~Michael Stockhausen~

Michael Heinrichovich Stockhausen is a minor character in the game Atomic Heart, and one of the main characters in the story in the book Prehistory of Enterprise 3826, where his real name is Josef Goldenzweig.

Dossier A German scientist of Jewish origin who worked as a doctor in Berlin during the war. Survived the first outbreaks of the "Brown Plague", and was later saved by Soviet soldiers. Before the infection, he had a phenomenal memory, which was emphasized by his colleagues, but after the onset of the disease, he lost this ability and never demonstrated it again (which, however, he does not regret). Thanks to his scientific and organizational talents, Stockhausen quickly rose through the ranks, demonstrating excellent skills as an apparatus manager. As a scientist from the German SSR, he was included in the Enterprise's staff under a quota and quickly earned Sechenov's respect. Despite his German pedantry and some snobbery, he is one of the most recognizable and beloved faces of Enterprise 3826. He speaks perfectly without a German accent, but prefers to imitate it every now and then, thus emphasizing his past.

Biography

Michael Stockhausen (Goldenzweig) was a German scientist of Jewish origin who worked as a doctor in a secret Berlin laboratory during the war. He survived the first outbreaks of the "Brown Plague" in dying Berlin and was saved by Soviet soldiers. Using forged documents, he changed his name, trying to avoid punishment for the crimes of the Reich. Before the infection, he had a phenomenal memory, which was emphasized by his colleagues, but after the onset of the disease, he lost this ability and never demonstrated it again (which, however, he did not regret). Thanks to his persistence, cunning and ability to subtly sense the mood of the leadership, Stockhausen quickly rose up the career ladder, demonstrating his talent as a manager and intriguer. As a scientist from the German SSR, he was among the employees of the Enterprise under a quota and quickly earned the respect of Sechenov. At the moment, he is trying to be useful to the leadership, not forgetting about his own benefit. It was he who was behind Petrov’s arrest – having become one of the first people whom Petrov trusted, he immediately reported him

Personality(1)

Michael Stockhausen's biography is a complex construction of several layers of half-truths, omissions and outright lies, and if his dossier at the Enterprise only omits some not very attractive details, then his public image, which depicts a principled and consistent anti-fascist and ideological communist, is as far from reality as possible. Despite the fact that in public Stockhausen wears the mask of a benevolent and friendly intellectual, underneath it hides a cold-blooded and ruthless intriguer, ready to walk over heads for his goals and evaluates any action taken from the position of the benefit he gains. To those familiar with the unsightly underside of his character, Stockhausen gives the impression of an unprincipled sycophant who is not worthy of trust - thus P-3, when asked about the reasons for his negative attitude towards Michael, answers with a sarcastic rhetorical question: “First he marched in formation through Berlin, and now he has become a model communist?”

Personality(2)

Michael's credo is all-encompassing opportunism: successful service to the Nazi regime during the heyday of the Third Reich did not prevent him from successfully breaking into the scientific elite of the Soviet state after the fall of the "fatherland", verbally declaring his commitment to the ideals of communism. At the same time, he is equally far from the ideas of Marxism-Leninism, which dominate in his new homeland, and from the utopian transhumanism of his immediate superior - science for the pragmatic German is only a means of ensuring his own well-being. The Deputy Director of the Enterprise's own attitude towards people is fully revealed by the episode with Viktor Petrov: although the hapless robotics engineer sincerely considered Stockhausen his comrade, the latter, pursuing personal interests, not only immediately reported the "malicious slander against Comrade Sechenov" as soon as he had the appropriate reason, thereby provoking Petrov's arrest, but also requested an impressive monetary reward from the Enterprise's correction department[3]. An incident that occurred in the Pavlov complex is also indicative - having stumbled upon a seriously wounded employee of the Enterprise begging for help, Stock, being a doctor of medical sciences, did not consider it necessary to waste time on the victim and simply ordered one of Sechenov's bodyguards to finish him off[4]. In situations beyond his control, the usually collected and self-confident Michael openly becomes nervous and cowardly - for example, his panicked flight during the first meeting with P-3 during a malfunction put the major in danger. However, this did not cause Stockhausen a drop of remorse later, because his own survival and prosperity are an absolute priority for him.

