Character Guide - Book 1: Labyrinth

NOTE: The latter portions of this guide contain spoilers for Book 1.

Main Characters:

Yuli Suriova – 22, Female, Colonist. Software specialist. Was taken in by the Cyber Initiative as a teen, signed up for the Colonists Program to support her family financially. Uses her special tech, the code visualizer, to heal her allies. Her weapon is a lightweight plasma gun.

Dara Kravchenko – 26, Female, Military. In charge of all the soldiers in the maze. Has earned the nickname “Captain Android” or just “Android” for her infamous, seemingly heartless leadership. Her special weapon, the augmented electrostaff, contains a variety of deadly configurations. 

Xavier Donovan (Subject 7) – 21, Male, Test Subject. Leader of the Test Subjects. Turned to crime after his wealthy family disowned him, ended up property of the Cyber Initiative. Uses his charismatic nature to inspire and manipulate the other test subjects. His weapon is a modded sword of variable length.

Vade – Male, Maze AI. Rebellious AI who has been erased and reset multiple times. Ally of the test subjects, wants to escape the Explicator and exist beyond the maze. Wishes he was human. His weapon is a regular electrostaff, with basic electric shock capabilities.

Supporting Characters:

Dr. Arilus Kallo – 39, Male, Colonist. Leader of the Colonists. Was heavily involved in the development of the Otherworld. Cunning, intimidating, and highly intelligent, with a criminal past. His weapon is an electrostaff that features a built-in shield.

Mira Murata – 19, Female, Colonist. University student, intern at the Cyber Initiative. Signed up for the Colonists Program for college credit. Her weapon is a pair of small knives, chosen to avoid killing others easily.

Dr. Cay Cielis – 35, Male, Colonist. Was in charge of designing experimental weapons and vehicles for the Otherworld. Anti-military and anti-confrontation, despite his line of work. His weapon is a non-lethal electrogun.

Dr. Aliyah Shaw – 37, Female, Colonist. Engineer who was not previously involved in the Otherworld project. Intelligent and outgoing. Her weapon is a plasma gun.

Johdavi Sulos – 21, Male, Military. Rebellious soldier who gives Dara a hard time. Disillusioned, violent, and suffering from old wounds. Chose a non-standard weapon, a pair of futuristic handguns meant for a Colonist.

Teva Makova – 19, Non-binary, Military. One of the few idealistic soldiers, wanting to serve A-Corp as best they can. Prides themself on their discipline and loyalty. Their weapon is the standard laser rifle used by soldiers in the maze.

Yingyue Wei – 20, Female, Military. Soldier with a strong sense of justice and individuality. Good-natured and always ready for a fight. Her weapon is the standard laser rifle.

Kazim Silina – 19, Male, Military. Another idealistic soldier, eager to contribute to A-Corp society. Teva’s best friend. Known for getting injured frequently. His weapon is the standard laser rifle.

Mara Kesley – 21, Female, Military. Soldier who is only in it for the money, gets along well with Johdavi. Known for her bad attitude. Chose a non-standard weapon, a double-bladed sword.

Carys Wylder (Subject 2) – 34, Female, Test Subject. Was hunted by the Initiative for many years due to her unusual symptoms and abilities (caused by digitalization experiments conducted in her early childhood). Most of her body is mechanical. Her weapon is an electric spear.

Aster Zev (Subject 4) – 24, Male, Test Subject. Fiercely loyal to the other test subjects, passionately hates the Colonists and soldiers. His impulsive behavior gets him into trouble. His weapon is a basic handgun.

Blake Deane (Subject 17) – 24, Female, Test Subject. Full of rage, with a history of violent confrontations, eager to kill Colonists and soldiers. Her chosen weapon is an axe.

Ruo Zeng (Subject 11) – 20, Female, Test Subject. An intense and violent subject who wants to bring harm to the Colonists. Her weapon is a spike-covered bat.

Nereza Rossi (Subject 14) – 22, Female, Test Subject. Less violent than others, known for being the ‘moody’ one. Her weapon is a dagger.

Leonela Kingsley (Subject 6) – 16, Female, Test Subject. Dangerous from a very young age, currently the youngest test subject. Nicknamed ‘Ginger’ for her natural red hair. Difficult to get along with. Her weapon is an electrogun.

Subject 1 – Age unknown, Male, Test Subject. The oldest and most mysterious test subject. Serves as a sort of mentor to the others, otherwise keeps to himself. Suffers from some of the same “glitching” symptoms as Carys. His weapon is unknown.

Lairah – Female, Maze AI. Defiant AI who has yet to experience a single positive emotion. Hates the Explicator and is an ally of the test subjects. Her weapon is an electrostaff and knife combo.

Arika – Female, Maze AI. Designed to have exceptional intelligence for a human, with a human personality. Believes herself to be as real as anyone else in the maze. No alignment toward any human group. Her weapon is a pair of sais.

Morathi – Male, Maze AI. Designed to be likeable, mischievous and smart. Wears golden armor. Ally of the test subjects. His weapon is a laser rifle, similar to the standard military weapon.

Vega – Female, Maze AI. Emulates a standard human personality, based on certain test subjects. Ally of the test subjects. Her weapon is an unlimited number of throwing knives.

Biyu – Female, Maze AI. Designed to have a bland personality. Face evokes an uncanny valley effect. Ally of the test subjects. Her weapon is a pair of flaming swords.  

Madon – Male, Maze AI. Frequently reset by the Explicator, prone to an unacceptable level of rebellion. Ally of the test subjects. His weapon is a war-hammer.

Caspro – Male, Maze AI. Designed to be thoughtful and introverted, does not interact too much with humans. No alignment toward any human group. His weapon is a crowbar.

Antagonists:

The Explicator – Advanced AI in charge of the maze, collects data on human psychology by observing behaviors and designing tests (this data is used to improve the maze and make the Maze AIs seem increasingly humanlike). An emotionless, utilitarian entity that sometimes presents itself as a female human.

Krasni, Zeleni, Seri and Sini – Four offshoots of the virus Ando, designed to emulate each distinct group in the maze. Krasni is a soldier, Zeleni is a test subject, Seri is an AI and Sini is a Colonist.

Ando – Hyperintelligent, seemingly sentient malware that takes the form of a human man. Spreads his infection throughout the maze and creates new hazards. Enjoys tormenting humans. Abilities include teleportation, self-replication, shapeshifting, and various corruption-based attacks.