Herff Nettlewhite

Herff Nettlewhite claims to be the Messiah, chosen by God to continue the work of the Ark. A lot of the people in the Ark follow him blindly with the upmost faith, but a few individuals, especially others in the government, think that he might have gone a slight bit crazy. Born in 2242, a lifetime of lucky breaks gave him a distorted view on reality, and some say it's time for a reality check

Origins
Born in 2242 in Vault 13, just before the Enclave invasion, The Enclave spared he and his mother's life. His mother eventually sneaked away with her infant son East. His mother happened upon a conveneience store that was covered by a landslide, but was able to open the door. They lived inside for 8 years, using mostly the resources inside. (this is assumed to be an exageration, figuring a simple convenience store would not have 8 years worth of food)

When Herff was 9, he and his mother continued west, traveling for one more year, until his mother was killed by a Yao guai, but innexplicably spared himself. He then found a very caring family in Virginia who looked after him in his mother's absense. Again, it was a lucky break to have been found by such a family. They told him bedtime stories of a wonderfull oasis called the Ark. A promised land of green trees and fresh running watter foretold by God himself. The family, with misguided christian values, instilled in his head that God loved him very much. He took that to mean that he was destined to live in the Ark as well.

When Herff was 17, the home he lived with burnt down, and the entire family was killed except for him. He then followed the stories he was told and continued north to the Ark. When he was 18, he found it, and claimed to be sent by God. Inside, he won the hearts of the people. All except, of course, President Pontii. But as luck would have it, Pressident Pontii was found dead not too long after Herff entered the Ark. Some believed it to be God's intervention, and overwhelmingly voted him as Pressident.

Presidency
When he was 19, he allowed an deserter, Warren Jones, to return into the Ark. Some talked amongst themselves how this was breaking long standing traditioin and unspoken rules, but Herff's charisma and persuasion won out. At when Herff was 24, he performed his first "Miracle". He said that many of the people had become weary in their faith to him, and that only the faithful would survive. When an outbreak of some sort of disease started to ravage the ark, they all flocked to worship him. On that day, a passing caravan trader died, holding hordes of medical supplies.

Within the next 30 years, he would continue to lead the Ark like a cult. No one had any objections to this, as he brought great prosperity with no visible issues to society. However, nearing the end of his life, some believe that Herff has become corrupt. He has started to become increassingly vain and demanding. His 'visions' no longer make any sense, or have seemingly no religioius value. Most people don't mind his aging mind, but a few seek to replace him

Behind the Scenes
Herff Nettlewhite is a portmanteau: of Marshall Herff Applewhitea and Bonnie Lu Nettles; co-leaders of a group which would later become the Heaven's Gate group. Marshall was a self-proclaimed prophet and messiah, he died in the group's mass suicide of 1997.

Herff's nickname "Tido" is also a portmanteau of the nicknames of the same two. "Do" and "Ti" to make "Tido"