Minor Fictional Characters in Supervolcano

This article lists the various minor fictional characters who appear in the Supervolcano series. These characters are identified by name, but play at best a peripheral role in the series. Most were simply mentioned once, or had a very brief, unimportant speaking role that did not impact the plot, and never appeared again.

Afghan Veteran
(Eruption)

The passenger next to Bryce Miller on his flight from O'Hare to LAX had served two tours of duty in Afghanistan before leaving the Army. When the flight was forced to turn and return to O'Hare, the Afghan vet used his iPhone to find out what was happening. He said "Supervolcano. The fuck is a supervolcano?" in response to what he discovered. After the plane did a successful water landing onto Branch Oak Lake, he got off and was bobbing in the water when Miller entered the lake. He and Miller were rescued by the same Nebraskan volunteer in a powerboat.

Stu Ayers
(Eruption)

Stu Ayers was a police lieutenant with the Palos Verdes Police Department. He was one of a number of police detectives on the South Bay Strangler case. One day he called Lt. Colin Ferguson of the San Atanasio PD and asked him to send him the latest electronic lab reports to his private gmail account. He apologetically explained that his captain thought he was spending too much time on the case and asked that Ferguson keep it private.

Ferguson assembled the documents but became suspicious. He called the Palos Verdes PD and asked to be connected to Ayers. Ayers denied calling and the two concluded it was either a snoopy civilian or an even snoopier reporter. Ferguson then copied the elaborate directory structure of the lab report without putting any information into the files except for one. A persistent individual would eventually drill down to a file that contained three words: "Nice try, asshole." Satisfied with his work, Ferguson e-mailed it to the gmail address.

Rudabeh Barazani
(Things Fall Apart)

Rudabeh Barazani was the manager of a Vons Supermarket grocery store in San Atanasio, California. Several years after the Yellowstone Supervolcano had erupted, her store was robbed by a gunman. As she reported to Capt. Colin Ferguson, the man had filled a hand-carry basket that the grocery provided customers with cans of hash, chicken and tuna and brought them to Carmela, a checker at the store. He set the full basket in front of her rather than take the items out and when Carmela asked he empty the basket, he pulled a gun instead. He demanded she hand over all the cash in her register which she did and then left with the money and basket. As he exited the building, he fired a shot through the window to discourage anyone from chasing him.

Barazani described the man as a white man or Hispanic in his fifties with grey hair receding at the temples, a grey mustache and chin beard. He was medium-sized and dressed in khakis and a denim jacket. He escaped on an adult sized tricycle with a wire basket big enough to hold the grocery basket. Ferguson had his partner Sgt. Gabe Sanchez radio the description in. They got lucky as a bicycle patrolman spotted and arrested a suspect matching the description.

Carmela
(Things Fall Apart)

Carmela was a checker at a Vons Supermarket grocery store in San Atanasio, California. Several years after the Yellowstone Supervolcano had erupted, she was robbed at gun-point. A man had filled a hand-carry basket that the grocery provided customers with cans of hash, chicken and tuna and brought them to Carmela. He set the full basket in front of her rather than take the items out and when Carmela asked he empty the basket, he pulled a gun instead. He demanded she hand over all the cash in her register which she did and then left with the money and basket. As he exited the building, he fired a shot through the window to discourage anyone from chasing him.

Carmela was terrified by the incident but was comforted by her store manager and gave a statement to Capt. Colin Ferguson when he investigated the robbery.

Dave (TV Reporter)
(Eruption)

Dave was a TV reporter for a local station in the Los Angeles area. He attended the murder scene of Maria Peterfalvy and was part of the pack that mobbed Lt. Colin Ferguson. He asked the pompous question "How long will you let the Strangler continue his terrorization of women throughout this broad area of Los Angeles County?" Ferguson had expected a reporter to ask such a loaded question and might have viewed it more seriously if Dave had not mis-pronounced the victims name a "Mrs. Peterfalk" despite his having pronounced it carefully and spelled it out to the reporters.

Ferguson, with cold politeness restated the victim's name and spelled it again. It took Dave a few minutes to realize that he had been mocked and so responded angrily with a question regarding the police's incompetence. He was saved from Ferguson's rejoinder by the arrival of the coroner Dr. Ishikawa. The pack of reporters then decended on the doctor.

