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Paula Cohen is a scientist who was an employee of Pandora Haze working on biotechnologies. She is in a relationship with Dr. Maxine Myers. Paula is an Ashkenazi Jew. On missions, she sometimes imitates voices (such as pretending to be a nature documentary narrator) to lighten the mood.

History[]

Pre-apocalypse[]

Paula grew up in Belsize Park, London.[1]

Paula met Maxine when she was working for Pandora Haze in Chicago. They did not get along at first. Maxine thought Paula was aggressive and pushy, and Paula thought Maxine was acting dumb and obstructive. But eventually they came to care for each other.[2] When Paula's work called her back to the UK, Maxine came with her.[3]

Paula got Maxine interested in tabletop roleplaying games, specifically Demons and Darkness. In one of their campaigns, Paula's character was infected with a magical parasite in her spine and Maxine's character had to sacrifice a goat to the god Loki to save her.[4]

Paula occasionally told Maxine things about her work that she wasn't supposed to, such as the code to open the doors of the building. Maxine would sometimes use the code to sneak in while Paula was working late.[3]

Paula got invited to a cocktail party at the home of Professor Van Ark and brought Maxine along as her guest.[5]

Paula wanted children, but Maxine did not. This led to them having a row. Paula accused Maxine of being selfish, saying that she would be a great mom.[6]

Paula helped with the development of VS-72, an experimental drug that was supposed to help people heal faster by increasing cell regeneration. One of the patients in the clinical trial, Patient 29, had an adverse reaction to the treatment. He developed a high fever and seemingly died at the hospital - only to "wake up" and bite someone, thus beginning the zombie plague.[7]

Paula and Maxine watched the first outbreak on the news together. Paula was crying and couldn't let go of Maxine, because she knew that somehow her work and research was involved in it.[3]

Early Apocalypse[]

Paula and the other researchers barricade themselves in the university. They have soldiers to guard them from the zombies outside, but the soldiers are picked off one by one. The researchers decide to take turns recording CDs for someone in the hopes that they'll find it. Paula addresses her CD to Maxine. She explains the VS-72 research and what happened to Patient 29, and urges Maxine to find the research notes so that she can figure out how and why this happened. Paula ends her message by repeating "I love you" over and over.[7]

A Pandora Haze helicopter arrives and rescues some of the researchers, saying that they'll be back for the rest later. Paula wakes up early the next day and finds one of the researchers burning his notes. When Paula confronts him about this, he says that Professor Van Ark ordered him to destroy the research notes over the radio. Paula realizes that this means Van Ark has probably already destroyed the notes at his own lab. Paula records a second message to Maxine telling her to check the Keeley Centre, the government building where Pandora Haze sent their files to be checked over. Paula knows that they sometimes copied the files before sending them back, so they might have copies of the VS-72 patient files as well.[8]

Paula works with Van Ark to try and develop a cure or vaccine, but when she tries to leave Van Ark infects her with the virus. And because Van Ark has the only known treatment for the virus, Paula is forced to stay and continue working with him.[9]

Season One[]

Runner Five finds the CD Paula left at the university and takes it back to Maxine.[10] Maxine breaks down sobbing as she listens to it.[7]

Professor Van Ark contacts Paula from the Jeffro Complex, asking how long he'll have to endure the plasmapheresis treatments. Paula isn't sure; they'll have to continue with the treatments until they can find a cure for the zombie virus. Van Ark gets angry with her answer, accusing Paula of working slowly on purpose. Paula denies this, pointing out that she needs the cure just as much as he does. Van Ark contacts her again a short while later, claiming that he has Maxine captive and threatening to harm her. Paula is surpised at first, but then says that Van Ark is lying; if he really had Maxine, he would have let her speak to Paula as proof.[11]

Season Two[]

