View source for Carter-1277

{{Character
|title1= Carter-1277
|image1= 
|caption1=
|aka=
|born=
|died=
|species= [[Mark XIII]] [[Clockwork Cherub]]
|gender= Male
|residence= [[Cupid Homeworld|The Cupid Homeworld]]
|occupation= Archeologist<br>Problem-Solver
|romantic_partner(s)=
|creator(s)= 
|parents= 
|first_seen_in= [[PROSE]]: ''[[Lord Thymon and the Department of Problem-Solving (short story)|Lord Thymon and the Department of Problem-Solving]]''
|also_seen_in= [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Resurrection of the Wellsians (short story)|The Resurrection of the Wellsians]]''<br>[[PROSE]]: ''[[Magic Trick (novel)|Magic Trick]]''<br>[[PROSE]]: ''[[The Ghosts and the Machine (short story)|The Ghosts and the Machine]]''<br>[[PROSE]]: ''[[The Winter Quests (novel)|The Winter Quests]]''
|copyright= [[Aristide Twain]]
|index=
}}'''Carter-1277''' was a [[Mark XIII]] [[Clockwork Cherub]] of the [[Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids]] and a member of the [[Department of Problem-Solving]]. His specialty was archeology.  

==Description==
===Physical appearance===
Carter-1277 had “stiff limbs” and his metallic skin was a brilliant golden colour, as was customary for [[Mark XIII]]s. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Lord Thymon and the Department of Problem-Solving (short story)|Lord Thymon and the Department of Problem-Solving]]'')

===Personality===
Carter was “an archaeologist through and through, never more interested than when the matter at hand was one of ancient history, long-dead kings and unsealed tombs”. He had a venerable air to him, belying his actual young age, which some attributed to him having “spent so much time with old things that it had rubbed off on him”. However, he was also quite talkative, and often acted as a spokesman for the other members of the [[Department of Problem-Solving]] when they made their reports to [[Pythagoras-858]] on endeavours undertaken in his absence. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Lord Thymon and the Department of Problem-Solving (short story)|Lord Thymon and the Department of Problem-Solving]]'')

==Biography==
===The Lord Thymon affair===
In 2019, the [[Department of Impossible Things]] shuffled off the assignment of dealing with [[Lord Thymon]] to the [[Department of Problem-Solving]]. [[Pythagoras-858]] left his Problem-Solvers — including Carter, [[Juliet-178]], [[Edwin-750]], [[Valerius-1497]] — to develop solutions. When he returned to [[Lab 5]], they had filled it with clocks, with the intent to summon Thymon, only for him to be frozen due to the short supply of time energy that would result. It fell to Carter to explain the plan to Pythagoras, with some help from Valerius.

Deeming the idea mad enough to have some chances of working on a conceptual entity like Thymon, Pythe allowed them to go forwards, threatening to detonate a [[Reality Bomb]] (retrieved from [[Cupid Storage]] by Carter) to lure Thymon to the [[Cupid Homeworld]]. After he was indeed summoned, Juliet ended up taking it upon herself to simply hit him with a [[Cupid Arrow]], [[Love Potion|romanticising]] him and solving the issue decisively. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Lord Thymon and the Department of Problem-Solving (short story)|Lord Thymon and the Department of Problem-Solving]]'')

===Mandragora's Great Experiment===
{{main|Mandragora's Great Experiment}}
When a mysterious S.O.S. was picked up in the [[Cupid Homeworld]], seemingly coming from the [[Morningstar 1 Base]] in the [[97th Cosmos]], the [[Cupid Parliament]] decided to send in the Department, consisting in this instance of [[Pythagoras-858]], [[Juliet-178]], Carter-1277 and [[Edwin-750]]. The latter was drowsy through the whole endeavour, having recently created a psychic link between himself and a [[Sloth (The Resurrection of the Wellsians)|sloth]], and failed to properly lock the [[Department of Problem-Solving's first Fog Ship]] when they parked some way outside the base. In Morningstar proper, they were greeted by Juliet's brother [[Dactylopius-177]] and gradually discovered that [[Governor-105]] harboured intentions of seceding from the Crew and launching an attempt to conquer [[the Multiverse]], using the power of the seven [[Wellsian]]s unearthed from beneath the base by [[Mandragora-257]] and [[Digger-291]], whom the former, a disgraced alchemist, had been working on reviving via “[[Mandragora's Great Experiment]]”. Carter played a crucial part, infiltrating the digging site while Pythe kept Mandragora talking. 

