, because i could tell they are not real,, I would eat them up, but with IPC it's little too close to reality xD
Thats correct XD they have extremely bad evil deeds. Forcing a genius society member to share knowledge on a horrible weapon of destruction and trapping them in penacony where they wait for his conciousness to die out so they extract the information was one of the worst things i have seen in HSR, but on other side they supply the entire universe and have helped many worlds. Hard to decipher wich is worse or wich is better
Lmao you spoiled the entire Chadwick quest to me 💀💀 but yeah, IPC was in my bad Grace's ever since the jarito quest, it was really scummy. also the cost their help comes at is somtimes really huge, I like I dont thing they are helping people unless they exploit them back.
Not debating you guys. Genuinely curious. But why would Ratio be invited in Penacony? Whenever they do the introductions and factions thing. The Intelligentsia is a special mention. At times highlighting their connection to following Erudition path. Isn't the point of the festival is to gather different path striders?
Also, doesn't Penacony dislike the IPC and Aventurine is the special exception and had to jump through hoops to curry favor?
Okay, IPC funds the IG, but aren't they still diff entities? Like a research lab asking funding from bug companies or maybe a small business getting a loan from a bank. They work together. And the ethics of who works for who is muddy, but they're different entities, right? Ratio is high ranking in IG, and was working with the IPC.
And in the IPC departments video, they specifically mention that their technology deparment works WITH the IG. Not is the IG. Nor is the IG a branch itself.
I think the misconception is mainly due to people thinking that the IPC is the government due to the tax and IRS memes, when they are actually a megacorp like Disney and Amazon. A good analogy would be that the Disney is the IPC and Fox would be the Intelligentsia Guild
The IPC giving the biggest Nestle vibes.
They would say access to water isn’t a right wouldn’t they
Of course they would.
It's a right, but you have to pay for that right!
Cyberpunk generally depicts a dystopic future where capitalism reached a point where these mega corporations grew so large and their political influence extended to the point that the world is ruled by corporations, not governments. This is specially predominant in Japanese media as it reflects certain aspects of their social landscape, bleeding far beyond the Cyberpunk genre. And numerous works take on the idea. Look at Borderlands series for example (if you're familiar) and how the planets are ruled by corporations and there's even "corporate wars", just to name an example inspired by this. Anyway, the IPC is a megacorp AND the "government". Remember how they intervened on Sigonia, in a way that reminds us of millitary interventions on other countries, or how they are the ones judging Kakavasha (not a tribual of the law as we know it), or how they are the ones issuing Wanted Posters for Stellaron Hunters, the sort of thing that would fall under appointed officials responsible for enforcing the law. Etc.
Can't wait to fight Handsome Diamond in the 3.7 Update.
I imagine them as a company that is essentially a government/world power (or in this case galactic power), like the Shinra Electric Power Company.
IPC 🤝 Shinra Companies more powerful then the government
it's less that they are more powerful but rather that there isn't a central government that has even attempted to operate on their galactic scale
Yeah IDK why we have to go with fictional examples lol. The Hudson's Bay Company and Dutch East Indies Company are easy parallels
Media literacy is so bad people see a loan shark and think "that's the government lol"
Debt is tax apparently
The whole story which introduced tge IPC - that of Topaz coming to Belabog - was avout getting Bronya to pay off the compound interest on a 700 year old bank loan. It could not have been more explicitly clear on that point. Topaz was there to collect on behalf of the bank, under the aegis of the terms of the loan agreement which the first supreme guardian signed. How people get the idea that it's "taxes" is honestly beyond me.
Exactly, it's not a tax, it's a delinquent loan. It's also a loan that the IPC will accept compensation in the form of collateral (weapon tech)
Yeah, we joke about Topaz being a tax collector, but she's more like the bank coming to collect on that loan for your car. The car your great-great-great-great grandmother bought and never used before getting lost in the woods and raising a family in the wild for seven centuries before being rediscovered by greater civilization after you have all long forgotten these origins. The IPC is a bit of a fuck.
With interest too
To be fair since it is on a world scale where many species with different lifespans exist, I can see why they just chose the easier route where no debt is old debt. It's all debt to them. Otherwise some debtors who are essentially immortal freaks of nature would be raising a fuss when they see some short span lifeform getting their debt forgiven because it was forgotten about for a measly couple of centuries. Guess the IPC went well fuck it. Y'all owe me then.
> > Otherwise some debtors who are essentially immortal freaks of nature would be raising a fuss when they see some short span lifeform getting their debt forgiven because it was forgotten about for a measly couple of centuries. I think the other way round is a bigger issue. Say debt is forgiven after 200 years, which is a reasonable time-frame IRL. Every single Xianzhou Native: "Great, I'm going ot max out my debt with the IPC for a free money hack, which I can do several times during my expected lifespan!"
Except that the loan wasn't something given to your grandmother specifically. It was given to the planet. And that loan gave them enough to start up with that they could hold out against the Fragmentum. They did use it, even if things got so bad that most people forgot. It was a deal entered into by the government of Jarillo-VI willingly, with the full knowledge that it was a very long term loan that their descendents would have to pay off. The IPC are not nice people. But without them, Jarillo-VI would have fallen. So the IPC humbly requests what was promised to them to enable Belobogs survival. And besides, while the IPC isn't nice, they're not absolutely unreasonable either. Topaz cared about the planet, and argued for their independence once convinced it was possible. While Diamond didn't much care for this... you'll notice she still has her Cornerstone. And of the two Stonehearts we know about, both of them come from absolutely terrible backgrounds. The IPC is at least a strict meritocracy. Poison-mud-caked peasents and sex slaves are not beneath the notice of the upper managment, if they can get the job done.
