Del is an android who was created in London, England, by Professor Robert Holmes, one of the Commonwealth's foremost experts in nanofilament engineering. He possesses non-executive emotions, which allow him to recognise the emotions of other beings and to comprehend how these feelings will alter their behaviour. This makes him unique among androids, although he shares with them a lack of emotions of his own.
At the time he first met
Stephanie Hunter Del was living with his friend and colleague, Gill McKnight in Toronto, Canada, where he worked as a medical doctor at the Banting Institute.
In addition to his medical qualifications, Del also has fifty other degrees. His androidian status endows him with a reading speed of 1.5 million pages per minute and his speed of thought is generally gauged in nanoseconds. A rapid retinal framerate is not Del's only visual advantage: he also has the option to view infrared light if he desires. In deference to human modesty and customs, Del refrains from using his infrared vision in company.
Del's physical abilities are also far in excess of human extremes. His reflexes are substantially faster, he can sprint at eighty kilometres per hour and can comfortably lift several tonnes.
Despite not possessing active emotions, Del is typically regarded as shy, quiet and modest.