Johannes Schweigelt Ph. D
Jan 22, 2013 10:59:27 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2013 10:59:27 GMT -5
-Player Info-
Name/Alias: Lat
-Character Info-
Name: Mr. Johannes (Hans) Roland Schweigelt Ph. D
Phonetic Pronunciation: Yo-hanns Sh-vie-gelt
Age: 36
Gender: M
Species: Human
Faction: Follows the Work and Funding (Currently Autobot/Neutral)
Occupation/Specialization: Mechanical Engineer, Correspondent with the US Military, Theoretical Weapon Design and Testing
Appearance:
"To put words to him is like explaining the meaning of life to a chimpanzee. It may smile and nod but it will never really comprehend the truth beyond what it sees."
~ Mr. Herschel H. Dale, Ph. D when asked to describe Dr. Schweigelt
Doctor Dale had it the closest when it comes to Dr. Hans. Outwardly there is nothing about Hans that is particularly noteworthy from his prematurely graying hair to his average stature. At five foot nine he was considered one of the shorter male graduates, a trait he maintained through his graduate work. Though short he is lean and wiry with moderately defined shoulders, arms, and back. A well maintained diet through graduate school resulted in very little fat on his body, though he has put on a few pounds since beginning in his career. His hair is only a few inches long, dark brown with graying temples, and his chin is dotted with stubble of up to a maximum of a week in length. The form of his face is well defined and hard edged with tight cheeks, a stout chin, and broad forehead. The center of his face displays wide blue eyes, a clean white smile, and a robust nose which round out his face with scruffy eyebrows and a few gray hairs for garnish. His voice is bright, lively, a high baritone which carries a heavy dose of his German heritage in the form of an accent.
His choice of clothing in the lab is simple but comfortable. Soft soled shoes, size seven wide, with beige pants, an off white shirt, lab coat, and gray tie are the most common. When not working, walking the hallways of his workshop, he switches the clean white shirt for a shirt and vest combo with variable colors and comfortable plants. He leaves the removal of the lab coat and replacement of good shirt, tie, and pants with more relaxed garb in natural shades of brown and green with grays for rainy days and for movement outside of work.
Upon closer inspection there are several flaws to his slowly aging features. His left eye has a blob of white scar tissue covering a section of the iris and a small percent of the pupil connecting the sclera on either side. There is only a trace of blue showing above and below misshapen white. His hands are covered with bulging varicose veins that give them the illusion of greater age and originate from his hands on work. On his right hand the index and ring finger are missing below the first knuckle only a half-inch from the hand.
When busy, Dr. Schweigelt moves with purpose behind his actions; focused and intense on every task that is set before him. His features seem to sharpen and his eyes widen. On downtime his face is lighter, softer, and friendlier. He will never hesitate to smile at a well-timed joke or humorous antic of his associates and loves a good talk over a social drink.
History: Johannes Aloysius Schweigelt was born of Dr. Heinrich Roland Schweigelt M.D. and Felice Ana Koenig in Munich, Germany. Proud to have a new son and fine prospects for the future the new family took to raising their son, Heinrich deciding to work whilst supporting his wife and child at home. For the first five years Hans lived in comfort, having at least one parent around while the other worked full time. His mother spent a lot of time with early learning programs and young Hans was reading at 3 and began attending kindergarten.
Eventually, with the downturn of the global economy things became harder for the once prosperous family, the single working doctor becoming impossible to maintain the status quo. Though Doctors were still in very high demand Heinrich would have to be gone almost constantly, wages decreased, and tensions within the home began to rise. Heinrich and Felice began to see their son as a burden that they couldn’t support at home and, as soon as he was old enough he was sent to a Catholic Boarding School outside Hamburg.
Hans lived for a total of ten years away from his parents. To say that those years were unpleasant is an understatement. Ten years of strict discipline being taught by nuns and priests, learning very religiously oriented material whilst unable to express more applied talents save in the comfort of small focused groups and behind closed doors. The young man found life in the dormitories incredibly boring and soon did whatever he could to be creative; writing his thoughts, doodling, and even a spot of composing using resources from the mandatory choir practices. The only one he managed to preserve through the prying ears and ruthless discipline of the sisters was his drawings which he carried around in a small black notebook carried in his breast pocket.
The only other recreational activity he managed was reading which comprised of books, pamphlets, newspapers, and anything else he was able to get his hands on that wasn’t biblical or relating to his more religious school. While this was limited, it did open up his eyes to both the world of theology and applied knowledge. He decided he preferred the latter and as life continued in the boarding school he preferred to spend his time reading the applied knowledge books in the library on every subject from sailing, to rifling, to swordsmanship, to mechanics and everything in between.
Several months after his fifteenth birthday he received a phone call with news that he was returning to life with his parents, the boarding school becoming too expensive for the hard-working parents. His earliest, most cherished memories were all he could think about as he returned home; a caring family and life in comfort. What awaited him was far from his memories. A five room flat on the edge of a bad neighborhood felt more like a punishment than a relief. With ten years lacking in the experience of parenting neither Heinrich nor Felice made the transition easily. Even though he was accustomed to it, Hans was suddenly forced to act like someone twice his age. What little had existed of Hans's childhood was gone, taken by force of circumstance.
