Faustina

The script of a play or, very occasionally, the text of a novel is preceded by Dramatis Personae, a list of characters' names and descriptions in the order of their appearance. Thus:

"GHOST of Hamlet, the late King of Denmark"

In James Blish's Doctor Mirabilis:

"ROGER BACON of Ilchester, clerk."

In Larry Niven's and Jerry Pournelle's Lucifer's Hammer:

"TIMOTHY HAMNER, amateur astronomer"

In Poul Anderson's "Rokuro," a No play of the future:

"A priest (waki)"

These are the first Personae in four such lists.

Sometimes, an early passage in a prose text previews the action by citing the names of as yet unknown characters that, we understand, are due to "enter" shortly, e.g.:

 

"...Trevelyan Micah, Murdoch Juan, Smokesmith, red Faustina..."

-"The Pirate," p. 137.

Faustina, Murdoch's mistress, is a rough character from New Mars. At the climax, Murdoch has to restrain her when she threatens Trevelyan. However, Faustina becomes the focus for the moral of the tale. She asks why they cannot be allowed to enrich themselves by exploiting the depopulated planet, Good Luck. Trevelyan, holding her hands, explains that the dead have rights - they should be studied and known. Then the invisible narrator resumes and concludes, informing us that she does not understand:

"...the unspoken Pact between the living, the dead, and the unborn..." (p. 165)

"...they shall all be kept one in the oneness of time." (ibid.)