Tony Tollinger

### Occupation

Science student at Haverstock University (formerly), Leadership Seminar conductor (allegedly)

### Known Physical Features

glowing green eyes; tall; broad, flat shoulders (formerly) short, stooped posture

### First Mentioned

Season 8, Cassette #1: Take Responsibility!

## Voice

### First Heard

Season 8, Cassette #1: Take Responsibility!

**Tony** is the narrator of season 8 of Within the Wires. He designed and produced leadership self-help seminars, apparently based on his own success. He sent personalised tapes to Brian.

> *"I was hemmed in by ordinary people and I needed to shift myself into a new environment. One that would bring out in me all the qualities I knew were there. I needed to find an ecosystem where I could thrive, rather than merely exist in quiet satisfaction."* **--Tony in *Cassette #2: Inspiration, Aspiration, Actualization!***
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## Biography

### Early life

Before becoming Tony Tollinger, he attended Haverstock University. Among his classes was advanced biochemistry, which he attended along with a classmate named Brian. He would often discuss his big plans for his future, including buying and renovating a pre-Reckoning farmhouse in the southern former United States and marrying someone who was well-traveled and knowledgeable with his dog, a Catahoula Leopard Dog, by his side.

He was passing acquaintances with a young man named Greg, who always seemed to be around and was always presumed to be the invitee of a mutual friend. At some point, Greg arrived to a shared space wearing the exact same blazer as Tony, which was the first time he really paid Greg any attention. The imitation would only progress further as Greg began imitating his outfits totally, using the same cologne, and even dating people that Tony expressed interest in.

Greg once dogsat Tony's dog, Siouxsie, claiming to want a test run to see if he was ready to own his own dog. After one week, he told Tony that she had passed away after being hit by a truck. Greg never returned her body to him, and it left Tony distraught and enraged.

When he was around twenty-one, the IID showed up at Tony's door to question him for anti-Society activities and extremist groups. Greg's apparent actions had been linked back to him due to the imitation, and he was arrested for treason. He spent nearly two decades imprisoned in a small, dank room, which severely damaged his health. When he got out - it is unclear by what means - he swore retribution on Greg, and adopted the name and persona of Tony Tollinger to do so.

#### Tony's Stories

While "mentoring" Brian, Tony told a number of anecdotes about his life. They are of dubious truthfulness.

Tony claimed that in the Childhood Development Centre, he had a group of close friends, other boys, who he had fun and got in trouble with. He could not imagine growing apart from, but nevertheless by their 20s they had all got different jobs in different towns, got married or otherwise moved on to other friends, and lost touch. He later came to believe that having these friends held him back.

After finishing his studies and entering the workforce, Tony found some inspiration and guidance in a senior colleague. This mentor seemingly had the perfect life Tony aspired to - a successful job, beautiful spouse and pet, and nice house. Tony modeled his own life after his, basing how he dressed, where he lived, and his behaviour off his mentor's for years. The mentor went through a seemingly sudden and devastating divorce, and eventually left his job.

Tony was not immediately considered as his replacement, but made his case to be as much, only to realise that he did not want the job as he did not feel it had not and would challenge him. He left the company in search of places and people that would "inspire" him to continue improving.

Tony claimed to be a successful businessman in an unspecified field. He once went on a date with a woman whom he only agreed to go out with from boredom, as his flight had been delayed by a day and he had nothing to do. The woman was very well-traveled and had many interesting stories about the places she had been. Tony got an enjoyable night and some valuable knowledge about the "business world" out of it. He also claimed to be an acclaimed seminar speaker, even gaining fans. One fan, dubbed "Louis" by Tony, would even go as far as to purchase his premium cassette package, and later follow him to Jakarta to listen to him speak. Unenthused by his actions, Tony cut Louis' program midway through.

