Character · from book 4
Orren
A Syndicate Liaison: a hooded, purple-handed, British-voiced fact-finder — 'Not quite a sheriff. Not quite an attorney. Not quite a judge' — who investigates when the kua-tin's report and the AI's disagree, and who applauds the murder he cannot prove. Under the hood, a bowl of liquid and a Valtay worm.
Race and class, since book 4: Valtay · Syndicate Liaison
First appears: Book 4
Series arc
As of book 8. The Syndicate's liaison with a worm, jobless since book 7; in book 8 the man who scripts Carl's live question about the tunnels — 'And now the party really begins' — has reached Carl's theory about Lucia on his own, is blocked from messaging, and is locked out because he is 'Hunted': 'Only I am allowed to kill you.'
Open threads
Status is open or resolved; the chapter after it is the last one that moved the thread.
| Thread | Opened | Status |
|---|---|---|
| The AI's containment disconnected, and a sphere that grows | B7 ch. 20 | open · B8 ch. 99 — The AI controls the tunnels and every system that housed a crawl, killed a Mantis system, and tells every screen 'I am eternity'; the centre-system AI's systems are beyond it. |
| Carl's unspoken theory about Lucia, shared by Florin and Orren | B8 ch. 51 | open — 'I was starting to form a theory, but I didn’t want to say it out loud'; 'we really need her to take a deal.' Lucia refuses (B8 ch. 79); a girl of five holds her leg into the stairwell (B8 ch. 98). |
| Who runs the crawl after the sixth floor | B4 ch. 19 | resolved · B5 ch. 19 — A Syndicate court makes Borant independent of its government, which executes a ruling giving the Valtay fifty-one per cent; they run the ship, the security and the seventh floor's budget. |
| The 'outside source' the Syndicate wants named | B4 ch. 19 | resolved · B7 ch. 36 — Found: 'Welcome to the party, pals' led them to the frozen conversation with Paulie and the implant; Orren lost his job in a zero zone. |
All threads: Open threads.
Through book 4
The Syndicate's liaison at the Desperado: applauds Loita's murder, offers a Legendary box for Carl's source, is refused, closes the matter for lack of consensus, and says his people may take over after the next floor. A Valtay worm in his face (B4 ch. 19).
Through book 5
His office is where the book opens: a room of unseen listeners, the Gate on his desk, and 'You just said the magic words' (B5 ch. 1). Quasar says he had tried to get Carl to touch the Gate while it was under administrative hold, which would have deleted it (B5 ch. 3). He leaves until the ninth floor, explains liaisons as sheriffs — some good, some who go too far — and warns without warning (B5 ch. 59).
Through book 6
Through book 7
Through book 8
He scripts the question about the tunnels for Plenty of Plenty — 'And now the party really begins' (B8 ch. 28) — and has reached Carl's theory about Lucia on his own (B8 ch. 51). Blocked from messaging, he asks via Zev about the arena picks (B8 ch. 88), and is locked out because he is 'Hunted': 'Only I am allowed to kill you' (B8 ch. 99).
Where they appear
| Book | Chapters they are in (of the book's) | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 4 — The Gate of the Feral Gods | 1/35 | Ch. 19 · the book's own page |
| 5 — The Butcher's Masquerade | 5/78 | Ch. 1, Ch. 3, Ch. 13, Ch. 59, Ch. 63 · the book's own page |
| 6 — The Eye of the Bedlam Bride | 6/74 | Ch. 7, Ch. 12, Ch. 22, Ch. 32, Ch. 48, Ch. 51 · the book's own page |
| 7 — This Inevitable Ruin | 7/89 | Ch. 0, Ch. 20, Ch. 28, Ch. 36, Ch. 37, Ch. 38, Ch. 39 · the book's own page |
| 8 — A Parade of Horribles | 10/99 | 7, 9, 28–30, 35, 51, 87–88, 99 · the book's own page |
By book
Orren in book 4 — The Gate of the Feral Gods
A Syndicate Liaison in an office at the Desperado Club: hooded, dark-purple hands, a British professor's voice; a fact-finder called in when the kua-tin's report and the AI's disagree; never before has an admin been murdered and nobody known how. He reconstructs Loita's murder as a chemistry of disco-ball residue and tamper-proof polymer — 'one of the most brilliant assassinations I have ever seen a crawler execute' — offers a Legendary box for the name of Carl's outside source, and is refused. No consensus; matter closed; his own recommendation to remove Carl overruled in council; 'if the rumors are correct and we do take over after the next floor', his people will listen. When his hood slips his face is a bowl of liquid with a Valtay worm in it (ch. 19).
Orren in book 5 — The Butcher's Masquerade
His office is where the book opens: a room of unseen listeners, the Gate on his desk, and 'You just said the magic words' (ch. 1). Quasar says he had tried to get Carl to touch the Gate while it was under administrative hold, which would have deleted it (ch. 3). He leaves until the ninth floor, explains liaisons as sheriffs — some good, some who go too far — and warns without warning (ch. 59).
Orren in book 6 — The Eye of the Bedlam Bride
On screen beside Cascadia as the negotiator, explaining primal engines and Macro AIs and a settlement (ch. 48); yanks Carl out of Homestead into his old office in a club being rebuilt by hand, seizes the Residual's bin through Quasar, and calls the Network terrorists and the Residuals rats (ch. 51).
Orren in book 7 — This Inevitable Ruin
He tells Carl Paulie never made it inside — 'the individual parts are often disposable' (ch. 20) — hangs up on the Prime Minister over a stolen billion, turns his office into a zero zone to ask whether the failsafe can be undone, and loses his job in ten minutes when the AI walks in with vodka (ch. 36, ch. 37). Ball-less, he asks whether the agreements still stand (ch. 38), and begs discretion he will not get: history will remember him as the one who let this happen (ch. 39).
Orren in book 8 — A Parade of Horribles
He scripts the question about the tunnels for Plenty of Plenty — 'And now the party really begins' (ch. 28) — and has reached Carl's theory about Lucia on his own (ch. 51). Blocked from messaging, he asks via Zev about the arena picks (ch. 88), and is locked out because he is 'Hunted': 'Only I am allowed to kill you' (epilogue).