Characters

Peter Light

Mr. Peter Light is the main character of the story: a bright American musician, ruined by human ambition and yearning. He was born in Portland, Maine (United States), on January 31st, 1970, in the love of a fairly-wealthy family, that gave him strong values and a good education. He was very young when he started studying music, art and literature, nurturing every day an ever-growing love for the piano. Meanwhile, during his boyhood, he moved with his family to live in a small mountain-town, not far from the Canadian border. There, he continued his studies, attending the weekly lessons at the New England Piano Academy. During one of his frequent travels to the academy in Portland, Peter met Diana, who soon became the love of his life.

Peter Light is a positive character, with a special soul sensibility, capable of capturing a world of emotions around him. An optimistic, sensitive and generous man, who trusts in the goodness of people and fully reciprocates the love of his dears. But, at the same time, he is also an ambitious pianist, torn between the ideal of a simple and humble life in his hometown with Diana, and a burning desire to make it as an internationally–renowned musician. An overwhelming ambition that, eventually, will consume the entire life of the protagonist, even more than the passing of Time itself.

Peter’s voice is clean and clear. He speaks middle-high general American, gently influenced by an East Coast prosody. The way he speaks reflects his positive and sensitive nature but, at the same Time, his ever-growing ambition.

With a promising career ahead of him and an upcoming marriage with the love of his life, Peter Light is ready to create and discover the bright future that awaits on the horizon. But soon Time will reveal that life is short, transient and unpredictable.

Mr. Shadow

This character is the evil counterpart of Mr. Peter Light, the sinful result of man’s dual nature. His harsh voice initially appears only sporadically, as a dual personality of the protagonist, a man torn between genuineness and ambition. Later, Mr. Shadow will emerge as a character on his own, during the most vulnerable period of Peter’s life, taking advantage of his weaknesses, his dejection and despair. Hence, he will take total control of Peter, embracing "the darkest rage" as the only source of life, by isolating himself to languish, hate and survive rather than live really.

Mr. Shadow is a gloomy, vicious and extremely negative personality, who mistrusts people and everything that is good in this world. He considers all the positive feelings (such as trust, love and solidarity) as the most pathetic facets of humanity, finding in hate and anger the strength he needs to live in this world.

Mr. Shadow’s sinister look and growl-voice are simply the reflection of the sinful and gloomy soul, not only concealed within Peter Light, but in every man, like the reversed image of human ego as reflected in a mirror.

Khronos

In ancient Greek mythology, Khronos was the titan of Time, son of Gaia (the Earth) and Uranus (the Sky), both descending from Chaos, the god who molded all creation. In our story, Khronos is the personification of Time itself, the supreme and omnipresent god who watches over everybody, sees everything and has total control over Earth and human life.

Speaking with authoritative tone and baritone pitched voice, his linguistic register is solemn. As a representation of the classical culture, Khronos switches from sentences in refined English, which are slightly influenced by Latin, to phrases in Latin language proper.

The big wooden hourglass he holds in his left hand represents human life, while the long, sharp scythe is the tool by which Khronos reaps every soul. Making a mockery out of the frivolity, the haughtiness and the ephemerality of human beings, the god of Time is a superior and ruthless personality. He considers men small and insignificant creatures who spend their lives trying in every way to stand up to God and to desperately leave a sign in history. However, when Time comes for Khronos to raise his scythe, such ephemeral beings can do nothing but bowing down in terror and accept the ultimate goal of human life.

Oak of Wisdom

This character is an abstract entity, which represents a common choir of wisdom, a sort of inner voice of all humanity. It gathers, in fact, all human knowledge (as literature, poetry, music, philosophy and art) about the two key concepts of creation: life and Time. The Oak of Wisdom is a sort of narrator of the album, which has total vision on the events and the characters. It is the only entity, in fact, that can interact with each of them, as if it represented the inner conscience of human beings.

The linguistic register of the Oak is poetic and philosophical. The content of his sayings is noble and regretful, but realistic. Such choir is made up of a few vocal registers, since it represents all earthly mankind.

Not only does it possess a superior knowledge: in truth, it is an oak, a secular tree, thus it has a much longer lifespan than mere mortals. But, since it is an embodiment of human knowledge, which by definition is not everlasting, the Oak of Wisdom is not eternal. It has to submit to Khronos, the god of Time, for whom it feels great awe and respect.

