In America, a new breed of young men has risen up, impatient to inherit. The heirs of powerful men, they have recently emerged from imprisonment, determined to grasp political power in the soon-to-be-reopened House of Representatives at Weimar. Chief among these is Michael Lever, heir to ImmVac, the giant pharmaceuticals company of North America. His attempts to revolutionize the politics of his City bring him mixed fortunes as the forces of conservatism, led by his father, Charles, line up against him.
In Europe, Jan Mach’s revolutionary party, the Yu, continues its campaign against corruption and the decadent excesses of the Above, escalating their Program of Purity until it threatens the Seven themselves. Meanwhile in the very depths of the City, Stefan Lehmann, the albino lieutenant of DeVore, re-enters the fray, his ruthless ambition unbounded as he takes on the six great Triads that run the lawless regions down below.
Across the silent divide of space, on Mars, DeVore is busy reorganizing his forces and preparing the geno-technology by which he will wage the next stage of the great War of the Two Directions. Back on Chung Kuo, however, Li Yuan has instigated changes – radical amendments to the great Edict of Technology, the cornerstone of Han stasis – which might yet allow him to face and overcome the seemingly inevitable onslaught.
For Li Yuan this is again a time of some contentment. A baby son and three loving wives transform him, but, as ever, he has to learn that love is a frail and fragile thing. Once again his character is put severely to the test, but this time he finds decisions forced upon him as the pace of change accelerates and events outstrip his plans.
In this period of great instability, Li Yuan must rely on his servants heavily, and none more so than Major Karr and his Captain, Kao Chen. To them falls the task of policing the reforms Li Yuan has set under way. But their task is not an easy one as they soon find out. Chung Kuo is rotten to the core and it will take far more than mere persuasion to change the system. Their struggle with the decaying corpse of Chung Kuo’s officialdom leads them beyond their given brief and into the greatest danger they have yet faced.
Beyond the City’s walls, these prove fruitful years for Ben Shepherd as he begins to create the first of his great works of art, but even in the peaceful setting of the Domain – his idyllic West Country valley – he is unable to escape the dark tide of change and finds himself thrown into conflict; a conflict in which he must succeed or die.
For Kim Ward these are years of promise. Wooed by the Old Men of North America, who want to secure his talents for their great Immortality program, he struggles to set up his own small company, trading upon his unique inventiveness. But things are far from straightforward, neither at work, nor in his relationship with Marshal Tolonen’s daughter, Jelka. Kim’s experience of the mercantile world – of its deviousness and power games – is a sobering lesson: one that forces him to make a choice. A choice that will ultimately bring him into conflict with the Above.
For thirteen years – since the assassination of Li Shai Tung’s Minister, Lwo Kang – the threat of change has hung over the great changeless empire of Chung Kuo, but now, at last, change is set to come. Gone are the golden days of peace and stability. Gone are all hopes that the Seven might rule for ten thousand years. Ahead lies only darkness.
In Monsters of the Deep we witness the first cracks in the great edifice as cousin is set against cousin in a war that is as tragic as it has become inevitable.
CHARACTER LISTING
MAJOR CHARACTERS
DeVore, Howard A one-time Major in the T’ang’s Security forces, he had become the leading figure in the struggle against the Seven. A highly intelligent and coldly logical man, he is the puppetmaster behind the scenes as the great ‘War of the Two Directions’ takes a new turn.
Ebert, Hans Son of Klaus Ebert and heir to the vast GenSyn Corporation, he has been promoted to Major in the T’ang’s Security forces, and is admired and trusted by his superiors. Ebert is a complex young man; a brave and intelligent officer, he also has selfish, dissolute ambition to become not merely a prince among men but a ruler.
Fei Yen ‘Flying Swallow’, daughter of Yin Tsu, one of the Heads of the ‘Twenty-Nine’, the minor aristocratic families of Chung Kuo. Once married to Han Ch’in, the murdered son of Li Shai Tung, she subsequently married his brother Li Yuan, nine years her junior. This classically beautiful woman seems fragile in appearance, but is actually strong-willed and fiery, as was proved in her secret affair with Tsu Ma, the T’ang of West Asia.
Kao Chen Once a kwai, a hired knife from the Net, the lowest level of the great City, Chen has raised himself from those humble beginnings and is now a Captain in the T’ang’s Security forces. As friend and helper to Karr and a close associate of Haavikko, Chen is one of the foot soldiers in the war against DeVore.
