Emil Hartman

Emil Hartman
Biographical information
Age:	65
Birth:	1954
Death:	November 2019
Profession:	Psychiatrist Assistant to Thomas Zane (Formerly)
Physical description
Gender:	Male
Eye Color:	Dark gray
Hair Color:	Black
Vital statistics
First Appearance:	Time Flies (BF)
Last Appearance:	AWE (Control)
Faction:	Human (Formerly) Taken (Formerly) Taken/Hiss Hybrid
Status:	Deceased
Affiliation(s):	Cauldron Lake Lodge
Behind the Scenes
Portrayed By:	Mark Blum (Alan Wake) Martin McDougall (Control: AWE)

Dr. Emil Hartman is a minor antagonist in the Remedy Connected Universe, first introduced in Alan Wake. Originally an assistant to poet Thomas Zane in Bright Falls, Washington, he was drawn to the power of Cauldron Lake and its ability to shape reality based on the works of art created in its vicinity. Hartman was the one to convince Zane to resurrect his lover, Barbara Jagger, using the power of the lake. After Zane took his life in order to fix his mistake, Hartman became a psychiatrist specializing in struggling artists and established the Cauldron Lake Lodge to exploit his patients into shaping reality for his own ends. Circa 2010, Hartman invited Alice Wake to bring her husband, writer Alan Wake, to Bright Falls under the guise of offering psychiatric care. In reality, Hartman sought to take advantage of Wake's talent and use him to influence Cauldron Lake.

While Hartman survived the events of the Bright Falls AWE of 2010, he was briefly detained by the Federal Bureau of Control and all his research and property was confiscated. This led him to continue his investigation by venturing into the lake. However, he became possessed by the Dark Presence and became the "Thing-that-Had-Been-Hartman". He was captured by the FBC and imprisoned in the Investigations Sector of Oldest House. However, in 2017, he escaped from confinement, killing numerous agents in the process. During the Hiss Invasion of 2019, Hartman's body was further mutated when the Hiss and the Dark Presence met and amplified each other, becoming a being known as the "Third Thing". He was finally killed by Director Jesse Faden.

Appearance

Dr. Emil Hartman was a middle-aged Caucasian man with short black hair and dark gray eyes. He habitually wore a white cardigan with brown buttons over a cream-colored button-down shirt. He also wore light brown pants and dark brown shoes. Due to the punch he received from Alan Wake, he also had to wear a band-aid on his nose.

While his appearance as a Taken was not seen, it can be assumed that, much like those of his kind, his skin turned pale and his body became covered with darkness. After becoming the "Third Thing", Hartman's body, especially his arms and legs, became disproportionately and unevenly stretched. His right leg and left hand were notably bigger than the other two; the left hand, in particular, was now shaped like a claw. In addition, Hartman's right shoe was now stuck on the heel of its corresponding leg. Elongated ribs emerged from his back, leaving its muscles exposed. The head was now able to turn completely around. Strangely though, the Third Thing only seemed to be able to look forward when his head was in a 360° position. The nose, ears, and the area around the mouth had also darkened, and the area around the right eye had lowered from its original position. Most likely as a result of that, said eye was also permanently closed. The other eye, while open, only looked up. The Third Thing still retained the band-aid from Wake’s punch. He also wore Hartman's usual clothes, though they have now become torn due to the stretching.

Personality

 Doctor Hartman had spent most of his adult life studying the strange phenomena around Cauldron Lake. He considered himself the foremost expert in the field. He was anything but a humble man, but in this regard, at least, his high opinion of himself was justified. He had a great deal of experience dealing with these forces, much of it acquired firsthand over the years... often at a considerable human cost. Of course, Hartman never gambled with his own life if he could avoid it. He knew full well the dangers certain creative endeavors could unleash. 

― Excerpts from Departure, by Alan Wake

Emil Hartman

In public, Dr. Emil Hartman presented himself as a polite and caring man, devoted to the well-being of his patients and driven by an altruistic desire to help them overcome their problems. When speaking, he maintained a cordial and eloquent tone, even in perilous situations. In reality, however, Hartman was a self-centered, unscrupulous and manipulative man who had little to no care for others unless it helped him to further his goals. His supposed desire to help troubled artists was solely so that he could use them for his experiments and research of the supernatural power of Cauldron Lake, a power he one day hoped to control to shape the world the way he saw fit. To achieve this goal, he would constantly try to lure and/or persuade artists - or any person with similar artistic inclination - to stay at his lodge with the false promise of help.

