Smoke War
“ | Though there was another reason to do something about that L Corp: It produced a massive amount of fumes. | ” |
The Smoke War (연기 전쟁, Yeongi jeonjaeng) was a large-scale conflict between multiple Wings and other organizations in the City. Masterminded by Ayin, Benjamin, and Dias, the war caused the collapse of the L Corp. which came before Lobotomy Corporation and allowed for the latter to be created.
History
Origins
After Carmen's suicide attempt and Garion's raid on the Seed of Light Project's laboratory in the Outskirts, Ayin and Benjamin were left as the project's only survivors. Before making the heavily wounded Garion into the first Sephirah, the two were able to extract knowledge from her that would enable them to become a Wing and continue their project without fear of reprisal. However, to do so, they would need to replace one of the 26 already existing Wings, and so Ayin and Benjamin began to look for a target.[1]
They soon found one in the old L Corp, which was also an energy company. L Corp. was widely unpopular for being stingy and charging high prices for its energy. Furthermore, it polluted the air with a thick smoke which covered much of its surroundings and was said to have strange effects (both physical and emotional) on those who came into contact with it:
“ | Some people would suddenly start wishing for the happiness of some others, and still others would spend most of their time staring off into space. What’s more, people had signs of sicknesses all over their bodies, and they started wandering around L Corp’s Nest. Was like they were returning to their hometown or something. | ” |
–Maxim's Page |
Many Wings and other organizations, not to mention everyday Cityfolk, were discontented with L Corp. but did not act, not wanting to start or get involved in a war.[2][3] To gain support, Benjamin recruited The Udjat via its leader Dias, who found that the war would be favorable for her own goals.[4] Shortly before the war began, Dias in turn recruited the Fourth Pack of
R Corp, promising that they would be spared from destruction at their parent corporation's hands if they fought against L Corp.[5]
Events
What started the war itself is unknown, but certain events during its course are known. The primary battleground of the war was L Corp's Nest. The war caused the entire City's skies to be filled with acrid smoke.
Fixers
K Corp, I Corp, R Corp, and possibly other Wings, sided against the old L Corp. and hired Fixers to combat their opponent, promising them large sums of money as well as Nest Migration Permits.[6] I Corp. hired the entirety of the Liu Association and ordered them to secure L Corp's Nest.[7] The old G Corp. is also known to have joined the war, organizing its employees into an army.[8] It is possible that E Corp. and F Corp. also took part in the war, and fought alongside the old G Corp. to defend old L Corp; however, this information comes from an alternate universe identity and thus its veracity is uncertain.[9]
Roland, not even a Grade 1 Fixer at the time, was attracted by the offer of free Nest migration and fought on the side against old L Corp as a mercenary, likely hired by K Corp. Near the war's end, he had amassed 23 kills before meeting Salvador, who was working as a mercenary for I Corp at the time. The two eventually come across the former L Corp's Singularity, the source of the smoke, which utterly disgusted them. Salvador remarks that the city will have their memories of the singularity removed, later proven to be a correct assumption. While no longer being able to clearly recollect what he saw, Roland retains the sickening knowledge that Singularities themselves operate on human pain and suffering, which leads him to further despise the citizens who benefit from them, himself included.[7]
The Udjat
As seen in The Distortion Detective, Dias used the Smoke War to eliminate her enemies. Moses, the Captain of the Udjat at the time, participated in these killings, suppressing her doubts to support Dias' will. However, these acts caused Moses to gradually lose her faith in Dias, and she realized Dias was merely using her and the rest of the Udjat as disposable tools. At some point during the war, Moses chose to quit the Udjat while in L Corp's Nest, vowing to bring her subordinates Ezra and Han Hee-joon out of the organization as well.[10][4] According to Hee-joon, Moses then went on a rampage which left only him and Ezra alive.[11]
Aftermath
Primarily, the old L Corp. collapsed and Lobotomy Corporation took its place, gaining control over District 12. This allowed the Seed of Light Project headed by Ayin and Benjamin to continue undeterred. This also solved the energy shortages and related unrest associated with the old L Corp; the smoke affecting the City dissipated with the end of the old L Corp's power generation processes. Meanwhile, the Fourth Pack's war efforts successfully spared it from destruction by R Corp, and they even made a contract with Lobotomy Corporation to act as security. Additionally, the old G Corp. collapsed following the war and was promptly replaced with the current G Corp. It is interesting to note that the old G Corp. possibly acquired the extreme amounts of energy from "byproducts of the smoke" that had prompted them to join the war in the first place, though this did not prevent it from collapsing sometime soon after the war.[9]
Additionally, Moses' actions during the Smoke War heavily guilted her and caused her to seek atonement by later establishing herself as the "Distortion Detective."
See also
- The Smoke War on the Limbus Company wiki.gg
References
- ↑ Lobotomy Corporation Binah Pre-Meltdown Story
- ↑ Maxim's Page
- ↑ A WARP Cleanup Agent's Page
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Distortion Detective chapter 37
- ↑ Nikolai's Page
- ↑ Chesed Episode V
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Binah Episode V
- ↑ Limbus Company Canto I: The Outcast
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 G Corp. Head Manager Outis' Identity Story in Limbus Company.
- ↑ The Distortion Detective chapter 36
- ↑ The Distortion Detective chapter 4