A Brief Guide to those who helped the
Gizmos Team in Season Two.
Clicking on any of the underlined links will take you to more information.
What Goes Up.../...Must Come Down: Commander Susan Vornholt
Captain of the STA Shuttle "Excalibur", Vornholt is the sole survivor of the attempt by Zito to eliminate all the potential STA astronauts, thus preventing the launch of the RX44 satellite. She initially suspects Ed of being the saboteur, and when forced to partner him in Excalibur is more than reticent to allow him any more than a supporting role on the mission. However, she comes to respect him after his heroics both inside and out of the Shuttle itself. Vornholt is credited by GNC for single-handedly completing the mission (as Ed’s effective civilian status would jeopardise future missions if it were known)
What Goes
Up.../...Must Come Down: Colonel Stone
Head of the STA and Mission Controller at STA Headquarters, Stone is a no-nonsense pragmatist whose major concern is completing missions on time and to budget. As problem after problem is thrown at him over Excalibur he maintains his sense of professionalism, helping a successful conclusion to the mission from the ground.
What Goes
Up.../...Must Come Down: Joy
Representative of the Kituman Government, Joy is responsible for ensuring the RX44 satellite is deployed to allow her country a chance to free itself from financial ruin at the hands of the Global Bank. President Haikudu’s eyes and ears at Mission Control, Joy is acutely aware of the pressure and responsibility upon her to ensure Kituma’s future, and not afraid to push the needs of her people to the fore.
What Goes
Up.../...Must Come Down: Amanda Courtney
Reporter for GNC based in Kituma, the only journalist with the ability to transmit pictures out of the island after a series of terrorist attacks. Very tenacious and forthright, her professionalism greatly helps her when both her cameraman and sound recordist are killed in an explosion in the Kituman Royal Palace. Her efforts are instrumental in maintaining Kituma’s hopes of locating its mineral wealth with the RX44. Amanda was once engaged to Nick Beckett, and there still remains a fair deal of bad blood between the two (which resurfaces in Season Three)
What Goes
Up.../...Must Come Down: President Haikudu
Leader of the Kituman people, a man of dignity and presence. His efforts with the RX44 satellite finally lead to the security of his people and their future, although he almost admits defeat and resigns when he believes the Global Bank will not make good on their offers. However, a show of political unity from the President secures the future for Kituma itself.
Bugged
Wheat: Greenville
Head of the European Agronomy Council, he calls in the trio to investigate an unknown viroid infection on hitherto pest-resistant wheat.
Bugged Wheat:
Lemon
Owner of Insect-Tec, Lemon is an eccentric with a taste for unusual insects as pets. Each of his insects is specially marked with his own distinctive coding system.
Bugged
Wheat: Prison Governor (Recurring Character, Season 2 Episodes 3, 4, 6 & 7)
The Head of the Maximum Security Prison in which Jean-Daniel is being held for the term of his incarceration. A nervous and inadequate man, the Governor is easily manipulated by Jean-Daniel for his own ends, although basically the wish of the Governor is only to improve the surroundings for his "guests". His choice to allow the Frenchman both a number of special privileges and the opportunity to dabble with stocks from his prison cell is certainly not the wisest of choices…
Whirling
Dervish: Selina Ormand
Head of the Direct Cerebral Encoding Unit at Mindscope, Selena is a bright and accomplished expert in her field of Cerebral Encoding for educational purposes. She becomes involved with the team after Jerome steals one of her DCE Units, and is subsequently kidnapped with Beckett in an attempt to make her use the unit correctly on both Jerome and Ed. Beckett had previously asked Selina to dinner, but instead ends up handcuffed to the scientist around a bomb from which they are both able to escape with the aid of the DCE machine.
Whirling
Dervish: Tyson Strate
Head of State Air, whose competitors try to eliminate by shooting down a plane he is travelling on using a Dervish (a derivative stealth fighter). A true businessman and entrepreneur, it is easy to see why his competitors want rid of him, as his company offers both better services and cheaper prices for air fares…
Blackout:
Kanin
Employee of NRGen who (quite literally) blasts his way into Gizmos. A good employee but not the best of negotiators, he forces Ed and Beckett into assisting him when the Split isotope Reactor that Ros is visiting is overrun by terrorists.
Blackout:
Alex
Friend of Ros Henderson (possibly romantically linked) who is employed at NRGen’s Split isotope Reactor. With Alex’s help both Ed and Ros are able to wrest control of the Power Staion from the terrorists, and return the vital Isotope triggers to their proper place in the Reactor Core.
Gold Rush:
Vanguard
Director of the Eastern European Monetary Commission, Vanguard calls in the team after a mysterious virus attacks the EEMC’s trading computers. Intelligent and professional, Vanguard maintains the smooth running of the Commission as her top priority, and is happy to help the team ensure that this happens with the minimum of fuss. After Ros loses her ring to the gold-consuming microbes, she is happy to replace it with a ring of equal value.
Gold
Rush: Dench
Ill-fated Head of Technical Services, Dench is killed as Pyke infects the EEMC’s computers…
Schrodinger's Bomb: Roland Blatty (Recurring Character, Season 2 Episodes 7, 9,
& 10)
Friend of Ros Henderson, Head of the Bureau of Weapons. Roland’s year as head unfortunately has done little to sharpen his abilities as a leader. It is only with the help of Beckett’s team that he is able to successfully conclude the red mercury situation (in fact without Beckett’s presence Blatty would have been blown up by a landmine strapped to his chest!) Still enjoying the "spy games" the Bureau allowed him to play, Blatty’s undoing is his use of one of Cyberax’ Bio-feedback units, which effectively reduces him to a living vegetable. However, it appears that the Cyberax virus may yet have a use for Roland…
Newton's
Run: Dr Kim
Siegel’s research assistant, and survivor of the attack by Alkmarr on the Austin Institute, she is able to continue Siegel’s work with the artificial nervous system. Concerned for the well-being of Newton, she entrusts the dog’s safe keeping to Beckett, as opposed to Commander Wence.
Newton's Run:
Dr. Siegel
Pioneer and developer of the Artificial Nervous System, as successfully created in Newton. He is killed by Alkmarr on his first attack on the Institute.
Newton's
Run: Commander Wence (Recurring Character, Season 2 Episodes 7, 9, & 10)
Head of SSD, Wence still seems to be one step behind everyone else in his search, this time, for Alkmarr and his accomplices. Believing them to be out to extort the city for money, Wence and his organisation in fact prove valuable when Alkmarr plans to blow up Facility 47 (a dump for warheads and weapons). Ros saves his life when Alkmarr tries to kill the both of them at Gizmos, and after Beckett’s team performs admirably in the face of extreme pressure Wence is fair (but grudging) in his praise.
The Bureau
of Weapons: Dr Briggs
Oversees the running of the City’s particle accelerator, with his assistant Layla. Informative and efficient, his demise too is at the hands of the Cyberax virus, which causes him to electrocute both himself and his assistant after Jean-Daniel breaks into his facility to produce Niobium 5.
The Bureau
of Weapons: Rona
Number two at the Bureau of Weapons: a bright and intelligent woman who (like Blatty) is reduced to a vegetable by the Cyberax virus.
The Bureau
of Weapons: Layla
Briggs’ research assistant, killed by him with a massive electric shock.
A Cage for
Satan: Professor Talbot
Ros’ old University Lecturer, Talbot deliberately infects himself with Cyberax to ascertain how much of a real danger the machine intelligence is, and to try and find a way to save his favourite student from mental oblivion. Able to resist the virus for a couple of minutes, Talbot eventually succumbs and destroys both the Cyberax equipment and his own brain…