Hartman possessed no artistic talent, nor did he have any interest in developing his own. Having worked with troubled artists on a daily basis and knowing well the suffering that might come with such a career path, he wished to avoid such fate, preferring instead to maintain creative control and provide direction to others. In his book, The Creator's Dilemma, he stated that he held the belief that artists were gods of "lesser universes", capable of creating something out of nothing.

As he himself admitted, Hartman's nature drove him to comprehend it all. However, he never put his own life at risk if he could avoid it, preferring to watch safely from a distance while others faced the danger. He cared little for the life of others and had no qualms in sacrificing them if necessary. The best example of this was his henchman, Ben Mott, whom he often tasked with carrying out potentially dangerous and/or illegal acts. Hartman described Mott as someone indispensable yet "completely disposable". Another example was his patient Rudolf Lane; upon seeing a prophetic painting of him being stabbed, Hartman tricked the painter into taking his place by giving him his cardigan, which resulted in Lane being mistaken for the doctor and getting fatally wounded. That said, in situations in which he had no one to rely on but himself, Hartman demonstrated to be able to maintain composure, as seen when he was being hunted by the Taken Mott. Later on, despite having the chance to escape, Hartman preferred to stay to deal with the problem once and for all instead of having to worry about it indefinitely, even using himself as bait to attract the Taken.

From a young age, Hartman demonstrated a talent for persuading and manipulating others, a skill in which he took pride. Had it not been for his convincing of him to continue, Thomas Zane would have given up on his attempt to resurrect his deceased lover. His knowledge in psychology further helped him to understand how other people thought and how to use that to his own benefit, the best example, once again, being Mott, whose pathological need for the approval from a father figure Hartman often exploited. While facing the Taken Mott, Hartman managed to have him lower his guard by simply telling him that he had done a good job and that he was proud of him. In addition, the doctor also knew what to say to hurt others, as seen during his verbal confrontation with Agent Nightingale, in which Hartman lectured him about his recklessness and his problems with alcohol while also making condescending remarks about his inability to go through the day without drinking and his denial of his addiction.

Hartman was far from being a humble man. Having studied the properties of Cauldron Lake throughout his adult life, he considered himself as the foremost expert in this field. He even went as far as to view himself (representing the "light of knowledge") and the darkness (which he associated with ignorance) as "opposite forces destined to collide", and was confident that in the end he would emerge triumphant. This hubris, however, was his downfall; despite believing himself to be more prepared and qualified than both Alan Wake and Zane due to his years of studying the lake, he was ultimately consumed by the Dark Presence. Not only did he not possess the qualities that Zane and Wake had, but his knowledge of what awaited below the lake was flawed and incomplete, something which, in his arrogance, he failed to see. Hartman also failed to see that his own actions were the result of other people's refusal to collaborate with him, as was the case with Wake (who he tried to deceive and forced to stay in his lodge against his will) and the Federal Bureau of Control (who rejected him because of the crimes he committed), and preferred instead to believe them as being too ignorant and egotistical to see the opportunity presented to them.

Hartman held Thomas Zane in high regard, considering his work to be refined and sublime. He was in particular fond of a line from one of his poems: “Beyond the shadow you settle for there is a miracle Illuminated”, using it on the plaque of the sundial at his lodge. Although he thought of Wake as a promising subject for his research, Hartman did not believe his work to be refined enough, considering it as simply being crassly popular, and expected that someone who had an affinity with the lake's powers would be someone whose work was more comparable to that of his former mentor. Hartman admitted that he sincerely missed the poet and considered his disappearance one of the few things he regretted in his life, wishing he had known about the Dark Presence back then. However, this was not enough to make him wish it had been him instead of Zane.

The Thing-that-Had-Been-Hartman

After becoming a Taken, all traces of Hartman's humanity and former self disappeared, leaving only an empty shell at the disposal of the Dark Presence. In this state, like all other Taken, Hartman only repeated random sentences that he already said when he was alive. In particular, he recited quotes pertaining to his book, The Creator's Dilemma.

The Third Thing

Despite being an amalgamation of the Dark Presence and the Hiss, the Third Thing was hostile to other Hiss infected individuals. Similarly to the Taken in the Return manuscript, the Third Thing was only heard repeating random sentences originating from Wake's manuscript, more specifically, those heard by Jesse Faden through the Hotline Object of Power (though, based on what the manuscript said, it seems that the writer's intention was to have him recite the Hiss incantation).

