The director general of the World Health Organisation, Marianne Evans has seen it all. South African by birth, and born and raised all over the planet, she was the daughter of successful philanthropists who travelled the world. Her parents were charity workers — and they made it their life’s mission to make the world a better place. Their energy and philosophy transferred to Marianne from a very early age. As soon as she could walk, she was learning about the differences in culture and languages. She learned to speak languages from each corner of the planet — mostly Asia, South America and Africa — and she can still speak them at a conversational level today. Although, she’s fallen out of favour with being a polyglot — she was too often required, and expected, to translate conversations for other people. Throughout her childhood, she never had many friends. Her times in each country/continent were fleeting and would only last a short amount of time, which didn’t provide her with the right tools and opportunities for her to develop long-lasting relationships. This was why, during her teens, and when she finally began to get more settled in one place for a sustained period of time, she found it difficult to distant friendships. She was an outsider for most of it. But she was intelligent. She had a perspective — an outlook — on the world that was unattainable for most people her age, and that made her more resilient to things like bullying and maltreatment. She understood where their anger came from, and she never rose to it. 

That behaviour made her quite popular in school quite quickly. 
 

By the age of twenty, both her parents died in a helicopter crash on their way to a movie premiere that they were starring in. Their careers had changed; no longer were they the conservationists they had worked so hard to become. Instead, they were greedy, and as soon as the biopic movie deals and sponsorships came rolling in, they forgot why they had started in the first place. Marianne didn’t blame them — she loved them too much to blame them for anything — but instead, she blamed their agent. He poisoned their minds and made them fame hungry. Which left Marianne a considerable wealth after they died. She used that money to fund her education at one of the best schools in the world, where she studied science. Cambridge. It wasn’t long before she found herself in the World Health Organisation, working towards a better life for the developing world, raising awareness for the safety and health of the planet, and making millions of lives happier. 

That was her main goal. She wanted people to be happy. And she realised that a happy planet made for happy people. It was just a problem of convincing the rest of the world that she was right and that she was trying to help them — something she quickly learned was difficult to do. 

Marianne wouldn’t change her job for anything. She loves what she does, and she’s happy to be at the top. She’s had some interest from the media and sponsors, but every time she’s refused; she saw what it did to her parents, and she doesn’t want the same to happen to her. She’s happy with the salary she gets — even if it is extremely comfortable — and she even donates some of it to organisations and charities outside of the work that she does. 

In her time at the World Health Organisation, Marianne has worked with many different people. Most importantly, though, she’s worked with Charlie Paxman — a man whom she thought was going to change the world. She trusted and respected him, but he blew that when he tried to make a move on her. He had no right. Even if she did see herself as a mother figure to him, it was unacceptable. 

In a way, she felt sorry for him. He entrusted her with his life’s story. His struggles. His bereavements. He hadn't had an easy life, and he had needed a guiding hand. She was it. But then he had ruined it when he tried to kiss her. 

She was thankful for Benjamin walking in on that day, and she was thankful that Charlie Paxman had been dealt with so quietly and officially; she had her own career to think about, and she could not have his behaviour tarnish it. It would be scandalous, and she was beginning to feel like she was making a change to the world.