Investigator Profile
- Apparent Age: Mid-30s
- Height: 5'8"
- Aliases: Gerry Archer, Dr Archer
- Education: Various PH.D's and Postgraduate studies
- Occupation: Doctor of Medicine (Epidemiology)
- Place of Origin: Cape Town, Western Cape Province, South Africa
- Place of Residence: Shadow Pond, Lakeview, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Social Status: Upper Class (Landed Gentry)
- Credit Rating: Wealthy
- Player/Type: NPC
Appearance
Dr Geraldine Archer is an attractive woman with dark blonde hair and clear grey eyes. She keeps her hair medium-length and loose, although it is naturally fairly wavy. The fact that it happens to match popular ladies' hair styles (discounting the new "flapper" hair-style growing in popularity amongst the lower classes and rebellious females) is pure coincidence - Gerry doesn't care much for fashion but finds long hair an inconvenience, so her hair alternates between her most recent "trim" and when it gets long enough to annoy her.
Geraldine is often described (negatively) as "thinks she's a man" and prefers to wear men's clothing. She claims this is because men's clothing is "eminently functional" and was raised in South Africa, where women's clothing was inconvenient for riding horses and being out in the wilderness. Whilst this may be he justification, it is rare to see her wearing a dress or skirt unless the occasion calls for it. She pays lip service to societal norms and will wear a dress or skirt to appropriate social situations, but will constantly complain about it and does so out of a desire to "prevent unwanted and unnecessary hassle about my clothing" rather than to follow etiquette or blend in.
This is all rather ironic considering that Geraldine comes from a renown British aristocracy and thus is one of the most upper-class persons in Chicago. She often describes Chicago's well-to-do as "pretenting to be, what I choose NOT to be." The sole exception is when Gerry is attending a ball, in which case she admits to quite enjoying wearing a (expensive) ball gown. She admits that this is because "even I enjoy feeling like a glamorous lady sometimes."
Most of the times she is fond of wearing men's trousers (usually khaki or other "earth" colours, sometimes black) matched with a shirt or blouse (usually white or near-white). It is rare to see her in bright colours, except when in a dress, in which she favours white, silver or gold. She rarely wears much jewellery, but when she does they are invariably diamonds and usually just ear-rings and perhaps (rarely) a necklace.
Her main concession to being lady-like is light use of make-up, usually on her lips and eyes. When out in the field, it is typical to see her lacking any make-up at all. Whilst generally quite hygienic, Gerry has been known to obsess over some recently-acquired tome and "forget" to bathe, change clothing or even sleep for several days in a row.
Background
Geraldine was born and raised on her family's plantation in South Africa and named after her grandmother. Her family were British "landed gentry" - the lowest form of British aristocracy title. This meant that they owned land and were extremely wealthy due to the land containing various profitable diamond mines, but were not considered proper aristocracy. This is something Geraldine has always found amusing, that her family have greater wealth but less status than higher aristocrats that frequently rely on her family for loans.
The Archer family, although wealthy, had always held a strong work ethos and interest in the medicinal sciences. She was the latest in a long line of doctors and science professors. Her father was a reputed surgeon and Colonel in the British army. Like Colonel Archer (her father), Geraldine took advantage of her family's wealth to get the best education their considerable money could buy. When she was just twelve, however, her mother died of liver cancer - an occurrence that would influence Geraldine into following her father into the medical field, although taking the more scholarly route of Epidemiology, rather than becoming a physician like her father and grandfather William Archer.
When not studying - as the desire to expand her knowledge had always been strong in her - she would frequently accompany her father into the Bush on adventures and hunting expeditions. On these adventures she regularly met Lord Fitzherbert Lockhart and on one occasion, briefly met his son and heir, Guilderoy Lockhart- a then-unimportant moment which would later be of import. Geraldine's closeness with her father was interrupted barely a couple of years after the death of her mother when her father took a lover in New Orleans. Although the fact that her father's lover was low-class didn't remotely bother her, the young Geraldine saw this as a betrayal to her mother's memory and it created a rift between them, ultimately causing Colonel Archer to leave his lover to appease Geraldine. Geraldine has since voiced regret over her behaviour at the time, stating she was "too young to understand my father's feelings and need for companionship at the time - I simply was not mature enough to see past my own grief at my mother's passing to realise how much pain my father himself was in."
