Wings
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SPOILERS AHEAD |
| This article contains details that might spoil the story of Library Of Ruina. Unless you want to learn the secrets of the City, it would be best not to flip past this page any further. |
| “ | Singularities are manifested day after day. Everything changes in the blink of an eye. The Wings and the Head control this world, and now humanity cannot live without their constraints. | ” |
–Adam, Lobotomy Corporation Day 49 Story | ||
The Wings (날개, Nalgae), also known as the Wings of the World, are a group of the 26 largest, most powerful conglomerates in the City. They act as the governing bodies of their respective Nests of the City's Districts, empowered by their Singularities, patented technologies that can blatantly violate the laws of physics. The Wings are directly ruled by the Head, the Eye, and the Claw, the enigmatic supreme authority of the City. The Wings and their agents are among the major antagonistic factions in Library Of Ruina.
This page reflects the status of the Wings up to and as of Library Of Ruina.
Description
Overview
There are a total of 26 Wings, each of which has authority over a Nest in a District. However, the recent collapse of Lobotomy Corporation (L Corp.) means that its position is currently vacant and no official governance exists in its territory, Nest L.
The Wings directly oversee all facets of life in their Nests and generally leave their district's Backstreets to fend for themselves. However, the Wings still remain the highest authorities of their district, and will not hesitate to punish offenders who break the rules established in that district. For example, N Corp. uses specialized Fixers called Taboo Hunters to capture and/or kill any violators of the taboo of District 14, whether in the Backstreets or the Nest. Every District has some taboos, though it is uncertain whether each Wing treats taboo offenders the same way.[1]
Each Wing has its own cultural style and social structure which are reflected in how it governs its Nest, and the policies the Wing sets also determines the way of life in the District's Backstreets. Wings have differing degrees of presence, influence, and benevolence with regards to their Backstreets, although their relationship is ultimately exploitative, even for more cooperative Wings.[2][3] Security of borders between Nests and Backstreets also vary from plasma walls to mere chain fences, but the Wings' power is such that no one in the Backstreets dares to cross over into a Nest without express permission.[4]
The only entities in the City which rival the Wings are the Five Fingers, a group of the City's five most influential Syndicates, which not even they can readily interfere with. This is presumably also one of the reasons why the Wings generally neglect the Backstreets beyond setting and enforcing overall policies, as the Five Fingers have designated all the Backstreets in the City as their territory.[5]
A Wing's position comes from its Singularity and their ability to successfully use it for commercial purposes. As such, the Wings guard information about their Singularity with lethal force. They maintain patents on their Singularity and all related technologies to avoid losing their secrets to rival Wings, industry competitors, and any other interest groups.
Relations
Outside Relations
Feathers
| “ | A Wing will end up falling when it loses too many of its feathers, but it won’t bother to desperately protect all of its feathers since a feather or two will naturally grow back. They’re basically expendables. | ” |
Due to their prominence, joining a Wing and becoming a "feather" in their Nest is seen as the optimal path in life by the common residents of the City's Backstreets. Wings are viewed as sources of financial stability and security, as well as social refuge. However, even life under a Wing is not truly free, as the majority of Nest residents live in constant fear of producing insufficient results and being evicted from the Nest.[6] The Wings regularly tax their feathers (separately from the taxes the Head imposes on all residents of the City), and those who cannot pay their taxes are evicted as punishment.[7]
The process of entering a Wing is not simple, either. Wings use highly selective entrance exams which test applicants' mental prowess (but occasionally also other factors) to determine who will ultimately join its corporate machine.[8] Entire examinee towns exist in the City where applicants study for Wing entrance exams.[9]
Fixers and Syndicates
Although Wings generally have specialized departments to fulfill their necessary tasks, like the 
WARP Cleanup Crew of W Corp, Wings can also hire Fixers or other outside groups to work for them — an example being Vespa Crabro, a Taboo Hunter of N Corp. Offices, Associations, and even Syndicates can be hired by the Wings to perform tasks a Wing does not specialize in or does not want to be directly linked with. Being hired by a Wing is one of the top honors a group can receive, as it represents the Wing's willingness to place trust in that group. Wings also offer high payouts for any requests they deliver.[10][11][12]
The Head
- Main article: The Head
The Head leads the Wings and the acting supreme government of the entire City. The Head itself is not a Wing, but it directly runs A Corp. to handle administrative tasks like minting, patenting, and managing the powers of other Wings. Any groups, even Wings, which act against the Head's authority run the risk of being attacked and/or shut down by the Head.[13]
Much like how a Wing's feathers must pay taxes to their Wing, each Wing also has to pay taxes to the Head.[14]
The Eye
Main article: The Eye
The Eye is also not a Wing, but directly runs B Corp, through which it enforces the Head's rules on the Wings and the Singularities. Wings which disobey the Head's decrees can be stripped of their status and shut down under B Corp's regulations.[13][15]
The Claw
Main article: The Claw
Like the Head and the Eye, the Claw itself is not a Wing, but it directly runs C Corp.[13]
Relations between Wings
Competition
| “ | We live in turbulent times when Wings are destined to fall behind the market if they don't respond to patent disputes effectively, big or small! It's one of the reasons patent wars are that much important. | ” |
Due to the often highly specialized nature of their Singularities, most Wings will try to use multiple Singularities in order to operate effectively. This often involves purchasing technology from other Wings, which can be an extremely expensive task. Because of this, it is common for Wings to compete with each other and even resort to methods such as corporate espionage and theft.
