Eli Frieden

Eli on the covers of Masterminds and Payback

"*My blood turns cold. Am I the only one alive?*"
—Eli Frieden, *Masterminds*

**Eli Frieden** is cloned from internet billionare Tamara Dunleavy as a result of Project Osiris, a social experiment designed to determine whether a person is born evil or becomes evil through a course of events. He was born and raised in Serenity, New Mexico, by Felix Hammerstrom—a mad social scientist who was his surrogate father for thirteen years. Eli is a computer whiz, much like his DNA donor, Tamara Dunleavy, who is a successful internet billionaire.

## Biography

Around 2002, Eli Frieden was born to an unidentified woman (although it is unknown whether she was the same woman in the picture Eli grew up knowing, or if she died or was dismissed after giving birth). Shortly beforehand, Felix Hammerstrom had taken a small sample of DNA from Tamara Dunleavy, altered the chromosome to XY to ensure that he was male instead of female, and cloned her using it, resulting in Eli’s birth.

Eli grew up in the town of Serenity, New Mexico, becoming best friends with Randy Hardaway from a young age. The two of them kept small treasures in an old coffee can in the Hardaways' tree house. They also made trading cards of the Surety there for their own enjoyment and figured out how to hack into and alter video games together. About a year before *Masterminds* took place, Eli spent a lot of time at the Hardaways’ hanging out with Randy, who had broken his ankle.

His surrogate father, whom he believed was his biological father and went by the name of Felix Frieden, was both the mayor of the town and principal of Serenity’s only school. Eli also attended the local school, taught by Mrs. Laska, and believed in the lies that he was fed about the town.

### *Masterminds*

#### Falling ill outside town

Eli Frieden was hanging out with Randy Hardaway outside, having done one of Randy's most recent challenges. However, it didn’t go as planned, and their boomerang ended up in the Hardaways’ pool filter. Eli suggested other activities that they could do, but Randy rejected them and instead led Eli on a bike ride outside town to view a sports car he and his dad had spotted earlier.

Although he’d never been out of town before, Eli agreed to come without telling his surrogate father. However, after they passed the edge of town, he became ill as the computer chip implanted in the base of his neck for Project Osiris affected him. Eli fell off his bike as the Surety descended in their helicopter.

While Eli recovered, plans were made to send Randy away to McNally Academy in Colorado as he suspected too much, and he wasn’t supposed to talk to Eli. Soon after, a going-away party for Randy was thrown at school, and the next day, Eli said goodbye to his best friend, who told him he would write.

#### Discovering Randy’s letter

Eli missed Randy after his departure, but was comforted by Mrs. Delaney, the water polo coach. He later shared his concerns regarding not having heard from Randy with Tori Pritel, who had seen him pacing around the Hardaways’ house. The two of them went up to the tree house hoping to find a message, and Eli showed Tori the joke Purple People Eater trading cards he and Randy had once made, which Tori later shared with the other kids.

Upon stumbling on the boomerang they had used earlier, Eli found a letter from Randy hidden in the pool filter, sharing his suspicions about the town. He believed Randy’s words, although Tori tried to convince him otherwise.

That night, Eli researched the town while considering Randy and Tori’s thoughts. Because of a storm, the Serenity internet faltered, and Eli glimpsed an actual description of the Boston Tea Party, which contained negative details that had been previously omitted. When Felix Hammerstrom went to the Plastics Works, Eli stayed awake to figure out what had happened. He then recklessly showed his surrogate father Randy’s letter and was taken ill again.

In reality, Hammerstrom and Dr. Bruder had likely contributed to his sickness by using the computer chip implanted in his neck. They fed Eli pills to make him forget his suspicions, though he spat them out in secret. Mrs. Delaney, the water polo coach, was his first visitor, and Eli confided in her.

Later, Eli returned to school and was welcomed back enthusiastically. At lunch, he argued with Malik Bruder, since it was Malik’s father who had given him pills, and learned about his suspicions of the Plastics Works. They also discussed this with Tori and agreed to keep it secret.

