Post by updatedude on Oct 13, 2015 10:05:47 GMT
The Good Doctor
Strength: Standard
Body: Standard
Agility: Standard
Mind: Superior (25)
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BIO
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There is a place, an entire universe really, where to an objective outside observer, could only be described as “hell”.
It is a place where entire worlds are essentially execution chambers and even the brilliance of stars are actually deathtraps. All of which, will ultimately be snuffed out.
And on the few worlds where life somehow, somehow manage to temporarily find a way, on these worlds, they are seemingly designed to torment their inhabitants.
Life on these worlds are defined by suffering and ultimately, death. Oh, and what death! Death on a truly horrendous scale on a daily basis, and much of that death is neither quick nor pleasant. Animals eaten alive, not by circumstance, but by choice. Prey, rendered inert yet fully conscious as they’re devoured whole or as their bodies are liquefied to be sucked up like so much soup. Creatures, great and small, slaughtered en masse in slow and painful ways that draw out their pain and terror as the life ebbs away from their soon to be carcasses. Victims, with their limbs blown off, their flesh literally put through grinders and seas of people made to drown on what is actually dry land.
To say nothing of the injustices to morality and dignity the people inflict on each other.
All the while, the universe itself actively conspires against all its life. Accidents... unlucky happenstance... unseen sicknesses...
Yet, there are those who still persevere. There are still those who escape nature’s endless and omnipresent wrath. And some among them, by hook or by crook, even prosper. They eek out not just life, but somehow, against all odds, happiness as well... and then they die.
Oh, they die. But not before their lives inspire hope. Hope for a better life and existence, a better tomorrow... which is precisely what this universe wants. Hope! For so long as there is hope, the fall into despair would be so much deeper, the suffering, so more severe.
Because in the end, even if one were to escape everything else, death would still ensnare them.
Of course, by now, you realize that I talk of this... OUR universe.
But consider this: Who are these outside observers? And what could they have in mind for the inhabitants of such a hellhole?
What COULD they have in mind after seeing the deplorable state of our existence? In other universes, beyond the brane that isolates one reality from the next, where the very laws of physics differ from ours, the moral conundrum is less a conundrum and more a certainty. In these foreign planes where particles absent from our universe are plentiful and particles bountiful in ours might be absent from theirs... where even the forces of gravity, electromagnetism and nuclear adhere to different values... In these places, the answer is obvious.
In these places where people know it’s wrong to hold malice toward their fellows and right to show charity and kindness, the people of these places do just that. Unlike here where we know it’s wrong to murder and steal but still do it. Here, where we take pleasure from harming and raping our fellows... There, they exercise their moral obligation and duty of care for all those around them. Even if those around them exist on an entirely different plane of existence...
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PERSONALITY
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His native name is unpronounceable. It cannot even be heard. Not because it’s complex or difficult; far from it, it’s a very simple name actually. But sound worked differently from where he was. So did light and even substance. And so, to blend in, he took on a more Earthly guise and identified himself with an Earthly name.
Though not the first to enter this existence, Doctor Cryptophis Nigrescens jumped at the chance to do so. It wasn’t simply because it was his moral obligation but as a physician, he knew he possessed a set of expertise that would be beneficial to the long term goals of the project.
Unlike some of his colleagues, he preferred a more methodical approach to tackling the problem of a universe intrinsically... well, he didn’t want to use the word “evil”, but he had to call it what it was. Nonetheless, political correctness aside, the first step should be to gather as much data as possible. This reality worked differently after all, he wouldn’t want either his fellows nor himself to make any blunders due to simple misunderstandings or misinterpretation of fac-
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Hmm? What’s that?
Scanning his surroundings, Doctor Cryptophis Nigrescens saw his first opportunity to do some good in this world.
“I’m ready for my patient now.”
POWERS & ABILITIES
Healing Bite
ULTIMATE POISON w/ RANGED w/ AREA EFFECT w/ SEEKER w/ SUPER RANGED w/ MULTI-ATTACK (150)
Tom “Nintendawg” Greene. Not much to say about him besides that really. He was once caught playing Nintendogs during lunch at work, which was how he got the nickname. But a more ordinary guy you wouldn’t meet. Not that there’s anything wrong with ordinary. Most of us are ordinary. It’s normal to be... normal. Abnormalities aren’t always good after all. Case in point, he was dancing with this girl at work at some joint. He’s not usually a dancer but hey, there’s a cute girl involved, am I right fellas? It was the weekend, so it was pretty crowded. And somehow or another, he got separated and pushed and pulled and shoved by the flow of the dance floor and before he knew it, he was next to the emergency exit. It registered in his head that a couple toughs were herding him there, but it didn’t really hit him till he was right by the door. By then it was too late, he found himself in an alley with not just the two thugs but this third, weedy guy.
Bad luck for him, he got caught in an abnormal situation for him.
It was just a mugging. Nothing more, nothing less. It had nothing to do with the girl. He just got marked because he looked a bit more smartly dressed ‘cause he and the girl had their date right after work. They saw him with his fancy laptop and phone. They figured he wasn’t a partying type. He stood out. Not by a lot but it was enough.
Before he could say or do anything, the weedy guy had already cut him with the tip of a knife. This was standard mugging procedure. You had to show them you mean business with a little pain. Doesn’t have to be a lot, just enough to put the fear in ‘em. They’ve done this literally hundreds of times. Everything was going according to plan.
The problem was, life doesn’t give a fuck about plans and predictability.
