José VeriZon

José VeriZon

 * “My goal is simpl. Make qu8ty things ppl need.  Make qu8ty things ppl want.  In all things make ppl :-)”.  ---José VeriZon

José VeriZon (born May 6 2813) is a Martian conservationist, 2840:vampire, winemaker, 2840:cyborg, and primary caregiver of 2840:Oxygen Park A in (unnamed city). He gained notoriety from his restoration project on 2840:D level and his nature reserve on 2840:A level.

Life seemed very simple for José growing up. He was intelligent, attentive, and quite outgoing. He also did well at Junior Milton Academy, a boy’s preparatory school for the professional and governmental sciences. That was until the accident. When José was 13, he was involved in a sporting accident involving a poorly swung baseball bat. He awoke from a coma several days later with severe brain damage and the total loss of his senses of smell and hearing. After a lengthy review of his academic and social performance by city officials, the decision was made to save his life by installing sensory cybernetics instead of pulling the plug. The tradeoff was a calculated risk. Since he was already physically scarred for life, virtually ruining any hope of a political career, he could be made productive again by transforming his broken senses into precision instruments and then reeducating him at Ivy Tech, the city’s foremost school for the Agricultural sciences. At Ivy Tech, José managed to do acceptably academically but he always kept a silent resentment of his situation. Before the accident, he was being prepared for a plush, well paying job in the city government, and now he was being trained to be a farmer. True, farming was an important job, but the pay was crap and the hours were long. In this way José despaired until he graduated with his Master’s of Agricultural Science in 2831. One stipulation that went along with his government-funded cybernetic implants was that José would be required to do 2 years of community service with the humanitarian group D-vival!!1, which promoted restoration and urban renewal in the slums of Mon St. Michelle. José was understandably pessimistic about his first “career placement,” but it sure beat being a vegetable in a hospital bed, so with some reluctance, he reported for duty as the Garden Tech administrator of Mon St. Michelle’s only D-Level oxygen park. Role Playing Hints:

Personality José maintains a simple down-to-mars attitude and work ethic. Work hard, think globally, innovate responsibly, listen frequently, and build passionately are among his most cherished mottos. Vampiric Outlook Being a vampire isn’t a big deal to José; it is simply another curveball life has thrown him. He enjoys the power, but he’s not the kind of guy to flaunt it or use it destructively. As a result the disciplines he uses on a regular basis are more geared towards helping him accomplish his job rather than toward controlling society or aiding in combat. Goals and Dreams José is the kind of guy who is never satisfied even when he is successful. While doing his community service down on D-Level, he learned to love being helpful and productive for the sake of being benevolent. Now that his oxygen park is becoming a big name luxury provider, he is having trouble adjusting to being in the limelight. Ultimately he longs to do something even more productive, but he is currently at a loss in regards to the direction his next venture should take. Relationships José maintains two close friends, although most would consider the second to be more of an adversary than a friend. His Ghoul, Ris'leahon (or Rizzy for short) is a quite capable Garden Tech who has been working with José ever since his days on D-level. There is often joking among some of José’s employees that his relationship with Rizzy is more than just professional, but neither of them seem to mind the scrutiny too much. José’s second close contact is a mysterious bear the park acquired last year whom José has playfully named Chubby. Lately José has discovered that the bear suffers from some dramatic form of mutation, and can shapeshift into several different forms at will. In some of these forms, Chubby can even talk to José. Lately, Chubby’s actions have become more disruptive and José has found himself more often than not scolding and chiding Chubby for his lack of restraint in regards to his consumption of alcohol and his occasional tormenting of park visitors and staff. Here, in the small D-Level oxygen park, José finally found his calling in life. The majority of his helpers were Arcane volunteers who promoted unconventional methods of farming and oxygen production. Slowly, José’s methods began to change from a tightly controlled science to a form of organic art. He utilized local Arcane artists to shape the oxygen park into a botanical garden and wildlife preserve. Within a few years even tourists were coming down to D-level to investigate his beautiful oasis among the cave rocks. It was also here that clan Gangrel took notice of José’s talents, and promptly bestowed the gift of immortality on his efforts. The shift from mortal to vampire seemed to have little effect on José’s demeanor, probably on account of surviving one radical life change already and having learned to roll with the punches. A few years later, Jose was promoted to the position of director of Mon St. Michelle’s newest A-Level oxygen park, a job considered by Garden Techs as the break of a lifetime. Now Jose is applying his trade in one of the finest park facilities on Mars. He has several hundred Garden Techs working for him and has expanded his operations to include a wildlife preserve and one of the most successful vineyards Mars has ever seen. A Bottle of Chateau St. Michelle 2839 is considered a master year by wine experts, and wine connoisseurs (not to mention the rich and famous) now pay top credit for products from VeriZon’s park. VeriZon now spends most of his time maintaining his park with that aid of his trusted assistant, a Snydead ghoul named Rizzy. Recently, José acquired a family of bears which have proved to be much more disruptive than the rest of the wildlife in the park. Opinions and Stereotypes:

On the Government of Mon St. Michelle: “They mean well, really they do, but they are too concerned with developing trends instead of a stable beautiful environment. One day I’ll be yesterday’s news to them, and I guess I’ll just go and do something else with my time then. Suits me just fine”.

On the Insurrection: “These guys give Arcanes a bad name. They lack any genuine quest for knowledge and in its place have the raging hormones of a bull. I’m sorry boys, but I went through puberty once and I outgrew it! They cannot be trusted and must be stopped at all costs.”

On Cyberdine: “I guess you can say I owe them my life.”

On Snydeads: “You wouldn’t think it at first, but these little guys really have their stuff together. They don’t just grow crops, they make art with them. By far I’d much rather hire a Snydead Garden Tech than a true human any day of the week. The problem is few Snydeads go to college to get the training necessary for me to hire them.”

On Brujah: “It depends on the Brujah as they come in all shades, colors, and propensities for violence. The worst are simply cannon fodder for the Insurrection. The best are quiet little scholars. Just be nice to them and they’ll usually leave you alone.”

On Ravnos: “WTF is wrong with these people?!? I have never once crossed them but every time I meet one something always goes wrong in my life. I avoid these little bad luck charms like the plague.”

On Salubri: “They seem friendly but useless. I’ve never seen one do more than just sit around at a vampire assembly and look pretty.”

On Caitiff: “It is actually a good thing that some vampires are dying. It keeps them humble and active. They realize they only have about 200 years to get something accomplished in life and they tend to make the most of it. Most of them are good people.”