Polamedes's Questionnaire

Polamedes lives in sanfrancisco in a one bedroom apartment with a small living room. One entire wall of the living room is dominated by an array of monitors and powered by a giant computer built into a server rack, wires snaking out to all corners of the apartment and the security cameras outside. The rest of the apartment is rather spartan, minimal decoration or amenities. There are various small electronics projects in varying states of completion scattered throughout the apartment. There is a small book case with a stuffed dinosaur, a pokeball, and a snickers bar. There is a small safe that has a pile of cash, and a gun as well as 1.5 pounds of c4. He lives here because it's not affordable but it's close to work at least. 

Polamedes works as a cybersecurity analyst. He's rather prominent in his field and has worked at a very high profile company for a while now. He is well paid for his effort, unfortunately a lot of that goes to food and rent so that only leaves a fraction otherwise left for polamedes for projects and things. He mostly spends his money on contractor projects and new tech toys that he is trying to build. He recently completed a kind of tiny semi autonomous robot dinosaur that works based on voice commands. He is actually looking for a way to make a large sum to maybe move into a more secure location soon.

Polamedes ambition is to re-anonymize the internet. Over the course of his life he has watched as privacy and anonymity have been slowly given away for the sake of convivence and because people are too ignorant and stupid to fight for them. Giant social media companies gobbling up every scrap of personal data that exists and then selling it to the highest bidder. He is striving to undo the vice grip hold these companies have on the internet by any means nessicary. He isn't a fan of murder but is willing to accept the harsh reality that sometimes sacrifices have to be made before things get better. If that means he himself dies in the pursuit of this ideal then so be it. 

He hasn't made much headway yet, he's still kind of laying the groundwork and trying to gather possible allies to help him, as well as establishing a safe base of operations. 

Polamedes previously worked at a different tech company. One day he stumbled on a uncategorized file in the database. It was thousands of gigabytes of user data that was being sold to a foreign spyware firm. Assuming it was unknown he ran it up the chain, and was laughed out of the office when he reported it. He later learned that some of the members from that list where abducted and later human trafficked. It was then that he decided he was done with this and that he was going to take all of these people down. Shortly after he signed the contract. 

Polamedes has always been a bit of a loner, since becoming a contractor this hasn't changed much. The one notable exception is a stuffed dinosaur named hobbes that comes to life if provided with a bit of mental energy. Hobbes came from a contract where polamedes needed to attend a birthday party for a little ghost girl. Since then Pol has had many discussions with hobbes but they are all sadly one sided. 

Other then the non human, non speaking, robot dinosaur there have been a few people that have had an impact on him during jobs. One of them was a fat englishman named Henry. Pol met him on a job where they were both transported to a distant crab land and both nearly died. Then Pol met him again later on the job where he got hobbes. Henry was struggling on that job somewhat significantly and Pol endangered himself for the first time to protect Henry. Even today if asked Pol couldn't give a real reason why he did it, but he's still glad that he did. 

Other then Henry the other notable contractor that had a real effect on Pol was a man named Alistar on Pol's first job. Alistar seemed to be a kind of humanoid cyborg hybrid. Alistar saved polamedes repeatedly on that job and even repaired Pols blown off leg. He helped Pol see what was possible and set him on his own path of cybernetic enhancement. 

Polamedes had a average but neglected childhood. He started taking apart vcr's and old dumpster computers pretty young. He got into hacking when his parents forgot to pay for the internet for the month and learned how to get into his neighbors wifi. He continued to pull that thread continually until he no longer cared about the isolation or the lack of supervision. 

School was boring and further isolating to Pol. In his senior year he stole for the first time. He siphoned a large amount of cash out of an ATM and used it to pay for college. well some college, he dropped out after getting offered his first job and already being bored with the constant parties and demeaning assignments. He missed out on developing some social skills that he is to this day desperately missing. After getting his first paycheck Pol left both college and home and never looked back. 

Pol has sadly never been in love. The social isolation, ugliness, anti-social tendencies, and general devotion to his own work and projects means he never really had much time to spend on love. With the somewhat kamikaze approach his life is currently taking it doesn't seem like it will be a likely outcome either. Some great men are just destined to be alone, Pol probably isn't great but he's willing to go to great lengths and take great risks for his convictions. Love doesn't really factor into those decisions. 

He briefly thought that maybe he could find love on a contract, but seeing as he's always almost dying that seems unlikely. 

In order of appearance on contracts. Military nuts with shotguns, Falling out of a plane, relying on someone else, frozen lakes, wolves, old Russian ladies with hatchets. 

Being randomly transported to different planes, Being speared from 200 feet out, giant mutant crab men. 

