"Damiana"
  #f7c300

  Our Virgil.
          
DuLombro, "Nick", PhD
  b. 1958.11.16 (Los Angeles, California)
  177cm / 68kg
  #150924
  
  Apryl's boss cum only friend at LSCC--head of Research division. Kind of flowy and peppy. Seems to be living behind friendly eyes. Hoards as many CDs and SNES games as you're allowed at a top-secret lab. Deep violet hair hangs straight, stringy, and past the ears.
          
Esparse, Amanda "Becky" Rebecca, neé Legend
  b. 1948.01.03 (Tacoma, Washington)
  155cm / 49kg
  #faf0be
  
  Has gone by Becky her entire life. Has lived in Tacoma her entire life. Child of severe Protestants; mother lives in Covington, father dead. Did not bother Amelia to attend church after age 13; was occupied with work, raising a child mostly on her own, and national politics. Family has been in Seattle area for "generations". Conservative, passionately supports War on Drugs. Active in D.A.R.E., picketed for Bush in '88. Thinks President Clinton is not doing nearly enough to "crack down on crack", and may in fact be allowing more of it into the country than ever.
  
  Elementary school teacher, was Amelia's 3rd grade homeroom / English teacher. Marriage with Daniel somehow works flawlessly. Maybe it's the distance. Frenemies would describe her as "tart". Subconsciously Malthusian. Never cuts her daughter down, rarely praises her.
  
Esparse, Amelia June
  b. 1971.08.18 (Tacoma, Washington)
  163cm / 71kg
  #6c574e
  
  Only child. Quietly rebellious. Would have voted for Dukakis purely to spite her mother, but was 17 in Nov '88. Not politically motivated beyond "not being a Republican". Tends to be unable to drop a pursuit once she's focused on it. In denial about extent of semi-regular cocaine use.
  
   Has the kind of self-confidence in her upcoming career that only a 22-year-old can. Dangerously positivistic, well beyond what a self-appraisal would attest. Single, had various prior heterosexual relationships since high school. Looks up to Dr. Lindon immensely, has a somewhat parasocial adoration of her.
   
   Conflicted inner monologue. Will cut herself down, mainly on appearance, and then glorify the same in the same afternoon--but not sentence. An awe-inspiring ray of sunshine. Readers have asked what she looks like, but the author has a hard time picturing faces. A bold and lovely young Ecuadorian-Scots woman with hair so impressive, it's literally the title of the book. You fill in the rest.
   
Esparse, Daniel Carlito, PhD
  b. 1946.11.04 (Brooklyn, New York)
  166cm / 78kg
  #171815
  
  Child of Ecuadorian immigrants, both now dead. Baptised Catholic, nonpracticing. Lived in several parts of the country before meeting Becky. Cigarette smoker, Winstons, close to a pack a day. Decidedly introverted. Votes Republican out of vaguely libertarian instinct. Not politically motivated, much more focused on career. Ha estado más que un poco deprimido desde la muerte de uno de sus amigos en las calles de NY en los 60.
  
Exegesis, Nathan "Nolly" Carter
  b. 1965.05.29 (Tacoma, Washington)
  186cm / 91kg
  #a59273
  
  Susan's elder brother of six years. Was 19 when their parents divorced, didn't bother hyphenating his name. Works two phone-based marketing jobs, one of which is legal. Vegetarian, meditates daily. Wants an organic pot farm of his own someday, out in the foothills. A gentle giant who's always cared for Amelia like a second sister. Drives a '72 Pinto, color hard to discern at this point.
  
Hamakiotis, Alaxandros M., VADM (Retired), USN, 10th Director of the Defense Mapping Agency
  b. 1941.01.19 (Belleville, New Jersey)
  188cm / 101kg
  #fffcfd
  
  Power hungry.
  
Jodl, Roderich Joseph Ferdinand, SS-Untersturmführer Position unknown, USDOD
  b. 1928.03.19 (Würzburg, Bavaria)
  191cm / 97kg
  #2a2b18
  
  19██ █████ recruited via ███████, with operations pertaining to ████-██████ ████████████, ████ █████,  focused on ██ ██ and the ███ ████ between 19██ and ████. Son of ██████ Jodl. Longstanding involvement with ███████ ███████, ██████ ████████, ███ ████ ██████████ in ████ ██████. Transferred to ████ upon opening to oversee ████████ █████████ in ██████, to ████████ ████████ ████████████ / ██████, and to maintain connection with ███████.
  
