Darius Caxton

Darius Caxton

Eman Esfandi as Darius Caxton.

Full name	Darius Michel Caxton / də'raɪəs 'kækstən /
Other names	Nicknames: Dar; DMC
Born	15 October 2110, in Ankara Age: 39
Gender identity	Man, Asexual
Occupation	Independent Scholar of Linguistics
Locality	Fez

Characteristics

Height	5 ft 10 in
Weight	70 kg
Hair	Black
Eyes	Green

Cybernetic Enhancements

Spryt's name	Grendel
Spryt's status	Rooted
Other enhancements	None

Darius is an independent scholar who struggles to survive in a world dominated by the corporations that most people work for. After stumbling upon the discovery of an ancient text, he escapes with Jael. Racing to prevent the pandemic, Darius discovers a deep admiration for Jael and M3747r0n, two people who have given up much of what makes them human in order to survive. Darius eventually realizes that the only way to save the rest of humanity is to give up part of his own.

Darius wants to save humanity from the virus he has unearthed, despite humanity's flaws. This desire puts him into conflict with the powerful megacorporations that run the world, and his friends who question his faith in humanity.

• Character's goal: Darius wants to save humanity from the virus that is wiping out the ability to communicate while also understanding the truth about human development.
• Character's motivation: Darius believes humanity is worth saving, no matter its flaws, but also has a burning desire to understand how humanity became such a flawed creature to begin with.
• Character's conflict: Darius struggles against the oppressive power of the megacorporations that want to suppress the truth and control the virus; he also struggles against the cynicism and apathy of his friends and colleagues in his quest for the truth.
• Character's epiphany: Darius realizes that the external forces that have shaped and manipulated the development of humanity are not as important as the potential results of that development.

Character Synopsis

Darius's recent research efforts have all proven futile, leaving him wondering if everything that can be known about the history of human language is already known -- if all the artifacts have already been found. He is at a low point in his academic career, uncertain the point of a scholar when there is nothing more to be said. In need of tokens and credit, he takes a job from the newly appointed Magistrate of Fez, P. Creedence Windsor, to find another scholar who has gone missing. The missing scholar is an old friend of Darius who is easily able to track him to a dig site near Lake Elton, south of the Province of Moscow. When Darius arrives at the dig site, he finds Hassan alone and unable to communicate, and he finds an ancient stone tablet with writing on it that he cannot identify. Before he is able to make sense of the scene, he is confronted by Jael, a bounty hunter sent to retrieve the stone tablet. However, before they can do anything, they are both attacked by a Ball Tech strike force. Hassan is killed, but Jael is able to save Darius and the tablet. They escape the strike force on horseback.

Hiding out overnight in a ruined government building, Darius begins to analyze the tablet, scanning it into his virtual environment. He feels he understands the significance of the tablet even though he is not able to accept that significance. He relates the fable that the tablet tells about a host betraying his guest and accepts that he has to trust Jael in order to survive, even though he doubts her ethics. When Jael says she needs to update her agent on the mission, he comments that he has no one to update, that he, like Hassan, can disappear without anyone noticing.

The next day, Jael's ship arrives. Although Darius wants to take the table to ElCorp, Jael insists on delivering both him and the tablet to the TS Group. On board the ship and headed to the headquarters for the TS Group, Darius offers an explanation of why the tablet is so special -- if it is truly a written form of the Proto-Indo European language, then human understanding of the evolution of language has been completely wrong. During this discussion, M3747r0n appears to Darius and tells him to stop what he is doing. Darius tries to talk to M3747r0n while also explaining to Jael who M3747r0n is. M3747r0n tells Darius if he doesn't delete his files and surrender the tablet, The Low Gods will come after them. Darius and Jael argue about how to respond. Before they can come to an agreement, Jael's ship becomes is hit by a rocket. She and Darius bail out before the ship crashes into the Malá Fatra mountains of Slovakia.