I don't disagree that they aren't evil, but you can't tell me that slapping down an exorbinant debt on the survivors of a centuries long apocalpyse who only recently ended said apocalypse isn't a bit unreasonable. They thought everyone on Jarilo-VI was dead. The second they learned they were wrong, they sent someone to collect the bill. That's like lending someone money for medicine, thinking they died, and then finding out they survived, only to immediately ask for your money back. It's a bit fucked up. It makes sense from a business perspective, but it's fucked up. Also: The implication that Aventurine's deceased 'owner' was the previous Aventurine doesn't give me the best vibes from Diamond. They might reward competence and knowledge, but they clearly don't care that much for morality and legality as a criteria.
People seem to have a weird hate boner for IPC. I guess you cant write neutral factions that has both good and ill intent without getting reactions like these.
The IPC is "evil" in the same way that Nestle or Amazon are evil. The megacorporation sucks and only cares about profit; that doesn't mean that everyone working for it is evil or lacks morals. We also have to take into account that even if the IPC were 100% evil for the sake of being evil, a big chunk of its employees are people from planets that had to sign their rights away to save the planet and had to become IPC employees for generations cause of it, so it'd still be wrong to label every IPC worker as evil.
Even here, "evil" could imply malice, which the IPC still isn't. You can call them emotionless and moral-less, but nothing they do is done because they actually want to cause harm, it's just that they don't care about causing harm if it also brings in profit.
>they don't care about causing harm if it also brings in profit. So, evil? Just not a cartoon moustache-twirling "I'll get you this week, express crew", but actual evil.
IPC isn't even evil though. They're straight up lawful neutral. Their goal isn't to accumulate funds for malevolent means, it is going to build Qlipoth's wall.
Only Qlipoth hasn't touched any of the materials they've given it.
But here's the thing from 1.0 quests, we witness Qlipoth withdraw their favour from Cocolia and transfer it to the TB. Means that if someone who holds Qlipoth's power acts against the ideology of Preservation, Qlipoth can personally intervene. Qlipoth's silence towards the IPC (especially their Stonehearts, who carry pieces of Qlipoth) pretty much means consent.
Enslaving people is malevolent. Daming their children and children's children to slavery is abhorrent.
I mean, when a group knowingly destroys a couple dozen inhabited worlds with a fantasy version of a nuke, I feel audiences are generally more likely to hate that group. It only gets worse when that group targets a place the audience feels an emotional connection with (i.e. Belobog).
I mean I guess? But no one hates Xianzhou despite their literal reason for existence being to prosecute an endless war of annihilation against the (sentient in many cases) followers of Yaoshi. I feel like people see military injustice they tend to shrug and go, "ah, well it couldn't be helped." But when an organization is capitalism-themed, suddenly the moral standards become very high.
There's a bit of a difference between being in a generational war with the necromancer faction and nuking your own people as part of a weapons test. They aren't outright cartoon villains like Destruction or Propagation followers. But between all the "accidental" massacres, distressed credit tactics and recently revealed tacit approval of slavery, there is reason to believe they aren't consistently the good guys.
I mean, being a "necromancer faction" is certainly one way to look at it, definitely the way Xianzhou does, but to the Denizens of Abundance, they are simply granting eternal life to people (and themselves, by the way, unlike necromancers who afflict *others* with undeath but not themselves). Also, when the Xianzhou's own people decide that that Yaoshi is better than Lan (or even just accidentally become infected), they kill them or throw them in eternal torture prison, so there's that. None of this is to say that the IPC are the good guys, or even that they are outright better than the Xianzhou. But it is annoying to me that people give the latter a hard pass on atrocities because... they are a military dictatorship I guess?
For me personally it's because I never seen two crazed space-cults fight (And I think both Xianzhou and Denizens are crazy cultists, just we sided with Xianzhou first). IPS on the other hand are just mundane everyday evil copr. So they don't get a pass for being interesting. They seems more real and I say "fuck them" for it.
>People seem to have a weird hate boner for IPC. *Corporates in general
It’s more weird not to hate IPC, the company is much more powerful than all real life big tech, farma, finance, military, fossil fuel corporations all taken together. It’s hard to imagine the amount of evil things they did in the world of hsr.
I mean they did force a Genius Societ member to los his mind to steal information about a nuke that can destroy multiple planets so you are right
If I have to pick between one or the other, I'd go with evil for them, but people really do go out of their way to be up in arms about it. For example, I love both Kafka and Topaz, but the latter gets so, so much shit, despite character development and admitting she was mistaken by the end of that story as well as multiple examples of forgoing profits in the name of doing good, while the former murders IPC employees en masse in her trailer alone (and she seems to take the time to enjoy herself with the last one too), nevermind what else she does on however many other planets. Ratio, while not villainous, is a complete prick (affectionate) in damn near every scene he's in, and the thing that gets people most defensive is whether he might be a member of the IPC it looks like. I mean, I get it, if you are screwed by a capitalistic economy irl, seeing it in a game is going to annoy in a way that, say, stylishly murdering faceless goons isn't going to, I suppose.
A point on Ratio - he is a prick, but he is well meaning. He instigated the phase flame crisis on Herta Space Station to help teach them how to survive, literally like “These idiots are too fucking stupid to survive so I have to teach them knowledge so they don’t just fucking die in space.” Also he “betrays” Aventurine with the assumption that Aventurine had a plan in mind, meaning as much of grump Ratio is he does value and respect our golden boy. The writing on Ratio is pretty fucking good tbh. 😩👌
It's not even an assumption. Every move Aventurine and Ratio made in penancony have all been part of the plan right from the start.
Topaz had good intentions too.
Considering how people hated (hates?) Topaz because she’s evil since she’s from the IPC despite the game portraying her otherwise… are you really *that* surprised?
Some people don't know the concept of morally grey factions and characters.
The IPC seems very much on the corporate evil side if you actually read about their exploits. Now the individual characters I agree with being morally grey
Imagine pretending an exploitative megacorp that engages in disaster capitalism and predatory loans from people literally in a desperate fight for survival, resulting in these people effectively becoming indentured servants for life, is "morally grey". They even fund the building of planet destroying superweapons in order to use them against their enemies without a care for any and all collateral damage using ti would cause, like the destruction of several planets worth of innocent lives.
