Arthur Chandler

> Chandler was a very cheerful, sunny person. This was not necessarily a good thing.
>
> Cyrus Hernandez about Arthur Chandler, Prototypes Ch. I

Arthur Chandler is a character in the *Project 54* series. He is an engineer at Construo Corporation, specializing in automaton wiring, and assisted with catching Dr. Eagleden and Septimus.

## Appearance

Arthur has a round face with a pointed chin, cocoa-colored eyes, and brown skin. He has short, curly black hair that is usually in round sponge twists, but is sometimes styled in other ways. His nose is short and round, and his eyebrows are thick. He has an average height and build, with nimble-looking fingers.

He typically dresses in nice clothes, although more casual than Dr. Hernandez, in light brown colors. However, Dr. Hernandez has said that dark colors suit him better. Being an engineer at Construo, he often wears their insignia. Currently, he wears a bracelet around his right wrist that says, “Epileptic,” so that he can get help if he ever has a seizure in public.

## Personality

Arthur has been described by several people as being cheerful, sunny, and upbeat, smiling in even the most dire of situations. Because of this and his people-pleasing personality, others sometimes find him annoying. Dr. Hernandez is one of these people, although he eventually grew more liking of Chandler, wishing for his presence in stressful times. He is also very hard-working, intelligent, and creative, as shown by his successful career at Construo. However, Arthur’s happy exterior hides his self-doubt. His mother, whom he has a bad relationship with, often criticizes and guilts him. Sometimes, this insecurity shows itself, though not often.

## Relationships

### Cyrus Hernandez

Cyrus is Arthur's boyfriend. The two have had a very complicated relationship over the seven years that they've known each other, but it is ultimately a positive and loving one. When they first met, their views of each other were very different, with Arthur falling in love with Cyrus, and Cyrus finding Arthur annoying. However, over time, the two became closer though gift-giving and Arthur's friendliness, especially as they were both working on catching Dr. Eagleden. After Cyrus drove Arthur home from his apartment one night (about two years after they had met), they shared a kiss, and started dating (after some avoidance and awkward conversations). They continue to be a couple throughout the rest of the series, though they have to keep this very well hidden, as their society is not very accepting of homosexuality. In *Project 54*, Eulalie finds out about their relationship, then later Septimus and Sixtine, though, fortunately, the three agree to keep it a secret. In *The Seventh Machine*, their relationship is hinted at with Arthur's concern about Cyrus and their easiness around each other, and in *Prototypes* it is revealed that they were both incredibly worried about each other during everything that happened in the weapon. When Cyrus's legs were broken and he was in a wheelchair, it put him under a lot of stress and also affected their relationship, but they got through it.

Arthur looks up to Cyrus, but also does his best to take care of him, and looks to him as a source of comfort. He also finds Cyrus very handsome (which he has thought ever since they first met). Cyrus still sees Arthur as somewhat annoying, but he cares about him a lot, becoming quite concerned and protective whenever the latter has a seizure. Arthur is also one of the only people he really opens up and lets his guard down around.

### Eduard Eagleden

Dr. Eagleden used to be Arthur's coworker at Construo, but after Arliss Rylerne died, Dr. Eagleden became a criminal and went on the run, and Arthur joined the hunt for him. Though Dr. Eagleden's main enemy was Dr. Hernandez, he still hated Arthur, blaming him for the death of Arliss, and Arthur despised him for all of the problems he'd caused.

After Dr. Eagleden was caught and spoke to Dr. Hernandez, he seemed to somehow know about the romantic relationship between Dr. Hernandez and Arthur. Dr. Eagleden also compared Dr. Hernandez to himself and said Dr. Hernandez couldn't understand because he hadn't lost the one he loved most, meaning that Dr. Eagleden could've been comparing Arthur to Arliss Rylerne by extension.

### Renee Chandler

Renee Chandler is Arthur's mother. However, the two have a very negative and complicated relationship, which occasionally became abusive. Renee always treated Arthur like a hindrance and would frequently verbally abuse him, leading him to become quite ashamed of himself, though he tries to hide this fact. Arthur's epilepsy often had a role in this, as Renee found the condition annoying and ridiculous, despite the fact that it could be potentially life-threatening for her son. After Arthur's father, Ernest, passed away, Renee blamed Arthur for never coming to visit, yelling at him so much that he ran out in tears to Cyrus Hernandez's apartment for comfort. Arthur has an extreme dislike for his mother, blaming her for the insecurities he has.

### Septimus

> You’re a beautiful, amazing machine. I wish that we could let you live. But at least you can take consolation that, in a way, your termination will save the world.
>
> Arthur Chandler to Septimus, The Seventh Machine Ch. XXXV

The two don't know each other very well, but Septimus was pleased that Dr. Chandler treated him nicely (compared to Dr. Hernandez, at least), even after Septimus decimated the city.

### Eulalie Roder

Arthur met Eulalie twice before the events of The Seventh Machine, both times at Construo parties, where they had gotten along well (though they forgot about each other afterwards). They didn't meet again until after the events of Septimus's weapon, and their relationship was tense, since Eulalie was upset about Construo's decision to terminate Septimus. However, after Septimus was allowed to live, their relations improved. Currently, they're on good terms.

Dr. Hernandez has also compared the two to each other, noting how they share an extroverted personality, people skills, and a love for engineering.

## Quotes

* (To Septimus, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. XXXV) "You’re a beautiful, amazing machine. I wish that we could let you live. But at least you can take consolation that, in a way, your termination will save the world."
* (In the Fectumport Chronicle, *Prototypes* Ch. II) “*Have you ever seen someone die? It’s terrible. What makes it even worse is, you wonder if you could have done something. What if we had acted sooner?*”
* (To Dr. Hernandez, *Prototypes* Ch. II) *“What?! This entire time, I’ve been bringing you coffee you didn’t even like?”*
* (To Dr. Hernandez, *Prototypes* Ch. VII) *“What should I write my thesis about? Maybe I’ll write about these machines. Or would that be plagiarism? Well, Dr. Eagleden is a criminal, it doesn’t matter if I plagiarize him!”*
* (To Chief Sayed, *Prototypes* Ch. X) *“Respectfully, Chief Sayed, I don’t see any doctorates to* your *name, either.”*
* (To Dr. Hernandez, *Prototypes* Ch. X) *“Oh, I can’t drive.”*
* (To Dr. Hernandez, *Prototypes* Ch. XI) *“Wow, there really is something about having everyone clap for you, isn’t there?”*

## Trivia

* Arthur has epilepsy.
	+ He doesn’t have seizures too often, but when he does, they are generally tonic-clonic seizures (also known as grand mal seizures, they are the most dramatic and famous kind).
	+ He dislikes this condition, finding it embarrassing and annoying.
* He doesn’t know how to drive and doesn’t have a car.
* He is very good at chess.
* Arthur is left-handed.
* Arthur (and the rest of the characters) were originally supposed to live in France or a French-inspired imaginary country, but it was changed so that they live in an English/American-inspired imaginary country.
* Tertius, the third automaton in Project 54, resembles Arthur Chandler.
* He is a Gemini (with his birthday being on May 23)
* He has A positive blood type.
* Arthur Chandler originally had Beatriss Rylerne’s old male character design.
	+ As such, Septimus would have resembled Arthur Chandler. However, this was before the existence of the Rylernes.
* Arthur Chandler was originally Cyrus Hernandez’s boss.
* His MBTI personality type is ENFP-T.

## Gallery

Arthur's original design (now Vincent Rylerne's)The first drawing of Arthur's current design