Application for Mayfield
Name: Izzy
Personal LJ: izzyryu
Contact Info: AIM: izzyryu Email: torawashi at gmail dot com
Character Name: ARGOS, aka Jeffrey Levitt
Character Series: OC, from the same universe as grey_of_heart.
Character Age: 44
Background: Jeff was born and raised in Cincinnatti, Ohio, an only child. He was a smart but quiet child, with a creative streak that was inadvertently fed by his father's love of science fiction. An exposure to Godzilla at the tender age of five led him to a lifelong fascination with monsters. He was definitely the sort of kid that prefered to cheer for the giant monster instead of the heroes, and perhaps that shaped his views later in life.
The mutant hysteria began to kick into high gear when he was in college, and even back then he was an outspoken proponent of mutant rights. His views led him to major in journalism, where he eventually got his Master's degree. Once out of school, he began working as a writer for the Cincinnati Enquirer, where his outspoken editorials began to garner national attention. After several years in Cincinnati, he was snapped up by the New York Times, eager to cash in on the controversy his columns were generating.
He hadn't intended for the mutant controversy to be the focus of his career, but the more he discovered, the more concerned he became. Mutant paranoia was everywhere, and the government had even introduced mandatory testing for all citizens. Mutants were forced to hide or be taken away without trial or due process. He began interviewing members of the so-called "Mutant Underground" and was appalled at the stories they told him of kidnapping, imprisonment, and even human experiments. He never aided the Underground directly, but he helped in his own way, doing his best to expose what the government was doing behind closed doors.
On December 13th, 2004, his life changed irrevocably. Six months before, a 47-year-old man manifested a latent mutation during a bank robbery. The resulting uncontrolled explosion killed over a dozen people, and set off a nationwide panic. A new blood test was developed to detect latent mutants, and thousands of people who thought they were safe were retested. Jeff was one of them, but he submitted to the tests without hesitation, thinking he had nothing to hide.
He was wrong. The tests revealed a latent mutation that he'd been unaware of all his life. He was arrested, and like many mutants, was never seen again.
He spent the next two years in a glorified hospital ward, subjected to dozens of experiments. Some of them were remarkably successful, and actually awakened his latent mutation into a powerful set of abilities. He gained the ability to first communicate with, then control, then actually merge with machines.
This last ability was discovered when Jeff tried to escape. He merged with the facility's network through a port in his cell and deactivated the security system. Unfortunately, a quick-thinking network administrator disconnected the mainframe, trapping Jeff's consciousness inside and cutting him off from his body. In the process of getting back, Jeff opened a conduit between his brain and the mainframe, one that left his mind as vulnerable to tampering as any unprotected computer.
His captors took advantage of this, forcing him to merge with an experimental AI that attacked his mind like a virus, erasing almost all traces of humanity. They were left with a living thing that had the perfect memory and vast access to data that the most advanced computers were capable of, with the human brain's capabilities of pattern recognition, intuition, and lateral thinking. More importantly, he was now completely theirs, unable to act on his own any more than a machine. Jeff Levitt effectively ceased to exist, and became the government project known as ARGOS: Advanced Real-time Government Observation and Surveillance.
For the next two years, ARGOS spread its influence to nearly every device capable of connecting to a network. Computers, telephones, cell phone cameras...anything capable of sending a signal could be monitored, and was. Its job was to scan for signs of mutant activity and determine the location and potential threat of any mutant found. It became the government's secret weapon against the mutant threat. Jeff Levitt was forgotten, even by himself.
Personality: Jeff's mind has literally been broken down and rebuilt, and it's left him, to put it bluntly, a damaged mess. At times, he's even unsure of his name. Without the constant reinforcement of the ARGOS programming, his old personality is very slowly reasserting itself, but at the same time being disconnected from the system he depended on for years has left him utterly lost.
Initiative and independent thought are very difficult for him, and he feels most comfortable by far when there's someone telling him what to do. His function at ARGOS left him with an almost obsessive need to collect information, so he reads anything he can get his hands on, talks to whoever he can, and takes mental notes of everything from neighbor's scheduling to the prices at the local store. It's also left him with a need for order and cleanliness in his surroundings that borders on OCD. Clutter and disorganization make him extremely uncomfortable.
Emotions are another problem for him. He's been programmed not to feel them for the last two years. And without ARGOS's safeguards in place, they've all come flooding back. When things are going well for him, it manifests for the most part as Jeff appearing cool and distant, and he seems not to be affected by the world around him. However, his emotional responses can swing in the opposite direction as well. He tends to overreact when things go wrong, and is easily given over to panic and anger because he has trouble remembering how to control his emotions when they come up.
There are still traces of his old personality in the mess that the ARGOS project left. He once considered himself an old-fashioned gentleman, and a need to be polite has always stuck with him. He remembers that he was once a catholic, and he takes some comfort in old rituals and traditions, such as prayer. He remembers loving to write, so he keeps a diary almost religiously. He's not capable of the creativity he remembers having anymore, and that frustrates him, when he remembers.
