Registry of the Evolved Database
File #13 Oct 2008 15:27
|
 Jeff Goldblum |
Setting The Stage
A native to Brooklyn, Richard Kenneth never strayed far from his hometown. He was raised to be an intellectual, which is the path he would wind up choosing, with his father who was a university professor, and a mother who was a radioshow host aimed at the Jewish community. As a child, Richard went to a Jewish school, where he learned the workings of a faith he'd come to reject and a language he still knows, and in highschool, he didn't make too many friends outside of a tight circle of other kids who preferred to read and theorise rather than play sports of go out partying. A reasonably normal life, but as for most of everyone in the world, normal would one day become redefined.
Richard pursued psychology when he hit university in his early 20s, gaining his doctorate with relative ease and landing himself a job at a local hospital, where he got his own office and did his little bit towards helping fix the minds of patients who needed it while other doctors fixed their bodies. His job consisted of a lot of talking and counseling, sometimes in league with the resident psychiatrist if there was something he couldn't do that modern medicine could. He was never private practice, preferring to align himself with the hospital. Later on in life, he would start to teach at a local community college in addition to his work at the hospital, and in that time, he published a few articles, and worked on his own psychology book is as of yet unfinished.
Can You Hear Me Now?
Everyone has a defining moment in their life. Richard has a few. The earliest was the discovery of his ability, which was more like everyone else's discovery of his ability. It was a chance hostage situation in a bank, one that was becoming a little out of hand when the criminals weren't getting what they wanted quite fast enough. Richard remembers sitting on the ground with a few others who had come in today to take out a loan, make a deposit, cash a cheque, with their hands tied by plastic out in front of them. When the police managed to coax one of the criminals out for negotiations, they decided it was a good idea to take a meat shield - and Richard's 6'4" and a half frame would work out great.
Unsure of what they wanted from him, seeing only the automatic rifle in the masked man's hand, Richard had a rare moment of panic when his wrists were grabbed and he was hauled to his feet. What happened next… The room went quiet, as if all the sound had been sucked out of it. A split second later, an invisible vortex of kinds pummeled through the air from his outstretched hands and into the criminal, who went flying back as if he'd been hit by a car. Richard promptly past out and woke up….
Got Company
…in a Company holding facility, with the isotope markings on his neck.
Unlike many who might find themselves suddenly kidnapped, Richard decided that perhaps it'd be a good idea to learn about a non-government organisation who know about superhuman abilities. Perhaps he could use such information against them. But a month or so past, and he was allowed to train in his power, understand it, and finally, he was offered a career, much like the one he already had. A psychologist who would be allowed to talk to the patients they held, as well as the Agents should they require a little therapy. The paycheck was comfortable, and Richard accepted the position. In reality, he dropped his college career, but stayed with the hospital as a cover.
Better To Have Loved
Shortly after he was released from the Company holdings, transferred to a different hospital to begin anew, he met Peggy, a medical doctor who had a keen if unofficial interest in psychology. She made use of Richard more so than the other doctors, pointing him towards her patients that needed that little extra help, and he was always happy to comply. An off and on romance would ensue over the span of a few years before they were finally engaged - a very unlikely outcome, considering Richard's usual way of keeping people at arm's length, despite his chosen career. They married a year later, and were together for a good many years. They weren't necessarily happy years - Richard wasn't the easiest man to get along with and Peggy wasn't a doormat, but they made it work, although neither of them were interested in starting a family. They had each other and that was fine.
One thing that did seal their marriage was the fact that Richard was mugged. Not only that, he was also beaten, a concussive wound to the head coupled with the more severe injury to his leg, the kneecap shattered repeatedly with a crowbar. To this day, he still needs a cane to get around, but for sometime afterwards, he and his wife never fought. Perhaps out of pity, or out of shock, but it was a turning point.
He managed to keep his career with the Company from her, as well as the fact that he had an ability, until one day, the world would dictate that at least the latter would no longer be a secret.
Kaboom
When the bomb went off, it was by pure luck that Richard and Peggy were both out of town at a conference in Boston. He returned to a ruined city, his parents and younger sister having died in the explosion, and the world suddenly being forced to open their eyes to the world of the superhuman. So much for ever having a good night's sleep again. When the bill was passed that Evolveds ought to register, well, those in the Company were exempt. However, Richard went ahead and did so anyway, because, you know - it's the law, and he never had any particular fears or worries about people knowing what he could do. This, however, came along with the fact that he had to tell his wife - a secret he'd managed to maintain throughout the years. This lead to an argument of epic proportions, quite literally.
Mid-yelling match, he started to lose control of his abilities, and for blocks around, people could easily hear the voices of the husband and wife, and of course Peggy could notice how her voice had changed, but there was something oddly liberating for both of them to just yell. But his power went dangerous, for the second time in his life, sending out a ripple of sonic force at a 360 degree angle - knocking Peggy off her feet. She ran out the door and after that, all Richard saw of her was when they'd meet to finalise their divorce.