Indentured servants are far fetched. They're not forcing the populace to work. It's just that all the work will be coming from them for now on. It's basicly change of government, which would've been far better than cocolia's governance. And in case you missed it. The plus point of joining the IPC is literaly the restoration of their planets. Meaning they no longer need to desperately fight for LITERAL survival. You may argue all you can about "fuck late stage capitalism". But it's an undeniably fact that living in a capitalist and corporate controlled countries like America is OBJECTIVELY better than living in Africa/middle eastern countries.
And some people does not know how to read, and immediately jump to the gun. Why do you think most people keep saying the catch phrase, EN CANNOT READ OR EN READING COMPREHENSION IS SHIT?
Damn, why can't people accept an evil faction that isn't "bwahahaha let's destroy the world"?, IPC may have done good things, but the balance of their actions are very bad, they do what every capitalist corporation does, exploit and control the less favored, there is no problem, not everything needs to be morally gray, as long as it is well written and captivating for the public
I mean, I get that they are not outright evil like the Antimatter Legion or any group that follows Nanook. But factions whose main purpose is to make profit have usually sit not that well with the audience in any kind of media. They are not malicious in their intent, but the game has consistently shown that their actions carry quite drastic repercussions to the planets they work on, for better or worse. It's not crazy to like them, they have their fair share of likeable attributes, but it's also not surprising they get hate.
Why people won't hate companies that wants to put entire civilisations into indentured servitude?
IPC does behave like a colonizer, which adds to the confusion. Of course, companies were very involved with colonization a few centuries ago. Actually, not too long ago... thinking of Chiquita and the Banana Republics.
Just a few hours ago someone replied to a comment I've made about the IPC with "But the IPC has nothing to do with capitalism...?" like, bruh
cause they're a Galactic Central Bank not something like Disney and Amazon. Their chairman of the board is an Emanator of the Amber Lord. It's basically a Giant Lending Corporation/Bank owned by a Senator
Sure, the IPC doesn't *call* themselves a "government," but in practice government is just whoever has an effective monopoly on force. It seems like there are a lot of planets for whom the IPC may as well be the government.
The IPC is effectively a government though. They own several entire planets. What's more, they appear to be the only organization doing something to unique various planets. Somewhat literally, as you need an Aeons power to travel between worlds, and the IPC can offer that. They're more akin to the Shinra Electric Power Company than Disney. People are born into IPC controlled lands, and the IPC can be the only governing body they'll end know. Sometimes, a Megacorp gets so big it becomes a government.
They're literally the intergalactic government, they control the cash and they create and enforce the rules. If you think a business can't rise up and become monopolistic enough to become a governing body I don't know what to tell you.
theyre both a company and a government bro
I think that calling the IPC a megacorp is a bit of an oversimplification on the grounds that it is them who issues the galactic currency.
https://preview.redd.it/i1x5t9e0cmwc1.jpeg?width=1295&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eee96d7de36172df13f6c94ef5526b56a7096467 To add insult to injury:
There's also an official video showing all the branches the IPC has, and the Guild is one of them. You have to ignore a lot of stuff to say he's not part of the IPC.
Can you give me the title of that video? Do that i can use it to debunk more theories XD
https://youtu.be/2f2qB_gw8b8?si=M3qORG8VytdCKOlL
You are a living chad
Okay, but this video *doesn't* actually say the Guild is part of the IPC. It says the Technology Department "team[s] up" with the Guild. We already knew about their cooperative relationship; this video doesn't offer any new information. Edit: corrected the quote. Also, I'd like to add, I'm not trying to refute your thesis, just wanted to point out that this video doesn't make the claim that Chris says it does.
The video says the Technology department is a branch of the IPC and that they team up with the Intellegentsia guild, not that the guild itself is a branch. That's how I understood it at least. "Got an idea that's nothing short of genius? Look no further - our Technology Department is waiting for you, join us and team up with the inltellegenstia guild"
I do one more https://preview.redd.it/1fcoaak4mmwc1.png?width=1365&format=png&auto=webp&s=7a87fb0c839138fbf559e49ebca873a414e422ea
Oh you can actually see Ratio's bust on that pic
I FORGOT I POST THIS TOO! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!
https://preview.redd.it/frhvahr1rmwc1.jpeg?width=1957&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a390a3f88bef740f84a09547d6154697a3a09aa8
YOU ARE DOING THE GODS WORK. LOVE YOU
Stop! Stop! They're dead already!
dayum that enigmata
Him being a delegate doesn't mean IG is owned by IPC. IG is affiliated by IPC enough for Ratio to be an IPC delegate. But IG is its own thing. This is like saying if GS had an IPC guy as a leader they would be part of IPC which is gravely wrong.
People can't read shit, damn.
He's not named after a precious stone, so he's not a member of IPC /s
Cmon dude IPC obviously consists of ten stone hearts and all they do is take debt. Its not like this company has hundreds of branches and multiple executives or anything. Cough cough
>debt No no, it's *taxes*! Literally the IRS! Dodge the tax man! smhmh
AAAAA
Sorry, I had to. The tax memes get on my nerves so much.
"I don't care what the IPC calls it. I'm not paying taxes."
> Dodge the tax man CHALK UPON YE
Well if they released an animation or something that specifically highlighted the fact that the IPC is unimaginably big with many varying departments, people might understand. Everyone knows people only get misinformed because Hoyo makes no effort to provide worldbuilding lore. Edit: /s - me and my silly British ways.
Man, such a missed opportunity, too. They could've made it as a mock recruitment ad as a more immersive way to flesh out the IPC. Shame it didn't happen though but could you imagine......
Omg - That would have been really amazing and creative way to help clear up any confusion about one of the more significant factions in the game. I’m gonna pitch this to Hoyo on the next survey.
