Consider Peter Ray, One of My Original Characters
So, who is Peter Ray?
In order to get across the continual dissolution of one timeline into the next, I had to have someone who was constant—but not always.
Where Did Peter Ray Come From?
So, I wanted a character who would be essentially the kind of bad guy who many people would not think of as a bad guy at all. Because he is handsome, gentlemanly, and polished, this character can fool just about anyone.
But despite his polished, courtly exterior, he is ruthlessly ambitious.
The Past is Prologue — Backstory for Peter Ray
So, in the original timeline, he is the kind of guy who takes way too many shortcuts. But he gets caught, and in the original timeline, he does have to pay the piper.
Character Kurt Wilmont describes him best:
“Peter Ray was recruited in a rather different manner from y’all. He was called in directly by the Chief Governor. Yep, Xiang pulled him in herself. He was attractive as a candidate for the OIA for a lot of reasons, not the least of which was winning the Decker Prize for Engineering back in twenty-one. She saw potential in him.” …
He looked at his audience with a hangdog expression. “We’re not here to talk about her, or to spread rumors and gossip. So, here are the facts, in all their naked glory. Peter Ray was caught taking bribes to look the other way in various investigations. Those included drunk skimmer flying charges against an Orb Rep’s wayward son, and a bunch of miscreants on Vesta stockpiling thermal weapons, hoping to whack a few Obolonks on their way to martyrdom. As a result of Ray’s misdeeds, we are painfully aware that the agency isn’t as trusted as it once was. For this, I blame Ray directly. His greed and carelessness cost us a helluva lot. My husband and I were damned lucky we kept our jobs. A lot of people didn’t—it was a ton of housecleaning after Ray’s trial and conviction last year.”
Description
The only person I can even conceive of in this role is an older Richard Gere. Peter is handsome, distinguished, and charming. But he is also quite the gladhander. He is definitely like a politician in that you might want to count your fingers after you shake hands with him.
You know, just to make sure he hasn’t taken any.
Purpose/Theme/Motivation
Josie’s first inkling that things are not the way they seem is when Ray is suddenly in charge of the Orb Intelligence Agency.
This is despite the information I am listing above.
So, her biggest issue is that she is unsure of what she can recall. In addition, she does not have a lot of people who she can look to for any sort of confirmation.
But it does lay out the purpose, theme, and motivation for Peter Ray. He wants power. And the more, the better.
Quotes {Josie and Tad are looking to make some arrests}
“This is all fascinating and everything, but beyond the current love, er, rhombus, there’s a more pressing matter at hand. We know you’re killers. It’s time to pay the piper.”
“Not in this timeline. You got nothing,” said Cassie.
Vel, Daisy, and Marty Quinlan are all dead in this timeline. Even if Marty still killed Daisy in this line, the chances that he did it with your knowledge, consent, and blessing are high. Under your orders, I bet. “Sure, sure, keep telling yourselves that.”
Tad pulled out a small hot gun. “You did know it would come down to this, now, didn’t you, Robin?”
“Are you going to shoot us, Mr. Lewis?” asked Young. “Or arrest us? For I fear you have no jurisdiction here.”
“The people we’ve got backing us up do,” said Josie. Bobby, you can hear what’s going on. If you haven’t had Cyndi call the Charonian cops by now, then I gotta wonder why the hell we even keep you on the payroll.
Peter Ray arrived, and he glanced around. He must have realized the backup wasn’t in yet, and he charged at Tad. Tad coolly raised the weapon and shot the man in the face, creating a grazed oval on Ray’s skin, marring its otherwise just about unworldly perfection.
“What the fuck did you do that for?” yelled Ray, touching his hand to his face, and drawing away blood.
“You do realize that when you try to attack people, they’ll defend themselves, don’t you? Sheesh, why was this guy in charge of the OIA again?” Josie smirked, gesturing at Ray.
Tad lowered the weapon to allow it to recharge. “You’re lucky I can aim well. Most people would’ve taken your head off from this distance.”
“Besides, now he’ll have a Zero scar on his face,” said Josie. “We branded him as one of your boys, Robin.” She paused for a second and sneered. “You’re welcome.”
Relationships
Because the timelines keep shifting, his relationships and other aspects of his life change. But there’s one constant—he and the chief governor of all the orbs are, shall we say, simpatico.
Peter Ray and Chief Governor Dae Ou Xiang
Sometimes, she is his mentor. But sometimes, he seems to be hers. Also, at other times, they are good friends with a kind of unspoken attraction. Yet other times, they are lovers. Because like everything else, it really just depends on the timeline.
But does he have ambition to unseat her? Even I confess I am not certain. I give them six-year terms, just like US Senators. And they have got a term limit of two.
So, he could technically just wait things out if he wanted to become Chief Governor. After all, having her backing would be a huge feather in his cap.
But I don’t necessarily see him as having that kind of patience. If he did go up against her, either officially in an election or in some illegal and underhanded manner, I believe she would prove to be a formidable opponent.
Conflict and Turning Point
As the timelines keep colliding and changing, he is of course pulled along with everyone else. And because he is, he can be manipulated in some ways, to further serve the ends of the cabal.
For a person who lusts for so much power, it has got to be a bit of a comedown to realize that you are just someone else’s useful idiot.
Continuity/Easter Eggs
Unlike the Shapiro crew or Tommy 2000, he doesn’t have much continuity. But he most certainly does have continuity when it comes to the myriad of timelines Josie visits and has to undo.
Future Plans
He doesn’t show up in either the Obolonk prequel or the Time Addicts prequel. So, unless things change, his personal story won’t be visited again.
Peter Ray: Takeaways
If human nature stays more or less the same in the future, then a villain like him seems almost inevitable. Because in a way, he’s the ultimate in wolves in sheep’s clothing. Except his sheep’s clothing is impeccable suits, made from Tethyan silk.
Peter Ray — because gladhander politicians who turn out to be fascists are just a little too real these days….
Want More of Peter Ray and the Rest of the Obolonk Universe?
If the story of the Obolonks resonates with you, then please be sure to check out my other articles about how our society turns tripartite, with humans, robots, and Obolonks.
Character Reviews: The Obolonk Murders
Humans
† Peri Martin
• Greg Shapiro
Robots
† Tommy 2000
• Selkhet 3000
Obolonks
† TSTITO
Character Reviews: Time Addicts
The Good Guys
• Josie James
† Carmen D’Angelo, MD
• Dalton Farouk
† Tad Lewis
• Cyndi Mendez
† Bobby Brodie
• Keisha Darnell
† Vera Travers
The Bad Guys
• Peter Ray
† Dae Ou Xiang
• Elston Young
† Corwin Zachary
Self-Reviews: Obolonk Trilogy
• The Obolonk Murders
† Self-Review: The Polymer Beat
• The Badge of Humanity
Self-Reviews: Time Addicts Trilogy
† No One is Safe
• Nothing is Permanent
† Everything is up for Grabs
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