Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Freedom Legion Members! And Enemies! The Old Guard!
Posted: Mon May 07, 2018 8:41 am
Dr. Silverback
The 1980s were a time of wild experimentation by the mad scientists of the DNAscendant Project. Some of the most remarkable work done involved the creation of anthropomorphic animal species, intended to serve as a slave army by people who thought this was a better idea than cloning human soldiers or building a robot military, for whatever reason. "Whatever reason", in the case of Phillipe Moreau, was to demonstrate the validity of the theories of his ancestor, Henry Moreau, about whose island H.G. Wells wrote the eponymous novel. Ironically, it seems that this obsession had nothing to do with his actual ancestry, as the recently discovered diaries of Henry Moreau's only child, Juliet James née Moreau, reveal that he was not her biological father.
Be that as it may, the modern Moreau set up shop in Scotland, purchasing a variety of animals from poachers, and experimenting on them to create human-level intellects, humanoid hands, speech, and upright posture. His most significant success was the modification of a young gorilla into a more human-like form, and the awakening of an intellect almost equal to Moreau's own! In fact, it was an intellect considerably greater than Moreau's own, but that would not become apparent for a while, as the gorilla was still untutored, though he quickly learned to not overshine the Maker. That was The Law.
However, all this meddling in God's domain proved rather expensive, and the Labyrinth only provided just so much funding. Needing more, Moreau developed the ingenious and novel notion of sending his creations to rob banks in London. (It was at this point that the gorilla decided that not only was he smarter than the Maker, but also that was not really much of a boast.) They returned pursued by the London Watch, who prepared to do battle with the animal-men. And it was at this point that the gorilla decided to hell with The Law, knocked Moreau unconscious with one swift blow, and then ran out into the midst of the animal-men army with the news that the Maker had ordered them to surrender. So they did.
The United Kingdom's judicial system was left with a bit of a puzzle on their hands. The best witnesses to Moreau being the mastermind behind the crimes were all beings who had no legal status to testify. However, the young gorilla had made a number of friends among the members of the London Watch, who were friends themselves with some of the best lawyers in the country. Eventually, a legal ruling was made recognizing that the creations of Phillipe Moreau, or moreaus, for short, constituted a new sapient species which should enjoy all the protections and legal rights of human beings. Moreau was duly sent to jail, where he has remained for the last thirty years, as the Labyrinth viewed his level of failure as too pathetic to merit either rescue or execution.
Doctor Silverback, as he came to be known, continued his education at Cambridge, always quietly looking out for the rest of the animal-men. He published many papers in many disciplines, and made a great deal of money from his patents. Ultimately, as public opinion in the United Kingdom turned against his people (as it did against most minorities), he and the other leaders of the moreaus decided to transplant the colony to an island they purchased in the southern Pacific, ironically the same one occupied by Henry Moreau roughly a hundred years before. Silverback joined them for a time, but found that he missed human civilization. So he bid his people farewell, and traveled to America.
Over the next three decades, Doctor Silverback served as a frequent scientific and medical consultant to various groups of superheroes, most notably the Freedom League. Believing that he was in no way qualified to engage in crime-fighting, he always turned down offers of membership from these teams, but was also always willing to pitch in and lend a helping hand, or foot, during disasters. His charming sense of humor and joie de vivre made him very popular in the superhuman community.
When Doctor Simian made his debut in 1999, Silverback's heart broke a little. His research confirmed that the other gorilla had been "evolved" using techniques clearly derived from Moreau's work, and with as little care for the safety or comfort of the test subjects. Silverback attempted to contact Simian, hoping that he might be able to reform the criminal genius and bring him around to a more human-friendly attitude. This didn't go anywhere, but Simian treated his fellow uplift with politeness and courtesy, leaving Silverback with hope that things could change.
That came to an end in 2009, when Dr Simian, frustrated by the failures he'd endured with the Crime League, used a device of his own creation to "turn off" Silverback's enhanced intellect, reverting him to an animal mentality. He then posed as Silverback, returned to the island of the moreaus, and attempted to turn them into an army. Fortunately, the de-brained Silverback escaped from captivity and managed to stumble into the care of Daedelus, who restored his mind and then helped him to prevent the moreaus from launching an attack against Hong Kong. Silverback nearly murdered Simian when they came to blows.
Later, he would be horrified at what he'd done, but the anger at Dr. Simian has never gone away. Neither has his newfound fear of the possible consequences of his loss of intelligence. He has also begun to wonder about his lifespan -- he has already lived as long as a typical gorilla does, but doesn't seem to be dying of old age. Did Moreau also grant him a human's lifespan? It's not like the man will answer his questions.
