Second Dawn:Raymond Latour

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Raymond Latour Player: Adam K Maple mad scientist commando. Age: Late 20s

Additional Information (read first): Black Science, Maple Kingdom, Star Brothers, Hybrid of the Heavenly Host

Background: You were born the son of two agricultural engineers (as your parents liked to call themselves) in the plains outside Montreal. Your mother was a bit of an amateur chemist, mixing liquids and metals and animal refuse in an effort to give strength back to Gaia who gave you all your livelihood. As a child, you never learned to fully separate science and religion---both involved respecting and loving the earth, science just did so in more involved and interesting ways, which sometimes involved smoke and explosions. You were a bright lad, and as a young man you went to study with the scholars of Montreal. Only there did you learn how atypical your parents were; the idea of experimentation was absurd, real knowledge came from unraveling the white relics of the Ancients. Leaping aboard this treasure-trove of knowledge, you focues on agriculture and bioengineering, and the hybrid strains you bred were among the toughest and most bountiful grains ever produced in those parts. Your work attracted notice, and soon you had half a dozen offers from private corporations. You planned to cash in on your talents eventually, but you had fallen in with an idealistic and patriotic crowd in Montreal, and you and your friends were going to really do something for the Maple Kingdom and the world before you went on to private practice, families, and all the rest. You all applied for civil service, and after your interviews, you were surprised to be offered a prestigious position with Special Intelligence---the famed Maple commandos! Well-educated, farm-strong patriots were apparently just the thing the Maple government wanted. Flush with pride, you quickly made your way through the rigorous basic training and soon embarked on your first mission. You were to infiltrate and investigate a freshly-established cult down in New Providence in the Easter Union, called the “Star Brothers.” They preached of divine beings from beyond the Earth deserving of our reverence---incredibly subversive anti-Gaian propaganda, as nothing could deserve our reverence more than Gaia!---and you were to evaluate the level of threat posed by them and their ideology. With your standard-issue Ancient weaponry strapped to your chest, you made your way across the border and down to New Providence. Your mission turned out to be easier than you had expected, as the Star Brothers were still a very small church, and practically begging for converts. You told the high priest (quite honestly) that you were profoundly worried about the consequences for mankind if we remained ignorant of these celestial beings, and you were immediately granted quarters in the church’s compound, now a lowest initiate. You remained there for months, listening to sermons preaching humility and subservience of Earth and Man before the Heavenly Host, constantly biting your tongue, remembering your mission. Eventually you were to be initiated into the deep mysteries of the church, and you were taken at night to the inner sanctum, where the Ark of the Messenger (the supposed ‘divine being’ who came to mankind) was kept. Candles were lit, hymns were chanted, your arms were held, the Ark was opened, your forearm was slashed, and…it…was place over the wound. The “divine flesh,” they called it. Flesh it certainly was, in the shape of a seven-pointed-star, and it pulsated slightly with the rhythm of your blood. You shuddered with revulsion at first, but your body soon acclimated to this strange guest, and you looked up to see that the dozen men around you all bore stars of their own. After that, you remained with the Star Brothers for a short time, trying to puzzle out what had just been done to you. Your wound had healed exceptionally fast, you immediately lost the cold you had been nursing, you experienced cravings for salty food, and you noticed that you no longer needed to breathe. You had evidence all right, but of what? One thing’s for sure, their beliefs were real- this Heavenly Host is no mere heretic myth. It is real and terrifying, and the Star Brothers speak true when they say that mankind should fear it. Just before you left, you took notes on the profiles of all the members of the cult at the time. Most seemed unsalvageable, either fanatics, low-lifes, or brain-washed Old Religion types. A few seemed fairly down to Earth, though, and you wondered what they found in this church---some local farmers, a few bored socialites, and a strong-willed, earthy woman named Elizabeth Rowell, whom you really wish you had met when not on the job. You wanted to convince them to get out while they were still fully human, but you couldn’t risk blowing your cover, so you stayed silent. You marked them down as ‘preferred non-targets,’ and resolved to talk them out of the church if you ever met them again. When you finally slipped away back to Montreal, your superiors didn’t know what to make of your report. There were some debates as to whether non-Gaian life was even possible, and eventually you were reassigned to research and development---your primary research subject being yourself. You learned to understand the nature of the symbiotic flesh attached to you, its hunger for salt (thus its eagerness for human blood), and the ways it augments your own respiratory and immune systems. You attempted grafts of the star, with partial success (ending up with a number of 5-pointed stars of flesh that required careful nursing and attention). After a time, you were even granted permission to try your grafts on other human test subjects, with inconsistent results. Unfortunately, your experiments didn’t last long. At the first round of review, traditionalists shouted that your kind of experimental work was inconsistent with proper research methods. A real researcher “re-searches,” they said, uncovering the usable sciences from Ancient relics, not trying some foolish new experimental thing. Your human subjects were cut off, quickly followed by your entire research budget. You were shunted back into Special Intelligence, with your superiors hoping to keep you away from the lab forever. But you petitioned for this specific mission, because you know your work must continue. Here, you might be able to get fresh samples from the cult center in New Providence, or find another government that’ll be willing to let you do work on human subjects again. While you do plan to carry out your intended mission of ferreting out illicit sciences, it’s not your life’s highest priority anymore. The Heavenly Host is out there; the Star Brothers think the answer is to revere them, but you know that mankind’s best hope is to understand them, no matter the cost.

Roleplaying Notes: You are a passionate but complex man, torn between your love of the Maple Kingdom and its Gaian beliefs, and your anger at its tradition-bound blindness. You want to prove them wrong in order to be accepted back, but you could go either way under the right circumstances. You are brilliant and brave and driven, but just a little less stable ever since finding out about the Heavenly Host.

