Dr. Stephens

Personality

Dr. Stephens was a very gentle and kind man. He was extremely ambitious and would work towards whatever he put his mind to, even if it meant giving up his life. His gentle and caring nature made him very easy to get along with and he always tried to see the best in people. He is basically a "gentle giant". He can be very serious and scary whenever he works, but in reality he is rather soft and warm person.

Dr. Stephens also has a childish side. He tends to joke around a lot in order to lighten the mood or just to have fun. He would do this often with Cyrus, however it didn't really have much of an effect on her. 

Dr. Stephens was a man without grudges. He never took anything to heart and was very forgiving. Even in the worse situations, he would always smile or joke around. When faced with his inevitable doom, all he hoped was that Cyrus would be safe and sent her off with a smile. 

History

Backstory

Long before the start of the story, Dr. Stephens worked for the government under the Department of Advanced Robotics. The department is officially government funded and works on the research and development of advanced AI and androids.  Dr. Stephens was always fascinated with android technology so he was more than happy with his job in the department. While he did not entirely agree with the governments stance on androids, he believed he could make a change by working in the department and showing how androids can live in harmony with humans rather than being controlled by humans. Dr. Stephens's determination and ambitious behavior would eventually get him promoted to head of the department. 

As head, Dr. Stephens was assigned a number of classified government development projects, but he was also given the resources and manpower to explore his own research as well. Ecstatic that he now had the ability to explore the world of autonomous androids, Dr. Stephens proposed the project to the government. However, he was vehemently denied. The government would then push more extreme projects onto Dr. Stephens; some of which raised many moral and ethical concerns. Eventually, Dr. Stephens would resign as head of the department and flee the government. It is unknown why exactly he fled, or what led him to need to go into hiding as a result. 

While in hiding, Dr. Stephens would resume his research on creating autonomous androids which eventually led to the development and construction of Cyrus. It would take around four years for him to fully construct Cyrus, with much delay due to the government's constant interference. It was also during this time that Dr. Stephens would take on Nathan as an apprentice and also make his first contact with Jade. 

Cyrus and Dr. Stephens lived peacefully for about a year until their location was compromised. While trying to escape, the two were cornered. Dr. Stephens chose to sacrifice himself in order to protect Cyrus. He died due to a gunshot wound from government soldiers. 

Talents and Abilities

Technical Skills

Dr. Stephen's is very knowledgeable in advanced robotics. His area of expertise are advanced AI, androids, and autonomous AI learning systems. He has coined a lot of android construction methods while working at the government, many of which are still used today. He was also one of fastest workers the government had to date, being able to build whole androids in the matter of days. His extreme attention to detail made the androids he built some of the best to ever be produced. 

Dr. Stephens is also very will versed in other forms of mechanics and engineering, as he finds building and tinkering to be a fun hobby of his. In his free time he would create small robots or tiny machines for people to play with. His office space was often filled with these tiny creations of his. 

Cyrus

Dr. Stephens is Cyrus's creator, so in a way he is like a father to her. Cyrus never really understood what the difference between a "father" and "creator" was until after his death. 

While he was alive, Cyrus acted rather cold towards Dr. Stephens, mainly because she didn't understand the idea of affection. Despite this, Dr. Stephens still treated Cyrus with great love and care and would do anything for her. He spent all the time he could with Cyrus, teaching her about the modern world, human emotions and concepts, and teaching her what he knew as a roboticist. She enjoyed learning with him, but never understood why he would put so much effort into her. Still, Cyrus played along and the two formed a close familial bond.

The most important thing to Dr. Stephens was that Cyrus would not be confined by the world's laws against androids. He wanted Cyrus to be able to live freely as her own person; for her to make her own decisions and not have to worry that she could be hunted down at any moment. Dr. Stephens dedicated most of his time to preparing safe holds and emergency plans incase either of then were hunted down by the government. 

After his assassination, Cyrus came to understand the sheer amount of love Dr. Stephens had towards her, and she came to regret her cold nature and inability to comprehend his love before his death. Cyrus remained in a depressive state for a few weeks post assassination; not talking or responding to anyone at all. Even after moving in with Jade, she was still unresponsive. It wasn't until Jade took Cyrus on one of her collections runs that she would open up about her grief regarding Dr. Stephens's death. 

Cyrus has seemed to move on from his death in some capacity. She holds the memories of their time together dear and her current work is done for his sake. She hopes to grow and develop into the person that he wanted her to be. 

Jade

The two never met in person, however Dr. Stephens knows of Jade through her creator. The two used to work together before Dr. Stephens defected from the government, never to be seen again. 

Dr. Stephens's saw Jade as someone that Cyrus could rely on, especially because she was also an autonomous android,  which is why he kept her as his first line of contact should something go wrong.   

Nathan

Dr. Stephens took on Nathan as a apprentice while he was constructing Cyrus. Wanting to hopefully spread his knowledge and aspirations for androids, Dr. Stephens did his best to find a suitable apprentice that shared his ideals and had the determination to dedicate their life to the craft. Dr. Stephens came across Nathan, who was a university student at the time, and asked if he would be willing to become his apprentice. Nathan agreed to the proposal. 

The two get along very well. They have a lot in common and Dr. Stephens almost sees him as a son of sorts. Dr. Stephens was often hard on Nathan, however he had no ill intent. Dr. Stephens trusted Nathan very deeply and shared a lot of government secrets with him before he died.

Jade's Creator

The two were coworkers while Dr. Stephens still worked at the government robotics facility. Apart of the same crew that worked on researching autonomous androids, they formed a friendship because of their similar ideals and disdain for the way the government treated androids, especially autonomous ones. 

Dr. Stephens never got to say goodbye before Jade's Creator passed away and was very saddened to hear of her passing. 

• Dr. Stephens is inspired by another original character of mine, Gabriel, from a different story I am writing. Gabriel is another father-figure character of the MC of that story, Hectic. 

• Dr. Stephens is largely inspired by Pietro Polendina fro RWBY.