As the months passed in the Schweigelt household the situation became more and more desperate. The economy coupled with skyrocketing inflation and unbearable work hours saw the Doctor working nights and sleeping days. His mother worked 60 hour weeks whilst doing what she could around the home. Hans had to effectively raise himself during third shifts and sleepless nights. With no knowledge of how to make friends he became a loner, living in the shadow of his parents. The termination of Heinrich clenched the situation for the family and they were forced to make a difficult decision; stay in poverty in Munich or attempt to salvage what they could in another country. As Felice was proficient in English the decision was made and the family uprooted, moving to Mid-western America.
Secondary School (High School) in the States was difficult even for the clever Hans. His English was slow learned, classes were unevenly taught, and his father constantly railed him about his studies. "Nichts weniger als perfektion, mein sohn. Nothing less than perfection!" Though cold, Henrich wanted his son to succeed though this may have done more harm than good. Hans had few friends in those years. He was closed off from the other students who generally left him alone because of the language barrier, his cold demeanor, and anti-social tendency. Those who stuck with him were other foreign students or those who knew a fraction of the German tongue. Even after Hans learned a sufficient amount of the English language to get by he was still viewed as an outcast for his heavy accent and cold, loner attitude. Neither parent attended his graduation.
While the hours were still murderous as ever for the two parents, the rate of pay in the Americas was substantially greater. As soon as a proper university was found, by Heinrich’s suggestion, Hans he was enrolled and set down the path to a better education. Hans chose a campus far from home to be out of his parent's shadow. Before the question was even asked of him, Hans knew what he wanted to major in. His love of drawing and of knowledge that could be applied to real world situations and a love of working with his hands made mechanical engineering the best option he was given. Not only could he be creative with the things he designed, he could make them if he did so choose; this all without fear of most reprisal. However, as the computer was becoming something of a necessity, Hans realized that modern mechanical design in a lot of cases needed programming. This left him with a conundrum that he could not address for some time.
When Heinrich found out what his son was going into he became livid; he wanted his son to be a Doctor and he saw the choice of engineering as irresponsible and unsupportable. Despite the prestigious program at the institution Hans chose, his father would not budge on the subject, convinced that if his son wasn’t a doctor he would not be able to support himself as his parents before him. Despite this, in the modern day Hans realized the intentions of his father were pure. When Hans refused to budge on the subject Heinrich threatened to cut his financial support and it became a source of bitter argument between them.
Undaunted, Hans found work on wherever he was able to cover the cost of his first year of tuition. It was during the slivers of downtime that Hans was able to know the joy of friendship. Several of his classmates were of an understanding disposition and weren’t as judgemental or finicky about his various personal problems. He quickly made friends, the feeling of camaraderie more supportive than his parents were since childhood. It was in these times that he was able to smile, laugh, and enjoy a fraction of what he had missed. At the end of his first year he had a perfect 4 grade point average.
Due to his grades, letters of recommendation from faculty, and application to as many scholarships as he could find, his tuition in his second year was nearly covered. With the money he made working for the University he opted into the foreign exchange program. Until the fall semester of his Senior year he spent a semester and studied abroad in Russia, and China. The broad changes in thought and even learning styles helped him to build a personality that he could be happy with. Not only that, but each country worked with mechanical engineering in different ways. Russia tended to have something in the way of a utilitarian sense to it while China mixed aesthetic and functional. He learned much in the different countries, each coming with different personality and academic advancements. By the end of his second year he had enrolled in a double major in Mechanical engineering and computer science; a very heavy load.
An unfortunate accident occurred while he was in Russia. Driving with his host family in Moscow their vehicle was hit head on by a drunk driver. Hans escaped relatively unscathed but considering his host father and sister, relative was key. The host father and sister were killed in the crash. Hans's right eye took a piece of glass to it and the doctors who operated on him weren't able to keep it from nearly scarring over. Though he can see out of it, the percent is at about 70%, on good days his eye able to at least function enough to make him effective at his work. His left hand was pinched in between the metal chassis of the car and shredded door, the index and ring finger smashed beyond salvation. He lost both to an inch above the hand on each. What was most damaging was that the fingers were lost on his main-hand. Determined to not let the accident slow him down he continued his studies, overcoming the loss of his eye by therapy and diligence and his fingers by developing a rudimentary ambidexterity for writing. However, this still left him without a reliable method for his artistry, a problem which remained with him for some time.
Because of the accident and the heavy content nature of his chosen dual major he decided to take an extra year to achieve both. Hans graduated after ten semesters with a dual major and a GPA of 3.91, magna cum laude. Neither parent attended his college graduation on some unspoken excuse and by his graduation he had lost almost all contact with them save a single phone number.
His undergraduate work and his very high academic performance attracted the attention of several high profile schools and, deciding that he wanted to continue his higher education, Hans applied to nearly two dozen different graduate schools including MIT, UPenn, and Harvard as well as several out of country specifically Germany. All told, he was rejectected from MIT, UPenn, and Harvard.
However, he was accepted into the prestigious University in Munich, a university with a fine engineering program in his home town. Achieving a research fellowship with the University which paid for his tuition, Hans settled in to obtaining his Master’s Degree in Mechanical engineering. During his two years in Munich he spent the vast majority of his time on his research. He filled volumes of notebooks with ideas, schematics, electrical setups, and just stupid ideas that he thought might work if given enough of a certain variable or another. For his master’s degree, the project he chose was a new method of recharging certain battery powered devices with rechargeable packs. Though the final result was bulky, heavy, and unwieldy, it effectively powered tools and other specific objects placed on it. He published the idea late in his second year and graduated with his masters.
