Rosalind Lutece (Beta Zi'nini Universe)

Rosalind Lutece, as she appears in Old Gray's Mansion

"When I was a girl, I dreamt of standing in a room looking at a girl who was and was not myself, who stood looking at another girl, who also was and was not myself. My mother took this for a nightmare. I saw it as the beginning of a career in physics."

―Rosalind Lutece

Rosalind Lutece is a quantum physicist in BioShock Infinite, who wrote books about scientific studies on alternate universes. She guides Booker DeWitt through his adventures in Columbia to retrieve Elizabeth along with her "twin brother," Robert. She, along with Booker, Elizabeth, Robert and Comstock are now in the Empolyment of Old Gray

History

Personal History

From a young age, Rosalind was curious about the possibility of multiple realities, and decided she wanted to be a physicist. Many years later, in the course of experimentation with atoms, she was able to indefinitely suspend an atom in midair. Her colleagues referred to the process as "quantum levitation," while Rosalind herself dubbed it the "Lutece Field." She began to wonder about the possibility of suspending larger objects, up to and including a city. At an indeterminate time, Rosalind met Zachary Hale Comstock, then a prominent U.S. politician who took great interest in her work. Comstock agreed to fund continued research into the Lutece Field in return for her help constructing a floating city he had seen in a premonition. Continued experimentation with the Lutece Field led to Rosalind's first interaction with Robert Lutece, a male version of herself from an alternate reality. By manipulating a pair of quantumly entangled atoms, the two were able to communicate across space-time barriers through Morse Code. When she reported this information to Comstock, he instructed her to find a way of accessing such alternate realities, which he believed would act as windows into prophecy. On October 15th, 1893, Rosalind successfully opened a Tear for the first time, bringing Robert through it into her universe. The two then created a contraption that allowed them to enter other realities via the Tears. Comstock used the device extensively to see other realities and predict future happenings. He also provided access to the Fink brothers, who used the Tears to advance technology and music in Columbia by decades. However, the device had an adverse affect on Comstock, aging him rapidly and rendering him sterile. Believing Columbia would only prosper if one of his bloodline sat the throne, Comstock approached Rosalind and Robert for a solution. The Luteces then sought out using their tear machine for a daughter for Comstock, and they were ultimately able to assist Comstock in procuring him a daughter, Elizabeth. As Elizabeth grew older, it was discovered that she had the power to open Tears; Rosalind hypothesized this was due to her finger remaining in her home universe, as it was cut off when the Tear they brought her through closed too soon.[8] Robert and Rosalind then discovered that, through the use of her powers, Elizabeth would fulfill Comstock's prophecy, leading to the destruction of New York City in 1983. Robert, wishing to undo their mistake, issued Rosalind an ultimatum: join him in sending Elizabeth back to her original universe, or he would part ways with her. Unwilling to separate from her "brother," Rosalind agreed to assist him, though she was not optimistic about their chances for success. Discovering this plan, Comstock ordered Jeremiah Fink to sabotage the machine they used to access Tears. The deed was carried out, and they were declared dead on October 31st, 1909. However, they were not truly killed; instead, they were scattered across time and space, able to appear wherever and whenever they wanted. While Rosalind was satisfied with this state, as she would be able to remain with her brother indefinitely, Robert was dissatisfied with the way they left matters in Columbia. Therefore, they continued their plan in this state, and went on to find Booker DeWitt.