John Wallis, Power of Infinity

From Familia Niveum

Current revision as of 21:03, 14 August 2007

Viscount of The Infinite

Dominas Infinitas

An unassuming man with a fading British accent and eyes that bely the endlessness of his power. His is the stars that stretch without end, his is the math that goes on forever, his is the logic that loops in on oneself. Being near him is like staring into a chasm too deep for you to see the bottom, you just feel like the yawning infinite could swallow you up if you stay too close. Of course his polite manner and educated repartee quickly makes you feel at ease

Affiliation

The Code of the Angels 1. Beauty is the highest principle 2. Justice is a form of beauty 3. Lesser beings should respect their betters

Design

A symbol of infinity twisting around two flowers. The flower of Infinity is a pure white lotus with more petals then it should have; each petal contains another which contains another, ad infinitum. The flower of Wallis is an unassuming black lilly, stark and simple but with it's petals slowly curling inward rather then out.

Miraculous Abilities

• Aspect 0 (Of Mortal Form)
  • 5 Permanent Aspect Miracle Points
• Domain 2 (Viscount)
  • 5 Permanent Domain Miracle Points
• Realm 3 (Warden)
  • 5 Permanent Realm Miracle Points
• Spirit 1 (Hearthfire)
  • 5 Permanent Spirit Miracle Points

Gifts

A Head for Numbers

Gifted with mathematics from before his Commencement, Wallis is now in a field he shares only with other miraculously intelligent beings. He has an Aspect of 7 for any action related to calculation. (Cost, Aspect 7 + no penetration (+0) + Simple Miracle (-1) + Effects only oneself (-3) + Limited Utility (-2) + Uncommon (+1) = 2 points)

Shapeshifting

By letting the infinite into his being, John can choose between the myriad shapes of things inside the Weirdling Wall and take any for himself. (Cost 2 points)

Eternal

Inside a necklace given to him by his lady love holds the key to immortality. For as long as Eternity will last, John Wallis will continue to live. (Cost 3 points)

Perfect Timing

Whether it's just a perfect sense of the passage of time or divine will, Wallis is always just in the nick of time. If he was trying to catch a bus he'd arrive just on time for it's route, and it would get him where he's going just in time for whatever he was trying to get there for. He even seems to say things at just the right time. (Cost 2 points)

Limits

Focus: Eternity's Locket

A general limit ( +1 AMP )

A silver locket given to him by his lover, the Power of Eternity. Inside is not a picture of her (that would give their secret affair away) but is instead a small piece of eternity itself. Anyone who wears it gains the Eternal Gift.

Small Estate

A limit of Domain (+2 DMP)

Infinity is endless, boundless. If you divide it in half, it's still infinite. Problem is there's not alot of infinite things in Creation, not alot of infinite typewriters for the few gatherings of an infinite number of monkeys. As such, what Wallis can control with his Domain is pretty limited, very little in Creation is naturally infinite. Creation itself has a finite barrier in the Wierdling Wall.

Restrictions

Compromised

The two century long romance between John Wallis of Infinity and Lady Eternity has been a well kept secret. Only his familia know anything about it, Nobilis society at large believes the two to share related Estates and thus have much in common to talk about. In public they are cold to eachother, sometimes even cruel. Of course, no secret can be kept forever. When Wallis is blackmailed into doing something to keep this love a secret, it gives 1 to 3 Miracle Points depending on how outrageous the request is.

Respectful of Mathematicians

Anyone who shares the same career as Wallis is completely beyond reproach. He cannot effect them with miracles and he cannot harm them in any way. This is a self-imposed restriction and one John takes very seriously. Mathematics is the key to universe, he says. This gives one MP every time it significantly complicates John Wallis' life.

Curious

He simply can't help himself. If there's a mystery, a stone unturned, a box unopened, Wallis just has to figure it out. Anytime his curiosity gets him into more trouble then it was worth, he regains 1 MP.

Bonds

• Lady Eternity: 5
• His Imperator: 2
• His Familia: 3
• His Locket: 3
• His Chancel: 3
• The ongoing advancement of human mathematics: 3

Sample Miracles

Simple Miracles (0 MP)

• Estate Driven Divinations - Infinity warns when it is somehow in peril

• Ghost Miracles - Can make something seem endless, or more numerous then it actually is

• Lesser Divinations - Can know anything about infinity ... can't think of what he'd want to know

Normal Miracles (1 MP)

• Lesser Preservation - Make sure something infinite never loses that quality. It's so rare to find something with it!

Hard Miracles (2 MP)

• Lesser Creation of Infinity - create an infinite amount of something, or multiply anything by infinity. Also allows the creation of infinite logic loops that become hard to escape, or rooms that infinitely repeat themselves.

Deep Miracles (4 MP)

• Lesser Destruction of Infinity - Resolve an infinite loop, make something infinite finite. Also allows the creation of super-finity, the opposite of infinity, something with limits so well defined it doesn't exist.

• Major Divination of Infinity - Wallis stares into the infinite, or gets an infinite amount of monkeys on an infinite amount of typewriters to tell him whatever he wants to know. Infinity knows everything.

