Aubrey Wood

## Personality

Aubrey is a deeply conflicted individual. She enjoys the work being done for science, can justify the deaths of multiple prisoners because they have done something she deems morally wrong, and can use fear as a tool to get what she wants from a person. While under Bryony Halbech's supervision, Aubrey frequently expressed in her audio-logs how horrified she was at the side-effects of the treatment the cryonic volunteers were receiving and the rate of deaths occurring. Nevertheless, Aubrey would continue to follow Dr. Halbech's orders, even admitting that she waited for more orders to come when a patient died under her watch.

Aubrey, unlike other characters, has a line she will not cross. This is evident in how she believes Gordon, when technically employed by Overhead to take care of the Red Valley facility, is just as much of a prisoner as Warren is. Aubrey wants both of them to escape Bryony's torment, and will do anything to ensure their safety.

She frequently puts the blame on herself for things out of her control, such as Gordon's initial obsession with the conspiracy behind Red Valley that spawned from Aubrey and Ben Thomas's transfers of information, and Warren's deteriorating mental health as a result of the experiments done to him and his psyche. Comparisons can be made between her and Bryony Halbech, which Aubrey acknowledges. These similarities are seen as a negative to Aubrey, and both her wife, Hester, and Gord assure her that despite having similar motivations for joining Overhead, Aubrey is ultimately trying to do good for her friends and the world.

## History

### Pre-Series/Season 1

Aubrey's first appearance comes in the form of audio-logs that were recorded during her time at Red Valley, which takes place several months, almost an entire year, before season 1. These tapes fall into Warren's arms in season 1, and are played for both Warren and the audience. Aubrey is not formally introduced as a present character until season 2. Nevertheless, her tapes do provide a general backstory for her character, and describe what she was doing while employed by Overhead as a researcher for the cryonic experiments being done at Overhead.

The first of the Red Valley tapes are played in episode 2, "The Golden Bullet." Aubrey has done 58 of these logs so far and is making scientific observations on the state of the "bears", or volunteers of the cryonic experiments. She voices her dislike of the treatments and infusions being given to the bears, arguing that they should be able to stick to the regimen the team has laid out, in order to prove its efficiency. Surprisingly, she also wants to make sure the bears are in high spirits, and thinks that giving them food they enjoy will make them happier.

One of the bears, Yogi, dies of a massive hyper-coagulation event, which Aubrey views as a setback. Dr. Halbech, however, does not, and decides to continue on their pre-set plan. They begin "Teddy Bear's Picnic", the code-name for putting the five bears into hypersleep for two weeks. Two of the bears die after only surviving a day in the cryopod. The remaining three are then set to be awoken by the research team. Aubrey, despite the setbacks the team has seen, can't help but be excited by the idea of finally succeeding in their work. The first bear they begin with shows no readings on any of the monitors the team has set up. Therefore, Dr. Halbech decides to open up the cryopod the bear has been sleeping in to verify the status of the bear. The team finds that the bear has been completely liquefied into a red jam that spills out onto the floor of the lab. This is another event that greatly affects Aubrey's mental health status, as she is struggling to understand Dr. Halbech's nonchalant attitude towards the deaths they are witnessing.

Afterward, the team decides to wake up their next bear, Grizzly. Grizzly's arm appears to be stuck, and Aubrey instructs her fellow researcher, Dr. Ben Thomas, to attempt to dislodge it from Grizzly's body. Grizzly's arm snaps clean off and shatters as Dr. Thomas drops it in shock. The bear ultimately dies within less than a minute. Aubrey's log following this event is the most human audio-log we hear. She has locked herself in the bathroom with a half packed bag and her coat, expresses her fear, and decides to run from the facility with Ben, wanting to make a plan for their survival. She no longer wants any part with the experiments.

It is important to note that Aubrey's logs begin to turn more and more clinical as more and more bears die for different reasons. Being confronted with death, Aubrey is audibly losing her passion for her job, and is clearly beginning to question what they're doing.

