Doktor Archeville

Dr Archeville · March 27, 2008

Index

Dated Entries

Semi-Compressed Timeline

January 1st - February 16th, 2008 (return to Freedom, stops a mugger, sees a movie, goes for a walk)

February 17th - March 5th, 2008 (encounter w// Dryad, attempts to cure her, chaos at Blackstone)

April 6th-16th, 2008 (on the nature of Metahuman terminologies)

April 21st, 2008 (reflections on aging, and his legacy)

April 22nd, 2008 (working with Emissary, and reflections on the last time he did so)

April 23rd - May 19th, 2008 (invitation to and preparations for first lecture at HIT)

May 20th, 2008 (review of lecture, and setting up two follow-up meetings)

June 7th, 2008 (reflections on magic)

July 29th, 2008 (reflections on power armor, and stats for a suit he might make)

July 30th, 2008 (reflections on his armored lab coat, including stats)

July 31st, 2008 (reflections on his gravimetric belt, including stats)

August 9th - 24th, 2008 (reflections on the 2008 Summer Olympics, and Metahumans in Sports)

August 25th, 2008 (odd dreams)

September 3rd - October 6th, 2008 (requests for more lectures, and Oktoberfest)

November 5th - 25th, 2008 (reflections on his dead mother, chess, extrasolar planets, an interplanetary internet, and water under Mars)

December 2nd - 31st, 2008 (reflections on cholera outbreak in Africa, NASA's refusal to accept Archeville's help, contributions of the German Federal Archives to Wikipedia, world hunger, Metahuman-fueled ice storms in New England, global internet interruptions, and dinosaur fossils in China)

January 1st - 31st, 2009 (reflections on the new year, the poor health of another tech-head, some celebrity deaths, a persistent computer virus, the inauguration of the new American President, just how few people have access to the internet, more Metahuman-fueled blizzards in New England, heat waves in Australia, and the use of Metahuman criminals to use their powers for public works)

March 5th - 23rd, 2009 (invitation to and preparations for second lecture at HIT)

March 24th, 2009 (review of lecture, in which Captain Knievel was captured)

March 28th-29th, 2009 (wherein Archeville is invited to an HIT kegger, and thus sleeps through the Massive Explosion in Riverside)

June 5th, 2009 (testing at the Albright Institute, and a BETTAR suit of armor [w/ stats])

June 6th, 2009 (reflections on biological warfare, part 1 of 3: overview)

June 6th, 2009 (reflections on biological warfare, part 2 of 3: diseases)

June 6th, 2009 (reflections on biological warfare, part 3 of 3: toxins)

September 17th, 2009 (Review of his "ambush" by Captain Knievel and Emperor, and rescue by Atlas)

December 13th, 2009 (Discussion on Vampires)

December 14th, 2009 (Initial Plans for Anti-Vampire Weapons)

January 4th, 2010 (reflections on Prenatal Vampire Care)

January 15th, 2010 (musings on a recent, simpler, patients, and on metamedical technologies)

January 30th, 2010 (moar inventions, inspired in part by his relationship with Fulcrum)

March 29th, 2010 (improvements to Gravimetric Belt and Electromagnetic Screwdriver)

April 2nd, 2010 (Thaneuronic Radiation: a Failsafe Against Archeville [or Quark])

April 16th-30th, 2010 (improvements to HQs, Gravimetric Belt, and Utility Labcoat, following run-ins with Captain Knievel, Malice, and Dracula)

May 1st, 2010 (biorestorative radiation, form Doc Otaku's Gender Switching ray, used for good... or horrific evil)

June 2nd, 2010 (birthday; reflection on past, present, future, and possible uses of his technology and abilities)

September 3rd, 2010 (reflections on accent and mental state; "How To Talk Like Doktor Archeville")

September 16th, 2010-January 15th, 2011 (Dreams and Portents, Part I)

February 4th, 2011 (spacecraft)

Feb 14th-April 21st, 2011 (Dreams and Portents, Part II)

June 16th, 2011 (May 2011 recap)

June 24th, 2011 (post-ArchEvil; new/revised stunts)

July 2nd-16th, 2011 (release from Providence, rebuild bring & gear, set off w/ Silhouette to find Fulcrum)

March 7th, 2012 (enjoying superhero movies on Super Tuesday with Mona)

August 2nd, 2012 (post-Reformatting reflections)

December 14th, 2023 (unexpected return, updates on spaceship)

Miscellaneous

Allies & Enemies

ArcheTech: Architects of the Future!

Archeville Family Tree, going back 12 generations

Doc's HQs, No. 1: The Hanover, Freedom City Home of Doktor Archeville, with stats

Doc's HQs, No. 2: Archeville's Castle in Germany, with stats

Doc's HQs, No. 3: Archeville's Mobile Undersea Base, with stats

Doc's HQs, No. 4: Archeville's Satellite, with stats

Doc's HQs, No. 5: Archeville's Super-Secret Haven, with stats

The HellQ (filled our 2009 March)

Brief Descriptions of Some of His Inventions (no stats here, but stats can be seen here)

Invention Cheat-Sheet, v1

Invention Cheat-Sheet, v2

Invention Cheat-Sheet, v3 (final version; includes stats for Some of His Inventions)

Potential Power Stunts for Enhanced Mind, Force Field, and Mental Quickness

Reputation (different thread)

TV Tropes: Doktor Archeville

Utility Belt/Coat

Dr Archeville · April 1, 2008

(The written journal of Herr Doktor Viktor Archeville, translated from German.)

1st January 2008 (Tuesday)

My first day back in America, at the start of the new year! Things haven't changed too much since I was last here, in the summer of 1999, though the rebuilt Freedom League headquarters is quite nice*. I am, for now, forced to live in an apartment near the HIT campus; someone made a better offer on the house I'd had my eye on, so I must look elsewhere. I do have my sights set on another place, though, one almost equidistant from HIT and the Albright Institute, and near the Promenade so within easy reach of ASTRO Labs. (Easy for me, anyway!**)

Once I do secure my own dwelling, I can unpack all my belongings from their tesseract storage containers. First the laboratory and library, so I can get back to some of my theoretical works, then the workshops to pursue more practical invention. A building-wide fire prevention system and an advanced security system will be needed, too. I'll also likely need my own power supply -- don't want to be blacking out half the city! Perhaps a micro-singularity, like what was used to power Argo the Ultimate Android. No, no, too risky. Ah, of course: go green! High-efficiency thermocouples, converting both solar energy and geothermal heat into usable electrical power!

For now, though, it is enough to see the sights of the city. When I was here as a student I focused totally on my academics (and some of my own inventions), and never took the time to appreciate this wondrous city. (Which did nothing to lessen my reputation as a 'Young Mad Scientist.') I must rectify this situation! But where to go first? My natural inclinations urge me to go to ASTRO Labs and the Albright Institute, and fully explore the HIT campus... so that's what I'll do! Perhaps City Hall next, get some brochures from their tourist board. (And see about permits for my new home.)

Why am I bothering to keep this journal, when my own fantastic brain perfectly recalls everything I experience, and have experienced for almost the past ten years? Well, it's always wise to keep back-ups, in multiple formats if possible. Once my laboratory is back up I plan to use my Mind Scanner to do weekly recordings of my engrams and other neural patterns, so as to have a full electronic recordings of all my memories. (Plus, should something irreparable happen to my body, the engrams can be used to 'reincarnate' me into a new form, as a digital entity, or downloaded into a clone, a cyborg, or an android!)

* Note: track down Daedalus, pick his brain on a few things.

** Follow-Up: See if Freedom City requires some sort of "flyer's license." There'd been some murmurings of passing such a law nationwide when I was last here, though I never heard what came of it.

==========================================================

14th January 2008 (Monday)

My head! My tongue!!!

As mentioned previously, I am for the moment forced to live in an apartment near the HIT campus. What I did not write was that it is mostly inhabited by students from that college, both undergraduate and graduate. A group of them threw a large party over the weekend -- one of them was getting married -- and invited all their neighbors. Not wanting to be seen as an isolationist, I dropped in for a bit, though I knew the gnat piss they pass off as 'beer' here in America is vastly inferior to the beers and lagers of my beloved homeland (and I'm not yet ready to share my own stash, at least not until I can get my own micro-brewery set up*).

I was in for a surprise, though! Seems one of the party organizers is a beer enthusiast, and had a wide assortment from around the world, including Baltic and English porters, India pale ales, and even a Vienna lager! And enough altbiers, hefeweizens, rauchbiers, and schwarzbiers to make me feel at home! (Ah, if only there'd been sausages, too!) For my part, I taught them a few German drinking songs, including EisgekÃƒÂ¼hlter Bommerlunder (though I'm not sure how much anyone remembered!). It turned out to be a grand, grand time, though I am paying for it now (though not as much, it seems, as everyone else!).

* Permits required? Check with City Hall.

==========================================================

24th January 2008 (Thursday)

My first act of hero-dom while back in this country, though it was fairly crude. While walking down 28th Avenue, in Midtown, I heard a woman shriek. Turning, I quickly found the source of the sound, and saw a burly man running own the street with a purse clutched tightly in his meaty hand. Fortunately, I was wearing my Gravimetric Belt* at the time, and so flew after him**. His greater familiarity with the area compensated for my superior speed and maneuverability, but we soon came to a straightaway where I was able to ram into him at high speeds and knock him down***. Unfortunately the collision did not knock him out, but he soon saw the futility of attacking me while my force field was raised****, so he ran.

Right into the waiting police, who had been drawn to our chase! They took a statement from me and a few other eyewitnesses, and told me some local news reporter would likely come to interview me soon, though I've not been contacted as yet by anyone. No matter, though; I'm not doing this for fame, I'm doing this to help humanity, even if it is only in tiny steps for now.

* I'd like Daedalus' feedback and critique on my Belt, but still have not been able to schedule an appointment.

** Speed can surely be increased. Also, there must be some way to negate the ominous hum & glow of the active Belt.

*** Protective power can surely be increased. And some sort of reactive 'counter' to batter people who strike me?

**** Alternate setting: invert gravimetric field, so that it affects the attraction of the wearer's atomic structure, to alter size and/or density? See if I can look over Dr. Atom's notes on Maximus Atom, and Daedalus' notes on Doc Otaku (if I can ever meet with him!).

==========================================================

4 February 2008 (Monday)

I saw a movie at the theatre a couple of weeks ago, I Am Legend, based (loosely) on the Richard Matheson book of the same name. In this movie, a virus -- an altered version of the measles virus meant to target and kill cancerous cells -- mutated and escaped containment, killing 90% of the human population, and mutating 9% into vampire-like creatures. (The remaining 1%, of which the main antagonist was a part, proved immune, but were either hunted & killed by the 'hemocytes' or went mad in isolation.)

Since seeing this movie, a part of my mind has begun working on such a virus. Without a working laboratory I am -- it is limited to what it can do, but I fear it is close.

==========================================================

16 February 2008 (Saturday)

It's a nice day out. I think I'll go for a walk in Riverside park today.

Dr Archeville · April 17, 2008

The Archeville Family Tree

Vischer ("fisherman") Harbin ("little bright warrior") Archeville

* Born 1407. The most successful fisherman working the Donau (Danube) river in all of Freiburg, due to long studies of the habits of the various fish species. Went mad in 1430, claiming to have been contacted by untermenschen ("under-men" -- probably Deep Ones [Atlantean/Serpent People hybrids], possibly something else). He tried, futilely, to warn others of their threat until his death in 1453, age 46 (most records indicate heart failure, though one reports that his heart had been cut out, though the absence of any intruders implies that he did it himself); at his time of death he had the body of someone nearly half his age.

** The untermenschen (and the current Archeville) did to Vischer what Amanda Waller revealed was done to Terry McGinni's father Warren in the JLU episode "Epilogue": he was altered so that his reproductive material was that of Something Not Quite Human. He himself was largely unchanged (physically -- just enough to maintain the changes to his reproductive material), but his mind was quite unhinged.

* Earliest user of the "VHA" naming system for which historical records are clear. Also earliest Archeville of which the familial traits of madness and longevity are recorded.

* Married Leah Hoffman. Had three sons, one born before his madness, two after.

Vadim ("a powerful ruler") Hademar ("famed fighter") Archeville

* Born 1430, the middle child among of his generation. A sociopath and rapist who viewed other people as at best pets to play with; may have been responsible for the deaths of his two siblings. Killed by one of the women he tried to take in 1480 (at the ripe old age of 50, ancient by the standards of the day).

* Married Laura Schultz, a minor baroness. Had one child by her, but probably fathered countless others via rape.

Valdemar ("renowned leader") Heller ("bright, brilliant") Archeville

* Born 1475. First of the Archeville lineage to make serious studies in the sciences, taking full advantage of the facilities at the relatively new Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat Freiburg (Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg, one of the oldest universities in Germany), eventually becoming a teacher there of natural science. Records indicate he exhibited a form of what would now be called Asperger syndrome. Died 1533, age 68, having lived longer even than his father.

* Married Johanna Becker, a woman 25 years his junior. Had three children, one son and two daughters.

Valter ("mighty ruler") Herbert ("illustrious warrior") Archeville

* Born 1516. Also studied at Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat Freiburg, focusing on the humanities. Went in a near-catatonic depression at the death of his first child, and remained so more or less until his death in 1592, after a remarkably long 76 year life.

* Married Emily Wagner. Had three children, though the first two died at an early age of illnesses.

Venn ("from the marsh or fen") Helmuth ("helmet, protector, courage") Archeville

* Born 1546. Extremely bipolar. Studied medicine in an attempt to prevent others from dying the way his two siblings had. Served under Swiss clockmaker Hans Locarno -- aka Master Mage Lord Deosil -- from 1600 until his death, beginning the Archeville line's fascination with cuckoo clocks; Deosil attempted to stabilize him, but his attempts only sometimes worked. Killed 1645 by plague, living an unheard of (for the time) 99 years of life.

* Married Lena Weber. Has two children, a twin son & daughter.

Vid ("sylvan man") Hackett ("little woodsman") Archeville

* Born ~1634. A bear of a man, and a paranoid schizophrenic, who lived in the Black Forest of southwestern Germany during the latter half of the 17th century, generating rumors of a Sasquatch-like creature in the area. Killed 1705 by hunters, after having seen 71 winters; a remarkably accurate sundial was found near his cave-home.

* Never formally married, though fathered at least one son via a baroness (Leonie Meier) who got lost in his woods one evening. Rumors persist that he fathered more with young girls who got lost in the woods or with druids/witches mistaking him for some nature spirit with which they could commune.

Virgil ("strong") Hartwig ("courageous in battle") Archeville

* Born 1682. Served in many battles during the early 18th Century, putting his extreme rage and berserk fury to good use (most of the time). Made a habit of collecting any timepieces from his foes. Killed 1757 while serving in the Seven Yea's War, despite being 75 years old.

* Married Anna Fischer. Had three children, all stout boys.

Vito ("conqueror") Hilliard ("hard warrior") Archeville

* Born 1719. Fought against Napoleon's forces. Killed on battlefield in 1809, at the amazing age of 90. Borderline psychopathic/sociopathic, showing absolutely no empathy for anyone, and few emotions; seemingly felt no physical pain, either. Pursued clockmaking as a hobby; extremely punctual.

* Married Maria Schneider (in a maneuver to gain financial & political power), a woman 40 years his younger. Had two sons, one at 56 and one at 77.

Varian ("changeable one") Hoffman ("courtier") Archeville

* Born 1796. Had a small hand in the transformation of the Confederation of the Rhine (Napoleon's organization of the German states) into the German Confederation in 1815, and later played both Austrian and Prussian forces against one another in an attempt to gain more power (but wound up helping cause the Austrio-Prussian War of 1866 instead).

* Conflicting reports on his exact appearance; a minor shapeshifter? Multiple personality/dissociative identity disorder? Date of death unknown.

* Married Sophie Schmidt. Had one son with her, though may have had other children via other women he seduced/tricked.

Victor ("winner, conqueror") Hobart ("shining intellect") Archeville

* Born 1848 in the Austrian-held section of south Germany. A highly skilled glass-blower and silversmith, and moderately skilled clockmaker. Had a (very) minor role in reuniting the Austrian-held sections of the southern German states and the Prussian North German Federation into the German Empire in 1871, by providing replacements for cracked mirrors in the galerie des glaces (the Hall of Mirrors) of the Palace of Versailles, where Prussian King William I was declared German emperor. Died 1914, at the age of 66.

* Obsessive/compulsive with mirrors, reflections, light & darkness, and duality. Minor photokinesis & umbrakinesis.

* Married Marie MÃ¼ller, a woman two decades his younger. Had three children, a son and two daughters.

Remains of all ancestors subsumed into ArchEvil/Dokthulhu form on June 17th, 2011.

Verrill ("loyal, masculine") Herman ("soldier") Archeville

* Born 1896. Loyal to both the German Empire in World War I (1914-18) and the German Nazi party in World War II (1937-39), as a soldier in the former and, inspired by the use of chemical weaponry on the battlefield, as a "mad scientist" in the latter (specializing in size-alteration, clockwork automata, and time manipulation). Reportedly died 1965 in an accident in his Brazilian laboratory, age 69.

* This is a lie: Verrill lived, and continued working for SHADOW, creating all manner of mutants and monsters for Overshadow. Sadly (for him), his plans to overthrow Kantor came to an abrupt end on June 17th, 2011.

* Regenerative capabilities saved him from numerous lab accidents, and allowed him to harvest own flesh for experiments.

* Married Margaret Schneider and fathered one son with her, but the revelation of her Jewish ancestry lead Verrill Herman to shoot her and flee, leaving her for dead.

Varick ("leader who defends") Heinrich ("ruler of the home/estate") Archeville

* Born 1940. Raised by his mother, who was not as dead as Verrill had believed. Lived his whole life in West Germany, working on electronics and computers (many of which contained or were precision timepieces). Committed to an insane asylum in 1990 following the attempted murder of his son. Originally stuggled with mild schizophrenia (hallucinations & paranoia), later developed a unique combination of late-onset Tay-Sachs disease and something akin to Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (symptoms of the former started appearing soon after his son's birth, of the latter after his incarceration). Still alive as of this writing.

* Possesses several extrasensory abilities: precognition, postcognition, and true sight. (Some of his schizophrenic hallucinations were seeing things that really were there but no one else could see!)

* Married Cynthia Bauer, a Romani woman; she died in childbirth. Has one son.

* Killed June 17th, 2011, when he was subsumed into the ArchEvil/Dokthuluhu form.

Viktor ("the conqueror") Helmut ("healthy spirit/mind") Archeville

* Born 1977.

* Active as a superhero in the first half of the 21st century (2000 and onward).

Dr Archeville · May 16, 2008

6 April 2008 (Sunday)

While waiting for some bacterial cultures to grow, I flipped through the television channels and found a political debate on "the (il)legality of superhumans," discussing the various laws (written and unwritten) pertinent to superhuman activity. Two things surprised me about this: one was the relative calmness of the debate, but the other was the continued use of the word "superhuman."

It's always been a pet peeve of mine (akin to my peeves about people using "sentient" when they should be using "sapient" or "sophont", and the continued mispronunciation of "nuclear"), the use of that word. "Superhuman" implies a value judgment, that They (people with powers*) are inherently and intrinsically superior to the 'normal' people who do not share their fantastic abilities. (The term used in my homeland, Ubermensch, literally "Over-Man", is even worse at this, though this is no surprise considering the era in which the term arose!)

I've heard numerous other terms used for "people with powers," in both professional fields and amongst the everyday people. Some terms I've heard include Aberrants, Abnormals, Aces, After-Humans, Aliens, Alphas (or Deltas or Gammas or Omegas), Angels, Avatars, Awakened, Capes, Champions, Changers, Chosen, Demigods, Demons, Distinguished, Divines, Elites, Exarchs, Exemplars, Extraordinaries, Flyers, Freaks, Gestalts, Geeks, Gene-Freaks, Gifted, Godlings, Gods, Guardians, Guards, Heroes, Homo sapiens superior, Homo superior, Hyper-Humans, Hyperkind, Incredibles, Inhumans, Inspired, Mages, Marvels, Masks, Megahumans, Metahumans, Metas, Multis, Mutants, Mutates, Nephilim, Novas, Paragons, Parahumans, Paranormals, Posthumans, Powers, Primes, Protectors, Psis, Psions, Psychics, Psykes, Quantums, Replacements, Saviours, Scions, Sentinels, Seraphim, Specials, Stalwarts, Superbeings, Superhumans, Supercops, Superheroes, Superiors, Superlatives, Supernaturals, Supers, Supersoldiers, Talents, Transcendents (or Transcendants), Transhumans, Ubermenschen, Ultras, Unnatural, Unusuals, Vigilants, Watchers, and Wildcards.

