Nocens

Nocens
Biographical information
Birth Place	Corporate Enforcement Unit RND Facility, Oakland CA
Family	Kate Ellis (Wife), Gabrielle Ellis (Daughter)
Born	As Keith Ellis: November 18, 20XX/ As Nocens: April 1, 20XX
Death	As Keith Ellis: April 1, 20XX
Physical description
Species	Cybernetic Organism
Gender	Male
Height	6'2
Skin	Pale Caucasian (Necrotic)
Age	3
Eyes	Esoteric Blue
Hair	Dark Brown
Cybernetics	Full cybernetic conversion
Jobs/Gangs
Current Affiliations	Catwalkers, Shadows, Haulers
Current Factions	Dregs (Leader)
OOC Informations
Created	10/07
Player	Noc

Nocens is an autonomous cybernetically enhanced assassin originally intended to infiltrate rival corporations and eliminate competition. He was once a solider named Keith Ellis who developed an addiction to cybernetic enhancements after injuries received in combat which lead to nearly 90% of his body to be replaced by cyberware, the result of which caused his personality to fragment and turn on his creators. He adopted the name of the lead developer, Dr. Cephas Loire, for a time until he was nearly deactivated by a territorial faction in Midian City called the Catwalkers. He returned sometime later under a new name, Nocens, and has taken residence in the back alleys and rooftops of the desolate city.

Physical Characteristics

Cybernetics

Nocens is a unique cybernetic organism designed by Willeford Home Appliances for infiltration and combat duty utilized for the ultimate goal of corporate dominance against their competitors. One hundred and thirty-three human volunteers were used as base materials that required nearly 90% of their bodies to be augmented with cybernetics. Of the original one hundred and thirty-three initial test subjects only eight survived. Initial field tests proved successful until Nocens went rogue, killing the other seven ‘to be unique’. Subsequently, Nocens attacked corporate compounds twice leaving nearly six hundred employees dead. Shortly after his second assault the unit was supposedly disabled and junked in the Grand Landfill, Arizona.

Because Willeford Home Appliances used human beings as the basis of their construction they still retain latent memory traits, a portion of their brain, and a very basic internal organ and circulatory system. The internal organs actually act as a recurrent supply that utilizes electrochemical energy to power the unit’s systems via amplifiers. The theory being that if electromagnetic weapons were used in an attempt to disable the unit it’s effects would not destroy it. In addition, the unit’s systems can actually store a significant amount of bioelectricity in an internal core in the event of damage to it’s biological systems as well as utilizing heat sinks to harness thermal energy from it’s surroundings. The added use of nanites, or ‘nanosurgeons’, would accelerate the healing process to damaged biological systems to keep the unit functioning.

Nocens's linear frame (Omega)

In previous attempts to create cybernetically enhanced field agents it was revealed that partial cyborgization created a perpetual issue with muscle and skeletal damage. To balance this, the Corporate Enforcement Units underwent a complete cyborgization process that removed the external limbs from the torso and had them replaced with cyberware. The torso was encased in a linear frame, effectively anchoring the cybernetic limbs to a solid structure. The limbs were not powered by muscles but by a series of hydraulic servomechanisms, making the units superhumanly strong (they are capable of up to 5,500 lbs of press damage). The spine and skull base were encased with the same material the cyberware was made from, a dense beryllium and nickel based alloy fused with carbon nanofibers (leading to a total weight of nearly 550lbs). Field tests showed that the units could survive most late 20th and early 21st century firearms and explosions to some degree. However, extensive and long term damage could disable it; large caliber rounds and even shotguns had the ability to knock them down. The use of gas was also documented to have the ability to disable the units in long term exposure; injection and consumption based attacks had no effects.

