Saparbek Sadulaev

> "They won't hear you. Those doors are soundproof."
>
> ~Saparbek to **Andromeda** and **Jackson Holland**

## Summary

**Saparbek Sadulaev** is a Recurring Antagonist in *Geminae Errantium*. He is the man responsible for the state of Weepmire, and a member of the Illuminati.

## History

Not much is known of Saparbek's past, except that his family seemed to believe in the idea of Transhumanism, and that he at some point became a member of both the Illuminati and of **Atlas Abraxas**' group. He at some point also broke Weepmire's weather system, leading to the conditions of Jack and Andromeda's eventual meeting.

## Personality

Saparbek is rather stoic, yet witty in his own way, often chastising those around him for acting in undesirable or cliché ways. He zealously believes in the idea of Transhumanism, wishing to turn all of humankind into robots, and he seems to be able to work well with others to a degree, having worked with both **Asaka Kazuyuki** and **Karim Kouri** and being a member of both Atlas' group and the Illuminati, and even having once been a Hotel owner.

## Appearance

Saparbek is a pale, thin man with metallic white hair and Magenta eyes. He wears a more futuristic variation of a pirate's outfit, mostly black with some yellow and gold mixed in, along with a white undershirt and red tie. His legs seemed to be somewhat armored, though minimally.

## Relationships

**Atlas Abraxas:** Saparbek's relationship with Atlas is unknown at this point in time.

**Karim Kouri:** Saparbek seems to view Karim as a brute, though a skilled one, and saw him as useful for obtaining Darkstar's Socqreath Virus.

**Jackson Holland:** Saparbek seems fixated on converting Jack into a machine.

## Story

### Introduction

As Jack and Andromeda are spending the night at Saparbek's hotel, he is observing them through his mechanized staff and his security cameras. When they realize that they're being spied on, they try to escape, but he attacks them from behind to knock them out, taking Jack to a special chamber to hypnotize him and later pit him against Andromeda. The two fight for a bit, before Andromeda manages to snap Jack out of the hypnosis by kissing him, something Saparbek remarks he hates, and that may have been only possible due to her Socqreath nature, before he retreats.

### Netraxian War Arc

Saparbek appears before Karim, who was regenerating from his battle with Jack and his friends, to ask him for help in acquiring the Socqreath Virus, something Karim agrees to as they go to the warehouse it is stored in. They encounter an Artificial Intelligence called **Anima**, who commends Saparbek for his hacking skills before having turrets and drones attack them. The battle is short, Saparbek gaining the location of the Socqreath Virus from Anima's database as Karim destroys most of the drones and turrets before destroying Anima itself, as they are encountered again by Jack and his friends. They battle for a time before **Darkstar's Scientist** appears before them and reveals to them a cyborgized **Allen Davidson**, who attacks them. Saparbek and Karim seem to escape this battle, however.

As Saparbek, Karim and **The Wicked Prodigy** are planning their next move in Karim's spacecraft, they approached by Atlas, **Proto** and **Bellatrix**, who quickly restrain them before forming an alliance with them and free **Atsumichi Kazuyuki**. Given Saparbek is later revealed to have long been Atlas' ally, Bellatrix restraining him and their ensuing banter was likely something scripted by Atlas to manipulate Karim and the Prodigy into trusting Saparbek more.

Saparbek is later seen with the others as they again encounter Jack and his friends, seeming bored with the whole ordeal as he says nothing and interacts with no one.

In the wake of a space battle, Saparbek seems to mourn the at the time supposed death of Karim, as he then has a scripted interaction with Atlas that seems intended to keep Atsumichi unaware of the true extent of Saparbek's alliance with him, despite Atsumichi's clear enthusiasm in Atlas' machinations.

### Phantoms of the Past Arc

Saparbek is seen walking away from **Arthur Grant**'s grave, seemingly having placed a lightning rod and, supposedly, the Socqreath Virus inside his body, as lightning strike said lightning rod and resurrects the former medic.

It is revealed in **Phantom**'s flashback that it was Saparbek who saved him from death after his first encounter with Andromeda, and helped set him on the path he is currently on.

### Corrupted Unity Arc

Saparbek arrives at a restaurant the heroes were currently in to propose an alliance to them, arguing that they all have a common enemy in Arthur. They go to one of his labs to create a cure to the disease, and a cure to Karim's superhuman nature. Not long after the finish, a horde of zombies attack them, as they escape, taking the vaccines while they do so. Saparbek notices the city lights being corrupted by the tendrils ensnaring them, and realizes that even machines can be infected by the virus.

## Powers and Abilities

**Expert Swordsman:** Saparbek is an expert swordsman, cutting off Andromeda's horns before she can react and easily disarming Jack.

**Expert Gunman:** Saparbek is an expert gunman, able to take out twice the number of Anima's drones that Karim did despite Karim being far stronger than he is.

