Personality: Quiet, stand-offish, but generally well-spoken; Mark comes off as nervous, nearly always tense. However, he tries to be a very kind person, often over-shooting it. By never wanting to be a bother to others, he misses opportunities for friendship, bonding, etc. Despite his timidness, Mark is actually very opinionated, loves debating, and having spirited conversations about politics, literature, and art. Though when it comes down to it, he folds almost immediately when faced with conflict.
Mark struggles with motivation. Never perceiving himself as "doing enough", whether that be for society, himself or whoever else. Despite trying to remain an optimist, he feels easily disenfranchised, like hes been deprived of choice. Hes very willing to take responsibility for every little thing gone wrong in his life, and instead of empowering him, he often blames himself for every little thing. He is prone to depressive episodes, and neuroticism.
On a more positive note, Mark is a very intelligent person. An avid reader, he spends most of his free-time indulged in hobbies such as writing poetry, programming, playing his bass guitar and collecting nautical maps. He is also a very kind person at heart. Even if he believes he doesnt do enough, he is very empathetic, helpful and humble. Just dont tell him that. He cant take a compliment.

Backstory: Born in 1964, Mark had a less-than-ideal childhood. His parents were not 'friendly' with each other, the only real thing the two had in common being their conservatism. Mark's father was very old-school masculine, chock full of anger issues and not in the slightest bit gentle to either Mark or his mother. His mother was soft-spoken, afraid of conflict, much like Mark himself. However, the two were never that close.
Through-out public school, Mark was pushed (by his parents) into constant extra-curricular programmes. Hockey, lacrosse, track and field, any sports team the school offered. Most notably, in high school, where he was a part of the school's hockey team; before slipping and cracking his head open on the ice, resulting in a nasty scar on his forehead and an expulsion from the team. Following this, his parents agreed to let him participate in the school band, where he met Garrett. The two formed a proto-punk band together, with 15 year old Mark as bassist. The two were very close through-out high school, Garrett being the one responsible for Mark's passion for politics, leftism, and increased interest in punk music.
Graduating from high school, Mark began going to university for biochemistry; with the hope of going to medical school. This ended up being a very difficult time for Mark, as with Garrett having moved away to pursue an arts degree, Mark was left on his own. He often used his high school friend as a crutch for socialisation, having not developed well on his own; resulting in a very isolated, anxious post-secondary. This came to a head during his first year in medical school, where following his parents divorce and subsequent death of his father, Mark began having depressive and paranoid episodes so great he was forced to drop-out.
Feeling lost, anchorless, Mark follows his passion for politics and joins a socialist collective that had recently formed in his city. There, he becomes a pamphleteer, spending his time either sitting at street corners or working as a grocery store-clerk to get by. Through this, he meets James, a photography student and weirdo hipster, who introduces Mark to the world of technology and computers. From there, Mark becomes obsessed with programming, and in particular, how it could be used politically. So, emboldened by the perceived anonymity, Mark creates a virus, with the hope of targeting [INSERT SHITTY ORGANIZATION HERE]. However, his plan backfires, and Mark becomes the first person to ever create a computer-born, human infecting virus. And becomes the first one to be infected by one.