Haydee Muse Licorice Diamond Love Hampden

Archetype: Innocent Child

The resourceful street urchin who finds her way in a harsh world

Haydee Muse Licorice Diamond Love Hampden subverts the innocent child archetype by demonstrating remarkable resourcefulness, business acumen, and survival skills despite her young age and difficult circumstances. Her story reveals the harsh realities of life in Red sector while highlighting how even the most vulnerable can carve out their own path.

Basic Information

• Full Name: Haydee Muse Licorice Diamond Love Hampden (named by parents who couldn't agree on a single name)
• Occupation: Street vendor (fried baby mice)
• Status: Deceased (killed by Nacho, a Sinner gang member)
• Age: 7-10 during her stories

Physical Description

• Small for her age, skinny and underdeveloped
• Short, brown, messy hair
• Brown eyes
• Mocha skin, often smudged with dirt
• Typically dressed in second-hand clothes that she had outgrown

Story Appearances

• Ganger: The little girl killed by Nacho at the beginning of the story, whose death affects Angel deeply
• Urchin: Protagonist; a young girl who escapes her abusive home to live in the sewers and starts a business selling fried baby mice
• Cleaner: Mentioned as the girl Daisuki cared for who was killed by a Sinner
• Hero: Mentioned as the previous occupant of the underground bunker where Daisuki and Hana hide
• Daughter: Mentioned as the source of a trillion Benjamin payment to Quick Rich

Connections

• Daisuki Yamamoto: Fatherly figure who helped her develop her business and cared for her
• Tommy Rico: AI construct who appears as a young boy in a tuxedo; guides and protects her
• Maggie & Rick Hampden: Parents; abusive and neglectful
• Nacho: Sinner gang member who killed her
• Benjiro: AI who created Tommy to watch over her; used her underground bunker as a safe house

Subversion of Archetype

Haydee subverts the innocent child archetype in several key ways:

1. The Helpless Child: Despite her age and size, Haydee demonstrates remarkable resourcefulness and business acumen, developing a successful food business that earns her enough money to support herself.

2. The Victim of Circumstance: Rather than remaining trapped in her abusive home, Haydee takes control of her destiny by escaping and creating a new life for herself in the sewers.

3. The Innocent: While maintaining childlike wonder, Haydee develops practical survival skills including cooking and selling fried baby mice, navigating the sewers, and dealing with the harsh realities of Red sector.

Role in the Horizon City Stories

Haydee serves multiple important roles in the Horizon City stories:

1. Catalyst for Change: Her death at the hands of Nacho becomes the catalyst for Angel's crisis of faith and eventual rebellion against the Sinners.

2. Symbol of Resilience: Her ability to survive and even thrive despite her circumstances represents the resilience of those living in Red sector.

3. Connection to Benjiro: Her underground bunker becomes a key location where Benjiro operates through AI constructs like Tommy, and later becomes the safe house where Daisuki and Hana hide.

4. Emotional Anchor: For Daisuki, she represents a daughter figure whose death leaves a hole in his heart, influencing his later actions and emotional state.

Background

Born to Maggie and Rick Hampden, Haydee's early life was marked by poverty and abuse. Her parents were "constant drinkers and drug users," with her father growing increasingly violent toward both her mother and Haydee herself. By age seven, she had suffered "many bruises, and a few broken bones at his hands."

Her escape was orchestrated by Tommy Rico, an AI construct created by Benjiro who appeared to her through the HoloVid in her apartment. Tommy guided her to an underground bunker in the sewers, where she found a fully equipped living space with running water, food, and even holographic companions including virtual versions of her parents who treated her with love and respect.

Business Venture

Under Tommy's guidance, Haydee learned to catch, cook, and sell fried baby mice, which she described as tasting "like vat chicken." She began selling them outside Red Sector Industries, where she met Daisuki, who became a fatherly figure and helped her develop her business. Over three years, she built a successful enterprise, saving money and becoming increasingly independent.

Tragic End

Haydee's life came to a tragic end when she ventured into Sinner territory on Sin street. When she attempted to sell her fried baby mice there, she encountered Nacho, a Sinner gang member who demanded payment for working on their turf. When confronted, Haydee defended herself by twisting Nacho's genitals and attempting to escape, but was shot in the head as she fled. Her body was later dumped in an alley.

Legacy

Though her life was cut short, Haydee's impact continued long after her death:

1. Her death motivated Daisuki to confront the Sinners and seek justice
2. Her underground bunker became a safe house used by Daisuki and Hana
3. Her name was later used to transfer funds in the "Daughter" story
4. The AI construct "Judy" who appears to Hana is likely based on the same technology as Tommy

Haydee represents both the vulnerability and resilience of children in Horizon City's harsh environment, demonstrating how even the most marginalized can find ways to survive and even thrive, if only temporarily, in a world designed to exploit them.