Dorian was a somewhat-enigmatic space traveller and polymath who rescued the survivors of the Liberator crew from Terminal.
History[]
Much of Dorian's past remained mysterious, but he was born two hundred years before his encounter with Avon and the others. At some point he discovered a cavern on the planet Xenon with unique properties: it allowed him to project any damage or decay he himself suffered onto another. His first victim was his partner.
Needless to say this allowed Dorian unusual opportunities. He constructed a sizable base on top of the cavern and engaged in the creation of several different new technologies. He developed the clip guns, and made some highly sophisticated and idiosyncratic modifications to the flight computer of his ship, the Scorpio. He was aware of and in contact with the indigenous tribes of Xenon, and, drawing upon the work of the Seska, came very close to developing a working teleport system.
Dorian in Xenon Base.
Dorian travelled away from Xenon on occasion. He met Ensor at one point, whom he described as difficult - possibly he learned from Ensor some of the expertise he used in creating Slave. Many years later he acquired Soolin as a 'companion' (she remained unaware of his true nature).
Absorbing the ravages of time and appetite killed Dorian's partner, and a succession of others that were now passing at an alarmingly accelerating rate. Dorian, guided by his current victim, realised that one person would no longer be able to sustain his life and a more permanent replacement was required. Dorian then sought a group to replace the individual creature, theorising that a gestalt entity would be able to absorb much more from him. Having heard of the exploits of the Liberator crew, he realized that they would be bound together through their experience and stand a better chance of being accepted by the chamber. He had not, however, counted on the death of Cally so he decided to incorporate Soolin into the gestalt to replace her.
To this end he rescued Avon and the others from Terminal and allowed them to take him captive, knowing the Scorpio would automatically return to Xenon where he could carry out the rest of his plan, disarming them and bringing them to the cavern.
However Avon realised at the last minute that the link between Dorian and the creature worked both ways, and shot the creature with a gun Dorian hadn't unloaded. Dorian absorbed the damage and both he and his unfortunate creature died.
Behind the Scenes[]
Dorian's story is a fairly transparent pastiche of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey.