Richard Ray
Richard Cardinal; Lamont Cranston
Brian Austin Green
RichardRay.jpg
Male
June 18th, 1982
35
5'11"
Athletic
Dark Brown
Hazel
Raytech Corporate Housing, NYC
CEO Raytech Industries
David Cardinal (father, deceased), Michelle Cardinal (mother, deceased), Edward Ray (adoptive parent, abandoned him)*
Kaylee Thatcher (adoptive sister), Valerie Ray (adoptive sister), Warren Ray (adoptive brother)*
Single
Lili Elizabeth Roberts and Richard "Ricky" Edward Roberts (with Harmony Roberts)
The CEO of Raytech Industries, a technology and innovation company. He's known for having been the force behind WRAY, a pro-resistance propaganda radio station that ran during the war. In a previous life, he was a terrorist, a thief, and a conspirator known as Richard Cardinal.
* presumed true, but without any paperwork to prove it; sometimes he wonders…
"Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray."
- Lord Byron
…so all /that/ happened.
The memory of the final moments of his future self, and all of his sins, was raw in Richard Cardinal’s mind when he decided to cast that name, that identity, away like a shed skin. He adopted the name of the man whose instructions he’d been following all this time, who claimed to be his adoptive father. He wasn’t even sure if he believed it - but he’d embraced Kaylee, Valerie, and reluctantly Warren as siblings. And he needed a new beginning. A fresh start.
And so Richard Ray was born.
Just what does one do, if they’re given a reinforced bunker with radio equipment, in a safe area just before a civil war breaks out? After gathering what you can of your family to you, you get some people who know how this whole ‘radio’ thing works - and you make your voice heard. The years of the war were spent in Kansas, settled into the Mobile Radio Communications building broadcasting messages of hope, good news delivered via the scattered contacts of the WRAY crew, and generally working to boost morale for the resistance side of the war. “The Ray” became a figurative ray of light for those seeking freedom and equality for the evolved, while the crew themselves were safely ensconced in the bunker.
They may have passed some time trying to make contact with the ‘ghost broadcast’ that appears to be coming from an adjacent timeline, with little success. Even Warren would need better equipment than a bunch of old radio gear to create a /time radio/.
Those years spent in the bunker were badly needed. After years of manipulations and tragedies, of trauma most people could never imagine, he needed the time to rest, to recover. To spend time with his siblings, his children. To come to terms with all he’d done, and all that his future self had done… and consider what to do about it.
It was during those years that the seeds of Raytech Industries were laid; the idea of pooling all of the Ray siblings’ resources and creating a new, single company whose resources could be used to help build a future rather than destroy one, to pay the debts their family owed for Edward’s sins. Stepping out of the shadows of the conspiracy years and into the light.
Oddly apropos, given the loss of his ability to dwell within those shadows.
As the war ebbed, he began reaching out - to old security specialists here, scientists there, real estate agents and businesspeople of his acquaintanceship, or of another acquaintance’s acquaintanceship. Contacts from his time with Redbird, with Chicago Air, with Endgame - and with Apollo. They reclaimed Warren’s factory and before long purchased others, and began the climb up the ladder from start-up to true corporation.
It wasn’t the first time that Richard had run a business, and although this was a new scale for him, he wasn’t alone; he had Kaylee’s business acumen, Valerie’s support, and Warren’s innovation, not to mention the skills and abilities of the others he had behind them. He knew there would be eyes upon them - there were still those in the government that knew who he was, who his family was, and who knew the truth behind the Institute - so they’d have to be careful. Especially so, since some of those he recruited previously worked for the Institute, for the Company, in an attempt to offer them the same chance at redemption that he was taking.
If Kazimir Volken can seek to atone for his sins, then why should anyone be denied that chance?
Backed by the innovation of Warren Ray and the other scientists and engineers that he’d managed to bring aboard, they established contracts with the government, with Yamagato Industries, and even with Wolfhound - old allies with a new name, and people he trusted with the more… dangerous inventions to come out of Raytech’s thinktank. The fact that some members of that thinktank are probably wanted /by/ Wolfhound is information Hana doesn’t need to have, really. As much as he honestly likes and respects her, Hana’s not big on /forgiveness/ in his experience.
