Richtofen's Diary

[caljitsu]

Though known about since Ascension, Richtofen's diary is an item that has taken up somewhat of an importance in the story as of late. Explicitly mentioned for the first time in years by The Timeline, we learn that it was the purpose for journeying to the Rising Sun Facility, in game being represented as the infamous Laughing Book (Keep this in mind), specifically that after reading it, Richtofen began to "form his plan". The issue is, Richtofen starts at Der Riese, awakening his test subjects; they then travel to Manchuria, only to return to Breslau with only the diary in hand - so what makes it so important?

 

After teleporting from Der Riese, the diary is dropped and ends up in the hands of The Ascension Group, specifically one Yuri Zavoyski who begins to hear voices, those of Samantha and possibly "darker forces" after reading it's contents. We learn in Alpha Omega the sheer amount of knowledge he learns from The Diary and The Voices, that of the Keepers, The Apothicons, Primis, Ultimis, Agartha, etc, and it's effect on his mental state. We also find (in Classified) that at around the same time, one Doctor Layman, an employee at The Pentagon's R&D, begins hearing the exact same voices upon reading scans of the journal leaked by an informant within The Ascension Group.

 

The next mention of the Diary in the Timeline is in the entry for Ascension. We learn that the purpose for going to the Cosmodrome is seemingly not to free Gersch, but to reacquire the journal, at which point Richtofen "learns that (he) needs the Vril Device [golden rod] for his plan". This seems intriguing, as surely someone with that level of intelligence would not need a constant reminder of things he had only recently found out, especially something of such magnitude as The Golden Rod?

 

Zombies functions within a cycle and, up until the events of Mob Of The Dead's "good" ending play out, it continues to be within a cycle. Every mortal character we play as has little to no recollection of previous cycles, and as such is trapped within the same ignorance. Yet there are two who are not only aware of the cycle, but seemingly live through it as they are extra-dimensional: The Shadowman and Doctor Monty. 

 

The brunt of Richtofen's research began after touching the disc at the front of the M.P.D, which allowed the Shadowman to enter his mind and begin whispering to him. My argument is this: Richtofen was able to gain knowledge of the previous cycle little by little from the Shadowman, and noted down these scraps in his journal. At the point when he touches the disc, he also receives (or perhaps remembers?) the knowledge he had gained the last time around.

 

This first and foremost explains why any who would read the diary would not only go insane, but begin to hear voices - as it's knowledge that it should be impossible for them to possess. Furthermore, it explains how Richtofen was able to plan so far ahead as to anticipate his battle for control of the towers with Maxis, all the way back in 1945 (Classified/Cipher #1 "One Polarization Device to be constructed [coordinates to be specified]").

 

If you want to take this theory even further, you could argue that the entire reason for freeing Gersch in Ascension relates to Richtofen knowing about the existence of Primis through this "forbidden knowledge" (As Yuri knew about Primis through reading it), and therefore wanting Gersch to make it to Stalingrad.

 

Finally, what I believe to be the crux of this argument is in Revelations. During the final battle, when you activate The Kronorium, you hear the very same laugh as when Richtofen's journal was first interacted with, in my opinion being a "hat-tip" that both books serve a similar function.

 

[anonymous]

Nice mentioning Machuria here, @Tac would like it.

 

I like this theory, and it would indeed explain quite some things. Pernell, though having obtained the diary, does not know his eventual fate we encounter since Alpha Omega takes place in a changed universe. However, him turning insane could also be due his direct constant contact with the Dark Aether, as he built and entered the APD. Yuri's insanity would be harder to explain, and indeed, it seems that he became so after he got his hands on the diary, which, combined with frustration and anger for his overseer, has multiple times in our story caused forces of the Dark Aether to penetrate the mind. So I assume this theory could very well be correct.

 

The Book of Time, the Kronorium, is also seen to influece the mind of the reader, proves that a book is capable of psychological effects, espessially when it is about events of the future. It's almost like in Back to the Future 3, where seeing your future/past self makes you lose your consiousness. 

[RadZakpak]

1 hour ago, anonymous said:

The Book of Time, the Kronorium, is also seen to influece the mind of the reader, proves that a book is capable of psychological effects, espessially when it is about events of the future. It's almost like in Back to the Future 3, where seeing your future/past self makes you lose your consiousness. 

Also worth noting regarding the Kronorium, and possibly the diary, is it only has such extreme effects on certain chosen people. When Richtofen opens the book, he sees the timeline and his mind is filled with images from all over time and space, and it nearly drives him insane. Nikolai also fears in the AO intro that he will he driven insane. Stuhlinger, on the other hand, sees only “colorful pictures”, and it seems unremarkable to him. This could be interpreted as him just being unintelligent or that he is not “chosen” to bear the knowledge. 

 

In the same light Richtofen’s diary seems to be affected by the Apothicons and corrupts certain chosen people, namely Yuri and Pernell. This would explain why everyone who read the diary wouldn’t go insane. The Apothicons can pick their targets.

[anonymous]

1 hour ago, RadZakpak said:

In the same light Richtofen’s diary seems to be affected by the Apothicons and corrupts certain chosen people, namely Yuri and Pernell. This would explain why everyone who read the diary wouldn’t go insane. The Apothicons can pick their targets.

Or it is affected by what you read. I can imagine reading the discriptions of the MPD and blueprints of of the Global Polarization Devices not really affecting your personality, aside from a little curiousity. Perhaps Pernell and Yuri were the only ones who detailed read everything, including what the heck Shadowman and the Apothican voices were telling Richthofen, and it was this that drove them insane. I'd like this more than the diary having acquired unearthly or Apothican powers. Good note about the Kronorium, and yes, it is weird that Stuhlinger cannot read it. Reminds me of the fact that the guy is said to be carrying some sort of diary himself as well