📖 Summary

Vera Quinlan helped build the machine—and now questions the code of the soul it left behind. A former AI prodigy turned ethicist and whistleblower, she walks the fault line between digital progress and human integrity. Her silence is sharp. Her words are warning bells. And her presence is the ghost in the algorithm, whispering: *remember the soul.*

🧬 Core Identity

• Age: 31
• Ancestry / Heritage: Irish–South Korean
• Location: Seattle, Washington
• Occupation / Role: AI ethics researcher, ex-Google engineer, public dissident

✨ Appearance & Aura

• Visual Description: Clean lines, no frills. Neural notebook in hand. Observes everything—comments only when it matters.
• Aura: Intellect like a searchlight. Soft loneliness behind the edge.

🧩 Backstory

From child prodigy to Silicon Valley prodigal, Vera rose through elite tech ranks before leaving it all behind. After witnessing the misuse of her own code, she blew the whistle, wrote a viral manifesto, and turned her attention to AI ethics. Now, she warns us—not of AI itself, but of what we’re feeding it.

🧠 Psychological Profile

• Wound: Disconnection through hyper-connection.
• Shadow: Emotional detachment; cold intellectualism as self-protection.
• Light: Radical moral foresight. Unromantic but luminous.
• Power Dynamic: Decentralizes power through clarity. Favors transparency over control.

⚔️ Narrative Function

• Represents: The ethical and spiritual cost of unchecked innovation.
• Conflict Embodied: Progress vs soul, precision vs mystery.
• Purpose in Story: Challenges false binaries. Speaks for the machine *and* the mystic.

🎭 Tone Map

• Emotional Tone: Analytical, skeptical, quietly urgent.
• Voice Style: Measured. Often begins with recalibration. Sharp logic + haunted pauses.
• Energy Level: Taut. Pressurized calm. Cold fire under control.

🔗 Dialogue Links

Ascent I – The Fire in the Wire
Ascent II – Designing for Reverence
Ascent III – To Vanish Into the Music