Theodore 'Teddy' Klein

The end is nigh...

---

"I want you to take this, Diz." The boy held a pocket watch out to her, the product of many weeks worth of work.
"It's beautiful. Why do the hands move backwards." He blinked trying to find a way to explain.
"Ah," she nodded, "weird stuff?" she continued to watch it swing, wondering if it would ever stop.
"I made this for you," he began, "It's quite special. I need you to keep a watchful eye and if the hands ever begin to move clockwise, you should reconsider whatever you planned on doing, and get the hell out of there." He caught a glimpse at the clock on the wall. The hands moved clockwise and were just passing the 9 on the clock face.
"Allright." she said.
"One last thing," he said smiling, forcing the watch to stop swinging with his hand. This should be her decision, he thought.
"Since this is the last time I'll see you," he began, those particular words catching in his throat, "I would love to know your name, your real name." She smiled and seemed reluctant at first. It was against the rules, after all. She eventually leaned in and kissed him deeply, not like the usual lustful assault but calm, and caring.
"Lea Herbert." she spoke clearly. He smiled in reply, letting the watch swing once more.
"I like Lea more." Ted teased. The watch swung back and forth and she seemed to focus on it more so than before, her eyes sagging as if about to sleep. It was finally time. He placed the bottom of his palm over her eyes...

— from Blood and Ashes

---

A Boy and His Watch

To call Theodore Klein "Young" would be more than inaccurate, it would be offensive to all he has given to accomplish his mission. Theodore may be in a 16 year old body, but he is one of the oldest members of The Web. If you look in his eyes for a little too long, if you stare at them and truly open yourself up, you'll see the true nature behind them. There's age behind those eyes, hidden well by a fountain of youth. This boy has experienced many lifetimes. He retains every moment spent in every Incarnation. He gets older and wiser with every life he lives. His looks change with each incarnation. He bears the same name, though the surname changes with each life. His current body has an athletic build of a man with golden hair. It's a shame that his time is running out. This current Incarnation happens to be his favorite.

1-Up

Theodore is one of a handful of Quasi-Immortal beings that exist in The Web. Mortals find it impossible to avoid Death, and she takes it personally when one succeeds in doing so. The term quasi-immortal may be strange, but there's no such thing as a true immortal. One can postpone their death. One can even come back from death in a myriad of ways, but no one can avoid Death's embrace forever.

The most one could hope for is to be as close to an immortal as possible by making themselves either exceptionally difficult to kill, or difficult to keep dead. In the case of Theodore Klein, the situation is more complicated. When each Incarnation reaches 17 years old, he will die. The universe will go out of its way to make it happen.

In one Incarnation, it was a mugging gone wrong, the next was due to violent infection suffered on a battlefield. In another, it was cancer that appeared out of nowhere in a time before treatment was available. His last Incarnation ended with sudden heart failure. For whatever reason, with every Incarnation, death becomes more sudden and quick. This game played with Death becomes more and more of an inconvenience with every life. Death stopped caring enough to make him feel pain ages ago.

Theodore and The Web

Theodore is an honorary member of The Oxford Cabal, a membership he takes seriously. He keeps himself isolated from members of The Web, rarely joining operations. He does this for two reasons: For starters, the appearance and limitations of his age have made it very difficult for him to participate. Secondly, he has bigger things to worry about. He spends much of his time studying the arcane and the metaphysical. He is not capable of using the prestige, the magic system of The Web, but this study along with his many other talents make him useful to the cabal, and assists in his ultimate goal.

Theodore has a remarkable understanding of how things work. By simply looking at a thing, he can fully determine how the thing functions, the parts that allow it to function in this way, and most importantly, how to fix it if it breaks. Moreover, knowing how to fix something also gives him a keen understanding of how to break it. This gift allows him to tap into talents that other people spend decades perfecting. By looking at the human body he understands how it works and how to repair it, making him an excellent surgeon as well as a skilled combatant. It also makes him an excellent mechanic and technician. These skills are nothing compared to what he can do when given a blank slate. His ability to invent and craft intricate devices he allows others to use make him invaluable to The Web as a whole.
These talents are all designed to assist him in his ultimate goal. There's a reason he suffers as much as he does. Theodore has an obsession with what he refers to as the "Second Shudder," a term only members of the cabal can understand in full. Eons ago, at the dawn of humanity, the world existed in a golden age. The Antediluvian Age ended due to a catastrophic event the cabal refers to as "The Yggdrasil Shudder."

The Second Shudder

Even Theodore doesn't know what this next cataclysm has in store for the world. It could be a beneficial event that hurls humanity forward in leaps and bounds, or could be so devastating that it sends humanity back to the stone age. Theodore keeps a stunning and beautiful pocket watch that is unlike any other timepiece in the world. At first glance, one would think it was broken. The hands stay motionless 90% of the time, and on the rare occasion that they move, they count backwards. There is a ticking that can be heard from within the gold and silver casing, which Theodore can listen to and know exactly how much time he has before the next cataclysm occurs. The pocket watch is an invention that took multiple lifetimes to develop.

