In the light, one could mistake Nikolas for Thalion; in shade, he resembles Jacob. What he wears beneath his amorphous black cloak varies from day to day, except for the blue jeans and sneakers.
You just gotta love Nikolas. There the poor guy is, in the 42nd Century or some other far distant time, and the rest of us are mostly historical figures. The Amber line is so convoluted that you can't even call it a tree, but rather as Nikolas affectionately refers to as the "Family Web."
One wonders if once he settled down if Nikolas was happy or disappointed in his grandfather's choice of women, or even if he was ambivalent. You also have to wonder how much he really does know, and how much he is feigning ignorance behind his so-called 'prime directive.' A wise person would bet that Nikolas is interested in more than just the mating habits of his ancestors.
Current Objectives
Nikolas is really just a wild
card at this point. He's willing to watch and observe, and maybe lend
a hand in some inconsequential matters, but he really has his own
agenda at this point in the story. Once he's satisfied that things are
stable, such as the announcement that Jacob and Raven are courting, he's quick to head back
'upclock.' He has a relaxed attitude about the Thousand Years of
Slumber, and the Infection Wars of the Great Game.. as if knowing the
outcome all along.
As far as Jacob might be concerned, you can bet that Nikolas will continue to be watching.. his grandfather's marriage has yet to bear fruit...
| PSYCHE | Amber |
| STRENGTH | Amber |
| ENDURANCE | Amber |
| WARFARE | 10 |
First and foremost, unlike everyone else in the realms of Amber, there is one curious thing about Nikolas.. We only know him by what he tells us about himself. No one else is able to vouch for or discount anything that he says. We must assume that Nikolas is either being truthful or lying.. we have no way of knowing. The only thing we do know for sure is that Nikolas resembles Jacob and Thalion.. everything else is subject to speculation. When it comes right down to it, we don't even know for sure if Nikolas is from the future. Don't you get it? He could be anything.. we only have him for a source of information.
Without getting too paranoid, let us assume that Nikolas is from the future. His motives may be a great deal more convoluted than his confession of simple research.
Take for example his first appearance. Nikolas never explains why he chooses to appear at the Dark Mirror during Darthene's rescue. Awfully convienent isn't it? Especially for a man who claims to be looking for romantic entanglements, and doesn't want to interfere with the present timeline. His assistance with Darthene was a great intereference, and flies in the face of his 'prime directive' that he mentions to Thalion only a short while later. Andelia may stiff-neckedly protest that she was well on her way to healing the Dark Mirror, but there is no proof of that, and the Dark Mirror did not congeal to the Mirror Pattern untill Nikolas lent his strength to it's cause. Perhaps Nikolas had more than a slight interest in Darthene's release like he let on. Also.. Darthene never fully recovers from her confusion till after Nikolas and the rest of the party go seperate ways. Also take note that Jacob almost walked the Mirror Pattern at that time, and would have had Nikolas not 'convienently' provided an alternate means for their joint escape from the Nest of the Guisel Queen with his flying carpet.
The next interesting encounter we have with Nikolas is his speech prior to his disappearance in the Corridor of Doors. He grows very uncomfortable as he asks Raven and Jacob if they are an 'itemization.' He then drops hints regarding Jacob's future doings. However the astute might wonder if a time traveller might not be a whole lot more clever than that, and his accidental slips might have been intended to be heard all along.
Lastly in the assignments of the Great Game, Darthene explains once and for all who is on what side between the Red and White. The only exception is of course Nikolas, who appears to be outside of the parameters of the game. Definitely interesting when you consider that Nikolas definitely appear to take a vested interest in the Game, and Darthene. Also, it's odd that a woman as determined and intelligent as Darthene has no idea who Nikolas is.. after all isn't she the one who masterminded the creation of Meredith as the Guisel Queen.. and still Nikolas is beyond her plots?
Gives you a healthy respect for just what kind of player Nik may be.. Perhaps the Caine of his own future time.
This is definitely more of an intelligent and darker version of our Temporal Grad student. He's so arcane that not even his own grandfather has a clue to what he's up to. From the memory loss and trump of Mordred, to the current situation facing Celia.. or even Kireyas.. We again must take Nikolas at face value. His dire warning of future peril may be his own hand pulling strings from beyond. Nikolas is the 'wild card' in the game that Jacob always wanted to be...
| PSYCHE | 20 |
| STRENGTH | Amber |
| ENDURANCE | 9 |
| WARFARE | 50 |
A bizarre tool from the future, the Omnicron is device capable of measuring and keeping track of time in different dimensions and timelines. It's able to compute relative spatial/temporal coordinates, and extrapolate possible teleport points of designated targets. In other words.. it keeps Nikolas from becoming lost in time and space. It's a time travelers compass and slide rule. Appearing to a large gold pocket watch with a bizarre face, it in reality is sort of a mystical/mechanical computer and quite sentient, if not cantankerous. It knows Amberium's history, and in the wrong hands could be a powerful tool despite it's limited functions.. It was created with Paradox Logic, and it's components fused with Shroudling blood. This is the object that Nikolas looks at when he realizes it is time to return to 'upclock' or when percisely to go 'downclock.'