Some TOME musing, courtesy of @wrenchinator-central!
I was always more interested in exploring characters outside of TOME's sci-fi element, so I was glad that Rockoon's experience with the virus stayed fairly minimal. I wouldn't have wanted it to psychologically traumatize him and it still accomplished two major things that drove his development:
- Separated him from Doubling, bringing out his bitter loneliness and desperation to be validated.
- Showcased the caring nature he'd buried beneath all his misery. He legitimately didn't want anyone else to get hurt by it.
I did always like the idea of Nylocke and Rockoon interacting. They have parallels as sad people who are deeply committed to their fictitious personas. Rocky just didn't intend on using his to help him make any friends.