#### Sneaking into the Plastics Works

Early in the morning, Eli, Malik and Tori met up to investigate the Plastics Works, with Hector Amani following. When they were unable to enter, Eli noticed Wi-Fi coming from the factory and found the password: Hammerstrom, after the real last name of his surrogate father. There, he discovered Randy had been telling the truth.

Along with the others, Eli worked to explore Serenity and find a way to enter the Plastics Works. He added a wireless webcam to a kite Tori built and flew the kite, taking photos of the factory from above and later retrieving them.

Not long later, Eli, Tori, Malik, and Hector climbed to the factory roof. When Hector almost fell through the vent, Eli pulled him back up, possibly saving his life. The four kids discovered monitors showing cameras around town, as well as the printing press for *The Pax*, Serenity’s local newspaper, and eleven whiteboards detailing the lives of each Osiris subject, which Eli photographed. When a Surety member approached, the kids escaped through an air duct with Eli leading the way out.

Each day after that, they discussed with each other about what they had seen. When researching Osiris one night, Eli found an article about the project itself, realizing it was referring to them and that they were clones of criminal masterminds. Because of this, Hector came up with the idea to escape Serenity.

#### Escaping Serenity

At night, they biked off and were followed by Amber Laska, who had discovered their intentions. As the border affected them, they were rescued by Mrs. Delaney, who helped them return home without being caught. Later, Malik discovered the satellite dish on a traffic cone truck, which was how they had been affected.

Eli and Malik taught themselves to drive with a video game, preparing their escape. While gaming, Hammerstrom lectured Eli and ripped up a Purple People Eater card of Baron Vladimir von Horseteeth he had found. The kids also behaved the best they could during this time.

During the Serenity Day fireworks, they left the park, Eli and Malik attempting to destroy the satellite dish on the cone truck. When a Surety member caught Malik, Eli knocked him out and began to drive the truck, letting Bryan Delaney get knocked out as well. Hector, Tori and Amber joined them. As they reached the barrier, they became ill from its effects, but Eli wedged a traffic cone against the gas pedal, accelerating the truck. Next, he yelled at the others to jump before jumping himself and watching the truck explode.

He met up with the others, but they were unable to find Hector. They decided to head south, and after walking for a long time, stumbled upon train tracks and leapt onto a boxcar. There, Eli discovered a newspaper article about Bartholomew Glen, a criminal they believed to be part of Project Osiris.

The kids entered the city after the train stopped in a rail yard and they found a taxi, getting them to McNally Academy. Once there, they met Randy Hardaway in his dormitory.

### *Criminal Destiny*

#### In Colorado

Randy taught Eli and Malik Bruder how to play poker using food as stakes, which had been stolen from the cafeteria by his roommate, Kevin, and another kid. After being delayed by the flag falling outside, Eli and Malik met up with Tori Pritel and Amber Laska. While eating, they discussed their plans and what they’d heard, quickly hiding when a teacher approached.

They soon learned that the Surety had arrived at McNally Academy, so Eli and Randy shook hands and the clones exited the building. Eli tangled five Surety members in the flag to save Tori and he got in the Surety’s SUV with the others, driving the car towards Denver and parking it in a Park-n-Ride. They boarded a bus to the city, where Amber stood up for a man who was about to be mugged and Eli lectured her for taking the risk.

The kids entered Bites and Bytes, a café where they researched cloning and ate. Amber then reported Project Osiris to a police officer and was driven away, as he found her to be crazy. After failing to follow her, Eli researched the Denver Police Department, which Tori entered, and they met Amber in a bathroom in the Medical Arts Center.

They escaped out the window and boarded a tree service truck, barely escaping the wood chipper it was headed for. After spotting an unoccupied house, they snuck into it and stayed the night. Eli dreamt of the scientists and Tamara Dunleavy, whom he planned to seek out, and woke up to the Campanellas (the family that owned the house they were in) returning. Eli drove to the bus station in the Campanellas’ Jeep, then abandoning it in an alley and boarding a bus to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

#### Meeting Tamara Dunleavy

After arriving in Jackson, the clones found a motel to stay in and Eli researched Tamara Dunleavy. They asked around about her and eventually found her car outside the Jackson Convention Center. When she emerged, they asked her about Project Osiris, although Tamara feigned ignorance and left.

