Edward Richtofen: a Miner's Son?

[NotAnAn0n]

Ultimis Richtofen is the best examples of insanity in the COD Zombies universe. He makes every other mentally deranged character look sedate. A few days ago, I was playing Shangri-La when I heard this quote. If the link doesn't bring it up automatically, the timestamp is 7:00.

 

 

This one stuck with me. We know that Ultimis Richtofen knew his mother. Richtofen mentions his mother in this same map when the Screaming Zombie spawns, as well as far back as Kino to my knowledge. In Ascension, he says he used to have a little sister whose dolls he would crush to make her cry. Now, Richtofen's instability renders him as somewhat of an unreliable narrator. We can't take every detail he says as 100% accurate. But, unless he is deluding himself into having a family, I think we can trust at least the existence of a mother and sister; I'm willing to bet that he also knew his father. I say this because of his reaction to the mine cart. While it could remind him of his childhood in other ways, I'm willing to bet that it reminds him of his childhood because his father was a miner.

 

One could say that because Primis Richtofen was an orphan, Ultimis Richtofen should be assumed to be so as well. Maybe. But there are differences in the two's background. Who's to say having parents isn't one of them?

[RadZakpak]

Well he could have still had a childhood with parents, and they died when he was young. That's what happened to Primis Richtofen:

 

July 17th, 1898

Edward Richtofen’s parents die.

 

August 11th, 1906

Richtofen begins his studies at Heidelberg University under the tutelage of Doctor Ludvig Maxis. Having lost his parents, Richtofen comes to view him as a father figure.

 

If we assume he is, at youngest, 18 in 1906, then he would have been 10 when his parents died, still young enough to end up in an orphanage. I think Ultimis Richtofen could have had a similar upbringing and still remember a childhood he disliked.

[NotAnAn0n]

Mayhaps, mayhaps. I kinda like the dichotomy between Ultimis and Primis in this manner though: one had his parents die when he was very young yet found a fulfilling parental figure in adulthood, the other being born into a fulfilling household but growing up to be a monster in adulthood, growing to dislike and distort the memory of his family. Or maybe it could've been an abusive household? Either way, there are opportunities for some interesting divergence there.

[RadZakpak]

3 hours ago, NotAnAn0n said:

Mayhaps, mayhaps. I kinda like the dichotomy between Ultimis and Primis in this manner though: one had his parents die when he was very young yet found a fulfilling parental figure in adulthood, the other being born into a fulfilling household but growing up to be a monster in adulthood, growing to dislike and distort the memory of his family. Or maybe it could've been an abusive household? Either way, there are opportunities for some interesting divergence there.

Ooh, that's actually a really interesting idea for a dichotomy. It may explain Ultimis Richtofen's extreme egotism and why he disliked Maxis so much compared to Primis Richtofen. He was given everything he wanted.

[anonymous]

Perhaps the only way to handle the loss of his family was to hate them or something? To make it easier to not see them anymore, and never again? But yeah, this mine cart quote is really interesting, and I don't see how else it could relate to his childhood other than that his father was a miner. 

 

I wanted to say that perhaps, his father died in a mining accident which were still very common in the early 20th century. But then I saw both his father and mother die on the same day; What could've been the reason for that?

 

Would be cool to track his birthplace from this quote, but nah, seems like there were mines everywhere in the early 20th century Germany.

[RichKiller]

@NotAnAn0n The childhood quote and the mine quote are not the same one (7:20), however they do trigger upon "Mine_See". That being said, the cart riding is called "Mine_Ride"

 

Do you know exactly how this quote triggers? Does it trigger upon seeing the mines, or the mine cart? 

 

[NotAnAn0n]

The Mine_See quote triggers upon seeing the cart, I believe. 

[anonymous]

I know you can hear a childrens Nursery Rhyme during the cart ride, but that would probably have nothing to do with this, da?

[NotAnAn0n]

I know what you're talking about, but I don't remember if it plays for everyone or just Richtofen.