| Johnathan Plank |
 |
| Name: | Johnathan Plank |
| Gender: | Male |
| Place of Birth: | "Borrowton" Tx |
| Age: | 27 |
| Aliases: | N/A |
| Origin: | Mutant |
| Origin Earth: | 1148976 |
| Present Location: | NYC |
| Occupation: | Thief / Researcher |
| Team: | None |
| Alignment: | Villian |
| Significant Other(s): | N/A |
| Powers and Abilities: | Uncanny Probability Predictions |
| Portrayed by: | Aiden Gillen |
Johnathan Plank was born May 22nd, 1989 at the United Atheist Charity Hospital in Borrowton Texas, Earth 1148976. He grew up in a typical low-middle class neighborhood to two white collar parents, Janet and Richard, who saved and sacrificed to put their boy through college. Soccer practice, minivans, summer camp, the whole package of a soft quiet upbringing.
His mother was a little overbearing a very overprotective. She pushed her mediocre boy as hard as possible academically in order to reach his potential. Friends and family always remembered Janet's open and consistent scolding of the boy: "Respect your elders!" "Work harder today than you did yesterday!", "Mind your Manners!" or her favorite: "If you can't understand it memorize it!" She hoped that through her efforts and grooming he would find respectable girl, settle down with a high-paying job, and take care of her and possibly her weak willed husband in their old age.
John went to college at Texas Tech University. He held down a solid B average while dual majoring in electrical engineering and computer science with a minor in probability mathematics. He wasn't the cleverest student, but he had a knack for remembering complex rules and systems and properly applying them. His work ethic and dedication to his studies paid off when the greatest moment of his life happened: He landed a paid internship for a graduate program at Stark Industries! He was to be a hardware technician assistant at the experimental Computing Laboratories in New York.
Finally! He could get away from his mother! He would still call her one a week, or perhaps once every other week… No longer would he suffer mountains of cold saran-wrapped meat loaf packages taking up the entirety of his passenger side seat twice a week during his trips home. Perhaps he could get a new phone so he could actually call unapproved girls! 2012 was going to be a good year!
He was assigned to the Parallel Computing Project (PCP) and was asked to do graduate work in Quantum Computing. The purpose of PCP was to take quantum computing one step deeper to leverage the possible computing power that could exist in immediately adjacent virtual realities due to the uncertainty principle.
To explain it simply, in the Schrodinger's box scenario the cat is both alive and dead, existing in both states until the cat is measured when the box is open. Until the box is opened an infinite number of virtual realities competing against one another (living and dead cats) are assumed to be taking place. Upon opening the box the sum of the results of the quantum field is averaged: If the average is 1 the cat is dead, if it is 0, the cat lives! So during this moment of uncertainty there are a lot of realities of living and dead cats pushing up against each other trying to become real by destroying the other. The PCP project was to try and find a way to make all those virtual living kitties do math and return data before the box was opened.
During his time with the project he did well as a hardware technician, assisting with assembling and writing operational code for the physical devices that were dreamed up by the big wigs. He even started talking to a few of the female staffers during his lunch breaks after two years on the job. They eventually hired him on full time. And when they achieved their first verifiable results that virtual data could be extracted from the uncertainty field, John was in the room monitoring the equipment he helped fabricate. Things were quiet, life was good, and Iron Man was keeping world safe against terrorist threats.
And then for some reason, on May 1st, 2015, the Stark Net unilaterally failed. The satellites simultaneously fell from the sky, burning up in the atmosphere. Stark Net was a global orbital system launched in 1954 to suppress the manifestation of mutant gene abilities worldwide by the Eisenhower administration. It was a cold war project to prevent the Russians from continuing their meta-human development programs.
Up to this point Earth 1148976 had only superheroes that wore technological armor, and then very few. Overnight, mutant powers were turned on all at once. The world got bad, quickly. In addition to the world being thrown into chaos by would be dictators and unintentional catastrophes, Steller phenomena began emerging. Solar flares began baking the southern hemisphere, the light from distant stars started winking out. The Earth's Iron Core Stopped rotating.