Geraldine spent most of her life to date split between the top Academic institutions in England where she studied, and in South Africa where she lived. After graduating, she moved into her father's house in Cape Town especially as Colonel Archer was rarely there anymore - almost constantly out on travels with Fitzherbert Lockhart and eventually settled in Shadow Pond manor in Chicago. She would reside there until her father's death in 1928, after which she would travel to Chicago and end up taking permanent residence in Shadow Pond herself.
The Mystery of Colonel Archer's Death
Colonel Archer's Death
In early 1928 Geraldine received a note from Father Martin Maxwell informing her that Colonel Archer had been afflicted by a strange malady and his health was deteriorating fast. Geraldine flew over to his residence in Chicago but despite her expertise in esoteric diseases was unable to help her father - or even identify his affliction. During her father's wake she met some unique individuals - a reporter named Marilyn Fox and a Private Investigator going by the monicker "Jimmy the Jint" who had been posthumously employed by her father with the belief that his death would be caused by homicide and not natural means. She also became re-acquainted with Lord Guilderoy Lockhart, although he claimed at the time that this was their first meeting, and that his own father had died of the same affliction recently.
The investigation into Colonel Archer's death led to the discovery of a small, underground temple to a mysterious godlike entity known as Tsathoggua hidden under Shadow Pond. In this temple was also part of a Latin copy of the Liber Ivonis (translation: The Book of Eibon) written by Caius Phillipus Faber in the 9th century Anno Domini and a letter from Archibald Archer to Geraldine explaining the investigations that he and Fitzherbert Lockhart had shared with Gerard Raynor, an accomplice who had become corrupted by the dark arts they uncovered. The letter stated that Gerard Raynor intended to uncover the location of a greater Temple of Tsathoggua and summon it in pursuit of greater magical power, and so they split the book two with Guilderoy keeping one part and Colonel Archer the other, to prevent Raynor getting hold of it. The letter stated that if this letter was being read, it meant that he was dead and, the letter acknowledging Archer learning of Fitzherbert's death, that Raynor had certainly murdered them both and obtained Fitzherbert's part of the book. Archer pleaded for Geraldine to prevent Raynor from getting access to the second half of the Liber Ivonis, as doing so would give the location of the Tsathoggua temple where Archer believed lay another Mythos tome, The Book of Enoch, last known in the hands of an expedition that went to Machu Picchu searching for the temple many years ago, and disappeared. Colonel Archer pleaded for Geraldine to stop him, for the sake of the world, which would at best become Raynor's plaything if he succeeded in his plans for power - or could result in an old God returning to the Earth, with potentially apocalyptic consequences.
Cassandra Jones
The initial part of the investigation into Colonel Archer's death also uncovered what initially appeared as Colonel Archer having taken a young musician as a lover - as his lawyer stated that Colonel Archer had been spending considerable time with this woman, a singer from New Orleans called Cassandra Jones, and had even bought her a house in Chicago and gained her employment at the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge.
Miss Marilyn Fox, on seeing a photograph of Cassandra Jones, recalled seeing her at Colonel Archer's funeral - hiding in the distance. After a few unpleasant exchanges, and Marilyn Fox physically assaulting her, Cassandra revealed that she was not Colonel Archer's lover but, in fact, his daughter. It was quickly determined that, during that brief time when Colonel Archer had a lover in New Orleans, a relationship that eventually failed because of Geraldine's immature adolescent rage against her father "cheating on her dead mother", that the Colonel's lover ended up with child. Due to the break-up, and the self-pride of Cassandra's mother, the Colonel did not learn of the existence of his other daughter until shortly before his death; and only because Cassandra's mother was terminally ill and informed the Colonel of her existence in desperation, hoping he would help her daughter.
They also quickly discovered that Cassandra was a "sensitive" and had the ability to sense and hear the dead, an ability that ran in her family, including her mother - and likely a reason why Colonel Archer took interest in her in the first place. Though they initially scoffed at this, the events that would follow ultimately proved the veracity of this claim, including her suddenly seeming to realise there was danger just before a group of hired thugs entered the lounge and attacked the investigators. After they managed to drive away the attackers - presumably sent by Raynor to kill them and take the second half of the Liber Ivonis from them - Geraldine surprised everyone by using an incantation she had learnt from the Liber Ivonis to heal a gunshot wound one of their number had taken, healing in moments what would have taken weeks to heal naturally. They then asked Cassandra to join them at Shadow Pond the next day to help with the investigation into Archer's death and stop Raynor but she refused. She admitted that she was scared and not keen on dying for a sister she didn't know and for the memory of a man she only knew for half a year or so - much of which he spent travelling and eventually critically ill - stating "I would have liked to get to know him - he was kind to me whilst I knew him... but I barely knew him, and I have little desire to die for the memory of a man I barely knew." Despite this, she did actually turn up at Shadow Pond the following day, to Marilyn Fox's approval.