Abilities: Jeff is a mutant, with power over machines. His powers affect any machine or device powered by electricity.
Specific powers:
Machine Empathy: Jeff can sense the state of any machine, whether it's working or broken, and if it's broken, what's wrong. As a side effect, this allows him to detect robots and cybernetics. He can also use this ability to read electronic media without a machine. For example, he can read the data on a DVD without a computer, or listen to a cassette tape without a stereo. He needs to touch the machine for this to work.
Machine Control: Jeff can control any machine he touches. The most practical use for this is bypassing security; he can start a car without a key, open an electronic safe without a combination, etc. He doesn't need to touch a machine to control it, but it's a very short-range power (about 15 feet, i.e. an object in the same room).
Machine Merging: This is Jeff's most powerful ability. He can physically merge with a machine, literally making it a part of him that he can control as if it were a part of his body.
The machine becomes a living thing, and it can be pushed far beyond its normal capabilities. This is what made the ARGOS system so powerful. The machine gets all the benefits of the fine control of a human nervous system, and can heal damage like a living thing heals wounds. Conversely, while Jeff is merged with a machine, his body does not require food or drink, literally running on electricity.
This power has heavy limitations, however. Merging with a machine is an involved, unpleasant process that takes anywhere from several minutes to several hours. Removing himself from a machine takes even longer. His body is also very vulnerable while he's merged with a machine. He can only move or speak with a great deal of concentration, and defending himself is out of the question.
Sample Entry: [A.R.G.O.S. System online...
Connecting...please wait.
ERROR: UNABLE TO CONNECT TO PRIMARY MAINFRAME. ALL PORTS OFFLINE.
He doesn't move from the bed, and his eyes remain closed.]
"ARGOS to Dr. Jacobi. Complete failure of network protocols detected."
[Nothing. ARGOS stirs uneasily, vaguely familiar feelings of discomfort and agitation slowly surfacing in his mind.]
"ARGOS to Dr. Jacobi. Please respond."
[His eyes open, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. Long-repressed panic shoots up his spine.
ERROR: Heart rate and stress indicators 75% above nominal. ARGOS biological interface not respondiOh God where the hell am I?]
"Dr. Jacobi? Anybody? Please! ARGOS biolog--I...I...I'm malfunctioning."
[ERROR: Cannot find ARGOS OS, biological interface corrupted. Unable to resto--Who am I?]
"Oh God please, someone help me."
Also, Here and here.
Personal LJ: izzyryu
Contact Info: AIM: izzyryu Email: torawashi at gmail dot com
Character Name: ARGOS, aka Jeffrey Levitt
Character Series: OC, from the same universe as grey_of_heart.
Character Age: 44
Background: Jeff was born and raised in Cincinnatti, Ohio, an only child. He was a smart but quiet child, with a creative streak that was inadvertently fed by his father's love of science fiction. An exposure to Godzilla at the tender age of five led him to a lifelong fascination with monsters. He was definitely the sort of kid that prefered to cheer for the giant monster instead of the heroes, and perhaps that shaped his views later in life.
The mutant hysteria began to kick into high gear when he was in college, and even back then he was an outspoken proponent of mutant rights. His views led him to major in journalism, where he eventually got his Master's degree. Once out of school, he began working as a writer for the Cincinnati Enquirer, where his outspoken editorials began to garner national attention. After several years in Cincinnati, he was snapped up by the New York Times, eager to cash in on the controversy his columns were generating.
He hadn't intended for the mutant controversy to be the focus of his career, but the more he discovered, the more concerned he became. Mutant paranoia was everywhere, and the government had even introduced mandatory testing for all citizens. Mutants were forced to hide or be taken away without trial or due process. He began interviewing members of the so-called "Mutant Underground" and was appalled at the stories they told him of kidnapping, imprisonment, and even human experiments. He never aided the Underground directly, but he helped in his own way, doing his best to expose what the government was doing behind closed doors.
On December 13th, 2004, his life changed irrevocably. Six months before, a 47-year-old man manifested a latent mutation during a bank robbery. The resulting uncontrolled explosion killed over a dozen people, and set off a nationwide panic. A new blood test was developed to detect latent mutants, and thousands of people who thought they were safe were retested. Jeff was one of them, but he submitted to the tests without hesitation, thinking he had nothing to hide.
He was wrong. The tests revealed a latent mutation that he'd been unaware of all his life. He was arrested, and like many mutants, was never seen again.
He spent the next two years in a glorified hospital ward, subjected to dozens of experiments. Some of them were remarkably successful, and actually awakened his latent mutation into a powerful set of abilities. He gained the ability to first communicate with, then control, then actually merge with machines.
This last ability was discovered when Jeff tried to escape. He merged with the facility's network through a port in his cell and deactivated the security system. Unfortunately, a quick-thinking network administrator disconnected the mainframe, trapping Jeff's consciousness inside and cutting him off from his body. In the process of getting back, Jeff opened a conduit between his brain and the mainframe, one that left his mind as vulnerable to tampering as any unprotected computer.
