Dr. Lilian Thornton

Dr. Lilian Thornton is a paleontologic geneticist with a PhD from Stanford university. Her controversial stances on evolution and the human placement in the natural hierarchy, specifically as food for "greater beings," earned her a professional wariness from her colleauges. This wariness turned into a full-blooded panic when her experiments with the DNA of chickens and similar animals resulted in "[...]Truly horrific works that would have made Victor Frankenstein soil himself in remorseless terror[...]" her legal funding was immediately yanked. With her roostersaurus-rex tucked in arm, she begin to harvest funding from less morally pristine sources. Her research eventually culminated in applying her own methods to her DNA and undergoing the transformation into a proper apex predator.

Work and Philosophy

Dr. Thornton began her post-doctorate work with gene therapy for repairing cell damage from things like radiation, as well as trying to cure blindness and other such maladies. Afterwords, her focus shifted to increaseing human stamina, strength... which lead to her inevitable pursuit of the "Holy Grail of Science", re-creating extinct creatures from fossilized DNA.

Somewhere along the path of this pursuit, she came to the belief that Humans were ruining the world on a fundamental level, that they'd fallen out of the natural order of Nature. It dawned on her that "[...]in order for the World to survive, humanity would probably have to disappear. But that would be bad, to a degree, because there'd be much to lose. I didn't want to destroy humanity, just get it synced back up with the rest of the world. So, why not take things back a few billion years? It'd be like erasing a mistake on a blackboard, allowing a revision of the status quo."

Confident and convicted in both her prowess and her ideals, she began immediate human testing of the process, with herself as the subject.

Office Survey Results 

1. What is your name?

Lilian Thornton

'''2. What is your personal color scheme? '''

I, ah, do not subscribe to the need to don a themed suit. They come across as rather ridiculous, don't they? And my goals are very serious.

'''3. Where was your character born? * '''

Sacramento, California.

'''4. What was your character's childhood like? * '''

I was what you would call the "nerdy" girl, complete with the glasses and unruly hair. I loved books and reading and always kept one with me. I especially loved the ones about dinosaurs and fossils. I went from grade to grade, A's and A+'s in all the classes that mattered (I was never the strongest in Physical Education, I will admit). I attended some of the best universities where I earned my PhD and was introduced to the world of genetics.

'''5. What are your powers (broadly) and how did you get them? '''

My research has noted increased strength and endurance, increased size, natural weaponry, and enhanced sense of smell.

It's a bit of a story, but the nutshell of it is I reverse-engineered my own DNA using a virus targetting my RNA to recombine the amino acids so as to produce a hybridian formation of several top predators of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods that would then be spread via enzymes throughout my cellular structure. In layman's terms, I used science to transform myself into a dinosaur-human.

'''6. What was it that drove your character to villainy? * '''

It's not necessarily villainy. I'm only doing what is necessary to save our planet from destruction thanks to the current break-neck anti-evolution spiral humanity has put us in. With our chemicals and radiation and technology and obesity, we have all but removed ourselves from nature and the natural order. I aim to return us to a simpler time with a revival of the climates of the Cretaceous period, repopulating the trees, and helping to jump-start humanity with a new stage of evolution that will return us to a natural order of survival and inter-dependence with nature.

7. What is your most heinous act committed against humanity?

I… I wouldn't call it heinous, but I will admit that all my acts are against humanity. How could they not be? As I have argued, we are lazy and stagnant. I seek to move us beyond humanity, to become true paragons of survival, the ultimate race. The other scientists… Mr. Green, Ms. Barrow... didn't understand how valuable their sacrifices were in the development of my transformative virus. If I had tested it on myself first, I too would have been reduced to a mass of limbs growing from odd junctions, with nostrils at my elbow and clawed hands growing from my mouth. Ms. Barrow was the more fortunate. She currently dwells in my lab as a lovely specimen of sauropod, but utterly devoid of human intelligence.

'''8. Briefly describe your perfect date. '''

The sun would be low, casting golden light through the thick jungle canopy. I would smell the prey first, but he'd pick up the trail and we'd be on it like wolves. It would be a long hunt, exulting in the workings of muscle and instinct. The prey would tire, falling beneath our fangs and claws. Blood rushing from throat. I hiss, want choicest parts. Mine by strength. He licks the blood from my lips. Muscles quiver with desire. He takes me there, smeared in blood and forest detritus. We embrace the glorious perfection of nature as we join the cycle of life and death.

'''9. Who is/was your character's nemesis? '''

May I put Ignorance? No? Then I suppose it would be the V'sori, stealing our natural resources and despoiling the planet even more than we have. I will not stand for it. They will be wiped out, every one of them, and then I shall bring forth our natural utopia.

'''10. You have twenty minutes to infiltrate a V'sori compound and abduct a high-ranking officer. Which of these items would your character take to supplement his normal gear and powers? '''

The lighter and vaseline would seem the most effective, having many possible uses depending on the situation.