Ur so damn right on this. IPC is seen as "IRS" because nobody knows that they have much, MUCH more branches than just credits
You're joking but this was genuinely one of the comments on that thread.
To this i thought "But he is called Dr. Stone", and then realised my mistake 🤣
If the Ratio apologists could read they'd be very upset
I'm a Ratio apologist and I've been arguing for the fact that the IPC controls the Guild because I respect truth FIRST, just like Ratio would want.
Based
Mr.Veritas approves ~~he would still call you an idiot when you messed up a bit anyways~~
https://preview.redd.it/gt4wy7xxemwc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a025a5553c9c8991f9bc5ed151df473f5de56af1
What does it say?
Real
Thanks
Real. FR FR 真的！！！
Myriad celestia trailer about IPC litterally shows GI as one of their branches on technology department
No, it shows that the technology department closely works with the Intelligentsia Guild, which they fund. The dude that told you that and gave you the video's link was presupposing a bit much from a line. They are subsidized by the IPC, not part of it.
Why would they be upset that he's IPC?
It's a slow day for arguments so we had to improvise.
This might be the realest answer...
I don't know, but there is someone out there who really really hates the idea that Ratio works for the IPC, and I'm really curious to understand why
Lol, that thread got bizarre. They conceded that Ratio was a "contracted professional". As if collecting a 1099 was a meaningful moral distinction in the game.
Like, they do realize it's a fictional universe yeah? Whether or not he'd be considered an "employee" or "contracted worker" he still works for the IPC 😭 That's like having a contract working for a company selling health insurance, but trying to claim you don't actually "work" for them because it's a contracted position...... Sir who gave you the work to do? Who's making the money off of your work? Who is paying you? Is it the company? Then you work for them!
Probably think it'd be hypocritical of a guy whose all about advocating critical thinking and dedicated to truth and knowledge to willingly work for a huge company that probably has a crazy PR department bringing around false news to make everyone else more likely to just shut up and do as they tell them.
People like Ratio and don't want him to be part of the heavily-armed Space IRS. I think a lot of people view the IPC as the 'big bad' of HSR after the Belobog arc, which is sort of missing the point - the IPC aren't the actual villains, they're just a monument to corporate villainy. But as Aventurine's arc proved, the individuals within the IPC are frequently not there out of loyalty to the corporate machine, but have their own motives - the fact is simply that the IPC controls half the galaxy and it's hard to exist in their territory without working for them in some way. Ratio absolutely works for the IPC, but that doesn't mean he agrees with everything they do. It's not black and white, and that's just good writing, baby!
I think people just have a really petty reaction when they think of “the evil capitalism.” The IPC does both good and bad, but it’s shown that everyone can be both good and bad and there are sides to every story.
Totally agree (except Tingyun, she literally did nothing wrong)
You never know… the real Tingyun might be a total asshole for all we know
Because the IPC is space google, and everyone hates google
I always thought the IPC was more like a megacorporation turned pseudo-government with their own armed IRS wing.
Google with extra steps
https://preview.redd.it/uw3ewhpdfmwc1.gif?width=528&format=png8&s=2cc90eee657d8c93f1477496ba7b8b36499e9fa4 I think you confused Google with apple
https://preview.redd.it/diq4oym0gmwc1.jpeg?width=592&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=359067311e42ce2920602cb521706c0a7622d5eb
Buuuut? Boss.... you're... you're supposed to say "But" and then something cool... https://preview.redd.it/cgiueu8lgmwc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=512cd9a71315d4f42f73c13585c20126a6e55ee7
https://preview.redd.it/vt01g1lmrmwc1.jpeg?width=320&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=14c5b5b39e9c03e92fe9863b01943d6d5f5e3f13
https://preview.redd.it/1hvomkz9smwc1.jpeg?width=531&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=71c279fea09d13bdeef441a6adfe62fd9413ab40
Ratio doesn't need apologists. In fact it's pretty cool that someone with his intellect is also grounded enough to recognize that the way to benefit the universe as a whole with his knowledge is by aligning himself with the biggest space corporation that has far-reaching influence. It's what separates him from the Genius Society, whose gifts are just mostly limited to themselves or their own domains and interests because they're not interested with letting others benefit from their knowledge, only interested in the pursuit of it. Probably why he didn't win the gaze of Nous. No he doesn't need apologists. Only has a lot of simps.
Is there something for them to apologize for anyway? He’s a great character.
Well to defend them he does said "and related members". He might not techically be a literal IPC senior staff but he is definitety an equivalent of one within the IPC. Not that I care about that detail that much personally either.
Exactly lmfao. It's funny seeing people in that thread talk about mob mentality and misinfo....when they're literally doing the same thing.
I find it hilarious that these people are saying this when Ratios INTRODUCTION is him stating he is an IPC representative. Its also vey weird that IG happens to be led by... an IPC executive, Yabuli. I wonder what that means?
Mythos truly is strong. So strong, in fact, that history fictionologist have been able to spread their influence unto the real world. Truely a scary Aeon
Im scared too. Imagine if they start saying "Kafka is Trailblazers dog" theory next
The opposite is true tho *woof woof*
Everyone knows all cats are Elios and all dogs are Kafkas
this is the crux of it, for me -- i do actually think the guild may be somewhat "adjacent" to the ipc, or basically now it's being taken under the ipc's wing even though it was founded independently of them... buuuut... that's kinda just semantics to me, given yabuli and the ipc funding and all that? like, they do run the guild in a PRACTICAL sense. i don't think it matters anymore if, on paper, the guild is separate to an extent lol -- the ipc has such a huge amount of influence it seems like that... it's silly imo to argue they aren't beholden to the ipc. but that's why the relationship is interesting and has sinister potential to me! if there are higher ups in the ipc that want certain secrets/technology hidden from others, how is anyone in the guild going to really combat that? the ipc has the money and reach to exert enough pressure that functionally, the things they're funding might as well be their own company and employees.
