Although Jette’s parents were both involved in Cartor’s government, her attention gravitated to the realm of science. Her most treasured childhood memories involved paying visits to Cartor’s neighbouring islands, which acted as sanctuaries for threatened species of birds. She spent many nights camping among the birdsong with her grandfather, enthusiastically monitoring the behaviour of the local birds.

On one trip, the island was hit with a terrible storm and Jette was washed out to sea. As she fought to stay above the waves, she wished deeply that she could be one of the seagulls floating overhead, away from the whirling torrent. Strangely enough, she soon found herself soaring through the storm, watching her own body wash onto the beach. And once the dangerous storm subsided, she woke up on the beach with her grandfather, completely safe from harm. It seemed that swapping places with the bird has kept her alive for stupid pseudoscientific reasons.

At first, she dismissed the experience as a strange dream—until it happened again, but this time to someone else. Once she learned to control her Esper abilities, she could save others from death by forcing their consciousness into the body of a nearby bird. She called this the BIRDBRAIN technique, but she suspected it existed in other Espers who had different fixations.

Jette eventually turned from studying birds to studying human beings and entered the field of behavioural psychology. She became especially interested in subjects whose psychological behaviour could physically impact the world around them—i.e. Espers. She conducted numerous studies, all ethical, and published her findings to modest recognition. Around this time she also started a family with another scientist, giving birth to a son named Ash. The two formed a close bond, with Jette repeatedly taking him to the bird sanctuaries she’d grown up in.

While Ash developed a similar interest in biology, his dreams would be cut short after tensions in Cartor exploded into full on revolt. Ash showed considerable promise, so he was employed producing chemical weapons at a government facility. He didn’t enjoy the work, but he wasn’t exactly given a choice in the matter. Once information about what the facility was manufacturing came out, the site became a target of the rebels. One group eventually staged an assault that caused a massive chemical explosion, killing Ash and many others.

Jette was one of the first on the scene. While she watched body after body get taken in stretchers from the smoking facility, becoming convinced that her son would not leave alive, a soot-covered fledgeling mockingbird flew from the rubble and perched near her. For whatever reason, it didn’t seem interested in leaving. She took the bird in her care, convinced that Ash was still inside and unable to leave due to his body’s destruction in the blast—though for all she knew it was just a random bird. Either way, she named it Ash in his honour.

Jette’s son’s death launched her down a dark path. She blamed the rebels for the explosion and for further destruction to her home and resolved to do whatever she could to crush them. She switched gears from behavioural psychology to psychological warfare and founded a team of scientists to turn Espers into weapons. This ultimately culminated in the Nonary Games, a series of experiments to strengthen and control the Witch, a particularly powerful Esper. She’s the reason you are all here playing the Nonary+ Game!

[Crow was the Director, aka Zero, leader of the Scientists. She was also the Jailer/Jailkeeper.]