AnaplianObserver
A woman who observes the drone's coordinated attack on an army with a knife missile and scout missile.
Skaffen-AmtiskawCulture drone
An offensive drone accompanying Sma. It is heavily criticized by Sma for using excessive force, tracks Zakalwe's movements, and adopts a human-like avatar for a fancy dress party.
drone
Diziet SmaCulture representative
A Culture representative using a machine stand-in body at a peace conference, who propositions a composer before leaving to recruit Zakalwe, and later tends to him when he is just a head.
SmaDizzy
Relstoch SussepinComposer
A musician attending a peace conference who is courted and eventually propositioned by Sma for a one-night stand.
Mr. Sussepin
Cheradenine ZakalweZakalwe's Sister / Estranged Relative
The main character, who operates under aliases, survives horrific accidents like a spillway crash, is haunted by his childhood trauma involving Elethiomel and Darckense, and conducts interventions like escorting 'the Chosen'.
ZakalweGeneralMr. StaberindeMajor ZakalweSheradCheriSir ZakalweDaracProfessorHethe mercenarythe strangerthe young manLivvy
Tsoldrin BeychaeScholar / Political figure
An aging scholar and politician whom Zakalwe rescues from a crashed capsule and tries to convince to actively intervene in impending galactic conflicts.
Beychae
Stod PericeMedic
A medical professional tasked with overseeing the two-hundred-day process of regrowing Zakalwe's body from his severed head.
Rogtam-BarJunior commander
A subordinate officer who rescues the General and informs him that his unorthodox plan involving a dam successfully wiped out the enemy high command.
Bar
The WomanAssociate of the plotting man
A cross-eyed enemy soldier who attempts to assassinate the General, gets tied to a chair in a flooded cottage, and hurls constant insults at him.
assassinauxiliary
Man at the window / Party hostPolitical figure or operative in Solotol
A man plotting how to handle Staberinde's influence via the Vanguard Foundation, who later hosts the 'Injured Party' and offers Staberinde a meeting with Tsoldrin Beychae.
MollenServant / Enforcer
A powerfully built, scarred, gray-haired man whose tongue was cruelly removed by his employers.
ElethiomelChildhood rival
A boy raised with the Zakalwe children who became Cheradenine's rival, was involved in a traumatic event in a summerhouse with Darckense, and accidentally caused Darckense's crippling injury during an attack.
Elethiomel the Chairmaker
DarckenseSister of Cheradenine
Cheradenine's sister whose pelvis was shattered by a bullet Elethiomel fired, and who was later found in a compromising or traumatic situation with Elethiomel in the summerhouse.
Darkle
LivuetaSister of Cheradenine
One of Cheradenine's sisters who tried to protect Darckense during the attack on the stone boat.
Little doctorSurgeon/Entertainer
A small man operating a machine that inflicts painless novelty injuries on guests at a decadent party.
Girl (guider-through)Tribal guide/companion
An untried young woman assigned to sit with Zakalwe while he experiences a drug trip, whom he realizes is doomed to be erased by history despite her grand ambitions.
Ubrel ShiolJailer / Executioner
A woman posing as a librarian or research assistant who is revealed by Zakalwe to be a highly trained jailer and potential executioner for Beychae.
Ethnarch KerianTyrant
A terrified ruler confronted in his impregnable bedroom by a young man (Zakalwe) who forces him into peaceful exile to neutralize his political power.
Dr. StapUnderground doctor
A discrete doctor traveling incognito who operates a tall medical machine in a ship's Starlight Lounge, coerced into helping Zakalwe at gunpoint.
Saaz InsileFellow pilot
A pilot who visits the hospitalized Zakalwe to explain that the other drafted soldiers resent Zakalwe because his voluntary fighting highlights their own fear and desire to escape the war.
ThoneSquadron Commanding Officer
A perfumed, insincere commanding officer involved in a coup plot who implicitly threatens Zakalwe in the hospital, letting him know his military career there is over.
TalibeNurse
A calm, kind nurse attending to Zakalwe as he recovers from severe head injuries in the military hospital.
ChoriAlien operative
An eight-legged, red and purple alien with flower-like mouth parts who explains the structure of Contact and Special Circumstances to Zakalwe in a café.
NapoereaHigh Priest / Leader
A religious and political leader who resists Zakalwe's plan to destroy their symbolic spacecraft in a decapitation strike.
ErensCrew Member
A fellow passenger on the mercy ship Absent Friends who insists everyone awake on the voyage is running from something and tries to provoke Zakalwe into arguing.
KyCrew Member
A crew member on the Absent Friends who argues with Erens and Zakalwe about whether stories and negotiations must have conclusions.
KeiverNoble/Advisor in besieged castle
A man sheltering in a cold, besieged castle alongside Zakalwe, acting as a ward to the princess Neinte and trying to maintain a semblance of courtly manners.
NeintePrincess
A young girl and princess hiding in the besieged castle, under Keiver's technical wardship.
princess
Woman from parktownVisitor / Prostitute
A woman who visits Zakalwe at his beach shack every few days, to whom he tells cryptic, tragic stories in a language she does not understand.
Young manMurderer / Attacker
A youth from the parktown who rapes and kills a girl, then attempts to kill Zakalwe but is repeatedly disarmed, humiliated, and ultimately killed by the townspeople.
the youththe boy
CullisZakalwe's companion
A gray-haired, one-eyed older man wearing a too-large field marshal's jacket. He sleeps through the beginning of the bombardment, carrying wine bottles in his jacket which he later mistakes for his own blood.
the older manthe old man