the body was sent on ahead instead. [trigger #62]

He was meant to leave for earth along with his body, to take the same starship out and arrive whole at the planet of his parents’ birth. However, some pressing business arose on Titus that kept his mind home while his body was sent on ahead, instead. His body would be waiting safely in stasis when he arrived on earth a few weeks later, as if he’d travelled with it; still, ever since the ability to upload became available it was something he’d used out of necessity, but never felt fully comfortable with.

Everyone in the neurotech fields knew it was coming, years before the breakthrough finally happened. The remarkable interactions, relationships, and sparks that make up the human mind had finally been fully mapped. After that, the only thing that needed to be created was the proper vessel for it to exist outside the hardware of the brain. Now, it was possible for someone to upload their brain into his or her home hardware, and they could exist without a body for long periods of time. Eventually, the information tended to erode, and a consciousness would be lost, but that wouldn’t happen for years.

So, Max’s mind would remain on Titus, finishing some odds and ends on the current deal that would be hard to accomplish from the other end of the galaxy, while his actual brain was on a starship bound for the origin planet of all human life. It was the third time he’d uploaded, and he’d heard the third time is when one finally becomes accustomed to the oddity of it all, but he still felt uneasy.

marco polo. [trigger #31]

His name is Marco Polo Delaney.

While named after the famous 13th and 14th century merchant explorer, he is the least curious, ambitious, or adventurous person you might ever come across. It is not simply that he lacks these qualities, he actually looks on curiosity, ambition, or a personal sense of adventure with disdain. Well, it should probably be pointed out that he looks on just about everything with disdain.

In his mind, the world would be much better off if everyone would just mind their own business and leave well enough alone. His favorite quotes are, “Curiosity killed the cat,” and, “Good fences make good neighbors.” Although, he knows that not even fences are enough. Had he the resources, he would buy the houses surrounding him on all sides, including those across the street, and he would leave them vacant. Ah, the bliss of being left alone. He would then have all the comfort provided by suburban living without any of the damned people. His disposition would lead many into the woods to live as hermits or mountain folk, but he is terribly afraid of the outdoors, so that’s right out.

His mother was afraid of everything, too. She had hated her fear and anxiety, but was too scared to do anything about it. The bravest thing she’d ever done was name her child Marco Polo Delaney, hoping that the child might grow up with the brave spirit and lust for new knowledge of Marco Polo. She died very young, when Marco Polo Delaney was only 18, and sadly, her son never became a man who could contribute to her sense of courage or wonder. Instead, he only wound up contributing to her sense of irony. The boy’s name was, and still is even after her death, the great irony of her life. He’s even more afraid of the world than she was; more closed off, and instead of sharing her desire to fight against the inborn lack of curiosity, he revels in it. He loves being a stick in the mud.

When forced to leave his house to go to the market, or the doctor (he’s also a terrible hypochondriac), or wherever he grudgingly has to go, he is a terror of poor temper. This is obviously to be expected. His feelings about the world aren’t exactly the recipe for a cocktail of sunshine and rainbows. When someone asks him one of the normal questions one asks another in polite society, he just raises a single eyebrow and glowers in return. If he is engaged by a particularly friendly person, the sort who might ask a follow-up question, or perhaps ask the same question again more loudly in the assumption he simply hasn’t heard the first time, he simply shouts, “Bah!”, or, “Geh!”, or, “Shma!” Something along those lines.

He is basically the epitome of the grouchy old man in his neighborhood, aside from the fact that he is only 23.

the boy who could stop time. [trigger #14]

He was nearly immortal, but no one knew.

He’d been stopping time before he knew what he was doing. Everyone would stop, time would stop, inanimate objects would still be usable, dvd players would still play, as long as he was operating them cars and bikes still worked while the rest were frozen, computers would work but the internet wasn’t operable. There didn’t seem to be any physics or science to it, not even of the silly comic book variety. It seemed to be genuine magic.

He’d done all the various experiments he could think of, he didn’t seem to age physically while time was frozen, he’d even frozen time for three months once, taking pictures of himself every day. It was in the midst of a growth spurt when he was twelve, the spurt stopped as soon as he froze time and resumed as soon as he he restarted it.

He was 16 now, but only physically mind you, he was much older in truth. People marveled at the way he was ‘wise beyond his years’, they had no idea how many years he really had. He didn’t keep track of that, but he figured he was at least 45 in actual lived time.

He’d read thousands of books, seen more movies than he could admit to anyone. He would sit and think for hours and hours without losing any time in everyone else’s world. He would have been a smart man anyway, his brain worked quickly and synthesized well, but this ability he had made him virtually limitless in the things he could learn and understand.

Time was no object to him.

He was introverted but never lost time with others because he could recharge as much as he liked in his own frozen world.

He’d abused his power, especially in his teenage years, teenage in his lived sense, since obviously he was still a teenager physically. He’d stolen, snooped, satisfied youthful curiosities of girl’s locker rooms and showers. This made him feel guilty much of the time, and guilt has a quite a bit of space to roam when you have endless hours by yourself.

He wondered often what his life would have been like if he didn’t have this power. If he’d never been able to shut out the pain of his childhood, the absurdity of high school, the awkwardness and anxiety of another’s presence. The thought made him shudder, it sounded terrifying. How does the rest of the world get by without everyone losing their minds?