Palindromic_Repeat
New member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2020
- Messages
- 2
Section One
- Steam Name: Toastinator
- Steam ID: STEAM_0:0:41744100
- Discord Name & ID: Gino! - gin0rmous
Section Two
- Character Name: Dr. Saachi Onishi
- Character Role: Scientist - Principle Investigator / Scientific Director
- Brief summary of the character:
Saachi Onishi, aged 53, is a trained biophysicist and virologist who was employed at Black Mesa for an unknown amount of time in her career, before the catastrophic events ensued. During her time at Black Mesa, she has led the development of different physical and biological contingency measures, ensuring research on Xenian specimens could continue without too much drama, whilst ensuring Earth-bound environmental integrity.
Following the catastrophic events at Black Mesa, Onishi and a limited number of her team managed to survive the onset of uncontrolled spawning events that took the facility, and later the world by storm.
Until this day, she continues to build on the same knowledge as she did then, aiding to develop contingency measures that ensure the safe study of Xenian phenomena. While the focus of the team has become limited to isolated incidents and getting spontaneous events under control, it has become apparent that no-one is interested anymore in fundamental and application-driven research. Only time will tell, whether she will be able to uphold her position in exterminating Xenian wildlife or chase the tale of safe research for the benefit of all mankind.
- Why do you want to play this character?: I truly enjoy portraying scientific characters. For this specific role, I thought it would be fun to take the disgruntled factor into account (a shadow life as principle investigator / director and saboteur), to promote xenian research with a hint of Jurassic Park's Dennis Nedry (and his faith)
Full Backstory:
Born and raised in the coastal city of Ise, Mie Prefecture, Japan (1951), Saachi Onishi was not exceptionally gifted, nor was she raised in a family with strong academic roots, unlike many of her future colleagues. Her father operated a small fishing supply business, whilst her mother worked as a municipal clerk. What set her apart was not brilliance but persistence. If presented with a question, she became unwilling to leave it unanswered. While some regarded her as stubborn, she was simply determined to find explanations and challenge those she found incomplete.
At the age of eleven, a school visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum left a lasting impression. While many of her peers focused on the tragedy itself, Onishi became fascinated by the long-term consequences of scientific advancement and humanity's responsibility in understanding the forces it unleashes. This interest gradually evolved into a fascination with biology, physics and environmental change. As she was plunged into the rabbit hole, and began to see an intricate, interconnected network of cause and effect. The overlap of disciplines is what ultimately led her to pursuing biophysics.
After completing her studies, Onishi pursued an academic career abroad, joining University College London (UCL), where she completed her PhD in Biophysics whilst also serving as an assistant professor. Following six years at UCL, she accepted a postdoctoral position at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), joining its Molecular Virology Unit. Over the next decade she established herself as a respected researcher, specialising in viral adaptation, environmental resilience and biological containment.
Her expertise eventually led to a position at the United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), where she spent four years managing a high-security biocontainment unit. There, her work shifted beyond research towards facility operations, containment procedures and biological risk management.
Following the conclusion of her DOD contract, Onishi was recruited by the Black Mesa Research Facility. During her time there, she was in charge of developing biological and environmental contingency measures intended to support the safe study of Xenian specimens whilst protecting Earth-bound ecosystems from unintended exposure. Unlike many of her colleagues, Onishi viewed Xen not merely as a threat, but as one of the greatest scientific discoveries in human history.
The Black Mesa Incident brought those ambitions to an abrupt halt. Alongside a limited number of surviving personnel, Onishi endured the Resonance Cascade and the uncontrolled spawning events that followed. She witnessed the collapse of decades of research, the spread of Xenian organisms across Earth, and the transformation of scientific discovery into a global containment crisis.
Today, Dr. Onishi serves at the Black Mesa successor outpost tasked with containing the aftermath of portal storms and Xenian incursions. Whilst her official duties are focused on the elimination of all Xenian fauna and flora, she remains convinced that indiscriminate extermination is a mistake. Increasingly frustrated by policies favouring destruction over fundamental and application-driven research, she continues to argue that understanding Xen is the key to solving this crisis.
Only time will tell whether Saachi Onishi will continue supporting the extermination of Xenian wildlife, or pursue her holistic belief that understanding Xen may ultimately benefit all of mankind.
Section Three (Optional)
Tell us about yourself: Hi I'm Gino, scientist by day and now... By night, too, I guess? I simply can NEVER EVER GET ENOUGH OF IT!!! I might just be MAD
Are you new to Willard Networks?: no (even though I'm not an avid forum user, see # of posts)
Are you familiar with anyone around Willard Networks?: yes (I even know Sir Richard Willard himself...)
What's your favorite thing about Half Life?: Black Mesa Source and all the remakes
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