So... is Kalkstein a human or a "non-human"?

[Eoghain]

So... is Kalkstein a human or a "non-human"?

After all: he was also the only non-elf/non-dwarf living in the non-human district.Moreover, and this is the part that I don't understand: Why is Kalkstein in Old Vizima?And please: nobody say because the gamer needs him.More rational for him would be to leave Vizima again until the place is safe . . . unless he's assisting Scoia'tael, somehow."More evidence that his ancestors were gnomes", perhaps?

 

[Flash]

I've never seen this strange or as a problem. Kalkstein lives where he wants. He has a lot of money and is an eccentric scientist.

 

[Eoghain]

Eccentric, or dumb? We're led to assume that he's a genius (he intuited the existence of atoms, after all!), so in exchange for that he could very likely be absentminded -- we're given evidence of that, as well . . . as well as some carelessness about whom he deals in order to obtain what he needs to obtain for his experiments. (Even the seediest dealers know his name, yet the Order never pesters him. Interesting.)But remaining in Vizima while Vizima has turned into a warzone and is burning down . . . especially when you're somebody who, having not apparently taken sides, would therefore be protected by nobody.... is just stupid. Plain stupid. Kalkstein can be foolish and very careless, but he's surely not stupid. (And... two mercenaries are going to protect him? Come on.)As for his motivations, I suppose one can only suppose two things, here:1. There are special requirements for his current project -- which, for some reason, cannot wait until after the conflict, duh -- that keep him here.2. He's dealing with the Scoia'tael.I'm putting my stock into the Scoia'tael because allying one's self with the Salamandra is to ally one's self with humans who're even worse than the Order, humans whom even the Order and the King hate and want to eliminate.And, obviously if he'd made any arrangements with the Order and had been found out by the Scoia'tael: he'd already be dead....Since he's certainly not under the protection of our ever-so-unreliable Witcher.And, remember: In Ch.1 he was outside of Vizima and trying to get in. So, we know he travels.One can assume he lives there and/or at the moment has pressing business to attend to there... but what prompted him to leave Vizima previously? Surely, therefore, nothing is stopping him from leaving, and continuing whatever pressing business he has in Vizima later on, once things settle down.Personally, I think he's made deals with the Scoia'tael, is working with them and is therefore under their protection. That's why he made his home in the "nonhuman" ghetto in the Temple District . . . it's also why he's made his home in Old Vizima after the Scoia'tael secured the district he chose to live in.The only question I have is: why the Order has not been pestering him in previous chapters.Two mercenaries aren't going to explain away anything at all.

 

[Flash]

That's an interesting deep analysis but I wonder...why do you bother yourself so much?It's just a game and quite possibly it doesn't have any meaning. There's no deep purpouse behind all of this. Same way you can wonder why Zahin Schmartz is in Old Vyzima in Chapter 5, why Sandal is in Fort Drakon before final battle (DA:O), why Grom set his camp in a valley with a trolls and dangerous wildlife (Gothic 2), why Samia is in Windspear Dungeons, I mean it's suicidal to be there (BG 2), ..., etc. There are NPCs in strange places in almost every game.

 

[Eoghain]

That's an interesting deep analysis but I wonder...why do you bother yourself so much?It's just a game

As of this date: Four thousand, three hundred thirty seven posts by Flash on a forum concerning a computer game.

 

[Seeker.217]

Well then I will put my 1788 post in saying its just a game too LOL . That has us thinking which is not a bad thing I never gave it much though in to how Kalkstein looks always thought that being he is a alchemist his looks where due to his experiment's

 

[tommy5761]

One can assume he lives there and/or at the moment has pressing business to attend to there... but what prompted him to leave Vizima previously?

If i remember correctly he was returning from a convention in Oxenfurt

 

[dvrisextrct4sale]

I think this is an interesting post. Kalkstein is among the more compelling of the characters in the game. Does he appear in the novels? After playing the game, I'm inclined to go back and read the novels to learn more about these characters. The name "Kalkstein" is an Ashkenazi Jewish surname meaning "limestone." In a way, his facial features call to mind some old anti-semetic caricatures.

 

[Eoghain]

The name "Kalkstein" is an Ashkenazi Jewish surname meaning "limestone." In a way, his facial features call to mind some old anti-semetic caricatures.

Interesting. Though if the author or the developers chose that name deliberately... not sure what kind of high significance "limestone" would have to them. Hmm... .The 'Jewish' connection, anyhow, obviously fits in well with the whole species-vs.-species atmosphere in Vizima... or racism if you like, whatever... and also helps connect him with the Ghetto of the Disenfranchised. He's also, by his very nature (as an "eccentric scientist", as Flash. puts it) an outcast . . . so I guess pretty much in all senses he belongs in whatever part of Vizima is most... well... 'outcasty'And to answer Flash's question, by the way ("why do you bother yourself so much") : the game is well-written, it's a strongly narrative game with somewhat developed characters... so, almost like a book (right? a book? right?), or a thoughtful movie, it lends itself to discussion. The game wants us to talk about it and think about it and ask questions, and it's fun to give the damn game what it wants. So, lighten up, man.

 

[pudi0072000]

Kalkstein lives in the non-human district, so I always assumed he was a gnome, or part-gnome. (Doesn't he say his ancestors were gnomes, or did I just imagine that?) Maybe humans consider him more non-human than human. Otherwise, I have no idea why he'd choose to live with non-humans. He never seemed pro anything; he's too focused on his research to care what's going on in the world.And when you first start Ch 5, Zoltan says there's a rumor the King/Order/humans were relocating all of the non-humans to Old Vizima because they're more susceptible to the plague, which would explain why the dentist is there, too, if it's true.

 

[Treasa]

Oh, I had it figured differently.Kalkstein's house is half-way between the port and the trade quarter. I imagined he needed to be away from heavily populated areas because of his experiments and he couldn't afford to live in the rich district (college bills, costs of equipment and ingredients for experiments, you know) and that house was quite near where he would get shipments from. I assumed he was part- gnome because no one else in the entire game looks like him.

 

[Etainne]

Now see , I thought he was really smart to be next door to a banker ( easy funding " say neighbor can I borrow a cup of orens?" ) and down the street from the blacksmith ( "say neighbor, can you make a coupled attenator part for me?")and besides, it's a zoning issue. ( Stinky lab experiments just won't do near the New Naracourt. )additionally, I thought the guy moved into the Old Vizima part of town because he wanted to watch the Striga and maybe conduct experiments . But I agree that his location in the swamp tower would have been just as good, except for the flooding issue. I always thought he had a mixed heritage from somewhere but I didn't have enough to go on to guess about from where. He could be zarricanian or whatever as far as I know. Fun topic btw

 

[vilgefortze]

Gnomes were great inventors. Kalkstein seems to have some of that blood too...

 

[drag0ntamer]

To me he looked like a monkey. He didn't necessarily look human, however he could of just been ugly.

 

[vilgefortze]

To me he looked like a monkey. He didn't necessarily look human, however he could of just been ugly.

Some respect for the man please...?

 

[drag0ntamer]

Just saying

 

[Silverio13]

I think he is a crazy, ugly and brilliant man.

So underrated, so exhausting, so Love