Avatar

Demigods

Godlings

Nephilim

Scion

Seraphim

Posthuman

Transhuman

Metahuman

Mutant

Parahuman

A new word may still need to be invented to define "people with powers" in a value-neutral way. Maye I'll contact some linguists.

* Should this be "We" instead of "They"?

==========================================================

16 April 2008 (Wednesday)

Today's the day of the Open Training at Freedom Hall! With luck I'll finally be able to meet with and talk to Daedalus!

Hunh, and it's been exactly one month since my last adventure had started, with all the craziness in the park, the nightclubs, and with that Legionnaire. I wonder if he'll be at the Open Training today? Or that shadow-weaver, Keira?

Dr Archeville · May 16, 2008

17 February 2008 (Sunday)

What a walk! I met three superpowered resident of Freedom City, one of them a rather barbaric one that needed stopping. Ah, but I get ahead of myself.

The first two people I met, Keira and Alan, seemed more than pleasant enough. Keira seemed high school age, while Alan seemed but a few years older. Keira's from Bulgaria, and a Metahuman to boot, an umbrakinetic of some sort. Both were looking for some fun, of the nightclub sort, and I joined them. I never did much of that sort of thing while here the first time, so it would be a shame to forgo it now!

While in one club, another Metahuman appeared, some sort of plant-woman who was ranting on about... well, about many things. I tried to calm her down, even after she shot at me (she actually pierced through my force field! luckily I had my labcoat on), which seemed to confuse her even more. Ah, these Americans, so quick to run in with guns (or crackling fists) blazing -- whatever happened to diplomacy? It seemed she calmed down, but soon she was lashing out again, dominated by the Green Man (who seemed to be responsible for her powers & fractured mindset). As this went on I noticed Alan had left, as had most of the other club patrons, leaving Keira and I to fend this woman off, but suddenly another Metahuman emerged, a gleaming silvery figure hurling out star-hot bolts of plasma*. Dryad soon fell, and was taken away by the police, but not before I discretely collected the thorn she'd shot out and a sample of her blood/sap.

I promised her I would find a way to restore her, and I intend to keep that promise.

* The silvery figure "told" me its name was Star -- it had no bodily orifices, was completely sealed, and could only communicate via a short-range telepathy.

==========================================================

18 February 2008 (Monday)

I'll give Dr. Grovemont this: he's thorough. I cannot find a trace of pure human DNA in these samples. Either she's been changed on a level so fundamental I cannot even begin to work out how to reverse it (yet), or she's something he made from scratch and gave a rudimentary mind to it in order to throw any "meddling heroes" off his trail. Something tells me it's the former, though.

Unfortunately, I'm going to need more samples from her. I'll wait until her trial is settled and she's moved in to wherever they decide to send her. Providence Asylum? Blackstone Prison? I can see it swinging either way.

==========================================================

24 February 2008 (Sunday)

Dryad's trial wrapped up today. She'll be getting ten months in Blackstone, though this may (probably will) change based on her behavior.

Ten months... she'd be out on Christmas Eve. I hope she gets it.

Why am I so sentimental over her? Did her thorn carry some euphoria toxin? I'd best run some blood tests.

~~~~~

Bloodwork's all clear. So what is it about her that compels me so? Is it just the primitive part of my brain going ga-ga over an attractive (if exotic) woman? I should be more in control than that!

==========================================================

26 February 2008 (Tuesday)

What luck! The husband of the sister of one of the highly-placed guards at Blackstone was a man I'd rescued during BlÃ…Âzan's August 2006 rampage, and the guard was eager to help me! I'll be at Blackstone on Friday. Officer Miller did warn me that she has been very rowdy since she got in, giving the guards not one moment's peace.

==========================================================

29 February 2008 (Friday)

I've just returned from Blackstone, with more samples from Dryad. Some vials of sap/blood, a few scrapings of her exoskeletal bark, even a few cuttings of her leaves. These should be enough samples to get some real work done.

