Basil Everett

=• Physical Description •=

The Professor was no bookworm who ignored his physical form. He was a field specialist, and thus long ago began to train with the idea he would need to defend himself in the field. He volunteered for the Stalker Soldier program early on, but tweaked his own systems and made as many adjustments as he can to control and manipulate various effects.

Basil’s metabolism was altered so that he need not exercise as often to maintain peak physical condition. However, the downside to this was his nanites were slowly be eating away at him. Muscled and lean, Basil could have been a gynmnast, were it not for his dependency on drugs (often at the time of his own creation) and the darkness around his eyes.

Update: The simple fact Basil feared what his nanties might be doing drove him to experiment with removing them. Dealing with the withdrawal of this, the Professor is not entirely in the peak of physical strength he once was. He lost all his muscle and is quite lean now, and lanky.

He has short black hair that is often in disarray in various places as if he slept on it or was just in a fight. Smudges often adorn his face, and while he can be quite friendly and charming looking, anyone who has spent a long period of time with him could not ignore a manic gleam in his eye now and then.

His skin is rather pale and his hazel eyes sometimes seem a bit golden. His teeth are also very white, as if he bleaches them. This may be due to the fact he smiles so often, especially in front of the camera.

Basil is nearly 6 feet tall, though he is so often hunched over stalking his quarry, whispering excitedly to his fans, or bent over his lab, it is sometimes hard to tell.

=• Aesthetics •=

Basil prefers to be seen as clean and pristine, however he rarely remembers to take care of this. The image he wishes to convey on his show is that of a fun, always “put-together” exploring Scientist. What he manages to convey is a fun, yet slightly scatter-brained absent-minded Professor. This works out in his favor as far as ratings are concerned, and even gains him a viewer base of those who wish to mock or laugh at the show. Several Granok drinking games have sprouted up to surround his broadcast antics.

The Professor likes to wear white whenever possible, and very rarely goes anywhere without his eye scanner. B-KER, his Scanbot, is also a constant companion. In fact, Basil could probably not function on a day to day basis without the help of his spherical automaton.

Basil keeps gloves on whenever possible, and normally doesn’t seem to enjoy touching people or being touched. This rule flies out the window however the moment someone is viewed as a “subject” to him, as suddenly they become part of his property and are “safe” to interact with.

=• Scanbot - B-KER •=

BKER (Basic Kinetin Extrapolation Robot) is a B0-B0 (Bobo) class Scanbot completely redesigned by Basil. Originally outfitted with a playful personality and a jovial vocal unit, young Basil received him as a gift from a doting Uncle who was told the Scanbot was the perfect companion for a budding young scientist interested in learning the mysteries of the universe.

After only a week, Basil had ripped out the vocal unit and completely altered the personality AI. Because it's difficult to actually remove the personality coefficient in the AI without seriously hampering a Scanbot's effectiveness in the field, Basil decided to place a "pragmatic" layer over the happy and fun one designed to entertain children. He also completly rewired its self awareness module to the point where it can learn from what goes on in the universe at an exponential rate. In short, it allowed him to see EVERYTHING. The good, and the bad. Especially all the bad. The result amounts to a very depressed individual, for the AI knows deep down it should be happy, but in long run, what's the point?

To use an in-genre example, BKER can be compared to a non-vocal Marvin from Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, although whether or not he has "a brain the size of a planet" is up for debate.

He puts up with Basil because he has to, due to the usual slave programming most Scanbots are outfitted with to be loyal to their Master's commands, no matter what. However, part of his silent attitude of disdain towards nearly everything Basil does it possibly attributed to some deep and buried artificial intelligent resentment at the fact he used to be happy, but when Basil "opened his eyes" he found that ignorance really WAS bliss.

Professor Everett, for his part, seems to pretend or often be oblivious to the fact Scanbots have personalities. Deep down, he knows they are programmed to for better interaction between their masters and also greater independent thought in the field. However, he refuses to admit to this publicly and feels it is more efficient to treat them as the tools he sees them to be.

In fact, he personally thinks it's counterproductive to treat any "bot" as an individual, except Mechari. This is in no small part related to Basil's complete and utter obsession with Mechari, and perhaps one might psychoanalyze Basil because of this and determine that the man subconsciously discounts bots and scanbots as a way of expressing his reverence for Mechari as "exceptional beings."

