Did August Kantor ever really care for his family? Sonya's narration describes him as a seemingly kind father, but given her dossier it seems he actually had no problem with her being assigned the role of a Trophy Wife by the Delegation. Likewise, did he honestly believe that his Pater Familicide would spare his family from an even worse fate at the hands of the rebels? Or was it the petty last act of a monster, trying to drag as many people as he could with him to his grave? Sonya at least seems to favor the latter interpretation at the end of the story.
Why did Alexander turn against the Delegation? He himself states he was disgusted at their crimes, but given he was already intrested in Sonya back then,who the regime had assigned to his brother Aaron, maybe there was also a more selfish motive at play.
The Triumvirate, while it is pretty clear that they are A Lighter Shade of Grey to the Delegation, but just how good/bad are they? Did they lock up the survivors of the Delegation in the Aperture as punishment? Or possibly to protect them from Vigilante Justice from the hands of the people they oppressed? The sometimes cruel repression of the ghetto, such as Denied Food as Punishment would hint at the former, while the fact that the persons who are eventually released are given the option of taking on a new identity to protect them in society, could suggest the latter. Also do they actually intend to restore certain civil liberties "once the Triumvirate has stabilized" or is it just a lie and they intend to keep the status quo indefenetly?
The people within the Aperture, it is mentioned that rebels executed the highest rank of Delegation leadership, so just how guilty are they? Are they at best Affably EvilFormer Regime Personnel suffering some very much deserved Laser-Guided Karma? Are they mid to low level Punch-Clock Villains who are in denial about the regimes crimes, but not necessarily irredeemable villains themselves? Or are they merely The Scapegoat who suffer Misplaced Retribution for crimes their friends and family members comitted? Given the large number of people within the ghetto and their differing personalities and backgrounds it is likely that all three are true depending on the individual.
Anvilicious: The precursor to the Insight implants, the Elicit is described as basically a modern day smartphone. Asking the reader how far we are really still away from a total surveilance state like the Delegation.
August Kantor was a high-ranking member of the tyrannical Delegation, helping run a oppressive regime in the Mega City of the American Northwest. Despite ostensibly loving his daughters he heavily indoctrinated them for the regime, having no problem with his younger daughter Sonya being assigned the fate of a Trophy Wife because the regime considered her not intelligent enough for anything else. He would also regularly murder children just on the off chance that they one day might become a threat to the regime. When the Delegation was finally overthrown he decided to escape justice by committing suicide, attempting to drag his entire family with him and suceeding with his wife and older daughter.
Easton Turner assisted August Kantor with his acts of child murder in the name of the Delegation. Being able to hide his connection to the regime he escapes being killed or locked up in the Aperture when the regime falls. On the contrary eventually worming his way into becoming one of the three heads of the Triumvirate. Using his position to help cover the tracks of his father Myth, who is the leader of the Analogue Army terrorist group, not because he actually cares for their cause but because they provide a handy way of getting rid of troublesome individuals. When his subordinate Alexander suggest giving Sonya Kantor a chance to redeem herself Easton seemingly agrees, while knowing full well that Grace Ward is dead and as such having no intention of actually going through with it. When Sonya and Alexander manage to come close to the truth with the aid of Emily Knocks Easton uses his connection to the Analogue Army to have the hacker murdered. Firing Alexander and calling off Sonya's task he tries to cover his tracks and when it doesn't work once more using the Analogue Army to try and kill them. When he eventually does catch Sonya, he tries to send her back to the Aperture for life (and possibly worse) despite her having completed her mission, only relenting when she threatens to expose him for his connections to the old regime and the analogue army. Lacking even August Kantors pretentious care for his family Easton Turner proves to be the very worst in the already dark world of Poster Girl
Iron Woobie: Sonya Kantor. During the rebellion she not only lost her fiancee Aron and her best friend Tana but also had to watcher her family being Driven to Suicide in front of her, before being captured by the rebels and thrown in a ghetto. Yet she still tries her best to build some kind of life for herself there, even after her boyfriend in captivity David comitts suicide. Later she has to watch several of her friends be released from the Aperture while herself being denied that mercy. When she is eventually presented with the opportunity to make up for snitching out Grace Ward to her father, something that has been haunting her ever since, by reuniting the girl with her family, she is almost killed several times and eventually has to watch the offer being withdrawn. Worse she finds out that Grace Ward is long dead, killed by her own father. Trying to appologize to Grace's family they don't believe her regret is sincere and reject her appology. It`s a small miracle that even after this Sonya refuses to let herself get broken and instead finds the strengh to still go on. Still makes you just want to give the girl a hug.
Jerkass Woobie: Many people in the Aperture can come off as this. Yes they have been part of a tyrannical regime and are often in denial about the crimes it comitted. But most of them have lost many of their friends and family members in the rebellion and their miserable existence in the Aperture with absolutley no hope for the future still makes them pitiable figures. Considering what she did to Grace Ward Sonya can also be counted as this in addition to Iron Woobie.
Magnificent Bitch: Emily Knocks is a mercenary hacker, skilled enough that both members of the Delegation and the Triumvirate respect giving her plenty of customers, allowing Emily to maintain a luxurious lifestyle in the dystopian setting. When Sonya Kantor comes to her for aid in finding Grace Ward Emily agrees, after trolling Sonya a bit by forcing her to sing an old propaganda song in public as payment for her services. Sending Sonya to a meeting with Myth, the leader of the Analogue Army terrorist group, uses it as a distraction to infiltrate the groups actual headquarters and gather their data on everyones Insight, giving her potentially tremendous power over the entire society. Yet instead of using it for her own advantage it she actually plans on deleting the entire data so that no one else can abuse it ever again, showing that despite her mercenary demeanor she does have quite high standarts. Though keeping her word to Sonya she first intends to help her find Grace before deleting the data. When Easton Turner has her murdered to cover his tracks, Emily still get's the last laugh because she planned ahead for this eventuality, setting up her security system so that Sonya, and only Sonya can acess her data. Allowing the former Poster Girl to not only find Grace but also expose Turner for his crimes, before she deletes the data in according to Emily's Last Request.
Realism-Induced Horror: The Des Coin system might sounds like something out of the imagination of a dystopian writer, but it is actually not so different from the "Social Credit" system that the People Republic of China pratices.
Too Cool to Live: Emily Knocks, the smart, snarky mercenary hacker who helps Sonya on her quest. Despite being a bit of a troll and not above risking Sonya's life to get the data they need, she is also one of the few characters to show her actualy kindness, with a sliver of Ship Tease for good meassure. Her ultimate goal of deleting the entire Insight Data to prevent anyone from abusing it also shows her as having quite higher standarts than most other characters in the story. Alas she get's killed by the analogue army, but not before leaving Sonya with the tools to complete her quest.
Pretty much everyone living under the Delegation outside of it`s ruling elite. Being constantly monitored and punished for the smallest, most absurd infractions for several decades. Especially the families who had their children taken away from them due to the Delegations strict One-Child-Policy such as the Ward family.
The children of the Delegation. While the older inmates are varyingly guilty in having been part of the regime, the youngest ones were only put in the Aperture for the "crime" of being their parent's children. Thankfully the Triumvirate eventually released them but only after ten years in the ghetto.