~~~~~

Have been able to isolate human elements in samples! Now to figure out a way to increase those elements while decreasing the planet elements.

~~~~~

First batch of trials, all FAILURES. Attempted numerous defoliant variants to try and kill off the plant part but retain the human, in all cases the samples completely dissolved.

==========================================================

1 March 2008 (Saturday)

Second batch of trials, all FAILURES. Attempted to use metabolic stimulator on stasis-preserved samples to cause human elements to multiply and 'push out' plant elements. Plant elements compensated and adapted, growing along with the human parts.

==========================================================

2 March 2008 (Sunday)

Third batch of trials, all FAILURES. Inspired by a fungus I'd found growing on an elm tree, I attempted to introduce various fungal agents into the samples to see if they would weaken the plant elements but leave the human elements alone. In some samples, the fungi took, but infected both plant & human components (and proved lethal to them), while in some, the fungi would not take.

==========================================================

3 March 2008 (Monday)

I've run out of Dryad samples. I'll need more.

==========================================================

5 March 2008 (Wednesday)

I'm going to see Dryad. Hopefully she will be calmer today.

Dr Archeville · May 21, 2008

A Brief Description of Some of My Inventions

Angstigator: This device generate a field of specifically modulated sonic waves that sound not unlike a Kurt Cobain/Nirvana riff. Targets in the field are filled with feelings of anxiety, apprehension, and insecurity. Most targets tend to fall into a deep depression and give up once affected, mired in feelings of existential loss. A few, though, become enraged, even to the point of attacking allies. The device was later turned into a hand-held ray gun that could be used to target individuals.

I used this during Blözan's August 2006 rampage, to counter his fear powers. It worked, more or less. It did nothing to Blözan himself, though.

Bioplastic Armor (Bio-Plastik Rüstung) : A jumpsuit made of organic-looking bioplastic, created from materials spawned from the meeting of nanotechnology and genetic engineering. It is a deceptively thin and flexible suit of smart nanofibers which can react instantly to impacts or energy attacks, going rigid or reflective as needed. Elastic fibers and liquid microtubules rapidly disperse the energy of an attack, and semi-autonomous nanomachines can actually "heal" damage to the suit.

I'd designed this for the German military, but they rejected it, saying it was too cost-inefficient.

Blink-Box: This device clips onto my gravitic belt. It allows me to warp the gravitational attraction between my own molecules, thus allowing me to become intangible for microseconds at a time. Though the effect does not last long enough to allow me to travel through walls, it does allow me to reflexively render myself intangible long enough for many attacks to bypass me.

I've used this in fighting against Energy Projectors and Powerhouses who've proven capable of battering through my force field. "That which would not break, must bend."

C4R-C.A.S.: The Canine Assault Unit is my must successful foray into the field of nanotechnology to date. (It's also one of my more disturbing inventions.) The nanites are stored in a saline solution, held in a hypospray (a device used to deliver drugs/chemicals to a target subcutaneously by using an extremely fine, high-pressure aerosuspension delivery system; hyposprays are more hygienic than syringes because they eliminate the need for a needle to physically penetrate the skin). When the nanites are injected into a dog (typically a Doberman or Rottweiler), they immediately begin spreading through its systems, enhancing it in various ways suitable for combat. The dog's jaws and claws are reinforced, as are its skin and leg muscles; the nanites also enhance the dog's already-keen senses. In addition to the gross physical changes, the nanites re-wire the dog's brain to make it a more efficient combatant, while at the same time overwriting any former loyalties it had and re-setting them to me. The entire transmogrification process takes approximately one minute, and the injector carries enough nanites to change up to sixteen dogs. The nanites are also programmed to reverse all the changes they performed, a process that also takes about a minute, upon receiving an encoded command from me. Thus far, none of the test subjects I've used the C4R-C.A.S. unit on have shown any adverse aftereffects from their ordeal.

CyberOverrider: This headband allows me to mentally control any computerized device, including battlesuits and cyborg systems.

It has proven quite useful in my battles with Panzermensch.

CyberWasps (Cyberwespe): This bulky device, about twice the size of a standard American football, is shaped like a vaguely pyramidal beehive. Inside is a swarm of 1,250 wasp-sized microbots. The microbots are designed to look and act just like actual wasps, treating me as their Queen. (The original version had biochemical detection pads that covering the surface of the Hive, and the cyberwasps would be keyed to whomever was in contact with the pads, but latter iterations of the wasps have my biochemical signature hardcoded into them.)

Decerebrator (Dezerebrator): This large pistol fires a thin beam of energy that scrambles a target's neurons, specifically the ones in their brainstem. The affected targets temporarily goes blind, deaf, and loses all other sensory abilities, and loses voluntary motor control. Repeated exposures to the beam can cause a person to become limp and unresponsive.

A good Anti-Powerhouse weapon, and Anti-Mage (since it makes them unable to gesture for their spells). Good against Martial Artists & Weapon Masters, and Speedsters, if they can be hit with the beam. Somewhat good against Psions; losing motor control does almost nothing to hinder them, and loss of conventional senses may not be a hindrance either.

Dimensional Point Defense & Offense Unit: This small device, which clips onto mein gravimetric belt, reflexively aports physical missiles away from him and towards the attacker.

The perfect -- if costly -- defense against Weapon Masters specializing in ranged weapons, such as arrows or thrown objects.

Elemental Converter, Basic: This device can impart or strip electrons, neutrons, and protons from atoms, allowing me to transmute any one element into any one other element. I could transmute lead into gold, oxygen into iron, or whatever else I can think of. The device only works on pure samples of an element, though. It cannot, for example, transmute just the oxygen in water into iridium, leaving the hydrogen behind. Nor can it transmute the carbon in a human body into copper (effectively killing the target) since the carbon is mixed together with many other elements.

Despite the limitations, this is a very useful device. It can convert the nitrogen or oxygen in the air into a wide variety of elements, allowing for numerous impromptu attacks, and can be used to defuse some types of mercury-trigger switches. It can also convert radioactive elements into inert ones, a perfect way to get rid of some types of radioactive waste.

Elemental Converter, Expanded: This version of the Elemental Converter can transmute any element, pure or not. Transmuting the elements in a multi-element object or creature would cripple or kill it.

A nasty, nasty weapon. Why just kill a man when you can kill him and later melt his body down into gold bars? I have used it once, against Mr. Mist; he was trying to choke me with hydrochloric acid (HCl) vapors, but I used this device to turn the hydrogen in it into sodium (for NaCl -- table salt). The tables were turned!

Expand-o-Bots: One of my more ingenious devices is this set of ultra-miniaturized robots. Initially, they look nothing more than a set of action figures. Upon activation, they grow into human-sized robots (the growing process takes a few seconds), programmed to obey my every command. (Well, most of them -- programming glitches occasionally surface.) I often, Archeville will design his Expand-o-Bot to resemble some known superhero (and so when its in its inactive shrunken form, it truly does appear to be a commercial action figure), but sometimes I'll make it look like a more idealized version of myself (I'm not without some pride).

Freeze Grenade (Frost Stielhandgranate): These weapons cover everything in a sizable radius with a snowy mass of ice, ensnaring all in the area or creating slippery patches. The grenades, which look like normal metal grenades, contain two glass vials. These vials hold chemicals that are inert when separate or when combined in an anaerobic (oxygen-less) atmosphere. When the two compounds mix together and combine with the oxygen in the atmosphere, they produce an extreme endothermic reaction. This causes the ambient temperature to drop approximately 50 degrees Fahrenheit (about 25 degrees Celsius), forming a sheathe of ice around the targets (assuming standard room temperature to begin with and a fair amount of humidity). They operate much like a normal grenade -- pull the pin and throw. The timer inside causes the metal shell to pop open, cracking the vials and allowing their contents to mix.

Glatt: With a few moments mixing together various household cleaning supplies, I can whip up a mixture many times slipperier than normal soapy water. I can then either simply spill out the contents from his mixing bucket, or fill balloons with them to throw at foes. The mixture evaporates, gels, or otherwise loses it's effectiveness as time passes, but is good for about two minutes.

Hate Plague (Hass Pest): I did not make this virus. My Other Self did. It is a variant of the rabies virus, inducing and exacerbating hatred and destructive impulses in anyone it infects. The contagion is also highly infectious, spread by any fluid transmission, and the infected tend to bite and drool a lot. Eerily, the eyes of the infected glow red, due to spiked blood pressure making blood vessels in the eye burst and the virus causing blood cells to create a bioluminescent byproduct.

Hypno-Chip: These small microchip-like devices, when placed on a target's neck (usually behind the ear), allow me to totally control them. The chips work primarily via modulated subsonic waves, and so can be countered/nullified by certain sonic counter-frequencies. I do not consciously remember completing all the work on these items; I think My Other Self provided some of the breakthroughs.

Image Inducer: This wristwatch-sized device can project a skintight hologram around the wearer, allowing him to look like whomever he chooses. The device is powered by an ultra-efficient thermocouple, drawing power from the wearer's own body heat.

I made these for the benefit of those Metahumans cursed with a horrifically inhuman-looking body. Wearing one, they could look normal and interact with others. The ones I passed out were set to only project one alternate image; I didn't want a bunch of chameleons running around!

Lifting Gloves: These gauntlets use density manipulation technology to make large, heavy objects so light that thy can easily be lifted. The gloves generate a field around the touched object that shunts its mass into another dimension.

Mental Suppression Field: This device creates a zone of "psionic interference" that weakens or disrupts any mental power used within or through it. It has also proven effective against some forms of so-called magical abilities.

Omnichronometer: The most advanced & accurate timepiece ever created! It tells me not only what time it is currently, but also what point in time I'm at in the entire timestream, can keep track of the time between or until multiple events, and so on.

Peace Maker (Friedenmacher): When activated, this device emits an invisible aura, the effect of which makes it very difficult for anyone to take violent action. They can act to defend themselves from attacks coming from outside the field, but no one within the field is able to take offensive action.

Security Tap: This device, which resembles a typical PDA, can be used to tap into cameras and listening devices, allowing me to see through other people's cameras. A more compact version if wrist-watch sized, and can actually be worn comfortably.

Sprayfoam: A rapid-hardening foam used to restrain prisoners, rioters, and similar targets. The dispenser is a flamethrower-like backpack tank with a spray gun that attaches to the tank via a hose. The foam is so sticky and quick-setting that it can instantly trap targets, and is virtually impossible to remove without a special liquid solvent. Many versions of the sprayer use toxic foams that can suffocate a target if it is sprayed directly on their face, but I was able to remove that drawback, too.

Squid (Krake) Harness: I often find I need an extra arm or two to help me in my experiments. This stainless-steel waist-harness gives me those arms. The four prehensile, electrically-powered titanium-niobium tentacles are attached to a stainless steel waist harness, which has an inner lining of lamb's wool (for comfort). Each tentacle is five inches in diameter, approximately six feet long at full contraction, and can extend to a maximum of eighteen feet. Each tentacle ends in three single-jointed pincers, which are able to rotate in relation to the arm 360 degrees in a screwdriver-like twisting motion. Each tentacle segment contains four high-efficiency electric motors equipped with a clutched, helical-gear train, independently mounted on frictionless gimbals and housed in four thin, overlapping layers of titanium-niobium steel. The tentacles are strong enough to lift about 400 pounds. Electrical power for the harness is provided by a nuclear isotope thermoelectric generator located in the rear of the harness; the U-239 core can provide powers for approximately five years.

Super Glue (Uber-Kleber): With a few moments mixing together various household cleaning supplies, I can whip up a fairly powerful binary compound glue. The glue comes in two parts, either a liquid and a powder or two liquids. The first part of the compound is applied to (or perhaps painted on) whatever surface Archeville wishes to affect, and then the second part is dusted/sprinkled on. The two compounds combine and create a powerful adhesive.

Theme Music (Leitmotif): Occasionally, I will bring a special iPod into battle with me, re-wired to broadcast the music selections out rather than pipe them through a set of headphones. The combination of the rousing music, plus subtle subsonic alterations I've made to his music recordings, allow me to more easily intimidate or persuade others. Wagner's Flight of the Valkyries is a favorite, but the songs of Marvin Gay and Barry White have also proved effective.

Zweihander: My version of the traditional German two-handed greatsword. The first one I crafted using my laser-forge out of a titanium alloy, but I later made one using more traditional methods (with some temporary enhancement to my own strength).

Edited March 29, 2019 by Dr Archeville

Dr Archeville · June 4, 2008

21 April 2008 (Monday)

I'm going to be 31 soon.

But when I look in the mirror, I barely seem older than the college kids at the nightclubs. I even got carded at one when I ordered a beer! While some would be flattered by this, it sets the hairs on the back of my neck on end. Is this youth only an exterior thing? Or is it internal as well? I certainly don't feel old, though I've no real idea how "old" feels. Is this due to some agent I'd encountered in a super-battle (Zeitgeist's temporal flux fields? One of Le Chimiste's compounds?)? Or is it something more, something that's always been within me? I'd heard that most of my ancestors were unusually long-lived, with some outliving their enemies' children, so is that all it is? If so, am I living proof that powers can be passed on down bloodlines? This would do much to support some of my theories....

At any rate, I know that, in the fullness of time, I will no longer be here, and I want to leave something behind to continue my legacy. At this point a child seems unlikely, and a clone would feel too much like cheating. I soon realize that I need merely look around to see the answer: like Langston Albright and Allan Grant, I shall set about to start my own company, a friendly rival to both the Albright Institute and ASTRO Labs! Not just one, though, a chain! An international chain of research laboratories, unconnected to any one government or any business interests! Multi-disciplinary research, in a number of scientific fields, especially those pertaining to metahuman activity and the increasing emergence of metahumans. Bionics and cybernetics, energy projection, force field generation, genetics (especially mammalian genetics) and genome stability, gravimetrics, advanced metallurgy, nanotechnology, particle physics, and more! Of course, it would also provide humanitarian aid in times of crises, especially medical aid and food/supply transport. (Teleport pads in each facility? Works for the Freedom League!)

And what shall my company be called? Why, that's obvious: ArcheTech. "Architects of the Future!"

Dr Archeville · July 23, 2008

22 April 2008 (Tuesday)

Tomorrow will be Emissary's little charity get-together.

The last time I met him -- just last week -- was a doozy of a time. He'd talked the Freedom League into letting several of the city's newest heroes come by to meet & greet, and train. Velocity was there, and Legionnaire, and someone going by the name Mongrel Angel (metamorph?). To my considerable surprise, Captain Wonder was there, too -- hadn't he retired? No, he wouldn't, it'd take more than old age to make him bow out of the dance floor. Sadly, there was no sign of Keira; perhaps she's still in shock over her actions at Valencia's temple. (I should try and track her down and check up on her, it's been nearly two months since those events.)

Things went well at first. We made our introductions (though I did not mention my teleportation or 'immovability' functions of my gravimetric belt), and Emissary paired us off. He and Velocity had a jungle-gym to work through, testing coordination rather than brute speed. Captain Wonder and I were teamed up to fight some robots; he sped through and tore into several, though did leave me one to tinker with. Unfortunately, I never got to see the end result of my tinkering....

... because of Legionnaire and Mongrel. They were paired off to spar, but the Roamin' Roman was not appreciative of Mongrel's apparently superior skill and toughness. So he entered his Aresian rage, drew his blade, and leapt upon Mongrel with a murderous glint in his eyes. Next thing I know, Emissary's tackled him, and Captain Wonder's trying to calm him down. In the end, Legionnaire was carted off by the police -- Captain Wonder said something about taking him back to his own time, but then said it wouldn't be allowed, or somesuch -- and Emissary was offering profuse apologies and snacks. All in all, a very intense, though too-short, event.

Emissary still wants to facilitate some events where the city's new heroes can interact, though, so he's worked out this charity event. Well, really, the charity's been something he's been working on for some months, but we're to play a part in one of the big final pieces. Promoted through flyers and some television and radio spots, the Ocean Heights Amusement Park will be hosting, for one day only, a sort of super hero exhibition. Flashy displays and feats of power and skill, good natured spars, etc. I'll have a Mr. Wizard's World-type "Wonders of Super-Science" booth set up. Much of the proceeds of the day's ticket sales will be going to charity -- specifically, scholarship programs/trusts for the kids of Freedom City, particularly of South Freedom -- and the various donors the Emissary has hooked in will be presenting their big checks that day as well. And now that my own finances are finally starting to get straightened out, I fully intend to donate as well.

Dr Archeville · August 27, 2008

7 June 2008 (Sunday)

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
- Arthur C. Clarke, Profiles of The Future, 1961 (Clarke's third law), British physicist & science fiction author (1917 - 2008)

What is magic? Is there such a thing as magic? The mystical, the paranormal, the supernatural?

In my opinion, no. There are merely things which we cannot as yet explain due to having insufficiently advanced understanding of the universe, or by being misled by the wielders of those effects.

Take the simple Taser, initially developed in 1969 and first built five years later. Today they're an exceedingly common weapon. But if one were to go back in time and show a Taser to the Ancient Greeks, would they realize it for what it is, or would they think the user was Zeus come to punish them with his thunderbolts? Though I have yet to have an opportunity to study any "magic items," I am certain that they all operate on the same scientific principles that all other technology operates on, and they are most likely extraterrestrial or otherdimensional in origin.

Metahuman/Mutant powers (I've still not found a term I prefer) can similarly fall into the "misunderstood by the superstitious" category. If someone with Johnny Rocket's or Bolt's powers lived in Ancient Greek times, they would likely be seen as gods to the 'ordinary mortals,' especially if metahumans/mutants are far rarer than they are today. The origins of many of the world's myths can likely be traced to the actions and deeds of a handful of superpowered individuals, passed down through the ages (and growing with each telling, as tales tend to do), or by individuals who intentionally misrepresented themselves as deities.

Much the same goes for "monsters." Did a Welsh mutant with the power to shrink and grow beget the legend of the spriggan? Is Captain Wonder a mutant who had his latent powers activated by another mutant energy manipulator who told him it was magic? Does Keira tap into some "reverse" universe where the Laws of Physics are reverse from what operate in this one, where darkness and cold are carried by particles/waves instead of being the absence of them? Earlier journal entries mention a "Vampire Virus," and other "communicable" monsters like Lycanthropes and Ghouls likely arose from similar contagions.

But what of the "spellcasters," the ones who do amazing feats with a chant and a gesture? My theory is that they all share a common mutation -- an unusually common one, at that -- which at its base level allows them to generate and manipulate all four quantum forces (electromagnetic energy, gravity, and the strong and weak nuclear forces). As with most types of energy manipulators, proper practice and training allows them to use this power for a wide range of effects. In their case, though, the training comes not just from friendly allies but also from "spellbooks," which are at their core a series of mental exercises that put a person in the "right frame of mind" to use their power for a given effect. Of course, these are all couched in densely symbolic images and archaic jargon, and being passed on through the years and being translated and re-translated and having assorted notes and marginalia added just further muddy it, but the fact that they do work indicates that there's something right in them. As for the gesturing and incanting, those are likely psychosomatic limitations placed by their elders, who worked under them because that's how their elders did it, and so on, stretching back to the first "spellcasters" who associated certain words and gestures with their "spells" because they just happened to be position that way and uttered that string of words when the effect they were trying for went off.

There is one noticeable flaw in this theory: on the few "magic users" I've had violent encounters with, none of my mutation-neutralizing devices worked on them. This does not necessarily mean my theory is flawed: an electromagnetic pulse cannot take out all technological devices, so I may just need to research new methods of neutralizing mutations.

Dr Archeville · September 8, 2008

23 April 2008 (Wednesday)

After the debacle at Blackstone back in early March with Dryad and the White Knight, I need to do something to engender a more positive image of myself, to reassure both the public and myself. And, as is often the case, education is the answer.

My alma mater, the Hanover Institute of Technology, has a Science & Engineering Lecture Series, designed "to showcase outstanding innovation among HIT alumni and partners." As luck would have it, Dr. Michael Voldman, one of my computer and electrical engineering professors, is the one who started it, and I'm sure I can persuade him to let me speak. He'd always seemed an easygoing fellow, and he did seem to enjoy my near-endless questions in class. And, if it comes to it, I can just offer to throw money at the Institute.

25 April 2008 (Friday)

Still haven't heard back from HIT. One of the people I spoke to said Voldman was on vacation, but wasn't sure when he'd be back.

In the meantime, I've started work on a new side-project, in part to "commemorate" finally unpacking my Dartboard of Designs for Devices. I stood the World Darts Federation standard of 2.37m from the board and tossed my five darts. One had the misfortune of ricocheting off the edge of the board and striking one of my window-washing spider-bots which was sprawled out on a workbench, but the other four struck true. The words struck, arranged alphabetically, were "Atem" (Breath), "Ermitteln" (Determine/Detect), "Krebs" (Cancer), and "Laser" (Laser).

The first three were easy to string together -- detect cancer via breath. This would be nothing new: studies have shown that dogs can detect cancer by sniffing the exhaled breath of cancer patients, with a recorded 88% accuracy for breast cancer and 97% accuracy for lung cancer. This would be evidence of the existence of gas phase molecules which are uniquely associated with cancer. Adding the fourth, laser, would also be relatively simple: spectroscopy, the study of how matter and electromagnetic energies interact, has been used for quite a while, though the tools used for that can get quite cumbersome. So, my new task is clear: design a portable laser-like device which can detect the presence of cancer in a person by the concentrations of cancer-associated gas phase molecules.

27 April 2008 (Sunday)

I woke up this morning to find that my My Other has been hard at work, too. Appended to my notes on the Cancer Detecting Ray were notes on how to make a Cancer Causing Beam (which used various forms of radiation to catastrophically mutate a target's self-repair mechanisms) and a Cancer Causing Gun (which would fire bullets laced with carcinogenic chemical compounds into a person). I've deleted the notes, but I know they're all still filed away in my mind.

