Wilhelm Amsel in uniform
| Dr. Wilhelm Gottfried Amsel | ||
|---|---|---|
| Also known as | Dr. Amsel | |
| Age: | 67 | |
| Birth Date: | 3-11-1843 | |
| Place of Birth: | Wrocław, Germany | |
| Nationality: | German, Austrian | |
| Allegiance: | Neutral Riesiges Reich des Kaiser (disbanded) | |
| Ship: | The Cosmic Gecko | |
| Rank: | Engineer | |
| Occupation: | Scientist, chemist, engineer | |
Dr. Wilhelm Gottfried Amsel (March 11th, 1843-), collectively known as Dr. Amsel or simply ‘The Doctor’, is a German-born scientist and engineer who is currently serving as a crewmember aboard the H.M.S. Cosmic Gecko. Notorious for his complex past, Amsel was originally one of the top scientists who worked on the Breslau project ran by the RRdK. After having a psychiatric meltdown due to a dispute with the Breslau Research Team, he fled the country due to the large bounty placed on his head by the Kaiser.
Early Life[]
Born on March 11th, 1843 to Werner and Sophia Amsel in the village of Wrocław, Germany, young Amsel grew up in wealth, due to his father being an accountant. In his childhood he was noted to be a very organized person; he even went so far as to involuntarily organize his toys and possessions. However, this led to his diagnosis of having acute melancholia at the age of 7.
Enrolled into the local public school, he excelled in subjects such as art, music, and sciences. His teachers remarked that he often came up with solutions to a problem in the most bizarre fashion, however ingenious. Starting at the age of 13, Amsel taught himself how to play the pianoforte, and in church he even went on to playing the hymnals on the cathedral's organ for the congregation. At the age of 18 he graduated high school, and at 23 he had earned a degree in chemistry and mechanics, and a doctorate in applied sciences.
Military Service[]
At the age of 24, Amsel joined the Militärisch der Kaiser (MdK). He was stationed at the Henschel factory as a mechanic. During the Austrio-German War in 1867 he was drafted into fighting and served as an artilleryman. While crewing a battlement, a hostile artillery piece caused the cannon to explode; the resulting shockwave sending Amsel 130 feet through the air and landing on a brick structure. He suffered a severe concussion and retired from military service.
After recovery, Amsel went back to working at the Henschel factory. Eventually, his ingenuity was discovered and was summoned for a meeting with the Kaiser. At the meeting, the Kaiser commended Amsel's mental prowess, and decided to assign him to a top-secret research project ran by the MdK. At the age of 27 he became a member of Group 115, otherwise known as the Breslau Research Team.
Breslau[]
Amsel's original design for the Die Glocke prototype.
At Breslau, Amsel was put on the team known as Waffe der Macht, the division of Group 115 that specializes in experimenting with different power sources and its application towards weaponry. At the time of his arrival, the staff was working on an anti-gravity concept known as the Die Glocke. The experiment had to that point been a failure, but Amsel's knowledge helped to restart the project. While the original purpose of the Die Glocke was meant as a propulsion device by the WdM team, Amsel saw the destructive capability of the device and wanted to make a weapon out of it. As a working prototype was being designed, Amsel's unconventional plans for the device drew criticism from the rest of the team, and he was instructed to dismantle the weapon and restart the construction, this time following the original purpose of the Die Glocke. However, instead of destroying the prototype, Amsel hid it in his quarters and continued to work on it without the team's knowledge. As work progressed on the second Die Glocke prototype, tensions continued to escalate between Amsel and the rest of the team.
On August 6th, 1872 the Die Glocke V2 was to be officially tested. Up until that day, Amsel had become increasingly bitter and stressed due to his work conditions and the demand on the project. During the set-up of the device, Amsel had tripped over an electrical conduit and then placed the blame on one of his colleagues. Tempers rose until the project overseer dismissed Amsel from the demonstration. Enraged, Amsel went to his quarters and retrieved his original Die Glocke prototype, which had been completed at that point. He returned to the demonstration room and opened fire, killing seven of the team members and two reporters. The guards returned fire and Amsel fled the building. As the alarm was raised, Amsel hid his prototype in one of the sheds on the complex and stole a motorcycle for his escape.
Word of the incident reached the Kaiser, who immediately declared Amsel an Enemy of the State, and placed a 50,000 € bounty on his capture.
Cosmic Gecko[]
Traveling as a refugee to America by airship, Amsel sought work as a tailor in the town of Elizabeth, New Jersey. While on a trip to the inner city to pick up supplies, he was captured by the pirate crew of the H.M.S. Cosmic Gecko, in an attempt to collect the reward for Amsel's return to the Kaiser. While on the journey back to Europe, Amsel attempted to negotiate a deal with the Captain. Eventually a deal was struck, and in exchange for Amsel's release, he was to join the crew of the Cosmic Gecko and provide his mechanical expertise for the betterment of the crew.
With the aid of the crew, Amsel returned to the Breslau facility and retrieved his Die Glocke prototype, along with stealing many of Group 115's schematics and sabotaging the complex.
Personality[]
Dr. Amsel has been described by his counterparts to be highly intelligent, yet mentally unstable. His character has shown signs of paranoia, dementia, and even to the extent of having psychopathic traits. Despite these properties, Amsel is incredibly organized and efficient.
Amsel has very proficient engineering and inventing skills; it has been noted that it is almost like a hobby for him to sit down and brainstorm new technology and devises, even to the point of the walls of his quarters being covered with sketches of different ideas. Using his share of the funds the Cosmic Gecko acquires, Amsel has constructed a workshop for the construction of his creations. It is unknown where the exact place this workshop is located, but it is known that it is built inside an abandoned factory somewhere in New England. He commonly can be found having a brainstorming session, working on a creation, or playing the organ.
In his quarters aboard the Cosmic Gecko, Amsel has built himself a miniature pipe organ that runs of the steam turbines of the ship.