Atasco, a former member of the Grail Brotherhood. Furthermore, they are unable to drop offline, and experience terrible pain if disconnected by others. Summoned to an audience with Atasco and his wife, they meet a mysterious man named Sellars, who claims to have gathered them. Sellars gives them a mission: they are to find Paul Jonas, who is at large somewhere within Otherland's many simulation worlds. But before the briefing can finish, the Atascos' home in the real world is assaulted by assassins working for the Grail Brotherhood. Bolivar and his wife are murdered, and Sellars vanishes. Even as the group flees Temilún, one of their "sims"—simulation bodies—is secretly taken over by John Dread, a murderous young man who directed the Grail Brotherhood's assault on the Atascos and who now seeks to learn about Otherland to his own advantage. As they try to discover the motivations of the Grail Brotherhood—obviously not world domination, since they already control the world—they discover that they are unable to log off. They are trapped, and if they die in the network, they also die in real life. The series covers their adventures as they seek to uncover the truth and wake their loved ones from their comas. Short stories "The Happiest Dead Boy in the World" (published in Legends II, edited by Robert Silverberg, from Del Rey/Ballantine/Random House, Hardcover 2003) "The Boy Detective of Oz: An Otherland Story" Major characters The Volunteers Mr. Sellars—a mysterious man kept under house arrest on a US Military base. He is responsible for recruiting people to infiltrate Otherland and uncover its secrets. Although mentally tortured by the danger to which he has submitted them, he affectionately refers to them as his volunteers and tries to aid them in every way possible. Paul Jonas—a British man trapped in Otherland and pursued by the Grail Brotherhood for unknown reasons. He suffers from a hypnotic blocking of his memories. Both the Twins and a strange woman (whom he dubs the Angel) seem to be seeking him out, but for very different purposes. Irene (Renie) Sulaweyo—a South African Zulu woman and a college professor in Durban. After her younger brother, to whom she is a surrogate mother, falls into a coma, she begins a search for answers. Renie is headstrong, and other characters constantly refer to her tendency towards action over contemplation. ǃXabbu—a Kalahari San and a friend of Renie. He was