Sirius Amory

Sirius Amory is the husband of Meri Amory. He was a human astrophysicist who specifically studied and specialized in the Keywork.

Appearance
Amory seems to have short hair, potentially dark hair and a goatee. He has potentially dark eyes and seems to wear glasses. He has light skin and seems to have a thin build. As an astrophysicist, he wears a special suit to enter the Keywork. This suit bares a large similarity to an regular astronaut's space suit with some major differences. Notably, two bulb-like side protrusions in his helmet, and a hose of sorts out the front of the helmet.

An older Sirius is featured in Vaxis - Act II: A Window of the Waking Mind.

Early Life
Amory was most-likely born on the planet of Valencine. He met his wife, Meri, on the planet Hetricus, in Sector XI, ten years prior to his first trip to the Keywork. At some point after this, he received a doctorate in astrophysics, married Meri, and moved to Valencine. He was very interested in the role the Keywork played in Heaven's Fence (specifically about small interplanetary gravitational fields) and made studying it his primary focus of research, eventually wanting to even enter it to collect energy samples and other data. This made him a controversial researcher in the scientific community.

First Trip to the Keywork
Amory was the first to discover and identify the seven stars that power the Keywork on the Fence. He believed that the energy from these stars used the Keywork to provide each planet with essential minerals and chemical elements to sustain life. This was also not supported by the rest of the scientific community. Amory was able to travel to the Keywork for the first time after finally saving enough money to put together two key pieces of equipment: a spacecraft named the Meriwell (after his wife), and a mobile apparatus—a suit designed to withstand the energy of the Keywork and link to his ship via the AI main frame he named All Mother. All Mother was designed to monitor his vitals, the ship's and apparatus' atmosphere, and of course, navigation. He had wanted his wife to accompany him, but she refused; too scared to have to witness something horrible happen to him and be helpless to do anything. In the bottom bay of his ship where gas mixed with the fog rolling off the Keywork, Amory opened the doors and took the first steps into the Keywork alone.

Taking a few moments to simply be in awe, Amory noted that the Keywork energy was definitely a variety of blue shades—shifting from dark like navy to light like aquamarine. He began to collect samples and wondered if the color change indicated energy shifts to maintain equilibrium. After a brief moment of pride and perhaps excitement, he heard something like eerie whispers. The haze of the Keywork shifted until Amory perceived human or humanoid shapes. Amory asked All Mother to identify the phenomenon, but she couldn't compute the composition through scientific classification. Using her advanced database, she determined that what he must be seeing is none other than souls. One of these souls—Amory labels them as "Entities"—pushed through a throng of others and forced his way into Amory. Amory felt his essence overcoming and possessing him, and struggled against it. All Mother could tell there was an issue and tried to troubleshoot the problem, but he couldn't do anything anymore.

Instead, it was as though he had been transported into a different world—one where he inhabited the soul, now knowing his name was Domino Cruiser. He was seeing through Cruiser's eyes and feeling what he felt. He could also sense that he hadn't learned much in this Afterlife, and thought he could use Amory to return to the world of the living. Amory than drifts through various memories that depict Cruiser's life: he was a boxer, and his little brother was his trainer and biggest fan, but he didn't approve of Cruiser's dealings with the local crime boss who would plant big, beautiful dreams in his head. Eventually, Cruiser did give in to these flights of fancy and subsequently became addicted to drugs, money, and fame, and did various "odd jobs for the villain. One night, Cruiser fought a reigning champ, but was lost in a stunning knockout. Spiraling out of control, Domino not only agreed to participate in an armored car heist, he had managed to convinced his little brother to join him. Things go wildly off kilter and his brother died. Full of despair, Cruiser kills himself as a result. Upon reliving Cruiser's death, Amory was able to be rid of his possession, but the sound of his shout resonated at such a frequency that through All Mother's connection to the Meriwell, the ship exploded.

Disoriented after Cruiser's possession, Amory continued to try to make sense of his experience. He deduced that the energy that makes up the soul—how someone was as they lived—carried over into their Afterlife. Cruiser lived life negatively, so he generated negative energy in death. Someone who lived positively would probably exude the opposite. The deeper Amory ventured into the Keywork, the more he saw of the Keywork: a never-ending monochromatic, fictional plane, where souls are tangible energy. It was not as black and white as he originally thought—more neutral. Not good, not bad. He names this place The Mono. Trying to mentally come back from Cruiser's suicide—his suicide as he experienced it—Amory recalled memories of happy times with his wife. With the Meriwell gone, the mobile apparatus couldn't lead him back to the edge of the Keywork, and Amory wandered aimlessly in his search. In this search, he somehow, inexplicably peeled back a portion of the space around him and found an area in stark contrast to his current one: one full of color and an atmosphere similar to any planet on the Fence that gave off warmth. In shock, Amory didn't move; his brain running instead. In that time, the space he'd pulled back receded and returned to its previous mundane state.

