<Original bio from 2009> Mono Chrome Monochrome Many years ago, an unnamed orphan clothed in tattered, worn Snablesnot hides was left abandoned in the once heavily-populated city of Zychion Citadel. A group of slave traders passing through the area on their way east toward the city of Twin Peaks discovered the child wandering the ruined streets. After abducting the child by force, the slave traders traveled some distance and crossed the river into the East Scylla Mountain region. It was here the group decided to make a camp on the beach along the river as darkness fell. In the middle of the night, the child woke up and stealthily crept out of camp in an attempt to escape. The child stumbled aimlessly through the darkness directly into a small herd of Snablesnot clustered on the hill. As they are prone to do when agitated or threatened, two young males and one female spat their viscous green acid directly onto the face of the child, causing horrendous damage to the eyes, skin, and hair. Armed with only a small knife, this child bravely lunged at the creatures in a courageous attempt to strike down the beasts before succumbing to the acidic fumes and excruciating agony of the near-fatal injuries. The child regained consciousness the next morning, still clutching the shortblade buried to the hilt in the skull of a young Snablesnot male. The child attempted to focus through blurred vision on the mottled black and white monochrome pattern of the Snablesnot hide and pulled the blade from the warm carcass. The chrome knife handle blazed brightly in the light, igniting flashes of hot, searing pain through the child's damaged eyes. Looking around, the landscape had become muted... black... white... shades of grey... All perception of color had been lost. Upon returning to the camp site, the child discovered that the slave traders had moved on. Completely alone, this one child had no choice but to discover a way to survive in this cruel world known as Calypso. Mono – one, single Chrome – bright, shiny, reflective metal Monochrome – A range of tones of a single color The acid damage from the Snablesnot attack caused permanent impairment to Chrome's eyes, eliminating all perception of color. Heavy scarring of the tissue resulted in a white iris and mottled skin tone on the face. The acid also caused permanent hair loss, and growth was stunted so that Chrome is no larger than a small child. This permanent facial disfigurement has prompted Chrome to wear a full metallic mask to cover the hideous scarring from the incident, while Welding Goggles provide protection to Chrome's light-sensitive eyes. With the exception of the orange “Colonist Standard Issue” suit provided upon arrival at Port Atlantis, all of Chrome's clothes and armor are shades of grey and white. An avid hunter, Chrome prefers to hunt animals and uses their hides and wool to craft a variety of natural textures for clothing. To gain valuable information about biology and the anatomy of a wide variety of species, Chrome frequently scans humans and animals to increase knowledge in these areas of science. All these years after the Snablesnot encounter in the East Scylla Mountains, shortblades still remain a prominent part of Chrome's arsenal. For ranged attacked, Chrome refers to use blp weapons over laser or plasma firearms due to the bright light produced by the latter. Chrome
Liquid Ore Infusion <Chapter 2 from 2010> The Medical Droid (M.D.) hovered above the cold stainless floor of the Atlas Medical Center. With calculated precision, the single mechanical arm of the M.D. carefully inserted a long, slender needle directly though the white iris of a human eye. The lights were dimmed, and a soft electric hum could be heard coming from the small Galaxy 6v Gel Battery power pack attached to the base of the needle. An audible click could be heard, followed by the harsh whine of an ion conductor power turbine. A few seconds later, there was another audible click as the turbine shut off and spun down. “Do-you-have-any-perception-of-color-now…” The lack of inflection in the monotone speech pattern of the droid certainly did not enhance the bedside manner of these high-tech robotic surgeons. They were designed for extremely precise, complex medical procedures, not for reassuring conversation. “No.” There was a slight pause as the M.D. accessed the mainframe information database and processed the next step in the operation. The hope of this new radical procedure was to stimulate re-growth of the S, M, and L cone cells deep within the retina of the eye in a sequence of operations. The M.D. made a minute adjustment in the angle of the neuron stimulant probe in a deliberate attempt to induce some sort of reaction, specifically in the L cones which were the focus for this particular procedure. Attempts to restore the S and M cones had already been attempted over the past few weeks, with no success. There was another click, turbine whine, and click. The small woman lying prone on the operating table winced in pain. “Do-you-have-any-perception-of-color-now…” Although both eyes had been injected with a powerful local anesthetic laced with Growth Molecules and Alien Resin Fluid, the woman still felt a searing discomfort deep within her skull. Unfortunately, it was necessary for her to be conscious and alert in order to provide feedback to the M.D. regarding any change in her vision. “Still nothing.” She had gone through a variety of experimental procedures in the past, ranging from plasma radiation bombardment to molecular laser reconstruction. Regardless