- James Pike stole Sandoval's skril, but it was later returned to him.
Ronald Sandoval
- Sandoval lives at Companion Headquarters in Washington D.C.
Dr. Julianne Belman
- Dr. Belman works for a company called Comtech.
- Dr. Belman was involved in the “experiment in rehabilitation” two years ago in which James Pike became the first human to receive a CVI, his having the MI to “love humankind.”
The Taelons
- Agenda on Earth
- Pike’s dying words to Boone: “You will be their [S]aqa[r]ava…Their world is inside the mind they gave you—your implant…When you see, when you know, you will judge them…They are afraid…The sleeper will come.”
- Attitudes and Beliefs
- Da’an recites the Taelon myth on Pike’s cell wall by heart: “The sacred texts tell of a sign, a dire omen appearing in the heavens. Two avatars of grace, Um[r]athma and [S]aqa[r]ava, quarrel over the meaning of the omen. Um[r]athma vanquishes [S]aqa[r]ava and casts him into the void. But the void does not consume [S]aqa[r]ava. Through anguish and denials he emerges with the fury of truth that burns away all the illusions of Um[r]athma, the voice of all lies.”
- Da’an: “Truth reveals itself in enigma. Let us approach it with awe as diviners of the one mystery.”
- Language
- “Um[r]athma [s]inaüi [e]uhu[r]a [S]aqa[r]ava i[z]uli im[r]a naüi[z]i um[r]a [S]aqa[r]ava uma” - the words spoken by Pike to Da’an
- Da’an’s parting word to the Synod: “[e]u[r]a”
- Psychology
- Da’an: “The implant may have allowed his mind to evolve into a neutral state suggestive of our own collective sentience.” This indicates that the Taelons are mentally linked in a group consciousness.
- Technology
- CVI: The CVI can allow an Implant to tolerate tremendous pain and to switch his or her vital signs on and off. However, it also has a built-in obsolescence of about two years. Boone explains that the “mind works at such incredible speed that eventually it just crashes.” Symptoms of a CVI breakdown include bleeding ears and erratic, violent behavior. It is unclear if the Taelons knew about the obsolescence.
Miscellaneous
- Pike has a poster on his cell wall featuring a picture of Da’an and the words “Working Together for Peace.”
- Da’an attends the All Nations Ecumenical Conference.
