HISTORY

Miguel Sanchez was born in Guadalajara, Mexico on 1 March 2098. His mother was a diplomat for the Mexican government. He spent much of his childhood traveling the world, where he met a variety of people from all lifestyles. He also acquired facility in a number of languages (besides his native Spanish), including English, German, and Japanese.

Sanchez learned other important lessons from his early days as well. He watched his mother interact with significant figures in world governments and saw how she used words to say one thing and mean another. It would be unfair to say that Sanchez learned to lie from his mother. More accurately, he learned to “speak diplomatically.” He soon realized that diplomacy isn't so much about what one says as about how one says it. This revelation impressed him greatly and he kept it at the forefront of his mind.

In time, Sanchez went attended a variety of universities throughout the world. He finally completed his studies with a degree in psychology. He briefly contemplated going into to academia to pursue this interest further, but he instead opted for the business world. One of the other lessons his mother had inadvertently taught him was that governments are not the only - or the most important - players on the stage of human affairs. As events had shown repeatedly, corporations had as much influence as some governments, maybe more. Sanchez determined that he wanted to be part of that world.

GigaCorp hired Miguel Sanchez in 2124 to work in its public relations division. He enjoyed the work and the company of his co-workers. In fact, they enjoyed his presence very much. Sanchez quickly discovered that those around him appreciated his easy-going manner and friendliness. They were great assets in his line of work and he learned to use them effectively.

Over time, others learned to harness his talents as well. Sanchez had been hired by GigaCorp to draft press releases and promotional literature for the corporation. He proved to be quite good at these tasks, but manner attracted a great deal more attention. Several executives commented on the “suitability of his face” and the “the every man quality of his looks.” It was only a matter of time before Sanchez was no longer drafting press releases, but delivering them.

Sanchez became “the public face of GigaCorp.” His superiors in Public Relations considered his youthful appearance and amiable nature a great asset. Polling data suggested that all key demographic groups considered Sanchez “trustworthy.” They found his voice soothing and his mannerisms reassuring. Even when reading statements about GigaCorp raids on Crimson Group facilities (as he did in 2127), the public found it easy to believe that “this was an act of self-defense on the part of GigaCorp.”

Miguel Sanchez enjoyed his work and took great pleasure in his high approval ratings. The board of directors was also satisfied with his work, seeing in him a solution to their previously poor public image. His newfound celebrity surprised Sanchez. On some his travels, he found himself swamped with admirers and fans. He had never anticipated that he would become so well known - or so well loved. Sanchez became the subject of a lot of press speculation regarding his supposed romantic liaisons with numerous holovideo stars and celebrities. Few of them were true (much to the disappointment of Sanchez himself), but they did keep his profile high and his poll rating positive.

Because of his importance to GigaCorp, Sanchez began to move in some very elite circles within the company. He sat in on board meetings and attended high profile gatherings of all sorts. He became an intimate of many of the most important people in the business. Like everyone else, they trusted Sanchez and viewed him as reliable. Consequently, they began to tell him things - things he would never have known otherwise.

Living as he did in the rose colored world of public relations, Sanchez had never really given much thought to the true stories behind the press releases he read almost daily. His conversations with some of GigaCorp's most important executives and security agents showed him an entirely different side to the business world. At first, Sanchez simply refused to believe that these stories could be true. He realized, of course, that businesses sometimes do dubious things in order to get ahead. He accepted that, as he had learned it from his time observing his mother. Yet, he still found it hard to believe that his employer could be responsible for acts of wanton destruction, murder, and terrorism.

The destruction of Earth finally opened his eyes. When this disaster struck, GigaCorp did not marshal its vast resources to help its grief-stricken victims. Instead, the company saw it as simply another “unforeseen opportunity.” As the survivors of Earth suffered, GigaCorp did little except offer up more platitudinous press releases that Sanchez read every day.

By 2143, Sanchez could take no more. He was unwilling to allow GigaCorp to continue profiting at the expense of humanity. He considered resigning his position in protest. After all, he reasoned, as a beloved personality, his resignation would carry some weight. Perhaps it might wake people up to the threat GigaCorp represented. Unfortunately, Sanchez concluded that resigning would make no difference in the end. GigaCorp would find another public face, one just as adept at manipulating public opinion. If he were going to make a difference, he would have to consider another course of action.

Later that year, he contacted some of his friends in the news media and pitched an idea to them. As a trusted insider, he had access to a lot of information unknown to the public. This information would be potentially damaging to GigaCorp and its goals. He hoped that his contacts might have the means to make this information available to the public in a way that would not incriminate him. Working together, this secret group contacted other “commando journalists” and enlisted their aid. By October of 2143, they had established the means to transmit the information Sanchez provided throughout the solar system. DataNet was born.

At the present time, Miguel Sanchez remains the public face of GigaCorp. He continues to feed news stories to DataNet when he is able, but he is not a member of their team of “commandos.” He prefers to have little to do with the day to day operations of the underground news organization. Moreover, he is more effective as a source for DataNet rather than as an actual member of its company. Sanchez has also begun to worry that Colonel Markham is on to him. Consequently, he has provided less information to DataNet of late than he has in the past, but he intends to resume once he is certain of his own security.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Miguel Sanchez is a middle-aged Hispanic man with graying black hair. One is struck immediately by the “ordinariness” of Sanchez's appearance. He is not really a handsome man, but he is pleasant to the eyes, in an unthreatening, conventional manner (all of which has helped him become a trusted and well-liked public figure). One feels at ease in his presence, as if there were something about his thoroughly unremarkable appearance that screamed out “honesty.”

Unlike many other members of GigaCorp's hierarchy, he smiles regularly and appears quite approachable. Indeed, the man has worked hard to establish himself as “reasonable” and willing to listen to the concerns of his anyone, whether they be a journalist or a person on the street. When speaking in his unaccented voice, Sanchez leans in toward his the person he is addressing. When in more intimate situation (that is, not at press conferences), he often will touch his interlocutors on the shoulder or grasp their hand. Sanchez is quite adept at using his body language to convey that “he cares.” While it unnerves many members of GigaCorp's board of directors, they nevertheless approve of its usefulness wholeheartedly.

Sanchez is in decent shape for a man of his age. His physical fitness is not exceptional, but it is good enough for him to play baseball with his colleagues from time to time. Sanchez is always nicely dressed in non-descript clothing of high quality. One would not describe him as excessively fastidious, but he does take care of his physical presentation. After all, his entire career depends on looking good. To that end, his hair is always combed and his clothing is always well maintained. At the same time, he is not so obsessed with his appearance that he would ever fail to appear at an urgent press conference unannounced. It's this case of intuitive ease that makes him such an effective spokesperson for GigaCorp.