Ghost children, Flooded rooms, sharks, piranhas, other contractors, lava room, lava monster, ghost children, Regular children. 

Religious schools, annoying girls with cell phones, emo kids with magic powers. 

Polamedes has survived in several high stakes situations but not without taking on some mental scaring and issue from his past work. None of these has gotten to the point of full on trauma but he is now more wary then he used to be. The only real traumas he has taken on are in relation to the kids party. This has affected him in both his fear of children and his inability to cheat in games now, which went on to hurt him later. He got the child thing taken care of but still can't cheat and is now ironically afraid of adults as well. And Lizards but that is a different matter. Long story short being a contractor has increased Pols general fears and made him seek therapy. 

Pol's most prized possessions are easily his artifacts. His superhack, crafted artifacts, helmet, hobo sandwhich transmitter, and pokeball are all super valuable to Pol. His most prized possession is probably his semi alive dinosaur hobbes though. This was one of Pol's first real friendships and despite it being somewhat one sided it has been very meaningful to Pol. Hobbes has been instrumental in helping Pol develop his minion power as well as a secondary figure that they can bounce ideas off of. He generally feeds hobbes some infinite meat to wake them up and then will tell them their current ideas for projects and long term goals. 

Other then those things Polamedes is currently working on some kind of invisibility ring that he intends to work on a team wide scale. It's still in development but he thinks that it will really be amazing once it's complete. But it's taking him a lot of effort. 

Well I lost 2 fingers on my left hand recently, that's kind of a big deal. I think if I tried I could probably fix them myself but it feels like sort of a waste when I'm sure I can find someone else that can heal these things eventually. I did a webcrawl for it but didn't turn up much other then some weird squid but I'll probably search again soon. Other then that I feel like something big is coming that I need to get ready for but I'm not quite sure how to allocate my resources correctly for essentially what I don't know. I have plans to spend more time building things, working on defense, working out my physical body, my mind, and maybe creating some cybernetic enhancements but I feel like there is just so much and so little time to do it all in. Also I want a new hideout and the money to bring down the social media companies but those are harder problems. 

Roll out of bed, late. Look at my alarm clock and realize I stayed up way too late again. I really need to get better sleep hygene I say to myself for the millionth time. I take a shower, brush my teeth (usually) put on my least dirty clothing eat a cliff bar or something easy for breakfast and walk to work. I wouldn't say it's facing the day so much as it is accepting that which I can't change and gritting my teeth as I attempt to power through another day of monotony. Sometimes I'm awoken by a knock on my door, or a letter on my bed or a creepy guy standing in my living room and on those days I say I'm going to work from home, I get my contractor gear I go risk my life for wild supernatural gifts and powers. Honestly I prefer the later more and more. 

Polamedes doesn't go out much, ever really. If he was going to go somewhere speacil he would likely wear a nicer pair of jeans and a button up shirt. He would spend maybe twice as long as he normally does getting ready so that is a whopping 10 whole minutes. In order to prepare he would look up the venue in advance, figure out the most optimal route to get there, figure out if he can do it without winding up on a cctv camera, if not replan the route. He would determine where all the escape points from the venue are, what the surrounding area is like, whether he can hide if needed, what the average police response time might be, and finally if there is anyone that might want to go with him. This last bit is unlikely but who knows stranger things have happened. He would still probably wear a bullet proof vest under his shirt. 

Hopefully still be alive. That seems to be a constant coin flip these days with the type of work pol has been doing of late. But if he is alive he might actually have a party? Something simple just like a lan party or something but for the first time in a long time he actually feels like he has stuff to celebrate. He is progressing in his goals, he is getting smarter, he's building cool stuff, and he can maybe start to work on his long term plan to free the internet. 

But back to the party, I'm thinking basic laptop setup a few folding tables probably old school LAN games like SC2, Unreal Tournament, maybe some slightly newer ones like TF2 or Dota2. Things where people need to make decisions and stick with them. I don't know who I would invite, my friend list is rather minimal but maybe if I run a few more jobs I'll meet someone who sticks around. 

Listening to that Russian women and jumping down the chimney on my first job. She turned out to be some kind of a double agent planted on our team and then I immediately got my leg blown clean off with a shotgun from some historical world war 2 gun nut that setup shop in Siberia. Then I went on to literally GUESS his computer password only to get almost no info out of it. Then Pol got his leg sort of fixed by a guy named Alistar who 3d printed him a new mechanical leg out of his stomach promptly before the plane they were on nearly exploded. Then they almost all died to exposure, then wolves, then freezing, then the russian women, then drowning , then freezing again. Pol hasn't been back to russia since thankfully. 

