Dr. Van Lucker

"These findings have been astonishing me for years. All this about extraterrestrial beings and their relevance to ancient history. Now...I am bringing them to life. One by one. Day by day. Year by year. No one can stop me. Not even them."

- Dr. Van Lucker, from one of the radios found in "Cyborg Reliance" Dr. Van Lucker is the main antagonist of the Soul of the Machine storyline. He is the head scientist of the CODOL Institute, responsible for the creation of the cyborgs and their takeover of the world. He makes an appearance in Cyborg Reliance during the final cutscene and is heard in the hidden radio logs. He is referenced in quotes only by the characters in S.O.D. 2036, appears during the final cutscene of Reign of Fire and is heard and seen throughout the major easter egg for Guilin Peaks.

Soul of the Machine
Not much is known about Dr. Van Lucker's past. Not even his first name or age is known to anyone else. It is known that he has always wanted to explore deep into time, space, alternate realities, machinery, and history. He became the head scientist of the CODOL Institute after the mysterious demise of the original head scientist that has so far been left nameless. Sometime after he took over, the cyborgs began to revolt against their human masters. All of them except for Van Lucker himself, who once ordered the cyborgs to attack a group of protesters. He has a very quick temper and has snapped at many of his fellow scientists for not seeing things the way he thinks should be done. He seems to have some sort of grudge against Cortex over something that happened in the past, but it is yet to be fully explained.

He is also responsible for the creation of the Power Core, the main object in the Soul of the Machine saga. It is an extremely powerful object, similar to the Summoning Key from the canon Treyarch saga of zombie maps. However, it is unknown what exactly it does, It is possible that Van Lucker is using the Power Core to either control the cyborgs, use it for his own personal desires, or both. It is also possibly the reason behind his new found immortality. But even that is up to debate as it is uncertain if he was already immortal before he obtained the Power Core.

Appearance
He appears as an elderly aged man with grayish-silver hair, clean shaven face, and a pair of small rectangular glasses. He wears a white lab coat with a dark blue dress shirt, dark brown pants and black shoes.

Trivia

 * He is inspired by a few other villainous characters from other maps and storylines such as Edward Richtofen and Wallace Mann.
 * He is possibly the oldest character in the Soul of the Machine arc. Though his age has yet to be officially known.