Aubrey is abruptly cut off by the sound of alarms ringing throughout the facility. Despite her unwillingness to stay any longer at Red Valley, she goes to see what has triggered the alarms. She finds Ben standing over the last remaining bear, Pooh. Dr. Halbech has abandoned them, and it is up to Aubrey to save the bear, who has begun to thrash violently as he struggles to breathe. Aubrey proves herself capable of working quickly in a high-stress environment, and is just as good at giving orders as she is at taking them. Her and Ben seem to be successful at their attempt to save Pooh, until the bear gives another violent thrash. Dr. Thomas then abandons Aubrey as well, saying that "he cannot do another one." The tape ends with Aubrey pleading for Ben to not leave her alone with the bear, to no avail.

Following these gruesome and gore-filled audio-logs are audio-logs from Aubrey's arrival at Red Valley, before the experiments began. At first, Aubrey is alone, taking inventory of all the different equipment and drugs the volunteers will need for their survival. Then, Dr. Ben Thomas joins her. Aubrey remarks that they share an excitement for the work they will be doing at Red Valley. After a while, however, the "novelty" of the base and the lab begins to wear off. Aubrey complains about the low-hanging doors of the farmhouse that the staff are meant to sleep in and the neck pain that comes with the low doors, the intimidating look of the prisoners they are experimenting on, and the lack of other women on location. The last point changes when Dr. Byrony Halbech arrives, who Aubrey is glad to meet, seeing as how they both enjoy formality in their work. After Dr. Halbech arrived, the team and volunteers alike celebrated as the beginning of the experiments was quickly approaching. Aubrey is still excited to see what will transpire from their experiments, despite her feelings about the surroundings and the people.

Episode 5, "Morior Invictus", contains an interview led by an Overhead employer and Aubrey, the interview that was held to see whether or not she was fit for the job at Red Valley. This interview, which has been copied over by a cryonic cruise advert, gives additional information on Aubrey's backstory. Through the tape, the audience learns that Aubrey's mother passed when she was still young, and that she, despite her father's disagreements, chose to get therapy to process her emotions. The interviewer then asks Aubrey if she is fully aware of the risks and events she will witness as a part of the Red Valley research team. Aubrey insists that she is fully aware of these risks, and that she believes everyone who steps foot into Red Valley, whether as a subject or as a staff member, understands the risk they take when they do. She describes an interview she had with a potential candidate, who told her something she has not forgotten: "'You should only do what you know you can live with."

This episode is the last episode where Aubrey's voice in audio-log format is heard. Episode 6, "Do You Want To Continue", however provides a brief epilogue. In this epilogue it is revealed that Aubrey and a computerised version of Gordon, affectionately named Gord in later episodes, are listening to the audio-logs that Warren and Gordon recorded on their journey. It is 2064, and Aubrey has, presumably, been in charge of Red Valley for several years. She contemplates her decisions and Gord reassures her that all she's ever offered anyone is a choice, and that Warren deserves the right to make a choice more than anyone. The season ends with Aubrey authorising the thawing process for Warren, 44 years after the events of season 1.

### Season 2

Season 2 begins with a piece of audio from the previous season: the scene in which Aubrey and her fellow researcher, Ben Thomas, are fighting to save a patient's life, without the help of Bryony. The scene ends where it previously had, and is then followed by new audio logs from Aubrey.

There are multiple Overhead operatives in the cryosuite, taking note of the situation and equipment. The team leader begins to question Aubrey on said equipment and on the location of Ben, who has still not been found after fleeing the scene. Aubrey is instructed to pack her things and prepare to leave, which she does without complaint. As she and the team leader drive away from the facility, Aubrey secretly begins recording again. She begins to question where they are going and what will happen to Red Valley after the events that have just transpired. Shortly after, the team leader parks the car and leaves into the forest to search for Thomas. Aubrey takes this opportunity to break the window of the car with the headrest and slip out into the night.