Amory continued to wander and collect samples as best he could, but he had begun to worry he would never get out. Sensing something or someone is following him and with his vision being limited due to his spacesuit's helmet, he turned at some point to check as All Mother said, "Second entity identified," confirming that it was a soul. This soul climbed up his legs before locking eyes with him and taking possession. In this entity, Amory learned that the souls of the Keywork have been referring to him as "The Afterman" since he is a man roaming their Afterlife. This lucid moment was brief. Instantly, he was seeing Holly Wood's memories, this time as a bystander. Wood was a wannabe starlet obsessed with the actress known as Madame Crisis Maroe, going so far as to mimic her mannerisms and stealing to afford surgeries to even look like her. The memories lead to Wood shooting Maroe to take her place, but security guards (of which Amory becomes one) appeared to fire back at Wood. Amory recognizes that this is his way out. Gun in hand, Amory was not able to shoot before second entity burst through their shared conscious.

This second entity gave no Amory no time before it kicked Wood out and took control. Known only as "Vic," Amory knew he was a Lieutenant General in the army who had no empathy or regard for the rules. He portrayed himself as stealthy and brave when he really exploited loopholes, performed illegal or dirty dealings, and instilled fear and blackmail to keep others silent against him. Full of arrogance, he had secretly ordered a Sergeant Major named Sentry to bomb a building, even though it went against standard protocols. Sentry refused and when Vic insisted, Sentry warned him that he would report him to the Field Marshal. Before Sentry had the chance, Vic ordered his loyal, crooked soldiers to hang the man. Amory, completely shocked and disgusted, attempted to pickup another officer's gun to kill Vic, but was unable to do so—the world intangible to him. The scene shifts and Amory saw that the event is covered up as a suicide, allowing Vic to get away scot-free. The scene shifts again, to a retired Vic who was being extradited for his various war crimes and misconduct, but refusing to go down, Vic decided to burned the mixed use building he lived in down with not just himself inside, but also his wife and hundreds of fellow residents and a nursey school. Amory, now in Vic's position is forced to set the fire to be set free, but knowing children will die, Amory couldn't do it. Extinguishing the flame, Vic is outrage and mentally wrecks Amory, doing damage to his physiological well-being in turn.

Just as suddenly as Vic came, a new, warm feeling overwhelmed him, bringing with it a sense of good and comfort as it lifted him out of Vic's evil energy. He recognized it as a new soul. Since it also had to possess him to extract Vic, he knew this one's name was Evagria. She was gentle and kind, holding him in an expansive yet intangible embrace. She set up a perimeter around him to keep other souls away and tried to heal him with her positive light energy. While he is rehabilitating, Evagria told him about her life. She was a social worker, eventually adopting three at-risk children from off-world herself. She was an attentive and loving mothers to give them any and all chances possible to succeed. When political protests broke out on her planet, she volunteered at a local hospital to care for any and all victims; holding no ill will, just compassion for human suffering. Years later, she was diagnosed with a rare bone disease, but spent her final days comforting her friends and family as she faded away. Still her memory lived on in her children that would carry the lessons she taught them by example. Amory recognizes she is strong in her compassion, but still worries that she won't be able to protect him forever.

Thinking of Evagria and her Good Samaritan attitude inspired Amory to dubbed the colorful, warm place he discovered before The Samaritaine, and through her, understood that a soul needs to let go of their individual qualifiers: their personal gains and selfish desires. This prompted him to reflect on his own life in this lens. He could admit that the mission was ultimately about his personal fulfillment and that because of his persistent desire, he pushed his relationship with Meri to a breaking point. He always used his career as an excuse to pursue his goal to be significant. He thought he could have it all, but now recognized that she loved him so much, she didn't want him to go into harm's way by taking on this mission—not that she didn't want him to accomplish all he wanted. Still, he wondered if he would even make it back.

The souls of Cruiser, Wood, and Vic began to claw at Evagria's light, and she begins to to fade. Still, she couldn't just let him go, so she cried out, "Who will repair this broken heart?" It seemed like her cry for help was heard as a fifth soul appeared to back her up. She was able to let go and the new soul took over, giving Amory strength and clarity. Amory discovers that this soul is none other than Sentry, the soldier Vic had killed because he wouldn't follow his twisted order. In Sentry's memories, Amory found out that though he hadn't been able to tell the Field Marshall, he had told another Sergeant. That Sergeant, though initially scared and thus remained silent, added his story to the evidence when it began pouring out. One of the guards involved in her murder even came forward to turn himself in as he too felt overwhelming guilt.

