Syfy’s Incorporated understands most science fiction futures are built on technology. Some stories are about advances in technology and how they affect the world. Others build on the lack of technology (which is usually the result of the abuse of said tech). There are exceptions, of course, but the DNA of most science fiction is built on technology.
In Corp We Trust
If there’s a short and sweet way to describe Incorporated, think of it as Gattaca with a focus on technology instead of DNA. In this case, it’s not about your perfection as a physical specimen that grants you access to the upper echelons of society, but where you work. Corporate giant Spiga Biotech has become a sovereign entity within the United States. Spiga has its own rules, it’s own corporate army, and a very tight reign on any sort of technology going in or out of the company. Unauthorized tech is forbidden and downloading Spiga intel is cause for torture and worse. The Spiga Corporation will protect its intellectual property at all costs and has the autonomy to impose its own punishments, no matter how brutal.
Talk about making your job your life.
Red Light, Green Light
USA Network’s Colony gives us a United States divided into Green and Red zones. The same principle applies in Incorporated. In The Expanse, the Belters live in a world constantly in service to both Mars and Earth. With Incorporated, Spiga Corporation is in constant competition with the Inazagi Corporation. Just as in Elysium and Snowpiercer, the goal in Incorporated is to advance forward (or upward).
If the red zones are the back of the train, the green zones are the lofty heights of Elysium –– and you don’t make it from one side to the other without a lot of risk, death, and subterfuge.
In this case, the green zones house Spiga employees. They live a life of privilege shielded from the devastation of the Red Zones. Of course, parts of the red zones cater to those green zone inhabitants looking for a walk on the wild side and earn a living giving the corporate employees a cheap thrill. However, the class divide is stark and Spiga employees work harder than they play. At the end of the day, they want the life Spiga provides.
The Bottom Line
In the end, the big question becomes, what will you do to survive? Will you lie about who you are? Can you look away when you see people hurt by the very people meant to protect us? Is helping others worth losing everything you have?
If the corporation is everything, what are you without the corporation?
Incorporated premieres on November 30 at 10/9C on Syfy.