BKER is therefore a very stoic and often morose and dejected scanbot. He performs his duties with efficiency that rarely seems to get noticed, and as can be observed thus far, he is almost nearly sometimes the exact opposite of a Scan-Bot like Fenwick's own PROBIE. If the automaton really was forced to admit it, he might even be envious of PROBIE. Though much of the programming added by Basil would probably never allow the little scanbot to admit this even to itself.

=• Personality Profile •=

Basil can best be described in one word: eccentric. His enthusiasm can be a tad infectious to some, especially children, however many may view his personality as caustic and unfeeling. While on camera he appears exuberant, upbeat, and constantly in a state of wonder and awe, off camera he can be a tad clipped, impatient, and self-centered.

The Professor struggles constantly with social situations. He is perfectly comfortable with sexual encounters if all emotions are removed, however the minute other “feelings” enter the mix it can throw him off. While he is rarely uncomfortable in such situations, he clearly devises way to quickly remove himself from them to gain more comfortable and “firmer ground.”

Another aspect Basil seems to have a hard time with is empathy. In fact, he keeps companions close to him just so he can gauge their reactions to things in his peripheral vision and then react accordingly. These “touchstone” acquaintances are very important to him, albeit that they provide him a “service” he feels he needs to interact with others in a more beneficial way.

When Basil is focused on a particular line of research, he can sometimes progress into a very manic state. He will often use drugs and stimulents to remain awake far beyond the healthy time limit a human body can normally sustain, and then crash once appropriate for his research.

He also has an obsessive personality, that has not aided him in remaining free of outside addictions whenever he has no current work to occupy his mind.

=• History •=

Everett's Sphere, "Pilot Episode."

Basil T. Everett was born into a typical Exile family of common fleet workers. His father was a ship mechanic, but not extremely skilled at his work and usually was sent around the fleet for long periods of time, welding various parts together to keep things from falling completely apart.

His mother used this time to entertain many male friends, and often needed Basil to be “away” and “out of her hair” for this reason. Basil’s childhood was a lonely one, and he had to make due with his own imagination for company more often than not.

His parents never really understood him, and referred to him in front of their friends (and often right in front of Basil) as “a bit off.” When he was finally free of them to make his own way in the Fleet, Basil cut all ties. He expresses no animosity towards them, but no warmth either. For their part, his parents are not known to watch his show, nor do they really understand it.

Basil’s first move was to build a studio and laboratory of sorts in his small cramped quarters on the Arkship. Once set up, he began broadcasting his first few episodes whenever he could. Many of the early episodes starred a different “assistant” every time, as he could never seem to keep one around past their first appearance. While many rumors surround the ‘fate’ of these assistants, none have been proven to have actually died while filming.

Wherever the fleet went, Basil tried to make planetfall. His show was about the exploration and discovery of Science, and thus he needed to be off the fleet as often as possible. When not off the fleet, Basil often employed animation techniques and holographic representations of things, which children often quite enjoyed. Such things still exist in his show today.

Of course, originally Basil did try to get involved with the Exile Academy of Science as it was formed. XAS was an ideal for him, finally an organization cropping up that would understand and support him. Unfortunately, Basil’s reputation by that point had not been one to take seriously, and most of his thesis were rejected and he never became a published Scientific mind, nor was ever really accepted into the XAS ranks. The “Professor” kept his title however, from the show, and never spoke much of the XAS ever again... unless when inebriated for otherwise mentally affected by outside stimuli.

Over the years, Basil has also developed a slight addiction to various narcotics. When not filming or writing an episode, and with no actual work to do, Basil’s overactive mind gets bored. When that happens, to drown out his thoughts, he “indulges.” This only rarely happens when there’s not enough to preoccupy the man, and few even know about this weakness. However, it is one that has led to Basil becoming rather dependent on some of the more seedier connections of society.

=• The Black Hoods •=

The Professor is known to the Black Hoods, the Exile clandestine special ops organization. Basil likes to think of himself as a sort of honorary agent. He sends them coded messages in his show on numerous occasions, feeds them "intel" whenever he can, and generally reports on people and nearly every fact he thinks will be useful to their operation.

The Black Hoods see Basil as a bit of an eccentric. One might even go so far as some of them call him a nut-job. To them, he is merely a crazy and obsessive conspiracy theorist, and none of what he does is sanctioned nor do they send any correspondence back to him. The Professor might sometimes read into things however, and deep down, the man desperately wishes to be a spy. However, this is not in the cards for him it would appear.

Once in a blue moon he might even pass on useful information to the Hoods, but these occurrences are so random and rare, there is just no point in treating him as an actual reliable and valuable asset.

