Crewman Recruit Harold Sanford

Dr. Harold Sanford

Rank: Crewman recruit
Position: Astrophysicist
Player: Pip

Appearance

Species: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 48
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Height: 6'2"

Harold is tall and skinny. He keeps his curly hair fairly short, as it has a tendency to go a bit mad otherwise. He's in good physical shape, although it's clearly a result of healthy living and not a great deal of gym time - he rarely gets out of the lab, and looks like it. On-duty, he generally wears a lab coat over his uniform, because he doesn't feel quite at home without it and it gives him a place to stash styluses and small objects; off-duty, he prefers collared shirts and a selection of improbable bow ties.

Personality

Harold is very cheerful, and very curious. He is at his happiest when up to his ears in data to analyse - in fact he can get quite intensely excited when things are going well, and has a tendency to wander around the lab grinning and exclaiming "Marvelous!" and "Delightful!" to no-one. He isn't loud or aggressive, but he loves to talk with people and is an excellent listener, even though he will frequently break off in the middle of sentences if particularly struck by a train of thought that must be noted down and/or pursued at that very moment. Trying to have an actual conversation with Harold can sometimes be challenging. His major Achilles heel is that he's rather scattered, far too busy with the glorious task of Science to remember little things like where he's left his coffee mug, or what the security code is for the lab door, or whether he's had lunch. Still, he's genuinely grateful to be reminded that he put his PADD in his coat pocket not five minutes ago, and never snaps at anyone for it. The only thing that will ever make Harold deeply angry is people or events getting in the way of Science, either by mislaying, misinterpreting, or falsifying facts to suit their own conclusions. Facts are facts and must be accepted regardless of whether they agree with one's prior theories.

History

Harold is the second of four children born to Dr. Peter Sanford, a noted Federation xenoarchaeologist, and Dr. Ruth Allerton, professor of physics at Earth's Cambridge University. He was raised on Earth, excelled at maths and sciences, and followed his mother into physics, obtaining his Ph.D. in Astrophysics at the age of 24. His older sister June, as well as his younger brothers Martin and Samuel, all became academics of various stripes; Harold and Martin have co-authored several well-regarded papers. He also maintains a hobbyist's interest in archaeology, and keeps in close touch with June, who is a Starfleet xenoarchaeologist working on a survey ship in the Alpha Quadrant. (Samuel, the black sheep, is a Literature professor.)

Harold's great passion in life is research. Having spent all his life in labs, he began to feel that the Alpha Quadrant was perhaps too thoroughly documented to really provide brave new worlds. Unfortunately, he quickly discovered that the only positions available outside the Alpha Quadrant were strictly Fleet, and not open to civilians because of the danger factor. Harold had never fancied himself a military man, but the call of Science was simply too strong; at 47, he enlisted in Starfleet, with his sister's encouragement. He found a posting aboard a starbase to begin with, but was merely biding his time until a suitable position came up. The Tribulation is his first shipboard posting.

When he can tear himself away from research and scientific journals, Harold enjoys reading speculative fiction and is a keen artist. He has never married or had any serious long-term relationships, but he is very close to his family and keeps in regular touch with all of them, especially his beloved niece Coraline (Samuel's daughter), whom he is hoping to encourage into the family profession.

Family

Father: Dr. Peter Sanford
Mother: Dr. Ruth Allerton
Siblings: June Sanford, Martin Sanford, Samuel Sanford Niece: Coraline Sanford