Reginald Lithe

Reginald Lithe is a character in The Daunting Affray.

Profile
POLICE REPORT

NEW DARMINA - BE ON THE LOOKOUT

Description:
''Caucasian male, approx. 35. Medium build. Pale skin, white-blonde close-cropped hair. Witnesses report unusual eye color; inconsistent reports range from light grey to completely black irises. Possible nanoinfection. Known to possess body armor (several sightings report metal 'skintight' torso protection). Prone to violence. Emotionally unstable. Suspected but unproven serial killer.''

''Subject wanted for questioning regarding triple homicide, Verobraccia (Case ID 55414101). Victims Aleksandr Mitrovich (17) and Killan Spaers (19) forcibly drowned in local reservoir. Investigating Officer Rickard Parnell murdered in same fashion. Remaining Officer Harold Temes opened fire, upon which subject fled. Bullet ricocheted from subject's body armor and wounded Temes, preventing pursuit. Other sightings suggest subject has fled into New Darmina jurisdiction.''

''Contact Verobraccia law enforcement if sighted. (Contact Book Ref: VCPD-001)''

END REPORT

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&#42;&#42;CLASSIFIED&#42;&#42;

CONCERNING SUBJECT 3421 (SEE ATTACHED POLICE REPORT) FOLLOWING APPREHENSION IN NEW DARMINA, SUBSEQUENT ESCAPE AND RECOVERY

3421 has surrendered to Independent Governing Body forces following the mass homicide of New Darmina Police Department personnel. Initial tests and observation are consistent with old records that suggest that 3421 may be the last remaining survivor of the Baines Group of Previous Agency Complex One escapees. Bio-enhancement is consistent with some of Dr. Baines' records, though no identity confirmation is possible. See insert BAINES414.

''RECORDS. BAINES GROUP. FILE BAINES414 - VOICE TRANSCRIPT''

Weapons/Abilities:
''In the light of the success of experiment number 413, I, the great Doctor Jefferson Baines, will attempt the reverse: I shall use my, uh, [inaudible] multiplier(?) to embed a miniaturized sphere of regolith, shaped to be a replica of our good moon Luna, into the [pause] Baines Human Enhancement System!!! [short burst of feedback]''

''Obviously this will offer different advantages from that of 413. Instead of becoming fusion powered, 414 will be sustained through energy produced by the gravitational pull of mini-luna; a tidal generator in both arms should produce enough bioelectricity to sustain the test subject. In particular I hope to install force concentrators in 414's hands, in order to enable hydrokinesis - for the tides! Note to self. I must discover how to create more fine-tuned manipulation of water. A swimming pool is all very well and good but it can be better. But science will not wait! I must continue on 414. I have the test subject sedated now. For science! For glory!! For me!!!''

As evidenced, 3421 possesses Baines' signature bio-enhancement system, integrating biological processes with artificial and esoteric power sources. In addition, 3421 appears to be able to manipulate large masses of water with high precision and accuracy.

3421's eyes have been modified, ostensibly by Baines. Reports suggest that 3421's irises can change in shade on a range from light grey to pure black, allegedly related to emotional state. These reports are uncorraborated.

3421 has expressed distress regarding the upcoming fourth week of his incarceration.

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Reg Lithe's Journal

Biography:
An account of one's life; a recollection of events that shape a person.

''The biggest event in my life that shaped me was taking an apprenticeship at Doctor Baines' laboratory. Out in the wasteland. I needed the money. He needed my qualifications. But I was wrong. All he needed was a body. A body that would not be missed. A body and a brain that would understand what was done to it. Baines rebuilt people. Baines took people and did things to them. He was so proud of what we were. He built a man who could melt. He put together parts and created an eight-armed monster with legs bent into wheels. With blades. And he created my sister; the queen of sun. He told me so much of her. I only saw her once, when he showed me to her. I will not lie. I was attracted to her.''

''The moon will be full again soon. I can feel it inside me. I wonder what will happen if I leave this planet. Will I still be bound by the phases of Luna above? I have a feeling that I will. We were all together once. Then people came. Gunfire. They killed Baines and gathered us together. They put us in a great underground complex and experimented with us and tried to make sense of us. Those of us who could do so escaped, one by one. I do not think they cared, honestly. Then one night the lights went out. I had heard my sister was powering the facility. She must have escaped, herself, somehow. I could not feel her anymore. I was glad for her.''

''Around me, our jailers choked to death on their own breath. Most of us remaining died, too. But I do not breathe anymore. So I waited until they all stopped moving. Some of them killed themselves. I could hear the gunshots even from my cell. In time, the seals that kept the plumbing intact failed. The water tanks ruptured. The facility flooded. I pushed at my cell with it until it broke. I walked to the sealed main doors and swept aside the skeletons. With so little oxygen, rusting them away took a long while. But I had all the time in the world. Sometimes I raged and scratched at the walls and tried to knock them down. But I had no one to hurt. Sometimes I wish I had stayed down there.''

''This new world is strange. The countries are broken apart. The cities rule over even bleaker wasteland and fields of farms. Where there is water, there is lots of it. But where there is water, there are also people, and sometimes the darkness in my heart must be shared. The new moon is a void that must be filled. The full moon is bright, and I am sure it shines through me. When I am full, people accept me. They do not know that I am changeless. They trust me. As I wane I cannot help but break that trust, and I leave when the darkness is complete in me. Sometimes I can do it before someone dies. Sometimes I cannot, and I leave waterlogged bodies in my wake.''

''Too many bodies. I have turned myself in, but I do not believe it will help. I cannot be restrained by any means this governing body possesses. Technology has not progressed in that direction. I do not know how long it has been. It cannot have been too long yet I can no longer remember much of the time I came from. I think the brain Baines wanted was damaged somehow. I do not understand a great deal about this world, but I can only live on.''

Perhaps I will search for my sister.