Since their meeting, Geraldine and Cassandra, known as "CJ" to her friends, both made concerted efforts to try to become a family - but it would be a long road. Whilst Geraldine may snub the norms of high society, she was nonetheless upper class and born with a silver spoon, and therefore "out of touch with the real world" as Cassandra would put it. Conversely, Cassandra was born and lived amongst the working class her entire life, always struggling to work long hours and tiring jobs typically putting up with abuse and adversity, just to bring food to the table. Curiously, despite their rocky start, CJ and Marilyn would quickly become fast friends - possibly closer than CJ ever got with Geraldine, perhaps as they were both strong-willed working women, and there was less emotional baggage between them to overcome.
Temple of the Sun
Their investigations led to them employing the services of "Crazy Ivan" - a Russian pilot who served during the Great War and Russian Revolution on behalf of the "white army" and had been forced to flee Russia when the red army was victorious - to fly them to the Temple of the Sun in Machu Picchu, where Colonel Archer's clues indicated belief of a secret entrance leading to a temple of the Cult of Tsathoggua. With various assistants and local guides, the investigators arrived at the Temple of the Sun and, aided by CJ's uncanny sense, located the hidden entrance. They traversed a labyrinthine mountain-cavern complex with an oil-based fire-torch light system that surprisingly still operated once they lit up the first fire torch. They noted strange holes in the wall all over the maze, along with various dead bodies wearing clothing from different eras, although they could not figure out the purpose of the strange holes. they ominously thought they may be some form of trap, considering the closeness of skeletal remains to them, but could find no actual mechanism or apparent danger. Just as CJ helped locate the entrance because she could sense it's presence, the further they progressed into the complex the more increasingly terrified CJ became as the voices of the dead turned from whispers into increasingly louder chants, in languages she could not understand but still understood their meaning - "danger - go no further" - at points them coming unfiltered out of CJs mouth as though the dead were using her as a mouthpiece, unnerving the group to the point where two of the local hired hands refused to carry on going further and left.
In their search, they mapped out the areas they discovered which included various rooms typical of what one might expect from secret temples - living areas for priests, storerooms, cells for captives and, eventually, came across a central chamber with an enormous statue of Tsathoggue, and a sacrificial altar by it, which tested their very sanities, and caused one of their guides to wet himself. There were four large lamp-like gold poles, resembling upturned lampshades, each containing what appeared a large pool of oil-like substance. Considering the lighting system already provided lighting to this room, they wondered as to its purpose, perhaps as additional, ceremonial, fire lighting. The room was littered with additional skeletal remains and, on the central table by a well-dressed corpse, was a dusty old tome - the Book of Ebon (or technically, a 19th century English translation of the original Book of Enoch, which was published in 100 AD).
When Geraldine picked up the Book of Enoch (or perhaps it was her simply approaching the alter) the oily substances in began getting active - swirling around and starting to self-pour down the side of the receptacle onto the floor, despite no apparent method of transference, and viscous enough that they began to take a semi-solid, almost gelatinour form. As soon as this began, CJ collapsed to her knees, clutching her head in agony and she screamed loudly in multiple voices speaking German, Spanish, Incan and other tongues. Though the specific messages screamed differed, the voices had a clear overall message - "Death has arrived".