Karr, Gregor Major in the T’ang’s Security forces, Karr was recruited by Marshal Tolonen from the Net. In his youth, Karr was a ‘blood’; a to-the-death combat fighter. A giant of a man, he is the ‘hawk’ Li Yuan plans to fly against his adversary, DeVore.
Lehmann, Stefan Albino son of the former Dispersionist leader, Pietr Lehmann, he has become a lieutenant to DeVore. A cold, unnaturally dispassionate men, he seems to be the very archetype of nihilism, his one and only aim to bring down the Seven and their great City.
Li Yuan Second son of Li Shai Tung, he became heir to City Europe after the assassination of his elder brother. Considered old before his time, his cold outward manner conceals a passionate nature, as expressed in his brief marriage to, and divorce from, the fiery Fei Yen, his dead brother’s wife.
Mach, Jan A maintenance official in the Ministry of Waste Recycling and a part-time member of Li Yuan’s Reserve Security Force, Mach has a second identity as one of the Council of Five, the policy formulators of the newly split-off Yu, the revolutionary successors to the Ping Tiao, a new and yet darker force within the depths of City Europe.
Tolonen, Jelka Daughter of Marshal Tolonen, Jelka has been brought up in a very masculine environment, lacking a mother’s feminine influence. However, her genuine interest in martial arts and in weaponry and strategy masks a very different, more feminine side to her nature – a side brought out after the unsuccessful attack on her by Ping Tiao terrorists.
Tolonen, Knut Marshal of the Council of Generals and one-time General to Li Shai Tung, Tolonen is a big, granite-jawed man and the staunchest supporter of the values and ideals of the Seven. Possessed of a fiery, fearless nature, he will stop at nothing to protect his masters, yet after long years of war even his belief in the necessity of stasis has been shaken.
Tsu Ma T’ang of West Asia and one of the Seven, the ruling Council of Chung Kuo, Tsu Ma has thrown off his former dissolute past to become one of Li Yuan’s strongest supporters in Council. A strong, handsome man in his mid-thirties, he has extricated himself from a secret affair with Fei Yen, which – had it become public – might easily have destroyed the Seven.
Wang Sau-leyan Young T’ang of Africa. Since his father’s murder he has thrown off his former ways and become a sharp and cunning adversary to Li Yuan and the old guard among the Seven. An abrasive, calculating figure with sybaritic tastes, he is the harbinger of Change within the Council of Seven.
Ward, Kim Born in the Clay, that dark wasteland beneath the great City’s foundations, Kim has a quick and unusual bent of mind that has marked him from the first as potentially the greatest scientist Chung Kuo has ever seen. His vision of a gigantic star-spanning web – formulated in the darkness of the Clay – has driven him up into the light of the Above. Now, after a long period of personality reconstruction, he has, through Li Yuan’s generosity, been given the means to build his own great Company. But there are those who do not wish him success in this venture.
Ywe Hao Born into the lowest levels of City Europe, Ywe Hao – ‘Fine Moon’ – joined the Yu, a terrorist organization, after the murder of her elder brother. A strong, idealistic woman, she represents the new tide of indignant rebellion that is stirring in
the depths of the great City.