Come morning time, Aubrey has found herself in a remote roadside cafe in the Scottish countryside, where she meets the owner. The owner reveals to Aubrey that she is not the first person to go AWOL from Red Valley. Aubrey assumes that he will turn her in, which he quickly corrects. The owner is willing to lie to Overhead when they come asking about her if he is paid a significant amount of the money she has on hand. Aubrey gives him all of her money in exchange for this extra time and for a Mazda Bongo Friendee which has been refurbished to act as a camper van.

This introduction is then followed by another audio log from Aubrey. In this log, she explains her situation. After receiving the keys to the Mazda camper van, she drove to Glencoe and bought supplies from a mountaineering shop. Money is not a problem, as she has secured her deposits in three different storage units around Great Britain, and on her person the whole time. She ruminates on how easy it was for her to justify the experiments done on the prisoners because a majority of them had done awful things.

After these brief audio logs, we are thrust into 2064, where Aubrey sits at the desk of the records room at Red Valley, listening to her own audio diaries from before. Hester comes in, initially unpleased to see Aubrey stuck in the past, and quickly reassures Aubrey when she begins to blame herself for what happened to Gordon, which has not been revealed just yet. In order to ease this pain, Hester suggests renaming the BlueSky unit outfitted with Gordon's voice to simply 'Gord'. They then begin to discuss Warren's vital signs, which have been steady. Aubrey questions whether it's a good idea to bring Warren out of hypersleep into 2064, where his best friend can only be heard from a BlueSky unit, but Hester and Gord once again reassure her that she is giving Warren a choice, which is something he lacked in the years before. After Hester and Aubrey's conversation ends with Hester leaving to go back upstairs, Aubrey decides to listen to the rest of the entries.

2064 Aubrey appears at the end of every episode of season 2. Episode 2 features her commentary on Bryony and how inhuman she seemed when working, along with the similarities between her and Bryony, before she is called away to the quarantine suite where Warren has woken up again and is fighting against the facilities staff. Episode 3 is focused on her relationship with Gordon, which she calls "strange" considering how they never properly met. They "met" on a subreddit dedicated to cryonic preservation where she and Ben fed him information about Red Valley for two years, hopeful that anyone would believe them and alert the authorities. Aubrey then leaves the records room but instructs Gord to play the next entry anyway.

Episode 4 features Aubrey from 2020. Warren has arrived at her doorstep, a fact which Aubrey only realises after she has let him into the van and he has taken off his hat and scarf. Aubrey is shocked to see him and asks him to explain the events that led him to her, but Warren is under the assumption that his mind is playing tricks on him and calls her his "Jedi spirit guide" a la The Empire Strikes Back, and so he frequently changes topics and does not answer her questions in a straightforward manner. Aubrey decides to explain her side of the story instead and offers new information on why Warren was, at first, dismissed as a candidate for Teddy Bear's Picnic. She backtracks and asks Warren, again, why he is in the woods surrounding Red Valley. After Warren reveals that he "Kontinued", Aubrey begins to panic. Warren reassures her when she begins to blame herself for the deaths of the prisoners and for Warren's involvement, and after a brief and awkward discussion on how they've both breached each other's privacy (Warren with Aubrey's audio logs and Aubrey with Warren's personnel file,) Warren decides to head back to the facility. He gives Aubrey his comm, Aubrey gives him a recording of their conversation on a USB to soothe his worries, and she reminds him that he is Overhead's highest commodity.

## Appearances

###### Season 1:

* The Golden Bullet
* The Picnic
* Memorial Twig
* Morior Invictus
* Do You Want To Continue?

###### Season 2:

Aubrey appears in every episode of s2 (excluding While You Were Hypersleeping 2).

## References

1. ↑ [1] Transcript for S1E3: "The Picnic".