Seth Lambrelli (Cataclysmic Gerosha)

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Character bio
Seth Lambrelli is a semi-retired billionaire inventor in The Gerosha Chronicles in Dozerfleet Comics, and the owner of Lambrelli Labs. He is the original inventor and pilot of Pilltar, and a mentor to Stephanie Barrin. Seth is also the archenemy of Scott Michael Morrisson; a militant, demon-possessed, bisexual cannibal serial killer who later uses stolen Pilltar technology to build his own evil version, dubbed "Stagtar." Seth Lambrelli appears in Pilltar and Pilltar 2, leaving behind a legacy that is later passed on to Ron Barrin. As the successor to Seth, Ron becomes the first active Pilltar pilot to be inducted into the Sodality of Gerosha. Meanwhile, Seth's sidekick Stephanie has at times temporarily piloted Pilltar units. For this reason, Seth builds a special version for her dubbed "Strawberry."

Outside of Comprehensive and Cataclysmic Gerosha strict canon, a variation of Seth briefly became relevant to a non-canon spin-off of the Gerosha Gaming universe. This was in a crossover fanfic for the game Marvel: Avengers Alliance on Facebook, the fanfic of which was titled Percolation. His Pilltar units did not appear in that story.

Early life
Seth Lambrelli was born in 1963, to parents Damian Lambrelli and Sally Hapin-Lambrelli. Seth's father Damian was a steamboat engineer who often dreamed of becoming a sci-fi writer. He would often tell Seth stories while growing up, about how an iron pill bug could learn from a man how to become an effective neighborhood watch and scare bad guys out of the neighborhood. Alas, Damian's stories never made it to the publisher. Damian often pointed out to Seth also that Grandpa Jordan Lambrelli was a cousin of Tobey Flippo, a brave man who assembled the first ever team of Phexos together to battle the Japanese forces in WWII.

High school
Seth's father Damian eventually died of liver cancer when Seth entered his freshman year in high school. His mother Sally began running a crafts store from their home in order to survive, which resulted in Seth having plenty of opportunity to tinker. Seth soon discovered that he was quite the inventor, and decided against going to college. He instead made money selling his inventions. Most of them were very small.

Pill bug prototype
In 1991, Seth became exposed to what at the time was deemed "state-of-the-art" virtual reality systems. His neighborhood didn't have a neighborhood watch, so he volunteered on weekends to help start one.

When on patrol in 1994, Seth was attacked from behind and knocked out by Daniel Morrisson, a vicious pedophile. Daniel carried his son with him on missions, abducting 16-year-old girls to be targeted as villains. However, Daniel wound up targeting the home of a child named Katie Mint. Katie and her cousin Hadley Mint were being babysat by Seth's mother. Seth awoke in time to hear gun shots. His mother had bravely fought off Daniel and blown his head off, only to be attacked from behind by Daniel's son: Scott Morrisson. Scott slit Mrs. Lambrelli's throat, nearly decapitating her. He then turned his attention to Katie, who stood in terror screaming. Hadley managed to escape out the back door into the neighborhood. Scott quickly finished murdering Katie, then gave pursuit of Hadley. Alas, Hadley got away. Scott decided to flee the scene before the police could find out what he had done.

Seth finally arrived at the scene to witness all the carnage left behind. He saw his mother's lifeless body, and a little detective work revealed that Daniel hadn't acted alone. However, Seth realized that the accomplice would be very difficult for police in that time period to catch. He decided to retire from neighborhood watch patrol, but envisioned creating the future of it.

He developed a primitive large, pill bug-shaped drone that could be remote-controlled, and tried using it as an experiment in neighborhood watch. His clumsily-controlled device, however, was far from what he wanted. It still needed a mind of its own, and the pilot's mind was never truly "inside" the machine. He wanted a mechanical avatar, not simply a large toy. Even so, his experiment managed to defeat an entire black street gang. Then, he underestimated an angry Scott Morrisson. Scott claimed that he knew Seth had to be behind the new robot experiment in neighborhood watch, and vowed to find and kill Seth. Scott then destroyed the unit by himself. The look of sheer demonic hatred in Scott's eyes convinced Seth that he needed to design a better system.