### Unraveling Brian

Tony delivered ten bespoke cassette tapes to Brian's door, promising to help him fulfil his potential and advance his career (although exactly how personalised the tapes were would not become clear until later). During his "guidance" of Brian, Tony repeatedly went to dinner with and became good friends with Brian's husband, Andrei. Through conversations with Andrei and others, as well as his own surveillance, he learned numerous things about Brian and Andrei that they did not know about each other. He attended a house party at their home, invited by Andrei, without Brian knowing. He remarked on the interior design, the content of his cupboards, and the gentleness of his dog, a Catahoula Leopard Dog. The following week, he instructed Brian in a tape to forward to him all the materials (particularly the "incriminating" parts) he had gathered on Ndegwa Mwangi and Mark Ramirez to him so they could be passed along to the IID. He encouraged Brian to "fill" any gaps in the case to make it watertight.

The following week, Tony brought up the fact that Brian and Andrei's fights were getting more frequent, and prompted him to think about whether Andrei and himself were standing in his way to success, or if they would be by his side. He went on to discuss the evidence Brian had collected against Mark, and encourage Brian to continue with his evidence gathering. He was surprised that Brian had sent him a letter despite the questionnaires having ended at this point in the program, but refused to answer any of Brian's questions, claiming it to be a breach in their relationship. He then challenged Brian to find him, knowing that he had been trying to look for him unsuccessfully.

After a particularly nasty marital spat, Tony sought out Brian getting drunk in a bar and, without revealing his identity, provided the opportunity to cheat on his husband, which Brian took. Tony later revealed to Brian what he had done, as well as the fact he had had a several weeks long affair with Andrei, and caused the two to split. He lamented that, despite the supposed real connection between him and Andrei, he would be unable to fulfil Andrei's wish to get together. He also noted that Brian had been demoted at work, his house had been infested with termites, and that his dog had gone missing. He requested that Brian journey three hours out to a cabin atop a mountaintop to get what he "deserves". During the closing of the tape, Tony called Brian by his real name, Greg, revealing that he knew who Brian was the entire time.

Truthfully, Tony had not in fact killed Brian/Greg's dog, as he had implied. He stole the dog, intending to keep him for himself, and renamed him Paris. While Brian/Greg hiked, Tony planted copious evidence behind a false wall in his home, framing him for the framing of Mark Ramirez and indirectly suggesting by doing so that he was trying to conceal his own anti-Society behaviour and fraud. He also left a map to the cabin Greg was at on the table for the IID to find. In his final tape, he confessed his actions and the reasons for them to Brian/Greg. He believed that Greg would not be able to stomach prison, both mentally and physically, taunting him about his worsening health due to the "supplements" he had been instructing him to take.

As Tony knew the IID would not take long to find Greg, he bid him farewell, not disclosing what he planned to do afterwards. He then noted that, despite everything, Greg still wore his vintage cravats.

## Additional info

* The name "Tony" is usually a short form of "Antony", derived from a popular Roman name. It is commonly associated (although originally unrelated etymologically) to the Greek "anthos" for "flower" which made "Anthony" the more popular spelling of the name in the 17th century.
* Tony is bisexual or pansexual, and has mentioned previous relationships with both men and women.
* Tony is around 41 during the season, having been 21 when he was arrested and spent 20 years in prison, and upon release, immediately went to work on revenge. Based on the speculated year of the season, 1977, this would make Tony's birth year 1936.
* Based on the fact that Brian/Greg adopted much of Tony's traits and life after he was arrested, it's possible that "Brian" is also Tony's real name as well, and was yet another facet of his life that was taken from him (although Tony states that "Brian" was potentially a classmate in his advanced biochemistry class, a class that Greg never took). It's also possible that Tony's real name is "Gerald", the example character from the first cassette, whose story could line up with Tony's as someone with a background in science suddenly becoming a successful businessman.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Season 8, Cassette #10: Learn from Your Mistakes!
2. ↑ Season 8, Cassette #2: Inspiration, Aspiration, Actualization!
3. ↑ Season 8, Cassette #1: Take Responsibility!
4. ↑ Season 8, Cassette #4: Make Your Own Opportunity!
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Season 8, Cassette #8: Invest in Yourself!
6. ↑ Season 8, Episode #7: Cultivate Your Brand!
7. ↑ Season 8, Cassette #9: Sell the Idea of You!