Taken in by a group of the Unseen, Jael tells Darius about the virus that is spreading around the planet. Darius believes his actions have led to this growing pandemic. Jael wonders if destroying the tablet would stop the virus, to which Darius reacts with scorn. He can't fathom destroying something that old and unique. The Unseen ask them not to use any networked technology while they are with them, and Jael says keeping their Spryts off will help them stay hidden. Darius, whose Spryt is rooted, pretends to turn his off, but keeps it in a special incognito mode he has programmed. He tells Jael the story of how he met M3747r0n, and in the process she learns that his Spryt is rooted. In conversations around the campfire, Jael talks about growing up with the Unseen, which Darius always thought were an urban legend. Darius, who often feels overwhelmed by technology, imagines a life without it. At night, Darius waits to hear from M3747r0n, who eventually explains that The Low Gods did not attack the ship. M3747r0n and Darius discuss how the virus might be linked to the tablet, but disagree on how a cure might be found. They also discuss Jael. Although M3747r0n distrusts her, Darius convinces him to help root her Spryt because he knows he can never repay her for rescuing him and because wonders what she could be capable of with that freedom.

Soon, Darius realizes that the tablet is a written form of the Proto-Indo-European language, which should not exist. One day, they witness a drone battle over the region where Jael's ship crashed. Jael is able to identify the drones as belonging to the TS Group, ElCorp, and Ball Tech, three of the most powerful corporations on the planet. M3747r0n feeds Darius information during that battle about the corporate wrangling that has been going on. Although the corporations had long ago signed a non-aggression pact, there have been ongoing attempts to dominate. M3747r0n believes ElCorp's interest in the tablet is a part of that conflict. When the drone battle puts the community of the Unseen at risk, Darius convinces himself that turning over the tablet is the most logical response.

When M3747r0n shares that the virus has reached pandemic level, Darius tries to convince Jael that they should deliver the tablet to ElCorp (he agrees to split his fee with her) even though failing to come through for the TS Group will mean a bad Ca rating for Jael. Jael resists and suggests the go to the TS Group, especially since it is based in the Province of Budapest, which is only a four day ride from their location. Darius resists at first, but eventually agrees, despite the protestations of M3747r0n. Increasing, Darius is struggling with the guilt of having contributed to the virus. At Magnus's secure lab in Budapest, Darius learns more about the virus and the almost random way it is spreading around the planet. Magnus, who has always been paranoid, has been locked aways watching and cataloging report about the virus. Magnus's information gives Darius a better understanding of how the virus is not only taking away the ability to communicate but also somehow connected to language. The conversation leads to a discussion about how people learn to use language. Jael grew up speaking a pigin form of Mandarin. Magnus, like many people in Budapest, learned Hungarian as his first language. Darius, on the other hand, was already fluent in five languages by the time he was seven years old (English, Mandarin, Arabic, Hindi, Russian). The meeting is disrupted by an attack by another Ball Tech strike force.

Jael leads the group through the tunnels underneath Budapest. Before they can reach her agent's office, they are confronted by Kiyaara Lahl, the head of security for ElCorp. She tells them the TS Group and Ball Tech are now essentially the same corporation under the control of The Low Gods, attempting to use the virus as a means of gaining more power. Through this lie, she convinces the group, Darius in particular, to accept the protection of ElCorp. Kiyaara herds the group into a mobile Faraday cage to protect them from the Low Gods. They are told to keep their Spryts off as they are escorted to ElCorp headquarters. Darius is impressed by how seriously ElCorp is taking the crisis and believes he has made the right decision coming to Windsor. He explains that all of his research, as well as a 3D scan of the tablet, are stored in a Mnemonic chip in his brain. Inside ElCorp's branch office, Darius is separated from Jael, Magnus, and Zara. In an awkward hug, Darius whispers to Jael that she should speak the true name of her Spryt.

