| Paulina Marika Banacek |
 |
| Portrayed By: | Meredith Eaton |
| Status: | Alive |
| Age: | 35 |
| Occupation: | Physics Teacher, UNLV |
| Freak Factor: | SuperScientist |
Background
The Beginning
Janek and Krystyna Banacek defected from Poland in 1971, after the December 1970 protests. When the soldiers fired on workers, killing at least 42 and injuring more than 1,000, the couple considered it a sign that the government was morally bankrupt. They fled for the United States, hoping that there would be a better future for them there. Janek had a degree in electrical engineering, and was quickly able to get a job in an aerospace firm in Las Vegas, helping to design airplanes. The wages were good, and the Banaceks quickly bought a house and settled down. Bartlomiej was born in 1972, and Paulina in 1974.
Bartlomiej, or Bart for short, proved to be a bright and handsome boy, and his parents had great expectations for him. And then came Paulina. It was clear, after a few years, that she was small for her age, and after a checkup from the doctors, she was diagnosed with dwarfism. She was a little person. This led to some changes in the Banacek household. Certain items and areas in the house were adjusted to accomodate Paulina's diminutive size, and Krystyna used her seamstress skills to adjust clothes to fit her.
The biggest adjustment was in the relationship between Bart and Paulina. Bart wanted to protect his little sister, and got into more than a few fights against schoolmates who made fun of her. Paulina, on the other hand, didn't want him to protect her, and got into more than a few fights trying to defend herself, with less success. This caused her to resent Bart a little, and to retreat into her personal world.
The Childhood
This world was one of gadgets. Paulina loved to watch her father tinker with broken toasters and other appliances that friends and neighbors gave him to fix. And after a while, he allowed her to assist him. Eventually, she was fixing things with him (though he never admitted to his friends when she started doing a better job than he), and with the help of a step stool, she even started fixing the family car. She got into computers, and made all sorts of gadgets, a few that allowed her to extend her reach and height, a few that were techy flights of fancy.
Paulina's time at school wasn't always spent dodging bullies. The teachers admired her quick mind. The math and science teachers in particular did their best to push and challenge her, and they were rewarded with her Science Fair ribbons and the realization that the girl was a genius. She took advanced courses and college courses at UNLV in high school.
The Inspiration
Her father fell ill with cancer and instead of taking off for CalTech or MIT, Paulina went to UNLV in order to stay near him. She decided on studying Physics and Electrical Engineering, but her mentor, and the man who changed her life, was a professor in the Mechanical Engineering department. Dr. Mandeep Patel was originally from New Delhi, but had come to the States in the 60s. He was known to the staff and students for being a little odd, muttering theories about the "aether" and states of matter inconceivable to even theoretical physicists. Instead of avoiding him, Paulina was drawn to him. The two had many conversations between classes about science and the universe, and compared their various contraptions and contrivances; Dr. Patel was an inventor as well.
It was during one of their conversations that Dr. Patel introduced the concept of nonhuman sentient beings existing on Earth. Paulina was skeptical, and so Patel showed her a secret locked section of his lab. In it was stored Patel's proof. Autopsies of demons, specimens of eggs and body parts. This opened a whole new world to Paulina. She continued in her studies, but took a few unexpected courses in biology and chemistry to round out her comprehension of what she'd seen.
The Mad Scientist
It all fell apart in 1997. Janek Banacek had finally succumbed to cancer. Distraught, Paulina threw herself into her work on her Masters, as well as trying to work out a theory about what she was calling 'homo teratis sapiens'. And one night, she received a call from Dr. Patel. He'd found even better proof of the nonhuman sentients. Living proof.
Paulina got to his location too late. He'd been exsanguinated through wounds in his neck and left for dead. He was barely able to utter one word before his last breath. "Vampire."
That was the moment that spurred Paulina on to what some might consider a career in Mad Science. She didn't rifle through occult tomes or walk the usual path of the arcane researcher. She searched out the oddest and strangest scientific theories that could explain what happened to Dr. Patel. It affected her other work, to the point that the other graduate students considered her to be quite the odd duck.
Paulina got her Masters but hasn't left the ivory tower. She's a Physics teacher for the beginning students, a research assistant for some projects, and has a few secret projects of her own. No one really quite understands some of what she says, as she mutters about the 'aether' and states of matter inconceivable to even theoretical physicists. She has an income from some of the patents on inventions and processes she has made, so she is able to live quite well. And living well is not her concern, as much as finding out what killed Dr. Patel and eliminating it.
