Gareth Spence

Gareth Spence is another false identity of Luther Jerome Dawson, aka Griffith

Due to the fall-out from the doomed Project Snipe, Dawson's "Griffith" identity became unusable outside of PPB worlds, stations, and areas of influence, due to the risk of him being identified and tracked by Triple-S, the Sovereign's Security Service. Having acquired a large amount of the Gamma fraternity's business assets after the killing of Darian Corvalis, Fathom the head of "White," the PPB's spy network, decided that the PPB needed broader influence on the public consciousness than the broadcast networks of PPB worlds could give them, over the limited benefits of preaching to the converted, or at least to a captive audience.

A darknet broadcaster known simply as Gamma was to be repurposed as a legitimate broadcaster, and would be in need of a head of operations. Fathom informed Griffith that this would be the basis of his new public persona, which he would leave him to craft an identity for however he saw fit.

While Griffith was preparing his backstory and new image, Fathom was spreading rumours about the mysterious new owner of the network as it was moved towards respectability. Some of the rumours included him being a pirate who had made his stake, got a new identity and gone legit. Of being a notorious Goffa criminal who had escaped the Goffa province, and even a rumour that it was Darian Corvalis himself who had left the world of organised crime with a new identity. These were but a few of the lies spread to avoid any link to the PPB, White, Fathom, or Griffith. Fathom's plan was to have all of the rumours and theories about Spence be far more interesting and enticing than the truth.

The new identity of Gareth Spence was a long way from the look and personality of Griffith. Warm, witty, persuasive, with a youthful vigour, and a return to the natural blonde hair colour of Luther Dawson, albeit with an elaborate moustache rather than the nautical beard he'd sported as he'd climbed the ranks during his naval career.

While the Griffith persona was retained for domestic and internal PPB use, the Spence persona allowed him great freedom of movement around the protectorate, and access to echelons and people in the Sovereign's sphere of influence that were previously impossible for him to meet and know.