Codex

Rakib Zaman is an original fictional character.

Background
Rakib Zaman is the eldest of the three Zaman siblings, each of which has developed a mutation. As the first born son of wealthy parents, Rakib spent much of his childhood basking in luxury and adoration. More than a little spoiled, he never really set his sights terribly high for himself, nor did he bother to conjure up any significant aspirations. He put in minimal effort in school, preferring to devote his time to chasing girls and socializing with friends.

And so it came as some surprise one day when a 16 year-old Rakib was called into the principal's office to discuss the results of his latest exam. A visit to the principal's office was nothing new, nor was getting in trouble over a bad test - it was the type of trouble that was unprecedented. Rakib was accused of cheating after scoring a 100% on his history final - a distinct outlier against his the 58% he had scraped together throughout the rest of the year. Demanding solid proof of his academic dishonesty - which his teachers could not provide - Rakib managed to walk away without punishment.

On one level he was insulted - he would never cheat on a test. Why bother risk anything for grades when he could coast happily through life on his family's money? But he was also perplexed, as he had seen the test itself. It really was his writing - he really had aced it. Without studying, or even attending half his classes. He had merely written down whatever had come to mind - and somehow been right on all counts.

And it was no fluke - or at least he was able to do it again. Indeed, any question he could think to ask himself, he automatically knew: obscure historical events, the bizarre latin names of animals he hadn't even known existed until now, the exact lenghts of every river in the world down to the meter; no matter how obscure, he simply seemed to know it intuitively.

In a strange twist of fate he found himself deliberately bombing tests just to keep from arousing suspicion, though he did reward himself with a gradual bump in his grades; just enough to please his parents and irritate Kami, his over-achieving little sister. He was cautious at first, but greed inevitably got the better of him and he was pushing straight As by the end of the next year. Karma struck as his hopeful parents began to steer him toward some of the best and most challenging colleges the world could offer - exactly the sort of aspirations he had always avoided.

Rakib eventually came out to his parents, explaining and even demonstrating his gift. Far from being upset, his parents were thrilled. As strong supporters of mutant rights, the Zamans felt blessed to have a mutant in their family. Rather than subject him to the Hope serum to cure his mutation, they pulled some strings with their political connections in Wakanda to have Rakib join Unity, the last surviving team of young mutants.

Life with Unity turned out to be a mixed bag. Coming out as a mutant had cost Rakib more freedom than he had anticipated, and it meant losing touch with his friends back home. On the other hand, life in Wakanda was new and exciting, and the disproportionately female portion of the mutant population was definitely nothing to complain about.

In the end he decided it would take too much effort to fight his parents' wishes and stuck around. Anole, who was initially opposed to the idea of taking on stray mutants, eventually acquiesced as well, and made Rakib a full team member, granting him the codename "Codex".

Rakib's younger sister Kami eventually developed a mutant ability of her own, and joined her big brother in Unity. A year later, Sami, the youngest Zaman sibling, also presented with a mutation, but was wise enough to run away from home before his parents could put him on a one-way trip to Wakanda.

Powers and Abilities
Rakib is a human mutant, believed to be an Alpha-level mutant. His mind is permanently telepathically connected to every accessible living human mind on the planet, allowing him to access the sum of all human semantic memory. This includes the definitions of all words, knowledge of all recorded facts, and an academic understanding of all concepts, but does not include specific memories beyond that which he has experienced himself, nor does it impart learned skills or abilities. He can recall this information, along with any memories he creates on his own, with completely clarity and is able to intuitively sort fact from misconception.

It has been suggested that Rakib possesses some other latent telepathic abilities, but he has not been able to explore them in the absence of a more skilled telepath and has put in little to no independent effort.

Rakib has had formal instruction in self-defense and is experienced in hand-to-hand combat.