Conn Maxwell

Merlin

Conn and Merlin share a deep, loyal friendship with Merlin acting as a wise and protective companion.

Rodney Maxwell

Rodney is Conn's father, and their relationship is marked by mutual respect and familial affection.

Kurt Fawzi

Conn and Kurt are close friends and allies, working together on shared goals.

Sylvie Jacquemont

Conn and Sylvie share a romantic relationship with clear affection and emotional intimacy.

Wade Lucas

Conn and Wade are antagonists, often in conflict over goals and ideologies.

Mike Shanlee

Conn and Mike are friendly companions, working together in their ventures.

Flora

Flora is Conn's mother, and their relationship is warm and supportive.

Yves Jacquemont

Conn and Yves are friends, with Yves being Sylvie's brother and a supportive ally.

Tom Brangwyn

Conn and Tom have a working relationship, likely as colleagues or business associates.

Carl Leibert

Carl and Conn interact in a professional capacity, possibly as employer or colleague.

Judge Ledue

Conn and Judge Ledue have a formal, respectful acquaintance, likely due to legal matters.

Merlin

Conn and Merlin share a deep, loyal friendship with Merlin acting as a wise and protective companion.

I

Returns to Litchfield after six years on Terra, sees his home with new eyes, and is greeted by a hopeful crowd.

II

Returns home and delivers the disappointing news that he found no evidence of Merlin, then proposes building a hypership.

The Price of Truth

Reveals the truth about Merlin to his father and proposes a scheme to build a hypership using hidden war supplies.

Breakfast and the Home Guard

Returns home, defends his belief in Merlin to his mother, and later discusses the Home Guard and local lawlessness with Tom Brangwyn and Fred Karski.

The Meeting at the Academy

Presents his findings about Federation installations and defends the existence of Merlin, using rhetoric to sway the crowd.

Chapter VI

Stays at Tenth Army to oversee operations; visits Litchfield and reassures his mother about Merlin; discusses Zareff's suspicions with his father.

VII

Leads the excavation, identifies the personnel-file machine, and deduces the collapsium shielding.

VIII

Returns home, confronts Flora about the Merlin craze, plans the Barathrum expedition, and negotiates with Zareff for gunboats.

The Assault on Barathrum

Leads the expedition, observes the attack, and studies the spaceport plans, considering a dangerous tunnel entry.

The Battle for the Spaceport

Leads the raid, coordinates with freed prisoners and Zareff, makes tactical decisions about noncombatants.

Chapter XI

Returns to Litchfield, spends time with Sylvie, and learns of the new company Alpha-Interplanetary.

XII

Works on the Harriet Barne, studies Koshchei, and is selected as astrogator and representative for the expedition.

XIII

Sets course for Koshchei, explores Port Carpenter, and prioritizes building a hypership over finding Merlin.

XIV

Leads the exploration of the factory, deals with the robot uprising, and decides to finish the Ouroboros II.

The Trial of Intentions

Defends his father's shipbuilding project against accusations of abandoning the Merlin search; feels growing unease about Leibert's fanaticism and the potential for religious conflict.

XVI

Leads the discovery of Sickle Mountain, organizes the conversion of ships, and manages his computer class.

XVII

Returns to Storisende, survives an assassination attempt, and learns of the escalating violence and corporate scheming. He agrees to investigate the mysterious preacher Leibert.

Chapter XVIII

Takes charge of the excavation at Force Command, orchestrates the digging of the collapsium structure, and stays behind during the Ouroboros II launch.

XIX

Orchestrates the exposure of Shanlee as Leibert, maintains the fiction that Merlin exists to control the situation, and pushes for immediate excavation.

The Truth About Merlin

Confronts Shanlee, threatens mind-probe, reveals Merlin is built into the walls of Force Command.

XXI

Leads the debate on Merlin's fate, runs new computations, and presses the button to initiate Merlin's output.

XXII

Attending the wedding rehearsal, discussing his own wedding with Sylvie, and going to fetch his father.