Professor Ernest Van Ark is one of the people partially responsible for starting the zombie apocalypse while performing research on cell regeneration with the final aim of discovering a way for humans to become immortal.
History[]
Pre-apocalypse[]
Professor Van Ark is rumored to have inherited money which he used to build a fancy house in the hills, accessible only by a bridge over a ravine.[1]
Van Ark once hosted a cocktail party at his house. Paula Cohen and Maxine Myers were among the attendees.[1]
Professor Van Ark was involved in the research and development of VS-72, an experimental "wonder drug" that was meant to help humans heal faster by increasing cell regeneration. During this time, he met Archie Jensen who was helping out with some of the research.[2] One of the patients in the clinical trial of VS-72, Arthur Gurkhan, had an adverse reaction to the treatment and became Patient Zero - the first zombie.[3]
Early Apocalypse[]
In the early days of the outbreak, Van Ark and his team try to treat the infected people, but everything they try only makes the infected stronger and faster. Van Ark barely escapes when several break free from their restraints, and it is then that he decides a cure is impossible.[4]
Van Ark removes Arhur Gurkhan's patient file from his notes at the Tessandori lab. He contacts one of the VS-72 researchers over the radio and tells him to destroy his own research notes along with all the evidence that the zombie virus is linked to their cell regeneration research.[5]
Van Ark begins researching the virus, as well as continuing his research into immortality. He develops a serum that can counteract the effects of the virus, although it's not a permanent solution. Paula works with him to try and develop a cure or vaccine, but when she tries to leave Van Ark infects her with the virus. And because Van Ark has the only known treatment for the virus, Paula is forced to stay and continue working with him.[6]
The Way of All Flesh[]
Van Ark heads to Gadsen Manor in the hopes of retrieving some of the Pandora Haze equipment there.[7] He arrives alongside Rose and Geri Kim. The fourth member of their party, Sheila, takes refuge in a treehouse outside. Once Van Ark makes it inside, he meets Chris McShell, Jody Marsh, Keith Carroway, Manisha Plassard, and Callum Donaldson. Van Ark introduces himself to them as "Professor Walter Huebner" (the name of another scientist from Pandora Haze[3]). As the group is sitting down to eat, they hear the doorbell ring. Everyone goes to check, but nobody is there - only the zombies crowding at the fence. When they return to the dining room, Callum begins eating his stew but almost immediately starts choking and collapses. Manisha checks him and pronounces that Callum is dead.[8]
After the initial shock of Callum's death passes, they discover that he has been poisoned. Specifically with one of the chemicals Van Ark brought with him. However, Van Ark had left the chemicals in the dining room when everyone went to check the doorbell, so anyone had the chance to take the chemical and poison Callum. Van Ark, Jody, Rose, and Geri move Callum's body out of the way, then everyone splits up to investigate the manor. Van Ark and Keith go to explore the east wing. In one of the bedrooms they find a satchel containing a laptop and Callum's ID. The investigations are interrupted when Sheila screams for help outside. Van Ark, Rose, and Manisha are not willing to risk themselves to save her, but the rest of the group manages to get Sheila to safety inside the manor. However, the zombies outside have now breached the fence.[9]
Van Ark helps fortify the doors and windows to keep the zombies out. While discussing whether or not to kill the murderer once they have been discovered, Van Ark expresses some disdain at the idea of humans reverting to animalistic behavior. Later, Chris gather Jody, Rose, Sheila, Geri, and Van Ark in one room and declares that - based on the evidence he has found - Rose is Callum's estranged sister, and Rose is the one who killed him.[7]
Rose confirms that she is Callum's sister, but is very vague about whether she killed him. Their interrogation of Rose is interrupted as zombies break through the kitchen windows. Van Ark grabs the guns and the group manages to fight off the zombies. While Chris and Jody go to question Rose some more, Van Ark organizes everyone else into ripping up the floorboards for more barricades.[10]
The next day, Van Ark sneaks out of the manor through a secret passage he found. He locks the door behind him because he knows it's likely the others will think he's the murderer. He leaves a note on the fence for Manisha, inviting her to come and work at his labs.[11]
