Tobias Barlow

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Tobias Barlow is a major character in Pacific Drive.

Before the Zone was decommissioned, Tobias was a manager in ARDA's maintenance department. After the decommission, he lived in Sector B of the Mid-Zone with his romantic partner, Dr. Francis Cooke, investigating the Zone's stories and mysteries.

Tobias is a credulous, enthusiastic, and generally upbeat man. He enjoys folklore and urban legends, particularly those originating or occurring within the Zone. He is also an amateur poet, and several of his poems can be found in-game.

History

Tobias worked at the Red Meadow Research Facility alongside Francis and Oppy before the facility's destruction. Oppy recalls Tobias mistakenly throwing out weeks worth of her lab notes.

Tobias was awake and within range of the Mass Hallucination on September 14th, 1961. He reported "freefalling through outer space" and hearing "the rings of Saturn sing."

In August of 1964, Tobias called Francis to inform him that he and some other employees had discovered Bubblegum Buddies stealing equipment. Tobias insisted on delivering the notes on Bubblegum Buddies in person, allegedly due to issues with the Pneumatube system.

In September of 1964, Francis called Tobias to inform him that the drums of experimental gravity gel his team was delivering back to Maintenance had spilled across a long strip of road, creating the first instance of the Airstrip Anomaly.

In February of 1966, a road worker helping Tobias and another maintenance worker fill a pothole documented a Pothole Anomaly taking the form of floating road repair tools, signs, and lights.

Sometime after the Sierram disaster in 1973, Tobias was assigned to clean out the guard towers that kept watch over Colossal Cappy.

When ordered to evacuate the Zone, Tobias refused to pack up and go. He convinced Francis to stay behind with him to investigate the Zone's stories. The two went without electricity for four months to avoid detection.

Sometime in 1982, Tobias and Francis went on a trip to document the Visions murals in the Mid-Zone.

Relationships

Francis Cooke

Francis is Tobias's long-term romantic partner. Their relationship began at an unspecified point before the decommissioning of the Zone, and rather than leave, they chose to remain together in the Zone. This decision was informed in part by continuing homophobic attitudes in society, and in part by Tobias's enduring passion for the Zone's folklore, which they investigate together.

Generally, Tobias is the believer to Francis's skeptic, though this dynamic is notably inverted when it comes to the story of The Helmsman.

Tobias admires Francis for being a scientist, and encourages him to be prouder of his work.

Ophelia Turner

Tobias respects and admires Oppy for her past achievements and formidable intellect, though he dislikes her no-nonsense attitude. Oppy, in contrast, looks down on Tobias for his boisterousness and his fondness for conspiracy theories, although there are several hints to suggest she may not have disliked him as much as she claimed.

Events of Pacific Drive

Tobias is the first character to notice the Driver's presence on the long-range instruments, and the first to identify their car as possible Remnant. He and Francis steer the Driver to take shelter at Oppy's garage.

When testing the car for signs of being a Remnant, Tobias is only briefly alarmed by the dangerous idea of convincing the Driver to drive into Colossal Cappy. He is then quickly on board with the idea.

After being cut off from the Driver by Oppy, when the Driver crosses the Barrier Wall into the Mid-Zone for the first time, Tobias jams Oppy's connection to the Driver's equipment. He then requires the Driver to send them an old ARDA database Oppy kept in the garage before he re-establishes Oppy's connection.

Left in co-charge of the Remnant investigation when Oppy refuses to work with them, Tobias suggests checking the Visions, a set of three murals painted by another former Remnant holder, for clues, using Francis's old Optical Bassilizer to investigate. He had been fixing it up in secret, intending to give it to Francis as a birthday surprise, ignorant of the fact that Francis had forged the data that the Bassilizer had allegedly previously produced. Despite this admission, Tobias continued to express confidence in Francis's imprint theory. He and Francis have a fight, and Francis storms off.

While Francis confines himself to the bedroom, Tobias and Oppy work together to help the Driver investigate the ruins of the Red Meadow laboratory.

Tobias is killed when the Driver attempts to cross the Old Wall into the Deep Zone for the first time, running out into an instability storm to bypass the liquefied fuse box of Battery Farm 6 and ensure the Driver had the power needed to complete the crossing.

Once in the Well, the Driver and Oppy and Francis hear a voice apparently belonging to Tobias. Tobias relays a message from Oppy's long-deceased husband, Allen, and he and Francis say their final goodbyes.

Trivia

• Tobias Barlow is voiced by Jeff Wong.