Variant Communications is a privately owned media, training, and internal broadcasting extension office built to support the growing needs of Variant Labs and its wider network of employees.
Most folks get Variant Communications & Variant Labs confused, seeing as they’re both intertwined with one another. Communications handles things that the lab itself doesn’t have time for. Deeming the HR department as a distant connection to help maintain Variant Labs as it grows.
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Located in North Tundra, far beyond Zion’s immediate reach, Variant Communications operates from a quiet, remote facility where controlled messaging can develop without the noise and control of Zion. While distant from the city's central systems, the extension remains an important part of the larger Variant structure, helping shape how information & safety procedures are produced and distributed.
Through employee training module coding, instructional broadcasts, recruitment materials, safety videos, and product messaging, Variant Communications helps bridge the gap between Variant Labs’ research efforts and the people expected to interact with them.
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Variant Communications was originally overseen by Matthew Henderson, a trusted Variant Labs representative.
Matthew helped define its earliest identity through internal training materials & procedural briefings. Though, Begrudgingly, Matthew voicing the older model was only by choice through Adrian Carter's suggestion, as there was no other choice at the time.
However, Matthew’s time with Variant Communications came to an abrupt end following a mandatory assignment conducted under Variant Labs authority.
The details of the mission remain classified, and the company has never released a full public explanation. What is known is that Matthew did not return to his post, leaving behind unfinished training materials and a division suddenly without its original guiding figure.
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In the years since, leadership of Variant Communications has passed to the Vanguard twins. Two younger men who have worked under Matthew's wing for an extended period of time. Zenneth Vanguard, Age 24, & Elias Vanguard, Age 20, both who have a mixed sense of what Matthew passed down to them.
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Without Matthew Henderson’s assistance, the Vanguard twins have struggled to catch up with everything Variant Communications was meant to be. Zenneth and Elias both carry the information needed to make it a successful extension of Variant Labs, but keeping that structure alive has not been simple. To hold the branch together, they have relied on Matthew’s distant colleagues, along with those working directly beneath them, to help rebuild order and direction. Matthew Henderson built the groundwork, but Zenneth and Elias are still learning how to keep it standing. With them in charge, Variant Communications continues operating in Tundra, gradually finding its footing again while preserving its ties to Variant Labs.
Matthew Henderson joined Variant Labs after the Patrick Addams era, arriving at a point when the company had already changed hands and begun shaping itself into something far more incredible than the old Variation Tech system could have imagined.
Matthew became something more personal to the people around him: the lab’s faraway uncle. He worked from a distance, but his influence reached the employees who needed guidance most, especially the new hires trying to survive their first week without looking completely lost. His relationship with Adrian was not always easy, and both men faced serious complications throughout their careers. Even then, they never fully turned their backs on one another.
Pictured - ONBOARDING_ALARMS Continued. One of Matthew's first training tapes regarding the various alarms that employees may hear around Variant Labs, and how to react appropriately if hearing one.
To the Vanguard twins, Matthew was more than a senior staff member. He became something close to a father figure, guiding them with a dry, gentle encouragement. Before Variant Communications had fully found its identity, Matthew helped Zenneth and Elias build the backbone they badly needed. He taught them how to handle people and carry authority despite everything they had survived.
His death during a mandatory Variant Labs assignment left an absence inside the communications branch, and everyone’s hearts.
The Vanguard twins now lead Variant Communications from Tundra with that history behind them. Their frequent trips to Variant Labs remain business focused, but they have also become a way for Zenneth and Elias to stay connected to the people at the heart of the company. In many ways, they are continuing the route Matthew started, moving between the lab and its outer branches while helping Variant Communications feel less distant from the community it was built to support.
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