Once the quintessential gentleman-Scientist of the Sons of Ether with delusions of heroic grandeur, the Professor the coterie once knew is gone, a memory. His reckless jet-pack flight and plasma-projecting carnage is in the past.

And yet, Nathan still walks the earth. Like too many people in Joshua's life, the Professor's body has kept on going in spite of the departure of the Etherboy's soul. In his case, though, the Professor has not become one of the walking dead; instead, something else has taken up residence there.

For reasons as yet unknown, the chantry mages have kept Nathan with them in spite of the unusual change. The Wayfarers don't know the whole story yet, and neither may Morgan and Joshua, for that matter. If the Professor has become something else, he may not survive for long if Joshua ever comes back...