Tony Stark in a desperate attempt to save humanity, began construction of a massive ship called the "Arc" as quickly and as best he could under the circumstances. Johnathan, as a member of the Stark Team, took up a welding torch as the sky grew darker and darker. After a few months it seemed as if gravity itself was losing its ability hold the world together, with the Arizona desert sands drifting off into space sometime in December.
Johnathan had no time to think, just work. He was told by the best and brightest that their reality was crumbling at the quantum level. The quantum uncertainty fields that held particles in place were collapsing, or were nonexistent. The Arc John was helping to forge held porotype labs and workshops desperately trying to innovate some sort of field generator, or dimensional anchor to hold a seed of humanity alive. He slaved away tirelessly on Tony Stark's plans alongside his fellow refugees. One more plate, one more coupling array, one more line of code to keep the generators running. The days blurred into weeks, and into months. People started to doubt that they were going to innovate their way out of this. Some suspected the project was just one big distraction before the end came.
Then everything, without really explaining why, gradually began to fade. Things were dimmer, sounds were softer, every day less vibrant. Everyone was shouting at John but he only heard whispers. Without really noticing when or how, John's world turned dark.
He didn't know for how long it was dark. There was no sound, there was no light. No temperature or sensation of gravity. He didn't know if he was alive or dead.
Then a most unpleasant thing happened.
Reality came rushing back! The scream of noise and light and sound. The sky was flashing before his very eyes, alternating with views of black pavement. This went on for a brief moment before a jarring painful jolt shot through his whole body and everything went black. A blink later and he was in a hospital with a splitting headache.
"Sir?" He heard to his left. "Sir, can you hear me? Can you tell me your name?" He looked over and there was pretty nurse in blue scrubs. Something was wrong though, she was speaking English, but not a dialect or accent he was familiar with…
John's head hurt, the world was unnaturally noisy and the ER nurses kept asking him for his basic information over and over again, or how he ended up falling into the middle of a busy street intersection. His default answers were "I'm not sure," or "I don't know." When he overheard the nurse telling the doctor that there was no "Borrowton" TX, John knew he was in trouble. This was NOT his reality and he had to get out of there.
He grabbed a pair of nurses scrubs and slipped out of the ER and onto the streets of New York, leaving his Stark employee uniform and keycard behind. New York was intact! But it was also wrong, all wrong. The technology was at least 10-15 years behind what it should be. News stories were constantly going on about Mutants and Super Heroes, Terrorists and War threaths. But the most disturbing part was John could see this reality, ticking like clockwork. It was noisy and disorienting at first. He spent a lot of time stumbling around central park for a few weeks, begging for food as he started adjusting to his awakening powers. He attributed it to the idea he was a survivor of the REAL world, and could thus see the workings of this false reality, rather than attributing this awareness as a latent manifestation of mutant powers that were previously suppressed by Tony Stark's tech.
He started being able to guess what was going to happen next, started learning how to survive as a homeless person in New York. He stayed off the grid. He needed to know more before he did anything. He didn't know who to trust. He had to survive. The ARC was counting on him.
"Place the oxygen mask over your own face before saving the child next to you." (Because you are capable of breeding and feeding new ones later).
Self-preservation is a primary need that must be met before John can move on to secondary goals. Altruistic self-sacrifice to save another person is a difficult concept for him to grasp. A person who intends to help society has a better chance of improving the future if they are alive. Reality is a cold harsh mistress, people die and you can't stop all of it.
John outlived an apocalyptic war torn universe that was falling apart at the seams. Self-sacrifice was viewed as a reluctant duty and ONLY if it were necessary to ensure the survival of the group, as humanity's numbers were dwindling.
John is not native to Earth 616. Everything is new and different with only the very basics sharing common ground. He knows absolutely nothing of current event or recent history, who is who, etc. He is socially awkward here due to a difference in customs. Common phrases elude him and he will routinely fail to recognize most brand names he hasn't been introduced to. He views most technology on this earth as antiquated or slightly backwards and gets frustrated when he can't make a piece of electronics do what he thinks it should be able to do.
