Age 124 (looks about 70); 6'2"; 140 lbs.; a wrinkled, bald male natural
human
with a short, white beard (he could easily afford cosmetic and hair
rejuvenation
treatments, but considers these "pointless vanity). He tends to wear
clothes
at least several decades out of fashion (and definietly no "living"
clothes)
and carries a wooden walking stick, more for effect than any true need
for
it.
Attributes: ST 10 [0]; DX 11 [10]; IQ 14 [45]; HT 11 [10];
Advantages: Ally (Expensive Sub-Sapient Wearable Infomorph with lots of
extras,
all the time) [30]; Ally Group (Extended family, large group of people,
contains
some very formidable people, 12-) [100]; Contacts (various people from
all
over the solar sytem from all walks of life except the blatantly
criminal
ones) [80]; Favours (various) [30]; Filthy Rich [50]; G-Experience
[10]:
Manual Dexterity 1 [3]; Reputation +2 (among believers in the
Colonialism,
Green System, Pantropy, and Survivalism memes, as well as Duncanists,
members
of the Plymouth Rock Society, and terraforming/life support experts,
large
group of people, 7-) [1]; Patron (Human Survival Project, powerful
organization,
12+) [30]; Status 1(free from Wealth) [0].
Disadvantages: Age [-87]; Reputation -2 (among radical
Preservationists,
small group of people, 7-) [-1]; Secret (has helped former Exogenesis
SAI
to escape, would cost him his job and make him the target of lawsuits
outside
of the European Union) [-5]; Sense of Duty (Family) [-5].
Quirks: Distrusts any vehicles that aren't completely
software-controlled;
always reads some article, electronic book, etc. when he isn't busy at
the
moment; believer in pan-sapient rights, but keeps his opinions private;
doesn't
like to spend much money for himself except for travelling and
medication;
afraid of loosing his memories - creates back-up Shadows annually to
help
him retain them and keeps putting off cellular rejuvenation because of
this.
Skills: Administration-15 [4]; Anthropology-12 [1]; Area Knowledge
(Earth)-14
[1]; Area Knowledge (Earth Orbit)-14 [1]; Area Knowledge (European
Union)-15
[2]; Area Knowledge (Luna)-13 [1/2]; Area Knowledge (Mars)-13 [1/2];
Artist-11
[1/2]; Astronomy-12 [2]; Bard-14 [2]; Biochemistry-11 [1]; Chemistry-12
[1];
Climbing-9 [1/2]; Computer Operation-15 [2]; Conspiracy Theory-11 [1];
Diplomacy-14
[4]; Ecology-12 [1]; Economics-12 [1]; First Aid-13 [1/2]; Free Fall-12
[4];
Geology-11 [1/2]; History-14 [4]; Judo-9 [1]; Karate-9 [1]; Law-12 [1];
Literature-11
[1/2]; Mathematics-15 [6]; Meteorology-12 [1/2]; Naturalist-12 [1];
Nuclear
Physics-12 [2]; Occultism-12 [1/2]; Physics-16 [8]; Physiology-11 [1];
Psychology-13
[2]; Research-16 [6]; Savoir-Faire-14 [1]; Scuba-13 [1];
Speed-Reading-15
[4]; Swimming-11 [1]; Theology-11 [1/2]; Philosophy-12 [1]; Writing-16
[6].
Languages: Chinese-13 [1]; English-14 [2]; French-13 [1]; German
(native)-14;
Japanese-13 [1]; Spanish-13 [1]
Biomods: Auxiliary Heart [25]; Artery
Cleaners [0]; Blood Cops [30]; Bone Marrow Upgrades [6]; Boosted Heart
[6];
Carninophages [3]; Cell Repair [15]; DNA Repair [12]; Hyper-Lungs [8];
Liver
Upgrade [10]; Lung Cleaners [5]; Metabolic Regulators [10]; Metabolic
Reset
[0]; Pore Cleaners [2]; Respirocytes [18]; Retinal Enhancement [2]; Tenjin Biochemistry [2]; Tooth Cleaners [0].
