Malte Kerzach was a University of California, Three Rivers student who became embroiled in a search for the missing Dr. James Zanasiu in 2033.
Personality[]
Malte was the most scientific of the trio. He showed a high interest in science while in college and approached every problem from a logical perspective. He was also sarcastic and tended to be abrasive when he disagreed with someone. At the beginning he showed signs of speciesism and classism from his rich upbringing, but he gets over this by the end. His sheltered upbringing would cause the trio problems as he had no street smarts whatsoever.
Early history[]
Malte was born in 2014 to Dr. Yuri Kerzach and Alexandra Kerzach.
He was best friends with James Zanasiu Jr and they became roommates at UC3R. ("CS:Pilot")
2033[]
The Friday before finals of the 2033 year, Junior convinced Malte to participate in the Nudie Run. They encountered Florence Brennan while trapped outside the dorms with no clothes. The three decided to solve the long-lost mystery of Dr. Zanasiu's disappearance.
The three traveled to Carson City Camp and met General Mitchell Crota who unwittingly gives them the bridge coordinates Dr. Zanasiu used. That night, the three sleep in the UC3R dorm room, but get attacked by Agent Pomson. When Florence knocks Pomson out, the three flee to Washington DC in the hopes of meeting a contact of Florence's. ("CS:Pilot")
After reaching the Smithsonian, the contact turns out to be ROSS, who has been imprisoned as a museum exhibit in a wing dedicated to the Einstein-Rosen bridge. The three break him out of the Smithsonian, and discover that there are four potential coordinate sets where James could have gone. They investigate the first, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but it turns out ot be wrong. ("CS:Breaking Up")
The next set, in the impoverished city Tenant's Way, is a bust too. However, they make a powerful contact, Cimarron, who grants them one future jump through the Tenant's Way bridge whenever they want it. ("CS:Under-Covered")
The next set brings them to the tropical Hughes Island, where they unwittingly run afoul of the Iromish tribe. They also meet Johan, who tells them about their parent's past history with Pelvanida and a terrorist force that fought them back in 2009. When the coordinates prove incorrect, the trio head to the desert settlement where the terrorists used to live. ("CS:The Man Who Was an Island")
Agent Pomson proves herself to be working with the surviving settlers, and Junior is forced to fight a one-man battle to free his friends. He learns from Werner Donitz that he and Florence are doomed to die an early death from Shelton's disease. Junior untimately defeats Pomson in single-hand combat, but the coordinates prove to be wrong. After the three friends break up over disagreements, Malte returns to school for finals, then visits his father's house to interrogate him about his past. ("CS:Signs of the Father")
Malte reconicles with his friends after he solves the bridge mystery, and sends his friends through the bridge to meet Dr. Zanasiu.
Between 2033 and 2053[]
Malte witnesses Dr. Zanasiu's return, escorts the scientist to Carson City Camp, and helps inoculate the world from Shelton's disease using Dr. Zanasiu's antibodies. (The Disease) He then spends much of the next 20 years inventing the bridge lock. He also becomes a government agent.
2053[]
He personally cures Dr. Zanasiu, Junior, an Florence when they arrive through the bridge. When Pomson informs him he has won a Presidential Medal of Freedom, he promises to show his two friends as much of the new world as he can, now that they are trapped in it. ("CS:The Meaning of Love")
Trivia[]
- Malte thinks he was saved from Shelton's disease because his father never jumped through the bridge. In actuality, his father did jump through the bridge, during the events of Pavlov's Checkmate. LettuceBacon&Tomato stated that this was a plot error that occurred because Kerzach was not originally a part of Pavlov's Checkmate, but was added at Serris' request. He suggests that Yuri Kerzach simply never told anybody about that incident, even his wife.
- Malte is named for Malte279, a founder and admin on the Gang of Five.
- It is unusual for Malte to have a German name, unlike the rest of his family who has Russian names. LettuceBacon&Tomato has stated his parents chose a German name to honor Werner and Hans Donitz.
- Somewhat fittingly, Werner gave his own daughter a Russian first name.