• Lesser Change of Infinity - Allows him to redefine infinity so that it works differently then the way it currently works. This allows the creation of inwardly infinite things, like tiny orbs that contain a whole universe, or the infinipede.

• Major Preservation of Infinity - No clue

Words of Command (8MP and a terrible wound)

• Major Creation of Infinity - like infinity isn't already major
• Major Destruction - That's it, NO MORE INFINITY FOR ANYONE!
• Major Changes - Really useful for making Infinity an easier Estate to create Miracle trees for.

Estate Correspondences

Due to his Small Estate Limit, Infinity has no correspondences.

Personality

Wallis is terribly curious and a bit of an introvert. He knows more and thinks faster then almost anyone you will ever meet, even amongst the Nobilis, and this puts him a bit removed from most other people. His mind is almost always in touch with and contemplating the infinite and this sometimes makes him appear distant or distracted. He always tries to be polite but his own curious nature and lack of social grace usually gets the better of him. Most Nobles think he's a bit of a geek, though a 400 year old one.

History

John Wallis was born in 1616 and remained on Prosaic Earth until he was 87. In that time he became a famous mathematician, a royal cryptographer, and a member of Parliament. He became a doctor and a pastor. To the world at large he was a very well-to-do and brilliant Englishman but in private Wallis was a broken man. From a young age he had a longing in his heart, a longing that still burns to this day.

When he was young he thought it was women. A young girl he romanced in the fields behind his home by the name of Elizabeth Roland became the Power of Eternity without Wallis ever realizing. He thought she just disappeared one day and it broke his heart. After that painful experience he threw himself into math and all the while he could hear it calling to him, aching for him to come and claim it. He thought he heard it's voice briefly when he would crack a cipher no-one had before. He thought he heard it clearly when he designed his first theorems on infinity and it's application to modern math. In the decades that followed he built a successful career on his search without end. Until one day he thought he had found it.

When he chose the symbol he wasn't sure exactly what inspired him. But once it was chosen it was clear he was closer to his goal. The figure-eight still used today as the short form for infinity was created by Wallis the day before he was enNobled. When he drew it for the first time he was sure he had found what he had been looking for. The voice he had sought was clearly emanating from the arcane loops that summed up infinity in one small symbol. The voice told him all about the universe, all about the endlessness of space and the things infinity could be applied towards. John quickly realized the symbol that spoke to him was but the mouthpiece of his Imperator and when he did he discovered that becoming a Sovereign Power had not ended his search. No, now as a Power he had literally infinite power to keep searching.

It was Elizabeth Roland who told Wallis the truth. He would never end his search, he would never find his prize. What the Power of Infinity was looking for was undiscovered knowledge itself. He felt a powerful curiosity that at certain times when certain stars aligned could almost be described as it's own being. The truth she spoke cut through Wallis' heart like a knife through butter and he gave himself completely to his lady love from from that time on. The Powers of Infinity and Eternity have kept their love secret for two centuries now. He relies on her apt descriptions of the world around him; he is so often concerned with the minutiae of numbers and mathematics. She sees in him the same wild-eyed boy she had fallen in love with in the rolling hills of England when they were both mortal. If love was not forbidden amongst the Nobilis there's could compete for the greatest amongst them all.

Anchors

Dr. Gerrard Moniet

John Wallis has only one Anchor at the moment, an aging mathematician named Gerrard Moniet. Gerrard is 71 and has been working on an infinity theorum that could revolutionize modern mathematics. Gerrard is also rather insane. He has been hearing the whispers of the Lord of Infinity pushing him towards some great discovery that he can only wonder at. The strange fates that befall an Anchor have all been taken in absolute stride by the French mathematician. He sees the demonic possession of his calculator and the one-time accidental Papacy as mere flukes. For his dedication to the field and his simple charm Wallis has grown to love the old man. He has egged him towards this discovery from when he was a young boy.

One Slot open

John Wallis has room for one more Anchor

Notable friends and Enemies

Ajido Nakamura, The Power of Numbers, has been a long time rival for the top mathematician spot amongst the Nobilis. He is a mathematician from samurai era Japan who has harnessed his supremacy over the Estate of Numbers into always staying #1 in almost anything he competes in. John and him are polite but obviously competitive.

Elizabeth Roland, The Power of Eternity, is John's eternal love. She is outspoken and wise, very perceptive even for the Nobilis. She remembers everything all of her predecessors knew and is aware of everything her replacements will know. She knows how the world ends and how it is destroyed but is pained to speak about it. In public they act very businesslike, sometimes even curt and unfriendly. This has at least five times over the last two centuries broke out in all out Miraculous combat between the two, all for show.

Goals and Motivations

Wallis is primarily motivated by his own curiosity. No matter how much you learn you always know there is more out there to be discovered. Those among us smart enough to grasp the concepts and curious enough to learn them all are the most aware of how little they truly understand. If knowledge is power then Wallis is a god over and above his powers as one of the Sovereign Powers of Earth. But that only fuels his insatiable thirst for knowledge further. Besides taking an interest in just about everything Wallis is still deeply entrenched in the world of mathematics. He wishes to further the human understanding of numbers to levels unknown of and piece by piece he's been giving secrets of infinity to those mathematicians deserving. Slowly but surely he is immanentizing the eschaton.