Dr. Lucifer Merikh

Dr. Lucifer Merikh is a character in The Great Machine.

Equipment
Dr. Merikh always carries a large case full of various medical supplies. Among his many instruments of death are an unusually sharp scalpel, a rusty bonesaw, a pair of forceps, several syringes and various fluids that he fills them with. He also has items such as a dentist's drill, a handheld medical scanner, and a defibrillator, among various other devices. Additionally, he carries a clipboard with him at all times, upon which he scratches a tally of everyone he has killed.

Abilities
Dr. Merikh has a vast medical knowledge, which gives him the ability to kill very efficiently. Using his handheld medical scanner, he is able to easily determine the inner workings of species he has never before seen. The Doctor can use many different types of medical instruments for killing, and has knowledge of various toxins, which he carries in his medical case to use with the syringes. His clipboard, as well as serving as a counter for his kills, is made of a synthetic, fireproof material, and can be used to block certain types of attacks.

Description
The Doctor appears to be an average man, standing at about 5'11 and looking to be in his mid-30s. On the outside, he appears to just be another normal doctor, wearing a white labcoat and latex gloves. His neatly trimmed hair and clean-shaven face give him a look of a well-off member of society, rather than the cold-blooded psychopath that he is under the facade. He speaks with a slight British accent, but speaks very calmly and gives no indication of psychosis. Even in the most drastic of situations, he maintains a calm demeanor, and rarely increases his pace above a walking speed. Although he appears at first to be slow and an easy target, he has exceptional reflexes, and can use his medical tools to block would-be attackers. Underneath his guise, he has psychopathic tendancies, taking an extra pleasure in killing anything, be it a bloodthirsty animal or an innocent on the streets. He is not trustworthy in the least, and frequently undermines anyone he is "working" with. When he has a specific goal, he doesn't hesitate to destroy anything in his path, be it a SWAT team or a litter of puppies. Every time he kills a human (or, should he encounter any, other sentient life), then he makes a small tally mark on his clipboard using his scalpel. There are currently 126 marks on his clipboard, and he is eager to make more.

Background
Dr. Lucifer Merikh started out as any other man does, with dreams and nothing more. When he was a young child, he had always had a fascination with doctors and medical practices, and throughout his youth he aspired to become a doctor. After four years of college and four more of medical school, he successfully recieved his degree in medicine. He began as a general practicioner in a small hospital, but was constantly studying other types of medicine, gaining knowledge in many fields. Soon after, he married and had two children. He had a good life... but then, disaster struck. One night when he was working late, he received a call from a policeman, who informed him that his wife and both of his children had been murdered, but the murderer had escaped. Lucifer was distraught, driven into a fit of depression and anger. When he returned to his job a week later, he was still unable to focus fully. During an emergency open-heart surgery, he accidentally botched it, leading to the patient's death not long afterward. When he heard of the patient's death that night, it was enough to drive him to insanity. He soon became obsessed with killing, subtly botching surgeries until the medical team noticed a trend with his operations. He had become a bloodthirsty serial killer, with the ironic guise of one who saves lives. He was discharged from the hospital for possible connections to the string of deaths. Undeterred, he applied for a similar job elsewhere. He continued his trend of subtle murder, making a small notch into his clipboard with every kill. Eventually, he left the hospital so as not to arouse suspicion. He frequently moved between countries, changing his name and appearance, and taking jobs as various types of doctors, each time imperceptibly killing his patients. In dentistry, he would the end of his drill in a deadly neurotoxin, then "accidentally" cut into the patient's tongue with it. As a brain surgeon, he would cut through brain fibers and nerve connections, leaving patients brain-dead. As a pediatrician, he would give children subscriptions to medicines he knew they would be extremely allergic to. He even managed to kill people as a podiatrist. He was truly a maniac, however subtle. During his time as a "doctor", he perfected his knowledge of killing, learning about every way he could kill people, be it through toxins or destroying vital nerve connections. He killed over a hundred people after the murders, and had no intention of stopping until he himself was killed.