Stephen McArthur

***Father Stephen McArthur*** is one of five secondary protagonists in the novel; *Cataclysm: Definitive Edition* (and the original), he is a roaming priest who gives seminars on the road and from town-to-town on behalf of the Anglican Church in an initiate to convince people to convert to Protestantism, follow the King James Bible and learn to read and write English.

Stephen and his wife Lorraine McArthur meet Robert Charlton and Katrina Davenport after they had escaped the Horde's War Camp and made it through the Moss Woods to Hale.

***“so Robert, are you a man of God?”*** - Stephen McArthur asks Robert Charlton of his religious views during dinner. (*Chapter 24: B&B)*.

## Pre-Book History:

Stephen McArthur was born in 2191 within Exodus that is controlled by the Democratic Trade Union.

Boasting a large strict-Protestant community in Exodus, Stephen McArthur attended to the Exodus Anglican Church Primary & High School, where the Head Teacher, a priest saw the value in Stephen and his devotion to the Church of England.

When Stephen graduated from the E.A.C. Primary & High School in 2207, he attended priesthood school in Tond. Stephen graduated the priesthood school in 2215 with full honours, Stephen became a full-member priest within the Anglican Church.

After his initial year, in 2216, Stephen opted to be apart of the experimental "*Maverick Operation*" where priests would roam around the outskirts of cities and town and travel from less religious areas to other less religious areas to convert the locals into Protestantism, whereby the Church of England could send agents to educate the population of those areas on how to read and write English and learn the King James Bible.

The Maverick Operation proved to be a success from its launch in mid 2216 to 2218 where it became an official scheme of the Anglican Church, spearheaded by these roaming priests. From 2218 onward Stephen became a committed roaming priest.

During his years between 2218 and 2238, Stephen had ventured all across the North-West, with the exception of the Skin-Crawler Territory, Utopia and the areas controlled by Arch-Tiberius. Stephen did however travel to Everpool and Hell's Passage. In his time Stephen had managed to convert many gangs, some very vicious, and made them functioning members of society. Stephen converted all of Clan Scouse to Protestantism which caused the Pool Crew to in turn convert to Catholicism, intensifying the war between the two factions further.

Stephen negotiated a working relationship with Clan Claw in an effort to convert them to Protestantism and work out their differences with the D.T.U. when the clan formed and rose up in rebellion in 2230. Stephen managed to convert many of the clan's leaders.

Before dealing with Clan Claw in 2230 however Stephen met his future wife; Lorraine (Harris, at the time), going by the name Nightshade, when she was in a gang that operated in the Independent Territories south of the D.T.U. At this point in time Lorraine was a regular drug user, mainly cocaine and cannabis, and would prostitute herself out from time-to-time, when the gang needed items to trade. This was in 2224 and Stephen fell in love with Lorraine upon the first time he set eyes upon her. Lorraine felt the same and was very open to converting to Protestantism, as were the rest of the gang she was apart of.

The gang successfully converted completely in 2225, with them all being baptised and losing their gang names, becoming armed guards for the Anglican Church. Lorraine on the other hand asked to be Stephen's personal assistant. Stephen accepted and made it his personal mission to get her off the drugs, helping Lorraine get through the process of going cold turkey.

In 2227 Lorraine and Stephen got married at the Saint George Anglican Church Abbey located in Tond. Where after their honeymoon in the D.T.U. governed coastal town of So-Port, both Lorraine and Stephen returned to their lives as roaming agents for the Church of England.

In 2237, ten years later, with the rising power of Arch-Tiberius in the south, Stephen and Lorraine focused their efforts more in the Independent Territories, even visiting Ipton a few times, in an effort to get the locals to convert to Protestantism and migrate north to become citizens of the D.T.U. for protection.

Most of Stephen and Lorraine's efforts were in vein, as many of the independent towns were Atheist, Jewish, Catholic, Pagan, Polytheist or were already abandoned. The duo came across an Islamic town however it had already been raided and destroyed by Arch-Tiberius's Horde. This opened Stephen and Lorraine's eyes to the seriousness of the Horde's threat. Seeing old people, the disabled, children, men and women of this Islamic town all having been ravaged, butchered and crucified. An Arabian flag, which was the town's official flag, had been trampled on, burned and defecated on.

