Courier

He isn’t sick. He’s carrying a passenger.

Courier is a large, physically powerful man whose body looks as though it is slowly failing. His skin is dark and discoloured, bruising spreads across it, his eyes appear unnaturally dark, and chemical processes inside his body have blackened his gums and teeth. His hair is usually unkempt. Almost all of his available energy seems to be spent on one thing: keeping two living organisms functioning long enough to reach their destination.

The organism inside him did not get there by accident. Courier accepted the job knowingly.

Character Overview

Courier is transporting a massive living parasite inside his body. The environment normally inhabited by humans is unsuitable for the organism, while the temperature, chemistry and biological stability of a living host provide conditions in which it can survive the journey.

Courier knew that carrying it would cause serious damage to his body. He accepted the contract anyway because he needs a very large amount of money. The reason is not yet known. He does not drink heavily, use drugs, gamble or display any obvious expensive habits that would explain his financial situation.

Part of the agreement is simple: the parasite must reach its destination alive. Courier’s own survival is not necessarily required for the contract to be fulfilled. If he dies while successfully completing the delivery, payment can pass to a designated beneficiary.

The parasite knows why Courier needs the money.

The audience does not.

Personality & Behaviour

Despite his intimidating size and unhealthy appearance, Courier is a remarkably gentle man. He has a low voice, speaks slowly and usually looks directly into the eyes of the person he is talking to. There is something immediately reassuring about him. He does not appear manipulative, aggressive or interested in proving his strength.

He is dependable almost to a fault. If Courier says he will do something, people tend to believe him. His reliability is probably one of the reasons he was trusted with an assignment this unusual.

He takes little interest in alcohol or other forms of excess and appears to live simply. Nothing obvious about his behaviour explains why he would accept a contract capable of permanently damaging or killing him.

He gives the impression of a person with very little to hide.

Yet something important about him remains unexplained.

The Passenger

Very little is confirmed about the organism itself. Its name, species, origin and destination remain unknown.

What is known is that the parasite is large, intelligent and capable of communicating with Courier. It does not speak directly. Instead, it changes the chemical composition of Courier’s blood. An implant detects these changes and translates them into signals that Courier can understand.

Through this system, the parasite can communicate needs and instructions. It can also influence Courier’s physical state. If he refuses to cooperate, the organism is capable of chemically punishing him.

The exact limits of this ability have not yet been established. Pain, fear, stimulation, relief, changes in appetite, sleep or physical performance are all possible directions for development, but none should yet be treated as confirmed canon.

Courier knows less about his passenger than someone carrying such an organism probably should.

Whether this is because information was deliberately withheld from him, because he chose not to ask, or because the parasite itself is hiding something remains open.

Host and Passenger

Their relationship should not be described simply as infection, possession, slavery or partnership.

Courier accepted the organism voluntarily, but once it is inside him, consent becomes considerably more complicated. The parasite depends on Courier to survive the journey, while Courier depends on the parasite reaching its destination in order for the contract to be completed.

Their survival may also be biologically connected. If the parasite dies inside Courier, the consequences for the host are expected to be catastrophic and may be fatal. The exact mechanism remains to be developed.

This creates an unusual balance of power. The parasite can punish its host, but destroying Courier may destroy its own means of reaching the destination. Courier can resist, but killing his passenger may kill him as well and would certainly destroy the purpose of the contract.

They need one another without necessarily trusting one another.

Physical Condition

Courier’s appearance reflects the permanent biological load of maintaining another large organism inside his body. He remains physically imposing, but everything about him suggests that his body is operating under enormous strain.

Confirmed visual characteristics

• unusually large and powerful physique;
• visibly unhealthy overall appearance;
• dark or discoloured skin;
• bruising and bruise-like marks;
• unnaturally dark eyes;
• blackened gums and teeth caused by internal chemical processes;
• unkempt hair;
• persistent exhaustion;
• minimal attention to grooming;
• visible contrast between physical strength and deteriorating health.

