Character guide

Conn Maxwell

major

Also known as Once Conn, Young Mr. Conn Maxwell, Young Maxwell, Mr. Maxwell

Conn Maxwell comes home from university on Terra to a planet of mothballed war surplus and Merlin-obsessed dreamers, carrying knowledge he can't yet share. He must balance his father's schemes, the frenzy he inadvertently ignites, and his own guilt as the search for Merlin spirals into cults, riots, and a stock-market fever. His quiet campaign to rebuild industry—and his nightmares of an unstoppable machine—make him the reluctant fulcrum of Poictesme's fate.

Rodney Maxwell

major

Also known as Rod, Maxwell

Rodney Maxwell is a prominent local figure whose real interest is restarting business, not chasing the mythical computer. He uses the Merlin fever as a front for Trisystem & Interstellar Spacelines, quietly hiring the best men away from Kurt Fawzi's search. When the government moves to nationalize Merlin and arrest him on fraud charges, his foresight and financial maneuvering become the story's stabilizing counterweight.

Merlin

major

Also known as the Devil, Project Merlin, Prophet of Merlin, Merlin the Devil

Merlin is less a machine than a planetary obsession: a rumored super-computer from the Federation's glory days, sought by prospectors, politicians, and cultists alike. Its absence drives the plot—every faction wants it for different reasons, from legal reform to absolute power. As the search intensifies, Merlin becomes a mirror for Poictesme's desperation, and the question shifts from whether it exists to what its discovery would unleash.

Kurt Fawzi

supporting

Also known as Mr. Fawzi, Fawzi

Kurt Fawzi is the loudest voice in the Merlin hunt, convinced the computer lies at Force Command and that Rodney Maxwell has sabotaged the effort by hiring away his best people. He confronts Conn with accusations of indifference, but his real motive is a desperate hope that Merlin will restore planetary prosperity. His stubborn certainty and wounded pride make him both a comic and tragic figure in the early arc.

Colonel Klem Zareff

supporting

Also known as Zareff, Klem, Colonel

Colonel Klem Zareff is the closest thing Poictesme has to a military authority, running patrols that increasingly clash with outlaw gangs and rival prospecting companies. He's a pragmatic man in a world sliding toward chaos, loyal to the Maxwells but aware that the Merlin craze is spiraling beyond anyone's control. His men and his judgment become crucial as riots break out and the government flails.

Wade Lucas

supporting

Also known as Lucas

Wade Lucas is a scientist with brains and integrity—so honest he's made himself widely disliked by refusing to join the Merlin frenzy. He blames Conn and Rodney for the chaos, but his disillusionment makes him exactly the kind of person Conn needs to help straighten things out. His role is to offer a grounded, skeptical counterpoint to the planet's mass delusion.

Yves Jacquemont

supporting

Also known as Jacquemont

A shrewd Poictesme merchant who reads people and markets with equal ease, he steers his daughter's future while quietly assembling the men and machinery that will put a ship back in the sky.

Flora

minor

A woman on Poictesme, possibly connected to the Maxwell family.

Mike Shanlee

supporting

Also known as Shanlee, General Shanlee, General Mike Shanlee

A captured general who recites his serial number like a prayer, he guards a secret buried inside the walls of Force Command with a fanatic's calm and a bomb under his bed.

Sylvie Jacquemont

supporting

Also known as Sylvie, Jacquemont

Quick with a spot-welder and quicker to see through Conn's evasions, she is the merchant's daughter who treats the Merlin legend as a shared joke and a shared hope.

Tom Brangwyn

supporting

Also known as Brangwyn

A local pilot whose name surfaces whenever a ship needs moving or a job needs doing, he is the kind of practical friend Conn can count on when plans turn into work.

Jerry Rivas

minor

Also known as Rivas

A young man from Poictesme, part of Conn's circle.

Judge Ledue

minor

Also known as Ledue

A local judge on Poictesme.

Carl Leibert

minor

Also known as Mr. Leibert, Leibert

A businessman and associate of Kurt Fawzi.

Lester Dawes

minor

Also known as Dawes

A local politician and ally of the Maxwells.

Professor Dolf Kellton

minor

Also known as Kellton, old Professor Kellton

An elderly professor and historian on Poictesme.

General Foxx Travis

minor

Also known as Travis, General Travis, Force General Travis

A retired Federation general living on Poictesme.

Anse Dawes

minor

Brother of Lester Dawes, a local character.

Fred Karski

minor

Also known as Karski

A local man on Poictesme.

Captain Nichols

minor

Also known as Nichols

A starship captain visiting Poictesme.

Charley Gatworth

minor

A local man on Poictesme.

Morgan Gatworth

minor

Also known as Gatworth

A local businessman on Poictesme.

Luther Chen-Wong

minor

Also known as Chen-Wong

A scientist working with Wade Lucas.

Harriet Barne

minor

Also known as The Harriet Barne

A woman on Poictesme, possibly a ship name personified.

Mohammed Matsui

minor

Also known as Matsui

A local merchant on Poictesme.

Blackie Perales

minor

Also known as Perales

A local character on Poictesme.

Franz Veltrin

minor

Also known as Veltrin

A local man on Poictesme.

Lorenzo Menardes

minor

Also known as Menardes

A local character on Poictesme.

Jake Vyckhoven

minor

Also known as Vyckhoven

A local man on Poictesme.

Clyde Nichols

minor

Also known as Nichols

A local character on Poictesme.

Joe Massarra

minor

Also known as Massarra

A local man on Poictesme.

Sam Murchison

minor

Also known as Mr. Samuel S. Murchison

A local businessman on Poictesme.

J. Fitzwilliam Sterber

minor

Also known as Sterber

A local character on Poictesme.

Mack Vibart

minor

Also known as Vibart

A local character on Poictesme.

Captain Poole

minor

Also known as Poole

A starship captain.

Old Genji Gartner

minor

Also known as Genji Gartner, The Genji

An elderly local on Poictesme.

Len Yeniguchi

minor

Also known as Leo

A local character on Poictesme.

Ham Matsui

minor

A local man on Poictesme.

Stefan Jorisson

minor

Also known as Jorisson

A local character on Poictesme.

Piet Ludvyckson

minor

Also known as Ludvyckson

A local man on Poictesme.

Jethro Sastraman

minor

A local character on Poictesme.

Schalk Retief

minor

Also known as Retief

A local man on Poictesme.

Simon Macquarte

minor

Also known as Macquarte

A young local on Poictesme.

Milt Hennant

minor

A local character on Poictesme.

Abe Samuels

minor

A local man on Poictesme.