Character Profile: Zoey Walker (2)

They didn't need the things that they stole; they just enjoyed the thrill of stealing them. The Hacker gang liked to stalk out 24 hour stores, usually Mom and Pop stores.

"No security in those non-corporate types," remarked Circuit-Breker. Zoey had a big crush on him and his long dark hair. His slight Asian features were covered with a 5 O' Clock shadow, while his eyes were usually hidden in shadows. Zoey was at first invited to join the Hacker gang becuase of her usual mischief at school, but they soon found out that she was one of the best hackers at her school.

You see, with the amount of time Zoey spent at the arcades, she soon became interested in how they worked. She would stay after hours to help fix broken machines from the random gang fights. It was only a matter of time before she learned about computers. All this did not ease the burden of her Grandmother, who worried about Zoey staying out so late in the dangerous City Zone.

Soon, Zoey's abilities became obvious to all of the regulars at the arcades. Her hacking of "Spark Fire: Legend of Mountain Gold" became legendary, as her virtual character beat the near-impossible Level Boss Torvus Tik-Tik. This is what made her priceless among the Hacker gang.

So, the Hacker gang reigned as their spree of petty crime continued throughout the city. Zoey enjoyed feeling useful and the attention the Hacer gang gave her, but deep down she knew what she did was wrong. But she tried to ignore that quiet voice, because she was having too much fun with her "friends."

Circuit-Breker soon gave Zoey her own Hacker name: Binary.

Character Profile: Zoey Walker (1)

It wasn't that Zoey's parent didn't love her. They just didn't have the time for her. Not with their twenty hour work schedules. So it was up to her kind old grandmother to take care of her most of the time.

Now, Zoey did what any young kid who felt neglected did, and caused mischief. We're not talking about widespread chaos, but whenever there was a chance for Zoey to disagree with a teacher or cause a commotion, she revelled in it. This caused her to attract the attention of some of the local gangs.

But her grandmother, who heard all about Zoey's misadventures, warned her. "Stay away from those fellows. They're always up to no good."

But young Zoey only cared about the local arcade, where she could drown out all of her adolescent worries with the loud noise of "Cap'n Artic" and "Alien Scream." She'd spend all her time after school there, instead of at the Intermediate-School Attitude-Adjustment Center, or I.S.A.A.C for short.

This, of course, would get Zoey into even more trouble. What she didn't know was that her grandmother wasn't telling her parents of her school problems, since she was too ashamed to fill them in about their daughter's activities.

Character Profile: Christine Adler

It is said that her birth was one of the worst in 1863. Not only did her mother die while in childbirth, but also two nurses as well. Rumors persist that it was her father, Her Majesty's Royal Gene-Doctor Essex Adler, who personally slit their wrists in an attempt to keep his beloved wife alive.

Essex was disappointed that his gene-charts were wrong and didn't get the perfect son he wanted, but was left with a highly-flawed daughter. Christine was born with a very rare eye condition, so rare that there was no name for it. Her red-veined eyes were very sensitive to the light, but in the dark she could see twice as good, making out clear outlines that others could not.

Because of her disposition, she is rarely seen in social circles, and is often working with her father in his gene-labeling. Her skin is a pale flesh color, because of the amount of time she spends in her father's darken laboratory, drawing out long lines of genetic heritage.

Now, as the New Century approaches and the Ripper stalks the weak, Essex forced Christine to cut her copper hair and wear a man's frock. Her father believes that the Ripper seeks to execute the distant female descendants of people like Alexander the Great and Julius Ceasar, and that his daughter, the latest in the long line of great Adlers, will be one of his targets.

Christine Adler will be the main character in the new non-linear sequel to the popular, yet unpublished, Adler short story: "God is Dead." She will face a creature of the New Century and try to answer the question: Whatever happened to Detective First Class Scott Adler of the 21st Century?