Edwards (Supervolcano)
(Eruption)

Edwards was an Idaho National Guardsman when the Yellowstone Supervolcano erupted. Orofino Police Chief Roy Schurz borrowed a Guard Humvee and Edwards to ride shotgun (actually to man the mounted machine gun) when he went to Missoula, Montana to rescue the stranded Kelly Birnbaum and send her home to Berkeley.

Filipina Liquor Store Clerk
(Eruption)

Lt. Colin Ferguson and Sgt. Gabriel Sanchez investigated a liquor store robbery where the Filipina Store Clerk had trouble understaning their English. She explained in broken English that the robber threatened her, she opened the cash drawer and put the money on the counter, he grabbed it and ran and she called the police. Colin had to pantomime a mask when she didn't understand what he asked and she became upset when she learned that the police thought it might be the same robber who had previously murdered a different liquor store operator.

Stella Garcia
(All Fall Down)

Stella Garcia was an employee of the Department of Water and Power in Los Angeles. She administered the "assessment instrument" which Bryce Miller took when he applied for a grant writing position. She entered the exam room (a closed off part of a lunchroom) shortly before the 8:00 AM start time. She instructed the applicants to turn off their cell phones and place them, face down, on the table before them. She then distributed the exams face down in front of each applicant with the order not to turn them over until she told them to do so. She started the test at eight sharp but did give a booklet to one applicant who strolled in at half past eight. Any applicant who finished early was allowed to hand in their booklet but had to leave the room afterwards. Miller finished at about 9:20, turned in his booklet and left.

Mort Greenbaum
(Eruption)

Mort Greenbaum was the crime reporter for the Daily Breeze. He covered the Maria Peterfalvy murder and was part of the pack of reporters that questioned Lt. Colin Ferguson at the scene.

Gun Shop Clerk
(Eruption)

When Vanessa Ferguson fled Denver after the Yellowstone Supervolcano erupted, she stopped in Pueblo, Colorado to fuel her car. She saw a gun shop and bought a snub-nosed .38 revolver from the clerk for protection. Before he sold her the pistol, he asked if she knew how to use it. He was satisfied by her assertion that she had been taught by her father, a police officer. He had her fill out about "five pounds of forms" and, given the emergency, used his own judgement instead of the background check he couldn't do because the phonelines and internet were down. He also sold her a couple of boxes of cartridges and gave her the advise that while the gun could get her out of some tight spots, it would be better not to get into them in the first place.

Farid Hariri
(Things Fall Apart)

Farid Hariri worked as a cashier at a check-cashing place in San Atanasio, California. One day a robber entered and pointed an AK-47 at him. Hariri complied with the robber's demands since the bulletproof glass was designed to handle pistol rounds but wouldn't stand up to military rifle bullets. When questioned by Capt. Colin Ferguson how he knew it was an AK-47, Hariri replied that he had carried one in Lebanon twenty-five years earlier and could still field-strip it in his sleep.

Heather
(All Fall Down)

Heather was a uniformed police officer with the San Atanasio PD. She and her partner responded to a 9-1-1 call at Marseille Gardens and discover the body of Eiko Ryan, a tenant there. Heather guarded the door to Mrs. Ryan's apartment until Lt. Colin Ferguson arrived on the scene. He noticed she look a little green and asked if this was her first Strangler case to which she agreed. Lt. Ferguson entered the apartment to examine the crime scene but a short time later Heather warned him that media reporters had arrived and wanted to talk to him.

Heinrich
(Eruption)

Heinrich was a colleague of Larry Skrtel's at the US Geological Survey. When Skrtel and his research team became trapped in Yellowstone National Park just before the supervolcano erupted, Heinrich managed to arrange for a couple of helicopters to fly in and rescue them.

While Heinrich's English was good, the stress of the situation had him and Skrtel slip in the occasional German phrase during their telephone conversations. He was also a stickler for the rules, reminding Skrtel that it was against regulations to set fires in trash cans at the park even if it were to signal evacuation helicopters.