Reapplying for his doctorate saw him reapplying to many of the same schools he had applied to only years prior; Harvard, MIT, UPenn… however, this time he was accepted to two of the three, UPenn and MIT. Overjoyed with the opportunity, Hans accepted the offer to MIT and began his doctorate. In the four years it took him to obtain his doctorate, Hans made friends, acquaintances, and everything in between. His self-esteem was the highest it had ever been and, though he still had not heard anything from his parents, life seemed to be going well. Working with the newest technology (at the time it was the early 2000s), Hans moved onward and upward with his own projects and that of his advisers. Before long he had chosen a project, an electrical circuit which ran on a very small quantity of energy, a fraction of normal technology. While he hoped it would eventually revolutionize electronics he began to face severe difficulties in the project.
As prelims and quals came and went, the years passing, he found himself digging into more and more “widespread” sources to achieve his goal. His background in computer science also took him in directions that some would have considered illegal. While he never did plagiarize these sources he did use them as inspiration, his own ideas mixed with them to produce things previously unimagined. Sources and papers, schematics and blueprints emerged and soon they were making the rounds about the MIT engineering faculty. A whisper grew among those in the know; Hans was on the path of something interesting. The plans themselves spoke of a very concentrated form of energy that was a step above electricity and it made many of his sketches, many of his ideas realistic. What Hans failed to realize was that he had come across things which the American government never wanted to see the light of day, things that they could spend years reverse engineering… and here was a german accented Doctoral candidate who was making steps toward a real breakthrough on alien technology.
As his presentation got closer and closer, the funding flowing like water, Hans began to get letters from people inquiring about his work. Men would show up in his office asking about his project and vanish shortly after. Due to the time sensitive nature of his project, however, Hans could not afford to worry and pushed onward. Soon he had a very rough working prototype of a reflexive circuit, a mechanical nervous cluster which responded in unique ways to different external stimuli. The power needed for its operation, however, made constant activity impossible. Despite that limitation, when his presentation day arrived Hans was amazed by the number of non-departmental faces who showed including many of the folks he had talked to in the months prior.
However, what surprised him was the graying and wrinkled faces which smiled up at him from the front row. The 29 year old Hans had difficulty with his presentation with his parents in the audience but he soldiered through, showing off the piece to the amazement of all gathered. Each section was detailed by his presentation and the cluster gave several clear responses according to both verbal and physical stimuli… before promptly shorting out the battery of generators which were required to maintain its operation. Despite the hiccup, everyone in attendance agreed on the mechanical prowess required in the project and awarded him the title of Doctor.
Embracing his parents for the first time in years, Hans was in tears as his estranged parents expressed their pride in their son. While in the days to follow much of the friction between the family ebbed away as understanding and love returned to their relationship, he received several cards from those in attendance and each of them had a strange similarity… the symbol of an upturned triangle and a Wildebeest skull. While he didn’t understand what this may mean initially he spent the next month with his parents as they travelled the country, a gift from the parents he had lost.
The next half decade was something of a golden time for Hans as his career in academia took off like a rocket. His doctorate presentation had him several post-doctorate offers before he even applied in two cases. Deciding on spreading his knowledge to students in Germany he applied to dual citizenship and returned to the University of Munich where he completed several years of post doctorate activity, much of it including a reworking and refining of his cluster design. By the time it came to apply for tenure when he was in his early 30s he had advanced his design allowing it to stay active with a sufficient supply of power.
Not long after he accepted a position of tenure as a researcher at the University of Berlin and mixed his research with some teaching. Though this was more of a secondary objective of his, he enjoyed the wide eyes of the students for what it was worth. However, he had decided to begin work on another design, a holographic projector which emitted a full energy spectrum creating and actual holographic projection rather than an optical illusion; until he turned 35 that was his objective. Much of the same power problems arose from the project but with diligence and the help of several sharp graduate students he soon had produced and presented a second piece built from the inspirations of the stolen schematics. In this case, he spent a year on sabbatical, touring Germany and a small stint in the United States as a guest lecturer.
After his brief sabbatical and Hans’ return things became interesting. His home became strangely uncomfortable as he felt like he was being watched at all hours of the day. At night he would awaken to strange sounds and dreams that were almost alarming. Despite all this, whenever he looked for the cause there was nothing. As this continued night after night, Hans began to weigh his options for his future. Get tenure somewhere, go into research for himself or apply somewhere in industry. As he considered, the odd events continued. Before long he became fed up with it. Taking his laptop and a hastily fabricated scanner the engineer soon discovered the source of the odd feelings. His home had been bugged and wired with a number of high definition cameras. His phone line had been tapped and the odd feeling of being watched was indirectly caused through feedback from the speakers on his television and computer. This obviously frightened Hans and he realized that this had been going on for weeks… all of his movements, all of his calls, everything he’d been planning and even the mail he’d written, all recorded by these devices.
Fed up he unplugged the call scanner and grabbed the receiver on his phone to call the police. He just wanted the nightmare to be over by that point. What he got on the other end of the line as he pushed call, however, was not the local police department. In fact, he recognized the voice who answered. Becoming angry and incredulous, Hans demanded that the unnamed man explain himself. The only response was for him to have another look at the cards that he’d collected from his presentation.
