- Rho-ha, convicted of the murder of Major McIntyre in "Pandora's Box" and sentenced to life in prison, chooses to commit suicide by dissipating his body. The Synod encouraged him to do so to end his “contamination” of the Commonality.
- Joshua Doors invites Lili to dinner.
William Boone
- Boone has a master’s degree in criminal justice.
Lili Marquette
- Lili shuttled Jonathan Doors while he was working with the Taelons.
- Lili has commanded troops in combat.
Ronald Sandoval
- Sandoval is an attorney, having joined the FBI right out of law school.
Joshua Doors
- Joshua has a distant relationship with his father, never really getting to know him.
- Doors is the youngest New York City District Attorney in history at 31 years old.
- Jonathan Doors assigned Willie Collier to Joshua as a bodyguard.
- Joshua is supportive of the Taelons, but believes they should be subject to the rule of law.
The Taelons
- Individuals
- Rho-ha
- The Taelons removed most of the human DNA from Rho-ha’s system; the remainder still drives Rho-ha’s violence and causes him to exhibit Capt. Johnson’s features.
- Physiology
- Because the Taelon body is composed primarily of energy, Taelons cannot be injured or killed by bullets (or presumably any other projectile weapon), and a human can pass a hand through a Taelon’s body.
Miscellaneous
- Even the Taelons’ most strident supporters demanded Rho-ha be tried in a human court.
- The chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court is Evelyn Hill.
