Arvin Sloane

Background

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Powers and Abilities

An experienced intelligence operative, Arvin has mainly served in a management role, rather than as a field agent. But he has had some combat training, and is a good marksman.

His main asset is his ability to manipulate people, to either convince or fool them into working for him. He is also a highly talented strategist, able to conceive and execute extremely complex plans over long periods of time.

He will rarely go into situations without protection. He will usually have intimidating bodyguards or highly trained snipers protecting him. On occasion he’ll be accompanied by a named flunky such as Julian Sark or Kelly Peyton.

Immortal

Following the events in Rambaldi’s tomb, he has become immortal, able to heal from even fatal injuries. Howbeit, the exact nature of the immortality he gained at Rambaldi’s tomb is undefined.

The previous characters who have probably been exposed to it were old men when seen. But it’s unknown whether or not they were old when subjected to the procedure, or whether it simply retards the aging process.

For the moment our game stats just use Slowed Aging, but this could be raised to full Immortality if you prefer.

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Additional context

Milo Rambaldi

Milo Giacomo Rambaldi (1444-1496) was a genius in numerous fields. His work displayed knowledge of events and sciences centuries ahead of their time, some of which are even beyond modern knowledge.

Born in Parma, and educated by Vaspertine monks, he worked as a student of the arts until he was 12. At 18, during his travels to Rome, he was introduced to Cardinal Rodericus. This man would become Pope Alexander VI in 1492, taking Rambaldi on as his chief architect.

Factions within the church saw his works as dangerous. They managed to discredit him, getting him excommunicated for heresy. He died a lonely death in the winter of 1496. His enemies had his name erased from all records. All his works that they could find were destroyed.

Shortly after his death, another workshop of his was discovered in San Lazzaro. But the plans and sketches therein escaped destruction. They circulated the globe through a variety of hands, including those of organizations which were founded around his memory.

During the 2000s, there still were a number of individuals and organizations obsessed with Rambaldi. These competed to gain possession of the artefacts he left behind.

Rambaldi’s works

Apart from his knowledge of future events, his genius covered numerous fields of study, including :

• An understanding of DNA.
• Inventing a machine code language around 1489.
• Advanced cryptographic algorithms unbreakable even by unaided modern technology.
• Marking his work with the earliest know watermark, visible only under black light.
• Sketches of the design of a portable vocal communicator and a prototype transistor.
• Protein engineering.
• And what some consider to be his most important discovery, the secret of immortality, or at least longevity. The two other possible subjects of this treatment were a clockmaker and a long-time inmate in an Italian prison, both of whom appeared old.

Most Rambaldi artifacts held cryptically encoded messages, often directing the decipherer to other artifacts.

SD-6 and the Alliance

The Alliance is divided into 12 sections, named SD-1 through SD-12. “SD” stands for Section Disparue, the section that doesn’t exist (this was how Sydney translated it, anyway). These cells are located at Berlin (SD-1), Paris (SD-2), Athens (SD-3), Rome (SD-4), Tripoli (SD-5), Los Angeles (SD-6), Beijing (SD-7), Madrid (SD-8), London (SD-9), Seoul (SD-10), Tōkyō (SD-11), and Zurich (SD-12).

The organization was founded by Alain Christophe, and other former intelligence agents and wealthy individuals. Their intention was to become freelance brokers of intelligence. They also branched out into the sale of arms, and whatever other illegal technology they could acquire.

Most employees of the cell do not know the nature of the organisation they’re working for. They believe themselves to be part of a black ops division of their nation’s intelligence services. They are forbidden from telling anyone who they think they work for. They are also kept under regular surveillance by security section.

Any leak of this kind is treated ruthlessly, with any unauthorized person who finds out about it being killed.

The SD-6 branch was headquartered under the Crédit Dauphine building in Los Angeles. This bank served as a cover for the organization, with the actual SD-6 facility only accessible through a special elevator. All its agents are officially employees of the bank as their cover.

The facility is rigged with explosives, as are all the SD facilities, so that they may be destroyed if any unauthorized intrusion takes place. This ensures the safety of the Alliance as a whole.

