29 year old male, graduated cum lade with a BA in Political Science and minor in mathematics.

I worked for various political leaders and on a couple of campaigns before realizing the world isn't changing for the betterment of the many, only a select few.

I tend to have a fairly regimented schedule and go to the gym at least 4 times a week (nothing crazy, but enough to stay in shape).

I've gone camping once or twice with friends and took a free first aid class college. As far as down time I'd honestly prefer travel to a big city and experiencing some of the finer things than to go to the wilderness.

My Uncle was an Army Ranger and hinted that he did some black ops stuff, but I wasn't able to ever confirm it. Maybe he was just messing around, but he did get deployed over seas often. When he would come back home he would teach me about self defense, some basic combat skills, etc. I'm no Ranger, but I could probably hold my own against one or two regular people.

Hey would also regale us with stories of countries he had visited both for work and leisure. I learned about various cultures, social structures, and religions from a young age.

Several years ago Uncle was deployed, but never came back. As far as I know, there wasn't a body to be found. They never told me what he was doing or where he was. Just gave me a pair of shiny dog tags and a flag folded into a triangle.

My parents live on the west coast. Dad is an accountant for a law firm and Mom works for the city as a public liaison with various nonprofit groups. Still doing well, but the news of his little brother hit dad hard. They weren't what I would call inseparable, they had their differences, but they cared about each other.

In 2004 the world learned what a part of me had always suspected: the things in the shadows were real. When I was a child I would sometimes close my eyes, and in the darkness a ring of almost neon green light would begin to appear in my mind. I had no explanation, but I always felt that something was reaching to me as if through a gateway. The ring would never complete itself though and when I tried to reach back, it would disappear even more; as if attempting to force it into existence was instead smothering the ring-like enigma. Over time the experience became less and less prevalent until I had all but forgotten about it.

In July of 2018 I left a strategy meeting for the upcoming midterms to take a call from a number I didn't recognize. It was news that my uncle wasn't coming home this time. The only other information I received was where to pick up the flag and dog tags. I wandered back into the conference room barely present and reeling from the information that the man who was almost more of a parental figure than my own father was gone.

Instead of words of comfort, condolence, or support, the senator informed me he would need updated polling data and an analysis report by tomorrow. That night the green circle returned, but now in my dreams. It was more clear than it ever had been before.

The next day I delivered the updated polling analysis as requested, in addition to my letter of resignation. I have worked as a consultant for political figures and think tanks since then, but I will never sign onto another's campaign.

Unfortunately the green ring is not all I see in my dreams. Years back I was assisting a political PR firm work spin control because their client's support of foreign aid apparently wasn't polling well. That wasn't what they hired me for though. I was there to vet and find a way to kill the story linking the contributions to the client's campaign and the warlords shell companies they came from. During this process I was granted access to some military intelligence including photo and video evidence of the warlords thugs slaughtering innocent people in villages and towns during their own campaign for power. I found evidence that the client's campaign knew about this, and that they didn't care so long as the money kept flowing in for yard signs and that it couldn't be traced back to them. The PR firm was appreciative of my efforts and assured me they would put them to good use. Apparently that meant an iron clad public spin defense and navigating away from the damning evidence. I see those images in my dreams now. Innocent men, women, and children screaming to know why their voices were silenced so a man halfway around the world could get a 6 point bump in the polls.

There is no good. There is no evil. There is power, opportunity, and how those with both choose to use those gifts. Last month the evidence I compiled surfaced from a different source (probably a leak). It was as damning now as it was then, except this time no one was able to cover it up before it got the public eye. The senator (who had since changed party affiliation twice and somehow still gets elected) was caught dead to rights. That night the circle was back even brighter, and it was whole. I felt a strong pull and that something was trying to communicate. It wasn't in a spoken language, but more primal; almost emotive. I took my first contract soon after that.