Jane
(Eruption)

Jane was a fan of Squirt Frog and the Evolving Tadpoles and attended their concert at Neptune's Resort in New York. Afterwards she went to get a CD cover autographed at a table set up in the club's anteroom. She was almost illegally pretty and caught the attention of Rob Ferguson, especially since she didn't have a hulking boyfriend looming behind her. When Ferguson heard her name, he was tempted to say he was Tarzan but refrained. Instead he invited her over to the band's side of the table and for her to sit on his lap since there wasn't a spare chair. Rather than slapping him, Jane smiled, sat down and began running her fingers through his hair.

Victor Jennings
(Things Fall Apart)

Victor Jennings was a middle aged white man who was unable to find employment after the Yellowstone Supervolcano erupted. Hungry and desperate, he tried to rob a Vons Supermarket in San Atanasio, California. He filled a hand-carry basket that the grocery provided customers with cans of hash, chicken and tuna and brought them to Carmela, a checker at the store. He set the full basket in front of her rather than take the items out and when Carmela asked he empty the basket, he pulled a gun instead. He demanded she hand over all the cash in her register which she did and then left with the money and basket. As he exited the building, he fired a shot through the window to discourage anyone from chasing him.

Carmela and her manager Rudabeh Barazani reported the robbery to Capt. Colin Ferguson and Sgt. Gabe Sanchez. They gave a description and that he escaped on a an adult sized tricycle with a wire basket big enough to hold the grocery basket. Sanchez radioed in the description and a bicycle patrolman spotted and arrested Jennings. Back at the police station, the two interviewed Jennings who became happier when he realized he would be feed while incarcerated.

Capt. Ferguson wasn't sure the DA would charge and prosecute Jennings as he stole mostly food even if he had used a firearm since no one had been physically harmed and the state was chronically short of money to run prisons. This proved correct and Jennings was released without trial but cautioned to not re-offend. However, he tried to rob a check-cashing place and was arrested at the scene by a bicycle patrolwoman.

Jenny
(Eruption)

Jenny was a coed at Santa Barbara that Marshall Ferguson was seeing. One evening, shortly after the Yellowstone Supervolcano erupted, the two watched a sunset from Marshall's apartment. It was unusually colorful which Marshall attributed to the dope they had shared but Jenny realised it was due to the ash the volcano had thrown into the atmosphere. Afterwards, they retired to the bedroom for sex.

Years later, Marshall was inspired by this incident to write a short story, "Almost Sunset", which he sold to Playboy Magazine.

Ida Jones
(Eruption)

Ida Jones was married to Wes Jones for over forty years when the Yellowstone Supervolcano erupted. The couple were neighbors of Colin Ferguson and watched the Ferguson children grow up. Vanessa Ferguson had moved to Denver which was much more severely affected by the eruption. Ida, a devout Methodist, prayed for her safety. When Colin failed to hear from her, Wes remarked that Ida needed to pray harder. While Wes was a religious skeptic, the two got along since Ida believed in living her beliefs through good works rather than trying to push them onto people.

Josefina Linares
(Eruption)

Josefina Linares was a secretary at the San Atanasio PD. While of Hispanic background, she went out of her way to show how American she was and answered to Josie rather than Josefina. Lt. Colin Ferguson reflected that he probably knew more Spanish than she did when she delivered a pile of DNA printouts for him to examine.

Lucas
(All Fall Down)

Lucas was a friend of Marshall Ferguson from high school days. Like Marshall, he was unemployed and living in the family home with his dad after graduating. The Yellowstone Supervolcano eruption made the employment situation even harder than it had been while the erratic electrical power supply made most online entertainments impossible. Lucas' father dug out an old board game of Diplomacy that he had played when he was in high school and gave it to Lucas. He, Marshall and five other friends would get together at Lucas' house on weekends to play since the game took all afternoon and into the evening.