Taking the same scanner rom before he swept the cards and found an RFID chip implanted in each. With a small adjustment he’d read the contents and, the following morning, was on a plane to Washington DC. Once there he met with federal investigators who grilled him about his project, about his sources, and about where several of the more inventive ideas of the neural cluster came from. When all was said and done, Hans had admitted to hacking into the secure servers and using the contents as inspiration. However, rather than being angry, the men interviewing him made him an offer.
It turned out to be one he was incapable of refusing.
Not to say he was threatened, but they revealed he had been one of the first to make a breakthrough on some of what was purported to be alien technology and that he had succeeded in reverse engineering it what they were calling a “neural framework.” To Hans’ understanding it was some form of proto-brain. While the men were interested in his hologram work as well, it was not as interesting to them as his first.
“Proto-brain… to vat?”
At that the men merely smiled and stood, asking if he would walk with them. While it took some time, and even longer before Hans actually accepted the concept, the group he had been talking to for all that time had, in fact, been a Para-military arm of the United States Government who were playing stewards for a race of alien visitors who used the advanced technology. As more information became available to Hans he believed it less and less, the concept of a robotic organism like that being something he could not help but be incredulous about. After they had presented all of the information to him, gave him the two dollar tour of their facility they offered him a job. Effectively they invited him to join NEST as a researcher, a field technician, and an engineer to help continue to reverse engineer the technology the visitors used for the good of humanity.
Hans could only nod.
(And this is where we start with him. A new field man and researcher used to working with grad students in a poorly funded lab in Germany.
)
Personality: "He was really nice, really helpful and supportive. At least I thought so. We never got away with late work, though. Schweigelt assigned a lot but gave us the time to do it and we were expected to get it done come hell or high water. If we didn't... no grade."
~Nicole E. Prouty when asked about Dr. Schweigelt's Associate teaching style
Hans is a man of many faces, many masks that are all different in their own way. Every situation the good doctor is a part of will see him wearing a mask that matches appropriately what is going on.
In casual, Hans is very open and outgoing. When greeted by him you would receive a kind welcome, a firm handshake or a kiss on the cheek if you are familiar with the German custom. He is fairly outspoken about simple things but keeps in himself a reservation about his work or about information regarding his research or latest theoretical concept. A question like this asked at casual times are brushed aside, usually with a laugh or a smile but this is merely due to national security. As he puts so much effort into his work, Hans takes great care that his personal life and work life be kept separate. If found during quiet times, Hans can be found reading or writing in his notebook, making last minute corrections to a theory or cleaning up a patent sketch.
During the busy period of his day/week, Hans dedicates much his energy to his research. Little conversation can be gotten in edgewise unless he is typing at a computer station or walking. When he is taking notes, collecting samples, doing lab work, or sketching the doctor might seem cold and distant but he was raised to work efficiently.
Likes: Technology, Oil Stained Hands, WD-40, Silence in the Workshop, His Computer Bank, His Tools, Clean Blueprint Paper, Eiswein, Schnitzel with Noodles
Dislikes: Broken Tools, His Military Handlers, Lack of Funding, Moral Quandaries, “You can’t do that!,” America’s Religious Right “Dummkopfs“
Strengths:
Quick, Logical Thinking/Resourceful: Challenges arise no matter where you are and Hans's upbringing has given him an edge at dealing with problems quickly and efficiently. This is most visible when he is forced to improvise at a critical moment. The way he is able to manage and salvage situations others may deem unlikely is a skill that he has recognized and cultivated through his years as a student and beyond.
Book Learned: From the age of eighteen to the age of twenty eight, Hans was a student of the sciences. The process of college life as well as general education requirements brought out a love of reading in him. This aided with research on his thesis and the eventual achievement of his title of doctor. He is well versed on a wide variety of subjects but mostly so in his two areas of study, mechanical engineering and computer engineering.
Tech Head: When it comes to computers, mechanical systems, mechanical engineering, and their construction and use, the Doctor is something of a savant. Anyone can turn a screw, write code, and build models but Hans, having spent his entire student career in computer and machine labs knows the workings of most mainstream programs and methods used in the sciences. As with needing to know how to create models he also knows how to code in the programming language used by seventy percent of modern computers.
Linguist: As a student Hans had traveled all over Earth, spending several months at a grand total of seven different Universities in four different countries; each country with its own language. By the time he had reached his third year of graduate study he was fluent in English and German and proficient in Russian, and Chinese.
Doodler/Artist: Though this may not seem like a talent, Hans has honed the simple art of doodling down to a science all its own. If given time and a few moments of science he may recreate a very accurate representation of what he sees on paper. Though this art is best used when sketching mechanical systems, disassembled components, static things, he has begun to sketch living things; humans, the local fauna… and some of the visitors if he gets the chance.
Weaknesses:
Squishy: He is human after all and a LOT can kill him. Easily. Seriously. Bacteria.
Morally Indifferent: When it comes to things like technology, Hans has something of a problem the moral difference in working with the alien robots as just machines rather than living beings. In conversation he will not let on that he thinks this way and even befriend the mechs if given the opportunity but he sees the technology as more important than moral objectivity.
Caffeine Addict: As a researcher and scientist he drank coffee on a very regular basis. As such he has developed something of an addiction. It’s a functional addiction as long as he gets his cup of “Kaffee” in the mornings.
Difficult to Distract: If he is working on a project or has a question he wants answered he has a hard time derailing his train of thought to change subjects. It may come across as rude depending on the subject but, in his mind, asking the best question is the most direct way to learn something unknown.
