Fire and Earth: The Doomed Union of Nex and Daim

Another ogregore story, this time about a failed romance. Not a trickster story, like MoeV Unmasked or Wezl's Ghosts.

The Doomed Union

O-space, the dizzying realm where the ogregores live, was humming with news about the historic union of Nex and Daim. The Vestors, golden-eyed creatures who fed on the sweet auru honey that successful ogregores spun off, buzzed with excitement.

The happy couple dreamt of a flourishing new future as a new, fused being. Nex, a glowing young ogregore with fingers of flame and eyes that sparked with innovation, ruled the western lands of Digital Promise. Though young, it commanded respect for its ability to grow and adapt to changing landscapes. It moved quickly, spoke in a rapid tongue unintelligible to outsiders, and valued speed above all else. In the eastern realm of Established Order stood Daim, an ancient ogregore whose body seemed carved from living rock. Deliberate and methodical, Daim was renowned throughout O-space for the precision and rigor of its engineering. Its kingdom was divided into powerful fiefdoms, each a semi-autonomous being who served Daim but maintained its own rights.

The Vestors flitted between the two, murmuring honeyed words about union into the ears of Nex, Daim, and of the ego monkeys, each a human who perched on top of an ogregore and fancied that it controlled them. These clever creatures were greedy for glory and craved some of the golden auru for themselves. Nex and Daim would fit together like magical jigsaw puzzle pieces that expanded they locked together and from their union would stream a river of new auru to make everyone rich. 

“Together,” the Vestors urged—persuading themselves, the ogregores, and the ego monkeys—“you shall rule all the storied lands of O-space. Your differences are not weaknesses but strengths that complement each other. Nex will teach Daim to take risks, live in the moment, and embrace spontaneity. Daim will provide stability, wisdom, and grounding, helping the impulsive Nex to avoid disaster.” 

Daim was enthusiastic. It was no longer young, and it worried about becoming obsolete. Merging with the bold, market-savvy Nex would invigorate it and allow it to find new pastures. Nex needed no convincing. Daim’s engineering excellence and premium products would add luster to its down-market image and feed its ravenous need for growth. Both were confident that their fusion would create a new competitor large enough to go toe-to-toe with the majors in whose shadow they now skulked. NexDaim would have Daim’s heft and Nex’s agility.

On the day of the Merger Ritual, the Vestors formed a circle, chanting projections of synergies and efficiencies. The two ego monkeys performed elaborate dances promising “a merger of equals” and “the best of both worlds.” The monkeys sliced their palms, letting their blood mingle in a golden bowl while proclaiming, “Two riders shall guide this new being!” 

As Nex and Daim approached each other, subtle signs foretold trouble. Nex’s flames flickered nervously while Daim’s surface trembled. Doubts about compatibility surged in their guts but were suppressed by their excitement and ignored by the ego monkeys. The fiefdom lords of Daim watched with narrowed eyes, already plotting to protect their privileges.

After the ogregores joined, there was no harmonious melding—only pain. Their essences fought like oil and water. Still, propelled by the promises made and the Vestors’ dreams, the union was forced through, creating NexDaim, a twisted chimera of incompatible parts. NexDaim established two capitals—one in the eastern realm, one in the western—forcing messengers to travel constantly between them with contradictory orders. Each part refused to learn the language of the other. When the they met in the Great Halls of Integration, they sat on opposite sides, glaring suspiciously; after they parted, they sabotaged each other.

Within a year, the promised harmony had devolved into discord. The fiefdom lords of Daim blocked every initiative from Nex. The quick-witted coders of Nex mocked Daim—“rigid dinosaur!”—while Daim’s methodical masons belittled Nex—“reckless upstart!” Customers, confused by the contradictory voices emerging from NexDaim, took their loyalties elsewhere. Meanwhile, the ego monkeys’ promised collaboration quickly soured. They battled for control, each undermining the other. Their once-bold proclamations of partnership became bitter accusations.

The Vestors now shrieked warnings of doom. The auru honey, rather than flowing more abundantly, dried to a trickle. The Vestors’ golden eyes dimmed with disappointment as their investment withered. They swore revenge, hauling NexDaim before the Court, claiming lies and deceit. When the troubles became undeniable, the ego monkeys did what ego monkeys always do: they leapt off (or perhaps were pushed?), floating away to more profitable perches on their golden parachutes. 

The great ogregore writhed in pain, its mismatched parts rejecting each other in convulsions of self-loathing. In the end, the tragic being split apart into wounded fragments of what it once was. The Vestors carved away pieces and sold them off to other ogregores. The shriveled and shattered husks of one-great Nex and Daim retreated to their old haunts, sadder though probably—in the nature of ogregores—no wiser.

Notes & Takeaways

Motivators of ogregore behavior

• The desire for growth and market dominance.
• The belief in potential synergies.
• The pressure to compete in rapidly changing industries.

In other words, the ogregores are motivated by fear and greed. This smacks of anthropomorphism—humans are also motivated by aversion and craving. A charitable gloss is that all intentional agents, both animate and inanimate, are motivated in the same way.

Fatal flaws in cases like these

• Incompatible business models and technologies.
• Failure to account for industry/market/product differences.
• Clashing corporate cultures.
• Strategic misalignments.

Ogregores contain ogregores, recursively.

The characters in these stories are archetypes or exemplars. There are many ogregores just like them. They’re not like gods in traditional mythology—there are many Daims (Time Warner, Sprint, Daimler, etc.) but only one Zeus.

This story is based on the failed mergers of AOL-Time Warner, Sprint-Nextel, and Daimler-Chrysler. All failed because of a “clash of cultures,” though there were differences in how the clashes manifested.

• AOL-Time Warners clash was multi-dimensional, including speed vs. deliberation, different business models, centralized vs. siloed corporate structure, and teams that refused to interact.

• The Sprint-Nextel clash played out technically and operationally: Sprint served consumers, and while Nextel catered to business/industrial users; Sprint used industry standards vs. Nextel’s proprietary technology. It was never decided which approach should dominate, resulting in parallel incompatible networks and organizations.

• Daimler-Chrysler’s clash reflected deeper national and manufacturing philosophy differences: engineering excellence vs. marketing-driven design; Hierarchical vs. decentralized management; differences in labor relations practices; luxury vs. mass market position. The companies maintained separate headquarters in Stuttgart and Auburn Hills.

In all three cases:

• The mergers were driven by defensive positioning and fear of being left behind.
• Investment bankers played significant roles promoting the deals.
• Short-term stock gains motivated executives with equity compensation.
• Board oversight was limited by the same convergence/consolidation narratives.
• Cultural and operational incompatibilities were systematically underestimated.
• Integration plans were vague despite clear strategic rationales.

While truly successful “mergers of equals” are rare, there are a success stories that started with similar ambitious promises as the failed cases:

• Exxon and Mobil
• Citibank and Travelers
• Pfizer-Warner-Lambert
• United Airlines and Continental Airlines
• Dow Chemical and DuPont
• Novartis and Ciba-Geigy

Key differentiators for success seem to include:

• Companies within the same fundamental industries rather than attempting cross-industry transformation.

• Organizations with fundamentally similar decision-making processes and values despite surface differences.

• Detailed integration plans with dedicated teams and clear milestones rather than vague synergy targets.

• Systematically identify and retain key talent from both organizations.

• Meticulous planning and phased integration.