'''11. What is the kindest thing you have ever done for another person? * (Mercy kills do not count.) '''

Did I mention that my research brought great break-throughs in the fight against cancer? It was actually one of the starting points for my awakening. I realized cancer was merely a side-effect of humanity's stagnation genetically. Rather than treat the symptom, I must treat the source.

Also, I've made sure to never steal from medical facilities that work with children. They are our future, and I wish them to be a part of my vision.

'''12. What is the greatest setback you have ever suffered? '''

I tried to share my gift of evolution with a selection of people that I'd isolated in a shopping mall, attempting to use an airborne pathogen I'd been perfecting. It was a two-stage process, using the pathogen to prime the cells, but required an injection catalyst to begin the transformation. The hero Broken Harmony shattered my tranq darts before I could shoot any of the subjects. Millions of dollars worth of equipment and years of research all gone with one scream!

'''13. Conversely, what is your greatest triumph? '''

I would have to say it is myself. My glorious transformation was the first and largest step towards humanity's salvation. From there, it is a process of refinement and only a matter of logistics before I am able to share my Gift with all the world.

'''14. What angers you more than anything else? '''

Ignorance, again. Lethargy, complacency. Also loud barking dogs, but they taste good.

'''15. If you were a dessert valued at $20 or less, what kind of desert would you be? '''

I apologize to be a nit-pick, but I believe there is a typo there. As far as I know, there is no *desert* worth under $20, unless you buy a baggie of sand at a craft shop. Now if I were a *dessert* I suppose I would be something unusual, but homely. Something like a bacon-maple bar donut.

'''16. Would your character have noticed the error in question 15? '''

Who wouldn't?

'''17. What is your favorite method of dealing with the V'sori? '''

They are prey, I the predator. Hear me roar.

'''18. What would you consider to be your greatest strength? * '''

Beyond my enhanced strength, I am above all intelligent. Most people expect something large and muscular to be crude and brutish, they do not expect the subtle plans or leaps of logical thought that I am capable of.

'''19. And your greatest weakness? * '''

It is not easy to get every-day necessities when one looks like a 8-foot human-dinosaur. They tend to give me odd glances at 7-11s. Also, I find I have a difficult time with small places.

'''20. What do you plan to do once the V'sori have been exterminated? * '''

I will proceed with my plans, of course. Hopefully without the meddling of other caped bigots that have no sense of the bigger picture. Nature will be returned to balance and we shall embrace a new age for humanity.

'''21. What is your character's favorite indulgence? * '''

I do love a good steak. Fresh from the body… I know the locations of several cattle farms, if you're ever interested.

'''22. What kind of vehicle, if any, does your character drive? '''

Er… ever since the transformation, driving has been a little… difficult. It is not easy sitting in a car when one has a tail. I've had to rip out the backs of my seats in my prius, as well as the sun roof.

'''Excerpt from an NPR interview transcript. '''

Interviewer: "You work with several 'magical' villains - are you concerned with how their very existence contradicts the science you value so highly?"

Lilian: "Oh I don't believe they contradict science at all. I believe that science simply hasn't advanced far enough to adequately grasp what systems are being acted on when these intelligences are harnessing their powers. With enough time and study, I am sure that we could dissect the properties behind what we see as "magic." Only a few hundred years ago we believed in things like "aether" because we had no concept of a void. Magic is just our aether-place-holder until we can discover how it works."

Interviewer: "Any other thoughts on you companion 'Gold Skull'?"

Lilian: "Well… to be honest, when he stands in the sun too long, he smells a bit like peppered jerky."

Interviewer: "If you love science and advancement so much, aren't you concerned you will lose a lot of years of knowledge with your attack on humanity?"

Lilian: "Oh not at all. You see, science has always been about understanding everything around us. Namely, nature. The nature of animals and plants, the nature of the solar system, gravity, the galaxy, stars, the universe. The problem is that we have distanced ourselves from Nature, like an audience at a theater… Or more accurately, like a Monster Truck Rally at a theater performance. We no longer participate in the flow of Nature, instead bubbling ourselves within man-made cages. We feed on artificial products that do nothing more than clog the spaces where real nutrients should be processed. We grow fat, lazy, relying on our machines to labor for us as we drug ourselves into catatonic euphoria. Entertainment overload, fast food, apathy, lazyness, and greed - it's all too much. We have managed to almost completely cut ourselves off from Nature as at the same time we strangle the world that supports us in our wild consumption. And all of this leads back to one root - the Human condition. Others have tried to fix us with band-aid programs: schools, religions, laws, health guides. They all failed because they tried to treat the symptoms. I plan to treat the cause - Humanity. How can there be a Human condition, if there are no humans? What I plan is like quitting a drug cold-turkey - a violent reintroduction into Nature. I am not targeting our locations of knowledge or history, I am targeting each human being on a personal level. I am afraid there may be some collateral damage, but our understanding of Nature will be increased exponentially once we are able to engage it in wild, unfettered glory.

To say it more simply, I am undermining what we consider the "norm." I am addressing the status quo, because the status is not quo."

Interviewer: "Did... you just quote Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog?"

Lilian:  "No... No I did not. You are mistaken."