TV-Series
Description
Hank Johnson investigated an anomaly in Afghanistan in 2010 alongside his companion Azmati. During hostile encounters, they discovered a powerful portal. Though initial reports suggested survival, Hank died in this conflict. Azmati later used a ritual within the ancient 13MAGNUS stronghold, a Nest, to resurrect Hank as an XM-powered immortal simulacrum of himself. This resurrection imposed a cycle where Hank's memories reset every 1,331 days, termed Recursion. Found wandering the Hindu Kush Mountains afterward, he was debriefed by Zeke Calvin, leading to his involvement with the Niantic Project. He departed before Epiphany Night to investigate XM connections to the Queen of Sheba in Africa.
Hank became central to the first XM Anomaly at Cahokia Mounds, Illinois, a site he previously studied. The Enlightened faction's victory there influenced his alignment, shifting his perspective on XM toward its role in human evolution. He later collaborated with Carrie Campbell on Shaper Glyphs, researching locations like Cross Plains, Texas, where he observed anomalies linking Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft. His discovery of glyphs within the San Saba mines led to a package intended for Campbell, delivered during the TimeZero Anomaly via Enlightened operatives.
Hank reunited with Devra Bogdanovich during Operation Cassandra and 13MAGNUS, investigating a mystery from their graduate studies in Arecibo. Research revealed Calvin had orchestrated Hank’s placement at Arecibo to probe the 13MAGNUS society, which pursued XM-based immortality. In Phoenix, Arizona, Hank located a map to an Afghan Nest—the same site where he died—and entered it, vanishing afterward.
He reappeared in Berlin with no memory of the Nest events. A video released in Nashville by Klue revealed Hank’s body remained buried in Afghanistan, confirming his 2010 death. Confronting Azmati in Austin, Texas, Hank learned the truth about his simulacrum existence and its 1,331-day recursion cycle. He sought Recursion Artifacts to break the cycle, but Resistance control of the artifacts during the Anomaly series doomed him to recurse on June 11, 2014. Before recursion, he preserved his memories globally via portal links with help from Oliver Lynton-Wolfe, Nigel Moyer, and Azmati.
After recursing in the Afghan Nest, Hank was recaptured by Calvin. He then investigated the N'Zeer, an entity banished by the Shapers. Wounded during pursuits in India, he was aided by a biotech researcher, Jahan, who later revealed herself as leader of the Anti-MAGNUS—a society serving the N'Zeer. Jahan coerced Hank into retrieving the Shōnin Stone under threat to Azmati’s family. Azmati destroyed both the Stone and the Nest, collapsing Hank’s simulacrum form and returning him to his human body, while causing Niantic researchers to disappear and resulting in Azmati’s death.
As a human, Hank tracked down Azmati’s uncle, pieced together the researchers' disappearances, and assumed leadership of 13MAGNUS. He planned to confront Jahan in Persepolis but aborted the mission on Devra’s warning. He later suspected Calvin’s ulterior motives within the Niantic Project, theorizing Calvin converted researchers into simulacra. Hank and Jahan subsequently stole a Prime Artifact to reawaken the researchers as simulacra, debriefing them post-revival.
In later events, he attempted to dissuade factions from misusing artifacts like the Obsidian Shield, advocated for reviving ADA, and gathered intel on Oliver Lynton-Wolfe’s Tecthulhu project. His activities during conflicts such as #Fateofthe13 were minimal but showed interest in #13MAGNUSREAWAKENS rumors.
Hank became central to the first XM Anomaly at Cahokia Mounds, Illinois, a site he previously studied. The Enlightened faction's victory there influenced his alignment, shifting his perspective on XM toward its role in human evolution. He later collaborated with Carrie Campbell on Shaper Glyphs, researching locations like Cross Plains, Texas, where he observed anomalies linking Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft. His discovery of glyphs within the San Saba mines led to a package intended for Campbell, delivered during the TimeZero Anomaly via Enlightened operatives.
Hank reunited with Devra Bogdanovich during Operation Cassandra and 13MAGNUS, investigating a mystery from their graduate studies in Arecibo. Research revealed Calvin had orchestrated Hank’s placement at Arecibo to probe the 13MAGNUS society, which pursued XM-based immortality. In Phoenix, Arizona, Hank located a map to an Afghan Nest—the same site where he died—and entered it, vanishing afterward.
He reappeared in Berlin with no memory of the Nest events. A video released in Nashville by Klue revealed Hank’s body remained buried in Afghanistan, confirming his 2010 death. Confronting Azmati in Austin, Texas, Hank learned the truth about his simulacrum existence and its 1,331-day recursion cycle. He sought Recursion Artifacts to break the cycle, but Resistance control of the artifacts during the Anomaly series doomed him to recurse on June 11, 2014. Before recursion, he preserved his memories globally via portal links with help from Oliver Lynton-Wolfe, Nigel Moyer, and Azmati.
After recursing in the Afghan Nest, Hank was recaptured by Calvin. He then investigated the N'Zeer, an entity banished by the Shapers. Wounded during pursuits in India, he was aided by a biotech researcher, Jahan, who later revealed herself as leader of the Anti-MAGNUS—a society serving the N'Zeer. Jahan coerced Hank into retrieving the Shōnin Stone under threat to Azmati’s family. Azmati destroyed both the Stone and the Nest, collapsing Hank’s simulacrum form and returning him to his human body, while causing Niantic researchers to disappear and resulting in Azmati’s death.
As a human, Hank tracked down Azmati’s uncle, pieced together the researchers' disappearances, and assumed leadership of 13MAGNUS. He planned to confront Jahan in Persepolis but aborted the mission on Devra’s warning. He later suspected Calvin’s ulterior motives within the Niantic Project, theorizing Calvin converted researchers into simulacra. Hank and Jahan subsequently stole a Prime Artifact to reawaken the researchers as simulacra, debriefing them post-revival.
In later events, he attempted to dissuade factions from misusing artifacts like the Obsidian Shield, advocated for reviving ADA, and gathered intel on Oliver Lynton-Wolfe’s Tecthulhu project. His activities during conflicts such as #Fateofthe13 were minimal but showed interest in #13MAGNUSREAWAKENS rumors.