Claude Werst's Questionnaire

Claude lives on the outskirts of Boston so that he has an easy commute to his work at Harvard University. Although he did not grow up in a large city, and cities aren't his preference, the amount of knowledge present at a university as well known as Harvard well outweighs the negatives. At Harvard, he is able to find the resources, facilities, and people to pursue the goal of understanding the things from beyond. This includes his observatory which he is able to peer into the unknown void of space. Thankfully, the observatory is also located on the outskirts, away from all the chaos of the city, where he can conduct his research, and not so kosher experiments, in private.

As an employee at the University of Harvard, and a prestigious professor of Astronomy at that, he receives the majority of his income from their payroll. It is not too much money, but enough to live comfortably. However, to fund his more "private" research, he usually has to pay out of his own bank account leaving him with even less money. He has resorted to doing side jobs in order to gain the extra funds he needs to investigate the unknown. These can range from giving talks at random conventions to leaking university secrets. However, it will all be worth it when Claude can uncover the truth.

Ever since Claude came into contact with beings from beyond the stars, he began to see vision of unknown eldritch horrors in his dreams, and it terrified him. If these entities from beyond ever decided to attack humanity, they would stand no chance. So he made it his mission to understand these beings, their intensions, and if necessary, how to defeat them no matter what.

In his mind, there is no cost too great. What is one life compared to saving all lives? He would is willing to risk his body and mind to achieve his goals, even if others would not call his methods ethical. He did not need to be liked, he only needed the proof that these being existed and the threat they possess. Then they too will understand and be on his side.

Claude was up late one evening in his observatory watching the stars. He doesn't normally stay up this late but the sky had a strange slightly red hue that he hadn't seen before. He then noticed a large pinkish mass in the sky that looked to be the size of a planet. it moved across the sky at a speed far faster than any planet should and then suddenly stopped completely. It began to rotate in place, revealing a giant unblinking eye on the surface of the "planet". It continued rotating until it was staring directly at Claude. In that instant, there was a flash of red light and he heard an inhuman scream; his head seared with pain as the scream was accompanied a cacophony of a thousands voices crying and begging for help.

And then it was over. It stopped as quickly as it began. And the entity in the sky was nowhere to be seen.

Although Claude tends to keep to himself after the incident, there are a handful individuals that he trusts.

The first one, and the one he is closest to, is his assistant Bernard. Bernard is a young post-grad that studied under Claude for many years. Claude has never told him about his more private research as he is afraid that this knowledge would break someone so young and inexperienced. Even so, Bernard ties to help Claude in any way he can even if he does not fully understand some of Claude's requests and even if they are a bit unorthodox. Bernard worries about Claude's mental health and the affects of his secret research and makes frequent attempts to help him relax, usually to no avail.

The second person is his contact for illicit goods, Crazy Ivan. Ivan is, as his nickname implies, has an odd personality. He too is convinced that he has "seen things" but refuses to elaborate. Regardless, he has been a reliable source for more Claude's outlandish requests that are sometimes required for his research.

Lastly, is his father, Samuel. His father is the reason Claude got into astrology in the first place and instilled his sense of exploration and discovery. Ever since the incident, Claude has been distant and hasn't called home nearly as often, which has his father woried.

Claude had a relatively uneventful childhood. He grew up in a rural Texas with his parents. He was an only child. His father was always supportive of Claude's sense of adventure and one day bought him a telescope. Regularly, he would gaze up into the stars with awe and vowed to become an astrologist so that he can learn more about space. Unfortunately, his wish came true in a way he did not expect.

Claude performed exceptionally well in school, always at the top of his class. Although his family wasn't very wealthy, he earned many scholarships allowed him to pursue his academic career and attend Harvard where he eventually earn his PhD in astrology. He continued his career at Harvard and accepted a professor position. Growing up, other students were jealous of Claude's intellect and he had trouble making many friends growing. Even still, he found a few friends in the chess club and other nerdy groups.

For the most part, Claude has been hyper focused on his studies and then his research. He did not allow himself time too much time to go out and meet people. However, there was one time around 5 years ago where he did meet a girl at a astrology conference. She was smart and also had a passion for astrology and academia. For the first time in his life, he allowed himself to enjoy life outside of his work. Unfortunately, it was short lived. 4 months after dating, Claude had his encounter with the entity. He redoubled all his effort into his research making up excuses for why he could not hang out with her. Eventually, they stopped talking altogether and the relationship fell apart. To Claude, this might be for the best. He couldn't afford distractions.