John F

John Papadopoulos

Life as a gay, maniac-depressive, high school English teacher and politically active Environmentalist trying to save the world isn't easy. People are essentially good, but the systems that the world has created are flawed and slow to change. Most of the politicians got their positions because they were more concerned about having power than doing good. Unfortunately, it only takes a handful of powerful people to lead the rest astray and perpetuate the inequality and exploitation that exists under the current system.

The Earth is dying. People have simply done too much, too fast, to destroy the delicate ecosystem that Mother Nature created over millennia. Making those in power realize it and changing policies to actually protect the Earth has been one of the key struggles in your life and in the lives of those closest to you. The last half-century, in particular, has shown thousands of real heroes, with real support from the common person, slowly making progress.

You've seen change happen in your lifetime and you've been part of it over the past fifteen years, ever since you got involved in activism in high school. You just hope that the ongoing changes have been fast enough to save the Earth. It has been too late for millions all over the world, particularly those in the nations that never had enough to begin with. You pray to God that it isn't too late for everyone.

You've never been entirely in control of your emotions. You were diagnosed as maniac-depressive while you were an undergraduate in college. It is just another thing that you were born with, like being gay. Just like, if they were available, you would never take any drugs to change your sexual orientation, you've never wanted to take any drugs to help you "control your emotions." It is something you live with and harness to the best of your ability. Maniac-depression is one of the mental maladies that many a great writer has wrestled with.

On your darkest days, you channel all of your despair and anguish into your writing. You're near completion of a book you've been working on for the past five years now. It details the anguish of the millions of people who have suffered from the unstable world created by the excessive exploitation of the earth. From starving children in South East Asia, deprived of food due to a shifting climate, to the wars of northern Africa caused by water shortages, you tie the majority of the world's woes of the past century to environmental policies (or lack thereof). You always do your best writing in the depths of depression.

On the other days, when you're filled with energy and passion, you engage in open activism. There are always events and people that can be moved by your eloquence, conviction and simple raw energy. It is in this way that you've met thousands of activists and got involved in the Movement Against Global Exploitation (M.A.G.E.) Institute.

History

You and your brother, James, were born to a lower middle-class family. Your parents both worked- your mother as a high-school English teacher, your father as a police officer. Your family always made ends meet, but there was rarely anything extravagant.

You got involved in environmental activism while you were in high school. The problems in the world were just becoming too much to ignore. The establishment always talked about how environmental protections would destroy the fragile economy, but what does the economy matter if the whole world dies?

In college you made a lot of connections as you pursued your two life goals: activism and writing. These connections have served you all through your life, even if, in hindsight, you wouldn't have dated some of the men you did. These were the years you really learned to channel your emotions into productive activities.

You got a part-time job teaching English in high school a year after you were done with graduate school. It left you a lot of time to write and to engage in activism. It was around this time that you first started hearing about Chris Carpenter. She seemed to come out of nowhere and take the environmental scene by storm. You were one of the earlier members of the MAGE Institute and have been working there for years now.

You met Jude almost two years ago at an Earth Day rally in Chicago. The two of you fell into bed together quickly. It was a real breaking point for him, and the first time he'd ever been with a man. As you came to realize how emotionally wounded he was, he claimed your heart.

You're sure at this point that if Jude hadn't met you, he would be dead by now. Jude's struggle with his life, his past, and his sexuality touched you in a powerful way. It is hard work, but you're helping to guide him out of his anger and his fear.

It isn't easy though. He has a hard time even acknowledging that he's gay. You know it is because of something that happened in his past. It isn't really his fault when he lashes out at you, sometimes with words, sometimes with his fists. Sometimes he can't control himself any more than you can control your emotions or who you are. He needs you, though, to help him learn to channel his feelings and deal with who he is. You know that if it wasn't for you, Jude wouldn't be able to take it. You fear he'd wind up killing himself, other people, or more likely both. You can't let that happen.

People You Know

Chris Carpenter

Chris had tremendous foresight in recognizing how bad things were going to be. She has always been two steps ahead of everyone else in understanding the impact of the environmental damage man has wrought on the world around him. She also accepts you for who you are. You are deeply impressed and profoundly respectful of all that Chris has done.

Barry Magdalene

Some people change a great deal in their lives. Barry is one of them. His fall from power has, perhaps, saved his soul. Chris recognized Barry's potential and the two of them working together are a powerful force.

Pearl Skala

Pearl is a little too much of a straight-laced insider for your comfort. The information she passes along is useful, but you always worry about what information might be passed back the other direction.

Andrea Skala

Andrea is far more sensible than her sister. She's knowledgeable and has dedicated her life to conservation efforts and providing the facts necessary to inform the public and shape powerful political messages.

James Papadopoulos

Your brother worries you. His time in the Marines changed him. He views every struggle as a war and believes that every war requires some level of violence.

Philip Harrison

Why does the MAGE Institute need a bible thumper? While the guy does talk about environmentalism, everything is in the context of God-this and God-that. The way he talks, you'd think the world was going to come to an end tomorrow.

Frank Bartholomew

Okay, if Philip is annoying, Frank makes no sense at all. You feel for the homeless, but you don't need one that is barely attached to reality and hangs off of Philip's every word in the core group of the MAGE Institute.

Tamas Valappil

Tamas at least recognizes that Philip is a loony. He respects Chris, but he's too much of a skeptic, naysayer and outsider to be here. You met Tamas at another environmental organization and brought him here, hoping that Chris could really make him care, but it didn't quite work.

Jamie Schreiber

Jamie is a nice kid. She needs to learn to be herself though, instead of trying to imitate Chris all of the time.

Eve Matthews

Eve is like Pearl, except that you trust her. She's far more authentic, despite the corporate ties.

Simone Cylima

Simone worries you in the same way that your brother worries you. She's obviously seen a lot of hardship in her life. Sometimes that can damage a person so badly they can't see the opportunities that still exist.

Judah Isaacson

Judah is a believer. He's passionate about the cause and you know he'll never back down. You trust him far more than many of the other members of the inner circle of the MAGE Institute.

Jude Fairchild

Jude is your lover and he needs you. You are the only one that can see him for who he really is and help draw it to the surface. It is a painful process, for both of you, but you love him.