Paralysis
In June of 2007, Seth and his colleagues at Lambrelli Labs began showing off in Traverse City a prototype for a diminutive neighborhood watch droid that could have the pilot's mind melded into the unit's mind. A Malquaanite ruby that Seth managed to acquire two years before purely by chance ensured that he was able to crack the code of how to make his diminutive avatar drone, dubbed "Dronetar, Module 1." Goons sent by the Society of the Icy Finger to recover the ruby led to an all-out attack on the convention. Seth's lower spine was injured while he tried to escape, noting that Dronetar didn't have enough shock resistance to take a blow from a 2"x4" wooden board without his processor being jammed and disconnecting pilot from unit. Seth attempted to run with his own legs, but was shot. The shooter was later attacked by a young fashion model at the scene who caught fire when she ran.

Seth soon found himself bound to a wheelchair, and became too obsessed with his work to think about exercise. He began balding at an early age, but continued to work on improving his inventions. In 2015, he announced he was stepping down as the CEO of Lambrelli Labs. He would remain the owner, but would shift a lot of responsibilities to other men in the company that he trusted. He moved to a quiet town in Iowa, where he assumed he'd be able to set up his ultimate scheme with hardly anyone's notice.

Pilltar
Main article: Pilltar (story)

With his health rapidly deteriorating, Seth manages to complete his grand design: the first official line of Pilltar droids. However, he is discovered in his garage while he is installing a unit in his van for being able to control Pilltars while on the go. The discovery is made by high school student Stephanie Barrin, who has been ordered by her strict religious school to go about canvassing in the neighborhood. When not working on inventions, Seth had spent his free time studying theology. He invites a confused Stephanie to return to his garage on another day, and he'd explain her unanswered questions to her.

His influence causes Stephanie to question the subculture of students at her school, and to see the hypocrisy of its leaders. She grows frustrated with the injustice at school, asking Seth if there is a way she could study under him and have it declared a sort of "specialized education" so the state would leave her alone. Stephanie's mother, Theresa Barrin, shows initial distrust of Seth and concern for Stephanie spending all her time in the garage of a strange man. However, Stephanie is eventually kicked out of school for refusing to believe a flat-out lie being told by a teacher in order to avoid offending the daughter of a powerful lawyer. This results in Stephanie taking "a job" from Seth, while looking for another school. Theresa is angry, but Ron Barrin returns in time to set Theresa straight.

Stephanie is at one point kidnapped by her former teachers, but is soon rescued by a Pilltar unit. Seth had been showing her other inventions of his, and teaching her how to build other devices. But the Pilltar project was new to her. He offers to teach her how to use Pilltar. She begins playing bodyguard when Seth enters the main chamber in his garage. Seth begins operating Pilltar as an experimental neighborhood watch, albeit off the books of the local police department. When an armed lunatic nearly murders a teenage girl and her date at a make out point, he is stopped by Pilltar. A battle ensues, but Pilltar comes out the victor. The lunatic is finally delivered right to the front doors of the local police station, albeit with a few broken bones. The girl, Evelyn Martin, confesses that her uncle Warren Finn was the lunatic in question. Warren was discovered to have murdered Evelyn's parents and began stalking Evelyn with the intent on kidnapping and raping her. He was originally going to kill the boyfriend so there'd be no witnesses, but then vowed to kill the "big metal pill bug" that foiled him. Police at that point hadn't seen Pilltar make the delivery, and were intrigued by the description. Evelyn and her boyfriend confess that a "munchkin-sized pill bug man" saved them. The teachers that abducted Stephanie also confess that a metal pill bug had foiled them. As the news begins to question sightings at night of the metal pill bug, rumors spread that he appears to be a remote-controlled "avatar" of whoever the pilot is. One resident in town who was protected from a mugging at night claims to have been rescued by an entity calling itself a "Robotic Pill Bug Avatar, Module 1." The local TV news shortens it to "RPiBA," or just "Pilltar," for short. Seth and Stephanie both decide they like the latter name, and word spreads that "Pilltar" protects the night.

