James/ Dr. Herron

James Henderson/"Dr." Jason Herron (turns out he hasn't yet earned his PhD.)

Born James Henderson to a single mother who then died when he was six.  His father’s identity was never known, and his maternal grandmother, his only living relative, wasn’t mentally stable, so couldn’t take him in.  He and Polly often talk about their experiences growing up.

James was always bitter that he’d gotten such a bad deal in life and that he’d never had what he’d wanted.  His mother was poor, then he lost her, and he was passed from foster home to foster home throughout middle and high school.  Because he kept moving families, he never really made friends.  Always felt like people looked down on him.  Around the age of ten he started going by Jason Herron because he wanted to forget the pain of losing his mother and start again.  He began focusing on his schoolwork and skipped several grade levels in school.  Graduated early.

In college, Herron met Karl O’Connel, who was abused and poor his whole life.  Karl influenced Jason/James for the worse, and they made plans to get rich after their years of being at the bottom of the social ladder and having to work hard to put themselves through college.  As Herron was attending graduate school and earning his Master’s in computer science, they came up with the idea to use the second life game in their plans.  They could create a virus that would prevent people from being able to log off and their minds would be trapped in the game.  Their loved ones would then have to pay a ransom to get Karl and Jason to release them.  At last Jason and Karl would have money to get what they wanted, and they wouldn’t be looked down on.  They began hacking and gathering codes from the game so they could create the virus.  This is when Herron first showed up on the government’s radar.

However, just after Herron earned his Master’s degree at age 22, and as they were finalizing their plans, Karl was shot by a random thief at a convenience store.  It was a senseless crime by a man who probably had no formal education.  This flipped Herron’s world upside down.  His only friend was dead, like everyone else he’d ever cared for.  Herron took some time off from school and work to recuperate.  This is when the government lost track of him.

Herron realized that with all his talents, he was no better than the petty thief who’d killed Karl.  All he was trying to do was get rich in whatever way he could.  He wondered about life after death, and for the first time in years, he thought about his mother.  Where was she now and would she approve of the man he’d become?

Instead of becoming even more bitter, Herron decided he needed to stop feeling sorry for himself and do something worthwhile.  He began hacking and finding codes again to undo what he’d done and make the second life game more secure so no one would be able to do what he’d once planned.

This started a year ago.  Around that time, he went back to work at the university, and created an online identity, James Henderson (his name from years ago) so he could work within the game to fix security glitches.  (This actually works against him in the end of the book because the virus gets activated but the firewalls were only partially created; he had to be inside the game to change the security settings).

He met Polly online a few months ago, along with Angelina soon after (without knowing who they really were, of course).  Immediately liked Polly; felt a connection due to their similar family backgrounds.  She always talked about Grant, though, so he never told her he liked her.

He’s an introvert, but has a sense of humor.  He’s a good listener and doesn’t think of himself much anymore.  Still feels guilt for what he almost did, and his life basically revolves around that.  If he didn’t have to eat he probably wouldn’t work at the university so he could just focus on repairing his misdeed.  He’s nice, though quiet.  Keeps a happy face.

Herron has a scruffy half-beard and messy, unkempt, light brown hair.  Eyes are blue.  Wears glasses.  He wears button-up shirts which are usually half-tucked in because when he’s not at the university, he’s trying to undo his online mistake, and it leads to a frazzled life.  No time to look good.  Often mismatched socks, buttons not done up right on his shirt. 

Online avatar looks clean and neat, the way he used to look when he had time to worry about that.  Avatar is more colorful (as in wears brighter shirts), doesn't have glasses, and he acts more laid back and friendly online.