1 May 2008 (Thursday)

I've finally heard back from HIT! Voldman just got back from seeing relatives in Chicago, and we'll be meeting for lunch today at Tia Marta's.

---

Lunch was grand! Voldman and I talked and talked, caught up on what each other had been doing, he told me about some of the changes at campus.

The one downside was the food. It was good, certainly -- it wouldn't be such a consistently high-rated place if it wasn't -- but I suppose my tastes have been 'spoiled' by my time in Europe. (And there is my own preference for all things German over all things Italian.) Voldman was quite pleased with it, said he'd see about getting them to cater the reception after the lecture.

5 May 2008 (Monday)

Success! Voldman told me that the Institute has agreed to let me present at the Lecture Series!

But what am I going to present?!?!?!

7 May 2008 (Wednesday)

The announcement of my presentation at the HIT Lecture has been released on the school's website and to the media.

I still don't know what I'm going to present.

9 May 2008 (Friday)

Still not sure. It's not that I have a lack of things to talk about, it's that I have so much! But what to choose?!

I did get a bit more info on the after-lecture reception, apparently they are getting Tia Marta's to cater, though it will mainly be small appetizers. Which is all well and good, but it could be so much better! Especially since, come the reception, it would be the time most folks have supper, so why not give them supper?! I'll have to make a few calls....

12 May 2008 (Monday)

Still not settled on anything. I have narrowed it down to a few dozen things, but that's still too much. This isn't the venue for going into a lengthy discussion about the workings of some of my devices, and I don't want to go over something they probably already know or could easily know by doing a few internet searches, so I wo---

I've got it!!! Something they may know, but if they do they probably don't know all of it. Something that would serve them well to hear, which could prepare them for their post-college lives with technology. The Story of Rachael and Mutt!

But how to go about it? What do I know about it? I've heard so many versions of the tale! But maybe that's how I should go about it... not as a "factual presentation," but tell it as I've heard it, like a campfire story.

I've got a lot to prepare.

15 May 2008 (Thursday)

I have come to a sad realization: I am a very mediocre speaker. I've done a few test runs of what I'll be doing, the holograms all look great, and the story itself contains every non-contradictory bit I could recall, but as for myself... well, that needs work. So that's what I'll do.

Phase 1 will be to study many of the great public speakers over the new couple of days. Churchill, Kennedy, MLK Jr., and, yes, even der Fuehrer. Study their inflections, their tone, even how they held themselves.

Phase 2 will be considerably trickier. Simply mimicking their magnetism won't be enough -- I have to be able to draw on my own. Thus, in a furtherance of my "letting the steam out slowly lest it explode" experiments in psychic apparatus maintenance, I will allow my Id a bit more free reign so my Ego can tap into its primal energies, focused through the rationality of my Super-Ego. I must be exceedingly careful: the slightest misstep could turn me into some Hyde-ian beast. But if I am to master myself, experiments like these must be done.

19 May 2008 (Monday)

Well, here I go!

Dr Archeville · September 12, 2008

29 July 2008 (Tuesday)

I got to thinking the other day about Daedalus (why won't he return my calls?!?!?!), and his suit of powered armor. Which lead me to thinking about powered armor in general. I've been asked, more than once, why I rely on disparate gadgets, why I don't incorporate several of my inventions into one wearable suit.

There are two major reasons for this:

1) Putting everything into one device would actually increase my vulnerability. With a suit of powered armor, when the power is knocked out or otherwise disrupted, you lose everything. But with a group of unconnected devices, one can be taken out without affecting the others.
2) Vanity and Safety. Like most people, on some level I do seek out fame and recognition, and I can't really do that in a face-obscuring suit of armor. I want to be the one receiving accolades, not some armored alter-ego. Equally important, in case I do ever 'go mad,' I want people to know who it is, and thus how best to counter me.

However, I believe I have found a way around this second part: Invisible Armor. Or, to be more specific, Force Field-Based Armor.

The idea came to me while working on my Gravimetric Belt. Recent advances in force field technology, by myself and others, allow for the generation of force fields which can be shaped in most any way, and even "embedded" into solid materials to strengthen those materials. By dispersing force field generators throughout a breastplate, boots, gauntlets, belt, and open-faced helmet (or, with a bit more work, just a headband), I could create a suit of "armor" made entirely of force fields. More importantly, with proper calibration the fields can be used to fulfill the standard functions of most powered armor suits: focused beams of force to ensnare, manipulate, or pummel; enhanced strength via a "tactile range" telekinesis-like force effect; "flight" (more accurately, jumping & gliding) on wing-shaped planes of force and propelled by backwards-directed blasts (or just create force platform under my feet, or true flight via gravity manipulation); life support in the same way my own Gravimetric Belt provides it, with the field compensating for changes in pressure and radiation levels, thermal regulating elements in the belt and a well-insulated force field, and an atmosphere supply in the armor held in by the airtight force fields. I may even be able to incorporate true energy beam weaponry, if I can use force fields as "lenses" for the beam; altering their shape, thickness, and configuration would permit unprecedented alteration of the beams. If I can get the micro-wormhole generator from my Gravimetric Belt incorporated into this, I could also teleport.

The one thing I'm stymied on with this is communications and sensors. Sure, I could incorporate standard equipment into the gauntlets and helmet/headband, optic-enhancing visors and auditory-enhancing ear-cups... but surely there's some way to use the gravity- and force field-manipulation capabilities for these functions. I can use gravity pulse technology to send messages, but few people on the planet can receive them. I suppose I could use projected force fields to tap out messages in Morse code, but that's a bit unwieldy. As for sensors, I could probably create a way to generate a radar-like low-level force "pulse" that bounces off objects and can then be interpreted by the armor. Trickier still would be to use the "force field lens" technique mentioned previously for sensory enhancements: generate fields that can cause infrared or ultraviolet light going through them to be shifted up or down to something more visible, or which capture and focus light like a telescope or microscope, or force field-based auditory enhancers which capture and focus sound waves and can 'translate' ultrasonic and subsonic pulses to a more detectable frequency. But, if I can use force fields & gravity manipulation to render myself invisible (by warping visible light and other forms of electromagnetic energy around me), this should not be too huge an obstacle to overcome.

The is, as always, a downside: force fields can be made opaque just as easily as they can be made transparent (slightly more easily, actually), and if I do go mad and become a supervillain then it would be easy for me to alter the suit so the fields obscure my identity, allowing me to live some Jekyll & Hyde-type life. Which is just about the last thing I'd ever want.

Dr. Archeville said:

Device 33 (Hard to Lose, 165 points); 132pp.

Enhanced Fortitude Save 8 (variable amplitude exotic defense fields)

Flight 10 (10,000 mph; PFs: Instant Up, Move-By Action, 1 Alternate Power)

AP: Teleport 9 (900 ft./anywhere on Earth; PFs: Change Direction, Change Velocity, Instant Up, Turnabout)

Force Weaponry 13 (PFs: 4 Alternate Ppowers)

BE: Blast 13 (Force Blast)

AP: Enhanced Str 18 and Super-Str 4

AP: Enhanced Telekinesis 13 (to Telekinesis 26, Str 130 Hvy Load 800k tons) (Enhanced Force Manipulation)

AP: Penetrating Blast 8 (Force Spear)

AP: Snare 13 (Force Shackles)

Immunity 11 (critical hits, life support)

Impervious Toughness 14 (note: Sustained Active effect, like a Force Field; PF: 1 Alternate Power)

AP: Concealment 8 (all auditory, radio, and visual; Flaw: Blending; PF: Close Range)

Protection 14

Super-Senses 8 (extended 2 on normal sight, infravision, "force field radar" [accurate ranged touch], ultra-hearing, ultravision)

Telekinesis 13 (Str 65, Hvy Load 100 tons) (Force Manipulation)

Vari-Beam 12 (PFs: 6 Alternate Powers)

BE: Blast 12

AP: Blast 11 (PFs: Affects Insubstantial 2) (Transdimensional Blast)

AP: Blast 8 (Extra: Alternate Save/Fortitude)

AP: Blast 8 (Extra: 80-ft. Explosion) (Explosive Blast)

AP: Blast 11 (PFs: Indirect 2 )

AP: Blast 8 (Extra: Penetrating)

AP: Strike 11 (Extra: 55-ft. Burst Area) (Power Pulse)

8+23+30+11+15+14+8+26+30 = 165 points.

(Device 27 [108pp] without Vari-Beam)

Edited September 4, 2019 by Dr Archeville

Dr Archeville · September 15, 2008

30 July 2008 (Wednesday)

Thinking about armor got me to thinking about another wearable item I would not like to do without: my labcoat. True, it looks like a standard laboratory coat, a long-sleeved, knee-length overcoat worn both to protect me from spills and as a symbol of my dedication/profession... but it is so much more! And it can be even better!

The coat is made primarily of an amorphous biopolymer, similar to BioSteel. Biosteel is a high-strength fiber made from spider silk proteins extracted from the milk of transgenic goats, trademarked by a Candian biotechnology company in 2000; one of the people on the team behind it was a relative of some folks I had helped in France and he gave me a quantity of the fiber in thanks. Spider silk has a tensile strength approximately 80% that of high-grade steels, but is of course incredibly light weight. However, BioSteel is not as strong: the highly sophisticated spinneret of a spider is instrumental in organizing the silk proteins into strong fibers, and most laboratories have had extreme difficulties replicating these complex conditions. Still, it is an impressive fiber, and offers a not inconsequential amount of protection despite the thinness of my coat and the lack of any solid backing.

Armored Labcoat, v1.0.6 said:

Device 1 (Hard to Lose, 5 points). 6pp

Protection 4 (PF: Subtle)

Three major improvements were made to my labcoat over the years:

Studies of spiders, particularly their spinnerets, so that I could create robotic spiders capable to 'spinning' the BioSteel proteins into a more silk-like fiber. The resulting fiber was composed of both amorphous and crystalline biopolymers, thin and flexible, elastic enough to disperse impacts, and nearly as resilient as steel. It's also a fair thermal insulator.
Incorporation a system of liquid microtubules to further disperse impact and energy. This same system also contains two chemicals that are inert when separate or when combined in an anaerobic (oxygen-less) atmosphere; when the two compounds mix together and combine with the oxygen in the atmosphere (via small controllable micro-pores in the coat), they produce a mild exothermic reaction which can keep me toasty warm even on the coldest Swiss winter night. Another series of compounds in the microtubules contain catalysts which facilitate the breakdown of the chemicals back to their original form, so that the reaction can be repeated as needed.
Another series of chemicals dispersed by the microtubules is a shear thickening fluid (STF), which capable of transforming from liquid to solid in just milliseconds when exposed to a heavy stress -- like the impact of a bullet or knife. As soon as the stress is removed, the STF goes back to a liquid state. STF is made up of tiny particles of silica suspended in a liquid polyether.

Resulting in a thin and comfortable laboratory coat that is completely impervious to small-caliber projectiles, and fairly resistant to higher-caliber ones.

Armored Labcoat, v1.1.0 said:

Device 2 (Hard to Lose, 10 points). 8pp

Immunity 1 (cold)

Protection 4 (Extra: Impervious; PF: Subtle)

Of course, the coat cannot protect my head, hands, or shins, and if it's not buttoned up there is a sizable strip left uncovered!

But I can surely do more with this! For starters, by using chemicals which produce a mild endothermic reaction when combined, the suit could keep me cool even in the hottest of summers.

Armored Labcoat, v1.1.2 said:

Device 2 (Hard to Lose, 10 points). 8pp

Immunity 2 (cold, heat)

Protection 4 (Extra: Impervious; PF: Subtle; Drawback: Weak Point)

I could probably weave some microcomputers into the suit, with flexible monitor displays on the sleeves and miniaturized microphone and speakers along the collar, allowing me to wear a GPS system, a radio, a television, an iPod, a computer... almost anything!

But something more... more... more! More pockets! Wait, no, bigger and deeper pockets! I should be able to miniaturize some of the tech used in my house which makes it bigger on the inside than the outside into the lining of the pockets....

Armored Labcoat, v1.1.3 said:

Device 3 (Hard to Lose, 15 points). 12pp

Dimensional Pocket 1 (100 lbs.; Flaw: Grapple Required)

Immunity 2 (cold, heat)

Protection 4 (Extra: Impervious; PF: Subtle; Drawback: Weak Point)

Super-Senses 4 (direction sense, distance sense, radio, time sense)

Edited March 30, 2019 by Dr Archeville

Dr Archeville · September 17, 2008

31 July 2008 (Thursday)

Reminiscing about my labcoat has made me reminisce about my other wearable device: my Gravimetric Belt. As I've thought about its beginnings, I have begun to think about how I should like to further develop it. I believe I have found a very good direction for it.

I first constructed the Gravimetric Belt in the summer of 1999, after having graduated from the Hanover Institute of Technology and moved back to SchÃ¶nwald im Schwarzwald. Though simple compared to my Belt today, even then it was a marvel of advanced technology, able to actually manipulate gravity (something my grandfather attempted for the Nazis, though thankfully never did get quite right) for both protective and movement capabilities. According to Einstein's general relativity, gravity is just the curvature of space-time caused by mass, while quantum physics suggests that gravity is mediated by elementary particles called gravitons. The workings of my Belt take some elements from both theories, along with a few others; it's nowhere near proof of a "Grand Unified Theory," but it is a few steps in the right direction.

It took a great deal of trial and error, though! The very first attempt at generating the protective force field resulting in a field that actually attracted things towards me, and the second attempt created a field that erratically deflected projectiles and beams to random directions. But I was eventually able to smooth things out, resulting in a force field which glows a soft blue and makes a soft hum, and was for the most part impenetrable by normal small caliber projectiles and very resistant to higher calibers. It worked especially well if a force was applied omnidirectionally, such as from the crushing pressures of the ocean or the greedy vacuum of space (well, theoretically, at least). The field protected equally well against energy attacks, including environmental thermal and radiation hazards. As for movement, the Belt could generate anti- and contra-gravity waves so as to permit flight, at speeds of up to 40 kph. I could also use these waves to counter the 'broad' force of any impact I took: not an enhancement to the protective force field per se but rather a means of resisting unwanted movement from, say, a charging rhinoceros. Far more impressive, though, was that I could use the Belt to actually generate small, short-lived wormholes, allowing me to teleport distances of up to 60 meters!

Gravimetric Belt v1.0.6 said:

Device 4 (gravimetric belt; hard to lose; 20 points). 16pp.
Flight 2 (25 mph; PFs: 2 Alternate Powers) [6]

AP: Sustained Immovability 4

AP: Teleport 2 (200 ft)

Force Field 5 (Extras: Impervious 3, Linked Sustained Immunity 5 [cold, heat, high pressure, radiation, vacuum]; PF: Selective) [14]

Even once it was fully operational and I had gotten all the bigs worked out, I still wanted to improve it. I focused on the protective field first, increasing its efficiency and power. I also devised a way to set the field to block anything larger than a Hydrogen atom, making it airtight; a small cannister of highly compressed air allowed me to breath in these cases. I also upgraded the flight abilities slightly, for better control and stability.

Gravimetric Belt v1.0.7 said:

Device 5 (gravimetric belt; hard to lose; 25 points). 20pp.
Flight 2 (25 mph; PFs: 2 Alternate Powers, Move-By Action) [7]

AP: Sustained Immovability 4

AP: Teleport 2 (200 ft)

Force Field 6 (Extras: Impervious 4, Linked Sustained Immunity 7 [cold, heat, high pressure, radiation, suffocation effect, vacuum]; PF: Selective) [18]

Continued work saw an increase in flight speed, to 80 kph, and the wormhole generator, allowing teleportation of distances up to 90 meters under optimal conditions, and up to 300 meters hen set to an 'overdrive' mode. The 'overdrive' mode does no harm to the Belt itself, as far as I can tell, but the ride is very bumpy and leaves the passenger -- that is, me -- very shaken and disoriented for a few moments.

I also continued to work on the protective field, increasing the efficiency and power, and worked out a new trick. If I could 'tune' the protective field to bend electromagnetic energies around me, I could render myself invisible to vision (normal, infrared, ultraviolet, and other) and radar! I focused on tricking vision systems first, since most of my foes rely on vision as their primary means of detection. One drawback, the 'cloak' needed to be tied to the force field emitters, and drains power form them when active, so when I am invisible my protective field loses about half its power. Still, I suppose it would make things too easy for me if I could be both fully protected and fully invisible, and I do want some challenge!

Gravimetric Belt v1.0.9 said:

Device 6 (gravimetric belt; hard to lose; 30 points). 24pp.
Flight 3 (50 mph; PFs: 2 Alternate Powers, Move-By Action) [9]

AP: Sustained Immovability 7

AP: Teleport 3 (300 ft./1,000 ft.; PF: Change Velocity)

Force Field 7 (Extras: Impervious 5, Linked Sustained Immunity 7 [cold, heat, high pressure, radiation, suffocation effect, vacuum]; PFs: 1 Alternate Power, Selective) [21]

AP: Force Field 5 (Extras: Linked Concealment 4 [all visual; PF: Close Range; Flaw: Blending], Linked Sustained Immunity 7 [cold, heat, high pressure, radiation, suffocation effect, vacuum]; PFs: Selective, Subtle)

And now we are at the current version of my Belt. I've continued tweaking the movement abilities, so now it lets me fly faster (160 kph) and teleport farther (120 meters optimum, 1.6 kilometers in 'overdrive' mode). I also improved the gyrostabilizers so that if unwillingly knocked prone I can easily and quickly right myself. The protective field is now almost totally impervious to any non-military grade projectile weapons of any caliber, and offers good protection against all manner of attack. Further improvements to the 'cloaking field' allow me to fool any electromagnetic-based sense, such as radar.

Gravimetric Belt v1.1.0 said:

Device 7 (gravimetric belt; hard to lose; 35 points). 28pp.
Flight 4 (100 mph; PFs: 2 Alternate Powers, Instant Up, Move-By Action) [12]

AP: Sustained Immovability 10

AP: Teleport 4 (400 ft./1 mile; PFs: Change Direction, Change Velocity)

Force Field 8 (Extras: Impervious 6, Linked Sustained Immunity 7 [cold, heat, high pressure, radiation, suffocation effects, vacuum]; PFs: 1 Alternate Power, Selective) [23]

AP: Force Field 6 (Extras: Linked Concealment 6 [all radio and all visual; PF: Close Range; Flaw: Blending], Linked Sustained Immunity 7 [cold, heat, high pressure, radiation, suffocation effects, vacuum]; PFs: Selective, Subtle)

And what will the future hold? Well, I think I should like to go into space: Daedalus has done it, why shouldn't I? Besides, I really would like to be able to walk on the Moon, or Mars, or or Titan, to explore the asteroid belt, and find out just what's in those gas giants. Saturn releases two and half times more energy into space than it receives from the Sun -- how?! I want to know!

To do this, I'll need several things:

A massive increase in speed. At the Belt's current flight speed of 160 kph, I can reach the Moon in 3,563 hours (at its closest point), or about five months.
Increase in protection. While I believe my protective field is sufficient to survive the heat of re-entry -- especially if I can alter the shape of the field so as to better distribute the friction -- I am not certain.
Switch the environmental and other life support functions to an independent system, separate from the protective field, so that should the protective field fail I won't immediately suffocate, freeze, fry, or some combination of the three.
Improve life support functions and gyrostabilizers such that large alterations in gravity (say, from being in the micro-gravity of outer space, or on a very high- or low-gravity world) won't affect me too adversely. Perhaps a micro-scale personal gravity field, to keep my person at a constant state of 1G?

Most of my experiments show I can get the current flight ability up to 400 kph without strain, and the teleportation circuitry can handle energy sufficient for jumps of up to 8 kilometers in 'overdrive' mode. The protective field can be incrementally improved as well. As for truly new abilities for it, I will work on adding an ability to handle high-gravity situations first, for the simple reason that it's far easier to create high-g environments in my laboratory and so that is the environment in which I can most readily test.

Gravimetric Belt v1.1.1 said:

Device 8 (gravimetric belt; hard to lose; 40 points). 32pp.
Enhanced Feats 1 (Environmental Adaptation [high-gravity]) [1]

Flight 5 (250 mph; PFs: 2 Alternate Powers, Instant Up, Move-By Action) [14]

AP: Sustained Immovability 12

AP: Teleport 5 (500 ft./5 miles; PFs: Change Direction, Change Velocity)

Force Field 9 (Extras: Impervious 7, Linked Sustained Immunity 7 [cold, heat, high pressure, radiation, suffocation effects, vacuum]; PFs: 1 Alternate Power, Selective) [25]

AP: Force Field 7 (Extras: Linked Concealment 6 [all radio and all visual; PF: Close Range; Flaw: Blending], Linked Sustained Immunity 7 [cold, heat, high pressure, radiation, suffocation effects, vacuum]; PFs: Selective, Subtle)

Once high-gravity safety is sustainably achieved, I shall focus on low-gravity -- again, easier to generate low-g conditions than zero-g ones in my laboratory. The protective field can also be improved.

As for movement, I'm moving away from increasing the direct flight capability, and focusing on the wormhole-generation aspect of my Belt. If I can work out how to, in layman's terms, "wrap myself in a wormhole," I could theoretically move at speeds equal to or even exceeding light. I would essentially be warping space around me in such away that I would be 'slingshot' across the gulf of space, skipping along like a rock tossed across the surface of a lake (with the lake being normal space and the air above being a sort of, to borrow a term, 'subspace').

So, I'll need to improve the teleportation ability, set part of it on a separate system that can have extreme amounts of power fed more easily directly to it in case of an overload. A bonus: even with minimal adjustment, initial experiments and theories indicate that I could teleport distances of up to 30 kilometers!

One side-note: safety. I don't want this Belt's secrets falling to just anyone (though I'd need to be unconscious or worse before relinquishing it!), so I'm going to install some safeguards which should make it difficult for anyone who should steal it from me to use it. I can't use anything too complicated, else I'd have to completely re-design the thing as I re-route systems, but I believe a simple rearrangement of the controls to a non-intuitive style and the addition of a few redundant-seeming components should suffice.

Also, a note on the stealth field: while working on these improvements I found a way to have gravity waves counter and cancel sound waves. My cloaking field can make me inaudible as well as invisible!

Gravimetric Belt v1.1.2 said:

Device 9 (gravimetric belt; hard to lose; 45 points; PF: Restricted - Only usable by those with a +10 or better Knowledge/Technology modifier). 37pp.
Enhanced Feats 2 (Environmental Adaptation [low-gravity, high-gravity]) [2]

Flight 5 (250 mph; PFs: 2 Alternate Powers, Instant Up, Move-By Action) [14]

AP: Sustained Immovability 12

AP: Enhanced Teleport 5 (to Teleport 6 [600 ft./20 miles; PFs: Change Direction, Change Velocity)

Force Field 10 (Extras: Impervious 8, Linked Sustained Immunity 7 [cold, heat, high pressure, radiation, suffocation effects, vacuum]; PFs: 1 Alternate Power, Selective) [27]

AP: Force Field 8 (Extras: Linked Concealment 8 [all auditory, radio and visual; PF: Close Range; Flaw: Blending], Linked Sustained Immunity 7 [cold, heat, high pressure, radiation, suffocation effects, vacuum]; PFs: Selective, Subtle)

Teleport 1 (100 ft.) [2]

I'm almost there, so close I can almost feel the solar winds on my... okay, metaphors aren't my forte. But Science is! The gravitic adaptators are set, letting me work comfortably in high-, low-, and zero-gravity environs. Life support functions are on their own independent systems, separate from the protective field; the protective field should be sufficient to withstand re-entry, cosmic storms, and other hazards.

More importantly, I've worked out space travel speeds! It's not very fast compared to, say, the Freedom League's Pegasus-class Star-Plane (which I've heard can reach speeds of 25c), but it's enough to let me reach Mars in about 5-30 minutes (depending on where it and Earth are in their obits), and Saturn in about an hour!

Gravimetric Belt v1.1.3 said:

Device 10 (gravimetric belt; hard to lose; 50 points; PF: Restricted - Only usable by those with a +10 or better Knowledge/Technology modifier). 41pp.
Enhanced Feats 3 (Environmental Adaptation [low-gravity, high-gravity, zero gravity]) [3]

Flight 5 (250 mph; PFs: 2 Alternate Powers, Instant Up, Move-By Action) [14]

