Jay Osman

Jay Osman

Statistics
Age 26, Nationality: American, Birthplace: Los Angeles, California 1999.
Song of Ghroth: Third Stanza, Ghroth Points: 17, Mi-Go Conditioning: POW 45.

Combat

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

Languages: English native; Arabic 25%.

Education
B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology, 2021

Description

Jay Osman is a slender young man with sensitive features and short, unruly hair. He dresses in button-down shirts and conservative ties, and favors khaki pants and Doc Marten boots. A genuine introvert, Jay’s natural expression is one of pensive anxiety, but he’s quite friendly when approached, and has a warm smile often described as “charming.”

History
Yaqub “Jay” Osman was born in Los Angeles, California to an immigrant family from Syria. His father was an astronomy professor at Tishreen University, and his mother was a statistician who worked for the Syrian Petroleum Company. As a child, Jay disturbed his parents with his troubled sleeping habits. He had terrible nightmares, often screaming himself awake. He also experienced periods of frequent sleepwalking. And worse of all, sometimes Jay couldn’t tell the difference between his dreams and reality. He’d remain convinced that something he dreamt actually happened. Although these habits faded around puberty, Jay still suffers from night terrors and occasional bouts of sleepwalking. He was diagnosed with ADHD in sixth grade, and takes Adderall daily.

Jay earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Caltech, specializing in Intelligent Systems. After working at Owens Valley Radio Observatory for three years, he landed a job as Leo Sawyer’s replacement at the Great Plains Cruciform Array.

Personal Life
Although Jay’s parents weren’t happy with their son moving to deep red Nebraska—“You need to be careful! This isn’t California. Is there even a mosque in North Platte?”—Jay has found the peace and serenity of the prairies much to his liking, and has already made several friends among the folks his parents refer to as “hillbillies.” In fact, he and his girlfriend Bridgett Lynch, a nurse at Great Plains Health, just moved in together. Although Jay was raised under the Sunni faith by his mother, he takes after his father, an agnostic non-practicing Druze. Jay considers himself a Muslim more culturally than spiritually, and even that’s tenuous. As he likes to joke, “I’m pretty much an atheist who feels guilty when he drinks beer or eats bacon—hurray!”

Jay has something of a slacker personality. He doesn’t play sports, watch television, or read fiction, and his musical tastes tend towards “whatever’s on the radio.” Aside from being a registered Democrat, he’s not politically active. Jay’s only hobby is video gaming, and he was three-time Mario Kart champion at Big Ears. He’s also obsessed with Pokémon Go.

Discovery of Nemesis
Jay Osman was the array operator who first detected the Nemesis signal on 16 January 2024. He discovered it during a routine sweep of Cepheus for the Cruciform Array Sky Survey. Or at least, it seemed routine; but Jay was a few seconds off his appointed target when he located the signal, a misstep overlooked in the excitement of the discovery. Jay’s never been able to articulate just why he aimed the array at that specific location. Maybe it had something to do with the crazy dreams he’d been having, dreams of finding the Great Pokémon in the Sky, ha ha! But that’s Jay, always with the crazy, obsessive dreams.

Jay began hearing the Song of Ghroth the moment he first locked onto CASS 21162066+68152480. The First Stanza made him more anxious and paranoid than usual, but few people noticed, including Jay himself. He just shook it off and decided it was “new job jitters.” For almost a year he continued to lead a normal life. He met a nurse named Bridgett Lynch during a brief visit to Great Plains Regional to treat a sprained ankle. (Distracted by Pokémon Go, Jay walked into a passing cyclist on Ioke Steet.) The two began dating, and in early October they rented a house together at the end of Mary Sue Avenue in North Platte.

Then Jenny Hooper began converting the Nemesis Signal to music. The moment Jay heard the first sonification, the effects of the Song began accelerating. He heard the Second Stanza in January, the Third Stanza a few weeks later, and the Fourth Stanza on 5 March 2025. All at once Jay began losing his mind. He desperately tried to explain what was going on, but the Mi-Go colophon kicked back hard, silencing his efforts to discuss Nemesis with his girlfriend, to phone his father in LA, or to seek advice from his friends at OVRO. His behavior became erratic, his work suffered, and he began having paranoid delusions—why couldn’t he tell anyone about Nemesis? Maybe Dr. Neal had some kind of power over him? Oh my God, maybe Dr. Neal was an alien? Maybe they were all aliens!

A week before the scenario begins, Jay became convinced his colleagues were “Lizard People,” reptiloid aliens masking as humans. Even he knows this sounds insane, but every time he tries to fight these thoughts, he suffers from violent, physical contractions. Perhaps they placed something inside of him? Some kind of implant designed to control his thoughts? Bridgett pleaded with Jay to get help for his obvious distress, but it wasn’t until Jay self-medicated with 100 milligrams of THC gummies that he was finally able to explain what was going on.

Somewhat taken aback by the extent of Jay’s delusions, Bridgett made an executive decision to force Jay into seeking professional help. On Friday, 15 March 2025 she informed the GPCA that Jay had developed a “terrible case of COVID,” one that would keep him from work the following week. Director Neal was pissed—he even threatened to fire Jay!—but there was little he could do. Calming Jay with heroic dozes of Xanax, she began reasoning with him, pleading that he see a psychologist. The alprazolam failed to mute the Song of Ghroth, but has been interfering with the colophon, allowing Jay to be more open about his fears. Although Bridgett takes this as a “good sign,” it’s clear Jay needs professional help.

Reactions to Nemesis

Jay Osman has been accelerating through the Stanzas faster than any of his colleagues.

Jay’s Delusions
Jay has been dreaming of a great Poké Ball in the Sky, a malevolent, planet-sized Poké Ball containing an awful monster; perhaps Yveltal or something much worse. Once this Poké Ball opens, the earth will be consumed! As stated above, Jay’s worried that he’s the only human being left at the GPCA, and one day the Lizard People will “get him” the way they “got” Leo Sawyer.

Jay’s model of “The Great Poké Ball in the Sky”

Episodes
Jay’s Ghroth-related episodes tend towards horrible nightmares, sleepwalking excursions into the nearby field, and hysterical panic attacks.

GPCA Relationships
Jay Osman has a pretty good relationship with everyone at the GPCA, but he gets along the most with Mason Dauterive, and has even “hung out” with Mason and his girlfriends. (Jay’s never asked, and Mason’s never told.) He’s mildly irritated by Jackie, intimidated by Jenny, and views Freddie Pike as something of a legend. Jay is intimidated by all the scientists at the GPCA, even C.T. Guest, whose cordial efforts to “get to know Jay better” are usually met with anxious confusion.

The Role of Jay Osman

Jay Osman does not report to work the week of March 17. He’s confined to his house in North Platte, ostensibly “sick with COVID.” Jay’s main role in the scenario is to inform the player characters about the cultish behavior of his colleagues and give them a taste of Jenny’s sonifications. He’s also a vivid example of what happens when a human becomes overwhelmed by the Song of Ghroth and struggles against his Mi-Go conditioning. See “Asynchronous Encounter 5—Visiting Jay Osman” for details.

Notes and Inspirations

If Bible Black were a movie, Jay Osman would be played by Rami Malek—the quiet, pensive Malek from Until Dawn and Mr. Robot.

Bible Black > NPC Profiles
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Author: A. Buell Ruch (Based on work by Kevin A. Ross)
Last Modified: 6 November 2025
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
Bible Black PDF: [TBD]