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DR. IAN MALCOLM

LIFE, UH, FINDS A WAY

Character Information

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Application

APPLICATION

Player Name/Handle: Marti
Plurk Handle:

texelations
Player Status: Current Player
Other characters: Agent North

Character Name: Ian Malcolm
Fandom: Jurassic Park
Character Journal:

whethertheyshould
OU, AU, CRAU, Canon OC, or OC? Original universe
Canon point: The ending of the first movie, as they fly away in the helicopter.
PB: The character as acted by Jeff Goldblum in the movie.

SETTING BACKGROUND
In this world, the cloning of dinosaurs is a reality, accomplished by a company called InGen via the reclamation of dinosaur blood from mosquitoes that had been crystallized in amber millions of years ago. This research was conducted mainly in order to open an amusement park, called Jurassic Park, on a small island off the coast of Costa Rica. During Malcolm’s visit to the park, its security fences, as well other security features, failed, and the dinosaurs began to roam the island freely.

HISTORY
Many thanks go out to this player for researching his early life for me.

1954: Born.
1976: Bachelor’s degree earned. Malcolm earned his Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics with a minor in Physics from UC Berkeley.
1978: First master’s degree earned. A graduate degree in Mathematics, with a focus on teaching, from the University of Texas at Austin.
1980: Second master’s degree earned. A second master’s degree, this time focusing on Darwninian evolutionary theory, from the University of Chicago.
1985: PhDs. Malcolm completed two PhD degrees concurrently at MIT, one in computational biology with a focus on Chaos Theory, and the other in Quantum Mechanics.
1993: Contacted by InGen’s lawyer. Malcolm is contacted by Donald Gennaro, a lawyer representing InGen’s investors, over concerns about John Hammond’s decision to use his research to build an amusement park. Gennaro expected Malcolm to be able to probe into and expose shortcomings of the park’s security systems, among other possible problems.
1976-1993. Failed marriages & children. Malcolm’s past is focused on more in later movies, but by the time of Jurassic Park’s events, he had already suffered three divorces and had fathered three children.
Travel to Isla Nublar. Malcolm rides on a helicopter to the park, along with paleobotanist Ellie Sattler and paleontologist Alan Grant. Traveling via jeep to the park’s headquarters, he seems to have known in advance about the company’s goal to clone dinosaurs, as his comment upon the party’s first view of a living brachiosaurus is, “You did it. You son of a bitch, you did it.”
Chaos theory. Malcolm explains his views of the efforts they are going to in building the park, including such unwise choices as attempting population control and cloning carnivorous dinos. He believes that sooner or later life will find a way, as he puts it, and that the controls they are attempting are not possible.
Failed tour. Malcolm rides with Sattler and Grant in a tour jeep, while Gennaro rides with Hammond’s grandchildren. The tour is a failure, as none of the exhibited dinosaurs actually shows for the tour group.
Sick trike. Sattler, Grant, and Malcolm exit the jeep and investigate the sick triceratops off the tour’s path. It begins to storm, and Grant and Malcolm return to the vehicle while Sattler stays to continue trying to figure out the mystery. Malcolm mentions his part relationship history at this point, stating his interest in Sattler is because he’s always trying to find “the next ex-Mrs. Malcolm.”
Tyrannosaurus. The tour jeeps stop by the tyrannosaur paddock as all hell begins to break loose—the hurricane has reached the island and the dinosaur works out the fact that the power has been cut to its fences. Gennaro makes a run for it, exiting the jeep and leaving its door open, taking shelter instead in a small restroom building nearby.
Attack. The dinosaur’s attention is drawn to the first jeep when one of the children closes the door. She shines an emergency flashlight up through the clear roof of the jeep, unable to figure out how to shut it off in her panic, and the dinosaur begins to test the jeep for weaknesses. The jeep flips over and the dinosaur steps on it, bringing its weight down on the children inside.
Contingency. Grant exits the jeep he is sharing with Malcolm with a lit flare, getting the dinosaur’s attention and then throwing it into the paddock. However, Grant had not shared what his plan was with Malcolm, who repeats Grant’s move in lighting a flare and yelling for the dino’s attention. However, instead of throwing the flare, he begins to run.
Injured. The dinosaur throws Malcolm several feet, causing his leg to be injured, but thankfully also causing him to be covered in palm fronds as the bathroom building collapses. Gennaro is spotted by the dinosaur at this point, and the dinosaur eats him.
Rescued. Sattler and Muldoon arrive at the site of the attack in an off-road jeep after sheltering through the storm for a time. They find Malcolm and he awakens and explains to them what happened. They place him in their jeep and attempt to find and rescue Grant and the kids, but they are unable to find them before the tyrannosaurus begins to return. Malcolm yells for them to run to the jeep, and they manage to drive away just in time.
Communication. Sattler crosses the park to turn the power back on, and Malcolm helps her find her way through the building via radio, doing a much better job than the flustered Hammond.
Escape. Malcolm is placed in the jeep once again as John drives to the visitor’s center to pick up the rest of the survivors, which include Sattler, Grant, and the kids. Malcolm is witness as Hammond agrees with Grant’s statement that he has decided not to endorse the park.

