Birthplace: Unknown Age: Unknown First appearance: Wasteland #1
Little is known about Michael, which is not unusual for men in his line of work. Michael is a “Ruin Runner”, “Corpse Cleaner” or “Waste Walker”, depending on whom you ask. He'd tell you he's none of those things; he's a trader, a businessman.
Most people would just call him a scavenger.
Michael travels the wasteland, finding and trading in whatever he can salvage. Even this long after the Big Wet, there's still plenty of stuff out in the desert, remnants of the world before, much of it just lying around for the taking.
As a general rule, ruin runners are loners. They're surly, antisocial - some would say misanthropic - and very, very selfish. All qualities needed to survive alone in the wasteland.
These same qualities make ruin runners pretty unpopular with people who choose to live in towns, cities and communities. But those same people are normally unwilling to venture out into the desert themselves, so people like Michael are a necessary evil.
What sets Michael apart from the average ruin runner is his strange abilities, which even he can't explain. That, and his fading memory. Michael doesn't know his own last name, he can't remember his parents, and he has no idea how old he is. Go back far enough and it all just becomes a blur.
But when he found that talking machine in the Sand-Eaters' camp, Michael set a chain of events in motion that will change him - and the world around him - forever.
