Narrative Web
S15E14
· The Sun Makers Part 2

Hade and Collector agree on crushing measures

In the Collector’s austere office, Gatherer Hade maneuvers his fiscally minded superior toward ever greater repression. He frames rebellion not as a political threat but as a threat to productivity, persuading the Collector to approve a five percent tax hike and to deploy half a division of the Inner Retinue. The meeting climaxes with authorization to triple the daily PCM dosage across the work units, codifying state-sanctioned escalation. Hade’s honeyed servility masks his ambition while the Collector’s cold calculation reveals the Company’s devotion to profit over human life. This accord formalizes the machinery of control that will soon be unleashed on the Undercity, inadvertently sharpening the blade for the Doctor’s escape and the rebellion’s next flare.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

3

Collector and Hade discuss the threat of the Ajack conspiracy and the need for increased manpower to suppress it.

calm to calculation

Hade suggests a five percent increase in protection tax to repay the Company, which Collector finds tempting.

calculation to temptation

Collector agrees to provide half a division of his Inner Retinue as additional manpower and orders a three percent increase in the daily PCM dosage.

temptation to decision

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
Hade
Gatherer
 primary

Feigned deference masking strategic triumph

Gatherer Hade maneuvers through the tense interview with honeyed servility and calculated precision. He deftly frames the Undercity rebellion as a cost to productivity and persuades the Collector to authorize increased coercion. His manipulative civility masks ambition as he calmly secures troops and a tripling of PCM dosage, while ending the meeting with ritualistic respect despite the harsh terms.

Goals in this moment
  • • Persuade the Collector to authorize increased coercive measures against rebels
  • • Secure additional manpower and chemical control to preempt rebellion
Active beliefs
  • • Suppression maintains productivity and profit
  • • Mercy toward rebels undermines Company authority
Character traits
manipulative servility strategic persuasion cold ambition hidden behind etiquette rhetorical flexibility
Follow Hade's journey
The Collector
primary

Externally composed, internally assessing compliance with fiscal targets

The Collector sits at the monolithic black desk in his austere office, responding to Hade with crisp, curt approvals and cold calculations. His eyes remain focused on fiscal outcomes, with no visible concern for the cost in lives. Giving a five percent tax hike and approving a half division of Inner Retinue, he coldly terminates the meeting when his approvals are granted, showing impatience at any hesitation.

Goals in this moment
  • • Recover fiscal losses caused by rebellion through tax hikes
  • • Maintain seven percent gross planetary product growth next fiscal period
Active beliefs
  • • Human welfare must be subservient to fiscal productivity
  • • Rebellion is a cost to be crushed, not a political grievance to be addressed
Character traits
authoritarian resolve coldly calculating fiscally myopic authoritative termination of discussion
Follow The Collector's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

1
Tripled PCM Dosage Authorization

The PCM dosage authorization is the climactic tool secured through Hade’s manipulation and the Collector’s approval. Rising from three to nine percent by volume, it transforms the corporate breath of the Undercity into a heavier sediment of control. The document, ink barely dry, becomes the operational directive for suppressing dissent under tomorrow’s work shifts.

Before: Standard three percent PCM dosage pumped through the …
After: Tripled to nine percent, operational immediately as per …
Before: Standard three percent PCM dosage pumped through the Undercity ventilation system
After: Tripled to nine percent, operational immediately as per Collector’s decree

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Collector's Office

The Collector’s Office functions as the institutional chamber where fiscal terror is formalized into policy. Its austerity reinforces hierarchy, muffling dissent with carpeted silence while the vast window exposes the mechanical sprawl of Company power. Within its cold geometry, humanity is priced, and life is discounted—where rebellion is not a moral question but a rentability problem.

Atmosphere Oppressively formal and silent, with a metallic chill of artificial control
Function Temple of fiscal authority where policy is signed into oppressive life
Symbolism Embodiment of institutional power where profit eclipses human dignity
Access Restricted to senior staff only, enforced by aura of authority
Monolithic black desk gleaming under harsh artificial light Thick carpet muffling footsteps but not dissent

Organizations Involved

Institutional presence and influence

2
Pluto Corporate Authority

The Pluto Corporate Authority’s presence is felt through the meeting as its policy of fiscal dominance is enacted. The Collector, as its apex enforcer of profit, authorizes Hade’s requested escalations to recover losses and crush dissent. The organization’s goals—growth at seven percent, suppression at all costs—are codified in tax hikes and troop deployments, embedding cruelty into fiscal regimen.

Representation Through the Collector issuing policy directives and Hade requesting enforcement measures
Power Dynamics Exercising absolute authority over fiscal and social control, with unrest crushed to preserve productivity
Impact Transforms rebellion into a line item on a balance sheet, where suffering is depreciated and …
Recover fiscal losses caused by Undercity rebellion through tax hikes and coercive labor Maintain seven percent gross planetary product growth despite unrest Fiscal policy deployed as weapon of suppression Deployment of armed Inner Retinue as coercive force
Inner Retinue

The Inner Retinue is activated through half a division being allocated to Hade’s command, deploying as an elite coercive force under crisis conditions. Their presence symbolizes the Company’s readiness to neutralize dissent before rebellion propagates. As the Collector’s direct enforcement arm, they are dispatched not for justice but for suppression, embodying the living edge of fiscal tyranny.

Representation Through the authorization of half a division as rapid-response enforcement against rebels
Power Dynamics Operating under direct order of senior management to crush rebellion and preserve productivity
Impact Translates fiscal policy into immediate violence, weaponizing Company doctrine against citizens
Crush anti-Company agents before harm is done to productivity Suppress insurrectionary situations across work units Deploy armed units for lethal neutralization of targets Implement militarized tactics to funnel dissent into kill zones

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What this causes 2
Escalation

"Hade's suggestion of a five percent tax increase and the Collector's agreement to deploy elite forces (beat_f09a246cdf667211) escalates the Company's aggressive stance, which is later echoed in Hade's 'Morton's Fork' plan to eradicate the Undercity rebels (beat_ff535d420c194343)."

Hade unveils Morton's Fork strategy
S15E14 · The Sun Makers Part 2
Escalation

"The Collector's authorization of increased PCM dosage and elite forces (beat_9b84f3e323dd66ce) exacerbates the threat to dissidents, which Cordo reports to Leela, intensifying the urgency of their mission to rescue the Doctor (beat_d4b5eac4e974a6fe)."

Rebels rally after Doctor captured by Company
S15E14 · The Sun Makers Part 2

Key Dialogue

"HADE: Your Pinnacle, a five percent increase in protection tax would repay the Company, its name be praised."
"COLLECTOR: Good thinking, Hade. You tempt me."
"HADE: Also increase the daily PCM dosage three percent by volume as of now."