William's father Tuomas Talvinen was born Tuomas Peltonen in South Karelia, Finland in 1979. He moved to Helsinki at a young age, but visited his hometown of Rautj%C3%A4rvi every summer, at this insistence of his mother Kirsikka Häyhä. His grandfather Alvar taught to hunt, shoot, fish, and generally survive in the wild--skills his more cosmopolitan father cared little about. Alvar had learned those same skills from his uncle, Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4, who Tuomas had a few chances to meet.

Tuomas attended the Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki, earning a degree in Information Technology, and soon began a lucrative career, ultimately finding his "dream job" with SPB Software in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was there, in 2006, when he met William's mother Kylikki Tuisku met in St. Petersburg in 2006.

At the time, Kylikki (Kylli for short) was attending St. Petersburg State University, studying Environmental Science. She was born in a remote village in the Republic of Karelia, and was increasingly concerned with the exploitation of her homeland's natural resources--she hoped to research alternative energy sources and sustainable harvesting practices.

The two met at a cafe in the city, and hit it off immediately. She was unaccustomed to the big city, and he was eager to help guide her. Moreover, though they both spoke Russian, he spoke English and she did not; she hoped to learn, and in return, teach him Karelian, her native tongue. In their exchange, he learned much of Karelian culture, and realized that they shared a common heritage, far older than the nations of Finland and Russia.

They married in 2010 in St. Petersburg, in a small, nondenominational ceremony. Velhelmi (William) was born later that year.

In 2011, Tuomas came into a comfortable sum when SPB was bought out by Yandex; having received equity in the company as part of his compensation, he was entitled to quite a few rubles--the equivalent of a few million USD, enough to settle down. They did just that.

The two moved to Kylikki's hometown in Kalevalski and built a dream home (for a steal). Tuomas continued work on a few computing projects remotely, while Kylikki raised their son. They became actively involved in local politics, petitioning the Russian government to change laws and regulations that were allowing private corporations carte blanche to strip their land of resources without any accountability to the damage they were causing. Though they were entirely peaceful and legal in their campaign, Putin's government did not appreciate the stir they were causing.

At first, their troubles were legal in nature. The Russian government called Tuomas' citizenship into question; when he battled them in court, it was ruled that he was not going to be deported...but if he left Russia, he would not be allowed back in. This meant he could not visit his family in Finland, especially since their own efforts to visit were blocked by a neverending array of "glitches in the system" and "regulatory changes". This only ignited his passion.

Wilhelm's parents began corresponding with less savory movements, including the infamous Pussy Riot, in an effort to form a unified front of activism against the increasingly tyrannical Russian government. A few times, one or the other was brought up on charges, but nothing the government could get to stick...at first.

While all this was happening, William was blissfully ignorant. His parents were loving and attentive, and his environment was as safe and supportive as any child could hope for. There were other children his age in the village, and he would while the endless summer days away amidst the meadows, forests, and lakes.

That would all change in 2015.

Black Gold

In April of 2015, when William was 4 years old, prospectors discovered significant shale oil reserves beneath the lands of the village. A government-sponsored energy company began scouting the area, and decided it was worth the investment...the construction would begin by the end of the year.

His parents were furious. They mounted a massive campaign, first with local government, then in a class-action suit. The suit stalled, and the markers of federal interference were everywhere. With no other choice to save Kalevalski from an environmental catastrophe, Tuomas triggered his last resort.

For years, he had been working on a program named "Jormungandr". It was a masterpiece of Artificial Intelligence, a "smart worm", spreading silently from one machine to the next, seeking its true target: protected servers in corporate and government datacenters that might contain classified information embarrassing to the regime. He didn't bother attacking along known routes--the wired internet is far too well-secured. Instead, the worm crawls through wireless connections, the innumerable, ubiquitous, nonsecured side channels of cell phones, cars, and "smart" devices of every kind. Government employees carried his virus right past firewalls...in their pockets.

Over the years, he had gleaned some terribly interesting--and interestingly terrifying--things about the Russian government. He had secrets which could bury them, including proof of assassinations (attempted and otherwise) domestic and abroad, illegal wiretapping and spying programs on Russian citizens, and collusion with terrorist organizations in the war-torn middle east.

On a December night in 2015, the Russian president received a text message: "The long night begins. Free Karelia or else!" along with a data dump of some of the more damning information, and a notice of just how many news organizations would get the delivery if his Dead Man's Switch were to go silent.

Unfortunately for him, Vladimir Putin is not so easily intimidated.

The Cell

On the morning of December 23rd, 2015, government agents stormed Tuomas' house and subdued his family. All three were taken to an undisclosed location. Tuomas found himself in a concrete cell with a blank TV screen, secured in a chair. After he awoke, the door opened, and in walked the President himself.

He didn't say anything at first; he just beat him mercilessly for minutes on end, expertly applying as much harm and pain as possible without killing him or knocking him unconscious. When the introductions were over, he turned on the screen, revealing Tuomas' wife and child in another cell. Another image popped up, a series of photographs of a Siberian work camp; he lingered for a while on images of women, ragged and bruised, working through the long night.

The threat was clear. Tuomas realized he had underestimated the man's tenacity and the effectiveness of his agents.