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Colonel Alfred Zeitel
First Class Passenger
ColonelZeitel
Biographical information
Title(s) Colonel
Physical information
Gender Male
Hair colour Brown
Aboard the Titanic
Class First class
Cabin C-59
Accompanied by Willi von Haderlitz
Affiliation
Occupation German colonel, inspector of German embassies in the U.S.
"Intellectuals aren't smart enough for espionage."
—Colonel Zeitel

Colonel Alfred[1] Zeitel is a German agent and primary antagonist of Titanic: Adventure Out Of Time. He is reportedly working for the German Government on the business of inspecting German embassies in Washington, Mexico City, and Havana but has his own secret agenda in retrieving several key objects from the Titanic in order to ensure Germany's rise to global power. 

First Mission[]

Zeitel is booked passage on board the Titanic with a young protege, Willi Von Haderlitz. Though he is officially on business to inspect German embassies overseas, Zeitel is suspected of being involved in the theft of a priceless copy of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam two months before the events of the game. British Secret Service agents Frank Carlson and Penny Pringle are also booked onto the ship in order to observe his movements and hopefully recover the stolen book.

SashaAndZeitel

Colonel Zeitel and Sasha Barbicon, in a picture by Eric Burns.

Zeitel's Titanic contact for his mission is an art dealer Sasha Barbicon. The two had an agreement to swap a particular painting in Sasha's possession for the Rubaiyat from Zeitel. A stowaway and associate of Sasha, Vlad Demonic, would retrieve the book from Zeitel's hiding place, while Willi would retrieve the painting for Zeitel.

In the original timeline where Carlson's mission is a failure, it is unclear what happened. The painting either left with Zeitel or went down with the ship, given Adolf Hitler's rise to power. Zeitel's status on whether or not he survived the sinking is also unknown.

Second Mission[]

Rubaiyat message

Zeitel's telegram after decoding

When given another chance to correct his mistakes, Carlson carries out his mission and attempts to stop the trade from taking place. Learning of Zeitel's involvement in the theft of the Rubaiyat from Penny in his initial briefing, Carlson gains entry to the Wireless Room and discovers Zeitel has been sending out coded telegrams to inform his superiors of the missions' status. Carlson can decode them using his cryptograph in order to discover the Rubaiyat's location.

If Carlson meets with Max Seidelmann and agrees to go to the Smoking Room, Max suggests that they stop at the Cafe Parisian to meet Zeitel and Willi. The Colonel remarks on his open contempt for the British through polite conversation and enforces his ruse of inspecting German embassies overseas. If Carlson takes a pipe that Zeitel leaves behind and takes it to Leyland Trask, he learns that the pipe was recently somewhere humid, leading to the discovery of a secret message for Sasha that reveals the drop location for the Rubaiyat in the Turkish Bath.

In the event that Carlson retrieves the Rubaiyat, Zeitel sends out another telegram that explains it is missing and that he is investigating why. At the same time, he sends Willi to the Cargo Hold to recover the painting. In an optional event, Carlson can eavesdrop on a conversation between Zeitel and Sasha near the Titanic's stern, during which Zeitel mentions he has not yet recovered the painting. Suspecting a traitor, Zeitel explains that he is suspicious of Willi's true intentions and that he will be of no further trouble. Sasha also informs Zeitel of Carlson and Penny's presence aboard the ship, prompting the colonel to worry if the painting is already in their possession. Carlson later learns of Zeitel's interest in the painting because of the confidential plans for British troop deployments that have been hidden in the canvas.

Soon after discovering Willi's connections to the Russians, Carlson is informed that Willi was found electrocuted to death in the Turkish Bath. Penny immediately suspects that Zeitel is responsible for the murder. If speaking within the First Class Reception on D-Deck, Zeitel instructs Carlson to stay out of German business, and also gives subtle hints that Germany is preparing for war against Britain and France. He also explains that he is looking for a misplaced notebook that is of vital importance to him.

