Freddie Pike

Freddie Pike

Statistics
Age 62, Nationality: American, Birthplace: Sioux City, Iowa 1962.
Song of Ghroth: First Stanza, Ghroth Points: 3, Mi-Go Conditioning: POW 60.

Combat

Skills
Accounting 20%, Anthropology 1%, Appraise 10%, Archeology 1%, Art/Craft (Brewing) 35%, Art/Craft (Creative Writing) 25%, Art/Craft (Poker) 55%, Charm 15%, Climb 20%, Computer Use 65%, Credit Rating 50%, Cthulhu Mythos 1%, Disguise 5%, Drive Auto 35%, Electrical Repair 75% Electronics 65%, Fast Talk 5%, First Aid 40%, History 15%, Intimidate 15%, Jump 20%, Knowledge (Literature) 40%, Knowledge (Science Fiction) 75%, Law 20%, Library Use 65%, Listen 40%, Locksmith 20%, Mechanical Repair 65%, Medicine 10%, Navigate 50%, Natural World 35%, Occult 5%, Operate Heavy Machinery 60%, Operate Radio Telescope 80%, Paranormal Studies 5%, Persuade 15%, Psychology 10%, Psychoanalysis 1%, Ride 35%, Science (Astronomy) 35%, Science (Astrophysics) 35%, Science (Biology) 10%, Science (Chemistry) 15%, Science (Computer Science) 50%, Science (Mathematics) 40%, Science (Physics) 45%, Sleight of Hand 10%, Spot Hidden 70%, Stealth 20%, Streetwise 10%, Survival 10%, Swim 20%, Throw 35%, Track 45%.

Languages: English native; Russian 15%.

Education
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology, University of Northern Iowa, 1984
M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, 1987

Description

Freddie is bulky Midwesterner who keeps his thinning hair in a buzz cut. He has bad skin but kindly blue eyes, and favors old jeans and simple button-down shirts with a pocket protector—although he’s been known to sport cowboy boots, and for fancy occasions, he breaks out a black, Western-cut shirt with silver collar tips. (Freddie calls it his “Johnny Cash shirt.”) Freddie is something of an introvert, a quiet but observant man who weighs his words before speaking. He can seem dull or even slow at times, but those who underestimate Freddie are often surprised to discover he’s been paying very close attention to everything around him. Most people at the GPCA know that when Freddie’s ready to deliver his opinion, it’s best to listen—he’s seldom wrong about technical matters. Freddie rarely presses his case or repeats himself, figuring that experience is the best teacher, and sometimes people need to find out they’re wrong for themselves.

History
Frederick Barton Pike III was born on a farm near Sioux City, Iowa, where he grew up learning to repair his father’s aging equipment. The first Pike to attend college, Freddie earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Northern Iowa. During his sophomore year, his father died, and his mother and older sister decided to sell the farm. Freddie entered the Air Force and was trained as a radar operator. Earning a degree in Electrical Engineering from the AFIT, he worked at the Johnson Space Center in Houston for a spell, where his claim to fame was spilling a hot cup of coffee on astronaut Mae Jemison. In 1992 Freddie applied for a position as an electrical engineer at the Great Plains Cruciform Array, and soon found himself working as an array operator. He’s been there ever since, the oldest operator on staff, and the one widely considered to “know the dishes best.”

Personal Life
Freddie is unmarried and has no children. He lives in the same house in Hayden since he moved to Nebraska, and pursues two hobbies with a kind of grim determination—deer hunting and home brewing. Although he occasionally drinks at the Buzzard, Freddie’s social life is constrained to three activities: playing poker with the GPCA grounds crew, hunting deer with Gary Wilson and Cody Ballantine, and attending professional development conferences. Freddie believes it’s his duty to keep abreast of electronics and engineering, and appreciates the chance to “get out and meets some folks.” An avid fan of cerebral sci-fi and weird fiction, Freddie’s been known to attend the occasional literary conference, and once flew across the country to hear a panel on J.G. Ballard at the NecronomiCon in Providence. He’s even written a few short stories, but none that have been accepted for publication.

Freddie’s lack of social life and his disinterest in dating has led to speculation that he’s “old-school gay,” but his friends know that Freddie’s “just not interested in sex,” a statement most younger generations would interpret as “asexual.” It’s a pretty accurate assessment. After dating a few girls in college and having experienced a single gay encounter in the Air Force, Freddie determined that sex just wasn’t something he liked, and he’s enjoyed a life free from “messy entanglements with people and their constant needs.”

