Ariel-Shijitzu Systems, Inc.

This report has been filed by Senor Barnett, Agency 13's rough 'n tumble investigator extraordinaire! Despite the fact that he suffers from slight problems with inanimate objects, he was more than willing to look into the Ariel-Shijitzu corporation, since evidence has surfaced that seems to indicate that this company isn't quite on the up-and-up; or, at the very least, it's American branch isn't. - Mike 013.

Great. Yet another high-tech gig. You'd think, after all the trouble I've had with this junk in the past, Mike 013'd try to at least gimme a nice job looking into freak-o cultists for once. But no, 'check out these Shijitzu jerks', he says. That's all I need, from what I've heard about these folks at the coffee table. But I guess I oughtta get this over with, so I can go talk to my head-shrinker.

As far as most legal records are concerned, the Ariel-Shijitzu company was founded in the late forties, by one Max Ariel. This egg-head was really into Asimov as a kid, and got himself through college with his parents' help. He got out of college with a Masters degree in electronics tech, and started working on making his fantasies about bringin' robots to life.

With this in mind, he formed American Robotechnics, a small company out of Jersey that became well-known for it's innovative electromechanical equipment. In fact, a lot of ol' Max's gear became industry standards. While he made cash in these areas, though, he worked in private on making humanoid machines: robots. Sure, they were real primitive by today's electronic standards, but they almost worked.

The problem was just that these machines had no onboard logic or anything; all of that was controlled via twenty pounds of cable between the robot and Ariel's control panel. He fixed this some with the invention of the transistor, but still, he just couldn't make the things independent enough to be considered, well, independent. Max was still a very rich guy, though, and so he wasn't too worried about this.

This is true. While staking out the so-called Accountant, a vampire working for Ariel-Shijitzu, we had to break into the A-S building, and we found a sample of these vintage age robots on the twenty-fourth floor, as a sort of memento set up by Roy Shijitzu himself. Roy apparently modelled his current robotic designs off of Max Ariel's ancient research. - Agent Deathmonger.

Being a rather wealthy bachelor, though, ol' Max eventually wound up getting himself hitched, and over time put his robotic dreams on the back burner. His new wife, Onika Shijitzu, knew a little bit about electronics as well, and helped to make the company even more profitable. As such, in late '80, the old man renamed the company Ariel-Shijitzu Systems, in deference to his significant other's electo-genius.

Unfortunately for Max, though, he met his untimely end in a freak lab accident three years later, which nobody has since been able to figure out. Somehow, when touring the new Pleasantview facilities, he got caught in a freak activation of one of the company's new robotic assemblers, and chewed up real good. Since he was gone, the company passed to Onika and her and Max's kids.

They quickly expanded the company into an international operation, with each sibling taking over one national branch of the company. Most of these branches are simply robotic assembly plants, though the facility in Pleasantview, New Jersey, is where all of A-S's research and development takes place. And the little wacko behind this operation is one Roy Shijitzu.

Now this little deviant's just like his father. He's really into robots, but he's also into Asian mysticism and physical fitness as well. The man has his employees doing daily workouts, meditative time-outs (though not very many folks actually meditate during these periods), and offers lectures every other Tuesday to those that care about his experiences in the Far East.

What he doesn't tell folks about is that he also spent several years with an ancient order of monks that trained him in powerful telepathic disciplines. If any of his employees knew this, they'd have kittens, as the man actively uses his powers to monitor the minds of his flunkies, as well as ID any folks sent to spy on or infiltrate his corporate structure.

I found this out by wandering around in his lab, and stumbling onto this talking robot. A big, nine-foot tall bugger it was, and it was all chromed out and bedecked with powerful weaponry. The tricky thing was that this monster wasn't just a mindless machine; it was alive. Roy apparently made the thing truly sentient with the addition of something he calls a neuropathic processor.

This has been confirmed. On a totally unrelated investigation of the Direct Action Americans, I found files referring to one of their operatives coming into contact with and battling this robot, a sentient being called Mutilator 001. After the DAA's agent defeated this monster, she and her compatriots swiped it's neuropathic processor and took it home for study. - Mike 013.

Of course, this type of thing would only be built for combat applications, which really bugs me. However, this robot, despite it's inherently hostile exterior, was quite friendly, and told me just about everything I needed to know about Roy and his plans. For one thing, he wants to sell these robots, these Mutilators, to various world governments (or whoever can pay for them).

Of course, these machines, once in place around the world, would be subject to his control, because something in the neuropathic processor that makes these robots go is receptive to his telepathic powers. Using them, then, he wants to extort several governments into doing business solely with Ariel-Shijitzu, thus making him rich beyond his wildest dreams!

Armed with this knowledge, I went ahead and gave the entire facility the hairy eyeball, inspecting the main, twenty-six story complex, the three robotics plants, and the dozen or so warehouses that make up the Ariel-Shijitzu facility in Pleasantview. Lucky for us, however, this robot must be a first-of-a-kind, since everything else in the complex seemed to be on the up-and-up.

This leads me to believe that most of A-S's operation is legit. Maybe this whole robot thing is just Roy's idea, after all. A cursory look into the international facilities of the company might be in order, but I don't think it'll yield anything. Unless, of course, the family is just having Roy do all their dirty work here in the States, where less folks'd bat an eye at walking robots.

Well, less than in a country that didn't grow up on sci-fi movies, like, say, Tibet. Not that the company has any facilities there, of course, but you get the point. Now, if you or me saw a walking, heavily armed robot, we'd run for cover. But say some nosey kids run into the thing, they'd likely just say 'cool' and tell people that didn't believe them.

Especially in a town built around a robotics factory!

Not that I actually remember any of this. See, once Roy got wind of me, he apparently wiped my memory concerning him and his company. Luckily for us, he was rather arrogant, and didn't bother to check whether or not I had already sent my written reports in to the Agency. This managed to save the investigation, which is a good thing, since I don't wanna meet that robot a second time...

The following is a summary of the Ariel-Shijitzu personnel investigations that the Agency has performed to date. For reference, it would seem that the company is a veritable magnet for metahuman types, as the amount of exceptional folks emerging here is increasing steadily. What Roy intends to do with this enhanced work force remains to be seen. - Mike 013.

the Accountant: made an undead horror by the sorcerer Icthyon, George Zimmerman was reborn a vampire - though he didn't let that ruin his life. Using skills learned via accounting skullduggery, he began to carve out a little empire all his own...! Availability:

Psi-fox: young Roy Shijitzu initially rejected his family's high tech business, instead walking the earth to master his natural psionics. With that done, he's decided to use the company in a bid to prove his inherent superiority to his fellow man! Availability:

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