Shinra Electric Power Company

Shinra

The Shinra Electric Power Company (神羅電気動力株式会社, Shinra Denki Dōryoku Kabushiki-gaisha), or simply the Shinra Company (神羅カンパニー, Shinra Kanpanī) was a powerful mega-corporation which controlled most of the world in the Square-Enix video game Final Fantasy VII until the Company collapsed during the events of the game. It now operates on a much smaller level but is still very important to World Events. Shinra is named after the family that runs the corporation. In Japanese materials pertaining to the original Final Fantasy VII, the company's name is parsed "Shin-Ra", though this parsing has not appeared in any English localizations and has been disused in Japan.

"Shinra" is written with the Japanese kanji 神羅. This does not appear to be an actual Japanese surname, although its on-reading is the same as many others. The individual kanji mean "god"/"divine" and "snare"/"net"/"silk". The "Ra" is also often used to represent Rome. Exactly why this name was chosen and what it might imply are matters of some discussion among fans. One theory is that since the Japanese word "shin" can also mean "new" (although it is then not written with the same kanji as the "shin" in "Shin-ra"), the name of Shinra when spoken could be interpreted as "New Rome", and this would indeed fit the Shinra company and the family's aspirations. Additionally the kanji can be read as shin (god) ra (light, gauzy silk) which seems to convey the properties of the lifestream (i.e. "Shinra Electric Power Company").

Overview

Originally a small weapons development company, Shinra grew into a multi-conglomerate and de facto world government when it became responsible for developing mako. Mako Energy is created through the process of extracting a green ethereal substance called "Spirit Energy" from the Lifestream and out of the Planet via mako reactors where it is then condensed into a liquid and processed into a source of fuel and electrical energy.

During an international war that lasted several years, Shinra Works perfected the means of manufacturing mako and its byproduct materia, small spheres that allow their wielders access to magical abilities. Investing in the marketing of this substance and the mass-production of a line of elite military units called "SOLDIER" (individuals showered in mako and injected with the cells of the alien being Jenova), Shinra quickly brought the war to an end, and in the postwar era, gained control over the world due to the people's ever-growing dependency on Shinra's Mako Energy and materia as a source of electricity and power. Reaping incredible profits from the development — and monopolization — of these technologies, they proceeded to build the city of Midgar on the Eastern Continent, which became their capital. As the siphoning of Spirit Energy and the process of condensing it into Mako Energy within reactors is highly expensive, the greedy and ruthless President Shinra began searching for the fabled Promised Land, a place he believed to be abundant in naturally-rising mako, where a new city called "Neo-Midgar" could be constructed. The naturally-rising Mako Energy would eliminate the need for costly reactors.

Despite being classified as a corporation, during Shinra's height it operated more like a government than a typical company, as it has a standing military with various specialized operatives, and local politicians — such as Domino, the mayor of Midgar — were housed as employees within Shinra Headquarters, in the very center of Midgar.

Shinra was comprised of several departments: Urban Development (headed by Reeve Tuesti); Public Safety Maintenance (headed by Heidegger); Weapons Development (headed by Scarlet); Science (headed by Professor Hojo); and Space Exploration (headed by Palmer).

However, Heidegger, Scarlet and Hojo were all killed, and their respective departments collapsed with their demises. Palmer's department was also deemed obsolete, as Shinra abandoned its space exploration programs.

Shinra owned and operated the city of Midgar, the city of Junon and its accompanied military base, the rebuilt city of Nibelheim and the various mako reactors scattered around the world of Final Fantasy VII. They also financed the building and operation of the Gold Saucer, a combined amusement park-casino entertainment complex. The mako reactors that appear in the game's story are the 8 mako reactors around Midgar, the Mt. Nibel reactor, the Corel reactor, the Gongaga reactor, the undersea reactor at Junon and the Fort Condor reactor. The Fort Condor reactor was no longer in operation by the time the story begins, and the Gongaga reactor suffered a meltdown sometime prior to the beginning of the game, suspending operations there. During the story, reactors 1 and 5 in Midgar are destroyed by AVALANCHE, but reactor 5 is later repaired.

Two years after the Meteor Crisis and the collapse of Shinra, Inc, President Rufus Shinra and the The Turks began investigating the aftermath of Sephiroth. Rufus, who had resurfaced since his apparent death two years earlier, is intent on rebuilding Shinra but also in repaying his debt to the planet.

