Troblum
Names: TroblumTro-blum
First appears in Book 1: The Dreaming Void, chapter 2 (1)
Appearances
What you know
Book 1: The Dreaming Void
- Ch 2Troblum lives in a restored Halgarth penthouse on Arevalo, obsessed with the Starflyer War, and hopes to publish its definitive history.
- Ch 2Troblum received a silvered cylinder by courier before presenting to a Navy review panel.
- Ch 2Troblum is an unusually large, overweight Higher physicist who refuses chromosome modification, and he is obsessed with the Starflyer War.
- Ch 2Troblum descends from Mark Vernon; discovering this 180 years ago began his research into the Starflyer War.
- Ch 2Troblum spent seventy years helping build force-field generators for the Air project before an interesting construction project recruited him.
- Ch 2Troblum bought a 2,400-year-old strut from the Marie Celeste via a black-market supplier, paying with a quasi-legal bank account on Wessex.
- Ch 2Troblum presents a theory that the Anomine took Dyson Pair generators from Raiel systems and used a one-shot wormhole drive, which he is secretly developing.
- Ch 2Troblum is socially awkward, misreads tone, and swears at the Admiral when frustrated by Navy process.
- Ch 4Troblum uses solidos twinned to his senses, including Howard Liang and three girls, for elaborate sexual simulations he has refined for years.
- Ch 4Troblum has petitioned the Navy for EMA funds with a theory that the Dyson Pair explains the origin of the Dark Fortress.
- Ch 4Troblum and his team previously examined the Dark Fortress in detail; he never told the Navy he had been there.
- Ch 4Troblum finds it hard to understand other people's motivations and psychology, and is obsessive about food and detail.
- Ch 6Troblum bought the ship to carry equipment for recreating the Anomine 'one shot' wormhole, and uses it to slip away from Arevalo without Marius knowing.
- Ch 6Troblum is a Higher, an ANA-integrated collector who runs a museum of artefacts and travels in his own starship.
- Ch 6Troblum seeks artefacts connected to the Starflyer's legacy and Anomine relics; he reports to Marius and claims contacts inside ANA.
- Ch 6Troblum pays Florac for the rifle and carries it back to his ship, stowing it in his sleeping cabin for the flight to Arevalo.
- Ch 6Troblum tells Florac ANA is not worried about the Pilgrimage, then privately wonders whether Florac's question hints at an agent for an ANA faction.
- Ch 6Troblum works in a secretive shielded hangar at Daroca spaceport, developing an Anomine planet-shifting ftl engine based on modified exotic matter theory.
- Ch 6Troblum spent fifteen years designing a planet-shift engine blueprint and hopes a working device will convince people his theory is right.
- Ch 6Troblum has no friends and fears Marius may kill him on Accelerator orders; his biononics suppress his agitation with neural inhibitors.
- Ch 6Troblum suspects the failure was sabotage and that Emily, the only person able to insert a glitch, did it for Marius.
- Ch 6Troblum agrees to work on the Accelerators' ftl drive project, but negotiates forty-eight hours to analyse the failure first.
- Ch 8Troblum found and removed Emily Alm's sabotaging modifications to the engine blueprint, then restarted production, having realised Marius was manipulating him.
- Ch 8Troblum secretly plans to flee the Commonwealth to the colonies aboard Mellanie's Redemption, possibly toward the Brandt Dynasty ships at the Drasix cluster.
- Ch 8Troblum built a planet-shifting ftl engine, hid it in his ship's forward hold under his own encryption, and added deeper glitches to the blueprint so the engine is unique.
- Ch 8Troblum helped design the station's defence cruisers seventy years ago and worked at the station fifty years ago.
- Ch 10Troblum has a hangar on Daroca with a huge Neumann cybernetic machine beyond a level-six replicator, funded by Accelerator EMA.
- Ch 10Troblum's smartcore holds a design for an ftl engine capable of transporting a planet; a second attempt at building it seems successful.
