Aleister Rourke

Aleister, a character in the Endless Summer series, is one of the college students spending a week at La Huerta. He is first seen in Book 1, Chapter 1.

Appearance
Aleister is a tall man. He has blue eyes, short, light blond hair and pale skin. He wears a white shirt, purple tie and a blue striped white sweater.

Personality
Aleister is a proper, well-spoken gentleman, but appears to be very materialistic and irritable, to say the least. He sees his peers as lesser beings than himself. Aleister appears to be very intelligent, which makes him rather compatible with fellow group member Grace, who he was getting close to up until his paternity was revealed. Owing to his "daddy issues", Aleister also finds trouble trusting people, and tends to only speak up when he feels his input is helpful, which is essentially all the time. He was one of the top five fencers in England, and was valedictorian.

Aleister's most outwardly visible and prominent trait, especially earlier in the series before he developed trust with the group, was his extremely condescending behavior towards them. Although not hostile or uncooperative (before the end of the second book, anyway), Aleister frequently insulted them; the only exception to this was Grace.

Although he did betray his friends and sided with his father upon hearing Rourke finally give him praise, a chance to work alongside him in restoring the world, and intending to revive his mother, Aleister wasn't outright indifferent towards them. He requested that they be kept alive as captives at the end of Book 2 (not that Rourke intended to), and refused to let the soldiers gun them down in Book 3, Chapter 3.

In Book 3, Chapter 6, his note to Grace shows that he feels genuine remorse for betraying the group and hopes to redeem himself. The moment presents itself when he witnesses his father using the Omega Mech to erase the Catalysts from time. Finally realizing it was unwise siding with his unbalanced father whose intentions were not as altruistic as he claimed, Aleister stabs the energy conduits and causes the machine to malfunction, restoring the others.

Rejoining the group and humbled from his injudicious choices, Aleister has become less supercilious with their quirks. Originally loathing constantly braving the island's dangers, Aleister shows to be more willing to take risks when you state there's nothing lose while discussing on fighting Cetus in Book 3, Chapter 8. After Rourke spitefully reveals Aleister is really a clone of him, Aleister becomes dispirited and willing to be left behind to certain death until you, Grace, and potentially Vaanu's vision of a happy future snap him out of his desolation. Even after this, the confrontation still leaves Aleister depressed and even more remorseful for seeking Rourke's approval at the risk of his friendships. Learning the truth of himself, Aleister is willing to remain indefinitely on La Huerta, deeming his life beforehand a lie. His experiences with Rourke have made him less susceptible to his lies in the final chapter.

Book 1

 * Chapter 1: This Must Be Heaven
 * Chapter 2: We’ve All Go Secrets
 * Chapter 3: All Kinds of Crazy
 * Chapter 4: Cut and Run
 * Chapter 5: It’s What You’re Meant For
 * Chapter 6: The World Has a Habit of Crushing You
 * Chapter 7: Pies Make Peace
 * Chapter 8: You Always Have to be the Hero
 * Chapter 9: Out of the Frying Pan… Into the Fire
 * Chapter 11: Rock the Boat
 * Chapter 12: The Enemy Is Out There
 * Chapter 13: One of Us Isn’t Supposed to be Here
 * Chapter 14: Last Night on Earth
 * Chapter 15: It Was Not Meant to End Like This
 * Chapter 16: Here’s to Adventure

Book 2

 * Chapter 1: The Unknown Has Always Been a Comfort to Me
 * Chapter 2: Time Is of the Essence
 * Chapter 3: Those Left Behind
 * Chapter 4: Island Justice
 * Chapter 5: There Are Many Things I Keep Hidden
 * Chapter 6: You Can't Save Everyone
 * Chapter 7: Everything at Once
 * Chapter 8: Let's Promise We'll Do This Again
 * Chapter 9: Toward a New Horizon
 * Chapter 10: Every End Is a Beginning... Except the Last One
 * Chapter 11: Trust is a Fragile Thing
 * Chapter 12: Last Chance to Turn Back
 * Chapter 13: All We Have is Now
 * Chapter 14: You Can't Promise Anything Anymore
 * Chapter 15: Self-Destruct (Mentioned)

