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The Pleasantview Press
Obituary
MORTIMER GOTH, Mayor of Pleasantview, tragically passes away from virus exposure
While you're mourning, read his biography:
Born in the Old Country to Gunther Goth, CEO of the Goth Corporation, and Cornelia Goth (née Crumplebottom), a skilled painter. The aristocratic family moved to SimCity and founded the town of Sunset Valley, where Mortimer grew up. Like all Goths, he showed great signs of intelligence and creativity, even from an early age. He took an interest in reading and painting, as well as making friends with Michael and Bella Bachelor.
By accounts, Mortimer was a somewhat pampered and moody child, but he still showed immense enthusiasm towards his role of assuming the Goth fortune. However, his father made it clear that he would need a private education at Smugsworth Preparatory boarding school in order to be worthy of inheritance, and he wouldn't be allowed in unless he started focusing on getting good grades. Smugsworth would only permit A+ students, and Mortimer had been getting B's and lower for all his childhood.
Determined that his son enter Smugsworth (just as he had done and his father before that and his father before that), Gunther become more disciplinarian towards Mortimer, causing him to lose much of his creative interests, but Mortimer finally got an A+, and he was allowed into Smugsworth, and barely a teenager.
After settling into his new lodging at Smugsworth, Mortimer began dating Bella Bachelor, and he would often sneak out of the dormitory at night to see her. Gunther was displeased when he found out about this activity, and cut off his son's trust fund, meaning that Mortimer had no financial backing from the family.
After graduating from Smugsworth, Mortimer moved to Neighbourhood One, so he could be away from his parents in Old Town. He was infuriated at his father for pulling out his financing. As a retaliation, Mortimer took up acting. Acting was one of the creative hobbies Mortimer pursued as a child - which Gunther considered silly. However, now that a split had formed between father and son, Mortimer had returned to his old way of life, reading, studying insects and other activities his father would despise.
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| Mortimer Goth, early years. Memorial Painting by Darren Dreamer |
Mortimer became depressed as he sought new employment, until he acquired a job at Sim State Kinetics Lab as a participant in human subject research. This was the job that would set him on a brand new path in life - the scientific field.
As a human research subject for SSKL, Mortimer was used to test human resistance to various measures of wind. But through time, he started working small odd jobs around the laboratory, cleaning cages and fixing equipment during graveyard shifts. It is believed that the humiliation, along with the stressful hours, drastically altered his personality.
In time, Mortimer became a full fledged researcher, collaborating with the team on their projects. Mortimer traveled many places across the world with the team, and was often stationed underground, or other inhospitable places. He soon grew homesick, and sorely missed Bella, and after gathering up enough money to feel secure, he returned to Smugsworth Prep, not as a student, but to teach science class. After landing this new job, Mortimer felt secure enough to ask Bella's hand in engagement.
Mortimer's teaching career was short, as he quickly returned to SSKL to become project leader. During his time in the office, he sought to make a breakthrough on weather control, which culminated in him creating the Weathernaught 57X, a machine that allowed the alteration or continuation of weather behavior. Strangely, Mortimer never patented the device, but this would mark the beginning of his career as an inventor.
Mortimer produced a series of great inventions, including the SimVac, a vacuum which allowed a person's knowledge to be transferred to another; the ReNuYuSenso Orb, a dangerous device which completely altered one's personality; and his most famous of all, the Elixir of Life, which significantly reversed the aging process. None of these inventions were patented by Mr. Goth.
The long hours Mortimer spent alone in the laboratory conducting these experiments caused much alienation between him and his fiancee, Bella, but the marriage continued, and a wedding was held at his home on Neighborhood One. Not to long after, Bella gave birth to Mortimer's daughter, Cassandra.
Mortimer was named Chairman of the Science Department at Sim State University, and he was given a large sum of money to embark on a top-secret government project, the contents of which remains unknown to this day.
After Bella became pregnant with Mortimer's second child, he began helping around the house more, as his position had allowed him to spend more time at home. He tried cooking a pork chop dinner for the family, but it burned, setting the kitchen on fire, and eventually the whole house. The family was forced to move to 165 Sim Lane, Pleasantview.
By now, Mortimer was a celebrity in the scientific world, and the family had become so financially secure around this point, that Mortimer's work consisted of little more than publishing theses; science books and selling essays to scientific journals. He also made money from lectures, as he was a sought after figure in Universities and Laboratories.
Around this time, Mortimer started paying very close attention to his children, including his new son, Alex. The family situation at this point was a rather happy one, until Bella Goth mysteriously disappeared. Mortimer stumbled into a deep depression, and Cassandra began dating Don Lothario, which only frustrated Mortimer, who had begun showing signs of superstition and paranoia. Both his parents had died recently in fires, and he felt something was trying to hurt him. He came to believe that Don Lothario was trying to steal Mortimer's fortune by marrying Cassandra.
After discovering proof that it had been Don that had kidnapped Bella, Mortimer leaked the news, and the town of Pleasantview turned against Don, who was driven to commit suicide out of guilt or fear.
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| Mortimer, later years. Memorial painting by Darren Dreamer |
Mortimer had been sick for quite some time due tot he exposure to the viruses he had been creating, and he had not long to live. It was believed that the stress of being without an heir was the only thing keeping him alive, but after a healthy Dedra Goth was born, Mortimer felt secure enough to pass away peacefully in his home, leaving behind a family; a fortune and a legacy that everyone in the town will remember.
A funeral will not be held, as the Grim Reaper has personally taken possession of Mortimer's body, and claims he will give it the 'moste stringent and superfluous guardianship'.
This week will be Mourn For Mort Week, and anyone laughing for this whole week will be removed from the town. Mortimer's full 965 page biography, 'Mortimer: Mankind's Finest' will be available at all good bookstores. If your bookstore doesn't have it, it isn't a good bookstore.
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