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"Ariel", "Red" (Nicknames given to her by her creator, Max Ramnarine) |
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She's a "fireball" of a character, right down to her long, Scarlet hair. The "feistiest" out of all the females to appear in Episode 1, "Nightrunner", Ar.I.E.L. makes her grand entrance in Chapter 3 of "Nightrunner" as a revenging adversary seeking restitution on her creator, Maximillian Ramnarine. But her true arrival doesn't occur until Chapter 4: "Fever Pitch", when she is reactivated by Nightrunner to assist in a desperate situation.
As revealed in "Phantom of Empathy", Ar.I.E.L. is the acronym for "Artificial Intelligence and Empathic Lifeform", a holographic, sentient being created by Ramnarine and sustained by "Teletram 4" (Ramnarine Manor's computer system). The incorporation of various alien technologies into the "Teletram 4" system allowed Nightrunner to give "Ariel" (as he calls her) the special talent of "Empathy"; the ability to telepathically read the thoughts and emotions of others. The immense "energy"-to-"pseudo-matter" holographic projection system installed throughout Ramnarine Manor allows her to roam around the mansion at her free will. In addition, she has the ability to change her "form" (the appearance she most is recognized for is one of a young & golden-tanned Hispanic female in her early 20's) at will, as long as the form she chooses doesn't extend outside the boundaries of whatever room she finds herself in. She can also make herself "solid" or as "vaporous" as a ghost (hence the name "Phantom of Empathy"), appearing to retain her form, but being able to pass through walls and other solid objects, although certain "energy barriers" are another story. Ariel also has the liberty to transport anywhere she wishes to be within the mansion, and she can even exist outside of her environment, but for a very shorts periods of time (30-70 seconds maximum). Once her time expires, she will re-materialize at the point where she left her mansion home, but with all her memories of her venture in tact. She was originally created as a training partner after Ramnarine's departure from the OTDS (Operatives of Temporal and Dimensional Security) and the building of Ramnarine Manor, in hopes that she would keep him "on-point" with his martial arts training. But following the loss of a dear friend and potential love interest ("Equinox") to a hated adversary, she quickly became less of a tool to him and more of a friend. As expected, they became romantically involved, but only for a short while. Once Ramnarine pulled himself together and realized he was "enraptured" with a "hologram" of his own creation, he remorsefully shutdown her program. Nightrunner had been tempted to erase her from existence forever, but something deep within his heart had convinced him to instead place her in the "memory storage" banks of "Teletram 4", just in case her "original" services would ever be needed again. Good call. If it wasn't for that decision, Ramnarine would have never able to call for her assistance during the showdown with the "Weird Sisters". Once "re-awakening" and reading the Nightrunner's thoughts she realized what was going on. She also became aware that she had been sealed away for almost a century, feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt from her "maker" when he laid eyes upon her again. Reluctantly, she helps him, yet she now feels betrayed by Max and has dismissed any of her past affectionate feelings for him. Ramnarine accepts this, actually hoping that would be the way the whole messy business would turn out. Yet he can't help but feel sorry for what did to her. Secretly, she still loves him... |