Robert Lutece, as he appear in Old Gray's Mansion
"The mind of the subject will desperately struggle to create memories where none exist…"
―R. Lutece, Barriers to Trans-Dimensional Travel, 1889
Robert Lutece is a physicist and supporting character in BioShock Infinite. Throughout the game, Robert and his female counterpart Rosalind escort Booker DeWitt to and across the city of Columbia, offering him aid. They organize several experiments along the way, presenting him with choices and attempting to predict the outcomes. Robert frequently bets against his "sister," and wins most of the time. Though the Luteces' actions mainly help Booker, they once aided Zachary Hale Comstock, and in fact supplied him with all the technology necessary for the creation of Columbia. Unlike his counterpart, Robert is not a fatalist. Rosalind describes this by saying that where she sees King Lear, Robert sees only a blank page. as of current events, he, Rosalind, Booker, Elizabeth and Comstock are now in the "Empolyment" of Old Gray
History[]
Personal History[]
Robert Lutece is a pioneer in the field of quantum physics, belonging to the same reality as Booker DeWitt. He was contacted by Rosalind Lutece, his female counterpart from an alternate reality and "sister," after she discovered a way to mechanically engineer "tears" in her world and across multiple universes. The two then correspondingly opened a tear between their realities so they could meet face to face. They eventually became agents for Zachary Hale Comstock, developing technology to aid in Comstock's development of Columbia. However, use of their technology caused Comstock's body to deteriorate, leading to his sterility. Because of this, Lady Comstock was unable to bear a child. Comstock was certain that Columbia would only prosper if he had an appropriate heir. Therefore, he tasked the Lutece twins to use their tear machine to find him a child, which they did, bringing him Elizabeth. As the twins continued to experiment with tears, they foresaw Comstock's future in his efforts to guide Elizabeth into leading Columbia to the destruction of New York City several decades later. Realizing the mistakes they made in orchestrating Elizabeth's fate, Robert gives Rosalind an ultimatum: he would part company with her if she was not willing to help him undo what they had done, and return Elizabeth to her original universe. Uncovering the twins' plot, Comstock assigned Jeremiah Fink to sabotage their tear-manipulation machine with the two inside. This was accomplished on October 31st, 1909, and the twins were believed to be dead. The real result is they now exist across all of space time, which allows them to appear wherever and whenever they want. Rosalind is content with this state, as she can stay together with her "brother" free of restraint from life, death and all divided barriers of possibility. However, Robert is still not satisfied with the unresolved matter of Elizabeth's fate. Their circumstances make the task much more difficult, as they risk disrupting realities even further if they directly interfere, now that they are thought to be deceased. Robert then proposes that for their unfinished business to be resolved, they must bring Booker DeWitt to Comstock's universe to retrieve his daughter.