The Southern Reach is a clandestine government agency tasked with studying the anomalous region known as Area X. While the agency is officially under the jurisdiction of Central (a powerful government body that commands the nation's intelligence community and coordinates military responses to homeland security issues) the Southern Reach's mandate gives it the power to act independently in regards to processing and analyzing data, samples and artifacts from Area X, much to the frustration of senior leadership at Central.
Since its founding, the Southern Reach has sent thirty eight exploratory expeditions into Area X in an attempt to learn more about it.
Although the organization is mentioned in Annihilation, the Southern Reach is explored in the second book, Authority. As the author Jeff VanderMeer has said: "If Annihilation is an expedition into Area X, then Authority is an expedition into the Southern Reach, the agency sending in the expeditions."[1]
Description[]
The Southern Reach is a U-shaped building divided into many departments. Throughout the years, the organization became neglected due to inconclusive research about Area X. The building had maintenance issues such as elevators being stuck until the military division could arrive to repair them. Another sign of neglect that the Southern Reach suffered was outdated equipment, such as the old computer in the director's office, and decorations, including unfashionable green carpet.
- Main article: Southern Reach Headquarters
After the former director's disappearance, Control was sent to the Southern Reach to “fix” its hopeless situation. He soon noticed that many members were inclined to superstitious thoughts, as they couldn't find logical answers to what was happening in Area X.
Personnel[]
In its early days, the Southern Reach employed cryptozoologists, paid for the services of psychics, and sometimes held seances.[2] Priests were employed for a time, but Area X was hard on them; there are no priests employed while Control is director.[3]
However, as more time passed and more expeditions were sent into Area X with little returning information, the number of personnel at the agency declined. As revealed by Whitby during his guided tour to Control, the Science Division had gone from 35 employees to 19 in the span of five years. It is also implied that many personnel couldn't fit in or grew bored of the work, leaving the Southern Reach after a short period of time.
Recognizing that the work carried out there is difficult and often disturbing, the agency employs a staff psychiatrist; all Southern Reach employees can see the psychiatrist free of charge.[4]
Known Personnel[]
- John Rodriguez (Director)
- Grace Stevenson (Assistant Director)
- Gloria/The Psychologist (Former Director)
- Jessica Hsyu (Linguist)
Science Division:[]
- Mike Cheney (head of Scientific Division)
- Deborah Davidson (Cheney's assistant)
- Whitby Allen
- Sixteen other employees, including a research chemist, a staff epidemiologist, a psychologist and an anthropologist.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2014/02/28/jeff-vandermeer-annihilation/5902023/
- ↑ Authority (UK Edition), pg. 201
- ↑ Authority (UK Edition), pg. 105
- ↑ Authority (UK Edition), pg. 181