His doctorship Wolfgang von Leverkühn is a shadowy figure about whom little is known beyond the seemingly implausible claims he himself has disseminated. For instance, he asserts that he studied under Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, Athanasius Kircher en Agrippa von Nettesheim, an assertion that would make him a scientific anomaly over five hundred years old. Due to his claimed education, he insists on the title of Professor Doctor for himself. He describes his field as Applied Mimetics, derived from the Greek word mimesis. During more rational and enlightened times, he claims to have lived in hiding after receiving threats from certain philosophical and scientific circles. He alleges to have written records of these threats and is adamant that revealing the names of those involved could cause a significant re-evaluation of their scientific reputations.
His doctorship von Leverkühn resurfaced in 2005 as the discoverer of Arachnea parapluviosis, the umbrella spider. Some claim to have seen him earlier, during the 1950s and 1960s, as a frequent visitor to various bacteriological institutes. These same individuals view this as deeply unsettling, interpreting it as evidence that Professor Doctor von Leverkühn may not be the spider’s discoverer but rather its creator. What troubles them most are the potential motives he may have had for creating the umbrella spider. Some perceive it as a noble but out-of-control attempt to combat human-caused pollution, while others detect a clear misantropic intent embedded in the umbrella spider’s very conception, which quickly manifested in reality.
Given the anti-human lifestyle exhibited by several species of the umbrella spider, it is unsurprising that his doctorship von Leverkühn remains reclusive and continues to avoid public appearances to this day.