Captain Hook

Chronophobia is the phobia of Time. Some say that, deep inside, all humans are chronophobic, as they cannot bear the thought of death. They deceive themselves with the illusion of being eternal, especially in their youth. Chronomentrophobia is the fear of ticking clocks. Only a few people have this kind of phobia: they are afraid of losing Time and, therefore, the clatter of clocks trigger their fear.

Captain Hook is an odd chronomentrophobic character. He was born in Palmerston (now Darwin – Australia), 1888, son of a British mercenary father. Very little is known about his childhood or about the events that triggered his phobia.

Dressing in a bizarre and extravagant manner, he moves with a chaotic gait and he sleeps very little at night. Even if Captain Hook is quite eccentric, in reality, he shuns society and is a lone wolf, as he feels to possess a superior knowledge than other men.

Captain Hook’s dementia manifests itself through his words. His way of talking is bizarre: he speaks with a deep, throaty rasp, continuously distorting his voice and interchanging singsong tones with impetuous and sudden changes of pitch. Not only is his tone of voice subject to these changes, but the Captain alternates very short verses with polysyllabic ones, conveying the idea of chaos and dementia. His hysteria gets triggered every Time his ear catches a ticking clock: he feels his head going mad and his body consuming from the inside. Consequently, he feels the overwhelming need of breaking every ticking clock on Earth.

Tristano

the accoursed poet

Tristano is an Italian romantic poet who was born in 1798 in the city of Firenze (Florence). Orphan of both parents, he grew up in a nuns’ orphanage till the age of twelve, when he escaped and started a road’s life. Since he was very young, the boy never integrated with his mates and used to spend most of his spare Time writing verses on his own. Life was always tough for the young poet: all people in the orphanage used to call him with the nickname of “Tristano” (Italian for triste, sad), so that he soon forgot his real first name. After the getaway, Tristano changed many jobs in the roads of Florence, working for all kinds of people, but he could never find any friend. One day, a rich nobleman noticed his talent, bumping into one of his sheets which was rambling on the cobblestones in the road, slowly carried by the wind. Tristano was hired at the nobleman’s court for a couple of years, where he had the chance to write more than a hundred poems which eventually were all published under the name of his lord. Having saved up a small nest egg, one night the poet fled from the court and moved to the countryside, where he could afford a two hectares’ land with a small shack. Since then, Tristano started a subsistence life, a lifestyle of an accursed poet, far from people and withdrawn from the society. Rather than a gift, he considers his poetic talent a real curse: his muse is a tormenting demon who dwells in his head and whispers at him every single night, making no sleep possible. The only way for the poet to cease these racking voices is to write them down in verses. Tristano’s addiction to the absinthe is also something bound to his personal demon, because the green poison helps him to alleviate the headache, letting the thoughts flowing on the paper. In this way, the lifestyle of Tristano is the same every night, working at his desk, only with a candlelight clarifying the sheet, the pen, the inkwell and the absinthe bottle.

A sad, depressed and introverted character, born under a bad sign, who has become an accursed poet of the Italian Romanticism, writing abstruse reasonings about life and Time. A talented man, striving by himself every single night. Tristano’s voice reflects both sadness and struggle, through elaborated stanzas and poetic verses in literary Italian, enriched with many rhetorical devices.

Clogan

the clockmaker

Born in Caerdydd (Cardiff) 1564, Clogan is a Celtic clockmaker of the early Renaissance, who moved to London in his youth with the ambition to study physics and mathematics. He descends from a family which has passed on over generations the “tradition of horologe”, consisting in methods and secrets of Time’s measurements. His clan is one of the oldest of the entire island, whose roots probably date back to the times of Stonehenge. Such clan keeps maintaining and jealously guarding not only the secrets of its knowledge, but also a set of own traditions and religious customs: among them, there is the worship of the god Tad Amser (Welsh for “Father Time”), corresponding to Khronos.

As a bright mind and young physicist, Clogan is used to spend most of his days working at his precious artifacts, the sixteenth century’s new invention: pendulum clocks. But the real lifetime dream of the young scientist is to craft the “perfect clock”, what he calls Cloc Amser (Welsh for “Lifetime Clock”), a special device that can actually measure how much remains to live to every man. More than just a dream, he seems to consider it a concrete project.

