ANDERS MAGE PAGE 2.0

Spoiler alert: This character and story is taken directly from the novel Dark Matter by Garfield Reeves-Stevens. It is a very good book with many ideas useful for Mage, which I heartily recommend. However, the following text contains lots of spoilers, so do not read it if you don't want to spoil your fun.

Anthony Cross. Physicist. Nobel Prize winner. Lover. Seeker after the final truth...
from the cover of the book

Dr. Anthony Cross is probably one of the most dangerous Marauders on Earth today. Dr Cross is a genius. He is also quite insane. He is hunted by the desperate technomancers who unleashed him and anyone coming into their path is risking his life.

Cross' childhood was traumatic. He was an isolated child prodigy, with no support from his single mother. She and her lovers beat him up repeatedly and he spent most of his time reading and playing mental games to flee from the harsh reality. He learned how to take apart his toys to learn how they worked and he repaired them when they didn't work already when he was four. Later, he vivisected two cats to learn how they worked and why one of them was sick. When he was five he took apart his mother and her lover to see how they worked and why they were bad.

He had already learned how to hide his real feelings and thoughts and made the psychiatrists proclaim him cured. He was adopted by a new family. The old records were sealed. Here he got encouragement, love and a good material standard. He became known as a prodigy and he devoured the endless supply of books and teaching he got in record time. When he was 11, he began to study at Harvard. At about the same time, his foster parents tragically died in a car accident. No one suspected that the apparently grief-stricken Cross had sabotaged the brakes, since he felt that his foster parents were no longer useful.

His scientific career became exceptional. When he discovered the Cross Correlate to Bells Theorem (for which he and his research team won the Nobel Prize), the Void Engineers became interested. He had found a loophole in their theories and had neatly removed it. The result was elegant, useful and completely consistent. The Engineers quickly realized that Cross was at least partially Awakened and definitely a first-rank genius. Unfortunately, he was far too unstable to be allowed to join them, so they decided together with the New World Order to place him in a safe environment, where he could continue his research (subtly manipulated by the Engineers) while the Technocracy could keep him in control. The persuaded him to work at SHARP, Shannon Facility for Advanced Research in Physics, a think tank officially controlled by Shannon Industries, located in Los Angeles.

At first, everything seemed to work fine. The Technocracy carefully kept the lid on Cross' "Inspirational Murders" and he rewarded them with more interesting results. He refined his theories using the mini-accelerator at SHARP and its supercomputers. But what the Engineers didn't realize was that he was creating new theories too, much more advanced. He was pursuing his own Grand Unified Theory of Quantum Gravitation. When he first demonstrated how he could create a vortex of relativistic electrons which could bend a laser beam somewhat with its gravitation, the technomancers became at first enthusiastic, until they began to realize the implications. Cross had found a big bug in their theories. Or had he created one? They realized that they had to find out, regardless of the price.

By now Cross had advanced his theories immensely. Another demonstration destroyed the accelerator and nearly created a black hole. It was clearly a Paradox effect. But the worst thing was what the technomancers found in the accelerator, a dead cat connected to it with complex copper wires. They began to realize that they had lost control over Cross and that he had become a rogue Son of Ether, at least in some aspects. Before they had the time to act, Cross demonstrated his new theories. He demonstrated how he, with the help of some utterly weird technology, could create and manipulate quantum fields. In essence, he could manipulate the basis of existence. After the demonstration, which killed several people, he just disappeared.

The Technocracy was furious and terrified. Cross was on the loose, using his knowledge and power completely as he wished. They decided he had to be stopped by any means. While Cross traveled across the nation looking for the Beginning, the New World Order planned an ambush at Harvard, where their experts were certain he would appear sooner or later. They were right. At least ten students were killed and twice as many Men In Black. The technomancers found out that Cross no longer needed his gadgets and could project quantum fields as he wanted. He was also almost impossible to terminate. He left them and disappeared.

Today the Technocracy is doing its best to track him down. He is extremely dangerous, both to consensual reality and to anyone in the vicinity. What makes him even more scary is that he is advancing quickly. He seems to learn more and more about the universe every day and has already understood far too much about the metaphysics of magick. Of course, he doesn't view his methods as magick, or even science for that matter. He just knows how things fit together and he knows that he soon will understand both the Beginning and the End.

