Cornelius Dance

"*Business does not always have to be so cold, Mister Taylor. You would do well remembering that.*"
—Cornelius to Benjamin Taylor[src]

Cornelius Dance is the overarching antagonist of Route to Paradise. He's cunning and intelligent, with an almost unreadable face. He's always been fascinated with experimentations of all kinds. Cornelius is a businessman, but is in no way rich or powerful, which is why he reaches out to Benjamin Taylor when he began working with Anton Lesser to create the zombie virus. His motivations are unclear, but Cornelius was determined to get the funding he and Anton needed to unleash havoc across the world. By falsifying their project as a 'cure for cancer', Cornelius obtained the funding he needed from Benjamin, whose daughter was dying from the disease.

From their, Cornelius and Anton were able to finish creating the zombie virus, which they would unleash upon the world on Black Friday of 2018. It's unknown where Cornelius went to following the outbreak, but given the circumstances it's likely that he and Anton both survived, yet his status remains unknown.

## **Pre-Apocalypse**

Cornelius was a businessman - but as told by Benjamin Taylor, he wasn't liked by the media for experimentations he performed, and diseases that he tested. His fascination for such diseases is likely what pushed him into working with scientist Anton Lesser to try and create a virus to unleash to the world. In order to get the funding they needed, Cornelius and Anton covered up their project as a 'cure for cancer', and was able to convince wealthy businessman Benjamin Taylor into funding them with all the money they needed.

On Black Friday, 2018, they released the virus to the world, a virus which was quickly named the 'Green Poison'.

### **Season 4**

#### **"The Beginning"**

At Taylor & Co headquarters, Cornelius sits in a conference room on one of the highest floors. With him is Anton Lesser. The door leading to the hallway opens, as Benjamin Taylor enters, eyeing the two men skeptically. Cornelius invites him to take a seat, and Benjamin does, directly across from them. Cornelius admits how pleasantly surprised he was to hear that he'd reconsidered their offer, as he offers his utmost condolences to Benjamin's sick daughter. But Benjamin sees through Cornelius' charade, stating that he knows they don't care about his daughter's life, they just want his money. "Business does not always have to be cold," Dance replies, "You would do well remembering that." Cornelius stares Benjamin in the eyes, before turning to his business partner Anton Lesser, and lets him take the stage. Anton goes on to explain how close they are to finding a cure to cancer, and says that he'll send over their results to Benjamin's personal email. All they need is more funding. To add on, Cornelius says that Benjamin in return would receive double the price he invested. "You would be walking away a rich man by the end of this transaction," Cornelius says with a slight smile, leaning back into his chair. But Benjamin doesn't care about the money, and is only going to do this for the sake of saving his daughter's life. He asks the two men to give him some time to think it over, and Cornelius tells him to take all the time he needs.

## **Post-Apocalypse**

It's unknown what happened to Cornelius following the outbreak, but given that he knew what was coming, he likely survived the initial stages and it's probable he's still alive.

## **Killed Victims**

* Every person who's ever been killed by a zombie *(Caused)*
* Possibly some zombies

## **Appearances**

Any episode with a checkmark over it signifies Cornelius Dance appearing in any way.