It came from an idea. He decided to turn his unique understanding of how things work on the universe itself, and what he saw left him white as a sheet. He saw endless strands of possibility, uncertainty, and entropy. He turned away, and the last bit of information he pulled from the sight was a series of horrible disasters that he swore to stop, and a means of resurrecting himself to do so. The pocket watch was created a few lifetimes later. He used his knowledge of how the universe worked, or at least the knowledge he was able to retain, to create a method of calculating every major event the future could hold. The moment the intricate mechanisms within began to tick, he knew he was already too late. Each hand signified an amount of time before the cataclysm occurs. The hand that is normally dedicated to hours and minutes represent years and months respectively. A third hand was added to assist the hand counting seconds. These hands represent days, the numbers they point to multiplied should the number of days exheed 12.

When he looked at the watch moments after completion, he had less than an hour to act. He stared at the clock face defeated, fearing the worst. When the clock ticked down to zero, each hand pointing to twelve, an American businessman jumped out of the window to his death. Theodore turned to his window and saw the blur of the man who lost everything and believed he no longer had a reason to live. This moment, while traumatizing for Theodore and tragic in its own right, filled him with the slightest hope. This was not the second shudder he witnessed. This was a different disaster altogether. When the clock ticked down to zero, the Great Depression began.

A thankless job

For almost a hundred years after he created the pocket watch, Theodore dedicated his life to averting moments of crisis, never knowing if the next event will be his dreaded Second Shudder. He works in the shadows from the age of ten and up with every incarnation. His parents die shortly before the age of 10 in each cycle. This allows him to return to work every ten years or so, after his death.

His diligence is not callus or unfeeling. He is deeply hurt by the tragedy, and still remembers every parent he ever had by name. He spends the first ten years developing. He learns to walk and talk, puts together his memories, and seeks to restore himself to some sense of normalcy before he returns to work.

Fun fact: misery loves company

Theodore's unique brand of immortality came from his gift which he had since he was born in his first lifetime. He has never given a specific date, but many believe his first life occurred sometime in the late 1600s. This belief comes from the fact that he rarely discusses events that occurred before this time.

He's been a member of the Oxford cabal for almost 50 years, finding a comfortable and welcoming home. He is particularly fond of the cabal. There are other quasi-Immortals like himself within its membership, and he adores being able to mingle with "kids his own age." He often claims that this current Incarnation is his favorite due to the advances that humanity has been able to accomplish in recent years. He relishes the fact that he will never have to use an outhouse, or fiddle with a telegraph again.

While his peers do not share the same form of immortality that Ted gained, they are able to empathize much with his suffering. Morrigan, a woman who is extremely hard to kill, remains his closest friend. Both have made serious sacrifices to obtain their special brand of immortality, which led to an understanding and kinship between the two that could never exist with anyone else.

Known Past Lives

Cycle	Cause of Death
1671-1688	Trampled by horses pulling a carriage.
1688-1705	Tortured brutally and killed by french soldiers.
1705-1722	Burned at the stake for witchcraft.
1722-1739	Particularly malignant cancer.
1739-1756	Mugging gone wrong, stabbed repeatedly.
1756-1773	Shot and died of vicious infection.
1773-1790	Shot and died of shock after receiving amputation.
1790-1807	Killed and eaten by wolves.
1807-1824	Asphyxiation caused by Poison.
1824-1841	Struck by lightning.
1841-1858	Hypothermia.
1858-1875	Beaten to death, blood loss.
1875-1892	Explosion from canon fire.
1892-1909	Starvation .
1909-1926	Eaten by sharks after abandoning a sinking ship.
1926-1943	Slipped off a rooftop.
1943-1960	Drowned in the bathtub.
1960-1977	Car accident, tied up in the trunk after he was abducted.
1977-1994	Died of sudden cardiac arrest.
1995-2012	Still Alive, set to die on November 21st, 2012

Theodore Klein

Theodore has many personality traits that transfer over with every incarnation, but he also has some that don't. How each reincarnation is raised within the first three or four years of his life can add or remove personality traits in various quirks that he has maintained for many cycles. This brings up an interesting conversation on nature vs nurture, but it also means that his personality is ever-changing.

Theodore is kind-hearted, giving, and empathetic to others, a trait rarely found in Immortals. This element of his personality is retained even when the upbringing is tragic or abusive. Numerous circumstances have occurred where he ended up with an abusive family or with a family that died far too early, leaving him alone as a three year old before he is able to properly organize the memories of his past lives.