Work Music: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X9LvC9WkkQ
His “Action” Theme: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqWyiL77ku0
Name/Alias: Lat
-Character Info-
Name: Mr. Johannes (Hans) Roland Schweigelt Ph. D
Phonetic Pronunciation: Yo-hanns Sh-vie-gelt
Age: 36
Gender: M
Species: Human
Faction: Follows the Work and Funding (Currently Autobot/Neutral)
Occupation/Specialization: Mechanical Engineer, Correspondent with the US Military, Theoretical Weapon Design and Testing
Appearance:
"To put words to him is like explaining the meaning of life to a chimpanzee. It may smile and nod but it will never really comprehend the truth beyond what it sees."
~ Mr. Herschel H. Dale, Ph. D when asked to describe Dr. Schweigelt
Doctor Dale had it the closest when it comes to Dr. Hans. Outwardly there is nothing about Hans that is particularly noteworthy from his prematurely graying hair to his average stature. At five foot nine he was considered one of the shorter male graduates, a trait he maintained through his graduate work. Though short he is lean and wiry with moderately defined shoulders, arms, and back. A well maintained diet through graduate school resulted in very little fat on his body, though he has put on a few pounds since beginning in his career. His hair is only a few inches long, dark brown with graying temples, and his chin is dotted with stubble of up to a maximum of a week in length. The form of his face is well defined and hard edged with tight cheeks, a stout chin, and broad forehead. The center of his face displays wide blue eyes, a clean white smile, and a robust nose which round out his face with scruffy eyebrows and a few gray hairs for garnish. His voice is bright, lively, a high baritone which carries a heavy dose of his German heritage in the form of an accent.
His choice of clothing in the lab is simple but comfortable. Soft soled shoes, size seven wide, with beige pants, an off white shirt, lab coat, and gray tie are the most common. When not working, walking the hallways of his workshop, he switches the clean white shirt for a shirt and vest combo with variable colors and comfortable plants. He leaves the removal of the lab coat and replacement of good shirt, tie, and pants with more relaxed garb in natural shades of brown and green with grays for rainy days and for movement outside of work.
Upon closer inspection there are several flaws to his slowly aging features. His left eye has a blob of white scar tissue covering a section of the iris and a small percent of the pupil connecting the sclera on either side. There is only a trace of blue showing above and below misshapen white. His hands are covered with bulging varicose veins that give them the illusion of greater age and originate from his hands on work. On his right hand the index and ring finger are missing below the first knuckle only a half-inch from the hand.
When busy, Dr. Schweigelt moves with purpose behind his actions; focused and intense on every task that is set before him. His features seem to sharpen and his eyes widen. On downtime his face is lighter, softer, and friendlier. He will never hesitate to smile at a well-timed joke or humorous antic of his associates and loves a good talk over a social drink.
History: Johannes Aloysius Schweigelt was born of Dr. Heinrich Roland Schweigelt M.D. and Felice Ana Koenig in Munich, Germany. Proud to have a new son and fine prospects for the future the new family took to raising their son, Heinrich deciding to work whilst supporting his wife and child at home. For the first five years Hans lived in comfort, having at least one parent around while the other worked full time. His mother spent a lot of time with early learning programs and young Hans was reading at 3 and began attending kindergarten.
Eventually, with the downturn of the global economy things became harder for the once prosperous family, the single working doctor becoming impossible to maintain the status quo. Though Doctors were still in very high demand Heinrich would have to be gone almost constantly, wages decreased, and tensions within the home began to rise. Heinrich and Felice began to see their son as a burden that they couldn’t support at home and, as soon as he was old enough he was sent to a Catholic Boarding School outside Hamburg.
Hans lived for a total of ten years away from his parents. To say that those years were unpleasant is an understatement. Ten years of strict discipline being taught by nuns and priests, learning very religiously oriented material whilst unable to express more applied talents save in the comfort of small focused groups and behind closed doors. The young man found life in the dormitories incredibly boring and soon did whatever he could to be creative; writing his thoughts, doodling, and even a spot of composing using resources from the mandatory choir practices. The only one he managed to preserve through the prying ears and ruthless discipline of the sisters was his drawings which he carried around in a small black notebook carried in his breast pocket.
The only other recreational activity he managed was reading which comprised of books, pamphlets, newspapers, and anything else he was able to get his hands on that wasn’t biblical or relating to his more religious school. While this was limited, it did open up his eyes to both the world of theology and applied knowledge. He decided he preferred the latter and as life continued in the boarding school he preferred to spend his time reading the applied knowledge books in the library on every subject from sailing, to rifling, to swordsmanship, to mechanics and everything in between.
Several months after his fifteenth birthday he received a phone call with news that he was returning to life with his parents, the boarding school becoming too expensive for the hard-working parents. His earliest, most cherished memories were all he could think about as he returned home; a caring family and life in comfort. What awaited him was far from his memories. A five room flat on the edge of a bad neighborhood felt more like a punishment than a relief. With ten years lacking in the experience of parenting neither Heinrich nor Felice made the transition easily. Even though he was accustomed to it, Hans was suddenly forced to act like someone twice his age. What little had existed of Hans's childhood was gone, taken by force of circumstance.
