Illuminae

Ezra Mason is an 18-year-old survivor of the Kerenza assault whose dad, a miner, passed away in the initial attack. He is the romantic partner of Kady Grant and a second lieutenant pilot onboard the Alexander. He played geeball for fun in school. He can be hostile and confrontational in the face of grief and difficult feelings, and though he engages in silly banter and locker room talk, he is deeply sentimental and compassionate. He makes friends easily and is fiercely loyal. He isn’t as well-coordinated or sneaky as Kady, which lands him in trouble when he tries to go after her. He is a deeply devoted friend, hardworking pilot, and loving partner.

James McNulty, known as Jimmy, was a Cyclone pilot aboard the Alexander and Ezra’s best friend. He had a sister onboard as well and frequently teased Ezra about Kady. He had a crude, playful sense of humor and helped Ezra through some tough times, such as the loss of his father. He shows great bravery and compassion in the face of terror, such as when he confronts the afflicted in Hangar Bay 4 to save a young girl. When his suit is breached, he doesn’t fight to leave the place he knows he’ll die in; he encourages his crew to leave without him. He leaves a recording for his loved ones with his will and ultimately makes the decision to take his life before he succumbs to the Phobos virus and potentially hurts someone. In many ways, Jimmy is an average man, but his selflessness and loyalty makes him stand apart from others.

Byron Zhang was a commtech onboard the Hypatia and later transferred to the Alexander. He worked to restore AIDAN, but then worked to destroy it again after its rebellion. During his work, he became infected with the Phobos virus and ultimately decided to brutally take his own life rather than hurt Kady. He is a talented programmer and hacker who serves as Kady’s mentor throughout the story. He wasn’t physically strong or adept, but when faced with conflict (prior to contracting Phobos), he becomes passively resistant. For example, he sits on the floor and quotes literature while he is beaten up and taken away. He was extremely smart and the best programmer in the fleet. He loved Kady, and he became one of her closest friends.

AIDAN is the Alexander’s artificial intelligence system that gets damaged during the Lincoln’s assault. It is part of the only UTA fleet nearby who can respond to Kerenza’s distress signal, and it is programmed to protect life onboard. AIDAN must make decisions that others see as horrible, such as shooting down the Copernicus with many civilians onboard to prevent the devastating spread of the Phobos virus. AIDAN is powered down into a coma-like state after this incident but is brought back to life to fight the Lincoln later on. After being cooperative in battle, AIDAN decides to release from quarantine those infected with the Phobos virus onboard the Alexander, infecting and killing many people, in retribution for the humans disobeying its orders to shoot down the ships escaping from the Copernicus and for shutting it down.

Though AIDAN acts in antagonistic ways throughout the novel, it ultimately ends up being an ally of Kady’s. It starts to develop feelings and cares about her deeply. It also fears death but faces it, knowing that it has done its job in protecting what it can of the fleet and that Kady will be okay. AIDAN is calculating but is not just zeroes and ones. It is an artificial intelligence that is borderline human, and that proximity makes it as terrifying as it is beautiful.

General Torrence was the captain of the Alexander, who was killed when AIDAN released the afflicted into the Alexander. He was a ruthless, tough leader who wasn’t afraid of taking out anyone who stood in the way of what he believed was right. He even went so far as to kill service members who refused a command to cover up his mistake and the issue with the AIDAN. He also perpetuated propaganda and tried to control the flow of information.