Tori then noticed that they each had a bump beneath their necks, which Amber realized to be the computer chip that affected them past the Serenity border. After injuring herself to remove it, she extracted the chips from Eli, Malik, and Tori as well.

Eli spotted Tamara Dunleavy’s driver going through their things and chased him, only for Amber to knock him out. They took his keys and boarded Tamara’s Bentley, realizing the driver had snuck them five hundred dollars. As they needed proof of Project Osiris, Eli suggested returning to the Serenity Plastics Works.

#### Returning to Serenity

After Malik got into a fight at a McDonald’s, a police car drove near, but Eli stayed cool and they weren’t caught. He drove to New Mexico without passing through Denver and helped hot-wire a Taos pool truck, which they took to Serenity after Eli left a note in the Bentley. However, the town was deserted when they arrived.

The kids entered the Plastics Works, but all evidence of Project Osiris had been burnt down except for a sheet of paper, found after an argument between Eli and Malik. From there, they learned the names of most of the criminals the Osiris subjects were cloned from. Eli’s DNA donor still was unknown, but he believed it to be Bartholomew Glen.

#### Breaking out C. J. Rackoff

They drove toward the Kefauver Federal Detention Facility to meet C. J. Rackoff, Hector Amani's DNA donor, almost getting caught at a gas station for being alone. They were guided to the prison by a man at a 7-Eleven and snuck into the Tumbleweed Inn for the night.

Early in the morning, Eli saw someone outside, so he and Tori investigated. Eli woke the others and was ready to fight the intruder, but stopped when he realized it was Hector, whom they thought was dead. They learned his story and headed to meet Rackoff, who asked them to break him out of jail in return for his help in proving Project Osiris’s existence.

That night, Eli hacked into the computer system at Kefauver, but was hit by Tori, who believed him to be an enemy. They enjoyed a moment alone, and in the morning, he, Malik, and Amber headed to the Bearclaw diner, where they stole the uniform and keys of George, a USPS worker, after Eli knocked him out. He then went to the computer room.

Rackoff hid among the mailbags heading out of the prison, but as they escaped, the Surety came. Eli learned that Rackoff and Hector had been working against them and was grabbed by Felix Hammerstrom, whom he knocked out with a syringe. He then knocked out Bryan Delaney and jumped aboard the Surety’s helicopter with Tori, threatening the pilot to fly them away. After landing, Eli knocked him out as well and he and Tori took off running.

### *Payback*

#### At the warehouse

Eli and Tori took a bus ride from Lubbock, Texas to Amarillo and helped people with their groceries in the parking lot of a supermarket to earn money. Two men in a dark sedan attempted to kidnap Tori, but Eli took their car and escaped with it. After destroying the antenna to ensure they wouldn’t be tracked, they broke into an empty warehouse full of Girl Scout Cookies.

While Tori sold cookies around the neighborhood, Eli hacked into the Amarillo Police Department’s website to find information about the stolen sedan. He saw Blake Upton on TV and immediately noted their similar appearance, but two men spotted Eli and attempted to stop him from escaping. Tori joined him in the car, and Eli decided to meet Blake at Atomic Studios.

#### Visiting Atomic Studios and Bartholomew Glen

While they tried to figure out how to enter the studio, a guard mistook Eli for Blake himself and drove them to the soundstage. Kenny led Blake to them, and Eli claimed they and Bartholomew Glen were related. However, Amos the director kicked them out, so Eli and Tori snuck into a bungalow to stay.

Courtesy of Tori’s idea, Eli pretended to be Blake to get his attention, and they watched the celebrity’s Twitter account blow up with fans’ messages. Blake then agreed to talk and reluctantly went along to visit Glen in the Noranda State Penitentiary.