Book 3

 * Chapter 3: What Doesn't Kill Us
 * Chapter 6: The Ties That Break
 * Chapter 7: Where I Needed You to Be
 * Chapter 8: You Are a Warrior
 * Chapter 9: All Our Yesterdays
 * Chapter 10: I Was Lost Until You Found Me
 * Chapter 11: Like There's No Tomorrow
 * Chapter 12 : You Mean the World to Me

Grace
Aleister respects Grace for her intelligence, perspectives and being a knowledge seeker. In Book 1, it is hinted to him having romantic feelings for her, as he grows quite flustered when the two are interacting. He seems to care a lot about how she sees him and doesn't want her to get into trouble. They continue to get closer until Aleister's secret is revealed, and Grace loses some of her trust for him, but expresses to you that she has some understanding of why he kept the truth from them. When you choose to encourage Grace to go to him afterwards and ask (or command) him to listen to her, they reconcile and share a kiss. Their compatibility grows when they realize they share common struggles about seeking parental approval. Later that night, when you go to Grace's hotel room, he is there with her. If Grace is left behind in the final chapter, Aleister will express sadness towards her disappearance; if you rescue her, he'll appreciate it. In the epilogue he states he finds her Zodiac of the Swan to be fitting because of its graceful nature.

In Endless Summer, Book 2, Aleister is reunited with Grace (if you chose not to rescue her). When entering a secret place full of treasure, Aleister is hit by several darts containing a sedative drug that causes him to behave in a strange regressive manner, similar to being intensely intoxicated. The darts also seem seem to cause him to experience euphoria and hear classical music via auditory hallucination and he begins to waltz to it. In his state he asks Grace to dance with him (premium choice) and in the end, they share a kiss after Aleister confesses his romantic feelings for her.

In Book 2, Chapter 14, Grace viciously slaps him after he betrays the group, though after his redemption she eventually forgives him.

His feelings for her are one of his main motivations for betraying you.

His Ember of Hope shows a future where they get married and have a son named Reginald.

Your Character
Aleister is one of the few main characters in Endless Summer who already have a preconceived dislike of Your Character from the very start.

Since he has a negative perspective about your character even before interacting with him/her just like with most of the other characters, he originally sees you as an idiot or simpleton. Aleister’s opinion of you can grow to be more positive over time if you demonstrate your initiative, intelligence, wit or otherwise show him that he underestimated you. His opinion of your character can also go upwards when you agree with him, or when you say things that are more realistic when the other characters are being idealistic.

When he does give you compliments or recognition it’s common for them to be backhanded or followed by a snide remark. In Chapter 4, if he/she sprays the chain to the release valve with the gas from the fire extinguisher to brittle the metal, instead of bashing it, you will manage to impress him. He goes as far as to say that Your Character isn't as dumb as he originally thought. In Chapter 13, when Your Character finds out that he is a Rourke International Asset, the college student can choose to call him a liar and that he/she doesn't trust him. In the fifteenth chapter, he and your character have a “relationship check” with Aleister. If you impressed him enough throughout the book that the status of his feelings about you has graduated from “dislike” to “neutral” by this point, he will express that he feels that Grace, you, and himself are the lives most worth saving and discourage you from risking yourself to save your other friends. Your character dismisses the idea of abandoning the others, (s)he admits (s)he is “weirdly flattered” that Aleister considers her/him to be worth saving.

Aleister’s positive relationship with your character, including both his tolerance and appreciation of you, highly revolves around Grace. For example: in the last chapter of Book 1, if you choose to risk yourself to save Grace, he will thank you, then he will grab you by the face to firmly kiss you on your forehead— but then he proceeds to yell at you for not moving fast enough. In Book 2, Chapter 2, he questions why he should do you a favor by helping you carry anything. Once you offer to put in a good word for him with Grace, he agrees to help you. Also, throughout the story relationship points can be gained for Aleister when you pay diamonds to help Grace or progress his relationship with her.

In the moments leading to and during his betrayal in Book 2, Chapter 14, your relationship is tested; you can choose to either agree with him on the hopelessness of their situation, forgive him and surrender peacefully, or continue being determined, call him out, or put up a fight and spit in his face.

