Samuel Gerst

"Samuel, when the spells of anger come, I want you to play this recording and remember that I am the proudest woman in Columbia to have been your wife."

- Hattie Gerst

Samuel Gerst was a citizen of Columbia. In BioShock Infinite, he appears as a Handyman.

History
Samuel came to Columbia with his wife Hattie. A deeply religious man with a gifted mind, his personal belief was that science was the slow revelation of God’s blueprint. Around 1908, he started working in the labs on Monument Island studying Elizabeth's] powers. At the time, it wasn't known that excessive exposure to the [[Siphon|sipons had caustic effects to the human body. After two years of exposure, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer, a death sentence at the time. Hattie prayed to the Comstock for a cure to her husband's illness, and Jeremiah Fink provided a solution in the form of Bettermen's Autobodies, better known as Handymen. Although seriously hesitant, Samuel submitted to the procedure in order to save his life and became encased in a the massive metal body.

After the transformation Samuel quickly faced ridicule from other citizens of Columbia. He became enraged as they said his Handyman body made him more machine than man and left him without a soul. However, thoughout it all, Hattie's love never wavered and her words soothed him when angry. However, tragedy struck soon again when she was diagnosed with a fatal illness and slowly passed away. Before dying she left a recording of her undying devotion for Samuel to play when life got hard. With nothing left to live for, he went to work for The Founders defending Columbia from the Vox Populi.

BioShock Infinite
When Booker and Elizabeth enter a Tear to an alternate reality where they believe Chen Lin's tools are back at his gunshop, they find themselves in a Shantytown where Vox have orchestrated a successful revolt.

Upon investigating the area, they find a pair of Vox Populi agents in front of the Graveyard Shift bar. They've just defeated a Handyman and are having their picture taken with his corpse. That Handyman was Samuel who died clutching Hattie's Voxophone close to his heart.