Zeitel locks door

Zeitel locks Frank Carlson in his cabin.

After Carlson learns of the contents of the notebook and climbs up the fourth smokestack to retrieve it, Zeitel ambushes him, armed with a pistol. He reveals that he knows who Carlson is and instructs him to hand over the notebook while confirming that it contains a list of Russian Revolutionaries that Germany has been actively supporting in order to weaken Russia as a state. The tense stand-off is interrupted when the fateful event occurs; the Titanic strikes the iceberg. Zeitel begins to panic and demands the notebook from Carlson one final time. Carlson can either give Zeitel the Gas Pen, which will knock Zeitel unconscious, or hand over the notebook to Zeitel, who then shoots Carlson anyway.

Regardless of how the scenario plays out, Carlson awakens an hour later at 1:05 AM, with over an hour to go until the Titanic sinks. As a trap, especially if Zeitel was given the notebook, Carlson goes into Zeitel's cabin to try and retrieve it only to find the Colonel waiting for him. Zeitel torments him, remarking how the ship will soon sink along with Carlson and he has planted a bomb inside a briefcase on the sofa to ensure that it will happen. Zeitel locks Carlson in and flees to the Boat Deck to try and escape the ship.

If Carlson defuses the bomb, Zeitel is surprised and rather annoyed by his escape if they meet again. He then reveals he has another trick to try and foil Carlson - he has poisoned Georgia Lambeth. Zeitel offers the antidote to save her, but only as long as Carlson hands over the painting in exchange for it. If Carlson complies, he can go to Sasha's cabin and give Georgia the antidote.

Zeitel can then be found standing on the Boat Deck, unable to find a lifeboat as the Titanic continues to founder. If Carlson traded the painting for the antidote, he can trade the painting back by giving Zeitel a Boat Pass obtained from beating Buick Riviera at Blackjack. Thinking he would prefer to be a "living rather than a dead patriot", he accepts the offer and flees the ship without the all-important painting.

If Georgia is unsaved, then she and Zeitel both fail to escape from the Titanic. Zeitel is last seen standing on deck at the very stern of the ship moments before it sinks and dies in the freezing waters of the Atlantic.

Quotes[]

Trivia[]

  • Colonel Zeitel is played by William Bensen, a TV producer for NASA who won 10 regional Emmys for his direction of a children's science show called "NASA CONNECT." He also is famous for playing PA in the hit horror classic, "Redneck Zombies."
  • Penny tells of Zeitel's preference to spend time with Willi "nibbling pastries" in the Cafe Parisian, hinting at where he can be met for the first time.
  • The name "Colonel E. E. Zeitel" was given on the now-defunct Cyberflix website, a partial transcript of which can be accessed here.
Lifepreserver The Titanic - Adventure Out of Time Wiki has a quotes page pertaining to Alfred Zeitel.

Notes and references[]

Passengers of the RMS Titanic
First Class  Thomas Andrews | John Jacob Astor | Madeleine Astor | Sasha Barbicon | Consuelo Borebank | Molly Brown | Eric Burns | Stephanie Burns | Archibald Butt | Helen Candee | Frank Carlson | Daisy Cashmore | George Quincy Clifford | Andrew Conkling | Beatrix Conkling | Henry Gorse-Jones | Ribeena Gorse-Jones | Benjamin Guggenheim | Henry B. Harris | J. Bruce Ismay | Georgia Lambeth | Charles Lambeth | Claris Limehouse | Mrs. Limehouse | Buick Riviera | Max Seidelmann | Isidor Straus | Leyland Trask | Willi von Haderlitz | Alfred Zeitel
Second Class  Penny Pringle | Edgar Troutt | Esther Hart
Third Class  Edward Hacker | Jack Hacker | Shailagh Hacker
Crew  E.J. Smith | Lift Attendant | Third Officer Morrow | Seaman 1 | Seaman 2 | Seaman 3 | John Smethells | Stoker | The Purser
Stowaways  Vlad Demonic
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