AP: Sustained Immovability 12

AP: Enhanced Teleport 5 (to Teleport 6 [600 ft./20 miles; PFs: Change Direction, Change Velocity)

Force Field 11 (Extras: Impervious 9; PFs: 1 Alternate Power, Selective) [22]

AP: Force Field 9 (Extras: Linked Concealment 8 [all auditory, radio and visual; PF: Close Range; Flaw: Blending]; PFs: Selective, Subtle)

Immunity 9 (life support; Flaw: Limited to half effect for diseases and poisons) [8]

Space Flight 1 (1c) [1]

Teleport 1 (100 ft.) [2]

I'll probably want to increase the effectiveness of the protective field a bit more, just to be safe. Also, minor increases to the efficiency of the teleportation system allow for 'overdrive' jumps of almost 325 kilometers.

My concern now is communication and sensors: once I get to these planets and other wonders, I'll need some way to sense what's around me, record my findings, and if need be transit data back to Earth! Fortunately my Electromagnetic Screwdriver should be able to handle all this, but I may want to look into creating some senor- and communication-specific gear. Goggles, perhaps. I should look into chatting with whomever provided Velocity her visor, get some ideas from them.

One minor thing that's bugged me: if my protective and life-support fields are airtight, shouldn't there be no odor coming from me? Yet there is! Then I realized what it was: the fields were ionizing some air molecules around me, generating ozone and a few other compounds with distinctive smells, or at least distinctive enough to beings with a heightened olfactory sense. This can be remedied, though is very low on my list of priorities, so it can wait until after I achieve space travel.

EDIT: It seems My Other has incorporated some psionic shielding into the cloaking functions. Which, while admittedly is useful, makes me concerned My Other is trying to hide something from Scarab.

Gravimetric Belt v1.1.4 said:

Device 11 (gravimetric belt; hard to lose; 55 points; PF: Restricted - Only usable by those with a +10 or better Knowledge/Technology modifier). 45pp.
Enhanced Feats 3 (Environmental Adaptation [low-gravity, high-gravity, zero gravity]) [3]

Flight 5 (250 mph; PFs: 2 Alternate Powers, Instant Up, Move-By Action) [14]

AP: Sustained Immovability 12

AP: Enhanced Teleport 6 (to Teleport 7 [700 ft./200 miles])

Force Field 12 (Extra: Impervious 10; PFs: 1 Alternate Power, Selective) [24]

AP: Force Field 10 (Extra: Linked Concealment 10 [all senses; PF: Close Range; Flaw: Blending], PFs: Selective, Subtle)

Immunity 9 (life support) [9]

Space Travel 1 (1c) [1]

Teleport 1 (100 ft; PFs: Change Direction, Change Velocity) [4]

By this point, though, it may be better to just start over from scratch and built my Belt from the ground up. Use all-new components, take advantage of all the newest discoveries.

Gravimetric Belt v1.1.4.a said:

Device 12 (gravimetric belt; hard to lose; 60 points; PF: Restricted - Only usable by those with a +10 or better Knowledge/Technology modifier). 49pp.
Enhanced Feats 3 (Environmental Adaptation [low-gravity, high-gravity, zero gravity]) [3]

Flight 1 (10 mph; PFs: Instant Up, Move-By Action) [4]

Immovability 1 [1pp]

Force Field 12 (Extra: Impervious 10; PFs: 1 Alternate Power, Selective) [24]

AP: Force Field 10 (Extra: Linked Concealment 10 [all senses; PF: Close Range; Flaw: Blending], PFs: Selective, Subtle)

Immunity 9 (life support) [9]

Power Reserve 6 (Flight and Immovability; PFs: Additional Powers 2 [space Travel and Teleport]) [14]

Space Travel 1 (1c) [1]

Teleport 1 (100 ft; PFs: Change Direction, Change Velocity) [4]

3+4+1+24+9+14+1+4 = 60pp

Can use Power Reserve to pump Flight to 7 (1,000 mph), Immovability to 13, Space Travel to 13 (10k c), or Teleport to 7 (700 feet/200 miles).

Ah, there is perhaps another way to move faster: reduce my mass! If I can properly alter my own electromagnetic and gravitic fields, I could reduce my density down to almost nothing! I could of course move much faster that way.

Gravimetric Belt v1.1.4.b said:

Device 12 (gravimetric belt; hard to lose; 60 points; PF: Restricted - Only usable by those with a +10 or better Knowledge/Technology modifier). 49pp.
Enhanced Feats 3 (Environmental Adaptation [low-gravity, high-gravity, zero gravity]) [3]

Flight 7 (1,000 mph; PFs: 2 Alternate Powers, Instant Up, Move-By Action) [18]

AP: Sustained Immovability 16

AP: Enhanced Teleport 8 (to Teleport 9 [900 ft./anywhere on Earth])

Force Field 12 (Extra: Impervious 10; PFs: 2 Alternate Powers, Selective) [25]

AP: Force Field 10 (Extra: Linked Concealment 10 [all senses; PF: Close Range; Flaw: Blending], PFs: Selective, Subtle)

AP: Insubstantial 4 (incorporeal; affected by gravitic and magnetic attacks) and Enhanced Space Travel 3 (to Space Travel 4 [10c])

Immunity 9 (life support) [9]

Space Travel 1 (1c) [1]

Teleport 1 (100 ft; PFs: Change Direction, Change Velocity) [4]

No, no, altering my own intrinsic fields could be too dangerous, especially if I did so too often. Which I (or, perhaps more accurately, My Other) would be tempted to do. Best to stick with what I have, and just work to improve it. Though one small (well, relatively speaking) change I make is to install doubly (or triply, or quadruply, or quintuply!)-redundant systems. Losing my propulsion, or even most of my protective field, while in space wouldn't be too bad, but if I lost the Life Support, I'd be hosed.

Gravimetric Belt v1.1.4.c said:

Device 13 (Gravimetric Belt; 65pp, hard to lose; PF: Restricted Ã¢â‚¬â€œ only usable by those with a +10 or better modifier on Knowledge/Technology) 53pp
Enhanced Feats 3 (Environmental Adaptation [low-gravity, high-gravity, zero gravity]) [3]

Flight 1 (10 mph; PFs: Instant Up, Move-By Action) [4]

Immovability 1 [1pp]

Force Field 12 (Extra: Impervious 10; PFs: 1 Alternate Power, Selective) [24]

AP: Force Field 10 (Extra: Linked Concealment 10 [all senses; PF: Close Range; Flaw: Blending], PFs: Selective, Subtle)

Immunity 9 (life support; PF: Innate) [10]

Power Reserve 8 (Flight and Immovability; PFs: Additional Powers 2 [space Travel and Teleport]) [18]

Space Travel 1 (1c) [1]

Teleport 1 (100 ft; PFs: Change Direction, Change Velocity) [4]

3+4+1+24+10+18+1+4 = 65pp

Can use Power Reserve to pump Flight to 9 (5,000 mph), Immovability to 17, Space Travel to 17 (250k c), or Teleport to 9 (900 feet/20,000 miles).

Edited March 30, 2019 by Dr Archeville

Dr Archeville · December 1, 2008

20 May 2008 (Tuesday)

My lecture was a complete success! And as an added bonus, I've made two new contacts, one I had hoped to make, and one I was pleasant surprised with.

I had hoped Eric Micheals, owner of the weapons manufacturer Dart, Inc., would be present, and he was! I've arranged to meet with him this Friday to discuss some business matters -- I did not go into much detail, in part because I wasn't sure who might be overhearing, and in part to keep him guessing. (A little anticipation is good, keeps one's senses sharp.) I'm hoping I can work out a deal so I can start laying the groundwork for my own company, but will have to watch that I don't get suckered into something where I wind up working for his corporation. This will be my first real foray into business, so I must go very carefully.

The second contact was with a young blue-haired man, Darian Cale. Very bright, very energetic, ver enthusiastic. I see bits of myself in him... and bits of Doc Otaku. I want to help him, make sure he's set on a proper path. I think I may have spooked him, though, when I inadvertently did that "hyper-observant mega-deduction" thing my brain sometimes does (he's working on a a suit of powered armor). Time, as always, will tell. I shall be meeting with him on Saturday to discuss some things, including his "life's work" (the suit).

Dr Archeville · December 11, 2008

9 August 2008 (Saturday)

The 2008 Summer Olympics started in Beijing last night. If my homeland does not make it to the top five, I shall be a bit upset.

Which got me to thinking: should "metahumans" (I've still yet to find a term I am fully comfortable with) be allowed to participate in sporting events with "baseline" humans? On the one hand, it could be seen as a form of discrimination, especially in cases where the individual was born with their powers. Then again, there are almost no unisex sporting events due to the differences between men and women, and the differences between some metahumans and baseline humans is far more profound. On the other hand, allowing them to play together could lead to a de-emphasis on the "baselines" as fans want to see more and more metahuman athletes (human achievement becomes less emphasized and impressive in the face of metahuman achievement), so it may be inevitable that metahuman-only teams come about.

Of course, until there is a reliable way to test for metahuman abilities -- including the so-called "magical" ones -- it would be impossible to even attempt to ban every metahuman from such events. Especially in cases where their abilities are so subtle that they themselves do not even know they are a metahuman.

24 August 2008 (Sunday)

Fifth place, behind Great Britain, Russia, the United States, and China. Can't say the presence of any of those five surprises me, though I was hoping Germany would surpass Great Britain. Ah, well.

Dr Archeville · January 23, 2009

25 August 2008 (Monday)

I had a very odd dream last night

It starts with me at a beach, preparing to go snorkeling. I dive in, swim down very far, farther than any snorkeling gear should allow. I find a city at the bottom, full of lights, but no humanoids around, just simple fish. Then, in the distance, a shark appears, and begins swimming towards me. I swim up, trying to get away, and miraculously reach the shore before it could devour me. I stumble onto shore, scramble up, exhausted, then the shark leaps from the water and beaches itself... then morphs into Schatten, the black cat I had as a child. She turned and looked at me as I lay on the beach, still panting from my swim, and she winks at me, then walks slowly off down the beach.

What does it mean? I've sketched some of the city structures as best I can, but I do not recognize anything, not even a specific architectural style. Was it all merely some undigested bit of beef and spot of mustard sitting wrongly on my stomach, or something more?

Dr Archeville · January 30, 2009

3 September 2008 (Wednesday)

HIT started their new academic year today; most of the other schools should be in session by now. I need to go through all the requests I've gotten for lectures and speeches: I've received over a dozen so far just from HIT, and a few from FCU's Communications department. I'm torn: I do feel some loyalty to HIT (and certainly committed my share of pranks on FCU), but FCU has the far better business program, and that's something that interests me now. Going to FCU might boost the funding they receive for science courses (their medical programme is coming up nicely), and make them a better rival for HIT, which would improve both. But I don't want to seem disloyal to HIT, nor do I wish to risk doing something that would cause them to lose funds. I must think on this.

19 September 2008 (Friday)

Oktoberfest starts tomorrow, and my plane for Munich leaves in an hour. 6.2 million people came last year, and there'll likely be even more this year. Best of all, I've been selected to be a guest judge at one of the contests!

I wonder if Marie will be there? Or Sophie or Anna or Lena or Johanna or...

6 October 2008 (Monday)

Back at Freedom City. Munich was as lovely as ever, and I got a souvenir mug to add to my collection. Brought back a god deal of food, too, though not nearly as much as I would like (but isn't that always the case?). It'll still be enough to hold a nice party for my neighbors... whom I've till yet to really meet, aside from the impromptu party they threw for me when I first moved in.

But first, rest: in the past sixteen days, I've gotten maybe 40 hours of sleep, total, which is harsh even for me. And, yes, part of my lack of sleep was because Marie was there. As well as Sophie and Anna and Lena and Johanna, and a few others. To paraphrase Mr. Brooks, "it's good to be the youthful-looking charismatic super-scientist."

Dr Archeville · February 24, 2009

5 November 2008 (Wednesday)

Today would be my mother's 58th birthday, had she lived through childbirth.

How different would my life be had she been in it? From what my father told me, she was beautiful, insightful, strong, and wise. If she had survived, and my father had not had to raise me on his own, would he be in a better place than he is in now? Would I not be the genius I am today if I had not had to quickly learn those early lessons in self-reliance? Would I be more empathic, less manipulative, if she had helped raise me, if my parents had provided a stable environment? I wonder.

And I wonder if, if I had the opportunity to change my past -- to make sure my mother did survive my birth -- would I do so? Can timelines even be changed? Most theories indicate that, no, they cannot, that going into the past to change some event does not alter your present, it merely creates a parallel timeline; if after making some change you go back to the present, you either go to the present you left (and so it appears nothing changed) or you go to the 'present' of the parallel timeline (in which case you may meet the parallel timeline version of yourself). Other theories suggest that minor events can be changed without disrupting the timeline, but that the "grand scheme of things" will still play out. Under these theories, if you go back to stop JFK from being assassinated, you can do so, but someone else will assassinate him at a later date, or he may die in a complete accident such as by slipping in the shower. These theories are somewhat disturbing, as it implies that, since some or even many events will happen no matter what, that we have a restricted amount of Free Will.

12 November 2008 (Wednesday)

Today the 38th Chess Olympiad starts, running to the 25th. This year the event is being held in Dresden, Germany. The 37th was held in Turin, Italy, and the 39th should be in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

I've never played chess. It's not that it doesn't interest me, I've read of its history and strategies, and I do find it quite fascinating. I've just never taken the time to actually play a game, not even against a computer.

Predictions? I'd expect Armenia to the in the top three, they've been in the top three spot for the past three tournaments. The USA made it into the top three last time, and they likely will this year, too. Which leaves China, the other top three contender from last year. I don't foresee them getting into the top three this year, there've been too many distractions in the country. Perhaps someone unexpected? I've heard promising reports about the Hungarian and Israeli players (they placed 5th and 4th last time).

13 November 2008 (Thursday)

Three planets orbiting HR 8799 and one planet orbiting Fomalhaut were visually verified by telescopes today, making them the first extrasolar planets whose existence have been confirmed via direct imaging. Huzzah!

19 November 2008 (Wednesday)

NASA successfully tested the first deep-space communications protocol to pave the way for an Interplanetary Internet. Huzzah!

20 November 2008 (Thursday)

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter discovered evidence of enormous underground deposits of water ice on Mars; one such deposit, under Hellas Planitia, is estimated to be the size of Los Angeles. Huzzah!

25 November 2008 (Tuesday)

I was right: Armenia placed #1, Israel #2, USA #3 in the 38th Chess Olympiad.

Perhaps I shall enter the next Olympiad. Germany's not been made it to even the top ten spot in a decade. I'd like to see that change. (It'd also be a good chance to brush up on my Russian.) Of course, this means I would have to actually play....

Dr Archeville · March 5, 2009

2 December 2008 (Tuesday)

10,000 people have been infected with cholera in Zimbabwe, and over 400 have died, due to an outbreak that's been raging since August.

How can this be happening? How can cholera still be a problem? It shouldn't be that hard to contain and avoid -- safe water shouldn't be that difficult to maintain! Yet if someone were to go in, overthrow President Mugabe, and installed efficient and reliable water purification systems, they'd be the one who would be chastised for "stepping out of bounds."

This is going to get worse, far worse, before it gets better. I can easily foresee the numbers -- both in infected and dead -- increasing tenfold. Especialy if its not contained in time, and spreads to Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zambia.

5 December 2008 (Friday)

NASA delayed the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory until the autumn of 2011 because of lengthening delays and lingering technical issues. I.e., they've fallen behind on building and testing the hardware, which will increase the cost of the mission.

I offered to help. Heck, German scientists are what made NASA work in the first place! But no, they didn't want me. Said I was "too erratic," couldn't be trusted with such a project.

Fools! I'll show them! I'll show them all! I'll fly to Mars myself!

I other news, MIT reported that it has succeeded in using radio waves to mix 50,000,000 Ã‚Â°C plasma at its Alcator C-Mod fusion reactor. That's over 9,000 times hotter than the surface of the Sun, and almost 2.5 times hotter than its core! This is fitting, since the Alcator C-Mod is the largest fusion reactor operated by any university, and has the he highest magnetic field and highest plasma pressure in the world.

Well, I'd best get on to bed -- Krampus is coming! (The stories of Krampus punishing the wicked children while Weihnachtsmann, Father Christmas, rwarded the good children with toys, always appealed to me more than the ones with Santa Claus meting out both rewards and punishments.)

7 December 2008 (Sunday)

As of today, the German Federal Archives has provided Wikipedia with 100,000 historical images that cover periods such as the Weimar Republic, the colonial era, the Third Reich, and post-reunification. I'm rather proud of that.

10 December 2008 (Wednesday)

Today the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that 963 million people are suffering from prolonged food deficiency around the world.

This is intolerable. There should not be such conditions in this world, especially since the main factor isn't a scarcity of food (though that is a factor), it's in transporting the food to those who need it, due both to rising fuel costs and mind-numbingly idiotic bureaucracies. If the Freedom League were really interested in helping the world, they'd use their teleportals to make sure people get adequate nourishment! But, again, they'd be seen as "crossing a line" and "overstepping their boundaries" due to all that strangling red tape.

There are some other workarounds, though. Creating a crop that requires little resources to grow, and that are resistant to heightened levels of ozone and temperature extremes, would mean more crops could be grown in more places. (The development of such crops would dovetail nicely with work done on preparing habitats in both space stations and on other planets.) Or we could just hack into the world's communication satellites and have them send out a pulse that would "shut off" the life functions of all persons without certain desirable genetic traits. Less mouths to feed.

Speaking of space habitation, more space news! After monitoring stellar orbits around Sagittarius A* (the supermassive black hole in center of the Milky Way) for 16 years, scientists estimate the object's mass at 4.31 million solar masses. Also, scientists say they have found evidence for water vapour and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the planet HD 189733 b, an Jovian-class extrasolar planet approximately 63 light-years away in the constellation of Vulpecula (the Fox).

15 December 2008 (Wednesday)

A frighteningly impressive occurrence: Dr. Stratos, Glacier, and Madame Zero teamed up and held much of New England hostage with a massive ice storm. The Freedom League was able to stop them, but hundreds of thousands of homes in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and New Hampshire are still without electricity.

19 December 2008 (Friday)

Internet and telephone transmissions between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia were seriously disrupted today. The FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe), SEA-ME-WE 3 (South-East Asia - Middle East - Western Europe 3), and SEA-ME-WE 4 (South East AsiaÃ¢â‚¬â€œMiddle EastÃ¢â‚¬â€œWestern Europe 4) submarine communications cables are believed to have been cut for the second time this year (the first time being January 23rd; t took about a week and a half to restore them then). Egypt is experiencing an overall 80% reduction in Internet capacity, and about 75% of all internet communication between the Middle East and the rest of the world, and Asia and the rest of the world, are being disrupted.

Natural breaks, caused by extreme weather? Accidents, caused by careless boat captains dragging their anchors? Or sabotage? If sabotage, by whom, an for what purpose?

31 December 2008 (Wednesday)

One of the world's biggest accumulations of dinosaur fossils was found near Zhucheng, China today. I find that somewhat poetic, the past reaching out as we advance to another year, refusing to be quietly left behind.

Dr Archeville · March 14, 2009

Since my original intention has always been for Dr. Archeville's Inventor feat to come into a play a fair deal, here is a handy cheat sheet, reflecting some of his recent skill increases:

Craft (chemical, electronics, and mechanical) all +21.

(up to +27 with Electromagnetic Screwdriver or at HQ)

Knowledge (technology) at +21.

(up to +27 with Electromagnetic Screwdriver or at HQ)

Quickness 6 (x100; Mental only)

Quote

Design up to 31/37pp inventions (if Taking 20, though that takes 20x the time). Requires 1 hour per pp; since you can Take 20 on this, Quickness does apply.
Take [-X], can design a 3pp invention (like an Easy to Lose Device 1) in 1.8 minutes (108 seconds, or 18 rounds)

Take 1, Design an 12/18pp invention in 0.12/0.18 hours (7.2/10.8 minutes)

Take 10, Design a 21/27pp invention in 0.21/0.27 hours (12.6/16.2 minutes)

Take 20, Design a 31/37pp invention in 6.2/7.4 hours.

Construct up to 31/37pp inventions, if rolling a natural 20 (cannot Take 20, but can Take 10). Takes 4 hours per pp to construct. Since you cannot Take 20 on this check, Quickness does not apply, but can halve time by taking a -5 on the Craft check.

Take [more than -5], can construct a 3pp invention in 6 hours.

Take 1, can construct a 12pp invention in 48 hours, or a 7pp invention in 14 hours. With E.M. or at HQ, can construct an 18p invention in 72 hours, or a 13pp one in 26 hours.

Take 10, can construct a 21pp invention in 84 hours, or a 16pp invention in 32 hours. With E.M. or at HQ, can construct a 27pp invention in 108 hours, or a 22pp invention in 44 hours.

If he can get a 20 on the roll, he can construct a 31pp invention in 124 hours, or a 26pp invention in 52 hours. With E.M. or at HQ, can construct a 37pp invention in 148 hours, or a 32pp invention in 64 hours.

Quote

When he absolutely, positively needs something now(-ish), that's when Jury Rigging/Kit Bashing comes in.
Doc can Kit Bash up to 26pp inventions (if rolling a 20 on Craft check), 32 is using E.M. or at his HQ. Requires one round per pp. Cannot Take 10 or 20, so Quickness does not apply.

At bare minimum (i.e., rolling a 1), he can kit-bash a 7pp/13pp invention in 7/13 rounds.

If looking to make just a 10+ on the die roll, can kit-bash a 16pp/22pp invention in 16/22 rounds.

Edited March 30, 2019 by Dr Archeville

Dr Archeville · March 15, 2009

A Timeline... of Science!

(Summer), 1977: Viktor Heinrich Archeville is born to Varick and Cynthia Archeville in SchÃ¶nwald im Schwarzwald, a small town in the majestic Black Forest of Germany [which is in the southwestern portion of what was known as West Germany], in the state of Baden-WÃ¼rttemberg. Sadly, Cynthia dies in childbirth.

(Summer), 1990: Viktor's father is incarcerated in an insane asylum, and Archeville is made a Ward of the State.

Fall, 1993: Viktor enrolls in the Technische UniversitÃ¤t MÃ¼nchen, the Technical University of Munich. He later transfers to the Hanover Institute of Technology in Freedom, USA.

Spring 1999: Viktor Archeville, now Doctor Archeville, graduates with a Doctorate in Mathematics and Masters degrees in both chemistry and physics from HIT (and gets away with pulling a rather epic prank).

Summer 1999 - Winter 2007: Doktor Archeville works as a superhero in and around Germany. In August of 2006, Archeville fought BlÅzan in Berlin.

Jan 1st, 2008: Dr. Archeville return to Freedom City, after having spent nearly a decade in Europe working as a superhero.

Feb 16, 2008: Dr. Archeville, along with two young metahumans (shadow-manipulating Kizzy and the gleaming silvery space-man Star) stop Dryad in her mini-rampage at Midnight Hour. Dryad is sentenced to seven months in Blackstone. (A New Day, A New Way)

Later, Kizzy and Archeville, and Legionnaire fight some evil tech-priests in a temple; Kizzy accidentally kills one of the tech-priests. Archeville confiscate the body in order to study the cybernetic implants it contains. (We Are Legion)

March 5th, 2008: While Dr. Archeville visits Dryad in Blackstone, a riot breaks out. White Knight and some of his cronies hold several guards hostage. (I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings)

April 16th, 2008: Emissary holds an "open trials" day at the Freedom League's hall, allowing new superheroes in Freedom City to come and show their stuff. In attendance are Captain Wonder, Dr. Archeville, Legionnaire, Mongrel Angel, and Velocity. The sparring match between Legionnaire and Mongrel Angel gets out of hand when the time-lost Roman goes into a seeming berserk fury, but Emissary and Captain Wonder break it up before anyone is too seriously injured. Captain Wonder helps Legionnaire return to his own time. (A Day At the Super-Gym)

April 23rd, 2008: Emissary tries to continue/expand his prior training session by organizing a charity event. Invited to the planning session are Captain Wonder, Dr. Archeville, Gossamer, Rusty Nail, and Velocity. Personal matters draw Captain Wonder, Gossamer, and Rusty Nail away before any plans could be finalized. (You Know, For Kids!)

May 19th, 2008: Dr. Archeville gives a speech at HIT. Among those in attendance are Exile, Malice, and Quark, all in their civilian IDs. (HIT Science & Engineering Lecture Series, v1)

May 23rd, 2008: Dr. Archeville pays Eric Micheals a visit at Darts, Inc., and Eric gives Archeville the grand tour. By the end of the day, Archeville agrees to work as a consultant for Darts. (Business & Technology)

