Oscar Monroe
Names: Oscar MonroeOscarMr. MonroeCaptainAdmiralGene Yaohui
First appears in Book 1: Pandora's Star, chapter 8 (SEVEN)
Appearances
What you know
Book 1: Pandora's Star
- Ch 8Oscar is Operations Director of the CST exploratory division base on Merredin, running wormhole planet-hunting operations.
- Ch 8Oscar has been rejuvenated; he kept his first-life memories to guard against relapsing into the stupid idealism of his younger self.
- Ch 8Oscar changes his sports car every year or less; his current one is a Merc 1001 coupe imported from New Germany.
- Ch 8Oscar is driven by the hope of giving others a fresh start, and sees exploration as a way to make amends for something he did in his first life.
- Ch 8On leave he fished alone on Lake Rutland for ten days, then spent three days in London with a young aristocratic man he met at the theater.
- Ch 8Oscar runs the Merredin gateway control center as operations director, and is offered the executive officer post on the Second Chance mission.
- Ch 11Operations Director from Merredin's CST exploratory division, now working on Wilson's starship project at Anshun; dislikes zero gravity.
- Ch 11He is visiting the High Angel for the first time, to ask what it knows about the Dyson Pair.
- Ch 12Oscar is Wilson's deputy; he stabilised the starship overnight and arranged senior staff offices in chemical systems building three.
- Ch 13Oscar is a flamboyant crew member who drives a Ferrari Rion and acts as Wilson's second on the bridge, handling course and crew status.
- Ch 13Oscar sits back looking contented, signalling to Wilson that there is little left for the crew to do.
- Ch 15Oscar is the ship's executive officer and takes tactical control of defenses and missiles.
- Ch 15Oscar commands the bridge in Wilson's absence and guided Mac through the EVA; his voice has a perpetual tone of dry amusement.
- Ch 15Oscar is Wilson's officer who gives political realism; he says funding for pure physics research will not be granted, and commanded the bridge during the night alarm.
- Ch 15Oscar is deeply alarmed that the barrier fell just as the Second Chance arrived and repeatedly argues they should leave.
- Ch 15Oscar acts as exploration supervisor from the ship, with authority over all major decisions during the Watchtower exploration.
- Ch 15Oscar worries about the barrier coming down and warns Mac to take care.
- Ch 15Oscar, the executive officer, runs the Watchtower exploration and urges Wilson to leave.
- Ch 24Oscar is a captain given command of Defender; he is badly hungover and gives a clumsy welcome speech at the re-life ceremony.
- Ch 24Oscar, the Second Chance's captain and a candidate for the Defender captaincy, blurted that Bose screwed up and that nobody wanted him aboard.
- Ch 24In his youth Oscar belonged to a radical Party with Adam Elvin, was exploited by Professor Grayva, and did something terrible he is still ashamed of.
- Ch 24Oscar justifies leaving Bose by saying the ship faced Prime nuclear missiles and had a mission to report findings back.
- Ch 24Oscar resists examining the data, rejects the conspiracy claims, and says he does not need absolution, but does not firmly refuse.
- Ch 24Oscar believes the Venice Coast explosion and the Senator's murder were done by a covert government operative or an Intersolar Dynasty.
Book 2: Judas Unchained
- Ch 4Oscar is Wilson's best man and captain of the Defender, due on a month-long patrol.
- Ch 4Oscar secretly lives under a cover provided by the Party, and was involved with Adam Elvin in a mistake at Abadan Station that caused deaths.
- Ch 4Oscar privately reviews Second Chance log recordings, uncertain how Bose and Verbeken were lost at the Watchtower, because Adam insists something odd happened.
- Ch 5Oscar is captain of the Defender and will lead the assault cruiser project after returning; he feels guilty about concealing Adam and his past from friends.
- Ch 6Oscar, captain of the Defender, spends his rec hours reviewing Second Chance logs to understand the disappearance of Bose and Verbeke, feeling guilty for authorizing their deeper exploration.
- Ch 8Oscar discovered the opening to Hell's Gateway and is weak and dizzy from freefall exposure.
- Ch 8Oscar tells Wilson that the Guardians of Selfhood asked him to investigate the Second Chance mission, and offers to resign.
- Ch 9Oscar secretly copied navy records of the Second Chance shuttle flight, showing the comms dish deploying, and erased the access log. A Guardian contact had raised his doubts.
- Ch 12Oscar is captain of the starship Dublin, on duty above Hanko when the Primes invade.
- Ch 12Oscar commands the Dublin and ordered the quantumbuster attack; he suspects the Starflyer gave the Primes the flare bomb design.