The year of the collapse was so traumatic for John that it fundamentally changed his personality and outlook on life. He was once a high end research technician. John over decorated his apartment with modular furniture, played with techno widgets for fun, and went to the local bar with the other work nerds. But now his personality is freshly broken and worn down, similar to someone just coming out of a POW camp or returning from a nasty prolonged overseas conflict. It will take a long time before he is able (if ever) to return to some semblance of who he once was.
(These changes are reflected in his PTSD and Schizoid traits)
John suffers from an acute case of PTSD. The current, relatively, safe world of 616 puts him on edge and makes him constantly uneasy. He experiences semi-frequent flashbacks and nightmares of the many traumatic events of the collapse, usually triggering a period of hyper anxiety. He has some minor issues with extremely large crowds of people. His default mode is that of light paranoia and vigilance in his day to day activities waiting for the next horrific event that may or may not come. He does what he can to ignore these moments and avoids thinking on them unless it is absolutely necessary to remember some specific detail.
John suffers from this disorder that "is characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency towards a solitary or sheltered lifestyle, secretiveness, emotional coldness, and apathy. Affected individuals may simultaneously demonstrate a rich, elaborate and exclusively internal fantasy world" (In this case the alternative Earth he originated from).
"It is possible for schizoid individuals to form relationships with others based on intellectual, physical, familial, occupational, or recreational activities as long as these modes of relating do not require or force the need for emotional intimacy, which the affected individual will reject."
(-This is a built from a quoted definition on the Schizoid page at www.wikipedia.org)
John at heart is a pragmatic. He likes to solve problems and set goals that are realistic and achievable. He isn't afraid of difficult problems or goals but does not instinctively reach for results based on theoretical or romantic ideals. The question he asks himself most is "What CAN I do to solve this," rather than, "How should this be?"
What is this vacation you speak of?
He is tenacious and consistent towards achieving goals. John's mother methodically trained, cajoled and beat a solid, self-motivated work ethic into him which got him through school. That was followed with several years working at a premier results driven research laboratory. And then finally a full year of apocalyptic work camp environment necessary for the survival of humanity. Procrastination is a foreign word to John. He is accustomed to working long hours with few breaks and does not require someone pressing him to maintain a schedule or plan. He does not give up on something unless there is a clear and logical reason that something else is a more valuable expenditure of energy.
John does not rely on instinct. As a trained engineer and mathematician he tries to apply scientific reasoning to his daily actions and conclusions. This also means that superfluous moments of enjoyment can be lost to him. But he does derive pleasure when all the columns on the right hand side of his equations end up correct.
John's mother made sure her boy understood and abided by southern etiquette. When he does talk to people he tries not to offend or venture into potentially insulting territory. He treats even those he dislikes with respect. He is by no means a door mat and will often give a firm "No." or stern threat when appropriate.
John has lived through hell and is no stranger to fear. Rarely does he panic or make rash emotional decisions during a crisis. He doesn't flinch at loud noises and can easily expose himself to danger if needed. The main limiting factor for John to do something dangerous is not fear, but the need for a logical reason to expose himself to that danger. This is more attributed to his prolonged exposure to extreme situations than anything inherent in his will or personality.
John's sense of achievement and purpose is fulfilled when he contributes something to humanity or society. It's why he became an engineer as he wanted to help build and design the next widget that would advance human knowledge and understanding. Its why, rather than give up during the collapse, he picked up a welding torch and tried to build a shield against the growing darkness, one plate at a time. Society and humanity as a whole is a thing to be furthered and advanced as far as possible, and protected no matter how great the threat.
John, however, does not relate the welfare of the average individual to the overall quality of humanity. From his perspective there are other people who are 'wired' for that sort of thing, if such a thing is necessary.
In summary: John is motivated to ensure society survives a war and builds ships to go into space, but doesn't care about a starving child in Zimbabwe or if his friend is about to get evicted from his apartment.
John himself creates goals and lists and five year plans. From his own journal:
*Oriented myself and figure out to survive this false reality.
*Figure out what caused the collaps. Confirm with mathamatics.
*Devise a plan to rescue the Arc
*Gather materials (resources and personnel) necessary to execute
said plan at any cost.