Goals: 1) Find subjects of diverse stock to test your ‘Star-flesh’ samples on. 2) Acquire a fresh, un-bonded sample of a full 7-pointed star. 3) Ferret out hidden black sciences, to acquiring samples or expose it. 4) Get permission to study El Dorado’s rumored “White AI”.

Opinions: Black Science: A danger to mankind, and an unnecessary crutch for any true scientist. You’ve done plenty of useful and original research with only the good kind of science! The Second Dawn: A foolish waste of time, as Man does not need more than there is on Earth to survive and flourish. Possibly filled with Black Science, besides. Religion: You are a proud and devout Gaian, confident that the Earth deserves our utmost respect, and that all (non-Black) science done for the good of the Earth is just and proper. Eastern Union: In your brief time there, you were surrounded by a number of crazed fanatics and degenerates, but also a number of honest and wholesome people. You are wary of these people’s motives, but the good ones can earn your respect and admiration. Tinkers: Hoarders of old science, and no doubt plenty of Black Science to boot. You respect as scientists those who do real work advancing knowledge for the world, not these inbred librarians. El Dorado: According to rumor over the day since their arrival, they claim to have a “white AI.”

Key Information: •Your first mission was to infiltrate the church of the Star Brothers, which you completed successfully, returning with a sample of “holy flesh” attached to you. •You have in your possession a number of five-pointed stars of grafted symbiotic flesh that you’re curious to see the interactions of with human subjects, preferably subjects from diverse geographical locales. If you can acquire any more of the original seven-pointed creatures from the Star Brothers, that would be even better. •Elizabeth Rowell, one of the Star Brothers, seemed a solid and decent woman when you knew her. You’d love to see her free of that poisonous, anti-Gaian cult. •A group of white-dressed people just arrived on a zeppelin, claiming to be from El Dorado, a place supposedly under the benign rule of a “White AI.” The very concept sounds contradictory to you, but if it is the truth, then the Maple Kingdom absolutely needs access to it.

People Known (in approximate order of importance): Conrad Gaudet, Maple Kingdom Ambassador (David C) you are traveling with, you know him to be a devout Gaian and a solid patriot. If he requires your assistance with anything (particularly things that ambassadors shouldn’t be caught doing), you are to put yourself at his disposal. He might have leads regarding Black-Science-trafficking individuals, though his purebred faith and patriotism grate on you a bit. Isaiah Whittaker (Joey B): The high priest of the Star Brothers, and the man who put this star of flesh on your arm. You don’t expect he’ll be too friendly, but maybe you can explain your departure from the cult in a way that will pacify him a bit. You do, in some ways, believe in his teachings: you cannot doubt that terrible things live among the stars, and that mankind is unprepared to face them. Elizabeth Rowell (Isabel K): An initiate (well, she was just an initiate) of the Star Brothers, and a tough no-nonsense kind of gal. You hope that you can help her (by convincing her to leave the cult), or that she can help you with raw materials, or possibly both. Eugene Kennedy (Simon M): The son of President Grant’s chief of staff, and reportedly a member of the Star Brothers. Spoiled rich kid, from what you’ve heard, but he might prove useful. Rutledge the White (Michelle B), Erin Clarkson (Lauren A), Daniel Rutledge (Constantine H): The three people from “El Dorado.” You’d like to ask them about their “White AI,” and if possible secure some sort of exclusive research rights (or at least first-observation rights) for the Maple Kingdom. Of course, you have your doubts as to whether their AI really could be ‘White.’ Artair Tinker, Minister of Sciences (Jed S): Head of those Tinkers. If you’re going to get scientific help from the Union government, he’s probably the one to ask. Luther Gaines (David R), Julia Dyer (Serin H): The Minister and an agent of the Watch, respectively. If you need someone other than Conrad to confer with about suspected Black Scientists, these two might be helpful. Jean Achard (Isaac H): A businessman from the Maple Kingdom who has been traveling with you and Conrad. You don’t really know his business, and he certainly doesn’t know yours. There might have been something about him in your pre-mission briefing, but you weren’t paying attention. Ryan Healey (Matt M): A Gaian priest from the Union, perhaps he might be able to offer you assistance or counsel if you find yourself in need. Beathag Tinker (Sue B): A tinker, and the design lead for the Second Dawn. If there’s anything Black Science in that ship, you’d guess she would know about it.

Ratings: Pilot: 0 R: 1 D: 2 G: 3 (2) Note: the effects of the “hybrid” (see Items) are already included in your stats.

Nametag Symbols: M, N

Attributes: Physical: Defense 4 Pool Rating 4 [] [] [] [] Mental: Defense 3 Pool Rating 4 [] [] [] [] Social: Defense 2 Pool Rating 2 [] []

Recoveries: -Make concrete progress towards one of your research goals (+2 points, 2/hour) -Act slightly too brave, driven, or brilliant (+1 point, 3/hour)

Abilities: Fisticuffs, attack, survivor (x1), penetrating insight, convince, black ways, entice, sneak, reaction

Items: Sleekly designed pistol, bright-edged knife, smoke bomb, molded plastic piece, five-pointed star (x2), seven-pointed hybrid

Black Ways System: Any item with the “B” quality seems suspicious, potentially using black science. Only an extensive study of its workings or uses could verify this with complete certainty, so you will have to use your personal judgment tonight.

Reaction System: While an item with the “D” quality is activated in your presence, it will fill you with nausea and directed anger, as the flesh of the Host crawls and shivers. (The simple presence of such an item produces no effect, only use.) Additional system: If you notice someone using a power with the “X” quality, you will feel a vicious and irrational hatred towards that person forever. The Host wishes them dead, and so do you.