Season One[]
Paula Cohen leaves a CD for Maxine Myers explaining the research done into VS-72 and the origin of Patient Zero. She urges Maxine to find the research notes and take them to Professor Van Ark, as he is one of the few people in the world able to understand them.[3]
Van Ark arrives at the Keeley Centre with several soldiers in a Pandora Haze helicopter.[5] They retrieve some big boxes of files or equipment and load them into the helicopter. The soldiers fire rockets at the Keeley Centre, destroying it. Van Ark and the soldiers take off in the helicopter, heading north.[12]
Van Ark meets up with the other Pandora Haze employees at the Jeffro Complex. After learning about some scientists at the Steve Reeves Hospital who are researching the zombie virus, he sets out with a group of armed Pandora Haze employees. Van Ark controls a horde of zombies to kill the researchers. The soldiers burn the research specimens right in front of the scientists and Van Ark laughs. He tells one of the soldiers, "Now we've dealth with Reeves. Time for New Canton."[2]
Van Ark makes his way back to his house for unknown reasons - he claims to have been searching for someone named Matilda, but it's unclear if he is telling the truth. At his home, he is confronted by Runners Five and Eight of Abel Township. Van Ark attempts to flee, threatening them with a pistol, but Eight catches him and handcuffs him to herself. Van Ark does fire the pistol though, attracting all the zombies in the area. As the three of them run away, Van Ark steathily activates the zombie-controlling tones without being noticed. He is surprised to hear Maxine Myers through the runners' headsets. Maxine asks what he was doing with Pandora Haze; he lies and says they were holding him captive but he escaped. When she asks why he ordered the university researchers to destroy their notes, Van Ark claims he was scared and ashamed because his clinical trials created patient zero. Sensing an opportunity, Van Ark repeatedly urges Maxine to join him at the Jeffro Complex to help with researching a vaccine. Telling the runners that he knows a way to safety, Van Ark opens a door and allows himself to be bitten by the zombie hidden behind it. Runner Eight dispatches the zombie and shortly thereafter Van Ark begins coughing, pretending to be dying. He offers to lead the rest of the zombie horde away before he "turns", causing Eight to uncuff him. Van Ark once again tells Maxine to head to Jeffro, adding that he recently saw Paula there. Then he makes his escape through the zombie horde.[1]
Van Ark convinces Ephraim Whately to lead Maxine to the Jeffro Complex, promising to return his sister Patty to him in exchange. Van Ark contacts Paula, asking how long he'll have to undergo the plasmapheresis treatments. She says it could be forever; they'll only be able to stop once they have a cure for the virus. Ephraim does what he is told and leads Maxine, as well as Runners Five and Eight, into Van Ark's trap. Van Ark contacts Paula again, telling her that he has Maxine in an attempt to encourage her to work faster on finding a cure. Paula doesn't believe him though. In fact, Maxine and the others manage to get away after a series of explosions are set off by New Canton Runners Twenty and Five. Van Ark takes advantage of the chaos to flee, heading north in a helicopter.[13][14]
Season Two[]
Professor Van Ark is revealed to be behind the attack on Abel Township.
The following section contains spoilers for the end of Season 2. [skip section]
At some point Van Ark makes contact with Simon Lauchlan and offers him the experimental immortality treatments in exchange for Simon acting as his spy within Abel. Simon agrees to this deal.[15]
End of spoiler section.
Van Ark travels to an office building to retrieve some valuable intel about the zombie virus. When he sees Abel's Runner Five heading towards him, he sends some of his fast zombies after the runner and flees to his helicopter to escape.[16]
When New Canton and Abel Township set up a peace summit, Van Ark sends his fast zombies after Abel's delegates to prevent them from getting there. But Abel's and New Canton's runners work together to lead the zombies away and let the delegates arrive at the summit safely.[17]
The following section contains spoilers for the end of Season 2. [skip section]
Simon tells Van Ark about Abel and New Canton's plan to create a decoy so that they can send runners to sneak into one of his labs.[18]
End of spoiler section.