- Ch 10He built the ftl engine for the Accelerators, has disappeared from Arevalo, and is secretly working at Neskia's station on an ultradrive project.
- Ch 10He is obsessed with the Starflyer War, socially awkward, and relies on a social interaction program; he is horrified to see the Cat free.
- Ch 14Troblum, a former Advancer Faction worker, secretly called ANA:Governance, refused to trust it, and asked for Paula Myo, offering information on Advancer plans, hardware and people.
- Ch 14Troblum escaped Marius using solido projectors that faked his presence in his suite and the image of his ship, the Mellanie's Redemption, in the airlock.
- Ch 14Troblum helped design and build the Advancers' defence cruisers and planted bugs in the station smartcore over twenty years, letting him slip past unseen.
Book 2: The Temporal Void
- Ch 1Troblum lost Isabella Halgarth's personality program when he used it in a projector to fool Accelerator station sensors into thinking his ship was still docked.
- Ch 1Troblum shipped his Starflyer War memorabilia collection to Stubsy Florac in secret to avoid Marius's attention, and arranged to meet Paula Myo at Stubsy's villa.
- Ch 1Troblum gave Paula Myo's meeting-time ambiguity as a pedantic note: she never lies but her phrasing was ambiguous about arriving within two hours.
- Ch 1Troblum realised too late that his unisphere calls and untraceable-looking payments exposed him; he refused to give the Cat his ship's location or command codes.
- Ch 1Troblum bluffed with a zone killer dispenser, claiming he would fire it and kill everyone since he expects to die anyway and sees no hope.
- Ch 1He let the Cat leave to fight Paula, then used a Moscow-class ship-to-ship neutron laser from his collection, after Simonie silently signalled him.
- Ch 1Troblum, weakened and stumbling, escaped from the villa wreckage into his starship, which accelerated skyward at twenty-five gees.
- Ch 1Troblum's collection was destroyed by a neutron laser shot from the Cat; he escaped Sholapur, and only Mellanie Rescorai's handheld array survived.
- Ch 1Troblum plans to assemble stolen Accelerator components into an ultradrive able to reach Andromeda, and to warn Paula via Oscar the Martyr.
- Ch 1Troblum distrusts ANA and the unisphere, believing the Accelerators intercepted his message and set the Cat on him.
- Ch 3Troblum obsessively reproduced Starflyer War-era decor and girls' clothing, and converted a third-floor apartment into a laboratory whose contents were removed when he disappeared.
- Ch 3Troblum, a Higher, once served on a navy scientific mission and gave a presentation about the Anomine and Dyson Pair barrier generators.
- Ch 5Troblum arrives at Orakum in Mellanie's Redemption, cataloguing components in a cramped hold for an assembly process he has not yet begun.
- Ch 11Troblum was secretly aboard the Poix and later helped the Accelerators build illegal hardware; Marius despises him as a failed Higher.
- Ch 11Troblum built an FTL drive big enough to move a planet, apparently from personal obsession rather than for the Accelerators.
- Ch 11Troblum is trying to contact Paula to tell her something about the Accelerators, who want to stop him; Gore urges Paula to find him first.
- Ch 11Troblum has grafted a hyperdrive and ultradrive into one unit aboard Mellanie's Redemption, and plans a flight to the Drasix cluster.
- Ch 11Troblum wants to give Paula information to weaken the Accelerators, but cannot find her; he trusts Oscar Monroe.
Book 3: The Evolutionary Void
- Ch 5Pilots Mellanie's Redemption at fifty-two light-years an hour, merging his mind with the new ultradrive; he is drawn to Catriona.
- Ch 5Had a part in the Swarm project at the Dark Fortress, which Accelerators used to imprison Sol; he wants to join them.
- Ch 5Troblum says he does not know the code that deactivates the Sol barrier and insists the force field is unbreakable.