of the technological advances in medical knowledge through the years, the results had always been the same… muted... black... white... shades of grey... * * * * * * * * * * * While the M.D continued its work, the woman tried in vain to recall what colors even looked like. The childhood memories she had from before the accident that had robbed her of her vision were as dim and bleak as the sterile room around her. Two other droids entered the chamber. One droid was quite large and had a tank of liquid hydrogen and a compressor attached to it. The other droid, hardly larger than a single Papplon, hovered in the air directly above her face. Both had single mechanical arms, with needles similar to the neuron stimulant probe of the M.D. “Prepare-for-the-liquid-ore-infusion…” This was the moment of truth. Prior to the procedure, the young human medical consultant in the patient reception area had informed her that scientists had discovered a rare and highly valuable Calypso ore just might have the properties required to restore the L rods. Ground into a fine powder and superheated to well over 1,000 degrees Celsius, a minuscule amount of this “Redulite” ore was to be injected in liquid form directly into the retina. The danger of attempting this experimental procedure was that the extreme temperature of the molten rock would cause permanent, irreversible damage to the retina if not combined with a precise amount of liquid hydrogen to counteract the extreme heat. This dual injection was to be perfectly timed with a high-energy pulse from the neuron stimulant probe of the M.D. A click, a turbine whine, and then... excruciating pain. The two other droids inserted their needles and simultaneously executed their orders. With a blinding flash, unconsciousness exploded into darkness. * * * * * * * * * * * “Do-you-have-any-perception-of-color-now…” Through a murky haze, the woman attempted to focus on the M.D. near her. She gingerly reached up with a hand to wipe away the tears running down her cheeks. When she moved her hand away from her face, she immediately realized the liquid, seeping from her eyes and smeared all over the back of her hand, was blood . She knew it was blood, because it was red.
Clean Bill of Health <Chapter 3, from 2011> The young woman stood naked on top of the table. Upon her arrival at the Atlas Medical Center, the droid in the reception area had blurted out a welcome in a low monotone and asked to scan her Gold Card for verification of vital financial and medical patient records. The droid then methodically instructed her to proceed down the hall to room VU11.6.1, remove all of her clothing, and lay down on the smooth metal examination table. As is always the case in a droid medical facility full of sophisticated electronic medical equipment, the temperature was far too low to be comfortable for humans. The free health care system of Planet Calypso was not designed to be comfortable for colonists, only to be practical. The woman wiggled her small toes. The metal surface of the table was frigid. There was no way she was going to sit or lie down on that table, even if she wanted to. The florescent lighting in the examination room was much too bright, almost painful. Although her eyes had healed quite well after the operation last year, they were still extremely sensitive to light, and would most likely continue to be for the rest of her life. The only perceptible color in the room was the faint glow of the red "EXIT" sign above the door. The rest of the room was muted shades of gray, with shards of light reflecting like stilettos from the sterile gleaming surfaces. After what seemed an eternity, the door to the examination room slid open and in walked a middle-aged man wearing scrubs and a lab coat with a name tag pinned to the lapel. The name tag was so worn that she could not read any of the letters on it. He did not introduce himself, nor did he even acknowledge the woman in any way. He walked directly over to the Technology Terminal against the far wall and proceeded to pull up the patient medical history from the CIA (Calypso Information Archives) database. "Why are you here?", the woman asked. The man laughed as he touched the screen of the TT and reviewed the eye and skin test data which had recently been completed last month. Without turning around, he simply stated, "I'm here to examine you." "I didn't think any humans worked in this facility." "Unfortunately, there are several Medical Droids down for maintenance, so they had to call a lowly Human MD to fill in for the night shift. You don't have a problem with that, do you?" "Not as long as you actually know what you're doing, doc..." the woman quipped. There was a long pause in the conversation as the man thoroughly scanned the detailed medical records. All that could be heard was the typing of keys on the TT, and the incessant hum of the cooling fans on the medical scanning equipment in the room. She was actually a bit startled when he finally spoke again. "How are your eyes?" "Fine," she responded, "but I'm not sure if I am willing to accept the risks in order to regain the ability to see the full color spectrum." "That is understandable," said the doctor. "You are extremely fortunate that the new liquid-ore infusion procedure worked as well as it did." The doctor finally turned away from the TT, and for the first time glanced up at the small figure standing on the examination table. She shivered perceptibly, and he motioned for her to come down off the table. "Well, let's make this quick so you don't get