Gerald Neal

The man who lies to himself is the first to take offense.
―Fyodor Dostoevsky, “The Brothers Karamazov”

Gerald Neal

Statistics
Age 65, Nationality: American, Birthplace: San Francisco, California 1960.
Song of Ghroth: Fourth Stanza, Ghroth Points: 20, Mi-Go Conditioning: POW 40.

Combat

Skills
Accounting 55%, Anthropology 25%, Appraise 15%, Archeology 1%, Art/Craft (Piano) 55%, Charm 10%, Climb 35%, Computer Use 50%, Credit Rating 65%, Cthulhu Mythos 5%, Disguise 5%, Drive Auto 25%, Electrical Repair 45% Electronics 35%, Fast Talk 5%, First Aid 45%, History 40%, Intimidate 25%, Jump 20%, Knowledge (Classical Music) 70%, Law 40%, Library Use 60%, Listen 40%, Locksmith 1%, Mechanical Repair 45%, Medicine 10%, Navigate 10%, Natural World 60%, Occult 5%, Operate Heavy Machinery 30%, Operate Radio Telescope 70%, Paranormal Studies 10%, Persuade 65%, Psychology 15%, Psychoanalysis 1%, Ride 10%, Science (Astronomy) 85%, Science (Astrophysics) 90%, Science (Chemistry) 50%, Science (Mathematics) 75%, Science (Physics) 70%, Spot Hidden 40%, Stealth 10%, Streetwise 5%, Swim 65%, Throw 35%.

Languages: English native; German 70%

Education
B.S. in Astronomy from Williams College with a minor in Mathematics, 1980
MSc in Astrophysics from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, 1983
Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of California, Berkeley, 1988

Description

Dr. Neal is an attractive older man with a closed-shaved beard and graying, windswept hair. He has the characteristic piercing eyes and arched eyebrows of an imperious professor, and speaks with a vague Harvard accent sprinkled with British idioms and the occasional German expression. Considered something of a “cold fish,” Neal rarely smiles, and even when angry, his voice remains calm and controlled. Neal favors natural fabrics like wool and tweed, frequently wears scarves, and uses Grey Flannel cologne—a surprisingly bourgeoise affectation for a man who styles himself as a “coastal elite.”

History
Gerald Mantz Neal was born in San Francsico to American mathematician Scofield Neal and German quantum theorist Una Mantz. Raised in a strict household that valued education and hard work over affection and play, Neal spent his teenage years at Choate Rosemary Hall, a prestigious boarding school in Connecticut. Having been extensively tutored as a child, Neal entered the school younger than most, and graduated at the age of 16.

Neal attended Williams College, earning a B.S. in Astronomy with a minor in Mathematics. After spending a year abroad with the Williams-Exeter Programme at Oxford, Neal decided he’d pursue a higher education outside the States. He initially enrolled at Cambridge to study astronomy, but after the first trimester, he departed for Germany to attend the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. There he had the opportunity to study at the Effelsberg Radio Telescope under a joint program with the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy and the University of Bonn. After earning a Master of Science in Astrophysics at LMU, Neal returned to the States in 1983. He enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, earning a Ph.D. in Astrophysics in 1988. After some postdoc work at Berkeley, Neal completed a fellowship at Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia, then spent a semester researching astrochemistry at Brichester University in the UK. In 1991 Neal joined the faculty of Harvard University as an Assistant Professor of Astronomy. In 2002 he was appointed the first Perry Brendan Professor of Astrophysics. A decade later, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory appointed Dr. Gerald Neal the Director of the Great Plains Cruciform Array.

Despite having run the GPCA for 13 years, Neal remains something of a mystery to his colleagues. He keeps a firm hand on the tiller, disdains drama, and seems content to let the NRAO focus its attention on the Very Large Array. Some of the Director’s critics have suggested that he’d rather be a “big fish in a little pond,” but Neal simply believes that academics and politics make poor bedfellows. Not that his critics bother him much. Neal is possessed by a self-confidence that borders on arrogance, and considers himself to have the moral authority of a captain on his quarterdeck.

Scientific Work
Neal has published countless papers on astronomy, astrochemistry, and astrophysics, and he’s developed a reputation as a rigorous thinker who supports his ideas with impeccable argumentation. Nevertheless, there’s a more outré side to Neal, and his name has been connected to some fairly controversial ideas, starting with the famous 1984 “Nemesis” paper in Nature. A young Ph.D. student at Berkeley at the time, Neal had fallen into the orbit of Marc Davis, who became Neal’s mentor and thesis advisor. It was Neal who suggested that Richard Muller’s “companion star” might be affecting the comets of the Oort cloud rather than the asteroid belt, thereby correcting its orbital dynamics and supplying the missing piece to the Nemesis puzzle. Indeed, it was even Neal who suggested “Nemesis” as a possible name for the star!

Neal is a vigorous advocate for SETI research, and lends his support to Breakthrough Listen and Avi Loeb’s Galileo Project. He’s also defended some unorthodox ideas associated with modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) and “tired light,” a radical and contrarian hypothesis that universe is actually older than we believe. While Neal has never lent these conjectures the full force of his support, he’s frequently reminded his colleagues that “we are still stumbling from the Dark Ages, and the universe is certainly stranger than we imagine in our primitive minds.”

In spite of his open-minded approach to physics, Neal has little patience for “fringe” sciences such as ESP and ufology. He’s even a skeptic when it comes to SETI. Neal would like to believe that extraterrestrial life exists, but doesn’t think the proof will be seen any time soon, and becomes irritable when people “overreact to the smallest ping.”

