I thought that since Diligence was the focus of the first book, he should also be the first character who had his bio printed up here for everyone.
Diligence (male, diametrically opposed to Sloth)
Diligence is an unstoppable force when he is fully focused on something. He appears as a well-groomed, if old-fashioned, man of roughly 30-years in age and quite physically fit and capable. His hair is dark and parted on the right side with the majority combed to the left. He maintains short sideburns but no other facial hair as he deems it not diligent work to maintain it. He wears a silk three-piece suit in a 1950’s style which he made himself from silk he cultivated from silk worms. His shoes are self-made patent leather loafers, he shines them daily. He is often seen wearing a hat, usually a fedora, again, hand made by him.
The story of how the shirt, pants,vest and jacket were made is imbued with enough of him to motivate a normal Human into decades of hard, diligent and focused work, example, Steve Jobs. His appearance is one of a business man from the 1950s or 60s. All Diligence needs to do is be asked about it and he will begin reciting the whole story without end.
He rarely ever sleeps and is able to do amazing things that defy the laws of physics, for example swim across the Pacific ocean (as seen in Chapter 1 of Do Diligence).
There are ways to stop Diligence which are revealed in the first book.
First Appearance: Do Diligence – Chapter I
Excerpt:
Diligence had been just taking quick tour of the world, as he often did, to make sure that all was running at optimal efficiency. The Humans, however, were having nothing to do with it and would never push past 80% on their best day ever.
‘They are a finicky, fractured creature,’ Diligence thought as he walked down Wisconsin Avenue, ‘always torn between a wide range of emotions and desires almost all of which generally get in the way of their productivity.’
He pondered this as he stopped to peer into the FedEx Office windows, his mere presence boosting the productivity of the people within. Any that met his gaze, for he was very much a physical creature himself, would instantly have a plethora of thoughts on how to better achieve something, would have the ambition to go do it, and usually, accomplish it before a full day had passed. After all, he was the physical avatar of good, hard work unfettered by all other desires and facets of Humanity, staring into his eyes was almost like glimpsing a brief corner of the blueprint for the universe, the Human universe because, after all, that is where Diligence had been born.
Author’s note: The Wisconsin Avenue in question is in the heart of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, my hometown. The FedEx Office in question is on the corner of Wisconsin and Water. The year is 2011 in this scene and is the opening scene of the book after the prologue.
The reference to the Human universe is because the prologue mentions Ley, the other universe in the books.
On the Title: Do Diligence
The title of the book is a play on words. Due diligence is the common phrase but for the book it is changed to Do Diligence because someone is out to get Diligence and do him in, or do him harm.