With all this on his mind, he was somewhat distracted by yet another offer of membership from a team of superheroes, this time one that was just coming together. Initially, he was inclined to give Ray Gardner yet another polite refusal, but listening to the man talking about how this team would bring together people with decades of experience in hopes that they could use the weight of those years to guide younger superheroes resonated with him. Silverback had been doing the same thing for more than twenty years. Perhaps it was time for a change in the way that he did things.
And so he joined the Old Guard as their technological expert and official physician. In the process, he learned about Slipstream's condition. The morality of not telling the rest of the team about the situation bothers him, but he regards patient confidentiality as an important part of his professional ethics. For now, he's trying to give the Parousian the best covert medical care he can manage, and hopes to persuade him to settle down when the pain becomes unbearable. The possibility that he's looking at his own future disturbs him more than a bit ...
Dr. Silverback -- PL 8
Abilities: STR 6 | STA 6 | AGL 3 | DEX 4/1 | FGT 9/3 | INT 10/-4 | AWE 8/1 | PRE 4/-1
Powers: Goggles That Do Something (Senses 6 [analytical visual senses, infravision, microscopic vision 2, ultravision]; Removable), Large Ape (Feature [prehensile feet]; Permanent Innate Growth 4; Senses 2 [acute scent, low-light vision]), Super-Brains (Enhanced Advantages 8 [Eidetic Memory, Improvised Tools, Inventor, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4], Enhanced Awareness 7; Enhanced Dexterity 3; Enhanced Fighting 6; Enhanced Intellect 14; Enhanced Presence 5)
Advantages: Agile Feint, Close Attack, Connected, Eidetic Memory, Improved Initiative 2, Improvised Tools, Inventor, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4.
Skills: Acrobatics 10 (+13), Athletics 9 (+15), Expertise: Science 8 (+18), Insight 4 (+12), Perception 6 (+14), Persuasion 7 (+11), Technology 8 (+18), Treatment 6 (+16).
Offense: Initiative +11, Unarmed +10 (Close Damage 6).
Defense: Dodge 9, Parry 9, Fortitude 7, Toughness 6, Will 9/2.
Totals: Abilities 14 + Powers 101 + Advantages 5 + Skills 29 + Defenses 12 = 161 points
Complications: Responsibility--Motivation. Enemy (Dr. Simian). Prejudice (ape). Fear (losing his super-brains).
The 1980s were a time of wild experimentation by the mad scientists of the DNAscendant Project. Some of the most remarkable work done involved the creation of anthropomorphic animal species, intended to serve as a slave army by people who thought this was a better idea than cloning human soldiers or building a robot military, for whatever reason. "Whatever reason", in the case of Phillipe Moreau, was to demonstrate the validity of the theories of his ancestor, Henry Moreau, about whose island H.G. Wells wrote the eponymous novel. Ironically, it seems that this obsession had nothing to do with his actual ancestry, as the recently discovered diaries of Henry Moreau's only child, Juliet James née Moreau, reveal that he was not her biological father.
Be that as it may, the modern Moreau set up shop in Scotland, purchasing a variety of animals from poachers, and experimenting on them to create human-level intellects, humanoid hands, speech, and upright posture. His most significant success was the modification of a young gorilla into a more human-like form, and the awakening of an intellect almost equal to Moreau's own! In fact, it was an intellect considerably greater than Moreau's own, but that would not become apparent for a while, as the gorilla was still untutored, though he quickly learned to not overshine the Maker. That was The Law.
However, all this meddling in God's domain proved rather expensive, and the Labyrinth only provided just so much funding. Needing more, Moreau developed the ingenious and novel notion of sending his creations to rob banks in London. (It was at this point that the gorilla decided that not only was he smarter than the Maker, but also that was not really much of a boast.) They returned pursued by the London Watch, who prepared to do battle with the animal-men. And it was at this point that the gorilla decided to hell with The Law, knocked Moreau unconscious with one swift blow, and then ran out into the midst of the animal-men army with the news that the Maker had ordered them to surrender. So they did.
The United Kingdom's judicial system was left with a bit of a puzzle on their hands. The best witnesses to Moreau being the mastermind behind the crimes were all beings who had no legal status to testify. However, the young gorilla had made a number of friends among the members of the London Watch, who were friends themselves with some of the best lawyers in the country. Eventually, a legal ruling was made recognizing that the creations of Phillipe Moreau, or moreaus, for short, constituted a new sapient species which should enjoy all the protections and legal rights of human beings. Moreau was duly sent to jail, where he has remained for the last thirty years, as the Labyrinth viewed his level of failure as too pathetic to merit either rescue or execution.
