"Truth"
Developments
- Boone captures Judson William Corr, the man who planted and triggered the bomb that killed Kate Boone.
- Sandoval admits that he hired Corr to murder Kate. His motivation was twofold: to remove the barrier preventing Boone from acquiescing to Da’an’s request for him to work for the Taelons and to save Boone from having to choose between Kate and Da’an once his CVI was implanted. Sandoval believes he was acting compassionately. “We aren’t cut out for love, Boone. Not any more,” he explains.
- Someone sends Dee-Dee Sandoval flowers. Could it be Sandoval himself, or perhaps Boone?
Backstory
William Boone
- Eddie Jordan was Boone’s platoon mate in the ‘01 War.
- Boone’s office is located in an unnamed federal building and equipped with such amenities as Taelon virtual glass.
Ronald Sandoval
- After his CVI was implanted Sandoval considered his wife Dee-Dee “infantile” and found that she interfered with his ability to serve Da’an. He had her committed to a sanitarium in Restin, Virginia, used by the FBI to hide witnesses and informants.
Augur
- Augur is the “ultimate home entrepreneur,” using his computer hacking skills to steal money and other assets.
Jonathan Doors
- Doors’ opinion of the Taelons is that they are “complex, duplicitous, and nothing about them is ever what it seems.” Boone replies “Just sounds like another species I know.”
- When Boone says to Doors, “It’s too bad Dr. Belman can’t fix my implant so that I could just serve you,” Doors responds “I’ll have to talk to her about that.”
Da’an
- Da’an tells Boone, “I have never ordered the death of your wife.” Does this really mean that the Taelon knew nothing of Sandoval’s plan?
- Sandoval states that “Da’an wishes to study his [Corr’s] kind.”
The Taelons
- Agenda on Earth
- Da’an tells the press corps “We Companions have come to Earth to share our knowledge, to learn…that together we may thrive.”
- Da’an to the Synod: “When first arriving on the surface, I may have expected the humans to more compliant, malleable like the game pieces on a field of qaliol. I find them enigmatic. They are so capable of such beauty, yet they brutalize each other with such intensity. But I suppose that is one of the reasons we are here.”
- Physiology
- The Taelons’ true appearance is translucent with a series of glowing pathways running through the body. When affected by strong emotion they “blush,” revealing this form momentarily.
- Technology
- CVI: The CVI allows one to “recall memories in complete detail.” The sudden surfacing of such memories is referred to as a “memory intrusion.” Sandoval says that the cerebral cortex adopts the CVI as “just another way of thinking.” The CVI also allows one to read at a faster pace. The Taelons refer to those to whom they give CVI’s as “Implants.”
Miscellaneous
- Kate Boone was killed on August 14.
"The Joining"
Developments
- Beckett tells Sandoval that she believes Lili to be a Liberation spy. Her suspicions were aroused by Lili’s disinterest in becoming an Implant, which seems unfathomable to one under the influence of a CVI’s motivational imperative.
- Boone has been severely injured by Ha’gel and is ”touch and go” according to Lili. He floats in a liquid-filled container like the one in "The Devil You Know", and his body appears to dissolve when Zo’or touches the glass.
- Lili tells Sandoval that Beckett was killed by Ha’gel, but Beckett is actually taken into Liberation Headquarters and discovered to be pregnant, apparently with the offspring of Ha’gel in Sandoval’s body. This fulfills the prophecy Beckett had seen in the Runes: the two were destined to come together.
- Despite Ha’gel’s actions, Quo’on remains firm that the Taelons’ mission on Earth will follow its course whatever the consequences.
Backstory
Lili Marquette
- Lili’s security rating is Level 5; normally this level is reserved for Implants, but her status was approved by Da’an at Boone’s request.
Ronald Sandoval
- After taking on Sandoval’s appearance and knowledge, Ha’gel says, “I wonder what your Taelon friends would say if they knew the secrets you keep buried.”
Siobhan Beckett
- Beckett casts Runes as a divinatory practice to enhance her intuition.
The Taelons
- Da’an tells Boone that 10 million years ago, Ha’gel’s race conquered Taelon through a war of genetic assimilation, using their chameleon-like abilities to infiltrate the population and infect it with a genetic virus that bound the two species for all eternity. The Taelons on Earth are a result of that genetic bonding. However, after Boone leaves, Zo’or reveals that in fact it was the Taelons who destroyed Ha’gel’s race after they had saved the Taelons from extinction.