Vic was charged with with the crimes, and Sentry was actually awarded a Medal of Honor postmortem, and became a hero and moral role model. Still, Sentry harbored anger and resentment against Vic that he would escape the punishment by killing himself. He wanted justice. Amory recognized that this was a worldly grudge, and attempted to get him to let it go; that what happened didn't define him anymore. The scenes all stopped and then rippled. Amory turned to Sentry to see that slowly, light began poking through Sentry's body until he became cloaked in the same light Evagria had been. Sentry had crossed over. Amory was flabbergasted, but not for long as the hungry souls pressed in on him. Before they had a chance to take him again, Evagria returned to save him by creating a window into The Samaritaine. But just as soon as they were there, Evagria opened another window—this time, one that led out of the Keywork.

Finally free, All Mother attempted to reconnect to the Meriwell, but the connection failed. She gave him the option to descend back on his own, with only his suit to protect him, but she warned that the chance of survival was only 33%. Amory asked how long had they been away since there was no real sense of time in the Keywork. She told him her approximation was 547 days. This was almost exactly a year and a half. She then asked him to confirm if he really wanted to go home after such a long time. He was desperate to get back so she plotted their course. He would have to land on a satellite station near the planet Morlunus in order to survive. Looking back one last time at the Keywork, Amory felt accomplished, but ready to be home. He initiated the freefall. He was successful in making contact with the Morlunus space station, to their immense surprise, and they were able to help bring him down safely and even transport him home.

Return to Valencine
Amory was taken for questioning, but then given some recovery time first. Thinking back on all he experienced, he found himself at a crossroad: does he complicate the lives of all those on the Fence and create more animosity for himself in the scientific community, or let things be? A year and a half has passed with people having assumed he was dead, including by family and friends who have mourned and accepted this as truth. Amory visited his mentor, Dr. Allen Linkev, who considered him a son and confined in him all that he had discovered. Linkev agreed that the information could be catastrophic and even posited the idea that someone might try to harness it for selfish means. It might change the equilibrium of humanity if people thought their actions in life held no weight in the afterlife. Amory understood, but wondered if he might be able to use the knowledge to help people transcend. Linkev warned him against this too, saying "something are better left untampered with."

Feeling a bit upset that all his hard work seemed to have amounted to nothing since he couldn't share it, he got a surprising visit from none other than the Prise. They confirmed Linkev's position and told Amory that he has stumbled upon a secret that was meant only for them. They also declared that if he tells the world about this, they would be forced to view it as an act of war, and take action against mankind. During the conference held just a few days later, he was still on the fence as the first question was posed, but in his silence, he sensed everyone's fear of the unknown and resolves to lie. It went over so well, they not only awarded him for it, they named the award after him. Though not what he originally wanted, he was happy with this outcome. It is at the award ceremony (held a few days later), that he finally saw his wife again. She was distant—clearly having a hard time with his return.

The pair drove home together. Meri told him how proud she was, but eventually brings up their fight before he had left. Sirius felt attacked. He felt like there really hadn't been a choice for him, and even though there was some sacrifice (the year and a half away from her), he's changed the world. Ultimately though, he came back for her. She admitted that she'll always love Amory, but due to his supposed death, she'd moved on: She's with Officer Colton Graves now, and she was 3 month pregnant. Amory was shocked. He lost control of the car, jumping the divider, and smashing head first into an oncoming ground freighter. The pair was jetted from the windshield and dropped onto the pavement. EMT arrived on the horrific scene: the car seemed to have exploded; molten metal and blood strewn about everywhere. Amory was found first and was close to the vehicle. Amory tried to remain conscious and listen for what was going on, but his brain turned everything to numbers and calculations. At the hospital, Amory was saved by Dr. Straight, but Meri was in much worse condition then himself and had already lost her baby, though the doctor continued to work on her.

Ultimately, he is unsuccessful and Amory, still being monitored at the hospital, had to live with the fact that she died due to his loss of control. Two weeks after being admitted, he is released to the world. Not wanting to see family or friends, he got a cab, watching the world zoom by from the backseat. Amory was angry with no one except himself. He caused the crash, yes, but he also drove Meri away. He didn't put her first, he hadn't been interested in kids... he couldn't give her what she'd needed. And now she would be going to the Keywork with her, after all that. Amory remembered what Linkev once said, about people not being able to go through life without help. But he had certainly tried. Arriving home, Amory found none other than Colton Graves on his front porch. Amory was instantly on edge as he walked straight to the door, wondering if Graves would hit or yell at him. But Graves only uttered "Why" before standing up and walking out to the edge of the porch. Amory had no words to address such a loaded question. Graves wasn't looking for a response and instead told Amory that he tried to have his cake and eat it too. "If you loved her, you would've stayed up there, Sirius. You would have let her go."

