Roupen Hovannis

Roupen Hovannis was the head of Survey Service's External Affairs Bureau, a division which an organization less sensitive to public relations would have called Security. In 2687 FSY, Chairman Paulina Koch gave Hovannis carte blanche to suppress reports which had leaked out from the Jeng Ho expedition to Bilbeis IV, which had uncovered a 15-century-old breach of Service conduct.

First on the list was Isaac Fogelman, a University of Hyperion professor and Noninterference Foundation member who had obtained a copy of the report. Hovannis hired a discreet individual to burglarize Fogelman's home and destroy the relevant computer files, however Fogelman stumbled upon the intruder, who took the initiative and killed Fogelman. This upped the stakes in Hovannis' already dangerous game.