Little is known about the origins of Mortimer Toynbee. Born in the city of York, England, and deformed from infancy, he was abandoned by his parents so early in his childhood that he could not remember them.[citation needed] At some point, he became an experiment for the Black Womb Project run by Amanda Müeller in Alamogordo. After categorizing Toynbee as a mutant reject due to his flawed genetic template, Mueller wished to see how his natural development would progress. Eventually, Toynbee was placed in an orphanage where the other children continually tormented him, regarding him as a freak due to his ugliness, his unusual physique, and his leaping ability. Toynbee was so traumatized by his loneliness and the continual abuse he received that it affected his learning abilities. The teachers and administrators in the orphanage, therefore, regarded Toynbee as mentally challenged, even though, in actuality, he had a rather gifted intelligence. So desperate did Toynbee become for affection that he developed a pathetically subservient personality and unquestioningly obeyed anyone he thought sincerely cared about him.