Darius is then escorted into a grand meeting room where he meets with Creedence Windsor, who talks incessantly about how Darius's efforts will save humanity. Darius is, as usual, unimpressed but still believes the core message. Creedence also chastises Darius for the "dangerous" company he's been keeping. Darius is then taken into a hallway by an armed guard to have the data extracted from his memory chip. As they are walking, all of the guards are rapidly killed. Darius sees Jael running toward him, guns drawn. Jael grabs Darius and they leap through a window, even though they are 200 stories up. They tumble into a ship being controlled by Jael's rooted Spryt, Bashe. Darius straps himself in as Jael uses the ship to destroy an entire fleet of drones and causes the city's defenses to damage the city itself, especially the ElCorp building. In a final assault, Jael fires rockets into the upper floors of the building before flying away.

With their Spryts rooted, Darius and Jael are able to stay hidden for short bursts of time. Hiding in the isolation of Greenland, Darius continues to consider the puzzle of the tablet while Jael reprograms the ship to her special needs. M3747r0n appears to Darius and tells him of the disruption within the Low Gods. A rift is forming, with some wanting to allow the virus to cripple humanity and others recognizing the threat it contains to their collective. Darius asks M3747r0n's advice, and M3747r0n admits that the Low Gods do not understand how the tablet works because they no longer understand human language -- they are simply able to generate it when necessary. The conversation is interrupted by an attack by Kiyaara and a squadron of android soldiers.

Darius directs Jael to land the ship near the dig site where Hassan discovered the tablet. Jael resists because the location is already known to Lahl and others. Darius insists that the site may help him better understand the virus. Eventually, Darius is able to understand the context of the fable on the tablet [The Golden Rule >> Guest=Host]. The virus is not in the tablet but in human language itself. This is why the Low Gods have not been affected by the virus and why they cannot understand how it works -- because they no longer understand how human language works. Once again, Kiyaara's team arrive. M3747r0n disappears to try to disable the androids but leaves Darius with a set of coordinates and instructions to travel without technology. While M3747r0n and other Low Gods engage the androids, Jael and Kiyaara fight. Darius is left feeling helpless as he hides from the battle. He realizes it is his own human physicality that is preventing him from solving his problems.

After the battle, Darius and the wounded Jael travel to the coordinates provided by M3747r0n with their Spryts turned off. They complete the last 100 miles on horseback. Throughout the trip, Darius is distracted, often speaking to himself in different languages. At night, though, he is able to tend to Jael's wounds. After three days, they arrive at the coordinates provided by M3747r0n and are greeted by a teenaged girl who leads them into an underground bunker. There they find M3747r0n's body in a complex life-support system tended to by several teenagers, who explain how they tend to his body in order to keep it alive. Darius and Jael are able to reactivate their Spryts and then see M3747r0n. Me747r0n explains some of the religious nature of the Low Gods, including the limit of only 121 members. He says he and Darius have arrived at the same conclusion. M3747r0n's novices disconnect his body from the life-support system and prepare it for Darius, who after some awkward words to Jael, becomes the newest Low God, taking the name 3L3L37h (Eleleth).

Biography

1st Fifth (Ages 0-19)

Formation & Dependency (Crisis: Security vs. Uncertainty)

2nd Fifth (Ages 20-39)

Productivity & Social Validation (Crisis: Status vs. Stagnation)

3rd Fifth (Ages 40-59)

Reinforcement & Adaptation (Crisis: Relevance vs. Obsolescence)

4th Fifth (Ages 60-79)

Power vs. Decline (Crisis: Authority vs. Marginalization)

5th Fifth (Ages 80-99)

Legacy vs. Dissolution (Crisis: Transcendence vs. Irrelevance)

Relationships

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Characteristics

Physical Appearance

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Personality

Darius is fluent to some degree in 47 languages:

• Conversational Fluency: Mandarin, English, Spanish, Hindi, Bengali, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Korean, Turkish, Persian, Swahili, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese, Dutch, Arabic
• Academic Fluency: Classical Chinese, Sanskrit, Latin, Ancient Greek, Urdu, Yiddish, Afrikaans, Armenian, Proto-Indo-European, Old Church Slavonic, Middle English, Old French, Proto-Germanic, Proto-Celtic, Ancient Hebrew
• Research Fluency: Sumerian, Akkadian, Ancient Egyptian, Phoenician, Aramaic, Coptic, Hittite, Tocharian, Ge'ez, Cherokee, Navajo, Georgian

Health

Darius is not particularly healthy, as he is generally too distracted by his work to stay fit. In addition to the standard environmental risks, he suffers from a number of low-level health issues like anemia, allergies, and eczema. His Spryt, Grendel, often needs to repeatedly remind him to take his morning pill.

