Panacea Genesis, by L. Ana. Ellis

Characters

Of the characters involved, the following five seemed to have the most important roles in the story: Mariela, Liam, Amaya, Cooper, and Hank.

Mariela Stafford, vice-president of Panacea Corp was an admirable character in many ways. Not only was she inquisitive, intelligent and deeply caring in her own way but she was also sneaky when she needed to be, in order to progress her goals. However, she also initially came across as a bit judgemental, lecturing people on their life choices, or otherwise pushing people away when they got too close for comfort. In a way, I could relate to Mariela on a deep level as I know how it feels to fear intimacy and closeness when you feel you must always keep your walls up in order to remain strong. Furthermore, Mariela was a character that had to make a lot of difficult decisions, even if choosing one option meant hurting someone close to her for the seemingly greater good. Although I didn’t warm to Mariela at first, I soon came to view her as complicated yet also as a strong and truly remarkable individual.

On the other hand, Liam (the new CEO of Panacea Corp) appears arrogant, ruthless in his ways, and rather cold emotionally. He proved himself to be particularly underhanded, much like his new LP100 ghost double. While Liam plays the part of being polite and civil in the company of others, it is all but for show, subtly masking his more devious and narcissistic sense of self. It was easy to dislike his character as any redeeming qualities he had seemed to melt almost as soon as they were made apparent.

Next, we come to Amaya, an unchipped computer-systems professional who at first seems quiet and contemplative, with a good head for problem-solving. Therefore, she makes an excellent leader for Mariela’s expedition. Her deeply caring nature warmed me to her immediately and made her appear more approachable as an individual. However, Amaya also hides a secret, one which – if exposed – could drastically alter people’s views of her.

Next, we come to Cooper, a reclusive ex-university professor who proved himself to be highly intelligent, artistic, and deeply sensitive, especially to criticism. He seemed to prefer the company of art or animals to humans, which I found perfectly understandable. He often seemed tense and curt around Mariela, which was soon explained as they share an albeit brief romantic history. He appeared to be the thoughtful and reflective type and was particularly protective over Mariela, clearly never having shaken his past feelings for her. Overall, I initially didn’t care for his character, however, upon learning more about the reasons for his initial crass behaviour, I came to empathise with him and to see him as a somewhat sweet and sensitive individual who had simply been suffering from a great loss.

Finally, we come to Hank, a most immature and impulsive individual, whose competitive streak often puts him at odds with others in the expedition team. He didn’t seem like someone I would trust and often displayed needless aggressive tendencies which put others around him on edge. It would be safe to say that Hank was one of the more displeasing characters of the story’s main cast, providing the occasional minor interpersonal conflict to help flesh out the main story conflict.