- Ch 14Oscar, captain of the Dublin, was one of Wilson's first recruits and fears Columbia's new regime is purging the old one.
- Ch 14Oscar comes to Narrabri station for Columbia to get Nigel Sheldon's permission to send an arrest team through the wormhole to Boongate.
- Ch 14Returned from Dublin five hours earlier and was appointed messenger for the Paris team's mission to arrest Tarlo; Columbia is warming to the Starflyer being genuine.
- Ch 14Argues Dudley ignored protocol and should have suicided after capture, since MorningLightMountain got Earth-side star coordinates from his mind.
- Ch 16Oscar is suspicious that Qatux's claimed ability to manage the wormhole may be meant to influence the group's emotions.
- Ch 16Oscar found that the Volvo's gearbox oil leaked from a loose seal and that a software overwrite likely hit the drive array, suggesting sabotage.
- Ch 16Oscar plans to reboot the remaining trucks' arrays from the manufacturer's software cache to wipe out any malicious overwrite.
- Ch 18Denies Bose's accusation, blaming the Starflyer agent for hacking the Second Chance's communications; Adam says he trusts Oscar is not the agent.
- Ch 18Oscar has past criminal activity hidden behind a respectable life, and is close friends with the three suspects for the Starflyer agent.
- Ch 18Oscar says official logs in Pentagon II were tampered with after he found evidence the Starflyer agent was aboard the Second Chance; only he and Wilson knew.
- Ch 18Oscar is a poor pilot who has barely flown in ten years, but agrees to fly using insert memories.
- Ch 18Oscar is to be the hyperglider pilot and is given the skill memory implant first; he fears the odds are against him arriving intact.
- Ch 18Oscar previously worked in CST's exploratory division and has undergone skill memory implantation many times.
- Ch 19Oscar was using a memory implant during the murder and cannot prove an alibi; he is shaken by Adam's death.
- Ch 19Oscar is the main suspect on timing grounds; he claimed a self-described Guardian contacted him, and he pilots a hyperglider to Mount Herculaneum.
- Ch 19Oscar, a navy captain and former senior CST manager, was at Abadan station with Adam and took part in the terrorist atrocity.
- Ch 19Oscar was a nineteen-year-old student radical who helped plant the bomb that destroyed the Abadan express train; he later received an identity change.
- Ch 19Oscar's real name is Gene Yaohui; he chose 'Oscar' from his love of mid-twentieth-century films. He has dreamed of the victims nightly for forty years.
- Ch 19Oscar deliberately rams Anna's hyperglider in the storm, killing himself and her so Wilson can reach the summit.
- Ch 19Oscar, like Anna, never made it out of Stakeout Canyon; Wilson regarded both as people who never really existed.
- Ch 20Oscar Monroe, also known as Gene Yaohui, faces Abadan station charges; his memorycell was recovered from Stakeout Canyon.
Connections
- member ofCSTOperations Director of the exploratory division at Merredin
- related toMcClain Gilbertforward crew chief reporting to Oscar
- related toWilson Kimeexecutive officer to captain on the Second Chance
- ally ofWilson Kimework together but argue; Oscar is subordinate
- friend ofMcClain Gilbert
- ally ofMcClain Gilbert
- led byWilson KimeOscar is his deputy
- member ofSecond Chanceexecutive officer
- leadsStAsaphcaptain
- enemy ofAdam Elvinformer comrades who parted bitterly
- leadsSecond Chancecaptain
- enemy ofDudley Bose
- friend ofWilson Kimebest man
- related toAdam Elvinformer comrades in the Party
- leadsDefendercaptain
- leadsDublin
- member ofRafael Columbiaserves under Columbia in the navy
- ally ofTeague
- ally ofAlic Hogan
- ally ofAdam Elvinthe old team
- friend ofAdam Elvin
Key moments
- Book 1 · Ch 8Wormhole power-up after overhaul
After the overhaul and a slow power-up, Oscar opens the Merredin exploratory wormhole toward star AFR98-2B and confirms the exit location.
- Book 1 · Ch 8Survey of new planet
The crew finds a habitable third planet with no sentient life. Oscar authorizes a ground encounter and moves the gateway exit to just above the surface at dawn.
- Book 1 · Ch 8First contact on Chelva fails
Mac's team steps onto Chelva and is attacked by acid-secreting grass; a samplebot is dissolved by a tree. Plants prove uniformly acidic and Oscar closes the exit.
- Book 1 · Ch 8Oscar recruited by Wilson
Wilson Kime, impressed by Oscar's management, offers him the executive officer post on the Second Chance and Oscar accepts.
