{=Vitali is played by Gustav=}

Background

Vitali was the only child of a normal Russian family in Novosibirsk. He grew up a shy boy preferring the company of his books and the quiet of his home to the world outside where he would be expected to behave like a proper man with all of the skills he never saw himself as possessing. Camaraderie, seducing women, sports and fighting; all concepts which scared as well as fascinated him.

When he was old enough to join the monastery he did so quickly and willingly. It had been something he had been looking forward to for years. That was to become his escape from a world he saw himself ill-fitted to handle. Within the monastery walls he could study, read his books and explore his passion for alchemy.

Vitali did well in the alchemy department of the monastic order of Russia. The head of the alchemy department in the church, Sergei, recognized that Vitali had a real talent for alchemy and that he did his best work in solitude. Sergei arranged for Vitali to report straight to him and over the years a, often silent, respect formed between the two. Vitali would be assigned some hard cutting edge alchemy research and often delivered.

In fact, Vitali did these assignments quite quickly. Work that would have taken a normal scientist a couple of years Vitali did in a couple of months. But he would not report on his success until he had had a chance to do some of his own private studies. He had cracked several supposedly unsolvable alchemy problems but not released his findings to the wider research community. The reason for this strange omission was that Vitali didn't want the attention such publication would bring with it. Giving talks and holding lectures wasn't his thing. Not, that is, yet.

The change

Vitali longed to be what he saw himself as not being. A man to be reckoned with, a charming and confident man who would be respected and looked up to for being brave and strong. All the things he saw himself lacking. And so he worked on his master potion that would bring these qualities to him. He spent much time on this potion, and thought many times that he had the code cracked but each time, with danger to his own life, that he took the potion (because who else would he feed it to?) nothing happened.

Then one night, working late, Vitali walked into the restricted areas to do some further reading. He was a well-recognized face there, and came and went as he liked. But after having passed the guards and he came into the restricted library he found one of his colleagues, Slav, in the process of stuffing bags full of the most valuable and top-security alchemy research books and blueprints. It wasn't hard to figure out what was going on. Slav attacked Vitali and an uneven fight broke out.

This was the first time Vitali had ever been hit in his life, and the first time anything exciting and adrenalin inducing had happened to him since he joined the monastery. And this was the missing trigger which the potions Vitali had been taking for months needed to trigger. One potion would have had the desired effect. Several different variations of the potions all mixed up and taken in high dosages did more than expected. Vitali slipped out of existence all together and was replaced by the new and improved Vitali, the strong, confident man Vitali had always wanted to be.

It took some time for the new Vitali to come to grip with sudden existence. He had no memories what so ever. The first pieces of information he got was from this man who clearly meant him harm. This man was talking about the bags of books on the floor, how they would be worth an incredible amount of money on the black market and how he had planned his escape via an airship in the docks. This violent man didn't get to say any more. He came at Vitali with a knife but with a swift duck to the left and a twist of the man's wrist the new Vitali had turned the knife at his attacker and pierced his heart. Self defence.

Thinking he could do later. He picked up the bags of books on the floor. It seemed like a good idea at the time. He had won over the man and this would be his reward. And then he ran. The guards called out the name 'Vitali' on his name out. That was probably his name then. He could figure all of this out later when he was far away from the dead body he had left behind him.

Down by the docks he found an airship that was just about to head out. He ran along the pier and literally jumped on board just as the ship took off.

Looks

Vitali is 38, he is of medium height and build with short black hair and ice-grey eyes. He looks a bit boring as old Vitali while the new and improved Vitali is much better at keeping a good posture and using those beautiful eyes to good effect.

Series One Story Arc

In the first episode we see Vitali eagerly accepting a place with the Emporium. The Emporium is big and secret enough of an organization to keep him safe from his own past. They didn't even ask any difficult questions regarding what a Russian monk was doing away from home.

In the first episode we also saw Vitali's alchemy in action when he created a cover of smoke from a few vials of his own making. This caught the attention from Martin who later would come to apply Vitali's smoke vials to several different inventions of his.

In the first few episodes we followed both new and old Vitalis' struggles with the often badly timed personality switches. New Vitali had it worst as he would always get control in the middle of some dangerous situation when the adrenaline runs high. Neither personality lets anyone else at the Emporium know that anything is wrong with them. Instead they lie and pretend that they know what is going on, often with bad consequences such as when new Vitali tries to use one of Old Vitali's inventions.

After the first initial episodes it's clear that old Vitali starts to understand what is going on. He gets to work on researching the effects. It is not clear what he is trying to do. At one point we see him asleep at his work desk with a chart drawn on the wall showing something increasing over time. Old Vitali also spends all he earns at the Emporium on rare ingredients.

At this point we also get to see a few short scenes of monks discussing the search after Vitali. The Russian church has set the inquisition after an unsuspecting Vitali, wanting the alchemy books back which he stole.

As the series progresses new Vitali remains in control for longer and longer after a personality switch, something which isn't lost on old Vitali. The conflict between the two personalities escalates with two events.

The first event is when old Vitali locks himself in a basement with a sound recorder, hides the key and then forces a personality switch by injecting himself with adrenaline. New Vitali thinks himself kidnapped and threatens whoever rigged the sound recorded to take bloody vengeance. This leaves new Vitali thinking himself experimented upon while old Vitali considers his other personality a violent and dangerous man.

