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Let’s Take a Trip to the Universe of the Enigman Cave

The Enigman Cave is all about what happens when we find the first multicellular life off Earth. In the meantime, back home, the government is collapsing, and fascism is on the rise.

Are the aliens intelligent, or are they not? Are they on the cusp of developing sapience? Or… not?

But There’s More…

The story is also about a long-term space mission. How do people get along? What makes it tick? What happens when people divorce or just plain get on each other’s nerves?

And it’s also about female friendship, and is probably the best and most detailed study of female friendship I have ever written.

In fact, many of the top people on board are women. In this way, it flips the script on a lot of space opera.

On the Ground

For Marnie, Trixie, Jazminder, Ben, Tom, Lex, and all the others, the Enigmans are fascinating. They are truly the culmination of all the searching they have been doing — for years!

But at the same time, they are, understandably, rather alien. What are they thinking? Are they mainly driven by instinct or perhaps emotion? Or is a form of intelligence driving them and their behaviors?

When the crew initially does not see or hear the Enigmans communicating, it seems as if they are a lot closer to apes than humans. Some of their choices seem strange, and even dangerous.

Are they reckless? Uninformed? Do they have a death wish? Or are they simply doing the very best that they can, with the meager resources they have?

For Enigma, while rich in gold, doesn’t seem to be rich in much else.

But Back to It…

Can we meet aliens without destroying them?

And can we stand up to our new, tyrannical government, without compromising our values?

Or are we destined to become like Cortes and the Aztecs, and grind a nascent civilization into dust?

Character Review — Trixie LaRueAmie Sikes, who I see as Trixie LaRue

Character Review — Trixie LaRue

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on July 5, 2022

Consider Trixie LaRue, One of My Original Characters

But just who is Trixie LaRue?

I’ve had a few “voice of reason”-style characters. Dr. Devon Grace of The Real Hub of the Universe comes to mind. Trixie is another such character. But she’s also amusing, a little like Greg Shapiro in The Obolonk Murders.

The first time I show her in the book, she’s getting drunk with Marnie and Jazminder. And she’s telling them about how a goat chewing on her sleeve ruined a potentially romantic moment with one of the goatherds.

Goats on a spaceship? Why not?

Where Did Trixie LaRue Come From?

Trixie is a great supporting character in The Enigman Cave. I needed a foil for Marnie. But I also wanted someone who would have a kind of larger than life persona.

Her accent comes from a few places. I learned about London, Kentucky when I used to have a job auditing law firms across the country. But I never had occasion to go there.

But her voice? Her accent? Those come from the late mother of my best friend in high school. She had that fabulous accent and was one of the kindest people I have ever known.

The Past is Prologue — Backstory for Trixie LaRue

The character herself explains her backstory. Before the story begins, she and Marnie attend Deep Space training together. They find they’re simpatico and clearly enjoy each other’s company. The misfits of their class, no one else seems to be a part of their orbit. Although when I wrote the prequel, I added Rosa Perrault, mainly because there would be someone like her in the mix.

But make no mistake about it—they like Rosa, but they are not as close to her, as they are to each other.

But that’s okay. Because they’re not in anyone else’s orbit, either.

Description

I like Amie Sikes of Junk Gypsies for Trixie. She’s about the right look and age, with a glint of mischief in her eye. But I do see Trixie as being more of a redhead.

Purpose/Theme/Motivation

Beyond being the voice of reason, Trixie is also a necessary character when Marnie decides on how to try to prove Enigman intelligence—in a JAG court. Marnie is the client in favor. But someone has to be the opponent. And so that’s our gal.

In the below scene in Chapter 6 — The Pretty People, Trixie tells Jazminder Parikh about how she and Captain Marnie Shapiro end up on the Valentina Tereshkova together.

It’s possible that I’ll cut some of this scene. For one thing, it’s long. But for another, It seems like a little much. The brass doesn’t like Marnie. That much is obvious. But does it need quite so much detail?

Also, I cover a lot of this in the prequel, and I think I cover it better there. So,…

Quotes

“… in our last semester we were asked to pick three people we wanted to work with. We were also asked which department we wanted to go in if we were in one of the last thirty-two slots. It was kinda obvious nobody but me wanted to work with Marne. Then when we graduated, they started callin’ us by name and by grade. They started with the bottom. I mean, even if you was terrible, you were still pretty gol-darned smart. It was no shame to be at the bottom. So they announced the first forty of the sixty-two people in the class, and they announced your assignment, too.

