Wilhelm

Wilhelm is a character in the Xenosaga series. He is the founder and CEO of Vector Industries, making him Shion's, Allen's and Miyuki's employer.

Appearance and personality
Wihelm is a man with red eyes and white fringe-styled hair. Wilhelm wears an all black with gold decorations uniform.

Wilhelm is an unflappable person who rarely shows emotion. What emotion he does show is subtle. He is extremely manipulative, having guided humanity towards countless Eternal Recurrences. A perceptive man, he lures people to his side by offering something they desire or forcing them to watch those they care about suffer. Through all this, he speaks and behaves in a measured, calm way. Even when genuinely surprised he does not raise his voice or become animated.

History
Wilhelm is the founder and CEO of the interplanetary corporation Vector Industries. He also is the former Executive Committee Director of the Galaxy Federation. Wilhelm resides in the Dämmerung, a giant spacecraft/colony that acts as the headquarters for Vector. In actuality, he is the Guardian of the Lower Domain and has lived for countless millennia.

Pied Piper
Wilhelm appears in two scenes in Xenosaga: Pied Piper. His assistant Kayla reports to him over new developments surrounding Dmitri Yuriev. Wilhelm has no reason to worry. He claims that the soul of the investigator of Voyager has a soul burning with radiance beyond compare, but he is not the only one burning so brightly. He speaks of using Lactis, who is carrying a program called "Canaan" which is searching the start system for humans with a certain factor. After Kayla leaves, Wilhelm speaks of chaos, who spoke to Jan in a vision and how getting help from others isn't like him. He is content for the day chaos will once again return to the stage. Towards the end of the game when Voyager tries to call forth U-DO using the, Wilhelm appears, saying U-DO will not respond and that it has already learned what it wanted to know. Wilhelm offers to be Voyager's new partner and make him very happy. Claiming he has been watching him for a long time, he offers to give him a new world he hasn't even imagined. Voyager accepts the offer and becomes the Black Testament.

Episode I
Wilhelm first appears in a scene shortly after Shion and the others make their way onto the Elsa. A mysterious hooded man, the Red Testament reports to him information from KOS-MOS. They discuss KOS-MOS' prime directive to protect Shion, as well as the data for the Rhine Maiden being complete. Wilhelm is pleased that all phenomena are moving forward as specified by his Compass of Order.

Later in the game when the Kukai Foundation is framed by the U-TIC Organization for the destruction of the Woglinde, Wilhelm personally contacts Representative Helmer, offering his assistance. Wilhelm claims he will make recommendations to Parliament, dispatch the Dämmerung in the Miltian system and agrees to lend KOS-MOS to Gaignun. Wilhelm is later seen playing chess with the Red Testament when the Song of Nephilim starts being heard and a large mass of gnosis appear by the Kukai Foundation. Wilhelm orders the Dämmerung to utilize the Rhine Maiden, a weapon that destroys a massive amount of gnosis. Wilhelm has one final conversation with the Red Testament near the end of the game where they talk about Albedo being the one who is able to open the door to Abel's Ark. Wilhelm is doubtful of Albedo's ability to link with U-DO however.

Episode II
Wilhelm appears in a scene with the Red Testament after Shion and Allen escape the Dämmerung on Dinah. They discuss Albedo's ascension and the awakening of KOS-MOS. Wilhelm references someone needing to play the role of the villain. Wilhelm is seen again towards the end of the game when Abel's Ark appears. Although they are not present in the same location, he speaks to chaos, whom he calls Yeshua about the fact that chaos will no longer be holding back and will be entering the stage. Wilhelm appears in the final scene of the game along with the Testaments as they welcome Albedo as the White Testament. He also speaks about the Y-Data, that a great deal of it is missing and that the answer lies in the U.M.N.


 * 'Cardinal Heinlein' redirects here. For the music track, see Cardinal Heinlein (music).

Heinlein is a Cardinal within the Immigrant Fleet and Ormus. While not seen, Heinlein is mentioned in several conversations within Episode II. During Margulis' first conversation with Sergius, Sergius speculates that Heinlein has manipulated the Federation military's upper ranks to influence the Federation's offensive against Second Miltia. When the party makes its way into Labyrinthos and investigates the data being held by Canaan, it is determined that the U-TIC Organization is being supported by a corporation called Hyams, which is led by Heinlein. After Sergius takes ahold of the and Proto Omega, establishing the Omega System, he is betrayed by Margulis and Heinlein, who seizes control of Ormus.

Trivia

 * Wilhelm's motives and nature are similar to Xenoblade Chronicles 3's main antagonist, Z.
 * Neither are real beings: Wilhelm was created by the Collective Unconscious to protect the Lower Domain from collapse, while Z is a manifestation of the fear of the consciousnesses stored within Origin.
 * Both treat the world as if it were entertainment, with Wilhelm treating it like a play, and Z like films.
 * Both want the world trapped in a time loop to avoid a perceived catastrophe in the future. To prevent the destruction of the universe, Wilhelm resets time to a point before the universe's collapse — a cycle known as Eternal Recurrence. Z has frozen time at the point where the two universes collided, creating Aionios, the "endless now".
 * Both have revived previous deceased characters to serve them, Wilhelm revived them as Testaments, while Z revived them as Moebius.
 * Wilhelm is likely named after Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. Eternal Recurrence was proposed as a concept by Nietzsche in a form very similar to how it appears in Xenosaga, and the subtitles of the mainline Xenosaga games — respectively Der Wille zur Macht, Jenseits von Gut und Böse, and Also Sprach Zarathustra — are named after various works of Nietzsche.