Registry of the Evolved Database
File #06 Aug 2010 06:09
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 Naveen Andrews |
Nadal Gamal Karim was born in the heady period of Pan-Arab nationalist sentiment. His mother Leila was a half-Egyptian archaeologist born to a British archaeologist and a wealthy Egyptian relic hunter. Leila, raised in London, ended up following in her mother's footsteps and returned to her father's homeland in order to pursue archaeological studies. One of the workers on the dig, however, caught her attention and soon enough, Leila and Basir were married. They hadn't planned on having children right away, especially since they were in the middle of a breakthrough, but soon enough, the two found themselves raising a pair of children in the midst of broken pottery and tents.
The mid seventies were a turning point for the Middle East. The rise of figures like Nasser, Saddam, Khadafy, and the Ayatollah were a turning point. The days of the colonial powers were fading away to national independence. His parents being both intellectuals with ties to the colonial power of London were torn. They were not activists but they did understand the need for change that these men represented. It was a time of hope and change so that even in the intellectual world children were being named after men they rested their hopes in.
Nadal was enrolled in the finest technical schools from an early age. He was put up in boarding schools in London, Egypt, and an American school in Lebanon. He grew up in a world of privilege compared to that of his fellow countrymen. When he wasn’t in school his parents had him close by on some expedition or another. He was a very quiet and reserved young man in his youth. He was much more religious then his parents had been. This was the first divergent path of his life. He loved his parents more than anything but he saw them as lacking in their faith. It was in this context he spent most of his life. He felt terribly for his countrymen but was happy to have money to be a spoiled youth. He had access to books, music, and international friends. These things forged him into what he would someday become.
When his sister was born he swore to himself he would always look after her. He tried to model her on himself. He did his best to get her into religion, politics, and a sense of duty. Nadira had different ideas even from a young age. She was more drawn to playing Barbie then she was memorizing the Koran. This vast difference in the two siblings never prevented them from being close. The only real rifts began to appear when Nadal became a teenager. He became involved with various organizations that kept him tied up and in trouble. He was arrested by the Egyptian security apparatus and beaten severely when he was sixteen. It was during this beating as he sat alone in a dark interrogation room that his powers became revealed. When he hurt so bad he could no longer speak he felt his body deflect the pain. It grew strong and tough as the limestone of the Ancient Egyptians. He was careful to not expose himself to his captors. Instead he used the new revelation to steady his will. He focused on survival to use his new gift in powerful ways. The revelation of his ability did not occur to him as some genetic precursor. Instead in Nadal’s mind it was powers granted by god. It was his mission to stand up for his people using the guidance and favor given to him. It was only his family’s wealth and political ties that kept him from being executed or left in prison. In Nadal’s mind it was Allah’s will that lead him to safety. His life was now more focused than ever before.
Nadal’s revelation and the view of the evolved in the Middle East was much the same. They considered it a gift from god. In some specific Islamic sects it is even considered to be a bloodline from Muhammad. The accepted pretense is that evolved powers are given to Muhammad’s descendants to enforce the power of Islam. Those who are even progressive seem to think that the evolution plays a factor into this as well. This thought was the one most pervasive among the circle of revolutionaries and faithful that Nadal interacted with. There are some more secularized views of the evolved in the region. The overall secular views were kept by the elite and ruling class. The more religious twist being held by the common people. Government organizations in the Middle East have also become aware of abilities and have been keeping a registration and military programs. They explain away most of the odd occurrences and outings through miracles of faith. Which tend to work better in a fervently religious society then they do in a secular one. He kept his abilities a well guarded secret as he felt that they should only be used for revelation. It was only after she was well into her teenage years that Nadal and his sister became aware of each other’s abilities.
Once he was released his parents quickly sent him away to London for his safety. He was instantly withdrawn and depressed. He missed his family and his sister most of all as he felt his parents betrayed him. It was when he graduated and started college in Cambridge that he started to realize his actual powers. Even being cut off from his homeland Nadal continued to be obsessed with the ideals of modernizing his homeland. He was very anti Israel and very sympathetic to groups like Fatah, Hamas, and Hezbollah. After he graduated with a Masters degree in finance and international studies he returned home.
Back in his element he again started getting ties to rebellious organizations. It was his education and ability to move in outside circles they craved most from him. He spent most of his time fundraising for the groups with the Saudi’s and Libya. During this time the nuclear explosion in Midtown occurred.
Nadal was very much unsympathetic about the root causes of the blast. In his own mind he deemed it to be divine punishment. He does feel bad for the poor and nameless victims especially those of Islamic faith. He doesn’t reconcile these two things into an over reaching view of the blast. In the end the persecution of evolved, the blasphemous culture of the country, and foreign policy made the attack perfectly excusable.