Biography

Early Life

 Zane could feel the poems, taking form, shaping things. As he experimented, he imagined he could almost feel the power surging through the keys of the typewriter. It exhilarated him, but there was fear, too. If not for his young assistant, Emil, he would have given it up. But Emil convinced him otherwise. He, too, had a way with words. 

― Excerpt from Departure by Alan Wake

One of Thomas Zane's poems.

At some point in his youth, Emil Hartman became the assistant of Thomas Zane, a poet who lived in the town of Bright Falls, Washington. Hartman was particularly fond of a line from one of Zane's poems: "Beyond the shadow you settle for is an illuminated miracle," and the two would discuss its meaning.

In July of 1970, after Zane’s lover, Barbara Jagger, died of an apparent drowning in Cauldron Lake, the poet decided to use the supernatural power of the lake to bring her back to life. As he began writing, Zane became fearful of the power of the lake, but Hartman encouraged him to continue. While the poet managed to bring Jagger back, she was possessed by the Dark Presence, an powerful entity originating from the Dark Place beneath the lake, which compelled Zane to create a work of art that would set it loose upon the world. Zane eventually managed to vanish the dark entity by erasing everything that had made its release possible, including himself. While the vast majority of the world forgot that the poet ever existed, some others, including Hartman, were still able to remember him.

Career in Psychology

Around five years after the Altered World Event, Hartman began his training as a garden variety psychotherapist at the Tollund Memorial Hospital in Vermont, where he “administered daily relief with a kind smile and a handful of pharmaceuticals.” Some of the patients at his care exhibited signs of artistic ability and had a “burning” desire for self-expression, though he did not consider their work to be refined or sophisticated. Hartman left the hospital some years afterwards, but the image of those "damaged souls carving their dreams into canvas and clay” stayed with him.

The Cauldron Lake Lodge.

After obtaining his degree, Hartman eventually returned to Bright Falls and converted a hotel, the Cauldron Lake Lodge, into a psychiatric institution with the ostensible purpose of helping artists struggling with creative blocks and other mental disorders. In reality, however, the lodge served as a testing ground for his experiments to study and manipulate the power of Cauldron Lake throughout the use of art. The patients he treated there, while more functional, still exhibited the same problems as those at the Tollund Memorial Hospital: a desire for self-expression coupled with an inability to express themselves. At some point, Dr. Hartman began treating a patient who worked under the pen name of Philip Musil, a talented playwright who once enjoyed a prolific career, but that had become unable to produce new work. He also exhibited signs of cognitive slippage and delusional disorder. With the help of Dr. Hartman’s patented methods, “Engagement Therapy” and “The Flow”,  Musil was eventually able to overcome his creative block and subsequently wrote a six-hour play titled "Nightfalls", which restarted his career.

Another patient treated by him was the famous Oregon sculptor Daniel Sanders, who had also lost his inspiration and found himself unable to carve any of his ideas from a block of limestone. Hartman worked intensively with Sanders over a period of three months, trying a variety of methods: drawing figures on the block for him to carve, the use of drugs and hypnotherapeutic methods, cyclical psychodynamics and integrative approaches, phenomenological methods, electroconvulsive therapy, sensory deprivation, daily multitheoretical psychotherapeutic counseling, and tough love, but none of them yielded results. He finally threatened to destroy the block, fearing that it had become a "psychic anchor", but Sanders fiercely opposed, claiming it would be as if he were being killed. The sculptor remained confined to his room until one day inspiration finally came back to him. However, he was still unable to work as he feared that he could not carry out the complex work he had imagined. Hartman considered Sanders' case as one of his greatest professional disappointments.

Dr. Hartman's book, The Creator's Dilemma

Other patients under Dr. Hartman’s care included mentally ill dancer Wendy Desole, delusional video-game designer Thomas Emerson, blocked painter Rudolf Lane, and allegedly senile local rock stars Tor and Odin Anderson. These last two were of particular interest for the doctor as they, much like Zane, had also accidentally released the Dark Presence through their music back in 1976. However, the brothers proved to be problematic and would often escape from the lodge. Hartman had also hired Ben Mott, a troubled man who, due to his mental instability and his need for the approval of a father figure, was willing to carry out any task that the doctor gave him, regardless of how questionable or illegal it might be. While most Bright Falls residents seemed to trust Hartman, others like Frank Breaker or Cynthia Weaver - who both also had knowledge of the supernatural - knew, or at least suspected, of his true intentions.

