THAT'S MY NEW FAVORITE CAMEL.

In his Matrix, Stephen was one half of his world's most respected and also most codependent (not in a clinical sense... probably...) con artist duo, the eponymous Brothers Bloom. Stephen is a schemer and scrounger by nature, and anyone good at reading people can probably tell. Seeming trustworthy was his brother's job. But he's also friendly and charming and fairly harmless, in the grand scheme of machine wars and life-or-death intrigue, at least 50% more likely to have an ace up his sleeve than a knife.

He's been unplugged for a year, give or take, and once he'd been rehabilitated and the adrenaline wore off, he found himself at loose ends. He helps with the farms just so no one can judge him for failing to contribute, drinks whatever passes for beer around here, and relearned all of the fine motor control required for sleight of hand with obsessive focus. He's been friendly but aimless and secretly miserable, because he misses hats, cigarillos, and his baby brother. Fortunately, BLOOM IS HERE!!! and Stephen will be regaining some of his spark any day now.