His Catalyst Idol shows you furiously confronting him in the Elysian Lodge for selling out their friends to Rourke, which ultimately led to their deaths. In a homicidal rage, you defenestrate him.

When you confront him to save Sean and Craig in Book 3, Chapter 3, he begs you to walk away. When Sean tries to convince him to leave his father and make amends, you can choose to agree that Aleister deserves a second chance or state that he'll only betray you again.

Everett Rourke
While this isn't revealed until Chapter 13, Aleister is Everett Rourke's son, and despite being named after him, Aleister feels nothing but contempt for his father. This is because Rourke had been absent for a large portion of Aleister's life. According to Aleister, on his 10th birthday and the day of his graduation from high school, Rourke was abroad on both occasions. In fact, the whole reason Aleister is on the island to begin with is because he wanted to confront his father and cut ties, but Rourke was under the impression that his son was looking to make amends. Aleister eventually betrays you in Book 2, Chapter 14 after Rourke manipulates him with praise and intentions for the greater good, and joins his father, stating that he is a genius and starts to see his plans in a positive light, acknowledging that he is evil but that he offers their greatest chance of survival. Though Aleister asks that Rourke keep them alive and unharmed, Rourke goes back on his word and orders Lila to kill them the moment he leaves.

In Book 3, he is shown carrying out his father's orders. It is mentioned that Rourke lied to him and told him that the rest of the Catalysts had been killed during an escape attempt. Even though Your Character tells him of Rourke's deception, Aleister still chooses to continue helping his father. Witnessing Rourke erasing his friends from existence while declaring himself a god, Aleister finally lashes out at his father in Book 3, Chapter 6, for manipulating him into betraying his friends, scoffing at his proclamation and calling him a "scared, petty, little man". In Chapter 9, when Rourke reveals that Aleister is actually the former's clone, he is devastated. In the final chapter, if you ask Rourke what he gets out of Project Janus restoring the world, Aleister, from personal experience, will agree that Rourke obviously has an ulterior motive. If you choose the Endless' ending, Aleister will approve and consider it as the right decision since it is against Rourke's desires. If you choose Vaanu's ending, Aleister (along with Estela) gives a denunciation to Rourke, who falls into a woeful state at the loss of all his resources following your sacrifice, on how his narcissistic goals came up fruitless.

Jake
Aleister dislikes Jake because he doesn't agree with Jake on many issues. An example of this is when they discuss whether they can trust IRIS, who has regained her memories as Imogen (Aleister's late mother) and wishes to help them to get home.

When it is revealed Aleister is Rourke's son, Jake is one of the most initially distrusting. In Book 2, Chapter 14, after Aleister betrays the group, Jake becomes angry at him and starts disliking him even more. In Book 3, Chapter 3, Jake, along with Estela and Michelle, hold a grudge against Aleister; he (and Estela) will agree with your character if you believe Aleister will just betray the group again or (along with Michelle) be exasperated if you vouch for Sean insisting he rejoin the group.

Sean
They don't talk much, so Aleister has a neutral opinion of Sean. Aleister takes Sean's side in putting effort in finding a way off the island. While admitting he too was angered by Aleister's betrayal in Book 1, Chapter 14 along with everyone else and even though Aleister took him and Craig hostage in Book 3, Chapter 3, Sean is willing to forgive Aleister and offer a chance to come back to the group; they will react positively if you support this while reacting negatively if you (along with Jake and Estela) reject Aleister. Sean expresses empathy with Aleister's actions if you explore the waterfall with him in Book 3, Chapter 4 since his own father, Marcus Gayle, was also a renowned public figure who was secretly abusive to his family. However, he admits that ultimately admits it is now up to Aleister on whether he chooses to continue allying with Rourke. If you demand the Island's Heart, Sean will briefly try to reason with him. When they are forced to restrain Aleister, Sean is reluctant at having to do so but knows they can't take any chances. After retrieving the Heart, he admits understanding Aleister's reasons, but was hoping he would see reason. As Aleister reels from the revelation that he is really a clone of Rourke, Sean assures him no one will see him any differently.

