Maria Gierek
Maria Gierek
Player: Holle
Faction: Sons of Ether
Nature: Architect
Demeanor: Visionary
Essence: Questing
Willpower: 5 (0 XP)
Arete: 3 (0 XP)
Paradox: 1 permanent point (6 Intelligence)
Background info: Maria was born as the last - and, as far as she knows, only - scion of a Progenitor project from the time of the Cold War, when the Technocratic accelerationists backing the Soviet Union and the more conservative elements operating from the organisation's cradle in the West butted heads, and the Soviet Union itself was a place where Technocratic and Etherite interests conflicted, as both attempted to increase their influence on the new great power.
However, in the end, the Soviet Union fell - and with it, the accelerationists fell out of favour, the wounds caused by the Cold War never quite mending. The project originally started to create a new kind of human for the Soviet future - one with highly adaptable and durable body, great intellect and gifted with biological immortality - was eventually shut down during the years after the fall, largely due to Syndicate influence. However, as Maria was already grown by that point, she was adopted by a pair of powerful PRL Progenitors who were deeply involved in the project, and used their influence to salvage at least a small part of their work.
Maria was brought up immersed deeply within the Technocratic paradigm - the older project of her adopted parents, Nadia, helping her along the way. Having a former World War 2 Soviet sniper turned into a bleeding-edge Progenitor combat unit designed for umbral operations as her only friend was a rather odd state of affairs, to say the least, but everything turned out okay in the end. Or so Maria says, at least. At least she isn't afraid of tentacles anymore.
Her current status as a renegade and an Etherite comes as something of a surprise - as does Nadia following her during her escape to London, United Kingdom, Earth, for that matter. Those in the know tend to blame a certain unfortunate encounter in outer space, where Maria was captured by the infamous Etherite gentleman-pirate Captain Crimson and spent some time on his ship. (before Nadia broke her out)
The time spent on the ethership - and Maria's meeting with a variety of Etherites aboard it - only solidified her doubts about the Technocracy that she started having as she observed the effects of the lingering rift between the Western and Post-Soviet parts of the organisation. Ultimately, what made her turn was a certain fascination with what the Sons of Ether represented - those who are willing to dream big, to push the edges of imagination, instead of constraining scientific thought within a small box and dosing it to the starving masses - while still not being able to properly deal with threats to the Sleepers such as vampires, despite the sacrifices made. (and also having tight budgets; Maria's upbrinding certainly did not leave her with a positive opinion of the Syndicate for rather base reasons)
Ultimately, Maria is still naive - spending her youth as half sheltered princess, half scientific experiment, and still a child, her image of Etherites is somewhat exaggerated, with more emphasis on pushing the edges of science with quantum mechanics rather than Professor Pizarro's inflatable ape men. (although, certainly, she found the Professor's article in Paradigma on tissue expansion to be rather fascinating) A lot of her paradigm is still rooted in that of the Progenitors - some ideas rooted so deeply that they're practically unconscious by now. However, she dreams of wider horizons - ones where science always seeks more questions to ask, instead of fossilising into dogma and a tool to control others. (a bit touchy spot for what is, ultimately, a purpose-built construct)
Currently, she lives in London, using a Sanctum that the Tradition helped her to arrange, quietly performing her research. Many of her funds come from her services as a doctor - with no questions asked. As a result, the short, albino doctor in a glowlines labcoat is somewhat known in London's underground as eccentric, but surprisingly reliable medical aid. Given how much she and Nadia - who lives with her in the Sanctum and acts as the housekeeper - eat, she needs that income, too. Other members of the Traditions, Etherites included, view her with some suspicion - both as a recent convert and as a recent convert with a high-end combat construct hanging around her, which is a rather unusual state of affairs, given Technocracy's use of conditioning and mind control technology. This is also why she usually goes by simple "Maria" - the surname of her adopted parents is somewhat recognisable, both amongst Mages and among Sleepers - if for different reasons and because of different people - which can get somewhat awkward.
Her parents seem to be taking the entire situation oddly lightly, as far as the two of them can say - why, exactly, is different to say. (those in the know, which is to say Nadia, suspect that this has more to do with the feeling of mild satisfaction and schadenfreude as Maria gives the Western parts of the Technocracy headaches, a continuation of the long-lasting dislike between the Western and the Post-Soviet parts of the organisation) However, the incredibly sophisticated and adaptable nanotechnology involved in Maria's creation is enough of a prize to attract attention from unwelcome interlopers by itself.
Owns a Shiba dog. (not a biological horror in secret) Also a practicing Catholic.
Attributes: (112 XP)
Physical: (32 XP )
- Strength: 2 (4)
- Dexterity: 4 (24) (Precise)
- Stamina: 5 (2+3) (4) (Durable)
Mental: (56 XP)
- Perception: 2 (4)
- Intelligence: 6 (5+1) (40) (Creative)
- Wits: 3 (12)
Social: (24 XP)
- Charisma: 2 (4)
- Manipulation: 3 (12)
- Appearance: 3 (12)
Total cost: 112 XP + 4 XP
Spheres: (65 XP)
- Matter: 3 (31 XP)
- Life: 3 (34 XP)
- Forces: 1 (10 XP)
- Prime: 1 (10 XP)
Total Cost: 65 XP + 20 XP
Abilities: (80 XP)
- Alertness: 2 (5)
- Athletics: 2 (5)
- Awareness: 3 (9)
- Dodge: 2 (5)
- Firearms: 3 (9)
- Performance (Violin): 2 (3)
- Stealth: 1 (3)
- Technology: 3 (9)
- Computers: 2 (5)
- Academics: 1 (2)
- Cosmology: 2 (5)
- Lore (Technocracy): 3 (5)
- Linguistics: 2 (5) (Polish, English, Russian)
- Medicine: 3 (9)
- Science (Biology): 2 (3)
- Science (Cybernetics): 2 (3)
- Hypertech: 2 (5)
- Biotech: 2 (5)
Total cost: 95 right now (80 + 15 freebie points)
Backgrounds: (21 XP)
- Allies: 3 (9 XP) (Nadia)
- Avatar: 3 (9 XP)
- Library: 3 (9 XP)
- Resources: 3 (9 XP)
- Sanctum: 3 (9 XP)
- Black Market Connections: 1 (3 XP)
- Enhancement: 5 (15 XP) (+1 Intelligence, Nanotech Integration [+3 Stamina, doesn't age, immune to all nonmagical disease/poison, regenerates 1 HL/round], +1 -0 HL; soaks lethal and aggravated damage with full stamina); Flaws: Enemy 3, Albino, Hyperactive Metabolism)
Cost: 57 XP (21 + 36 freebie)
Merits:
- Prodigy (6 XP)
Flaws:
- Short: 1 point (3 XP)
- Child: 1 point (3 XP)
- Probationary Member: 4 points (12 XP)
- Echoes: 1 point (3 XP)
Total: 6 XP for merits, +21XP for flaws
Total freebie points: 60 + 21 flaw XP = 81
- 20 used for Spheres
- 4 used for attributes
- 15 used for abilities
- 24 used for backgrounds
- 6 used for merits
- 12 more used for backgrounds
- +6 for excellent Kazakhing, spent on backgrounds
- 87 used for now, 0 free