In fact, Clogan is a character sure of himself, who believes in his art and fiercely praises it. A firm personality, proud of his origins, traditions and beliefs. His voice, with fervent and prominent tone, fully reflects these characteristics.

Riodorado

the conquistador

Second-born of a wealthy aristocratic family, Riodorado De La Cruz was born in Medellìn, Estremadura (Spain), 1485, and was raised in the catholic doctrine during the “Golden Century” of the unified Spain. At the age of 26, he moved to the New World and established an outpost on the northern coast of Colombia, where he spent a few years exploiting the land and the local natives. During that period, Riodorado was affected by the spread of myths and legendary tales, among the conquerors, telling about a lost city of gold and eternal youth. Such place was supposed to be located somewhere in the region of Rio de la Plata. Hence, yearning for fame, gold and richness, Riodorado gathered a crew of about twenty men and began his lifetime adventure in search of the legendary Fuenteterna, the lost city of gold.

Speaking Spanish with tenacious and clean voice, Riodorado is an adventurous man, deeply loyal to his king and faithful to God. Anyway, at the same Time, he is also a heinous and ruthless conquistador who exploits and enslaves the indios of the New World in the name of his crown, willing to annihilate anyone who refuses to embrace the Christian religion.

Aeon

the Time traveler

Year 3015. Planet Earth has run out of its resources. Humankind has split between those who left the globe in search of a better environment to live, and those who transplanted their mental imprints into the cyberspace. Such a quite recent scientific achievement was possible thanks to centuries-old studies of neuroscience and quantum physics together with computerscience and microtechnologies. During the XXIX and XXX centuries, in fact, all people who were left on Earth had to definitively switch their own neuronal impulses into computer data, hence transferring themselves into another dimension: the web. Life in the cyberspace is fairly similar to the old existence on Earth: the virtual reality has been carefully recreated in every detail. The only difference is that people do not grow old there, since they are not made by cells, just by data. Anyway, death has not been defeated yet: digital viruses still exist and no human being is actually eternal.

In this kind of reality, Aeon (code number: WTCU.BTTLP.0098.186) is a neuro-digital physicist, a bright researcher who has spent his entire life studying various experimental technologies in order to reconvert the digital impulses of cyberpacial people back into the old earthly reality, at least into what remains of planet Earth. But during some of his most complex experiments, Aeon obtained revolutionary results, so as to enter the history of neuro-digital physics of all times: he discovered that, with such technology, he could actually transfer himself into any historical period of human civilization, hence travelling through concrete Time.

A man coming from the future. A Time traveler, a messiah, a divine answer. This is what many earthly cultures of human history might see in Aeon. Anyway, giving hope, a sign, an answer to these cultures would work as a perfect disguise for the ambitious physicist in order to be worshiped like god among humans.

Diana Okunarashi

(ダイアナ 奥奈良市)

Diana Okunarashi (Oku 奥 as “recondite”, Narashi 奈良市 as “equilibrium”) was born in Quebec City, Canada, 1971. Daughter of Canadian mother and Japanese father, who moved to Canada in the early sixties, Diana grew up in Quebec nurturing the dream of becoming a hotel administrator and opening one day her own hotel. The mere fact of working closely with individuals coming from all around the world is what makes Diana so fascinated by the hotel industry. Such characteristic reflects her positive, warm and welcoming attitude and it is also a way for her to learn about the world, while not being able to physically travel. Hence, she attended the Institut d’hôtellerie du Québec, occasionally voyaging for short summer internships. One day, while travelling on a bus to Portland (Maine) for a seminar, she met an intriguing, charming and bright young man, whose name was Peter Light.


Diana Okunarashi is a smart girl who speaks English and French. As second generation, she just understands a few words of Japanese; anyway, she has inherited from her father some Japanese traditions and religious customs, especially the philosophy of oku and the worship of Amida Buddha.

A positive, humble, warm and balanced personality, who conveys serenity and equilibrium to the people close to her. This is Diana, bride-to-be of Mr. Peter Light.  

The Yonder Brothers

James, Jeff and Julian Yonder are three British pilots of the Royal Air Force (RAF) who serve during WWII in no. 35 squadron, also known as Madras Presidency Squadron.