“The next thirty-eight up were mostly captains and not a lotta first officers, like me. You had to stand while you were waitin’, and it was getting tiresome, I’ll tell ya. But we hadn’t been called yet. Then they said there was someone who was good enough to be a captain but was being commissioned as a first officer on account of personality issues.”

“Personality issues?”

“They wanted people to get along, see? I mean, you’re out here for a decade, it would kinda stink if you hated each other.”

“Right. Go on.”

The Speech

“They called another first officer and then we were into the captains. And Marne and I are still standing there. It’s the last thirty-one people and there are thirty captain slots and one first officer slot left. They get down to fourteen of us and I get called. I am the last of the first officers and I’m assigned here, to the Val. I know Marnie hasn’t been assigned anywhere, and this is the first I’ve heard of anyone going on the Val. There’s a chance but I have no idea.

“They keep announcing people and then they spring it on ‘em that the top of the class has to make a speech. They are in the top ten by this time and everybody’s looking around at each other on account this is the first anybody’s heard of that. And then it’s finally down to two people – Marnie and Bill Levinson. He gets announced as captain of the Jonas Salk and I realize, maybe even before Marne does, that she’s at the top of our class and she’s got me here on the Val.”

Relationships

I have no relationship for her beyond friendship. And friendship counts, of course! Much like the top three big characters in TOS Star Trek, Trixie is a major player. She and Jazzie (Jazminder) are just about as vital as Marnie. Not just to the ship, but to the story itself.

But she is far from a latter-day Vulcan.

Trixie is kind and loyal. She’s the kind of friend anyone would want to have. She has a sister and that’s about it. I otherwise don’t have a lot about her.

Her relationship attempts, though, are in the book. Charlie Hill is a goatherd and she’s got the hots for him. But later, she gets the hots for Hunter Garcia. Hunter runs JAG. So, where does she end up? Possibly with neither of them.

Conflict and Turning Point

For our gal Trixie, the turning point is essentially the turning point of the book. That is, when it becomes obvious that things are going to hell in a handcart at home. So she decides to make a stand. This is along with almost everyone else.

Continuity/Easter Eggs

Trixie is one of the only people in The Enigman Cave who I didn’t name after someone I attended high school with or knew personally in some other way (neither are Marnie or Jazzie).

But she truly is from somewhere. She’s the name of an ex-girlfriend of a former coworker. I have no idea if the real Trixie LaRue was from Kentucky. But I suspect she wasn’t.

And yeah, I know how gol-darned (Trixie does tend to rub off on you after a while) obscure and out-there that sounds. It was just a name from years ago. I filed it away for later.

Future Plans

Will I ever write a real full-length sequel to The Enigman Cave? After all, I did write a short story sequel…

Trixie LaRue: Takeaways

Funny, smart, supportive, and ultimately brave and kind, Trixie is about the best first officer any spaceship captain could ever want.

But she’s still gonna shoot that sumbitch goat.

Trixie LaRue is not to be trifled with.

Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

Want More of Trixie LaRue and the Rest of The Enigman Cave?

If The Enigman Cave resonates with you, then check out my other articles about how our society handles first contact with a species that may be as primitive as Australopithecus.

Character Reviews: The Enigman Cave

† Marnie Shapiro
• A Look at Trixie LaRue
† Jazminder Parikh, MD
• Lex Feldman
† Benjamin Chase
The Enigman Cave Universe
Bet on Marnie (the prequel)
Surprises (the short story sequel)
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Character Review — Marnie ShapiroMarnie Shapiro, Lex Feldman, Jazminder Parikh, Benjamin Chase, Astrid Hennigsen, Trixie LaRue, Ginny Carey,

Character Review — Marnie Shapiro

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on April 5, 2022

Consider Marnie Shapiro, One of My Original Characters

Who is Marnie Shapiro?

The main character of The Enigman Cave went through a lot of changes. But that makes sense, as the story itself has been through a number of alterations as well.

I originally conceived of Marnie as being a person who was kind of in the midst of a personal crisis. She was to be getting a divorce while on a deep space mission.