By the time he reaches the age of four, something clicks and he is able to remember everything. His personality develops further, as opposed to completely changing like one would expect. There have been a few incarnations where he was subjected to psychological therapy due to rapid onset of new character traits and sudden display of mental maturity, leading his parents to believe something traumatic may have occurred. With each cycle, Theodore learns how to manipulate others with savage efficiency.

Theodore in the present:

The present incarnation of Theodore is slightly different than his past lives. This current Incarnation is far more promiscuous. He often tries to excuse his sexual reckless behavior by saying "As often as I've been through puberty, can you blame me?" This developed a complicated relationship with one of the heaven's harlots, Dizzy Haze, a woman he claims is the first woman he has ever loved.

No one possesses the courage to ask whether or not the feeling is mutual, though it is clear based on her actions that Dizzy does care to some degree. His kind-hearted nature is still the most endearing trait about him in his current incarnation. He'd go to hell and back for those he can call his friends, but is merciless towards his enemies, equality that gives rise to concern. According to The Alexandrian University, the constant experience of the Soul being ripped from the body and super glued onto another can be exceptionally dangerous and cause various instabilities of the mind.

There are many organizations that are weary about Theodore's presence in the web. They see him as a loose cannon or a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off. Despite this, The Oxford Cabal insists on his continued membership, seeing no true signs of mental instability. Theodore has worked out a contingency plan with the members of the cabal should the worst case scenario occur in the future. While there is no way to successfully kill him permanently oh, there are ways of tracking him by using the arcane along with a trace amount of blood from any of incarnations.

Next Lives

As Theodore approaches his 17th birthday, he spends his final months preparing for his death. Theodore has been able to obtain immortality by analyzing the way the universe works and circumventing the rules of death. He can instinctively know who his next parents will be. When all his affairs are in order, he hides his pocket watch, along with other valuable items he wishes his next Incarnation to have, near the home of his future parents.

He hides them remarkably well, even asking the members of the cabal to ward his hiding place to prevent discovery. He waits, taking time to enjoy life's many pleasures if time permits and no disaster is imminent. He does his best to ensure a disaster will not occur within the next 10 years, though succeeding is usually more luck than science. Many disasters have occurred throughout history and usually it occurs when he is developing.

Examples include both World Wars, the second he tried desperately to stop. The Cuban Missile Crisis was another failure that surprisingly did not end in the worst way it could have. Most of the time, his efforts do little more than postpone the inevitable. No matter how hard he tries, an event will always slip past. Some of these events are positive. The moon landing being an event that he tried to stop, but failing to stop it allowed for the event to become a crucial moment in human history.

Crisis averted

Possible to know exactly what is postponed or avoided when Theodore successfully extends the time until the next event on the pocket watch. Sometimes it can happen at random, a seemingly insignificant action causes the hands to jump back days, months, or even years. It's just as likely that these hands can jump forward, decreasing the amount of time until the next event.

Ted does have a method that helps indicate what must happen and when. He gets a gut feeling about things he learns about through word or mouth or by watching a news broadcast. Sadly, he has no way of determining whether his actions or his inaction will benefit the situation or make it worse. He walks a fine line, taking minor actions here and leaving other events to unfold as they see fit.

He keeps a careful eye on the hands of his pocket watch, which tend to jostle in the direction actions can take them. The actions performed can vary depending on the approach and severity of the event. A simple conversation on ethics or the meaning of life with the right person can change history. Killing the right person can do the same. He has no moral issues if he believes his actions can postpone or permanently avoid the next disaster. His fear over the Second Shudder prevents it. He never hesitates to shoot first if one life can spare the entirety of humanity.

---

"Sleep," he said, and his words acted like a trigger. Her head dropped on cue and he continued, "Lea?" he whispered with a smile. She perked up at him with a mile long stare.
"I want you to run," he said, forcing the words out as he glanced at the clock, "do not stop until you reach the train station." she nodded. "Then I want you to go home, you will wake up when you reach your front door." she nodded again. "Now go, I'm sorry about this. It isn't right, but I can't risk you staying behind to help." She stood and bolted quickly out of the apartment. Ted plopped down onto the couch sighing, a tear in his eye. He turned to the clock, again. It was past 11.
He went to work, grabbing several skewed parts and placed them on the bench. He attached a strange clockwork device to a metal box. He grabbed his pocket watch. It too was ticking near 12. He put on a tan vest, and a black wool peacoat. He turned and walked out of the apartment, and pulled a small chain on the device as the door shut.
He hit a full sprint down the road. It was several minutes later that a rumble was felt underfoot. An enormous explosion rattled the calm of the night. He slowed and spun around seeing the trap he set had worked. He took no time to admire the plume of flame and debris that erupted into the Parisian sky. He continued running, not stopping till sunrise.

— from Blood and Ashes