Doctor Silverback, as he came to be known, continued his education at Cambridge, always quietly looking out for the rest of the animal-men. He published many papers in many disciplines, and made a great deal of money from his patents. Ultimately, as public opinion in the United Kingdom turned against his people (as it did against most minorities), he and the other leaders of the moreaus decided to transplant the colony to an island they purchased in the southern Pacific, ironically the same one occupied by Henry Moreau roughly a hundred years before. Silverback joined them for a time, but found that he missed human civilization. So he bid his people farewell, and traveled to America.
Over the next three decades, Doctor Silverback served as a frequent scientific and medical consultant to various groups of superheroes, most notably the Freedom League. Believing that he was in no way qualified to engage in crime-fighting, he always turned down offers of membership from these teams, but was also always willing to pitch in and lend a helping hand, or foot, during disasters. His charming sense of humor and joie de vivre made him very popular in the superhuman community.
When Doctor Simian made his debut in 1999, Silverback's heart broke a little. His research confirmed that the other gorilla had been "evolved" using techniques clearly derived from Moreau's work, and with as little care for the safety or comfort of the test subjects. Silverback attempted to contact Simian, hoping that he might be able to reform the criminal genius and bring him around to a more human-friendly attitude. This didn't go anywhere, but Simian treated his fellow uplift with politeness and courtesy, leaving Silverback with hope that things could change.
That came to an end in 2009, when Dr Simian, frustrated by the failures he'd endured with the Crime League, used a device of his own creation to "turn off" Silverback's enhanced intellect, reverting him to an animal mentality. He then posed as Silverback, returned to the island of the moreaus, and attempted to turn them into an army. Fortunately, the de-brained Silverback escaped from captivity and managed to stumble into the care of Daedelus, who restored his mind and then helped him to prevent the moreaus from launching an attack against Hong Kong. Silverback nearly murdered Simian when they came to blows.
Later, he would be horrified at what he'd done, but the anger at Dr. Simian has never gone away. Neither has his newfound fear of the possible consequences of his loss of intelligence. He has also begun to wonder about his lifespan -- he has already lived as long as a typical gorilla does, but doesn't seem to be dying of old age. Did Moreau also grant him a human's lifespan? It's not like the man will answer his questions.
With all this on his mind, he was somewhat distracted by yet another offer of membership from a team of superheroes, this time one that was just coming together. Initially, he was inclined to give Ray Gardner yet another polite refusal, but listening to the man talking about how this team would bring together people with decades of experience in hopes that they could use the weight of those years to guide younger superheroes resonated with him. Silverback had been doing the same thing for more than twenty years. Perhaps it was time for a change in the way that he did things.
And so he joined the Old Guard as their technological expert and official physician. In the process, he learned about Slipstream's condition. The morality of not telling the rest of the team about the situation bothers him, but he regards patient confidentiality as an important part of his professional ethics. For now, he's trying to give the Parousian the best covert medical care he can manage, and hopes to persuade him to settle down when the pain becomes unbearable. The possibility that he's looking at his own future disturbs him more than a bit ...
Dr. Silverback -- PL 8
Abilities: STR 6 | STA 6 | AGL 3 | DEX 4/1 | FGT 9/3 | INT 10/-4 | AWE 8/1 | PRE 4/-1
Powers: Goggles That Do Something (Senses 6 [analytical visual senses, infravision, microscopic vision 2, ultravision]; Removable), Large Ape (Feature [prehensile feet]; Permanent Innate Growth 4; Senses 2 [acute scent, low-light vision]), Super-Brains (Enhanced Advantages 8 [Eidetic Memory, Improvised Tools, Inventor, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4], Enhanced Awareness 7; Enhanced Dexterity 3; Enhanced Fighting 6; Enhanced Intellect 14; Enhanced Presence 5)
Advantages: Agile Feint, Close Attack, Connected, Eidetic Memory, Improved Initiative 2, Improvised Tools, Inventor, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4.
Skills: Acrobatics 10 (+13), Athletics 9 (+15), Expertise: Science 8 (+18), Insight 4 (+12), Perception 6 (+14), Persuasion 7 (+11), Technology 8 (+18), Treatment 6 (+16).
Offense: Initiative +11, Unarmed +10 (Close Damage 6).
Defense: Dodge 9, Parry 9, Fortitude 7, Toughness 6, Will 9/2.
Totals: Abilities 14 + Powers 101 + Advantages 5 + Skills 29 + Defenses 12 = 161 points
Complications: Responsibility--Motivation. Enemy (Dr. Simian). Prejudice (ape). Fear (losing his super-brains).