- Book 1 · Ch 8Crew planning and Halgarth conference
At Anshun, Oscar and Wilson plan crew selection and discuss Ulysses survivors. They then confer with Halgarth about the Marie Celeste and the Dyson Pair.
- Book 1 · Ch 8Director rules out Marie Celeste link
The Institute Director tells Wilson and Oscar the Marie Celeste's builders could not have made the Dyson barrier, which predates the arkship, so it is not connected to the Dyson Pair.
- Book 1 · Ch 11Journey to the High Angel
Oscar and Mac pass security at Kerensk, take a zero-gee shuttle from the gateway station to New Glasgow dome, and spot Paula Myo travelling too.
- Book 1 · Ch 11Meeting the Chairwoman
Toniea Gall coolly criticises Sheldon's choice of Anshun, then reluctantly lets Oscar and Mac use the Association's channel to ask the High Angel about the Dyson Pair.
- Book 1 · Ch 11Mac and Oscar question the High Angel
The High Angel appears as a human executive and says it knows nothing of the Dyson Pair or why barriers were raised, but doubts they were defensive against aggression.
- Book 1 · Ch 11Attack on the Anshun complex
Kaos software, an explosion and intruders hit the complex. Wilson seals the assembly platform's gateway, orders everyone to Second Chance's life-support ring and names Anna Hober his executive officer.
- Book 1 · Ch 12Post-attack morning at the complex
Wilson surveys the damaged CST complex and Oscar reports the starship is stable and rebuilding plans are underway; security wants to meet Wilson.
- Book 1 · Ch 13Farewell gala at the Regency Palace
On the eve of departure, Wilson, Anna and Oscar attend the First Speaker's gala, where Council members debate the mission, weapons, funding and defense, and the Second Chance is saluted with fireworks.
- Book 1 · Ch 13Second Chance departs into the wormhole
Wilson leads the crew aboard, Douvoir disengages the ship from its platform, and Tu Lee opens the wormhole. The ship enters it, cutting its link to the unisphere.
- Book 1 · Ch 13Ship settles into routine flight
Wilson checks the starship's primary systems and finds them running well. The engineers keep monitoring their fields while the rest of the bridge crew relax, with about a hundred thirty days of travel remaining.
- Book 1 · Ch 15Second Chance emerges near Dyson Alpha
Wilson's ship exits hyperspace in interstellar space, and sensor modules survey Dyson Alpha's barrier at progressively closer stages, finding no threats and little new information.
- Book 1 · Ch 15Mac's EVA to the barrier
Mac jets from the shuttle to the barrier, touches it, and spends forty minutes placing sensors. It is solid-feeling and impervious, with no further answers about its origin.
- Book 1 · Ch 15Department heads reject breaking through
Tunde says no hyperspace or physical route through the barrier exists. Wilson orders a circumnavigation of the equator and approves a gravity-wave signal plan.
- Book 1 · Ch 15Hemisphere discovered
During the equatorial survey, hysradar finds a 25,000 km hemisphere with an apex opening, gravity pulses and a strong magnetic field. A satellite is launched to look inside.
- Book 1 · Ch 15Decision to move on
Wilson, Oscar and Tunde agree the Dark Fortress can't be understood with onboard resources and politically won't earn follow-up missions, so the flight around the barrier resumes.
- Book 1 · Ch 15Barrier turns transparent
An emergency alarm wakes Wilson as hysradar shows the barrier bowing inward. He takes the ship to one million kilometers, and the barrier begins turning transparent.
- Book 1 · Ch 15The barrier vanishes
Dyson Alpha's barrier loses cohesion and disappears as the Second Chance approaches, revealing a civilized, heavily colonized system and a changed Dark Fortress. Oscar fears something knows they are there.
- Book 1 · Ch 15Dyson squadrons fight
The crew observes a large battle between two Dyson squadrons using nuclear missiles and gamma lasers; Oscar urges leaving, but Wilson refuses.
- Book 1 · Ch 15Cautious contact plan and approach
Wilson authorizes a minimum-emission investigation of an abandoned wreck or habitat, with the ship on combat alert. The Second Chance crosses the old barrier line and heads for a chosen rock.
- Book 1 · Ch 15Exploration of the Watchtower
Mac's team enters the abandoned station and finds it stripped and long dead; Dudley's team A follows, descending the tunnels to level seven and preparing to explore a shaft into the rock.
- Book 1 · Ch 15Contact team loses comms
Dudley and Emmanuelle are deep in the Watchtower's spiral shaft when they drop out of communication; Mac and Francis try to go after them.
- Book 1 · Ch 15Second Chance flees
After recovering Mac and Francis, Wilson abandons the missing pair and orders a hyperspace jump home.