- Ch 5Troblum has parted company with the Accelerators; he disagrees with their use of the Cat but still favors postphysical elevation.
- Ch 5Troblum hides on his ship because he believes the Accelerators and the Cat will kill him if they find him.
- Ch 5Troblum is a descendant of Mark Vernon, whom he admires above anyone else, and he refuses to act despite the SI's appeal.
- Ch 6Troblum, paranoid since Sholapur and fearing the Cat, helped build the Swarm and may be able to get through the barrier; he might contact Oscar.
- Ch 6Troblum is a physicist with a large Starflyer War memorabilia collection, who may know how to get through the Sol barrier; the Cat is hunting him.
- Ch 6Troblum refuses to call Oscar, wants to flee after testing the hyperdrive, and despises humans, saying the universe needs no more of them.
- Ch 14Troblum keeps Mellanie's Redemption hidden in transdimensional suspension above Viotia, planning to flee to another galaxy if the Void expansion begins.
- Ch 14Troblum has found no way past the Sol barrier and is building a younger solido projector version of himself to share Catriona's bed.
- Ch 14Troblum smashed a micromanipulator unit in despair, doubting that Catriona or anything he has is real, then asked an SI to show him events.
- Ch 14Troblum knows more about the Sol barrier than anyone else, and the SI says others might need that knowledge.
- Ch 16Troblum built a large matte gray armor suit with force fields and a regrav unit, and has no weapons because he cannot think along those lines.
- Ch 16Troblum fears the Cat, having wet himself on Sholapur, and believes the SI betrayed him by telling Paula Myo he might make contact.
- Ch 16Troblum claims he helped build the Swarm and offers to help Ozzie, Araminta and Inigo with that knowledge.
- Ch 16Troblum followed Oscar's ship from the Greater Commonwealth to the Spike in Mellanie's Redemption.
- Ch 16Troblum has a dream-vision of a homeland, Far Away, ruined by ash, and a possessive female voice claims him as hers.
- Ch 16Troblum refuses to leave his armor suit because he met the Cat, and he claims descent from Mark Vernon.
- Ch 16Troblum helped build the Swarm, per Oscar, and has an FTL system in his starship copied from what the Anomine built.
- Ch 16Troblum is an overweight, sweaty, withdrawn Higher in shabby armor who owns the Mellanie's Redemption and can run a planetary FTL.
- Ch 16Troblum believes the Cat is after him and will never stop, having studied what she is.
- Ch 18Troblum built a planetary FTL device based on a novabomb design; it will make a wormhole reaching 28,000 light-years, about 25 minutes after start.
- Ch 18He reveals Mellanie's Redemption lacks Sol barrier force fields, though his armor has them, and he assumes the warrior Raiel will simply let them pass.
- Ch 18Troblum's wormhole worked as predicted, stabilizing and carrying the Mellanie's Redemption across 28,000 light-years, vindicating his theories.
- Ch 20Troblum spent most of the flight sulking in his sleeping cubicle with his solido projector, and pilots the landing at Aaron's order.
- Ch 21Troblum used the Void's creation layer to turn his solido of Catriona into flesh and blood, and now calls her his fiancee.
Connections
- family ofMark Vernondescendant
- related toMariusFaction representative funding and directing Troblum's workconceals his activities from Marius
- createdHoward LiangTroblum made the Howard solido
- related toMellanie's Redemptionowner
- related toStubsy Floraccollector and long-time salvager supplier
- ally ofEmily Almteam member
- ally ofDan Massellteam member
- ally ofAmi Coweeteam member
- ally ofAcceleratorsbuilds for them, believes in their philosophy
- member ofAdvancersformer member
- enemy ofMarius
- ally ofPaula Myotrusts her
- related toAcceleratorsreceives illegal money from Accelerator contacts
- friend ofOscar Monroe
- partner ofTrisha Marina Halgarth
- partner ofCatriona Saleeb
- related toCatriona SaleebI-sentient companion created by and devoted to him
- ally ofOscar Monroebusiness partners exploring
- leadsMellanie's Redemptionowns the starship
- friend ofCatriona Saleeb
Key moments
- Book 1 · Ch 2Troblum receives the Marie Celeste strut
Troblum verifies a 2,400-year-old strut from the Starflyer's ship, pays the black-market supplier, and plans to preserve it in his memorabilia apartment.
