Robenfol De Firmador financier Venusien était a la tête d’un Empire industriel et financier considérable. La nouvelle de sa mort avait défrayé la chronique pendant des décennies. Était il mort ou est ce que ce mystérieux personnage que l’on disait immensément riche, et dont certains doutaient même de son existence réelle, avait il simulé son propre assassinat. Robenfol De Firmador avait fait fabriquer un robot personnel lui ressemblant en tout points qui le remplaçait a la plupart des événements ou il était censé assister. Quand son robot personnel fut accusé de son meurtre sans que l’on puisse retrouver le corps de De Firmador et que ce robot recherché pendant des années par la police spatiale disparu a son tour, l’affaire pris la tournure d’une cabale dans la presse de tout un pan de l’univers.
De Firmador was an extremely secretive person, who became one of the first to own Multigalaxies. With time he grew even more remote from public life and preferred to send his personal robot to represented him on most occasions. Robenfol was almost impossible to approach and always surrounded by his own security service, and so the illusion was perfect.
Why would he fake his own death remained a mystery. To disappear with his fortune surely. Undoubtedly Robenfol had a lot of power and did not want to share it with anyone. Some years later those galaxies became an Empire. And none knew the Emperor’s face or personal history but many suspected it was De Firmador. The two of them shared the same obsession for secrecy never appearing in public or in the media.
His secret police was everywhere, and he didn’t tolerate any dissent. And the Emperor continued to rule, absconded from public life by his secret service while his personal robot substituted for him on ever rarer occasions. He was already immensely powerful and controlled whole industries from arms to media. The words of Koll are the fake memories that De Firmador put there it seems, and he fled convinced that he killed him while his owner disappeared.
De Firmador was not a people’s person to start with, he never gave interviews nor appeared on news channels. People spoke of his wealth and his influence without ever meeting him in person. He was surrounded at all times by his own heavy security services and never really became a socialite. Most never met him and the few who did were far and in between.
Many people saw De Firmador only once or twice in their lives, he gave directives to the people that he employed and met them in their offices or in the comfort of his homes. Speculations as to how wealthy he was were abundant, but he never spoke of it. Nor did he seem to have any attachment to being a media figure. Those who knew about him called him the Tycoon because of the Asian multinationals he owned.
For some obscure reasons nobody could take pictures of him. De Firmador was very elusive, disappearing from a place to reappear in another. Always in absolute discretion.
But beyond all other considerations is why he didn’t enjoy the fame and success that came with his wealth. Why he would remain unseen for years, to resurface here and there. While the press was replene with news about his corporations.
De Firmador build whole industries up making them global corporations. The talk about him became an obsession in certain circles. All while De Firmador kept both his identity and his whereabouts secret. They kept saying that he controlled the media since he didn’t appear anywhere. And that surely he gave his instructions to never appear in the press.
How could he have instigated that remains a mystery, however year upon year De Firmador grew more powerful and had the press in horror. Some saw his hand in everything, he invested massive sums and made his corporations build global infrastructures around the clock. With that came his disdain for politics and politicians too. He vanished at some point it seems to come back as Emperor and do away with politics once and for all. And to keep his secret a secret made sure to never reappear in person.
De Firmador’s personal robot was a strange character, always polite but cold. Never saying more than a few words to anyone. He stood there observing people, responding to their smiles and gestures, and when he had enough of the scene simply went away without saying goodbye to anyone.
As time went by he would come to represent his De Firmador on nearly all occasions, be it board meetings or the rare social events Firmador had any interest in. Some kept saying that Firmador was dead, survived only by his artificially intelligent robot who seemed eternal.
De Firmador's personal robot was disliked by many who found him distant and arrogant, they knew him to be at the helm of several large corporations and couldn't admit to the fact that a robot had so much power, including that to make or break their careers.