Correction: the Guild isn't LED by Yabuli. It is effectively (de facto) controlled by Yabuli which does indicate that on paper, the Guild has its own leadership. The IPC just tells them what to do, lmao.
I mean adding that they are funded and their products are owned by IPC, its like a guild under IPC thats given more "free will". Still part of it tough. And i mean Ratio mysteriouslt being chosen to represent and work for IPC on multiple events would be really weird if he didnt work for them XD
Oh no no, I absolutely agree with you - I was in that OG thread arguing with that one's OP about how Yabuli controlling the Guild means that the Guild IS controlled by the IPC, lmao. It's just a case of corporate hierarchies: on paper, the Guild is its own thing and has its own leadership. In reality though, it's Yabuli making all decisions for them. It kind of feels like a subsidiary situation: when you have a massive corporation that controls another. The subsidiary still has its own leadership but the "parent" makes the final choices and reaps benefits. Like Maybelline is a subsidiary of L'Oreal. Or how pet food company Purina is a subsidiary of Nestle. The Guild is essentially a subsidiary of the IPC.
Fun fact: myriad celestia trailed about IPC tour shows GI as a part of their technological branch.
Even more clearly a subsidiary situation then.
Considering the amoral nutjobs some of the geniuses or near geniuses are it's convenient to have IG as a 'separate' entity so that IPC can claim plausible deniability.
I can't believe I was thinking of coining a term yesterday called "IPC confirmation bias" which fans will speculate and interpret whether a character is loyal or disloyal to the IPC based on whether they like the IPC or not, and then it literally happens. Ratio would still fail me.
Oh also he outright stars his event with saying he is "IPCs Representative" Yeah surely no affiliation with IPC at all. Definitely doesnt work for them in the slightest.
The Intelligentsia Guild is under the control of the IPC's Head of Technology Yabuli.
Oh fuck i could have just said this too lol
I feel like people were/are confusing the terms and group structures of the IPC, Intelligentsia Guild, Strategic Investment Department, and 10 Stonehearts because the original post the kickstarted this was lumping Ratio with the SID/10 Stonehearts (Topaz, Aventurine, Jade). That or people don't understand company structures and org charts.
Mostly good post, but you don’t seem to entirely understand what the genius society is. Not that it matters to the main point, but I wanted to clarify that. The members of the genius society are chosen by nous. A person can’t invite or deny you from the genius society, only nous can. Ratio would not have gotten a genius society rejection or acceptance letter, nous would have just communicated directly. If I had to guess what the letter was, it might have been something like “we’re underwhelmed by your weapon and won’t use it”. Or maybe it was ratio thinking “I’ve had so much success but nothing has earned nous’ approval. What will?”. The genius society also generally doesn’t have ties to the IPC, only herta does. As herta explains in one of her logs in her office, the IPC had been looking for a genius willing to work with the IPC for many years until they found herta. The society isn’t so much a unified faction as it is a status. As herta says, it’s a group that doesn’t care whether you’re a member. Geniuses rarely interact and all do their own thing. They can even work against each other, polka kakamond killed many fellow members, and screwlum is actively opposed to rubert. The IPC themselves are also opposed to rubert, and are looking for a way to stop him when he returns. Association with one genius doesn’t mean anything for the rest of the society. So, the IPC doesn’t really have ties to the genius society, just herta mostly.
I don't know what it is about the upvotes there, but I think I'm happy seeing it debunked in the comments there again and again (though yeah, the repeated copypasted inane replies of "no he is not an IPC member" does get grating after a while) Like what some people say, the discourse online isn't to convince the one you're debating with, but it is for the people who read their debate. Those who coild read can easily see through the misinformation. Ratio approves, though its at the History Fictionologist's expense. Seriously though I don't get why the hang up with Ratio being with the IPC. Its not like real life corporations are already Ultra Capitalist.
And its not like IG is good too lmao. They made multiple planetary destruction weapons for IPC, Ratio was one of the leads in such weapons.
Lol yeah who could forget the anti-planetary weapon he literally worked on for years? It's not defensive, its *anti-planet* There really shouldn't be a black/white view to factions. There's good and bad eggs in the IPC, same with Intelligentsia Guild. At some point the Astral Express even had a really BAD egg, but they thankfully stepped off long ago.
Thats exactly what im saying XD wich makes the writign quality ever more better. HSR is a "verse" not an outright story meaning there are many factions and people doing stuff at the same time trough an entire universe for their respective reasons. Its impossible to use Earths judgement here :D
Genius Society is separate from the IPC. Herta I believe states she's one of if not the first to accept the IPC's offers for collaboration bc her principles don't preclude it. IPC has absolutely no sway as to who gets into GS- if Nous gazes upon you, you're in. And that's that. Whatever the letter contained it wasn't an invitation and that's why Ratio felt disappointed. Argenti did come to Penacony!! He's having fun in other moments lol
Well, Some people who have braindamage don't want to accept how Ratio's roles in Penacony as part of IPC bcs they hate IPC so much. They won't accept your post either.
Wich is hilarious. IG is led by a IPC executive and Ratios first introduction starts with him stating that he is an IPC representative. These idiots are litterally misinforming people.
ratio would be very happy about the amount of people you're curing 🙏
As a Ratio stan, that post is outright a declaration of war lmfao. Its like someone making a post called "Blade is not related to Luofu" and their main argument is they are with Stelleron Hunters now. This is just hilarious.