Stephen and Lorraine chose to leave the Independent Territories and tend to their flock in the D.T.U. held areas. Then the duo decided to continue their working relationship with Clan Claw, in an attempt to stop the eight year rebellion, in hopes it would give the D.T.U. more strength to defeat Arch-Tiberius once the mad warlord decided to invade from the south.

In 2238 Stephen and Lorraine went to Tradesville to stock up then headed to the East Democratic Trade Union Territories, which included the likes of Buddington, Black Mountains, Hale and Lempton.

## Appearance & Personality:

### **Physical Appearance:**

* **Eye Colour -**Green

* **Hair Colour -**Brown with hints of grey.
* **Hair Style -**Balding
* **Facial Hair -**None
* **Skin Colour -**White.
* **Height -**5'9" (175.4cm)
* **Weight -**15st (210lbs)
* **Accent -**Yorkshire
* **Age (In 2238) -**47-years-old.
* **Other Features -** Stephen holds his weight pretty well considering his height.

### **Attire & Arsenal:**

Stephen wears dark clothes, mostly leather, to help protect him against the elements, including a scarf to help him in dust-storms. Stephen wears the white collar of priesthood however they mostly get snapped off by accident or during incidents.

Although priests of the Protestant Church of England are prohibited from bearing arms, Stephen bought a 9mm pistol in case of emergencies, valuing his life over those who attempted to kill him, after experiencing the brutality of gangs and marauders outside the D.T.U. territories.

### **Personality:**

Stephen is completely devoted to the service of God and values the lives of everyone, no matter who they are, deeming that anyone can be converted and saved from damnation. Stephen is able to empathise with others easily and in turn give great advice. Stephen is very good with children and knows how to educate them, using the King James Bible as his source of education.

## Biography:

Stephen and Lorraine meet Robert Charlton and Katrina Davenport after the duo escaped the Horde's War Camp and made it through the Moss Woods to the town of Hale.

Stephen and Lorraine join Robert and Kat and drive up north with them to New Haven, desiring to avoid being captured by Arch-Tiberius.

A riot breaks out in Outer New Haven and the group are forced out Stephen's car. Stephen and Lorraine are injured, Stephen more so. Lorraine decided to stay with her beaten husband and allowed Rob to take Kat away.

Lorraine and Stephen manage to find medical care and the next day retrieve their crashed car, with all their items still inside, having not been looted. Looters and rioters are brought to Stephen and Lorraine by the D.T.U.D.F.'s New Haven Guard however the priest forgives them in return for them to do civil service for the Anglican Chruch, which all but two out of twelve agree to. The two who did not agree to the terms were thrown in prison.

Stephen recovered in the Inner Saint John New Haven Hospital with a cast around his broken arm, soon after Lorraine bought clothes for Katrina after finding out Robert had been shot to death during the riot, with the intention of adopting Katrina.

Stephen retrieved Katrina from the same hospital that he had recovered in after having attended Robert's funeral. Stephen brought Kat to Rob's grave and allowed her time to mourn on her own, where she prayed for Robert. Stephen and Lorraine then fetched Katrina some fresh water, sealed within a plastic bottle and offered to adopt the young girl. Kat accepted and changed her name to Katrina Charlton-McArthur.

## Trivia:

* Stephen was not in the original early drafts of the novel but was later added in after Darryl M. Finch-Ellis desired Katrina be have someone reliable to look after her once her parents, Robert Charlton and Doc Samson had died.
* Stephen is a citizen of the D.T.U. and holds a D.T.U.C.C.
* Stephen and Lorraine are financed by the Anglican Church and have saved up enough credits from the D.T.U. and the Crater to be moderately rich in either faction's territories.
* Although priests are not allowed to have firearms and the Anglican Church prohibits the use of weaponry, Stephen was not willing to take that risk after having dealt with gangs and marauders outside of the D.T.U. territories and so bought himself a 9mm sidearm he kept hidden in his glove compartment within his car.
* Stephen converted his wife Lorraine, Clan Scouse and Longclaw to Protestantism.
* Stephen's favourite song is; *George Harrison - My Sweet Lord*.