Tom fought back. He took mma classes, he had confidence in himself in a fight. He was young and full of testosterone. He was stupid from the drinks he had at the club. Who knows? Who fucking cares? You couldn’t even call it a scuffle.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
It was over. Tom was shot once in the gut. The other two shots went wild. It didn’t matter. They punched and kicked him down, took his stuff and kicked him a couple more times before they left because they were bastards.
It took him some time to compose himself. It was probably better to get back in the building and have someone call an ambulance for him, but in his state, he was paranoid about going back in. So he pulled himself up and staggered out the alley as fast as he could. He rolled up the bottom of his shirt and tried to apply pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding, it was the best he could do under the circumstances.
Fuck! Dammit! I’m gonna-
“Die.”
Tom looked up and he froze. To say he froze in horror might have been a tad on the melodramatic side. But saying he froze in terror wasn’t much better, albeit slightly more linguistically accurate. In front of him was, well, let’s say it’s what Death would look like if he traded in his druid robes for a hoodie... and a snake slithering through all his orifices.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, but that’s what my diagnosis say. We can probably delay the inevitable if we patch up that leaky hole in the next few hours, but there’s just nothing I can do for the overall deterioration.”
Doctor Cryptophis Nigrescens sighed inwardly. It was regrettable, but here he was, a physician, and there was absolutely nothing he could do for this patient... this MAN in need in front of him.
“Rest assured, the data you provide will be put to the betterment of all life.”
With lightning speed, faster than Tom could possibly register what was happening, Doctor Cryptophis Nigrescens bit and injected a cocktail of powerful healing... “juices” into Tom. It was a potent mix of chemicals, particles, organisms and indefinable elements containing a wide variety of fast acting beneficial effects. Physicians from Doctor Cryptophis Nigrescens’ home dimension prescribe it like doctors here prescribe aspirin.
It had... an “interesting” effect on Tom. Well, an interesting and MYRIAD of effects. Many seemingly contradictory things were occurring as a result of the interaction between the healing concoction and Tom. He screamed and screamed and screamed, though at frequencies that no human should have been able to achieve, resulting in no sound that could be heard by natives.
“Hmm, hmm, I see. Do go on. Tom is it? Yes, quite fascinating.”
To describe what was happening to Tom in more detail would be difficult. Imagine your blood literally turning into molten lead. It’s impossible right? You just can’t imagine how... odd (and yes, painful) that must be. Such was the case with Tom. He was going through a plethora of feelings and emotions and it was all happening at the same time in the same space at different variables of reality. As if he was being both crushed and torn apart at the same time, as if gravity was both light and heavy at the same time and as if energy was both destructible and indestructible. None of which even remotely describe what Tom was going through, and yet, it’s the most accurate description possible. It lasted for several hours, yet it only lasted for several seconds.
The sight of it was so odd and some might say, horrifying, that passersby gawked and quite a few screamed and ran (and because this is, “the world”, quite a few took photos and videos of it). And yet, when Tom finally expired, only seconds had passed and no one had coincidentally observed the event. No one save Doctor Cryptophis Nigrescens himself of course.
Were it physically possible, he would have shed a tear for poor Tom, so instead, he steeled his heart for what had to be done and what was to come.
“Rest in peace Tom. It was brief but I’m proud that you were my friend.”
At least Tom didn’t suffer much or for very long.
Unwavering Compassion
SUPREME IRON WILL (75)
It has been several weeks since the incident with Tom “Nintendawg” Greene. Since then, Doctor Cryptophis Nigrescens has had ample opportunity to collect a wide array of data over a large pool of samples. He’s documented several volumes worth of observations on the interactions of local biology with his native medication. It’s been fruitful work, he should have been elated, but it was also highly frustrating, for try as he might, he foresaw that it would take quite awhile to crack the “Death Code” as he put it. This entire UNIVERSE seemingly wasn’t just adamant, but willfully stubborn that its inhabitants should suffer and ultimately die.
It wasn’t just that either. As a man of science, Doctor Cryptophis Nigrescens knew that the path to success can be long and arduous. It was because of the affection he’s developed for the indigenous flora and fauna, particularly the people. The humans. It truly pained him to witness their suffering first hand. He knew about it even before he came to this dimension of course, but third hand written reports just couldn’t compare with being here himself. Reading about suffering and actually seeing it played out, it tore at him.
And perhaps worst of all is that as a pioneer in this project, he had had to let their suffering be prolonged. Not all the tests resulted in the expiration of the samples. He’s had to let some of them continue on with their suffering by administering lower dosages of the medications at his disposal in order to observe the long term aftereffects. It was for the greater good of course. One day, they’ll be able to stop the cellular decay that afflicts basically every life form in this godforsaken universe, but until then, he can’t even grant all those afflicted with a merciful end to their pitiful existence.
His was the burden hardest to bear, but... at least he didn’t need to bear it alone. He had colleagues, compatriots... friends. People who love life and decency as much as he himself. Each with their own way of cracking the conundrum of this “Hell”. With them by his side, he would never lose his way. And with the natives whose lives he’s sworn to save as his support, he would never fall.
Reinvigorated in his convictions, he let out a sigh that released all his tension.
A knock on his opened door.
He looked up from his desk and saw one such of his comrades now. She looked at him fondly, with a hint of exasperation... Hmm? How com- Oh yes! They had a meeting to attend!
Smiling, she beckoned him and said...
“Come, good doctor.”
