Dr. Doppler is the (so far only) exception to this rule. The person playing Sigma at the time (Megumi) had been encouraging me to apply for a Maverick character. Even then, I hadn’t intended to take on a Feature, but I found a certain fascination with Doppler when I read his profile. He is a person that has betrayed his own people. More than betrayed, he seeks to eradicate them to make way for a new society of machine people. Why? What could possibly possess someone to do this? When I found an answer to this question, I decided that I just might have fun playing him.
In Doppler’s mind, he has not betrayed humanity. It was humanity that betrayed him. In Doppler’s mind, the machine has proven time and time again that it is in every way superior to the organic. These lay the foundation upon which his mindset is based.
In time, perhaps not in his lifetime or with the first generation of reploids (who were created by humans and therefore inevitably flawed), the reploid race will attain a state of greater perfection, thereby creating truly orderly society humanity could never achieve. Whether this is true or not is a matter of debate, but Doppler believes this wholeheartedly. Reploids will inherit the earth, and everything that he does works towards that goal. Humans are petty, cruel, vindictive, and selfish, too flawed for even evolution to carry them forward. The fact that reploids can also be petty, cruel, vindictive, and selfish he alternately ignores or blames on the UN's botched implementation of his code.
In my portrayal of Doppler, he is a cripple. He suffers from a form of spinal muscular atrophy, a genetically inherited disease that causes degeneration of the muscles. In the early 21st century, this is a fatal disease, but in the late 22nd century when Doppler was born, it is treatable through a combination of gene therapy and cybernetic replacement. His cybernetics keep him alive and functional long after his frail organic body failed him. (Disclaimer: I am not saying all handicapped people are going to turn into genocidal maniacs, nor am I trying to insult anyone who is afflicted with this terrible disease. I simply thought that this would be interesting to role-play a person struggling to overcome this kind of adversity).
There is a certain dichotomy to Doppler. On one hand, he is a ruthless and cunning person, occasionally cruel, occasionally vindictive. His objectives are laid out before him, and he is willing to attain them by whatever means he deems necessary. He also suffers from a bad case of “He Thinks He’s Right”, and woe be to anyone who tries to convince him otherwise. On the other hand, he is a father (albeit often a stern one) who cares deeply for his creations. He considers all reploids his children and cannot stand to see their suffering. Any reploid who engages him in conversation will find him to be polite and generally pleasant, provided they avoid certain topics. Even so, he has accepted that the world is at war, that reploids will die, and he will be called upon to kill some of them himself. The actions of ones who refuse to join the Mavericks he blames on the United Nations, who stole the reploid code from him before it was fully completed and therefore must have botched something in the implementation.
To Doppler's logs.
Dr. Doppler, as drawn in the Mega Man X3 manga.
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