high-tech chair. It is his studies that lead him to realize that the Oversoul is blocking things from the thoughts of humans on Harmony; after he and Nafai begin defying the Oversoul, it begins to work with them. He marries Hushidh, and becomes one of the best at dealing with the Index. Issib is patterned on Sam from the Book of Mormon. Hushidh Luet's older sister, she is a raveler: able to see the relationships between people manifested as threads in her vision. This gives her remarkable insight into what people are thinking, as well as the ability to know what well-chosen words will break weak threads. Unfortunately, she is not so adept at seeing the larger effects of her (un)raveling. Though she at first sees her marriage to Issib as a convenient pairing of the unmarried males and females on the trip, they fall in love. Elemak Nafai's oldest brother. An accomplished tradesman with an aptitude for learning languages, he is nevertheless too power-hungry and violent to be chosen by the Oversoul. He never forgives Nafai for this. Although he has no wish to kill the rest of the company, he never lets go of the idea of killing Nafai. As his plots grow more complex, so do Nafai's defenses, thanks to the Oversoul and the community around him. Elemak is patterned on Laman from the Book of Mormon. Mebbekew Nafai's second oldest brother. An unabashed hedonist and would-be actor, his most recent seduction at the start of the expedition is Rasa's niece Dol, a former child actor. They get married, but Mebbekew is eventually unfaithful. He also sides with his older brother Elemak against Nafai, though he is considerably less clever than either. Mebbekew is patterned on Lemuel from the Book of Mormon. Rasa Nafai's mother. In Basilica she runs a school with enormous prestige, and five of her "nieces" (prize students adopted into roles of permanent sponsorship) embark on the expedition to Earth. After failing to renew her marriage with Volemak, she is married to Gaballufix for a while, but eventually goes back to Volemak and renews him consistently until the expedition. Though the oldest woman in the company, she bears three more children in the course of the journey, the oldest being Oykib. Rasa is patterned on Sariah from the Book of Mormon. Volemak Nafai's father. On Harmony his title is the Wetchik, and he is