Archangel


 * "You do not need to expound upon the sin to emphasize the redemption."
 * — Nathaniel Turner

Nathaniel Turner (born November 13, 1988 Anno Domini) created the character Arelim Seron, as well as Vweeq, the Knights of Piracy, and other characters on Exodus, such as Consecro Nadeus; he has also done some writing in his time (DoroApodeus) - this includes poetry and some songwriting, and he has done some apologetics (Agnellus), and some website programming (once located at ChristianFictionCritique, now replaced because reinventing the wheel is such a pain).

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed herein are entirely that of the author of this biography, Nathaniel Turner, and do not reflect the opinions of the Star Wars: Exodus community as a whole or any other member of that community.

Biography
There is no short version to Nathaniel's biography, but here's the fastest way to describe it: Born Dallas, Texas, lived in three cities in Alabama, lived in North Carolina, some time in Virginia, some time back in Alabama, lived in Cyprus, then St. Petersburg, Russia, then Bangalore, India, then back to Alabama for a short while, then to Singapore, where he currently resides, awaiting graduation of high school so he can move back to the US where he hopes to be attending college at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. (This is the point where the third person writing ends and the first person writing begins for simplicity's sake.)

Birth
I was born in Dallas, Texas, as I've mentioned. I only lived there for nine months before moving away, but my parents had lived there for quite a few years, so they maintained several friends afterwards. As such, I visited Texas quite a bit, and find it considerably more appealing than Alabama is (but don't tell my extended family that!).

Alabama
After my nine months in Dallas, I moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where I spent the next four years of my life. I have very few memories from that time period, most of which are "story-memories", meaning someone has told the story so much that I actually envision it in third person, rather than truly remember it. One such event led to my first set of stitches. I rode my tricycle down the hill towards our backyard, and I crashed, hitting my head against the thorn-covered fence. My brother led me inside, blood running down my back, and he said, "Mom, I think there's a problem." Another story-memory from Tuscaloosa is from nursery. Another kid was very mean, and constantly went around biting other children. I never defended myself because I was taught not to fight, or something like that. Anyway, the nursery staff were concerned and informed my parents, who told me that I should defend myself if such a thing were to happen again. The next day, the nursery staff found me beating this kid over the head ... with his own shoe ... and he never bit anyone again for as long as I was around. I went to a private Christian school for kindergarten.

After those four years, I moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where I spent the next three years. It was there that I met the guy who is, to this day, my best friend - David, his name is. I also met a pair of girls who I became friends with, but - though I've kept in touch - they aren't exactly best friends. I can't really talk to them, you know. My father also got his PhD in Political Science while we were there.

After that, I spent almost a year in Montgomery, Alabama, where my parents decided that they were being called to be missionaries. One thing led to another, and we moved to Wake Forest, North Carolina, where they were to attend seminary. For those four years (Birmingham and Alabama), I homeschooled - kindergarten through third grade.

Missionary Training
I spent almost a year - roughly one school year - in North Carolina. I went to public school for fourth grade, and lived in a duplex (it's supposed to prepare you a little bit for living in less profitable conditions, but it really doesn't). It was in the months of my birthday while living here that I learned of my diabetes. After that, it was up to Virginia, where the missionary learning center (MLC) is.

MLC was a pretty enjoyable eight weeks. I mean, I learned quite a bit, and generally had fun - you lived in a "quad" (a place with four personal areas, including a kitchenette and at least two bedrooms, as well as a shared living area) and there were two playgrounds on campus (they've added more since, but I don't spend much time there anymore - only a week or so every few years ... which has happened once). After MLC, we spent two months waiting back in Birmingham, Alabama, for the time when we were to leave - October, 1998. Dad was to be a researcher on people groups for CASA (Central and Southern Asia), later just Southern Asia as the region was split due to its size.

Cyprus & Russia
We lived in Cyprus for three months or so, mostly in Limassol, with a little time in Larnaca. It was really cool, especially since it was the first foreign country I'd ever been to. The sightseeing was pretty good, especially with places like Cape Greco. Unfortunately, we never made it to the Turkish side, but four months is not as long as it felt like it was. We also spent that time learning Russian from a tutor so we could move into Russia. Because of my diabetes, we could not move into rural Russia, with the other missionaries, so we moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, instead - the alleged gateway to the West.

St. Petersburg, Russia, was undoubtedly my most favorite place to live, though I would not have said so at the time. We had plenty of jokes about the place - "It has two seasons: winter and July," - as well as some comedic "horror stories" about surveillance of non-Russians. On the outside, Russians are as cold as their winters, but once you meet them and befriend them, they're as warm and welcoming as anyone else: every meeting warrants a gift, and every meal warrants chocolates, candies, and several other starters before getting to some really good chow. It was while we lived there that we first visited Singapore, on a training trip for all "first-termers" (that is, missionaries still on their first four-year term). We learned quite a bit of Russian while we were there, and we rented videos from this great place downtown. It introduced me to the big city, to the mass transportation, and appreciating the little things. We left there in mid-2000 and moved to India via the United States.

India
We lived in Bangalore, India, for three years. These are most easily described as the most traumatic three years of my life. First of all, moving from the Arctic Circle to the Tropic of Cancer in a month is a pretty big climate change. Second, the people are incredibly different from anything else you can imagine. For the most part, they're "Yes-men". If you've seen some episodes of The Amazing Race, you might know what I'm talking about. They'll tell you exactly what you want to hear, regardless of the truth. Their driving (and their lives) is based solely on the idea that they are personally more important than anyone else. Their media is based on the same: for instance, I read a news article which described an innovation, where a bus goes around town and picks up students for school to prevent the crowded streets near school zones; this bus could even be painted a different color to differentiate it from the normal city buses! I tell you, I am not making this up.