Character Profile: Deputy Rian

Rian was born on a farm-state on the planet Nagosti. He worked hard on the farm while his father taught him ways of the trade as his mother educated him with manners and speech. When he was of the right age, he was to go the nearest Initiative Center where he would chose a career and undergo the ritual to be bonded with the tegarei of his choice.
But his choice was soon made for him. Shortly before he left, a group of disorderly off-worlders had wandered onto the farm and accidently caused the destruction of the farm. While no one was harmed, he decided to become a Security Officer, rather than a farmer. And after a year of training, he returned from the ancient Ritual of Destiny, bearing the crimson tegarei of the Security Branch.
Soon after, Security Chief Violeen would retire and promote her deputy Keann to fill the position. This made her the third most powerful Nagostian on the planet, after Mother, leader of all, and the newly initated Sara, Ambassador of Harmony and the only honorary Nagostian. Some say that Keann was resentful that if Sara had undergone her own Ritual of Destiny weeks later, then Keann would have been Mother's favorite.
But what really matters is that Keann had to appoint a new deputy as her second. She searched through all of the academies. None of the candidates pleased her, no matter how experienced they were. It was only a matter of chance that Keann would stumble upon Rian. Rian had been called in to subdue some rioting off-worlders, protesting about Nagostian policy of neutrality.
No one knows why she offered him the position after seeing him in action. Her only response to questions refering to the moment were vague like, "He seemed to have potential."
Now, Rian is the deputy officer answering only to Keann herself. His youth sometimes clouds his judgements, but his instincts are a hundred percent accurate. Oddly enough, he is very friendly with Sara's human friend, Zoey and is happy to find that not all off-worlders are as bad as he thought.

Character Profile: Agent Kenji Kawasawa

Agent Kawasawa was born in Asia's capital-island of Japan in the Twenty Sixth Century. [Specific date unknown] He was recuited at the age of seven to be trained for the army's "special units." He served as a multi-tasking assassin until the age of sixteen, when the United States seduced him to defect with dreams of legalized drugs and pop-tart music. [Note: This United States is in no way connected to the USA of Twentieth Century lore. The present US inhabits the upper region of the American continent where Canada was once located. Both the region of 'North America' and most of Africa are radiated waste deserts, uninhabitable except for the deranged wildlife.]

He still wears the citizenship mark of Japan on the back of his neck. A woman, with a fetish for bizarre tattoos, asked to see it, and Kawasawa calmly pulled out his gun and shot his soon-to-be fiancee in the head, before paying the check and leaving the restaurant.

Despite Kawasawa's sloppy appearance, he has one of the most analytical minds in the United States' black ops division, commanded by Bert Falconer. Falconer was the one who noticed Kawasawa's potential and devised he plan to smuggle Kawasawa to the United States. It is said that all of Kawasawa's free time is spent writing complex reports on everything from the mental stability of other agents to the current budget. These reports are the only way Kawasawa can keep sane and not over-analyize everything.

It was Kawasawa's throughness that brought Sara to Falconer's attention. Kawasawa would routinely go to mental asylums to look for new candidates to work as assassins in the black ops. There, he found Sara, brought in for claiming she was an alien from another universe. After a single blood test, he found out that she really was an alien, and discussed with his boss what they should do. There had been recent outbreaks in extraterrestrial activities on Earth, and with an alien working for them, Falconer thought that he could easily get his hands on some alien technology while defending the United States.

So, Kawasawa used the threat of leaving her in the asylum as a lever against Sara to join the black ops group. She relucantly accepted, seeing this as her only way to even temporary freedom, and in three short days, found out how badly her personal beliefs clashed with the brutal black ops' m.o. In roughly a year, she would eventual get the true freedom she wanted, escaping to the stars.

While Sara had been working with the black ops, Kawasawa had continously filed reports on nothing but Sara. It had seemed that Kawasawa had become obsessed with her, or at least analyizing her. Some agents thought he was infatuated with her. But make no mistakes about it, deep in his heart, Kenji Kawasawa has nothing but contempt and hate for the peaceful Sara.