The announcement of a Pilltar in town almost immediately leads to a sudden sweep of violent home invasions by men who are armed to the teeth, all raids involving the abduction of teenage girls and murder of their parents. The Des Moines area in particular is suddenly hit. Police are baffled by the raids, which happen swiftly and without warning. That is, until Pilltar arrives and disrupts one of the raids. He manages to kill all but one of the raiders in that particular raid, with police taking captive the survived raider. Seth tells police that he's interested in renewing projects to aid neighborhood watch, and arranges to listen in on the raider being interviewed. The raider comes prepared, popping a cyanide pill after confessing to eating a few of the teen victims. He also states: "The boss knows who's behind Pilltar. The threat to kill from years ago is still valid." Trying to avoid a direct confession, Seth tells police that it was his inventions that inspired whoever was behind Pilltar. Therefore, the threat is against him every bit as much as it is against whoever Pilltar is. He gives his history with Morrisson, and explains his belief that Morrisson is behind the raids. The police station is suddenly attacked, and Stephanie dons a Pilltar controller in the van to protect Seth while Seth tries to get away on wheelchair. Stephanie is able to hold off the assault long enough for Seth to take over, but the time for them to switch seats so Stephanie can drive while Seth pilots is more than enough time for Morrisson himself to inflict damage on the Pilltar unit. Seth begins fighting back, but other members of the cannibal cult intervene and insist that Morrisson retreat. Morrisson orders those who stay behind to blow Pilltar to smithereens and collect the scrap. Pilltar manages to hold off even more, but is eventually taken out with a rocket launcher. Some scrap is collected, and the cannibal cult flees into the night. The police station and all left in it are dead. Police from other jurisdictions arrive with the FBI, but are unable to find anything other than a destroyed police station. Seth radios in to his associates at Lambrelli Labs to get in touch with the FBI, warning them that Morrisson is the terrorist they're after.

It is only a week afterward that Seth begins experimenting with a device that he feels could support his legs as he attempts to be able to walk again. He receives an injection of stem cells in the hopes of repairing his damaged spine. However, his home experiment is interrupted by Morrisson's men. They charge into Seth's house, but he comes prepared with a fully automatic machine gun and flame thrower.

Meanwhile, a terrified Lucy Pinnelton ignores her mother's boastful talk about Pinnelton supremacy and goes to apologize to Stephanie for having been mean to her at school. She quickly deduces that Stephanie is one of the mechanics behind Pilltar, promising to keep the secret safe. However, Morrisson attempts to abduct both Stephanie and Lucy with help from his men. Stephanie's father Ron gives in to his post-traumatic stress, and goes on a rampage killing Morrisson's men. He manages to stab Morrisson in the foot, and Morrisson retreats. However, one of Morrisson's men manages to escape with Lucy. Stephanie and Ron head over to Seth's house, and find that there are dead bodies everywhere. Seth has fought off his attackers, but has his lower back damaged all over again. Ron escorts Seth to the hospital, vowing to play bodyguard and get the van's remote system going so that Seth can operate a Pilltar from the hospital as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Stephanie enters the garage chambers and sends a Pilltar unit after the most suspicious-looking van she can find. She knows she's located one of Morrisson's units when they begin opening fire on her. Stephanie continues to man her Pilltar, even managing to find one of Morrisson's many hideouts. Lucy finds herself on camera on a strange table, where she is about to be stripped and raped. A man with a knife vows to have her sacrificed after the gang rape, then she is to be cut up and eaten. The ritual is interrupted by Stephanie's Pilltar barging in through the roof. She takes out as many as she can, securing Lucy's escape. However, Morrisson himself charges at Stephanie's Pilltar. He proves much more difficult to defeat, as he has an unnatural gift for fighting. He throws a noise scrambler into the Pilltar's left ear, using it to torture Stephanie whose mind is fused with the unit.

Ron manages to get a bed-ridden Seth to hook up to a Pilltar controller while his lower body is numbed up for surgery. Seth manages to activate another Pilltar. Right as Morrisson's sidekick is about to finish off Stephanie's while upping the mental torture and threatening to use the mind link to send Stephanie into a coma, Seth arrives and distracts the sidekick. Morrisson himself grabs a hold of the damaged Pilltar right as Stephanie ejects from controlling it. Seth uses his Pilltar to battle the sidekick, who reveals himself to be an equally competent fighter. Meanwhile, Stephanie gets on the phone to alert the FBI that Pilltar, with her help, has located Morrisson's hideout. There are body parts of deceased women strewn all over the walls and floors. Pilltar and Morrisson's sidekick Casey Manchi continue to battle, with Manchi using everything at his disposal to distract Pilltar. Stephanie gets on another phone, and lets Pilltar know that the National Guard has been called in to blow the hideout to smithereens. Pilltar then buys time, with Seth ejecting from the controls right as the signal is given to blow up the building. Manchi and the dying followers of Morrisson who failed to make it out in time are all instantly killed. Most of Seth's Pilltar unit is destroyed in the fire. While most of the cannibal cult is declared to have been destroyed, the town becomes very alarmed when word gets out that Morrisson was never recovered.

Seth recovers, though his hopes of walking again are gone. He vows to train Stephanie and later Ron how to eventually replace him as Pilltar, even promising to rework the Pilltar interface to make a female brain-friendly version devoted to Stephanie.