  Nah, I'm just kidding; I'm the author; I can write whatever I want! He's a Nazi. An actual Nazi. With time powers. Spooky! Not immune to letter openers.
  
Liebowitz, Christian Izaiah
  b. 1973.04.27 (Kent, Washington)
  169cm / 59kg
  #6d4f4b
  
  Sociology major at UPS, going into his senior year. Lovable twink. Beautiful tousled curly cigar brown hair. Has been enamored with Amelia since a mutual friend brought her into the KUPS studio his freshman year. His father chose love over אמונה. His mother chose his first name. Quite embarrased about his low-functioning acetaldehyde dehydrogenase enzyme.
  
  Trying to find a cheap camera with which to kickstart his filmmaking career.
  
Lindon, Apryl Marie, PhD
  b. 1957.07.09 (Abbotsford, British Columbia)
  183cm / 61kg
  #63424b
  
  Assistant Professor at UPS, tenure track. Quietly kind, frequently read as aloof. Brought into LSCC per unique expertise, but is in no way trusted. Finds it ironic that her dual citizenship cannot help her out of this situation. Has signed too many NDAs at this point not to fear for her life. Hardly knows a lick of French.
  
  Secret модница. Tries very hard not to appear as wealthy as she is, but can't help accessorizing. Has made a few not-insignificant contributions to the field of gravitational physics. Is not as much of a superstar as Amelia holds her to be. Has always known she was gay, took longer to find the term "lipstick". Extremely secretive about stress-induced Marlboro Lights 100's habit. Views Amelia as a hardworking student with potential, and treats her just as she treats everybody else--with arm's length grace and respect. Visits her mother in Abbotsford at least once a year.
  
  The author has been filling out a cast of varied and attractive characters in vain hope that the reader will not notice any unusual focus on the Professor.
  
Macfield, Liam Finlay, Special Agent
  b. 1962.07.13 (Fairfax, Virgina)
  168cm / 75kg
  #503a2e
  
  Criminal Investigator for the US Department of Energy. Relationship status unknown. Hard to read, but maybe a bit insecure. Assigned to Lindon when she was brought on in May '93. As she was not a DOE scientist, he is charged with rifling through her papers and generally tracking her every movement. Has not been informed of much of what LSCC is doing. Macfield would rather be where the action is, up in Garibaldi Park, than bumming around Tacoma with this pixie-cut professor. A gym rat, as far as feds go, but certainly not a jock. Usually benches 225lbs, 3x12. Smokes Reds.
  
Phạm, Liên "Carrie" Ngoc
  b. 1972.04.11 (Buôn Ma Thuột, Đắk Lắk)
  158cm / 55kg
  #321e1d
  
  Family fled the Central Highlands in '75, moved to Washington, and started a garment factory. In the twenty years since, the Phạms have cracked the lower realms of Seattle's upper class. Carrie is spoiled rich, stunning, and a devout friend. Will probably end up taking over her father's business. Has held a "back to school / Amelia's birthday" party at her family's mansion on Fox Island every August since they bought the place. Adores alcohol. Drives a 1990 300CE, silver.

Tankard-Exegesis, Susan Penelope
  b. 1971.10.31 (Tacoma, Washington)
  166cm / 69kg
  #bf7757
  
  Susan and Amelia have been best friends since 1st grade, and have stuck together all through Foss High and UPS. Strawberry blonde hair. Amelia would say that between the two of them, Susan is the pretty one. Susan is too kind to agree. Major stoner, enabled by her parents' divorce and her older brother's side career. Becky thinks she's an absolute sweetheart.
  
Vernon, Cable Antony
  b. 1972.02.01 (Tacoma, Washington)
  179cm / 76kg
  #a7a2a7
  
  Amelia's coke dealer. Also went to Foss. Pretty hot. Prematurely grey hair. Cocky, but not to such degree as to be revolting. Only does coke at parties. Only bums cigs when drunk. Drives an '85 325i, black.
          

