Iversen was a Radio Operator and Soldier (presumably a Medic as well, judging by his uniform) who was stationed at the Norwegian Research Center in Antarctica. He appeared in the 2002 video game The Thing.
History[]
He was first seen during the intro cutscene of the game via CCTV footage, where he is shown asking for help and sitting, seemingly wounded, against the kitchen's counter in the Norwegian Research Center. As Larsen, a fellow squad mate, found him, they were promptly attacked by a Full Walker. Larsen was killed by the Walker, which then turned its attention to Iversen and attacked him as the camera lost feedback and a mysterious man chuckled.
Iversen was seemingly assimilated and was chased by Blake and his team to the Pyron Hangar, where he burst into the Hangar Rupture. He was defeated by Blake.
There is seemingly an unused document in the game (can be found by looking at the game file "thingstrings_en.bt") which mentions the situation at the Norwegian camp and mentions Iversen by name. This document apparently cannot be found in-game:
"Tonight we were attacked by these... demons. I don't know what they were. A large beast came and took one of my men, kicking and screaming. We filled it with enough lead to drop a couple of elephants, but it only knocked it back. It looked like some kind of hideous deformation. It had arms and legs with a twisted skull, but its body was ragged and torn... We managed to kill one small creature but not before it got to Edvard. He was okay after we stopped the bleeding and was recovering in sickbay. I went to check up on him and he had attached himself to the Doctor somehow, feeding from his chest and head. We couldn't prize them apart and suddenly Dr. Henie lashed out at us. He seemed possessed and completely out of control. He wouldn't listen to me and continued to lash out. Eventually, he left me no choice but to take him down. Eventually, I ran out of ammo and the only thing I have left was a blowtorch, but when I opened up on him, he went into a frenzy and some fungal substance began oozing from his body. Eventually both Dr. Henie and Edvard were still. We took the bodies out into the snow and buried them. I don't think they will be coming back. Iversen ran to his quarters and locked himself in an hour ago. He's taken the loss of his brother badly and isn't talking to any of us".
How to get Iversen in your team[]
Iversen is an NPC that can never be accessed playing normally. However, there are mods and even bugs in the game that let you have him in your team. A bug, similar to the Whitley Bug, lets you have him in the Norwegian Medi-Center level. When you are about to beat the level, after having disposed of the two Brute Walkers that assault the Medi-Center and break through the wall, throw flame grenades continuously at the site where he spawns. You can see where he spawns when head outside through the crack in the wall the Walkers left; a small cutscene will play, showing him running and following the light poles. You have to throw the grenades before this cutscene, or else he will disappear, so save your game before this cutscene, throw the grenades, then head outside to trigger the cutscene. The place where he spawns is to the front-left of the ammunition room, you can see it through the broken windows. Its easier to use the empty room which accesses the room full of gore, where a junction box needed to be repaired earlier (there's a severed arm near the switch to this room). This window faces directly the area where he spawns. Throw some fire grenades, and his path will be glitched. You can head outside (beware of the Assimilant that emerges from the fuel hut, and be careful not to wander outside too far away, as you will move on to the next level). You should now have Iversen in your team. He trusts the player 100% from the start and is a Soldier as squadmate class. Iversen doesn't have walk routes in this level aside from the small area where he spawns, so he can't follow to the interior of the building. If given weapons, he helps fights against the Assimilant from the fuel hut. Since the level is already beat he isn't very useful, but it's proof that he can be reached in the game without modifications, just like Whitley.
Trivia[]
- Iversen's name can only be known by spawning him via mods, like this one , by using the flame grenade bug at the Norwegian Medi-Center, or by accessing the game files. His name in the game files is sometimes mispelled as "Iverson."
- He's listed as a Soldier in the squad menu if he's recruited through mods. It is possible that he might have been originally a Medic before being assimilated, as he was wearing the same uniform as Parnevik, with a visible red cross.
- His name has been assumed to be Larsen because of him screaming "Larsen" in the game's intro. Larsen, rather, appears to be the a Norwegian in the blue coat, as his voice is much different. Besides, Iversen could not be Larsen, as his name has been confirmed by spawning him as an NPC via mods like the one above or by looking at the game files.
- Unlike the Unnamed Medic and Austin, who are named "NPCEntity_1" and "Austin3" respectively because they weren't meant ot be reached by the player, Iversen does have a proper name shown in the squad menu, hinting that, perhaps, he was meant to be recruited in the player's squad at some point, as an infiltrator.
- If acquired in your team using the flame grenade bug at the Norwegian Medi-Center, he will test negative when a blood test is performed. Story-wise, however, he's already infected.
- He also won't be able to enter the Norwegian Medi-Center building if the player pushes him to enter.
- According to the above journal note, Iversen had a brother who died at the Norwegian Outpost during the Thing attack. He took the loss of his brother harshly.
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