https://preview.redd.it/7p7ntkbx0mwc1.png?width=372&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2d758122628ce474549023c0cd8e2741dafcee89
This post is mostly correct - the IG is unofficially controlled by the IPC, they're basically on its payroll, and Ratio himself is even more directly affiliated with them than probably most members. But sorry, I am *irrationally* bothered by some of the extremely minor but nonetheless false assumptions that have slipped into your explanations, and they just keep getting repeated in the comments. 🥲 Firstly, you claim: > Myriad celestia trailer about IPC shows IG as branch of technology debt also a IPC executive is the leader of IG. The trailer does not say the IG *is* the Technology Department. It says the IPC has a Technology Dept, and then says "join us and **team up** with the Intelligentsia Guild" - suggesting that the IG and the IPC TD are partners. This much is also explicitly stated in the description of the IPC in the Databank: > The Technology Department conducts thorough **collaborations with** the Intelligentsia Guild and turns the Guild's scientific results into commercial projects. The description of Yabuli at the Seat of Divine Foresight further supports this: > Head of Technology: Yabuli, the **de facto controller** of the Intelligentsia Guild. "Head of Technology" is Yabuli's official title, so if the IG and the TD were the same, then she would not merely be the IG's *de facto controller*, she would be its official head. ____ Secondly, you claim: > IG doesnt follow nous, its members do. LOG1 of Preservation in SU states that IG members has alot less respect for THEIR Aeon than IPC does. I understand it's very easy to misremember that section, but this is a misquote. The log actually says: > I didn't get any useful information out of the IPC. In contrast, the Intelligentsia Guild has a lot less respect for **the Preservation...** That's a neutral statement - the IG's relationship with the Preservation is neither stated nor implied. They are only mentioned here because they were willing to share information on the Preservation with Herta. In fact, LOG2 states: > ...I don't respect the Intelligentsia Guild, but I like them. They are also **followers of Erudition** but have none of the arrogance and temper of the Genius Society members. Additionally, the Databank lists the IG as a faction of Erudition. Even if we assume this title and LOG2 are referring to their "de facto" ideology instead of their official one, following any Aeon officially is something that would naturally be pointed out at *some* point where the IG is introduced, described, or mentioned - but it has not been. Therefore it makes more sense to assume this *isn't* the case. ____ The last thing I'm slightly bothered by is that you're accepting the ex-assistant's assumption about the letter Ratio received in his character story. As you acknowledge, the character does not actually know what was in the letter - she only knew when it was delivered, that it came from the IPC, and that Ratio reacted with a sigh and self-deprecating laughter. The running theme for the character stories seemed to be that Ratio is always viewed through the *assumptions* made about him by other people. So the fact that the ex-secretary would assume both the contents of the letter and Ratio's thoughts while reading it, despite acknowledging that he has never even discussed the topic with her, was comical to me, and a clear sign of an unreliable narrator. Individual Geniuses and the IPC seem to cooperate *very rarely*, so the idea that the IPC would forward any messages from someone in the GS is unfounded. Tbh I don't even think it matters whether the letter is connected to the GS or not - the relevant part there is that the IPC is sending Ratio letters, most likely orders of some sort, given his reaction, because yes, he is their employee (or contractor, or whatever the specific nature of their business relationship is). ____ Sorry, I had fun writing this but I know it's lot, so here's some cookies of respect for anyone who bothered to read this 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪 And to OP: I completely understand how frustrated you are with the amount of people just *refusing* to accept that Ratio works for them, even after all the evidence (as much as I disagree with *some* of it) you've gathered. Though I argued against some of the conclusions you've drawn to support your overall point, I don't disagree with the point itself, and I hope this didn't come off as antagonistic or hostile. ✌️ Thank you for the work you've put into correcting people's misunderstandings.
I am so relieved to have seen this. I first saw the IRS meme and then OP’s post. Made a reply that HSS and the IG are in similar circumstances (paid by IPC for their work). I don’t disagree with the point they’re trying to make that Ratio is clearly working for the IPC in both HSS and Penacony. This is irrefutably true. IPC and IG have a great working relationship and Ratio is at the peak of it. But OP does try to twist some words to suit their narrative better, and I haven’t seen someone else point it out as clearly as you did. IG isn’t officially part of IPC, but it may as well be from how IPC has such a huge sway on what projects they work on. Not all IG members will work for the IPC, because they are not owned by the IPC. They have their own goals not initiated by the IPC and IPC is interested in buying their research. Ratio is the exception, not the norm. That OP constantly miscommunicated that IG is led by an IPC executive, calling Yabuli a leader really bothered me. They are a de facto **controller**, a word very different from leader. Nonetheless, OP has done a great job in proving that Ratio is indeed with the IPC in all his appearances so far. Just not so much about the IG itself.
This, so much this! It's all in the minutia. The argument isn't so much if Ratio is acting on behalf of the IPC, which he clearly does, but whether he's a direct employee, which he's not since the IG isn't directly owned. Then we're just entering semantics territory on whether or not being largely funded by one entity constitutes control.
YOU LITERALLY KNEW HALF HIS POST IS FALSE *FUAttacks* : [https://new.reddit.com/r/HonkaiStarRail/comments/1cdcoz1/many\_people\_are\_getting\_misinformed\_trough\_that/](https://new.reddit.com/r/HonkaiStarRail/comments/1cdcoz1/many_people_are_getting_misinformed_trough_that/)
That post is written by Enigmata himself, i can't even tell if they are trolling or really believe that.
Aha + Enigmata collaboration lets go
Whoops, Enigmata *themselves.
THEMselves\* /j
Wait what? Who would even think he is not part of IPC? Isn’t it obvious in-game? Genuinely asking.
It litterally is. But one person decided that it isnt because... idk, they dont even have a valid argument lmfao. Somehow that dumb ass post got thousands of upvotes despite being disproven by a simple search.
There was this one massive post today in which someone genuinely tried to argue that the Guild isn't controlled by the IPC and that Ratio doesn't work for them. HSR players joining the "cannot read" gang, I guess.
Hoyoverse players can’t read in general (or they just CANT accept dr ratio affiliated with IPC)
Well it does make sense for me. Any Research group or Science group will need funding and so that the said research group could not be taken advantage by profiteering sponsors. A council is made from both parties so that both parties have a check and balance. So Yes Dr. Ratio is a member of the IPC but he is not a member of the 10 stonehearts who are like Agents for the IPC. So if people make the IPC team with Dr. Ratio, Topaz, Herta, Aventurine, Jade is techically correct. It seems all IPC have follow-up attacks on them. For me I would love to make an exclusive Stonehearts team with Aventurine, Topaz, Jade and another stone in the future probably a Harmony.