Michael and Larisa with Petrov

Michael Stockhausen is the second person at the Enterprise and is often involved in resolving the most delicate issues - for example, it was Stockhausen who Sechenov instructed to organize all the necessary conditions for holding a social experiment at the Maya Plisetskaya Theater, which led to the emergence of the infamous "backstage" [5]. At some point, Stockhausen established friendly relations with the talented programmer Viktor Petrov, promoting his talented protégé up the career ladder and playing on his pride in every possible way. Over time, however, this alliance cracked: the relationship that Viktor had with Larisa Filatova became the subject of jealousy on the part of Michael [6] [7], and as soon as the pragmatic German received evidence that allowed him to convict Petrov of disloyalty to Dmitry Sechenov, he quickly got rid of his "friend", reporting him to the Enterprise's security service. Although such a stab in the back paid off financially for Stockhausen, he was unable to take the woman he desired from his rival. However, Stockhausen still does not give up his attempts to win Filatova’s heart while Petrov is serving his sentence in the form of correctional labor in Vavilov

background(1)

A talented graduate of the Berlin Medical Institute, microbiologist Josef Goldenzweig, being a pronounced German Jew by origin, faced in Nazi Germany not only problems in building a scientific career, but also a potential threat to his own life. Wanting to ensure his own safety and well-being, the young scientist, not burdened by moral principles, not only joined the NSDAP in 1936, but also, having successfully forged a certificate of his own "Aryan origin", in 1939 became a member of the SS, rising to the rank of Unterscharführer. Having thus confirmed his reliability, Josef entered the service of a secret research institute specializing in the development of chemical and bacteriological weapons, taking the position of assistant in the 6th department, which studied the possibilities of the combat use of anthrax and Ebola fever. An eidetic memory, good organizational skills, and a fierce desire to curry favor allowed Goldenzweig to quickly establish himself as a responsible and capable employee[9]. Joseph continued to work at the secret institute almost until the very end of the war: first studying and cultivating combat strains of viruses designed to destroy the population of the Allied countries after Germany achieved military victory, and in its last month, producing bacteriological mines. Unfortunately for Goldenzweig, it was his place of service in the spring of 1941[10] that became the epicenter of the Brown Plague outbreak, the "patient zero" of which was the head of the oncology laboratory of the research institute, Zimmerman. In a matter of hours, death mowed down the entire staff of the scientific institution, passing only a young specialist who managed to get out of the depths of the laboratories to the surface.

background (2)

Joseph did not escape the infection, but by some dark miracle he managed to survive the disease and then successfully survived for several months in the depopulated and destroyed Berlin, avoiding other survivors and completely concentrating on his own salvation. The body of Michael von Stockhausen, a former classmate, which he found in one of the hospitals, allowed Goldenzweig to change his identity, using the identity card of his deceased friend that fell into his hands and his good knowledge of his biography, and thus bury his dark past. Forged documents, a medical education and a good knowledge of the Russian language served the scientist well - with the invention of the polymer vaccine "Breakthrough" and the beginning of vaccinating the few remaining residents of Berlin, the self-proclaimed Michael von Stockhausen proved to be an indispensable person for the medical service of the Red Army, which later allowed him to rise to the rank of chief city epidemiologist already in the newly formed German SSR.

background (3)

However, Joseph Michael's vanity was not satisfied with this state of affairs, and in 1948 he submitted an application to Dmitry Sergeevich Sechenov asking to be hired at Enterprise 3826. The existence of quotas at the Enterprise for residents of a number of USSR republics and the scientific and business acumen of Stockhausen, who had finally parted with his former name, allowed him to successfully obtain the position he so desired in 1949. At the same time, the guest from Germany met Viktor Petrov, who became his roommate for a while. Having successfully passed the three-month probationary period, in less than a year Michael became Sechenov's personal assistant for his innovative proposal to organize a theater on the territory of the Enterprise for the experimental study of the psychological and social perception of machines. His career growth allowed him to promote his casual friend as well - it was thanks to Stockhausen's guarantee that Petrov first received the position of robotics engineer at the Theatre, and was later transferred to work at the Chelomei complex