Character Information
General Information
Full Name: Dr Ebenezer Bennett
Nickname(s): Eb, Eben, Bennie (he hates that one), Ben-Ben (his mother's name for him, since "ben" is in both his first and last name) Puck, Robin Goodfellow
DOB/Age: June 4th, 1971/37
Species: Human
Nationality: English
Homeworld/Birthplace: Earth/London
Marital Status: single
Known Relatives: Both parents, one grandmother, and a wide assortment of aunts, uncles, and cousins. No siblings.
Occupation/Position: Psychologist
Base Of Operations: Atlantis

Appearance
PB: James Callis
Height: 5'8''
Weight: 140 pnds
Eyes: Green
Hair: Dark brown, wavy, shoulder-length
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Very pronounced cheekbones. Tends to be rough-shaven.

He has a lotus blossom tattoo in an ... interesting location, as well as, and has piercings in his ears, both nipples and *ehem* another place ....

He has a fondness for Celtic and Eastern jewelry, and will often be seen with rings, bracelets, and necklaces, though he's tasteful about it. He takes pride in his sense of style.

Clothing-wise, he will wear sportscoats but not ties, and the top bottons of his shirt will always be undone, with chest-hair peaking out. He tends to prefer somewhat billowing (think swashbuckler) and untucked shirts; vests (not sweater-vests, though! the button-kind); big, comfy jumpers; and jeans or kahkis, or else Eastern-style (silk) clothes. He believes it's entirely possible to be comfortable yet stylish. Polyester is a sin. He prefers sandals or suede flats to hard-leather dress shoes or tennis shoes, and hates socks.

Background Information
Personality:

Laid-back, soothing, wise-seeming, with a wickedly playful (but not mean) sense of humour. When he finds himself in a dangerous position, though, that smooth, cool exterior evaporates; he's a nervous nelly and a cowardly cutlet. He does not deny this fact, but rather embraces it — he says violence is what the military is for, and has no qualms about hiding behind others in a firefight. Even so, he has surprised even himself a few times, and once risked his life in an effort to talk down a crazed gunman. He claims it was simply a matter of his training — calling, even —overriding his fears. Or his common sense, take your pick.

He's always pushing social boundaries, asking "why" things must be the way they are, and flouting tradition. Because of this, he is often accused of being amoral. For example, he sees nothing wrong with dating his patients, particularly if it may help him comfort — or control —them more easily. He'll lie to them or even brainwash them, all in the name of helping them be who they want to be, or what would best benefit society (like making a killer docile) — "The end justifies the means" is arguably his mantra. Even so, he's not keen on killing unless absolutely necessary, believing strongly in redemption — and, more importantly, in his ability to bring about a change of heart in people. To him, each person is a puzzle to be solved -- and he tends to lose interest in them when it is, or not be interested in them in the first place if there's nothing for him to do. (There are exceptions, of course).

Religiously-speaking, he's something of an agnostic: he does wonder now and then as a point of personal curiosity, and he even studies religion, but in the end, mostly that study is about using that knowledge to better understand and help his patients. He doesn't presume to know how God works or if it even exists at all, and is more concerned for the state of mind and body than the elusive soul. He does, however, have a strong interest in Eastern philosophies and religions, as its closely tied to the chiropractic and accu-pressure/puncture aspects of his work. He's very into meditation, and is oft considered very Zen.

He hates labels (doesn't like to be boxed in like that), but he's often called an "omnisexual" — he'd certainly do a (sentient) non-human alien, given the chance.

He uses drugs recreationally, but is one of those lucky personalities who doesn't get addicted (but one of these days may find something in Pegasus that will hook him ...). He's a pleasure-seeker, first and foremost.

His office is slowly becoming full of pillows, curtains, candles, incense, and other meditative trappings. (He made the wind chimes that had McKay in such a tizzy.)

History:

Eb comes from an upper-middle class, normal family — which is why his family often wonders how he turned out so *ab*normal. When he was a small boy, he suffered from horrible nightmares, the details of which he could never remember upon waking. A family friend who was also a psychiatrist used hypnosis to cure him of the dreams, beginning Eb's lifelong fascination with the field, with the power to control how people function and perceive things. Eb views the mind as a super-computer to be programmed and reprogrammed. He is fascinated by how the mind works, and found early on that he has a knack for swaying people to behave how he wants them to; he's a born manipulator. He could have been a politician, save for that he realised that he already had all he really wanted in life, without all the trouble of running for office or the responsibilities of the position. He also found that he was good at helping people be happy, the advice he gave others nearly always leading to a permanently positive end for them — and he found a great deal of personal satisfaction in doing so. Thanks to that experience in his childhood, he became something of an expert in hypnosis, too. So he decided to go into psychiatric study, to indulge his curiosity about the human brain, to help mankind, and to get as many drugs as he could as easily as he could. He quickly lost his licence to practice over the latter, though, as well as for sleeping with his patients. He ran off to the Far East, studying ways to manipulate the body through touch and needle, and practicing where laws were less ... stringent.

He met Chinese Ambassador Shen Xiaoyi at a party, where he helped her with a back problem. Charmed by him, she found herself opening up to him easily. She soon took him on as her private therapist/ accupuncturist/ chiropractor/ sometime lover, and pulled some strings to get his license reinstated. Using his wide array of techniques, he soon learned about the Stargate program and even Atlantis. After several of Heightmeir's replacements didn't work out, Xiaoyi suggested Eb for the job, figuring she would soon be there herself (SGA 5.15, "Remnants") — and thinking that Eb might get her intel that would speed up the process. What she didn't know was that Eb didn't like her much as a person; now that he was in Atlantis, he didn't have any use for her anymore, so he truthfully reported that there was nothing bad about Woolsey to give her.

Having been in the city for about three months (prior to the events of "Remnants"), Eb delights in the new things to be learned about the humans — and aliens — of Pegasus. He already has a number of relationships going with his patients (as such activity doesn't seem to be frowned upon in Atlantis — Keller dates McKay, after all), and even with a few Athosians. He's also already quickly becoming known in the city for throwing the best (read: most hedonistic) parties, including a few more private and intimate gatherings that only the most open-minded individuals are invited to.

He's become fascinated with the notion of Ascension; in his eyes, it's further proof of how the mind — and body, as his studies in accupressue have taught him — is a supercomputer than can be programmed.

((Unbeknownst to him, Eb was sexually abused by the psychiatrist that "helped" him — it was why he needed any helping in the first place. That abuse continued until his pre-teen days, when the man finally died. Part of his story arc will have Eb start remembering his past, thanks to the blaster shot he received from Andra.))

Weapons: A total pacifist, Eb only knows the very basic things that the SGC insisted he know. Oh, and he plays a mean game of darts.
Special Skills/Training/Abilities/Education: Chiropractic medicine/accu-puncture and -pressure/psychiatric medicine/hypnotherapy. Received a PhD in Psychology at the University of Edinburgh and did his postgraduate work at Cambridge.

Medical History
Allergies: none that he knows of (but maybe he will turn out to be allergic to an alien plant?)
Injuries/Illnesses: Nothing major — he stays out of trouble. Wrenched his knee in a skiing accident; it's fine now, save for getting achey when it's rainy.
Mental Health: Some would call it questionable; he would call it quite healthy.
Eyesight: needs glasses
Hearing: fine
ATA Gene: no

mood: contemplative