SO LONG STORY SHORT DON"T LISTEN TO OLD RUSSIAN LADIES OR GO INTO A DANGEROUS AREA FIRST. 

The nature of Palamedes gifts are utilizing his increased mental acumen to create fringe edge sci-fi gadgets that he can use to his and others personal benefit. Other then the initial burst of outward energy when creating the hackback the rest of pol's gifts have been self made and self manifested. Pol would want to rely on the help of harbingers as little as possible and would seek to be as self sufficient and isolationist as he is able. The more people you have around you the more likely it is for anyone of them to betray you or have access to you and your information personally. 

Most of Pols gifts rely on tiny nanomachines that he created. They operate using swarm logic in that they have a unified goal but none of them have a ton of processing power, they operate as a collective like ants in order to accomplish goals. The individual bot only needs to know what it's doing and what it's neighbors are doing, correcting each other as needed. When all of them work together it's a harmonious action. 

Pol is vehemently against spirituality. Before signing the contract he was of the firm belief that when you die it's the same as before you were born. Just nothing and then your body should be mulched and used to help the planet. After signing it he is coming around somewhat these harbinger things might have been gods in an older world and clearly super natural stuff happens semi-frequently but that doesn't mean that there is a capital G god hanging around somewhere. Likely these are just 4th or 5th dimensional beings that have some kind of unlimited cosmic power that humans don't currently understand and are using it to screw with us / use us for playthings and errand boys. Pol can't really complain he likes the power so if he has to keep his tounge in his mouth about these would be demi gods then so be it. He can play nice while he's getting new toys and treats. 

So far the events of the contract have further re-enforced Polamedes world view that rich powerful people at the top will continue to use their rich and powerful connections and friends (Harbingers) to continue to be rich and powerful and oppress those that are beneath them in the social hierarchy. Polamedes is sort of a socialist but also has a deep and fundamental mistrust of the average man so he can't really trust relinquishing total control to the hands of the everyman. Some kind of checks and balances need to be in place so things don't go totally off the rails like they are now. Obviously those checks can't be written by the aforementioned rich and powerful so they would need to be neutral and fair, kind of like a computer could write. Essentially power will be given or taken by those who strive for it, the contracts further validate that mindset. 

In order from what I remember of the contracts I've run. 

1st : Russian

• Alistar : Cool guy quiet fixed my leg helped me think about cybernetics. (haven't seen since) 
• Angel Berries : Kind of manic, seemed nice got us over the finish line. 

2nd : Crab World

• There was an angry cop whose name I don't really remember
• Henry : a fat little british man with sticky fingers and a weird demeaner I would meet henry again later. 

3rd : Ghost kid

• Mary : seemed nice but watched as the rest of us struggled
• Crane : seemed like kind of an arrogant child who kept saying he could kill us all and how smart he is. 
• Henry : Told you he would be back, I had to save him a few times in this. 

4th : College 

• Chedwick : Small kind of scientist guy, seemed nice until he tried to shoot me
• Ky : I think he turned out to be a wanted fugitive or something. Seemed kind of emotional for a demon killer

5th : Barker

• Mary again
• Jimmy looked kind of strung out, had issues with the challenges like I did
• Neil wound up winning, seems competant. 

6th : Wet market 

• This one was screwed 
• Lucas : Some kind of murder vampire torturer. AVOID 
• MR E : Some kind of organ harvesting tongue nurse vampire : ALSO AVOID
• Keller : Seemed new 

7th : Space house

• Jason Brennings : Seemed manic but nice enough. Killed rooms full of people like 3 times so that's terrifying. Saw him in boston he fixed one of my truamas
• Gustav : Quite but nice enough he improved my armor, which I then had to repair. 
• Issac kind of unremarkable. 

around 10 feet by 10 feet. Square dim but not pitch black. One main door to get in, heavily secured and locked in different ways. Steel door. Large powerful computer, couch, small kitchenette or ready made snacks. Something else to distract, books or a board game or something. The room would have dark wood floors and dark grey or black walls. Sound proofing to keep things quiet and air conditioning. It would be limited to 3 people at maximum and anyone over that would be ejected from the room. There should be a secret emergency escape under the computer that goes to a pneumatic tube that can transport you a very far distance away from the room in the event of an emergency. The computer would have a wall of screens as a monitor array so multiple things could be worked on or viewed simultaneously. There would be a large turret in the ceiling that could disable or harm anyone the room owner deems is a threat. 

Polamedes excels at finding creative solutions to his problems, being technically minded, and striving for his own survival. 