As the months passed in the Schweigelt household the situation became more and more desperate. The economy coupled with skyrocketing inflation and unbearable work hours saw the Doctor working nights and sleeping days. His mother worked 60 hour weeks whilst doing what she could around the home. Hans had to effectively raise himself during third shifts and sleepless nights. With no knowledge of how to make friends he became a loner, living in the shadow of his parents. The termination of Heinrich clenched the situation for the family and they were forced to make a difficult decision; stay in poverty in Munich or attempt to salvage what they could in another country. As Felice was proficient in English the decision was made and the family uprooted, moving to Mid-western America.
Secondary School (High School) in the States was difficult even for the clever Hans. His English was slow learned, classes were unevenly taught, and his father constantly railed him about his studies. "Nichts weniger als perfektion, mein sohn. Nothing less than perfection!" Though cold, Henrich wanted his son to succeed though this may have done more harm than good. Hans had few friends in those years. He was closed off from the other students who generally left him alone because of the language barrier, his cold demeanor, and anti-social tendency. Those who stuck with him were other foreign students or those who knew a fraction of the German tongue. Even after Hans learned a sufficient amount of the English language to get by he was still viewed as an outcast for his heavy accent and cold, loner attitude. Neither parent attended his graduation.
While the hours were still murderous as ever for the two parents, the rate of pay in the Americas was substantially greater. As soon as a proper university was found, by Heinrich’s suggestion, Hans he was enrolled and set down the path to a better education. Hans chose a campus far from home to be out of his parent's shadow. Before the question was even asked of him, Hans knew what he wanted to major in. His love of drawing and of knowledge that could be applied to real world situations and a love of working with his hands made mechanical engineering the best option he was given. Not only could he be creative with the things he designed, he could make them if he did so choose; this all without fear of most reprisal. However, as the computer was becoming something of a necessity, Hans realized that modern mechanical design in a lot of cases needed programming. This left him with a conundrum that he could not address for some time.
When Heinrich found out what his son was going into he became livid; he wanted his son to be a Doctor and he saw the choice of engineering as irresponsible and unsupportable. Despite the prestigious program at the institution Hans chose, his father would not budge on the subject, convinced that if his son wasn’t a doctor he would not be able to support himself as his parents before him. Despite this, in the modern day Hans realized the intentions of his father were pure. When Hans refused to budge on the subject Heinrich threatened to cut his financial support and it became a source of bitter argument between them.
Undaunted, Hans found work on wherever he was able to cover the cost of his first year of tuition. It was during the slivers of downtime that Hans was able to know the joy of friendship. Several of his classmates were of an understanding disposition and weren’t as judgemental or finicky about his various personal problems. He quickly made friends, the feeling of camaraderie more supportive than his parents were since childhood. It was in these times that he was able to smile, laugh, and enjoy a fraction of what he had missed. At the end of his first year he had a perfect 4 grade point average.
Due to his grades, letters of recommendation from faculty, and application to as many scholarships as he could find, his tuition in his second year was nearly covered. With the money he made working for the University he opted into the foreign exchange program. Until the fall semester of his Senior year he spent a semester and studied abroad in Russia, and China. The broad changes in thought and even learning styles helped him to build a personality that he could be happy with. Not only that, but each country worked with mechanical engineering in different ways. Russia tended to have something in the way of a utilitarian sense to it while China mixed aesthetic and functional. He learned much in the different countries, each coming with different personality and academic advancements. By the end of his second year he had enrolled in a double major in Mechanical engineering and computer science; a very heavy load.
An unfortunate accident occurred while he was in Russia. Driving with his host family in Moscow their vehicle was hit head on by a drunk driver. Hans escaped relatively unscathed but considering his host father and sister, relative was key. The host father and sister were killed in the crash. Hans's right eye took a piece of glass to it and the doctors who operated on him weren't able to keep it from nearly scarring over. Though he can see out of it, the percent is at about 70%, on good days his eye able to at least function enough to make him effective at his work. His left hand was pinched in between the metal chassis of the car and shredded door, the index and ring finger smashed beyond salvation. He lost both to an inch above the hand on each. What was most damaging was that the fingers were lost on his main-hand. Determined to not let the accident slow him down he continued his studies, overcoming the loss of his eye by therapy and diligence and his fingers by developing a rudimentary ambidexterity for writing. However, this still left him without a reliable method for his artistry, a problem which remained with him for some time.
Because of the accident and the heavy content nature of his chosen dual major he decided to take an extra year to achieve both. Hans graduated after ten semesters with a dual major and a GPA of 3.91, magna cum laude. Neither parent attended his college graduation on some unspoken excuse and by his graduation he had lost almost all contact with them save a single phone number.
His undergraduate work and his very high academic performance attracted the attention of several high profile schools and, deciding that he wanted to continue his higher education, Hans applied to nearly two dozen different graduate schools including MIT, UPenn, and Harvard as well as several out of country specifically Germany. All told, he was rejectected from MIT, UPenn, and Harvard.
However, he was accepted into the prestigious University in Munich, a university with a fine engineering program in his home town. Achieving a research fellowship with the University which paid for his tuition, Hans settled in to obtaining his Master’s Degree in Mechanical engineering. During his two years in Munich he spent the vast majority of his time on his research. He filled volumes of notebooks with ideas, schematics, electrical setups, and just stupid ideas that he thought might work if given enough of a certain variable or another. For his master’s degree, the project he chose was a new method of recharging certain battery powered devices with rechargeable packs. Though the final result was bulky, heavy, and unwieldy, it effectively powered tools and other specific objects placed on it. He published the idea late in his second year and graduated with his masters.
