Unknown

* Adult
* Young
* Old

*"Nothing is in vain. No breath. No step. No word. No pain. An eternal miracle of the One."*
―Unknown to Bernd Doppler[src]
The **Unknown**, also known as the **Origin**, is the son of Jonas Kahnwald and Martha Nielsen, being born of two different worlds. He was loyal to his mother's organization Erit Lux throughout his life, and he always appeared in a form of three versions of himself from three different times: as a child, an adult and an elderly man. The Unknown ruthlessly orchestrated events of the Knot to be the same in order to preserve the time paradox family tree. He was considered the Origin point of the family tree, since he fathered Tronte Nielsen, who fathered Ulrich Nielsen, who fathered Mikkel Nielsen, who fathered Jonas Kahnwald, who fathered the Unknown, and the cycle repeated. When the Knot was destroyed, the Unknown and all of his descendants were erased from existence.

## Biography

Virtually nothing is known of his life growing up. He was conceived on November 6, 2019, in the bedroom of the alternate Martha Nielsen. For a brief time there was an overlapping version of his embryonic self after his mother traveled to Adam's world to save his father Jonas Kahnwald from the apocalypse. When two overlapping realities emerged and his mother was sent in one direction or another, so was he. The Martha that returned to Adam was imprisoned for carrying him in her. Believing that destroying the origin inside Martha would destroy the knot, Adam cast the power of two apocalypse down on her. That Martha and the Unknown (in the form of the unborn baby she was carrying) disappeared, but nothing else happened and they both survived due to the other version of Martha returning to Eva instead.

It can be assumed that he lives his entire life with his mother and that his time is always spent with his multiple versions. It is unknown what he does in his free time, but he works for his mother as part of Erit Lux in order to preserve the knot.

### 1888 (Adam's world)

#### September 23

After Gustav Tannhaus receives time travelers from the year 2020 in 1888, he sets off to the nearest large city to spread word by telegram. To prevent this, the Unknown stops the carriage and kills the old man. The trio returns to Eva at the Erit Lux headquarters.

### 1954 (Adam's world)

#### September 24

Returning to Adam's world after giving Eva the three artifacts, the Unknown meets with his son Tronte Nielsen in 1954. The adult Unknown claims he gave the boy his name and knew his mother Agnes. He gives Tronte the ouroboros bracelet as he leaves.

The three meet Doris Tiedemann at the Winden church, talking to her about Agnes and claiming that he used to be a pastor. He reveals that Doris's husband Egon is cheating on her. This contributes to the couple's divorce.

Finally, the trio approach the mayor of Winden outside the town hall, forcing him to sign the permit for the power plant at gunpoint after the coal lobby blocks it.

### 1986 (Adam's world)

#### June 21

The middle-aged Unknown is sent by Eva to Adam's world to trigger the incident that occurs at the power plant, opening the passage in the caves. This creates the nuclear waste that is later stored in barrels, which fuels the time travel machines, as well as the God particle responsible for the apocalypse in both worlds.

### 1987 (Adam's world)

#### September 21

The trio of the child, adult, and old Unknown arrive in the Sic Mundus headquarters in 1987, taking the blueprints for the portable time machine and setting the room on fire. They proceed to Bernd Doppler's house, where they kill him and take his set of master keys to the power plant.

#### September 22

The Unknown breaks into the power plant at night and searches through Claudia Tiedemann's files for the data from the volume control system. He is found by Jasmin Trewen, Claudia's secretary, and kills her.

### 1986 (Eva's world)

#### June 21

The child and the elderly Unknown are sent by Eva back to 1986 in their own world to trigger the incident at the power plant.

### 2019 (Eva's world)

#### November 5

The Unknown returns from Adam's world with the three artifacts. He gives them to Eva.

#### November 6

While he is being conceived that same night, he writes the final words and closes the triquetra notebook at the Erit Lux headquarters, revealing himself as the author of the notebook recording all mysterious events in Winden.

#### November 8

Eva explains to Martha that she is pregnant with the Unknown, which Eva believes to be the origin of all life. The child Unknown goes to hug this young Martha for the first time.

The Unknown ceases to exist after Jonas and Martha travel to the origin world and prevent the deaths of H.G. Tannhaus's family.

## Appearances

* *Dark* Season 3 Episode 1: "Deja-vu"
* *Dark* Season 3 Episode 2: "The Survivors"
* *Dark* Season 3 Episode 3: "Adam and Eva"
* *Dark* Season 3 Episode 4: "The Origin"
* *Dark* Season 3 Episode 6: "Light and Shadow"
* *Dark* Season 3 Episode 8: "The Paradise"

## Quotes

"We think we're all immortal, but in reality there's often only one heartbeat seperating us from the hereafter"

## Trivia

* The adult and old versions of the Unknown are played by real-life father and son, Jakob and Hans Diehl.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 *Dark* Season 3 Episode 6: "Light and Shadow"
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 *Dark* Season 3 Episode 7: "Between the Time"
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 *Dark* Season 3 Episode 8: "The Paradise"
4. ↑ *Dark* Season 3 Episode 1: "Deja-vu"
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 *Dark* Season 3 Episode 2: "The Survivors"
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 *Dark* Season 3 Episode 3: "Adam and Eva"
7. ↑ *Dark* Season 3 Episode 3: "Adam and Eva"
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 *Dark* Season 3 Episode 4: "The Origin"
9. ↑ *Dark* season 3 episode 4 "The origin"