Over fifty years prior to Shadow the Hedgehog, Gerald was asked to lead Project Shadow, a medical program for researching immortality, which he accepted in hopes of finding a cure for a fatal illness afflicting Maria. While Gerald completed the project by creating Shadow the Hedgehog, though not without taking drastic measures, he was taken into custody by the military when his work was deemed too dangerous. When learning that Maria was killed by the military, Gerald slipped into madness and spend his last days plotting revenge at humanity.