Name Verity Jennings
Gender Female
Type of Character Metahuman
Position CEO and Head Researcher of Humanitech
Age 54
Description
Verity is a trim, well-dressed woman who has maintained her looks well into middle age. She is a dedicated professional who rarely becomes flustered.
Verity Jennings is played by Diana Rigg
History
Verity Jennings was born in 1949 in Rhodesia to English parents. She did her early schooling via tutors, and soon developed a keen interest in the sciences, particularly genetics. She left Africa in 1968 to pursue her higher education and completed her PhD in 1974 with Stanislov Grof as her mentor. After her doctorate she continued working with him on the development of Metaflex.
In her teenage years she had developed a minor meta ability – she could sense the presence of other metas, but nothing else. When human subjects were required for testing Metaflex, Verity volunteered. When the first dose wore off, Verity found she’d been left with a better sense of metas. She continued using herself as a test subject for several other refinements of Metaflex, each time finding her powers somewhat expanded after the test. Her research into the phenomenon revealed that it was her particular manifestation of meta power that had triggered these otherwise non-reproducible results. By the time she stopped using herself as a test subject, she had been left with the ability to sense if a meta was actively using his/her power as opposed to just being a meta, and she could extend Metaflex-like effects outward to suppress that person’s powers so long as she maintained her concentration.
It was Verity’s desire to form a fully-fledged research company that led to the genesis of Humanitech. She initially gained a sympathetic ear with a Senatorial aide – Martin Douglass – who persuaded his boss to give her a hearing. With Douglass’ help she eventually procured the agreement in principle from the US Government that a research-only company could be granted a licence to use Metaflex, given certain restrictions. One such restriction was that only someone who had helped develop the drug initially would be permitted to head the company, and that certain arms of research were strictly forbidden to them.
Privately, Douglass sounded out Jennings about her views on metahumans, and the two quickly realised they had a similar vision for the future. Thus Douglass gained his first real ally in what would become his quest for a fair form of metahuman regulation. It was clear even in those days that ‘normal’ humans would chafe against the obvious advantages nature assigned to metahumans and would seek to curb them through social and political means. Martin Douglass and Verity Jennings together vowed to work to put metas in charge of that process.
With her government agreement in hand, Verity set about procuring venture capital for Humanitech, but found only refusal within the US. So she widened her search to include the international community and found a supporter with the French entrepreneur, Jules Fournier. In 1978 Humanitech opened its doors and chemists, biologists and geneticists commenced their official mandate to discover a genetic ‘reversion’ solution. To this end Humanitech has continued to refine Metaflex, as well as working on meta detection systems and the genetic research. All these activities are covered in the regular reports Jennings must make to the US Government.
Her personal life has been somewhat less successful. Verity was married for a time but had no children, and was divorced after only a few years. She hasn’t seen her ex-husband in over a decade. Her staff say she’s married to the job, since she spends upward of 16 hours a day at the labs, sometimes sleeping in her office for days on end. Sometimes she locks herself in her own lab and doesn’t emerge for several days, refusing to see anyone in that time. Often that’s when she’s on the verge of some breakthrough in her own research projects – the ones that the Government don’t get to hear about – but occasionally it’s because she’s suffering a psychotic episode. The multiple doses of early-formula Metaflex she took cause her to have hallucinogenic flashbacks, much as happens with LSD users. The effects are varied, but Verity generally has sufficient warning of an impending episode to isolate herself from her staff. She considers herself lucky that they happen very rarely.
Powers
Meta Detection: When in proximity to someone (within earshot and line of sight) Verity can sense if somebody is a meta. She can also tell if that meta is currently using their ability or not. In the case of metas whose power is ‘always on’ she senses them as using their talent. If she is in a crowded room with thirty humans and one meta she will know there’s a meta present and which quarter of the room they’re in, but won’t be able to pinpoint which unless she gets closer. Once she’s right next to them she’ll know.
Meta Suppression: If she concentrates, Verity can extend the feeling she had when using Metaflex to a meta with whom she is in proximity. The meta thus affected won’t be able to use their talents and will feel a slight degree of nausea and disorientation. However, while concentrating Verity is only able to perform very minor rote tasks without losing the effect.
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