Name: Karl Kirkland

Nickname: Kurt (to his college friends)

Age: 19

Birthplace: Fargo, North Dakota

Sexuality: Bisexual, but leans towards heterosexual and asexual.

Play-By: Zachary Quinto

Occupation: Computer Engineering Student

Superhuman Ability: Electrical field manipulation- Karl is capable of controlling electrical fields, which he can use to manipulate electrical equipment, lift objects (though there are major limits on this, lifting objects with electrical fields requires ridiculous amounts of power) and even absorb and discharge electricity into other objects. His body is also much better at conducting the flow of electricity, and electricity is much less likely to kill him.

However, the laws of physics don't like it when you spit in their face, so there are some drawbacks. First, he requires a source of power- he can't shoot lightning bolts out of his hand unless he's standing in the middle of a lightning storm. Though the amount of electricity produced by his body is elevated, it weakens him greatly if he has to rely on it. Second, he has trouble controlling it once it's left his body. Third, he has limited energy storage in his body, and it leaks out over time if he doesn't use it.

Physical Description: Karl is thin and flimsy, weighing about 120 pounds and about 5'9". His stringy black hair has grown long during his time in college and it usually ends up dangling in front of his eyes. Stubble has also built up across his face. His friends call him Kurt, because they think he looks like he should be fronting Nirvana.

Distinguishing Features: Karl has a birthmark, a dark purple blotch on his left hand. He's also got a small scar on his chin from an incident at the fraternity he was planning on joining.

Personality Description: Karl is pragmatic and results-focused, and doesn't believe in things he can't test. He's fairly awkward and lacks confidence when speaking to people, and tends to be very subdued with both compliments and disagreements. However, he tends to become fairly talkative after he becomes comfortable with someone's presence. Karl tends to isolate himself, but he really does enjoy the company of people. He just doesn't know how. He tends to enjoy things he doesn't like by making fun of them.

Characters History: Karl was born in Fargo, and grew up there until he was about 12. His father worked as an agricultural engineer, and his mother stayed home working as a freelance German translator online, as well as taking care of him, Emily, and Charles, his younger siblings. His parents moved out to Baybridge to take advantage of a job his father had gotten not too far away. High school was a fairly uneventful time, especially in Baybridge. Karl had a few friends but mostly kept to himself, building various little electrical gizmos. Always smart in the sciences, Karl graduated high in his class and got a scholarship to a local state school to study computer engineering.

After heading off to college, Karl adapted well. Having become a bit more social towards the end of highschool, Karl made a few friends in college. Aside from getting a scar on his chin while rushing a fraternity (something which led him to quit, he almost fell out a third-story window) it has been mostly quiet. His grades are good as always. His professors like him, when they notice him. He has a few friends. He's even built up a good rapport with Sonia, the girl in the next hallway over, who keeps asking his friends about him and "accidentally" brushing against his hand whenever she walks by (which happens suspiciously often).

Up until the 16th, he'd led a fairly normal, boring life. Then strange things started happening. And now his family is missing. Just woke up on the day the dome came down and they were gone. He's got to find them.

Goals:
Get accepted into a Ph.D program- Karl's passion for electrical engineering has made him determined to pursue a career in academia once he graduates.
Take care of his family- Karl has lead a charmed life, and he recognizes that his family is responsible for that. His parents were generally a good influence on him, he wanted for nothing as a child, and his younger siblings are his best friends.

Likes:
His younger siblings- despite being normally indifferent to most people, he is extremely protective and cares a great deal about them.
His cat- Marconi is a tabby cat with a personality that reminds Karl of himself. His sister named the cat after the inventor of the radio since Karl was talking about him, and she liked the name.
Fiddling with electrical things- Coding is fine, but it's not real engineering until you've burned yourself twice and blown up a diode.
Computers- He will talk to you about transistors and silicon doping for hours if you let him.
Rock music- While he looks like a grunge singer or a metalhead, Karl is... still a fan of grunge and metal, but has a surprising depth of musical knowledge and enjoys almost any genre that falls under the umbrella of rock music.
Bad movies and music- One of his favorite sources of unintentional comedy.

Dislikes:
Social Sciences- mainly because there doesn't seem to be a way of arriving on a clear answer. This goes double for politics.
Public Speaking- or speaking in general, for that matter. Putting his thoughts into words is very difficult for him.
Books- physical copies of books feel... ineffective and wrong. He does his reading on the Internet.