And that's not all! They are so self-absorbed that they are convinced that they are the most advanced race on the planet. For instance, they invented cloning thousands of years ago, but lost the technology. The same goes for many other technologies which the rest of the world strives for. Yes, these are rampant generalizations, but they're rampant generalizations because they're generally very true!

Don't get me wrong; I'm not racist. I've met Indians who are very intelligent and very normal and sane, but for the most part, they were raised in a non-Indian society - an international school in India, or more often, outside of the Indian subcontinent. This is mainly due to the Indian education system, which is based around rote and memorization, and has no elements whatsoever of innovation.

During this time, we also visited Thailand and Singapore (one or the other) on a regular basis, so we could renew our "Tourist" visas. Thailand was also a destination because of team meetings and AGM's (Annual General Meetings). I dislike Thailand for a number of reasons. First of all, everyone smiles there, all the time. Anyone who smiles that much has to be up to something. Secondly, it's the homosexual capital of the world. Not a good sign. Thirdly, there is a spice used in almost all of their foods which affects blood sugar. Ergo, on nearly every visit to Thailand while living in India (and since), I have had hypoglycemic episodes and have come closer to dying than I like. And I've only had one hypoglycemic episode outside of Thailand.

Back to Alabama
We moved back to the US for six months; Montgomery, Alabama, to be precise. During this time, we also traveled a little bit (to MLC, for instance, basically for a "debriefing" of what we'd done). My brother also started college at St. Olaf's University, in Minnesota. He transferred to Baylor University at the beginning of his junior year.

Singapore
I have spent the last two years in Singapore, which is a city-state off the southern tip of Malaysia. It's clean (or it used to be - it has steadily gotten less clean with an influx of smokers and a reduction of restrictions on gum and smoking), and it has fines for everything - "Eating or Drinking on the MRT (subway), $500", for instance. You could make a Mastercard commercial out of this place. It'd be great. I'm less happy here than I was, even in India, I think, but for a variety of reasons. First of all, with my brother gone, I started off alone. Secondly, my school is filled to the brim with atheists, liberals, Catholics, hypocrites, Hindus, Muslims, and some Buddhists. Basically, no one who shares my worldview ... except maybe the hypocrites, to a small degree. My church is a little better, but there are still some hypocrites which get on my nerves.

Anyway, it was Singapore where I think I developed the most, regardless of what Freud might say. I finally developed a social mind - I'm no longer the hopeless introvert that I once was. I started delving into the musical scene - I listen to several different artists now, though mostly in the same genre (alternative Christian rock). I grew from 5'6" or so to 6'1" (so far!). My voice finally got deep, too. So physically, socially ... I've grown. Mentally, I'm not so sure. The IQ tests claim that I've dropped 20 IQ points in the last 10 years. Who knows?

Education
My education was varied, but it's really not that difficult to explain.

Elementary
"K4", Kindergarten for four-year-olds, was spent at a private Christian school in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where my mother taught computer class. "K5" through 3rd grade was spent homeschooling in Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama. 4th grade was spent at a public school in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

Middle School
5th grade, which I technically consider part of elementary school, but included here for simplicity, through 7th grade was homeschooling, but I practically taught myself. My mother had much less involvement than in K5-3rd, and by 7th grade, she would hand me the syllabus and say, "Finish it by next May." Well, maybe not that cold-turkey, but it was close!

High School
8th grade, which I technically consider part of middle school, but like 5th grade, included here for simplicity, and 9th grade were spent in the Canadian School of India in Bangalore. For this reason, I was planning to transfer to the Canadian School of Singapore, but for reasons I will explain in a moment, did not. The first semester of 10th grade was spent at a public-esque school (it was a magnet school, Loveless Academy Magnet Program, or LAMP), and I rode the school bus! So, for one semester, I was like a normal American child. And I hated it, for the most part. But I survived. After moving to Singapore, I did not attend the Canadian school for one main reason: their International Baccalaureate program was fixed so that only certain students - those intending to become Chinese-speaking businessmen in Asia - would benefit. To that effect, I instead attend(ed) the International School of Singapore, whose IB program was more flexible. I have another semester to get through, but that's mostly studying the last two years' worth of material for my finals. Eeh...

University / College
I intend to attend Baylor University in Waco, Texas, for college, because I want to study both Creative Writing and Theology / Biblical Studies (a double-major, one in Creative Writing, the other in either Theology or Biblical Studies). I figure I'll eventually take both of the latter category anyway, and try for at least one doctorate in the field. After that, I have nothing planned, so it's entirely what God sets up for me between now and then!

Interests
Obviously, I'm interested in Star Wars and Christianity, as well as writing, but I also enjoy poetry, reading, songwriting, music, video gaming (FPS, RPG, MMO, some racing), and movies (sci-fi, fantasy, thriller - NOT "horror", some comedy) ... I could get more specific, but it's really not necessary.

Future Plans
I'm trying to write a book/eBook containing four short stories (one of which I've finished, another is mostly finished, and two need a lot of work). I'm also trying to write an apologetics/devotional eBook with the working title An Open Letter to Christians. I'm thinking I might give that out free with the first book/eBook.