Dr. Methuselah

**Dr. Methuselah** is probably not truly omnipotent, omniscient or immortal. He is, however, close enough as to make no difference in many cases.

In the Century Club it has been theorised that the mad mathematician, whose equations rewrite reality itself and are seemingly more akin to magic, is something called a Millenial; in brief, one who is to Centurions what Centurions are to normal people. It certainly offers an easy explanation of why he is so very powerful, so impossible to kill, and active over so many centuries. But in truth very little is known about Methuselah, which is remarkable considering that fighting him has been something of a rite of initiation for new generations of Centurions for centuries now. Enemies young and old thwart his plans, only to die and leave him free to continue advancing them. Then again, with someone as odd and inscrutable as this, how can one be sure that he has been thwarted and not merely delayed, or did not, in fact, get what he wants?

For his own part, the good Doctor is rather unassuming as demigods go, a calm, stoic man of few words and fewer emotions. He insists that all he does is merely science on a more advanced level, and he maintains a presence in the scientific community, which is too terrified to say no to him; that being said he seems to have largely given up on explaining his theories by this point. It is undeniable that he is a super-genius, and also that his plans, whether they have a benign or malign end goal behind them, often end up treating people, sometimes large groups of them, as a normal scientist would treat lab rats or ants - thus ensuring the Century Club's continued hostility to him. If he is bothered by this, he does not seem to show it. Certainly he doesn't seem to bear grudges against individual Centurions (but again, how would you know?). Some, like Kim Kwon-sung, have born a grudge against him instead.

One of his most recent manifestations was in Alderley Edge during the events that would culminate in the Saint Haven Incident. The timing was likely not a coincidence. He attempted to take over the Wizard's Cave of Alderley Edge, awakening and chasing out the Knights of the Round Table and perhaps also making them perceive the Centurions as demons. Merlin, though likewise expelled physically from the Cave, continued to defy him with his magic, though it was ultimately just a delaying action. When Merlin sent in the young Centurions to stop Methuselah from taking over the Holy Grail, they soon encountered the so-called "White People" - projections of soldiers or agents from the far future year 2000. When those proved insufficient to stop them, Methuselah took a bit of time out from his duel with Merlin to turn the forces of probability against the infiltrators, letting the Cave itself, with its various instabilities and hazards, work against them. When they surmounted even this obstacle and reached the Cave's heart, Methuselah was reluctantly compelled to fight them himself. In the end, the Centurions survived his attacks for long enough; further, Else Rommel specifically managed to use his own blackboard to further delay the process of liberating the energy source he was after. The battle threatening to run longer than he wished it to, Methuselah did what he did a thousand times before, cancelling all the supernormal effects and departing... but not before noting Sarah Hayes, smiling (just a little bit), and informing her that she will serve him well.

The truth of his words would be revealed somewhat later. After the Battle of Saint Haven, he found Sarah Hayes running away from her allies and sped her along by transporting her seamlessly to Central Africa. Throughout her African trek, he invaded her dreams with tricks and symbols and provided her with extra energy when it was needed. By the time she caught up with her quarry, Henry Maurice Allard (also influenced by Methuselah in some fashion), in Zanzibar, Methuselah had prepared the ground enough to make his move. He intervened in Sarah's final, frenzied confrontation with Allard by conflating in a brief moment in space-time the 1901 and 1915 Zanzibar incidents, using 1901-Rose Hayes to break 1915-Allard and save 1915-Sarah, while also giving her the idea to raise 1901-Sarah back in her own time. This simple feat accomplished, he recruited her, promising to bring back Rose Hayes permanently when he becomes able to do such things if she worked for him. Eager to get back her mentor - and get back *at* Merlin - Sarah eagerly accepted the offer.

Both she and Allard were then transported to a place occupied by Methuselah's army of simian minions, the latter to be arrested, the former to be briefed on the work to come. Methuselah informed her then that one of the first steps towards his ultimate plan involved stopping the rise of the Black Moon.