Johannes van der Berg

**Johannes van der Berg** is a character in *The Sinking City*.

## Description

**Johannes van der Berg** is a Dutch self-described intellectual who moved to Oakmont sometime after the Great War. He invited Charles W. Reed to visit the city to discover the nature of his visions.

> *"I host a philosophy club for the like-minded intelligentsia, gathering seeds of thought like moths drawn to a flame."*
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> *"Does Oakmont really have much of a market for philosophy these days ?"*
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> *"There is no consciousness without pain, Mr. Reed. No better moment for clarity than times of hardship."*
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## Frosty Welcome

Van der Berg welcomes Charles Reed when he arrives in Oakmont. He presents himself as a member of a philosophy club, and talks about visions, the "Flood" and Albert Throgmorton's disappearance. He also gives Reed a city map and recommends a room at the Devil's Reef Hotel. When Reed collapses after a vision, he takes him to his hotel room, warning him about the danger of getting lost in the city.

## Fathers and Sons

He appears in a photo with Graham Carpenter. It's supposed that they met in Europe during or shortly after the Great War.

## Deal with the Devil

When Charles Reed wakes up at St. Mary's Hospital, Van der Berg informs him about the importance of the Seal of Dagon, guiding him to his rescuer Billy Drunnon. He tells Reed to meet him at the Crown Theater, where his philosophy club meets, when he takes back the Seal.

## Self-Defense

Reed find the corpse of Van der Berg at the Crown Theater, shot by a man physically similar to Reed while hosting a séance with the mayoral runner Milton Pierce.

At the case's end, he is shown to be alive and awaiting Reed at the Devil's Reef Hotel. He implicitly let inted to have supernatural powers, and questions Reed about his choices in his murder's case. Van der Berg also shares his full knowledge on Cthygonnaar and what it contains: Cthylla, the secret daughter of Cthulhu. Furthermore, he tells him of the cyclical role of "Seed", the one who could keep Cthylla imprisoned (as all his predecessors have done) or release her.
He suggests to Reed to free Cthylla, because even if her awakening will probably destroy humanity, the same is without a purpose, and bends to the suffering that she creates: war, hate, fear and madness. Only humanity's destruction will free her from her eternal suffering. Regardless of Reed's answer, Van der Berg cooperates with him, directing him to professor Joseph Hill, the one who could open Cthygonnaar.

## Into the Depths

As with many other characters Reed meets, Van der Berg appears on an armchair, handling a Hamlet-like skull and sharing his opinion about humanity once again.

If Reed chose to keep Cthylla imprisoned, he is shown waiting at the port with another Seed, exactly like Reed when he arrived in Oakmont. Even if another century passes, Van der Berg is shown to be ageless, confirming his unnatural abilities.

If Reed chose to leave the city behind him with the Seal, he appears to Reed some years later in a pub, showing him a newspaper article about a disastrous Flood in Boston. When the pub quickly became submerged in water, Van der Berg smiled at Reed and places his hand on Reed's shoulder.

## Trivia

* "Van der Berg" surname means "of the Mountain". It's possible that is a reference to H.P. Lovecraft *At the Mountains of Madness* (1936).
* He likes yellow, as learned at the beginning of the game when Charles Reed notices his unusual suit color.
* It's suggested that Van der Berg is an avatar of Hastur, a progeny of Yog-Sothoth mentioned in H.P. Lovecraft's *The Whisperer in Darkness* (1931) and present in stories of predecessor writers Ambrose Bierce and Robert W. Chambers.
	+ Hastur is also known as "The King in Yellow", because his avatar appears as a yellow-dressed beggar. Van der Berg is always dressed with yellow-like colors.
	+ The Robert W. Chambers' *The King in Yellow* (1895) served as inspiration for Lovecraft (as above-mentioned, is an avatar of Hastur). In the story, the "King in Yellow" is a mysterious theatre play. Van der Berg is presented as passionate for theatre.
	+ Hastur's goals are dubious, although he is engaged with Cthylla. Van der Berg is always neutral in his actions, and his desire to free Cthylla is probably motivated by his engagement with her.
	+ Reed can kill Van der Berg at Devil's Reef Hotel after Self Defense's case, giving an achievement. Furthermore, after Van der Berg's killing, Reed's mental sanity will seriously decrease, and a diabolic laughing could be listen echoing in the room. As the event does not change Van der Berg's future appearances, his avatar is definitively ageless and immortal.
	+ He almost looks like Dr. Thomas Fuller, one of the antagonists from the Call of Cthulhu game, because they both have goatees and wear glasses that hide their eyes.