And that’s an idea I may very well work with at some later date. I think it’s kinda cool. And there is no question in mind that this would be a story worth exploring. Yet I didn’t write it. Hell, I didn’t even write it for the prequel. I did kind of mean to, though.

But then things got … a little different.

Where Did Marnie Shapiro Come From?

First of all, I was at first going to name this character Marnie Chase. But then she just plain didn’t “feel” like a Chase. I don’t know. But no matter how I felt, it didn’t seem suitable for the character. And so her name was changed.

This was to be my NaNoWriMo novel for 2015, and I had to change the name of the main character? As it happened, I ended up changing Josie James’s name as well. Sometimes, you don’t get it right the first time.

And … the character won’t come alive until you do. It’s as if they’re standing there, hands on hips, shaking their head—sheesh, she still can’t get this stuff right? 

So, she’s Marnie Chase Shapiro, I suppose.

The Past is Prologue — Backstory for Marnie Shapiro

Marne’s past is told in a few little dribs and drabs in the manuscript. Her marriage to Dr. Ben Chase (he’s a botanist)? As I wrote in the book (chapter 4—and it’s so much exposition that I will likely have to edit out a good chunk of it, anyway):

They had met years before, as young adults, and had fallen in love, kind of, even though they were both emotionally unavailable. It was a marriage of intellectual equals who sparred as much as they had sex and generally admired each other’s brains more than other body parts. Even Marnie’s own brother had said they seemed to be the kind of couple that coexisted, parallel lines never truly intersecting.

But there’s more. As essentially a power couple, the brass want both of them for deep space missions. If not for Ben, Marnie would not have been brought in. I make this clearer in the prequel.

The brass wanted the people going into space to be young, attractive, athletic, and personable. Marnie’s far from young or athletic. And she doesn’t suffer fools gladly. So, in a lot of ways she owes Ben her position. But he’s still a jackass to her.

Deep Space Training School

Marnie attends Deep Space Training School, along with a number of captain and first officer candidates. This includes the woman who becomes her first officer, Trixie LaRue.

There was one person in their class getting straight A’s—and since they only saw posted grades with no names, there’s no way to know who it was. But at graduation, the powers that be reveal everyone in grade order, starting with the bottom of the class.

Trixie herself ends up in the top ten, but she’s commissioned as a first officer, due to personality issues. The last two people called are Bill Levinson and Marnie.

And, the valedictorian position goes to Marnie, who must deliver a speech with no preparation whatsoever. It’s a bit of passive-aggressive nastiness from the powers that be.

It’s evident that, deep down, they just plain don’t like her.

This is a taste, for Marnie, of things to come.

Description

Marnie is in her fifties, a bottle blonde who’s holding onto a few extra pounds. Her poor diet and exercise regimen, plus stress, have caused her meniscus (that’s cartilage in the knee) to fail. She is, as people used to say, A Woman of a Certain Age.

I go back and forth for an actress approximation of her. Maybe Elisabeth Shue?

But the most important thing about her is that anyone ‘portraying’ Marnie should really be in her fifties. And she should really look and talk and act that way. So, I can’t see her in the guise of a somewhat younger actress with aging makeup. Nope. I want the real thing.

After all, that’s exactly what Marnie would want, too.

Purpose/Theme/Motivation

Marnie’s main motivator is a desire for justice. For someone unfairly overlooked and underestimated, the concept of wanting to protect the weak and keep the crew from harm feels like a natural internal motivator.

Also—at the time—I had a meniscus tear, and I hobbled around a lot like Marnie does. So, we have that in common.

In fact, a lot of my main characters have gotten whatever ailment I had at the moment. Marnie, if she were real, would be happy that she’s not Josie.

Quotes

While trying to prove Enigman intelligence, the hearing is also an occasion to get a covert message back to Earth. Here’s part of it.

“Carter is threatening all of us. We don’t even know if what he’s saying is true. But if those detention camps exist, then I implore you, I beg of you, I hope you will do the right thing. Find those places. Please. We are years away from Earth, even at top speed. Please, please find those places, and tear down their gates, and free those people. I know you can do it. Please don’t be afraid of Carter. These things happen because good people like you are afraid to stand up for what’s right. But I know you; you’re good and brave people. You won’t let him push anyone around.”

Relationships

Like many characters, one way to get insight into Marnie is to inspect her relationships with the other characters.

