Project Corona
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| Project Corona | |
| Founder: Dr. Marian Shepherd | |
| Basics | |
| Side: | Heroes |
|---|---|
| Motto: | "In Many, We Are Strong" |
| Leader(s): | Dr. Madison Shepherd |
| Logo: | A round starburst |
| Group Colours: | Gold and Orange |
| Playerbase | |
| Levels: | Mostly 20-35 (all welcome) |
| Play style: | Regular, some more hardcore |
| Roleplay: | Required |
| Timezone(s): | Mostly GMT +10 and GMT -5 (all welcome) |
| Recruiting: | Yes |
| Contact: | @TalenLee or @Fox Lee |
| Prospective recruits can contact prefect Laurel for information and orientation. | |
Contents |
Premise
Project Corona was founded in 1999, and officially began conducting itself as a registered hero organization, but its actual roots lie several years back. Unlike many super groups that exploded onto the scene as a result of many supers gathering together under a new icon, the Project has been brewing as the brainchild of Dr. Marian Shepherd for more than thirty years.
The New Generation
Ultimately, a generation of children were being born in the 70s and 80s who were, in time, going to produce supers and metas. At the time, the Shepherd Foundation (founded 1975), as it was known at the time, was alert, keeping an eye on the youth.
Simply put, there was too great a potential for the young to develop into an environment without a strong moral grounding. Searching for those from poisonous environments - but taking in all sorts - the Foundation established itself as a boarding school and training facility, letting parents with potentially problematic children be assured that they were safe.
This was all of course, quite calculated; More than anything else, Dr Shepherd was afraid that a generation of politics would be defined by a dozen bad examples of metahumans. She wanted the opportunity to cultivate a team of people who would use their metahuman powers for good, to provide a sterling counterexample for what would eventually become a political firestorm as superhumans began to impact the world.
Market Forces
As Shepherd's base of students grew, she began to marshal together investors. People who were interested in supporting an apolitical movement that would, in theory, lead to a better chance for their businesses, and a PR bump that would allow these businesses to point at their contributions. The Shepherd Foundation was a charity organization at this stage that maintained an image of helping the destitute, funneling money into children's charities and coordinating educational efforts. This was all designed to give the charity a chance to winnow through student populations to find potentially troubled youth with the potential for emergent powers. It was during this time that the doctor's daughter, Madison Shepherd, was completing her own training and became a renowned teacher and parapsychologist.
This time was when the organization was marshaling a power base, and becoming a recognized brand. Generating capital was an impressive feat, even with their altruistic motivations. However, it proved successful, and the Foundation merged through the 80s without incident, already having their schools set up the world over.
The Project
On April 14, 1999, Dr. Madison Shepherd formally signed the declaration of the foundation of Project Corona. At the time, the Project was still scattered - individual schools were still training their students as skilled users of their powers and ultimately heroes in their own rights, but there was no iconic Project Corona headliner, no true point of cohesion for the group. That changed after the Rikti Invasion. The project had already rallied to fight back the Invasion itself, but now it had a place to be. The Project quickly assembled a base within Paragon City, establishing the building known as The Quad, by the Galaxy City park. Interdimensional anchors were set up, and the Quad was tucked away in another realm, a perpetually sunny day (except when inclement weather was needed).
Dr. Marian Shepherd, now in her sixties, passed the work on to her daughter, Madison, who was now the commander and Operator at the Quad. From there, Projects from around the world began to send their best and brightest students to Paragon, intent on answering Statesman's Call. Let the world react, it murmured, and let us be judged by our actions.
However, at the same time, Project Corona has the marketing company, Reubenson's, working with them. No sooner does a member of the Project achieve some renown than t-shirts and bumper stickers are rolled out. The Project wants to ensure its members are in the public mind as good examples, it wants to enforce a public perception of its members as heroes. This also serves to finance the Project.
It's a little odd, but as Dr. Madison Shepherd often points out, there is little that can be done; better to have the marketers inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in.
Curriculum
In addition to being an established Supergroup, Project Corona is also an actual school and college, with accredited adherence to the school curriculum. Students tend to have relaxed homework schedules, and the school is relatively progressive, with a focus on understanding and ethics rather than necessarily an exploration of hard test scores. Students are still graded based on test results, but because the classes are smaller, teachers are more able to focus on ensuring students understand their lessons and handle the information they're handed.
The overall effect is that in addition to being a Supergroup, Project Corona is probably one of the most effective and efficient schools in the nation. Students who graduate (even those who aren't super-intelligent) almost always demonstrate fine general knowledge and typically have stepping stones towards some professional career.
| - - Staff - | Project Corona | - The Quad - - |
| The Vanguard | ||
| Bec Querel | Black Caiman | Michiko Yamaguchi | Sahbra | Starbuster | Thermal Sink | ||
| Other Students and Associates | ||
| Acid Light | Backslide | Caer | Emblazoned | Gator Aide | Hyperbole | Jade Gargoyle | ||
| Junk Giant | Knight Rain | Kosava | Laurel | Max-Q | Moloch Tartarus | Prior | ||
| Quarter Note | Sabhail | Speedmetal | Silent Steel | Sortiarious | Steelcat | ||
