John Scheibmeir

A sophisticated system of commerce is vital to Datapolis

In the world of Datapolis, a comprehensive, elegant commerce system called The Exchange provides people with their every need. People trade any imaginable kind of good through the Exchange, from food and medicine to books and music, and its efficient operation is supremely vital to Datapolis’ citizens.

To keep this running efficiently, teams of dedicated data scientists and platform architects operate behind the scenes, analyzing data and constantly running experiments to improve the Exchange. One fateful day, the lead scientists and architects gather for an urgent meeting. Datapolis has received an alarming report — The Flood has been detected nearby and headed directly for them. Silence fills the room as each member considers the full weight of this ominous message.

Across the Universe Danger Approaches

A celestial mass of the universe’s uncollected and unanalyzed datapoints, The Flood travels from world to world at light speed, overwhelming analytical platforms with waves of information, and destroying all economic and social systems. And no one knows this better than John Scheibmeir. Three years earlier, far from Datapolis, The Flood struck John’s home planet with a fury, nearly destroying every vestige of civilization. In the midst of that catastrophe, John was forced to physically integrate himself into the last remaining platform, to salvage the remains of any evidence his home planet ever existed.

John narrowly survived, and struggled for years to adapt to his new life as part machine and part software. He vowed to find and contain The Flood before it could wreak havoc on another planet. When he got word that it was hurtling towards Datapolis, John, struck with empathy for a world somewhat like his own, set out across the universe to face his arch nemesis once again.

The Flood Brings Datapolis to the Brink of Disaster

Back in Datapolis, the data scientists’ worst nightmares are coming true. The Exchange is battered by wave after wave of data for days on end, and projections show their analytical platforms are on the brink of imminent meltdown. All commerce will soon cease, the economy will come to a halt, and civilization in Datapolis is sure to come to an end.

A New Hero Emerges in Datapolis

John reaches The Exchange engineers with little time to spare, and begins working feverishly to stabilize the platform before it shuts down completely. Data scientists step back in awe, as they witness John’s body spontaneously reacting to their platform; he begins scaling into a magnificent, twelve-foot, amalgamation of circuits, code and intelligence. Momentarily dazed by the bizarre transformation, John stumbles to find his footing as massive streams of data flow through him.

In his new form he sees clearly how to infinitely scale the Exchange platform architecture, and quickly designs an elegant way to capture and contain the waves of data washing over Datapolis. Disaster averted, John stays in Datapolis to help the data scientists study the analytical structure of The Flood. Over time they uncover new and exciting ways to learn from The Flood, and continue to improve The Exchange in ways they never thought possible. For his extraordinary efforts and amazing powers of massive data management, John is bestowed with hero status by Dr. Insight and given the name of MAGNACOMM — the third member of the Heroes of Analytics.