**Genius Level Intellect:** Saparbek seems to be a master of manipulation, hypnosis, and robotics, being able to easily subdue anyone he wishes and then fully cyberform their bodies, as well as easily form alliances with others.

## Equipment

**Cutlass:** Saparbek's primary weapon, it seems to be a Hanger-length Cutlass with a Huscil blade.

**Laser Pistol:** Saparbek carries a laser pistol with him that is able to seemingly rather easily destroy Anima's drones.

**Electromagnetic Shield Generator:** Saparbek has a device that can create a light-distorting field around himself.

**Screen Pad:** A screen pad that seems to be Saparbek's means of controlling his own technology and hacking into others'.

## Affect

Saparbek for most of the story was a relatively minor villain, until the reveal that he made Weepmire the way it is, either for Atlas' plans or the Illuminati's, which made him a more personal villain for the heroes. Not to mention that he resurrected Arthur, the supposed Main Villain of the current Arc.

## Quotes

(To Jack and Andromeda (His First Quote), Chapter #111) "They won't hear you. Those doors are soundproof."

(To Jack and Andromeda, Chapter #111) "I will tell you both my name now. It is Saparbek Sadulaev."

(To Jack, Chapter #112) "The newest one to join in on my vision..."

(To Jack, Chapter #112) "Transhumanism. Humans leaving our flawed, fleshed bodies and entering perfect, metal ones."

(To Jack, Chapter #112) "This hotel I made is meant to help me collect the samples I need to go on with my experiment. I hypnotize the people who stay here, and convert them into machines so that they may work here, under my control."

(To Jack, Chapter #112) "Do you know what Magenta is? It's a figment of the imagination, less real than any other color. It doesn't exist."

(To Jack, Chapter #112) "Let me finish. I place...subliminal messages in the static, and the other faint sounds you might be hearing. They are meant to dull you, so that you will more easily focus on my one directive."

(To Jack, Chapter #112) "Look at the eye, follow its movements. The more you try not to do it, the more you will do it."

(To Jack, Chapter #112) "You will...take out the Socqreath."

(To Andromeda, Chapter #113) "So your horns haven't healed yet. Even if they had, the frequency here is meant to disable your Psychic Weapons. And I have a third layer of protection even then."

(To Andromeda, Chapter #113) "I took control of him. He only hears me, and my commands."

(To Andromeda, Chapter #113) "The suit he is wearing enhances his physical capabilities. Can you kill the one you love most to come to me?"

(To Andromeda, Chapter #113) "Then try it, girl."

(To Andromeda, Chapter #113) "That won't work. He is completely under my control, and you will both serve my vision, of the age of machines."

(To himself, Chapter #113) "Note to self, increase the power of the trance state."

(To Andromeda, Chapter #113) "Why did you have to be a Socqreath? You ruined everything."

(To Karim, Chapter #194) "Are you Karim Kouri?"

(To Karim, Chapter #194) "I need your help with something."

(To Karim, Chapter #194) "How would you like to help me in acquiring the Socqreath Virus that Allen Davidson created?"

(To Karim, Chapter #194) "It's in a top secret facility somewhere a few dozen miles north of here."

(To Karim, Chapter #194) "No need. With me, technology is never an issue of having."

(To Karim, Chapter #196) "I'll deal with the lasers and rocket launchers. You deal with the guards."

(To Karim, Chapter #196) "I'm the one who formed this plan, as such, I'm in charge."

(To no one in particular, Chapter #196) "An Artificial Intelligence..."

(To Anima, Chapter #197) "You...control this place?"

(To Anima, Chapter #197) "You know about that?!"

(To Karim, Chapter #198) "Wait! It most likely has the exact location of the virus in its database!"

(To Karim, Chapter #198) "...I'll try turning its code against it."

(To Karim, Chapter #198) "We have the location!"

(To Karim, Chapter #198) "Alright, we'll find it in this section."

(To Andromeda, Chapter #199) "An electromagnetic shield. It scrambles light waves."

(To Andromeda, Chapter #199) "The feeling is mutual."

(To Darkstar's Scientist, Chapter #201) "You have...nearly made him trans-human."

(To Karim and the Wicked Prodigy, Chapter #210) "It feels so odd, yet fitting. The three of us, terrors, legends, myths, working together now."

(To Atlas, Chapter #274) "He was also my partner in crime."

(To Atlas and Atsumichi, Chapter #274) "Don't mind me. I do not care what any of your plans are so long as they don't impact mine."

(To Phantom (In a flashback), Chapter #390) "That's not important. What is important right now is that a Socqreath attacked this place. Your family...didn't make it."

(To Phantom (In a flashback), Chapter #390) "All this will do is knock you out so I can work on you. Do not resist if you want to live."

(To Falqo Distler, Chapter #509) "And now I'm trying to stop it. They've served their purpose, and now they need to go. This is getting out of hand, and Atlas doesn't like those like Arthur."