- Book 1 · Ch 21Scoutships reach Dyson Alpha
After seventy-two days the three scoutships halt half a light-year out, find clear space, and the Conway and StAsaph proceed in while the Langharne waits and gathers data. They detect powerful wormhole activity.
- Book 1 · Ch 22Rules of engagement meeting
Wilson's staff and the oversight committee meet. Dimitri argues for maximum force and destroying any Prime wormhole at once. Patricia is wary, but Wilson agrees to cost out weapons able to break through to the far end.
- Book 1 · Ch 24Dauntless launched and welcome-back ceremony
Dauntless leaves High Angel and Oscar is offered Defender. The next day Oscar, hungover, attends a media welcome-back ceremony for Bose and Verbeke at the Nadsis Hotel.
- Book 1 · Ch 24Dudley's outburst and Oscar's gaffe
At the welcome-back event Dudley denounces the Second Chance crew for abandoning him. Pressed by Baron, Oscar angrily says Bose screwed up and nobody wanted him aboard, causing a media uproar.
- Book 1 · Ch 24Adam Elvin confronts Oscar
Adam, Oscar's old comrade, appears in his hotel room, admits attacking the Second Chance, and asks Oscar to review its flight logs for evidence of Starflyer influence on behalf of Johansson.
- Book 1 · Ch 24Adam pressures Oscar to examine the flight data
Adam argues Oscar should search the flight data for background activity, such as who was on deck thirteen when the barrier came down. Oscar protests, but Adam reminds him of Abadan station and leaves, promising fortnightly check-ins.
- Book 2 · Ch 4Wilson and Anna's wedding
Wilson and Anna marry in a media-saturated chapel ceremony at High Angel, attended by politicians and navy personnel, then leave for a short honeymoon before returning to work.
- Book 2 · Ch 4Oscar copies Second Chance logs
Late at night in Pentagon II, Oscar copies the Second Chance's extensive log recordings onto memory crystals, secretly investigating the voyage.
- Book 2 · Ch 5Wilson briefs Oscar and Mac
Wilson reveals the Primes are fortifying the Lost23, tasks Oscar with finding Hell's Gateway's destination, assigns Mac to test relativistic missiles, and promises Oscar the assault cruiser project.
- Book 2 · Ch 6Oscar spots the Second Chance's dish
Reviewing sensor composites, Oscar notices the Second Chance's comms dish was extended toward Dyson Alpha. Then the Defender's alarm sounds as hysradar finds the other end of Hell's Gateway.
- Book 2 · Ch 8Navy Strategic Review Council debates the Hell's Gateway assault
Advisors discuss the Hell's Gateway location, Dimitri's call for caution and use of the Seattle weapon, and ship production. They agree to wait a fortnight, keeping reserves for defense and expanding guerrilla warfare.
- Book 2 · Ch 8Oscar reveals the Second Chance traitor evidence
Oscar privately shows Wilson a log of the dish pointed at the Prime homeworld, revealing a traitor aboard Second Chance. Wilson resolves to consult Paula Myo.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Tampered navy records discovered
Wilson and Oscar show Paula Oscar's copy of the shuttle recording, but the official record has been altered to remove the dish deployment. Paula rules the copy inadmissible and says the Starflyer is likely behind it.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Bayfoss link to the barrier's collapse
Paula reveals the Bayfoss connection and warns the Armstrong-class satellites may have been sabotaged to switch off the barrier. She urges Wilson to inspect Bayfoss components supplied to classified projects.
- Book 2 · Ch 12Primes launch the second invasion
Prime wormholes open around 48 Commonwealth worlds, including Hanko and Wessex, flooding the systems with ships while Douvoirs fail to catch the shifting wormholes.
- Book 2 · Ch 12Dublin scouts the wormhole above the star
Wilson orders Oscar to scout the Prime wormhole above Hanko's star. Prime nukes jam sensors, and exotic-energy shockwaves shake the Dublin as it goes in closer.
- Book 2 · Ch 12Prime flare bomb strikes Hanko's star
Dublin observes a Prime device plunge into the corona and become a flare bomb; Seattle Project scientists identify it, warning the biosphere of Hanko is threatened.
- Book 2 · Ch 12Quantumbuster destroys the flare
Dublin fires a quantumbuster at maximum radius into the flare; the explosion wipes out the flare bomb and Prime covering ships, shocking MorningLightMountain. Wilson orders it repeated elsewhere.
- Book 2 · Ch 14Columbia briefs Oscar
Admiral Columbia tells Oscar he now believes the Starflyer threat and sends him to ask Nigel Sheldon to open the wormhole for an arrest team after Tarlo.
