Ames White

The Breeding Cult

Legend has it that a group of white fur traders kidnapped a young girl from the Kiloma tribe and forced her to have a child for them. The father was a fourteen year old boy, but he was described as being over six feet tall. The baby was stillborn and terribly deformed. The girl was forced to have another child, nevertheless. The fur traders were not satisfied until the third child was born. They took the baby and killed the mother. And thus were Dark Angel’s viewers introduced to the mythology of the Breeding Cult during Proof of Purchase.

The cultists, under RCF Demolition & Disposal were digging up the Kiloma burial ground (which originated from the early 1800s). There was a skeleton and a symbol on the wall similar to Manticore’s logo (the cult’s symbol was a “sort of caduceus. You know--the wand carried by Hermes, messenger of the gods. [...] The Greeks adapted it from a more ancient Babylonian symbol representing fertility” (Love Among the Runes)]. Similar sites were found among a Mesopotamian burial chamber, 5000 B.C.; in an Andean tomb in Atacama, Chile, 2000 B.C.; Second-century Etruscan catacombs; Seventh-century Northumbrian Celtics and so on (Medium is the Message).

The cult’s breeding program produced people with exceptional abilities--similar to those of Manticore’s transgenics. Max revealed that “they fought differently. They’re not transgenics [...]. I couldn’t hurt them--how strange is that?” (Medium is the Message). Indeed, the cultists were trained not to give into pain. Ames White states that ”Pain is a phantom of the mind” (Medium is the Message) and a Familiar says, ”Is that supposed to hurt? I don’t feel pain. How about you?” (Harbor Lights). Beyond their high pain tolerance and strength (White was able to snap Annie’s neck in Dawg Day Afternoon), some cultists were also bred for specific talents. Samuel, the young cultist in Exposure was telekinetic--probably part of “some kind of special breeding line.” The episode Freak Nation also introduced the Phalanx, the very best that the cult had to offer.

The cult’s children, taken from their non-cult mothers, and placed at a private school, Brookridge, in the town of Willoughby. While there, the children underwent a ceremony meant to prove themselves. If they survived their exposure to the snake venom, they were shown to be strong. Ray Olsen White, Ames White’s son, revealed that all cultists needed to be strong “for the Coming.” While not sure what the Coming was, Ray had been told that “it’s bad if you’re not one of us” (Exposure).

Sandeman

Sandeman--”Father” to Joshua--was the link between the breeding cult and Manticore. He was a member of the cult, but left it due to his son CJ. Sandeman knew that CJ would not survive the ceremony and did not want his son to die. As CJ explained, his father was a scientist. He wanted to change things with science and technology, but the other cultists countered with thousands of years of tradition and called Sandeman’s ideas heresy (Love Among the Runes).

Sandeman sat up and ran Manticore until the government took over. He made the transgenics immune to the venom the cultists used.

Ames White

Ames White was first introduced in Bag ‘Em as an agent sent to retrieve and terminate the escaped transgenics. As he put it: “let’s just say that I’ve been sent to wipe out all evidence that Manticore ever existed” (Proof of Purchase). White was disdainful of all the transgens he encountered. “Transgenic scum. You think those geeks with their chemistry sets and their gene banks and their greasy little paws are the future?” (Medium is the Message). He leaked information to the press about the transgenics and in doing so, helped fuel the general populations hysteria and fear.

White was married to Wendy Olson and had a son named Ray (the wife and child went by Wendy’s maiden name--but, in Exposure, Wendy refers to herself as Wendy White). The family was new to Seattle and had lost their first two children at childbirth (Medium is the Message). White had attended law school (Harbor Lights).

Ray was taken by cultists wearing I.D. badges for RCF Environmental Cleanup and Disposal. Wendy believed Ray to have been kidnapped, while White knew that Ray had been taken to complete his training. Max and Logan told Wendy that White was hunting transgenics (at that point, they believed a transgen had taken Ray in order to get to White). She didn’t believe them: “Genetic engineering? Government cover-up? I mean, even if any of this was true, Ames has nothing to do with it.” However, White came home and pulled a gun on Max in front of Wendy. “You’ve known all along, haven’t you? You knew that these--these transgenics took our son. You never told me?” (Medium is the Message).

Later in the episode, Wendy learned the truth about Ray’s ‘kidnapping.’ White admitted to staging the entire thing. When Wendy demanded that he return her son. “He’s not your son anymore,” White responded. White and his fellow cultists got away with Ray, who wished that “she would understand.” White agreed, but insisted that “it had to be this way. It’s time for you to be with other people like us” (Medium is the Message).

White continuously told Wendy how much he loved her even while hurting her. When she found out about the cult, White told her that: “You were chosen for me. It’s the early ones who did the smart thing and they. . . they got rid of the breeding host right away. But I made one mistake--I fell in love with you.” Nonetheless, White discarded his wedding ring the moment he Ray left. Again, he says, “I loved you, Wendy. You were chosen for me. But you should’ve forgotten about him [Ray] . . . and you should’ve forgotten about me,” before he strangled her with his tie (Exposure).

White demonstrated fatherly concern towards Ray. He was worried about Ray during the ceremony when the priestess noted that “He’s weak. I’d be surprised if he survives.” White responded: “Ray. . . He’s my only son.” Max managed to get Ray away from the cultists and Logan arranged for Wendy’s sister to take him and get as far away as possible (Exposure). For the rest of the season, White was shown as determined to get Ray back.

At the end of the season, it was revealed that White was Sandeman’s son and C.J.’s older brother. He had renamed himself, “White, as if unsullied, free of my father’s betrayal and shame” (Love Among the Runes).

C.J.

CJ was Sandeman’s son and White’s younger brother. He escaped from a Familiar-run mental institution. He was hiding at “Advanced Recombinant Genetics” (the company his father founded after loosing Manticore to the government). He had a pet snake named George.

CJ ended his one and only episode back at the mental institution from which he had escaped. He appeared in Love Among the Runes.

Familiar: Nurse Elizabeth (“Betty”) Blanchard

Betty was a nurse at Harbor Lights hospital. She was activated (“I could never refuse a Familiar”) when Max was brought into the hospital. Betty attempted to kill Max, but was flung through a window. She fell six stories and survived.

She appeared in the episode Harbor Lights.

Familiar: Samuel

Samuel was a telekinetic, probably part of “some kind of special breeding line.” He was winning a fight against Max, but was still young enough to be impressed when she flashed him.

Samuel appeared in Exposure.

Senator James McKinley