Symon Franciso Meli (born 9 May 2078) is a rank-and-file guard in the MPD. He achieved the rank of Special Officer but was demoted after a debilitating injury left him unable to perform his officer duties.

Early life and family

Symon Meli was born in downtown Sauklund to a single mother. They lived happily together despite their poverty until Symon turned 11. Rampant gang activity convinced his mother that she needed to get her son away from that poisonous atmosphere and sent him to live with his grandparents, who lived in LaFollette Square, an historically Italian neighborhood in downtown Rivertown. He had been living there a month when the superflu struck, taking his grandmother's life instantly but neither he nor his grandfather contracted the disease.

After two years of living hand-to-mouth, fire drove them from their home and they headed further south, his ex-cop grandfather teaching the adolescent boy self-defense and gun handling skills as they kept on the move. While scavenging, they were overtaken by the MPD during Project Reclamation and were nearly gunned down before the guards saw they weren't a threat. They were brought back to the Rock, where Symon's grandfather was uexpectedly reunited with an old friend, Chas Lukowksi.

At the age of 17, Symon joined the MPD and graduated two years later at the top of his class, just in time for the launch of Project Unification, where Meli served with distinction. In rapid succession he was promoted to Special Officer, married a lovely young woman, and had a baby girl named Alessandra. Regarded as one of the brightest prospects within the MPD ranks, his future looked bright in a bleak world.

The death of his grandfather from a heart attack threw Meli into depression, which he dealt with by absorbing himself with his work, volunteering for double-shifts and extra missions. This strained his marriage with his wife Sarah, but his life unraveled completely with the sickness and sudden death of his five-year-old daughter through a mysterious sickness, though physicians hinted that it could have been Reye's Syndrome, a fatal disease associated with giving aspirin to young children suffering from viral illness.

His marriage fell apart shortly after and Meli lost the desire to live. He became even more distant and withdrawn and gained a reputation for his methodical, almost robotic execution of orders in even the face of grave danger. His deathwish was nearly granted during a raid on a sub-lab that manufactured the hallucinogenic drug jack. Meli detonated a IED rigged to deliver lethal amounts of the drug but Meli, thanks to his strong constitution, survived; however traces of the drug still course through his bloodstream, trigger violent seizures and vivid hallucinations. Due to his family connections with the powerful Lukowski Family, Meli was allowed back into MPD service as a rank-and-file guard once his symptoms became less severe.

Disposition and traits

Even in the healthiest of times Symon Meli was a reserved and quiet man, never quick to grin or scowl. He had many friendly acquaintances but no close friends, following his wife's lead in social matters. Since his reintroduction to MPD service he has become a pariah who eats alone, keeps to himself, and widely disliked for his erratic behavior. Outside the walls of the EMF, no one knows that several times each day Meli suffers powerful hallucinations that he cannot distinguish from reality.

Goals and motivations

Meli has no goal beyond piecing together the frayed threads of his sanity. Doctors taught him techniques to calm his mind during his visions, which helps function as a normal guard for much of the day but requires his full concentration.

At this point of his life, Meli is indifferent to his life or death. If he had the freedom to ponder his regrets, it would be that his current condition makes him feel useless. Deep down in his subconscious he would want to reconcile with his estranged wife Sarah, but he lost track of her after their split. What Meli wants more than anything he knows he cannot have: to have his little girl back in his arms.

Primary residence

When not on duty, Meli spends his time in a squalid shack in the Grudow District of Summerland, having lost his previous home in Riverside after his accident..

Attributes and abilities

Meli is a beast, strong and agile, and good with his hands. See the Game Notes for his stats.

Coda

At the conclusion of the project each player wrote a coda, or a concluding summary, of how they felt their characters grew or changed over the course of the role-playing campaign. Warning: each coda contains major plot spoilers! We recommend you spend time navigating through characters' vignettes before reading any codas.

Click to read Symon Meli's coda.

Player-character stats

Physical		Social		Mental
Strength		Charisma		Perception
Dexterity		Manipulation		Intelligence
Stamina		Appearance		Wits

Talents		Skills		Knowledges
Alertness		Animal ken		Bureaucracy
Athletics		Crafts		Comptuer
Brawl		Drive		Finance
Dodge		Etiquette		History
Empathy		Firearms		Investigation
Expression		Melee		Law
Intimidation		Performance		Literature
Leadership		Security		Medicine
Streetwise		Stealth		Politics
Subterfuge		Survival		Religion