Characters that have been: Alto

This post originally appeared on the New Horizon Blogs, but it is still relevant to this series.

The concept that eventually became Alto started around 1994/95. I was involved in a Larp with a few of my friends, and was thinking about characters. I had recently played Mega Man & and MMX so they were both fresh in my mind. The original character was named Mega Bass X, very corny but I was rather young at the time. Mega Bass X was a clone whose DNA had been programmed with traits from Mega Man X, Zero, Bass and random others (yes programmed DNA based on machines. . . yet again I was young but the idea has stayed in it's own subtle ways). He ended up being born missing his right arm and left leg, way to go advanced genetics. Thus, Mega Bass X was a cyborg (I seem to do that a lot). In roughly this form, he existed in the LARP and as fanfic online. He ended up with many helpers and pets based on random sprites I made. At this time he was basically just a fighter with an X-Buster and a Z-Saber. Most of the tech involved was just explanation of him being a cyborg.

Around 98 he went through his first major change. I updated his abilities a bit, changed his look (made a new sprite for his online presence) and changed his name to Alto. There is no grand secret behind the name, no mysterious creative process. I was in Band and noticed that there was an Alto, Bass and Treble clef. Since Bass and Treble were already taken, I used Alto. The name has stuck ever since. This was around the time he started to gain a reputation as a scientist and techie character. He still used a buster and saber but occasionally would pick up other weapons.

From 98 to 2003, Alto underwent a lot of changes. The main LARP I was in drew from many different sources and every time one of us involved found something we liked it was added in.

Alto became a Tech Marine for a while after we included Warhammer 40k in the game. This was the first time he got a Warhammer and a Gripper Arm, two little details that have stuck with him through the years. The hammer has especially become something of a quirk with his character as he is oriented toward science and speed yet uses one of the largest weapons he can carry. For a short while he had a gripper pole that had energy blasts from one end. He picked up random guns from small to ludicrously enormous.

Alto at one time was the minor god of technology, he also ended up as the minor god of lightning because of a stunt pulled by one of the other people in the RP involving a deific ax that Alto found. This same path eventually led him to work as a general of hell for a while, though not quite the 'evil' that most people would think. More of a balance type thing. During this time he also made an appearance in the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons as a smith coincidentally with a hammer.

around 99 I came up with an idea for robotic cells. At the time I thought I was being rather unique, sad to say I found out later that other people have used similar ideas. This 'new' technology was termed replicell technology and started Alto's real rise as a powerhouse in RP. I should mention that it came shortly before his ascension to minor god of technology. During these transformative years Alto also ended up with a wife who was a Callidus Assassin (again from warhammer 40K). They had a son named Gence. Gence was basically an Alto clone so that I could use him in other parts of RP. His name is from intelligence.

For a short while, Alto was ruler of a virtual realm like Tron or the Matrix, he lived as an AI program loaded into a Replicell body. Playing on the Replicell aspect, one of Alto's enemies created an army of minions using the same technology. These were known as Vanguards. During the process of creating this army, an AI program built to study these enemies ended up loaded into a vanguard body becoming in effect Alto's second son, Charge.

Alto also ended up in a Champions RP for while wandering around as a local super hero with a powered suit.

In 2003 I stumbled upon a forum with an interesting little RP. This was Alto's introduction to New Horizon. I hastily modified Alto's basic history and sent him out into the world. He started out as a warrior and a scientist with a cybernetic panther named Jetta for a companion. Over the course of the next few years the warrior part started to take a back seat. This is when Alto really began to evolve as a character.

In New Horizon, he hooked up with a group called the Black Sheep. These were a very random group of would be heroes led by Professor Sucher. Since there were already a couple of good fighters in the group, Alto distinguished himself through science. As the storyline grew, he ended up becoming more diplomatic as he firmly placed himself in the middle of a power struggle between Sucher and his son Indrigid, as well as the many political factions that were starting to bear their teeth. He wasn't a major player at the beginning, but made an able spy and occasional diplomat. While working for Indrigid, he repaired an enemy soldier named Astaria. During their time together, the two grew close. Her death later on in the game led to Alto doing a bit of soul searching.

Eventually, the Black Sheep became important on a world scale, including playing parts in the unfortunate destruction of Elysium (the old name for Avalon). This led to a massive relocation to Trapper Town. Shortly after these events, the game grew a bit silent, only to emerge later as the current incarnation of New Horizon.

In 2004 Alto found his way to a group of chat RP sites. CyberCon and The Keep. He only appeared off and on, but managed to make an impression a few times. These days he is still alive as one of the core NPCs for New Horizon. I use his story to showcase the world.

#Geekery #Cyborg #NewHorizon #Alto #Charactersthathavebeen