IRIS
In Book 2, Chapter 8, it is revealed that IRIS is the artificial intelligence of Aleister's deceased mother. Ever since, Aleister is shown to trust her and refuses to believe that she is leading them into a trap, brushing off Jake's warnings. His father's promise that he can bring her back to life was one of the main motivations for his betrayal.

In Book 3, Chapter 9, it is revealed that she isn't Aleister's biological mother and she cloned him from Rourke's DNA. Despite this, in Book 3, Chapter 11, she tells Aleister that she still loves him as her son even though Rourke refused to do so. Though he still holds some residual love for her and despite Rourke again promising to restore her to life, Aleister preferably opts to forever remain on the island.

Trivia

 * When you first meet Aleister, he already has a negative opinion about you. Only he, Craig and Zahra share this. Everyone else is at neutral or better. Because of his high dislike of you, he maintains a neutral opinion of you at the end of Book 1 unlike the others who should now like you. You are likely to become friends with him in the finale of Book 2, if you are not hostile towards him for his betrayal.
 * Aleister is annoyed to discover that Your Character has a higher threat rating than him.
 * His Hadean Zodiac sign is Serpens, the Snake.
 * Jake calls him "Malfoy" because of his white hair and his ego.
 * The Pavo Catalyst idol reveals a timeline where he dies and Michelle blames herself for his death. The Serpens idol reveals a presumably different timeline in which Aleister was the last of the group to die, defenestrated by Your Character in revenge for causing the deaths of everyone else in the group.
 * He apparently speaks French as he understood Yvonne when she spoke.
 * He is a skilled piano player and ballroom dancer.
 * It is implied that he is studying Law/Criminal Justice at Hartfeld, but his flashback suggests he is planning to attend business school after college rather than law school.
 * Aleister has high regard for his intelligence and academic achievement, but while influenced by sedatives he admits he actually unproudly received a B- in his Probability and Statistics class. The reason he performed “poorly” in that course is because Grace was in the same class and he spent too much time daydreaming about her— signifying he had romantic interest towards her even before the events of Endless Summer.
 * Aleister's actions have divided the fandom: some fans support Aleister's decision to betray you, stating he's looking at the bigger picture, while other fans are as furious with him as the rest of the group, stating the crimes he's committed are unjustifiable, and since he was the most intelligent, he should've known his father was manipulating him.
 * If Estela opens up to you in Book 1, Chapter 14, she reveals that she was originally considering taking Aleister hostage in an effort to get closer to Rourke (as revenge for what he did to Estela's mother), had she known he was Rourke's son. However, such a plan proved unnecessary when Estela managed to win the "contest" that brought her onto La Huerta.
 * In his Idol Vision, he references the sonnet "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley, although he misquotes it slightly. Aliester says "Gaze upon my works, ye mighty, and despair," but the original text is "Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
 * The Embers of Hope collectables imply that he may betray his father and redeem himself. This was proven correct in Book 3, Chapter 6, when he realizes for himself that Rourke never kept his word to not harm them and damages the Omega Mech before escaping with the catalysts.
 * His crimes include being an accessory to murder, three counts of kidnapping as well as aiding and abetting Rourke and the Arachnids.
 * His Ember of Hope shows a future where he is married to Grace and they have a son named Reginald.
 * The writing for Aleister's character is inspired by the song, Prodigal by Porcupine Tree.
 * Aleister in alternate timelines:
 * Aleister's and Michelle's bodies were switched due to a device called Freaky Friday Device created by Everett Rourke inspired by his favorite movie, Freaky Friday.
 * He and Lila were lovers.
 * He fenced with his father on a burning building.
 * Taari called him Uncle Al.
 * It is implied that he murdered Quinn and Diego after the former accidentally caused Grace's death.
 * According to Pixelberry's "Endless Summer Finale" blog, he was originally depicted as a serial killer.
 * Since his first name is Everett, his father and he share the same name as Everett Merkseyer from The Elementalists series and Everett Flynt from Slow Burn.

Memorable Quotes
(Thank you to the PLL Wikia for letting us use their template for this memorable quotes section!)