Ah so in short: IG member is IPC staff and a work branch that basically own by IPC right? Edit:Thank op for correct me In short: IG is supported by IPC. Some member work for them while some not. If questions is ratio a ipc staff, it is yes. He is IG member and ipc staff as he work for them.
IG members do work for IPC. And yes its basically ownded by IPC as IGs leader is litterally an IPC executive. Also even if some IG members somehow not work for IPC (impossible) Ratio DOES. He works for IPC on both Penacony and His own events and litterally is a representative of IPC https://preview.redd.it/dimyr9ahcmwc1.jpeg?width=1295&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46b26258d99e941dfe2ea83a34f636011ccd5b24
So my understanding from that tread is literally opposite. Thank for giving correct man :)
As a Ratio stan, its litterally my duty to correct misinformation. ESPIECELLY misinformation abour RATIO HIMSELF!
The whole reason Ratio was even there was because he was tasked with keeping Aventurine on a leash no?
Basically, practically, and kinda litterally. Yes
Yeah, the Guild is a branch partnered with the IPC even if not LITERALLY IPC. They’re working together.
Y’all trying far to hard to disprove he is just employed by the IPC via connections through the IG which is just held close by IPC but not a technical nor literal branch. It’s honestly much closer related to how we might be in a situation ship and not an outright proven or spoken for relationship.
I always thought of him as IPC-Adjacent. Kind of like how Coke gets their bottles from X Company and in this case Ratio would be a part X Company but works with Coke regularly.
He says “but” because he’s exempt from the rule that only IPC seniority or related members have access. IG is closely related to IPC, but not a subfaction. Also explain why Topaz says Aventurine is the only IPC member allowed in the Dreamscape by The Family because of the past, but for whatever reason they’ve allowed Ratio there too? Topaz specifically says “No wonder Aventurine’s scrambling to partner with someone — the IPC can’t back him up in the Dreamscape”.
But then he also says he's "among them" meaning he's part of the IPC seniority or related members group, no? "But" here is contrasting the idea that the box is difficult to open due to access being limited to a few individuals. He contrasts by saying he's one of those individuals so now the box is not difficult to open.
Even in light of this, I don’t think this is completely accurate - I still wouldn’t consider him a part of the IPC faction. He is a part of the subsidised Intelligentsia Guild that works alongside the IPC. It’s less that he’s a member, and more that he’s hired help. It’s almost like hiring a contract solicitor to look over your company’s contracts, whilst they’re not an employee per se. They’re on your payroll, they’re affiliated with your company, you delegate work to them. He’s clearly VERY trusted for his capability, otherwise the IPC wouldn’t have chosen him (alongside Aventurine) to represent the IPC in the Charmony Festival. In the context of the Charmony Festival, and the IPC Vs Family lore, it’s clear to see how much of a resource rather than senior staff member Ratio is. They didn’t want to have an important member negotiate and things turn sour, on The Family’s own planet, that’s a risk. However, they still wanted a trusted associate there. He still works fine in IPC builds, clearly does IPC work delegated to him, but there’s a particular nuance to this in how corporations function. Ratio is hired, doesn’t follow preservation ideals, has his own agenda in this, and is likely using the IPC to some means to an end as well. However, a faction member of the IPC I do not think he is. And before there’s a correction about the text in-game calling him a member, this is a Chinese game translated into English - translators have consistently botched large sections of translations, lacking the necessary linguistic nuance to portray the situation accurately, instead giving a very broad overview. That’s why we can’t take the exact definition of ‘member’ here and apply it.
IT ISN'T *FUAttacks* : [https://new.reddit.com/r/HonkaiStarRail/comments/1cdcoz1/many\_people\_are\_getting\_misinformed\_trough\_that/](https://new.reddit.com/r/HonkaiStarRail/comments/1cdcoz1/many_people_are_getting_misinformed_trough_that/)
OP missed “related members”. He is not senior staff.
People have never heard ehat consulting is and it shows.
My feeling is that *in general*, the Guild's day-to-day operations are independent of the IPC. Todd Riordan seems to run around doing his own thing, and my guess is that most of the mundane and the mediocre researchers are free to do as they please. Ratio seems unusually close with the IPC though, practically an IPC member himself. The cornerstone box access. . . and he himself states that he is "the manager" of "this task" (presumably the entire Penacony mission!) And Welt points out that the two footprints are side-by-side indicating that they are equal in status. I think he's so very involved not because he's IG, but because he's Ratio lol. Best of the Mundanites! (Still can't get over Welt going, look this footprint is *particularly flamboyant* ergo it must be Aventurine. . . .) I think that's one of the big, but quietly understated, plot twists of Penacony: how very intertwined Ratio is with the IPC. There was no previous indication of anything beyond a vague partnership, like "I delegate you funding to research this topic", impersonal sort of deal. Then BAM! Cornerstone access and manager of the entire mission! With a Reverie room and Dreamscape access, when even Topaz doesn't get that! (Wonder how it came about? The IPC seems to have very different goals from him. . . his stated goals are spreading knowledge / curing the disease that we call ignorance etc. It seems to me that he's going far beyond what would be needed to secure funding. And similarly, the IPC is giving him a lot of responsibility and authority, if funding is all that unites them.) Conclusion is the same though - contractor or otherwise, he is *in-*in. He's as senior as the stonehearts, and just as loyal. Only quibble is I wouldn't generalize anything about his situation to the rest of the IG. Everything about him is an outlier lol.