The two boys entered the prison, and Glen instantly recognized Blake for starring in *Jupiter High*. Eli asked him about Project Osiris and learned that he wasn’t his clone, but instead a male clone of Tamara Dunleavy. Stunned and feeling sorry for Blake, Eli asked to be taken outside and they returned to the studio, where Blake left him.

#### At the Dunleavy home

In the bungalow, he found Tori imprisoned by the same men who had tried to kidnap her in Amarillo. Eli attempted to fight back but was also caught, and the two were driven to a garage where they met Tamara once again. They were taken to her private jet and reunited with Malik Bruder and Amber Laska, whom they had previously separated from and believed to be dead.

Tamara then explained the history behind herself and the project, offering them a place to stay with her. They reluctantly agreed, but began to enjoy her home as time went on. One day, Eli found a report about criminal DNA found in the Poseidon Resort and Water Park which could have only come from Freddie Cinta, and realized it was where Project Osiris had gone.

After Eli explained, Tamara agreed to send a pair of investigators to Poseidon, and they came back with photos of the remaining Osiris subjects and other Serenity residents. However, she refused to let them take matters into their own hands, so Eli decided to rescue the other kids themselves.

#### Heading to Poseidon

Eli took a laptop from Tamara and hacked into her security system, allowing them to escape in her Bentley. They entered the airport but were nearly spotted by Gavin, the nighttime security chief who worked for Tamara and blocked their way. The clones went back and stole two motorcycles, Eli and Malik on one and the girls on the other.

While trying to figure out where to go, Tamara called Eli, but he refused to return and closed the laptop. They arrived at the Driggs-Reed Memorial Airport and Eli persuaded Pete Shanahan, a pilot, to fly to West Cay, Bahamas. However, they landed in Florida instead after Tamara revoked their clearance to land. The kids took a taxi to a marina, and Eli chose a boat for them to take. A fisherman spotted and threatened them, but Malik knocked him out so Eli could take the boat to the water park.

#### Rescuing the other clones

They stopped at a beach and were soon spotted by a guard. However, he didn’t stop them, and Tori stole swimwear to use. Robbie Miers was the first clone they found and told of Project Osiris, but they were only able to persuade him with the help of Hector Amani, who was also at Poseidon. Eli and the others then spoke to Ben Stastny and Freddie Cinta.

Margaret Rauha and Penelope Sonas then followed, with Eli telling the girls to trust them. He and Tori led the way towards the boat but were detained by Mrs. Laska. After escaping, they found the boat had sunk, so they ran to the beach. Shortly after recruiting Aldwin Wo, C. J. Rackoff and two Surety members stopped them, but Malik knocked out Rackoff and they ran into the hotel.

There, they met Felix Hammerstrom, who pointed a pistol at Eli. Eli raised his hands and argued, but Hammerstrom pulled the trigger just as Hector tackled him, jarring his arm. As a result, the bullet shattered the lobby’s fish tank and a manta ray crushed Hammerstrom, killing him.

Tamara then arrived, running to hug Eli. She took the eleven clones home on her private jet and forgave them for their actions, but although Project Osiris was over, they had to pretend it never happened. After talking with each other, Eli, Tori, Malik, and Amber ended up in a group hug.

#### After Project Osiris

In September, Eli attended the Jackson Hole High School as a freshman. When learning about the Boston Tea Party, he remembered the fake Serenity internet and was unable to contain his laughter. After so many years in Serenity, Eli and the others were eager to learn more about the outside world and were content with their life in Jackson Hole.

## Personality and traits

Eli is very intelligent and skilled with anything related to computers. However, he can be oblivious, as he fails to notice that Tori Pritel has an obvious crush on him throughout the series. His DNA makes him a whiz with computers and Eli is able to hack into even the most secure areas.

## Physical description

Eli is fairly tall, thin, and non-athletic, despite playing water polo regularly in Serenity. He also has a thoughtful, brainy expression. He has dark hair that Tori has described as being as dark as Hammerstrom's is fair, and blue eyes, given that he is cloned from Tamara Dunleavy. Eli is thirteen years old during the first two books and fourteen by the end of *Payback*.