PERSONALITY
Ian Malcolm is an incredibly intelligent person, that is one thing that cannot be denied. It’s not just that he put the work in to obtain two master’s degrees and two PhDs—the fact is the man downright knows what he is talking about. For this reason, he is very often right when making predictions in the scientific realm, a fact that he finds most unfortunate, considering the shenanigans that he’s found himself caught up in. Malcolm is proud of his title and refers to himself as a chaotician, not a mathematician. His area of expertise is the unpredictable, the unusual, that which cannot be counted upon.

For this reason it might seem even more remarkable his lack of emotional intelligence. He’s brash and blunt, laughing when others may be trying to remain more decorous, pounding the table to make his point when others are trying to be more discreet. This is also seen in his abundance of romantic relationships—by the time of the events of the first movie, he’s 39 with three failed marriages and three children. He’s not apologetic about failing at keeping these relationships together, instead joking that he’s “always on the lookout for the next ex-Mrs. Malcolm.”

Malcolm’s demeanor and outward affect project the sort of cocky confidence that others refer to as that of a “rockstar”, and indeed, with his tendency to wear black leather and off-beat fashions, he seems to every bit play the part. He’s not afraid to make his opinion known, especially when he believes human lives are at stake, and this is especially true when Gennaro’s opinion flips to believing the park will make them a fortune—despite the fact that Gennaro is the one who hired him to be there, Malcolm remains steadfast in stating his opinion that the park is dangerous.

Because of his steadfastness and his compassion for humankind, he will sometimes make wrong decisions, rash decisions. Exiting the safe confines of a jeep and waving a road flare at a tyrannosaurus rex? Probably the stupidest thing he’s ever done. But he had in mind the fact that the lives of children were at stake, so he did it without hesitation. This seems somewhat at odds with his brainiac reputation, but really, everything Malcolm has done in his life has been in the hopes of saving lives. He just has a real problem with getting there in time.

Malcolm has a serious problem with capitalists. It’s not said outright in this manner in the movie, but he’s very concerned and upset with the notion that the scientists working for InGen were making scientific progress by advancing the cloning technology they were working on. As the famous quote from him in the movie states, “[Y]our scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could that they didn't stop to think if they should.” Progress doesn’t necessarily mean proceeding with the next step in such a process, according to Malcolm, and he goes on to believe and preach that an abundance of caution would be a much better way to handle the prospects of making such discoveries in the future.

CANON POWERS
Ian Malcolm can talk in numbers. No, not really.

POWER SELECTION
Noospheric Powers: Malcolm will display powers that will ultimately get him termed a mathemagician, doing things such as counting cards with barely a thought. Although Malcolm often bemoans his ability to be “right all the time” this power will magnify and intensify the effect, making it so that he will be highly sought-after by the higher-ups at Jorgmund. He can predict near-impossible random effects, such as weather effects and when a blow is going to strike in a fight. The predictive modeling he runs in his head is near-deadly accurate.

He will also gain the ability to fight in a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon style, with levitation and powerful kicks. This style is known for its mathematical beauty.

ABILITIES
Malcolm is proficient in survival skills, mathematics, and bullshitting intelligent people into agreeing with him. He knows how to navigate university politics. He’s an incorrigible flirt. He’s good with children.

SETTING/SUITABILITY

➤ How do you expect your character to respond to the setting? Even if they plan to rebel in the long term, will they be able to at least obey enough to not get shocked to death? Malcolm will start out pretty rebellious toward his Jorgmund overlords, but will soon learn that’s a great way to get shocked to death. He will then begin planning in the underground communication networks for rebellion, instead of being outright with it.

➤ What do you hope to do with your character long-term? Being a sassmaster in all situations, mainly.

➤ Does your character currently have skills that would allow them to adapt, survive, and do the heroic things being asked of them? If your character doesn't, do you think they'd have the capacity to learn quickly? Malcolm definitely does, even though he sometimes doesn’t go about it the right way. In his opinion a badly-formed plan that’s already been executed is a better plan to follow than one the others are sitting around trying to perfect.

➤ If they're not used to cooperating with others, what makes you think they'll be able to adapt to cooperating with the group? Malcolm is used to being the odd one out, but he’s able to get along and cooperate when the occasion calls for it. He’s just kind of used to sticking out like a sore thumb, is all.

➤ Will your character have long-term plans to rebel against Jorgmund? If so, how? Will they betray the other PCs and cooperate with Jorgmund? If so, how do you plan to handle the negative CR that might arise? Malcolm knows how to stay alive, which will be foremost on his mind, which will mean towing the company line for as long as he can stand it. However, Malcolm despises rampant capitalism and will be unable to help himself from figuring out who’s leading this kind of plan and joining in.

