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From Sonic Retro

Photograph of Gerald Robotnik and his granddaughter, Maria.

Professor Gerald Robotnik is the grandfather of Dr. Eggman and Maria Robotnik, introduced in Sonic Adventure 2. Noted as "one of the most brilliant minds of all time", Gerald is best known as the creator of Shadow the Hedgehog, but also designed the Space Colony ARK, Biolizard, Artificial Chaos, the Eclipse Cannon, and the Chaos Drives.

While on board the ARK with his granddaughter Maria Robotnik, the professor was assigned by the then-President of the United Federation to work on the Ultimate Life Form Project, a medical research programme that was intended to produce immortality. The end result was Shadow the Hedgehog. The government and its military organizations became uneasy about the project, believing that is could be a potential threat to Earth, and so attacked the ARK. Maria was killed, Shadow was launched toward earth, and the Professor was captured and imprisoned.

At about the time of the military attack, Prof. Robotnik began to lose his grip on sanity. Whether or not he completed the trap involving Biolizard as punishment for humans stealing the life of his beloved Maria and destroying everything he had ever worked for at said time is somewhat debatable, due to the fact that his final recording in Sonic Adventure 2 was done while he was in custody. Some speculate that he took the time during the military's invasion to 'program' Shadow for the destruction of humanity, while others suspect it was done in secret during Professor Gerald's time in prison.

In Sonic Battle, Gerald's diary reveals that he also studied the Nocturnus combat robot Emerl while aboard the ARK.