"Fairmist"
  #eeeeec
  
  The only Barncherry member to follow #000033 after he split off from the collective. Some 3RϜ the director's senior. The two had a deep and longstanding professional relationship, as any director/projectionist pair must, although since Midnight's retirement, Fairmist has continued to work under other filmmakers into their old age. During the heyday, they would be found ever at the director's side in public, providing silent support. Behind the scenes, they were rumored to have pulled strings in several Philosophical and Morality councils, preventing #003 from ever being successfully panned. For their work on Sable, Fairmist was granted residence on level 17.

"Lemondrop"
  #edd348
  
  The Honored #000033's newest personal apprentice. Somehow both overenthusiastic and overopinionated. Tries her hardest to understand what an "Amelia" is.

"Lime"
  #3bff14
  
  Following a successful apprenticeship street-sweeping for the Fellowship of Construction Arts, the Reputable #3f1 moved up to a juior position within the firm and was soon chosen as one of the permanent caretakers of the new Celadon Opera, levels 3548-56. The kind of sweetheart you can imagine spending the rest of your frames with. Has been searching for a split complementary--a pink or violet, bright and charming like him--but isn't great on picking up on cues. He's going on 2.5RϜ when the must-see Sable hits theatres; open-minded Lime decides to check it out.

"Midnight"
  #000033
  
  Gained final colors first in his class, and at the age of 372YϜ became the Barncherry Film Collective's youngest ever apprentice. Left the Collective at 0.9RϜ over disputes on filmmaking orthodoxy; released Echogrey to moderate acclaim at 1.2. Midnight slowly gained in cult popularity throughout his 1s--perhaps due to his noble, pure tone; perhaps due to his scandalous habit of dating bright yellows.
  
  By the time Sable was ready, with the writer/director's 2s on the horizon, significant buzz had accumulated even outside of film circles. But the Sphere was in no way prepared for the boundary-breaking technique #003 was about to bring--the successful creation, at last, of life itself--nor for his frankly disturbing method of drawing it up from lower dimensions. The film, needless to say, impressed the entire city so much that any complaints were quickly overcast, and Midnight granted residence on level 3.
  
  By the time "Amelia" has re-condensed and descended to surface level, another 10RϜ had passed, and #003 had lost most of his youthful swagger in exchange for the jaded boredom that comes to those who become too famous, too comfortable, too soon.
  
"Ruby"
  #e9085d
  
  Once a fussy child who would fight with her head-monkey and wander off from class, Reputable #e05 has evolved into a radiant and well-mannered Hex, at least on the surface. When Sable comes out, she's in her early 2s, pretending to be gunning for a permanent seat in the Society of One Plus Root Five Over Two. Secretly she harbors plans to fuck off and start a new Cult, grounded in antimathematics, as soon as she has a handful of acolytes. Stumbling upon the Sapgreen Theatre and finding nothing better to do for the next hundred EϜ, she enters and finds standing room next to a dapper, bright green individual.
            

Bashiri, Karim
  b. 2005 (Aurora, Colorado)

  Writer, atheist, and student of many disciplines. Author of a cute webnovel about a girl from 90s PNW who gains time powers and becomes the Mother of Science. The transcriptions and intertextual commentary of , or, A sparrow bathes in dust are his, but the story, as it were, is Ms. Marchant's telling.
  
  Not one to enjoy the spotlight.

Marchant, Amelia "Sable"
  b. 1996 (Tacoma, Washington)
  
  Made it to Moab around 2036, with a crew of plastic-heads that had dwindled from eighteen to seven. Stayed there a year or so before the final three of them decided to head south, vaguely aiming for the Four Corners. They set up shop just west of Monticello and had a pretty good operation going. Plenty of water. Looks like Sable was the only one who could handle the upper limit, though. She's been here, alone--drug gardening, eating snakes, watching for customers on highway 191--for a good six months or so. Had recently started on an autobiography when she finds Karim.
  