Pilltar 2
Main article: Pilltar 2

Ron accepts a new job working for Lambrelli Labs, but begins helping out with the transport of company stock as it moves its headquarters from Iowa to Oklahoma. Meanwhile, rumors erupt that a certain "Screwworm & Network" have been seen committing crimes and vanishing very quickly in the Des Moines area. Seth and Stephanie attend a rock concert held out in the open, hiding inside their van and monitoring the situation while pretending to be a news van. However, the concert is disrupted by the Screwworm Network arriving and shooting into the crowd. Seth immediately sends Pilltar into the field to prevent the terrorists from claiming any more victims. As the band members scatter in panic, one of them is nearly abducted by a woman in black calling herself the Screwworm. However, Pilltar is able to come to the band member's rescue. When another member of the network tries to assault a child, he is suddenly attacked from above by a pink, feminine Pilltar unit, identifying itself as "Strawberry." Seth confirms through Stephanie that the new Strawberry model is fully operational.

Meanwhile, Seth discovers that business associate Tod Bandberry is having some difficulty in his marriage. He offers counseling where he can, but Tod says that a strange woman named Audrey is pressuring him into leaving his wife Deanna. Seth decides to help Tod rediscover what he values about Deanna, while also trying to deduce the identity of the Screwworm. Stephanie soon discovers that a playback on the Strawberry unit's black box indicates someone claiming it could "only be the work of someone who has one of our rubies!" A simple search reveals that the Society of the Icy Finger has vowed for ages to get its hands on Marlquaanite rubies. Cross-referencing, Stephanie confirms that the Screwworm Network is related to the Icy Finger.

Seth begins feeling ill, so he goes in for a medical checkup. He discovers that his health problems are getting progressively worse, and that he has perhaps only another year to live. He vows to Stephanie that he will help bring down the Screwworm Network, if it's the last thing he does before dying. When Tod and Deanna start growing closer, Deanna reveals that she is also dying. Tod decides he won't leave her. However, his house is bugged by Audrey. She shows up at the door and claims to be disappointed in Tod. Meanwhile, Roger Homink at Lambrelli Labs clumsily creates a Japanese beetle-themed Pilltar dubbed "Ponicatar." He tries to market it at an expo in Des Moines to show that Lambrelli Labs is still a leader in neighborhood security systems. However, he does have to deal with annoying kids at the expo insulting the unit, calling it "Porn-tar." Roger leaves the expo humiliated that his creation got no respect, and brings Ponicatar with him.

When Tod persists in asking Audrey to leave, she reveals herself to be the Screwworm. She captures Tod and has a terrorist working for her shoot Deanna dead. She then raids Tod's office and steals the schematics and maps to a giant EMP blast unit developed by Lambrelli Labs. Screwworm then takes the convention center hostage, while using the EMP ray emitter to disable police and others in Des Moines. Tod manages to steal a cell phone right before the blast, and alerts Roger that there's trouble. He throws the phone away before Audrey sees him with it. Roger contacts Seth with a simple message: "SOS. Get Pilltar to the expo.  NOW."

However, as Pilltar and Strawberry are en route, the blast goes off. Pilltar manages to fly above the emitter's range, but Strawberry gets just a little too low in altitude while searching for the expo building. The blast fries the Strawberry unit's circuitry, traumatizing Stephanie on the other end. Roger activates Ponicatar to buy Seth and Stephanie some time to get another Strawberry in the field. However, Ponicatar is revealed to be clumsy. The Screwworm forces take him out rather easily, forcing Roger to eject while his unit is destroyed. Pilltar destroys the EMP emitter while a new Strawberry arrives to assist. Pilltar manages to free Tod, and Audrey fights vengefully. Strawberry takes her out as she is about to finish off Pilltar. The Screwworms scatter, but the National Guard is able to mobilize with help from Lambrelli Labs. Pilltar and Strawberry get out of the way, while the Screwworms wage war in the streets and ultimately lose. However, Seth expresses his worry to Stephanie that Scott Morrisson is still at large.

Death
Main article: Pilltar 3

In 2018, the US begins disintegrating into four different countries: Toklisana, Ameristan, Netheel, and Chimerica. The political turmoil proves to be very disheartening to Seth, who discovers himself to be dying of the same cancer that killed his father. Seth passes away, offering all he has to the Barrin family. However, one of the factories not yet transferred to Oklahoma is attacked by what appears to be a remnant of Morrisson's cannibal cult. Parts needed to mass-produce Pilltars are stolen, as Strawberry arrives too late to do anything about it.