Van Ark captures Archie after she sneaks into one of his labs in search of information about the zombie control tones.[19]
Van Ark tries to convince Archie to work with him, knowing her intelligence and skills are valuable. But Archie refuses and calls Van Ark a "bad, bad man". So Van Ark sends Paula in to talk with her. When Paula also fails to convince her, Van Ark says he will have to use more "forceful" methods.[20]
Van Ark begins torturing Archie with some sort of device. Afterwards, he leaves to let Paula try and convince her again, but Paula fails once more. Van Ark tortures Archie once more and asks her what Major de Santa is planning to do with the barrels of chemicals she brought back to Abel. Before Archie can answer, a nearby building explodes, causing damage to the room they are in. Archie is knocked out in the process. Van Ark calls for his helicopter to come and rescue him, then pulls out a gun. Paula tries to stop him, protesting that Archie is unconscious, but Van Ark shoves Paula out of the way and shoots Archie twice, killing her.[21]
Van Ark uses Patty Whately as a zombified soldier, going back on his promise to cure her. Ephraim finds out about this and runs off, but not before he hears about Van Ark's spy inside of Abel Township, as well as Van Ark's plans for a massive zombie army to attack Abel and New Canton. Van Ark sends his soldiers after Ephraim to try and stop him from spreading this information, but they fail.[22]
Van Ark sends his army of fast zombies to attack Abel Township. However, the attack fails due to a combination of Dr. Myers' anti-zombie spray and reinforcements from New Canton.[23]
Due to most of his fast zombies being killed, Van Ark infects and turns all the residents of Holmes Settlement in order to rebuild his army.[24]
Van Ark sets a trap for Doctor Myers by hiding a fake message from Paula in some Rofflenet posts. She falls for the bait, bringing Runner Five with her to meet with Paula at a church. Paula actually is there picking up some equipment. Van Ark and his soldiers ambush all three of them. Van Ark manages to grab Maxine and attempts to inject her with a syringe full of zombie virus, but Runner Five stabs him in the throat before he can. Van Ark then reveals his immortality as his gaping neck wound heals right before their eyes. Maxine and Paula manage to get away, but Van Ark captures Runner Five.[25]
Van Ark chains Runner Five to the back of his Jeep and begins driving, dragging Five around in an attempt to get Maxine and Paula to come back and rescue them. When Five is able to keep pace and stay on their feet, Van Ark is impressed. He explains to Five how his immortality is his true research, and the zombies were an unfortunate side effect. He says that Five would be a wonderful test subject, although the effects of the treatments are still very unpredictable - Five could end up immortal, or a zombie. As Five begins to wear out from being dragged around, Van Ark mentions that he doesn't entirely understand what agent interacted with his regeneration treatment to create the zombie virus, and that somebody out there knows more about it than he does. He and his team even tried to cure some of the early victims, but everything they tried just made them stronger and faster. Because of this, Van Ark decided that a cure is impossible and the only hope for humanity is his immortality research. Paula then runs up to the Jeep, saying she saw what Van Ark was doing to Runner Five. Van Ark tells her to get in and drives back to one of his labs. Van Ark tells Paula to put Five in a cage in preparation for the treatments, but as soon as Van Ark is out of sight, Paula sets Five free.[4]
Van Ark's spy in Abel tells him that a group of Abel runners are headed to Bert Airfield to pick up some vital equipment. Van Ark sends a horde of his fast zombies to intercept them.[26] He jams the radio signals to prevent them from calling for help and directs his zombies to herd Runners Eight and Five towards his lab. However, the pair escapes with the help of Runner Seven, who had hijacked a plane and uses its guns to mow down the zombies.[27]
When Runner Eight - Sara Smith - is revealed to be a spy for Van Ark and subsequently arrested by Abel and New Canton, Van Ark sends a horde of his fast zombies to rescue her. Sara uses the distraction to incapacitate Janine, kill Major de Santa, and escape. Runner Five pursues her, but Sara pulls a gun on them and forces them to come with her to Van Ark's lab.[28]
Van Ark later experiments on Runner Five. The exact nature of his medical experimentation on Runner 5 is still unknown. He also reveals that he was not the one who shot down Five's helicopter.
When Van Ark attempts to conduct further experiments on Runner 5, Sara Smith handcuffs him and injects him with Maxine's serum. The serum renders Van Ark vulnerable to attack. However, the serum takes several hours to work. In the mean time, Van Ark cuts off his own hand to escape the cuffs. He destroys the plasmaphoresis machine Sara needs and escapes to his plane, which Runner 5 shoots down with a rocket launcher.
In season 2, it is revealed that Van Ark can't cook. Sara begins to say "You can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs," but he interrupts her halfway to say, "No, I really can't [make an omelette]" and then laments that he hopes someone who can cook survives the apocalypse.
Season Three[]
Paula reveals that Van Ark was highly suspicious of Comansys, and that he may have had a lab in Dedlock territory.
Season Four[]
The episode "Who Are You?" reveals that Veronica McShell has been in contact with Van Ark since before Day Zero. He appears to have been her mentor. Veronica later reveals that Van Ark's wife is none other than The Minister of Recovery, Sigrid Hakkinen.
