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[Shippou-chan]

History seems plausible enough at a casual glance now.

My note to be careful how he wields his authority still holds though.

[daemonschile]

I'm not sure if teachers can impose a fine on students... at least not without going through proper channels first.

Also, along with

After the plague died down, he moved back to Vixinte to pick up the pieces of his life.

The Underground dealt with Vixinte right after the plague... with a population of 7, the city in ruins, uncertainty about whether the plague was fully gone, and alien attacks, I'm not sure that's the place to go without significant passage of time.  Might be best to pick (make up) another city.

[Eboreg]

Full Name: Ignus Valencia
Species: Orange Fox
Age: 40
Type: Teacher/Staff
Function: Biology/Genetics, Terraforming
Courses: The Natural Courses of Evolution and Creation, Genetic Coding Paradigms (Very advanced course, beyond knowledge of any Terran)
Quote: "I actually know quite a bit about Terran biology ..." (starts rambling on and on)
How much experience do you have with role-playing? How much time have you spent on MUSHs/MUXs/etc.? Absolutely none whatsoever

What is your character's personality?

Ignus is very intellectual and can be very focused. He is very willing to share his knowledge and is a very energetic teacher.

What things does s/he like?

Messing around in his lab, Teaching, Sci Fi Movies

Dislike?

Wild foxes, wild skunks, any mention of him being red

What are the strong points of your character?

He's very smart and very dedicated to his work.

Weak points?

He has a tendency of putting his foot in his mouth and also can become completely ignorant of the outside world while working on a project. He can also come off as a braggart though whether it is bragging or statement of fact is a matter of debate.

Name one thing your character would never do and why.

He would never let students seriously endorse dogmatic concepts that run counter to highly supported scientific principles. He makes this perfectly clear from day 1 and if a student is disruptive repeatedly and intentionally, said student is warned by administration not to come back to the classroom and that doing so will incur a fine.

How does s/he interact with others?

He's quite friendly and jovial but also has a habit of rambling on too long about his research. He's also very much willing to help if people don't understand something. He likes to get into a discussion about scientific matters and will quickly make friends with anyone who produces good counterpoints to his points. However, if he feels you're being a complete idiot willfully or not, he will stop the conservation, walk away, and make a mental note to never trust what you say again. When in class, he speaks energetically and will generally answer a question asked by a student. He's also constantly on the lookout for a nice, smart vixen to keep him company at home.

What are their abilities, hobbies, things they're good at?

Ignus is very much a workaholic and loves his job but he does like to sit down and watch a good sci-fi movie, especially the Terran ones. When he does this, he often writes down a list of what the writers got wrong. He also likes to take a long walk for the exercise and, if he's feeling particularly energetic, plays in the Virtual Firing Range for a couple of matches.

Give an example description of your character.

Ignus is a dark-orange fox with long, dark red hair tied back in a ponytail. His fur is of such a hue that it is ambiguous between red and orange and it gives him a sort of fiery look to him.

What qualities or traits does your character have that would be useful to the Mars Academy currently, or in the future when it becomes a colony? This includes skills, and for those that would need to apply, qualifications.

He's very intelligent and quite good at teaching.

Why does your character want to be at the Academy rather than at another Academy, or some other location?

Mainly because of its proximity to Earth. He still likes to collect samples from Earth and generally get a feel for its biological structure.

What goals does your character have for the future?

To get back into the corporate world. He feels that his genetics work at the Academy is "always the minor stuff" and really gets a sort of thrill from manipulating life. He has been constantly looking for another biotech company that would take him but Cyantian ones are in short supply, he doesn't want to move too far from home, and he is so repulsed by Genoworks' lack of ethics that he won't go back anytime soon. He understands that there is quite a substantial biotech business on Earth as well as a lot more ambition that the wolves are sorely lacking. He feels that his presence could boost any Terran corporation he joins quite a bit, although he hasn't exactly pinned down what he would do saying that that would really be in the hands of management. However, he does know that he will not take part in creating sentient life that would likely not be raised in a healthy, child-friendly environment. He's seen first-hand how Genoworks went so bad and will quickly point it out to any potential employer.

What is your characters nature and thoughts on others of his/her species?

He sees them as an endangered species that should do all in their power to protect and rebuild their numbers. Himself included.

What is his or her view on other species?

He likes to get to know the Genoworks creatures. It should also be noted that while he doesn't like Terran skunks he is still quite comfortable around the Genoworks kind. While far from being a fanatic, he has a little bit of nationalistic hatred towards other species but he tends not to show it and has been overcoming it year by year. However, he is frustrated by their rejection of genetic research and considers it illogical.

Please answer the following in a couple paragraphs: What is your character's history? Who is or was your characters family? What were the important events of your characters past? What kind of life did they have before they arrived at the academy?

