MercuryCharacters

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Character Missions

To help a diverse writing group stay within the confines of the world, Character Missions will be used. These are the traits that will define the character's overall motivation. For each line of dialogue in each situation, the question should be asked "Does this action serve this character's mission? Does this action hinder this character's mission?" If the line hinders, then it should either be changed or assigned to a different character. If the line serves then that's a good line. If the line neither helps nor hinders the mission then it's probably ok.

Resident Characters

Max O'Brien

David Benedict

Max O’Brien (portrayed by David Benedict) is the middle-aged program manager at WEHG 870AM.

CHARACTER MISSION: Max is concerned about the cause of the outbreak/apocalypse from a societal point of view. Was there a nefarious driving force? An accident borne of incompetence? And in either case, how can society adapt and hold those at fault responsible.

CHARACTER BACKSTORY: He’s been on the job at the station for the last 3 years following a career change from basic web design. He’d hoped to be able to someday write code for the big boys, but he just couldn’t keep up with the changes in technology as web design advanced. He simply didn’t have the passion for it to keep re-learning new techniques to accomplish the same old goals, so he’d convinced the station to take him on as an unpaid intern for a year so he could learn new skills.

Today, as program manager, he coordinates which shows get aired at what times. He works closely with the advertising manager to keep the bills paid and the lights on by relaying listener statistics that potential clients will want to see.

He is unmarried and has no kids.

He also has a curiosity and a wild imagination. When the zombie outbreak became serious enough that law enforcement and the military could no longer ignore it or sweep it under the rug, he became interested in the root cause of the disaster. Who was patient zero? Was the condition viral? What other explanations might be available? He’s done quite a bit of research, some of it coming from some pretty crackpot sources, and, while he has no actual answers, he loves to speculate and is quick to come up with a new conspiracy theory. Some days it’s all that keeps him going.

He has above-average knowledge of web design and can make his way through modern code, although he’s no expert. He has an eye towards efficiency and resource management. He gets frustrated easily.

Dr. Rosalind Clark

Diana Lancaster

Dr. Rosalind Clark (portrayed by Diana Lancaster) is practical and a realist.

CHARACTER MISSION: Wants to find out the how and why of the infection from a scientific point of view, with an eye towards finding a cure, if possible.

CHARACTER BACKSTORY: Divorced, no children. Early 40s. She graduated from a small liberal arts college in the midwest, majoring in Biology and Pre-Med. She applied to attend Northwestern, but did not attend due to a lack of funding, eventually getting her Masters and PhD in Marine Biology/Ecology at UNC. She is introverted, introspective, thoughtful, and serious. With the sciences dominated by men, she felt as though she had to work three times as hard to be taken seriously and often neglected her personal and social life in favor of excelling at academics, which she did. She married at 30, shortly after accepting her professorship at the University, but the marriage fizzled after just a couple of years.

Agnes Drew

Agnes Drew (portrayed by TBD) is emotional and heavily dependent on the other characters. Whimsical and an eternal optimist.

CHARACTER MISSION: Agnes wants everything to get back to normal as soon as possible. She isn't concerned about the how, the why, or anything else. She just wants to get back to her life.

CHARACTER BACKSTORY: When she was young, her little brother couldn't pronounce the "G" in her name, so he called her "Anus". It became a long-running joke in the family, much to Agnes's chagrin. She loves animals and wants to keep one at the station, but the others have concerns about whether they can be infected by whatever is causing the zombie outbreak. She sees the whole zombie experience as part of her internship, but refuses to acknowledge the horror of the situation. She even refuses to call them 'zombies', preferring instead to refer to them as "They" or "Them". She is majoring in Comparative Literature. She has a typical Millennial mentality and is having a hard time adjusting to the lack of internet and cell phone service.

Personality: Young, hopeful, naïve, head in the clouds. Still believes that someone will find a cure and mankind will build itself back again Foil to “rational science” of Dr. Clark. and “wild paranoia” of Max. She has Walt Whitman’s “song of myself” under her pillow, picture of family as bookmark. Her boyfriend, Sam, left her a voicemail on her phone, which she cherishes as the last time she will hear his voice. Keeps a journal.

Recurring Characters

In development. Ideas for recurring characters include:

Wade Hogue

Portrayed by J. E. Hurlburt

Survivalist

CHARACTER MISSION: Simple survival and helping those who can then help themselves.