Luke
(Eruption)

Luke was in a Red Cross refuge facility (a re-purposed high school) in Garden City, Kansas after the Yellowstone Supervolcano erupted when Vanessa Ferguson was assigned to the same room. She thought his class clown routine was lame but for once kept quiet. Later that day, she met up with him in the hallway after using the washroom facilities. Luke indicated he knew how to hotwire a car and to do so to get out of town to someplace better. Ferguson was interested in going with him and offered to help pay for gas. He replied there were other ways to pay while licking his lips. Ferguson was repulsed and told him to forget it. Luke persisted until Ferguson pulled a revolver from her purse. He backed off giving her the distinct impression he had had a gun pulled on him before.

Luke disappeared two days later. The longer Ferguson stayed cooped up in the refugee center the more she regretted her decision not to trade some half-hearted sex for freedom.

Vic Moretti
(All Fall Down)

Vic Moretti was a teacher at Junipero High School. He interviewed Bryce Miller on behalf of the school when the latter applied for a position teaching Latin there. He mentioned to Miller that they had several applicants who had faked their degrees and hoped to bluff their way through Latin. This meant the school would have to check his credentials carefully. However, Miller was legitimate and the interview went well so Miller was hired.

Tina Morton
(Eruption)

Tina Morton was a hotel clerk at Ruby's Inn in Missoula, Montana. She was on duty when Squirt Frog and the Evolving Tadpoles arrived and helped check them in. She indicated she was a fan by whistling the opening bars of "Impossible Things Before Breakfast", a song on the band's latest album. This caught the attention of Rob Ferguson who comped her a ticket to their show that night.

Later, Ferguson came down to the front desk to ask about places in town to eat dinner. Morton recommended the "Stone of Accord" restaurant which was half a block from the hotel. Ferguson spent twenty minutes chatting her up before he returned to his room.

Pete
(All Fall Down)

Pete was a patrolman with the San Atanasio PD. He and his partner responded to a 9-1-1 call at Marseille Gardens and discover the body of Eiko Ryan, a tenant there. Pete did a preliminary interview with Kiyoko Nagumo, Mrs. Ryan's sister, who discovered the body and made the emergency call. He was somewhat disgruntled when Lt. Colin Ferguson arrived on the scene and repeated the questioning of Mrs. Nagumo but didn't say anything since he was outranked.

Selma Rosenblatt
(Eruption)

Selma Rosenblatt was an academic adviser at the University of California, Santa Barbara campus. One day she met with Marshall Ferguson who wished to change his major from film studies to creative writing. After reviewing his transcript, Rosenblatt commented with sardonic admiration that she didn't see one like that every day. Ferguson had been changing his major every few years and his transcript reflected this, a high number of hours but not enough in any one field to graduate.

When Ferguson told Rosenblatt of his latest change in majors, she fed the change into her software and found that it would allow him to stay enrolled for an extra couple of quarters. She offered mock congratulations and the comment that it might be better for the state finances if he remained a paying student rather than be out collecting unemployment or welfare. She inputted the change and then told him to scoot, so she could take the time to help someone who really needed advice.

Lupe Sandoval
(Eruption)

Lupe Sandoval was a seventy-four year old woman murdered in San Atanasio a week before Maria Peterfalvy. She came home unexpectedly and surprised a burglar who fire three shots into her, killing her instantly. As Lt. Colin Ferguson sadly reflected after arresting a young punk, not all the little old ladies killed in San Atanasio were the work of the South Bay Strangler.

Smetana
(All Fall Down)

Prof. Smetana had been a classicist at Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska until he passed away from lung disease cased by the Yellowstone Supervolcano eruption. Bryce Miller was offered his position as an assistant professorship which he accepted.

Singh
(All Fall Down)

Miss Singh was a dark, pretty teenage girl in Bryce Miller's U.S. history class at Junipero High School. During one class, Miller indicated slavery was the biggest cause of the American Civil War and that issues such as state rights were just a smokescreen. Singh questioned this asking what evidence there was for it. Miller cited South Carolina's Ordinance of Secession and the Confederate States Constitution. The former indicated the north's attempts to limit this domestic institution as the immediate cause while the latter differed from its U.S. counterpart in sections that emphasised provisions to protect it. These points satisfied Singh in proving Miller's contention of slavery as the cause.

