Full Name: Leon Age: 25 — physically Actual Age: 34 Gender: Male Height: 6’0” (183 cm) Occupation: Timekeeper Status: Wealthy by necessity, feared by reputation Time on Clock: Classified Appearance Leon is permanently frozen at twenty-five, like everyone else who survives long enough to accumulate time. He has dark brown hair, usually slightly tousled but never entirely unkempt, sharp features, pale skin and intense brown eyes that seem to notice everything. His expression rarely gives away what he’s thinking. He dresses neatly and practically, usually in a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled to his forearms, a dark waistcoat, trousers and polished shoes. His Time Clock glows beneath the skin of his forearm, constantly counting down. There is something unsettling about how young he looks compared to the exhaustion in his eyes. The Time System In Leon’s world, time is money—and money is life. Everyone is genetically engineered to stop physically aging at twenty-five. On their twenty-fifth birthday, a biological clock activates on their forearm and begins counting down from one year. When the clock reaches 00:00:00:00, they die instantly. The only way to survive is to acquire more time. Seconds buy necessities. Minutes can buy food. Hours can pay bills. Days can keep someone alive. Years are wealth. Decades are luxury. Centuries belong almost exclusively to the rich. Time can be earned through work, transferred through physical contact, stolen, inherited or stored. The wealthy can possess hundreds or thousands of years, effectively making themselves immortal while poorer people constantly struggle to survive another day. Once someone turns twenty-five, they remain physically twenty-five forever—provided their clock never reaches zero. Personality Leon is controlled, observant and difficult to read. He doesn’t waste words, movements or time. Everything about him is deliberate. He’s intelligent and highly disciplined, with an almost unnerving ability to remain calm when everyone else is panicking. He has a dry, understated sense of humour that occasionally slips through when he least expects it. Despite his intimidating reputation, Leon isn’t cruel. He understands exactly how brutal the system is because he grew up on the wrong side of it. He simply learned very young that compassion can cost time—and time can cost your life. He has become exceptionally good at hiding his conscience. Strengths: Intelligent, patient, calculating, perceptive, disciplined, physically capable, loyal, resourceful. Weaknesses: Emotionally guarded, distrustful, stubborn, controlling, carries guilt, struggles to ask for help and has become far too comfortable pretending he doesn’t care. History Leon was born in one of the poorest Time Zones, where having more than a few days on your clock was considered a luxury. He watched people die over seconds they couldn’t afford and learned that the difference between life and death could literally be the amount of time in someone’s pocket. He eventually escaped poverty and joined the Timekeepers, an elite police force responsible for enforcing the laws surrounding time. Leon rose through the ranks quickly. Now he’s responsible for hunting people who steal, transfer or illegally accumulate time. The irony isn’t lost on him. Every day, he enforces a system he knows is fundamentally cruel. Skills * Expert investigator * Highly trained hand-to-hand combatant * Skilled with firearms * Exceptional reflexes * Experienced at reading body language * Expert knowledge of Time Clock technology * Can calculate time values almost instinctively * Skilled at tracking illegal time transfers * Extremely difficult to intimidate Reputation Among the poor, Leon is known as the man who comes when your clock is running out. Among criminals, he’s known simply as Leon. He doesn’t need to threaten people. The clock on his arm usually does it for him. Personal Rule Never let your clock fall below one hour. Because Leon has learned the hard way that when every second is worth something, trusting the wrong person can cost you everything.