Jonah Nalder (born 9 January 2047) is a resident of Concord who patrols the community walls, often just outside Barnum's Bazaar.

Early life and family

Jonah Nalder was born in the Davenport neighborhood in Rivertown North. He worked as an electrician tradesman for many years, living in different neighborhoods in Rivertown. He has one brother, Franklin, who was still living in Davenport during the years of social unrest and the spread of the deadly superflu. He and his wife Juliana had moved to a small home near the highway but had to flee when it caught fire in the sweeping infernos that ravaged the city.

The couple lived out of a small van out in what became known as the Western Wastes for a few years, moving anytime they saw anyone getting near them but, with supplies running low and the van running on fumes and the last bits of solar power, they drove back into Rivertown. The van sputtered to a stop near Concord and they had just enough time to retrieve their scant possessions and flee before the van was set upon by a hoard of aggressive scavengers.

By 2095 the couple were in serious jeopardy of starving to death, having just been able to avoid violent confrontations with scavengers and scrounge enough food, when they came upon the small settlement of Concord. Nalder's skill with his hands came in useful as he helped develop rudimentary plumbing system and also helped coordinate the community's unconventional walls.

In August of 2112, Juliana died peacefully in her sleep, breaking Jonah's heart. He laid her to rest in a small grassy plot behind the Bazaar where the children like to play.

Disposition and traits

Jonah is a slow talking, friendly sort, the kind of small town rube depicted in old movies. He believes in an honest day's work and enjoys tinkering with complex problems. He is extremely proud of his contributions to the living conditions at Concord, which he thinks are "swell." This includes having functioning plumbing and sturdy, secure walls that surround them. While Jonah knows how to point and shoot a rifle, he sees using it as a last resort and will always fire a volley of warning shots in order to scare off the "riff-raff."

Goals and motivations

Nalder loves children and views the young ones at Concord as his own, even though they are not related by blood. When Juliana was still alive, they would teach them songs from their own childhoods. As an old man, Jonah has no other goal other than to protect the ones he loves and to live each day to its fullest, though the days seem less full with his teenage sweetheart gone.

Primary residence

Nalder lives in the apartment complex next to the Bazaar in Concord.

Attributes and Abilities

Nalder knows how to use all kinds of weapons from his time helping around the Bazaar, including handguns, rifles, grenades, and the heavy machine guns mounted in the upper windows of the building. He also wired several dozen IEDs around the most suspect portions of the wall surrounding Concord, which are well marked and difficult to trip from the inside. He is in fair shape for a man in his mid-60s who spent a decade being underfed, but would not constitute much of a physical challenge if assaulted as he possesses no fighting skills.