As the year 2018 comes around, Raytech’s Safe Zone branch office has just opened and Richard’s moved back to the city of his birth, leaving the head office in Detroit to be handled by Warren and Elle.
The future looks bright. But as Richard knows well… there are always shadows around the corner.
The man who was once Richard Cardinal has come a long way since the days of being a loner and a thief who didn’t let anyone closer than arm’s reach.
The weight of guilt and duty that’s been set on his shoulders has been willingly taken on, and he’s determined to do everything he can to make the world a better place. For his family, for his children, for those he loves and cares about. He can be borderline obsessive at times, driven by what he’s done and seen, but he knows well how dangerous he can be if he falls too far down that well. He doesn’t act on instinct as often as he once did, but he’s still a man of action deep down.
Above all else. If he considers someone one of his people he’ll go to great lengths to protect and help them, and his family is everything to him. If it comes to a clash between his loyalty to his own and the great work of fixing the world… well, he likes to think that he’d side with the former every time. But even he’s not sure.
In the end he’s a driven man, still hurting from the losses of the past and the guilt of the things he’s done and the things done for him, but one determined to do the right thing.
TRUE
Alts
Facts
Known to Most
- CEO of Raytech Industries, a tech innovation company with a branch office in the New York Safe Zone.
- Has three siblings, who make up the rest of the Board of Directors.
Known to Some
- Richard has a kid - two, even! They stay with their mother, and have her last name, but she brings them to see him fairly regularly.
- Richard's surname was previously Cardinal, and he ran the Redbird Security Solutions company just before the war - rumor has it the HQ was hit by Humanis and he was severely injured, vanishing from public life until after the war.
- He isn't a blood sibling to the other Rays.
- Richard used to be Evolved, but his ability was lost on November 8th, 2011 during the Mount Nazahat mission.
- Collects prophetic and precognitive art in all its forms; music, paintings, comic books, et cetera. Even if the prophecy's played out, or been negated, he'll still collect it.
Known to Few
- Used to run a group that could be considered terrorists, freedom fighters, or conspirators that worked against the Institute and the Humanis-backed government known as Endgame.
- Has a record! Did a stint in Rikers.
- Another iteration of himself from another timeline was the founder of the Institute.
Hooks
- Raytech:
Employment: Looking to help make the world a better place, and make money while doing it? Richard's always on the look-out for talented individuals who are a good fit for his team… even those who might have a checkered past they're looking to make up for. Maybe especially those people.
Employed: Do you work for Raytech? Built in hook for RP right there. BAM!
- Personal
Old Friends, Old Enemies: Richard's got a very checkered past, and he's moved through a lot of circles; he's been a criminal, a security specialist, a CIA Agent, a resistance fighter, and now he's in the corporate world. He's got connections everywhere. The player is happy to work out past connections with you!
Collection: Are you a precog? Did you end up with some precognitive art? Richard will want to see it, and get a copy for his collection if he can strike a deal!
Information: If you're looking for information, well… Richard isn't in that business anymore, but he still knows an awful lot. You could look in worse places. He might also be interested in buying your information.
Everyman: Sometimes, Richard just likes to get away from that ivory tower and walk around the city, especially in parks and gardens and high places. If you frequent such places, maybe you could run into him!
Relationships
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Benefactor. Employer. Monster. He was supposed to raise Richard as his own. He didn't. The feelings that Richard has about this man are complicated… and it doesn't seem likely that he'll ever get closure. Assuming he's really dead. Richard won't fully believe it until he sees a body. |
 |
Sister. He's probably the closest to her of his adoptive family, thanks to everything they've both been through - he loves and trusts her implicitly. |
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His baby sister. He's very protective of her, and still blames himself - illogically - for the damage she suffered on November 8th, 2011. He's determined to find a way to heal her. He's also very proud of how she's dealt with the cards she's been dealt; her optimism, seemingly eternal, is a source of wonder to him. |
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Sigh. Richard is often exasperated by the antics of his not-entirely-sane adoptive brother, but in the end Warren's family, and that's important to him. |
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Elisabeth's father has become a de facto member of his family over the years, a voice of wisdom and advice that he - may not always listen to, but always values. |
Kitten
This is Richelieu. Ingrid literally dropped him off at Raytech one day, and now Richard has a kitten. This has been a source of mild consternation and confusion for the man.
Richelieu is a good kitty.
Media
Logs