He should not look like a zombie, addict or conventional infected character. He is still a functioning, intelligent and physically formidable human being. His body is simply paying the price of transporting something it was never designed to contain.

Visual Direction

Courier should not look like a soldier, superhero or obvious monster. His clothing is practical civilian clothing suitable for an interstellar journey. It should be comfortable on an unusually large body and allow for whatever medical or technological equipment becomes necessary as the character develops.

Nothing about his clothing should immediately reveal what he is carrying. At first glance, he should simply appear to be a very large passenger suffering from a serious chronic condition.

His implant, medical equipment, clothing details and any visible systems used to monitor the parasite remain open for contributors to develop.

Aboard RAOLAX

Courier travels aboard RAOLAX in a Regular-class cabin. Cryogenic transport is not possible because the parasite requires an active living biological environment throughout the journey. Putting Courier into cryo would mean trying to suspend two interconnected organisms whose survival requirements are fundamentally different.

Officially, however, the situation may be stranger than it appears.

Development Direction — The Passenger Problem

One proposed direction is that Courier may not legally be considered the passenger at all.

The intelligent organism inside him could be registered as biological cargo, a protected specimen or even the actual transported client, while Courier is legally classified as its living transport system.

This creates an unresolved question for RAOLAX:

How many conscious beings boarded the ship — one or two?

RAOLAX is subject to a strict limit on the number of conscious passengers it can carry. If the parasite is intelligent enough to qualify as a conscious being, somebody may have deliberately found a legal or bureaucratic way not to count it.

This direction is not yet confirmed canon and remains open for development.

The Contract

The contract is one of the central mysteries of the character.

Confirmed

• Courier accepted the assignment knowingly.
• He knew the journey would seriously damage his health.
• The parasite must be delivered alive.
• Courier needs a substantial amount of money.
• The reason for that need has not been revealed.
• The parasite knows the reason.
• If Courier dies after fulfilling the delivery conditions, the payment can be transferred to a designated beneficiary.
• Courier does not know everything about the organism he is transporting.

Still unknown

• Who hired him?
• How much is he being paid?
• Was there an advance?
• Has that money already been spent or transferred?
• Who is the beneficiary?
• Why does Courier need the money?
• How much of the contract was hidden from him?
• What happens if he abandons the assignment?
• Who is supposed to receive the parasite?

What Is Confirmed

• His current codename is Courier.
• His real name has not yet been established.
• He is a large, physically powerful man.
• He is calm, kind and highly dependable.
• He has a low voice and speaks slowly.
• He avoids obvious forms of excess and self-destructive behaviour.
• He appears seriously ill because of the biological burden inside him.
• A massive intelligent parasite lives inside his body.
• The parasite is being transported deliberately.
• A living host provides the environment it needs for the journey.
• The parasite communicates by altering Courier’s blood chemistry.
• An implant translates these chemical signals into information.
• The parasite can issue instructions and chemically punish resistance.
• Courier accepted the physical risks knowingly.
• He needs a large amount of money for a reason that remains unknown.
• The parasite knows that reason.
• Successful delivery of the parasite determines completion of the contract.
• Courier travels aboard RAOLAX in a Regular-class cabin.
• Cryogenic transport is unsuitable for the organism.

Gameplay Representation

The planned gameplay direction makes the relationship between host and parasite part of the character’s mechanics.

Courier is the primary playable body. If the player dies, the parasite may emerge from the dead host and remain alive independently for a limited period. During this phase it may still be capable of movement, survival and attacking enemies, giving the player or team a final opportunity to influence the encounter after Courier’s death.

The exact duration, abilities, balance and conditions of this second phase remain in development. The central principle is already clear: killing the host does not necessarily end the character immediately.

Cinematic Representation

The parasite does not need to be revealed when Courier first appears.

