Dreameater

Previously a prestigious psychologist associated with Columbia, Dreameater is much more casual about his work than initially expected. He spends his days at Rhodes Island lamenting over the past and sleeping excessively. It can be difficult to convince him to get up; though his food motivation is nowhere near the level of Ceobe or Ethan, he's notably fond of mango sticky rice, and it serves as a decent motivator on bad days. He often appears listless and with little interest for whatever situation he's in, but there is an intelligent man under the shell; it just needs to be broken open. After an excessive amount of prompting, Dreameater does make some effort to form relationships with other operators. He enjoys baseball and Columbian movies, and does find joy in sharing these interests with others, even if he refuses to admit it.

Doctor Kamil Czajkowski was not necessarily well-known in his field, but the young psychologist managed to make enough of an impact to alert Columbia officials to his capabilities. His professional interests laid in psychological studies, but he showed a talent for the physical aspect of the brain as well. Despite having no degree in neurology, he was offered a job in 'Project Blackbird', a small team of scientists intended to control the effects of the country's developing use of originium in warfare. Kamil, with no previous oripathy experience, did not work alone; his talent was only that, and he could not be trusted to be left alone with Infected. He refuses to go in depth on his mentor past the fact he was an older liberi. Kamil learned very quickly, and developed a fascination with the concept of curing oripathy in the brain. If he could stop the psychological effects of the disease, it would severely increase the quality of life for Infected. His motivations, despite the way they sound, were less than noble; the young Kamil did not do this for the sake of the Infected, but for praise from his superiors. His work mostly involved the utilization of psychoactive drugs to monitor how the infected brain reacted, and if the abilities of more powerful Arts users could be controlled this way. It was not uncommon for test subjects to perish in their laboratory. It was after his last failed attempt at a cure that he was infected- understanding of the infectiousness of corpses was not well understood at the time, and Kamil inadvertently came into direct contact with dispersed dust. Already having had doubts about his work, he saw his infection as an opportunity to escape. It was not long afterward he came across Rhodes Island operatives in the infected district. He had no personal relationship with the other Columbia-associated operators, and has no desire whatsoever to get to know them.

Despite being born in Columbia, Kamil's family lineage is complicated, to say the least. On top of his own lack of understanding over his own race, his family name is notably Kazimierzan, despite his extended family being native to Yen. While this kind of lineage is not uncommon in Rhodes Island, it does make it difficult to find information on any racial traits he may have, as he's currently the only member available. According to Kamil, he shared many similarities with his mainly Liberi friend group during his youth, with both having similar natural sleep cycles especially. He's also reported having had a different hair color until puberty- he claimed it was brown with white patches before turning the black and white it is now. Hair color change in youth is not unheard of, especially in Liberi, but his physiology is nothing alike. Research is being done to figure out how to handle him- at the moment, medics are using Ceratos and Kurantas as bases. He doesn't share personal information easily- little is known about his home life or even how he was employed by Rhine Lab in the first place. His doctorate is in psychology, but he refuses to let people call him a doctor, saying that title should be reserved for people who deserve it... and that 'Doctor Czajkowski' sounds terrible anyway.

Dreameater rarely shows skin. It's difficult to notice, as he's far from the only operator to be fond of jackets, especially in this climate, but it's incredibly rare for anyone without medical training to see more than his head at any time. It's not clear why he's like this. Interviews are excessively difficult on the best of days, when the only risk is his falling asleep mid-sentence, with nothing said on his 'bad' days when he's often unwilling to talk at all. From what has been gathered, he was researching possible cures for Oripathy for Rhine Lab during his employment there. The goal was, in his words, not particularly for the benefit of the Infected of Columbia, instead for the safety of Columbian government officials and allies. Still, it was something, and it paid well enough to keep him quiet. His Oripathy came not from exposure to originium samples, but from a corpse- the final 'fuck you' from his last victim, in his words. Dreameater was, at the time, under the impression originium crystals consistently took hours to disintegrate on the Infected dead, and so had no protections in place when transporting fresh corpses to the morgue. The glowing crystal- along with freshly made dust- embedded itself in his left shoulder, and he has since lost coordination in that arm. Chronic pain is common in Infected, and though most are quiet about it, almost all have accomidations in place to assist. Dreameater has refused most of these, but his staff has been designed to double as a cane when necessary.

What Kamil does not know, of course, is that we do our own research. As a researcher under the direction of the Columbian government, he utilized psychoactive drugs to find a way to stop the spread of oripathy. While it's well-known oripathy mainly spreads internally via the circulatory system, most adverse effects are sourced from the brain- symptoms that, even when the infection is halted by intense treatment, continue regardless. It was believed among officials that protecting themselves was of utmost importance; after all, using the Infected as weapons put them at risk as commanders. With one team of scientists focused on the weaponization of the Infected, they needed another to protect them from their own weapons.

To say that Kamil was under the impression his work was for the good of everyone is a half-truth. It is true, of course, that his heart laid in the right place. It is also true that he believed it was for ultimately for the greater good- the discovery of a cure here would benefit the Infected that he did not think about in his day to day life before this. It is false, however, that he did not know who his discoveries were intended for. It is also false that he considered the deaths he caused to be negligible, contrary to what some wary operators believe. Although the government officials that watched him thought of the loss of subjects as a necessary evil, Kamil was horribly affected by each one. Of course, none of this justifies his actions. He was, in the end, still tempted by money. He did, in the end, still kill people. He did, in the end, still do nothing to alert the public of what his employers did. It is up to the Doctor whether he is worth forgiving.

• His race- Apiri- is vitually unheard of in Rhodes Island. Kamil has to deal with many, many questions.
• He's surprisingly food motivated. While his quest for a meal isn't as dramatic as Ethan's or Ceobe's, he can still be tempted with a ripe fruit.
• He is not allowed to be in the same room as Aak.