Diogenes

Registry of the Evolved Database

File #17 May 2009 14:05

Summary

Name Unverified Aliases Diogenes Status Unregistered Evolved Ability Paralysis Gender Male Race/Eth. Caucasian Birthdate May 23rd Age 22 Height 6'1" Build 130 lbs Eyes Grey Hair Black Residence Unknown Employment None known Parents Unknown Siblings Unknown Marital Status Insufficient data Children None Known First Seen A Deal Between Two Devils Last Seen A Dull Man Profile Diogenes is an illegal immigrant from a small Eastern European country. He has ditched his old life in lieu of a new one, seeking to observe and manipulate where appropriate. Most importantly, having noticed rife subjectivity in his actions, he has decided to live up to the legacy of Diogenes and find honest men.

portrayed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Background

Very little is known about this elusive nomad. His ability to adopt varying accents and unwillingness to share personal details have made the assembly of his background rather difficult. What has been verified is the fact that he comes from Eastern Europe, although he is not a legal immigrant, making further confirmation of his past even more tedious. Besides the known alias, he is also reported to go by the name 'Thomas', but the legitimacy of this name is unknown. His motivations for relocating to the United States is impossible to confirm, even if he himself was asked. It's questionable whether he is driven by any single discernible motive. Multiple sightings suggest he has taken on a watcher's role, and the unique historical role of New York may have been what attracted such a curious onlooker in the first place.

Psych Profile

Behavioural Patterns

It is hard to tell whether his alias fits him because he has chosen to uphold the behaviour of the eponymous historical figure, or whether the alias simply fit his greatly similar attitude. This would-be modern day Diogenes is assertive, acerbic and vitriolic. He is a cynical explorer with a bias toward scepticism, prowling the darkness with a hopeful lantern in one hand, and a predisposed opinion in the other. His cynicism has reached such heights that he will patronise even fellow cynics.

Thoughts on Evolved

Diogenes views Evolved as both a threat and the inevitable next step in evolution. He realises the complexity their existence presents, and believes oversimplifying this matter is a grave mistake. According to him, registration is part of the oversimplification, and that dangerous Evolved are a necessary Evil which will help create Good. Evolved with questionable and dubious motives, he finds, are nothing more than a hurricane or a similar natural disaster - it is futile to fight against them, and life goes on afterwards. Lives lost? Diogenes would reply, 'Name one day in the entire human history when not a single man, woman or child lost a life'.

Evolved Ability

Known Strengths

Diogenes has the ability to induce and remove paralysis. This ability could be described as a more limited, more specific mental manipulation - he impairs the communication between the brain and certain or multiple parts of the spinal cord, rendering the target of his power paralysed in various ways. He can paralyse as little as one's toes, as much as the entire body and allow naught but speech, or he can even impair his victim's breathing and ultimately kill. Paralysis cannot be overcome by sheer will or strength, for this is not simulated paralysis, but a real one. While paralysis induced from a distance can last up to 24 hours, with its life span chosen by Tom, physical contact can ensure the permanence of paralysis. Additionally, Diogenes can (permanently, with few exceptions) eliminate paralysis, and in most cases, he can even remove paralysis he didn't cause. Currently, this ability has progressed to a point when it functions like telekinesis in terms of execution. A delayed reaction and/or the potential victim's sudden disappearance from his field of vision are arguably the only factors that might (temporarily) stop him from using his ability.

Known Weaknesses

The shortfall of this ability is that this Evolved can deal only with one individual at a time; although he does have the potential to simultaneously paralyse numerous people (although not that many, and only the same type of paralysis can affect a group) in his vicinity at a time, his ability isn't that far advanced yet. That does not, however, affect the number of people he can paralyse in total - this number is infinite, because he does not maintain paralysis, but merely hits a switch which can be left unattended. Another drawback of this ability is that Diogenes cannot shut off the use of an ability, unless the power requires physical movement. Enhanced strength and super-speed will obviously be disabled, whereas telepathy will not. Powers that don't necessarily require movement, but are much easier to execute with motion, are a different matter - paralysis can teach the Evolved to use that power while being still (e.g. telekinesis). Finally, this ability has a range of approximately twenty feet, and Diogenes must have the target in sight, so if he's blindfolded or approached from behind, he will not be able to use his power.

"My problem is that I think too much about what few do, and too little about what many should."