Circa 2010, Dr. Hartman wrote a book titled The Creator’s Dilemma, in which he delved into his patented psychiatric methods to help afflicted artist to overcome their problems. After reading the book, Alice Wake, wife of writer Alan Wake, contacted Dr. Hartman to discuss with him the writer’s block that had been afflicting her husband for the past years. Seeing an opportunity to add Wake to his artist collection, the doctor invited Mrs. Wake to bring her husband to the lodge. She agreed though, knowing her husband’s stubbornness, she decided keep this a secret.

Bright Falls AWE (2010)

Prelude

 Dr. Hartman! Jake Fischer.
What have you got there?
That's my camera. I use it to record interviews, if that's OK.
You're a writer, aren't you?
Yeah.
So... write. 

― Jake Fischer and Dr. Emil Hartman.

Jake Fischer interviews Hartman.

In late August 2010, reporter Jake Fischer traveled to Bright Falls to interview Dr. Hartman about The Creator’s Dilemma. Upon meeting the reporter in his office, the doctor noticed that he had brought a camera to record the interview. Seeing that he was a writer, Hartman insisted that he write instead, which Fischer agreed to. Beginning the interview, Fischer asked the doctor to tell him what inspired the book, to which Hartman began recounting his experiences dealing with patients “trapped in a reality of their own making”. However, he soon stopped when he noticed that the reporter had become entranced with a picture of a road in the woods that hung in the office. What exactly happened during this lapse is unknown, but it seems that Fischer made strange writings and drawings in his notepad. When the reporter came back to his senses, he now found himself in the lodge lobby, with Hartman talking with him as if nothing unusual had happened. The doctor told Fischer that he enjoyed their chatting and gave him a handshake. Before leaving, he also told him that he could let him know if he needed anything else for his article.

Dr. Hartman inspects Fischer.

Days later, Fischer was unknowingly being followed by Mott, most likely under Hartman's orders. Mott later retrieved the reporter from Cauldron Lake after the latter experienced another blackout. Fischer returned to the lodge the day after under the pretext of having a copy of The Creator's Dilemma signed for a friend. After signing the book, Hartman was asked by Fischer to have an off-the-record talk, which he agreed to. Fischer told him about the blackouts and the instances of him waking up in strange places, such as the woods and the lake, that he had experienced since his arrival to Bright Falls, and expressed his fear that this would not stop. Hartman asked him if there was anything else, to which Fischer told him that he had also killed a deer with his car. The doctor assured him that that sort of thing happen and proceeded to check his pulse. As he did this, he also offered him to stay at his lodge. When he used a penlight to inspect his eye, Fischer recoiled in pain from the light. He asked the doctor what that was, but Hartman told him that it was just a flashlight before pointing it at him again. Fischer rushed out of the office as Hartman watched him, unfazed.

Ploy on Wake

 I'm Doctor Emil Hartman. I'd like to invite you to stay at Cauldron Lake Lodge.
Did you talk to my wife?
I had the pleasure of discussing your situation with her on several occasions.
Did you set something up with her?
I invited her here. My clinic is a place of- 

― Dr. Emil Hartman and Alan Wake.

When the Wakes finally arrived to Bright Falls, Hartman tasked Mott with following the couple. While he initially lost them, Mott later found their car near the path that had once led to Diver's Isle, but with no sign of them. Hartman correctly deduced that the Wakes had been lured to the cabin and captured by the Dark Presence, and determined that they had to be found before Wake started writing. However, it was already too late: Wake, influenced by the Dark Presence, had begun writing a manuscript that would set it free from the lake. After a week trapped, Wake managed to escape and was later found by Sheriff Sarah Breaker.

Alan Wake punches Hartman.

Upon hearing on the police radio that Wake had been found, Hartman drove to the Sheriff Station. He also ordered Mott to call the writer and claim to have kidnapped his wife. Using edited recordings from Alice's conversation with Hartman and her driver’s license, which he left on an dilapidated car behind the station, Mott managed to convince him and instructed him to go alone to Lovers' Peak that night to meet with him. With no other option, Wake accepted. Using the pretext of being there because of the Anderson brothers' recent outing, Hartman had a talk with Sheriff Breaker before Wake appeared. The doctor introduced himself and invited him to stay at the Cauldron Lake Lodge. However, when he confirmed that he had convinced Alice to come to Bright Falls, Wake punched him in the face, breaking his nose . Breaker attempted to restrained Wake before Barry Wheeler, Wake's literary agent, arrived and intervened. Hartman stated that he would not press charges and told Wake that his offer still stood.

