Prism
Esther is one of our newest recruits, and she shows great promise. She's certainly motivated to get back at the Corps, after the smear-job they did on her. I don't keep up with the Holovids, but even I had heard about her so-called “youthful indiscretions”. The Corps are never more ruthless than when they are trying to control their public image. I feel the same may be said for Esther.
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Central
Esther Martins, known as Prism, is an agent employed by Invisible. She can be selected at the start of the game in either her on-file or archive variation.
On-file
Esther Martins was a rising Holovid star when a rival leaked her teenage participation in anti-corporate riots. Fired by her studio and facing an unrelenting public smear campaign, she faked her death and went underground. With her dramatic training and a commandeered holorig, she spent a couple years running confidence jobs against corporate execs before joining Invisible.
Archive
Prism's career didn't take off overnight — she paid her dues like any other up-and-coming actress. She spent years playing extras like “Young woman with baguette” and “Confused partygoer” before finally finding her first speaking role: “Security guard #3”. After her exile, she would use that particular disguise more than once to sneak back into Holovid studio offices at night. It was her highest paying role ever.
Character
Some of Prism's backstory is described in her datalog.
Quotes
At the start of a mission:
“Now you see me…”
“I was right about these bastards all along.”
“My head is spinning!”
“These fat cats make me sick.”
“Let's rob from the rich and give to ourselves.”
“Perception is everything.”
When rescued:
Final words:
“How about a re-take?”
“Is this the final curtain?”
“Do you want my autograph, first?”
“I'm so tired of running from you people.”
Banters:
Decker: I saw one of your movies once.
Prism: They haven't been called ‘movies' since the 30s, grandpa.
Decker: They haven't made any good ones since then, either.
Prism: What's your deal, anyway?
Decker: My ‘deal'?
Prism: The coat, the hat. The silly gun. What are you supposed to be?
Decker: It's… before your time.
Decker: Why didn't you bring your holorig? Seems like it would be handy.
Prism: It works against gullible civilians, not highly-trained security personnel.
Decker: I think you're overestimating their training.
Prism: Are you OK?
Decker: I'm fine. It's just my knees. They're not what they used to be.
Prism: Try to keep up, yeah?
Decker: Get off my lawn.
Dr. Xu: In the final scene of ‘Captain of Tomorrow', your ship fires a tachyon pulse into the Kradeshii warfleet…
Prism: Um… sure. It was a long time ago.
Dr. Xu: It does. But that shouldn't be possible, given their proximity to the Zeta quadrant! It's doesn't make any sense!
Prism: I blame the writer. That guy was a hack.
Prism: So if we run into guards, you're going to out-nerd them?
Dr. Xu: If by nerd you mean ‘apply current to their nervous system until they lose consciousness', then yes.
Dr. Xu: I've done some acting, you know.
Prism: Really? What were you in?
Dr. Xu: Have you ever heard of Gilbert and Sullivan?
Prism: No, can't say I have.
Prism: Why aren't you a professor somewhere? You'd seem better suited for that kind of life.
Dr. Xu: I had… philosophical differences with established academia. I was forced out.
Prism: You mean they caught you cheating.
Dr. Xu: It's a matter of semantics.
Internationale: You were involved in the anti-corporate movement when you were younger?
Prism: Sigh. I don't want to talk about it.
Internationale: But we should talk about it! You could have used your fame as a platform for changing public consciousness!
Prism: Wow — where were you when I was looking for a new agent? My guy just wanted me to take big roles in popular 'vids. Clearly I was misled.
Prism: So what do you do for fun?
Internationale: I enjoy reading. I particularly enjoy early 20th century proletarian novels. Have you read Upton Sinclair?
Prism: Oh, I'm sorry, you must have misheard. I was asking about 'fun', not.. whatever you were talking about.
Prism: I found this pamphlet slipped under my door. Is it yours?
Internationale: “Corporate Hegemony and the Praxis of Action”. A classic! I must have dropped it. You can borrow it if you'd like.
Prism: That's OK. You can have it back.
Internationale: Are you sure? It's really eye-opening!
Prism: I've never been more sure of anything in my life.
These can also be found on the agent banters page.