Group #: GOI-1115, "Anderson Robotics"
Membership: ~200 Employees Worldwide
Resources: (USD) $750 million annually, anomalous capability
Status: Active
Anderson Robotics trade logo, circa 1998.
Description: Anderson Robotics is a paratech firm specializing in the sale of anomalous robots, androids, artificial intelligence, computer programs, and cybernetics. While it is believed that Anderson Robotics has been in operation since the 1990s, the firm first came to the Foundation's attention in 2007, after the capture of SCP-1360 during a raid on a paratech trafficking warehouse in Seattle. Since this initial contact, Anderson Robotics has been recognized as the foremost dealer of robotics paratechnology.
Anderson Robotics trade logo, circa 2014.
While Anderson Robotics has achieved a worldwide presence, especially following its 2014 distribution partnership with Marshall, Carter, and Dark Ltd, its current base of operations is the continental United States, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. Major production, distribution, and administrative facilities have been uncovered in Oregon, Washington, and California, with recent expansions into New Mexico, Arizona, and Louisiana.
Multiple SCP objects have been attributed to this group since its discovery. Personnel may reference items indexed under "anderson" for a complete list.
Current investigations into the internal framework of Anderson Robotics by MTF Gamma-13 has uncovered that the primary administrative core of the firm consists of a board of six individuals listed below:
- Vincent Anderson: Chief Executive Officer. Type Blue Anomalous Humanoid.
- Albert “Phineas” Frostman: Chief Operating Officer. Type Blue Anomalous Humanoid.
- Dr. Medea Contos: Co-Head of Research and Development.
- Jason Contos: Co-Head of Research and Development.
- Dr. Jeffery Wilson: Head of Advanced Logic Division.
- Isaac Dillard: Executive Officer.
Attempts to apprehend the above individuals have been hampered by the organization's remarkable espionage abilities, anomalous nature of their facilities, and strong support from external Groups of Interest.
At this point, you may or may not desire to write your very own Anderson Robotics tale, article, or GoI format. For those of you in the former category, below are several odds and ends to consider in your writing to give your work that trademarked AR feel. For those in the latter category, you might still find the following points interesting. These are of course merely suggestions. If you have a neat/nifty direction you want to take this GoI that breaks from the following, more power to you.
The Dream of the 90's…
Anderson Robotics officially was founded in 1994 after Vincent Anderson and Albert "Phineas" Frostman created the company in Portland, OR. This, of course, implies that AR articles take place after this time. There was, of course, events that happened before this founding, but generally, you should be shooting for 1994 or later.
Location, Location, Location
Founded in Portland, Oregon, Anderson Robotics tales and articles have a tendency to take place on the West Coast, specifically the Pacific Northwest. There are exceptions, of course. SCP-2987 is currently the most popular AR article, and it takes place in the deep south, and the hub does state that the company has begun to spread to New Mexico, and Arizona.
A Thing For Falcons
A running joke within the Anderson Robotics GoI is that all their products are named after various species of Falcons. There is no real reason for this, but it has stuck to a degree, so you may or may not want to keep up the naming scheme. Then again, there is always room to break the mold…
Where Magic and Science Merge
A big part of Anderson Robotic's business model is that their products combine magic and technology into a seamless whole. Both of the company's co-founders have been shown to be skilled thaumaturges and in the tale Ties That Bind, Vincent Anderson described the process of creating the AIs for his drones and robots as:
In the same sense that the soul pilots the meat ship that is the human body, I created a simple intelligence to pilot the circuits of this little guy.
Feel free to include both sides of the magic and technological coin in your writing, but remember that branding something as cutting-edge technology tends to win a wider audience than branding it as cutting-edge magic.
That Small Company Feel
As stated earlier in this hub, Anderson Robotics only has a few hundred employees at most, making it a smaller company than a massive software giant or computer manufacturer. This makes the company rather nimble, but the smaller manpower also makes them vulnerable.
You've Got A Friend In Me
As with other GoIs, Anderson Robotics has its friends and enemies among the anomalous community. They tend to be on friendly terms with the Maxwellists, who purchase their cybernetics and AI tech for their own goals, as well as MC&D, who uses Anderson as a supplier of androids and drones for its members (though a small faction of AR employees dislike this partnership). Additionally, after the collapse of Prometheus Labs, many of their scientists jumped ship to work at the then-fledgling startup. The rest of the GoIs not dedicated to normalcy preservation tend to hold neutral views of Anderson Robotics (so far), treating the firm as any other anomalous merchant group. It is only the SCP Foundation who currently is actively hostile towards AR products and personnel. However, alliances rise and fall, and the world of GoI politics does change rapidly…
Retaliation, Not Aggression
A theme of all of Anderson's Robotics actions against the SCP Foundation is that they have always been in retaliation, and usually with the goal of recovering apprehended employees or captured products. After all, there is little money in attacking the Foundation unprovoked, and a direct fight with the SCPF is one that AR would lose. Badly.