Hartman saves Wake.

Mott's meeting with Wake at Lovers’ Peak did not go as planned: after losing control of the situation, Mott gave Wake a two day limit to hand in the finished manuscript despite the latter telling him that he needed at least a week. Upon learning this, Hartman was furious to the point he considered strangling him. Knowing that under such pressure Wake could drastically derail his plans, he concluded that he would have to find a way to rein him in. The night of their meeting, Mott contacted Wake and told him that their new meeting point would be the lookout on Mirror Peak. As his lackey waited for the writer to arrive, Hartman and his employee, Jack, were on the lake below, on well-lit boat. When Wake arrived at the lookout, the Dark Presence was torturing Mott before a dark tornado appeared. While Mott was killed, Wake managed to survive by grabbing and lighting a flare on time. Hartman saw as the writer fell into the lake and ordered Jack to approach the boat. After saving him, Hartman took Wake to the Cauldron Lake Lodge.

Wake Captured

 Alan, please. You're sliding back into the-
Tell me one more lie and I'll shoot you in the face.
Ah, well. It was worth a shot. Really, Wake, come on. Let's work together on this. You have no idea what--
Hartman, shut up. 

― Dr. Emil Hartman and Alan Wake.

With Wake now secure in his lodge, Hartman contacted Wheeler and informed him that he had found his client, inviting him to supposedly come pick him up; this was actually a trap. The doctor distracted Wheeler with a tour of the lodge, showing him his hunting trophies. However, when he asked for Wake, Hartman signaled his orderlies to capture him and lock him in a closet. Former FBI Agent Robert Nightingale, who had been following Wheeler, arrived at the lodge and tried to force his way in, suspecting that Wake was also there. Hartman denied that to be the case and asked him to leave the premises, while also making unflattering remarks about his reputation and alcoholism, claiming that he was no different from the addicts he dealt with on a daily basis. Nightingale responded with violent threats, but the doctor warned him that he was recording their conversation and told him that he would cooperate if a judge granted him a warrant, though he doubted that would happen. Defeated, Nightingale left the place.

Hartman ordered Jack to take some of the lodge residents fishing, with the exception of the Anderson brothers, Emerson and Desole due to them being "vulnerable", and also Lane, who had started painting again after Wake's arrival to Bright Falls. Before starting his rounds, Hartman also took some time to reflect on the Dark Presence and its involvement with artists such as Zane, the Andersons or Lane, wondering if it is beckoned by the artists' ability to affect reality or if it is was created by their works of arts, and hoped that, with Wake now in his lodge, he would be closer to learning the answer, though he was also recognize that it would not be easy to cooperate with him.

Hartman greets Wake.

When Wake woke up, Hartman gave him a sedative and a attempted to convince him that he had experienced a psychotic episode, triggered by his wife's death, and that he was a patient at his clinic. Wake quickly fell unconscious again. Hartman returned to his room shortly after, accompanied by Birch, and invited Wake to have a tour of the place to help him get "reacquainted". The doctor reiterated the purpose of his facility and Wake's supposed current situation: the recent events he had experienced were an hallucination caused by Alice's drowning and his inability to face the truth, and the doctor had been trying to help him recover. While Wake was not convinced by this, he decided to play along. Hartman also introduced him to Emerson and the Anderson Brothers. However, the tour was cut short when a storm began to form on Cauldron Lake. Knowing that it was not an ordinary storm, Hartman left Wake with brothers and went to check the lodge's power. Before leaving, he advised him that he should try to write again. He also instructed Birch to keep an eye on Wake.

Wake confronts Hartman.

In Hartman's absence, Wake managed to sneak away thanks to a distraction caused by the Andersons and discovered the doctor's true intentions and his connection to Mott. After freeing Wheeler, the two entered his office and recovered the manuscript pages. Hartman soon returned and, seeing that his deception was over, tried in vain to convince Wake to work together, but the writer pointed a gun at him and ordered Wheeler to leave the two of them alone. As Hartman tried again to convince Wake, the Dark Presence appeared and began taking over the lodge. Wake escaped the office, but trapped the doctor inside, leaving him at the mercy of the evil entity. However, since its focus was not on him but on the writer, the Dark Presence ignored Hartman and the doctor survived the encounter, though not unscratched.