Cross is a genius, and quite insane. But he is very good at hiding his insanity from most people. Most of his insanity is apparent in his long poetic reveries on the fundamental structure of reality, and his often quite eccentric jokes and theories. It is often quite hard to distinguish these two, and maybe there is no difference. Cross has an affinity for cats, which he often kidnaps and kills, or uses as "batteries" for certain experiments. He tends to view other people as empty shells whose only purpose is to help him understand. Sometimes he tries to explain what he is doing (often with much skill) and becomes very irritated if the listener doesn't understand him. It is not uncommon for him to demonstrate what he means quite graphically, which has cost many people their lives.

Anthony Cross (Son of Ether Marauder)

Essence: Primordial
Nature: Fanatic
Demeanor: Jester
STR 3, DEX 3, STA 2
CHA 2, MAN 4, APP 3
PER 2, INT 6, WIT 4
Talents: Alertness 2, Awareness 2, Dodge 2, Expression 3, Intuition, 3, Subterfuge 4
Skills: Drive 1, Research 3, Technology 3
Knowledges: Computer 2, Cosmology 1, Enigmas 4, Medicine 2, Science 5
Willpower 8, Arete 5, Paradox 5
Spheres: Corr. 4, Forces 5, Matter 3, Prime 4, Time 3

He no longer uses foci for these spheres. Earlier he used copper wire for Forces and Prime, Cats for Prime and electronics for Correspondence and Time. Whether he really needed them is unclear, but he sometimes uses them just for the fun of it.

Cross views the Spheres in a quasi-scientific manner. He has realized that space and time is an illusion, merely a convenient ordering of events. He can simply reorder them. Matter and Forces are just the large scale fluctuations in the quantum fields, patterns which can be viewed in many ways. Cross can simply scoop up energy from the quantum foam. Finally, Prime is, in his model, the underlying quantum world, the true basis of reality. It can be manipulated by simply choosing what to observe or not. If Cross chooses to not observe something, it won't exist (Prime 4).

When Cross accumulates paradox, he will start to see reality more and more as a beautiful mesh of forces and mathematics. He will become caught in the beauty of it all and try to impart it to others. He is also quite immune from paradox flaws and backlashes, which instead attack his surroundings. Usually they take the form of coincidental cases of physical mass destruction like fires, gas explosions or electrical failures caused by technical problems. Cross is never hurt by these and just happily wanders as the center of the storm.

Backgrounds: Ally 1, Avatar 4, Destiny 5, Dream 5, Talisman 1

Ally: Charis Neale was a graduate student when she met Cross on a research project in the Nevada desert, where they studied some of the properties of the fallout from early nuclear test sites. They became lovers, and Charis more or less adopted the brilliant but impractical scientist. She saw herself as his protector and tried to protect him from academic intrigue and other problems. That suited him just fine. Her link to Cross is strong, and although she was at first horrified when she found out about the murders Cross had committed, she soon started to discreetly help him by giving him alibis, removing evidence and making sure no one suspected him. Over the years she has learned more about him and is probably the only human who has the slightest understanding of his mind.

When the Technomancers employed Cross, she went with him. She became instrumental for the cover up of Cross' killings and she tried to act as an intermediate between the technomancers and him. After his disappearance and the disastrous confrontation at Harvard, she escaped herself. Now she is searching for him, knowing that her fate is linked to his.

Neale is an acolyte, with Nature Caregiver and Demeanour Director. She has the normal skills of a theoretical physicist, plus some knowledge of law, investigation and forensic methods.

Destiny: There is something strange with the rapid advancement of Cross. It is almost as if he was a natural force, quickly evolving towards something far above mere humanity. He has Awakened and learned the Spheres on his own, and now his Arete seems to increase at a frightening rate as he realizes more and more of the true nature of the universe. His destiny seems to be linked with extreme power but also destruction.

