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Maxim Denholm
Archetype: Elf Primate Dealer
Reserved and a bit paranoid, Maxim looks like he just stepped off the
cover of GQ, a trait he uses to, among other things, lure willing women to
his island estate and mansion. The island itself, while a mere 2
kilometers square, is almost completely covered with primate habitat
buildings where Maxim’s cash cows are bred and cared for. While Maxim does
care for the animals well while in his possession, anybody who buys one
(generally by auction in a large showroom in the mansion) can do whatever
they want with the creature once it’s off the island. The harvested corpse
of a primate will occasionally wash up on shore, proving that their
destination isn’t exactly the city zoo. With billions to be made the in
market of primate parts, it’s not surprising that around 75% of the
purchases are made with no intention of keeping the animal alive.
While originally a sort of hands
off leader, Maxim’s acquisition of a borderline (if not full) AI system
(referred to simply as ‘Ape’) to manage his resources allows him to take
almost no part of the operation of his primate empire. The system tracks
everything from the weight and overall health of the animals (as reported
by Hawke) to auction times, guest invites and even the general security of
the island. With no real meat security, the island is patrolled by drones
operated by the central system. The system runs almost flawlessly, but has
grown a bit curious as to the end result of the primate transactions. It
has seen, through cameras, the corpses and, should it add 2 and 2
together, the outcome could be catastrophic (or, actually, completely
neutral) for Maxim’s operation. The operation itself is known globally as
Primate Partners.
Zillah
Archetype: Human Habitat
Specialist
In charge of constructing and
maintaining the primate habitats, Zillah is both a studied Primatologist
[Yes, that’s a real word, I checked] and an artist and the habitats she
has created are both functional and beautiful. Outside of the mansion, the
entire estate is like a grand zoo with a vast array of beautifully
constructed terraces, paths, and spacious habitats. Despite all of the
brilliance of her creation, Zillah still does not have much of a
connection with the primates themselves. She calls them by their number
(as does Maxim) instead of any designated nickname, and views them all as
a source of data for creating even better habitats. Better habitats make
better primates, which bring in more money. It’s all a matter of economics
to her and therefore she doesn’t really care that a majority of the beasts
will be slaughtered for parts.
Sable
Archetype: Elf Accountant
Manager of the financial side of
the operations before Ape took over, Sable is now in an unstable
relationship with Maxim wherein they’re both allowed to screw around, but
which mainly results in Maxim screwing around while Sable drinks and drugs
herself into oblivion. During one of her drunken forays back on the
mainland, Sable was approached by an animal rights group and is now
pondering whether accepting the 50 million they offered for all of Maxim’s
sales data. It’s a hell of a risk, considering she’d be up against an AI
with a borderline glitch forming that could either aid or destroy Sable’s
efforts.
Hawke
Archetype: Ork Primate
Specialist
The actual caretaker of the
animals, Hawke runs an extremely tight ship and tolerates absolutely no
abuse to the animals, as evident when he caught an underling slapping a
chimp and forced him to swim to the next nearest island. Hawke also works
(reluctantly) with Ape to make sure food shipments are ordered and that
the exhausting amount of data Hawke has to gather is properly factored
into Ape’s calculations. Hawke also has a seeming innate ability to
communicate with the animals (probably some kind of adept power he doesn’t
know about) and in the 10 years Hawke has been on the job there hasn’t
been a single incident of the animals killing a caretaker or even one
another. Hawk is well aware that most of the animals don’t even survive a
day after a sale, a feeling that crushed him until he had an advanced
cerebral filter installed that filtered out focused anxieties or memories,
in this case the final leg of the primate’s trip. Once out of his
possession, the system kicks in and renders all remorse moot. The system
was actually funded by Maxim because he saw Hawke falling apart and quite
frankly didn’t want to lose such a good caretaker.
Thorn
Archetype: Troll Dock Worker
Having accepted that he’s really
nothing more than a meaty drone, Thorn generally whistles a happy tune as
he moves the sold primates to their crates and officially transferring
their possession to the buyer. They crates are still spacious, a feature
that many buyers hate because they don’t care if the animal was shoved
inside a piece of Tupperware. Thorn also comes in handy when there is some
kind of disagreement at the time of transfer, and in addition to being
armed with a crowbar, he has tablet access to the entire contract and has
a knack for quickly finding whatever clause the buyer is trying to
violate. This combination generally ends disagreements before they start.
Gazeta, Shing,
Russell, Alisia, Cynran
Archetype: Primate Caretakers
Over the years Hawke has managed
to groom and maintain a select group of caretakers that follow his
philosophy and care for the animals. Turnover was high before those who
could not handle the dark fate of their charges gradually filtered out,
leaving a crew that could endure the remorse. |
