Editing Crucible:Subzero (section)

== Background ==

Viktor Serevin was born in the Soviet Union and rose to prominence as a gifted engineer and thermal systems specialist during the final decades of the Cold War. He worked extensively on cryogenic preservation, arctic military survival technology, and experimental low-temperature energy systems intended for use in extreme environments.

Unlike many ideological Soviet scientists, Serevin was pragmatic above all else. He cared little for politics and devoted himself almost entirely to engineering.

Following the collapse of the Soviet bloc, Serevin found himself recruited into a series of increasingly secretive research programs funded by rogue military interests, private weapons firms, and criminal syndicates seeking advanced cryogenic technologies.

His downfall came during an experiment involving an unstable quantum refrigeration reactor.

The reactor catastrophically failed.

The facility was annihilated in a thermal inversion event that flash-froze several square miles of surrounding territory. Hundreds died instantly.

Serevin survived.

Barely.