Rubaiyat

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Object information
Manufacturer	Omar Khayyam
Usage	Persian poetry
Importance	One of four items needed to obtain a Perfect Game
Owner(s)	Colonel Zeitel
Leyland Trask's reading	"Incredible, the Rubaiyat! The one stolen in Paris! It is coveted. And bloodshed surrounds it. This book will bring sorrow to the world!"

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is an important object in Titanic: Adventure Out of Time and one of the four key items needed in order to achieve the optimal ending. It is jewel-encrusted book of medieval Persian quotes and poetry and is said to have been stolen from Paris two months before the events of the game after it was purchased by a member of the British government.

Colonel Zeitel is in possession of the Rubaiyat, intending to trade the book for a painting supplied by his Titanic contact, Sasha Barbicon. Sasha, with his servant Vlad, intends to use the funds generated by the sale of the book in order to finance the Black Hand terrorist organisation.

How To Obtain

Upon learning of the Rubaiyat as part of his mission, Frank Carlson is tasked by Penny Pringle to find its location and retrieve it. There are two methods that can be used in order to find where the Rubaiyat has been hidden.

• If Carlson goes to the Boat Deck and speaks with Officer Morrow, speaking to the officer about his troubles will grant entry to the Wireless Room. Here, he can find a coded telegram sent from Zeitel to his superiors about the status of the exchange and take it. This telegram can then be decoded in Carlson's cabin.
• If Carlson goes to the Boat Deck, speaks with Max Seidelmann and accepts his offer of a smoke, the two of them will first stop by the Cafe Parisien and meet with Zeitel and his companion, Willi von Haderlitz. After the meeting is over, Carlson can remain in the Cafe and take a pipe that Zeitel has left behind. Taking the pipe to Leyland Trask for a reading will reveal that it was recently somewhere humid and Trask suggests visiting the Turkish Bath. Going there, turning the tap on, and then looking at the mirror on the far wall will reveal a message left behind for Sasha by Zeitel.

Either method will reveal that the Rubaiyat is hidden in one of the coal chutes in Boiler Room 3. However, given the time limit in retrieving an important painting later in the game, it is recommended to identify the Rubaiyat's location by entering the wireless room and searching for the telegram described above as Carlson will need to enter the wireless room again in his quest for the painting.

Using the entrance at the bottom of the Second Class Stairwell, Carlson proceeds through the Turbine Room before being intercepted by a crew member from gaining access to the Engine Room. If Carlson offers to help the seamen with his trouble, he will be directed to fix the water gauge before he is allowed to proceed. Once done, he travels into Boiler Room 3 and meets Vlad. Vlad asks for Carlson's assistance in retrieving a package for him from Sasha's cabin as he could not retrieve it himself. Carlson agrees to do so.

Instead of leaving immediately, turn to the right and descend to the lower floor of the Boiler Room. The Rubaiyat is hidden inside the control panel neat to the coal chute nearest the ladder. Remove it, relocate it to another control panel of another coal chute and then leave. If Carlson attempts to leave the lower floor with the Rubaiyat in his possession, Vlad will intercept him and shoot him dead, resulting in a Game Over.

Carlson then travels to Sasha's cabin to collect Vlad's package. Sasha will talk about Vlad's situation before handing it over, and also gives Carlson the chance to speak with him about Georgia if she was spoken with on the Boat Deck or in her cabin earlier. Returning to the Boiler Room, Vlad will thank Carlson for the package but then announce he has to leave to inform Sasha that something is missing. Once he is gone, Carlson can descend back down to where he hid the Rubaiyat and retrieve it.

If the player does not relocate the Rubaiyat before leaving the Boiler Room, Vlad will have retrieved it by the time Carlson returns with his package.

However, it is still possible to obtain the Rubaiyat from Vlad in the second part of the game during the sinking. By going to the First Class Lounge and receiving Claris Limehouse's shawl, Carlson can offer to give it to Vlad in exchange for the Rubaiyat, the real necklace, or the notebook, depending on if he has any of them in his possession. He may only make one trade, however; if Vlad has more than one item, it will not be possible to obtain them all.

Willi's Clues

After Willi is murdered by Zeitel in the Electric Bath, Carlson will come across two passages from the book left behind as clues - the first will be found by Willi's body and the other will be recited by Jack Hacker in Scotland Road. Taking both passages to Trask will gives clues about what to do with them.

First Clue: And many Knots unravel'd by the Road...

This clue suggests that Carlson should go to the Scotland Road section of the ship and examine the rope next to a fire axe there, where Jack will then give the next clue.

Second Clue: But still the Vine her ancient Ruby yields and still a Garden by the Water blows

This clue suggests that Carlson should go to somewhere with greenery near the water, the Cafe Parisien. The 'ancient Ruby' refers to a pack of Old Reds cigarettes that can be obtained as the next clue to discover where Willi has hidden the notebook from Max.

Fate

• If the Rubaiyat was recovered (note that it is also essential for the player to recover the Real Lambeth Diamond Necklace):

"Vlad left the sinking ship without the Rubaiyat, nor did he have the real Lambeth diamonds. The Black Hand never got its funds, money intended to finance a wave of terrorism across the Balkans. One of the intended targets, the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. His murder might have started a war. We were lucky, we got peace instead."

• If the Rubaiyat was not recovered:

"Vlad left the Titanic with the Rubaiyat. The money garnered from the sale would finance the violent assassination of Archduke Ferdinand at Sarajevo in 1914. The World War followed."

If Carlson previously recovered the Rubaiyat (and the real diamond necklace) but loses either of them to Riviera (in the course of trying to win a boat pass), it will still be counted as a success. But it is recommended to save the game before playing such a high-stakes card game.

Trivia

• An actual copy of the Rubaiyat was aboard the real RMS Titanic, but was lost in the sinking.

Gallery

1/2