[SPOILER] Overture - the dad + Red cliffhanger?

[spukrian]

Who exactly is the dad of the player character? What was the note in the beginning of the game about? The entire game just seems so unrelated to this "mysterious note", I mean the character just seems to forget entirely about this location that he's supposed to visit in the letter and instead takes a field trip to a mine.

The player character is called Phillip (his last name is Buchanon IIRC). His father is Howard LaFresque.

The letter in the beginning pointed to a deposit box containing notes and a book. They pointed to a location in Greenland. When Phillip goes on a "field trip" to Greenland, he's actually visiting the location in the letter.

Can't say more without spoiling things... play Black Plague!