Appendices

Skills

Education

Little is known in regards to what sort of education Diogenes has undergone, but he certainly shows the signs of a well-read man, even for his age. Be he tutored in a university or sought knowledge on his own, he's gathered a fair amount of information. His strengths appear to be communicative skills, as well as Mathematics and biology.

Languages

Diogenes can speak three languages, which are Russian, English and his native tongue, which he avoids using. He has a fairly good grasp of German. Although he speaks in English with a slight accent - pronouncing words a bit too softly at times - he speaks fluently and has an extensive vocabulary, which he is a bit too eager to flaunt. That accent becomes harder to notice when he speaks British English, and he can also fake a German, Russian and a few UK accents.

Physical Shape

When it comes to fight or flight, Diogenes would choose the latter, unless the situation can be handled with words. He is in no condition to fight, and he doesn't know how to, either, for he has never fought in his entire life, childish fights when he was little being the exception, and even then, he was usually the one who lost the match.

Lying and Finding Lies

Diogenes excels at lying and pretending to be what he's not. Like a chameleon, he can fake a good number of facial expressions, and almost like a detective, he can often spot when someone isn't being sincere. After all, he studied psychology both in his university and on his own; furthermore, he had plenty of practice lying during his teenage years, when he tried to pretend to be anything but himself.

Philosophy

This guy thought he could find the truth in words of those who tried to find it. Solipsism, stoicism, nihilism, existentialism, Greek philosophy - he knows most of it, and is perfectly capable to philosophise on his own, which is something he'll be caught doing quite often, either on his own or with others. Unfortunately, with this skill also comes his preference of inaction.

Life Skills

And so, he has a robust arsenal of skills. He can often tell when someone is lying and is fairly good at lying himself. He can philosophise. He can imitate English accents. But mundane yet essential things are beyond him - cleaning, preparing food, knowing the law, prices of everyday items, etc. He's simply not street smart, one could say.

Biology

For a few years now, Diogenes has been working hard to understand the inner workings of the human body in order to understand his ability, gain full control of it and make full use of it. Having completed the first two objectives, he has come far. He's obviously no doctor, but for a civilian, his knowledge of the human anatomy is naught but impressive, specifically aspects of it related to locomotion. He knows how to treat most common injuries and even some that aren't encountered as often.

Notes

• Although often cold, distant, apathetic and calculative, he is at times absent-minded. The number of umbrellas he misplaced is astounding.
• Under the right circumstances, Diogenes would most likely not hesitate to kill a human being. He has a soft spot for animals, though, and let go all of the critters he experimented his ability on. Except those he accidentally killed.
• Diogenes has difficulty choosing his favourite colour. He's torn between two extremes - black and white. Ironically, it by far doesn't represent his standpoint.
• On more than one occasion, Diogenes tried to become a writer.

Memorable Quotes

• "What I like to drink most is wine that belongs to others."
• "Give a man the ability to look through clothes, and he'll go to a women's locker room. Give a man the ability to make atomic reactions, and he will nuke a hole in a city. […] It's human nature. It's a metaphysical force you're in no position to change. Our primitive brain is laced with sophisticated thoughts, dreams and ambitions, but at the heart of it all, who we really are… Cavemen. Had the man not been inclined to test out the theory - what if I smashed that guy's face in with my club - would the police force require existence?"
• "[…]I am the Sun— alone, in the centre of impossible to understand events and occurences. Alone. Mistrusting. And really eager to scorch Earth."

Relationships

Diogenes is a very peculiar young man. He seems to compartmentalise everyone he's met according to their significance to him. He has devised an interesting system within his mind, which we will refer to as the Diogenes scale, and its units - Dios. Zero marks insignificance and contempt on Tom's part, whereas four is the highest value and thus would be used to describe a person whom Diogenes most likely can't spend a single day without thinking about. Naturally, those with whom he doesn't keep in touch will slip down the ladder until they hit the 0.0 Dios mark, with exceptions being those he doesn't want to forget.

0.0 Dios

	Everyone is a potential candidate for his spite and contempt. Not one to actively show aggression, however, this eccentric young man is more than likely to just bitterly disregard the presence of others with stinging remarks, seemingly preferring to wallow in misery, which he is quite keen to introduce to others - in varying shape and size.

1.0 Dio

Zachery Miller is an ex-coroner who, at the time when Diogenes met him, happened to work in a book shop. Diogenes found that to be both amusing and pathetic at the same time; he was unsure whether he offered Zachery a semblance of a second chance out of genuine empathy or as a means to get what he alone wanted. One thing was known for sure, however - Diogenes found great comfort in that no social norms applied when he was near Zachery. It is this luxury that he missed quite a bit during his absence. Not to mention that Zachery is one of the very few people that Diogenes is curious in regards of their current activity.

