Bertrand Zobrist

"I am the Shade."

- Bertrand Zobrist

Bertrand Zobrist is the main antagonist in Dan Brown's novel Inferno. He doesn't appear physically in the story because of his suicide prior the events. Therefore, he is appearing only in flashbacks of other characters like the Provost.

Personality
Bertrand is a brilliant scientist and a madman who is obsessed with Dante's Inferno. he intends to solve the world's overpopulation problem by releasing a virus.

He approached his colleague Dr Sinskey on his population control scheme, but she dismissed him for being a madman. He had agents from the World Health Organization and the Consortium at his heels. He drove himself underground beneath Florence because of the hatred he was garnering. Zobrist contacted his employees through webcam, using the Dante death mask as his cover. He said he had no fear of death and would end up like Jesus as a matyr and that he was only trying to save humanity, not kill it. He named himself "the Shade" because of his suicidal views and his ability to remain invisible. When the Consortium pursued him through Florence one morning, he got up to a church roof, then said they would never find his virus. With that, he stepped off the roof to his death.