  Back in '29, one of the old Burner crew gave her the moniker after an Amelia-from-Tacoma character in a webnovel he was reading. Marchant never read it, but the name stuck.
            

evol - Since time is distance in the sixth dimension, we need a different term to describe its passage of events. The state of all entangled spacetime strings progresses forward in what the hexes call "evolution", or evol. Just as we sense time but cannot control its flow, the hex are sliding forward through evolution, measured in quantised frames (Ϝ).
      
frames - Below is provided a rough comparison of the speed of evolution--as perceived by the Hex--with time as we know it. It is given that:

  16RϜ mean Hex lifespan ~ 44,240 years of human experience
  
with respect to each species' average speed of thought. Thus it follows that:

  1QϜ ~ 2.640My
  1RϜ ~ 2,640y
  1YϜ ~ 2.640y
  1ZϜ ~ 23.13h
  1EϜ ~ 1.388m
  1PϜ ~ 83.26ms
  1TϜ ~ 83.26μs
  1GϜ ~ 83.26ns
  1MϜ ~ 83.26ps
  1kϜ ~ 83.26fs
  1Ϝ  ~ 83.26as

To lend better understanding, the following environmental and sociological examples are given:

  quettaframe - Hex society evolves slowly. Major changes to their collective way of life happen about once every hundred and twenty generations--or one QϜ. Recorded Hex history--back to the founding village--goes back 80QϜ or so, but it seems their existence as a species predates this by an unknown, massive amount.
    |
  ronnaframe - Criminal launchings or deaths of despair may happen as frequently as every 50RϜ. Even the healthiest hexes rarely live longer than 22RϜ.
    |
  yottaframe - The local fauna of timeworld reproduce only on rare occasions, through sheer chance. Each of the 212 species can be expected to create a new being every YϜ or so. It takes two hex parents more than 100YϜ to make a new hex, and another 400YϜ for the newborn to mature and enter society.
    |
  zettaframe - A convenient length of time with which to separate "days" in the Sphere, although this foreign concept, along with "sleep", is an invention of the creature Sable.
    |
  exaframe - The length of a decent street argument in Sphere City.
    |
  ...
    |
  frame - The smallest quantum of evolution by which causality occurs in the sixth dimension.

Also see: evol.

hexes - Sapient citizens of timeworld, standing at ~ℵ10 years tall.

LSCC - Special Laboratory for Combined Cryoenergetics (Laboratoire Spécial de Cryoénergétique Combinée), located 80km NE of Vancouver.

single (hexes) - The hex system of partnership is largely familiar to us, with a few exceptions. While the hex are gendered (usually he, she, or they), sexuality is not a known concern, or rather a noticed one. But due to their vast and chatty social lives--not to mention the significant chunk of evol they must dedicate to making a new hex--relationships are serious business (and a serious matter of intrigue). Over the evolutions, the hex have taken up the practice of swapping pieces of themselves with their partner, integrating ℵ½ sized chunks of their beloved into holes of the same size they have taken out of their chests. This not only integrates part of the partner's personality into their being, but also desplays their "taken" status boldly to all they meet. (Especially considering most hex partner with a complementary color.) One can imagine the scene caused in public when a heartbroken lover rips out the piece of their partner and throws it to the sky in disgust. It's also worth noting that hexes are serially monogamous, tending to have dozens of partners over their lives, and have never been known to be polyamorous. Finally, the reader will take note that, thanks to the lenghty reproduction time, it would be quite scandalous for a pair to declare their intent to make a new hex any frame sooner than half a RϜ after meeting. Scandalous because, seriously, do you think they're really going to stick with it?

Sphere City - The planetoid home of all Hex, save for those who have been shot out to the third moon (and their descendants). Has grown, level by level, steadily, since the days of the founding village.

static cloud - The hex are shaped like classic halloween ghosts or plague doctors--simple enough for even the author to draw--with a humanoid head and a long beack which ends in a mouth. At the base of their flowing spacetime robes, a noisy cloud of static light crackles constantly, so long as they are alive. This cloud differs by individual, and can serve to inform of both their current emotional state as well as their personality more generally.

ℵℕ - The well-ordered natural sequence of transfinite cardinals, or something along those lines. Just beyond the edge of any given universe's Poincaré surface, distance is measured in uncountable sets of infinite time.