Ivan of SOL III
Summary
Vital Stats
- Name: Ivan Caskill
- Classification: Artificial Demon Hybrid
- Species: Fire Salamander (Salamandra salamandra)
- Closest demon classification Imp or incubus.
- Soul Class: Mortal type: Redeemable
- Gender: Male
- Height:Slightly variable. On average, 1 foot tall
- Weight: About 5 pounds
- Eyes: Black, but his sclera will turn red and glow if he gets really angry
Creation
In Vitro Automatous Neonate "IVAN" refers not only to the sole living product of the project but also the project itself. Meant to serve as a disrupting agent against both the powers of the lower and the upper planes, the primary investor sought to make themselves relevant once again after being absent for much of history. In order to produce an entity that could cause a disruption on the scale that both angels and demons would be affected, a charged vessel would be needed that could legitimately have claim to both domains. Due to original sin, nearly all souls are relegated to the lower planes from their birth, and even after baptism, they rapidly descend back toward the lower planes and are blocked from ascension, and those who are worthy are barred from the lower planes.
The solution to this problem is to generate a soul that is technically a virgin birth, corrupt it, and then redeem it. Most sentient species require live birth, and even those that come from eggs are still the product of sexual activity, and this means that almost no natural system short of a true virgin birth would suffice. Even in the case of a virgin birth, the progeny would be closely guarded by the upper plane. It seemed impossible to produce a life by any other means until modern genetics and in vitro fertilization was developed. While mammals would remain too difficult to grow in vitro, producing viable amphibians and reptiles proved tractable. They could be started from a single modified cell and grown in liquid suspension until they matured.
Many tests were performed with the expected failures that come with any form of experimentation. The failed bodies, small enough to go unnoticed, were simply destroyed if they did not meet expectations. Out of thousands of combinations of seed stock and synthetic genetics, the sole unit that survived with both ancient DNA intact and modern shaping sequences was a simple tiger salamander. IVAN-7/7, the formal designation of series number and clone number, survived embryogenesis, formed a viable egg, and was carried all the way to hatching. Corruption begeins early, and because this life was made without sexual contact and still carried a soul, it would need some tainting early on. The remains of the failed experiments were a suitable first meal, and such treats were continued until Ivan was old enough to begin comprehending his world, a world that they would manufacture for him.
A Life of Lies and Bitterness
Growing up in a laboratory would certainly fail to imprint upon the subject all the trials and degradation that come from growing up. A plan was in place well ahead of time to address these issues. Ivan was transplanted into the environment of what appeared to be a normal home before he could form any lasting memories. A mother, a father, an older brother, and a sister of the same age would form the core of the family, but all of them were carefully selected demons meant to make Ivan's upbringing a literal living hell with an overseeing devil, posing as a grandparent, to keep it all on track. He was given parents he could never please and always despised, an older brother that was there just enough to make Ivan miss him when he was gone, and a the sister treated as younger and incapable of fault. Ivan was made to be eternally miserable around his family, and so school provided a degree of shelter and a place he could feel good about himself. Of course, that always meant going home at the end of the day, and summer vacation was never pleasant for him.
By the time he graduated, he'd spent time in juvenile detention for fighting, he'd been picked up several times as a runaway, has procured and used a number of illicit substances, and he hated just about everyone around him. In short, the process was working. Despite all of this, Ivan somewhere managed to learn a great deal, showed skill in math and science fields, and even knew a little of the occult. College was looking like it might finally be his way out of his misery, and it was a variable that was less controlled. As expected, Ivan didn't apply to the colleges his family wanted, and he instead applied in secret to others of which he finally accepted one. It was almost as far from home as he could get, and when he left, he didn't look back.
- A minor complication
Ivan's dual nature as mortal and demon left him with a few subtle traits such as the ability to attract others to him in a manner not unlike what an incubus or succubus might do. The role Ivan's brother filled left him close to Ivan for long periods, and that eventually resulted in a mutual, if not always stable, bond. Normally Ivan's disdain for everyone would have left him isolated, but his brother's closeness eventually influenced him in turn, and so so the cycle continued. The end result was a true bond as brothers and an ally for Ivan that until then did not exist anywhere else. It also meant that his brother started tampering with the plan, and he started shielding Ivan from others. Their bond would remain a powerful influence even after Ivan left for college and his brother was executed for rebelling and endangering the plan.
College Life, Death, and Clubs
- STAR
- Rise and Fall
- Chit: Rescue by Chaos
- New Doors and New Enemies