Once on-board, Professor Gerald began work on " Project Shadow," code-named as such because of the many people who felt that what Gerald was working on was just as intangible as a shadow.
The grandfather and daughter pair were soon shuttled into space to live aboard the Space Colony ARK, a Bernal-sphere space station designed to hold numerous research facilities and double as a living area not just for the researchers and military personal who worked aboard, but for their families as well. Distraught over the idea of losing his granddaughter, Professor Gerald reversed his decision, telling the President that he would indeed assist in the quest for immortality, hoping to use the research to find a cure for Maria. Referred to as "N.I.D.S." for short, the rare disease was known to be fatal, with no cure as of yet discovered by medical science. Because of his renowned status, the leader of the United Federation contacted the brilliant mind to assist on a research project that could change the very fate of the world: "Mankind's ultimate eternal dream, researching for immortality." Though at first he refused for fear that it crossed the limits that man should dare tamper with nature, he eventually relented when he discovered that Maria had been diagnosed with a genetic disorder known as Neuro Immunodeficiency Syndrome. It was because of her that he found joy in an otherwise harsh world. Though well known in his fields of study, he dedicated his life to his granddaughter, Maria Robotnik. Fifty years ago, there was a brilliant, gifted scientist known to the world as Professor Gerald Robotnik.