- "I believe transhumanism is mankind’s only hope for long-term survival."
- ―Bertrand Zobrist[src]
Bertrand Zobrist was a rationalist & transhumanism scientist who created a virus that he thought could save the world from the apocalypse; he was also obsessed with Dante Alighieri. He is the posthumous overarching antagonist of the 2013 mystery thriller novel Inferno, and is portrayed by Ben Foster in the 2016 film adaptation. He was advertised as being the main antagonist of both the novel and the film, but this was a misinformation campaign to hide the identity of the true main antagonist.
Biography[]
In the past, he was the boyfriend of Sienna Brooks. He wrote a lot of articles about various science projects until he discovered that the world's overpopulation will eventually become a problem for the future of the human race. He tried to explain to Dr. Sinskey, the director of WHO, why he must create a biohazard that can hopefully solve the problem and save the world. Realizing that he was becoming a bioterrorist, Sinskey called ECDC units to stop Zobrist; this event caused the former to become the own nemesis of the latter!
Knowing that Zobrist wanted to succeed with his project, Sienna introduced him to the Consortium, the organization she worked for, which could do anything for him. The Consortium gave him fake passports, secret locations, and also a facility to use as a laboratory. Furthermore, until his weapon — a plague that would cause 1/3 of the human population to become infertile — was created, he gave some instructions to the Provost, the leader of the Consortium, what he had to do after he died, knowing that Dr. Sinskey was going to catch him soon.
One day, she found him hiding in Florence, where he was chased by an ECDC unit up to the top of the Badìa Fiorentina. Zobrist committed suicide by jumping to his death, doing this only after wishing that the world remembered him as a hero and not a monster.
Physical Appearance[]
Zobrist was described as lanky and very tall. He also had green eyes and a sharp voice.