Minor Fictional Characters in A Different Flesh

This article lists the various minor fictional characters who appear in A Different Flesh. 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.

Abel

("Freedom")

Abel was the first sim to orbit the Earth in a space capsule. After his success proved it was feasible, a human made the same trip.

Adams

("Though the Heavens Fall")

Adams, along with Westerbrook, was running for Censor of the Federated Commonwealths of America in 1804.

Literary comment

This wiki previously identified this character as the historical figure John Adams, but has since decided that there is no evidence to support this hypothesis. He could be an analog similar to Richard Trevithick and George Stephenson in "The Iron Elephant".

Patrick Bailey

("The Iron Elephant")

Patrick Bailey (died 1782) was part of the crew of Richard Trevithick's Iron Elephant steam-engine. He participated in the race between the engine and Prem Chand's hairy elephant train.

Bailey was killed when the Iron Elephant derailed and fell into a trap dug by wild sims. The sims carried his body off, presumably to eat it.

Jason Bros

("Though the Heavens Fall")

Jason Bros ran a business in Portsmouth in 1804, catching runaway slaves. The sign on his cabin read "Jason Bros: Runaway sims and niggers catched," with a picture of a sim treed by hounds with improbably sharp teeth and red mouths. Jeremiah, a runaway black man, saw this sign and was frightened by it.

Literary comment

Due to the deliberately bad spelling, the correct reading of the sign may be the plural "Jason Brothers" rather than an individual named Jason Bros.

Bryan

("Freedom")

Bryan was one of the two censors of the Federated Commonwealths of America in 1988. He called for an investigation into how the local constabulary handled the pro-sims' rights riots that took place in Philadelphia in 1988, and was vetoed by Censor Jennings, which marked perhaps the greatest split between the two censors during their term.

Literary comment

The names of the two censors are an allusion to William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925), an American lawyer who championed certain issues quite fervently, and waged three unsuccessful campaigns for President of the United States.

Butler

(F)

Butler was a reporter with the Terminus Constitution. He called Dr. Peter Howard shortly after members of the sim justice movement freed Matt.

Caesar

(IE)

Caesar was one of the two hairy elephants that pulled the train driven by Prem Chand. Prem Chand rode Caesar in the race against Richard Trevithick's Iron Elephant, and then used Caesar to rescue Trevithick from wild sims.

Jasper Carruthers

(THF)

Jasper Carruthers was a client for whom Alfred Douglas was drawing up a will. Douglas had fallen behind on the work.

Coleman

(F)

Coleman was a security officer at the Terminus Disease Research Center. He acted as a contact between the DRC and the local police.

Cecil Cooper

("Vilest Beast")

Cecil Cooper (born 1610) was the infant son of Allan Cooper.

Dee

(F)

Dee was a member of the sims justice movement. She was a locksmith, a trade that came in handy when she helped free Matt from the Terminus Disease Research Center in 1988.

Doris

(F)

Doris was Dr. Peter Howard's receptionist.

Margaret Douglas

("THF")

Margaret Douglas (died 1802) was the wife of Alfred Douglas. She died of swamp fever. After her death, the dwellings of her husband, a horrible housekeeper, remained messes until he hired Jeremiah Gillen to be his assistant.

Edward

(F)

Edward was a technician at the Disease Research Center. He and a guard named Lloyd were drugged by Ken Dixon and Melody Porter when they freed Matt from the DRC.

Emily

(F)

Emily and her husband Isaac were members of the sim justice movement. They gave Ken Dixon, Melody Porter and Matt a place to stay for the night when the group was on the run.

Jane Gillen

(THF)

Jane Gillen was the wife of Virginia plantation owner Charles Gillen. She was prone to being snappy with the house-slave, Jeremiah.

Sally Gillen

(THF)

Sally Gillen was the daughter of Virginia planter Charles Gillen.

Hannibal

(IE)

Hannibal was a hairy elephant in Prem Chand's train. Paul Tilak rode Hannibal.

Isaac

(F)

Isaac and his wife Emily were members of the sim justice movement. They gave Ken Dixon, Melody Porter and Matt a place to stay for the night when the group was on the run.

Jane

(F)

Jane was a female sim at the Terminus Disease Research Center. Like Matt, with whom she often mated, Jane had been infected with HIV.

Jennings

(F)

Jennings was one of the two censors of the Federated Commonwealths of America in 1988. He vetoed his co-censor, Bryan's call for an investigation into the pro-sims' rights riots that took place in Philadelphia, perhaps the greatest split between these two censors during their term. Nonetheless, he sent his aid Joseph Tanaka to the Terminus Disease Research Center to make sure that the sims being used in AIDS research were being treated humanely.

Literary comment

The names of the two censors are an allusion to William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925), an American lawyer who championed certain issues quite fervently, and waged three unsuccessful campaigns for President of the United States.

Joe

(THF)

Joe (died 1804) was a sim on the Virginia plantation of Charles Gillen. He died of lockjaw after he stepped on a thorn in 1804.

Kate

("And So To Bed")

Kate was a young human serving girl at the Turk's Head in London in 1661. Samuel Pepys ogled her as she served his fellows of the Rota Club. Sir William Henry noticed, and made a pun, exclaiming: "See how Samuel peeps!"

Lloyd

(F)

Lloyd was a guard at the Disease Research Center. He and a technician named Edward were both drugged by Ken Dixon and Melody Porter the night they freed Matt.

Lucy

(F)

Lucy was a sim belonging to Saul and Rhoda, members of the sim justice movement. Saul and Rhoda gave Ken Dixon, Melody Porter and Matt a place to stay for the night when the group was on the run. Lucy's presence caused a conflict as the HIV-infected Matt wanted to mate with her.

One-eye Jim

(IE)

One-eye Jim (d. 1782) was part of the crew of Richard Trevithick's Iron Elephant steam-engine. He participated in the race between the engine and Prem Chand's hairy elephant train.

One-eye Jim was killed when the Iron Elephant derailed and fell into a trap dug by wild sims. The sims carried his body off, presumably to eat it.

Pickens

(THF)

Pickens was plantation owner and neighbor of Charles Gillen's. In 1804, Gillen loaned his slave Jeremiah to Pickens when his cook got sick. A few months later, diphtheria ravaged the sim populations of both Pickens and Gillen. Pickens himself was ill.

Rhoda

(F)

Rhoda and her husband Saul were members of the sim justice movement. They gave Ken Dixon, Melody Porter and Matt a place to stay for the night when the group was on the run. They had a sim named Lucy, which caused a conflict as the HIV-infected Matt wanted to mate with her.

Saul

(F)

Saul and his wife Rhoda were members of the sim justice movement. They gave Ken Dixon, Melody Porter and Matt a place to stay for the night when the group was on the run. They had a sim named Lucy, which caused a conflict as the HIV-infected Matt wanted to mate with her.

Ernest Simpson

(POV intro of all stories)

Ernest Simpson was the historian who wrote The Story of the Federated Commonwealths.

Stephen

(F)

Stephen was a student in Terminus. He was a member of the sim justice movement, and helped Ken Dixon and Melody Porter free Matt.

Tom

(THF)

Tom (died 1804) was a sim on the plantation of Charles Gillen. Like many of his fellow sims, Tom was struck down by diphtheria in 1804.

Westerbrook

(THF)

Westerbrook, along with Adams, was a candidate for Censor of the Federated Commonwealths of America in 1804.