It is common for Wings to get involved in lawsuits with each other over patent disputes, especially as a result of their constant efforts to get an edge over their rivals. These conflicts, where a Wing will pour as much of its resources as possible into protecting its Singularity, are known as patent wars. Often, these patent wars will eventually develop into physical warfare between the involved Wings. However, no matter whether the Wing manages to defend its Singularity or not, neither side will benefit in the end as they will have expended too much of their resources. The true winners will be the uninvolved spectators who get to make profits from the information revealed without the effort of participating in the "war."[16][17][18]
Collusion
At the same time, it is not uncommon for Wings to form partnerships and exchange supplies, personnel, and more, especially when a Wing's goods or services are not easily replicated or utilized by others. For example, L Corp. supplied energy to multiple other Wings, and had a particular relationship with two other Wings, W Corp and R Corp. R Corp. provided security for the Wings' Nests, W Corp. provided transportation services for its partners, and L Corp. supplied its partners with energy.[19]
Wings can even invest in other Wings to help them develop. For instance, L Corp. was directly responsible for T Corp's success by providing them with funding and energy to improve their Singularity. Through this, T Corp. was able to develop its second invention, and L Corp. was allowed to use it in the form of the TT2 Protocol.[20]
Wing Collapse
| “ | Ever heard of holdouts? When a Wing is broken, its Nest collapses and gradually turns into a slum akin to the Backstreets. | ” |
–Roland, Kurokumo Clan Episode 1, Pre-Battle | ||
In specific drastic circumstances, a Wing can end up "collapsing". Whether due to running afoul of the Head and being demolished as a result, suffering an incident with their Singularity and imploding, simply failing commercially, or other causes, the Wing's Nest will be thrown into chaos as the Wing tears itself apart. The Nest slowly becomes indistinguishable from the Backstreets as residents fend for themselves, with various Syndicates and other organizations rushing in to claim the Wing's holdings.
Eventually, a new Wing will rise to fill the gap left behind, and will be assigned the Nest by the Head. Once this happens, the new Wing will either buy the collapsed Nest from the holding Syndicate, or hire Fixers or other Syndicates to kick said holder out. The Nest will be slowly rebuilt under the new Wing's control, and life in the Nest will eventually return to normal. However, with the loss of their safety, the former feathers of the Nest generally do not have such a clean fate, and most will likely be forced to relocate, whether they try to find refuge in another Wing's Nest or simply join the population of the Backstreets.[10]
After a Wing collapses, its Singularity becomes publicly available, no longer protected under patent.
While there have been several Wing collapses in the City's history, the most recent collapse, that of Lobotomy Corporation, the L Corp of Nest L, is unprecedented. This is because L Corp's collapse was accompanied by the White Nights and Dark Days, which impacted the entire City and not just its own Nest like other past collapses.[21]
List of known Wings
Current Wings
17 of the 26 Wings (25, taking into account the current empty seat due to L Corp's collapse) have been mentioned to some degree. This list reflects all known information about the Wings as of the time that Library Of Ruina takes place.