The investigators stood transfixed in horror as the viscous, oily substance took an unsettling, almost human-shaped form with no discernible features. Geraldine's bodyguard, Sanka, a large bear of a man nearly 7 foot in height and nearly as wide, interposed himself between Geraldine and the oily form closest to her seemingly out of protective instinct. Without warning, the creature suddenly attacked - it's arms stretching forward as if oily tentacles with spear-like ends that punched through Sanka's mighty body, turned into a form of claw, then pulled back through Sanka's back, tearing his heart out of his chest through his ribcage with effortless speed. As Sanka's blood splashed all over the investigators' faces and Sanka looked back at them with a look of stunned disbelief in the seconds it took for his body to realise he was already dead, and collapse, the courage of the investigators failed them - and they ran. It was not an orderly retreat, but a disorderly route. They screamed in terror and horror every part of the journey back - even those whose courage had not completely given way to terror and madness nonetheless screamed and fled for their lives. It was then that they learnt the truth about the strange holes they had observed earlier - they were passageways for the oily creatures, temple guardians and servants of Tsathoggua, to quickly traverse the labyrinth. Moving at impossible speeds, the creatures would enter a hole and traverse walls and corridors in seconds, to shoot out of another hole in a flash of oil and blood as their exits tore apart whatever poor bastard was too close to the exit point. Many of them fell on the way out, with some of the local hands even using or pushing each other as human shields to escape. In the end, only Geraldine, CJ, Marilyn, Father Maxwell, Guilderoy, Jimmy and Coleman made it out alive, somehow. The moment they passed the threshold of the Torii-gate like entrance into the temple complex, the creatures just stopped; observing them wordlessly as if waiting for and daring them to re-enter, and CJ fell unconscious - mental exhaustion overcoming her as the voices suddenly went silent (or at least distant enough to no longer overwhelm her). The investigators hurriedly made their way back to Crazy Ivan and his Sirkosky seaplane, and returned to Chicago.
Raynor Revealed
The investigators eventually managed to stop Gerard Raynor - revealed to have been Father Maxwell who had been with them all the time - by sacrificing one of their own to the great old one, and gaining its favour - causing the destruction of Maxwell/Raynor's cult.
The Case of Mary Marsh
Investigating the Mythos
In the time since resolving the mystery of Colonel Archer's death, Geraldine became a serious researcher of the occult and this new hidden knowledge that she referred to as the "Cthulhu Mythos" - a term she encountered in the Liber Ivonis. Using her family's wealth and employing both legal (including the services of Jimmy the Jint) and not-so-legal connections, Geraldine managed to read or acquire various additional mythos tomes over the following year, and learnt a respectable repertoire of spells, charms, hexes, enchantments and incantations, in addition to mythos lore.
Her borderline obsession with this hidden lore has resulted in Geraldine almost completely retiring from her medical career to become a full-time Mythos researcher. It is more accurate these days to refer to her as being a Sorceress and Occultist, than an Epidemiologist.
Where in the World is Doctor Archer?
Her friends had gotten used over the next few months to Geraldine increasingly disappearing for days at a time, although she usually kept in contact with CJ and Guilderoy in some form. But after several weeks of even CJ having heard
Personality
Depending on who you ask Geraldine is either a lively, friendly and loyal person with a singular wit, or dismissive, rude and obsessive. Geraldine is very open about what she thinks and feels, brutally so.
She has little patience and can be dismissive and unintentionally rude (to most people's standards - to the aristocracy her mannerism is quite normal, as manners and politeness are often reserved for the gentry but unrequired when dealing with lower classes and servants) if she is uninterested in what is occurring. She is headstrong and admits to being "rhino-headed" when her mind is set on things, pursuing things obsessively with little thought for other facts. When she likes someone she is usually generous to them and friendly, and whilst she may not be outwardly very warm it is obvious that she cares for her friends and close acquaintances and looks out for their well-being. Everyone else, however, appears to be simply resources. A notable example is the polarised relationship with Guilderoy Lockhart and his wife, Lady Caroline. Whilst Geraldine is visibly friendly with Guilderoy and often jokes with him, she is visibly cold with his Lady Caroline; rarely acknowledges her british aristocracy title(s) and most commonly refers to Lady Caroline as "her", "that woman" or (to Guilderoy) "your wife." The feeling of antipathy appears to be mutual. If this is brought to Geraldine's attention, she merely states "I am being civil to her - if she expects any more than common civility which any person deserves then she needs to climb down from her ivory tower and have a good look at reality."
Her friends have also become concerned at her recent behaviour. Since becoming a Mythos researcher she has become obsessive about studying it, and they have noticed an increasing hardness in her attitude and decreasing respect for life. On a recent excursion to a location she expected to uncover Mythos lore her party was attacked by native tribes with poison darts. Geraldine was visibly more upset about not gaining the lore she was after than the loss of two of her men.
Mental Health
Despite researching heavily various Mythos tomes, which must have had an effect on her sanity, Geraldine has no apparent issues - although friends claim her attitude has become colder and even a little morbid and jaded.
