- "She...she makes me blind again. Deaf. Lost, trapped...in the dark. I won't let that happen again. I'm not going back into the darkness. Never. Never!"
- ―Alvin Peats[src]
Alvin Peats is the original founder and CEO of WATIcorp. Keeping himself alive through heavy use of life-extending technology, Peats still maintained unofficial control of the company in 2219.
Alvin Peats is voiced by Jonathon Dow.
Biography[]
Apparently of English origins, Peats was born somewhere near the turn of the 21st century. Around 2019 he founded WATIcorp, and for several years he doubled as the CEO and chief-designer of the company. But some time after the release of RoBoy in 2104, he would retire from the public eye, and later still he apparently faked his own death, possibly to hide his use of life-extending technology. The cover-up worked for the most part, but according to Damien Cavanaugh, a "urban water cooler legend" amongst the employees of WATIcorp about Peats' continued control over the company had persisted over the years and was still circulating in 2219.
In 2219, Peats was hiding, and possibly living, in a Arboretum at the top of WATIcorp HQ, from where he would still unofficially run the company. With a physical age a good deal over 200 years, he had over time turned into a hideous and monstrous-looking, bloated man, his extensive use of life-prolonging technology evident from machine parts and tubes sticking out of his body. His own natural senses and body had at this point become so degenerated that he was not only completely reliant on technology to keep him alive, but also to sense the outside world.
Peats would finally meet his end when Samantha Gilmore, the woman that acted as the face of WATIcorp, betrayed him by first cutting him off from the Wire, rendering him deaf and blind, and then send the Twins, formerly his own loyal creations, to kill him.
Appearance and personality[]
There are apparently no records of what Peats looked like before he used technology to extend his life, but at the point Zoë Castillo discovers him in 2219, he has become larger than an average human, as well as grotesquely obese and pale, with his skin starting to sag in several places. Now part human, part machine, he sits in a bath of liquid with cables connected to various parts of his body: several abandoned necrotic jacks would seem to indicate that the cables decay the flesh after a certain amount of time.
Peats is linked to the DreamNet and the Wire itself, which means he effectively has eyes and ears everywhere, which is handy because he is physically blind and deaf. As a result, he has an over-developed sense of smell, and can recognise a person by his or her scent. His reliance on the technology to sense is also why the appearance of Faith and the Static upsets him a great deal, as it takes his connection to the outside world from him, and renders him trapped alone in darkness.
He describes the Cat and the Twins as his "pets" and seems to use them as henchmen, as well as more sets of eyes and ears. Given the nature of Project Alchera he is probably also the person implanting thoughts into users' minds (which might help explain how he controls his "pets", although not how he uses their senses), and would be privy to the dreams of anyone who has used a Dreamer Console. He tells Zoë he was aroused by Reza's memories of the two of them together. Zoë both intrigues him and fills him with dislike, because something blocks him from "stealing her dreams", which makes him want to capture and study her, to discover why she is unique in being able to prevent him from reading her dreams.
As an inventor and designer, Peats is quite talented, having officially designed five generations of humanoid robots, and possibly many more after faking his death. Project Alchera seems to be particularly special to him: he describes it as "what I've spent my life creating". But despite his brilliant mind, he acts much like a mocking, snivelling child, either because he has been corrupted by his absolute power, or because his longevity and cybernesis have actually driven him insane.
Trivia[]
In concept art of Peats he had a tattoo that read "[heart] Cheese burger" on his right pectoral muscle.