Hart

Source of the image you used.

*"Mr. Hart" is a Founder of the Trilliant Ring and VP (Vice President) of Bio-Integration Services. An aggressive advocate for physical augmentations and outspoken critic of the Empire's cultural norms, Mr. Hart is a model Upper Echelon executive - and a PR disaster waiting to happen.*

## Title & Responsibilities

*Vice President (VP), Bio-Integration Services- Engineering Division*

Mr Hart's responsibilities lie in monitoring sales and installations of cybernetic and biomedical augmentations. Cybernetics and Biomedical subdivisions both report to Mr. Hart regarding the status of these operations, ensuring clients are satisfied, and not suffering any adverse side-effects from biomedical procedures. Mr. Hart is also responsible for assessing the needs of new clients, or determining if new requests are compatible with older technology, and even outlining design criteria for new augmentation processes.

## Traits and Appearance

*An eccentric looking fellow in an impeccably well-tailored shirt and waistcoat, a series of faint metallic lines around the face suggest this person has undergone significant cybernetic augmentation. His neatly trimmed beard looks to be genuine, though.*

Without cybernetics, Mr. Hart would look like an ordinary man in their late 30's. In reality, it's difficult to tell what parts of his body are artificial or organic. Mr. Hart's hands and wrists are clearly cybernetic in nature, with the artificial material continuing behind the cuff of each sleeve. While his frame is very solidly built, it somehow seems out of place with the soft facial features and slight bulge around his jaw. A silvery network of lines around the eyes, ears and temples mark out different textures and colours on his face, indicating cranial augmentations.

Mr. Hart sports dark colours, favoring long-sleeved shirts, full length trousers and a complementary golden waistcoat, without exception. This is a consistent style that Mr. Hart maintains to avoid the attentions of the Marketing division. Mr. Hart is known for altering the configuration and specification of his prostheses and other augments, seemingly at random.

## Biography

*While it's an open secret that Mr. Hart's knowledge of medical procedures is based on his time as a Practitioner of House Serpens' Caduceus Organisation, it would be impossible to guess from the man himself. He seems to have embraced his Exigo status, and openly derides those Trilliant Ring members who either cling or aspire to the status of the Noble Houses.*

"Mr. Hart" is obviously an alias, adopted ever since joining the Trilliant Ring. Despite not discussing his personal history in the open, Mr. Hart will eagerly discuss his medical background. His life changed completely when he was diagnosed with an incurable bone disease, which would quickly lead to total paralysis and eventually death. As an experimental researcher from an influential family, someone in the nascent corporation took notice of his plight, and arranged for an invitation to the Trilliant Ring.

### Before the Trilliant Ring

Mr. Hart's motivations for seeking out Research Post Igliza before the incorporation in 3014 are only known to a select few within the organisation.

*The full story is a bit more complicated than Mr. Hart would lead people to believe. The few who are aware of his background in House Serpens understand that Mr. Hart was the firstborn son of a well-regarded Serpens Practitioner and a Lyran Horuset in the city of Sero’ak, the capital of Hroa. However, Mr. Hart did not inherit the psionic abilities of his parents. Since the culture of House Serpens heavily favours those with M.E.S, Mr. Hart spent his early life being considered "less than", both in school and at home. Despite this, Mr. Hart pursued a career as a medical researcher, focusing on advancing experimental medical procedures that did not rely on the presence of a biopsionicist.*
*When Mr. Hart was diagnosed with this life-altering medical condition, he purposefully rejected all forms of psionic treatment, intending to create a cybernetic body apparatus that would replace the affected bones. Intense objections from both his family and Caduceus itself were raised, namely his lack of experience with the technology itself. His perceived persecution and rejection by House Serpens' culture had led to Mr. Hart developing a complete inferiority complex, and it began to alter every facet of his life. Stubbornly continuing his research, after some time he perfected the design of the apparatus and the associated medical procedures, but the disease had progressed well beyond the initial diagnosis - Mr. Hart was dying, and the procedure he dedicated years of his life to designing was now too dangerous for any reasonable Caduceus facility to permit.*

