Jeremy Fortenbrite Born: 17 August, 1873 First Appearance: 1.9 |
Jeremy Fortenbrite has been selected by the Ministry for the Improvement of Genetic Data through Mandatory Procreation as a match for Luka Arlexi under her original name, Alexandra Romanov. He is also a student at Jordan College.
Pre-Alexandra Life
Jeremy Fortenbrite was the son of Alastair Fortenbrite and Julia Merriweather-Fortenbrite. His father was a wealthy persecuting attorney (not a misspelling), and his mother's family was also quite rich. From youth Jeremy exhibited strange romantic notions that his father felt were better, well, squashed into tiny pieces and then placed in an incinerator and then dropped into the bottom of the ocean. Nearing his tenth birthday, Jeremy had already developed romantic crushes on at least seven different girls, all of whom were arrested under suspicion of sedition and conspiracy. All seven trials were handled by Mr. Fortenbrite, resulting in seven convictions and sentences of hard labor and "scientific rehabilitation". As far as Jeremy knew, he simply had bad taste in women.
Blood tests and the MIGDMP letter
On Jeremy's tenth birthday, a routine checkup revealed certain anomalous readings in his blood composition. Further testing was ordered, and Jeremy was taken by his physician to a government testing lab in an undisclosed location. The paperwork was all signed by the physician, and Jeremy's parents were never informed of his fate or reason for disappearance; instead, they were told that their son had never arrived at the office for his checkup. Alastair believed that Jeremy had eloped with some new romantic interest before there was time to identify and arrest the girl. Stricken by the belief that his attitude toward his son's natural inclinations had been to lenient and that he was responsible for Jeremy's disappearance, Alastair Fortenbrite poured his family fortune into attempting to locate the whereabouts of his son, but was ultimately unsuccessful. His obsession with finding his son cost him his job, and eventually he drank himself to death in a gutter of Mechanus on the street in front of the courthouse where he had worked for almost 20 years. Ironically, the courthouse was located only half a block away from the Ministry for Prolonging the Lives of the Labor Class Somewhat (MPLLCS), where Jeremy was undergoing constant tests and concerning his blood. The MPLLCS believed Jeremy's blood contained immunity to certain types of common illness. It was determined, however, that Jeremy's blood could not, by itself, provide the widespread inoculation desired by the ministry. If progeny of similar immunity could be produced, however, the resulting genetic data carriers could themselves be harvested for their blood and utilized in the MPLLC's main stated purpose (which concerned the saving of funds and other resources spent in training by lengthening the average lifespan of laborers, thus lowering the need for new workers requiring instruction). Thus, in 1885 the MPLLC filled out the appropriate forms in triplicate and and submitted them to the Ministry for the Improvement of Genetic Data through Mandatory Procreation. The MIGDMP ran a search of its records for a compatible genetic match, and in 1887 sent back a letter informing Jeremy of the match, with a name attached: Alexandra Romanov.
The Long Wait
During his wait through the six-to-eight weeks indicated in the letter from MIGDMP, Jeremy studied the photo of his intended genetic partner (the photo was by then almost five years out of date, and consisted of a wanted-poster mug-shot of an eight year old). Jeremy was initially skeptical of his intended's list of crimes, but he reflected that most of his earlier crushes had also had antisocial tendencies, and so Alexandra fit well into that mold. He found himself deeply in love with her. However, at the end of the eight weeks Alexandra's location had still not been ascertained by MIGDMP, who assured the MPLLC that one of their best agents was on Romanov's trail.
Leaving MPLLC
Two more years passed, and the MPLLC grew impatient. Alexandra's trail had by now long grown cold. It requested that the MIGDMP search its records for another match for Jeremy. However, the MIGDMP responded that this was impossible, as it was official policy to never match any individual with multiple counterparts; the only exception being if the intended composite required genetic sampling from three or more original genetic contributors at the same time. As this was not the situation in Jeremy's case, the second request was denied, leaving the MPLLC little choice but to release Jeremy into his mother's custody. (This occurred four days after his father's death.) His mother had moved back in with her family, and Jeremy's life for the next five years was one of luxury. His grandparents purchased the very best of Automatic Tutor Bots for his education, and he enjoyed ordering the servants around and lounging by the family pool. But he never forgot Alexandra, and looked at her picture often. When it grew too ragged and dog-eared to be recognizable, he purchased an updated photo by running the genetic sampling data provided by MIGDMP through an analytical engine to ascertain what Alexandra's present appearance might be. This he pasted to the ceiling above his bed, so that it would be the first thing he saw when he awoke and the last thing he saw before falling asleep.
Jordan College
His Automatic Tutor Bots were so efficient that Jeremy was accepted into Jordan College, where he set about studying forensic science and investigation, in the hopes that after graduating he could put the skills to use in finding Alexandra.