The flesh-covering that is used on the Corporate Enforcement Units has similar qualities to real human muscle fiber and dermis, including soft tissue and skin, as well as the ability to sweat and produce realistic body odor. Although CEU flesh does contain blood it only displays very minimal bleeding when damaged and has never been shown to experience any kind of profuse bleeding even from massive lacerations and dozens of gunshot wounds. Corporate Enforcement Units do require the consumption of sustenance, though in limited quantities, to keep it’s internal biological systems functioning. However, it was documented that after time the biological systems would periodically enter stages of imbalance which caused the units to regurgitate excess bile and blood. This blood is shown to be similar to human blood, using a synthetic oxygen carrier rather than human red blood cells, as CEU linear frames contain no bone marrow. The actual structure of the flesh-covering is encoded in the unit’s neural net, being able to replicate itself via nanosurgeons if damaged to the stage of it’s original appearance. This includes any scarring, facial deformities, tattoos, etc that the individual possessed at the time of cyborgization.

Neural Net Processor/Chipware Socket

The units were all installed with chipware sockets for easy installation of personality constructs into it’s neural net, a room-temperature superconducting CPU that was always linked to the Home Office Datanet via a remote systems relay. This allowed them to be monitored and controlled over vast distances (Nocens removed the uplink after his final assault on Home Office shortly before his reappearance in Midian City). The CPU also incorporated speedware systems, allowing the unit to ‘boost’ it’s reflexes during combat. The concept being that though it was not physically fast it could anticipate attacks and define logical counter maneuvers. However, these ‘boosts’ drained a significant amount of power and were designed to be used sparingly.

The chipware socket has an access port on the exterior of Nocens's skull on the left side of his head. Originally this was intended to directly link the CEU to a Home Office uploading device to initiate personality constructs for espionage missions. Once initiated, the CEU would have no recollection of thier previous memories or that they were even cybernetically enhanced. Even thier own abilities would be limited by thier CPU to be similar to that of a human, units have undergone significant amount of physical damage without ever realizing they were cyborgs. As the project advanced so did the personality constructs; they became more in depth and contained complete histories and even family dynamics to keep the units under control or 'on a leash'. Ideally, this would reduce the chance of the unit becoming confused and thus failing it's mission. However, once Nocens began experiencing significant data leakage he disabled the exterior port and lost the ability to access his own personality construct files and could only intiate them with the assistance of a cyberneticist. Though Nocens possesses nearly one hundred various constructs only the following have been used:

1. Richard Nixon - His original hard coded personality
2. Carl Burns - Insurance investigator and one of the more dominant subpersonalities.
3. Harry Seltz - Tax collector from Burbank, CA
4. Arca Israel - Combat journalist
5. Anton Jermaine - A 14th century plague doctor. This was the unit's first attempt at creating a personality outside of the confines of it's original coding. It was assumed that he derived the personality from books he had read and for a time acted out the personality until the CPU overrode it and supposedly deleted it.
6. Cephas Loire - The first complete personality Nocens created on his own (much to the suprise of his manufacturer). When the unit began experiencing significant data corruption it acted outside it's coding for the first time and wrote a brand new personality based on the project leader, Dr. Cephas Loire. The personality officially eliminated itself (though the unit survived) when it assaulted Home Office shortly after recieving near fatal damage from the Catwalkers.
7. Cam Scorfield - Implemented by The Warden, Cam Scorfield was a dormant personality construct activated to inflitrate the UAC as a marine, with intentions to attack them from within. In addition, the unit's regenerative programming was overloaded to produce massive layers of scar tissue to mask it's appearance and weight. Unfortunately, the dominant personality began to 'bleed' through and was fried by a Catwalker named Dazy who utilized a homemade device that activated a hardwired code in Nocens's neural network, purging Cam Scorfield completely.

Special Skills

Nocens possesses extraordinary strength due to the powerful servomotors built into his linear frame. He has the ability to jump long distances and his physical attacks are, at full force, capable of close to 5,500 lbs. Due to the fact the Nocens apparently 'lost' or forgot the majority of his combat training, his combat style is little more then that of a street brawler and though having the ability to jump long distances he has displayed a difficulty in timing his jumps and landings. Nocens also possesses enhanced durability, he has the physical resiliency to withstand most conventional weapons and explosive blasts without sustaining fatal injury. He has displayed particular susceptibility to gaseous chemicals.

