Francis Pinchot

Francis Pinchot
Birthplace	United States
Nationality	American
Arrived in Columbia	1893
Died	May 13, 1909
Place of Death	Comstock House, Columbia
Family	Mrs. Pinchot (wife) Unnamed Father-in-law
Affiliation	The Founders
Physical Description
Gender	Male
Appearances
Appears in	BioShock Infinite: Mind in Revolt

“He was a brave and true explorer, not of savage land or deepest ocean, but of mind within.”

― Dr. P. Pettifog

Dr. Francis Pinchot was a scientist and the head of research at Comstock House in Columbia. He interviewed Daisy Fitzroy over a period of a week. His journal of the interview, The Psychology of Dissent, serves as as the basis for BioShock Infinite: Mind in Revolt.

History

Main article: BioShock Infinite: Mind in Revolt

Early Life

Francis Pinchot was born in America, where he would grow up to study psychology. He developed a philosophy, that every person is capable of sin, but it is more evident in some individuals and should be intensely studied. The result of the study should determine if these heavy sinners and their actions were a result of some previous trauma, born that way due to genetics, manipulation or created as such by God. Dr. Pinchot married a woman, whose father-in-law, a highly respected military officer who had spent much of his time studying the career of George Washington, had a great rapport with Columbia's city planners. With the merit of his in-law and a letter he sent to Columbia's review committee, stating that his field of work was vital for their society's salvation (which was allegedly read by Zachary Hale Comstock himself), Dr. Francis Pinchot and his wife were one of the first pilgrims to arrive at the city in 1893. Dr. Pinchot sided with the beliefs of The Founders and was given a modest home, a fair stipend and a position at Comstock House at arrival. While working at Comstock House, Dr. Pinchot was promoted to head of research and among other achievements, altered the Binet-Simon intelligence test to be more fitting for the citizens of Columbia (in which he had scored a 146, categorizing him as a "genius").

Interviews with the Anarchist Daisy Fitzroy

In 1909, it was brought to Dr. Pinchot's attention that Daisy Fitzroy, the leader of the Vox Populi and alleged murderer of Lady Comstock, was caught by the Columbia Police Authority. With the proper paperwork, and under the supervision of Dr. Kittery, Fitzroy was handed into Dr. Pinchot's custody, believing that studying the mind of such an extreme anarchist would give him the breakthrough he needed in his research. After a visit to the police station in Finkton where Fitzroy was held, the transportation of the prisoner was made, leaving Dr. Pinchot with a better first impression of Fitzroy than with the police officers at the station.

On the 9th of May, 1909, Dr. Pinchot started his daily face-to-face interview with Daisy Fitzroy, taking hand-written notes and recording their sessions using Voxophones. The interview started out slowly, with Fitzroy not saying a word during Dr. Pinchot's introduction, listing of her crimes, citing Fitzroy's book The People's Voice, and the questioning of her beliefs and actions, until Dr. Pinchot stated that he merely wanted to understand her, which broke Fitzroy's silence. With a rough beginning to their conversation, Dr. Pinchot and Fitzroy came to an agreement: if he answered her questions about himself, she would do the same for him. They both answered the question involving how they arrived at Columbia, both drastically different. However, when the question on why Fitzroy murdered Lady Comstock was brought up, Fitzroy didn't answer, as Dr. Pinchot could not in return answer the same question, as he had never killed anyone.

Dr. Kittery was not satisfied with the progress of the interview, and insisted that a change of tactics would be required, suggesting a phrenology to get faster results. Dr. Pinchot agreed on both accounts but refused to give up on his interviews and simply played along with his supervisor's requests. However, Dr. Kittery brought up a newly developed method at Comstock House: lobotomy, suggesting it as a possible next step. Although nothing had been confirmed, Dr. Pinchot took this as a warning, realizing that he would not have much time with Fitzroy before the procedure was implemented. Having developed a slight fascination with Fitzroy's cleverness, Dr. Pinchot decided to accelerate his research.

