Hamish

1. Summary

Hamish is the family's longtime butler, guardian and instructor, Friedrich's closest friend and a genuine paternal figure who raised Edmund and Lorraine with love. He kept Friedrich alive in secret, administered the estate and prepared the mission, and during the expedition he is its strategic support. Fascinated by the dangerous research, he reads too much, deteriorates, threatens Lorraine and dies in a lethal confrontation with Edmund; his fall makes the information hazard personal.

2. Identity

• Name: Hamish.
• Position: the family's butler and long-standing instructor, and the twins' guardian.
• Origin: Scottish, from a longstanding family tradition of domestic service.
• Family: a widower without children.
• Age: an elderly gentleman who has lived in the mansion for many years.
• Quarters: an office in the mansion, where the inheritance meeting is held and which becomes the temporary strategic headquarters of Chapter Two, and a simple, comfortable private bedroom whose wall conceals the entrance to the stasis laboratory. See: Places › Butler Bedroom.
• Languages: he takes part naturally in the inheritance meeting, which is held in Spanish.
• Form of address: he calls Edmund "Edmund", and over the expedition radio sometimes "Master Edmund".

3. Personality

Hamish is not merely an employee responsible for maintaining the mansion. His affection for the twins is sincere, and his commitment to their well-being is not simply the result of financial compensation. He is loyal, disciplined and paternal, a competent administrator, and capable of considering morally extreme alternatives; how these sides coexist is described under Role in the Story.

He takes difficult philosophical questions seriously. Faced with the D4 scientist's conviction that the world itself is evil, he answers that some of the man's questions deserve to be taken seriously without all his conclusions being right, that philosophical pessimism is not new, and that he read some of those arguments in his father's books.

3.1 Portrayal Principle

The butler's paternal affection must be established convincingly before his psychological deterioration. The deterioration should be gradual and perceptible, making his eventual confrontation with the protagonist emotionally significant.

4. Background

…

4.1 Friedrich's Friend

Hamish was a trusted personal friend of the twins' father, his closest friend, and made a personal promise to care for the children. Around 2007 Friedrich moved the children to the Patagonian estate with him and entrusted their upbringing to him.

He knows of the father's survival and the risks of memetic exposure, but not the full hidden truth. He knows that the father's research involves an extraordinary informational danger, although he does not initially understand the complete nature of that danger. He has been instructed not to read or assimilate dangerous material.

He knows Friedrich's former associate, the retired lieutenant colonel, from years before. See: Characters › The Lieutenant Colonel.

4.2 The Paternal Figure

Over the years, he developed genuine paternal affection toward the twins. For the twins, he effectively became their father figure.

He provided guidance, protection, education, and emotional stability throughout their childhood. He supervised their seemingly endless training and ensured that Edmund learned to use firearms on the estate's shooting range. He told the twins that something important would be revealed when they turned eighteen.

Edmund remembers mysterious helicopter arrivals and formally dressed visitors speaking privately with the butler, without ever learning the purpose of those visits.

4.3 The Responsibilities He Carries

He carries an enormous responsibility. He must maintain the father's stasis system, protect the children, preserve certain secrets, and ensure that they remain alive until the appropriate moment. He keeps the stasis laboratory clean and maintained.

Following Friedrich's official death, Hamish was entrusted with substantial administrative responsibility over the family estate and related arrangements.

Over the years, he arranged for a portion of the family fortune to be made available for the undertaking, through controlled asset liquidation, accumulated financial resources, and other arrangements designed to avoid significant disruption to the family's principal investments and corporate interests. See: Systems › Strategic Preparation.

He has access to the intermediaries, investigators and external contacts of the family's network, including a contact in Brazil and an intelligence contact. See: Factions › Von Veylor-Schloss Family, See: Characters › The Contact In Brazil and See: Characters › The Intelligence Contact.

Friedrich entrusted him with a secret that could not be fully disclosed until the siblings reached adulthood. Everything Hamish revealed before then was limited by Friedrich's express instructions. Friedrich was very explicit that no outsiders were to accompany the twins on the mission. Hamish considered hiring mercenaries himself and rejected the idea.