May 24th, 2008: Dr. Archeville pays Darian Cale a visit. (Quantum Mechanics)

May 25th-31st, 2008: Dr. Archeville teaches himself both Hindi and Urdu.

Jun 2nd, 2008: Dr. Archeville muses on his legacy on the day he turns 31.

Sep 14th, 2008: Scarab II and Slamdance ask Dr. Archeville for some help as they investigate a Triple Murder in Riverside.

Sep 20th-Oct 5th, 2008: Dr. Archeville attends Oktoberfest in Munich.

Oct 10th, 2008: Dr. Archeville accepts a dinner invitation to Pharos (the world-famous Egyptian-themed restaurant on the top floor of 2 Pyramid Plaza) with Sofia Hernandez de la Cruz, CEO of the Rhodes Foundation (who also sent a large grant cheque with the invitation). He is instead met by Elena Guerrero, who (telepathically) reveals herself to be The Scarab. Before they can order dinner, though, the Power Corps shows up. The two defeat them, but Elena erases everyone's memory of her presence and Archeville gets all the credit; only Archeville himself retains the memories and knows the truth. (Networking)

Jan 15th, 2009: Lullaby pays Dr. Archeville a house call. (The Amazonian Technology)

Jan 29th, 2009: Dark Star arrives at the Star Island Space Control Center (SCC). Dr. Archeville, Quark, and a few others happen to be there to meet him. They foil an attempt by terrorists to blow up Daedalus' new space-plane (using Grue explosives!). (SCC & Star Island)

Mar 3rd, 2009: Topaz needs help in controlling some aspects of her abilities, and in obtaining furniture that doesn't break so easily. She comes to Doktor Archeville for help, who runs her through several tests. (Shards)

Mar 9th, 2009: Dr. Archeville attends Emma Twill's high society party. Also in attendance are Jack Faretti (and Melinda Ailey), and Elena Guerrero (Scarab II). (High Society)

Mar 23rd, 2009: Dr. Archeville gives another speech at HIT. Among those in attendance are Arrowhawk and Dark Star (either in civilian IDs or invisible), and Captain Knievel, who crashes the event. (HIT Science & Engineering Lecture Series, v2)

Mar 29th, 2009: Malice stole Arrowhawk's arrows. To stop that technology being in villainous hands, Arrowhawk attempts to find and break into Malice's headquarters. There is a HUGE EXPLOSION.... (The Arrow Strikes Home, then Massive Explosion in Riverside!) Though Doc is not involved in the rescue & clean-up efforts during the explosion, his association with Darts, Inc. -- the company owned & operated by Eric "Malice" Micheals -- does lead certain authorities to heavily question him.

Apr 6th, 2009: Hellbound gets airborne, with some help from Doktor Archeville. (Hellbound gets Airborne)

Apr 12th, 2009: Avenger, Hellbound, Dark Star, Divine, Doktor Archeville, Geckoman and Wesley Knight have been used as the test subjects for Dok Otaku's new improved Gender RayÂ®. They need to fix this problem (duh) ! (The Great Genderswitch Caper)

May 8th, 2009: Emissary sets up a meeting for some of the brainiest of the brainy among Freedom City, to exchange ideas on how they might use their skills for the betterment of all. (It's a Friday night, what else are brainiacs going to be doing?) Dr. Archeville, Psyche, Quark, and Twilight Gryphon all show up. (Brainiacs of Freedom! ver 2.0)

May XX, 2009: Doktor Archeville visits Eric "Malice" Micheals at Blackstone Federal Penitentiary. (Stocks and Bonds)

May 24th, 2009: A peaceful Sunday afternoon of experimenting with Dark Star's powers at Dr. Archeville's laboratory is interrupted by an extradimensional visitor who goes by the name Odysseus. DS & Doc follow Odysseus to his home -- a parallel Earth -- but things quickly degenerate as they realize Odysseus and his fellows are the vanguard of an extradimensional invasion force! All Ways of Contending, later Vaster than Empires and More Slow, later Checkmate)

Jun 5th, 2009: Dr. Archeville takes the Albright Institute up on their offer to test Metahuman abilities. (Power Gauging -- Dr. Archeville)

July 10th, 2009: Estelle "Gossamer" de Havilland and Doktor Archeville have a pleasant meal out at der Biergarten. Pleasant, until it is interrupted by the Power Corps, looking to get revenge on Doc for his role in defeating hem months earlier! ("When They Hear Oom Pah Pah!")

August 5th, 2009: Doktor Archeville, Quark, and Gossamer try to retrieve some of the Claremont kids (Breakdown, Edge, Geckoman, Hellion, Hope, Phalanx, Psyche, Wander) from an interdimensional transporter mishap. (They were sent to Erde/Nazi-Earth!) (Team Science!, later Reunited and It Feels So Good)

September 5th, 2009: A lot of unexplained mechanical failures have been happening all around the city. Havoc ensues when the "Y2K Bug" hits Millennium Mall.

September XX, 2009: The Knights of Freedom meet to have a discussion about recent events, events which have made some question their teammates and their places. (Knights - Fallout)

September 16th, 2009: A mysterious event causes a number of Freedom's heroes (Avenger, Dark Star, Doktor Archeville, Jack of All Blades, Thunderstanding, and Twilight Gryphon) to travel to The Days of High Adventure.

September 17th, 2009: A dimensional breach opens at the Ashron Mall in West End. Archeville's sensors detect it, and the man who exits. Archeville goes to greet him, but in addition to "Dr. Annihilate" he also finds Captain Knievel and Emperor, a young malicious magnetic Metahuman! The muscular man-mountain Atlas also shows up, but the villains focus on Archeville, putting a severe hurt on him. In the fight, the villains escape. (Annihilation: The Rise of Dr. Annihilate!)

Atlas carries Doc back to his Hanover home, where he is treated by his own hyperadvanced technology. Then sandwiches are eaten. (Brains & Brawn & Sandwiches)

September 19th-October 4th, 2009: Dr. Archeville attends Oktoberfest in Munich.

October XX, 2009: Doktor Archeville joins Jack (Avenger), Taylor (Phantom), Stesha (Fleur), Derrick (Dark Star), an incognito Ace Danger, and Lynn (Grim) in celebrating Taylor's birthday. (Archeville gives Taylor & Jack a handmade wood-and-brass cuckoo clock, featuring figurines of the two lovers.) There'll be drinks! And karaoke! And Blackjack!

October XX, 2009: Archeville's newest (and possibly most ambitious) superhero-ing project, The Interceptors, goes into operation.

November XX, 2009: The ArcheTech HQ is attacked by demons (Invasion! Hanover)! Fortunately for those inside, Archeville (with some help from Quark, Spitfire, Tarantula and Tempest) gets everyone to the safety of Ace Danger's warded mansion (Invasion! Danger Mansion).

December 13th-14th, 2009: Archeville ponders the Vampire Problem in Freedom City.

December 15th, 2009: Taylor (Phantom) and Jack (Avenger) have their white wedding. The wedding itself is small, but the reception afterward is a larger affair with many friends in attendance. Archeville pops in long enough to present a gift to the happy couple: a small robot that can clean, do basic housework chores, and generate a blood substitute that should meet Jack's dietary needs. Too bad the wedding is crashed by a Death Squad, come to punish Avenger for his breaking of the Dragon's Laws!

January 3rd, 2010: Taylor (Phantom) tells Stesha (Fleur) about some queasy feelings, and they put two and two together to realize Taylor is pregnant! But... Jack (Avenger) shouldn't be able to do that... should he? To get to the bottom of these pressing concerns, Stesha asks Ace Danger for advice, and he suggests calling in Dr. Archeville. What will he say about the possibility of a fetus growing up vampire? Who knows?!

Jan 7th, 2010: Ace Danger, Dark Star, Doktor Archeville, Fleur de Joie, and Freedom Angel find the Freedom League is missing! The culprit: the Tyranny Syndicate! Can these five save the revered heroes and stop their dastardly doppelgangers? (Childhood Dream)

Doktor Archeville made member of the Freedom League Auxiliary.

Jan 15th, 2010: Doktor Archeville helps Fulcrum get a hold of her powers. After all, Containment means never having to say KABOOM!. And a most curious thing happens: they find they're attracted to one another.

Jan 16th, 2010: Doktor Archeville and Fulcrum go on a date, and find out whether opposites attract. Hilarity ensues, as does a fight with the Sinister Science Squad as Archeville's castle!

February 6th-9th, 2010: Doktor Archeville has Grimalkin go back to school, undercover at Claremont and spy on Michael Harris (Phalanx) and Alexandra Albright (Psyche). When she returns, she tells him of their daughter-from-the-future, Zoe MacMillan (Zephyr), a revelation which unnerves him.

Feb 11th, 2010: Doktor Archeville goes to Scarab for continued psychotherapy, as well as some answers to questions that have been gnawing at him since the Knights had their falling out. What will come of this Meeting of the Minds?

Feb 14th, 2010: Colt, Dark Star, Grim, Jack of All Blade, Jester, and Doc are all whisked... somewhere quasi-Medieval. How? Why? Who knows, but surely they'll find that Life's Bazaar.

March 4th, 2010: On his way back into the city, Lukos is met by something quite unexpected: Doktor Archeville! What will come of his Interview with a Werewolf?

April XX, 2010: Doktor Archeville, Jack of All Blades, Moira, Phalanx, and Sarah Prescott fend off an attack on an ArcheTech facility made by several superpowered teens. Their leader? Captain Knievel and Malice! No Mutation Without Representation!

April 12th, 2010: Carbon and Doktor Archeville investigate a string of high-tech thefts. The trail leads Archeville to ASTRO LAbs, where Gossamer, Midnight (II), and Phalanx had fought off the robotic minions of the armored madman Havok! The Game's Afoot!, later Cry Havoc.

April 13th, 2010: Flashback to when Archeville reveals his fractured Other Side's to Fulcrum. (See also Sep 15th, 2010)

April XX, 2010: Doktor Archeville helps deliver Avenger & Phantom's baby... while in the middle of a fight with Dracula! Fortunately, Ace Danger and Fleur are there to help. (The Dragon Wakes, later This Woman's Work)

May 5th, 2010: Rycon pays a visit to Doktor Archeville, one of the scientists who'd helped her some years ago. Sturm und Dr... Archeville

May 2010: Assorted Kaiju attack the streets of Freedom, and Docktor Archeville is called in by AEGIS to see what's what. But all is not as it appears. (Monsters? In the Streets!? - AEGIS HQ). Archeville later takes the fight directly to the Grue fleet.

May 23rd, 2010: Following the Grue Invasion, several of the cities heroes meet to let off steam. Doktor Archeville attends, primarily to provide medical support in case anyone gets too eager in their fighting. (Fisticuffs 2: The Opening Credits)

June 7th, 2010: Rift comes to ArcheTech for some general power checking. He and Doktor Archeville explore the Sounds of Science.

June XX, 2010: Doktor Archeville decided to test the security at the Interceptor's Brownstone, and hires Avenger to do so by breaking in. But when there's a bored vampire involved, things quickly spiral out of control. (Interrupting Cow)
Between Avenger's first and second intrusions, the Scarab comes to Archeville and makes him aware of things he had not been noticing. (Working The Bugs Out)

June 23rd, 2010: Archeville watches on with the other Interceptors as Alexandra Albright outs herself as both Psyche of Young Freedom and as a Terminus Baby in a television interview. (He did not tell the team he already knew, nor about the spying he'd had Grimalkin secretly do on both Psyche and Phalanx.) ("And I'm a Mutant.")

August XX (Early), 2010: The Bee-Keeper (II) attacks Freedom Hall, with an all-new (and vastly more powerful) suit of armor! His mission? Take over the city, and take Fleur de Joie as his Queen! Can the Freedom League's newest recruits -- Ace Danger, Dark Star, Doktor Archeville, Fleur, and Freedom Angel -- stop him? Or will they all wind up saying "Imma Bee"?

August 8th, 2010: Doktor Archeville hosts the semi-annual Brainiac Brunch at the Freedom Public Library, open to all super-scientists and tech-heads as both a way to socialize and put their heads together on many of the world's problems. In attendance: Arrowhawk (civilian id), Dragonfly (heroic id), Dyne (civilian id), Gossamer, Ironclad (civilian id), Miss Americana, Rift (heroic id), Supercape (civilian id), Valkyrie (civilian id), and Victory.

August 17th, 2010: Fusion needs a routine checkup, to make sure she's not mutating any further. She visits Doktor Archeville, and an entangling alliance is made.

August 18th, 2010: Jack Faretti, Jr. gets a most unusual visitor: a doktor who makes housecalls! But what happens when Archeville enters a house full of mysticism and sorcery? Whatever happens, certainly Jack's father and babysitter will be able to handle it... right? Well, no, not entirely, but fortunately Kid Cthulhu is nearby!

Rise of Evil!Archeville

September XX (early), 2010: The Interceptors get a new "reserve" member. Welcome to The Interceptors, Jill O'Cure!

September 15th, 2010: Archeville joyously shares the news of his Other Side's "exorcism" with Fulcrum, and they flashback to when he first told her of his Other Side and the fractures in his psyche. (See also April 13th, 2010)

Sep 18th, 2010: Archeville marches as a Grand Marshal in the 53rd annual German-American Steuben Parade in New York City, along with Dr. Ruth Westheimer and Dr. MÃ¶ller (CEO of HofbrÃ¤uhaus MÃ¼nchen/Germany).

Sep 18th-Oct 4th, 2010: Archeville attends the 200th annual Oktoberfest celebration in Munich, Germany. For the first time, he brings someone with him: Fulcrum.

Sep 19th, 2010: Evil!Archeville kills Dryad, Lullaby, and two others.

Oct 5th, 2010: Archeville invites Grimalkin over to his Hanover home for a nice little chat.

Oct 10th, 2010: Evil!Archeville kills Dark Vixen.

Oct 15th, 2010: Valkyrie/Vivian is badly injured following a fight with Nacht-Krieger, Ragnarok, and other SHADOW minions, and Arrowhawk knows of but one man who can help: Doktor Archeville. Die Me, Dichotomy

Seven days later, the 22nd, she is visited by Evil!Dok. He nearly beats her to death, but she sacrifices herself in trying to stop him.

Oct 22nd, 2010: Miss Americana stops by ArcheTech for an audition/interview with Doktor Archeville. He impresses her so much, he hires her on the spot.

Oct 29th, 2010: Evil!Archeville kills Cougress.

Nov 6th, 2010: Doktor Archeville attends a party at the mansion of Felix Fassbinder, arriving with Miss Americana as part of an ArcheTech promotion but later spending the evening with Mona Teymourian. Joan Collier, Lt. Lance Factor, Dr. Estelle de Havilland, Corbin Hughes, and Etain Maher were also in attendance. What sort of champagne shenanigans will ensue?!

Nov 7th, 2010: Rift requires help: he found a cyborg bat of unusual size! Can he keep it? Archevillle's not sure: where the heck did it come from?!

Later that night, Viktor faces his most challenging test yet: meeting Mona's parents! Even the famed Doktor Archeville realizes There's No Equation For This.

Nov 10th, 2010: Kid Cthulhu needs medical help. Who you gonna call? Doktor Archeville, that's who!

One week later, on the 17th, Evil!Dok beats the Cthulhu out of Kid Cthulhu.

Nov 24th, 2010: Slick decides to get a full medical workup, and goes to Miss Americana to do so. But when something goes awry, she call in Doktor Archeville for help in this bizarre medical matters.

Nov 28th, 2010: Powerhouse stumbles into ArcheTech, in the clutches of early onset lycanthropy! Can Doktor Archeville help? Probably; it's not like it's lupus, after all.

December 1st (morning), 2010: Archeville (discretely) attends the opening of The Lab.

Dec 1st (evening), 2010: Wesley Knight calls Archeville for some tests on his biokinetic powers. The Doktor is always eager to explore new metahuman powers; Wes just wants to know "How Do I Mold Life?"

Dec 13th, 2011: Evil!Archeville kills Lion and Finder.

Dec 25th, 2010: Doktor Archeville enjoys A Very Interceptors Christmas with Colt, Dynamo, Grimalkin, Jack of all Blades, and Jill O'Cure.

January 2nd, 2011: It's the wedding of Stesha "Fleur de Joie" Madison and Derrick "Dark Star" Lumins! To his considerable honor, Lumins chose Archeville to be one of his Best Men! The wedding is held Somewhere That's Green.

Jan 4th, 2011: Evil!Archeville kidnaps Kakoku.

Jan 6th, 2011: Evil!Archeville burns down Ferlyn's magic shoppe, with her in it.

Jan 9th, 2011: Evil!Archeville kills the community of mages living in a pocket dimension outside Edison, NJ, including Naxean and Berserker.

Jan 10th, 2011: Evil!Archeville kills the Crimson Martyrs gang.

Jan 11th, 2011: Jessica "Ironclad" Parker comes to Doktor Archeville for some medical advice. (Exposure to a neurodegenerative compound, and the treatments Freedom Medical gave her for it, resulted in her being able to 'hear' electronic signals such as radio waves and wi-fi!) Will she have a clean Bill of Health?

Evil!Archeville kills & steals the body of Black Priestess.

Jan 13th, 2011: Evil!Archeville kills Hellbound.

Jan 14th, 2011: Fulcrum moves in with Dok. While packing up, he reveals a new revenue stream for ArcheTech, one she helped inspire. Thingas go horribly awry when Mona's Terminus energies interact with his womrhole, and they find themselves on an alternate pseudo-Medieval Earth! (Now You're Moving With Wormholes)

Jan 31st, 2011: Blueshift, Doktor Archeville, Push, Suprcape and Victory work together to stop a gigantic asteroid from colliding with Freedom City! (The Heroes are NEAR)

February 5th, 2011: Doktor Archeville spends some time with Jack of all Blades. It is cut short by an attack by giant robots on the HIT campus. (Science of Stabpunching 201)

Feb 6th, 2011: Doktor Archeville spends some time with Colt. They fire weapons, and make chili. (Ballistics Is A Science, Right?)

Feb 7th, 2011: Doktor Archeville spends some time with Dynamo. (Magnets! How Do They Work? Science, You Clown!)

Feb 10th, 2011: Jubatus comes to ArcheTech for a checkup, and to his surprise finds none other than Doktor Archeville himself is to be one of the attending physicians! What are the odds? Of course, things go wrong... (I Kan Haz Humanity?)

Feb 13th, 2011: Evil!Archeville kills Honey Bee, and frames Bee-Keeper.

March 7th, 2011: Archeville attends/officiates the opening of a HofbrÃ¤uhaus in New York City, near Grand Central Station in Manhattan.

Mar 9th, 2011: Evil!Archeville kidnaps Topaz.

Mar 22nd, 2011: Evil!Archeville kidnaps Je'La.

March 25th, 2011: Doktor Archeville asks for a second opinion from Miss Americana on a set of brainscans -- his own! She brings in Dragonfly to help.

April 1st, 2011: Evil!Archeville kidnaps Big Man.

April 2nd, 2011: Dok and the other Interceptors help Lynn and Billy (mostly Lynn) plans for their wedding! (Interceptors: Planning for the Big Day)

April 9th, 2011: Dok accompanies Mona to dinner with one of her fellow artists, Carrie Wendle, at Timothy's Bistro. Then the giant robots come... (Dine and Crash, later Homeland Insecurity)

April 15th, 2011: Doktor Archeville puts on the last finishing touches to his Time Portal

and then Evil!Dok uses said Time Portal! (

Pair o' Doks

)

April 16th, 2011: Dynamo returns from his trip through time, a very changed man. The Interceptors see in him something old and something new.

April 21st, 2011: Evil!Archeville kills American Patriot.

May 12th, 2011: Fenris (the Norse monster) and Thrude are unleashed in Midtown! Just when it seems the Fen-wolf is about to kill the Donarsdottir, Doktor Archeville, Fenris (the battlesuit-wearing hero), and Freedom Angel appear to turn the tide! (A Perfect Storm)

May 13th, 2011: Archeville has a nice chat with Thrude, trying to learn more about what she is and where she's from, and offers her a spot on the Interceptors. (Freyja's Day, Freyja's Day, Freyja's Day) Later that day, after realizing she'd fit in well with the team, he takes her to the Interceptors Brownstone -- at the same time Jack of all Blades is introducing the team to Willow, his newest 'recruit'! (Dok & Thrude & Jack & Willow)

May 19th, 2011: Keeley White's going to need a job after she graduates from Claremont! ArcheTech needs security guards, preferably those with extranormal experience! After this interview, both Doktor Archeville and Wander should Sleep Sound Tonight.

May 22nd, 2011: Billy/Colt and Lynn/Grimalkin are finally getting married! But will all be well when Colt's rival Gillman shows up? And just what is that pulsing box in Archeville's jacket pocket? Why, it's an engagement ring: Archeville proposes to Fulcrum!

June 7th, 2011: Doktor Archeville meets up with Ferros, and extends an invite to the Interceptors. (The Case of the Mock Magnetokinetic)

June 17th, 2011: Archeville's Evil/Other Side finally makes it move! Can the heroes stop him? And will anyone be prepared for the true mastermind that's been pulling the Doktor's strings? (begins at [ArchEvil]: Revlations, then to [ArchEvil] Terrible Bosses, then a News Broadcast, then [ArchEvil] Omnia Mutantur, Nihil Interit and [Arch-Evil] Load-Bearing Bosses and [ArchEvil] Gestalt Theory, concluding in [ArchEvil] Atermath.)

In the aftermath, Miss Ameircana, Phantom, and Scarab erase all knowledge of superhero secret identities from Archeville's mind and computer systems.

June 24th, 2011: Miss Americana and Harrier (in his civilian ID) visit Doktor Archeville in Providence Asylum, where they inform him of ArcheTech's downward spiral following the events of ArchEvil. The Doktor, realizing (even in his depressed state) that drastic action must be taken, names Miss Americana acting CEO of the corporation. Before leaving Harrier offers some advice on dealing with the guilt; later Archeville is visited by Ace Danger, who attempts to rouse him. (The Doktor is In[sane!].)

June 27th, 2011: Arrowhawk pays Doktor Archeville a visit in Providence, demanding to know what happened to Vivian Krieger. The investigation is partly hindered by the fact Archeville no longer knows Vivian Krieger and Valkyrie (whom his Other Side mercilessly attacked) were one and the same. (Kilts & Kooks)

July 1st, 2011: Nacht-Krieger has come to assassinate Doktor Archeville! No, wait, it's just Silhouette, dropping in to find out what happened to Fulcrum. She talks him into checking out of Providence and work on rescuing her. (Off-Hours Visit)

July 16th, 2011: Two weeks later, Archeville has restored his mind (with nanotech) and rebuilt his Electromagnetic Screwdriver and Gravimetric Belt, and sets off with Silhouette (and some of her friends from Earth-Victoriana) to rescue Fulcrum. Things quickly go wrong when the two heroes are separated and flung across dimensions! (Never Split the Party, later Dunkel Sonne.)

Sep 17th-Oct 3rd, 2011: For the first time in many years, Viktor Archeville does not attend Oktoberfest celebration in Munich, Germany!

after September 28th, 2011: Doktor Archeville returns to Earth-Prime (missing out on everything Gorgon-related) from his journey into the Terminus, with [???]

December 15th, 2011: After working in a secret ArcheTech lab for three months to free her from her Terminus-energy crystalline cocoon, Mona finally breaks free! Archeville is there to meet her on this New Day, as is Carrie/Silhouette.

February 1st, 2012: Doktor Archeville is invited along for the maiden voyage of Hanson Enterprise's new SX-1 spaceplane; Glow is also in the plane, in her civilian ID. During the flight, it is hit -- by a Gremlin! But the Gremlin is no ordinary monster: it is one Archeville had a hand in making. (Nightmare at 200,000 Feet)

March 27th, 2012: Dok takes a trip to the E-Sea bank to check on some safety deposit boxes. Of course, it gets robbed, by Breaker and his gang of seventeen goons. They don't stand a chance. (Doktor, Banker, Breaker, Thief)

April XX, 2012: Dok and Harrier deal with the problems of the past. Specifically, Harrier's parents. (Last Record).

April XX, 2012: While investigating the crater where Scholss Wissenschaft once stood, Archeville meets up with Edge and Nina... and a dragon! What else is in store for the Lord of the Manor?

May 25th, 2012: Doktor Archeville offers his assistance to Fleur de Joie in her reclamation efforts on Sanctuary. (Forge Works)

June 8th, 2012: Doktor Archeville attends Cosmo Accurso's masquerade ball in Castle Accurso in Switzerland. Also in attendance is Eve Martel, secretly the superhero Sage. No one recognizes Archeville -- he's cross-dressed, and did a really good job! (Money, money, money)

July 2012: After a disastrous fight with the Science Squad, Doktor Archeville is reformatted.

January 25th, 2013: Doktor Archeville helps Baron Katastroff, Voltage, and Cyberknife/Miss Americana investigate the remains of a crashed Curator ship in the Arctic, near Centurion's Sanctum. Will their ressearch help them in Getting Ahead With Science?

Dr Archeville · March 18, 2009

Introduction

Give a two or three word description of yourself. (Describe your character's concept.)

Semi-Mad Scientist/Gadgeteer.

[Future ruler of Earth!]

Do you have any nicknames, street names, titles, or nom de plume?

Doc, Doc A, Doktor A, Archie (I hate that one), Henry (I don't hate that one as much), Vic.

[Fiend. But soon all shall call me Master!]

What is your full birth name?

Viktor Heinrich Archeville.

Where do you live?

Currently, a modest-looking house in the Hanover district of Freedom City, in the USA. I grew up in Germany, in a small village called SchÃƒÂ¶nwald im Schwarzwald.

Why do you live there?

Because it's where my stuff is! And to be at the cutting edge of technological development, and to meet and work with some of the world's greatest superheroes.

[To be at the cutting edge of technological development, to meet and insinuate myself among the world's greatest superheroes while learning their secrets and weakness, and to secretly recruit an army of supervillains.]

What do you perceive as your greatest strength?

My mind. My vast intelligence and scientific & technical skills.

What do you perceive as your greatest weakness?

My mind, which tends to get wrapped up in the technical aspects and doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t always take time to think through all the ethical, moral, and political/social ramifications of what it works on.

[Those nagging bits of 'conscience' and 'ethics' and 'morals' that plague me.]

Physical Traits

How old are you? (Chronological age as well as age category.)

I was born on June 2nd, 1977, putting me at 31 years of age. However, most folks assume I am far younger; by most accounts I appear to be in my very early 20s or even late teens.

What is your sex?

Male.

What is your race?

I am a Homo sapiens sapiens native to Germany. Though it is possible I am a Homo sapiens superior (or Homo sapiens psionicae; IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve yet to pin down proper nomenclature).

How tall are you?

178 centimeters (5 feet 10 inches).

How much do you weigh?

A modest 68.49 kilograms (151 pounds).

What is your general body type, frame, bone structure, and poise?

