Frederick Ansel was a space engineer from Belsham who worked for a time for Dasarius Interstellar. Ansel, known to some as “Master Ansel” despite his protests, wrote a series of books that became the foundation for Cubism. He deplored the violent sect of the religion he founded and insisted he was merely an engineer who discovered the philosophy.
The religion (he preferred the term “philosophy”) began around 408 IE with something he admitted might have been a hallucination. While stranded on an asteroid and waiting for pick up, a man with no vacuum suit or breathing gear, dressed casually in Belshamite clothing, appear and began speaking to him. Despite being in a pressure suit, Ansel could hear him. The man claimed to be God. When Ansel said he was hallucinating, “God” said, “What if you are? Half the prophets I’ve talked to were hallucinating.” He said he chose to speak with Ansel because Ansel looked bored. He then outlined what became Cubism: God is the universe and everything in it, and everything in the universe is God. God talking to Ansel was just a manifestation of himself used to talk with him. If it was a hallucination, God said he would wake up from hypoxia and have an interesting story for his medical providers. If not, he could make the universe a better place. “God” wore a Mars-New Vegas ballcap, which one of Ansel’s rescuers found showing little sign of exposure to extreme temperatures or radiation. Ansel began thinking and writing on his new creed.
In 420 IE, he lived outside of Sanctuary on Aphrodite. He hoped to use his philosophy to unite the warring factions of Penqu and Kolkats responsible for three centuries of civil conflict. He found a ready disciple in Suicide, whose own philosophies mirrored his own.
After his time on Aphrodite, he returned to Belsham to focus on his engineering firm. Low-key, he answered his own comm lines and, despite some of his followers’ insistence, walked about Friedman, the capital, without bodyguards. Occasionally, he would have to tell certain followers to not interfere with visitors. He did not abandon his movement, but attended to it by writing and lecturing.
In 434, he met with Mitsuko Yamato, who wanted insight into Cubism in general and any information he might have on the radicals. He explained how Gerard Kurz hijacked Cubism on Aphrodite and created a virtual terrorist group from it. He also suggested Mitsuko talk to his greatest disciple, Suicide.
After Kurz was killed in a failed attempt to destroy the Mt. Buxanhal retreat, Ansel returned to build a more permanent facility. He decided to live there and invited Mitsuko Yamato to visit whenever she wished.
Appearances: Suicide Run, Royal Orders