His captors took advantage of this, forcing him to merge with an experimental AI that attacked his mind like a virus, erasing almost all traces of humanity. They were left with a living thing that had the perfect memory and vast access to data that the most advanced computers were capable of, with the human brain's capabilities of pattern recognition, intuition, and lateral thinking. More importantly, he was now completely theirs, unable to act on his own any more than a machine. Jeff Levitt effectively ceased to exist, and became the government project known as ARGOS: Advanced Real-time Government Observation and Surveillance.
For the next two years, ARGOS spread its influence to nearly every device capable of connecting to a network. Computers, telephones, cell phone cameras...anything capable of sending a signal could be monitored, and was. Its job was to scan for signs of mutant activity and determine the location and potential threat of any mutant found. It became the government's secret weapon against the mutant threat. Jeff Levitt was forgotten, even by himself.
Personality: Jeff's mind has literally been broken down and rebuilt, and it's left him, to put it bluntly, a damaged mess. At times, he's even unsure of his name. Without the constant reinforcement of the ARGOS programming, his old personality is very slowly reasserting itself, but at the same time being disconnected from the system he depended on for years has left him utterly lost.
Initiative and independent thought are very difficult for him, and he feels most comfortable by far when there's someone telling him what to do. His function at ARGOS left him with an almost obsessive need to collect information, so he reads anything he can get his hands on, talks to whoever he can, and takes mental notes of everything from neighbor's scheduling to the prices at the local store. It's also left him with a need for order and cleanliness in his surroundings that borders on OCD. Clutter and disorganization make him extremely uncomfortable.
Emotions are another problem for him. He's been programmed not to feel them for the last two years. And without ARGOS's safeguards in place, they've all come flooding back. When things are going well for him, it manifests for the most part as Jeff appearing cool and distant, and he seems not to be affected by the world around him. However, his emotional responses can swing in the opposite direction as well. He tends to overreact when things go wrong, and is easily given over to panic and anger because he has trouble remembering how to control his emotions when they come up.
There are still traces of his old personality in the mess that the ARGOS project left. He once considered himself an old-fashioned gentleman, and a need to be polite has always stuck with him. He remembers that he was once a catholic, and he takes some comfort in old rituals and traditions, such as prayer. He remembers loving to write, so he keeps a diary almost religiously. He's not capable of the creativity he remembers having anymore, and that frustrates him, when he remembers.
Abilities: Jeff is a mutant, with power over machines. His powers affect any machine or device powered by electricity.
Specific powers:
Machine Empathy: Jeff can sense the state of any machine, whether it's working or broken, and if it's broken, what's wrong. As a side effect, this allows him to detect robots and cybernetics. He can also use this ability to read electronic media without a machine. For example, he can read the data on a DVD without a computer, or listen to a cassette tape without a stereo. He needs to touch the machine for this to work.
Machine Control: Jeff can control any machine he touches. The most practical use for this is bypassing security; he can start a car without a key, open an electronic safe without a combination, etc. He doesn't need to touch a machine to control it, but it's a very short-range power (about 15 feet, i.e. an object in the same room).
Machine Merging: This is Jeff's most powerful ability. He can physically merge with a machine, literally making it a part of him that he can control as if it were a part of his body.
The machine becomes a living thing, and it can be pushed far beyond its normal capabilities. This is what made the ARGOS system so powerful. The machine gets all the benefits of the fine control of a human nervous system, and can heal damage like a living thing heals wounds. Conversely, while Jeff is merged with a machine, his body does not require food or drink, literally running on electricity.
This power has heavy limitations, however. Merging with a machine is an involved, unpleasant process that takes anywhere from several minutes to several hours. Removing himself from a machine takes even longer. His body is also very vulnerable while he's merged with a machine. He can only move or speak with a great deal of concentration, and defending himself is out of the question.
Sample Entry: [A.R.G.O.S. System online...
Connecting...please wait.
ERROR: UNABLE TO CONNECT TO PRIMARY MAINFRAME. ALL PORTS OFFLINE.
He doesn't move from the bed, and his eyes remain closed.]
"ARGOS to Dr. Jacobi. Complete failure of network protocols detected."
[Nothing. ARGOS stirs uneasily, vaguely familiar feelings of discomfort and agitation slowly surfacing in his mind.]
"ARGOS to Dr. Jacobi. Please respond."
[His eyes open, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. Long-repressed panic shoots up his spine.
ERROR: Heart rate and stress indicators 75% above nominal. ARGOS biological interface not respondiOh God where the hell am I?]
"Dr. Jacobi? Anybody? Please! ARGOS biolog--I...I...I'm malfunctioning."
[ERROR: Cannot find ARGOS OS, biological interface corrupted. Unable to resto--Who am I?]
"Oh God please, someone help me."
Also, Here and here.