Cast
Alex
Alex is Elise's niece, and wields a Fallax's Eye of her own. Rather than helping her seek power, however, Alex's Eye makes her prone to fits of sporadic, uncontrollable rage and fear; the way her Eye mutated when she inherited it from Elise exacerbated its effects on her emotions and psychological stability. Of course, she knows none of this--her parents, fearing Elise's intentions with her, completely sheltered her from knowledge of her aunt or the Eye itself. In her teen years she became a shy violist with few friends and underdeveloped social skills, and was exceptionally easy to manipulate. She spent her young adult life being quiet and polite on the outside, while undergoing violent, rageful outbursts in private. One has to wonder what would happen if she were able to control that kind of power.
Max
Max, since age 10, was raised under Elise with classic carrot-and-stick methods of abuse. Neurodivergent and traumatized (as Elise would put it, 'very well behaved'), he learned to never speak unless spoken to, keep his back straight and hands still to his sides, and never say the wrong thing. It was an effective method of survival, until he was separated from the Family and sent back to his mother and father, who expected a very different boy than the one they were met with. Despite their quiet, gentle pleas for him to act like 'himself' again, there was no going back. Max is convinced that the Family is the only place he'll ever be accepted, and ever told the truth.
Natalie
Natalie dislikes most people. She's often too exhausted to muster any kindness, patience or compassion for others, and picks on who she likes to blow off steam. This clashes with the environment of most societal institutions, since she doesn't wield enough power to get away with her brutishness. Natalie did the math on that and decided the easy solution was to secede from society altogether; she lives alone in a thick woods, outside civilization, outside time and space itself, and functions on the purest hedonistic beliefs. She has no qualms with stealing, evading or killing--as long as she gets what she wants and doesn't find anyone standing it her way, she's harmless.
Hector
Hector is seen as a 'case' in his neighborhood; those who know him are never cruel, but take pity on him, which is almost worse in his opinion. He suffers from visual, auditory and occasionally tactile hallucinations that are frightening and overwhelming, and a wavering sense of paranoia that has managed to disconnect him from most people. The only person he truly feels he can trust is his younger brother, Lee, though it's balanced out plenty by Hector's own shame about being a useless older brother. Lee refuses to let Hector believe that about himself, though one day, when Hector accidentally has a hand in a poor kid's death, Lee can't muster his usual consolations. That one failure rips them apart. Hector now has no one he can trust; just as well, as now he only needs to focus on keeping himself alive.
Elise
Elise has ruined a lot of lives. a personable cult leader who has made several public appearances to assuage concerns about the safety of her 'unique' school. Elise is incredibly good at telling people what they want to hear (or in some cases, what they don't) in order to maintain control. that skill aside, a little help from her Fallax's Eye goes a long way: a mutative gland in her brain that grants her supernatural ability of persuasion. she doesn't prefer to rely on it, however, finding the good old fashioned methods of manipulation and indoctrination much purer and more rewarding. members of her evangelical Family refer to her as their Elder, a name she much prefers to Elise. she has a habit of renaming things and people to her liking, whether they want it or not.
Anki
Anki, known to some as That Thing, or Mr. Grime, is a demon about as old as earth itself. he likes playing tricks and getting under people's skin; literally. he tends to take humanoid form and uses other people's bodies as his canvas, sometimes going as far as to mutilate them to steal their appearance for himself. it's troublesome to be walking around looking identical to someone else. that's what happened to Hector, a man Anki had kept an eye on since he was around 8 years old. one unfortunate slip and Hector's face was gone. Anki quite enjoys his new look.
Main Story
(as spoiler-light as possible)
It starts with a young woman named Alex, her strained relationship with her high school bully Natalie and the repressed memories of that time that begin to surface when she can no longer hide from them.
We then see the plight of Max, a prodigal son of sorts on a mission to reunite with his family, and Hector, a paranoid hermit whose sense of security is rattled by Max’s overbearing presence and insistence on friendship.
The two separate stories unite as we learn about both Alex’s and Max’s families, the unnerving ties that bind them both, and the ripple effect of a certain shared mother.
Catalyst is, at its core, about the relationship to one’s self, one’s family, and one’s history; about how much of your life is decided for you before you even get to live it, and whether it’s possible to break from the decisions made by those before you. On another level, it is about the capacity for harm we all have and the culpability for harm (or lack thereof) that is projected onto each of us. You may shirk that responsibility and guilt, or confront it.
The Fallax's Eye
Fallax's Eye is a heritable power which, in its basic form, allows the owner to easily psychologically manipulate others, and with extreme concentration even control their bodies. It presents in the body as an extra eye-shaped gland in the brain wedged behind the frontal lobe. It is prone to rapid mutation when passed down genetically, and does not always present in those who carry the gene, making the trait seem to "skip around" between generations and relatives. The Eye can have visible effects on the strength and activity in other areas of the brain such as the hippocampus and amygdala; these effects are not always consistent from person to person and can even present oppositely. In its mutated form, the Eye's power, when not controlled properly, can expand to physically altering the owner's body, surrounding environment, and performing metaphysical feats. "Fallax's Eye", the official name for the trait, refers to its dangerous and deceptive power, used most effectively when having one look the owner directly in their eyes. Not much is known about the Eye in the scientific world.
The Family
[old-ish Elise age ref; old-er sketch of Elise with unwilling babies Alex and Max]
As a young adult, Elise has gotten a hold of her mutative power and sparsely uses it to her advantage, since using it excessively drains her energy to the point of passing out. She believes she is evolutionarily superior to most humans due to this gift, what she begins to call her "Beatific Eye" which was divinely granted to her. This is when she begins building her militant cult of children called “the Family,” which she claims and believes is meant to unite the “children of God” ("God" being more destiny rather than a concrete figure) under her wing to begin a new world. She calls herself the Elder and prides herself on being a divine figure gifted with the Eye by God. After wondering whether there was anybody else with this gift out there, she learns of the birth of her brother's child, a baby girl who seems to have inherited her genetic mutation. Elise instantly grows jealous of the couple, especially when Bert is apprehensive to even let Elise around the child, and claims her as her true daughter. Elise's new mission is to officially bring Alex into the Family as her divine daughter, the object of worship and the vehicle for more Eyes for the Family.
[Mutagen trailer frames: Family hall, Family prisoner]
Elise's Family poses as a religious corrective/aid school for underprivileged or abandoned children. There, they are abused and groomed into vigilant, dedicated disciples of Elise's cause. The cult holds much disdain for the modern world, maintaining a dress and behavioral code akin to quaker society. The Family dresses in all white. Insubordination, disagreement, frivolities, or questioning of any kind is given no toleration. Punishment is harsh and frequent, many times being dealt out in a group fashion.
Each member of the cult (the usual child is taken in around 9 to 10 years old) is given a new name by Elise personally, usually indicative of some sort of object or concept. This is the most individuality any member is given. Despite the brainwashing, harsh abuse and extremist cult environment, Elise's "school" did not fall under suspicion in the public eye for many years due to her ability to maintain a strong, strict but philanthropic public image, posturing the school to any curious local media as a noble mission to help troubled and underprivileged youth become upstanding members of society.