Rad Albert

History (12) · last changed 08 August 2026, 18:34

Rad Albert Born Year 301 Spouse Mae Albert Species Homo Sapiens (Umbral-Plasma Variant) First appearance Glass House chapter 6

Rad Albert (born 301) is a figure of the C9 universe, recorded as homo sapiens (umbral-plasma variant), one of the young people who formed the House of Confidence on Aerogaea 347n. He came out of the red desert and industrial shelter systems.

Rad is recorded for tactile telekinesis. His skin is containment vessel. It exists to keep his internal energy in. When he shifts to shadow form, it is not a power-up — it is a containment breach. Raw destructive entropy venting outward. The record notes painful and dangerous. In metabolic terms, he is creating matter or fusing steel costs energy. He doesn't use magic; he uses ATP. To build a steel gate, he needs to consume massively. If he doesn't eat, his body burns its own muscle mass to fuel the forge. He is literally putting his own flesh into the walls. The record notes disproportionately large and veiny. They radiate excess thermal energy when forging or using telekinesis — heat sinks.

The record follows him across 4 periods of life, from year 325 onward.

Rad appears in 9 of the 19 chapters written so far, beginning with Glass House chapter 6^[1].

Early life

Rad Albert was born in year 301. He was 29 years old in 330, the year the Klak Grove was destroyed. First met after the Klak Grove is destroyed. The records give his origin as the red desert / industrial shelter systems. His development is recorded as resource conservation (he hoards energy because his powers drain him rapidly). His standing at this time was shelter technician / husband. Physically, he deliberately suppresses his power to avoid detection. He takes the beating from Commander Fredrick without fighting back to protect the cover story. What defines him in this period is Mae. He grounds her. She navigates the dark; he builds the light (power/infrastructure). He hides his power because he knows that if BNCY finds out he is a "Living Reactor," they will strap him to a grid and drain him dry. He takes orders from idiots (Commander Fredrick) to protect his wife, Mae. Mae. She is the only one who knows he is holding back an ocean of power.

Leader of the great plateau (330–339)

His standing at this time was leader of the great plateau / shadow smith. Physically, he is working 20 hours a day. He is building the stream processor, the showers, and the defenses. He looks exhausted but unbreakable. What defines him in this period is sam albert. The record notes the family reunion. He likely creates custom gear for her (or helps tune her weaponry). His standing at this time was leader of the great plateau. He stops hiding. He takes 80 refugees into the desert and builds a city from scratch. He works 22 hours a day. He fuses the rock to make shelters. He heats the water with his hands. He becomes a skeletal wreck, burning himself out to ensure "his people" survive the winter.

Settlement elder (340 onward)

His standing at this time was settlement elder / defense contractor. Physically, his red hair fades to gray/rust. He moves less, using his Tactile Telekinesis to do the heavy lifting. What defines him in this period is he is the father figure to the 80 souls he saved.

Later years

Physically, "The Rust." His hair is gone (or white), and his skin looks like cracked iron. He moves slowly. The city is self-sustaining now. He sits on his porch, watching the lights come on—lights he powered for twenty years. He is empty, but the city is full.

Abilities

The mechanism on record is tactile telekinesis.

Rad can fuse materials at a molecular level. He doesn't need bolts or welding torches; he touches two steel beams, and they become one. Must maintain physical contact. He cannot lift a truck with his mind from across the room; he has to put his hand on the bumper. He can infuse "Shadow Matter" into physical weapons, making them lighter, sharper, or capable of phasing through armor. He is turning his entire body into a cloud of high-energy dark plasma. He becomes intangible and incinerates what he passes through. He releases the containment on his skin. He becomes a walking cloud of dark plasma that incinerates matter. Every second in this form burns 1% of his body mass. If he stays in it for two minutes, he will die of starvation/organ failure. It is a suicide switch he only uses to save the family. The effect answers to contact (Telekinesis) / Desperation (Shadow Form). He is entering Shadow Form burns his body's fat and muscle reserves as fuel. If he stays in it too long, he will literally consume himself and die of starvation/organ failure upon reverting.

Novice

He can lift heavy crates. He can heat metal with his hands. Shadow Form is uncontrollable and causes him to pass out immediately.

Mastery

He can reshape metal instantly upon touch. Shadow Form can be sustained for combat bursts (minutes). He can forge "Living Shadow" weapons for allies.

Decline/Shift

He can no longer shift into Shadow Form (heart can't take the strain). He focuses entirely on crafting and logistics.

Character

His perception runs standard / patient. He does not rush. He processes problems structurally. If I move beam A, does roof B collapse? When he touches a wall or a person, he feels the load-bearing stress. He knows exactly how much weight the beam can take before it snaps. The burden: he walks through the settlement and feels the fragility of everything. He knows the water pipe is 90% corroded. He knows the east wall is about to crumble. He carries the anxiety of the entire infrastructure. He thinks in logistical. He connects people to resources. He sees 80 refugees and instantly calculates water rations, bedding space, sanitation needs.

Early in life he held to a lie about hisself: "I am just a mechanic. Let the heroes do the fighting." / “I have to bleed to be useful.” Later he came to hold the opposite: "The fire doesn't have to burn me to keep them warm.". As a young man, his voice was quiet, submissive (tactically), grumbling. "Just keep your head down." In his prime it became authoritative, loud (over the sound of machinery), direct. "Get that turbine moving or we all freeze!" In old age it turned gruff, proud, warm. "I built this house so you could play in it.".

Family

He is married to Mae Albert.

Appearances

Rad is present in 9 of the 19 chapters written so far.

Glass House chapter 6^[1]
Glass House chapter 8 — Rad Albert was a large man who took up space without filling it the way intimidating people do.^[2]
Glass House chapter 10^[3]
Glass House chapter 12 — Four hundred kilometers south, Rad Albert found Chrys's temperature professionally unacceptable.^[4]
Glass House chapter 13^[5]
Glass House chapter 14^[6]
Glass House chapter 15 — Rad heard it before he understood what he was hearing.^[7]
Glass House chapter 17 — His weld was running on the lower hinge, the gate having taken the detonations without failing, but the lower hinge had cracked under the second wave and Rad had been at it since.^[8]
Book Two chapter 2 — He was on his side when Akio found him, his enormous white wings half-spread across the basalt, the armor Rad had forged still buckled across his chest.^[9]