Travis Suzuki
(All Fall Down)

Dr. Travis Suzuki was Louise Ferguson's OB-GYN when she became pregnant with James Henry. Her previous doctor when she was pregnant with her three older children was long retired and Dr. Suzuki was younger than she was, brusque and efficient. He thought it unusual for her to have a baby at her age but didn't say anything. His appearance and behaviour did remind her of Mr. Sulu from Star Trek and she was satisfied with his care.

Oscar Svanda
(All Fall Down)

Oscar Svanda, along with his wife Glinda, were the property managers at Marseille Gardens in San Atanasio, California. One day he was approached by Kiyoko Nagumo who was concerned that her sister Eiko Ryan failed to show at lunch and did not answer her telephone. Mr. Svanda knew Mrs. Nagumo and so agreed to unlock the apartment door to check on her. The two discovered Mrs. Ryan's body and Mrs. Nagumo called 9-1-1. Mr. Svanda later gave his statement to Sergeant Gabriel Sanchez.

Malcolm Talbott
(Eruption)

Malcolm Talbott was the general manager who ran Amalgamated Humanoids. When the Yellowstone Supervolcano erupted, the resulting earthquake hit Denver causing minor damage to the office building and cutting off the power. Talbott ordered the building evacuated and sent the employees home when it was clear that the power wasn't coming back on that day.

Terri
(All Fall Down)

Terri was a nurse at Dr. Travis Suzuki's office. She took charge of Louise Ferguson when she came in for a check up during her pregnancy. Terri led Louise to an examination room where she weighed her, took her temperature and blood pressure and recorded it in her chart. Terri remained in the room when Dr. Suzuki examined Louise to maintain the proprieties.

Tim
(All Fall Down)

Tim was a high school friend of Marshall Ferguson and like him didn't have regular employment. Unlike him, Tim didn't stay living in his parents home. Instead, he crashed at various friends' places and lived in his car until rising gas prices made it impractical. He did get together with Marshall at Lucas' father's place to play Diplomacy on weekends. While not the brightest LED in the flashlight, Tim did play a decent game and managed the difficult task of winning while playing Italy.

During one session of Diplomacy, Tim pulled out a fat baggie of killer dope. After the the players partook, Marshall asked Tim where he scored it. After much giggling, Tim confessed he got it from Darren Pitcavage, the son of the San Atanasio police chief. Marshall got himself wasted hoping to forget so he wouldn't have to deal with this knowledge but failed. He reluctantly reported this conversation to his father who was a police Lieutenant with the same force.

Virgil (mechanic)
(Eruption)

Virgil was an auto mechanic in Garden City, Kansas when the Yellowstone Supervolcano erupted. Vanessa Ferguson tried to get him to go to her stalled car just outside town and tow it back but he refused, explaining he had enough work in town and that the ash in the air made it a fifty-fifty chance his truck would stall. As Ferguson spoke with him, she noted that he wasn't wearing a dust mask and was in fact smoking a Camel cigarette, leaving her to conclude he was a hick. He did direct her to a Red Cross refugee facility in a local high school.

Walgreens Shop Clerk
(Eruption)

When Vanessa Ferguson fled Denver after the Yellowstone Supervolcano erupted, she stopped in Pueblo, Colorado and bought swimming goggles and a packet of surgical masks from a clerk in a Walgreens. There had been three packets left, but the clerk limited sales to one package to a customer to allow for more people to get them. Ferguson was surprised but pleased to get the items at list price since she had been gouged for gasoline earlier.

As Ferguson put on the goggles, she asked the clerk how much longer he would stay. He wasn't sure, but intended to stay at least a while longer, depending on whether things got better or worse. When Ferguson said things were not going to get better, he allowed that she might be right but in a tone that implied he didn't care about her opinion on the matter.

Charlie Yamada
(Things Fall Apart)

Charlie Yamada was the owner and operator of a Honda dealership in San Atanasio and a councilman for the city. After the eruption of the Yellowstone Supervolcano and the subsequent collapse of the world economy, especially that of the automotive industry, Yamada was reduced to selling Honda scooters. He also dealt in Segways, bicycles and tricycles giving rise to his new slogan "If it's got wheels, we'll deal!"

Yamada attended the reception held for Captain Colin Ferguson on his retirement, coming up to him to shake his hand and to congratulate him on his service to the city.