Mythos Tomes Read/Owned
- Liber Ivonis (Latin) - Translated by Caius Phillipus Faber; Published: 9th Century AD
- Magic and the Black Arts (English) - Kane; Published: 1896
- R'Lyeh Text (German) - Translated by Hans von Gerber; Published: 300 BC (original)
- The Book of Enoch (English) - Unknown author or translator; Published: 100 AD (original)
- The Book of Revelation (Greek) - St. John the Divine; Published: 95 AD
- Compendium Maleficarum (3rd Ed.) (Latin) - Translated by Rev. Montague Summers; Published: 1929 (translation)
- Gebri Regis Arabum Philosophi Perspicacissimi (Latin) - Abou Moussah Djabir al Sophie (aka Geber); Published: 1682
- Les Prophéties de M.Michel Nostradamus (Expanded Ed.) (Latin) - Michel de Nostradame; Published: 1558
- Le Musée des Sorcièrs, Mages et Alchimistes (English) - Translated by J.Courtnay Locke; Published: 1929
Connections
- Miss Cassandra Jones: Half-sister from New Orleans. Singer for a Chicago Blues band that performs at the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge.
- Toby: Geraldine's overly-energetic, overly-friendly, 6-year-old Boerboel ("Boer dog")
- Lord Guilderoy Lockhart: Her best friend
- Miss Marilyn Fox - Chicago correspondent for the New York Times. Whilst Geraldine wouldn't consider her a proper friend, Geraldine respects Marilyn's strength of character and thus favours her.
- Mr James "Jimmy the Jint" Slade - Private Investigator. Geraldine respects his skills and ability to do his job well, an employs him regularly.
- Mrs Conchita Sanchez: Her mexican maid. Conchita was actually employed by Geraldine's father to care for Shadow Pond manor, and continues this role with Geraldine.
- Mr Ivan "Crazy Ivan" Kerensky: A russian-exile pilot who works for Geraldine. Has a pet rat called Lenin.
- Mr Jonathan Coleman: Chicago lawyer for Kirkland & Ellis LLP which handle Geraldine's legal affairs.
- Mr Samuel Hallowend: Geraldine's latest bodyguard/manservant/driver.
- Captain James Malone: Captain of the Lakeview area Police Department. Geraldine helped him prove the corruption of the previous Captain
- Alderman William Hale Thompson: Highly corrupt Mayor of Chicago
Social Style
Geraldine is a no-nonsense person and has little patience for fools and time-wasters. The best way to approach her is directly. If it's something "of intellectual interest" she will gladly converse on the topic - but otherwise it is usually best to give her the key information fast, and then let her ask for further clarification about things that interest her. She hates it and gets visibly irate when people "beat around the bush" and usually leads to her interrupting and asking the person to hurry up.
Whilst she snubs high-society ettiquette (unless it is advantageous to do otherwise) she believes firmly in respect. Even when being abrasive or dismissive she is respectful (if curt) to others and expects similar civility in return. Note that civility/respect does not necessarily mean politeness. She often feels people are too soft-skinned and should learn to thicken their skin and not get upset over trivial wordplay.
Signature Posessions
- Vehicle: Chevrolet Superior (automobile)
- Vehicle: Sikorsky S-38B "Mishka 2" (Propeller Seaplane)
- Shadow Pond Manor
- Revolver
Signature Quotes
- "We lost those two men because they fired at the pygmies before letting me talk. Idiots. But more importantly, the book I wanted wasn't here!"
- "I didn't want to say anything... until I was sure. I hoped I was wrong. Dear God I hoped I was wrong. But I wasn't. This isn't our time. This isn't our world. We didn't travel back in time - we travelled forward. The world we knew moved on, grew old, and the universe itself ceased to exist... then it was reborn anew. The universe was reborn, and a new cycle began; almost identical to the old. Everything looks much the same, but it isn't. This isn't our world. These aren't our families. Our families, are dead. Everyone we knew, and loved, are dead. They grew old and died billions of years ago, knowing only that we left on this mission - and we never came home. This is a new cycle, and the universe has created new versions of us and our families for whatever reason I cannot possibly fathom. We do not belong here. We are pariahs outside of time, outside the very cycle of existence we were destined to be born and die in. And there is no way back. No way to undo this. My hubris has led to this... and I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry!
Gallery
Dr Geraldine Archer