His personal philosophy is that he knows he isn't going to be the combat monster that some other contractors are, that isn't what he's interested in. He has his own long term goals that he wants to accomplish. He doesn't need to be the guy destroying buildings and cleaving gods, he just has to be able to make those guys useless against him. There is a saying about not needing to be faster then a bear just faster then your friends? Polamedes wants to have a tool in his kit for every situation that might arise that would otherwise stop or sideline him from accomplishing his goal. Barrier to prevent damage, healing ring to fix it, jump to avoid it, minions to find it before it happens to him. Coming up with creative solutions is a lot harder if you are surprised with something and don't have time to prepare. 

Polamedes limits are animal-lover, Capture and submission. 

The first is easy, Pol generally thinks that animals are less evil then humans and shouldn't be needlessly injured when possible. 

The other two tie together more and are somewhat interconnected. Pol obviously doesn't want to be captured or listen to anyone else's ideas except when absolutly nessicary. He has lived his entire life as a loner so the idea of being under someone else's thumb or trapped in a way that he can't escape from is particularly horrible to him. It has happened to him a few times on contracts already and in both cases he needed to mentally compose himself to stop from breaking down. 

Being subjugated and forced to listen to or follow orders of someone dumber or with bad ideas would break Pol pretty easily. It's one thing to be trapped but much worse to live as a slave to someone inferior to you. 

Polamedes will probably set their sights higher once their first goal, reclaim anonymity for the internet, is achieved. They might take a break but probably won't ever retire since there will always be parasitic overlords trying to steal peoples data and use their habits against them. The only way to be truly free is an anonymized internet that continually purges itself of any saved user data and that is draconian to anyone that tries to violate this mandate. The power Pol needs to achieve this is more soft power. They need to influence or control data centers, Databases, code repos, and people inside other tech companies. The only way to achieve a long term anonymity is to make that the default and protect it so that it is inviolable. Only after that point can other avenues be explored or ignored depending on peoples will or want for safety or convenience. 

Polamedes harbors a profound anger, a visceral reaction fueled by the recklessness and indifference of individuals towards the core tenets of security and privacy. As a seasoned cybersecurity analyst, deeply entrenched in the complexities of digital defense, Polamedes witnesses a disconcerting trend—people willingly surrendering their data and safety in exchange for mere convenience or due to a blatant disregard for the responsibility of learning to protect themselves.

At the heart of Polamedes' fury lies a fundamental belief in the sanctity of privacy and the paramount importance of security. The pervasive nonchalance displayed by individuals when it comes to safeguarding their digital lives is nothing short of an affront to his core values. It's a maddening scenario for someone who has dedicated their professional life to understanding, fortifying, and, if possible, restoring the eroded boundaries of anonymity on the internet.

The source of Polamedes' anger extends beyond the immediate repercussions of compromised security. It is a manifestation of his frustration with a society that seems blissfully ignorant or apathetic to the potential dangers lurking in the digital realm. His anger, in essence, is a response to the societal shift where convenience has become a currency, and personal data is bartered away without a second thought.

In Polamedes' eyes, this indifference is not just an inconvenience but a direct threat to the fabric of online existence. The frustration is intertwined with a sense of duty—an obligation to educate, to unveil the risks, and to make individuals cognizant of the repercussions of their seemingly innocuous actions. The fight for privacy, for security, is not merely a professional pursuit for Polamedes; it's an impassioned personal crusade, and the heedless attitude towards these vital aspects serves as a potent catalyst for his deep-seated anger.

The chief issue though stems more from the ubiquity of social media and giant tech companies hoovering up data in a neverending quest to control things and less from the uninformed layman who just wants to look at memes on facebook. 

At the core of Polamedes' guarded existence lies a clandestine truth: his identity as a contractor, undertaking jobs for supernatural beings. This revelation is a well-protected secret, veiled beneath the facade of a cybersecurity analyst. The nature of his covert dealings with otherworldly entities introduces an element of danger that Polamedes is keen to keep concealed from the prying eyes of both the public and potential adversaries.

While his professional life involves delving into the intricacies of digital defense, Polamedes navigates a parallel world where the supernatural and the mundane intersect. The juxtaposition of his seemingly ordinary existence with the extraordinary tasks he undertakes adds layers of complexity to the web of secrets he weaves. Unveiling this truth could not only jeopardize his safety but also compromise the delicate balance he strives to maintain between the realms of technology and the supernatural. In addition to this revelation, Polamedes harbors future plans to dismantle multibillion-dollar empires, unveiling a secondary secret that further underscores the intricacies of his covert endeavors.