Researching Freddie
Freddie lives in Hayden, but has no social media presence. A search of his records reveals that he’s never been married, and his Air Force record is brief, but clean. A deeper search discovers his participation in numerous conferences, and uncovers some funny stories about him spilling his coffee on Mae Jemison in 1990. He has a concealed handgun permit (CHP) from Nebraska.

Notable Possessions
Freddie drives a 2015 Chevy Silverado 1500. Although he’s amassed a significant collection of pistols and hunting rifles, his two favorites are a Smith & Wesson Model 340PD .38, and a stainless steel, Ruger-made Marlin 1895 he purchased in early April 2025. Freddie has a sizable library with some surprising first editions, including autographed copies of Samuel Delaney’s Dahlgren, M. John Harrison’s The Centauri Device, and William S. Burroughs’ Blade Runner, A Movie. His dream is to own a first edition of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider. Freddie’s house contains a corkboard were he pins his rejection letters, his favorite being from Ann VanderMeer, who offered constructive criticism that amounts to “more characterization, less arcane details on electronics.”

Reactions to Nemesis

Unlike the other operators, Freddie works a comfortable 9–5 shift on weekdays, a “grandfather” benefit of his experience that irks his colleagues, especially Jackie and Jenny. Having said that, Freddie’s daytime experience has isolated him from the Nemesis Team, and he’s barely affected by the Song of Ghroth. His exposure to the First Stanza has resulted in little more than weird nightmares and the creepy feeling that he’s “being watched.”

Episodes
If Freddie starts experiences Ghroth-related episodes, they’ll center around lethargy and pain.

GPCA Relationships
Freddie is widely considered “a little quirky,” but he’s the only operator or scientist that has genuine friendships among the technicians, mechanics, and ground crew. Mason and Jay respect Freddie, with Mason appreciating Freddie’s taste in literature and Jay admiring his technological intuition. Dr. Guest enjoys conversations with Freddie about hunting and literature; especially the Beats, and has invited Freddie over to Tecumseh Ranch on several occasions. Dr. Bennett values Freddie’s “insider knowledge” of the dishes, while Dr. Mancini has picked his brain about avant-garde science fiction—although Freddie’s never seen the need to let her know he learned some Russian in the Air Force. The only scientist who actively dislikes Freddie is Dr. Neal. The Director and Freddie have butted heads on several occasions, with Neal particularly irritated that Freddie still talks about his predecessor Sarah Potter in glowing terms. Neal’s main consolation is that advancing technology will eventually force Freddie out of his job; but Freddie continually thwarts this fate through periods of intense study, usually emerging with near-mastery of new technologies and programming languages.

The Role of Freddie Pike

Freddie is the only full-time scientist or operator who is not part of the Nemesis Team. He remains unaware the team has discovered Ghroth, has never accessed the defunct terminal, and hasn’t heard Jenny’s sonifications. While Freddie is certainly capable of hacking into the Nemesis workstation, it’s just never occurred to him. If Neal says the computer is broken and doesn’t want it fixed, that’s fine with Freddie!

Despite Freddie’s isolation, he suspects that something weird is going on. Over the last six months or so, everyone’s become edgy and secretive. Mason’s stopped talking to him about science fiction, Guest hasn’t invited him to Tecumseh Ranch in months, and the “new kids” Jenny and Jackie seem uninterested in learning from Freddie’s long experience. Bennett’s been more distracted than usual, Mancini more snappish, and Neal? Well, Neal’s become an outright prick.

If the player characters can exploit Freddie’s misgivings, he can be a useful ally. There are long periods during the day when he’s the only operator in the control room, and an allied Freddie Pike may look the other way while the players do some “unauthorized” investigating. While Freddie isn’t going to believe in aliens and monsters right off the bat, once he’s confronted with evidence, he’s prone to quote Sherlock Holmes—“When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” The confirmed existence of hostile aliens or paranormal entities offers little surprise to Freddie. Not because he’s a science-fiction fan; but because at heart, Freddie’s a fatalist. The universe is an ancient, weird place, and Freddie considers human beings as little more than barely-intelligent monkeys.

It should also be noted that Freddie has quite the collection of firearms!

Notes and Inspirations

If Bible Black were a movie, Freddie Pike would be played by the kind of actor who specializes in “smarter than they look” characters. The image of Freddie in the banner is the late, great Charles Hallahan, whose character in The Thing provided one of the movie’s most memorable scenes. Two other solid choices are Fred Ward and Everett McGill.

Bible Black > NPC Profiles
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Author: A. Buell Ruch (Based on work by Kevin A. Ross)
Last Modified: 8 November 2025
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
Bible Black PDF: [TBD]