Reapplying for his doctorate saw him reapplying to many of the same schools he had applied to only years prior; Harvard, MIT, UPenn… however, this time he was accepted to two of the three, UPenn and MIT. Overjoyed with the opportunity, Hans accepted the offer to MIT and began his doctorate. In the four years it took him to obtain his doctorate, Hans made friends, acquaintances, and everything in between. His self-esteem was the highest it had ever been and, though he still had not heard anything from his parents, life seemed to be going well. Working with the newest technology (at the time it was the early 2000s), Hans moved onward and upward with his own projects and that of his advisers. Before long he had chosen a project, an electrical circuit which ran on a very small quantity of energy, a fraction of normal technology. While he hoped it would eventually revolutionize electronics he began to face severe difficulties in the project.
As prelims and quals came and went, the years passing, he found himself digging into more and more “widespread” sources to achieve his goal. His background in computer science also took him in directions that some would have considered illegal. While he never did plagiarize these sources he did use them as inspiration, his own ideas mixed with them to produce things previously unimagined. Sources and papers, schematics and blueprints emerged and soon they were making the rounds about the MIT engineering faculty. A whisper grew among those in the know; Hans was on the path of something interesting. The plans themselves spoke of a very concentrated form of energy that was a step above electricity and it made many of his sketches, many of his ideas realistic. What Hans failed to realize was that he had come across things which the American government never wanted to see the light of day, things that they could spend years reverse engineering… and here was a german accented Doctoral candidate who was making steps toward a real breakthrough on alien technology.
As his presentation got closer and closer, the funding flowing like water, Hans began to get letters from people inquiring about his work. Men would show up in his office asking about his project and vanish shortly after. Due to the time sensitive nature of his project, however, Hans could not afford to worry and pushed onward. Soon he had a very rough working prototype of a reflexive circuit, a mechanical nervous cluster which responded in unique ways to different external stimuli. The power needed for its operation, however, made constant activity impossible. Despite that limitation, when his presentation day arrived Hans was amazed by the number of non-departmental faces who showed including many of the folks he had talked to in the months prior.
However, what surprised him was the graying and wrinkled faces which smiled up at him from the front row. The 29 year old Hans had difficulty with his presentation with his parents in the audience but he soldiered through, showing off the piece to the amazement of all gathered. Each section was detailed by his presentation and the cluster gave several clear responses according to both verbal and physical stimuli… before promptly shorting out the battery of generators which were required to maintain its operation. Despite the hiccup, everyone in attendance agreed on the mechanical prowess required in the project and awarded him the title of Doctor.
Embracing his parents for the first time in years, Hans was in tears as his estranged parents expressed their pride in their son. While in the days to follow much of the friction between the family ebbed away as understanding and love returned to their relationship, he received several cards from those in attendance and each of them had a strange similarity… the symbol of an upturned triangle and a Wildebeest skull. While he didn’t understand what this may mean initially he spent the next month with his parents as they travelled the country, a gift from the parents he had lost.
The next half decade was something of a golden time for Hans as his career in academia took off like a rocket. His doctorate presentation had him several post-doctorate offers before he even applied in two cases. Deciding on spreading his knowledge to students in Germany he applied to dual citizenship and returned to the University of Munich where he completed several years of post doctorate activity, much of it including a reworking and refining of his cluster design. By the time it came to apply for tenure when he was in his early 30s he had advanced his design allowing it to stay active with a sufficient supply of power.
Not long after he accepted a position of tenure as a researcher at the University of Berlin and mixed his research with some teaching. Though this was more of a secondary objective of his, he enjoyed the wide eyes of the students for what it was worth. However, he had decided to begin work on another design, a holographic projector which emitted a full energy spectrum creating and actual holographic projection rather than an optical illusion; until he turned 35 that was his objective. Much of the same power problems arose from the project but with diligence and the help of several sharp graduate students he soon had produced and presented a second piece built from the inspirations of the stolen schematics. In this case, he spent a year on sabbatical, touring Germany and a small stint in the United States as a guest lecturer.
After his brief sabbatical and Hans’ return things became interesting. His home became strangely uncomfortable as he felt like he was being watched at all hours of the day. At night he would awaken to strange sounds and dreams that were almost alarming. Despite all this, whenever he looked for the cause there was nothing. As this continued night after night, Hans began to weigh his options for his future. Get tenure somewhere, go into research for himself or apply somewhere in industry. As he considered, the odd events continued. Before long he became fed up with it. Taking his laptop and a hastily fabricated scanner the engineer soon discovered the source of the odd feelings. His home had been bugged and wired with a number of high definition cameras. His phone line had been tapped and the odd feeling of being watched was indirectly caused through feedback from the speakers on his television and computer. This obviously frightened Hans and he realized that this had been going on for weeks… all of his movements, all of his calls, everything he’d been planning and even the mail he’d written, all recorded by these devices.
Fed up he unplugged the call scanner and grabbed the receiver on his phone to call the police. He just wanted the nightmare to be over by that point. What he got on the other end of the line as he pushed call, however, was not the local police department. In fact, he recognized the voice who answered. Becoming angry and incredulous, Hans demanded that the unnamed man explain himself. The only response was for him to have another look at the cards that he’d collected from his presentation.
Taking the same scanner rom before he swept the cards and found an RFID chip implanted in each. With a small adjustment he’d read the contents and, the following morning, was on a plane to Washington DC. Once there he met with federal investigators who grilled him about his project, about his sources, and about where several of the more inventive ideas of the neural cluster came from. When all was said and done, Hans had admitted to hacking into the secure servers and using the contents as inspiration. However, rather than being angry, the men interviewing him made him an offer.