Facing the Taken Mott

 DUHC... DOCTOR-- --HARTMAN-- --I DID A GOOD JOB FOR YOU, DOCTOR--HRAAA
Well, THAT'S unprecedented. You're not entirely gone, are you? But I see the experience hasn't improved your intelligence-- or disposition.
GOT-- --GOTTA GET THE MANUSCRIPT--
Yes, well, your efforts on that front were rather pitiful, weren't they? In any case, I think we're past that, now...
BETTER -- BETTER THAN WAKE. BETTER THAN ANYBODY!
You? Ha ha ha! You DIDN'T get the manuscript. Wake's writing for himself, now. You FAILED. YOU failed me.
SORRY. SORRY. SORRY. 

― The Taken Ben Mott and Doctor Hartman

The Taken Mott attacks Hartman.

After spending almost an entire day unconscious in his ruined office, Hartman woke up. Going downstairs, he found nurse Sinclair at the mercy of the now Taken Mott. To his surprise, Mott's identity, particularly his need for Hartman's approval, was not entirely gone. Using a flashlight, Hartman managed to keep the Taken at bay as he taunted him with his disappointment for his failure to obtain the manuscript. This allowed him and Sinclair to retreat back inside. As they explored the ruined lodge, Hartman explained the situation to the nurse and theorized that Mott's condition would not last for long. He also concluded that they had little choice but to survive until dawn. Sinclair expressed her discomfort at the situation, stating that that was not what expected from her job, for which Hartman apologized and promised to give her an appropriate compensation. The nurse also told him what occurred in the lodge during his absence.

The two soon arrived at the dinning hall and found Rudolf Lane, who begged them to help him stop painting. Upon closely examining one of the paintings, Hartman realized that it depicted him being stabbed by Mott. Thinking quickly, he gave Lane his cardigan in an apparent gesture of kindness. Sinclair quickly realized what was happening, but Hartman urged her to leave the place. The Taken Mott soon broke into the hall and, mistaking Lane for his former employer, stabbed him in the chest, seriously injuring him. As Sinclair reproached Hartman for his actions, the two tried to make their way to the garage, but the Taken intercepted them. The two struggled to keep the door closed as Mott began to tear it apart before he unexpectedly left. The two stepped outside to discover, to their relief, that deputies Mulligan and Thornton had arrived. While Sinclair argued that they should simply leave, Hartman, not wanting to keep worrying about Mott indefinitely, opted to deal with him once for all, using Lane's death as a pretext, much to the former's disgust.

Hartman tricks the Taken Mott.

Hartman proceeded to explain his plan to the deputies: he would use himself as a bait to lure Mott out and would distract him to give the deputies the chance to kill him. Although the deputies had reservations, believing it would be dangerous for him, they agreed. Hartman also borrowed a flare from them. Not long after, Hartman waited for his former employee on the lodge's patio. When the Taken finally showed up, Hartman lit the flare and told Mott that he had done a good job and that he was proud of him. Seeing that the Taken was responding to his praises, Hartman asked him to do one more thing: kneel for him; Mott obeyed. The doctor then threw the flare at him, destroying his shield of darkness, before telling the deputies to open fire, successfully killing Mott. With the danger over, the deputies tried to interrogate Hartman, but he refused, telling them that any question should be directed at his lawyer, and asked them to leave. While Mulligan protested, Sinclair promised to tell them what she knew. As he reflected on recent events, Hartman called an unknown individual who was already aware of what was occurring in Bright Falls and, in light of his clinic no longer being operative, told them that he had reconsidered their offer.

Aftermath

 Dr. Emil Hartman, you have been found in breach of codes 4, 8 and 74 of the Federal Bureau of Control criminal offense system.
What? You can't do this. I am a well-connected man. You're making a dire mistake, my friend.
You will be detained until further notice and all personal property will be confiscated, including the Cauldron Lake Lodge. 

― Chief Investigator Remy Denis and Dr. Emil Hartman

The Federal Bureau of Control.

