The Psychologist (12th Expedition)

The Psychologist
Real name	Gloria
Known as	The Psychologist The Former Director Cynthia
Place of origin	Forgotten Coast
Occupation	Director of Southern Reach Psychologist
Affiliations	Southern Reach
Status	Deceased
Appears in	Annihilation Authority Acceptance

The 12th expedition's psychologist was the director of the Southern Reach prior to her disappearance within Area X.

Physical Appearance

Control described the psychologist as a husky 40 year old woman who appears older. She seemed to be 6'6" (198 cm) and had greying dark brown hair. Her mother was Native American while her father was white.

Biography

It is revealed in Authority that the psychologist lived on the Forgotten Coast when she was a child, where she had a close bond with Saul Evans, the lighthouse keeper. Her ties to Saul and the area are what led her to pursue a career at the Southern Reach.

Her parents divorced when she was two years old. The psychologist lived with her mother--Trudi Jenkins, a pediatrician--while her father lived in the Midwest. She spent winter holidays with her father, who is described as a "small-time crook." They often went bowling together, an activity she continued to do into adulthood. She was nine years old and staying with her father when the first Event happened. She continued to live with her father after the Event closed off the Forgotten Coast, and most likely killed her mother.

As a child, the psychologist enjoyed nature. She spent long hours outside walking the beach of the Forgotten Coast, climbing the rocks, and examining animal dung. This love of a nature continued into her adult years. She was also fairly self-sufficient, her mother trusting her to be alone for stretches of time and even walk alone to the grocery store.

Her favorite foods were pork chops, shrimp with grits, and cereal, specifically bran flakes.

She studied psychology at a state college and was a consultant for five years before applying to work at the Southern Reach, where she started as an apprentice to the staff psychologist.

Director of the Southern Reach

While she worked at the Southern Reach, the psychologist lived on Standiford Street in Beakersville, a small city of twenty thousand people, in a 1700 square foot house well below her pay grade. She attempted to compost in her back yard and also fed birds. She had no close friends or family, and spent much of her time outside of work reading culture and art magazines and bowling at Chipper's Star Lanes.

The psychologist had a significant workplace friendship with Grace Stevenson, the assistant director. The two of them spent time together on the roof of the Southern Reach, a place they called "Beyond Reach." Hidden from view by the building's design, Grace and the psychologist retreated there when they needed a break from work, sometimes drinking brandy and smoking cherry-flavored cigarettes.

The psychologist broke protocol and the law by bringing evidence from Area X and files from the Southern Reach back to her home.

Before the last 11th expedition, the psychologist, accompanied by Whitby Allen, embarked on a three-week unauthorized border crossing into Area X. Grace was complicit and acted as director in her absence. Upon her return, the psychologist was placed on probation for six months.

Annihilation

The psychologist joined the twelfth expedition as its leader while incognito, concealing her identity as the director of the Southern Reach. During the twelfth expedition, the psychologist followed the anthropologist into the tower while the other expedition members slept, where she received a shoulder wound from the Crawler.

The next day, the psychologist waited at the entrance of the tower while the biologist and the surveyor explored it, and rather than waiting for them, she left the expedition group and made her way to the lighthouse. The psychologist remained at the top of the lighthouse until the biologist's approach caused the psychologist's shoulder wound reacted and the psychologist was compelled to jump from the lighthouse to the rocky beach below. She sustained mortal injuries during the fall, however she stayed conscious for some time before dying, which allowed her to have a conversation with the biologist once the biologist found her body on the rocks. After death, the psychologist's body emanated green light like a beacon.

Authority

The psychologist's doppelganger heralded the expansion of Area X. Grace and Control witnessed the doppelganger advancing on the Southern Reach with Area X at her back.

Acceptance

When the psychologist was nine-and-a-half years old, she had struck an acquaintance with Saul Evans, the lighthouse keeper. While visiting the lighthouse, she became familiar with Henry and Suzanne, and shared Saul's dislike for them. When Failure Island caught fire, the psychologist ran to the lighthouse so that she could use Saul's telescope to see the fires more closely. There, Henry and Suzanne arrived and took a photo of Saul, the psychologist, and Brad.

Later, the psychologist convinced Saul Evans to see a doctor about the symptoms he was experiencing by telling him that he is different, and suggesting that he see her mother, a pediatrician.

Meanwhile, the psychologist, in the persona of the director, narrated events from her life in second person beginning from the day of her death in Area X. She recounted her conversation with the biologist, and the events after the biologist left as the psychologist was changed by Area X.

The psychologist described Chipper's Star Lanes a bowling alley she frequented during her time as the director of the Southern Reach. She used a cover story while talking to the regulars at the bowling alley's bar, many of whom were themselves lying about elements of their identities.

During that time, the psychologist and Whitby saw some success in improving outcomes for the expeditions sent into Area X, however Lowry's influence also grew, and as the successes plateaued, Central's support began to decline, and it began to withhold resources. As morale decreased further, the psychologist decided to plan her own secret excursion into Area X with Whitby and Grace.

The psychologist and Whitby crossed the border in secret with Whitby hypnotized. They arrived at the Topographical Anomaly, and when Whitby refused to enter, the psychologist went in alone. There she found Saul Evans partially merged with a wall, and tried to speak to him, but fled when she sensed something rushing upward deeper within the Tower. Despite Whitby wanting to abandon the mission, the psychologist persisted, continuing to the ruins of her hometown, then to the lighthouse.

At the lighthouse, the psychologist lost track of Whitby, who ascended to the top of the staircase. When she found him, he told her that his doppelganger appeared, and that he had killed his doppelganger. The psychologist didn't know whether to believe Whitby, but they returned from the expedition with the dead Whitby's pack.

The psychologist's expedition was discovered after the fact, and after being interrogated by Lowry and Jackie Severance, she was placed on a six-month leave from her position.

Trivia

• Like previous expedition leaders before her, the psychologist used hypnosis to control the members of the twelfth expedition.

Gallery

Fan art

art by Chloe galvanic