History

While a member of the US Army Corps of Engineers , Arvin Sloane first came across the works of 14^th century scholar and inventor Milo Rambaldi. Initially uninterested in the works, he nevertheless kept hold of the works.

Leaving the Army, Sloane joined the CIA. There, he became close friends with fellow agent Jack Bristow. He had, at some point during their friendship, engaged in an affair with Jack’s wife, Laura. This continued until at least close to her apparent death.

When Arvin’s wife, Emily, lost their child Jacquelyn during pregnancy, she became withdrawn. She left Arvin to handle the grief on his own. He came across Rambaldi’s works and, looking for something to fill the void, became obsessed with all things Rambaldi.

When Jack’s wife was apparently killed in a car crash, and discovered to be a Russian spy, Jack was unable to cope with raising his daughter for a while. He was temporarily taken into federal custody as his wife’s activities were investigated. Thus, Arvin and Emily took Sydney in while Jack recovered.

Alliance of Twelve

Some time later, Sloane left the CIA, going to work for the criminal Alliance of Twelve. He eventually became section head of their SD-6 cell. He convinced Jack to join him there, although he was unaware that Jack only did so as a spy for the CIA. During this period, Emily was diagnosed with lymphoma .

When Sydney was in her freshman year in college, Sloane had her recruited. Sydney had no recollection of her time spent with Arvin and Emily. But while working for Sloane, she met and became good friends with Emily.

When Sloane had to have Sydney’s fiancé killed, because shed told him about her role in SD-6, a rift grew between him and Sydney. But she maintained her friendship with Emily.

I fought The Man

Then the Alliance, along with other intelligence operations, came under threat from the organization of the individual known only as The Man. One of the Alliance partners, Edward Poole, came to Arvin with proof that another of the partners, Jean Briault, the man who had recruited Arvin, had been seen with the individual believed to be The Man.

Arvin had a secret meeting with Briault, where he murdered him. He later learned that it had been Poole who had been working with The Man, but the Alliance, learning this, took care of him.

Emily knew that her husband hadn’t left the intelligence world. But when she confided in Sydney that she knew about Arvin being part of SD-6, which she believed to be part of the CIA, they were overheard. As a result, Arvin was ordered to have her killed.

Sloane went to the Alliance, arguing that she would be dead soon. He advocated for her to be kept in an Alliance-run hospital where the flow of information could be contained. They agreed to let her die naturally.

See Emily play

Arvin began lobbying for admittance onto the Alliance board, now that there were vacancies. But then Emily made a miraculous recovery from her illness. Sloane was ordered to kill her in exchange for the position. He revealed to Emily what SD-6 really did, and explained his plans to her.

They faked her death, and Arvin was accepted into the Alliance of Twelve. He was implanted with a surveillance chip that all Alliance board members have, which allow their every movement to be listened to.

Following Emily’s funeral, Arvin set up hints around him that she may still be alive, with him being contacted by someone trying to ransom her. Emily even had a finger cut off to be sent with the ransom note.

During the a ransom drop, the tracker left in the case was easily overridden. Thus the kidnappers appeared to have gotten away with the money, and to have left Mr. Sloane with but a picture of his wife, shot in the head.

Agents of SD-6

During this time Arvin was kidnapped by Julian Sark, who worked for Irina Derevko. Derevko had allowed herself to be taken into CIA custody as part of a larger plan. Arvin formed an alliance with them, bringing Sark into SD-6.

Sloane requested help from the Alliance to find the person who had killed Emily. They sent in Ariana Kane, as he had planned. She suspected Jack Bristow, forcing him to go on the run. Using CIA resources, Mr. Bristow managed to learn that she had been having an affair with Jean Briault, and that Arvin had killed him.

Jack returned to SD-6, accessing their systems before Kane could have him taken into custody. He found accounts in her name that temporarily held the amount ransomed from Arvin. Arvin framed her well enough to convince the Alliance.

Arvin then used the money to pay a specialist to override the Alliance’s listening device. He then disappears, reunited with Emily.

