Troyan
~"Just my fate, I
suppose. Sherlock Holmes
had Moriarty. My curse is Troyan." - Simon to Alex - Reunion~
The scientist who sold his genius & loyalty to the highest bidder.
Nothing is known of Troyan before he entered Simon McKay's life in 1978.
Not even his full name, which remains a mystery to this day. Unlike Simon, Troyan chose to destroy whatever or whoever was unfortunate enough
to get in his way. Especially if the price was right. The opposing life paths
of these two geniuses would be intertwined through various twists &
turns of fate. Leaving each to see the other's presence as a curse.
At the time they met, both men worked for the United States Pentagon & had
been assigned to a new satellite project. Troyan claims to
have been put in charge of the project, but whether he was assigned by his
superiors in the Pentagon or appointed himself project lead has never been
confirmed. Simon felt a sense of foreboding the moment he shook Troyan's
hand. It was a presentiment that would haunt Simon ever after.
Two
weeks before the satellite's scheduled launch, Simon's intuition was proven correct when
he discovered that Troyan had been paid by person or persons unknown to sabotage
the project. Simon wasn't about to stand idly by & let this
happen. Troyan wasn't about to stand idly by & let Simon ruin his
plans. So Troyan set a trap for Simon. The plan was for Simon to be
lured to a storage room & locked inside. The room would then be filled with levels of radiation high enough
to either kill Simon or leave him with incurable radiation poisoning. Troyan was hoping for
death, as his intuition told him that Simon McKay was a force to be reckoned
with & should never be
underestimated. Troyan's intuition would also prove correct & haunt
him ever after because his big & evil plans were about to backfire with excruciatingly
painful results.
Simon was lured to the storage room where he was supposed to meet his end, but managed to escape. Somehow, during Simon's escape, Troyan suddenly found himself
trapped in the storage room instead & could not escape the radiation.
He would survive the ordeal but suffered from severe radiation poisoning for the rest of his life.
Troyan could no longer expose his skin to sunlight & he would need constant medical
attention. Troyan consoled himself by blaming the U.S. government
&, most importantly, Simon McKay for his suffering instead of taking
responsibility for his own actions. Troyan vowed revenge
against Simon, hoping to someday make his fellow genius suffer debilitating pain before killing
him.
Once Troyan's espionage had been uncovered, the federal government sought to
bring him up on a charge of treason. Troyan, however, was not without a
fail-safe & managed to disappear before he could be taken into
custody. Although his new illness limited his movements, Troyan remained hidden & continued on with his work. He surrounded himself with
an ever-growing network of spies & agents working around the globe to carry
out the projects Troyan could no long do for himself. But part of his mind
was always focused on seeking out & destroying Simon McKay. Revenge seemed
to be the one thing that kept him going day after day.
Simon, aware of the danger he was in & suddenly uncertain as to whom
inside the Pentagon wasn't working with or for Troyan, decided
to disappear, as well. Once again proving Troyan correct in the assumption that
underestimating Simon McKay was never a good idea. After Simon had
vanished, not even Troyan could locate him. For eight long years Troyan waited for
news of Simon McKay. It wouldn't be until 1986 that the paths of the two men would cross again.
By this time, Simon was settled in California, USA with CIC agent Alex Jagger to
protect him. Troyan was now somewhere in Hong Kong, but his network of evil
stretched the world over.
The crossroads in their paths would take the form of Tillie
Russell. Tillie had been working on the Midnight Pearl, a cargo ship which
Troyan bought to smuggle a cargo of powerful micro-circuits to the
US. Tillie's fiancé, Captain Eli Acres, had been killed at Troyan's
command for demanding to inspect the cargo before he would allow it to be
brought aboard the Pearl. Tillie tried to investigate matters, but ended
up getting caught. Luckily for Tillie, Troyan knew nothing of her
connection to Simon McKay. She was still, however, in a great deal of
danger & sent a secret CQD (Come Quick Distress) message to her long-time friend. Simon
hurried to Hong Kong with Alex in tow unaware that he was about to
stumble upon the central operations hub & secret hiding place of a man he had hoped was just a distant
nightmare.
It was Troyan who had the upper hand the moment both men discovered the other's
involvement in this turn of events. Simon had been captured by Troyan's
agents while trying to investigate the warehouse where Tillie believed Troyan's contraband
had been stored prior to being shipped stateside. Alex & Tillie had
been captured while trying to rescue Simon. When news of the capture was
brought to Troyan he wasn't sure whether to feel lucky or worried. He knew
that he must act quickly to keep the upper hand because Simon would, most
certainly, try to stop Troyan's plans once again. But he was too
late. After Tillie had described the man under the lavender lights who had
threatened her life, Simon knew exactly who they were dealing with & the
extreme danger they & countless others were in unless Troyan was
stopped. By the time Troyan's henchmen had returned to the cell where the
trio had been locked up, the captives had made good their escape & were on
their way back to the US.
Troyan sent his right-hand man immediately to Milford, California, USA to put
the plans of their latest scheme in to overdrive. Troyan knew that Simon
would try to stop him by any means necessary. He warned everyone to stay
alert because Simon McKay would surely make an appearance on the scene.
