Tianli Andrade
Dr. Tianli Andrade was born in Ciudad de Los Reyes, Peru, ICC in 219 GE, during the 20 Year War. He is known for being the youngest member of the research team that made first contact with a technologically-advanced alien civilization in 239 GE and for continuing to make the study of intelligent extraterrestrial species his life's work, earning him worldwide recognition as the "father of Xenology."
Family and Early Life
Tianli was the fourth of six children born into a military family. He was quiet and bookish as a child, and often felt overlooked by his parents who were focused on grooming his older siblings for political or military service during the 20 Year War. As a teenager, he gravitated toward academic reading and was especially interested in systems philosophy. In Ciclo Diversificado Científico-Humanista (academic secondary education) he was reasonably adept at data science and computational systems, but preferred studying culture and communication. He consistently performed well in school, but showed no exceptional abilities or performance. Admiral Abe Anderlow, a friend and military colleague of Tianli's parents who had worked with the TDR government during Project Expedition prior to the Erlang tragedy, encouraged young Tianli throughout secondary school, and later continued to guide him by encouraging him to apply for programs related to interstellar exploration.Education and Internship
Tianli applied to Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredi in 236 GE (age 17) and was accepted as a double-major in Artificial Intelligence and Anthropology. In the summer of Tianli's second year (238 GE, age 19), he was accepted for an internship position at Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas (CBFP) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, working with an interstellar intelligence search team headed by Ramya Gonzales. During Tianli's first year of internship, Gonzales's team reported the discovery of a planet that showed all signs of both life and technological development: the first such discovery since the Erlang tragedy. After passionate and heated struggles, the team was able to get all of the required approvals for an exploratory mission. Eager and ambitious, ready to prove himself, Tianli worked incredibly hard to contribute to the planning and proposal that the team put together for the expedition. His efforts might have been enough to earn him a place on the crewed mission as the youngest student to ever participate in an interstellar research trip, but this is impossible to know for sure. Unknown to Tianli, Admiral Anderlow's had been "talking up" Tianli both with administrators of the school and a handful of government officials associated with the local office of the Committee on Information Technology, Xenology, and Interstellar Travel (ITXIT). This more than likely influenced the decision that allowed Tianli to be onboard the Intoxicado Pela Juventude when it departed for the research expedition to Planetagua.Success and Noteriety
That research trip resulted in humanity's first contact with intelligent alien life in 239 GE. This propelled Tianli into the spotlight. His celebrity and recognition was amplified even further by Anderlow, who would mention Tianli's name in his interviews in the mediasphere, and praised his "pivotal" role in the mission. On the international scene, Peru was being placed front-and-center by the Cruz Corporate Empire, giving Tianli world-wide recognition. By the time Tianli graduated from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredi in 240 GE (age 21), Tianli was already famous as a key player in the field of Xenology. He was offered and accepted a research and teaching position at the university immediately after graduation. Although he spent most of his adult life traveling all over the world to give lectures, participate in interviews, and sign book deals, he always enjoyed coming home to his "home base" in Ciudad de Los Reyes, Peru. Despite a life of constant book deals, lectures, and interviews, Tianli never fully felt he deserved the level of fame and recognition that he had as the "father of Xenology". Tianli never knew that he owed his easy acceptance to both university and the internship program to Abe Anderlow, but deep down he suspected that his successes had been too easy, and he wondered if he really deserved them.Later Years
At the age of 73, in the year 292 GE, Tianli was diagnosed with Systemic Smoldering Mastocytosis: a progressive disease that first manifests with itchy, dark patches on the skin and the development of unusual allergies but gets progressively more debilitating over time. Despite the excellent medicine and technology that his fame and fortune make available to him, his body has been gradually but steadily deteriorating for the last few decades. His eyesight began to fail drastically, and in 303 GE he began wearing vision-assist digital sensory goggles on a day-to-day basis. He also currently wears mechanical computerized leg braces to walk without a cane, and exo-gloves over his hands and forearms to compensate for loss of motor stability. Dr. Andrade no longer teaches, but he does maintain his full-time position at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredi as the head of the Intersteller Exploration and Research team. From time to time he still travels the world to give talks on xenology or make appearances at popular events and academic conferences. Most of his peers, including his on-again/off-again romantic partner Hatusu Riberes, have been expecting him to retire for quite some time. In 309 GE, Andrade recruited an exceptional student, Maximillion "Million" Green, who had completed the undergraduate program at Cayetano Heredia in only three years. He told himself that Million would be his last graduate student, and in fact the following year the other two students in his lab graduated leaving the Intersteller Exploration and Research team consisting of only himself and Million Green. In 310 GE, Million informed Dr. Andrade that he wanted to put together an expedition to the planet Kepler-70c. It had been generally ignored after it was assessed as having only a 13% probability of organic life. Million had appplied Keji Scoring Protocol to the planet despite its low life probability assessment, and assessed a surprising 78% probability of technological civilization. Tianli's immediate reaction was to be skeptical. Unlike Million, Tianli was old enough to remember the Erlang tragedy. But Tianli Andrade also found himself enticed. What if there is something there? Andrade had spent most of his life being self-conscious that his career rested on a discovery he had made more than 70 years ago, and for which he was no even the Principle Investigator. He yearned to have something more to his name before he retired. In the end, it did not take that much effort from Million to convince him. Tianli submitted their request to the Committee on Information Technology, Xenology, and Interstellar Travel (ITXIT). It was debated for multiple weeks, but finally in December 311 GE the ITXIT grudgingly approved funding for a five day expedition using the Jack Of All Trades, Master Of None, an ancient Witten QS that had been been sitting in a warehouse for nearly a century but had not been destroyed.
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Father of Xenology
Year of Birth
219 GE
93 Years old
Birthplace
Ciudad de Los Reyes, Peru, ICC
Children
Gender
Male
Pronouns
he / him / his
Appears in...
