Opto worked as an assistant controller in the subway of Hamburg-Hannover (on of the few remaining Grand Cities) sometimes up to 12 hours on five days of the week. Because he became discontent with his profession he looked for something that would add some more drive to his existence. Some of the most extreme activities became his hobbies on his days off. But it was a at "U Fly Skul" where he attended a brief training for amateur racing drivers which lead him to drive his first hover-race. And he liked it.
After some amazing successes he left his job and turned professional in driving. He had to try some more years where he couldn't always be as successful as needed and more than once he had spectecular accidents with serious injuries. Then he became part of several minor racing teams where he menaged to get the attention of "United Optics". It was this team that finally helped Opto (with the proper budget I might add) to develop his abilities to the highest level.

Mike was part of a family that had always been into gambling. Some of his relatives owned their own casinos while others travelled around to win their cash all over the planet. He himself was not quite that good a player even though he was very lucky in the beginning of his career. But on one evening he let himself go and lost millions at the Zentro casino in Toronto in a rather short period of time. He was not able to pay back and only because some influential friends of his intervened he was not sold to the "Slavery Corp." but got the possibility to earn the money for his debts in freedom. More or less accidently he worked as a technician at the racing team Zentro owned, when they suddenly needed another racer and picked him. Luckily he not only wasn't mashed on the course but also reached the third rank.
It was then clear that Mike would do better to pay his debt by racing for the team. And although he managed to become "pilot of the year" twice and therefore turned professional, he still has to give all the money he wins to Zentro and will do so for the next 34 years...

 

Phar was born in Egypt and was a mediocre scientist in the field of biometric. His studies always were quite a lot of work and very expensive, his theories were not accepted by most of his colleagues so they never made in into public nor did they get a lot of attention by the corporation. While he was working at a dangerous experiment somehow a bio-active gel caught fire. In only a few seconds the gas destroyed large parts of Phar's face and right half of his body before he could be saved. After he was kept from dying he was thought extremely handicapped. It would have been necessary to repair his body with a number of bio implants just to restore his look and mobility...
Because he couldn't afford that and also was not able to continue his research he was offered a deal by the "Free Scientist Foundation": They were going to sponsor his implants if in exchange he would allow them to "patch" him and make him a racing driver and joined their team. Without hesitating he agreed. After some rather sucessful seasons the mega corporation "PharmTech" acquired the racing team and its exceptional driver Phar Shi-Rah.

 

Every serious Hacker is familiar to the story of Burn-Art Prime. During the years of the "feindlichen Übernahmen" (2039-2045) he worked for many partys, among them the big companies as well as little splinter groups or the growing Hacker-Communities such as the "Finux Interest Group". Shortly after foundation of the "CHAOS Spiritual Group", a church that had evolved mainly from the CCC, he was asked to do some really dangerous and wild hacks for them. It has never become clear to the public what the aim of those hacks should have been. But it is said that a traitor inside the CSG informed CyberCop™, which caught Burn-Art just during one of the hacks. With thrilling reports going through the media and a kind of show-lawsuit he was stylised to a symbol for the "develish" hackerdom, which was also the start of a campaign aimed against every single hacker. Finally he was send to prison for three years. Though behind the curtain it was planned to let him disappear in silence as soon as there was a chance. For this reason Burn-Art was then forced to attend his very first hover race.
Just because of great luck he managed to stay alife somehow and completely against all expectation found a way to get known to the audience. His success combined with subtle publicity by his hacker friends made it impossible for CyberCop to kill him. But after he was released from prison he was obliged to continue to race as long as possible...