Author: idledroid

Before taking the job of commander of the Starburner, Brian worked as an engineer for a small firm that specializes in fixing flaws in their clients’ designs. He lived in his parents’ old house with no pets, but a needy refrigerator.

Diego grew up as an only child in a middle class neighborhood in Buenos Aires. His mother was a diesel mechanic in the shipyards. His father left when he was a toddler. As a boy, Diego was always fascinated by how things work. He tinkered ceaselessly in the family garage. One of his uncles was a taxidermist. Diego loved to assist him in his workshop.

Sebastian Theodore Winchester II is a world famous adventurer and playboy. He has done it all. His experiences include breaking the sound barrier in a sailboat he helped engineer, traveling as a roadie with a Danish pop group called DanskTøs (Danish Slut), and serving as a battlefield medic and intelligence agent during the Tibetan Bubblegum Wars. Winchester also explored various media projects such as playing a very popular character on the Latvian soap opera, Inficēto Sirdis (Infected Hearts). He prides himself on living life to its fullest. When Winchester’s publisher accidently released his résumé, it shot to the top of the bestseller list.

Terence “Tick” Darby is a simple country boy. He grew up on his family’s farm where they primarily raise alligators for wrestling. Tick lives with both of his parents, both of his grandparents, three sisters, one brother, an aunt, and six cousins. What Tick lacks in intellect, he makes up for in kindness.

Todd isn’t his real name. The Martian dialects are impossible for humans to pronounce. Most of them adopt Earth names for our benefit. He is very open-minded, easy-going, and friendly. This is pretty typical of his people. In fact, many Earthlings dislike and distrust Martians based solely on their congeniality. In the early days of contact with Mars, an ambassador to the planet returned to New York and made the statement “I find their docile dispositions and charming warmth to be alarmingly aggressive.”

LARS is an acronym that stands for “Logical Analysis Reference System”. The majority of systems on interplanetary vessels are controlled by computers. The number of computer processes can be overwhelming and tedious for people to manage.

Little is known about Kai other than he is not human. He has six limbs, an arachnid-like body structure, and his carapace makes him vaguely resemble a Japanese man.

Ling San grew up in a competitive family. Her parents had no tolerance for failure. Ling was an athlete growing up. She also studied and excelled at dance, Karate, and Tae Kwon Do.

Hana graduated in 2142, at the age of 19, from the University of California – Berkeley with a Master’s degree in Entrepreneurial Journalism. She has built a large following in social media. Her professors described her work as honest and objective. Meanwhile, Hana’s critics describe her work as “sorely lacking in hyperbole” and “too factual to be credible.” Journalistic integrity has been almost entirely replaced by marketability over the years. Hana’s attention to detail and sincerity are considered innovative. This unique approach combined with her youthful energy and wide-eyed sense of wonder have earned her a loyal following and a great deal of respect.

Dr. Christina Blackwood, PhD. grew up in a family of scholars. Both of her parents are successful and respected members of academia. Even her younger sister is a Professor of Equine Philosophy at the University of Madrid. Learning has always been highly valued in her family. Christina was interested in science from an early age. She holds several degrees from universities in England, Germany, United States, and India.

Emmett McCoy comes from a long line of coal miners and ne’er-do-wells. The McCoys tend to go one of two directions in life. They either toil underground for a livable wage, or they toil in the shadows for the illusion of freedom. Emmett is one of the latter. He skirts the law on principle. He is proud of the fact that he is over 160 years old and has never held a job a day in his life. He has been in jail more times than he can remember, but still considers himself a free man.

Dr. Albert Daniels, PhD. is an Astrophysics professor at Cardiff University. He holds degrees in Physics from Cambridge and the University of Montréal.

Guy Venner is an odd duck. The son of a salesman, he moved around a lot while growing up. By the time he was seventeen, he had lived in Port Elizabeth, East London, Newcastle, Melbourne, Mumbai, and Lisbon. Adapting to all these culturally distinct cities was stressful for him. He eventually gave up trying to fit in and created his own sort of pidgin language made from elements of several different dialects and a healthy dose of gibberish.

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Carmichael grew up an only child in a small New England town. She was raised by her grandparents. Her mother works for the World Health Organization, and spends at least six months a year in disease-stricken villages in the far corners of the world. Her father has a top-secret job with the American government, and spends at least eight months of the year off somewhere doing something.

Lena Attwater is the Linguistics Department Chair at Stanford University. While still an undergrad, Lena worked on a large project to bridge the communication gap with Mars. Researchers had already translated the Martian language before she was born. However, their language is impossible for humans to speak. Several software programs were written over the years to translate in real-time.

Conrad is devoted to his job. He derives tremendous pride and satisfaction from helping people find their perfect job. He has never been married. Gino, Elvis, and Rambo are his family.

Jacob is a teenager with all the personality traits expected from one. He is aloof, distracted, and bored. Jacob is a bit of a savant with a preternatural talent for data mining.

Silas is the richest man who ever lived but has no interest in money. He lives in opulence just to look the part.