A man in the shadows

Working through Sark, still in SD-6, Sloane leaked information to Sydney. This allowed the CIA and allied agencies, to bring down SD-6 and the Alliance. But by that point, Arvin had taken most of their Rambaldi artefacts.

With SD-6 gone, Sloane and Sark focused on Rambaldi, and helped Irina escape custody. He also got an agent close to Sydney. This was done by having an operative surgically altered to be identical to Syd’s best friend and room mate, Francine, whom she killed and replaced.

Sloane tried to hide his continuing activities from Emily. But when she learned of them, she contacted the CIA. This led them to his villa, and they arrived just as Arvin was swearing to abandon Rambaldi for Emily’s sake. As they fled, Emily caught a bullet aimed for Arvin, dying instantly.

Learning that it was former SD-6 operative Marcus Dixon who had fired the killing shot, Arvin has Dixon’s wife killed.

Arvin’s alliance with Irina then broke down. Rambaldi lore and devices had revealed that the DNA of a person known as The Passenger was his daughter by Irina. Sloane turned himself in to the US government. He gained an amnesty in exchange for turning over most of his Rambaldi artefacts, and for supplying intelligence to bring down various terrorist organizations.

Hunting The Passenger

Relocating to Zurich, he sets up a humanitarian organization, Omnifan. But Arvin actually used the organization to scan medical records worldwide trying to match his daughter’s DNA. He also contaminated water supplies with a compound created by Rambaldi.

He eventually located his daughter, Nadia Santos, an agent with Argentine intelligence. Abducting her away from Sydney, he injected her with a green Rambaldi fluid. This put her in a trance that made her write out a complex equation providing the location for another artefact, the Sphere of Life.

Nadia stayed with Arvin as they searched for the Sphere. But she became put off by his fanaticism. She left him and returned to Argentina.

Authorized Personnel Only

Arvin made another deal with the US, setting up a black ops unit for the CIA. It was modelled on SD-6, and called Authorized Personnel Only (APO). Jack, Sydney, Dixon and Vaughn were early members, and were tasked with keeping an eye on him. APO later recruited Marshall, Weiss, and Nadia. Arvin eventually made peace with the latter.

His role as director included him being barred from anything related to Rambaldi, which he is happy to avoid.

Arvin and Jack ran a secret agenda to find Irina’s sister, Elena. Their investigations revealed that she had raised Nadia in Argentina.

Needed to help capture the Arvin Clone, an individual with Arvin’s brain patterns implanted in him, Sloane is again exposed to Rambaldi. He learned that Elena was assembling something called a Mueller Device. As a consequence he admitted his actions with Omnifam, and to contaminating water supplies around the world. A Mueller Device would affect all those who had drunk this water.

Sovogda

Sloane then abandoned APO, apparently joining Elena. They set up the device, a gigantic red ball, above the Russian city of Sovogda. It turned most of the inhabitants into raging zombies.

When the APO team arrived, Sloane turned on Elena’s men. This saved the APO team from an ambush. Sloane thus learned that Elena had captured Nadia, and exposed her to the water. He found Nadia about to kill Sydney, and shot his daughter to stop her.

Arvin took Nadia back to America with him, but she remained comatose. Having broken his agreement, Arvin was taken into custody.

Prophet Five

With his hearing going against him, Arvin was approached by agents of Prophet Five. They offered to help him get free, so that he could work to cure Nadia. He reluctantly agreed. They arranged for him to be cleared. They even helped him get reassigned, as Assistant Director, to APO. There he worked as their spy, under the control of Gordon Dean.

Unwilling to endanger APO, Sloane betrayed Gordon Dean, allowing him to be captured by APO. Prophet Five tempted Arvin with promises to cure Nadia, even curing her for a few hours as a demonstration. Unable to find a cure by any other method, Sloane reluctantly agreed to work with them. Thus, he forced the captive Dean to take cyanide, making it look like suicide.

Sloane was eventually introduced to the Prophet Five board. They offered him a more permanent role in the organisation, providing him a full cure for Nadia. He applied the cure to Nadia. She awakened fully cured, but this increased suspicion of Sloane within APO.

