Anon E. Moss

Doctor Annoniad Ethan Moss, (Anon for short) is a legendary figure in the scientific community for his discovery of compounding reality fractures, and his conjecture that predicted the existence of the unknownium-402 particle. He was a particle physicist who, strangely, first gained recognition for his studies involving a chemical drug niacin.

The Man
Little is known of Dr. Anon E. Moss's personal life. His research with niacin first brought him into the spotlight, as he made medical breakthroughs with experimental treatments of the infamous drug, though altered. Even after gaining fame, Moss kept mostly to himself. He never married and devoted his life to study. In fact, he has almost no known family to speak of. He is described as a narrow man, who's dark hair was streaked with grey even at a young age.

The Mystery
It has not gone unnoticed that Dr. Anon E. Moss's name is a homophone of the word anonymous, an homage to his mysterious personal life. It is unconfirmed whether this is a pseudonym or a name given to him by his parents. Despite Moss never talking about them in detail, he frequently cites his parents as a major influence on his choice to devote his life to science. Their identities are unknown, and it seems Moss wishes to keep it that way. Many have speculated that his parents indeed gave him the name Annoniad, though whether or not it was done on purpose to make the homophone is unclear.

The Legend
During his work with niacin, Moss gained international acclaim for his breakthroughs. Niacin had baffled chemists for centuries, but Moss was able to understand it by chemically degrading it to its base components. These components, when recombined, lacked the same properties as the original compound, leading Moss to search for the hidden agent. This led to his prediction of the existence of a much smaller particle acting as a binding agent. His hypothesis eventually was confirmed with the discovery of unknownium-402, once again putting his name in scientific papers across all human colonies. But Moss's greatest breakthrough was yet to come.

With the discovery of unknownium-402, advanced chemical degradation techniques began to crop up. This led to the breakdown of the ultra-rare substance pleiostenine, and scientists were able to capture evidence of scholium-403 particles for the first time. Moss began research into the effects of these particles on reality, as conventional physics began to break down the closer one observed them. By this point in time, the Thrakr ark had been discovered by humans and the abilities of the magicians were well-documented by researchers. Moss correctly made the connection between these magical abilities and the reality distortions around the new particles. After years of research in a supercollider the size of a mountain range, Moss published a paper explaining the feats of so-called "magicians" as distortions of reality manipulating probabilities.

Moss's discoveries had a profound effect on the entire culture of the galaxy. Finally, there was an explanation for the inexplicable feats performed by magicians. His confirmed prediction of unknownium-402 opened the door for the discovery of scholium-403, which itself allowed to collection of valuable Gobulin particles by nuclear fusion. The uses of scholium-403 seemed to have unlimited benefit, until the fateful experiment performed by a team of researchers led by Dr. Helmann Cavanaugh.

When Moss learned of the outcome of Cavanaugh's experiments, he was consumed, obsessed with finding an explanation. He was soon approached by Toku Higachi, a mathematician who had discovered a flaw in Moss's original conclusion. Working together, they discovered the Hamartia Consequence, aka the Moss-Higachi Condition, forcing Moss to re-evaulate his previous work and rename his discover the "compounding reality fracture." The damage done by magic use on reality was irreversible, and overuse would soon have what happened during Cavanaugh's experiment happening everywhere. The thought was so terrifying that Moss and Higachi drafted an urgent letter of warning to the scientific community and the nations of the galaxy, publishing their paper as a dire warning. Their pleas fell on deaf ears, mostly due to government cover-up.

Moss continues to fight against the use of magic.