- Agenda on Earth
- Da’an says, “Our current agenda on Earth will lead to the destruction of humanity.” Zo’or replies, “The only other option is the extinction of the Taelon race.” Da’an then says, “Ha’gel’s actions have demonstrated that extinction may be preferable to becoming that which we despise.”
- Attitudes and Beliefs
- Zo’or says, “Every species deserves the right to evolve according to the natural laws of the universe, not according to the will of another species.” He says, unconvincingly, that the Taelons will honor this principle in their dealings with humanity.
- Individuals
- Ha’gel
- As soon as Ha'gel emerged from the chamber, the Taelons were aware of him by name.
- Ha’gel can assume the appearance and gain the knowledge of anyone with whom he comes into physical contact. The victim becomes encased in a hard, purplish substance but remains alive. When Ha’gel assumes a new identity, his previous victim emerges from the husk unharmed but with no memory of what happened while encased.
- Ha’gel fires energy bursts that disintegrate matter from his hands.
- Ha’gel can only be killed by a skrill blast.
- Zo’or says, “Ha’gel is no more Taelon than your Neanderthal man was human.”
- Zo’or says, apparently untruthfully, that Ha’gel is an ancient Taelon criminal imprisoned in the chamber and cast into the stellar void millions of years ago.
- Language
- The writing on the chamber in which Ha’gel was found dates back to the beginning of the Taelons’ recorded time.
- Technology
- CVI: The CVI does not take away sexual desire and, in fact, increases the Implant’s physical capabilities thereof.
Miscellaneous
"Destruction"
Developments
- The probe self-destructs after having been programmed to do so by Sahjit.
- Zo’or and Sandoval plan to assassinate Joshua Doors, ironically approaching Michael Sloane for the job.
- Joshua Doors visits the homeship and convinces Quo'on to bring President Thompson's concerns before the Synod. This prompts Zo'or to privately declare Quo'on's leadership weak.
- Sahjit is killed in the attempt to destroy the probe and rescue Rayna.
- Kee’sha is killed by Rayna using the probe's weapons.
- Rayna Amitraj's consciousness is now housed in a replicated, mechanical body produced by the probe.
- Joshua Doors and Lili Marquette have dinner together. While Lili is at first reluctant to begin a serious relationship, she reconsiders after Sahjit's death.
Backstory
Joshua Doors
- Joshua has been appointed the first U.S. Secretary of Human-Taelon Relations, a cabinet-level post.
The Taelons
- A Taelon laboratory was located in Naryan Mar, Russia, until the explosion of the probe destroyed it.
- Technology
- Virtual glass exists from nanosecond to nanosecond, like a strobe light.
The Probe
- The Probe’s weapons include some kind of directed particle beam.
- Rayna’s DNA was mapped into the probe’s data banks, apparently confirming Sahjit’s theory in "The Scarecrow Returns." Her memory and personality were also somehow retained, allowing her to eventually gain some control over the probe’s functions.
Miscellaneous
- President Thompson’s military advisors have suggested that the bacterial outbreak in "Infection" was a weapons test.
- There is an SI War Memorial in Washington.
- The first concerto for the “tubes” has been written.
"Infection"
Developments
- Doors has Dr. Park engineer the bacteria to remove the portions deadly to humans and retain those deadly to Taelons for future use as a weapon. They don’t tell anyone else in the Liberation about their work.
- Zo’or’s face exhibits Boone’s features after the Taelon is injected with antibodies from Boone. This resembles what happened to Rho-ha in "Pandora’s Box" and "Law & Order."
- Ne’eg is killed by the bacteria, having “passed to the next level” as Zo’or puts it.
Backstory
The Taelons
- Individuals
- Kee’sha’s laboratory is located in Athens, Greece.
- Physiology
- Taelon immune systems produce antibodies.
- Technology
- CVI: The CVI allows an Implant to increase or decrease his or her metabolism.
- The homeship can project a virtual glass shield around an adjacent area.
- Zo’or uses a portal to escape the lab. It is unclear to where this portal connects.
The Probe
- The probe contained a bacteria deadly to Taelons (and, as it turns out, humans) as an offensive weapon. The bacteria were designed to be impervious to any antibodies the Taelon body could produce. The bacteria are also airborne.
Miscellaneous
- Biological weapons were used during the SI War.