Leadership

File:ShinraHierarch43y3.jpg

A chart detailing the hierarchy of the Shinra Company

Shinra's leadership changes at several points in the plot of Final Fantasy VII. The first leader seen is President Shinra who used Shinra's vast reserves of money to maintain control, but after being murdered by Sephiroth, he is succeeded by his son Rufus Shinra, who had served as vice-president until that time. As President, Rufus was even more ruthless, preferring to rule through fear rather than money. Rufus himself is then incapacitated late in the story, engulfed in an explosion at the Shinra headquarters.

Temporarily without a leader to control the company, the Head of Public Relations Heidegger and Head of Weapons Development Scarlet took control of Shinra Inc. Their first act was to "arrest" Executive Reeve Tuesti and deploy their super weapon, the Proud-Clod to put down the resistance group AVALANCHE. However an encounter with AVALANCHE lead to both Heidegger and Scarlet's demise. Shinra was left without a leader and doomed, as pointed out by the Turks, who also encountered AVALANCHE, as they fled Midgar.

However, it was revealed in Final Fantasy VII Advent Children that Rufus survived his ordeal and has the intentions of restoring his company and undoing the damage it caused to the Planet. He is still followed by four members of the Turks (Reno, Rude, Elena, and Tseng), all of whom are very loyal to him.

Shinra Departments

Public Safety Maintenance

The Department of Public Safety Maintenance is Shinra's own military, led by Heidegger. It consisted of units of various ranks, as well as advanced robotics and hover technology, and is charged with maintaining order and policing the city of Midgar, Junon, and other towns.

The SOLDIER department was originally a separate branch until it was merged with the Department of Public Safety Maintenance by Heidegger, after he was granted control over the unit from Lazard. Its members were specially trained and elite fighters selected for use during the Wutai War. The unit is divided into Third, Second, and First Class of ascending skills. Both Sephiroth and Zack Fair were First Class members of SOLDIER before the Nibelheim incident.

Urban Development

The Department of Urban Development is under Reeve Tuesti. Shinra's main interest was in itself and profits; as such, the Department of Urban Development held little regard for the masses. It built large sprawling cities which encroached on the lives of the general public. Midgar the 'plate', which served as the upper-half of the city, was home to Shinra and its many employees as well as richer citizens of Midgar. Beneath the plate, people lived in squalid conditions and received little help from the Department of Urban Development.

In Junon, Shinra built its large naval and air base above the already present village in a similar style to Midgar. The military facility generated hate for the Company in the village and drove the fishing industry, the village's main source of income, under. In both cases, Midgar and Junon, the residents found themselves relying even more on Shinra which explained the Department's motives for their "unfriendly" approach to urban development.

Weapons Development

Shinra's vast corporate empire was maintained by an equally large military. However, it was the job of Weapons Development under Scarlet to create and manufacture new technological advancements to aid Shinra's forces. The department was behind the creation of Shinra's roboguards, the Junon Mako Gun named "Sister Ray" and during the Meteor Crisis they devised the plan to use Huge Materia to destroy the meteor.

During the Wutai War Shinra relied on the latest of initiative technology to give it a lead in the fighting. This was the charge of the Weapons Development Department which used the power of Mako to create powerful weapons to help the company in its war. After the War, Shinra was more concerned with maintaining its newfound power and security over its cities. The Department created strong robots to defend its interests as well as guns and grenades to arm its soldiers.

During the Meteor Crisis the Department tried various methods to find a weapon to defeat Sephiroth. One weapon was the Huge Materia, which when loaded into a rocket acted as a devastating missile. However, the Huge Materia was unable to stop Meteor and Shinra instead decided to use Scarlet’s pet project the Sister Ray to attack Sephiroth himself. This was, unlike the Huge Materia, a mildly successful attempt.

Science and Research

Shinra had a large Science program under Professor Hojo which dealt with research into the Cetra, Mako Energy, bio-chemistry and genetics. The department was also in charge of the Jenova Project which was used to create the "perfect" soldiers.

President Shinra was always interested in the Cetra. This was an interest he shared with the scientists Professors Hojo and Gast of Shinra’s Science Department. Gast led the research into the Cetra and discovered the ancient life being Jenova. The Jenova Project was designed not only to find the Promised Land but also to use Jenova Cells to create powerful soldiers for Shinra Inc. However, after Gast's death, the research and use of Jenova was carried on by Professor Hojo who would later be responsible for Sephiroth and the modern SOLDIERs.