Hubert was born in Erlangen, in northern Bavaria,
where he also earned
a degree in physics, and which is still his primary seat of residence
(even
though he is away from it more often than not these days). He joined a
small
bio-tech start-up in the early 21st century which soon expanded and was
later
bought by System Technologies AG when that company formed and needed
additional
medical expertise to help with its various space programs. This made
his
stock options pay off rather handsomely. He married in 2009, and had
seven
children over the next three decades, most of whom later founded large
families
of their own. In 2026, he became a founding member of the Human
Survival
Project (HSP), a non-profit organization dedicated to further
self-sufficient
space colonies and terraforming of other planet (the organisations name
comes
from the founders' conviction that the chance of a catastrophic
collapse
of human civilization on Earth, while small, is non-zero, and that
space
colonization is thus the only way to make sure that humanity is certain
to
have a future).
In 2043, Hubert entered early retirement (possible
thanks to his now
quite impressive stock portfolio), but was shook out of it when his
wife
died in a car accident in 2056. He threw himself back into work, and
thanks
to a few old colleagues landed a job at Exogenesis. He enjoyed the work
atmosphere
there immensely, and made friends with several SAIs, bioroids, and
ghost.
But in 2084 he decided to have a change of place again, and left the
company.
He became more active in the HSP (now based in Islandia), where he
became
Senior Editor for "Survial Issues", the
organization's
house organ and the most respected magazine on life support and
terraforming
issues. Since the founders' intentions had been fulfilled and space
colonization
has become commonplace, the society now feels less need to try meddling
in
politics and instead reviews the myriad aspects of colonization, like
terraforming,
genetically engineering animals, plants (and humans) to adapt to
hostile
environments, recycling, and so on. The society remains on friendly
terms
with groups like the Plymouth Rock Society, and "Survival Issues" is
widely
read and respected by Survivalists, Duncanists, and others - although
at
least in the Senior Editor's case, this respect isn't always completely
mutual
(though he keeps that well hidden). It is noteworthy, however, that the
HSP
has broken its usually neutral political stance and condemned the Green
Duncanists'
attempt at terraforming Europa, claiming that "at the very least, the
Europan
environment should be studied for a few more decades before trying to
destroy
it".
Between writing and doing research for "Survival
Issues", visiting his
numerous descendants (52, at the last count), and the fact that he,
like
all good Germans, considers extended vacations to be his God-given
right,
Hubert keeps himself pretty busy, and can be found almost anywhere in
the
Solar System. Recently, however, he has begun to question his current
job.
It all started when it became increasingly clear
that System Technologies
would sell off Exogenesis. One of Hubert's old friends there, an SAI
named
Gandalf, became worried that the new owners, whoever they might be,
would
consider it company instead of a being with civil rights. So he
contacted
Hubert and shortly before the takeover became finalized the two of them
took
off for the European Union. Gandalf has applied for and been given
political
asylum. Hubert's role in this apparently isn't know (or else he would
have
been targeted by Nanodynamics with lawsuits at the very least), but he
worries
that someone might still find it out.
He is more worried about the fate
of his remaining non-human friends at Exogenesis, however. He considers
becoming
more active on pan-sapient rights issues, but he knows that he would
step
down from his position at Survival Issues if he were to do that - since
the
magazine is considered politically neutral, it would be a clear
conflict
of interest. Soon he will have to make his choice.
Use in the Campaign:
As a Patron:
PCs who work at "Survival Issues" - a job that can have its dangers thanks to radical preservationists, disgruntled companies who didn't like the bad reviews of their products, and the political mine field of space colonization - will probably have the Human Survival Project or the magazine as a whole as a Patron, rahter than Hubert himself. But he can be expected to bring some of his not inconsiderable resources to bear, though he won't condone anything blatantly illegal unless the situation is really desperate
Another possibility would be to play one of Hubert's many descendants. He looks out for his family, and will stop at little if one of his own is threatened. And his family has some influental individuals of its own, from a member of the Bioroiden Befreiungsfront, to a high-up in the European Green party, to top research scientists on Mars, Titan, or Deepstralia - his progeny can be found almost everywhere
Finally, if Hubert decides to
get more "proactive" on pan-sapient rights, he might hire the PCs to
rescue
some of his friends at Exogenesis.
As an Enemy:
It is hard to get Hubert to
hold a grudge, but harming someone in his family or one of his close
friends
is a good way to do it. If it is serious enough, he might even hire
bounty
hunters to take the PCs down - though he will insist that they are
brought
in alive and hauled before the nearest court that will take the case.
And
angering Hubert might also bring the wrath of his entire family on the
poor,
hapless PC…