The third interview took place on the 11th of May, which would involve Dr. Pinchot saying a word and Fitzroy answering with the first word that came to her mind. As Fitzroy seemed uncooperative to the idea, Dr. Pinchot bluntly told her his speculation on her fate after his interviews were over and thus Fitzroy complied. The test was cut short, due to the fact that Dr. Pinchot felt that Fitzroy's answers bordered on blasphemy, as her replies criticized the Founders' beliefs, including Christianity, heavily. Fitzroy accused Dr. Pinchot of heresy, provoking him to slap her. This enlightened Fitzroy, stating that she finally saw the real doctor.

The next day would consist of Fitzroy taking Dr. Pinchot's own version of the Binet-Simon IQ test. After going through her results, being astonished by the results and explaining to Fitzroy how the grading worked, Dr. Pinchot revealed to her the final score of her test to be 149, surpassing Pinchot himself and categorizing her as a "genius" as well. At the end of the session, Fitzroy stated that she knew what was coming to her, while Dr. Pinchot replied that he had a lot to think about before cutting off the Voxophone. After the recording device had been shut off, Fitzroy revealed to Dr. Pinchot a plan to escape Comstock House and that she needed his help to accomplish this with ease and as few casualties as possible. As Dr. Pinchot continued to listen to Fitzroy's philosophy, he began to doubt his own philosophy and faith in the Founders, and started to consider the act of treason. Before they parted for the day, Fitzroy told Dr. Pinchot to read The People's Voice, which he did through the night.

Dr. Pinchot realized that the result to his theory on sin was found within no other than him, showcasing that anyone can be manipulated in a sinful way, regardless of background. After coming to terms with the final result of his research, Dr. Pinchot became aware that to extinguish such heavily sinful thoughts from a person would require Comstock House to be turned from a research center into a re-education center, with extreme methods for patients, bordering on torture, with the end results being abhorrent. Dr. Pinchot faced himself with an ultimatum: become a rebel and help Fitzroy escape or let Comstock House become a torture facility.

In 13th of May, 1909, the interview with Dr. Francis Pinchot and Daisy Fitzroy started out with the latter stating that even though the former had read The People's Voice, he still couldn't fathom how much he had been lied to and that she'd rather die than let them destroy her mind because she knew too much about what goes on behind the scenes of the city. Dr. Pinchot promised that he wouldn't let this happen, picking his side and claiming that although he could never love her because of her race, he had fallen in love with her mind. Fitzroy was touched, but before they could continue their discussion an alarm was set off. Before Fitzroy's troops could arrive to assist her, Dr. Pinchot gave Fitzroy his keys, all the money he had on him, as well as some important documents that could assist her. Fitzroy called him a hero of the people before the door to their room was knocked down by the Vox Populi, assaulting Dr. Pinchot on sight. Before they could kill him, Fitzroy stopped them, as she grabbed a pistol and pointed it at Dr. Pinchot. The doctor, confused and panicked, asked Daisy why, as he had helped her. Fitzroy answered that although she was fascinating to him, the feeling was not mutual, and pulled the trigger, killing Dr. Pinchot.

One of the Vox Populi soldiers present asked Daisy who Dr. Pinchot was and she answered: "That one? Oh, just another snake, I 'spose. Never can tell 'em apart", before escaping the facility.

Legacy

“So rest, weary dreamer. Sleep well. For we are the better for your efforts”

― Dr. P. Pettifog

The legacy that Dr. Francis Pinchot left was controversial: After the events that led to his death had folded out, his journal and recordings were investigated, revealing the interviews and the result of his research. While some viewed him as a traitor, others saw his research as groundbreaking and of great importance for Columbia. His work did ultimately result into the realization of his fears: the transformation of Comstock House into a re-education center. His private journal and interview transcripts were published under the title The Psychology of Dissent, with Dr. P. Pettifog, the head of Cognitive Betterment at Comstock House Re-Education Center, providing the foreword and afterword of the book.