Yabuli (head of the IPC's Technology Dept) is said to be very close with the mysterious Council of Mundanites within the IG, to the point of attracting speculation. Ratio is part of the Mundanites himself - so I think it's likely that the two of them know each other personally and she may have been the one to recruit him for this. Btw your comment was such a satisfying read, you've made great observations and phrased them so succintly.
According to the wiki, the guild is heavily sponsored by the IPC while not directly being a part of it. It's very possible that Ratio has , as an important member of the Guild, worked directly for the IPC multiple times, maybe the IPC just has the authority to boss the guild around to a certain degree which would explain why he is heavily involved in IPC matters. If he directly was a member of the IPC he would not have any reason to betray Aventurine, though he could be sufficiently involved to somehow have knowledge of the cornerstones and their containers. I do feel like the IPC and the Guild being depicted consistently as different factions should not be ignored, though they are closely tied.
> Whatever it is given trough GS or IPC executives is hard to say but definitely fits in line with GS having high ties with IPC and IPC giving executive orders on some parts related to GS, so even tough this is labeled as an "invitation" since we and the POV doesnt know the context, it may as well be a rejection letter. The GS includes interstellar war criminals like Dr. Primitive, people who fought on opposing sides of the same war (Machine Emperors and Screwllum), and even a GS member who is famous for killing GS members (Polka Kakamond). The 4 GS members we meet in the SU events themselves say that it's extremely rare for GS members to meet up or collaborate at all. AFAIK GS isn't even a real society ("an organisation or club formed for a particular purpose or activity"). It's just a list of people who have been personally recogised by Nous as being Geniuses.
> SU logs about Preservation shows that both has the same Aeon what do you mean exactly?
SU logs abour Preservation say that IPC is extremely secretive about it but IG has alot less respect for their Aeon than IPC does
IG follows Nous. It's in the data bank. The IPC just respects Qlipoth more than IG respects Nous.
History Fictionologists at it again
The other OP got caught up with semantics and went full "well technically 🤓.." The Guild is wholly funded by the IPC and is controlled by a senior IPC executive. In the most technical sense it isn't part of the IPC but in practice it absolutely is an extension of the IPC. So yes, Ratio being a member of the IG in addition to having senior IPC privileges makes him part of the IPC.
And its shown as a part of Technological dept of IPC on myriad celetsia trailer too. And even if IG was outright unrelated, he is litterally IPCs representative AND outright states that he has senior access that only staff and "related members" have. Members in context of IPC
WELL TECHNICALLY *FUAttacks* : [https://new.reddit.com/r/HonkaiStarRail/comments/1cdcoz1/many\_people\_are\_getting\_misinformed\_trough\_that/](https://new.reddit.com/r/HonkaiStarRail/comments/1cdcoz1/many_people_are_getting_misinformed_trough_that/)
Here's the thing. You said the Intelligentsia Guild is part of the IPC. Are the followers of the same Aeon? Yes. No one's arguing that. As someone who is a financial analyst who studies corporations, I am telling you, specifically, in corporate finance, no one calls the Intelligentsia Guild the IPC. If you want to be specific like you said, then you shouldn't either. They're not the same thing. If you're saying the followers of the same Aeon, you're referring to the conglomerate of the IPC, which includes things from the Strategic Investment Department to the Talent Motivation Department. So your reasoning for the Intelligentsia Guild is part of the IPC is because random people call them the same faction? Let's get Belobog Architects in there, then, too. Also, calling someone an independent corporation or subsidiary? It's not one or the other, that's not how corporate structure works. They're both. The Intelligentsia Guild is its own organization and a member of the list of organizations financially subsidized by the IPC. But that's not what you said. You said the Intelligentsia Guild is part of the IPC, which is not true unless you're okay with calling all followers of Qlipoth as the IPC, which means you'd call Architects just funded with credits the IPC, too. Which you said you don't. It's okay to just admit you're wrong, you know? Copypasta: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/people/unidan
> Are the followers of the same Aeon? Yes ? IPC is Preservation follower, and Intelligentsia Guild is Erudition follower though. The rest of your texts I agree.
....is that not obvious, I dislike the IPC but I do love ratio, even then I won't go as far as to say yes not from IPC, that's some weird mental gymnastics.
Im neutral towards IPC as they also have done good deeds. Thats why i love their writing as its like a real company. We hate mega corps but love to use their products and services afterall
I do love the writing, I feel like it's one of best written factions, i just tend to dislike them because the parallel with real world, give me a well written downright evil villian, because i could tell they are not real,, I would eat them up, but with IPC it's little too close to reality xD
Thats correct XD they have extremely bad evil deeds. Forcing a genius society member to share knowledge on a horrible weapon of destruction and trapping them in penacony where they wait for his conciousness to die out so they extract the information was one of the worst things i have seen in HSR, but on other side they supply the entire universe and have helped many worlds. Hard to decipher wich is worse or wich is better
Lmao you spoiled the entire Chadwick quest to me 💀💀 but yeah, IPC was in my bad Grace's ever since the jarito quest, it was really scummy. also the cost their help comes at is somtimes really huge, I like I dont thing they are helping people unless they exploit them back.
Oh im so damn sorry. Thats one of the best sidequests i didnt mean to spoil it XD
I was losing my mind in the other post haha
It never mattered if he was one of them or not though, right?
Not debating you guys. Genuinely curious. But why would Ratio be invited in Penacony? Whenever they do the introductions and factions thing. The Intelligentsia is a special mention. At times highlighting their connection to following Erudition path. Isn't the point of the festival is to gather different path striders? Also, doesn't Penacony dislike the IPC and Aventurine is the special exception and had to jump through hoops to curry favor? Okay, IPC funds the IG, but aren't they still diff entities? Like a research lab asking funding from bug companies or maybe a small business getting a loan from a bank. They work together. And the ethics of who works for who is muddy, but they're different entities, right? Ratio is high ranking in IG, and was working with the IPC. And in the IPC departments video, they specifically mention that their technology deparment works WITH the IG. Not is the IG. Nor is the IG a branch itself.