2.0 Dios

Lola is a peculiar one. Although he is now aware she is truly referred to as Lola, she has introduced herself to him as Marie Clemens. He is not quite sure what to make of her yet, but he is amused greatly by interactions with her, largely due to her repeatedly tagging him as an insane killer who wants to molest her in her sleep. He aims to find out more about this elusive Southern girl before forming a valid opinion.

3.0 Dios

Kaylee introduced herself to Diogenes along with her ability. At first, it seemed the two will become enemies, but the complete opposite occurred: she has helped him chase a murderous evolved, while he indulged in her search for an apocalypse. Right now, Kaylee might be the only person who can help Diogenes return to New York and provide a modicum of safety, for she's his only contact to the Ferrymen.

4.0 Dios

Isis was the first exception to this man's rule of never talking to the same person twice unless a subsequent meeting is unavoidable, and the first one to have prompted Diogenes to change that rule. Initially, he had little interest in her and focused on the prospect of teaching her to control her ability, which he has. After playing around with ambiguity and vagueness for a long while, the two have finally settled down in terms of what they define each other as. Only they know what their relationship is.

Appearances

September 2010

September 5

A Dull Man

With Cat and Isis

August 2010

August 11	Excuse Granted!	With Isis
August 11	A Call For Help	With Kaylee and Isis
August 17	New Start, Take Two	With Kaylee and Isis
August 18	Authorian Answers	With Delilah, Linus, Lola and Savannah
August 24	G'Morning Dio	With Isis
August 24	In Search of Honest Men	With Lola
August 25	Sane, Insane and More Insane	With Elle and Zachery
August 30	Two Slices of Pie	With Quinn

November 2009

November 2

Not For Children, Yet Childish

With Kaylee

October 2009

October 1	Junkie Meet Killer	With Lola and a cameo by Elisabeth
October 5	An Unlikely Visitor	With Lola
October 9	They're Playing Our Song	With Lola
October 11	A Tea Party	With Brian
October 17	Soulless	With Zachery
October 30	Similar Differences, or Different Similarities?	With Zachery

September 2009

September 3	The Third Guest	With Raquelle
September 3	What Must Be Your Marionette	With Maeve
September 3	On The Road Again	With Diana
September 9	Tier-4 Ability - It Exists	With Isis and Jay
September 9	The Wind and The Sun	With Isis
September 11	Of Prophecies and Illnesses	With Kaylee
September 14	The Sound of Solitude	Alone
September 14	So Simple, Yet Not	With Kaylee
September 16	Meanwhile, in Evil Headquarters...	With Isis

August 2009

August 8	From Enemies To..?	With Kaylee
August 8	A Strange Meeting	With Agnes and Teo
August 10	A Discussion Between An Unlikely Trio	With Isis and Kaylee
August 10	You're A Dick	With Abby, Claire and Deckard
August 13	Sleuths	With Kaylee
August 13	Digging Up The Sandman	With Kaylee
August 16	Just One Kiss, M'lady!	With Isis
August 17	Gods Having a Chat	With Kaylee
August 22	Blah Blah Blah...	With Isis
August 22	Duty Calls	With Aaron, Minea and Peyton
August 26	It's On, Now!	With Isis

July 2009

July 5	Despicable Duo's First Attack	With Isis and Tuck
July 8	An Abundance of Vagueness	With Ariel
July 9	Awkwardness & Arguments	With Ash and Isis
July 10	Hells Divided	With Isis
July 11	A New Regular Discovered	With Hadley
July 16	Our Time Is Up	With Ariel
July 27	Visiting the Abyss	With Isis
July 29	Remember Me	With Adam and Kaylee
July 29	Hot and Cold	With Isis
July 29	A Stroll In The Park	With Felix
July 30	Ubi Concordia Ibi Victoria	With Isis

June 2009

June 1	When Devils Become Angels	With Isis
June 22	Drinking Partners	With Buck
June 22	Don't Tease The Shady Business Man	With Kaylee and Tuck
June 27	Clashing Minds	With Yin
June 29	Who Watches The Watchmen	With Aude, Colby and Felix
June 30	Favors and Debts	With Isis

May 2009

May 31

A Deal Between Two Devils

With Isis

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