Dream: Cross gets his greatest inspirations through murder. Usually he spends some time befriending the victim, using his charm and attractive personality to gain the trust and often the love of him or her. Then he carefully immobilizes his victim and using local anaesthetic surgically opens up their skulls while they are conscious. He carefully explains the problem that is bothering him and finally plunges his hand into the living brain of the victim. In that moment of transition between life and death, Cross and the victim gain Understanding.

Talisman (Cross Gauntlet): This is a gauntlet made of copper wires, meshed together in a complex network. The network seems to be random, but there is a hint of some underlying order in the patterns. It will fit uncomfortably tight to a forearm. At the elbow there is a bracelet-like connector, which connect to a circuit board with some electronics. A little blue light marks its state. When worn, it will react to the gestures of the wearer. At first, when the wearer makes a fist, the gauntlet will activate. It will shimmer, like it was behind some hot air, and then it will become completely black, darker than anything.

The Gauntlet can make the hand of the wearer "slip through the mesh of the quantum", as Cross calls it. When in its black mode, it is completely immaterial and can pass through anything. The wearer can will it to become material again. This can be used as a dangerous weapon, if the gauntlet becomes material inside someone's body. The interference between the quantum fields will burn and destroy the tissues of the victim, while the wearer will be unharmed. It can also create interference on the quantum level creating electric discharges, and permit the manipulation of quantum mechanical processes. All in all, it is versatile and extremely dangerous to use. A final problem is how to turn it off. It is powered by the consciousness of the wearer, but when it is activated the "off-switch" become immaterial and cannot be reached by the hand. Cross apparently knew how to do it but no one has replicated it.

Prime 1: Using the gauntlet, the wearer can feel the sea of quantum possibilities and the lattice of reality. Most users don't understand this power.

Forces 2: It can manipulate light, mostly just absorbing it but it can also bend it around itself to become invisible.

Forces 3: The gauntlet can create powerful electrical discharges by "scooping up the energy of quantum fluctuation". The user simply points it towards the target and points.

Correspondence 4, Matter 3: By "slipping through the lattice of reality" the user can move his hand through patterns as if they were absent. He can also make it material again, causing horrible damage to structures it appears inside due to quantum interference, or let it interact more carefully so it will not damage anything. For example, the user may reach into a sealed box and take out an object, rip the heart out of a person or make the hand material inside someone's head (quite fatal).

Cross used the gauntlet instead of surgical procedures to gain inspiration from quite a few people but now he no longer needs the talisman and left it behind at the Harvard confrontation.

Quote: "Now do you understand?"

Roleplaying tips: You see everyone as empty shells created to help you learn the final secrets of the Beginning. They are amusing, simpleminded little creatures and it is simple to fool them. Just act a bit shy and otherworldly, hide behind a facade of humor and charm. While they are quite predictable, it is sometimes interesting to manipulate them to test your theories of how they react.

The important thing is to understand the Beginning. That elusive level below the Planck scale and time, where quantum reality and mind meld into something new, where matter and energy, space and time become one. To reach into the quantum, that is your destiny.

Story Ideas

The characters stumble upon Cross in his travels. He will appear to be both sane and an extremely powerful orphan. Cross will become interested in the characters and want to learn their secrets and understand them. Can they survive the friendship of Cross, the pogrom of the Technocracy and his paradox backlashes? And if/when they realize the truth, what can they do?

The characters become involved with the murders Cross has committed. Someone is covering them up. Can they find the real killer before it is too late? This could be set before Cross defects from the technocracy.

Everyone hunts Cross. The Technocracy and the Traditions are united in an uneasy alliance to find Cross before he becomes too powerful and destructive. But they have different goals. Lots of mages just want to kill him. The Euthanatos wants to find out if he is eligible for the Good Death. Some mages want to learn his secrets. Some mages are intrigued by his extremely fast rise in power. Is he moving towards Oraclehood? And what if the Marauders find him?

What happened to the gauntlet and Neale after the Harvard incident? Perhaps she seeks out the characters to help her find Cross and protect her from the Technocracy. SoE characters would probably be very interested in the gauntlet, which can turn out to be very dangerous to both themselves and the surroundings.