Emi Tanaka

Archetype: Creator

The brilliant scientist whose creation is weaponized

Emi Tanaka embodies the creator archetype - the brilliant mind who develops revolutionary technology - but subverts it by having her creation immediately stolen and weaponized. Her intellectual achievements make her a target rather than celebrated, highlighting how innovation in Horizon City serves corporate interests rather than humanity.

Known as "the mother of commercial cloning," Emi spent 33 years working her way through the ranks of Vatgrown International, starting in the consumable division with the Feed the Need initiative where she established hundreds of vat farms worldwide. After being promoted to research and development, she led the team that cracked the code for human cloning and memory "scatter gather" technology, which became the mainstay of Genetek Revival's most profitable product divisions.

Basic Information

• Full Name: Emi Tanaka
• Aliases: "The mother of commercial cloning"
• Occupation: Chief Biology Officer at Genetek Revival, Former executive at Vatgrown International
• Status: Deceased (assassinated by Akiko)

Physical Description

• Japanese woman
• Emerald green eyes
• Black hair typically worn in a power bun
• Wears designer suits and professional attire
• Has linguistics skillsoft (platinum studs behind ear)

Story Appearances

• Corpie: Develops Constant Cloning technology; presents it to Richard Johnson; is assassinated by Akiko

Connections

• Richard Johnson: Her superior at Genetek Revival; she presents her Constant Cloning technology to him
• Akiko Takahashi: Her assassin; kills her to obtain the Constant Cloning technology
• Kenji Fujita: Indirectly connected through the plot to steal her technology

Subversion of Archetype

Emi subverts the creator archetype in several key ways:

1. The Creator Who Loses Control: Develops revolutionary technology that is immediately stolen and weaponized.

2. The Brilliant Mind Reduced to a Target: Her intellectual achievements make her a target rather than celebrated.

3. The Immigrant Seeking Opportunity Who Finds Death: Moves to Horizon City for career advancement but meets her end there.

4. The Scientist Whose Ethics Are Irrelevant: Her careful development of technology is rendered meaningless by corporate greed.

Role in the Corporate Game

Emi functions as both asset and liability. Her brilliance creates valuable intellectual property for corporate interests, but her potential ethical concerns make her disposable once the technology is developed. Her assassination represents how individuals, no matter how brilliant, are expendable in the corporate system once they've served their purpose.

Notable Quotes

• "Only to the degree that you would remember what had happened, not how it actually felt. Like a simstim where they left in all the relevant bits, just like any other memory." - Explaining how Constant Cloning would work to Richard Johnson in Corpie
• "I think that's an excellent idea, Mr. Johnson! International sales would be a force multiplier." - Manipulating Johnson into thinking international sales was his idea in Corpie
• "It would eliminate the possibility of them because of the continuous nature. That's why it's called..." - Explaining how Constant Cloning would eliminate desynchronization problems in Corpie