- Lincoln Hills, New Hampshire, was the site of a U.S. Marine base closed during the military downsize after the Taelons’ arrival.
- Some white racists argue that the Taelons’ arrival proves the superiority of whites because all the high-powered Taelons on Earth have light-colored “skin.”
"Through the Looking Glass"
Developments
- Sahjit was revealed to the Taelons as probably working with Jonathan Doors.
- Sarah Boone was implanted with a fetus by the Taelons, but it is removed.
Backstory
William Boone
- Boone's sister Sarah is looking for work at universities and calls him Willie.
Sahjit Jinnah
- Sahjit was one of the Taelons’ first researchers at Comtech.
The Taelons
- Technology
- CVI: The implant is capable of curing congenital deafness.
- The Fixed-link Inter-dimensional Travel Project, commonly referred to as the Portal Project, was tested for more than a year and has been in operation for two months. There is a portal between Los Angeles and New York, one between New York and London, and another planned between Moscow and New Delhi. Individuals are genetically scanned before entering the portal platform and are placed in stasis during transit. The project, under the stewardship of Zo’or, was being used to secretly gather genetic data, which was then used to delay travelers with high intelligence (as well as judges and politicians) for implantation with CVIs—or in the case of women of child-bearing years, an artificially-created fetus. The Taelon facility on the moon contains a lab to which travelers in the portal system are re-routed. Da’an believed the portal project would undermine humanity’s trust of the Taelons.
The Liberation
- Dr. Park has been with the Liberation since its beginning.
"Law & Order"
Developments
- Rho-ha, convicted of the murder of Major McIntyre in "Pandora's Box" and sentenced to life in prison, chooses to commit suicide by dissipating his body. The Synod encouraged him to do so to end his “contamination” of the Commonality.
- Joshua Doors invites Lili to dinner.
Backstory
William Boone
- Boone has a master’s degree in criminal justice.
Lili Marquette
- Lili shuttled Jonathan Doors while he was working with the Taelons.
- Lili has commanded troops in combat.
Ronald Sandoval
- Sandoval is an attorney, having joined the FBI right out of law school.
Joshua Doors
- Joshua has a distant relationship with his father, never really getting to know him.
- Doors is the youngest New York City District Attorney in history at 31 years old.
- Jonathan Doors assigned Willie Collier to Joshua as a bodyguard.
- Joshua is supportive of the Taelons, but believes they should be subject to the rule of law.
The Taelons
- Individuals
- Rho-ha
- The Taelons removed most of the human DNA from Rho-ha’s system; the remainder still drives Rho-ha’s violence and causes him to exhibit Capt. Johnson’s features.
- Physiology
- Because the Taelon body is composed primarily of energy, Taelons cannot be injured or killed by bullets (or presumably any other projectile weapon), and a human can pass a hand through a Taelon’s body.
Miscellaneous
- Even the Taelons’ most strident supporters demanded Rho-ha be tried in a human court.
- The chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court is Evelyn Hill.
"The Devil You Know"
Developments
- Edward Purcell, in the body of Thomas Blanchard, is killed.
- Purcell destroyed Lili’s personal locator.
Backstory
Lili Marquette
- Lili was born 30 years ago in Ft. Hood, Texas, to Colonel Edward Purcell and Rachel (Marquette) Purcell and had one brother, Andy, two years her junior. She was baptized at St. Mark’s.
- Lili’s father, who bears a scare from a lawnmower accident, was emotionally distant and demanding, even requiring his children to perform midnight inspections. Edward Purcell was particularly hard on his son.
- Nine years ago, at the age of nineteen, Andy Purcell shot himself with his father’s Colt 45. His parents found him behind Edward’s desk after returning home from the base club.
- Lil believed her father had been a member of the Signal Corps and that he had recently died. However, Edward Purcell had actually worked for military intelligence since before Lili’s birth and had secretly participated in a Taelon experiment to transfer his mind and memories into a new body because his old one was dying.
The Taelons
- Technology
- The Taelons, working with Doors International, developed an electro-magnetic pulse weapon capable of disrupting computer systems in informationa warfare.
- The Taelons helped human scientists create a technique for transferring neural intelligence between bodies through the medium of artificial intelligence.
The Liberation
- Jonathan Doors has been funding the Liberation with money he is still pulling from Doors International.
- Liberation Headquarters is shielded from electronic surveillance.
Miscellaneous
- Anne Portnoy is still head of Doors International.
