Mahmoud Mazda was born on February 6th, 2005, into an Iranian-American family in South Westwood Los Angeles (aka ‘Tehrangeles’). His father, Anoosh Mazda (1955-2022), was a network engineer. His mother, Marjane Mazda (1968-2029), was a professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with a focus on communism. The couple left Tehran and came to America in 1987, fleeing increasing persecution for their liberal and communist affiliations and the immediate danger of the Iran-Iraq War.

A rather poor student, Mahmoud’s enrollment at the UCLA Anderson School of Management was interrupted by the Red Flu in 2028, and shortly afterward, the passing of his mother to the disease. The ensuing economic turmoil, and rising suspicions and internment of Muslims in the United States lead to his tutelage under notorious criminal Jimmy ‘Smokestack’ Corrigan, a master of forgery, human trafficking, and other black market dealings.

Mahmoud, having discovered an unexpected talent for subterfuge and criminality, flourishes as a crooked businessman and mastermind of innumerable cons, crimes, scams, and other schemes.

Following a scheme gone wrong, involving the selling of falsified military intelligence to the Caliphate in 2048, Jimmy is killed and Mahmoud is both terribly injured and framed for the murder – he loses everything, going bankrupt, and walks with the aid of a cane to this day.