Characters
Hagen
Political coordinator at the ICRU, guardian of the Meridian contract
Hagen is the political coordinator at the ICRU in Hamburg, a slight man with a ruler-straight part and a tightly knotted tie. His office on the fifth floor is smaller than his position would suggest; on the wall hang photos of contract signings, and in each one he is standing at the edge. What matters to him is the framework agreement with the sensor manufacturer Meridian: it gives the institute free access to a monitoring network it could never afford on its own. He calls the institute “this house.” When Lena Voss presents an inconvenient number at a meeting, he gives a short laugh with no amusement in it. Later he warns her about a label you never get rid of: the colleague who is difficult.
First encounter
- First noticed: at the meeting, he is sorting papers that don’t need sorting
- Speaks: politely, with a smile his eyes don’t join in; at the door he says: “In this business you get everything you ask for and nothing you demand.”
- Object: his fountain pen, which he caps when he considers something settled
Connected to
- Lena VossOceanographer at the ICRU in Hamburg, following a falling line
- Dr. Maren SeifertICRU head of risk communication, reads every warning herself
- Dr. RüheICRU meteorologist who knows about the old probe in storage
- ICRU HamburgLena’s institute in Hamburg, looking out over the Elbe
- Meridian Risk SystemsHamburg sensor maker in Bahrenfeld, supplies data to the ICRU
Spoiler-free. This describes the starting point of the book named, without its major twists or resolutions.