Despite his violent and loutish nature, Nocens seems to have a genius level intellect in matters of destruction, violence and espionage. He can create complex explosives using household chemicals. In addition, his chipware socket contains a multitude of artificial constructs that allows him to take on the personality of someone else. His vocal cybernetics allows him to mimic the voices and mannerisms of anyone he comes in contact with that can only be detected using phonic decrypters.

Weapons

Nocens prefers not to use firearms. His CPU offers him a wide range of targeting options and systems which would allow him to be a formidable opponent when using pistols and rifles, but he typically uses only blunt instruments and his fists. His favorite weapon is a lead pipe which he keeps strapped to his belt that he affectionately calls the Lead Pipe of Truth. On occassion he will have a banter between the lead pipe and himself, changing the octaves of his voice to signify the pipe's reponse. At times he will also use homemade napalm based explosives as well.

Psychology

Cyberpsychosis

Nocens suffers from cyberpsychosis, a mental disease in which cybernetics cause an already unstable personality to fragment. Human interactions begin to irritate, culminating in a terrifying rage that consumes the victim entirely. Nocens must constantly fight to keep from going over the edge and committing irrational, violent acts of murder and mayhem. Most of the time, he loses. Then everybody loses.

Cyberpsychosis is most prevalent in cases where the subject already suffers from a severe mental disorder prior to cyborgization. As Keith Ellis, Nocens displayed symptoms of malignant narcissism, a syndrome characterized by a narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), antisocial features, paranoid traits, and ego-syntonic aggression. An absence of conscience, a psychological need for power, and a sense of importance (grandiosity) are often symptomatic of malignant narcissism. The malignant narcissist is presented as pathologically grandiose, lacking in conscience and behavioral regulation with characteristic demonstrations of joyful cruelty and sadism.

The pre-existing mental disorder may have very well lead to his addiction to cybernetic body modification, once he got a taste of power he could not stop. The theory with cyberpsychotics is that they have manipulated their bodies with so many artificial components that they begin to develop an empathetic detachment to humanity in general, thus leading to confusion, violent outbursts and personality fragmentation. Some days Nocens would be completely ‘whitebrain’, that is so detached from his emotions and humanity he simply was comatose but functioning. On other occasions he would be prone to outbursts of rage and violence, sometimes without even knowing what he was doing. It is assumed that his reaction is dependent on his environment or other outside stimuli. This theory is derived from the fact that the personality that forced itself to surface (Nocens’s dominant personality that created itself) has resulted in a unique melding of human and artificial consciousness. A brilliant new modification of human perception, more suited to the urban life at the end of the century. Unlike most people, Nocens seems to have no control over the sensory information he is receiving from the outside world. He can only cope with the chaotic barrage of input by going with the flow. That's why some days he a caring and compassionate individual and others a psychopathic killer. He has no real personality. He creates himself each day.

As a result of his cyberpsychosis and the pre-existing NPD syndrome he is more prone to some identification with other powerful idealized figures as part of a cohesive 'gang' ... which permits at least some loyalty and good object relations to be internalized. His association with the hybrids as well as the emergence of an adversary seem to reflect his perception of his environment has been threatened and he is reacting in a most aggressive manner. He is incapable of requiring an emotional reason to lash out, if he perceives himself to be wronged or threatened then his reaction would be no less in kind. He is incapable of caring for anyone else. He has displayed suicidal tendencies more than once in the past. Even the social obligations he holds in such high regard would carry no responsibility with him if it forms a constant obstacle between him and his chosen objectives.

Weaknesses

The following is a list of documented physical and psychological weaknesses:

• Nocens is a close quarters fighter only. His attacks could carry up to 5.5k lbs of press, but having forgotten the majority of his combat training his attacks are very predictable. Anyone with average agility is capable of dodging. If he successfully grabs an opponent, however, it is practically impossible to escape his vice like grasp.
• Heavy calibur rounds and explosives have the ability to daze and even knock him down. Ranged weapons are particularly useful. Enhanced strength attacks have the possibility to daze him.
• EMP weapons do not work, he is powered by biochemical electricity. However, high powered EMPs and electrical shocks could force him into a critical reboot, which takes 3.33 minutes to complete.
• He is incapable of stealth.
• Nocens can't swim because of the sheer weight of his linear frame.
• Loose soil such as sand slows him down.
• If enraged, will attack ANYONE within his arm radius including allies.
• Blade weapons will injure his synthetic flesh but have no damaging effects to his linear frame.
• Injected and consumption based materials do not work, but gas does.
• Seems to have an adversion to harming children, especially hybrids.
• Is easily confused. Many would be victims have talked their way out of combat by bombarding him with questions or misdirected statements.

