Below are a few story functions and character sketches for the scientist plot line.
Scientist Characters
These are the department heads of the Tiberium research team. They can have as many underlings as needed and it really doesn't matter what department they are in - chemistry, physics, biology, etc. These people are more than just their field of study.
Scientist Character ideas:
Richard Neumann - Biochemist. Seeks to breakdown to the structure of Tiberium to find the secrets the material and its connection to saving his son.
Alyssa Lostumo - Geology. Grew up in a down to earth family, and was a child of the earth. When Tiberium infected the world and made it difficult to find the natural resources, Alyssa vowed to find a way to make the world whole again.
Coltan Boyd - M.D. General Practitioner. Wanted to have most widely available skills to ensure job security. Grew up poor, and did not want to live that harsh reality ever again. He wanted to live in comfort with his wife, by any means.
Maryl Goodlander - Medical Pathology. Grew up religious and believes that there must be a plan to everything. She seeks to find cures for all sorts of ailments. After diagnosing and seeing the effects of Tiberium, she believes that Tiberium is part of Gods test (Not Judeo-Christian, but a God, nevertheless) and by overcoming/remedying it, the prosperity of the world will spring forth.
Liu Chin - Mechanical engineer. Was always the oddball, with many crazy ideas. He was ridiculed for his ideas, being told that he should focus on surviving, rather than keeping his head on these crazy theories. Hides his intents with sarcasm, and after studying and becoming proficient in engineering, he saw how energy affects the world. The more available, the better life was. He wants to harness this energy from Tiberium, both as a source for the future and to keep others in check in the present.
Character personalities
Richard Neumann: A desperate father who's son is deeply infected by Tiberium. He wants nothing more than to find a cure and will stop at nothing to make that cure happen.
Alyssa Lostumo: Passionate and driven - she wants to completely rid the world of Tiberium - make the world as if Tiberium never existed. She studies its nature intent on removing it from Earth, and maybe the galaxy, at all costs.
Colton Boyd: He was a doctor helping Tiberium patients in the border lands. He's seen more lost lives than those he could save. After his wife fell ill - unrelated to Tiberium - he was offered a job and healthcare in a penthouse in the blue zone as a scientist. Now, he's here to collect a paycheck and will do whatever the employer asks to keep his wife healthy in the blue zone.
Maryl Goodlander: Quiet and reserved but absolutely uncompromising in the fact that Tiberium is the answer to humanity's short comings. She believes that once the power of Tiberium is properly harnessed, the gates to true prosperity will open.
Liu Chin: His laid back demeanor and quick sarcasm hide his serious focus. With the encroachment of hostile life forms on Earth, Liu is convinced that Tiberium has to be weaponized. That has been its most clear function since day one. He's eager to rid the world of GDI, ASI, Scrin, the colony, and maybe even parts of Nod.
Character Functions:
Each of them may be at odds with one another at any time. This allows for internal conflict within this story line in addition to whatever physical confrontations, battles, and disasters may befall them and their area.
Neumann is flexible because his research may lead to needing Tiberium for a cure, or having to completely remove Tiberium for a cure. Results could sway his thinking from experiment to experiment. His desperation could easily make him fly off the handle or dive into pits of melancholy to contrast the other characters - he could also have extreme sympathy. He would be a high energy character.
Lostumo would have similar energy but would come into conflict with Nuemann whenever he believes he needs Tiberium to cure his son. She would constantly be at odds with Mary Goodlander in bother her level of intensity and her wants. Her intensity would be matched by Chin but she is absolutely opposed to his ideals.
Boyd is a working man who seems not to care - he's flexible like Nuemann but has opposite energy - relaxed as long as his checks clear.
Goodlander: Uncertain about Chin's ideals but believes that his research would be important for the overall march of Tiberium progress. Her meek personality is a strong contrast to the others - she avoids conflict at all costs. But, her avoidance causes her to by sneaky and sly. She will work behind the others' backs and make decisions without the consent of the group.
Chin is vindictive and frustrated. His tough "who gives a shit" attitude covers his hidden, wounded core. He's completely aloof until he feels the need to step in and show the other "morons" who's boss. He makes good points, but presents them in the meanest way possible.
Plot Functions:
These characters must learn to work together on various levels to achieve what the employer wants/escape from the bad guys/ restore power to the lab/ get their underlings to safety/ etc./ etc./ etc.
Perhaps the group finally gets along and they are close to achieving their goal when BAM! an enemy comes in and kidnaps half the team. How do the dynamics change? Who is to blame? Would Lostumo and Chin get along or kill each other if they were alone? Would Goodlander crack under enemy pressure? Would she want to completely defect because she is given more freedom? Would Boyd even join the rescue mission?
These are my initial ideas for a science team background and a basic overview of how to increase tension within any plot they would be given.
Faction Affinities:
The following is a table that shows how each scientist’s agenda might line up with faction dogma/ goals/ themes. This doesn’t mean they're necessarily part of the faction, in some cases they are/ were, but it means they might be involved or interested in seeing what this faction has to offer. (mainly in terms of technological advancements.)
All in all, it’s to make sure we have a good representation of motives, which can later display when they come across members or technology of a specific faction. Thus informing how they might react or interact.
Faction affinity:
Newman: Colony, GDI
Boyd: ASI, GDI
Goodlander: D51, Nod
Chin: D5, Nod
Loustomo: None1
- Newman’s quest for a Tiberium cure has made him mournful of it’s effects on mankind. Betrayed by the organization he served for decades, He has a hard time reconciling this cognitive dissonance, while continuing his work on the run.
- Loustumo’s interest in removing Tiberium, and transcending its effects on humanity have lead her to consider unorthodoxed solutions. She’s intrigued and sympathize with ASI, nevertheless, her aims to remove the cancer from the land and all aspects of life have her focusing on natural purity.
- Boyd’s apathy brought about by his hardships has made him a dangerous and potentially volatile person, which has him only interested in what’s good for his bottom line. With his primary motivation being financial gain, his interest in harnessing Tiberium has a sense of detached pragmatism, leading him to be intrigued by Scrin and their technologies, allowing for planetary harvesting never dreamt of before. With the potential of limitless wealth on the horizon, his loyalty naturally shifts with the wind.
- Goodlander’s Interest in unlocking Tiberium as a source of progress may be noble, and yet ambiguous. With it all contingent on her definition of “True prosperity”, she may have higher goals than simple financial wealth. Seeing it as her responsibility to bring about the next golden age of man, brought about by Tiberium use, she is intrigued and baffled by the colony.
- Chin’s fanatic quest to weaponize Tiberium has naturally lead him to revere Scrin and their technology. Frustrated with the alliance Kane imposed with GDI, he’s constantly looking for ways to test his experimental weapons.