After the AWE concluded, Hartman was initially listed as missing by the Federal Bureau of Control, a secret government agency tasked with handling supernatural occurrences. They eventually managed to locate him and approached him under the pretense of wanting to collaborate with him. Hoping to form a partnership, the doctor provided them with information about his research and was subsequently invited to talk. During an interview, Hartman further explained his work methodology, including his use of living test subjects for his research. After determining that he showed no remorse nor any intention to stop his actions, the FBC charged Hartman with breaching codes 4, 8, 37 and 74 (Kidnapping of Altered Individuals, Sanctions against Altered Organizations, Obstruction of Bureau Investigation, and Breaching the Ash Act respectively) of the their criminal offense system and detained him for an unknown amount of months. All his personal property, including the Cauldron Lake Lodge, was seized as evidence and his medical license was revoked. His patients, with the exception of the Anderson Brothers due to their senility, were put under a bi-annual surveillance. Hartman was eventually released due to being a low level risk.

Taken

 Doctor Emil Hartman was desperate. The Federal Bureau of Control had stolen his life's work. This was his last chance, his final experiment, what he'd been too scared to do before. Hartman dove into the lake. Was taken. Devoured by hungry darkness. Became the Thing-that-Had-Been-Hartman. Only an echo of him remained. Fragmented impulses on autoplay. Violent, bloodthirsty darkness in the driver's seat. Emerging from the lake, the Thing was captured by the FBC. Brought in. Contained. Studied. 

― Alan Wake

Hartman's downfall and eventual end were all part of a story written by Alan Wake.

With his life's work done, a desperate Hartman saw no way to continue his search but to do the one thing that he was always afraid to do: dive into Cauldron Lake. Theorizing that those who enter the lake are able to somehow come back, and believing himself to be more prepared and capable than both Zane and Wake, Hartman dived into the lake. However, he ended up being consumed by the Dark Presence. When the “Thing-that-Had-Been-Hartman” eventually resurfaced from the lake, his presence was alerted by an FBC monitoring station in Cauldron Lake. Agent Kiran Estevez was dispatched to investigate and found the Taken in his former workplace, the Cauldron Lake Lodge. After with the help of the on-site research team, Agent Estevez managed, with some difficulty, to contain him in a Black Rock cell. The Thing-that-Had-Been-Hartman was subsequently transported to the FBC’s headquarters in New York City, The Oldest House, where he remained detained in the Investigation Sector as part of the Bright Falls AWE investigation.

The Bright Falls AWE area.

The Thing-that-Had-Been-Hartman was the first “Shaded Individual” to be examined by the FBC. Tests, such as the use of non-lethal ballistics, were conducted on him to help the Bureau further understand the nature of the Dark Presence. A replica of the Cauldron Lake Lodge was also built with the hope that a familiar setting would trigger new behavior. However, this did not occur. After learning that the former doctor was being housed in the Investigations sector, FBC agent Frederick Langston, a fan of Alan Wake, tried to have his copy of The Creator’s Dilemma signed by The-Thing-That-Once-Was-Hartman, not knowing that he was a Taken. Langston was detained and his copy of the book confiscated.

In 2017, Alice Wake was brought into the Oldest House for an interview after being haunted by an apparition of her husband. Due to her connection to the Dark Place, the Thing-that-Had-Been-Hartman felt her presence nearby and, by extension, that of her husband, and began displaying a sharp increase in aggressiveness. Long after Mrs. Wake abandoned the building, the Taken broke out from confinement and proceeded to rampage through the sector. This resulted in the deaths of at least 32 agents. The FBC was forced to retreat and the Investigation Sector was locked down and abandoned, with the Thing-that-Had-Been-Hartman left trapped inside. While Head of Investigations William Kirklund intended to reclaim the lost sector, nothing came to fruition due to internal conflicts among the bureau's heads. Unbeknownst to everyone involved, this incident was orchestrated by Alan Wake as part of one of his attempts to escape the Dark Place.

Hiss Invasion

 The Third Thing said: "When you hear this you will know you're in new you." He said: "We build you till nothing remains." He said: "Under the conceptual reality behind this reality you must want these waves to drag you away." He said: "Baby baby baby yeah. Orange peel." The Third Thing was a monster. He'd tear apart any ordinary person crossing his path. Now he crashed out of darkness toward Faden. There was nothing ordinary about Faden. 

― Alan Wake

The Third Thing.

In 2019, FBC Director Zachariah Trench unleashed a paranatural resonance-based life form known as the Hiss into the Oldest House. Not dissimilar in nature to the Dark Presence, the Hiss spread and possessed everything on its way. Having lost the link to its source, the darkness within The Thing-That-Had-Been-Hartman weakened and the Taken became susceptible to the Hiss. The resonance and the darkness changed and amplified one another, further mutating what little remained of Emil Hartman, and the three became a “Third Thing”.