=• The Science of Magic •=

As Basil began to worry about his various addictions and what his modified nanites were doing with his body, he came to the conclusion something had to end in order to continue to function. For the Professor to achieve his long term goal and become a famous and influential man who leads the Exiles as a people to greater heights, he realized he had to be remain healthy... and alive. With that epiphany, it became all too clear the nanities and drugs had to go.

Basil entered a program to help him quit with the aid of his childhood friend, Fawn Cassidy. He turned to Fawn as any Exile might, being as she is a Chronicler and very much a spiritual and morale leader within their culture. In fact, because of Basil's Holo-Show, he often sees himself as following the "Chronicler mentality," even though most Chronicle Houses would probably snort and laugh at that idea.

As time went on, Basil heard tales from Fawn while he was lying there suffering from withdrawal that inspired him. Famous Spellslingers, Gunslingers, paving a way for the Exiles, leading the charge into the frontier, fighting the Dominion and battling the odds. This awoken a self image within Basil he had never before considered, and it set his life in motion.

Now Basil works as a Spellslinger as he explores the frontier. He is fascinated with the "Science of Magic," as he calls it, and is especially interested in various experiments within and surrounding the Void. He goes about performing magic (which he thankfully has some affinity for) with a very mathematical method, and he seems to believe every conjuration must be absolutely precise.

Like the children who enjoy his show, Basil now believes in magic himself.

=• Talents and Weaknesses •=

Basil is quite intelligent, learns quickly, and is a methodical in nearly everything he does. This makes him a dangerous foe to go up against, however he rarely is up against many for his goals and desires often run parallel to the Exiles’ own. He can be charming, but it’s too often fake, and a wary individual can of course see through that. For some reason, children do not “see through” this and honestly believe him. It might even be said that children believe in the 'good Basil' more so than he would even acknowledge in himself.

He was always fascinated by the Technologist arts and is often experimenting with concoctions on the molecular level. However, since his battle with addiction, he prefers to turn his hands to other scientific practices and focus more on his show. He knows his way around the laboratory and also around computers, form a purely programming point of view. That being said, Basil’s knowledge of hardware is not robust, as he only knows enough on how to access them on the software level, and also perhaps fiddle and adjust Scan-bots and cameras.

Basil’s true weakness comes with his power for empathy. He often doesn’t "get" others, and will blow right over someone’s feelings never actually realizing they will react badly to such treatment. He never does anything maliciously, and gets no satisfaction from hurting others, he simply does not understand them. However, in his life he has discovered that in order to make progress one MUST be understanding and empathetic, at times, so he keeps those around he can trust who will key him in to how to behave in some situations.

Basil also has severe issues with his ego, though this is something he tends to keep under wraps if he can. He doesn’t like to think of himself as proud, and often if someone hasn’t watched his show he doesn’t seem to care. However, those Scientists who have excelled in their fields do rub him the wrong way. He seems to be addicted to attention as well, prefers it, and even preens a bit under it.

The Professor possesses a very addictive and obsessive personality, and can often get so focused on something (be it an experiment, a hunt for some creature, a particular required sample, or avoiding drugs) he does not see the forest for the trees. Later, he might comment on things no one thought he noticed, for he does noticed nearly everything in the back of his mind. However, he can often let seemingly important things (the safety of a companion, for example) fall by the wayside.

Basil Everett places a great deal of importance and responsibility on his own shoulders, and thus possibly believes in nearly every scenario, he is the one who MUST survive.

=• Motivations and Goals •=

Basil’s actual goal resides in the idea that in order to defeat the Dominion, the Exiles need to raise their overall level of intelligence. While they have mastered the arts of “cobbling together” things, the Professor feels this is not good enough, and they need to achieve the power and might of the great Dominion machine in order to truly conquer Nexus.

With such a goal in mind, Basil reaches out to children to mold and shape their minds into what he hopes are beings that grow to always be hungry for more information. He also feels the secret to ultimate success for his people is mastering Eldan tech and discovering whatever the Eldan were planning on Nexus before the Dominion can.

Aside from these altruistic goals, Basil just wishes to discover. He wants to learn everything and anything he can, and possibly wishes to be acknowledged at some point in time for the great mind he believes himself to be.

Sadly, the more Basil goes down the road of unfeeling arrogance, the less chance he has of actually being very appealing to people. If the Professor never realizes this, he is possibly doomed to never truly being understood and gaining what he desperately desires: Acceptance.