Nadal was mostly indifferent to Petrelli’s press conference outing others like him to the world. He found that this information was inevitable. He also considered himself and his sister as different from the other evolved. In his mind their gifts were god given and not a matter of pure science. With the rise of the internet and more non biased sources such as Al-Jazeera such information couldn’t stay a secret forever. Even with his background internationally he knows little else about Petrelli and is indifferent to how America goes about treating its evolved. He is pretty certain they will treat people different from themselves with prejudice. The United States will treat them the same way they do of a different faith, skin color, or economic background the world over.
After the blast and the blame given by the US to the Middle East, Nadal formed an organization that on the surface gathered aid. Veiled thinly beneath the aid money he is funneling money for other nefarious purposes. Some so nefarious he is in denial over them. His life was pretty set in its way when his sister finally disappeared from Egypt. It was what finally forced him to break away as a matter of business to check on her and make NYC contacts. He is out to find more people to help raise money and possible contacts to continue the struggle of the third world against the oppressor.
Nadal is very unrealistic in his view of the world. He sees thing in a warped political tint. His actions tend to be pragmatic but he has a sense of morality that he tries to stick too. He is very torn but always seems to fall on the side of being misguided. He is fully engrossed in the modern world but tries to believe that this modern world is a tight rope. He doesn’t drink and adheres to not doing any drugs. He does smoke like a chimney. He is overly protective of his sister Nadira while at the same time being wary of her lifestyle.
He doesn’t see any violence that he does or that is done by his cause as wrong. He also has a sort of awe for religion of all types. He has a severe distrust of Jews and authority figures. He believes that the American government is oppressing people all over the world. If he comes into contact with any Israeli agency he will go out of his way to strike out. His distrust of the Israelis is impossible for him to hide if the subject is breached.
His everyday personality is of a benevolent educated Middle Eastern man. He is much more selfish and dark. He knows what image he presents then does his best to manipulate it to his advantage. He is also very greedy and will go out of his way to make money. He sees the money as a means further his political goals.
He has the ability to manipulate into particles of sand or limestone. This ability to change to limestone enables him to absorb most kinetic damage in equal proportion to limestone. As kinetic damage starts breaking him away into smaller pieces he begins to crumble into a pure sand state. He also has the ability to transform into a pure sand state. When the sand is in the vicinity of within a few feet it can be controlled to roll and return to a limestone state. While in his sand form he maintains about fifty percent the mass of his normal weight. While in his granular sand form he is unable to move on his own except for the close proximity gathering. Once any granules are reunited with comparable material they can hold together and prevent further dispersal without outside influence. His only hope to recover from dispersal is to be carried or blown into types of sand that makeup limestone. When he is transported into a compatible material he can rejuvenate. The smaller the amount of sand that is collected the longer it takes him to recover. It is equal to about one hour per ten percent of body mass. It has a quarter-mile threshold after which Nadal-particles become just plain sand and a deadline of two weeks for the particles must reform to return to his original mass. If not he dies and become just plain sand. If ten percent of his total sand mass is collected, it will take nine hours under proper conditions of accumulated sand for him to return to human form. The hardness of the sand takes on the consistency of the bricks that form the pyramids. This gives him a powerful offensive and defensive nature. The other option is he can fall into loose sand particles. While in loose form he can be pushed under doors or stashed in other places.
Nadal’s limestone state has some other limitations. While in this state he is unable to speak instead having to rely on physical motions and guttural groans, screams, and bellows to communicate. His movement is slowed to a maximum pace of a leisurely walk. While not under periods of stress Nadal can also slowly move his mass from limestone to sand and reform. This allows him to slowly maneuver under a door jam. Through any lining that is not too thin for granules of sand to pass through. He is able to maintain his transformed state for long periods of time.
His weaknesses include extreme heat, air, and water. When assaulted with water he starts to congeal and fall apart. The amount of water typically causing this would be in the one hundred gallon range or a direct constant flow of high pressured water. This doesn’t however force him to disperse. He can be dried and again reform. With heat he becomes glass and brittle easily shattered. This happens near the heating temperature of making glass which is near three thousand degrees farenheit. With powerful winds he can be dispersed once he is in sand form. Also with someone with a wind power he could also be transported with enough control. If he is in his sand particle form low level winds can accomplish this feat. If he is in his solid limestone form the wind must have some sort of natural particles to wear him away. If not and it is wind alone then this would require hurricane force winds near or over one hundred miles per hour. While in his human form he is as susceptible to death or injury as any other person. Any serious injury prevents him from transforming.