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

Physical Appearance[]

In Authority, Control describes the psychologist as a tall, husky, 40 year old woman who appears older. Her mother is Native American while her father is 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[1]. She spent winter holidays with her father, who is described as a "small-time crook."[2] They often went bowling together, an activity she continued to do into adulthood.[3] She was nine years old and staying with her father when the first Event happened.[4] 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.[5] This love of a nature continued into her adult years.[6] 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.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8] 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.[7]

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.[9]

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.[10]

Annihilation[]

During the twelfth expedition, the psychologist was investigating the tower with the anthropologist, where she received a shoulder wound from the Crawler. Rather than return to base camp, she made her way to the lighthouse. When the biologist arrived the next day, the psychologist's shoulder wound reacted to the biologist's approach and the psychologist was forced to jump from the lighthouse.[11] She died not long after.

Authority[]

A doppelganger of the psychologist returned from Area X. She visited her old home in Beakersville, where she pushed all her bedroom furniture to one side; on the opposite wall, beneath a window, she wrote the Tower's incantation and drew a map of Area X.[12]

Acceptance[]

TBA

Trivia[]

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

Gallery[]

Fan art[]

SOUTHERN REACH CHARACTERS (BOOKS)
Annihilation
The BiologistThe PsychologistThe SurveyorThe AnthropologistThe Biologist's HusbandThe Linguist
Authority
ControlGhost BirdGrace StevensonJackie SeveranceWhitby AllenLowryMike CheneyJessica HsyuDeborah Davidson
Acceptance
Saul EvansGloriaGhost BirdControlGrace StevensonWhitby AllenHenrySuzanneCharlie
SEE ALL
  1. Acceptance (UK Edition), pg. 21
  2. Acceptance (UK Edition), pg. 91
  3. Acceptance (UK Edition), pg. 39
  4. Acceptance (UK Edition), pg. 20
  5. Acceptance (UK Edition), pg. 22
  6. 6.0 6.1 Authority (UK Edition), pg. 155
  7. 7.0 7.1 Authority (UK Edition), pg. 154
  8. Authority (UK Edition), pg. 248-249
  9. Acceptance (UK Edition), pg. 47
  10. Authority (UK Edition), pg. 214-215
  11. Acceptance (UK Edition, pg. 4)
  12. Authority (UK Edition), pg. 253.
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