# Abner Perry — At the Earth’s Core character guide

> Abner Perry in At the Earth’s Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Perry, Dear old Perry

**First appearance:** 0000-prologue

## Snapshot

A devout old inventor whose lifetime obsession with a mechanical subterranean prospector drags his young companion into the earth's crust.

## Who they are

Abner Perry has spent a long life perfecting an iron mole that can bore through solid rock, and his scientific pride in the machine outweighs even his fear of death. When the device plunges past its intended depth, he curses the stubborn mechanism rather than pray, revealing that his true religion is discovery. His relentless curiosity and stubborn genius keep the expedition pressing forward into the unknown.

## In the story

### [I: Toward the Eternal Fires](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/at_the_earth_s_core_se/chapters/i-toward-the-eternal-fires)

Inventor of the subterranean prospector; accompanies Innes and prays as they face death.

### [A Strange World](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/at_the_earth_s_core_se/chapters/ii-a-strange-world)

Revived by David after unconsciousness; expresses wonder at the strange world and theorizes they may be inside the Earth.

### [A Change of Masters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/at_the_earth_s_core_se/chapters/iii-a-change-of-masters)

Reunited with David in the ape village; explains that they have entered the hollow earth and are now in the inner world of Pellucidar.

### [IV: Dian the Beautiful](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/at_the_earth_s_core_se/chapters/iv-dian-the-beautiful)

Struggles with the long marches; identifies prehistoric sea creatures as Plesiosaurs and Ichthyosaurs; his habit of praying is used by David to intimidate the Sagoths.

### [Slaves](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/at_the_earth_s_core_se/chapters/v-slaves)

Moral objections to killing Mahars; reveals Mahar history and secret formula; proposes stealing it for humanity's benefit.

### [The Beginning of Horror](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/at_the_earth_s_core_se/chapters/vi-the-beginning-of-horror)

Identifies the thag as a prehistoric Bos; separated from David in the chaos.

### [VII: Freedom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/at_the_earth_s_core_se/chapters/vii-freedom)

Mentioned as the friend David left behind in Phutra; his plight motivates David's actions and weighs on his conscience.

### [IX: The Face of Death](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/at_the_earth_s_core_se/chapters/ix-the-face-of-death)

David thinks of Perry and his duty to return to him in Phutra.

### [Phutra Again](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/at_the_earth_s_core_se/chapters/x-phutra-again)

Mentioned as the friend David must rescue from Phutra.

### [XI: Four Dead Mahars](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/at_the_earth_s_core_se/chapters/xi-four-dead-mahars)

Waits with Ghak in the upper levels while David carries out the plan.

### [Pursuit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/at_the_earth_s_core_se/chapters/xii-pursuit)

Exhausted from the journey, he is carried by Ghak; his presence slows the group, but he is not left behind.

### [The Sly One](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/at_the_earth_s_core_se/chapters/xiii-the-sly-one)

Carried to safety by Ghak; not directly active in this chapter.

### [Back to Earth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/at_the_earth_s_core_se/chapters/xv-back-to-earth)

Prepares the prospector for the return journey, inspects machinery, and is suspected by Ghak of possessing the Great Secret book.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/at_the_earth_s_core_se/characters/perry
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/at_the_earth_s_core_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/at_the_earth_s_core_se/characters