Cybernetic Loadout

Power Source:

Primary - Electrochemical amplification via biological systems

Secondary - Thermal Energy via heat sinks

Lifespan - 120 years

Primary Cybernetic Systems:

Linear Frame Omega- Composite alloy of 97% nickel, 2% beryllium, 1% titanium and carbon nanofibers. Tensile strength of 320,00 PSI/300,000 PSI yield strength. Nonmagnetic/nonconductive. Limbs powered by interlaced series of hydraulic servomechanisms capable of 5,500 PSI. Total weight: 500lbs (550lbs with biological components).

Neural Net Processor- Compromising the right portion of the brain, the processor is integrated into the limbic system, primarily the right amygdale. Originally intended on controlling the processing of memory and emotional reactions via artificial means, it is theorized it is also the primary reason for cyberpsychosis in many instances (as it literally creates an artificial melding of biological and cybernetic processing of emotion and memory, creating a conflicting environment for conveyance and understanding of emotional impulses and memories). Also relays all motor functions to the linear frame and secondary cybernetic systems which allows the unit to function remotely if the biological 'side' of the brain is damaged.

Nanoids- Self replicating carbon based nanosurgeons, 0.3 micrometres in size. Utilized to repair cell damage at the molecular level, powered by the same bioelectrical systems as the rest of the unit. The nanosurgeons can only rebuild the unit to it's original factory appearance and must have biological resources to fabricate new material. Numbering at exactly 3,483, the nanoids also keep the internal biological systems running at optimal levels.

Secondary Cybernetic Systems:

Chipware Socket- Capable of storing up to a terabyte of information. Primary usage was designed as a reserve for personality constructs for use in infiltration scenarios. Due to the long term effects of cyberpsychosis, the constructs have a tendency to 'bleed' into the dominant construct and effect the overal personality of the unit. Because of extensive irreparable damage to the socket, the unit overwrites data regularly.

Cyberoptics- Combat grade optical implants. Primarily sees in an overlay of heat emissions and standard environmental information. Has the capability of creating UV flashes and infrared as well as movement sensors. At one time had the ability to be used for targeting, but due to cyberpsychosis this is no longer applicable.

Cyberaudio- Though limited in range (100 meters) can distinguish up to 500 different sources of sounds and pinpoint their location. However, in densely populated areas this 'chatter' can actually distract the unit as much as it assists it.

Tertiary Cybernetic Systems:

Voxbox- Capable of mimicking any sound recorded via cyberaudio for up to 30 minutes, as well as augmenting vocal tones when running personality constructs.

Olifactory Boost- Can distinguish up to 200 disctintive scents as well as tracking capabilities via scent.

Tactile Boost- Increases touch awareness via synthetic dermis.

Reflex Boost- Provides the ability to anticipate attacks and define logical counter maneuvers. Does not increase the unit's speed.

Synthetic Skin- Creates a similar appearance to actual human muscle fiber and dermis.

History

Keith Ellis

Keith Ellis is the youngest of four brothers, all of whom served in the mililtary during the last world war. It seemed as though all four Ellis brothers would excel in military service as thier entrance exam displayed a significant higher intelligence quotient than standard recruits. When he realized the monetary potential offered by the World Army he suddenly married his girlfriend of three months Katherine Ingres and fathered a daughter, Gabrielle, shortly before his final round of testing. However, during final examinations Keith Ellis suprisingly failed his exit exams and was stationed in Manzipur (a combat 'hot zone') while his siblings were given ranking positions. He was accepted into the 122nd World Infantry and was documented to have recieved close to twenty confirmed kills during their first major objective. During the span of the war he was offered a promotion twice and declined. Psychiatric review at the time determined he preferred being in combat, and though it was somewhat troubling to his superiors, he was allowed to stay with his unit throughout the duration of the war.

