General Barker

Vital Statistics

First Appearance: To Thine Own Self...: Chapter One (December 18, 2005)

Full Name: Jason Barker

Known Aliases: General Barker; "Nega-Fooker"; something similar to "Fooker" but with the "same consonants, different vowels"

Status: Deceased

Species: Human

Gender: Male

Height: 6' (182.88 cm)

Weight: 250 lb (113.40 kg)

Hair: Blond

Distinguishing Characteristics: Shaved head; glasses; goatee; heavily muscular

Marital Status: Unknown, assumed single

Character Description

General Jason Barker is the alternate universe counterpart of Jason Barker, aka Fooker. He is physically identical to Fooker in every way, except that he has shaved his head, grown out his goatee, and buffed up to Schwarzenegger proportions. At the beginning of the events of To Thine Own Self..., Barker is the general of all military forces of the "negaverse" under the ruthless, totalitarian dictatorship of Emperor Nicholas the Puissant.

General Barker is sadistic, duplicitous, and wickedly cruel. He runs his military with razor-like efficiency, tolerating no sloth or excuse. He cares little for those under his command, except perhaps with a detached air of one managing generalized expendable resources. He is also arrogant to a fault; in one instance, he stepped out into the middle of a firefight, guns down, to take on our Fooker, knowing his opponents would not open fire on an unarmed man.

According to the tale relayed by Trudy's alternate self and later appended by the General himself, his history started out similar to our favorite übergeek but with significant changes. It was his father who died when he and his brother were young and his mother who abandoned them, the opposite of our universe. Barker supposedly then raised his sibling single-handedly, taking responsibility for him. (Note that this part of the narrative could be false, as the General relayed it while trying to convince our Justin not to shoot him.) At some point, Barker was recruited by the U.G.A., just as in our universe, and eventually sponsored his brother to join as well.

Eventually, Barker came into the employ of GPF Software while continuing to work undercover for the U.G.A. It was here that he became aware of the machinations of the alternate version of Nick Wellington, who had secretly conquered the world by hacking the world's financial markets. The U.G.A. assigned Barker to shadow Wellington and take him out if necessary. Wellington, however, befriended Barker enough to learn that the agent could be bought at the right price, and soon Barker was on the fledgling emperor's payroll. Through Barker's influence, the entire U.G.A. eventually became corrupted, serving as Wellington's shadow army. Through a combination of economic maneuvering and the U.G.A.'s paramilitary might, Wellington, Barker, and Ki Oshiro ultimately gained political control as well as economic. In a bid to secure their power, Barker used his alien contacts (he had be abducted by aliens similar to how his counterpart in our universe had) to finish subjugating the Earth, ultimately enslaving the Grey Aliens as well.

During the raid by C.R.U.D.E. and our heroes to free Nick from the Emperor's control, Fooker and the General fought each other one-on-one, eventually ending in a draw. At this point, the two Barkers ran into Justin, Dexter, and Dex's alternate in the reactor room of the Emperor's palace. In the resulting fight between the Imperials and the rebels, Fooker ordered Justin to shoot and kill the General, at which Justin hesitated. The General attempted to convince Justin not to kill him, perhaps appealing to the younger Barker by saying he could be the loving brother Justin never had, living up to the responsibilities of being an older brother. In response, Justin shot him, claiming "You aren't my brother. He was never responsible." The General's body tumbled over the railing of the catwalk, striking a primary distribution node and resulting in the chain reaction that ultimately destroyed the Emperor's palace.

Selected Milestones

To Thine Own Self...:

Relationships

Justin Barker, Fooker's younger brother (deceased in his universe)

Group Affiliations

GPF Software (alternate version): Former employee
Undisclosed Government Agency: Former field agent (Agent #6)
The Empire of Emperor Nicholas the Puissant: General of All Armies and the Secret Police