Desa Alexander, also known as Blood, was a rogue telepath who eventually joined the MRA, becoming one of its most ruthless blood hounds. Prior to this she lived with The Kith, a small group of nomadic rogue telepaths living as mercenaries, con-artists, grifters and occasionally thieves. She was also the great-great-great-grandmother of Lyta Alexander.[1][2]
History[]
Early life[]
Little is known about Desa's early life, save that as a child, Desa's father was a member of one of the numerous "astronaut/angel" cults that saw a sudden and renewed popularity in the late 2050s to early 2060s. Then later, mostly likely around the time her talent manifested, she met another young telepath by the name of Jack O'Hannlon. Together, the two of them re-invented themselves as "Blood" and "Monkey" and adopted lives as grifters, thieves and even a stint as mercenaries in Kamchatka. Then in the space of two years they found others like them, and built a new tight-knit family - a Kith - all of whom would follow Blood and Monkey's example by abandoning their mundane names for new ones: Teal, Smoke and Mercy. Blood served as the heart of the group and sometimes the fist, a mother figure and often a counterpoint to Monkey's passionate, ofttimes anarchistic streak. She considered Smoke to be the quiet strength, Teal the intellect whereas Mercy, the youngest and weakest (telepathically) was the Kith's soul.
The Dark Goddess[]
In the 2110s, the Kith became the centre of a Mayan-prophecy religion/cult in Alaska. Run by the Kith purely as a means to scam the gullible mundanes who believed their psychic powers were given to them by the ancestors. Blood, drawing from bits and pieces of the "astronaut/angel" cult that her father had been a part of, styled herself with a "dark goddess/angel of death" persona, waited on hand and foot by her followers. As part of the cult's ceremonies, Desa would pull a string of thorns through her tongue, letting the blood splatter of a piece of paper that Monkey would then set alight before making a speech before the congregation.
By 2116 the scam had come to an end after science had verified the existence of telepaths and several trucks full of heavily armed men arrived at their compound. The Kith escaped the Temple through an underground tunnel, leaving all of their followers to be killed by a 60 kg plastique bomb set by Monkey.
In 2117, while living in Nevada, Monkey brings home a very young but powerful telepath whom they come to call simply "The Kid". Monkey had found him wandering the streets with a low powered telepathic Indian woman, who apparently glad to be unburdened let Monkey take the child from her. Blood, posing as the sister of the boy's mother's enrolled him in a local school under the assumed name James.
A short while later, after Mercy is detected as a telepath by the mandatory screenings at her workplace. Tired of the constant wandering and her relatively low abilities opts to co-operate with the law and volunteers to take the sleepers. The lethargic and soul destroying side effects are instant and devastating. An enraged Blood immediately takes off to remove James from school and move the family before anyone else is detected. She is too late as upon arriving at the school she finds that the children, including The Kid have already been screened though to her surprise, his test comes up negative.
Blood Hound[]
In 2118, seeing that the Kith cannot run forever, Blood, Teal, Mercy and Smoke decide to join the MRA, secretly arriving at the home of Senator Lee Crawford they agree to serve in rounding up other teeps. Monkey objects and decides to leave the group, taking The Kid with him. Desa lets him go and decides not to tell him she's carrying his child. Some months later, Desa gives birth to her daughter, Brenna.
On August 16, 2132 Desa, Teal and MRA rookie Daria Beaudain intercept a group of blips in Prague consisting of Didier Krijgsman a former traffic flow analyst, his wife Mary and their twelve-year-old son Len travelling on train 1116 from Amsterdam to Prague, hoping to flee to India. Realising they'd been spotted Didier attempted to run, buying time for his wife and child to get away, but is caught when a local security guard hits him with a neural collapser, causing him to fall and break his neck. An enraged Desa crushes his larynx.
In 2133, a Senate hearing is convened by Senator Phillip Lai to investigate allegations of MRA lawbreaking, including the incident in Prague. During the second day of questioning Desa is shot and killed after jumping in front of a bullet intended for Lai. The gunwoman, MRA agent Daria Beaudain was in fact a resistance mole planted by Monkey and the Senator's assassination was to have appeared to have been arranged by the MRA. Desa however, sensing Daria's intent, threw herself in front of the bullet, saving the very man trying to investigate her and her organisation, effectively absolving them both of all suspicion.
As she lay dying Blood latched on to Monkey's mind and attempted to pull him into her death, though in the last, her grip loosened allowing Monkey to just barely escape.
Family Tree[]
Unnamed Female--+--Unnamed Male
|
|
Desa Alexander----+----Jack O'Hannlon
| |_________
| |
| (adopted)
| Kevin Vacit
| (See: Alfred Bester's Family Tree.)
|
Brenna Alexander--+--Unnamed Male
|
|
Michelle Alexander--+--Unnamed Male
|
|
Natasha Alexander--+--Unnamed Male
|
|
Lyta's Mother--+--Unnamed Male
|
|
Lyta Alexander
Notes[]
- Desa's favourite book was The Man Who Would Be King.