4.4 Family Tradition of Service

Hamish is a Scottish professional butler.

He comes from a longstanding family tradition of domestic service associated with European aristocratic households and important historical figures.

Accounts of his family's service include connections to high-ranking ecclesiastical households and even a Pope.

These ancestral associations form part of the family's professional history and reputation.

4.5 Personal Life

Hamish is a widower.

His wife died many years earlier.

He never had children of his own.

His life became increasingly centered on service, responsibility, and eventually the upbringing of Friedrich's children.

4.6 Introduction to Friedrich

Friedrich's wife recommended Hamish to the family.

Over time, Hamish and Friedrich developed profound mutual respect.

Friedrich trusted Hamish's discretion, professionalism, integrity, and judgment.

Hamish respected Friedrich's intellect and sense of responsibility.

4.7 Knowledge of Schwarzwald

Hamish knew that Friedrich worked at Schwarzwald.

He understood that the facility involved classified and sometimes disturbing scientific research.

However, he did not know the full nature of the Skull Helmet experiments, the extent of the abuses committed in D6, or Friedrich's complete metaphysical interpretation.

Hamish did not regard investigating his employer's private affairs as part of his responsibilities.

4.8 Knowledge of the Plan

Friedrich explained as much as he believed Hamish needed to know.

He provided instructions for the care, education, financial security, and preparation of his children.

He also communicated essential information concerning the eventual mission.

Hamish did not fully understand why Friedrich considered these instructions necessary.

Nevertheless, he knew the request was serious.

Friedrich was not a man inclined toward frivolous decisions.

4.9 Raising the Children

Hamish assumed responsibility for Edmund and his sister.

He ensured that they received an excellent education and a comfortable upbringing.

Their development included appropriate training and preparation that could later assist them in navigating dangerous or technically demanding situations.

The children were not necessarily told the full purpose of their preparation.

Hamish became a stable parental figure in their lives.

4.10 The Searches for Friedrich

…

4.10.1 Intelligence Visits

During Edmund's childhood, individuals associated with official security organizations occasionally searched for information concerning Friedrich.

Some arrived in official-looking vehicles, wearing dark suits.

These episodes became part of Edmund's memories.

4.10.2 Hamish's Responses

Hamish dealt with the visitors carefully.

He used discretion and diplomatic skill to avoid disclosing information concerning Friedrich's whereabouts.

He might claim not to know where Friedrich was or provide responses that revealed as little as possible.

4.10.3 Narrative Purpose

These childhood memories acquire additional significance as Edmund learns more about the facility.

Events that once appeared mysterious or merely unsettling become understandable within the larger history of the BSCD and the 1999 disaster.

Hamish's secrecy is eventually revealed as part of his long effort to protect the children and fulfill Friedrich's instructions.

5. Role in the Story

• On the twins' eighteenth birthday he signs the transfer instruments that pass control of the family assets to Edmund, then opens the concealed entrance in the wall of his bedroom and reveals the father in stasis. He explains the concealed history, what Friedrich authorized him to disclose, and why the siblings received such unusual training. Only he opens the entrance.
• He explains that the family fortune was intended to help finance the mission and presents the mission budget, the 28-day preparation window and the extraction options.
• During the preparation phase he presents options, explains available information, estimates risks, and makes recommendations as Edmund's strategic adviser.
• He travels with the twins to Brazil and into the rainforest, and supports the expedition from the surface by studying material, making preparations, and communicating by radio.
• He becomes fascinated by the research, reads too much, and deteriorates psychologically. His eventual exposure to forbidden information gradually destroys his mental stability, transforming a previously reasonable and affectionate guardian into a dangerous individual. The butler's progressive exposure changes the radio communications and eventually the stakes of the story.
• He eventually behaves incoherently and threatens Lorraine. The protagonist is forced into a lethal confrontation with him.
• His fall makes the information hazard personal and demonstrates that loving, reasonable people can be destroyed by exposure. When the siblings return to the mansion, the butler is dead. Edmund's reflections on the return journey include Hamish's death and its impact on both siblings.