Standard Morning Pill

• Radiation-Specific Additions
  • N-acetylcysteine (600 mg) + α-lipoic acid (300 mg): Potent free radical scavengers for ionizing radiation defense.
  • Melatonin (0.3 mg delayed-release): Low-dose nighttime antioxidant to enhance DNA repair mechanisms.
• Environmental Buffers
  • Selenium methionine → Sodium selenite (200 mcg): Higher bioavailability for glutathione peroxidase synthesis.
  • Astaxanthin (6 mg ↑ from 4 mg): Enhanced lipid-soluble UV/radiation shield.
• Solar Exposure Mitigation
  • Nicotinamide (500 mg): Reduces UV-induced immunosuppression and skin cancer risk.
  • Polypodium leucotomos extract (240 mg): Fern-derived systemic photoprotectant for epidermal DNA.
• Anemia & Eczema Synergy
  • Ferrous bisglycinate (27 mg elemental iron) + Vitamin C (500 mg): High-bioavailability iron with enhanced absorption; reduces nickel uptake implicated in eczema flare-ups.
  • Zinc carnosine (20 mg): Gut-skin axis stabilization; inhibits histamine release from mast cells.
• Allergy Immune Modulation
  • Quercetin phytosome (250 mg) + Stinging nettle extract (300 mg): Natural mast cell stabilizers targeting IL-4/IL-13 pathways for pollen/dust reactions.
  • Holotransferrin-bound lactoferrin (100 mg): Whey-derived iron carrier that primes regulatory T-cells against dander antigens.
• Epidermal Barrier Fortification
  • Ceramide NP (10 mg) + Evening primrose oil (500 mg GLA): Stratum corneum lipid matrix repair; reduces transepidermal water loss.
  • Vitamin D3 (2000 IU) + Vitamin A palmitate (3000 IU): Keratinocyte differentiation and antimicrobial peptide synthesis.

Delivery System

• Quadric-phasic release
  • Gastric burst: Iron + vitamin C (fasted absorption).
  • Enteric-coated antioxidants: NAC/α-lipoic acid + astaxanthin.
  • Colon-targeted: Probiotics + quercetin/nettle.
  • Nighttime micro-pill: Melatonin + zinc carnosine (printed as separate ingestible).
• Edible authentication: QR code printed with riboflavin ink (doubles as photo-protectant).

Complementary Protocols

• 3D-printed nasal filters:
  • Hydrogel_base
  • xylitol(15%)
  • cellulose_nanofibers(10%)  
• Evening topical emulsion:
  • Hydrogel with colloidal oatmeal
  • ceramide NP
  • Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (iron chelator)

Augmentations

Although Darius

Level 0: Baseline Integrations (Universal)

Darius received his Spryt at the standard age of 10. He named it Grendel almost immediately, after the monster in his favorite story, the ancient tale of Beowulf. However, unlike most children, he took to the Spryt slowly, often forgetting it was there. His parents were concerned that there was an incompatibility. When he was 18, he decided that he needed to fully embrace the technology and used it to teach himself about it. By the time he was 20, he had surpassed all of his friends in his ability to use the Spryt.

When he 32, he was contacted by M3747r0n, who asked for his help understanding Mesopotamian cuneiform. After Darius had completed the requested translation, M3747r0n taught him how to root his Spryt. As a result, Darius is able to manipulate the device in countless ways. In particular, he is able to make it broadcast false information about himself to other Spryts. He has never taken full advantage of the rooting.

Level 1: Basic Integration (Consumer-grade)

Darius has two 1PB (petabyte) Mnemosyne Series 9 memory chips implanted in his brain that he uses as a repository when doing research.