It began to rain, and Graves walked out into it. Amory could only shout, "I'm sorry," over and over, sinking to the floor. But Graves kept walking.

Second Trip to the Keywork
After some time passed, Amory received a grant to continue his exploration of the Keywork and he used it to create a ship called the Saudade, which is more advanced than his last one. His true purpose was to reunite with Meri; locating her soul and help her transcend into the Samaritaine. He brought All Mother back online, upgraded and still connected to his mobile suit. Typing in the Keywork's coordinates, All Mother recognized that this is where he nearly died, and when he confirmed that that's where they were headed and what they were doing, she said, "I am not equipped to comprehend human rationale. Sirius, Is this what love is?"

Amory was silent for while before saying, "...yes."

Return
Many years later, in an unknown time and place, Vaxis interacts with a Quintillion Speaker aboard the Rixen Freckle. He senses someone he calls “friend” and reaches out to them. An elderly man in an old space suit suddenly falls out of the entity and onto their ship. He gets to his feet, revealing himself to be an elderly Amory as he expresses relief to All Mother that they are finally free.

Meri Amory
Meri Amory is Amory's wife. She did not initially want him to go on his initial mission. She seems to be a reporter for a local news media station. Still upset about him leaving, Meri was at home working on a writing assignment about the overpopulation of cats on Valencine when news of Amory's assumed death reached her. In disbelief, she collapsed to the ground and cried. Shortly after the news breaks, she is flooded with reporters in everyway possible all trying to gain information. But she had none, and mostly stayed out of the media, and just tried to wait, hoping he would return. After six months of waiting, she finally accepted that he probably was truly dead, and attempted to leave her house. She is nearly date-raped by notorious offender Dyer Grinlock, but saved by undercover police officer Colton Graves.

Over the course of Amory's absence, she developed a relationship with Graves, and even became pregnant with his child. Three months into the pregnancy, Amory returned and found the situation complicated. She loved Graves who had also chosen to make her the center of his life, but she still cared for Amory. Still riding the high of the award and recognition, the pair drove home together after the ceremony. Meri confessed in the car about her and Graves and their child. This shocked Amory into such a state that he jumped the partition and crashed their car into a freight truck. Meri lost her baby and was rushed to the hospital where doctors tried to save her life, but it the accident proved fatal and she too succumbed to her wounds.

Dyer Grinlock
Dyer Grinlock is Meri's would-be assaulter. A serial offender, his MO was to accidentally break or spill his victim's drink, then reorder it himself but slip a drug in before getting it to the lady he was trying to pick up; usually at the bar The Fair Lady. Once drugged, he would then take them back to his place to assault them. Meri would have been his next victim, as she was hit up by him at the bar, and her drink was spiked, but was intervened by Officer Colton Graves who had been tracking Grinlock, and arrested him.

Graves Colten
Graves Colten is Meri's new partner. Thinking that Amory must be dead as his ship exploded and he hadn't been heard from in six months, she fell in love with Colten after he saved her from being assaulted by Grinlock. Colten made Meri feel like she was not only wanted, but important and they developed a close relationship pretty quickly. After 9 months, the pair conceived a child and just 3 months into the pregnancy, Amory returned. Of course, Meri and their unborn child were killed shortly after. Colten was completely heartbroken and went to Amory's house to chide him for his selfish return that cost them both the person they loved.

All Mother
All Mother is the main frame AI designed by Amory to monitor his vitals, the ship's and apparatus' atmosphere, and of course, navigation. As a machine, she doesn't exist physically, or have much of a personality. Her voice seems to be a combination of several voice synthesizers, all relatively feminine sounding. As her primary function is to watch over Amory and make sure he's safe or accomplishes his goals, she acts similar to a mother figure, and thus Amory uses female pronouns with her.

Gallery
To be added...

Trivia

 * "The Writer" lives on a street named "Amory Drive" and seems to have named Amory after this detail.
 * Sanchez has said that older Amory is based off of his late grandfather.
 * Amory is voiced by Sanchez on the Afterman albums.
 * All Mother is primarily voiced by his wife, Chondra Echert, though her voice seems to have been mixed with different pitches and/or takes, and may have also been mixed with Madeline Birnbaum's who was credited with Echert for additional background vocals.
 * Though Sanchez had been considering Echert for the voice of the All Mother, it was actually Eppard who voiced the suggestion.