BENJAMIN ASHER

Ben is originally from Cambridgeshire, England. This is where he went to university to study geology and it was at twenty-three years of age that he began internship in the states, Colorado, to be exact.

Two months after Ben’s twenty-fifth birthday, his younger sister Emma and mother Rosaline sustained injuries in a car accident on their way home from holiday. The injuries were pretty serious when they arrived at the hospital and as soon as Ben had been alerted of the accident by his father, he immediately took the next flight to London but arrived an hour too late to the hospital. This is something he’s never forgiven himself for and it haunts him to this day.

Having known far too much loss in his life, Ben is now afraid of getting close to people. He lets them in only to a certain extent and this often causes others to become quite frustrated with him.

Ben’s not necessarily an introvert but more so introspective. He doesn’t mind doing things on his own (and enjoys it, particularly when it comes to geology and his studies) and so he’s a bit of a lone wolf.

Even with Ben’s lone wolf nature, deep down (and though he won’t actually admit it), he craves intimacy - whether that be platonic or romantic. He desires a sense of being cared for and loved, but the thought terrifies him, hence it all being subconscious.

After the passing of his mother and sister, Ben moved out to live with his father James, worried for his father’s mental and emotional health. And he had a right to be worried, as not even six months later, his father began drinking heavily and it took only weeks after that before he became verbally abusive towards Ben, often blaming him for the death of his mother and sister. Ben often thought of leaving him but due to guilt, but he stayed, until James landed in prison for attempted murder when Ben was thirty-one.

A few months after James was sentenced, Ben packed his things and moved out to Colorado again and shortly upon his arrival, he was asked to fly out to South America in order to study on-going earthquakes that were happening in Chile. Unfortunately, he never made it and instead landed on what he came to learn was Meridium.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:

What do you remember last before landing here?

His head throbbed in a way he had never before felt. If his mind weren’t preoccupied with trying to figure out where the hell he was and what happened, he’d have wondered whether or not he was assaulted. Words. Sudden words could be heard as he came to. “I, uh,” he breathed. Landing? Where had he landed? Was he in Chile?

It took a few seconds for grey-blue eyes to adjust to the bright light of the sun, which bore down on him, its rays hot against his skin. He was on a beach, it looked like. And there were people looking at him, looking at him hard, with an expression so stern, he felt like he’d committed a crime. He heard their question and as much as he wanted to ask where the hell he’d been, he figured it was best to answer; “I-remember?” he stammered again, his voice deep, hoarse. “I um, I was on a flight. Some flight, uh, it was, flight…” he paused, his brows furrowed as he tried to remember the number. “I can’t remember the number. I was flying from America to Chile. I-I’m a geologist. I was supposed to measure the earthquakes in Calama. I was on a plane, flying over Mexico and then...did we crash??”

Have you ever killed? If so: why? If not: could you?

“W-what?? Killed?” The word immediately reminded Ben of his father, of what he had tried to do. For a moment, he thought of himself in that position, holding a gun, wielding a knife, a stone even - and killing someone. The latter question equally confused him and frightened him and suddenly, he became very nervous. “No,” he answered firmly, as if they were convinced he was some sort of killer. “No, what? Could I kill??”

His eyes wandered and he tried to figure out where he’d been. He listened out for Spanish, wondering if he had in fact landed in Chile but just...didn’t remember. Maybe something happened? Maybe - maybe he landed, found his hotel room and was mugged and drugged and kidnapped or something? Maybe that was why they asked if he could kill. Shit. That must be it.  “I...I don’t know!” Couldn’t they give him water first or something? Couldn’t they first tell him where the bloody hell he’d been? As sure as he was about the sky being blue, he was sure they wouldn’t give him a thing until he gave them a proper answer. But what sort of a question was that?

“Look, I don’t know. I- I don’t think so. I-I’m not sure, okay? I think it depends on the situation, doesn’t it? I mean if I’m being attacked, then I’m obviously going to defend myself but it’s not like I’ll purposefully go taking another person’s life.”

What is your greatest achievement? Biggest regret?

Ben knew he’d been asked two questions but it was really only the latter that he could think of. He knew what his regret had been; it was like spotting the sun in a clear sky - it was bright, blinding, and it was the last thing he wanted to think about.