The second event is when new Vitali seduces and spends a night with a woman. Old Vitali is horrified when he wakes up next to the strange woman, realises that his alter ego has broken his celibacy vows.

This is the state of affairs at the series finale. At the end of the first episode of this double bill, the crew is attacked by an airship manned by Russian monks. Edgar and Spinwood recognize the ship as the one that destroyed their ship in episode 1. New Vitali is forced to explain himself and he tells the part of the story that he knows; that the first thing he remembers is being almost beaten to death by a monk who he in self defence killed. After that he has had memory lapses, probably caused by the head trauma of the beating. After being told that he often is able to perform alchemy new Vitali is left in the belief that his memory comes and goes.

When old Vitali next comes into control he accidentally reveals not knowing what their mission is all about, and he finally reveals his side of story. New Vitali questions the crew about his alter ego, expecting accounts of violence and defective social behaviour. He is shocked when he hears that new Vitali is a respected and dear friend of the crew.

At the end of their mission Vitali is kidnapped by the Russian Inquisition. During the rescue operation Spinwood is mortally wounded. Old Vitali is too late in creating a healing potion and Spinwood dies. Wrecked by guilt old Vitali locks himself into his lab. There we see the alchemy work bench where Vitali has been working on a secret project which has resulted in two vials of liquid, one red and one blue.

Old Vitali writes a letter and addresses it to himself and then causes a personality switch with another adrenaline injection. New Vitali reads the letter in which old Vitali explains everything, including how he has been working on a potion which when used will destroy either the new or the old personality. Old Vitali admits to having planned to destroy new Vitali but after learning of the good nature of his alter ego, he has changed his mind. Old Vitali now instead invites new Vitali to take full and permanent control, in effect killing old Vitali.

New Vitali is at first angry and furious with the whole situation and thrashes the lab, but he leaves the two vials. After releasing his anger he calms down and walks up to the vials. He drinks the vial which will give new Vitali full and permanent control. But after doing so he unexpectedly drinks the second vial as well at which point he starts to convulse. The crew bursts into the room at this point. The series ends with Vitali looking up at the crew saying, "We are ... Vitalis."

{=Vitali's Letter=} Dear Vitali,

I presume that you are reading this letter in a state of confusion and agitation. I gave you an adrenaline injection to wake you up. Your heart will be pounding and every nerve in your body will be on extreme alert. It may be hard to calm down and pay attention to a letter such as this. I beg of you to read on carefully for I shall explain all that has been happening to us in the last few months. It is of utmost importance that you finish this letter.

My name is Vitali. I am a Russian alchemist. For many long years I wished to be someone that I am not: a brave man who faces the world with confidence and a belief in himself. This became my obsession and I worked tirelessly towards my goal. In my foolishness I devised a way through alchemy to 'create' the personality traits that I thought myself lacking. But I must have made a mistake somewhere along my research. In the end I did not simply augment my personality with the traits that I lacked. I created a whole new personality with its own consciousness. In short, I created you.

Only one of us is in control of our body at any given time. I believe that we both have the same experience of waking up in strange situations with no memory of how we got there. Normally you come into control when I am in a state of agitation. The adrenaline acts as the trigger. But my research shows that over time you will come to take full control and I will cease to exist.

I dare say, I came to hate you. I saw you as a fatal infection which I needed to find a cure for. The Emporium doesn't know about our 'condition' but through their many missions I was able to collect the ingredients I needed to concoct just such a cure. In front of you are two vials. I've managed to reverse engineer the tonic which gives rise to our two personalities and divided them into two concentrated forms. The red vial contains my own essence. The blue vial contains yours. Consuming either will bring that personality into full and permanent control. The other personality will vanish, forever.

But now, with the means of your destruction at my disposal, I hesitate. Do I have the right to destroy you? As I planned this coup against you I justified it by remembering how you murdered my colleague back in Russia. But I understand now that you were merely defending yourself. Furthermore I presumed you to be defective. I presumed that you couldn't possibly be a fully functional person in your own right. I deluded myself in this way to make my planned murder of you acceptable but I see now that I am again wrong. I've spoken to our friends here at the Emporium and explained our predicament. They have made me understand that you are not a soulless killer. You are the man I always wanted to be, true to your friends and fighting to defend them with valour and bravery. And more than that, you are not to blame for the mistakes that I have made.

As such I have decided not to go through with my plan. It would do little good anyway. I can never return to Russia and my timid personality does not sit well with life at the Emporium. Adventure is your home, not mine.

I cannot however bare this slow drift into oblivion. To loose more and more control, eventually only getting a few minutes of consciousness before losing it again, never knowing if it will be for the last time, it is more than I can carry. As such I wish to end it tonight. I ask of you to drink the blue vial and end my life. I am not strong enough to do it myself. My resolution fails me. I am not man enough to take my own life. But I know that the strength to do this is within you. After all, I put it there. You should not feel guilt over this deed; it is the right thing to do.

Maybe with this final act of mine I can prove that somewhere within me there was, and always were, a brave man.

Yours truly,
Vitali