Marnie and Ben

Marnie has to deal with her ex-husband, Ben, because he runs the Botany Department, and he reports directly to her. Ben annoys Marnie incessantly, in particular insisting on referring to her by her full name, Mariana.

But that’s all a part of how such a narcissist would hold her at arm’s length. Still, they have to deal with each other. But for the most part, they stay out of each others’ hair.

Much more problematic for Marnie is that Ben is engaged to Nurse Kristen Watson, a woman he cheated on Marnie with, while they were all in the middle of the mission. Kristen is young, pretty, and bubbly. Little Miss Sunshine is everything Marnie is not.

Marnie and Trixie and Jazminder

One fantastic (if I do say so myself) part of The Enigman Cave is the female friendships. The book passes the Bechdel test, and blows it away, in the first chapter alone.

The three women at the heart of the story and their ship, the Valentina Tereshkova, are almost Kirk, Bones, and Spock. Except the doctor (Jazminder) is a bit more like Spock. But no matter.

Trixie and Marnie meet in Deep Space Training school, where they give Marnie’s roommate, Missy Mahoney, a hard time. This includes juvenile pranks like short sheeting her bed.

When it comes time to tell the powers that be who they want to work with, they both pick only one person—each other.

Jazzie comes in later. Of course, any spaceship will have to have a doctor. From a posh suburb of Hyderabad, educated in England, Jazzie has an accent plummier than a Christmas pudding. She’s also a lesbian, and she drinks.

But in the first chapter, one of the first scenes is of the three of them getting drunk in Marnie’s quarters. They laugh, they joke, they get serious, and they behave exactly like three old friends should act.

Marnie and Lex

As the assistant veterinarian on board, Lex isn’t exactly at the top of the heap. But this is helpful, because he doesn’t report directly to Marnie. Hence, their relationship can go ahead.

Unlike with Ben, Marnie can open up to Lex, and he will listen to her without judgment. Their fellowship is the kind of friendship/love affair that has every indication of going the distance.

He’s also 25 years younger than her—and good-looking.

Is he wish-fulfillment for me? Not really; I’m happily married and all. But I do love the idea of the semi-ugly duckling (as it were) getting the swan. Fortunately for Marnie, Lex is not just a pretty face. He is truly devoted to her, and he’s kind.

Conflict and Turning Point

Without giving away too many spoilers, Marnie’s conflict is the story’s—when the crew finds the first sapient life outside of Earth, it’s a cause for celebration. But that quickly devolves into worry, as the government at home collapses into a dictatorship.

The first of two shining moments for Marnie is the scene above, where she devises a way to do an end-run around the nasty commands they’re getting from the new dictator, Monroe Carter, who fancies himself a latter day Cortez.

And the other shining moment is first contact. An exciting plot point for pretty much any space opera, Marnie’s solution for how to talk to the life form they’ve found is to do something extremely female.

And it is an utterly maternal thing to do, even though Marnie doesn’t have children. It’s not treaties or speeches, and it’s certainly not a show of arms and force. Rather, it is completely, 100% peaceful in intent and act.

Marnie’s solution is to sit down and tell them a story.

Continuity/Easter Eggs

Like other characters named Shapiro, Marnie is a callback across universes. Her middle name, Robin, even ties in with Robin McKenna, a pivotal character in the Time Addicts series. Marnie is also a Bostonian, although I don’t outline that well enough.

Future Plans for Marnie Shapiro

The end of the story allows for the possibility of a sequel, if there’s interest.

I have also written a prequel, which covered Marnie and Trixie at Deep Space Training School. It was a part of #30Day50k in 2025.
Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

Marnie Shapiro: Takeaways

For a person who many would overlook, Marnie is the heroine of her own story. Her imperfections and quirks add interest.

And she is the kind of character who can believably make a speech like the quote above.

Bet on Marnie.

Never bet against Marnie Shapiro — a character who exceeds expectations.

Want More of Marnie Shapiro and the Rest of The Enigman Cave?

If The Enigman Cave resonates with you, then please check out my other blog posts about how our society handles first contact with a species that may be as primitive as Australopithecus.

Character Reviews: The Enigman Cave

• Trixie LaRue
† Jazminder Parikh, MD
• Lex Feldman
† Benjamin Chase

The Enigman Cave Universe
Next blog post

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