User:Atreides-Athrun

Athrun Arima Atreides is a member of CFC Singles for Christ from the colony of Valles Marineris in Mars. At the age of 13, he ingested a heavy dose of melange, thus rendering his eyes totally blue. This incident, unfortunate as it is, gave him increased dexterity and the ability to fly faster-than-light spaceshps. At present, this 23-year old young man is a pilot, navigating the Philippine flagship BRP Francisco Padilla, a massive Destroyer-class starship that defended the Papal vessel Annunciation VI during the Pope's flight from the forces of Generalissimo Galen Ducat of the Luzvimindan League.

Kid
Athrun was the youngest of the five children of Emilio and Perrine Arima. He was born in the Philippine (Colonial) General Hospital (Southern Ocean). Growing up in the cold, harsh climate of the Philippines, Athrun almost became apathetic to the dire situation of the Colonials.

As a Grade 3 student of the Philippine (Colonial) School situated in Filipinopolis, Athrun qualified to an exchange program with Colonial students in Mars. He had no idea that the exchange program was illegal, as it violated the Philippine-Luzvimindan Concord that prohibited the Colonials from engaging in manned interplanetary flights. Furthermore, the exchange program was actually permanent: the family joins the chosen student to the Red Planet. Thus, Athrun and his parents flew off to Mars, to join other Colonials hiding there.

Youth
The culture on Mars shocked Athrun beyond belief. Years later, he would compare his experience to a "Pilgrim fleeing English persecution to the New World." Whereas the Colonials back on Earth suffered from hunger and hopelessness, the Colonials in Mars, despite assuming different identities, enjoyed an atmosphere of "joy and love," as he described it.

In Mars, Emilio and Perrine decided to assume the surname "Atreides," and Athrun accepted this change of name quite fast. He returned to school and graduated from the elementary level there. It was also in Mars where Emilio and Perrine were first introduced to the Couples for Christ community, and they joined without hesitation.

Emilio and Perrine eventually convinced Athrun to join the CFC Youth for Christ. It was in the YFC Youth Camp, somewhere at the foot of Olympus Mons, where Athrun accidentally tripped and swallowed ancient volcanic rock and sand. This fateful event led to his ingestion of the melange which was bountiful in that area.

Shocked at what happened, Athrun's parents rushed him to the hospital, as Emilio and Perrine saw that their child was becoming delirious and having epileptic seizures. A massive dose of tranquilizers was needed to stabilize him, and it was all that was needed to cure him. However, the accident left him one permanent scar: his pupils were shuttered by impenetrable blue-shaded cataracts possibly made of volcanic crystals. Athrun was traumatized by what had happened to him, and it took him two months before he regained the courage to go out of the hospital again.

Through all of these, Emilio and Perrine kept their faith in God. They became more active in the CFC activities, particularly in all the Martian conferences. This intensified level of service inspired Athrun, since he was such an obedient child and hated being scolded by his parents. Thus, despite much hesitation, Athrun became more active in YFC activities. He was as good as any youth leader could be, the only difference being his thick shades that prevented others from peering into his scarred eyes.

Single
Halfway through his college years, Athrun applied, and successfully passed, the entrance examination of the Valles Marineris Military Academy. The instructors were hesitant to accept him, primarily because of his abnormal eyes, but later on accepted him. This is because the bluish cataracts gave him a weird ability of seeing the future. Whereas normal humans see in real time, Athrun's cataracts enabled him to see what could happen in five minutes' time. He could push himself to see the next 24 hours, although it gives him a headache.

Athrun's ability became useful in piloting spacecraft. The Valles Marineris Space Authority, which was looking for pilots to man its defense fighters, saw him as an invaluable asset, and employed him on a part-time basis as a student-pilot.

While balancing military study and piloting schedules, Athrun managed to attend YFC conferences in Mars. He eventually entered the YFC-SFC Crossover program and became a full-fledged SFC member afterwards. Because of his identity as a Colonial, he could not fully socialize with his military classmates and his superiors at the Space Authority. (Many states, including the Valles Marineris Colony, allow Colonials to reside in their territories, but do not give them civil and political rights.)

It was in the Academy where Athrun met a member of the CFC Intersolar Council, who had assumed the identity of a janitor at the campus. This council member befriended Athrun and updated him on how CFC is helping the Colonials hiding underground within the Luzvimindan League. In one of their conversations, the council member gave Athrun a scroll, and told him to give it to his parents.

The contents of the scroll astonished the Atreides. History textbooks said that the Philippines was "veering away" (from what, nobody knew) and so Galen Ducat led the non-violent campaign that overthrew it and formed the Luzvimindan League. However, the scroll, written by one Kenneth Matibag, alleged Ducat was really a military leader from the future who conspired with Antonio Luna and Pedro Paterno and overthrew the Philippine Republic through civil war.