Ectomorphic (long and thin muscles/limbs, low fat storage)

What is your skin colour?

Alabaster. A few have unfavorably compared it to the color of a fishÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s belly. Oddly, my skin color (or lack thereof) is not a form of albinism, or if so it is a unique case, for my eyes and hair are pigmented and I burn no more easily than someone with a more normal Caucasian skin tone.

What is your hair colour?

Golden blonde, silky.

What is your hair style?

Shoulder-length, neatly kept.

Do you have any facial hair?

No, I stay clean shaven. I've used computer models to 'try out' different facial hairstyles, but none seemed to really 'work' for me.

[The goatee kinda worked.]

What is your eye colour?

Rhine-blue

How attractive are you?

Many ladies (and a few men) seem to find me quite attractive. Who am I to argue with them on this?

[All the ladies wanna get with me! But they shall not have my essence!]

What is your most distinguishing feature?

Everything about me, from my face to my clothing, is fairly distinguishing.

Do you have any scars, tattoos, or birthmarks?

None, thanks largely to certain healing salves I have invented which greatly reduce the formation of scar tissue.

What is your handedness (left/right/ambidextrous)?

Right-handed.

[Left-handed]

Do you resemble some currently known person?

I was once compared to Gaspard Ulliel, a French film actor. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m not sure how to take that. On the one hand, the person could mean IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m handsome enough to be in films. On the other hand, they may have meant I am an actor, a bluffer, a charlatan, that I am not who I claim to be.

[On the other hand, they may have been comparing me to a cheese-eating surrender-monkey!]

What kind of clothing do you wear?

Simple, utilitarian clothing. Sturdy black rubber-soled boots, black or dark blue khaki pants, a short-sleeved t-shirt (usually solid red, blue, green, or purple), and my white armored lab coat. On more formal occasions IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll wear a buttoned shirt and a tie, but thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s about the only change.

Do you wear makeup?

Only if the occasion calls for it. Fortunately, I have not had many such occasions. For a time I had considered masking my unnaturally pale skin, but ultimately decided against it; I am who I am.

What sort of vocal tone do you have?

A rich Tenor. Though I have a bit of a stammering habit. Part of that is intentional, a way to make me seem Ã¢â‚¬â€œ to others and myself Ã¢â‚¬â€œ less threatening. But IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve done it for so long, part of it has become Ã¢â‚¬Å“ingrained.Ã¢â‚¬Â

[unless I smarten up and do what ought to be done, in which case my voice is clear as crystal. Razor-sharp crystal.]

History

Where is your homeland?

Germany (formerly West Germany), Europe.

Are you aware of its history?

Very much so.

Are you patriotic or a social outcast?

A bit of both. I love my country, I am proud of the good that has come from it, but I also know there are those who cannot see beyond the evils that have come from its past. And there are those in the country who would see me permanently exiled, if not strung up.

What are your opinions of home?

My home country is a lovely place that has seen far too much horror and terror. And it has the best automobiles, beer and sausages in the world. (That last part is fact, not opinion.)

Where is your home town?

SchÃƒÂ¶nwald im Schwarzwald is a small town which lies within the majestic Black Forest of (West) Germany, in the state of Baden-WÃƒÂ¼rttemberg.

Are your real reasons for becoming an adventurer different from what you tell others?

Not really. I honestly do enjoy improving humanity via advanced technology.

[Oh, yes, quite different.]

How far would you go to keep such secrets from being revealed? What would you do if the truth became known?

I have some dark secrets in my family, I do not deny that, theyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re just not something I bring up in everyday conversation. I simply live as honestly as I can, and let my actions speak for themselves.

[i would do anything to maintain my secrets.]

What do you fear would occur if the truth became known?

No worse than has happened in some part of my home village. ThatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s where most of the ones who want to see me strung up were. But, again, I live such that my actions speak for themselves.

[i fear nothing. Some fools may try to imprison me, either in a jail or an asylum, but I would quickly escape, if I even allowed myself to be brought in!]

Do you have any particularly high or low ability scores?

My body is fairly average, save for being a bit more agile than average. Mentally, though, I am something quite impressive.

How have these scores affected your life so far?

They have shaped everything in my life.

What about your race, growing up were you in the majority or a minority?

Racially speaking, I was in the majority; had I been born several decades earlier, I would probably have been given special considerations due to my appearance. Though this is not to say I did not experience my own brand of prejudice from others.

Did this impact your outlook in any way?

Be honest and forthright in all I do. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a good general rule to live by, and in case I do start behaving erratically, hopefully others would notice it before I got too bad.

[Divulge nothing, play my cards close to my chest, and always have three backup plans!]

How do you feel about other races?

I do not judge based on appearance or race; I know full well how dangerous that can be. That said, I do find I share to a small degree the common German trait of viewing everyone as either a German or a foreigner, and giving oh-so-slight preferential treatment to the former.

[All are equally inferior to me.]

Were there any traumatic experiences in your early years (death of a family member, abandonment, orphaned at an early age)?

My mother died in childbirth, leaving my father to raise me alone. He was committed to an asylum when I was 13 after he tried to kill me.

Briefly describe a defining moment in your childhood and how it influenced your life.

When I was 13, in mathematics class, the teacher told me I had made a mistake in one of the problems the class was working on. IÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ I felt like a storm broke in my mind, and I jumped on the professor and attack him, pounding his head with my fists, then hitting him with some books and a chair. Some of the other students tried to stop me, but I assaulted them, too. Two of the boys had to be taken to the school nurse, and the Professor had to be taken to the hospital. The investigation into the event revealed that the mistake was the ProfessorÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s, not mine.

That night was the night my father tried to kill me, shrieking about the Ã¢â‚¬Å“family curse.Ã¢â‚¬Â

It was then I realized that I had a terrible anger within me. Not merely the unbalanced hormones of a typical adolescent, no, this was something entirely different. I strove to find ways to calm myself, or intentionally focus on positive, happy things. Some would see this as a boundless optimism. I see it as a shield.

[The professor deserved worse, as does the headmaster who expelled me!]

What stupid things did you do when you were younger?

Aside from the above, nothing major. I once tried to wire our house to get free cable, but wound up pulling in signals from three different satellites. I once tried to make a new breed of yeast that could ferment grains faster, resulting in a more rapid production of beer, but the yeast gotÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ out of hand.

[such a question is an insult!]

Which toys from your childhood have you kept?

A set of Lego blocks, and some toy (i.e., non-functioning) robots that can transform into other items (cars, jets, and so on).

Why? What do they mean to you? If you didn't keep any, why not? What did you do to them all?

The Lego blocks, because of the near-endless possibilities possible with them. I can model nearly anything with them, and the bright colors appeal to certain parts of my visual cortex. The robots, because robots are nifty, and things that turn into other things are nifty, so robots that turn into other things are doubly nifty.

Do you have any deep, dark secrets in the past that may come back to haunt you?

SeveralÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ regrettable outbursts that some would (and, in fact, have) cite as proof that I am too dangerous to be allowed to move about at my leisure.

[My dark works have not yet begun!]

Are you who you claim to be?

Yes, and no. I try to be who I claim to be.

[No, but it is only a matter of time before I proclaim myself Master of All!]

Do you have any sort of criminal record?

No, though I am sure I am being monitored by both the German and American government.

[Not yet.]

How do you view the heroes/legends of your country?

In a mixed light. Some of the men and women who were at one point praised as heroes in my country Ã¢â‚¬â€œ and one in particular who has achieved near-mythic status Ã¢â‚¬â€œ were Very Bad People. Most people rail against them for the monsters they were/are, but some misguided (at best) people still venerate them. On the other hand, some of the older legends Ã¢â‚¬â€œ things like the Old German and Norse myths Ã¢â‚¬â€œ fascinate me due both to the cultural impact theyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve had on my homeland (both before and after the Nazis) and to the human psychological archetypes and mores they embody. And, because such tales contain seeds of metahuman/mutant activity in our distant past Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Donar/Thor may have been someone very similar to Captain Thunder and Centurion, Freyja/Freya or Sif Ã¢â‚¬Å“spiritual ancestorsÃ¢â‚¬Â to Lady Liberty, Ullr/Uller a proto-Bowman, Surtr as a model for the White Knight (ironic given that Sutr means Ã¢â‚¬Å“blackÃ¢â‚¬Â), and Wotan/Odin may have been another Ã¢â‚¬Å“mageÃ¢â‚¬Â like Adrian Eldrich.

[The Nazi Ã¢â‚¬Å“heroesÃ¢â‚¬Â were dedicated but misguided. As misguided as the fools who venerate ancient Ã¢â‚¬Å“godsÃ¢â‚¬Â.]

Family

Who were your parents?

Varick Heinrich Archeville and Cynthia Sindhi.

Were you raised by them? If not, then why didn't they and who did raise you?

My father raised me alone, until I was 13; mother died in childbirth. Not long after I turned 13, my father was committed to an asylum, and I was effectively a Ward of the State until I turned 18.

What was their standing in the community?

Pariahs, for the most part.

Did your family stay in one area or move around a lot?

My motherÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s stayed in one place, but my father and I moved around quite a bit. Seemed like I was in a new school every year.

How did you get along with their parents?

ThatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢sÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ tricky. It was obvious to me that he loved me and cared for me, yet there was always an undercurrent of mistrust and fear. And then he tried to kill me, so that damaged our relationship. I do still try and visit him from time to time in the asylum.

How would your parents describe you? Answer this in the voice of your mother, then in your father's.

Father, Pre-Snap: Ã¢â‚¬Å“HeÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s such a fine young man. Smart, too. So very smart. Too smart, perhaps. But heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a good boy! Not like the others! We just need to protectÃ¢â‚¬Â¦.Ã¢â‚¬Â

Father, Post-Snap: Ã¢â‚¬Å“HeÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a fiend! A villain! We must protect the world from him!Ã¢â‚¬Â

Do you have any siblings? If so how many and what were their names? How did you get along with each of your siblings?

I have no siblings, at least none of whom I am aware.

What was your birth position in the family?

As far as I am aware, first and only son.

List all current knowledge of family locations, spouses, children, birth dates, schooling, and any important incidents that only you and they might remember.

As far as I know, my only living relative is in an asylum in Germany. If I have any other living relatives Ã¢â‚¬â€œ cousins, half-siblings, aunts or uncles, et cetera Ã¢â‚¬â€œ I have had no contact with them. This is not to say, however, that I have no knowledge of my direct ancestors.

Do you stay in touch with them or have you become estranged?

I have distanced myself from my father, though only somewhat intentionally. Sure, I can rationalize it from here 'till Armageddon, say it was because I've been so busy... but, the truth is, seeing him as he is now saddens and terrifies me. Is that my ultimate destiny?

Do you love or hate one member of the family in particular?

I love my parents, though I never really knew my mother, knowing her only by what my father told me. I love and fear my father. I loathe my grandfather, though a part of me does admire the scientific and technical achievements he made.

Is any member of the family special to you in any way (perhaps, as a confidant, mentor, or arch-rival)?

My father is a rival of sorts.

Are there any black (or white) sheep in the family (including you)?

Some in my homeland would say that all the ArchevilleÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are black sheep. A few say that I am the white sheep of the family. The most widely hated is my grandfather, due to his work with the Nazis.

If so, who are they and how did they "gain" the position?

Madness (and longevity) seems to run in the family.

Do you have a notorious or celebrated ancestor?

My paternal grandfather, Verrill Herman Archeville.

If so, what did this person do to become famous or infamous?

He was a soldier for the German Empire in World War I, and a scientist for the Nazis in World War II. He specialized in size-alteration, clockwork automata, and time manipulation.

[The prestige he had, the clout, the resources! Of course, the people he worked for were mostly fools: while the strength of their dedication was admirable, their goals were woefully misguided.]

Do you try to live up to the reputation of your ancestor, try to live it down, or ignore it?

I try daily to live beyond the reputation of my ancestors, and to disprove any notions of an "Archeville Family Curse."

[My ancestors were impressive, in their own way and for their time, but as nothing compared to me now.]

Do you ever want to have a family of your own someday?

I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t see it happening. My work keeps me too busy to think about such matters. Plus, I doubt I would make a good father.

[As if anyone could hold my interest long enough to consider Ã¢â‚¬Å“datingÃ¢â‚¬Â! My only carnal interactions would be to sate any primitive reptile-brain urges, and I try to deny those for as long as I can as they are damnable interruptions to my work.]

Would anything change your mind on this issue and if so, what?

Meeting my ideal mate, though that is nigh-impossible.

[Altering my brain structure so I was not prone to such primitive biological urgings.]

What type of person would be your ideal mate?

Someone smart Ã¢â‚¬â€œ superhumanly smart, so they could keep up with me Ã¢â‚¬â€œ and caring, kind, compassionate, witty, and able to put up with my eccentricities. And whose own eccentricities Ã¢â‚¬â€œ for surely she would have some Ã¢â‚¬â€œ were such that I would not be put off by them.

[such does not and cannot exist, so this is a moot point.]

Relationships

Do you have any close friends? If so, who and what are they like?

While in Europe I worked mostly solo, but here in Freedom I have started to develop some friendships. Darian Cale and Eric Micheals both seem quite pleasant, though the former sometimes frustrates me with his talk of Ã¢â‚¬Å“magic.Ã¢â‚¬Â

[Pft. Friends are for lesser men.]

What is the history of their relationship(s) with you?

Still developing.

Do you currently have a best friend whom you would protect with your reputation or your life?

No.

If so, who are they and what caused you to feel so close to them? What would have to happen for you to end this relationship?

N/A

Do you have any bitter enemies?

Quite a few, though their bitterness varies.

If so, who are they, what are they like, and what is the history of their feud with you?

BlÃ…Âzan, a self-styled Ã¢â‚¬Å“terror spiritÃ¢â‚¬Â; I stopped his rampage, with some minor assistance from Hexe, a self-styled witch. The Science Squad, a team of disgruntled scientists from across Europe, who vacillate between trying to recruit me and trying to kill me. And numerous other minor supervillains throughout Europe whom IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve fought over the years, including Le Bouc (The Scapegoat, a French mentalist), Le Chemiste (a French chemical genius), Dinamo (an Italian electrokinetic mercenary), Panzer (a neo-Nazi in impressive power armor), Pilvi (a Finnish chemical engineer with powers similar to Mr. Mist), Der Schwarze Tod (a German medical doctor-turned-walking disease factory), Venin Vert (a French mercenary who can shoot poisons and toxins from her hands), and Zeitgeist (a German time manipulator). Here in the States, the only two IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve faced are Dryad and the White Knight.

Have you defeated them before?

At one time or another, yes, though the Science Squad was by far the toughest, not only due to their numbers but also due to their scientific and technical aptitude and their ability to effectively work together.

How might these enemies seek to discomfit you in the future?

Come to Freedom and attack me, or threaten my father.

Which person(s) or group(s) are you most loyal to?

Science/Scientists and Technologists. And, to a lesser extent, all of Humanity.

[Myself.]

Who is your most trusted ally?

I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really have one. Not yet, at least.

[Myself.]

Who do you trust, in general?

Trust Ã¢â‚¬â€œ truly trusting Ã¢â‚¬â€œ is difficult for me. There arenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t many I trust. Actually, probably no one I truly trust. Including myself.

[True to a degree. I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t trust myself to do what ought to be done, what with all these nagging bits of Ã¢â‚¬Å“ethicsÃ¢â‚¬Â and Ã¢â‚¬Å“moralsÃ¢â‚¬Â and Ã¢â‚¬Å“conscienceÃ¢â‚¬Â.]

Who do you despise and why?

The willfully ignorant, and people with little to no imagination. Though Ã¢â‚¬Å“despiseÃ¢â‚¬Â is perhaps too strong a word.

[The foolish and weak.]

Name seven things you hate in others.

Apathy, Cowardice, Deceit/Treachery, Greed/Selfishness, Ignorance, Short-Sightedness, Unreliability.

[ Altruism, Cowardice, the Geneva Conventions, Ignorance, Stupidity, OSHA Regulations & Compliance, Unreliability]

Is your image consistent?

More or less, yes.

Do you deliberately present yourself differently in different situations, and how?

Yes: I play the Ã¢â‚¬Å“Mad ScientistÃ¢â‚¬Â bit up quite a bit, though I am perfectly capable of having a calm and quiet discussion on any number of fields.

[Yes, I pretend to be a Ã¢â‚¬Å“Good GuyÃ¢â‚¬Â.]

What would you die for?

Something big. SomethingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ world-changing. Though, hopefully, I would not have to die to do something like that!

[Nothing! I shall become eternal!]

What is the worst thing someone has done to you?

Betrayed and attempted to kill me.

What is your general reaction to an attractive member of the opposite sex who lets you know they are available?

ThatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢sÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ something IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve never been very good at. Though I have tried to improve on that of late; if nothing else, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a new challenge for me.

[Pft, as if anyone who sent such signals would deserve my attentions. Unless, of course, they had something I wanted, such as an intriguing genetic code. Then I could be quite the charming devil, thanks in part to my studies of psychology and sociology, and my ability to Ã¢â‚¬Å“readÃ¢â‚¬Â people.]

How do you get along with others of the same adventuring class?

I have a bit of a friendly rivalry with most other Gadgeteers (and to a lesser extent wearers of Battlesuits), at least among those who designed and constructed their devices.

[Disdainful sneering, mostly. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve yet to meet anyone equal to my intellect, and at best have encountered those who are at best half as intelligent. I do occasionally find conversations with such people stimulating, albeit limiting and slow as I have to wait for them to catch up to my thought processes. I do also find it stimulating to discuss subjects on which my knowledge is less than complete with those who, temporarily, know more.]

Have you lost any loves?

My parents. I miss what was, and what might have been.

How did you handle the situation (short & long term)?

Tried to tell myself it wasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t my fault, and buried myself in my work. (I still occasionally dig up notebooks on projects I did then that I do not now recall, and sometimes theyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re frightening.) I tried to improve my fatherÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s condition my having him moved from the government-run asylum and into a private high-security nursing home.

[i shouldÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve killed him when I had the chance. Claim self-defense, no one would bat an eye. Now IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m stuck paying for the nice mental hospital heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s in, since the foolishly altruistic part of me couldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t stand to watch him rot in the filthy government-run one.]

Who would miss you should you go missing?

IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢d like to think the entire world would, because I like to think I have done quite a bit of good in the world. On a more personal level, though, I do not know.

[if I am Ã¢â‚¬Å“missing,Ã¢â‚¬Â itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s likely because I am hiding and plotting and waiting.]

How close are you to your adventuring companions?

I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really have any, I am for the most part a solo agent. I have worked with others on several occasions, but never been part of a real team. I was never close to any of them, though in hindsight that was perhaps a mistake.

What do they not know about you?

Most of my European comrades know of the Ã¢â‚¬Å“curse of madnessÃ¢â‚¬Â of my family line (some knew even before they met me), but most were willing to judge me not on that but on my own actions. Few seemed interested in knowing me beyond Ã¢â‚¬Å“what can you build for me?Ã¢â‚¬Â level, which did irritate me a bit.

[Which is but one reason why I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t like dealing with others: all too often theyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re mewling things who are only interested in how I can solve their problems, make their lives easier. Bah!]

Are you a member of any house, guild, organization, or church? What is your level of involvement?

I have consulted for Burlington Textiles, FuturWave, Hall-Markov Technologies, Hexxon Sciences, JyrexAlterSmythe, Kraftwerk Industries, McGuffin Medical, Metagenics, NovaCorp, Parahuman Biogenetics, PHS Pharmaceuticals, Xavier-Donovan Biotech, Xavier-Klein, and Zenople. I have lectured on behalf of FuturWave, Prixer, and Theron-Syles, and lectured at HIT and the Technical University of Munich on my own topics. I have been involved in clinical trials for FuturWave, McGuffin Medical, Metagenics, Parahuman Biogenetics, PHS Pharmaceuticals, Xavier-Donovan Biotech, and Xavier-Klein.

Personality & Beliefs

Do you, or did you, have any role models?

Daedalus and Doctor Atom.

[Overshadow, Professor Psion.]

Do you have any heroes or idols, either contemporary or from legend?

Daedalus and Doctor Atom.

[Overshadow, Professor Psion.]

Did you ever become disillusioned with former heroes or idols? If so, why and what were the circumstances?

No.

[They do not go far enough with their plans, and have lacked proper foresight.]

When did you decide to become an adventurer?

After I graduated from college.

Why have you chosen to risk your life as a career?

Because if I didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t, I would become a danger to the world.

[Without risk, there is no gain.]

What do you expect to get out of being an adventurer? What, if anything, would make you stop adventuring?

To improve humanity through applied use of (better) technology. Only death would make me stop (and, perhaps, not even that.)

[Mastery over All!]

Do you have any dreams or ambitions? If not, why?

To leave the world a better place than when I came into it.

[To conquer the world!]

What are your short term goals (what would you like to be doing within a year)?

Finish the upgrades to my Gravimetric Belt so I can fly to Mars and set up a research station. If I can set one up on Titan (one of SaturnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s moons), that would be a bonus.

What are your long term goals (what would you like to be doing twenty years from now)?

Establish an international chain of multidisciplinary research laboratories, unconnected to any one government or corporation.

[And use them in my goals of conquering the world!]

If these goals seem at odds with each other, or with your dreams, how do you reconcile the differences?

They are not at odds; any discoveries I make on Mars or Titan could be of great use here on Earth.

Do you have any great rational or irrational fears or phobias? If so, what are the origins of, or reasons behind them?

The fear of what I might become, were I not consciously fighting to not become it.

How do you react when this fear manifests itself?

I try to fight it, tell myself that that way is not the right way (though it may be an easier way).

What are your attitudes regarding material wealth?

Necessary for most of my research.

Are you miserly with your share of the wealth, or do you spend it freely?

I share what I can. I do enjoy a good party with fine food, for example.

