# The Gerns — The Survivors character guide

> The Gerns in The Survivors by Tom Godwin.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Gerns, the arrogant Gerns, thirteen Gerns, the advancing Gerns

**First appearance:** 0001-the-survivors

## Snapshot

The coldly calculating empire that shattered the Athena Plan, split families into Acceptables and Rejects, and left the unwanted to die on a planet they never bothered to name.

## Who they are

The Gerns are not marauders but administrators: they offer survival terms with the same brisk efficiency they use to sort colonists by occupation and discard the rest. Their ultimatum—obey promptly, ask no questions, resist once and the offer is withdrawn—defines the moral world the survivors must live inside. They matter because they are the reason for everything that follows: the exile, the adaptation, the long grudge, and the hope of one day taking Athena back.

## Relationships

### [Billy Humbolt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_survivors_se/characters/billy_humbolt)

_rivalry_

Billy and The Gerns are locked in a tense, antagonistic struggle, often clashing over resources or ideology.

### [Charley Craig](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_survivors_se/characters/charley_craig)

_rivalry_

Charley and The Gerns are adversaries, with frequent confrontations driven by opposing goals.

### [Ragnarok](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_survivors_se/characters/ragnarok)

_rivalry_

Ragnarok and The Gerns are bitter enemies, engaged in a destructive conflict.

### [Delmont Anders](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_survivors_se/characters/delmont_anders)

_rivalry_

Delmont and The Gerns are locked in a hostile rivalry, marked by frequent clashes.

### [Vincent Lake](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_survivors_se/characters/vincent_lake)

_rivalry_

The Gerns and Vincent are adversaries, with a history of conflict and opposition.

### [Narth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_survivors_se/characters/narth)

_rivalry_

Narth and The Gerns are enemies, engaging in a bitter and ongoing feud.

### [Billy Humbolt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_survivors_se/characters/billy_humbolt)

_rivalry_

Billy and The Gerns are locked in a tense, antagonistic struggle, often clashing over resources or ideology.

### [Vincent Lake](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_survivors_se/characters/vincent_lake)

_rivalry_

The Gerns and Vincent are adversaries, with a history of conflict and opposition.

### [Charley Craig](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_survivors_se/characters/charley_craig)

_rivalry_

Charley and The Gerns are adversaries, with frequent confrontations driven by opposing goals.

### [Billy Humbolt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_survivors_se/characters/billy_humbolt)

_rivalry_

Billy and The Gerns are locked in a tense, antagonistic struggle, often clashing over resources or ideology.

### [Ragnarok](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_survivors_se/characters/ragnarok)

_rivalry_

Ragnarok and The Gerns are bitter enemies, engaged in a destructive conflict.

### [Narth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_survivors_se/characters/narth)

_rivalry_

Narth and The Gerns are enemies, engaging in a bitter and ongoing feud.

## In the story

### [The Survivors](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_survivors_se/chapters/the-survivors)

The alien overlords who attack the Constellation and divide the colonists, abandoning the Rejects on Ragnarok.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_survivors_se/chapters/i)

Referenced as the oppressors who abandoned the Rejects on Ragnarok and remain a threat.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_survivors_se/characters/the_gerns
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_survivors_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_survivors_se/characters