Alexander Keating

== Alexander Keating ==
Dr. Alexander Keating was a Canadian-American theoretical physicist and engineer who, while often reclusive, was a premier chief engineer under Seaboard. Within Seaboard, Keating was a key figure in the development of fusion power, and was responsible for bridging theoretical sciences with experimental and practical sciences. He served under the Senior Administrator of Applied Sciences.
== Early Life ==
Keating was born 22 May 1985 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Born into a privileged family, Keating had a keen interest in exploration, space travel, and history from a young age. As a teen, Keating took up an interest in sailing, where he developed enriched skills in navigation and astronomy. Keating attended a prestigious private primary school in Halifax, and graduating a year early, traveled around Atlantic Canada and the Northeast US by sailboat for around a year.
Though he lacked outstanding grades in High School, his parents helped connect him to the University of Toronto, which they funded in full. Keating was an attentive student in his undergraduate years, but also developed a reputation for his active social and party life. He majored in Mechanical Engineering, becoming more involved with renewable energy and physics.
== Graduate Studies and Work for Seaboard Technologies ==
In graduating from the University of Toronto, Keating was accepted into MIT for his graduate studies, much to his surprise and his parents support. He relocated to Cambridge, MA, further honing in his studies to focus more on nuclear engineering as he grew increasingly interested in what he saw as the future of power. Initially, Keating, despite his commitment to his studies and outstanding performance, was often disciplined for disruptive behavior, particularly in his enjoyment of partying with undergraduates.
During an organized sailing trip in the summer of 2009, Keating met Michelle Parker, and the two began dating soon after. Despite Keating's usual behavior of jumping woman to woman, he became enthralled by Parker and was deeply loyal to her, and the two were a source of inspiration for one another's work. Parker, though younger, was also a student of MIT and was majoring in biochemistry. 
Keating attained his doctorate in 2011 with a major in nuclear engineering and minor in theoretical physics. Immediately after graduation, he began working as a post-doctoral researcher for MIT while Parker continued her graduate studies. During this time, Keating became well connected and respected among his peers, especially due to his interactive and productive approaches in his contributions towards research projects. Increasingly engrossed in his work, at some point, Keating and Parker broke up, which came as a major blow to him. However, he held onto hope that he'd gain her favor again by financial leverage.
In 2015, representatives from Seaboard Technologies approached Keating, offering him a job as an assistant energy systems engineer. Keating, knowing the position would be far more lucrative and have opportunities for his career, accepted it. Initially however, Keating was surprised to find that he was out of his field and, rather than nuclear engineering, was tasked with helping in other renewable energy projects- including photovoltaic, battery, and turbine designs. Despite this, Keating was still relatively well valued, though he found the discrepancy between his perceived value and potential rather stark. In later 2017, as the Jinanvirus emerged, Keating was abruptly transitioned from his post and instead, into a department focused on nuclear fission and sustainability projects, which was almost entirely on-paper. As the Jinanvirus grew more severe, Keating grew suspicious about Seaboard's involvement, and correctly assumed that they had bigger ambitions. And in early 2018, Keating was, albeit in a limited extent, informed of vague plans to come. Keating reconnected with Parker, his ex girlfriend, and convinced her to move with him to New Haven, Connecticut, with promises of staying sustainable in the increasingly fragile world.
== Life Under Seaboard ==
Keating worked as a department lead for nuclear restoration in Seaboard's beginning as a quasi-state following the Great Collapse. Though not on the scene, Keating did offer assistance in the project to restore the Three Mile Island- which, at the time, was not within their grasps. Nevertheless, certain Seaboard-affiliates had scouted out the facility as the Harrisburg Committee was being formed. Keating was highly surprised to find that the administration of Harrisburg had taken these workers under their control and had plans to restore the power plant themselves. In 2019, Keating was assigned as the Chief Engineer of the Indian Point Energy Center, and initially, felt in over his head. However, he began to grow comfortable with the task and embraced it, working to adapt, overhaul, and upgrade the center.
In early 2021, Keating was transferred again to the Millstone Nuclear Power Station, where he was chosen to preside over it and ensure its stability, upkeep, and production. Keating found the tasks of management rather aggravating, and it began to put a toll on his own health. At the same time, his girlfriend, Michelle Parker, was increasingly dissatisfied. She found herself unable to be accepted into any positions as a biochemist, for various reasons, and weighed in either her own inadequacy or institutional favoritism. As Keating grew busier, her mental health was increasingly unwell. Sometime in 2021, Parker committed suicide, which, she attributed to reconcile the world Seaboard created.