Van Ark captures Archie Jensen and tries to pursuade her to work with him, but Archie refuses, calling Van Ark a "bad, bad man". Instead, Van Ark sends Paula in to try and convince her. Archie calls Paula bad as well, and Paula tries to explain her reasons for working with Van Ark - specifically, she's trying to develop a vaccine for the zombie virus, and Van Ark infected her with the virus in order to prevent her from leaving, since he has the only treatment for it. Archie mentions Doctor Myers from Abel Township, which gets Paula's attention. Archie confirms that she's talking about Maxine, and that Maxine is still alive, to Paula's great relief. Paula proposes that she and Archie work togeher to develop a cure using Van Ark's equipment and Archie doesn't seem opposed to the idea - but she still refuses to work with Van Ark. The man in question returns and states that he'll have to use more "forceful" methods with Archie.[12]

Van Ark begins torturing Archie with some sort of device. Afterwards, he leaves to let Paula try and convince her again. Archie still refuses, now saying that Paula might be even worse than Van Ark, because at least he knows that what he's doing is wrong, whereas Paula is still trying to persuade herself that it's right. Archie refuses to talk to Paula anymore and tells her to bring Van Ark back in. He tortures her once more and asks her what Major de Santa is planning. Before Archie can answer, a nearby building explodes, causing damage to the room they are in. Archie is knocked out in the process. Van Ark calls for his helicopter to come and rescue him, then pulls out a gun. Paula tries to stop him, protesting that Archie is unconscious, but Van Ark shoves Paula out of the way and shoots Archie twice, killing her. Van Ark and Paula leave in the helicopter.[13]

Paula heads to a church to collect some equipment and is surprised when Maxine shows up there, along with Runner Five. Maxine says that she saw Paula's message in the Rofflenet posts, but Paula has no idea what she is talking about. Van Ark suddenly appears, announcing that it was a trap for Maxine. Paula, Maxine, and Five attempt to escape as Van Ark's soldiers surround the area. Paula and Maxine get away, but Five does not.[14]

Maxine tells Paula about her work in creating an anti-zombie spray and how the current version is toxic to children. Paula thinks she might be able to help with that. Paula returns to Van Ark in order to save Runner Five's life. Van Ark takes them both back to his lab, where Paula frees Five and gives them some vials and research notes that should help Maxine with her experiments. Paula reluctantly stays behind with Van Ark, knowing that she's too valuable for him to kill her, and asks Five to tell Maxine that she loves her.[15]

After Sara Smith injects Van Ark with something Maxine made that should take away his healing abilities, she meets up with Paula for her plasmapheresis treatment. Unfortunately Van Ark destroys the machine before Sara's treatment can be completed. Paula remembers that Maxine told her New Canton has a plasmapheresis machine too. She and Sara head that way, but Sara's infection has progressed too far. On the verge of turning, Sara asks Paula to kill her. As Sara's life fades, Paula severs the nerves leading to her brain to prevent her from coming back as a zombie.[16]

Paula returns to Abel and has a joyful reunion with Maxine. As the people of Abel celebrate the defeat of Van Ark, Paula thanks Five for their hard work. Suddenly the celebrations are interrupted by the sounds of mysterious tones, which cause several residents of Abel to act oddly, including Maxine. These people begin heading for Abel's gates, ignoring everything else. Paula pleads with Maxine to stay, but Maxine strikes her and leaves Abel before they can stop her.[17]

Season Three[]

Paula becomes Abel Township's Runner 23.

Weeks after the disappearance of Abel's people, Paula and Runner Five follow a signal from Runner Twelve's tracker which leads them to a dry canal. Halfway up the wall of the canal they find a door set into the rock. On the door is the logo for Comansys. Inside, they find a row of chest freezers similar to the ones Van Ark used to preserve people who were infected. Most of the freezers are empty, but in one they find the dead body of Runner Twelve. Another opens up and a young man, Tony, emerges from it.[18]

Tony has an unusual device which repels zombies, allowing him, Paula, and Five to safely leave the Comansys lab. The three of them go to rescue Amelia, Abel's new commander sent by the Ministry of Recovery, whose helicopter has crashed in a tree. On the way there, Paula asks Tony if he saw what happened to the other people in the cryofreezers. Tony says that the Comansys people had been shipping people out in Jeeps and confirms that Maxine had been there. He says the Comansys people said that she was "high security cargo".[19]

In S3M27 "Blue," Paula accompanies Runner 5 to check on the blue flowers. She falls into the blue flowers and receives multiple scratches from the thorns. This results in a disinhibiting effect, and Paula rambles about how much she dislikes Kefilwe Lobatse, how she once replaced Maxine's Ceretin Plus, and how Sam and Maxine both have gorgeous smiles. Sam escorts Paula to New Canton for poison control treatments.

