The Phantom Trader

The Phantom Trader is a mysterious NPC Agents can meet in the Wilderness after being hacked out of AERIE. He is the only way to return to the AERIE once being hacked.

The Trader has not been in the virtual world in years, instead interacting with it from a distance through his tamed white raven, "Goose", as he heads PHANTOM's efforts to rebuild the old world.

In-Game
More of a survivalist and a handyman than a tech guy, the Trader contributes his own set of skills to PHANTOM. In almost militaristic fashion, he 'enlists' newcomers to the Wilderness (hacked Agents) to help the rebuilding effort, setting them on the task of collecting parts.

In return for the parts, the Trader will allow the player to give credits to whomever they wish in the AERIE through his white raven, Goose. If some parts are ionized he will help convert the power into charge for the player's HoloDev, should they so choose to return to AERIE.

Personality
The Trader is intimidating at first (and he enjoys promoting this image.) However, underneath that gruff exterior he's actually a bit of a dad, retaining his old humor and heart despite being more hardened now. He's also man who recognizes good people - AER or no - and will put in everything for his goal to give good people a livable real world again.

Of course, the Trader still disparages the luxurious lifestyle of AERIE, and is known to mercilessly tease Agents who are working for him after they've gotten past the hard shell to get to the softer stuff beneath. Nevertheless, he is known to be patient with all when they first arrive, explaining the goals of PHANTOM and the hard facts of their stay in the Wilderness while only imploring they keep an open mind, whichever goal they choose to serve.

He is awfully fond of Goose, his white raven, who can bring credits to other Agents and Hackers still in the AERIE.

History
The Trader, real name Philip Tsomething (PT), was born towards the end of the world falling apart. Like his late parents, he never gave up his hope that enough people working towards Rebuilding could make the real world livable again.

No stranger to pain, Philip watched many of his family members leave for the luxurious AERIE while he stuck to his resolve to stay behind. He is convinced that his work contributing to PHANTOM and the Rebuilding could make the world a better place for his family to return to.

Regardless, it was frustrating to watch them and other relations abandon communal efforts to reconstruct the city's infrastructure in exchange for a false digital world. He worked tirelessly within the underground community that would soon become PHANTOM to shake people out of their illusory livelihoods and ground them back in reality, which he believes is not yet past saving.