Table of Contents
Gryph
His Life
Gryph arrived on the island as a bright eyed and able bodied youth, looking to save the world and end the threat posed by the Improbability Drive.
Anxious to get involved with some organized efforts to end the drives mayhem, he joined the CIA because they sounded 'official'. He was a bit dismayed to discover that his new affiliation was with a group that actually spread improbability, but ever loyal he decided to remain a member and do what they needed of him while he hunted the drive on his own time. While getting a feel for the island, he quickly built up enough power to confront the drive face to face, stumbling across it in the very first laboratory he discovered.
His Death
Though he destroyed the drive, the resulting explosion killed him. Still, the explosion had infused his corpse with improbability, and when the drive reconstructed itself Gryph found that although he was dead, that in and of itself didn't seem to mean a whole lot on this strange island.
Awakened to the true power of improbability, finally appreciating not only its value but its beauty as he had witnessed in the drive's explosion, and conveniently lacking almost any memories of his former life, he dedicated himself fully to the cause of the CIA, doing everything within his power to further the cause of the PLAN1) and overall expressing a vastly different personality than he had in life.
His Faith
While working for the CIA on a trip to Cyber City, Gryph discovered a small shrine built by Liar called the Three Hedgehogs Shrine2). He initially dismissed this strange cult, but that dismissal lasted about a sentence and a half before he felt the calling. In a short time, he became one of the most loyal followers of the Three, and constructed similar Shrines in a number of places throughout the world, spreading the faith as best he could and offering numerous gifts to the Three, including his left arm. Most of these shrines are hidden, to avoid a repeat of earlier attempts to commercialize the religion, but his New Pittsburgh Shrine is clearly visible in the town square, near the cafe.
His faith in the Three was ultimately one of the causes that led to his disappearance.
His Great Plan
Among one the many plans, CIA and personal, Gryph was involved in, the largest was a an effort to convince as many of the Island's denizens as he could to come and yank his chain. The Chain itself was tremendous, heavy, and disappeared over the mountains. There is debate about what the chain was attached to, and since he disappeared before the task was completed, we may never know for certain. It is said that he was trying to drag the Failboat inland, but this is just a rumour and has not been confirmed.3)
His Death
Once again, Gryph destroyed the drive, dying in the process. This time, however, he was prepared, leaving himself detailed notes to insure that his important work would not go uncompleted. Once he regained his senses and read his notes, the memories of his last last unlife returned, and he immediately set to work once more with added benefit of having regained his left arm.
His Disappearance
One of his many offerings to the CyberCity Shrine was a not nearly as dead as he had hoped Tattoo Mutant. When the beast awoke to ravage the town, Gryph saw not only an obligation to right the wrong he had caused, but also an opportunity to get the monster to help yank on his chain. He quickly formed an elaborate plan, convincing an Old Senile CIA Member to distract the creature until he returned.
- He retrieved some ropes he had stored in his New Pittsburgh Shrine with his tools.
- He bought a syringe from Dr. Paprika's in Pleasantville.
- His attempts to get a kitten from Audrey left him minus his left arm yet again, and with a hedgehog instead. Appropriate considering his faith, but the scuffle did cause problems in Kittania for a short while afterward.
- He sought in numerous places for some concentrated improbability, finally believing he had found some in Common Grounds. Unfortunately, the substance given to him was, instead, concentrated probability, and it is believed that this mistake is what caused his plan to end the way it did.
No one is sure what exactly his true plan was, but after roping the creature and getting it to unknowingly pull his chain a dozen feet, he leapt at it with the syringe and hedgehog.
His last words were 'Wait a minute, this isn't concentrated improbability. . . this is. . .,' but it was too late. An explosion rumbled through the scrapyard.
When the light faded, the Tattoo Mutant, now much smaller, lay on the ground with a hedgehog on his chest. Gryph was gone. The beast raised itself to its feat with a newfound intelligence behind its eyes, grunted in friendly tones to the Hedgehog, and then carried it into the jungle.4)5)
The End?
Gryph has not been seen since. 6)
The Next Chapter
After a Gryph speaking in red returned to the island as a human with no implant and the odd ability to limit possibilities to the most likely result, things got very strange indeed. In essence, Gryph and all those involved were hit by a tremendous plot bat, that led to things getting all complicated. There were also mysterious transmissions from a Gryph who spoke in blue and was trapped somewhere, but no one has any idea what that was a about.
After capturing the improbability drive, using is improbability suppressing powers to keep it under control, he dragged it to Cyber City 404 to imprison it there, with himself as its watchful guard. Then there was, like, a battle or something. Anyone want to describe this for me? Anyways, something happened to Zolotisty, then a robot from the factory came out and destroyed the drive, thus resetting it. Red Gryph is nowhere to be found. 7)