BY LETTER
Adriana Yue Oncehuman
Hyperwealthy posthuman upload multi-corporate shareholder and culture hero |
 Image from Anders Sandberg |
Adriana Yue Johannisdottir was born 1023 a.t. in Tomyris Biosphere. Her mother Johannis Zhou Kelmary was biosphere manager and a noted applied theologician. Her father, Harld Chen Staffordson, was one of the earliest nanodefense entrepreneurs of the first federation, building a fortune from the defence and surveillance contracts needed to implement the various blue goo defenses required by the fledging interplanetary economy. When he died in 1051 AT she inherited a sizeable trust fund, managed by competent corporate AIs. Over the next 250 years (1050-1300 AT) her life was fairly typical of the nonworking rich of the era. When her body deteriorated in 1190 AT due to an ill-advised free air mountain trek on Mars, she had her mind transferred into software.
Beginning around 1300 AT, Adriana began to extend herself and her skillset. According to her autobiography it was likely due to an accident of some regular personality upgrades that she gained ambition, although persistent rumors at the time implied hacking from AI interests. She began to take on a more active position in managing her trust, investing in terraforming and other long-range investments. She became a minority shareholder of Cygnus Expansion Association (Cygexpa), although she remained in the solar system until 2360 AT when she left for Pardes. She was married to a copy of Erikk Holsta during 2211-2218 AT, and the experience apparently convinced her to invest outside Holsta Corporation (which benefited her significantly during the Copy War crash).
Over the next 2000 years Adriana remained a low-profile shareholder of Cygexpa, apparently spending much time travelling the Cygexpa network and investing in various colonial ventures. She was among the backers of the Danyello M'lund Cluster and the Yoson Confederacy, as well as a major supporter of the continued push towards the Cygnus nebulae. Of her personal life very little is known, although she appears to have been an Etodist during 2500-3000 AT and at least a copy of her participated in the Crian exfoliation attempt at 4122 AT.
During the Integration, she became much more active in interstellar politics, attempting to form a strong alliance with the NoCoZo, FAS and MPA. When this failed she retreated to internal Cygexpa politics and the handling of the Version War problems. It was during this time her position began to diverge from the other shareholders, especially the Adapawe Clan. She promoted a cautious policy, preferring to yield to the invaders rather than squander corporate resources on military actions with little chance of succeeding. Her brief alliance with the Zoeific Biopolity during the Month of Disagreement in 5494 AT made her the permanent enmity of the Adapawe while it ensured her the vote on the crucial new topology program. She gained an even more significant political clout with the Aeoina planning collapse in 5983 AT when high level entities defected to her fraction, making it the largest shareholder fraction on the Holy Board. At that point the Adapawe and their Veiler allies began a constant war of bureaucracy against her, hoping to rein her in. She responded in turn, and over the next centuries the conflict both escalated and re-appeared in a large number of guises among local politics across Cygexpa. Mediation by Lohengrin failed, and the instability contributed to the loss of imperial efficiency that made it decide to sell off the empire.
The great Cygexpa sell-off made her the single richest known individual being. She retained control over some clusters, and bought the colony contract of Pardes. In addition she owns part of the Hosoko Posthegemonic Management Network, controlling interests in several post-Cygexpa wormhole development corporations as well as extensive Inner Sphere investments. She has continued her program of cautious but efficient expansion, exploiting the draw the suddenly free Cygexpa regions have on the Inner Sphere population.
Despite her age and fame, relatively little is known about Adriana on a personal level. She is known to be extensively enhanced and amplified, possibly a third (some have suggested fourth) toposophic level entity. She has a large staff of experienced AI and alife advisors/subroutines she can link mentally to, and backup systems scattered across Cygexpa space. Her current physical residence appears to be Pardes - apparently she has refrained from extensive copying and merging after her marriage to Erikk Holsta. She is known to be ambitious, far-sighted but possibly limited in the same way as Lohengrin towards a single ambition rather than transcending her old goals. It has been suggested by personality analysts that she is not strictly striving for personal gain, but rather to demonstrate how far a "mere baseline" can come with sufficient personal ambition.
Her current name is due to the naming traditions of the Bakron media of New Mars, and apparently their name for her appealed to her enough that she began to use it herself.
References
Adriana Yue Oncehuman, Koranna and Back, Pardes Publishing, Pardes, 3633.
Hylares Benisolaka, Noble Shareholders of Cygexpa, Lochustra Band Experience, Cygnus Gate II, 5832.
Nemes Jenscan, Ulrix Simmerl & Yntw-482, Powers That Be: The Whole List, Johnumi Associates, New Mars, original ed. 7844; 215th revised ed. 10418.
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Development Notes
Text by Anders Sandberg
Initially published on 20 September 2001.
Initially published on 20 September 2001.