THE SEVEN AND THE FAMILIES
An Liang-chou Minor Family Prince
An Sheng Head of the An Family (one of the ‘Twenty-Nine’ Minor Families)
Chi Hsing T’ang of the Australias
Chun Wu-chi Head of the Chun Family (one of the ‘Twenty-Nine’ Minor Families)
Fu Ti Chang third Wife of Li Yuan
Hou Tung-po T’ang of South America
Hsiang K’ai Fan Minor Family Prince; heir to the Hsiang Family (one of the ‘Twenty-Nine’ Minor Families)
Hsiang Shao-erh Head of the Hsiang Family (one of the ‘Twenty-Nine’ Minor Families)
Hsiang Te-shang Minor Family Prince and youngest son of Hsiang Shao-erh
Hsiang Wang Minor Family Prince and second son of Hsiang Shao-erh
Lai Shi second Wife of Li Yuan
Li Yuan T’ang of City Europe
Mien Shan first Wife of Li Yuan
Pei Ro-hen Head of the Pei Family (one of the ‘Twenty-Nine’ Minor Families)
Tsu Ma T’ang of West Asia
Wang Sau-leyan T’ang of Africa
Wei Chen Yin Son of Wei Feng; regent for City East Asia
Wei Feng T’ang of East Asia
Wu Shih T’ang of North America
Yin Fei Yen ‘Flying Swallow’ ex-wife of Li Yuan and daughter of Yin Tsu
Yin Han Ch’in bastard baby son of Yin Fei Yen
Yin Tsu Head of Yin Family (one of the ‘Twenty-Nine’ Minor Families)
FRIENDS AND RETAINERS OF THE SEVEN
Chan Teng Master of the Inner Chambers at Tongjiang
Ebert, Berta wife of Klaus Ebert
Ebert, Hans Major in Security and heir to GenSyn
Ebert, Klaus Stefan Head of GenSyn (Genetic Synthetics) and advisor to
Li Yuan
Haavikko, Axel Lieutenant in Security
Hung Mien-lo Chancellor of Africa
Kao Chen Captain in Security
Karr, Gregor Major in Security
Nan Ho Master of the Inner Chamber to Li Yuan
Shepherd, Ben son of Hal Shepherd
Shepherd, Beth wife of Hal Shepherd
Shepherd, Meg sister of Ben Shepherd
Shou Chen-hai Hsien Ling, or Chief Magistrate of Hannover Hsien
Sun Li Hua Master of the Royal Household at Alexandria
Tolonen, Helga wife of Jon Tolonen
Tolonen, Jelka daughter of Knut Tolonen
Tolonen, Jon brother of Knut Tolonen
Tolonen, Knut Marshal of the Council of Generals and father of Jelka Tolonen
Tong Chou alias of Kao Chen
Viljanen, Per Lieutenant in Security; assistant to Marshal Tolonen
Wu Ming personal assistant to Sun Li Hua
Yu Surgeon to Li Yuan
THE TRIADS
Feng Shang-pao ‘General Feng’, Big Boss of the 14K
Ho Chin ‘Three-Finger Ho’, Big Boss of the Yellow Banners
Hui Tsin ‘Red Pole’ (the 426, or Executioner) to the United Bamboo
Li Chin ‘Li The Lidless’, Big Boss of the Wo Shih Wo
Lu Ming Shao ‘Whiskers Lu’, Big Boss of the Kuei Chuan (Black Dog)
Mu Li ‘Iron Mu’, Big Boss of the Big Circle
Wong Yi-sun ‘Fat Wong’, Big Boss of the United Bamboo
Yao Tzu ‘Red Pole’ (the 426 or Executioner) to the Big Circle
Yun Yueh-hui ‘Dead Man Yun’, Big Boss of the Red Gang
YU
Chi Li alias of Ywe Hao
Edel, Klaus brother of Vasska
Erika fellow member of Ywe Hao’s Yu cell
Hsao Yen Yu terrorist
Klaus Yu terrorist
Mach, Jan Maintenance official for the Ministry of Waste Recycling, ex-Ping Tiao and Founder of the split-off Yu faction
Rooke Yu terrorist
Tu Li-shan Yu terrorist
Vasska fellow member of Ywe Hao’s Yu cell
Veda Member of the Yu ‘Council of Five’
Ywe Hao ‘Fine Moon’, female Yu terrorist from the Mid-Levels
OTHER CHARACTERS
Boden, Mikhail alias used by Stefan Lehmann and Howard DeVore
Cherkassky, Stefan retired Security special services officer; friend of
DeVore
Chi Su childhood companion to Kao Chen
Curval, Andrew experimental geneticist, working for ImmVac
Debrenceni, Laslo acting Administrator at Kibwezi Station
DeVore, Howard former Major in Li Shai Tung’s Security forces
Drake, Michael supervisor at Kibwezi Station
Enge, Marie woman server at the Dragon Cloud teahouse
Fan Tseng-li Mid-levels surgeon
Fang Shuo underling to Shou Chen-hai
Ganz, Joseph alias of DeVore
Golden Heart young prostitute bought by Hans Ebert for his household
Gustaffson security guard at Kibwezi Station
Kao Ch’iang Hsin daughter of Kao Chen and Wang Ti
Kao Jyan eldest son of Kao Chen and Wang Ti
Kao Wu second son of Kao Chen and Wang Ti
Kung Lao young boy; friend of Ywe Hao
