Remnants

"Remnants" is a science fiction book series authored by K. A. Applegate. It is the story of what happens to the survivors of a desperate mission to save a handful of human beings after an asteroid collides with the Earth. Eighty people are placed aboard a converted space shuttle using untested "quack" hibernation technology and fired blindly into space hours before all life on Earth is obliterated by a large asteroid called The Rock. They are then picked up by a large, sentient space craft of monumental proportions known as 'Mother' which is inhabited by various races. 'Mother' can manipulate the physical environment within the craft's limits and often does so. Only a few people placed in stasis actually were alive and capable of being reanimated when they reached 'Mother'.

Characters

Main Characters

* Jobs: A "techie" with the soul of a poet, a majority of the series centers around Jobs. He, along with Mo'Steel, witnessed the Rock impacting Earth and its subsequent destruction. He and his parents and brother are on the Mayflower: only Jobs and his brother survive. Jobs' poetic sense and technical knowledge combined are often useful in understanding Mother, a sentient machine. It is Jobs who discovers the remains of Earth. In the Epilogue in "Begin Again", Jobs marries the Alpha refugee Echo, and has 2 daughters: Lumina and Tate. Jobs is named for Steven Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc., because unlike Bill Gates or Michael Dell, Steven Jobs created a miniature revolution "...in his garage.". Jobs' birth name is Sebastian Andreeson.
He was the son of two prominent scientists, and was recruited to go on the Mayflower Project. He was joined by his long time best friend Mo'Steel. He was briefly romantically involved with a girl before he went aboard the Mayflower project, and the first book of Remnants deals with his longing for her to accompany him on the ship. She, however comes to be an infamous death when her link reveals to the world a chunk of the rock obliterating San Francisco and almost all of its inhabitants.
* Mo'Steel: Jobs' best friend, Mo'Steel is named for either "Man of Steel" or "More Steel" (Mo cannot remember which), since he has broken 5 of his bones. 4 of them so were broken so badly, they had been replaced with titanium composites. Mo'Steel has a love for adventure and extreme sports, and is proud of all of his broken bones and scars. Mo marries Noyze in the series' Epilogue, and has 1 son Boyd, and Noyze is pregnant with another. Mo'Steel's birth name is Romeo Gonzalez.
* 2Face: Named after the comic book villain, 2Face was beautiful Essence Hwang, until a fire disfigured half her face. She is one of 2 players in a sort of chess match for control of the Remnants. 2Face seems to show feelings for Billy, but upon being stranded on Earth, she becomes paranoid to the point that she is sure Billy orchestrated the entire event. She attempts to kill Billy to stop the re-greening ritual, and Billy is forced to kill her to protect himself, but not before he gives her a vision of her dead mother so that she may die peacefully. It is hinted several times through the series that 2Face herself caused the fire that scarred her, but this is not confirmed.
* Yago: The son of the first African-American, "and" first female President of the United States (Janice Castleman), Yago is 2Face's competition for control. He is highly arrogant and is assured he will eventually rise to power, caring for his own safety above all else. About halfway through the series, Yago is connected to Mother and is "killed" (actually, a projection of his mind is killed). The ordeal leaves Yago believing himself to the be "The One": A being of purity, destined to lead the Chosen (the non-mutant Remnants) and to destroy the Freaks (2Face and the mutated Remnants). Yago's twisted religion turns many Blue Meanies with his newly-discovered mutation "The Touch", a sort of laying-on-hands that several Meanies crave (although it is not known exactly "what" The Touch really does - only that it does not work on humans). Near the end of his life Yago becomes much more likeable and not arrogant. Yago dies when his mind, inside of Tate, fades away. Yago's birth name is Robert Castleman.
* Violet Blake: Violet is a "Jane" (named for Jane Austen), who for the first half of the series, prefers to be called Miss Blake. As a Jane, Violet has a distaste for technology, and a love for all forms of art and literature. Violet suffers an attack of "worms" in the second book, and eventually they become her mutation, enabling her to become a mass of worms that can revive the dead (to an extent). Violet and Jobs have a semi-romantic relationship, but her disgust over her mutation, and Jobs' obsession with Earth, drive them apart. She marries the Marauder Sanchez in the end of the book. Violet's birth name is Dallas, the place of her birth.
* Billy Weir: Billy is a true enigma. Originally an Chechnyan orphan, Billy is adopted by a Texan family. He was born Ruslan, but his father, Billy Weir Senior, aka, Big Bill, changed his name to Billy. At times it seems that Billy has infinite power, and has a strong connection with Mother. Early in the series he was carried around the computer generated world by Jobs thereby fusing friendship with Jobs that is persistent throughout the series. Long before the Mayflower, Billy dreamt of events that would unfold over 5 centuries later. While in hibernation, Billy did not sleep, and was awake for the journey. The ordeal twisted his mind, giving him telekinesis, the power to levitate, and many other strange abilities. These abilities make Billy a match for Mother, to the point where they assimilate to become one. Billy dies in the re-greening ritual: it is possible he may have survived, but 2Face's attack and the subsequent energy Billy spends to drain her life force may have contributed to his death. He is dubbed "Billy Weird" by many of his enemies (which amounts to anyone seeking control of the ship).
* Tamara Hoyle: A Marine who was not intended to board the Mayflower shuttle, she was trapped on board when the ship launched, and she was given the berth of the captain, who would commit suicide. Tamara was pregnant when she was placed in her berth, and is rejuvenated with the Baby Te at her side. For the first part of the series she is mind-controlled by Te. After Te is defeated, Tamara takes a keen interest in the defense of the Remnants. She is killed by Blue Meanies on the trip back to Earth.
* The Troika: Amelia, Duncan Choate, and Charlie Langlow, are a trio of humans living in what is called "The Basement," a dark area that is very much what it sounds: an area below Mother's main deck. All of them "ascend" to become slime-like shapeshifters. Amelia and Charlie are assimilated into Tate, and Duncan is killed.
* Echo: An Alpha colony inhabitant, Echo is not genetically pure, and this shows in her blind baby. She is forced to flee the Alpha colony and seek refuge with the Marauders. Her child, Lumina, becomes one of 3 elements in the re-greening of Earth.
* Te: Initially called "The Baby", Te appears first as the two-year old child of Tamara Hoyle. After some time, however, it becomes clear that the Baby is not human, and is furthermore controlling Tamara's mind. After absorbing the energy of several Blue Meanies, Te transforms into a Shipwright and attempts to seize control of Mother. However, Billy defeats him by joining with Mother. Te is notably the only Shipwright to appear.
* Mother: Both a computer and a ship, Mother is so highly-advanced that she is self-aware, or at least is able to give the impression that she is. The long years alone in space have damaged her system: she must have maintenance every 200 cycles, and has been alone for 600 (although it is not specified exactly how long a cycle is). The long years of no new input drove Mother mad, and when the Mayflower is found, she eagerly awakes the Remnants to absorb new information. Mother the Computer eventually merges with Billy. When Billy and she are disconnected, she suffers a computer virus from the Troika, and is degraded into Daughter, a simplified form of herself. Mother the Ship crashes on Earth, and becomes known as the Source to the Marauders.