Season Five[]
Sigrid tells Runner Five the story of how she and Van Ark met. Sigrid, an Erasmus exchange student from Helsinki and a member of the running team, was trying to set a personal best on the running track at Cambridge. Van Ark (then a PhD student) wandered onto the track, holding a pile of books, and Sigrid ran into him. He told her she should have watched where she was going, because he had more important things on his mind. He claimed he was working on something to improve the human race and disparaged her for pointlessly running around the same length of track. Sigrid retorted that she was going to be the prime minister someday, and then she would be in charge of Van Ark's funding. Van Ark asked how much good that would do her when he was in charge of life and death. Sigrid called him the most absurd man she'd ever met, to which he replied that she was the most insufferable woman that he'd ever met.
When Sigrid was a graduate student in political philosophy, the two realized they were both followers of Professor Holloway. Sigrid had spoken to Holloway many times and knew his daughter. Sigrid and Van Ark were both invited to a dinner after a lecture. Sigrid describes Van Ark as a "dashing young man." The two became friends and met again a year later at a genetics conference in Paris. Sigrid was 25. Van Ark invited her to a nearby bistro, but it began storming while they were on their way and they had to run. They sheltered in the doorway of Notre Dame, and Sigrid noted that she hated cathedrals because they represented wasted peasant labor for a nonexistent god. Van Ark agreed that religion was one of the greatest prisons for mankind and then asked why Sigrid was planning on returning to Finland, because the Wakened Land needed her to be prime minister. She told him that she couldn't stay in the U.K. once her student visa expired. They both express that they will miss each other, especially their great conversations. Van Ark gets down on one knee and proposes to Sigrid, "Just for the visa."
Sigrid almost said no, but at the present believes it was the right choice. They got married and lived as friends in the same house. It was difficult for Sigrid when Van Ark brought his girlfriends home, because she was in love with Van Ark. Moonchild, who was friends with Sigrid, encouraged her to break up with him. Sigrid finally left a note saying that she was going home to Finland and wanted a divorce.
Sigrid expected the virus resurrection to take at least a decade. However, she was as surprised as Van Ark and Moonchild to realize they shared a patient. However, while Van Ark was horrified by what he'd created, Sigrid pointed out that this was what they wanted—the land was Wakened. During the initial outbreak, Van Ark went to his lab to try to slow the virus down, while Sigrid went to the Ministry to put into action her plans to rebuild the nation in a new way. Van Ark said that the people would need someone to blame (him) and someone to trust (her). They exchange "I love you"s and then part ways. That was the last time they saw each other.
Season Six[]
Season Seven[]
Season Nine[]
Season Ten[]
=== Season Eleven ===
Personality[]
Before the apocalypse, Van Ark was perceived as quiet and hard-working, and was generally respected by his colleagues. However, he was also known for having a bad temper. He once threw a tray of glass beakers against a wall after a lab assistant mixed up some slides.[1]
After the start of the apocalypse, Van Ark displays a complete disregard for human life. He has no qualms about experimenting on living humans and killing anyone who threatens the success of his research. Van Ark does recognize the value of certain people who could assist him in his work, such as Paula, but he has no emotional attachment to those people and often uses devious and unethical methods to coerce them into working with him.
Rarely, Van Ark will be impressed by people whose performance exceeds his expectations, such as Runner Five.
Relationships[]
Paula Cohen[]
Runner Five[]
Sara Smith[]
Simon Lauchlan[]
Sigrid Hakkinen[]
Ranger 5[]
Appearances[]
- M14 Patient 29 (unvoiced)
- Abel Race Visiting Van Ark: 10K
- Abel Race Jeffro Complex: 20K
- New Canton Race Big Cheese: 5K (unvoiced)
- New Canton Race Plasmapheresis: 20K
- M01 Back Once Again (unvoiced)
- M16 Electric Dreams
- M17 The Object Is A Hungry Wolf
- M18 Dark And Long
- M31 Hello
- M32 Tightrope
- M42 Road To Nowhere
- M43 The Final Countdown
- M44 Something Good, 08
- M33 Upside Down (flashback)
- M47 Comfortably Numb (hallucination)
- M16 You’re Still The One (flashback)
- M14 Fort Knox (unvoiced)
- M15 Little Grey Cells
- M16 We Gotta Get Out of This Place
- M21 Ain't No Mountain High Enough
- M22 Come Spy With Me
- M23 Acid Tongue
- M24 I'll Be There For You
- M25 Dos Oruguitas
- M26 Leaving on a Jet Plane
- M01 Two Kinds of People
- M05 Go West
- M08 Jailhouse Rock
- M15 Nobody is Okay (recording)
- M21 Back to the Old House
- M23 Sidewalk Safari
- M25 How the Mighty Have Vision
- M26 I'm Not Yours
- M27 Portrait of Yesterday
- M30 Only Lovers Left Alive (unvoiced)
- M01 Grand Larceny
- M02 Crime in the City
- M05 Into The Storm
Virtual Races[]
New Adventures[]
Quotes[]
Van Ark: "You’re just going to run? Are you sure? It seems so primitive."
