His family
'The Amaranths'
“An apple never falls far from the tree”. A glance is enough to notice how Troy resembles his parents, he’s got his father’s eyes and smile, and his mother’s hair and laughter. But their likeness goes beyond appearance, much of his personality and preferences are connected to his family, if he could only remember.
Maria Amaranth was Solution 9’s Chief of Urban Development, responsible for many accessibility and QoL features now common to the city. When a resident saves time with transportation pads or enjoys the fresh air provided by engineered fauna, it is thanks to her work. The fruits of her labor are plenty, but she’s proudest of a single one, Troy. No technology could quantify the love she had for her son.
She fought a long battle against psychonecrosis, but in the end, was content to go, knowing her memory would be erased. She didn’t want to be recalled as a sickly decaying woman, and her illness had brought so much sadness to her family, this way she’d live on in the pleasant details of the city, as a happy memory.
After his wife’s passing, Gabriel Amaranth became consumed by his work. Though he could not remember her, he felt an inexplicable urge to keep busy, any moment of stillness would lure his mind into a dark and quiet place. As commander of the Vanguards he became ruthless, perhaps unaware of his tightening grasp, he garnered the hatred of some “less-than-favorable” troopers, who one day took it upon themselves to get rid of “Captain Rant”.
He never suspected it. Troops were scattered through a particularly rough thunderstorm, “Help! Vanguard down!”, shouts a soldier, “Vanguard down! By the pit!—a trap laid by his begrudged subordinates—He ran uphill and saw no one. Reality dawned on him too late. He’s shoved into the electrically charged hole. A traceless death. His Regulator was damaged in the incident and unlike Ms.Amaranth, his data could not be uploaded to the higher floors of Solution 9.
A wise man once said, “There is no escape, we pay for the violence of our ancestors”. Shadows may still lurk, plotting Troy’s demise for grudges his father had sown.
