William Austor

> *"I don't need a god. I believe in myself, that's what I believe in. No prayers, no miracles, only me. I'm as real as you can fucking get."*
>
>

## Basics

### Also called

Will
*Ajax, Zeus, Menoetius*

### Occupation

Aerospace engineer
Environmental scientist

## Education

### Degrees

M.Eng. Aeronautics w/ Spacecraft Engineering (Imperial College London)
Ph.D. Aerospace Engineering (U Manchester)

### Specialties

Aerospace, biology, earth sciences, geology, environmental sciences, engineering

## Miscellaneous

### Hobbies

Travel, fitness, technology, art appreciation, sports, public speaking

**William** **Austor** is an antagonist in *Titan's Run*. He is third-in-command under Captain on Titan, as well as head engineer and combat operative specialist.

He murders Matthew Warner in *Angry Orbit* and does not survive *Starfuneral*.

Death: decorated by splatters of blood and torn wool, a sword wound defiling his gut. Left behind: Regina (wife); David (father).

## Biography

William Austor was born and raised in New Perth, a metropolis at the edge of an orange wasteland. His mother was an Italian-Indonesian interior designer, and his father was a German-Australian police officer.

### Childhood

Will's parents divorced when he was eight years old. He was the youngest of three (the other two being twelve and fourteen years older than him) and raised in between his parents' households. He had a better relationship with his mother than he did his father, who often seemed impossible to please.

### Adolescence

His father eventually remarried to a teaching assistant, Zeva, with whom Will got along well. He often visited them and their child, his half-brother Oliver.

David took William hunting a couple of times. Will enjoyed the experiences. These are his best memories of his father.

### Adulthood

Having been in the Australian and English academic systems for so long, he has adopted a cultivated Australian accent.

He is willing to pay top dollar for luxury.

He has been married for 12 years -- she's a half-Laotian woman who works in space architecture named Regina. Together, they founded Steele Engineering. By the time Will leaves Earth, they have endured years of marital issues.

### *Beyonders*

At the gala banquet, William wears a tailored tuxedo. He orders lamb, though this was not an option on the menu; the kitchen makes it for him anyway, keeping his high reputation in mind.

### *Deepsky*

William reveals that he was once struck by lightning. Despite all of the horrible symptoms he could have gotten, he received little more than blistered skin and Lichtenberg figures. He considers it to have been nature's display of power. The experience he had made him feel invincible, and that's made clear in the way he talks about it.

Austor gains Sam's trust. However, he leaves her behind to save his own skin; she dies, and he expects there's no way she'll come back.

### *Angry Orbit*

Sam comes back, this time in a different body. Suspiciously, she says nothing of the way she died and decides to save Austor's skin. He doesn't know why she does this.

He finally begins to understand she's plotting to take him down. Paranoid, he decides he needs to get rid of whoever means to ruin his chances of getting back to Earth.

In a moment of anger, he brutalizes Matthew Warner with a rock hammer. Austor dislocates his arm in the process. He is promptly knocked out by Elizabeth with a large pipe to his skull.

### *Starfuneral*

He is killed by a grisly wound to the gut.

## Character

### Personality

> "*Above all, limits are meant to be tested."*
>
>

[Also, he loves thunderstorm metaphors.]

Austor is engaging, enthusiastic, arrogant, romantic, strong, imposing, intimidating, charismatic, charming, unpredictable, destructive, hot-headed.

He has some kind of talent for games of chance.

He enjoys being a leader, and takes it upon himself to create an environment that motivates others to make a difference. He wants to inspire. A strong, imposing man, he is charismatic and hospitable to guests and those he hopes to impress.

Austor believes that his work is far more important than the lives of others - except his own, of course; because who's going to do the work if not him?

Anyone unwilling to accept his authority is a waste of his time. He will sacrifice anyone to achieve his means, but those who do not respect him will be targeted first. He criticizes displays of hubris from others despite his own hubris.

### Relationships

#### Vera Novák

Austor gains Vera's trust at first, but quickly proves himself to be untrustworthy: he leaves her behind to save his own skin. From then on, they are at odds. She dies but comes back in a separate body, causing him to be extremely paranoid when she doesn't turn him in. She uses this as leverage over him. Panicked, he plans on taking down anyone who threatens his chances of returning home.

#### John Kelowna

He becomes something of a mentor to Jack for a short amount of time.

#### Matthew Warner

Austor murders Matthew with a rock hammer with such brutality that Matthew's consciousness could not be placed into a separate body. They do not like each other.

## Themes

### Competition

William's theme is **competition**. He never fully settles into the group as just another teammate - he is always competing.

### Ajax

Austor carries within him the spirit of the *competitor*.

He enjoys decorating with animal hides, furs. Of great stature, colossal frame. Fearless, strong, and powerful, but also with a very high level of combat intelligence. He is never wounded in any battle and is never aided by the gods. He is able to retrieve a dear friend's body to later be buried/cremated. He would rather kill himself than live in shame.

From a journal entry:

> *Spirit of the Competitor. Or, depending on the way you look at it, the Sore Loser. Fuck this dude!!!!!! Honestly!!!!!! Ever since the beginning, he has been recognized as "Auster" or "Austor"; those sounds together identify him better than any others. He has been a father figure to multiple young heroes, and he had built a reputation of being reckless, himself. He was a mentalist of sorts. (Ugh.) And now he has been forever influenced by that stupid fucking Italian boy I met in London. Jesus Christ. Couldn't ask for a better character to murder somebody with a rock hammer!!!!*
>
>

> *Son of Zeus, Ajax, and Heracles - you're one scary fucking guy. And an asshole to women. Like, wow. Left over - to watch over Jack, Samira, and Claire. That's a little hard to think about but. Maybe they have relationships we just haven't peeked into very well.*
>
>

#### Zeus

King of the Gods on Mount Olympus, Zeus had affairs with dozens of mortals, demigods, and goddesses alike. Always shown either seated in majesty or striding forth with a thunderbolt in his right hand.