- Book 1 · Ch 2Presentation to the Navy
Troblum presents to Admiral Kazimir Burnelli and captains his theory that the Dyson Pair generators were Raiel systems moved by a wormhole. Kazimir will forward it to a review committee rather than authorize a search; Troblum is frustrated.
- Book 1 · Ch 4Marius warns Troblum
Marius meets Troblum unannounced at a café, says his Dyson Pair theory is believed but his knowledge of the Dark Fortress must stay hidden from ANA:Governance, and asks him not to protest if the Navy review declines.
- Book 1 · Ch 6Troblum arrives on Sholapur
Troblum lands Mellanie's Redemption at Ikeo City and is greeted at a clifftop villa by Stubsy Florac.
- Book 1 · Ch 6Troblum buys the ion rifle
At Florac's villa, Troblum verifies an antique ion rifle via its molecular code, pays Florac, and discusses the Pilgrimage before leaving with it.
- Book 1 · Ch 6Troblum's hangar and Emily Alm
Troblum's secret hangar at Daroca is described, along with how Emily Alm came to help him with novabomb technology.
- Book 1 · Ch 6Drive engine assembly fails
Troblum arrives to find the Neumann cybernetics shut down after a bonding field instability; Emily and Massell explain, and Troblum suspects sabotage.
- Book 1 · Ch 6Marius offers Troblum a deal
Marius visits, offers funds and Bradley Johansson's genome in exchange for Troblum's work on an ftl drive; Troblum gets forty-eight hours before leaving for the Accelerator assembly station.
- Book 1 · Ch 6Delivery Man observes the hangar
The Delivery Man watches Marius leave and reports to the Conservative Faction, which decides to research Troblum further using passive observation.
- Book 1 · Ch 8Troblum prepares escape
Troblum removes Emily Alm's glitches, builds a planet-shifting ftl engine, loads it onto his ship and plans to flee to the colonies, adding his own glitches to the blueprint.
- Book 1 · Ch 8Journey to the station
Marius forces Troblum to carry Lucken to a secret station at a red dwarf; there Neskia reveals he must help build ultradrive engines for the Pilgrimage fleet.
- Book 1 · Ch 10Delivery Man breaches Troblum's hangar
The Delivery Man breaks in to Troblum's hangar on Daroca and, with the Conservative Faction's help, discovers a planet-transporting ftl engine design and a machine that built it.
- Book 1 · Ch 10Troblum meets the Cat
Marius brings the Cat to Troblum in the saloon; he recognizes her, is paralysed with fear, and retreats to his quarters, disturbed that the Accelerators revived her.
- Book 1 · Ch 14Troblum calls ANA
The Advancers detect Troblum's secure call to ANA:Governance; Troblum demands Paula Myo and she agrees to meet him at Sholapur in five days.
- Book 1 · Ch 14Troblum's escape
Marius attacks Troblum's suite but finds only a solido projector decoy; the ship in the airlock is also a decoy. Marius sends the Cat to kill Troblum.
- Book 2 · Ch 1Troblum ambushed by the Cat
Troblum lands on Sholapur and visits Stubsy Florac to collect his collection, then is cut off from his ship and confronted by the Cat in the vaults.
- Book 2 · Ch 1The Cat confronts Troblum
The Cat reveals she tracked Troblum, controls Stubsy and his companions, and demands his ship to trap Paula. Troblum threatens to fire a zone killer; she kills Alcinda.