Although they share the same last name, they are not actual blood brothers. James C. Yonder (1918 - middle) is son of a wealthy surgeon from Newcastle. He is second in command on a crew of 7 people on an Avro Lancaster, the most well-known heavy bomber of RAF in WWII, used mainly at night. Jeff Yonder (1921 - left) is a farm boy from East Anglia, son of a miller and a seamstress. He flies a Supermarine Spitfire, a fast fighter-aircraft. In squadron no. 35, Jeff mostly operates as pathfinder, who locates and marks targets with a fusee, which main bomber forces can aim at, increasing the accuracy of their bombing. Lastly, Julian F. Yonder (1922 - right) comes from London, son of a city bus driver. He flies a Hawker Hurricane, a strike aircraft, normally used to make quick raids to specific small targets. In his squadron, he acts as an escort aircraft, whose goal is to escort bombers to and from their targets. He loiters over the target for the duration of the raid to defend the bombers, then returns.

Madras Presidency Squadron no. 35 took part in an aircraft campaign code-named Operation Gomorrah, the WWII’s Allied bombing of Hamburg, lasting for 8 consecutive days and 7 nights. Such massive attack included numerous offensives on civilians and civic infrastructures, since Hamburg was a pivotal industrial city for the Nazi-German warfare. The British (including Canadian RCAF, Australian RAAF and Polish Squadrons) conducted night raids, while the Americans daylight raids. Also remembered as “the Hiroshima of Germany”, Operation Gomorrah represented the heaviest and largest firestorm raised by jointly attacks of RAF Bomber Command and USAAF (United States Army Air Forces) during the Second World War, causing almost 80.000 victims, including dead and wounded.

In the army, James, Jeff and Julian Yonder act and behave as real brothers, staying always together in the training camp and helping each other in combat, constantly side by side. Everyone covers a specific role during raids and operations, in complementary support of his brothers: Jeff paves the way for the attacks, Julian escorts the bomber and James drops fire on the aimed target. Into hostile foreign lands, so close to death every night, they pursue a great cause and share a deep family feeling, a sense of belonging that no one who has not been at war can ever seize. They are, and will be forever, brothers in arms.

Kayla

the portraitist

Born on December 3rd, 2061, Kayla Al Zamen is a body-painter, illustrator and portraitist of Arabic origins. Her parents, Rashid and Fatma, come from Dubai (UAE), the offspring of wealthy entrepreneurs and politicians’ families who thrived during the golden decades of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council). Unfortunately, as little children both Rashid and Fatma had to suffer the fierce Oil&Gas crisis that took place in 2036 and the consequential “Second Great Depression” from which the Gulf area was particularly afflicted during the forties and fifties of the XXI century. They got married in their homeland, willing to safeguard the family dignity and ancestors’ traditions, but after a few years of married-life they eventually decided their children deserved different possibilities and a prosperous future. The choice of their new destination was made for Chicago (USA), since Fatma’s cousins, who had been living there for many years, could arrange an employment for Rashid with an interesting diplomatic career. Having a baby was indeed the dream of a lifetime for the young couple; from their arrival in the United States in 2055, in fact, they desperately tried to have one in a natural way (not at all a common custom during the fifties of the XXI century), but sadly the first pregnancy ended tragically. After six years, a beautiful newborn finally arrived: they called her “Kayla”, a name that in America has the meaning of “pure”, but whose Arabic origin is “wise child”.

Kayla lives in a superficial era where the concept of “art” has been muffled and minimized for the saturation of the web by any sort of thing that aspires to be considered a masterpiece. In the second half of the XXI century, in fact, the figure of “the artist” is no longer seen as a profession, but rather as a front to conceal a state of unemployment or simple laziness. However, in such an artistically dystopic and cursory world, Kayla Al Zamen is a determined woman with noble values and a marked sense for art and beauty. With a master’s degree in architecture, she has a part-time job as an illustrator and interior designer for commercial buildings, but in most of her Time she practices body-painting on herself or for others. In particular, she loves to do one thing above all: on canvas and wooden boards, Kayla is used to portraying freehand her own image, sometimes dressed, sometimes with her naked body full-painted. She makes real masterpieces out of her own figure: every single work must be as accurate as possible, faithful to the original. Such a meticulous practice is simply due to her strong awareness that human beauty is fleeting and momentary, and for her there is no purer nor finer artistic inspiration than capturing her own appearance in a specific year, day or moment, perfectly knowing that she will never be as beautiful as she is today.