Elias Rush

A genius caught up in politics, Rush is the real-deal Tony Stark. He built an empire on science, investigating things beyond the cutting edge. His focus has been creating a safe world for enhanced people for the past several decades.
Elias is a dedicated scientist, first and foremost. He would give up everything for the pursuit of knowledge. There's a purity to it, science and the process of englightenment is religion for him. He could laugh at “the good book” morning, noon, and night, but reveres artifacts of the Apollo program as if they were holy relics. For him, great scientists are saints. There is no higher pursuit than knowledge. Except perhaps applying knowledge to solve mankind's greatest curses. He puts medical science on an impossibly high perch. The act of saving lives is almost as sacred as the pursuit of knowledge. Almost. By that same token, the pursuit of knowledge for evil reasons, things like profit and war, are wrong and immoral. Massive corporations deserve to be destroyed. At best, they're nothing more than a tolerable means to an end. In this respect, he's more of an anarchist. He's always had issues with authority. If you cannot prove you're right, then you're automatically wrong. It's given him issues with past employers and around politicians. There is powerful venom to his words when he hears “I feel” as the reasoning for a decision. Feelings have no place in the world of science.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Elias is getting on in years. He's relatively fit, but time just hasn't been kind to him. Days spent in the lab from before the sun rose until long after it fell have worn on him. His eyes are a little sunken, he often has a significant stubble, just shy of being a beard. His movements are often wild and excited, despite how tired his long hours may make him. In the lab or around matters of scientific work, he's more controlled, working with precise movements. There's a reverence to what he's doing. He treats every minute in the lab as if he'll produce a nobel prize from the work. Every day making science is like setting foot on the moon for the first time. He's forty years deep into a permenant high from knowledge and the pursuit of what drives the world around him.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

The story begins in the 80s. We see a young Elias Rush watching the Space Shuttle take off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It's just like the song described, “The earth beneath us starts to tremble With the spreading of a low black cloud A thunderous roar shakes the air Like the whole world exploding
Scorching blast of golden fire As it slowly leaves the ground Tears away with a mighty force The air is shattered by the awesome sound” Countdown - Rush
He'd spent his whole young life to that point glued to every bit of scientific material he could get. At first, he worshipped the likes of Montgomery Scott, though when he learned that it was fake, he quickly sought out the right role models. There was no shortage. His eyes were soon pulled to NASA as his first scientific love. He couldn't resist the idea of an institution dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. They were known the world over for their skill and intellect beyond all else. No profit, no corporations, only the pursuit of innovation. They didn't sell the moon, they just went there. There was a deep purity to it.
Unfortunately, that fated day, he was going to learn his first real lesson about science: There was always a price. The space shuttle sat on the pad with the word “CHALLENGER” spelled out along it's hull. Today was the launch of STS-51-L on a cold January morning in 1986. Everything seemed to be going fine to the spectators. The engines roared, it left the ground, there was a teacher on board. NASA was going to show the world that space was safe and accessible. In their entire history, they'd only lost three astronauts, the crew of Apollo 1. Until today. Elias watched as a ball of fire filled the sky miles above them. He glanced with worry between his parents, not sure what he'd just seen. Space shuttles didn't explode.
The experience was traumatizing. It gave him a fear of science. His young mind wasn't ready to puzzle out the equation of science, life, and death. In time though, that memory galvanized his resolve to make the world a better place. In the years to follow, he poured every inch of himself into science and improving man's understanding of the world. It wasn't just that knowledge was pure, it was that it was necessary. Science was needed to make it safe for future generations. The act of preserving knowledge must be preserved at all costs. That's what he did. He graduated high school at 14. In a sense, he's almost a real-life Tony Stark, just with less money. His degrees span physics, engineering, and medical science. There was never too much coursework. The recent developments of enhanced individuals has gotten his attention more than anything else. Super heroes pose the possibility of defeating death, and ensuring eternal research and knowledge. They're a key step in achieving his dreams.

Species

Human

Year of Birth

1975

Gender

Male

Eyes

Green

Hair

Black & Grey

Height

5'9"

Weight

150lbs