- Book 2 · Ch 1Troblum fires the neutron laser
After the Cat leaves to fight Paula, Troblum lifts a heavy Moscow-class neutron laser and, with Simonie's silent consent, fires it.
- Book 2 · Ch 1Battle at Florac's villa
Paula fights Amazon bodyguards and a hidden exotic-matter trap, then faces a glowing white figure whose starship flees. Troblum escapes in his own ship.
- Book 2 · Ch 1Troblum plans escape and warning
After surviving the Cat's attack, Troblum decides to build an ultradrive from stolen parts and contact Paula via Oscar the Martyr.
- Book 2 · Ch 3Paula searches Troblum's apartments
Paula finds Troblum's files wiped and a lab apartment emptied, deduces he took Starflyer War items to Florac, and plans a last trip to confirm a suspicion.
- Book 2 · Ch 11Gore's warning about Troblum
Gore tells Paula that Troblum built a planet-moving FTL drive and must be found before the Accelerators find him.
- Book 2 · Ch 11The SI contacts Troblum
The SI takes over Trisha's tattoos and speaks to Troblum, learns he wants Paula, and directs him to Oscar Monroe.
- Book 3 · Ch 5SI pressures Troblum
An SI contacts Troblum on his ship, pushing him to find a flaw in the Sol barrier and contact Paula Myo or Oscar Monroe; he refuses, and the SI withdraws after invoking Mark Vernon.
- Book 3 · Ch 6Paula consults the SI and Qatux
Paula learns of Troblum, the Silfen path idea and that the Raiel built the Dark Fortress; Qatux says the High Angel will try the Sol barrier.
- Book 3 · Ch 6Troblum and Catriona argue
Over Viotia, Troblum lashes out at Catriona, suspecting her of betraying him, then relents when she pleads her love. Sensors then report weapon fire above Colwyn City.
- Book 3 · Ch 14SI alerts Troblum
The SI tells Troblum about the call and invites him to observe the restaurant meeting, though Araminta appears to be aboard the Lady's Light about to launch.
- Book 3 · Ch 14Ships follow Oscar
Troblum's Mellanie's Redemption and Paula's Alexis Denken follow Oscar's stealthed ship toward the Spike.
- Book 3 · Ch 16Troblum reaches the Spike
Troblum, in his new armor, flies Mellanie's Redemption to the Spike, lands near Oscar's ship and contacts Oscar, offering his Swarm knowledge.
- Book 3 · Ch 16Aaron recognized as the Mutineer
When Oscar's party arrives at Ozzie's house, Tomansio recognizes Aaron as Lennox McFoster, the Mutineer who defied the Cat, shocking Aaron.
- Book 3 · Ch 16Troblum offers wormhole transport
Troblum reveals his ship's Anomine-derived novabomb-powered wormhole engine that could reach the galactic core ahead of the Pilgrimage fleet. The group agrees to go, with extra suspension chambers being built for Void time.
- Book 3 · Ch 16The Cat tortures Cheriton by gifting
Cheriton contacts the team via gaiafield. The Cat, having mutilated him, rewrites his memories to torment him. The team flees FTL as he is forced to relive shooting his family.
- Book 3 · Ch 18The Cat ambushes Mellanie's Redemption
The Cat catches Mellanie's Redemption as Troblum prepares the FTL device. Paula intervenes, the ship flees, then launches the device into the star while Paula draws the Cat away.
- Book 3 · Ch 18Wormhole crossing
The planetary FTL device opens a wormhole through the star, and the Mellanie's Redemption crosses 28,000 light-years to emerge near the Void.
- Book 3 · Ch 18Passage into the Void
The Raiel let Mellanie's Redemption pass. The Skylord opens the boundary, pulls the ship in, and speeds it toward Querencia, three light-months away.
- Book 3 · Ch 20Arrival at Makkathran
After Oscar suffers Aaron's nightmare, the crew lands near the Silverbird; Justine greets them, and Aaron says Inigo must bring forth the Waterwalker.