Walter Bishop

Walter Bishop is an eccentric and brilliant scientist who works for the Fringe Division, a special division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security specializing in the research of phenomena thought to involve "fringe science". This research led them to discovering the existence of ZFT, whom they have been working against ever since.

It is possible that Walter has some relation to Walternate, a scientist who works for the Great Beings who shares his intellect and general appearance. What this connection is, however, has not been explored.

Description
Walter is an aged white man with stern features and a widow's peak. He prefers to wear warm clothes such as cardigans, but will occasionally wear nothing at all (for example, when he cooks naked on Thursdays).

Walter has always been a fiercely intelligent man, but this intelligence is sometimes coupled with a sense of arrogance and an impression that he can do no wrong. This arrogance has diminished since pieces of his brain were removed by William Bell, though it is still present in certain situations. Most of the time, though, he has an extremely eccentric, even childlike, demeanour, carrying a lovable innocence about him which is occasionally interrupted by tantrum-like outbursts over largely trivial things. Eccentricities of his include random cravings for certain types of food and a tendency to cook naked on certain days.

His 17 years spent in a psychiatric hospital traumatized him somewhat - while he constantly receives emotional support from Olivia and his son, he still has mild agoraphobia and becomes distressed and confused if he finds himself alone in an unfamiliar place. In addition, unlike Walternate, who is very closed-off with his emotions, Walter is not shy about expressing his love for his son and his colleagues.

Backstory
In the 1970s-1990s, Walter Bishop was an esteemed scientist on Earth, considered one of the finest minds of his generation. From the basement of Harvard University, he and his lab partner William Bell conducted a wide range of experiments with the goal of advancing human understanding of scientific concepts that were, at the time, considered "fringe science". This all changed in the early 90s when one of his lab assistants was killed in a lab fire, causing concerns to be raised about the safety of Walter's experiments. Eventually, he was charged with manslaughter and declared mentally ill, so he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for 17 years - but first, William Bell removed parts of his brain that contained sensitive information. As a result, Walter was left even more unstable than before, and his personality changed dramatically.

When the U.S. government started to notice a pattern of strange occurrences that fit the description of fringe science, they discovered parallels to Walter's experiments. Agent Olivia Dunham used Walter's son, Peter Bishop, to free Walter from his psychiatric prison in order to use his help in their investigation. Walter joined the newly-established Fringe Division and has been working with them against the ZFT ever since.

In the RPG
Walter's first appearance was at a crime scene in Charlestown, Boston, where some kind of a biological weapon had been set off. He and the other Fringe Division members were investigating the scene when they were approached by Aster and Rainn, who were trying to track down David Robert Jones. When Rainn tried to talk to Walter, Walter offhandedly told him that he didn't know him, but reconsidered and asked him if he had any mints. Walter's son Peter apologized to Aster and Rainn for his father's strange behaviour, but Rainn paid it no mind and gave Walter a mint anyway.

The Fringe Division members then returned to Walter's lab underneath Harvard University with Aster and Rainn in tow. Walter asked Astrid's help in performing an experiment, but found that he could not perform said experiment because Peter had disassembled his microscope. This annoyed Walter greatly, who sarcastically remarked that "The potential for destruction within each of us is infinite".

At Olivia's suggestion, Walter, Aster, Rainn, and the others went to check out Little Hill Field, one of David Robert Jones's former hideouts, to see if they could find any clues as to his current whereabouts. When they arrived at their destination, Knock Out and two ZFT soldiers attacked them. Walter hid in the SUV until the fight was over, after which Olivia bundled Knock Out into the back. Olivia then tried to get Aster and Rainn hotel reservations over the phone, but failed, so Walter excitedly suggested that Aster and Rainn should come and live with him and Peter instead. However, this didn't end up happening.

They next went to a federal building, where Walter helped drag Knock Out into an interrogation room. Aster and Rainn then left, and because that particular subplot was centered around them, Walter hasn't been seen since.

Abilities & Powers

 * Genius-Level Intellect: Walter is a scientific genius and was a pioneer of several fringe sciences in his heyday. While he has since lost some of his sanity, that genius has never diminished.