This article lists the various minor fictional characters who appear in Harry Turtledove's novella "The Breaking of Nations". These characters play at best a peripheral role in the novella. Most were simply mentioned or had a very brief, unimportant speaking role that impacted the plot minimally, if at all, and never appeared again. Some were not even given a name.
Note 1: Per wiki policy, most Turtledove works shorter than a novel are not given a "Minor Fictional Characters" list. An exception has been granted here, as "The Breaking of Nations" is a longer novella, embracing a number of minor characters whose overall impact on the plot is negligible.
Note 2: Although the story has official sequels, none were written by Turtledove, so their characters are not included here. None of the following Turtledove-created minor characters are mentioned in the sequels, although a small number of major ones are.
Note 3: All in-story events described below, take place in 2031 unless noted.
Anna Badal[]
Anna Badal was the communications director to Nicole Yoshida, as the latter went from being Governor of California to being Acting President of Pacifica. She was small, slim, and medium-brown. Badal made sure that Yoshida's independence speech would make it onto bootleg channels in the United States, and was horrified when Yoshida chose to wing the speech rather than read a teleprompter.[1]
Beth[]
Beth was a secretary whom Governor Axel Lysbakken infiltrated into a prominent anti-Pacifican independence group in Oregon. A former parliamentarian for the mystery convention Bouchercon, her gender helped make her inconspicuous to the patriarchal MAGAheads.[2]
Ed[]
Ed was a secretary whom Governor Axel Lysbakken infiltrated into a prominent anti-Pacifican independence group in Oregon. He was a former parliamentarian for the World Science Fiction Convention.[3]
Jeremy[]
Jeremy was a makeup artist who prepared Governor-President Nicole Yoshida for her speech announcing Pacifican independence. He told her "You have to look your best for this," and she replied "Thanks, Jeremy. I think." Although he laughed, she wasn't sure it was funny.[4]
Sergei Khloponin[]
Sergei Khloponin was the Russian Federation's consul-general in Seattle, USA. When Pacifica broke away from the USA, Khloponin called President Nicole Yoshida and urged her to turn on the RT Network for an important speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin. It turned out to be a formal recognition of Pacifican independence. Khloponin was promoted to ambassador.[5]
Colin McCarty[]
Colin McCarty (R-California) was a longtime Congressman from rural Kern County. His politics lay only a little to the right of Attila the Hun, and he had beat several corruption charges.
McCarty opposed Pacifica's break with the United States. He was one of the keynote speakers at the Fresno Convention, which took place at Save Mart Center. Pacifica's acting president, Nicole Yoshida, had permitted the convention to take place, but had taken steps to make sure attendees were miserable. Thus, McCarty gave his speech while sweat poured from his body because the AC in the Save Mart Center had stopped working. Moreover, his in-person audience was quite small, and his on-line streaming service was having technical difficulties.
McCarty decried what he (correctly) claimed was a conspiracy by the Pacifican government. When one audience member collapsed from the heat, McCarty claimed the "traitors" of Pacifica would be responsible if he died.[6]
Eric Mendoza[]
Sergeant Eric Mendoza of the California Highway Patrol drove Pacifican President Nicole Yoshida in a Lincoln on her first official mission out of Sacramento in 2031. En route to San Francisco, their motorcade was ambushed by the United States Air Force near Vacaville. Mendoza repeatedly had to order Yoshida and her husband Brent to duck down away from enemy fire. Mendoza shot an enemy soldier in the face during the battle. He then informed the Yoshidas that their reinforcements had arrived, and that the enemy was on the run.[7]
Mendoza later escorted Yoshida to Camp Calexico. He reminded her of the importance of showing the world the truth about ICE's concentration camps, in order to turn more Americans to sympathy for the Pacifican cause.[8]
Miss Tennessee runner-up[]
A blow-dried blonde reporter for Fox-CNN interpreted Mike Pence's speech, which denounced Pacifican independence, for viewers who were too dense to understand what the President had just said. She added that, since the West Coast states were full of gay heathens, Pence was being generous and merciful for wanting to keep them in the Union at all.