Space Exploration

In the past, Shinra had held aspirations to explore space. From these aspirations, a rather important department under the leadership of Palmer was formed. However the department was not fit for its purpose and under the incompetent Palmer it failed to achieve anything. President Shinra later abandoned his plans for space exploration and the department became defunct, under funded and mostly ignored.

However, the department was responsible for the creation of Rocket Town and as such Palmer plays an important part in Shinra’s relations with it. When President Rufus visited the town in order to acquire Cid’s Tiny Bronco, Palmer accompanied him and later got in a fight with AVALANCHE. Eventually, Shinra launched a rocket into space, although this was an attempt to stop Meteor rather than an to fulfill its aspiration to explore space.

General Affairs

Main article: Turks

The General Affairs Department seemed to have been incorporated with the Department of Public Safety Maintenance by Heidegger after he seized control of the department from Verdot.

The "Investigation Division of the Department of General Affairs", better known as the Turks, is Shinra's special security force, under Tseng. They performed covert operations on behalf of the company, including espionage, kidnappings and assassinations. They also acted as scouts for potential candidates for Shinra's elite military unit, SOLDIER, and serve as bodyguards for the Shinra executives.

Shinra technology

Mako technology

See also: Gaia (Final Fantasy VII) § Mako as an energy source

Mako serves as Shinra's main source of profit, as well as the basis for many of their weapons and inventions. Mako is the condensed form of Spirit Energy and the primary source of electrical energy used by human beings throughout the world. It is similar to radioactive materials in that prolonged exposure can lead to genetic mutation, cognitive disability and even death. Individuals who have had prolonged exposure to mako are identified by a glow in their eyes, referred to as "mako eyes." All members of SOLDIER bear this distinguishing feature, and, as such, it is considered to be a "mark of SOLDIER."

Mako was one of the two main components in biologically enhancing members of SOLDIER (examples of individuals enhanced with mako include Zack Fair, Cloud Strife and Sephiroth), and its by-product, materia, was a valuable source of income for Shinra, as well as a powerful source of weaponry, used by both the Turks and SOLDIER. It was also used in a series of horrific experiments by Professors Gast and Hojo on living people. SOLDIERs are not only infused with mako, however. They are also injected with Jenova cells. Jenova's cells together with mako gives them far greater strength and cognitive ability than ordinary humans possess, provided they are mentally strong enough to handle the mako infusion process without suffering from mako poisoning. The Turks have as one of their tasks the duty of scouting for capable candidates for SOLDIER.

Combined with powerful computer technology Mako can be used to create powerful and efficient robotic soldiers. This is something the Shinra Company has taken advantage of and has created various types of guard from robotic-mako technology, such as the Scorpion Guard and Proud-Clod.

Junon Cannon/Sister Ray

File:Junonmc.jpg

The Sister Ray at Junon Harbor

The Shinra naval and air base over the fishing town of Junon was equipped with an enormous artillery cannon (which was longer than the town itself) aimed out over the sea. It fired massive mako-enhanced artillery shells of extraordinary range and destructive power, as seen when the cannon destroys the Sapphire WEAPON with a single shot, when the WEAPON attacks Junon. After the destruction of the Sapphire WEAPON, it was rendered useless by the removal of Junon's huge materia, and was moved to Midgar, where it could be powered by the combined output of the city's eight mako reactors.

In its new form, the cannon was fired only once in attempt to destroy the energy barrier Sephiroth had erected around the Northern Crater, the recoil from the blast was strong enough to break all of the windows in the Shinra Tower, and the blast itself was strong enough to destroy both the Diamond WEAPON (which the beam passed through as if it weren't there) and the energy barrier that was its target. Later, AVALANCHE infiltrated Midgar and disabled the Sister Ray to prevent an overload incited by Professor Hojo, Head of Shinra's Science Department, which could have destroyed the entire city.

In Advent Children, set two years after the end of Final Fantasy VII, the Sister Ray still stands, though it has fallen into decay along with the rest of the city.

The matter of the cannon's name has led to some confusion. Though Scarlet 'names' the cannon the Sister Ray after it is transferred to Midgar, it is nevertheless seen to already bear this name on its barrel before the move. This may possibly be an error within the original script, or a result of one of many mistranslations present in the game (or she may have "suggested" the name to Rufus after already taking the liberty of naming it such). The likely cause is, however, simply that the creators of the graphics and script were not working on the same page as is true quite often with games. Never in the script is it referred to as the Sister Ray, previously, but only in the graphical depictions of it.

External links

• Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω Translations FAQ - Translations from the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω