PROFESSOR PHIL FOGLIO spends most of his time in the field, collecting legends, folk songs, anecdotes, and gossip pertaining to Sparks and their effects on village society and “folk science.” This is a bit odd, as he was originally hired by Transylvania Polygnostic University to teach Modern Dance. He first became interested in Heterodyne stories while doing research on simple automatons, and was actually present when the Lady Heterodyne unleashed her “Battle Circus” upon Baron Klaus Wulfenbach. Through subsequent research, bribery, and rampant speculation, the professor has managed to fill in a great many of the narrative gaps in the early life of Agatha Heterodyne. He enjoys botany, mechanical illustration, entomology, and—in moderation—modern dance.