- Book 2 · Ch 14Oscar's request approved
Nigel Sheldon agrees to let an arrest team go through the Boongate wormhole to capture Tarlo, on the condition of secrecy and that memory data goes through his operation.
- Book 2 · Ch 14Alic's team prepares for the Wessex gateway
Alic's team is cleared to take a track engineering train through a one-time wormhole gateway at Wessex to confront Tarlo.
- Book 2 · Ch 14Oscar and Dudley clash
Dudley confronts Oscar over being abandoned; the argument turns into a shoving match before Wilson, Anna and the Bose motile separate them.
- Book 2 · Ch 14Pursuit on the Boongate line
Oscar warns Alic that a train is accelerating behind him; Alic blasts a hole in the carriage rear and sees the GH7 engine pursuing.
- Book 2 · Ch 15Boarding the Carbon Goose
After sensorbot checks find no sabotage, Adam's group loads vehicles aboard the Carbon Goose, and Wilson pilots it out of the hangar toward the sea to chase the Starflyer.
- Book 2 · Ch 15Drop onto Port Evergreen
After launching recon drones and seeing the Starflyer's group stalled, the Carbon Goose is detected when its radar switches on; ten armored figures jump anyway.
- Book 2 · Ch 16Guardians arrive on Far Away
Wilson sends the stormrider into the neutron star; Qatux opens a wormhole and Bradley's party crosses to Far Away near Armstrong City, then the wormhole is closed.
- Book 2 · Ch 16Truck breakdown and sabotage
A Volvo engine burns out on the Aldrin Plains. While transferring cargo, Adam finds four crates sabotaged by maser, raising suspicion of a saboteur within the group.
- Book 2 · Ch 16Sabotage investigated
Adam restores order after the crate discovery and Oscar reveals the gearbox failure looked like sabotage. The convoy sets off after an hour's delay.
- Book 2 · Ch 18Refuelling at Wolfstail
Adam's convoy stops at Wolfstail, where Adam and Oscar buy medical supplies for Paula. Adam tells Oscar he doubts he is the Starflyer agent and they weigh the remaining suspects.
- Book 2 · Ch 18Adam and Oscar weigh suspects
Buying medicine, Adam and Oscar discuss which of Wilson, Anna or Myo could be the Starflyer agent, without conclusion; Adam decides to rely on Paula.
- Book 2 · Ch 18Plan to glide onto Aphrodite's Seat
Because the observation team is delayed, Wilson proposes landing a hyperglider on Mount Herculaneum. Samantha agrees despite sabotage fears; Adam privately plans to ground Wilson and Anna and let only Oscar fly.
- Book 2 · Ch 18Hangar preparations
The group breaks into the Grand Triad Adventures hangar, powers it up, and checks hypergliders, jeeps and files while planning the flight to Aphrodite's Seat.
- Book 2 · Ch 18Oscar's skill memory implant
Adam sets Oscar on a couch to receive hyperglider skill memory, suspecting a Starflyer agent among the group.
- Book 2 · Ch 19Adam found murdered
Oscar wakes from a memory implant to find Adam dead in the hangar. The Guardians accuse the others, but Paula's questioning establishes no clear culprit; Wilson insists the mission continue.
- Book 2 · Ch 19Hypergliders tethered in the wet desert
The group tethers three hypergliders along Stakeout Canyon for the morning storm launch. Oscar, Anna and Wilson board; the rest retreat to shelter at Mount Zeus.
- Book 2 · Ch 19Bradley deduces the observation trap
Realizing Paula's message concerns the hyperglider observation, Bradley sends a verification message over short-wave naming Oscar's link to Adam at Abadan.
- Book 2 · Ch 19Paula turns back to Oscar
Paula hears Bradley's reply, concludes Oscar is not the agent, and has Rosamund turn the jeep back toward Stakeout Canyon to question him.
- Book 2 · Ch 19Paula exposes Anna
Paula reasons that Oscar is cleared and that only Anna could be the Starflyer agent; Wilson reluctantly accepts it as Anna stays silent.
- Book 2 · Ch 19Oscar confesses Abadan
During the ascent Oscar tells Wilson about his role in the Abadan bombing and reveals his real name, Gene Yaohui.
- Book 2 · Ch 19Oscar rams Anna
Oscar plunges his hyperglider into Anna's as she closes on Wilson; both crash, and Wilson rides the waterfall and a twister toward Aphrodite's Seat.
- Book 2 · Ch 20Paula takes over the Paris office
Paula returns as Deputy Director, welcomes the team, keeps Alic, and plans a meeting about Oscar Monroe's fate.