Erna Uhlenhuth

"The hand that spun a legend will also become a legend itself."

— Emma Wielant's gravestone —

Emma Wielant (1972-2004) was the author of the Epitaph of the Twilight and played a pivotal role in the origin of The World.

History

Early Life (1972-1995) - Before the Epitaph of Twilight

Emma was born August 8th, 1972 into a rich German family that ran an old winery near the Rhine. Emma's mother died while she was still at an early age and her father died when she was 18. By her father's will, Emma's uncle became her new guardian and she was granted an inheritance in the form of a trust that she couldn't access until she turned 20. In an attempt to get her inheritance, Emma's uncle offered to legally adopt her, but she saw through him and refused the offer. Unable to access her inheritance at the time, Emma enrolled in a nursing school so she could support herself in the meantime. However, on the morning of Emma's 20th birthday, stress and overwork from having to support herself caused her to cough up blood from her lungs in a case of hemoptysis. The case was a minor one that Emma was able to control and she returned to better health, but she still checked into a health resort in Southern France in accordance with her physician's advice. While staying there, Emma had some type of supernatural experience which led her to pursue studies in spiritual consciousness and existence (anthroposophy)、and the works of Rudolf Steiner. It was then that she began work on the Epitaph.

Late Life (1996-2004) - The Beginning and The End?

Emma's Gravestone

In 1996, Emma met a talented German programmer named Harald Hoerwick. Harald was also interested in anthroposophy and was using it to further uncover and develop a relationship between computers and humans. It was their common interest in this field that gave them a chance to meet and upon doing so, Emma developed an interest in Harald's talents while Harald developed an interest in Emma. However, Emma was already involved with another man over 20 years older than her and any love Harald may have had for her would not be returned. Emma's work, the "Epitaph of Twilight," would soon be publicly posted online for a short time with features that prevented computers from making any direct copies. Before Emma could finish her work however, she died in an auto accident while on her way to a meeting with Harald.

Shortly thereafter, Emma's original work was lost as her site was shutdown and Pluto's Kiss wiped out the Internet. Affected by losing Emma, Harald continued his work on the beta version of The World, Fragment, determined not to let Emma's death truly be the end. After Fragment's testing started, rumors about it being based on the Epitaph of Twilight began circulating and even deeper secrets hidden and locked within the game began making themselves known.

Trivia

• Both the English and the Japanese VA of Emma in the games, also did the voices of Helba (in SIGN too) and Kaoru Asaba ("Office Lady") from Liminality.
• Her gravestone reads in German: "Creator of legends, rest here now, as your own legend."