With even Dactylopius affecting to be helpless in the face of the evil plan, the Problem-Solvers attempted to get word to the Homeworld, but found that the Governor had emptied out the communications room. They were then confronted by Mandragora and the Governor, assisted by [[Mizrax ag-Ustis|a Wellsian]]. The situation turned into a three-way standoff when Dactylopius also arrived, flanked by Digger and [[Retsha sog-Wampyr|a second Wellsian]], as Digger explained that he'd been on the rebellion's side all along (under Dactylopius's directions), smuggling out one Wellsian (and its [[Heat Ray]]) to match their enemies' new weapons. The Problem-Solvers were unable to stop the situation escalating until andragora double-crossed the Governor, ordering “his” Wellsian to kill him, but was in turn betrayed by the Wellsian as both aliens revealed that they had no true loyalty to any of the Cupids. They turned their weapons onto Mandragora, seemingly destroying him and causing an explosion which destroyed the two Wellsians as well as the base itself. In the aftermath, loyalists and rebels worked together to unlock the Governor's three Fog Ships to make their way back home, with the Problem-Solvers forced to join them. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Resurrection of the Wellsians (short story)|The Resurrection of the Wellsians]]'') 

===During the rabbit invasion===
When the [[Cupid Homeworld]] was overrun by illusory magic rabbits, the [[Department of Problem-Solving]] were ordered to stay behind while the rest of the [[Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids|Crew]] evacuated, holing up in a sealed warehouse with [[Lord Thymon]] to figure out a solution. After three days, it was [[Valerius-1497]] who ultimately concluded that they needed a literal ''Deus Ex Machina'' and suggested that they summon [[Aphrodite#In the Prime Universe|Aphrodite]]. After this plan worked, [[Juliet-178]] found a [[Psychic Broadcasting Cone]] in the empty headquarters of the [[Department of Communication]] and used to inform all the other Cupids that the crisis was over. Things went back to normal, give or take all the Problem-Solvers now having a particular dislike of rabbits (who Carter reflected had surely nibbled on “priceless historical documents” during the three days). ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Magic Trick (novel)|Magic Trick]]'')

===Halloween 2019===
On [[Halloween]] 2019, after [[the Great Ghost's legion]] invaded, [[Pythagoras-858]] gathered up the Problem-Solvers to deal with the situation. Carter exchanged a few words with [[the Great Ghost]] (then in the body of the [[Queen of the Black Market]]) before she kidnapped [[Frankenstein-818]] and escaped. After the [[One-Way Forced Spirit Realm Gateway]] transported a few Cupids including Pythe to the [[Spirit Realm]] by accident, the remaining Problem-Solvers inspected it, but were unable to find the reverse switch until Pythe himself managed to materialise in [[Juliet-178]]'s house like a [[ghost]] and tell her how to do it. Subsequently, the Problem-Solvers, [[Technophile-963]] and [[Igor-1612]] boarded a [[Fog Ship]] and flew it to the abandoned [[Prime Universe]] theatre where the spirits had retreated to make the kidnapped [[Frankenstein-818]] create a [[Reverse Spirit Realm Gateway]]. There, the Problem-Solvers managed to sneak Frankenstein safely off the stage while the ghosts were defeated. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Ghosts and the Machine (short story)|The Ghosts and the Machine]]'')

===Later developments===
The group reminisced about some of their past cases together at the [[Christmas|Christmas party]] organised in 2021 in the [[Cupid Homeworld]] by [[CS-NA]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Winter Quests (novel)|The Winter Quests]]'')

[[Category:Individuals]]
[[Category:Robots]]
[[Category:Males]]
[[Category:Clockwork Cherubs]]
[[Category:Cupid Homeworlders]]
[[Category:Members of the Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids]]
[[Category:Archaeologists]]