The Master Mind of Mars · Character

Ras Thavas

Barsoom's most gifted surgeon, a thousand-year-old genius who swaps brains between bodies and trusts no one whose mind he can read.

major

Also known as Thavas, old Ras Thavas, the master surgeon

First appearance: The Master Mind of Mars

As a major figure in The Master Mind of Mars, Ras Thavas is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Introduced as the master surgeon of Barsoom, a genius whose skill in brain transfer and surgery defines the chapter's central conflict.

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Ras Thavas rules a remote tower where he buys, trades, and transplants living bodies with the calm of a man changing coats. He keeps his own thoughts sealed like one of his blood jars, and he chooses the Earthman Ulysses Paxton as his apprentice precisely because Paxton's alien mind stays unreadable. His cold rationality collides with Paxton's sentimentality, and his refusal to die drives every bargain he makes.

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Character Web

11 connections

A slice of how Ras Thavas sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Psychological
Professional

Character groups

Allies and Antagonists
Priests and Victim
Supporting and Legendary Figures

+6 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This is the dramatic climax because it represents the emotional and psychological peak where the protagonist,…

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Relationships

Valla Dia
psychological · negative
Ras Thavas is obsessed with Valla Dia, using her as a subject for his brain-transplant… How this plays out →
Gor Hajus
professional · ambivalent
Yamdor
professional · negative
Hovan Du
professional · ambivalent
Xaxa
professional · negative
Dar Tarus
professional · ambivalent
Xaxa
professional · negative
Gor Hajus
professional · ambivalent
Yamdor
professional · negative
Valla Dia
psychological · negative
Ras Thavas is obsessed with Valla Dia, using her as a subject for his brain-transplant… How this plays out →
Hovan Du
professional · ambivalent
Dar Tarus
professional · ambivalent

Valla Dia
Ras Thavas is obsessed with Valla Dia, using her as a subject for his brain-transplant experiments.
Gor Hajus
Gor Hajus has a tense professional relationship with Ras Thavas, often needing his surgical skills.
Yamdor
Ras Thavas employs Yamdor as his assistant and henchman in his surgical experiments.
Hovan Du
Hovan Du interacts with Ras Thavas primarily for medical and surgical purposes.
Xaxa
Ras Thavas serves Xaxa as a skilled surgeon, though he is morally detached from her cruelty.
Dar Tarus
Dar Tarus reluctantly relies on Ras Thavas for his surgical expertise to save Valla Dia.
Xaxa
Ras Thavas serves Xaxa as a skilled surgeon, though he is morally detached from her cruelty.
Gor Hajus
Gor Hajus has a tense professional relationship with Ras Thavas, often needing his surgical skills.
Yamdor
Ras Thavas employs Yamdor as his assistant and henchman in his surgical experiments.
Valla Dia
Ras Thavas is obsessed with Valla Dia, using her as a subject for his brain-transplant experiments.
Hovan Du
Hovan Du interacts with Ras Thavas primarily for medical and surgical purposes.
Dar Tarus
Dar Tarus reluctantly relies on Ras Thavas for his surgical expertise to save Valla Dia.

Relationship notes

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In the story

Ras Thavas appears across 8 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

The Master Mind of Mars
Introduced as the master surgeon of Barsoom, a genius whose skill in brain transfer and surgery defines the chapter's central conflict.
The House of the Dead
The withered old surgeon who performs the brain transplant; initially appears as a mysterious, irritable figure.
Preferment
The old surgeon of Toonol; trains Vad Varo in his laboratory; explains his scientific, unsentimental worldview; reveals the identity of Xaxa and the story of the resurrected slave.
Valla Dia
The master surgeon who views Valla Dia as merely a scientific subject. He revives her against the narrator's wishes and later takes him to observe two experimental cases in the vaults.
The Compact
Trains the narrator in surgery, proposes the compact for brain transfer, and agrees to restore Valla Dia's body.
Danger
Awakens in a new, beautiful body with his cold, thousand-year-old brain; plots to destroy Valla Dia and orders Yamdor to stage a cover-up.
Suspicions
Suspicious of Vad Varo, he orders espionage and confronts him about Valla Dia's disappearance, but denies involvement.
XIV: John Carter
Arrives seeking aid against Toonol, agrees to reform his scientific work.

Chapter companion notes

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