Sam Caldwell

Samuel Ryan Caldwell is the founder and guild leader of the Farmer's Guild in Eden. He was also the head farmer of the Aurorian faction, The Arc, but has since resigned from the faction.

Early Life
Sam was born in Dallas, TX, on June 22, 1975. His father, William Caldwell, was a city distributor for his grandfather's farm out in the rural sideskirts of Dallas. Born into a middle-class family with a long line of farming/agriculture roots, Sam grew up very fond of the countryside and of sci-fi movies.

It was when attending North Dallas High School that Sam fell in love with space and aeronautics. He had always loved the idea of going to space. However, it wasn't until he started high school that he actually made being an astronaut his main goal in life.

College/NASA Training
Graduating as his high school's valedictorian, Sam went on to continue his education at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. He majored in Aerospace Engineering and minored in Biological Science. Although becoming somewhat of an alcoholic during his junior year in college (as he was fighting issues with depression and hi parent's divorce) Sam would continue to stay on the Dean's List and manage to mantain a steady 4.0 GPA.

After obtaining his Bachelor's degree in Engineering and working for NASA after three years, Sam was admitted as one of NASA's astronauts. Special attention was paid to Sam, as he was the top in his training team as an astronaut. While being recognized for his talents, NASA began training Sam privately in an unknown location, under the guidance of the CIA. It is unknown what exactly this training and testing included, but in one of his letters home (after being "compromised" for confidentiality and discretion) he had told his dad that he was "next in line for something big. [Sam was] proud to be serving his country in this way". After completing this training, which spanned out for six years, Sam was also now an official agent of the CIA.

"Operation: Manifest"/Arrival in Aurora
On February 10, 2011, Sam was invited by NASA to be part of the one man mission that had been in planning for over eight years. According to an intercepted report from NASA, a distant planet had been spotted with "what appears to be an atmosphere suitable for sustaining life and the presence of bodies of water", with an oddly shaped comet in the planet's orbit which "emits a high enough frequency to be picked up by [NASA's] radars that is fast enough to travel in the direction of Earth and be heard within minutes". The unidentified comet, after being examined by a specially designed shuttle, was best described as "[being] completely still, showing no signs of acceleration, yet soaring though orbit at speeds faster than any comet ever documented. The large mass of rock ... being covered with tall, black pillars". NASA had designed the mission to investigate the unidentified planet from a safe distance in a specially designed ship, and also to record more of the frequencies given off from the unidentified comet. The mission's name was Operation: Manifest.

The mission's launch date was set to July 1, 2011. Sam was the only man on board of the USG Freedom as according to the mission. At 12;30 PM, EST, the USG Freedom was launched and phase one of Operation: Manifest was completed. Roughy two hours after launch, however, the USG Freedom stopped giving off signal. There is no known cause of said technical difficulties, although Sam theorizes he may know what caused the USG Freedom to fail after launch. At 7:34 PM, EST, July 2, 2011, the USG Freedom was declared as "terminated" and Sam Caldwell was pronounced dead.

According to a personal interview with Sam Caldwell, he does not remember anything after the initial three hours from launch. He does not recall the USG Freedom every having any problem with delivering signal. "I remember seeing something show up on [the USG Freedom]'s radar that had close to zero mass, but an impossibly strong gravitational pull. I now believe that whatever I ran into was a black hole, and now ... here I am". Sam is unsure of where he is, or if Operation: Manifest is still ongoing. In his words, "I don't even have a guess as to what happened .. for all I know I could be in a completely different dimension or something".

Current Life
Sam currently lives in Eden, a small farming town he founded himself, and with the help of other members built to the name it upholds today. Giving up his life of technology and combat-training, Sam has reverted back to his family's roots in livestock-rearing and agriculture. Based on these principles is the guild Sam leads, known as The Farming Guild. It is resided in Eden, and shares Eden's policies and commitments. One of Eden's main policies is its policy of neutrality -- derived from Sam's personal decision to commit to simplicity.

Also founded by Sam in Eden is the Church to the God of Nature. Members of The Farming Guild and citizens of Eden alike can congregate in this place of holiness to thank the earth for their prosperity, and to ask the "God of Nature" for continued wealth and plentiful harvests.

Sam Caldwell is the adoptive father of Endara Sotashia. The two can often be found in Eden, and are known for their healthy father-and-daughter relationship keeping the two individuals at ease and content. In an interview with Sam Caldwell, he says "[I] feel like Eden is actually my home now. I'm not just a guild leader, or the mayor of a town. I have somewhat of a small family here now. That is what makes me feel more accepting of this new life of mine."

It is reported that Sam's recent issues of PTSD and schizophrenia have completely healed.