*!!! Rescue the Arc !!!
=== Secondary Goals ===
- Be vigilant to avert any other apocalyptic events that may threaten humanity.
- Change goals as the situation changes.
John is a natural living quantum anchor which has a few practical effects:
* Reality becomes super stable within a quarter mile diameter sphere centered on John, making it highly resistant to phenomena that would deteriorate, alter, or destroy the fabric of space-time.
* Anything physically touching John's bare skin and contained entirely within 2 feet of his body, is also quantum anchored.
Anchored Objects:
- Are incapable of being teleported, removed from reality, or
sent through time.
- Remain in place and unaltered in the event a time ripple
or reality shift.
- Tries to periodicaly to shunt itself at the quantum level to
the real world to arrive in the absolute present.
John is instinctively and consciously aware of the state of the quantum uncertainty fields in his environment. He is able to feel and to a lesser extent see the energy states of matter. This gives John the uncanny ability to accurately predict physical events that may occur in his immediate vicinity and react accordingly.
* The quantum awareness extends out to 10 feet.
* Able to know the atomic makeup of an object he senses such as lead, iron, chlorine, trinitrotoluene, etc. at a gross level, but not trace elements.
* See and sense energy fields but not interpret them: electrical currents, nuclear radiation, radio waves etc.
* Able to predict Newtonian outcomes if potential energy is released due to an event.
Practical Application Examples:
- Know if someone has a cell phone or other actively transmitting device on them.
- Know where a bullet will land if it is fired at a particular moment.
- Know if a door is unlocked - He can tell the door handle could move past a certain point if turned.
- Know if someone is standing around the corner and what direction they are facing if they are within 10 feet of him.
- See a 'laser grid' in a room without special equipment.
By spending time studying the quantum uncertainty field in his environment John is able to determine whether his actions within that environment could result in a particular outcome.
This ability can only take into account skills, knowledge and materials john has with him at that moment, and he does not have to interact with his environment to make his prediction. If he is lacking a skill, resource, or if the task is genuinely impossible he will not receive a "Possible" result and receive no hint as to why. After determining if an event is possible he can begin focusing on variables to try and narrow down the steps or time needed to achieve his results. The time it takes to determine desired final results increase exponentially depending on the complexity of the task at hand and how detailed he needs his results to be. The more complex the task the less specific his results are, and he still has to learn how to accomplish his task through some trial and error.
Examples of times it takes before a simple "Possible" result is returned:
=Simple= determine if a 4 digit key pad can be opened: 10 seconds
=Basic= Can construct a basic potato clock with stuff in his kitchen: 1 minute.
=Medium= Know if a simple unknown engine problem can be fixed on the side of the road: 5 minutes
=Hard= Repair a complex engine flaw inside a well-stocked garage: 30 minutes.
=Extreme= Invent a new device for a specific task within a fully stocked lab with specific equipment: 2 Hours.
Examples of time requirements to narrow the results:
=Simple= Input a 4 digit code on a numerical keypad on the first try: 1 minute.
=Basic= Know he has to strip the wires out of the toaster and take the screen from the microwave to build the potato clock: 10 minutes
=Medium= Understand that he has to create a crude filter to clear out the junked up radiator fluid: 30 minutes.
=Hard= Know that the problem lies somewhere in the timing belt, chain and one other place, but not exactly what: 2 hours
=Extreme= Only returns the time required to complete the task (which includes trial and error), no 'help' is returned: 8 Hours.
Due to his Quantum Hyper-Awareness John has a sixth sense when it comes to danger or actions that would result in physical harm. He has an extra moment to take action against or get himself out of harm's way. It is similar to Spider-Man's "Spidey Sense" but the range is significantly shorter (10 Feet) and is limited to his normal human level reaction times.
Utilizing his Probability Collapse John is able to engineer a critical attack. The attack is limited by what is physically possible, but it hits for maximum effect. The most common examples would be a one punch knockout, a kick to break bone, a short range no-look gunshotshot from behind cover, or a single accurate sniper shot in high winds between buildings 1100 meters away with iron sights. The attack must be plausable. He cannot punch and hurt collosus or shoot an un-distracted Spider Man. Lucky Strike takes time to set up and so can only use it once every 4th combat round.
