Daniel
Maintenance Worker
Daniel
Halcyon Orbital Maintenance Worker / Supporting Character
Biography
Daniel is a maintenance worker on Halcyon Orbital who has Down Syndrome. He has worked at the station for five years, developing an efficient cleaning routine that station managers value for its reliability and thoroughness. Ships are Daniel's special interest; he can identify most models that pass through the station and remembers them with remarkable precision.
During the Jackrabbit's visit to Halcyon Fields, Daniel cleans the vessel at Jack's request and later observes it departing for the Morning Eclipse without a pilot—a crucial detail that becomes vital to the corporate investigation. His meticulous attention to detail and honest reporting provide key information about the Jackrabbit's autonomous capabilities.
When QuantumGrid's agent Rupert Cholmondeley-Warner dismisses Daniel's observations about the self-flying ship, he inadvertently causes the information to be overlooked by his superiors, creating a temporary intelligence advantage for Jack and Aggie. Daniel's role highlights how corporate bias and prejudice can lead to critical intelligence failures, while demonstrating how neurodiversity can be a valuable asset in perceiving unusual events that others might miss or dismiss.
Personality Traits
Appearances
- The Jackrabbit Emerges (Book 3) - Introduced as a maintenance worker at Halcyon Orbital who observes the Jackrabbit's autonomous flight capabilities, providing crucial information that is initially dismissed by corporate investigators.
Key Relationships
Jack Abbott
While their interaction is brief, Jack treats Daniel with respect when requesting his services to clean the Jackrabbit. This positive encounter leaves Daniel with a favorable impression that later influences how he describes Jack and his ship to investigators.
Agent Cholmondeley-Warner
The QuantumGrid agent's dismissive attitude toward Daniel exemplifies the corporate bias that overlooks valuable intelligence from sources they consider unreliable. This interaction demonstrates how prejudice can undermine corporate operations and intelligence gathering.
Amondi Nkosi
Though they never directly interact, Nkosi's willingness to take reports from neurodivergent individuals seriously creates a contrast with Cholmondeley-Warner's approach, highlighting how different corporate cultures handle diversity and information gathering.