Season Four[]

Season Five[]

Season Six[]

Season Seven[]

Season Eight[]

Season Nine[]

Season Ten[]

Appearances[]

Season 1

New Adventures[]

Trivia[]

  • The postcode where Paula and Maxine used to live together is CB18QZ.[20]
  • Alternate universe versions of Paula appear in several New Adventures.
    • Pict shaman Orla experiences the cruelty of the Romans firsthand in Rule Britannia.
    • Dr. Paula Cohen seeks to save her lost love at any cost in A Study in Ichor.
    • Paula joins the Fellowship of Sacrifices in Endless Sea.
  • Paula is the sixth most recurring non-player character in the main storyline of Zombies, Run! after Sam Yao, Janine de Luca, Maxine Myers, Jody Marsh, and Peter Lynne. Paula appears in 79 out of 385 missions (20.5%) throughout seasons 1-9. (Note: This does not count Radio Mode appearances, hallucinations, or recordings.)
    • Season 1: 1/34 missions (2.9%)
    • Season 2: 6/64 missions (9.4%)
    • Season 3: 19/60 missions (31.7%)
    • Season 4: 11/42 missions (26.2%)
    • Season 5: 13/40 missions (32.5%)
    • Season 6: 10/40 missions (25.0%)
    • Season 7: 3/40 missions (7.5%)
    • Season 8: 15/30 missions (50.0%)
    • Season 9: 1/35 missions (2.9%)

References[]

  1. Season 3 Mission 2: The Safety Dance
    Paula Cohen: "I hate to think of London like that. All the places I grew up."
    Tony: "You from London?"
    Paula Cohen: "Belsize Park."
  2. Season 2 Side Mission 10: Zombies, Climb!
    Maxine Myers: "You know, when Paula and I first met, we did not get on at all! I thought she was aggressive and pushy, and she thought I was acting dumb and obstructive. But when you feel that strongly about someone, there’s something there. I am telling you."
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Season 1 Mission 13: A Regular Meds Run
  4. Season 1 Mission 15: Virtuous Circle
  5. Season 1 Abel Township Race Mission 2: Visiting Van Ark: 10K
  6. Season 2 Mission 11: The Kids Are Alright
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Season 1 Mission 12: Alternates
  8. Season 1 Mission 14: Patient 29
  9. Season 2 Mission 17: The Object Is A Hungry Wolf
    Paula Cohen: "At the start, I thought I was doing something good. We were all working together, trying to work out a cure or a vaccine for the zombie plague. Van Ark has the most knowledge of anyone I’ve ever met about the virus, its mutations. We can learn so much from him! I don’t say he’s not a bad person – he is. He’s a bad, bad person. When I tried to leave, he deliberately infected me because he knows that only his serum can keep an infected person from going gray."
  10. Season 1 Mission 11: Back to School
  11. Season 1 New Canton Race Mission 3: Plasmapheresis: 20K
  12. Season 2 Mission 17: The Object Is A Hungry Wolf
  13. Season 2 Mission 18: Dark And Long
  14. Season 2 Mission 31: Hello
  15. Season 2 Mission 32: Tightrope
  16. Season 2 Mission 43: The Final Countdown
  17. Season 2 Mission 44: Something Good, 08
  18. Season 3 Mission 1: Break Your Heart
  19. Season 3 Mission 2: The Safety Dance
  20. Season 2 Mission 31: Hello
    Maxine Myers: "CB18QZ at the end of every message - our old postcode."
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