Ignus was born into the prestigious Valencia line of orange foxes, named after the fox word for "Master of Science". The Valencia line known for creating many great scientists. Although his fur color was ambiguously red and orange his family ties helped him get accepted into the orange caste. He very quickly became enamored by the field of genetics and his parents did everything they could to foster that interest. He left home as soon as he could to join Genoworks. There, he learned of their new projects of creating sentient living art and almost immediately getting involved. While he was new in the company, he did a lot of sample collection himself. He has many interesting stories about this but will never talk of the time a Terran vixen tried to mate with him. He quickly rose through the ranks until his job was to implement the creatures specified by the designers. He loved his work but did feel uneasy about the military section and was glad when Genoworks finally broke off from them. However, his wife had become too attached to the area to make the move with him and he had to keep up a secretive, long distance relationship for four years. During one visit to her, he was surprised to find Wolf fighters pull up next to him. He got a transmission: "I'm sorry but Vixinte is under quarantine. No one is allowed to go in." Ignus said, "Quarantine? There's a plague going on?" The reply came back, "One much more virulent than anything we've ever seen, the entire city is a loss." Ignus knew immediately that the virus was engineered. Only an engineered virus could spread that quickly. He was then horrified at the realization that his wife may be dead. The fighters escorted him into Mounty territory and while he didn't want to go there, he was too concerned for his wife to correct the mistake and hoped to find out what happened to her. He was even more horrified when he found out that she might be worse than dead. He offered his skills to help find a cure but was constantly turned down to his great frustration. He stayed in Mounty territories until the plague died down by which time he had consigned himself to the possibility that his wife was dead. So far, he hasn't been proven wrong on this account.

During this time, met some Genoworks experiments who made their feelings toward the company perfectly clear. He at first laid the blame on the military section but had this theory shot down by the same people. He soon realized that Genoworks was nothing more than a bunch of slave traders and decided then and there that he would quit working there and never look back. Afterwards, he tried to make a living for himself in wolf territory. Unfortunately, his skills were not terribly in demand so he started taking a degree in education at Avistary Academy in education so as to open up more career fields. After finishing it, he moved to Mars Academy to do some terraforming and to get a high paying job as a professor.

If you're applying for a character that's been at the academy a while, what's happened to them at the academy? How have they spent their time here?

Ignus has spent some of his time on Earth gathering samples and trying to reconstruct the data he lost when he left Genoworks. He has also engineered organisms in order to transform the chemical nature of Mars into a more habitable environment but he considers this just busy work. Otherwise, he's been teaching.

[Shippou-chan]

Discussing this with Hariman, and there's still a couple of questions in the 4 years gap, which seems to be almost rushed through.

Could you expand on what exactly happens with Ignus and with his wife from the flight to Avisterian territory to the days of the Plague?  Preferably a brief explanation of details, rather than a complete profile repost at this point.

What I see this.

* Ignus relocates with his coworkers.  His wife remains in Vixinte.
* They somehow stay in contact, probably by visit.  No details given.  It is, however, very hush-hush from the sounds of it.  Was this often, did he go incognito?
* Informed by Wolves of the Quarantine. 

What sort of thoughts did Ignus have during this 4 year interval, having to deal with the arrangement he had with his wife?  What were his thoughts on the direction of Exotica Genoworks AFTER the military aren't an issue anymore?

It is also been asked what sort of projects Ignus has his hands into, which branch of Genoworks he works for, and the nature of his duties.

Also, I would note that many of the caretakers for the EG kids cared a great deal for those in their charge, even to the point of taking home and raising the ones who never got adopted, so they could have a home.  Indications are that even some of the scientists who helped engineer them cared a great deal for the well-being of their 'creations', as I think Mekussa's companion was one of the genetic engineers.

[hariman]

My concerns almost mirror Shippou's concerns here.

I, personally, would like to see the details of that four year section of Ignus' life, as well as his departure from Genoworks, expanded upon.

[Eboreg]

Okay, I'll answer those questions in order:

Ignus's activity with his wife after the relocation:
Ignus mostly had a standard long-distance relationship. He would call her every day after work to just talk and they would often watch the same movie while on the phone with each other. About semi-monthly as permissible, he would visit her with a false ID to fool the authorities to do as all married couples do privately. It was rough but he trusted her and managed to keep a positive attitude about the whole thing.

Projects Ignus has worked on and his role in the company:
Early on, Ignus's main role was to gather genetic material from Earth. Later on, as his skills with genetics improved, his main task was to implement the specimens according to design documents that he had been issued. I would compare his role to that of the coders in a software company. He didn't design the basic species genetics himself but did help tease out some of the differences present in the experiments. Basically, just about every species Genoworks produced in numbers, Ignus produced specimens for. However, given the structure of the company, that isn't saying much.

A note on Genoworks' kindness:
Genoworks may have good intentions but they had to make a profit somehow and it seems very difficult to do this and let the experiments function normally. The fact that the kits age quicker than normally is one indication of this. Also, This comic in Sink or Swim combined with this one later on show that Genoworks is so short of cash that they can't afford to do good background checks on potential buyers. This comic is also indicative, despite how much they care about the kids, they care about as much about making a profit off of them.