Personal Life
Neal owns a simple house in the suburbs of North Platte, but frequently spends his nights in the GPCA dormitory. He is unmarried, does not date, and adamantly refuses to “identify” as any sexual orientation—“It’s called a private life for a reason.” Neal registered as a Republican during the Reagan era, and tends to vote for moderates on either side of the aisle. He has little patience for ideology, from “MAGA neanderthals who traffic in ignorance and fear” to “these little Maoist shits who insist that work about black holes must also address racism.”

Neal has few hobbies, does not enjoy socializing, and rarely takes sick days. The only vacation he’s taken in the last few years was a trip to San Francisco to bury his father. Neal’s only non-scientific interests are fine wine and classical music, particularly Mozart, Beethoven, and German opera. He’s a decent pianist, but confines his playing to the privacy of his home. He’s currently learning how to play the Ligeti études. Although he appreciates the challenge presented by their difficulty, he’s not sure whether he actually enjoys them.

Notable Possessions
Neal’s home is tastefully decorated, and his prized possession is an August Förster Model 190 grand piano. He drives a bronze 2023 Land Rover to work, and owns a white BMW 3 Series he uses for more casual trips. Neal drives quite fast, and has been busted for speeding on several occasions. He owns a SIG Sauer P230 handgun he keeps locked in a safe. Every few months he takes it to the Lake Maloney Gun Club for target practice.

Reactions to Nemesis

Dr. Neal began hearing the Fourth Stanza the night of 25 December 2024.

Neal’s Delusion
Neal is convinced that Ghroth is Nemesis. Although his team at Berkeley originally hypothesized that Nemesis was a red dwarf, the discovery of CASS 21162066+68152480 has persuaded Neal that Daniel Whitmore and Albert Jackson were closer to the truth, and Nemesis is actually a brown dwarf. No matter! The important fact is that he—Gerald Mantz Neal—has finally discovered Muller’s “putative death star.”

Any doubts Neal might have sustained have been evaporated by his madness. As his derangement has progressed, Neal has gone from ignoring inconsistencies and anomalies in the data to simply not seeing them. Like Captain Ahab pursing the white whale, Neal is prepared to follow his monomania with little regard for the consequences. He will demonstrate that Nemesis exists, and he will win a Nobel Prize! (Maybe he’ll even share it with Davis and Muller…) As the Song of Ghroth surges and his Mi-Go conditioning weakens, Neal is coming closer to declaring the data “complete” and ready to publicize. The endgame of Bible Black begins when Neal reaches Apostolus and decides to broadcast the Nemesis Signal.

Episodes
Neal’s Ghroth-related episodes run towards irritability, peevishness, and distemper punctuated by spasms of pain and periods of delirium. If thwarted, Neal is likely to experience episodes of anger and rage.

GPCA Relationships
Neal was never humble, easygoing, or friendly; but the Song has whittled him down to an arrogant martinet. It’s safe to say that nobody who works in the Annesley-Ross Tower really likes Neal any more, but everyone respects him, and many of his employees fear him. C.T. Guest and Harlan Bennett miss the “old Neal,” but both are as excited about unraveling the Nemesis puzzle as their boss. Diane Mancini has always thought Neal was a jerk, but she’s grappling with her own delusions. Once she discovers that “Nemesis” is actually an extraterrestrial megastructure, she’ll deal with Neal’s inevitable meltdown. Neal himself thinks she’s drawn the wrong conclusion, but still values her insights into the data and its unusual patterns.

Freddie Pike steers clear of Neal. The two have never gotten along, and Neal has openly suggested that Freddie accept an early retirement. Mason Dauterive dislikes Neal, but tries to remain on his good side; while Jay Osman and Jackie Bernard-Wu are both terrified of the Director. Meanwhile, Neal looks at his array operators as little more than expendable employees. The only one who escapes his contempt is Jenny Hooper, who’s also the only operator unafraid of Neal and his bluster. This is partly because her father is an old friend of Neal’s from Williams; but the main reason is that Neal values, even needs, Jenny’s sonifications. Of course, Neal is completely blind to the fact Jenny has other ideas about the identity and function of “Nemesis,” as she wisely keeps those to herself!

The Role of Gerald Neal

Dr. Gerald Neal is the principal human antagonist of Bible Black. No amount of convincing will get Neal to admit that he’s wrong about Nemesis, or that his obsession is driving the world to the brink of catastrophe. (He might be persuaded to believe the Mi-Go are interfering with his plans; but that only brings him closer to broadcasting the Signal.)

As long as the player characters do not disrupt Neal’s work, he’ll regard them as little more than annoyances. But if they begin questioning his authority, undermining his control, or—God forbid!—working against him, he’ll take increasingly drastic actions to remove them from the picture. Neal has the authority to bar the player characters from the GPCA. If Neal drops the ban hammer, the player characters must use other means to access the site—trespassing, subterfuge, or simply making allies on the staff. (Dr. Snow could always appeal to the NRAO, who would investigate the matter and certainly overturn the restriction; but the limited scope of the scenario precludes such a deus ex machina!) If push comes to shove, Neal defends his project with his P230.

Having said all that, Neal is unlikely to survive the scenario, and will probably end up in a Mi-Go brain cylinder!

Notes and Inspirations

If White Leviathan were a movie, Gerald Neal would be played by Sam Neill, who can always be trusted to play a Lovecraftian protagonist eager to open the Gate and have his sanity blasted. Think of Mark in Possession, John Trent from In the Mouth of Madness, and William Weir in Event Horizon. (And I’m sure Alan Grant in Jurassic Park was secretly pleased to see dinosaurs run wild!) Other relevant Sam Neil performances include Omen III: The Final Conflict and The Piano.

Bible Black > NPC Profiles
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Author: A. Buell Ruch (Based on work by Kevin A. Ross)
Last Modified: 5 November 2025
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
Bible Black PDF: [TBD]