Jody Marsh: "That’s what works these days, Prof – the basics."[9]
Keith Carroway: "No, if we do find out who killed Callum, I mean, we just have to kill them anyway. Only solution."
Van Ark: "Returning to the older ways of justice. Mankind reverting to animal."[7]
Chris McShell: "Don’t you think that there could be some satisfaction in finding out the truth? Just so that we’d know it for ourselves. The sort of tidiness to it. We’ve all lost so much that one holds onto these things."
Van Ark: "Mm. I know what you mean. I feel that way about my lab. One tiny square of the mad world that I can keep… yes. Tidy. I wish I could get back there. The experiments need my attention. Goodness knows what will happen without me."[7]
[in a note to Manisha Plassard]
Van Ark: "Sorry for my sharp exit, Doctor Plassard. I couldn’t risk all of you deciding I was the murderer and pursuing me through the secret passage so I locked it. Forgive me. I do hope you and the others find another way out. And if you would ever like to be part of something truly revolutionary, please do visit my labs. We always have use for surgical skills."[11]
Trivia[]
- Alternate universe versions of Van Ark appear in several New Adventures and Virtual Races.
- Legatus Aeneas leads an army against the Picts in Rule Britannia.
- Lord Ernest Van Ark performs some unethical experiments in A Study in Ichor.
- Professor Ernest Van Ark guides an extraction team through his facility in Cape Wrath.
- Ernie explores rural England with Sam and Five in Monarch of the Crows.
Gallery[]
(VR9: Escape From Runaway Fairground)
Letters from Van Ark[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Season 1 Abel Township Race Mission: Visiting Van Ark: 10K
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Season 1 New Canton Race Mission: Etymology: 10K
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Season 1 Mission 12: Alternates
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Season 2 Mission 32: Tightrope
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Season 1 Mission 14: Patient 29
- ↑ Season 2 Mission 17: The Object Is A Hungry Wolf
Paula Cohen: "At the start, I thought I was doing something good. We were all working together, trying to work out a cure or a vaccine for the zombie plague. Van Ark has the most knowledge of anyone I’ve ever met about the virus, its mutations. We can learn so much from him! I don’t say he’s not a bad person – he is. He’s a bad, bad person. When I tried to leave, he deliberately infected me because he knows that only his serum can keep an infected person from going gray." - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 The Way of All Flesh Episode 3
- ↑ The Way of All Flesh Episode 1
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Way of All Flesh Episode 2
- ↑ The Way of All Flesh Episode 4
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Way of All Flesh Episode 6
- ↑ Season 1 New Canton Race Mission: Big Cheese: 5K
- ↑ Season 1 Abel Township Race Mission 3: Jeffro Complex: 20K
- ↑ Season 1 New Canton Race Mission 3: Plasmapheresis: 20K
- ↑ Season 2 Mision 43: The Final Countdown
- ↑ Season 2 Mission 1: Back Once Again
- ↑ Season 2 Mission 9: All Together Now
- ↑ Season 2 Mission 43: The Final Countdown
Simon Lauchlan: "You know Archie and I were friends, Jamie. I never meant all that to happen to her. Van Ark told me he just wanted to talk to her, and – " - ↑ Season 2 Mission 16: Electric Dreams
- ↑ Season 2 Mission 17: The Object Is A Hungry Wolf
- ↑ Season 2 Mission 18: Dark And Long
- ↑ Season 2 Mission 22: No Future
- ↑ Season 2 Mission 23: Galvanize
- ↑ Season 2 Mission 28: Ghost Town
- ↑ Season 2 Mission 31: Hello
- ↑ Season 2 Mission 35: Dog Days Are Over
- ↑ Season 2 Mission 36: One Way Or Another
- ↑ Season 2 Mission 41: You Know My Name