Conrad Waltz
"There is no known documentation of subject Cα0001 having ever spoken."
People claim to be normal, to be average, all the time and yet they don't truly think about what that would entail. The very concept of normal is that of conforming to the standards of those around you, but not each individual standard. The standards of everyone are averaged out to the mean, and this final measure is the standard which is considered to be normal. In this case it could be argued that normal, as a concept, does not exist and that no person can truly be said to be normal. So how would you feel then to meet someone who then was normal, average, plain and ordinary. Someone who failed to leave a impression on you so much that memories of them simply slid away from you, and those that didn't had only a stand in, a cardboard cutout, a silhouette in place of an actual person.
What would that truly be like? It would be someone like Conrad Waltz.
Should one use gaming terminology to describe him, he would be considered by most to be an NPC. He is the human equivalent of the boring, background character, the extra brought in to populate a scene and make it seem more realistic and part of a larger world. He is someone you see and you forget you saw him moments after your eyes slide off to other more interesting things and people. He is someone you interact with, you speak with and exchange a few moments of civil dialogue and social interaction and then even as you are walking away the facets of this encounter are already fading because they are so bland and benign your mind has no reason to keep hold on them. He does not stand out in any way that matters, except for perhaps the fact that he doesn't stand out. To one with a strong acuity in perception, or one who is already indoctrinated into the strange world that certain individuals inhabit, the fact that he doesn't stand out, makes him stand out. But it is difficult to keep that presence of mind, to hold onto this fact when the memories of him dilute amidst the overwhelming sensory deluge that is the rest of the world.
Why then was Conrad chosen as one of the protagonists of the story being woven if he is, seemingly, designed to not be in the center of attention? It would seem as if the one doing the choosing had made a mistake. Can it be said that an author is capable of making a mistake with the narrative he is telling? Editing and interpretation and critical reception aside, when one pens words to paper and crafts a story, each character brought forth is brought forth out of the desire to make the story as the author envisions it. I would say then, that no mistake is possible. Each character portrayed is chosen to be portrayed, is chosen to be a part of the story being told and as such, is meant to be there. Conrad was chosen precisely because he is unsuited for the center stage. Conrad is a man who will not sacrifice himself for a greater good, a man who views others as means to his own ends, a man who is happy to have others look down upon him and underestimate his abilities. He was chosen because he is, nor will he ever be, a hero; this is not a story about heroes.
There are those who might think to look into the past of this man, to seek out whether or not trauma has lead him to the point that he now occupies. their searches shall be in vain for, much like the man, his past is cluttered with simple, benign, boring moments, scenes of domestic tranquility and the types of world-ending drama that can only arise from the minds of children and teenagers. There was nothing noteworthy in his life, until his return from studying at college out of the city. It was then he came face to face with one who used to bully him in high school, and seemed to wish to do the same to him now that they were young adults. That bullying did not last long, not when a creature born of legend materializes out of nowhere and devours the head of the bully. An unusual ending to a downright banal event, but this told him that there was more to the world than he thought. This began to lead him down a different path. Before he seemed destined to be but a cog in the machine of some corporate engine, grinding humans into capital over in the mill of time itself. Now, his gaze is on what lies behind all this, in the greater depths that so many ignore. In his journey to plumb those depths for what treasures lay at their bottoms, he has ingratiated himself with the other protagonists that have been chosen.
He has, hesitantly and begrudgingly, begun to form connections to them, and to others as well. He has lowered himself down one of the wells and found that there is strength to be obtained, power to be claimed if one is willing to reach out and take it. His own newly developing abilities have yet to be fully explored, but he believes he is up to the task. Despite the variables which exist when dealing with other people, his own plans have yet to go far astray. All is proceeding according to his designs and desires. Surely nothing will go wrong, there will be no deviation that is not within acceptable parameters, and even if there were he would be ready for it. He would have a plan, but the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
The important question he will have to answer, eventually, is this; is he mouse or man or umbra?
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