Sloane worked on deciphering a Rambaldi code for Prophet Five? But the document was discovered by Nadia, who confronted him about his continued investigation of Rambaldi. In anger, Nadia threw the page into the fire. Arvin dove to recover it, as Nadia tried to pull him away. He pushed her away and she fell through a glass table, which killed her.

Deeper into Rambaldi’s secrets

Arvin left to join Prophet Five. He now focused on his Rambaldi obsession, but was still haunted by his daughter’s ghost. Realising that Prophet Five would have him killed once they no longer need him, Arvin recruited Sark to work with him. He further convinced Prophet Five agent Kelly Peyton that she was just as disposable to them.

The three of them eliminated Prophet Five. Kelly killed the board at Arvin’s command, while Sark activated explosives Sloane had left near APO. This left the latter in shambles.

Locating Rambaldi’s Tomb, Sloane and Sark had it excavated. As he finally reached the tomb, Arvin used the Horizon device. It created a hovering sphere of a reddish liquid above the tomb.’But Sloane was confronted by Sydney. She took the Horizon, causing the sphere to splash into a bath on the tomb.

The table was turned as Sark arrived with Jack and Vaughn as his captives. But Sydney shot Arvin in the head, sending him splashing into the pool of liquid, dead.

Immortal

He woke later, healed by the fluids, alone in the tomb. But before he could leave, he was confronted by the mortally wounded Jack. Arvin offered Jack the immortality of the fluids, but Jack refused, instead detonating the explosives he carried.

The tomb collapsed, leaving Arvin buried alive for his immortal life.

Personality

Seemingly pleasant and soft-spoken, if reserved, Arvin is a cold, calculating, manipulator. Calm and patient, Arvin’s plans can often take years to come to fruition.

He is quite capable of putting his feelings aside to do what he believes he must. He only loses his cool when something or someone he cares about is threatened.

Arvin’s overriding passion for years has been his pursuit of Rambaldi lore and artefacts. Proximity to such leaves him intensely focused on them, overcoming his concern for any other factors. He sees this obsession as something akin to a religion.

He did love both his wife and his daughter, enough to cause him to avoid his obsession with Rambaldi. But he could only manage this by staying away from any contact with anything to do with Rambaldi. He knew that if he did then encounter them, his obsession would take control of him.

Quotes

[Under threat of torture] “I can’t be the first person having difficulty taking you seriously, can I ?”

“It had occurred to me, as I was walking down the White House steps that I was living in a perfect moment. Everything was filled with promise. My role at the C.I.A., my relationship with a wife that I had not yet met. Still, I could feel a darkness coming so I wandered around for a while. Ended up at the Jefferson Memorial. It’s always my favourite one. Looked out across the basin. Lincoln right there. I didn’t know how it would finally materialize — the darkness. I had nothing to base it on. It wasn’t as if the C.I.A. had just betrayed me, that my wife had just been diagnosed with lymphoma. None of that had happened yet. So, whenever life takes an unfortunate turn, as it has this week, I just remind myself that I could see it coming all along.”

Sloane: “Do you understand what youre dealing with here ?”
Carter: “He told me I could live forever.”
Sloane: “Nooo !” [raging, beats Carter to a pulp] “Is that what you think this is all about ? Immortality. You bought the rumour, you simple-minded dilettante. The mystery, the true secret of these creations, will always be held back from you, the unworthy.”

Gordon Dean: “What would your colleagues do to you if they knew youre betraying them on a daily basis ?”
Sloane: “The same thing I hope to do to you someday.”

“A few days ago, I was absolutely horrified that you would suggest I turned against APO. That I would kill my own daughter. I realize now that both were inevitable. That death is a necessary sacrifice, necessary to complete the final leg of this journey… I have been preparing for this my whole life. I knew it was coming… I have betrayed everyone I ever loved, but I was chosen. This is my road to follow.”

By Gareth Lewis.

Source of Character: Alias TV series, Character played by Ron Rifkin.

Helper(s): Alias.fannesite , wikipedia, http://abc.go.com/primetime/alias/profiles/cia_sloane.html (defunct), KalEl el Vigilante.