Peter Howard

Peter Howard was a doctor with the Terminus Disease Research Center (DRC). In 1988, he announced a break-through in the treatment of AIDS and HIV. That breakthrough was HIVI (HIV inhibitor), which had proven quite effective in sim infected with HIV. His announcement set off a firestorm in the Federated Commonwealths, and reignited the debate regarding the use sims in medical research.

In the wake of the announcement, things became decidedly chaotic for Howard. A group of "sim justice" protesters were arrested in Philadelphia. Jospeh Tanaka, an aid of Censor Jennings, investigated the DRC, determining to his satisfaction that the sims were being treated relatively well. And finally, a sim named Matt was "freed" by a group of sim-justice activists. Matt had shown substantial improvement while on the HIVI, and had become something of a poster child for both sides of the argument. After some months, Matt was returned, as the activists had not taken enough HIVI.

Howard continued his work. While he was not unsympathetic to the sims, he felt that human beings were more important, and the AIDS epidemic was too deadly a threat.