Stephanie takes it on herself to teach her father Ron how to become the new main pilot for Pilltar. However, they must also begin the long journey to Oklahoma to rebuild their lives. Things get complicated when Morrisson attacks the Barrins' home and kills Theresa. He vows to destroy the Barrins; as they dared take on the legacy of Seth, who died on his own before Seth and Scott could have their final showdown.

Ron and Stephanie begin the long and perilous haul from Iowa to Oklahoma, noting that Affadidah's regime troops are not very good at keeping their promises of safe travel for registered Toklisanans. However, Morrisson has several of the Pilltar models re-engineered to create the taller and more-aggressive Stagtar. The Barrins are almost killed numerous times as they must alternate between driving and fighting, in an effort to defeat Stagtar and secure their freedom. Success in making it across the border means that they hold an honorary ceremony to remember Seth. They also decide to put the remaining Pilltars in storage until such a time as they'll be needed again. That need arises in the 2020s, when the out-of-control Judge Terry Beliah threatens them and anyone else who could pose a threat to his plans to bring the same cultural rot to Toklisana that cause the United States to fall apart. Beliah's actions result in Pilltar and Strawberry joining the Sodality of Gerosha to defeat Beliah and the Phaletori.

Personality
Seth is often quiet and softspoken, but is by no means antisocial. He is a patient philosopher and has a love for studying theology as much as he does robotics. He is a firm believer in neighborhood watch programs, but seeks to find ways to avoid having to place actual personnel in harm's way. He believes that if a Pilltar unit would have been employed in the Trayvon Martin case, that Trayvon would have thought twice about picking a fight. Also, a Pilltar unit's life would be in a lot less danger from Trayvon's blows, allowing the pilot more time to react and find a non-lethal way of subduing the out-of-control thug. However, being traumatized by Morrisson's violence and demon-like ability to fight has convinced Seth that even with Pilltar units doing the job of neighborhood watch patrols, deadly force is still sometimes necessary. He can be kind, but refuses to dismiss a clear issue. He tries to be a friend with as many as possible, though he knows his limits on what he can or cannot do to make friends.

Inspiration
The concept of Seth being confined to a wheelchair and balding essentially made him a recycling of Rick Rintel from 90 Has No Secant into a more useable and competent character. His connection with Stephanie was to challenge the assumption that all adults who talk to teenage girls are sex predators, a notion that was popular in 2007-2010. The claim was that the least obvious targets were being assumed guilty, all to ensure that those most likely were completely overlooked. Seth is overweight and has health problems, and is not the most attractive. Meanwhile, the far-more-attractive Scott Morrisson is truly the monster. On the street, women would assume Scott to be a man of virtue who is safe to have around their daughters, while assuming Seth to be a repulsive pervert. And then, they'd discover that it was the other way around.

At the same time, Seth was to be sort of an anti-Tony Stark. Instead of being an indulgent playboy in good physique in spite of himself, Seth is a physical wreck who has tried in vain for years to be healthy and happy, all in vain. Seth has had terrible luck finding a woman, as opposed to being a playboy who can get whatever woman he wants. In essence, Seth is a combination of Iron Man with Jake Sully and Ari "Rigoletto" Ribaldi.

Percolation
Main article: Percolation (Gerosha Chronicles), See also: Extirpon other media appearances

Percolation marks the first appearance of Seth in a form of media not canon to Comprehensive or Cataclysmic Gerosha. The fanfic for Marvel: Avengers Alliance explains how it would be possible for Extirpon to be temporarily exported to the game's version of the Marvel universe, where he'd partially lose his powers and be forced to become a SHIELD agent operating under the moniker of "Agent Opendi."

Jubilee and the Danny Ketch version of Ghost Rider find themselves switching universes with Extirpon and Anarteq III temporarily. SHIELD and SCALLOP would eventually find a way to establish contact with each other, and negotiate how to get Extirpon and Anarteq III home. This is, in turn, a justification for Extirpon's inclusion by the Dozerfleet founder into Avengers Alliance. The two universes are only able to communicate with each other via the discovery of a new Marlquaanite ruby that has exactly that power. Jubilee and later Ghost Rider, after the former visits Seth in Akeny to acquire the ruby, have to fight to keep the ruby from falling into the clutches of the Society of the Icy Finger. This story is set before Seth has built his Mk. I model of Pilltar, and before he has met Stephanie Barrin. Therefore, neither of those two show up.