(To Falqo Distler, Chapter #509) "Because both my plan and Atlas' are destroyed if Arthur wins. In case you forgot, neither of us want everyone to become zombies, especially right now."

(To Falqo Distler, Chapter #509) "...You know absolutely nothing about me, do you? I own a hotel business, there's a hotel here where I have an underground laboratory."

(To everyone else present, Chapter #510) "I intercepted Demetrius' message, and brought all his research over to my computers. The algorithm I wrote will analyze that research, the formula, and a drop of Arthur's blood that I placed in the scanner prior. It will create the perfect cure to this disease, I just don't know the timeframe."

(To Falqo Distler, Chapter #510) "No. Karim remains a threat even without the virus, and Arthur is unlikely to be fully cured by it even if directly hit. All this cure will do is let you not become their next hosts if you do manage to kill them."

(To Jack, Chapter #510) "Maybe. But genetic engineering isn't my field and you need to just grow up and accept you can't beat someone with centuries of experience over you."

(To Jack, Chapter #510) "Jack. What you really want is to prove yourself, it's borderline suicidal."

(To Jack, Chapter #510) "If I believed in a God, I would swear their name. This anime character bullshit isn't worth anything, just let it go. We'll nuke him or something once he's cured."

(To Amaya Kiyomasu, Chapter #510) "...Fine, I'll whip something up. Do you have genetic material from Karim?"

(To everyone present, Chapter #514) "The cure has completed. Both for the plague, and for the superhuman genome."

(To everyone present, Chapter #514) "You're all going to be taking these syringes to get the vaccine for the cure." Saparbek explains. "And no, there's no microchips in there, I have thousands of other surveillance methods and quite frankly it'd probably be better for you to ingest the chip through a meal."

(To Kasper Maibaum, Chapter #514) "I'm going to aerosolize the cure, put it in the water supply, the works. Primarily because I know he's doing that with the virus."

(To everyone present, Chapter #515) "Whatever you do, don't get bitten! There's vaccines on the side of the machine!"

(To everyone present, Chapter #515) "In case you're wondering, that's how I got away the first time!"

(To no one in particular, Chapter #515) "They can infect machines, now...?"

## References

### Number of Chapter References

Total: 25

Volume 10: 4

Volume 17: 7

Volume 18: 1

Volume 20: 1

Volume 23: 1

Volume 30: 1

Volume 32: 3

Volume 33: 1

Volume 37: 2

Volume 43: 4

### Volume 10

Chapter #111 "Hotel of Suspicion"

Chapter #112 "Nonexistent Color"

Chapter #113 "...Ep...Wgah'n..."

Chapter #115 "Regroup"

### Volume 17

Chapter #194 "Regeneration"

Chapter #196 "Rediscovery"

Chapter #197 "Reclaiming"

Chapter #198 "Response"

Chapter #199 "Rematch"

Chapter #200 "Reveal"

Chapter #201 "Rebuilt"

### Volume 32

Chapter #375 "Anxious Rest"

Chapter #376 "Pieces Falling Together"

Chapter #384 "Awakening"

### Volume 37

Chapter #436 "The Common Infection"

Chapter #437 "The Disgraced Scientist"

### Volume 43

Chapter #509 "Plans for the Dead"

Chapter #510 "Return to the Hotel"

Chapter #514 "Preparations Completed"

Chapter #515 "The Infection Grows"

## Trivia

1. Saparbek is inspired in terms of appearance and personality by **Vicious** from the influential Anime series *Cowboy Bebop* and in terms of occupation by **Arthur Watts** from the Web Series *RWBY*, however his true inspiration is a nightmare the Author of *Geminae Errantium* had, which involved his family being hypnotized by glowing magenta eyes on screens inside a seemingly hospitable hotel.
2. Saparbek was not originally intended to have been a member of Atlas' group since before the series began, and as such his prior interactions with Atlas which implied he was a recent member have been retconned to be scripted interactions Saparbek and others were saying to decieve new members into being more trusting towards Saparbek.
3. Saparbek is Russo-Ukrainian in terms of his ethnicity, though his accent is largely American due to him growing up in the primarily American-accented city of Muskville.
	1. His name is Estonian, and pronounced 'Sah-parr-beck Sadle-eye-vve'. 'Sadulaev', amusingly, roughly means 'Saddle Ship'.
	2. He was made Russo-Ukranian as a joke about the conspiracy theory of Russian hackers that supposedly voted Donald Trump into power in the 2016 Election, and his pirate aesthetic references the fact that media pirating websites are often filled with viruses.
4. Saparbek being a member of Geminae Errantium's version of the Illuminati is meant to be an in-universe reason why eyes are a motif of his inventions. Additionally, the color magenta was chosen as a reference to *The Color Out of Space*, a story by the infamous ***H.P. Lovecraft***.