Kihara Gensei

Kihara Gensei (木原幻生) is an enigmatic character appearing in Toaru Kagaku no Railgun. A member of the Kihara family, and the creator of the Crystallized Esper Essence, his actions would influence the beginning of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun, and several characters in the later part of Toaru Majutsu no Index.

Etymology
His name (幻生) literally means "Illusory Life", and maybe a reference not appearing at all in the series in the current year of the timeline. Using other characters (原生), it can be translated as "Primitive" or "Primeval", referring to his age. Furthermore, his name is used interchagably with "Tensei", meaning Reincarnation.

Appearance
He is a man of advanced age. He is height is quite average, though he seems to have a hunch. His most notable feature is that he is often with his eyes closed, only rarely opening it when he is excited, as well as a birthmark that can be found on his right temple. Gensei is currently the oldest Kihara introduced in the series.

Personality
Typical of a Kihara, Gensei is a sinister figure despite his usually smiling expression; he has no qualms in killing people for the success of his research, which brings him at odds with Heaven Canceller, whose belief in the Hippocratic Oath clashes with Gensei eagerness to push the boundaries of science.

Perhaps because of this, and the fact that he fits the description the most that he is referred to as a "mad scientist".

Background
According to Therestina, Gensei is a famous and influential scientist who famous in different circles. His expertise is in the line of neuroscience, where he conducts experiments to improve the potential of the human mind, though in more sinister ways than most scientists.

His biggest research project yet is SYSTEM, which aims to explore the possibilities of humans to "reach the will of heaven" by creating a Level 6 Esper. His methods are through "overloading espers" by destabilizing the brain and breaking its tolerable limits by the use of manipulation of the brain and subjecting it to extreme treatments involving overuse of chemicals. This experiment was first done on his granddaugher, Therestina Kihara, as the First Sample, and have overloaded her abilities to extract the chemicals from her.

He later presents his findings to his peers, and piques the attention of the Heaven Canceller, who tells him of the human costs of his experiments and the victims it causes, though Gensei states that there are no victims in his experiments.

His experiments have apparently attracted some people, and formed a council to fund his work, with him as the supervisor. In the Advanced Education Department, he supervises the experiment, and has Kiyama Harumi, teach the Child Errors that will be used in the experiment. Predictably, the experiments goes awry for the children, though Gensei shows calmness throughout the ordeal even the children are in danger, and thanks Harumi for all her hardwork. He later puts a gag order on the facility, and tells the researcher present that the experiment was completed without incident. In the manga, it is shown that Gensei is later confronted by Harumi for this, though Gensei just tells her that nobody cares as they are getting rid of the problematic Child Errors.

It is unknown what he has done afterwards. At some point in time he had a research facility built in School District 17, although, what it was use for was unknown. Though presumably, he used to carry on his research on the Crystallized Esper Essence.

Currently, his whereabouts are unknown, though his experiments still continue.

Level Upper Arc

 * Main article:Level Upper Arc

When Misaka Mikoto gets a glimpse of Kiyama Harumi's memory after electrocuting her, he is first seen asking Harumi to become a teacher to the Child Errors as it was a request by the head council. He is later seen smiling with glee after the experiment, overloading the Child Error espers present and putting them in a coma, apparently getting the result he wanted.

Poltergeist Arc

 * Main article:Poltergeist Arc

Kihara Gensei is referenced several times during the arc, after a string of Poltergeist earthquakes erupts all around Academy City, due to him being linked to Kiyama Harumi, who in their experiments have overloaded espers (overloaded espers causes the Poltergeist phenomenon). Further revelations shows Heaven Canceller's dealings with Gensei, which gives him a reason to intervene in the recent incidents.

In the final episode, it is revealed that he used his granddaughter, Therestina Kihara Lifeline, as the first sample of his Crystallized Esper Essence, telling her she will be Academy City's dream, in becoming Level 6.

Daihasei Festival Arc
Gensei has yet to appear in this arc, but has been mentioned being the one who hired MEMBER to find one of the Sisters in order to gain access to the Misaka Network for unknown reasons. It has also been mentioned by Shokuhou Misaki that he was the one behind the Level 6 Shift project.

Quotes

 * (To Kiyama Harumi from Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Episode 11) "It's a pity we lost them, but they were sacrifices in the name of science."
 * (To his scientific community from Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Episode 22) "What is the reason Academy City exists? That's right—to surpass mankind."
 * (To the Heaven Canceller from Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Episode 22) "Victims? My experiments have no victims. That's preposterous."
 * (To Therestina from Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Episode 24) "You're going to become Academy City's dream... Yes... The foundation of it, that is!"