Hostile Takeover

From ManMachine

The Cartel had formalized the ritual of Hostile Takeover of one corporate entity by another. This ritual notoriously included cannibalism: the CEO of the "ingested" corporate entity is eaten by the dominating CEO.

The ritual included a grace period, during which the defeated CEO was given several hours to manage his estate and give farewells to friend and family.

The rules and rituals of Hostile Takeover were established in the aftermath of the Corporate Wars. Parts of the ritual were thought to have arisen from the unique genetic profile of the Business Class. To enhance competitiveness, a series of novel mutations were introduced into brain related genes. These tended to drastically increase rates of cancer (already epidemic due to lingering toxins from the Corporate Wars). To offset this, segments of Neanderthal DNA were incorporated into the genome of the Business Class. The motivational pull of cannibalism may be due to the effects of Neanderthal DNA transcription on the brain and behavior of the business class. The genetic alterations led eventually to the creation of a distinct species of man that was unable to create viable progeny when mated with homo sapiens.