*Mr. Hart's open rejection of the medical establishment had become something of an embarrassment for House Serpens. Shunned from any facility that would provide the facilities he needed, Mr. Hart attempted to find more clandestine operations. He eventually heard a rumour of a medical procedure that had postponed the death of a patient with terminal brain cancer, being performed somewhere in the regional systems of the empire. Upon requesting permission to leave with medical provisions on a contracted Deathless mercenary ship, Mr. Hart was asked to perform Exigo, and never return to Hroa. With is alternative being a slow, painful death, alone in a hospital bed, Mr. Hart accepted this ultimatum, and left for the Igliza system. He has kept his word, and never returned to Hroa.*

If Mr Hart's story is true, there is no evidence of any kind of impairment or disability in his movement or behaviour. In fact, he appears to be in peak physical condition. Apparently, to treat the condition 87% of his bones have been replaced with artificial prosthetics, and the lines that mark his face extend throughout his body, marking the synthetic skin grafts that were produced to enable his safe recovery.

### Post-Incorporation

Mr. Hart was present as a Signee on the Charter in 3014. He did not use his Serpens name. As a Founder, Mr. Hart was in charge of determining the specifications and overseeing the "installation" of some of the very first publicly available cybernetic augmentations the Trilliant Ring produced. His role as the first expert in Bio-Integration Technologies has given him personal oversight of virtually all noble clientele receiving treatment or augmentations on Trillia IX since 3014, as well as many Trilliant Ring employees. Mr. Hart gathers reports from both Biomedical and Cybernetics on the status of these existing installations, and leads a small team of Quality Assurance Experts in ensuring augmentations assigned to future clients are fully compatible.

As a result of his time within the Trilliant Ring, Mr. Hart has developed an exhaustive practical knowledge of almost every type of augmentation the Trilliant Ring possesses. This grants him a unique advantage when comparing various techniques or designs, as he usually has a record of successful (or unsuccessful) procedures to draw from.

Additionally, Mr. Hart created the "Shapesmithing" program, producing trained associates able to consult with clients across the sector regarding a more aesthetic approach to self-improvement. This included physical exercise regimens, pharmaceutical packages, and even some cybernetic augmentations as a final, exclusive option. These "Shapesmiths" are considered Lower Echelon, albeit at a less prestigious level within this tier of the organization than other creative roles.

## Hobbies and Interests

Since joining the Trilliant Ring, Mr. Hart has abandoned all pretense of his past life as a Noble. He actively scorns any Trilliant Ring personnel or events that glorify pointless gluttony and excess, while championing personal expression and praising others for finding their "true selves". While he finds the spectacle of events like the Trillia Grand Prix to be tactless or garish, he will gladly devote endless hours to his personal design projects. While he is happy to spend time discussing any creative endeavour from anyone in the Ring, regardless of Echelon, he will prefer to be alone, sometimes intoxicated via less socially-oriented consumables.

Mr. Hart has an enduring fascination with ancient-Earth crafting skills, using materials like timber or even natural stone to create re-imagined versions of old-world artefacts. He also uses these skills as a means of exploring new visual styles for prosthetic chassis designs. His personal aesthetic is sparse, minimalist and almost completely devoid of the cultural hallmarks of life among the Noble Houses, with the exception of a few articles of clothing. Where Mr. Hart wears dark colours with gold accents, his personal quarters are filled with a sparkling, luminescent white on all practical surfaces. In his mind, this approach sets Mr. Hart apart from his contemporaries in the Upper Echelon - regardless of the reality.

Since many other Upper Echelon members either came from the Noble Houses, or would aspire to join their ranks, Mr. Hart's opinion of the nobility is a constant source of friction in those relationships. Mr. Hart views the Trilliant Ring as a true meritocracy, where a person's talent will be found and utilised in the best way possible; as a place where noble birth holds no meaning or value beyond what they may have learned in service to their House.