5.1 Development in Chapter Two

Chapter Two reveals Hamish's importance as:

• A loyal family servant.
• A close friend of Friedrich.
• A paternal figure to the siblings.
• Their longtime instructor.
• A capable administrator of substantial wealth.
• A strategic adviser familiar with difficult and unconventional decisions.
• The custodian of Friedrich's instructions.

His affectionate relationship with Edmund and Lorraine must coexist naturally with his ability to discuss severe operational measures.

The player should understand that these are different aspects of the same character.

5.2 Loyalty at the Inheritance

Following Friedrich's official death, Hamish was entrusted with substantial administrative responsibility over the family estate and related arrangements.

Upon Edmund reaching adulthood, the relevant authority is transferred in accordance with Friedrich's instructions.

Hamish does not express hesitation, resentment, or any desire to retain control.

He considers the transfer the fulfillment of a promise made to Friedrich.

The scene should demonstrate his extraordinary loyalty through his conduct rather than through exaggerated declarations.

5.3 Role in the Laboratory

Hamish accompanies Edmund and Lorraine into the laboratory.

He explains what Friedrich authorized him to disclose and helps the siblings understand why they received such unusual training.

The scene should reinforce Hamish's relationship with the family as something deeper than ordinary employment.

He was a trusted friend of Friedrich and has acted as a mentor and near-paternal figure to the siblings.

5.4 Strategic Adviser

Hamish presents options, explains available information, estimates risks, and makes recommendations.

He is capable of considering morally extreme alternatives when he believes the mission requires them.

This does not represent a sudden change in personality.

Hamish remains the same loyal, disciplined, paternal figure introduced in Chapter One.

The chapter reveals an additional dimension of his experience and the responsibilities Friedrich entrusted to him.

5.5 Development in Chapter Three

Hamish continues to serve as mentor, guardian, and adviser.

His familiarity with Friedrich's former associates helps the siblings secure essential information.

During the military incident, he remains composed and recognizes the need to avoid unnecessary confrontation.

In the rainforest, he contributes practical experience and helps maintain the group's routines and discipline.

His paternal relationship with the siblings remains visible in small actions and conversations.

5.6 The Final Letter

His last revelation, before his death, concerns the final letter Friedrich entrusted to him. See: In-World Documents › Friedrich's Final Letter.

6. Relationships

• Friedrich: his closest friend, to whom he made the promise to look after the children and whose stasis system he maintains. See: Characters › Friedrich.
• Edmund and Lorraine: he raised them and became their father figure. Lorraine notices the changes in his behavior as forbidden knowledge affects him; he finally threatens her, and Edmund is forced into a lethal confrontation with him. See: Characters › Edmund and See: Characters › Lorraine.
• The lieutenant colonel: they recognize each other from the past. See: Characters › The Lieutenant Colonel.
• The family's network: he is the channel through which Edmund exercises power indirectly. See: Factions › Von Veylor-Schloss Family.

7. Gameplay Role

Hamish is the strategic level of the expedition. He coordinates communications, intelligence, finances, contacts, logistical opportunities, and selected interventions that change the conditions in which Edmund operates. He runs a movable physical support station on the surface, which the player can order to relocate. He begins without a firearm and can be given a recovered weapon. Soldiers can surprise and capture him. See: Systems › Companions.

His available interventions depend on the contacts and arrangements established during Chapter Two. See: Systems › Strategic Preparation.

He introduces the intelligence channel that identifies military casualties after Edmund causes his first one. After Hamish's death, Edmund contacts that source directly. See: Systems › Dead Soldiers Registry.

He prepared the expedition's custom encrypted radios and the indispensable communications equipment. Over the radio he warns Edmund of approaching American forces, of the truck useful for travel between installations, and to be cautious near Indigenous territory.

His eventual death is an important narrative and mechanical event, not an event that occurs in Chapter Four, and it is handled separately from the companion capture risk. His voice may be among the fragments of Edmund's terminal information collapse. See: Systems › Information Hazard.

8. Open Questions

• Whether the confrontation with Hamish can end without Edmund killing him remains open. It decides whether the pacifist achievement The Enlightened One can be earned. See: Systems › Pacifist Play.
• The detailed positions of the sister and the butler during each mission stage remain open.