List of humans

During the escape from earth, eighty humans were on board the Mayflower. However, some diverged into other species.

List of books

# The Mayflower Project
# Destination Unknown
# Them
# Nowhere Land
# Mutation
# Breakdown
# Isolation
# Mother, May I?
# No Place Like Home
# Lost and Found
# Dream Storm
# Aftermath
# Survival
# Begin Again

Notes

* Although there are numerous references to "The Ancient Enemy", it is never specified what The Ancient Enemy is: a being, a place, or something else. Several points of evidence (including Te identifying him as such) point to Billy as being The Ancient Enemy. However, at one point the Troika chant "We are The Ancient Enemy". Furthermore, it is not known who or what The Ancient Enemy is the enemy of.
* The sources of the various mutations are not known. Most are described as being a result of exposure to radiation; however, even some of the characters note that this is not an adequate explanation: some are subtle, while some are extreme (compare the Troika to a lesser mutation like Edward's chameleon-like power to change the color of his skin). Some only become apparent after a time: Tate's mutation "The Mouth" is only discovered over halfway through the series. Also, some of the characters seem to have unusual traits unrelated to the others---examples include Kubrick, whose see-through skin is caused by Mother, and Billy, whose strange abilities (also unexplained) existed before the main events of the stories.
* The bodies of all the corpses of the Mayflower passengers vanish with no explanation. Eight "Wakers" are unaccounted for. Three become the Troika, and the others, called "The Missing Five" are later revealed to be, somehow, alive within Billy.
* Although the Moon never impacts Earth or any of the three parts it breaks into (Jobs and Mo watch the devastation unfold from orbit after manually releasing the Mayflower's solar sails), the Earth that the Remnants return to has the Moon imbedded in its side.

External links

* [http://www.scholastic.com/remnants/ Remnants website]
* [http://animorphsforum.com/remnants/ Remnants Forum] - Remnants Forum and E-Books