hypothermia, it's always too damn cold in here." *********** She climbed down off the table and stood in front of the doctor. As she was no larger than a small child, he towered over her. He reached over and pulled a small stool toward him to sit on. It screeched like a banshee as he pulled it across the cold stainless floor, causing the sound to reverberate throughout the small examination room. He used a small hand-held Medical SDS (Scanning Device System) to check all her vital signs, including blood pressure, heart rate, white blood cell count, and hormone levels. As he passed the SDS over her skin, he glanced over at the TT to observe the data as it flashed up on the screen. "Your hair seems to be coming in nicely. Who did the work for you?" "Zunami," she replied, "she was extremely helpful and patient, especially considering the fact that I have never had hair before now. Thankfully, my body has not rejected the hair implants." She reached up and brushed the hair in front of her face, still unaccustomed to the stark white locks hanging down over her eyes. Still scanning with the SDS, the doctor ran his hand across her shoulder. "Your skin looks a shade darker, and appears to be quite oily... most likely a side-effect of the estrogen/progestin therapy you are currently undergoing. The drastic change in hormone levels can increase melatonin in the skin cells, and also cause an excess of oil secretion from the sebaceous glands." "Yes, the oil is terrible. In fact, it's gotten so bad recently that I can't even wear my makeup to hide the scars on my face. At least this hair has finally grown long enough to help hide them from view." The doctor scowled. "Well, with time and patience, hopefully the hormone therapy will allow your skin to heal to the point where we can finally do some skin grafts on the areas that were damaged when you were a child. Other than your oily skin, have you noticed any other hormonal side effects at all?" "Well," she stammered, "my breasts hurt like hell, and they actually seem a bit... bigger." The doctor chuckled. "Not uncommon. Your body is slowly repairing itself from the effects of the Snable acid, and the many hormonal changes you should have experienced many years ago as a young teen are finally manifesting themselves in a, well... a late puberty of sorts, if you will." He paused for a moment while he finished the scan, and waited for the data to be processed in the system. Then he looked up and smiled. "Everything seems to be fine, you are indeed quite healthy considering all that you have been through. I think we're all set here, you may go ahead and get dressed now." The doctor walked back over to the TT to finalize the exam data. The small woman put on her fine silk pants and tank top, slipped on her shoes, and donned her long, shiny coat. The harsh fluorescent lights flickered briefly... possibly a power surge in the electrical grid of the facility. It was annoying... so much so that she also strapped her dark welding goggles around her head and placed the dark, circular lenses over her eyes. "One last thing, if you don't mind..." said the young woman, as she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a small D3 (digital document device). "I've volunteered as a VTOL drop pilot and reconnaissance specialist for the Liberation Fleet, and they need verification of a certified physical examination prior to my being deployed. I was simply going to have the med droid scan my D3 for approval once I was done here today, but I'd really appreciate if you would sign off on it." "Certainly, no problem at all." The man took a small EP (Electronic pen) out of his pocket and applied his signature to the appropriate documents on the small screen of the D3. "Here you go, a clean bill of health. Best of luck to you." "Thanks very much for your assistance, Doctor...???" "Behrmann. Dr. Marco Behrmann."
Awesome bio Chrome. I definitely know more about you now. The last bit cracked me up... Keep up the good work!
Chrome that is outstanding. I really enjoyed reading it, and the punch line is epic! Thanks so much for taking the time and imagination to contribute to the community here. It's inspired me to start thinking of documenting my own story (not that I will unless I'm convinced it's a good one like this!), and I'm sure it's got others thinking the same thing. Well done! +rep Tim.
It's funny... pre-Arkadia I've been fine with basically being myself behind my avatar, but I'm seriously considering creating and playing a persona once I move to Arkadia. The richness of the backstory will make it easy I think. If I create this persona I'll write up a background for it. If I stay myself I'll do a little write-up about my EU history. Great job Chrome!
Thank you! I'll have to say, that creating a character background and persona can be a challenge, but the results can be (in my opinion) extremely rewarding. It provides a "sense of self" (even if it is fictional), and allows you to become more "immersed" in the game experience. Besides, it's alot of fun!
Awesome write up, Chrome and a beautiful idea in general. Big lol at Doctor Marco. Looking forward to more Bios
Well, I have 25+ years of tabletop RPG experience so creating a character and roleplaying it is second nature to me. I think adopting the persona will allow me to get into the experience of EU like never before.
I posted it in a new thread: http://www.arkadiaforum.com/showthread.php?823-Dante-s-Entropia-Biography Let me know what you think and have a nice read! It's not as detailed as yours though hehe
