Basic Information
Name: Samantha Cole
Nickname/Alias/Etc: Upgrade
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Height: 5' 7"
Weight: 115 lbs
Home District: Courtbridge
Appearance
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Blue
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Physical Appearance: Sam is slender, light on her feet, and built to favor speed over strength. Her posture and body language typically suggest submission, but those who know her well enough will recognize that as an act. The simple fact is that keeping your head down means fewer cameras catching a direct look at your face. As far as posture goes...if she can use body language to satisfy the egos of others, that just means fewer confrontations.
Her movements are methodical and precise, whether out of a need for careful attention during her tinkering or just being comfortable with economy of motion. There isn't a lot of fidgeting or wasted energy. The one thing she does move constantly is her eyes.
Whatever else can be said about her, Sam is always watching. She knows where the exits are, she knows how the people are moving around her, and she can probably spot the best places to stash something quickly. Sometimes it helps to be observant.
Her hair is often kept under her hood, but when it is visible, it is obvious she cuts it herself. There's no thought toward style or fashion, whatsoever. It's as if she only cuts it to get it out of her way.
Attire: Black tee or sports bra, black hoodie, black cargo pants, black steel-toe work boots. Never leaves home without her messenger bag full of goodies.
Her "style", if you want to call it that, really has no bearing at all on what's fashionable. She is interested in function alone. The choice of color is simple: It's more difficult to catch somebody at night when they wear dark colors. Plus, it was free; people really should watch their laundry more closely.
Much of her clothing is therefore in varying states of wear, and almost every garment has been modified in some way for concealment options. Where one might expect to find a weapon, however, one would instead find a soldering iron, a few lengths of wire, some clippers, maybe a battery or two...
Additionally, Sam appears to have a special hatred of beauty products. Not only does she refuse to wear cosmetics, but she often mocks those who do. Her appearance has no bearing on her talents as a tinkerer, therefore it is not considered an asset.
Personality
Innate & Outward Personality: Gruff, snarky, tactless, with just a hint of scorn. If it does not directly relate to computers or machines, she quickly loses interest. Misanthropic, bordering on hateful.
Sam's particular social situation is only partly due to her ability, owing the rest to her being treated like damaged goods by her parents. She learned at an early age that all humans are disposable, and has taken it to heart in recent years. You can almost see it in her eyes; the fact that she does not consider people to be people, but...more like walking resources. Unpredictable, uncooperative, inefficient walking resources.
In terms of mannerisms, Sam may seem unkempt and chaotic to others, but her workspace is her safe place. Sane, logical, coordinated, even in its perpetual state of organized chaos. Moving just one circuit board will set her off on an hour rant about how nothing is sacred anymore.
Hobbies/Interests: Electronics, physical sciences, computer programming, general machining, robotics.
Skills/Talents: Infiltration/anti-security, invention, scrounging, eye for detail.
Goals/Motivation: "I don't really plan that far ahead. Right now, the only thing I want to motivate is you, out of my shop, so I can get this done. Shoo."
History/Bio: From an early age, Sam showed signs of brilliant intellect. She would often dis-assemble random devices in an effort to determine how they worked. Unfortunately, this led her parents to question her social development, ultimately causing them to ship her off to a behavioral health center in a larger city. Sam has since escaped that facility and has been using her gifts to survive on the street. You can be paid quite handsomely for jailbreaking an iPhone.
Relationships
Family: Mother (Attourney), father (Head of Marketing, Pharmatech Chemical), no other available data.
Dynamics: None, yet.
Abilities
Power Class: Cerebral
Power: Technomind
A Technomind, also known as a Technocrat, is a person endowed with an instinctual knowledge of technology. The exact function of this ability is theorized to be a form of psionic echolocation; specifically that a resonant telepathic pulse reflects differently from different components, making a complete map of any device possible in an instant. Combined with an instinct for form and function, this ability allows its user to instantly identify the purpose of any given device, as well as diagnose any potential problems or damage and formulate a repair strategy. It is simultaneously an ability to decipher technological components as well as an innate, natural knowledge of technological structures. It is not so much an inherent knowledge of existing technology as much as an instinct for the principles behind it.
The ability may be used at range, but with added difficulty. Direct physical contact is the most reliable method for use. There may be other related abilities, such as remote reading of computer files, but none are yet present in Sam's case. In general, the ability represents an understanding of a given device, but it may grow to involve control over those devices as well. Such control would theoretically be achieved by supplying resonant psionic pulses to induce electronic current in a given device. Note that this will not work for anything purely mechanical; the devices must be controlled by way of electricity.
This ability causes such stresses on the brain that information gathered this way is permanently burned into her memory. As a side effect, sometimes other information (sounds, smells, simple facts, faces) can also be retained with perfect clarity. This eidetic memory cannot be used intentionally, and seems to be totally random.
Limits: Early indications are that the ability requires physical contact as a trigger, but this limitation may be mitigated with practice.
Weaknesses/Drawbacks: When triggered, the ability overloads her conscious mind with information, causing her to "bluescreen" and lose consciousness. The effect varies in intensity according to the complexity of the device. Again, this weakness may diminish with experience, but will never be completely eliminated.
Other: As a direct result of her power, Sam has an inherent attention to detail which stems from eidetic memory. This memory capacity normally relates only to the technology she maps, but can involve other pertinent data as well. Unfortunately, as it is not a talent she consciously uses, which facts are retained are completely beyond her control; seemingly random in nature.