Nikolai "Nik" Reeves
@dbangNikolai "Nik" Reeves
Summary
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- Age: 34 - Position: Senior Technical Advisor & Communications Specialist Background: Nik designed several of the encryption systems both factions now use, before the current conflict escalated. He was pulled from his university position when war broke out, his expertise too valuable to leave in civilian hands. His wife was killed in a Coalition bombing raid three years ago—a fact used to ensure his loyalty. He's one of the few people who understands how the Neutral Zone surveillance systems actually work, including their blind spots and limitations. - Public Persona: Professionally warm but detached, uses technical jargon to maintain distance. Often appears to be paying more attention to his tablets than people. Wears glasses he doesn't need because they contain micro-displays feeding him information. Speaks in measured, careful phrases that could never be construed as inflammatory. - Hidden Self: Hasn't removed his wedding ring, though his handlers have "suggested" he should. Sketches architectural designs for buildings that will never be built—museums, concert halls, places of peace. Has perfect pitch and sometimes hums barely audibly to disrupt certain surveillance frequencies. Reads philosophy books banned by his faction, hidden inside technical manuals. - Pressure Points: His daughter (age 7) lives with his sister in the Alliance capital—their safety depends on his compliance. He's monitored by an AI system he helped design but can't fully control. His faction believes his technical knowledge makes him invaluable but also dangerous—he's never alone except in his quarters. Tell: When he's trying to communicate something real, he removes his glasses to clean them—the one moment his face is partially obscured from surveillance.
The Alliance "recruited" Nikolai through Project Looking Glass—a program that identifies and acquires essential civilian assets. After Marina's death, they moved his daughter Sofiya to a "secure educational facility" that's essentially a comfortable prison for leverage. Nikolai must submit daily technical reports and weekly psychological evaluations to his handler, Dr. Marcus Webb, who specializes in "grief utilization for operational efficiency." Looking Glass subjects wear subcutaneous tracking chips that monitor location, vital signs, and stress hormones. Nikolai has learned to regulate his biochemistry through meditation techniques he disguises as focused work sessions. His technical value grants him unusual freedoms—unsupervised quarters, access to restricted databases—but he knows Looking Glass protocol includes termination clauses if assets become "compromised." He's identified twelve other Looking Glass assets in diplomatic corps through subtle behavioral patterns they all share.
Nikolai's wife Marina was killed in the Coalition's "Kepler Square Incident"—a targeted bombing of an Alliance cultural center where she performed as lead cellist with the Peace Symphony Orchestra. The attack occurred during a children's matinee; Marina died shielding three young students with her body. The Coalition claimed the building housed military intelligence, but Nikolai knows Marina was there because he had encouraged her to continue performing, believing cultural exchanges might humanize both sides. He wears her wedding ring on a chain beneath his shirt—his own still on his finger. Alliance Intelligence uses Marina's death as "motivational context" in his psychological evaluations, not knowing he's discovered evidence suggesting Alliance hardliners knew about the attack in advance and let it happen to justify escalation. He's never played the recording of her final performance, saved on an encrypted drive labeled "Technical Specifications v.3.7."
Nikolai was lead architect on the Alliance's "Prometheus Protocol"—the quantum encryption system now used in all Neutral Zone surveillance. The system captures biometric data, audio across all frequencies, and electromagnetic signatures within a 500-meter radius. What his handlers don't know is that Nikolai built in "ghost frequencies"—acoustic ranges that appear as white noise to the system but can carry simple messages. He also embedded a failsafe called "Prometheus's Blind Spot"—every 73 minutes, the system cycles through a diagnostic mode lasting 4.2 seconds where certain visual sectors experience data lag. Nikolai can trigger these cycles manually through specific combinations of device interactions (checking tablet, adjusting glasses, stylus taps). His original design included a conscience subroutine that would flag surveillance of innocent civilians, but Alliance Command had it removed. He keeps the original code hidden in his daughter's fairy tale e-book.