John is able to think in parallel on separate subjects. He can have up to five thought processes working and concentrating on different things at one time. If he were able to set up two books next to each other and isolate one eye for each book, he could read and think critically on each book simultaneously. He doesn't think any faster than a normally intelligent human, he is just able to process information on multiple levels.
John has a gift for memorizing dry technical information after only two or three readings of the material. He can memorize an entire book on computer coding in two or three days, but would still be required to achieve understanding of the material through exercise and experience.
Using his abilities John is able to routinely locate and purchase low payout scratch-off lottery tickets from the various convenience stores throughout the state. This can generate a weekly income of 2000-3000 dollars a week if he hunts them down 5 days a week. Unable to show any credentials John can't collect more than 500 dollars on a single ticket, and the odds on the numbered lottery games make it impossible for John to select the right numbers (as he can't be in the room with the ball machine before the numbers are drawn).
John is not formally trained in combat. He prefers to hide and run when a fight breaks out. Sure he has been to the gun range a few times, but he doesn't know the formal methodology for shooting or hand to hand combat. He relies almost entirely on his Danger Sense and Lucky Strikes to make it through a fight. This means he usually gets hit a few times before he can get away or a land a lucky punch against a skilled opponent. Anyone with superhuman or elite combat skills can easily take John out.
John has a Graduate degree in quantum computing, a dual bachelors in electrical engineering and computer science with a minor in probability mathematics. The alternate reality where John came from was more advanced in these fields than Earth 616. His understanding of Quantum Mechanics and Probability Mathematics are the equivalent of doctoral level.
John is very proficient at designing and creating technical electronics to solve a specific problem from scratch. This is not to say that he is an inventor. Given existing technology and an incremental step or generally defined specifications John can solve the problem and build the device to achieve the desired results. His specialties include processors, computers, electronic controllers and cooling systems.
John is the equivalent of a journeyman welder who has worked for a naval shipyard for a year. He knows how to cast and drill iron into structural shapes and lay pipe.
John is a proficient coder and scripter, with the majority of his experience being in writing machine level code for experimental processors. He is not a formal hacker but can attempt to do so by writing scripts to execute brute force attacks to find passwords or try and nail down an encryption algorithm. He is not intimately familiar with 616's programing languages or operating systems, but is becoming increasingly competent.
Using a combination of research, preparation, and his powers, John is capable of acting as a covert infiltration operative. His usual jobs involve entering and retrieving information or objects from secure buildings. He has learned to be aware of typical physical security measures as well as developed basic lock picking skills. He is able to plan and prepare elaborate Ocean's 11 style non-violent heists. Seeing him work would remind you of the impeccable timing that Neo (from the Matrix movie) demonstrated during the cell phone escape to the window gurney. Hiding in plain sight, confidence penetrations, and disappearing into the crowd are his specialties. His ability complete missions are amplified if he has a competent "handler" assisting him with situational awareness.
In a world of truly epic super powers John is only an average person in regards to what his physical body can take or handle. He is in healthy shape, but not athletic, and not particularly strong by any standard. His base reaction times are that of a normal person. No super human healing, and his body isn't particularly tough. Going toe to toe with anyone who is formally trained, or has significant combat powers is a true lethal threat.
John does not exist in the legal or civilian system. He has no personal history or paper trail. They never existed as he was not born on this earth and this earth did not have an alternate version of himself to replace. He has no social security card and so cannot obtain legal work or request social services.
"Smells like, off-worlder…"
John is from Earth 1148976 and only just recently arrived to 616. Those with a hyper sense of smell or some other type of hyper senses (telepathy for example) will notice. He has no cultural history or understanding of the common customs of Earth 616. This can make conversing with him seem odd as he may miss common sayings and pop culture references, not understand governmental processes and local laws, or just plain do something weird in public.
John is homeless at the moment. Not having a social security card or previous work history has left him unable to find work or secure living arrangements. He is currently bouncing around the various homeless shelters available in NYC and New York State.
John does not have a historical papertrail. Was not part of this universe until recently.
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