CHARACTER BACKSTORY: Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia. Hair: Brown Eyes:Green Pre-Fall Employment: Apprentice Blacksmith (Still a Thing.) During the quick and bloody fall, Wade refused to stay sheltered and witnessed a group of Police and National Guard abandoning a group of trapped survivors... Wade recovered a weapon and led the majority of the group to safety in one of the developing fort towns in the North Georgia mountains.

Now, Wade is a part time scavenger (he prefers the term Resource Procurement) and Scout/guide. often stopping by the Station to bring supplies and news, Wade is also working to establish a series of way stations along various paths that hold the least chance of an encounter with the Infected.

Wade is little concerned with the “Why?” of it all. Things have slid pretty far and he sees little reason to dwell on it. It could be said that he did not find his purpose until the world went to pot. with so much ugliness in world, he's determined to help even if only a little. Wade views the Infected mostly as victims but has no problem with putting one down when the situation demands. He does however bear great malice toward those who prey on their fellow man.

Wade's mother died right about the time things started getting really bad. He has his suspicions as he was never allowed to view the body.

Skills: Field Survival, Firearms Training, Blacksmith Other: Loves Dogs

Jennifer Long

Portrayed by Ariel Kasten

Information gatherer.

CHARACTER MISSION: Protection of her family in the lighthouse and being able to successfully raise her children to survive in any situation.

CHARACTER BACKSTORY: Has family living in the lighthouse, but can't bring them to shore because there isn't enough room at the station for them all to live there and they value the increased security of being offshore. She is in her early 30s and has two children, a 13-year-old boy named Josh and a 4-year-old daughter named Frances. Also at the lighthouse with her is her grandmother, Phyllis, who is in her early 70s. She brings some practical supplies, but mostly brings news of zombie movements through scouting missions and a high vantage on the lighthouse using a pair of binoculars she grabbed as they evacuated their home. Before the fall she worked as a computer programmer with knowledge of several languages including C++, Java, Javascript, PHP, and Perl.

Jennifer is a practicing Christian and believes strongly that the Lord will save humanity from the zombie outbreak, which she regards not as judgment or punishment, but as a part of God's overall plan. Her faith sustains her and she will make frequent references to it in each episode she appears in, especially if she is the primary speaking character.

Writer's Note - Jennifer Long's religion is intended to bring a different perspective to the overall situation. It is not unheard of for religion to be a part of zombie mythology, what with the dead rising from their graves and all. It is imperative, however, that Jennifer's character be treated with respect. She is NOT a parody, she is not given to crackpot theories, she does not cast judgment on those who disagree with her, she isn't self-righteous, and she doesn't preach or proselytize. She is a regular person who happens to have strong beliefs and she respects others who have strong beliefs that differ from hers. She respects science and seeks to have it coexist within her faith. Every writer who contributes to the project is welcome and encouraged to write for Jennifer, but episodes with her character are going to be under greater scrutiny to ensure that these guidelines are followed.

Character Histories

Here is how each of the resident and recurring characters know each other and how they got to the station.

• Max has worked at the station for 3 years and also serves as on-air talent. He was intending to interview Dr. Clark about an invasive species problem in the coastal waters, but the interview never happened because lockdown was implemented (see timeline below) and then power was lost.
• Agnes has been Max's intern for about one semester. She was also on-site at the time of lockdown and has some on-air experience, but not much.
• Dr. Clark was also at the station at the time of lockdown, there to be interviewed by Max. They'd had a phone conversation prior to her arrival and had exchanged a couple of emails, but had not really gotten to know each other much before she showed up to the station to be interviewed.
• Wade Hogue showed up at the station about two months after power loss. He was instrumental in bringing some of the necessary supplies to repair the station and fit it so that the generator would work with it.
• The Longs owned a small boat and used it to get to the lighthouse at some point that is not entirely clear. Agnes first spotted them walking around the top level. They don't come to shore often, but they did stop by the station briefly just before the station went back on the air.

Survival Techniques for Characters

• Fishing
• Supplies brought by others
• The fresh water situation should be more or less taken for granted. Collection of rainwater, gathering of bottled water from nearby abandoned stores, distillation of ocean water, and other sources are all available and episodes instructing listeners how to do these things are entirely appropriate. What there shouldn't be are episodes where the focus is the crisis of not having any water. The theme here is hope and survival, so introducing peril into an episode for dramatic effect should be avoided.
• ETC