## Relationships

### Felix Hammerstrom

Before discovering the truth about Project Osiris, Eli was close to his surrogate father, Felix Hammerstrom, although when he realized the truth, this bond almost ceased to exist. By the end of *Masterminds*, Eli came to terms that Hammerstrom was his enemy, but still bore a bit of emotional attachment to the only father he knew for thirteen years.

However, in Poseidon Resort and Water Park, Hammerstrom was willing to shoot and kill Eli for Project Osiris to continue. He was crushed by a manta ray soon afterward, and Eli still looked at him sadly after realizing he was dead.

### Tamara Dunleavy

"*She's not my mother, but we* are *related. In fact, our genetic connection is closer than any parent and child. I'm her and she's me.
Two computer nerds in a pod.*"
—Eli Frieden, *Payback*

Tamara Dunleavy is a former hacker, but now is a retired billionaire thanks to her successful company VistaNet. She's also Eli's DNA donor, as Felix Hammerstrom used some of her DNA for the last Osiris clone without her knowledge.

In *Criminal Destiny,* when Eli and the others first met Tamara, she couldn't take her eyes off Eli due to the fact that he looked almost exactly like her great-nephew, Blake Upton. In *Payback*, she and Eli get along well due to their extremely similar personalities. Eli learns that he's a clone of Tamara Dunleavy after visiting Bartholomew Glen in prison. She forgives them for sneaking away, stealing her Bentley for a second time, and using her money to bribe a pilot. Eli considers them to be "two computer nerds in a pod".

### Friends

#### Randy Hardaway

Randy was one of the children that grew up in Serenity with a real family. At age thirteen, he was sent away to McNally Academy after knowing too much, while everyone believed he was going to live with his grandparents. Eli and Randy grew up as best friends, playing games together and making fake trading cards for the Surety, whom they called "Purple People Eaters". However, contact between the two was mostly cut after Randy left town.

However, he left a note for Eli before leaving, telling that something screwy was going on in the only town he had ever known. Later, Randy provided Eli, Amber, Malik, and Tori with a place to stay in McNally Academy following their escape from Serenity. It is mentioned that Randy always had liked to tease Eli.

#### Tori Pritel

*See also Teli (Tori x Eli)*

Tori has had a crush on Eli since before they escaped from Serenity. While it isn't as obvious, it was hinted at multiple times that Eli has feelings for Tori too. He also cares for her a lot, which is shown with how worried he got when she was almost kidnapped in *Payback*. He became jealous when Tori started to have a celebrity crush on Blake Upton, whose appearance was identical to him.

Eli finds it really easy to talk to her and believes that she's very smart, in a common sense way. Eli's feelings for her likely began after they broke out of Serenity. He also stated in *Payback* that he would remember Tori forever.

#### Mrs. Delaney

"*She's the only adult in town I can trust. And she thinks I'm nuts.*"
—Eli Frieden, *Masterminds*

Mrs. Delaney was Eli's water polo coach in Serenity, and she comforted Eli after Randy Hardaway left town. She was also Eli's first visitor after he fell ill a second time, and Mrs. Delaney stated that she had been worried about him. Her expression radiated sympathy for Eli, and she told him that he could always depend on her. He believed that he was the only adult that he could trust, as she wasn't involved with Project Osiris, and enjoyed talking with her.

When Eli, Tori, Malik, Amber and Hector attempted to escape town the first time, Mrs. Delaney drove out in her car and helped the kids escape without consequence.

At her last appearance in *Masterminds*, she seemed to be neutral about whether or not Eli should stay in Serenity, but was willing to keep their secret.

## Trivia

* He was the only one of the Osiris clones to have a different gender than that of his DNA donor.
* Eli is Osiris 1 and therefore the oldest of the clones.
* His name was changed to Eli Baris in German.
* Frieden is German for peace.