| Wing | Description |
|---|---|
| A Corp. | Directly run by the Head. Manages all other Wings and handles Singularity and technology patents. Uses special agents referred to as 'Arbiters' to carry out its tasks.[22][13] |
| B Corp. | Directly run by the Eye. Regulates the Singularities of other Wings and monitors the City with an all-encompassing surveillance network to seek out tax offenders. Uses agents of the Head referred to as 'Beholders'.[23][15] |
| C Corp. | Directly run by the Claw. Uses military agents of the Head referred to as 'Claws' to eliminate threats as appointed by the Head, as well as punish culprits of tax evasion and patent infringement as delegated by the Eye.[22] |
| F Corp. | Its Singularity revolves around manufacturing Fairies, which have the ability to 'open' anything, whether it be in a literal or conceptual sense.[24][25] |
| G Corp. | Its Singularity revolves around spheres which can manipulate gravity.[24][26] |
| I Corp. | It was one of the major parties involved in the Smoke War.[27][28] |
| J Corp. | Its Singularity revolves around producing Locks, which keep anything 'locked', whether it be in a literal or conceptual sense. J Corp. is a casino corporation, and its Nest is known as a gambling haven; the Wing uses its Singularity to keep its assets secure.[24][29] |
| K Corp. | Owns District 11.[30] Their Singularity revolves around healing wounds and injuries (both physical and mental) quickly.[31] |
| M Corp. | Its Singularity revolves around the production of "moonlight stones", which protect their user from psychological attacks when worn.[32] |
| N Corp. | Owns District 14. It regulates the Backstreets of its District with certain restrictions known as "Taboos" and sends special Fixers called Taboo Hunters to track down violators of the Taboos.[1][30] |
| O Corp. | The "Balloon People" Distortion case resolved by Moses occurred in O Corp's Nest.[33] |
| P Corp. | Its Singularity is unknown but appears to be related to food and preservation; it is mentioned in the description of the Shelter from the 27th of March (an Abnormality in Lobotomy Corporation), which contains a large supply of nonperishable goods, and also produces large-sized tubs of ice cream.[34][35] |
| R Corp. | Markets itself as a private military company with some of the most elite combatants in the entire City. The true nature of R Corp's Singularity is cloning. Through the cloning process, thousands of clones of one individual are created from 'Hatcheries'. These clones fight for survival in a TT2-accelerated environment, in which the last clone standing becomes a soldier for R Corp.[36] |
| T Corp. | Its Singularity revolves around controlling time, mainly by locally speeding up or slowing down time, and was developed largely thanks to cooperation with L Corp.[20] TimeTrack "repackages" time collected from W Corp. for its Singularity.[37] |
| U Corp. | Creates stasis preservation boxes.[38] |
| V Corp. | 80,000 residents of its Nest are killed by the Distortion known as  The Crying Children, which leads the Wing to focus its attention on the Distortion Phenomenon.[11]
|
| W Corp. | Advertises its Singularity as WARP, or near-instantaneous teleportation for transportation purposes, no matter the distance. W Corp's actual Singularity is a "save point" which can restore anything back to its original condition as of the time of the save point, which they use together with teleportation technology.[37] |
Former Wings
Some former Wings are also known. With the exception of H Corp, L Corp, and the old L Corp, the names of all other Wings listed below are unofficial.
| Wing | Description |
|---|---|
| H Corp. | The former H Corp. and its Nest was destroyed by the Arbiter Garion before her raid on the Seed of Light Project research facility. The presence of 26 Wings in the City implies that a new H Corp. has taken its place. |
| L Corp. | The most recent Wing to collapse (such that cityfolk still refer to 26 Wings rather than 25), Lobotomy Corp. operated as an energy supplier with a Singularity allowing for sustainable energy production. The true nature of its Singularity is the power to manifest the human subconscious in physical form, allowing for the creation of Abnormalities, from which said energy was extracted. The secret research project the corporation was built to accomplish, with the goal of curing the ills of the human mind, led to L Corp's collapse and the advent of the White Nights and Dark Days.[39][40] |
| Previous L Corp. | Not to be confused with Lobotomy Corp, the previous L Corp. was also an energy supplier, but was widely unpopular amongst cityfolk and the other Wings for charging high prices and causing pollution in the form of smoke. Through a series of manipulations, Ayin and Benjamin caused the Smoke War, which led to this Wing's collapse and allowed Lobotomy Corp. to take its place.[25][41] |
| Teleportation Wing | WARP Corp's teleportation tech, which allows for the creation of spatial rifts between dimensions, comes from this obscure fallen Wing, which collapsed because it was unable to find a commercial application for its Singularity.[42] |
| Tattoo Wing | This Wing created and patented augmentation tattoos. It eventually collapsed, and its patent expired. Afterwards, augmentation tattoos became some of the most common body augment procedures in the City.[43] |
| Human Silk Wing | This Wing created technology which could turn humans into high-quality silk for use in making fabric. After it collapsed, the technology patent expired. Currently,  The Carnival uses this technology to operate as Tailors.[44]
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Gallery
The City map drawn by Ezra in The Distortion Detective
Official map of the City from Limbus Company, displaying 25 Nests.
Trivia
- According to Kalo in his Key Page Story, under the hierarchy of
The Thumb, a board member of a Wing is equal in status to a Thumb Sottocapo. - Although not all Wings are named thus far, the 26 Wings appear to have an alphabetical name theme, with the number of the District they control corresponding to the position of their naming letter in the English alphabet.
- Despite there being 26 Wings, no corresponding "District 26" or "Nest Z" have appeared or been mentioned so far in any capacity.
- The concept of countries does not exist in the City. However, each district in the City is comparable to a country, while the Wing which controls it is analogous to that country's government.[45] Additionally, each district has its own norms, ethics, and culture in general.
See also
- Wings on the Limbus Company wiki
References
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