The other two researchers on the line this Saturday are Dr. Victor Kureze and Dr. Martin Schubert.

Originally shared by H. Richard Loeb

The other two researchers on the line this Saturday are Dr. Victor Kureze and Dr. Martin Schubert.

Let's start with Kureze.

He was -- at best -- really hard to have a conversation with. A first order genius, he would often forget than not everyone around him had an encyclopedic knowledge of quantum physics on speed-dial. A lot of polite nodding and trying not to interrupt him for clarity 30 times in a row would ensue.

But, without a doubt, he was a genius -- probably one of the most respected theoretical physicists in the world. At Niantic, he was among the first to detect an Ordered Data Pattern present in Exotic Matter, and his research led to the discovery of what would be called 'the Shaper Mind Virus.'

He died under mysterious circumstances. Some reports say Jarvis's corpse was involved, and perhaps a deadly combination of Shaper Glyphs. I don't know that we have all the facts there, but it's one of those big open mysteries.

Schubert is quite the opposite of Kureze. Charismatic, well-spoken -- but extremely abrasive. He was pulled into Niantic to play the skeptic, to play hard-ball with all the other scientists and force them to stay on their toes.

I think he could only play that role for so long before he started to realize that there was something real going on at Niantic. It changed him.

After Niantic ended, he conducted some in-depth research on 13MAGNUS, going so far as to help out Hank Johnson on one of his Nomad videos. My understanding is that the two of them developed a bit of a kinship.

If you've read Ingress: Origins you'll note that Tycho paints Schubert a bit... unflatteringly at time. Rest assured, it's not far from the truth, but despite all that, I still kind of liked the guy. He was a jagged personality in an endearing kind of way.