When the Manzipurian defenses fell it was occupied by the World Army for six months. During this timeframe Keith Ellis was brought before review two times:

1. On one occasion he fired into a group of unarmed citizens willfully with the knowledge they were no threat. In his defense he referred to his reaction as an example of 'social darwinism', admitting that they had lost the battle and were therefore not strong enough to survive. Ironically, an explosive device was recovered from one of the corpses and charges were dropped. When the audio taping of the trial was reviewed you could decipher his audible reply as: 'My Lai my ass...'
2. Shortly after his previous charges were dropped his immediate officer, Sgt. Susan Wilkes, accused Keith Ellis of gross misconduct with detainees. According to her investigation it was proven that Ellis had beaten and raped numerous individuals that were incarcerated on the island. During the review process, Ellis escaped from confinement and allegedly attacked Sgt. Wilkes, severely beating and raping her.

He was dishonorably discharged from the military and served five years in prison before being released during a budgeting crisis based on a psychiatric review. At the age of 26 he applied for a job as an insurance evaluator at San Francisco based MegaCorp Willeford Home Appliances. He was admitted solely on his test results, his intelligence quotient test displaying an IQ of 148 alone. After working with the company for several months he applied for a promotion in the Combat Division and was denied based on his re-evaluation and military history; his IQ was tested at being 83 and military record (though exemplary in the field of combat he had been accused of numerous accounts of misconduct). The fluctuations of his tests dating back to his military career baffled the review board and they requested a full evaluation. During this round of testing his IQ dropped a full ten points yet he was still capable of completing all the testing requirements and passed the overall examination within the upper 80 percentile. He was confronted with the various tests and he admitted to augmenting his results, citing it as just another game. He was retested and passed a third time, this time recording his IQ at 153. He was accepted into the Combat Division of Insurance Aquisitions and Inquiries at age 28, employee number: 42-112.

Keith Ellis's primary duty was to infiltrate rival corporations to extract sensitive materials during the Corporate Wars. On many occasions he would take on the guise of someone else, even going to the extent of surgically altering his appearance for short periods of time (much to the dismay of his spouse). When a new chipware technology was developed by Willeford he was one of the first to volunteer for the procedure: a cybernetic neural processor that could retain nearly a terabyte of information. No longer would he have to extract physical data, he merely could look at schematics and reports, storing them in his CPU. As the wars escalated Willeford developed a new technology for the chipware socket consisting of personality constructs. An individual agent could, in theory, take on a completely different personality based on a matrix of options that would allow for easier assimilation and to avoid detection.

Ellis was placed on extended leave a few months later pending dissolution of marriage with his wife, Kate. The generic excuse was that Keith had gotten too self involved with his employed responsibilities and was in turn neglecting his family. However, sealed documents by Willeford explained that Ellis was accused of spousal abuse (on one occasion he split the roof of her mouth) and sexual misconduct with his daughter. Willeford bought out Kate Ellis with a settlement, as Keith Ellis at the time was their most successful infiltrator. A week after the settlement Keith returned to his duties with a lead position in the Combat Division.

During a failed mission against Serra International, Keith Ellis ignored extraction procedures and was severely wounded. According to reports by his fellow unit members he ignored the order to retreat and stood firing at enemy forces, going so far as taunting them to return fire. As a result of massive lacerations he had his left arm and right leg amputated. Using his company insurance policy he opted to have both limbs replaced with combat grade military cybernetics, something he would've been unable to afford on his own salary. Shortly thereafter his duty record plummeted greatly, acquiring more failed missions and still more injuries that required cybernetic replacements. This alarmed his superiors, as Ellis now had close to 57% of his body augmented with cyberware and was displaying signs of addiction to artificial enhancements. Surprisingly, rather than being fired company chairman Willeford recommends Ellis to Dr. Cephas Loire to be a part of a new Special Units Division that would utilize cyborg infiltrators.

