The Scalpel Man

Name (Known to Few): Marcus Vellum
Alias (Whispered on the Streets): The Scalpel Man
Confirmed Victims: 7
Suspected Victims: 12–20
Modus Operandi: Precise surgical evisceration, organs removed without visible damage to surrounding tissue. No signs of struggle. Victims always found laid out with ceremonial care, stitched closed postmortem.
Target Profile: Primarily low-level Scribes, Enclave sympathizers, and unauthorized Awakened or Others passing as human.

Origins and Identity

Marcus Vellum was once a medic-in-training, a quiet prodigy tutored under the Church’s watchful eye and trained in the New Medical Library. He memorized the fragments of TL4 medical texts that survived—learning the precise ways a body could be opened, mended, or dismantled. But somewhere along the line, his obsession with perfection overtook his empathy. He came to believe that humanity could only be reborn if it was purged of weakness and impurity—a surgical reformation of the species.

Some believe his trauma stemmed from a failed attempt to cure an infected child. Others say he discovered texts from pre-Fall eugenicists or transhuman extremists. Most simply assume he broke under the pressure of expectations and isolation. Whatever the case, he vanished from his post, and soon after, the killings began.

Beliefs and Symbolism

The Scalpel Man sees himself not as a murderer, but as a purifier. Each victim is chosen carefully—someone he views as corrupting the fragile dream of humanity’s rebirth. He often leaves behind etched bone fragments or vials of carefully preserved tissue with strange numerals or surgical codes. The stitching of his victims is meticulous, resembling textbook-perfect suture diagrams. He works with tools from the Time Before—TL3 scalpels, dermal glue, surgical lasers kept hidden, stolen, or bartered through the Solstice black markets.

Response and Consequences

The Town Watch has failed to catch him, though a few detectives have grown obsessed with the case. Some even suggest he once was a Watch medic, deep undercover. His ability to strike without leaving evidence has eroded trust in both the Watch and the Doctors. Meanwhile, the Church of Hope denounces his crimes while subtly using his actions to reinforce their warnings against deviation and impurity.

The Scalpel Man’s continued freedom challenges Camp Hope’s illusion of stability. He is both a ghost story and a reckoning—a brutal reminder that even within the walls, humanity’s old madness endures.