And Now For The Continuation
These days, Richard lives alone, and commits his life to being the Company's on-call psychologist. He no longer works at the hospital, having been transferred now to work alongside New York's Finest as a police psychologist, someone who both assists the police in their investigations when his expertise can be used, but also a counselor for the police themselves. He feeds information of Evolved activity to the Company without remorse, and his existence, while not happy, is certainly a fulfilling one.
A man who used to be rather charming, optimistic, idealistic - and isn't anymore, not really. He doesn't exactly wear his cynicism like a badge of honour, as his job requires that he relate to people, but he's more of a realist than people would like. He generally dresses all in black, which lends itself to a hardened kind of aura, and speaks in hesitant sentences despite acting like a bit of a know-it-all.
He is very much an atheist, in contrast to his Jewish upbringing, which has been only cemented through the discovery of superpowers, the bomb, and his later divorce. He's pretty sure that everyone is only out for themselves and that's really the way it should be, and has become slightly more ruthless as a result. Working with the Company, as well, his previous motivation to becoming a psychologist has been tainted. Richard used to want to use his knowledge of the human mind and condition to help people - now he's more interested in how they become broken.
But first impressions count for everything. Richard seems like a harmless man, polite, smart, if a little arrogant. He is very willful and opinionated, and has a reserved sense of humour.
Audiokinesis is a dangerously versatile ability, with subtle twists and many faces, but it all boils down to one thing: the manipulation of sound. Specifically, the manipulation of sound that can be detected or comes from within a thirty foot radius. This ability has many tricks as it does limitations.
One of the fundamental aspects to this ability is the manipulation of volume. Richard can make sound increase and decrease in loudness without having to think too hard, but dependent on the range, it might take some more concentration. He probably wouldn't be able to totally muffle the sound of a shotgun going off, but he would be able to reduce it substantially. A human talking voice can be completely muted, or it can be amplified as if the person were speaking through a microphone and speakers. If the sound is particularly loud, like for example, that shotgun, he can raise the volume up until it's actually deafening. By the same token, sounds that aren't necessarily loud can be raised to an almost unbearable point, but not to a physically damaging degree.
He can also create pockets of deafness around himself, or around anyone within that thirty foot radius. That means, they'll be able to hear anything within that pocket, but nothing of the outside world. By the same token, no one outside the pocket will be able to hear anything within the pocket. For example, Richard could create a limited field of deafness around himself to reduce the sounds of footsteps, but he then would also be deaf to the outside world. This pocket is invisible, and often approximate in range, but can never extend past that thirty foot limit.
The creation of sound is the third trick, and probably the hardest in terms of concentration. If Richard is able to recall a sound, he can concentrate, and psychically manipulate the soundwaves around him in order to replicate that sound. A very bizarre experience, as this sort of drains the existing sounds around him in order to reproduce the artificial ones, and it sounds a little like someone attempting to tune into a dodgy radio station. Music he's heard repeatedly is the easiest, whereas conversations and more random sounds are harder to recall. The sound he produces is often a little distorted, and while he can produce it accurately, he needs complete concentration to do it. Much like the first trick, he can manipulate the volume to his preference, but really - only on a good day. More often than not, the sound will be replicated in volume exactly the way he remembers it.
Last but not least, the production of sonic blasts. For special occasions only. While the previous trick takes the most concentration, this one is the most physically taxing. This will create a physical force that nearly ripples the air, rendering the entire room silent until it's over, which is usually about a second of time. Richard can direct the direction of the blast, and it will knock a grown man back several paces. Or, he can create the same blast which will hit people at 360 degrees with himself as the center, but to a less powerful extent, though people off-balance or injured may be knocked off their feet. Once it's over, Richard's powers are all but gone for about twenty-four hours, and he'll feel physically weakened and very fatigued. It takes a good night's sleep for him to gain back his own ability once this one-shot attack is over with. Perhaps in the far, far future, he will learn how to harness this trick in a way that won't exhaust himself, but considering he's not a very offensive person in general, he's only ever done it twice in his life, and will likely not train in it. He enjoys the finer points of his ability.
One subtle addition that comes with his power is a sensitivity to sound. Not superhuman hearing by any stretch of the imagination, he hears volume like a normal person, but he has a keen sense of pitch and tone. If listening to an orchestra, that violin at the end of the second row who is slightly out of tune will really bother him. This is not a superhuman trait, just a keen sense.
Appendices
Timeline:
October, 2008| Date | Link | Starring |
|---|---|---|
| 18th | An Informal Request | Sabra |
| 19th | Why Not? | Odessa |