The Lieutenant Colonel

1. Summary

The lieutenant colonel is an unnamed retired Brazilian Army officer, educated at ITA, who once worked with Friedrich at the Schwarzwald installation and owes him his life. Traumatized and under continuing government surveillance, he reluctantly receives Edmund, Lorraine and Hamish at his rural property near São Roque, warns them against the mission and gives them the map that leads to Schwarzwald. He represents the lasting psychological and institutional consequences of Schwarzwald.

2. Identity

• Name: unnamed; addressed as "Colonel".
• Rank: a retired lieutenant colonel of the Brazilian Army.
• Education: technical education at the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA).
• Career: he subsequently participated in work connected to the Schwarzwald installation, where he knew Friedrich personally.
• Home: a countryside house or small rural estate in the countryside surrounding São Roque, São Paulo. The property is relatively modest and private compared with the enormous Von Veylor-Schloss mansion and reflects a man who has deliberately withdrawn from his earlier professional environment. See: Places.

3. Personality

He values peace and privacy. He is traumatized, loyal to Friedrich and reluctant to help, as told under Background and Role in the Story.

When the Brazilian Army arrives at his property he becomes immediately irritated and visibly concerned. His reaction communicates genuine experience with the institutions involved. On a telephone line he knows to be monitored, he speaks only indirectly and refers to the mission as a holiday.

4. Background

The officer previously worked at the classified installation in Brazil.

His involvement exposed him to profoundly disturbing experiences.

He was psychologically affected by what he witnessed and has never entirely recovered.

Friedrich played a decisive role in saving his life and enabling him to leave the project.

As a result, he feels an enduring personal debt toward Friedrich.

For years, the officer has maintained strict silence concerning his involvement in Schwarzwald.

He remains subject to confidentiality obligations associated with the classified project: he signed agreements that prohibit him from discussing what happened there, and those obligations never went away.

He lives with the knowledge that government authorities continue to take an interest in his activities. His activities have been monitored for years by military intelligence because of his former involvement in the classified project.

Friedrich told him that his children might eventually seek him out, and he always hoped Friedrich was wrong. The map he gives them was retained or reconstructed discreetly by him.

5. Role in the Story

The family telephones him before arriving. He recognizes Hamish, notices Edmund's resemblance to his father, warns the siblings, and gives Edmund the map showing the approximate location of and approach to Schwarzwald. When Brazilian Army personnel arrive to question the visitors, he ends the meeting and tells them he will describe the visit as one from an old family acquaintance. Several days later he tells Edmund by telephone that nothing serious happened and wishes him a pleasant holiday. See: Campaign › 3. A Flight To Nowhere.

5.1 Motivation for Cooperation

The officer does not cooperate because Edmund is wealthy.

He is not being bribed.

He agrees to help because Friedrich once saved his life, and because he expected that Friedrich's children might eventually seek him out.

His personal loyalty to Friedrich outweighs his desire to remain completely uninvolved.

However, his cooperation is reluctant.

He is deeply concerned that Edmund and Lorraine intend to approach a place he considers extraordinarily dangerous.

5.2 His Warning

His attempt to discourage the siblings. See: Campaign › 3. A Flight To Nowhere

5.3 Development in Chapter Three

The officer represents the lasting psychological and institutional consequences of Schwarzwald.

His past involvement left him traumatized.

Friedrich's intervention allowed him to survive and build a life outside the project.

He has spent many years avoiding discussion of the classified installation.

Despite his gratitude toward Friedrich, he is deeply reluctant to assist the siblings.

He ultimately provides the information and map they need, then withdraws when military attention makes continued cooperation dangerous.

He survives the encounter with the authorities.

6. Relationships

• Friedrich: he knew him very well, better than most people, and owes him his life. See: Characters › Friedrich.
• Hamish: they recognize each other from long ago. See: Characters › Hamish.
• Edmund and Lorraine: Friedrich's children, whom he helps out of debt to their father and despite his fear for them.
• Brazilian military intelligence: it keeps him under observation because of his past. See: Factions › Brazilian Armed Forces.

7. Gameplay Role

The player meets him in Chapter Three, enters and explores his house, and receives his map as a persistent mission item. Optional dialogue branches inside his residence may reveal additional details about his military career, his technical education, his friendship with Friedrich, and his life following Schwarzwald, without revealing information reserved for later campaign discoveries. Photographs, books and personal objects in his house may provide further context concerning Friedrich. See: Campaign › 3. A Flight To Nowhere.

8. Open Questions

• His name remains to be defined.
• His exact military specialty, professional history and service history remain to be defined.
• The exact contents and appearance of his map remain to be defined.

Further undefined points about him. See: Canon › Open Questions