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Every good story has an antagonist – and for Biowars, that is Dr. Ernst Kelso. He has known our protagonist, Alexander Hawking and his father his entire life, so why now does he choose to act out against them? What provoked Kelso to transition from a leading businessman and visionary in the world of science, to a threat to the entire population?
Humble Beginnings
Ernst Kelso grew up in the industrial Rust Belt of America, and as he grew up, he watched the decline of the backbone of the American economy as able-bodied workers watched their jobs get handed over to more efficient machinery, or more equipped individuals.
As he watched these challenges directly affect his family, he began to see the world for what it was becoming: a place where the only thing constant was change and if you were not prepared to adapt to it, you would not survive.
Evolving Theories
After intense schooling, and cutting ties with his family to pursue his fullest potential, Kelso launched a successful company and reached intense financial and personal success. Yet he yearned for more. He didn’t want to reach his own fullest potential, but he wanted the rest of the world to do the same. Kelso wanted to evolve an entire human race into one that was filled with the best and brightest minds – ready to carry a new renaissance forward.
It was during this time of exploration that Kelso reconnected with Marcus Hawking, a former classmate of his and Alexander’s father. Hawking shared Kelso’s goal of improving society, and together they expanded and molded a friendship and business partnership that would use microbiology to revolutionize the human race. However, their specific intentions were not always in line with one another.
Betrayal
While Marcus Hawking hoped to improve upon the existing human race and the world they inhabit, Kelso wanted to start a new world all together. He needed to find people that shared his ambitions and hopes for the future, and he found that in The Combine. The group hoped to rebuild civilization entirely by ridding it of those individuals who were weak of mind and body.
Together with Kelso, their plan would have the vision and funding needed to make it happen.
The only thing standing in Kelso’s way, was his dear friend Marcus. As someone who never held personal relationships to a high standard, Kelso needed to remove Hawking from the picture in order to truly succeed.
At What Cost?
Charles Darwin coined the idea of “Survival of the Fittest.” Those organisms who adapted to the world around them, and were able to overcome their changing environments and surroundings, would be able to survive and carry on their species through time.
Kelso believes that humans have become too complacent. That the human race has not been challenged in far too long, causing feeble individuals to leech onto a society that supports them, even if it means ultimately holding the overall population back. Together with the help of The Combine, Kelso would leverage biology to weed out those week individuals, challenging humans to overcome a disease, or fall victim to it. This would leave the world with a new population of survivors – the best and the brightest ready to repopulate and regenerate a failing planet.
Kelso could create life, but at the risk of losing his own soul along the way. He was willing to destroy the life of one person close to him, how many others would fall victim in his wake.
This is just the beginning for Kelso’s plans. With his Darwin-esque intentions and his unwavering ambitious spirit, there is no telling what he and The Combine are capable of. Stay tuned to find out more, or download the Biowars comics to see what happens next.