Pacifican President Nicole Yoshida thought she recognized the reporter as a past second runner-up for Miss Tennessee.[9]
Ali Musavi[]
Ali Musavi was head of the California Highway Patrol. When his home state broke away from the United States to join Pacifica, Musavi's Muslim faith and his extremely liberal political stance made it clear that he would support the secession wholeheartedly.[10]
Miguel Narváez[]
Miguel Narváez, Lieutenant Governor of California, succeeded to the Governor's office when Nicole Yoshida resigned to become President of Pacifica.[11]
| Political offices ("The Breaking of Nations") | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Nicole Yoshida |
Governor of California 2031-? |
Succeeded by Incumbent at story's end |
Dave Phillips[]
Dave Phillips was a MAGAhead from Lansing, Michigan, who attended an Oregon congressman's anti-Pacifica speech. Phillips praised President Mike Pence's effort to crush the rebellion, and stated that Reverend Franklin Graham was God's mouthpiece on Earth.[12]
Pacifican President Nicole Yoshida suspected that Phillips was an actor hired by the administration, although it appeared that he genuinely believed in the MAGA cause.[13]
Unnamed Congressman from Oregon[]
A Republican congressman from a rural district of Oregon opposed his home state's break with the United States to form the new nation of Pacifica. On the steps of the United States Capitol, the man gave a passionate speech denouncing the secessionist nation, and affirming his devotion to President Mike Pence. Although Washington, DC's population was mostly black, the Oregonian had amassed a large number of white people for his audience, many wearing MAGA hats. Some, including Dave Phillips, may have been paid to be there.[14]
Unnamed Deputy Sheriff of Modoc County[]
A deputy sheriff from Modoc County, California, took the mic at the Fresno Convention, screeching "We can't let the Soros cartel internationalize us, turn us into mongrels, and start forcing abortions on our womenfolk! We can't let them take away our logging rights! We can't let them drag us into mosques and make us talk Spanish! If we all have to use euros, what'll we do for real money? Huh? What?"
Much to Nicole Yoshida's disappointment, the man was not dragged away in a butterfly net.[15]
Unnamed ICE Captain[]
A captain in ICE was one of the chief personnel at Camp Calexico when President Nicole Yoshida and General Malcolm Washington came to liberate it. The captain did not recognize Pacifica's nationhood, and pointed to the U.S. flag over the camp as an unquestionable symbol of her authority. After Washington refuted the flag's power by using Biercian logic (which the captain did not grasp), Yoshida declared that the captain was under arrest, on suspicion of crimes against humanity. The captain feebly attempted to protest that she had been only following orders.[16]
Unnamed ICE Nurse[]
When Nicole Yoshida inspected Camp Calexico, she was horrified by the squalid conditions in which children were kept. An ICE nurse, who looked as if she wanted to spit rivets, said "This isn't the Hilton, you know." Yoshida replied that it was not even Trump Tower, and the nurse said that it was the result of entering the then-United States illegally. Yoshida considered that to be no justification for treating the children as prisoners of war. The nurse simply repeated her mantra about illegal entry, and declared that the Pacifican rebellion was illegal and against God. Yoshida reminded the nurse that Jesus opposed mistreatment of children. The nurse replied "the Devil can quote scripture to his purpose," and Yoshida declared that Franklin Graham was a crucial example of that, before turning away.[17]
Literary comment[]
It is not clearly stated whether the nurse was arrested along with the captain.
Unnamed United States Attorney General[]
Under Donald Trump and Mike Pence, the Attorneys General of the United States began to follow the President's bidding rather than the law. After FBI whistleblower Patrick O'Donnell defected to Pacifica, the incumbent AG rubber-stamped a warrant demanding O'Donnell's extradition. President Nicole Yoshida flatly refused to honor the document.[18]
Yang Wang[]
Yang Wang was China's consul-general in San Francisco, USA. When the People's Republic granted recognition to Pacifica, Yang Wang was appointed acting ambassador.[19]
Literary comment[]
The name Wang Yang or Yang Wang was shared by several living CCP members in 2020. It is not clear whether this character is meant to be any of them.
Jacob Yoshida[]
Jacob Yoshida was studying at the University of California, Berkeley, where his mother Nicole used to teach. He was writing his doctorate on Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, and was cheerfully resigned to the high improbability that this thesis would lead to jobs. Jacob had an older sister named Joyce, who had somewhat more pragmatic career aspirations.[20]
Joyce Yoshida[]
Joyce Yoshida was doing an oncology residency in Spokane, when her mother Nicole was chosen as President of Pacifica. Joyce probably had better career prospects than her younger brother Jacob.[21]
Justin Yoshida[]
See Jacob Yoshida; Inconsistencies (The Breaking of Nations).
References[]
- ↑ And the Last Trump Shall Sound, pgs. 8, 10.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 54.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 54.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 9-10.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 76-79.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 50-52; pgs. 52-54, loc. 765-800, ebook.
- ↑ Ibid, pgs. 27-29.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 36-39.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 15-16.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 4.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 65-66.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 25.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 24-25.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 52.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 37-38.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 41-42.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 66.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 16.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 26-27. However, on pg. 33, his name is changed to "Justin."
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 26-27, 33.
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