Takeshi Kovacs
Encyclopedia
Takeshi Lev Kovacs is the protagonist
of the books Altered Carbon
, Broken Angels
, and Woken Furies
by Richard K. Morgan, which take place several centuries in the future.
A native of the planet Harlan's World, Kovacs is of Japanese and Eastern-European descent, and was a teenage gang member before enlisting in the military. After leaving the Envoy Corps, an elite military force, Kovacs returned to criminal life and became a mercenary
, and was eventually imprisoned, his cortical "stack" stored without a body for decades at a time as punishment before being paroled or hired out to work high-risk situations.
Kovacs is a former Envoy, a type of futuristic soldier, part intelligence operative and part shock trooper, trained to adapt quickly to new bodies and new environments. Envoys are used by the governing Protectorate to infiltrate and crush planetary unrest and maintain political stability. Envoy training is actually a form of psychospiritual conditioning
that operates at subconscious
levels. Envoys possess total recall
and are able to discern subtle patterns within seemingly unrelated events. They possess a thorough understanding of body language and vocal tonality, such that they can discern intention and manipulate others with ease. They are able to control their physiological and psychological responses, such as fear and anger, at will. Another aspect that figures prominently in an Envoy's training is the systematic removal of every violence-limiting instinct a human is born with. Due to this training, most worlds prohibit Envoys or ex-Envoys from holding any political or military office. The fear the mere mention of their name can elicit is often used by Kovacs to threaten and intimidate.
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the books Altered Carbon
Altered Carbon
Altered Carbon is a hardboiled science fiction novel by Richard K. Morgan. Set some five hundred years in the future in a universe in which the United Nations Protectorate oversees a number of extrasolar planets settled by human beings, it features protagonist Takeshi Kovacs...
, Broken Angels
Broken Angels
Broken Angels is a military science fiction novel by Richard Morgan. It is the sequel to Altered Carbon, and is followed by Woken Furies.- Plot :...
, and Woken Furies
Woken Furies
Woken Furies is the fourth published science fiction novel by Richard Morgan. It is a sequel to Broken Angels, and features the anti-hero Takeshi Kovacs....
by Richard K. Morgan, which take place several centuries in the future.
A native of the planet Harlan's World, Kovacs is of Japanese and Eastern-European descent, and was a teenage gang member before enlisting in the military. After leaving the Envoy Corps, an elite military force, Kovacs returned to criminal life and became a mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
, and was eventually imprisoned, his cortical "stack" stored without a body for decades at a time as punishment before being paroled or hired out to work high-risk situations.
Kovacs is a former Envoy, a type of futuristic soldier, part intelligence operative and part shock trooper, trained to adapt quickly to new bodies and new environments. Envoys are used by the governing Protectorate to infiltrate and crush planetary unrest and maintain political stability. Envoy training is actually a form of psychospiritual conditioning
Conditioning
Conditioning may refer to:* In psychology, the process of performing some particular action to directly influence an individual's learning; see education...
that operates at subconscious
Subconscious
The term subconscious is used in many different contexts and has no single or precise definition. This greatly limits its significance as a definition-bearing concept, and in consequence the word tends to be avoided in academic and scientific settings....
levels. Envoys possess total recall
Eidetic memory
Eidetic , commonly referred to as photographic memory, is a medical term, popularly defined as the ability to recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with extreme precision and in abundant volume. The word eidetic, referring to extraordinarily detailed and vivid recall not limited to, but...
and are able to discern subtle patterns within seemingly unrelated events. They possess a thorough understanding of body language and vocal tonality, such that they can discern intention and manipulate others with ease. They are able to control their physiological and psychological responses, such as fear and anger, at will. Another aspect that figures prominently in an Envoy's training is the systematic removal of every violence-limiting instinct a human is born with. Due to this training, most worlds prohibit Envoys or ex-Envoys from holding any political or military office. The fear the mere mention of their name can elicit is often used by Kovacs to threaten and intimidate.