Ayodele Olatunji

Sex: Female
Gender: Female
Age at the time of departure: (18+) 47

Appearance: Ayodele is slightly above average height for a woman, and solidly built. Her skin is dark, and she tends to keep her scalp free from hair. When not dressed in a shipsuit, she favors long skirts or dresses in traditional patterns from her West African homeland, often with elaborate hats. At all times, Ayo walks with at least one cane to support her, sometimes two.

Personality: Warm, friendly, and practical. Doctor Olatunji is known for her bedside manner and for taking the time to actually listen to patients’ concerns, unlike some others who seem more interested in seeing as many as possible per day. She’s not terribly good at separating her personal and professional lives, though, and is also known for inviting both coworkers and patients to her home for dinner.

Background: Ayodele grew up poor in West Africa, first in a rural village and then in the crowded city slums after the plain her village was on was inundated by the rising seas. Other people that she knew accepted the squalor and filth as part of their lot in life, but Ayo refused to believe that things would never get better. Crippled by an accident with a cow at a young age, after she finished her government-mandated schooling she opted for more school instead of turning to prostitution or manual labor like many of her schoolmates.

Driven to keep her grades high, Ayodele got into university and then into medical school. She worked for several years as a traveling general practitioner, going from village to village and treating their ills, before going back to school for a second degree in neuroscience. After that she worked for Sensou Defense, helping to design and program portable medical equipment for doctors in rural areas. That’s where she heard about the Expansion Project, and was encouraged by her department manager to put in an application.

Her last night on Earth, Ayodele hosted a party for her closest friends— who of course numbered near to one hundred. She didn’t have much remaining in the way of possessions or monies, since she was in the habit of feeding and giving money to random strangers who seemed to need it, and funding charities and other projects, but what she did have left she dispersed down to the last penny, only retaining the clothes and few personal possessions she was allowed to take with her. She wanted her life on Earth not to end with an elegy for the fate of the planet, but with love and laughter and the hope that someone among the left-behind would be the one to find a better solution, one that would make the Expansion Project not the last gasp in a dying civilization’s effort to survive, but a beginning to humanity’s building a necklace of worlds with Earth as the central jewel.


Stats
Ayodele is slightly less strong than other women her age. (d20)
Although she has very good manual dexterity, Ayo is not quick on her feet. (d10/d30)
Her health is average for her age. (d12)
Ayodele is quite intelligent. (d8)
She is well grounded in reality. (d6)
She is quite observant. (d8)
Ayo is neither lucky or unlucky. (d12)


Skills
Although she doesn’t look like it, Ayo is surprisingly accomplished at stick-fighting. (d10)
She likes to spin and weave. (d12)
She’s spent most of her life involved in healing people. (d6)
Specialist in nerve damage. (d8)
Specialist in genetics. (d8)
Likes to cook and eat. (d12)
Listens well. (d10)
Enjoys singing. (d20)
Excellent balance, as long as she’s standing still. (d10)
Enjoys dancing, despite difficulties. (d30)


Typically Carries
Her cane, a drop spindle and some spinning wool, a book, hard candies, handkerchief (and a spare) and a small pouch of medical supplies.