Cameron Carier

The only child of the wealthy Carier family, Cameron's been shy ever since they were young. Born with a throat defect that made it hard for them to speak, they'd always preferred being on their own, knowing that most strangers expected them to talk when they found it painful or difficult to. Their parents taught them sign language, allowing them to communicate at home; at school, however, they were often bullied for their silence and for their clumsiness, causing them to distance themself even further from the world around them.

It didn't take long for Cameron's parents to withdraw them from public school, deciding to homeschool them entirely to avoid the bullying. Most of Cameron's childhood was spent in the company of their parents or their tutors. They quickly took to art and engineering, with their birth parent encouraging them to express themself through visual images and their step-parent teaching them everything they knew about electronics. Cameron had the natural ability to quickly and easily visualize things in three-dimensional space in their head, being able to translate almost everything they imagined directly into paper and ink. They spent nearly all of their free time drawing, using art as a medium for expression when their words wouldn't do the trick.

Still, though, their parents worried about the fact that Cameron had never had friends their age. They ultimately decided to adopt Lucius and Laverne, hoping that the presence of the two siblings would allow Cameron to have a bit more of a support system in their life. Cameron was incredibly shy around the two of them, often avoiding their presence or worrying that, as the "older sibling," they'd be expected to be some kind of mentor or guide or person for them to talk to.

Somewhat to their relief, Lucius would shut himself off from the rest of the family. Laverne, however, would continually approach them, learning sign language from the other Cariers just so that they could talk. It was the first time that somebody outside of Cameron's birth family had been willing to accommodate for their inability to speak -- and Cameron, touched, would slowly let Laverne into their life. The two of them developed a vibrant inner world, with Laverne telling stories that Cameron would bring to life through their drawings. Too intimidated by Lucius's hostility to ever grow close to him, Laverne and Cameron would slowly begin to act more like siblings than Lucius and Laverne ever did -- making Cameron happy, despite their lingering guilt for having "stolen" Laverne away from her brother.

During their college years, Cameron would throw themself into the world of engineering and robotics, eventually manufacturing an electrolarynx for themself for their senior thesis. They still preferred to sign, of course -- but as their parents grew more and more sickly with age, Cameron was glad that they had the opportunity to comfort them with their new voice. They would live with Laverne in their family mansion for several years, developing their stories together while caring for their parents. In their spare time, they'd continue to work on increasingly-complex projects, experimenting with creating robotic animals, prosthetic body parts, hologram technology, and more -- even if they were too shy to ever patent anything, despite Laverne's encouragement.

When their parents finally passed, however, Laverne's words would finally break through their shell. Applying for the Research Division in the Virion Project, they were hired immediately once the other essence engineers saw their impressive portfolio. Even though they were hesitant about reaching out beyond the walls of their mansion, with Laverne's help, they knew that they were ready to confront whatever challenges awaited the two of them.

Cameron was seemingly hired at the perfect time. After only a few months to get adjusted to their new workflow, the Outbreak Incident would force them to put their practice constructing prototype prosthetics to work. They would spend days in the workshop at a time, putting together a new prosthetic arm for Duncan, an Investigator who'd gotten seriously injured during the Incident itself. They were relieved when it worked -- and thankful that their work would actually be helping somebody else.

As a member of the Research Division, Cameron throws themself wholeheartedly into their work. They're particularly glad that they get to spend time with Laverne; the fact that the other members of their Division never pressure them to speak is a source of comfort for them, as well, that they'd always thought they'd be deprived of when they were a child. Even though it intimidates them to be looked up to by interns like Lisza, it also flatters them to an extent. They're glad to finally exercise all the art and engineering skills that their parents had taught them when they were younger. Somewhere out there, Cameron hopes that they're proud.