Cypher is almost definitely Godolkin, the guy in the hyperbaric chamber. The guy we see as the dean is just some human schmuck explaining why there's no V in his blood. That's why he doesn't care about stabbing his hand, that's why Sage and Godolkin are eyeballing each other while she's having sex with the dean, because she's basically banging Godolkin via the puppet. That's why Jordan saw that he was in pain all the time. Would also explain why he's so interested in Marie, because he wants her to fix his body.