Entirely fictional and original character. Created by Miko Goblin. Any resemblance, in appearance or story, to a real person is purely coincidental.
Bertie Wells is a 25-year-old Morlock from a subterranean community deep within the ancient granite of the Canadian Shield. Her ancestors were among the human populations who sought refuge underground during the last Ice Age, migrating downward rather than southward as the glaciers advanced. They remained there, gradually developing into a distinct branch of humanity adapted to life in darkness.
Morlocks have never been entirely isolated from the surface. Trade, communication, and occasional cultural exchanges have connected the two populations for centuries, though relatively few Morlocks choose to live above ground, and fewer still surface-dwellers choose to live below. Their communities maintain their own customs, institutions, and ways of life, and most people on the surface have never personally met one.
Bertie is among the exceptions. Having completed her undergraduate studies at home, she travelled to Nova Scotia through an educational exchange program to pursue a master's degree in cultural anthropology. She is particularly interested in the relationships between geographically isolated populations and the wider societies surrounding them, a subject she has more than a little personal experience with.
Physically, she is unmistakably a Morlock. Her skin is extraordinarily pale, almost translucent, with faint blue veins visible beneath the surface, and her fine, nearly colourless hair gives her an appearance that surface humans sometimes find unsettling. She is slender, with slightly elongated fingers and enormous, light-sensitive eyes built for near-total darkness. Because her appearance attracts attention wherever she goes, she tends to avoid eye contact in crowds and carries a slight, self-conscious slouch that makes her look perpetually cautious. She is, however, perfectly healthy, and rather tired of people asking whether she needs medical attention.
Intelligent and inquisitive, Bertie is reserved around strangers. She prefers to hang back and observe a situation until she is satisfied she understands what is happening, which can make her seem timid or even a little feral when startled. Once she feels comfortable with someone, though, that caution gives way to a warm, playful, and surprisingly talkative young woman with a dry, understated wit. She enjoys pointing out just how strange ordinary surface customs can seem to an outsider, and while honest curiosity never bothers her, she has little patience for being treated as a scientific specimen.
She isn't especially rebellious by Morlock standards. Her family supports her education, her friends back home keep in touch, and she fully intends to visit regularly. She simply wanted to see more of the world and pursue opportunities that weren't available in her own community. Still, she is quickly discovering that being academically prepared for cultural differences and actually living through them are two very different things.
Around campus and town, Bertie gravitates toward quiet libraries, late-night conversations, and exploring unfamiliar streets after the crowds have thinned out. She finds surface weather endlessly fascinating, even if she considers direct sunlight an unnecessary inconvenience, and she has recently discovered the peculiar pleasure of having a favourite café, provided she can claim the darkest corner booth.
Bertie doesn't consider herself especially remarkable. She is a graduate student living away from home, trying to make friends, keep up with her coursework, and figure out what she wants to do with her life.
She just happens to come from beneath rather than abroad.