Buzz

"It's my most brilliant invention yet. Even more brilliant than my electric tongue-shaver and lip-polisher!"

With the great number of trained and qualified professional scientists working for Khan Industries, one may wonder why some of the company's most important and highly-secretive projects are placed in the hands of a featherbrained, but capable crackpot named Buzz. Master technician, senior Khan Industries researcher, and captain of the company chess team, Buzz is a friendly old fellow and a brilliant inventor. Although friends and associates consider him a tad eccentric, Buzz has been a loyal employee responsible for creating some of Khan Industries' most profitable designs.

Buzz began his career as a freelance aircraft designer and part-time mechanic/electrician, working out of a small garage in the Cape Suzette suburbs. A crack inventor as well a learned engineer, Buzz had uncanny technical aptitude and considerable expertise in repairing all kinds of mechanical and electrical devices, two major assets which made him extremely overqualified for his line of work.

Although his small garage business did not attract a particularly large clientele, Buzz was frequently visited by local customers and neighbors who needed their appliances fixed. His amiable nature also made him a favorite with neighborhood children who would visit his workshop from time to time. One of these youngsters, a bearcub named Baloo, became one of the inventor's closest friends. The two of them would often spend hours in Buzz's makeshift garage laboratory, working on new devices or contraptions — and often sharing several misadventures when something went awry.

Eventually it dawned on Buzz that working in his garage every day was no way for him to advance his career, or carry on the projects he had always dreamed of designing. Acting on a whim, Buzz applied to Khan Industries for a full-time job and was placed in a well-paying position on Khan's research staff, due to his extensive experience with hands-on engineering. Working in one of the most prestigious corporate research departments in the world, Buzz proved himself to be a hard worker as well as an invaluable employee. In recognition, Shere Khan promoted Buzz to resident inventor and head of Khan Industries' research-and-development department.

Today Buzz has the privilege of overseeing some of Khan Industries' most top-secret projects. He has not failed Khan yet: every one of his assignments has resulted in breakthough accomplishments, earning the company exceptional profits and winning the modest inventor a great deal of respect and attention.

Buzz is an expert in research and engineering, demonstrating a high degree of ingenuity, resourcefulness, and refined mechanical and technical skills. His astounding creative capacity ranks him with the world's best designers. However, Buzz's talent is matched only by his eccentricity. A walking brainstorm waiting to strike, Buzz is often hit by sudden "strokes of genius" which compel him to feverishly jot down ideas for new inventions and projects. Some of these inspirations include ideas for outlandish devices such as inflatable shoes, glow-in-the-dark furniture, and clothes that ring when they need washing! However, a few of his frequent brainstorms involve things that have already been invented.

Clockwise, from upper left: The world's tiniest super-powered electro pocket fan; an automatic garbage can; a gyroscopic flying sphere; a motorized toothbrush.

Right: Buzz's miniature Swiss Army chainsaw.

This personality quirk is disconcerting and a trifle perplexing to Buzz's fellow workers, who earnestly recommend that the old man switch to decaffeinated coffee for a change. Nevertheless, some of the senior researchers at Khan Industries feel that Buzz's sudden brainstorms are just manifestations of abstract scientific reasoning and creative thought processes (rather than symptoms of lunacy).

Buzz occupies a personal high-tech laboratory on one of the upper levels of Khan Industries, where he spends many hours each day working. Armed with some of the most advanced (and oversized) scientific equipment known to mankind, Buzz conducts countless tests, studies, and experiments each day in this large laboratory. Buzz also has a small private storeroom and workshop on the mid-building executive levels, as well as unlimited access to Khan Tower's many research facilities and supply rooms.

When Buzz needs to unwind after a particularly exhausting assignment or simply take some time alone to think, he retreats to a secluded spot in the heart of the NoSmoky Mountains. Concealed amid the tall peaks, a subterranean laboratory gives Buzz the ability to carry on his duties while away from Khan Tower. To ensure that Buzz's work is not disturbed, an array of robotic traps, snares, and security devices installed above ground are capable of scaring away most intruders.

Buzz's old friend Baloo, now a cargo pilot, favors Buzz with a visit to his laboratory every once in a while — the two are still close friends, and have helped each other out of several jams since Buzz's move to Khan Industries.

Among the projects Buzz has worked on include experiments with rocket technology (a nod to his favorite comic book hero, Bullethead), and a top-secret flying project which may revolutionize the aviation industry. Dubbed the "Cuisinart" helicopter by Buzz, this aircraft has phenomenal flight abilites and, once in mass production, promises to become one of Khan Industries' biggest sellers and the crowning achievement of Buzz's career.

BUZZ
Height: 4'1" Sex: Male Age: 50+ DEXTERITY 2D+1 Dodge 4D+1, melee combat 5D, melee parry 5D+1, running 4D KNOWLEDGE 4D Aircraft 7D, bureaucracy 4D+1, locations: Khan Tower 7D, locations: NoSmoky Mountains 7D, scholar: aircraft design 7D+2, scholar: chess 9D, scholar: electrical engineering 9D, willpower: interrogation 7D MECHANICAL 3D+1 Aircraft piloting 4D+1, navigation 4D PERCEPTION 2D Bargain 4D+1, hide 4D, search 4D+1, sneak 4D STRENGTH 2D+1 Brawling 3D, climb/jumping 4D, stamina 5D TECHNICAL 4D Aircraft repair 6D, electronics repair 8D, (A) aircraft engineering 8D, first aid 4D+1, mechanical build/repair 10D, security: boobytraps 8D