Dr. Cornelius

Doctor Cornelius is one of the most powerful Merlin-Types in the world. He is a master of Hermetic Magic who once held three of The Words in his head.

Appearance
Dr. Cornelius is a reasonably attractive man, tall and thin. His narrow face is a striking mix of African-European features, and his dark hair and beard are neatly trimmed. His eyes are intelligent and good-humored.

At the time Astra meets him, his dark skin is an unhealthy gray, and the lines around his veined eyes aged him.

History
Doctor Cornelius was a college student majoring in metaphysics when the Event changed the world. His hallucinatory and epiphanic breakthrough transformed him into one of the most powerful Merlin-Types known. He is a master of Hermetic Magic (also called Deccanic Magic), and a tormented man who would very much like to give up his "enlightenment." He is a close associate of Orb's.

He serves as a supernatural investigator who specializes in murders by projections, thought-forms, and things like that. He got his start doing quiet jobs for Orb, a top-shelf Hollywood PI. Were history to have progressed according to the Big Book of Contingent Prophecy, he would have made a name for himself as an occult investigator who specialized in hunting supernatural breakthroughs, their projections and creations.

Powers and Abilities
He is a master of Hermetic Magic (also called Deccanic Magic) and once held three of the thirty-six words his mystic tradition believes were used to speak the universe into creation.

He is also able to see Shelly, a thought-projection inside Astra's head.