Van Dusen in 1925
| “ | My name is Augustus S.F.X. Van Dusen. They call me The Thinking Machine.
- Augustus S.F.X. Van Dusen's last words. |
” |
Professor Augustus S.F.X. Van Dusen was a brilliant inventor, known as The Thinking Machine. Van Dusen solved mysteries with the ruthless application of logic.
History[]
Professor Van Dusen achieved his fame for escaping the once thought-to-be escape-proof Chisholm Prison.[1]
Van Dusen in 2010
Van Dusen was a member of Janni Dakkar's crew during their 1925 expedition to the Mountains of Madness. He was shot and killed by Tom Swyfte during this adventure, whilst tricking the antagonists and allowing his team to escape.[2]
After his death, it was discovered by the inhabitants of Lincoln Island that Van Dusen had left behind hundreds of thousands of mysterious punch cards. It wasn't until the 1990s that technology had advanced sufficiently to upload these punch cards into a single mainframe - this was done by Jack Dakkar and the cards turned out to collectively contain an artificial copy of Van Dusen's own consciousness. Thus he became a literal 'Thinking Machine' and the primary source of intel for Lincoln Island under the rule of Jack Dakkar.
Source Material[]
Augustus Van Dusen appeared in a series of short stories and novels by Jacques Futrelle, an American author who died during the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.