Alex Hartman

Alex Hartman was the former CEO of Hammer Valley Hydro before the company's purchase by the Walter Corporation and eventual bankruptcy. Hartman is never seen in person, and references to him are only found through documents and tape recorders left behind in various locations he's visited.

Stalburg Wiki has a list of quotes relating to Alex Hartman.

Biography
Alex Hartman was the CEO of Hammer Valley Hydro, the second largest energy provider in Stalburg. Presumably, the construction of the Black Rock Nuclear Power Plant outranked his company for energy production, causing financial problems for his company. The problems escalated, and Hartman gradually became stressed and unstable. After the Walter Corporation acquisition and subsequent bankruptcy of his company, Hartman began to despise Jeff Walter, assuming he was to blame for Hammer Valley's bankruptcy. On August 8th, 1986, the metro accident occurs, and Hartman's wife and child are among the passengers that died in the event. Hartman asserted that Jeff Walter was the responsible for of all of his problems and vowed to exact revenge.

Hartman began a thorough investigation, searching every district of Stalburg for possible leads on Walter's location, and came to believe that Walter was out to get him too. Hartman allied himself with the former co-founder of the Bergmann Group, Eric Kleinmann, who provided him with dynamite, and was approached by the former CEO of Stalburg Steel, Mikhail Rosenthal. Hartman setup a small base of operations in a sewer system underneath Stalburg, and at some point left a trap for Jeff Walter below the foundation of Walter's headquarters. When his investigation began to reach a dead end, Hartman somehow uncovered that Rosenthal was allied with Walter, and was informing him about Hartman's plans. Hartman interrogated and killed Rosenthal for this, and discovered that Walter was hiding in a villa owned by Rosenthal.

On December 19th, 1986, Hartman and Kleinmann broke into the villa during Max Koller's interview with Walter. Eric was dismissed by Hartman when Walter provided a location to find Xeander Berg, but Hartman stayed behind, and shot Max Koller when he attempted to disarm him. Hartman either shot Walter when he attempted to defend himself, or witnessed Walter kill himself. Afterwords, Hartman was shocked with what transpired, and isn't heard from again.

Jeff Walter
After Hammer Valley Hydro's bankruptcy, Hartman developed an obsession and deep hatred for Walter, blaming him for the bankruptcies of his own and numerous other companies the Walter Corporation acquired, and the circumstances in which the metro accident occurred. His actions throughout the game are dedicated to take revenge against Walter in a self-proclaimed crusade to "save the city from Walter".

Eric Kleinmann
Kleinmann was Hartman's partner when they worked together in attempts to locate Jeff Walter and Xeander Berg. Hartman admired Kleinmann as a "great man capable of great things", and was the initiator of their partnership, presumably with the promise of finding Berg. Hartman recorded an audio-log that he and Kleinmann would confront him together, showing a degree of trust between the two men, however Kleinmann began to doubt that Hartman would be able to find Berg.

Mikhail Rosenthal
Hartman initially assumed Rosenthal wanted to join him in his crusade to find Walter, but began to grow suspicious of him. Hartman's suspicions proved correct when he somehow discovered Rosenthal was working for Walter to keep an eye on Hartman. In retaliation, Hartman imprisoned Rosenthal, tortured him for information, and killed him. Hartman later realizes the atrocity of his actions, but dismisses it when he realizes he's closing in on Walter.

Trivia

 * It is theorized that Hartman visited the Underground City at some point, as one of his signature cigars can be found near the city gates control panel.


 * According to one of his notes in his sewer base, Hartman had a son who he set up with a foster family after his wife and other child's death. This may have some relevance to the mysterious "AH" of the ARG.