Dr. Richard Tygan is the Chief Scientific Officer of XCOM aboard the Avenger in XCOM 2.
Background[]
Born May 12, 1984, Chicago, Illinois, United States. Holding formal degrees in chemistry and pharmacology, Doctor Richard Tygan was once a respected member of the scientific community. Before the invasion, Dr. Tygan worked in the pharmaceutical industry primarily studying immunosuppressant drugs for use with organ transplants procedures. With the collapse of the global economy following the war, Tygan was left with little alternative in terms of utilizing his skillset outside of ADVENT's widespread calls for cooperation among the scientific community. Employed in one of the earliest gene therapy clinics, Tygan found himself thrust into a project dealing with cranial implants. His work at a clinic in New Providence focused on countering the body's rejection of the cranial implants ADVENT was developing and highlighted the true nature of the aliens to Tygan.
After growing disenchanted by some of the processes he witnessed while serving under ADVENT, Tygan sought contacts within the Resistance in the hopes of atoning for his contributions to ADVENT's work. He saw increased control exerted over the human populace and, upon hearing of a growing resistance movement, decided to flee the city and seek out XCOM. The Resistance guerilla operative Ana Ramirez was preparing to facilitate Tygan's defection when she was delayed by an ADVENT assault. When she didn't show, Tygan panicked and forcibly removed the implanted chip that linked him to ADVENT's psionic network; the self-surgery rendered him unconscious. Ramirez passed on Tygan's last known position to XCOM, and Central led a rescue squad including Ramirez, Jane Kelly, Lily Shen, and Peter Osei to extract him.
After the Elders' defeat and the destruction of the Avatar Project, he continued his research into humans and aliens. His most high profile work is The Enemy Within: The Impending Public Health Crisis in a Post-War World. The book explores how the Fade, a degenerative disease that effects Hybrids, will likely jump species to humans and other alien races, as they share common DNA with each-other, due to the Elder's genetic tampering.
Personality[]
Dr. Tygan is self-assured and confident in his own knowledge and expertise. He can be a bit patronizing at times to those who aren't able to keep up; however, he has a great deal of respect towards the Commander. Among his peers, he is viewed with various degrees of suspicion: It took some time before Tygan gained the trust of the Avenger's crew, but Lily Shen still remains guarded around him in spite of their frequent work together. Tygan's habit of scratching his implant scar makes her wonder if anyone actually checked if he removed his implant.
Tygan has one small weakness: ADVENT Burgers. He absolutely adores the juicy meat cuts used to make them and misses them more than anything else on board the Avenger. As all livestock and domesticated animals have been banned by ADVENT, and most animals in general rendered endangered, he is unsure where they get their meat from. But he doesn't want to know.
Interactions[]
- Tygan heads the research department on the Avenger, replacing Moira Vahlen. He performs autopsies and dismantles wrecks, and only appears as a controllable character in The Lazarus Project, bearing the nickname Hamburgler.
Notes[]
- Tygan seems intentionally averse to discovering the origin of the meat. Ignorance is bliss after all.
Trivia[]
- The title of the book is likely a reference to the XCOM: Enemy Unknown expansion pack, XCOM: Enemy Within.