Do you see wealth as a mark of success, or just as a means to an end?

Means to an end, mostly.

How do you generally treat others?

Pleasantly, try to put them at easeÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ though I often fail at doing so.

[As distantly as possible.]

Do you trust easily (perhaps too easily) or not?

I do not trust easily, and in fact have yet to find anyone I truly trust.

[i donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t.]

Are you introverted (shy and withdrawn) or extroverted (outgoing)?

Mildly introverted, though capable of being quite the extrovert when the need arises. Such as public speaking engagements.

[Whichever most suits my needs at the moment.]

Are you a humble soul or blusteringly proud?

I try to be humble, to let my works speak for themselves.

[it is neither arrogance nor pride if it is the simple truth.]

What habits do you find most annoying in friends?

When all they want to know about me is what I can make or do for them.

[Friends are for lesser men.]

What are your most annoying habits?

I get too caught up in what I do sometimes, and shut everyone and everything else out, sometimes for weeks on end.

[These nagging bits of altruism and morality.]

Is there any race, creed, alignment, religion, class, profession, political viewpoint, or the like against which you are strongly prejudiced, and why?

As far as races go, theyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re all generally equal; I know far too well what happens when one thinks it is better than another. Religions are fine in small doses; when they bring harm due to following dogma rather than embracing Science, they become problematic. Democracy is the worst of all existing political systems, except for all the others.

[All are inferior to me.]

What is your favourite food?

Sausages (pork, beef or poultry), trout, vegetable stews, egg yolk-heavy noodles.

What is your favourite drink?

Beer. Of all types.

What is your favourite treat (desert)?

Black Forest Cake, of course. And assorted cakes and tarts.

Do you favour a particular cuisine?

German. Italian is a close second, and French cuisine does have some marvelous breakfast foods.

Do you savor the tastes when eating or "wolf down" your food?

I prefer to savor my food, especially at breakfast. Most days, though, I wolf it down as I am eager to return to whatever project I am working on.

Do you like food mild or heavily spiced?

For the most part I prefer mild foods, except when it comes to sausages. In those cases, the hotter and spicier, the better.

Are there any specific foodstuffs that you find disgusting or refuse to eat?

Durian. Smells like sweaty gym socks filled with rotting onions.

What are your favourite colour(s)?

Metallic colors, electric blue, and the rainbow of a flame spectrograph.

Is there any colour that you dislike?

Pastels.

Do you have a favourite (or hated) song, type of music, or instrument?

My tastes run mostly to classical music, particularly German and Austrian composers such as Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Wagner. I do also have some appreciation for jazz (both American and German) and some rock Ã¢â‚¬ËœnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ roll.

If you have a favourite scent, what is it?

OzoneÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a favorite; it means thereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s electricity in the air.

What is your favourite type of animal?

Dogs. Not only are they a good companion to mankind, they show how radically a species can diverge through simple selective breeding.

[Guinea pigs. Ad I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t mean Cavia porcellus.]

Are you allergic to any kinds of animals?

Thankfully, no.

[sweaty-Palmed Mouth-Breathing Lummoxes.]

Is there anything that enrages you?

Several things, though I try very hard not to let such rages become too bad.

[The gross stupidity of humanity.]

Is there anything which embarrasses you?

Not really, no.

Do you enjoy "roughing it", or do you prefer your creature comforts?

Both. I enjoy pitting my mind against some hazards of the environment, but I also prefer the comforts of my home.

Do you have a patron deity?

Father Science. Which is to say, no.

Are you devout or impious?

I would suffer far worse than Galileo did.

Do you actively worship and proselytize or do you simply pay lip service?

I proselytize Science!

What lengths would you go to defend your faith?

The self-evident truths of Science are enough to defend it.

Was your faith influenced or molded by anyone special?

I do not have faith. I trust that reality is relatable to evidence.

Do you belong to a dominant church, or an independent church, cult, or sect (and is the group accepted, frowned upon, or considered heretics)?

No.

Will you kill?

If there is no other way, yes.

[Yes.]

When did you decide (or learn) that you would?

I cannot pinpoint exactly when, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s something IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve always known.

When do you consider it okay to kill (under what circumstances)?

If there is absolutely no other alternative.

[Anytime I feel enraged, or when doing so makes things easier for me.]

When do you consider it wrong to kill (under what circumstances)?

If there is another way out of the situation.

[before their usefulness to me comes to an end.]

What would you do if someone else attempted to (or successfully did) kill under your "wrong" circumstances, what would be your reaction?

I would try to stop them, and if they did succeed check to make sure the target was indeed dead. Chastisement would follow.

[if it did not inconvenience me, I would allow them. If it was an impediment to my goals, I would stop them, by whatever means were most expedient.]

What if it were your enemy?

As above, though possibly complemented by some neural adjustment.

What if it were your friend?

As above.

What if the opponent were not in control of their own actions (under duress, charmed, dominated, possessed)?

If they were truly dominated or possessed, then it was not them who did it, it was the controlling force. If merely under duress, I would be less forgiving, for surely there would have been some way out.

What would you do if something were stolen from you?

I would try to track the item down and retrieve it myself. I would notify the local authorities, though might not ask for assistance, depending on the specifics of the situation. Assuming I retrieved my item and captured the thieves, I would turn them over to the constabulary.

[Track them down and kill them.]

What would you do if you were badly insulted publicly?

Laugh it off.

[Note who they were, track them down, strike when they were at their weakest.]

What would you do if a good friend or relative were killed by means other than natural death?

I would investigate and try to avenge it.

[i have no good friends, and my only relative is barely worth keeping around.]

What is the one task you would absolutely refuse to do?

Teach, for prolonged periods. I lack the patience for it.

[surrender. I may temporarily yield, but that is only to regroup and re-strategize.]

What do you consider to be the worst crime someone could commit and why?

Indifference.

[Getting in my way.]

How do you feel about government (rulers) in general? Why do you feel that way?

I find a parliamentary system with two main and several smaller parties to be a good (if at times inefficient and stupid) system. Socialism and Communism have both been passÃƒÂ© since the mid-eighties (and the last time there was a strong socialist/communist segment was the first half of the last century). I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t mind the UN, but IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m not sure the EU is such a good thing; most of what they do is argue about policy or standardize paper clips and toilets, and despite all their bureaucracy they didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t manage to keep tainted beef that turned consumerÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s brains into Swiss cheese out of the markets.

Do you support the current government of your homeland?

Yes.

[i preferred some of the prior ones.]

If so, how far are you willing to go to defend the government? If not, do you actively oppose it?

As far as would be needed, barring requests to do anything unethical.

[As far as is needed to maintain my image of a Ã¢â‚¬Å“Good Little HeroÃ¢â‚¬Â]

What form of government do you believe is the best (democracy, monarchy, anarchy, aristocratic rule, oligarchy, matriarchy) and why?

See above.

[Meritocracy, with myself, obviously, at the top.]

Do you have any unusual habits or dominant personality traits that are evident to others?

You could say that, yes.

If so, describe them and how you acquired them, as well as when they might be more noticeable and what causes them.

Laughing maniacally, gesturing wildly (and something without realizing it), operating without full safety measures, clicking or tapping writing implements, other Ã¢â‚¬Å“Mad ScientistÃ¢â‚¬Â habits.

Do you have any unusual or nervous mannerisms, such as when talking, thinking, afraid, under stress, or when embarrassed?

A slight stammer when talking. I often fidget, and am rarely still.

What is your most treasured possession?

My brain.

If your life were to end in 24 hours, what 5 things would you do in those remaining hours?

Find three separate people with whom to entrust my plans for ArcheTech; Arrange to pass on gifts to those who have had an important impact in my life; Visit my father and mother one last time; Enjoy a nice meal with an intelligent and beautiful woman; Arrange for a farewell message from me to the world be played on all networks and stations.

[Fight tooth and nail against my supposed doomed fate!]

Career & Training

Where and how were you educated?

Two years at the Technical University of Munich, and four at the Hanover Institute of Technology.

Who trained you in your adventuring class(es)?

I went through almost the entire teaching faculty at both universities.

What was your relationship with your teacher(s)/mentor(s)?

I tried to be the Ã¢â‚¬Å“Eager to learnÃ¢â‚¬Â student most dream of, but a few times I was the Ã¢â‚¬Å“thinks he knows everything alreadyÃ¢â‚¬Â sort. (Though, in those cases, I pretty much did.)

Is this person or institution still in existence?

Yes, and I expect both to remain open for a very long time.

Were you a prize student or did you just barely pass?

Top of the top of the class.

Look at your skills. How did you acquire them (especially the unusual ones)?

I am a polymath of almost unprecedented scope, extraordinarily learned in dozens of fields, particularly scientific and technological ones. (I prefer to rely on electronics, computers, and other Ã¢â‚¬Å“hardÃ¢â‚¬Â sciences and systems; though I am extremely skilled in the biological sciences, I find them less Ã¢â‚¬Å“predictableÃ¢â‚¬Â.) I fluently speak and write in several languages, and if I put my mind to it and clear my schedule of distraction, I can learn a new one to a conversational level in about five to seven days (depending on linguistic complexity). Thanks to my flawless photographic memory and instant recall, I possess a vast wealth of knowledge on an enormous variety of subjects.

Have you ever done anything else for a living?

I was a Ã¢â‚¬Å“wandering tinkererÃ¢â‚¬Â for a time, traveling from place to place, offering to repair any broken or worn-out items. Part of the reason I stopped was because some people were unhappy with the improvements I made.

How do you function in combat (maneuvers, weaknesses)?

Hang back, assess the situation, devise a plan that takes advantage of any weaknesses in a target. Use whatever equipment is around to kit-bash something that will save the day, or at least look really cool.

Have you ever received any awards or honours?

None aside from what the universities have bestowed on me.

Is there anything that you don't currently know how to do that you wish you could?

I am interested in learning more about business and civics.

Are you envious of others who can do such things in a good-natured way or are you sullen and morose about it?

Neither, I simply ask questions and do research myself, knowing that I can soon master any field of study I undertake.

Lifestyle & Hobbies

When not adventuring, what is your normal daily routine?

I am a unique man, with drives and desires that are in sum unique as well. As such, I cannot be a slave to habit. My work (and, frankly, obsessions) often dictates my schedule: some weeks I spend much of my time idly experimenting with whatever catches my fancy, while others I work feverishly around the clock to develop a single idea. But, to the extent that I have a Ã¢â‚¬Å“daily routine,Ã¢â‚¬Â it usually follows this pattern: up by 5:00am, wash up from 5:00-5:30am, leisurely breakfast & catch up on global news from 5:30-7:00am, research & theoretical experimentation from 7:00am to noon, light lunch from noon to 1:00pm, practical research and meetings from 1:00pm to 6:00pm, evening meal from 6:00-7:00pm, leisure time (music, reading, games) or more laboratory work from 7:00pm to midnight, sleep midnight to 5:00am.

How do you feel and react when this routine is interrupted for some reason?

I get mildly irked, but little more than that. I have come to expect interruptions.

What are your hobbies when you are not adventuring or training?

Would it surprise you to learn that I do have hobbies? I do: I am not so obsessive that I spend all my time researching scientific breakthroughs or creating new super-devices, I have a finely honed appreciation of things that are restful and pleasurable to me, for such things broaden the mind and allow me to use the full scope of my intelligence. Fine dining is one; I consider myself a gourmet. History is a fascinating subject, particularly Classical and European; myth and legend also fascinate me, particularly the Sigurd/Sigfried legend and Norse mythology. I have a deep love of and appreciation for music and cinema; I have tried my hand at music composition, but remain dissatisfied with the results so far. Sports also draw me, particularly bobsleigh/luge/skeleton, cycling, fencing, football/soccer, horse racing, and motorsports. Chess and philosophy both interest me, but IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve yet to pursue either very much.

What do you do for relaxation? What things do you do for enjoyment? What interests do you have?

See above.

How do you normally dress when not in your adventuring gear?

IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m rarely out of it, since I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really have an Ã¢â‚¬Å“adventuring outfit.Ã¢â‚¬Â

What do you normally wear in bed at home?

Underwear, perhaps some pyjama pants. I prefer to be kept warm by lots of blankets rather than lots of clothing.

What do you normally wear in bed while adventuring?

If away from home, and the need for sleep arises, I usually just sleep in whatever IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m wearing.

Do you wear any identifiable jewelry?

A pocket watch (a normal one, not an ultra-tech gadget). I prefer pocket watches to wrist watches, and have a collection of several at home.

Where do you normally put your weapons, magic items, or other valuables when you are sleeping?

My labcoat is either hung on a coat hook or draped over a chair. My Gravimetric Belt and Electromagnetic Screwdriver both have recharging stations they stay in while I sleep.

What morning or evening routines do you normally have?

See above.

Do these change when you are adventuring?

When IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m out on some mission, yes.

Travel: how do you get around locally?

My Gravimetric Belt, whenever possible.

Do you have a Last Will and Testament?

No, but I should perhaps write one someday.

What does it say?

N/A

Miscellaneous

What would you like to be remembered for after your death?

For improving the human condition.

[For conquering the world!]

What kind of threat do you present to the public?

An incredibly large one.

[A monstrously large one.]

If your features were to be destroyed beyond recognition, is there any other way of identifying your body?

Well, even if my head and hands were disintegrated (thus negating the possibility of facial recognition, dental identification, or fingerprinting), there's still DNA testing.

As a player, if you could, what advice would you give your character? Speak as if he/she were sitting right here in front of you. Use proper tone so they might heed your advice...

Dok, I know itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard, but you can do this: you can fight the madness, you can keep it in check. You can. You have to. Otherwise everything youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve done will be for nothing. Yes, what your father did was bad, but itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not your fault, so donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t beat yourself up over it. Try to get out and make more friends, not just contacts but real friends, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s healthy and theyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll be able to help you when things get bad.

Edited August 24, 2019 by Dr Archeville

Dr Archeville · May 1, 2009

5 March 2009 (Thursday)

Dr. Klaus Bachmann, Emeritus Professor of Materials Science & Engineering at HIT, called today asking if I would be free for another lecture for HIT's Science & Engineering Lecture Series. I told him I would be glad to, barring unforeseen circumstances. Then he told me it would be in less than three weeks!

What to do? Another long rambling story, like my first lecture? No, no, something far simpler. But what?

15 March 2009 (Sunday)

Eureka! While watching some of the digitally re-mastered episodes of Star Quest, I decided to watch some of the movies in the series. In the 4th movie -- the one where they went back in time to save some giant squid in order to stop the alien probe that's destroying Earth -- mention was made of "transparent aluminum." Variants of such materials have been worked on for over two decades (since before the movie came out, even), and I've been working on my own variants as well. I can present some of mine, and see what they make of them.

23 March 2009 (Monday)

Today's the day.

Dr Archeville · May 11, 2009

January 1st, 2009 (Thursday)

Ah, the beginning of a new year! What new discoveries shall I make? What new challenges shall I face? So much potential, so much to do, I hardly know where to begin!

January 9th, 2009 (Friday)

Microsoft Corporation released the beta version of its Windows 7 operating system (formerly codenamed Blackcomb and Vienna). The full version should be available sometime in mid-2010.

And that's the only tech-related news so far this month. Lots of earthquakes and fires and suicide bombings and financial crises, but not much of note in the science or tech worlds.

January 14th, 2009 (Wednesday)

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc., has taken a six-month medical leave of absence. (Jobs had a rare form of pancreatic cancer known as islet cell neuroendocrine tumor; the tumor was removed in 2004 and he seemed to be bouncing back, but since 2006 he has been noticeably ill-looking.) Tim Cook, who had previously acted as CEO in Jobs' 2004 absence, became acting CEO of Apple, with Jobs still involved with "major strategic decisions."

Some have expressed doubts regarding Apple's veracity regarding Jobs' health. However, Apple's disclosures should be taken as accurate, since otherwise the board would be in breach of their legal responsibilities as directors of a publicly-held company.

I wish him well. Yes, he's a aggressive, temperamental egomaniac, but he's an innovative aggressive and temperamental egomaniac.

January 15th, 2009 (Thursday)

A young woman who called herself Zallaro came by today, asking me to inspect her dress, which she claimed was magical. She did not stay long, which I am glad for: she was... odd.

A sprinkler incident at a Toronto, Ontario, Canada hydro power station sparked a major power outage in a huge swath in the city's west end, affecting more than 250,000 people. Some reports mentioned a "water woman" seen in the area. Some new metahuman? Or Professor Fathom, seeking some artifact in the Great White North?

NASA announced that methane in Mars' atmosphere "could be produced either by geological activity or by life." I must get to Mars and see for myself!

A bit of sad news: in the past three days, Ricardo MontalbÃƒÂ¡n and Patrick McGoohan passed away. I believe I shall watch some episodes of Fantasy Island and The Prisoner tonight in their honor.

January 16th, 2009 (Friday)

A report issued today indicates that the computer worm Conficker has infected more than eight million Microsoft Windows-based personal computers. Intramar, the French Navy computer network, was infected; the network was subsequently quarantined, forcing aircraft at several airbases to be grounded because their flight plans could not be downloaded. (I'll not be surprised to hear that the Bundeswehr [the unified armed forces of Germany] or Britain's House of Commons are infected; they both really need to update their computer security.)

January 20th, 2009 (Tuesday)

Today was Inauguration Day for the United States: Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th (and first African-American) President of the United States. His predecessor, George W. Bush, left Washington, D.C. for Texas to resume life as a private citizen.

People have asked me whether I'm a Democrat or Republican, Conservative or Liberal, who I'd vote for, what my stance on assorted political issues is, and so on. My response is usually "be quiet and pass me that hydrospanner."

January 23rd, 2009 (Friday)

CNET.com reported that, as of December 2008, number of unique Internet users has reached one billion.

That's almost 15% of Earth's total population.

That's not enough!

Japan launched the world's first greenhouse-gas-observing satellite (GOSAT), Ibuki ("Vitality"), from the Tanegashima Space Center (115 km south of KyÃ…Â«shÃ…Â«), after a two-day delay due to bad weather.. It was was developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and will be used to measure densities of carbon dioxide and methane from 56,000 locations on the Earth's atmosphere. Japan's Ministry of the Environment and National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) will use the data to track one of the gases causing the greenhouse effect, and the data will be shared with NASA and other space and scientific organizations in other countries.

January 26th, 2009 (Monday)

A set of human octuplets are born alive for the second time in the United States.

I anticipate the mother will draw a lot of flak from this. And will most likely be given some manner of nickname. Something like... "Octa-Momma."

January 28th, 2009 (Wednesday)

Winter storms across the Midwestern United States have killed 19 people and cut electricity to 600,000 homes and businesses from Oklahoma to West Virginia. Unconfirmed reports of Dr. Stratos, Glacier, and Madame Zero being present have been coming in, but I am not so sure.

January 29th, 2009 (Thursday)

I'll be visiting Dr. Arthur Andel, the Director of Star Island, today. He's a top-notch astrophysicist and astronomer, and if anyone in Freedom City -- aside from Daedalus -- could help us with improving our Gravimetric Belt, it's him.

I just re-read that, and noticed two errors. I am leaving them in, to keep an accurate record.

January 30th, 2009 (Friday)

A heat wave affects southeastern Australia, with both Adelaide and Melbourne experiencing temperatures above 45 Ã‚Â°C (113 Ã‚Â°F).

January 31st, 2009 (Saturday)

A heat wave continues to affect southeastern Australia, killing 20 people as temperatures reach above 45 Ã‚Â°C (113 Ã‚Â°F) in Adelaide and Melbourne.

I wonder if housing Glacier or Madame Zero in a special detention center there would help? For that matter, could incarcerated supervillains be used to contribute to "public works projects" to commute some of their sentence? Could Gamma the Atom Smasher or Hiroshima Shadow be used as ersatz nuclear reactors? Rant & Rave forced to dispose of hazardous wastes with their disintegration beam? Or would such arrangements be "commercial slavery"?

Dr Archeville · May 17, 2009

New PL, new skill ranks/caps.

Craft (chemical, electronics, and mechanical) all +22.

(up to +28 with Electromagnetic Screwdriver or at HQ)

Knowledge (technology) at +22.

(up to +28 with Electromagnetic Screwdriver or at HQ)

Quickness 6 (x100; Mental only)

Doc has Skill Mastery on all four skills, and Second Chance on Craft (Chemical).

Quote

Design up to 32/38pp inventions (if Taking 20, though that takes 20x the time). Requires 1 hour per pp; since you can Take 20 on this, Quickness does apply. Can halve design time by taking -5 on the Knowledge check.
Take [-X], can design a 3pp invention (like an Easy to Lose Device 1) in 1.8 minutes (108 seconds, or 18 rounds)

Take 1, Design an 13/19pp invention in 0.13/0.19 hours (7.8/11.4 minutes)

Take 10, Design a 22/28pp invention in 0.22/0.28 hours (13.2/16.8 minutes)

Take 20, Design a 32/38pp invention in 6.4/7.6 hours.

Construct up to 32/38pp inventions, if rolling a natural 20 (cannot Take 20, but can Take 10). Takes 4 hours per pp to construct. Since you cannot Take 20 on this check, Quickness does not apply, but can halve time by taking a -5 on the Craft check.

Take [more than -5], can construct a 3pp invention in 6 hours.

Take 1, can construct a 13pp invention in 52 hours, or a 8pp invention in 16 hours. With E.M. or at HQ, can construct an 19p invention in 76 hours, or a 14pp one in 28 hours.

Take 10, can construct a 22pp invention in 88 hours, or a 17pp invention in 34 hours. With E.M. or at HQ, can construct a 28pp invention in 112 hours, or a 23pp invention in 46 hours.

If he can get a 20 on the roll, he can construct a 32pp invention in 128 hours, or a 27pp invention in 54 hours. With E.M. or at HQ, can construct a 38pp invention in 152 hours, or a 33pp invention in 66 hours.

Quote

When he absolutely, positively needs something now(-ish), that's when Jury Rigging/Kit Bashing comes in.
Doc can Kit Bash up to 27pp inventions (if rolling a 20 on Craft check), 33 is using E.M. or at his HQ. Requires one round per pp. Cannot Take 10 or 20, so Quickness does not apply.

At bare minimum (i.e., rolling a 1), he can kit-bash a 8pp/14pp invention in 8/14 rounds.

If looking to make just a 10+ on the die roll, can kit-bash a 17pp/23pp invention in 17/23 rounds.

Edited March 30, 2019 by Dr Archeville

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