Name: Melissa
E-Mail Address: [email protected]
AIM: zahzuzay

Name/Nicknames: Naeem Mobutu
Gender: male
Rank/Position: veterinarian
Age: 36
Birthplace: Zaire, African Region, Earth

Physical Description: 6�1, dark chocolate-brown skin, black eyes, wide nose, broad smile, great teeth, short well-trimmed beard, shaved bald head, athletic build, and strong from handling large animals(though has lost a good deal of weight while up North and currently looks rather sallow). Deep rich voice.

Personality: A slow-paced, thoughtful, warm man, deliberate in his actions and meticulous in his work. He's very much a people person; while he won't be the life of the party, he will enjoy it to the fullest in his own un-showy, observant way, and draw people to him with his aura of welcoming stillness. Naeem gives the impression of a mountain: solid, immovable, reassuring; the superficial levels may shift somewhat with the influences of the day-to-day, but that's merely the thin skin over a constant, unshakeable basic element. He has a sure sense of his own worth, value, and skill; also, a deep sense of pride instilled in him by his parents, who had an interest in genealogy and would trace back their family tree to show young Naeem various great men and women (astronauts, politicians, and so forth) dotting their line. Some might say his pride crosses the line to arrogance, and he refuses to budge on his views even when he's been out-argued. To confuse the picture, it's actually a point of pride with him to BE reasonable and flexible, and to concede defeat gracefully if he decides he's wrong. That just doesn't *happen* very easily, or very often. And when he argues, it's always in that carefully calm, measured, reasonable way that people with more volatile tempers (like Zyena) find infuriating and patronizing.

Background: Born and raised in Zaire; opted to emigrate to Pern at age 25 because of overcrowding, the wretched state of the natural world, and the colonial need for veterinarians. At the time of departure he was nearing the end of his studies in veterinary medicine; once on Pern he finished them and passed his licensing exam, and worked with the colony�s animals ever since, specializing in farm livestock.

At 29 he sired a child with Zyena Ahvaya-Sanchez, and the two were married. This union went on successfully until Thread fell, and division over where the family should settle to best survive the threat prompted them to finally break their marriage contract. Naeem had little faith in the ability of even a great geneticist like Kitti Ping to so drastically alter the firelizards to the requirements of the �dragon� scheme, and preferred to play it safe and shelter his family under the solid rock of the Northern continent. Zyena refused to budge; she felt her place was with the science team and her duty to its Project. After many bitter arguments, the two decided to break their marriage contract � Zyena with much anger, Naeem with a sense of bitter resignation. He fought hard for custody of their children, but lost that too, and went North with the rest half-wondering why he was bothering, but too proud to recant on the decision that had caused so much strife. The chances of Zyena taking him back after their falling-out were slim, so staying in the South after breaking up his home over the issue would have made the whole thing seem unbearably idiotic and meaningless.

As things began to deteriorate rapidly at Cave Hold, Naeem felt more and more regretful of his decision to leave his family. When most of the livestock succumbed to the earthquake and Thread, thus rendering his vocation relatively worthless, he took to helping the overworked medical staff with human casualties. Naeem kept his ear to the ground and quietly followed the developments of the plan to ship back South, and decided there was nothing holding him to the failing Cave Hold except his own bruised pride - which seemed less and less important the longer he went without seeing his beloved daughters. So with the 99 others, he jammed onto The Return and hoped for the best.

Family/Friends:
Ex-wife: Zyena Ahvaya-Sanchez/31/xenobiopsychologist/Plateau
Daughters: Aneka Ahvaya-Mobutu/6/Plateau
Bizima Ahvaya-Sanchez/4/Plateau

If your persona were a song, the title: some slow, lazy, yet compelling BB King blues number

Pets: A blue firelizard, Zaire, who disappeared never to return shortly after the move North.

"The World of Pern is copyrighted by Anne McCaffrey © l967."
"The Dragonriders of Pern© is a registered trademark, as are Benden Weyr, Ruatha Hold, and many other places on Pern."
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