Not long after the Hiss was unleashed, Jesse Faden, who had succeeded Trench as the FBC Director, was guided to the Investigations Sector by an apparition of Alan Wake. While exploring the abandoned sector, Faden heard the Third Thing's ramblings in the distance before it finally attacked her when she was about to use the elevator leading up to Active Investigations. However, when elevator's lights turned on, Faden realized that the thing was vulnerable them and decided to use them against him. After being told of the danger it would pose to surviving FBC personnel if it were to escape from the sector, the director decided to eliminate him for good. Faden chased and fought the Third Thing throughout the Fra Mauro AWE and Eagle Limited AWE areas, restoring the power and light in both, before it fled to the Bright Falls AWE area. After the thing was finally killed, the Investigation Sector received an alert of an AWE taking place Bright Falls in 2023.

Legacy

Hartman’s investigation would prove to be useful for the FBC’s research of the Dark Presence and the Cauldron Lake threshold. Ironically, however, Doctors Jules and Diana Marmont, co-leaders of the Research Facility WA-03, more commonly known as the "Lake House", would commit the same crimes that Hartman had been detained for, including using artists, namely Rudolf Lane, to conduct experiments.

Trivia

• His first name, "Emil", is derived from the Latin "aemulus," meaning "imitating, rivaling or emulating." His surname Hartman, is derived from the German "Hartmann", which can be translated as "Hard/though man/person". Alternatively, it may also originate from the Middle Low German word "hërte", which means "stag". His surname may also be in reference to his profession of helping artist ("art man").
  • Another possibility is that it is a reference to Johan Haartman (b. 1725 - d. 1787), a Finnish doctor of some historical significance.
• In the Bright Falls miniseries, Jake Fischer's notes identify him as "Sydney" instead of "Emil".
• Scanning the Microsoft Tag in "Episode 4 The Truth" on the second floor of the Cauldron Lake Lodge provided Dr. Hartman's phone number: 1-857-239-7601. By dialing it, a recorded message by Hartman (with an echoing voice resembling that of a Taken) explaining his clinic's purpose would play. As of August 2011, this number no longer appears to be valid. Accordingly, this Tag, as well as all the others, were replaced by a QR Code in the PC port and Alan Wake Remastered.
• A message written by Cynthia Weaver using light-sensitive paint that reads "Don't Trust Emil" can be found on a rock on the Cauldron Lake Lodge's hedge maze.
• Clay Steward notes in The Alan Wake Files that Hartman has a private art collection reputed to be “one of the largest gatherings of art depicting bizarre, unnatural phenomena.”
• Dr. Hartman was designated as a "Class 2" paracriminal by the Federal Bureau of Control.

Appearances

• Bright Falls
  • Episode 2: Time Flies (first appearance)
  • Episode 5: Off the Record
• Alan Wake
  • Episode 1: Nightmare (on a book cover)
  • Episode 2: Taken
  • Episode 3: Ransom (siluete)
  • Episode 4: The Truth
  • Special 1: The Signal (Imaginary Emil)
  • Special 2: The Writer (Imaginary Emil)
• Psycho Thriller
• The Alan Wake Files (photograph and transcribed conversation)
• Control
  • Expansion 2: AWE
• Alan Wake 2 (mentioned)

Gallery

Bright Falls

Dr. Hartman meets Jake Fischer.

Hartman tells Fischer about what inspired him to write The Creator's Dilemma.

Hartman bid farewell to Jake.

Ditto.

Hartman signs a copy of The Creator's Dilemma.

Hartman listens to Fischer.

Ditto, close-up.

Hartman checks Jake's pulse.

"Stay with us".

Hartman calmly watches Fischer recoil in pain from the light.

Hartman watches Fischer run away.

Alan Wake

From The Alan Wake Files.

Hartman meets Alan Wake.

Control

Emil as The Third Thing in Control's AWE expansion

From The Art and Making of Control.

See also

Manuscript pages:

• Hartman Watches Wake Fall
• Hartman's Mission
• Hartman and the Power Failure
• Hartman Sedates Wake
• Hartman During the Missing Week (Nightmare mode only)
• Hartman Considers Mott and Wake

Recordings

• Alice's Call for Help
• Hartman Reflects on Lane
• Agent Nightingale's Mighty Authority
• Dr. Hartman's Notes: The Darkness
• Dr. Hartman Interrogation
• Dr. Hartman's Notes: Next Steps