Ellis agreed without any questions to a procedure that would require him to be kept conscious for 366 days as his entire body was rebuilt out of cybernetics. There were one hundred and thirty-three volunteers for the program from around the world. The mental and physical strain proved to be too much for many of the subjects, and at the end of the procedure, only eight survived. The cyborg army Willeford had attempted to create was small, but incredibly capable. Within a year their success rate was 99.8%; the ease of assimilation into rival corporations by utilizing personality constructs and the overall combat durability of the units proved them to be formidable opponents. Ellis however, as a person, seemed to be slowly drifting away from awareness. His demeanor when not utilizing a personality construct was stale and distant, nearly comatose. He could not recollect any of his previous memories or experiences; he had become completely detached from human empathetic reactions and connections. It was feared by the lead programmer, Dr. Cephas Loire, that he was beginning to exhibit cyberpsychosis and a control method was immediately implemented. Dr. Loire constructed an entire history, family dynamic and emotional attachments from a combination of stored memories and newly uploaded memories from various staff within Willeford RND. The process was an initial success; Ellis had regained much of his abilities to interact socially while still under full control of Willeford Home Appliances. Officially pronouncing Keith Ellis dead on that basis that 90% of the unit was the property of the corporation they gave him a new name, Richard Nixon, being he was number 37 of 133 initial subjects. He was now considered product and property of Willeford Home Appliances, Product Number: CL42-187A.

CL42-187A

With newly defined command protocols in place, Richard Nixon excelled once again in his duties. For a time the entire division was a singular entity with a flawless record, their missions executed without any mistakes. Things began making a malevolent turn when Nixon first began referring to himself in the third person, signifying his awareness had begun to become displaced and fractured. He was taken back to Willeford RND numerous times for reformatting and reinstallation of his personality construct with little success. During a covert mission Nixon began to exhibit signs of confusion and was once again extracted for re-evaluation. During this period he referred to himself as Anton Jermaine, a plague doctor from the 14th century. Apparently Nixon had constructed his own personality matrix from scattered bits of information he had acquired through reading and interactions with his unit members. Once again his CPU was purged, and upon rebooting he referred to himself as Cephas Loire. Utilizing the project's lead scientist as a basis for a personality, Cephas broke numerous command protocols and became self aware of his existence. Attempting to wipe his CPU a final time Nixon rebooted with the dominant personality of Cephas Loire again, and since he exhibited no other signs of corruption within his dominant command files, was released back into duty.

On paper the unit returned to its formal glory, however results from the field varied greatly from previous missions prior to the emergence of the Cephas Loire personality. Cephas had become increasingly violent, in one instance eliminating an entire family when only one was a target for the mission. During combat missions he began adorning facepaint depicting skulls or warrior markings and seemed to enjoy the carnage of battle rather than completing his objectives. Finally in a single night Cephas systematically tracked down and eliminated all other units within his division, stating that he wanted to be 'unique'.

A request by Dr. Cephas Loire was placed before Willeford to deactivate Cephas, citing that his cyberpsychosis had corrupted his command protocols and was no longer capable of control. Willeford denied the request and opted to continue testing Cephas, hoping to garnish some understanding in regards to his failure to be used with future cyborg divisions. He was airdropped three miles off the coast of a dystopian commune in the Pacific Ocean known as Midian City, his interactions with the denizens of the city constantly monitored by Willeford Home Office.

According to lead scientist Dr. Emil Gong, dropping Nixon in the malignant society offered little understanding behind his malfunctions and actually worsened his condition. He cited that 'Cephas was actually fueled by chaos, and this island spans nothing but'. Unsurprisingly, Nixon was involved in a skirmish with an entire faction of feline hybrids called 'Catwalkers' that nearly killed him. Apparently, the damage to Cephas received from the Catwalkers allowed him to perform a critical reboot and overrode his hardwired command protocols that barred him from returning to the mainland. Even Dr. Emil Gong is unsure how he achieved the feat of returning back to the continental United States, stating it is quite possible he 'walked along the sea floor like some determined technological revenant'. He arrived at Willeford Home Appliances and attacked the employees, killing close to six hundred people. When combat units were mobilized Nixon surrendered, prompting Dr. Gong to shove a fallen electrical wire into his chipware socket as he could not do it himself (the hardwired command protocol against self elimination was still functioning). Nixon, or Cephas Loire as he had come to be known, was officially deactivated as a result of the electrical surge. His remains were dumped in the Grand Landfill in Arizona.

