Dr. Nicodemus "Val" Valiance
Gender: Male.
Race: Human, Alt-Earth.
Age: 37, born 1954. (32 Earth, 5 Nexus).
Alignment: Red (Dominant), Blue (Recessive).
Profession: VIGIL scientist.
Description: Dr. Valiance is an overweight man who appears to be in his early forties. The sides of his head are shaved, while what remains of his auburn hair is tied up in a bun. A graying beard covers his chin, and a curling mustache sprouts out from beneath his large nose. His blue-gray eyes, although glassy and vacant at first glance, betray a deeper intellect within. He's often seen wearing a pair of cherry teashades, with velvet gloves and dress shoes to match. When attempting to appear presentable, he usually layers a red sweater atop a dress shirt of some sort. Finally, he's rarely seen without his large, white woolen coat.
Personality: Dr. Valiance is defined by his self-destructive behavior and inability to control his own impulses. He looks towards substance abuse as a way in which to overcome his poor self-esteem. As a deeply imaginative individual, he enjoys puzzles and problem-solving, which lends himself well to his profession.
Equipment: As an inventor, Dr. Valiance's equipment tends to change over time as he becomes bored of his previous equipment.
Abilities: Dr. Valiance is entirely ordinary, save for his propensity for technology.
Spoiler: Backstory
Show
Backstory: Dr. Valiance was born in 1952, the youngest of six children, and the only male. His father owned several acres of farmland and made his living by selling crops to the local corn-kit factory. He, along with his siblings, were homeschooled by his mother. He excelled in his studies, but chafed under a restrictive home life. When he was seventeen, he participated in a nation-wide academic competition put on by NASA. The prize was a scholarship at the University of Texas at Austin, to be followed up with by an entry level position at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. It was a dream come true.
His essay, which focused on the importance of computer science in relation to space travel, won second prize - a devastating defeat. Unhappy with his life as it was, Dr. Valiance left home in order to major in mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin. While there, he garnered national attention with his 'Unmanned Operators', mechanical inventions which would one day become known as drones. He also developed a reputation for self-destruction, becoming involved in the burgeoning disco scene in his early twenties. Even more controversial was his involvement with the Communist Party of the USA.
After graduating, Dr. Valiance co-founded an engineering firm, experiencing some success. It was not to last, however. With the Cold War having begun in earnest, federal agents were actively searching for individuals engaged in active espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union. In October, a formal investigation was launched into Dr. Valiance's personal life. Realizing that his life was about to come crashing down, Dr. Valiance considered fleeing the country. At this time, he was contacted by a clandestine research organization known as Conference Zeta. Their representative, one Cauvin Kramolagh, offered an out.
The organization would smuggle Dr. Valiance out of the country, and in exchange, he would work for them within a facility built underneath the city of Pripyat, Russia. Dr. Valiance hastily agreed, fleeing to Russia in 1980. Conference Zeta was extraordinarily advanced, possessing technologies decades ahead of anything Dr. Valiance had ever seen. As such, he excelled under their employ, although his isolation left him unhappy. During his time there he allowed himself to spiral out of control, becoming far more reliant upon various substances than he had ever been before.
Everything changed in 1986.
An experiment had gone terribly wrong, resulting in an energy fluctuation powerful enough to rip a hole in reality itself at the center of the facility. This unstable burst of energy triggered a chain of events which ruptured the reactor core of the nuclear power plant above ground, resulting in a highly destructive nuclear disaster which all but decimated the city which surrounded it. The facility itself was spared the fate of the city above, however, as the rift at its center had transported much of the facility across dimensions, emerging within the Nexus, a reality at the center of all possible realities.
Conference Zeta continued its work in the Nexus, as did Dr. Valiance. Five years passed. Then, the facility disappeared.
Now, Dr. Valiance works for VIGIL, as a head of its new science division.
Spoiler: Reference Art
Show
Spoiler: Activites (Chronological)
Show
• Sells experimental restorative sunscreen.
• Accidentally knocks out Marin while peddling sunscreen. (Thursday)
• Attempted to cremate Marin, suspecting her of having died. (Thursday)
• Kidnapped by gangsters, along with Marin, who was not dead. Rescued by Jade. (BC56)
• Proposed a Science Department at VIGIL/Meeting with Cessie. (Shadowcaller)
• Hires Felicity as an assistant. (Earl of Purple)
• Met Svetlana at VIGIL, it went poorly. (Beagle)
• Moved into VIGIL, having made a deal with a sketchy construction agency.
• Obtained samples from Obsidian. (Thursday)
• Tranquilized Obsidian while pursuing a second dose of samples with Svetlana. (Thursday)
• Fabricated evidence of a false parasite to excuse his tranquilizer error.
• Incriminated Svetlana after she attempted to turn him in. (Beagle)
• Confronted by Svetlana, at sword point. Cessie saves him.
• Explained the situation to Wenomir.
• ???
• Received a cursed staff from some angels. (BC56)
• Met a she-centaur called Alice, it didn't go very well. (Recaiden)
• Visited Trog's, got drunk and chatted with Zee about jukeboxes. (Rebo)
• Vomited in MERC, but hired a pig man to cook at a party he's planning. (DK)
• Met with a cloning technician called 'Eyes'. (Shadowcaller)
• Tricked Anika into helping steal research from Professor Payne. (Thursday)
• Visited a Conference Zeta Laboratory in Skyside with Ambrosia. (Shadowcaller)
Re: Nexus Character Directory
Reply With Quote