Troyan also gave the order that Simon was to be taken dead this time. He
requested The Wizard's head as a souvenir & proof that his foe was out of
his way for good. Unfortunately for Troyan, he was the only one in his
circle who didn't judge Simon McKay based on outward appearances alone.
The rest not only underestimated Simon, but Alex & Tillie, as well. It
would be Troyan's undoing in this operation & remind him of the frustrating
limitations of his illness. He would, however, continue to elude capture.
Finding a cure for the effects of the radiation poisoning was the only thought
that occupied Troyan's mind with a fever & importance equal to that of the
revengeful torture & death of Simon McKay. Troyan's desire to end the
chronic & excruciating burning sensation that consumed his entire body was
purely a selfish one. He wished to be able to enjoy the havoc he reeked on
the world instead of living vicariously through others. To spend his
ill-gotten gains on something other than medics & mystics in the vain search
for a cure. Troyan tried everything under the sun - the sun he so
desperately wanted to
be able to bask in the warmth & glow of once more - but nothing worked. He even
resorted to torturing the medics & mystics he sought out in order to learn
their secrets. All of this searching would end up leading Troyan to a
Tibetan monastery high in the Himalayan mountains & directly back to the
path of Simon McKay.
This time, the crossroads would take the form of Anthea, a powerful, mystic
healer whose age & origins remain a mystery. Those who, under pain of
torture, told Troyan of her healing powers had either not known or just not told
him of Anthea's connection to Simon McKay. So Troyan was taken completely
unawares when he found the genius toymaker by the healer's side upon his
arrival. Simon, who had spent a year & a half at the monastery during
his 6 year disappearance, had literally risked life & limb to reach his
friend & teacher after having nightmarish visions regarding the events now
unfolding. Simon, himself, was only somewhat surprised to find that his
presentiments foretold the reappearance of Troyan in his life once more. Anthea found herself caught between these two men, each claiming
they were victim of the other's wrongdoing. They had, each on their own
path, found their way to her to seek healing for the unfortunate events of
1978. Simon was dismayed that Anthea would not see Troyan as an evil
villain & cast him out. Troyan was dismayed that Anthea would not just
wave a magic wand or say a magic word & instantly heal him.
Anthea saw Troyan as just another human being looking to her for guidance.
It was not her place to sit in judgment of his inner goodness, or lack
thereof. She did not dismiss Simon's worry, as she too had been witness to
the visions, but explained to Troyan that the only way for him to truly be
healed was from the inside out. This would not be the get-well-quick
scheme that Troyan was hoping for. It was exactly what Troyan was
expecting her to say, but he would have none of it. The last thing Troyan
was worried about was salvation. Whatever Simon McKay or anyone else
thought of him, Troyan liked himself just the way he was. Well, on the
inside that is. It was the outside that needed healing. Especially
after all of the other so-called cures Troyan tried over the years had left him
in a worse state than he had started in. If he had to force Anthea to cure
him, then so be it. For Troyan, the best part would be using Simon McKay
as the bargaining chip. Anthea would cure Troyan or Troyan would drop
Simon into the pit of fire in the great room of the monastery.
Although Anthea knew the end results, she acquiesced to Troyan's demand. She used
her healing powers & his skin cleared up. The excruciating pain
vanished. For the first time in many years Troyan felt peace. He
walked outside & waited for the sun to rise & give this cure the
ultimate test. He felt the sun's gentle
warmth on his skin, but that gentle warmth soon began to burn & his skin
began to blister & peel. He returned to the state he had been in prior
to being healed. Troyan would not understand that for the healing to be
permanent he must be willing to heal every part of his life, his being.
Not based upon what Simon or anyone else thought of him, but based on his soul
alone. Troyan still wouldn't listen. He refused to think about
healing any pain that ran deeper than skin. In Troyan's mind, that's what
revenge was for. His pain & anger renewed, Troyan released the chain that held Simon
above the fire pit in the great room & lowered the toymaker into the
flames. Anthea used her powers to help Simon help himself to walk out of
the flames. As Simon walked out of the flames physically unscathed, he
pulled on the chain still tied to his waist. Troyan had somehow gotten
caught in the chain & was unable to free himself before Simon pulled him up
& over the fire pit. Troyan, swinging upside-down helplessly above the
pit, yelled for Simon to lower the chain & end his suffering forever.
Anthea said nothing & waited for Simon to look into his own heart &
decide what to do.
Troyan knew exactly what he would do if the tables were turned. Simon knew
it, too. Simon also knew that if he let Troyan go his life would still be
in danger. Troyan would continue to seek revenge against the toymaker, but
murder & revenge were not paths Simon was willing to travel. Not even
if it meant finally being rid of this sword of Damocles called Troyan.
Simon had chosen long ago to take a different path & this path was where he
wanted to remain, just as Troyan had chosen not to venture from his current
path. Troyan was lowered to safety & left the
monastery. They went their separate ways once more, neither man understanding the choices of the other.
Troyan continued on with his work, his search for a cure & his plans for
revenge the next time he & Simon were unfortunate enough to cross paths.
written by The
MGT. Updated
January 25, 2007
email: themgt@thewizardtvfansite.com
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