For some time, the audience may know him only as an enormous, exhausted and visibly unhealthy passenger aboard RAOLAX. His unusual physical condition, occasional pauses and reactions to instructions nobody else can hear can gradually suggest that something is happening inside him.

The moment when the audience first understands that Courier is transporting another intelligent organism remains open for contributors to develop.

What Is Still Open

Courier

• What is his real name?
• Where is he from?
• What did he do before accepting the contract?
• Why does he need so much money?
• Who receives the payment if he dies?
• Has he transported living organisms before?
• How long has the parasite been inside him?
• How much permanent damage has already occurred?
• Does he expect to survive the journey?
• What does he plan to do if he does?

The Parasite

• What is its name?
• What species is it?
• Where does it come from?
• Where is it going?
• Why can it not travel in an artificial biological environment?
• How intelligent is it?
• Does it understand human emotion?
• Does it experience empathy?
• Does it regard Courier as a person, employee, vehicle, habitat or something else?
• Can it survive outside a host?
• Can it change hosts?
• What is it not telling Courier?

Their Relationship

• Who actually has more control?
• Can Courier lie to the parasite?
• Can the parasite lie to Courier?
• Do they ever cooperate voluntarily?
• Does Courier resent it?
• Does the parasite respect him?
• Can chemical dependency eventually become emotional dependency?
• Can the parasite save Courier’s life?
• What happens if one of them genuinely begins to care about the other?

RAOLAX

• Who authorised the transport?
• How is the parasite described in the ship’s manifest?
• Is RAOLAX aware that it is intelligent?
• Is Courier legally the passenger, the carrier, or part of the cargo?
• Do medical personnel know what is inside him?
• Does anyone else aboard know the truth?
• What happens to their contract after RAOLAX fails to reach its intended destination?

Character Arc

Open for development.

The central conflict is not simply a man fighting a parasite. It is the relationship between two intelligent beings forced to share one biological system while depending on each other for completely different reasons.

Strong directions for development include bodily autonomy, sacrifice, contractual obligation, dependency, the legal status of intelligent non-human life, and the gradual change from forced cooperation into something neither participant expected.

One question should remain at the centre of the character:

How much of yourself can you give away before you stop being the person who made the decision?

Questions for Contributors

We are looking for ideas that deepen the existing concept rather than replace it.

• Give Courier his real name and origin.
• Explain why he needs the money.
• Decide who receives the payment if he dies.
• Create the parasite’s name and species.
• Explain why it requires a living host.
• Develop the parasite’s destination and purpose.
• Define what Courier was told before accepting the contract.
• Decide what information was deliberately withheld from him.
• Develop the implant and chemical communication system.
• Define what chemical punishment feels like.
• Explore whether the parasite is cruel or simply biologically indifferent to human suffering.
• Develop their relationship aboard RAOLAX.
• Decide how the parasite is represented in the passenger manifest.
• Explore what happens to the contract after the crash.
• Develop gameplay abilities based on host/parasite interaction.
• Design Courier and the parasite before and after arrival on MUTERRA.

Open Projects

Character Design

Develop Courier’s final visual identity, clothing, physical deterioration and medical details.

Character Story

Develop his origin, financial motivation, beneficiary and reason for accepting the contract.

Parasite Design

Create the organism living inside Courier.

Parasite Lore

Develop its species, biology, intelligence, origin and destination.

Reels Script

Write short stories involving Courier and his passenger aboard RAOLAX.

Cinematic Reels

Create cinematic scenes exploring the character without necessarily revealing the parasite immediately.

Character Skin

Develop pre-crash and post-crash visual variations.

3D Character Model

Create a gameplay-ready interpretation of Courier.

Gameplay Concept

Develop host/parasite abilities and the parasite’s post-death phase.

Credits & Canon Status

Original concept: Igor Gema

Canon direction: Igor Gema / MUTERRA

Status: In Development

Canon: Partial

Co-creation: Open

Additional contributors will be credited as their work becomes part of the character’s development or confirmed canon.