Beyond the Dark Productions - ‘The Strata’ - Chapter 8 | Original audio drama
Richard Gibson for Halliwell
Doctor Halliwell is an accomplished scientist who is an expert in several scientific fields including robotics and communications. He is intelligent and well spoken. Having achieved success early in his career, Halliwell gained substantial wealth at a young age, and this allowed him to concentrate on research and development of his own personal projects. Halliwell is ambitious, arrogant, and single-minded. He has forgone all friendships and leisure pursuits and now spends most of his time in his lab. He sometimes visits his mansion in Highgate City, where he lives alone, but even there his thoughts are consumed by work.
Halliwell is not a social person and shuns interactions where possible. Although keenly intelligent, he is out of touch with social norms and most would consider his demeanour cold and distant. With his focus on research, Halliwell places very little value in people, and views the citizens of The Strata as nothing more than tools to be manipulated in the pursuit of his own goals. Although not inherently malicious, his indifference to the welfare of others borders on heartlessness. If required, Halliwell would gladly sacrifice human lives to save his research. He is also condescending toward people who cannot grasp the importance of his work.
Halliwell is generally calm and reasonable. However, when challenged about his research or motives, he can become vehement and outspoken.
(Enthusiastically explaining the details about technology he has developed) ““Microscopic machines. Millions of them - deployed in each host, each with their own specific task. I’ve developed and perfected them in my own laboratory. During the process, the implant is responsible for regulation and coordination of the nanites - the central processing unit, I suppose you could say.”
(Indignant when challenged about the ethics and legality of his technology) “I’m on the verge of the greatest medical achievement in history. Questions of legality are insignificant in the big scheme of things.”
(Vehement, indignant as he defends the actions he’s taken in order to carry out his research) “The human race is fighting a war here. Do you understand that? And we’ve been losing it since the very start of our existence. Ever since the first single-cell organism came into being, it was intrinsically bound to its own demise. Inescapably spiralling toward its own destruction. And now here we are, countless generations later, still subject to the same fate. Yet I’ve created a way to fight back - a weapon that can finally end this war, and you want to sit there and lament some minor casualties we’ve suffered along the way? Well, I’m sorry, but... I consider it a sacrifice worth making. And I’m willing to lead this fight, even if you’re all too blind to follow!”