It turned out to be one he was incapable of refusing.
Not to say he was threatened, but they revealed he had been one of the first to make a breakthrough on some of what was purported to be alien technology and that he had succeeded in reverse engineering it what they were calling a “neural framework.” To Hans’ understanding it was some form of proto-brain. While the men were interested in his hologram work as well, it was not as interesting to them as his first.
“Proto-brain… to vat?”
At that the men merely smiled and stood, asking if he would walk with them. While it took some time, and even longer before Hans actually accepted the concept, the group he had been talking to for all that time had, in fact, been a Para-military arm of the United States Government who were playing stewards for a race of alien visitors who used the advanced technology. As more information became available to Hans he believed it less and less, the concept of a robotic organism like that being something he could not help but be incredulous about. After they had presented all of the information to him, gave him the two dollar tour of their facility they offered him a job. Effectively they invited him to join NEST as a researcher, a field technician, and an engineer to help continue to reverse engineer the technology the visitors used for the good of humanity.
Hans could only nod.
(And this is where we start with him. A new field man and researcher used to working with grad students in a poorly funded lab in Germany.
)Personality: "He was really nice, really helpful and supportive. At least I thought so. We never got away with late work, though. Schweigelt assigned a lot but gave us the time to do it and we were expected to get it done come hell or high water. If we didn't... no grade."
~Nicole E. Prouty when asked about Dr. Schweigelt's Associate teaching style
Hans is a man of many faces, many masks that are all different in their own way. Every situation the good doctor is a part of will see him wearing a mask that matches appropriately what is going on.
In casual, Hans is very open and outgoing. When greeted by him you would receive a kind welcome, a firm handshake or a kiss on the cheek if you are familiar with the German custom. He is fairly outspoken about simple things but keeps in himself a reservation about his work or about information regarding his research or latest theoretical concept. A question like this asked at casual times are brushed aside, usually with a laugh or a smile but this is merely due to national security. As he puts so much effort into his work, Hans takes great care that his personal life and work life be kept separate. If found during quiet times, Hans can be found reading or writing in his notebook, making last minute corrections to a theory or cleaning up a patent sketch.
During the busy period of his day/week, Hans dedicates much his energy to his research. Little conversation can be gotten in edgewise unless he is typing at a computer station or walking. When he is taking notes, collecting samples, doing lab work, or sketching the doctor might seem cold and distant but he was raised to work efficiently.
Likes: Technology, Oil Stained Hands, WD-40, Silence in the Workshop, His Computer Bank, His Tools, Clean Blueprint Paper, Eiswein, Schnitzel with Noodles
Dislikes: Broken Tools, His Military Handlers, Lack of Funding, Moral Quandaries, “You can’t do that!,” America’s Religious Right “Dummkopfs“
Strengths:
Quick, Logical Thinking/Resourceful: Challenges arise no matter where you are and Hans's upbringing has given him an edge at dealing with problems quickly and efficiently. This is most visible when he is forced to improvise at a critical moment. The way he is able to manage and salvage situations others may deem unlikely is a skill that he has recognized and cultivated through his years as a student and beyond.
Book Learned: From the age of eighteen to the age of twenty eight, Hans was a student of the sciences. The process of college life as well as general education requirements brought out a love of reading in him. This aided with research on his thesis and the eventual achievement of his title of doctor. He is well versed on a wide variety of subjects but mostly so in his two areas of study, mechanical engineering and computer engineering.
Tech Head: When it comes to computers, mechanical systems, mechanical engineering, and their construction and use, the Doctor is something of a savant. Anyone can turn a screw, write code, and build models but Hans, having spent his entire student career in computer and machine labs knows the workings of most mainstream programs and methods used in the sciences. As with needing to know how to create models he also knows how to code in the programming language used by seventy percent of modern computers.
Linguist: As a student Hans had traveled all over Earth, spending several months at a grand total of seven different Universities in four different countries; each country with its own language. By the time he had reached his third year of graduate study he was fluent in English and German and proficient in Russian, and Chinese.
Doodler/Artist: Though this may not seem like a talent, Hans has honed the simple art of doodling down to a science all its own. If given time and a few moments of science he may recreate a very accurate representation of what he sees on paper. Though this art is best used when sketching mechanical systems, disassembled components, static things, he has begun to sketch living things; humans, the local fauna… and some of the visitors if he gets the chance.
Weaknesses:
Squishy: He is human after all and a LOT can kill him. Easily. Seriously. Bacteria.
Morally Indifferent: When it comes to things like technology, Hans has something of a problem the moral difference in working with the alien robots as just machines rather than living beings. In conversation he will not let on that he thinks this way and even befriend the mechs if given the opportunity but he sees the technology as more important than moral objectivity.
Caffeine Addict: As a researcher and scientist he drank coffee on a very regular basis. As such he has developed something of an addiction. It’s a functional addiction as long as he gets his cup of “Kaffee” in the mornings.
Difficult to Distract: If he is working on a project or has a question he wants answered he has a hard time derailing his train of thought to change subjects. It may come across as rude depending on the subject but, in his mind, asking the best question is the most direct way to learn something unknown.
Work Music: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X9LvC9WkkQ
His “Action” Theme: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqWyiL77ku0