Ascendant was the humble humanity in an inhuman world. So was Tre Chipman.
I never really played on the Virtue server, the home to Ascendant. I had a one serious character there, which I had neglected years before. A week before the Unity Rally I created a character there, Save City of Heroes. I vowed to keep that character at the steps with torch in hand 24x7 until the game closed or save, except to of the occasional mission to take the character to 50th lvl, for luck. I also allowed the kids to use my account, from time to time. Other than that I had a dedicated computer in my office on my desk, a comforting windows into Paragon city with the birds chirping away, and the soft sound of NPC footsteps, broken only by the occasional power sound effect. Ascendant and I chatted now and again. He, and everyone else, made the vigil on the steps something special. He always had a kind word, and apologized for not being able to have a character on the steps full time.
We teamed a few times, and then chatted again on the finally day, and exchanged email addresses.
Beyond that I did not know him. But he was something special. Because he created a human hero. All the primary heroes of the game were the kind that grit their teeth and faced death, etc. All that super drama and other such stuff. He had a character who had to face LIFE! And he made it seem like a battle. He character a character WITH character, and mainly because(if you talked to him), Tre was a character. He was the organic hero of the game. He was the star of the game. Sure, a dev can create a iconic character, and they are great, but Tre created an iconic character of the game, not for the game. That's about as common as being struck by lightening while winning every lottery in the world at the same time.
Ascendant was not some god which walked among man, he was a man who could walk among the god and remain a man, very much a reflection of Tre I would imagine.
Hardly knew him, I guess. I was looking forward to seeing him back in the game one day. I hope he will be with us in spirit when we do get back. And I hope we can see a statue of him on the phone.