Kung Yi-lung young boy; friend of Ywe Hao
Lehmann, Stefan albino son of former Dispersionist leader Pietr Lehmann and former lieutenant to DeVore
Lever, Charles ‘Old Man Lever’, Head of the ImmVac pharmaceuticals company of North America; father of Michael Lever
Lever, Michael American; son of Charles Lever
Leyden, Wolfgang Security guard at Hannover Hsien
Mu Chua Madam of the House of the Ninth Ecstasy, a singsong house or brothel
Novacek, Lubos merchant; go-between for Triads
Palmer security guard at Kibwezi Station
Peng Lu-Hsing Minister of the T’ing Wei; the Superintendency of Trials for City Europe
Reid, Thomas sergeant in DeVore’s forces
Shang ‘Old Shang’; Kwai and childhood ‘Master’ to Kao Chen
Sheng Minister to Wei Feng
Shou He second wife to Shou Chen-hai
Shou Wen-lo first wife to Shou Chen-hai
Ts’ui Wei father of teenage troublemaker
Tuan Wen-ch’ang alias of ‘morph’ sent by DeVore from Mars
Wang Mai Yu uncle to Wang Ti
Wang Ti wife of Kao Chen
Ward, Kim ‘Clayborn’ orphan and scientist
Wong Pao-yi steward to Shou Chen-hai
Wu surgeon for Security
Yen T’ung Third Secretary to Minister Peng Lu-Hsing
Yue Mi young maid in Shou Chen-hai’s household
Ywe Chang uncle to Ywe Hao
Ywe Sha mother to Ywe Hao
Ywe Su Chen wife to Ywe Chang
THE DEAD
Aaltonen Marshal and Head of Security for City Europe
Alex close friend of Jake Reed and fiancée of Jenny; Security Captain in Special Forces
Anders a mercenary
Anderson Director of ‘The Project’
Ascher, Mary mother of Emily Ascher
Ascher, Mikhail junior credit agent in the Hu Pu (the Finance Ministry) and father of Emily Ascher
Ascher, Walter Account Overseer for Hinton Industries
Bakke Marshal in Security
Barrow, Chao member of the House of Representatives Dispersionist
Barycz, Jiri communications officer for the Wiring Project
Bates, Alan English actor
Beatrice daughter of Cathy Hubbard, granddaughter of Mary Reed
Berdichev, Soren owner of the SimFic Corporation and leading Dispersionist
Big Wen a landowner
Boss Yang an exploiter of the people
Branagh, William King of Wessex
Brogan, Margaret Old Ma Brogan, resident of Church Knowle
Buck, John Head of Development at the Ministry of Contracts
Buckland, Eddie farmer from Corfe
Captain Sensible English pop musician
Chang Hsuan Ha
n painter from the eighth century
Chang Lai-hsun nephew of Chang Yi Wei
Chang Li Chen Junior Dragon in charge of drafting the Edict of Technological Control
Chang Lui woman who adopted Pavel
Chang Te Han soldier member of Jiang Lei’s bodyguard
Chang Yan guard on the Plantations
Chang Yi Wei senior brother of the Chang clan owners of MicroData
Chang Yu Tsao Ch’un’s new appointment as First Dragon, during the War of Liberation
Chao Ni Tsu Grand Master of wei chi and a computer genius; servant of Tsao Ch’un
Ch’eng I Minor Family prince and son of Ch’eng So Yuan
Ch’eng So Yuan Minor Family head
Chen So I Head of the Ministry of Contracts
Chen Yu steward to Tsao Ch’un in Pei Ch’ing
Cheng Ro Song Dynasty painter
Cheng Yu one of the original Seven, advisor to Tsao Ch’un, subsequently T’ang
Chi Fei Yu a usurer
Chi Lin Lin legal assistant to Yang Hong Yu
Chin Shih Huang Ti the First Emperor
Ching Su friend of Jiang Lei
Chiu Fa Media commentator on the Mids news channel
Cho Han soldier servant to Wang Yu-lai
Cho Yi Yi Master of the Bedchamber at Tongjiang
Chris close friend of Jake Reed, gay partner of Hugo and multi-millionaire industrialist
Christie, Julie English actress
Chung Hsun ‘loyalty’ a bond servant to Li Shai Tung
Coldplay an English pop group
Cooke, Dick farmer from Cerne Abbas
Cooper, Charlie son of Jed and Judy Cooper
Cooper, Jed husband of Judy Cooper and father of Charlie and John
Cooper, John son of Jed and Judy Cooper
Cooper, Judy wife of Jed Cooper and mother of Charlie and John
Cooper, Will farmer from Corfe
Croft, Leopold father of Becky
Croft, Rebecca ‘Becky’, daughter of Leopold, with the lazy eye
Curtis, Tim Head of Human Resources, GenSyn
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