If Polamedes ascended to the rank of Harbinger, he would embrace the moniker "TOR," a nod to the common tool used by individuals seeking semi-anonymity in the digital realm. Under this new persona, he would undertake Contracts that disrupt established social conventions and amplify the importance of privacy and security in the digital age. One such Contract might entail the meticulous transport of a significant volume of data across the country, ensuring its integrity remains uncompromised and unaltered throughout the journey.

In addition to these Contracts, TOR would advocate fiercely for the anonymity of contractors, emphasizing the necessity of operating in the shadows to safeguard their identities and protect against potential reprisals. He would actively avoid collaborating with illuminated or highly visible contractors, preferring to navigate the clandestine landscape independently or in the company of trusted allies whose commitment to anonymity matches his own. By championing anonymity and challenging the status quo, TOR would strive to carve out a distinct niche within the realm of Harbingers, reshaping the trajectory of Contracts to align more closely with his core values of privacy and security.

In the event that a contractor Polamedes has worked with multiple times tragically doesn't survive a Contract, his response would vary depending on the individual. However, his default course of action would be to loot the body, scavenging any valuable resources or tools that could aid in future endeavors.

If the fallen contractor happened to be someone like Alistar, with whom Polamedes shared a deeper connection or had prior arrangements, he would honor their wishes and attempt to bring them back. This could involve any means previously discussed or agreed upon, such as resurrection rituals or employing advanced technological methods if applicable.

Regardless of who it is, Polamedes would be practical about it. If it's someone like Alistar who had asked to be brought back, he'd try to do that. He wouldn't do a big memorial, but he'd make sure to handle things respectfully and follow any requests the person had made before they died.

Pol's primary method of covering his tracks is to avoid leaving tracks at all whenever possible. In the event that he screws up and get's noticed he will attempt to remove the evidence if at all possible. He currently has an outstanding connection with the police because of an incident where a cop died. Pol's Calling card was seen but wasn't enough to trace it back to him. Still he is avoiding being known or seen and is making sure to avoid leaving his calling card anywhere until the heat dies down a bit. Pol doesn't really like cops, he sees their over reach and abuse of power as a natural end effect of the removal of privacy and anonymity. The 4th amendment is supposed to protect the people but cops often skirt it or outright ignore it. He isn't going to wage a crusade or anything but they are a group to be avoided whenever possible. 

No, screw the cops. 

If pol has a teammate that is an active murderer or something that might need to be dealt with but there are roughly zero percent of the time where something bad happens and having cops there will make it better. Polamedes sees cops as a nessicary evil. He doesn't believe in full anarchy but he thinks that cops should be at least as well regulated as pharmacy's and bus drivers and be able to be punished when they violate both the law and their mandates. Civil asset forfeiture, Qualified immunity, Military hand me downs, no knock warrants etc. Cops have just become the biggest most well protected gang in the US and trying to do anything about them essentially counts as starting a war with a well armed and well funded small nation. That inexplicitly can say that what they are doing is justified and legal. 

While Polamedes is typically pragmatic and willing to undertake challenging tasks, there are boundaries he staunchly upholds, particularly when it comes to matters of privacy and anonymity. If a harbinger were to request something repugnant for a Contract that directly contravenes these principles, Polamedes would refuse without hesitation. Protecting the privacy and security of individuals is paramount to him, and he would not compromise these values for any Contract, regardless of the consequences.

Polamedes draws a firm line when it comes to actions that infringe upon the fundamental rights of others or violate ethical standards. Anything that jeopardizes the anonymity or privacy of individuals, or entails unethical or morally reprehensible acts, is unequivocally off-limits for him. While he may be willing to push boundaries and navigate murky waters in pursuit of his goals, he remains unwavering in his commitment to upholding the principles of privacy and security, even in the face of pressure from higher powers.

Polamedes hasn't had much direct contact with harbingers. Most of his jobs have been communicated to him through messages or intermediaries. 

Polamedes distinctly remembers the old Korean woman from the "Sugar and Spice" Contract, not for any positive reasons, but rather for her unpleasant demeanor and unhelpful attitude. She came across as mean-spirited and terse, providing little to no useful information during their interaction. Her behavior left Polamedes feeling frustrated and annoyed, as he struggled to navigate the fun house of death without the guidance or assistance he expected.

While Polamedes doesn't necessarily hold a grudge against this particular Harbinger, her behavior certainly didn't endear her to him. In his eyes, she exemplified the type of character he prefers to avoid in future Contracts—someone uncooperative and unpleasant to work with. As a result, he remains cautious and wary when dealing with Harbingers, always mindful of the potential challenges they may present during the course of a Contract.