SAMPLES

Network Sample

- Do you think a leader should be feared or liked?

[ Malcolm smirks, a curl to his lip dominating his expression. He leans on one armrest with his bent elbow. He thinks this line of questioning is absurd and doesn’t intend to make things easy on the interviewer. ]

How about neither? A leader is there to lead, not to make friends or foes. I mean, look, sometimes you might end up with a list of each, but if you’re doing your job right, it’s pretty irrelevant.

- Success, integrity, or friendship, pick two and explain why?

[ Malcolm shakes his head. ]

Integrity and friendship, no question. I mean, what, what good is success if you step on everyone along the way? And, and how are you going to keep your integrity that way?

[ The polygraph seems to indicate to the interviewer then that Malcolm is lying; he gives an outright frown at being informed of this. ]

Excuse me? You expect me to change my answer based on what that machine tells you? I already gave you my answer. No, I’m not changing it.

- What are the qualities you like least and most in your parents?

[ Malcolm’s eyebrows go up. ]

Oh, now, we’re getting personal, are we? Sorry, I’m not interested. No, I said I’m not interested in answering your petty questions anymore.

[ Not for the first time and certainly for what won’t be the last, Malcolm’s shock collar is brought to bear on him. He screams, writhing, but continues to refuse to answer the question. ]

Prose Sample

Ian Malcolm is not a performer. At least not in the way they expect him to be today. He likes performing, but on his own terms, and in his own territory. So when he’s brought into the gym and told to show off for management, he responds by crossing his arms and refusing. He’s made powerless shortly after this by the shock collar, leaving him collapsed on the floor and breathless, crouching on his knees and gasping.

He looks up at the stage, where the company management is mingling and not taking note of him. There's upward of a dozen of them—actually, fourteen, he knows immediately, and without counting. That’s kind of weird. He glances to his side, where a bow and a quiver of arrows hangs off a target. There are twenty arrows inside the quiver. Once again, he knows without counting or trying. He frowns, waving off the person who’s in control of his shock collar, threatening to injure him again. He rises slowly to his feet.

“I can predict the weather tomorrow,” he says, brashly and without preamble.

And no one takes any note of him, once again.

“Hey!” he yells, clapping his hands several times. “Hey, hey! I said I can predict the weather tomorrow!”

“So can we,” someone on stage says dismissively, and they all laugh.

“Try me,” he says. “Let me see the conditions outside and I’ll tell you what it’ll look like tomorrow.”

“You’re just trying to come up with a way to escape,” someone accused.

“If I wanted to escape I’d just go,” he says. “You think I care about your shitty shock collar?”

(He definitely cares about that shock collar. One demonstration had been enough.)

Someone’s curiosity is piqued by that, at least. They lead him to the upper observation deck, and he makes a prediction. One that turns out to be right, as it turns out.

After this he can’t get Jorgmund to leave him alone.

FINAL QUESTIONS

➤ Will your character suspect some kind of guiding intelligence has brought them to the game? Or will they think it was random or done by Jorgmund?

He’ll believe it was either some kind of random happenstance, or that it was done by Jorgmund.

Permissions

Warnings:

[OOC]

Backtagging: I prefer to play out what I can of a thread in a fairly timely manner. If it's looking like what is happening between our characters is going to have a major impact on their CR longterm, I'll keep backtagging for some months, but for the most part if it's beyond the current plot and it's not going much of anywhere I'm liable to lose interest.
Threadhopping:I'm all for this in network posts as long as things are open (i.e. there's no indication the transmission is private). For logs, I'd like to be advised you're going to do this, but will most likely be open to it.
Fourthwalling: I'm open to it with this character, but run it by me first.
Off limits: noncon/rape
Warn first: I don't really have any triggers, though I am uncomfortable with elaborate descriptions of gore and such. Putting a cw in the subject line for anything upsetting should cover me.

[IC]

Physical affection: Malcolm will take this as a cue that a greeting hug upon every encounter is welcomed, so be sure you want to set the precedent.
Physical violence: Malcolm is not a fighter, but he is physically fit and will do his best to hold his own in a fight.
Romance: Very yes. Malcolm is an incorrigible flirt and is always looking for a new partner.
Use of telepathy/mind reading: Malcolm has no reason to know how to defend himself from such.
CRAU recognition: I'm open to it with this character, but run it by me first.
Facetwins: I'm open to it with this character, but run it by me first.

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Links

Notes

Inventory:

Firewater: This cheap liquor burns a little as it goes down and gives the imbiber the ability to spit a stream of fire or one large fireball. Once quaffed, the owner can hold the effects in for no more than half an hour. There's only enough for one person.

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