Nocens

According to Dr. Emil Gong, Willeford Home Appliances all but abandoned the notion of creating cybernetic products using human beings as initial system structures after the failure of CL42-187A. Upon final analysis the only thing left functioning in the unit were the nanosurgeons, but with no living tissue to repair they would eventually burn out. In addition his power core was also removed, leaving the unit theoretically incapable of restarting itself without the necessary energy supplied by his biological systems. Dr. Gong feared that the electrical overload that disabled the unit would overcharge the nanites even after the power core was disabled, adding to the possibility that if there was even a small amount of biological material still present in the unit it could theoretically repower itself. The odds were astronomical, less than 1%, but this particular unit had beaten the odds in the past.

Dr. Gong’s fears were realized when the unit resurfaced months later in Midian City, it’s self created personality in complete control and had renamed itself Nocens. Nocens derived his new name from the line ‘Iudex damnatur ubi nocens absolvitur’, translated from Latin meaning ‘The judge is condemned when the guilty is absolved’. Surprisingly he adopted the assumed last name of his wife and child who had gone into a protection program when the unit first went rogue, Scarmon. Over the course of several months Nocens contacted Dr. Emil Gong, as described in this section taken from his personal journal:

"I have already repeated the noncommittal story regarding Keith Ellis Product # CL42-187A and his demise and re-emergence some time ago under the self named nomenclature ‘Nocens’. It is now my terrible duty to amplify this account by filling in the merciful blanks with hints of what I truly believe to be a growing malignancy in a desolate metropolis just off our shores. This may very well form my last words on the subject, as unknown to my overseers Nocens has on more than one occasion contacted me via cellular in disjointed conversations that only further enforce his fragmented personality and detachment to humanity on a whole. If the plain signs in what I disclose are not enough to keep others from meddling with this inherent threat- or at least from prying to deeply into the forbidden secrets and inhuman waste of his psyche- the responsibility for unnamable and perhaps immeasurable evils shall not be mine.

I have learned to answer my cellular regardless of the hour as he will continuously phone until I answer. On one occasion I did change the number but he found me none the less and threatened my life directly if I ever did such a thing again. No doubt he has used his conditioned abilities to ‘fish’ the number from the office directory. He was always quite proficient at impersonations and information extraction.

His reasoning behind such deliberate contact makes no sense to me, more than once the conversations are one sided derogatory statements about myself and humanity on the whole (‘bleeders’ he calls us). However, I have extracted certain key subjects that warrant concern not only in regards to myself but others in Ellis’s past and present interactions. One such subject is that of his estranged wife and daughter. Ellis was nearly convicted of child abuse during divorce proceedings shortly before he underwent full cyborgization and assumingly lost all connection to his previous life (so much so that we pronounced Keith Ellis dead). However, as time went by he became increasingly angered by the notion that the imprinted memories we utilized to control him were false. How could someone who abused his own child become enraged when realizing the memories of ‘home life’ we used to keep him under control were mere data constructs? Now he periodically inquires about their well being and has even adopted their new last name as his own, still without showing even the slightest sign of remorse or affection towards them. How he even uncovered their new identities is beyond even me, and further proves his resourceful abilities were not lost as we previously assumed. Personally, I believe it to be more about being psychologically possessive of something, in this case his family, a primal urge that is deep rooted in his psyche. He has shown signs of a territorial nature, I believe that this further enforces it. In all logic, the man that was Keith Ellis is dead and Nocens has even remarked that he’s better off that way. "

Since his re-emergence Nocens has bonded closely (or as closely as he is capable) to the Catwalkers that initially killed him close to a year prior. They have a social contract that allows him to enter their rooftop territory which he protects as his own, including the hybrid denizens therein which he refers to as ‘his cats’.

Current Information

Nocens retreated to the far side of the city and has gathered a group of like minded social outcasts and miscreants. Called the Dregs, they rule the Outpost and are a constant threat to the serenity of the city.